Jimmy Carter Is Smiling*

*All Images courtesy of AP Images.

Oi vey it has been a long week. As the delightfully acerbic R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. over at "The American Spectator" has astutely noted, the first month of President Obama's administration is strangely feeling more and more like that dismal display of incompetence we refer to as The Carter Administration. And by that, I mean the elected one, not the holy mantle he has so selflessly donned as Mediator of All Things Middle East. Granted, there are four years to go in this administration, four very long years. But early events do not seem promising. Is it too soon to think Romney-Palin for 2012? Perhaps these intervening years will provide all the training and executive experience they need.

In any case, here is a very disturbing video provided by Neil Cavuto of FoxNews fame:

This comes as the Honorable Susan J. Crawford has dropped charges against the suspect accused of bombing the USS Cole. Some might argue that she is just doing her job as this all relates to closing down Guantanamo by executive order. They would also be wrong. Judges can and often do cause quite a stink in taking a moral stand on one issue or another when administering the true intent of the law. And in case this administration has forgotten, that law exists to keep us safe and preserve our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Absolutely frightening.

Not to belabor the point, but it might also be said that the only honorable person here is this courageous mother who refused an invitation to sit down with the President. That takes guts and moral sense, traits becoming increasingly and bizarrely absent from this administration.

Interestingly enough, in related news also courtesy of FoxNews, Bret Baier reports that the President has organized a team to get rid of that pesky "War on Terror" phrase. They want something nicer, less scary, more evocative of the President's, shall we say, delicious hope filling to the angel food cake that is life. Absurdity aside, reasonable people should rightly be outraged that he is treating the most dangerous threat to American ideals, culture, and freedoms as a crass PR event. This is absolute craziness of the highest order, and anyone involved in this ought to be ashamed. One can only assume that the goals of this administration are not quite as lofty as once supposed.

Other craziness? Of course. Mitt Romney gets in a fantastic dig at the lunacy of the current behemoth of a stimulus package under consideration--namely, that he suggested $233 Billion last year and was seen as a fool. If only we had listened. The current package is a bloated conglomerate of asinine government waste that will do little to stimulate the economy. So much so, in fact, that "National Review" recently festooned their website with the obvious oinkers as a bit of gallows humor. It seems we are going to have considerable digging out to do in the coming months.

ENCOURAGING NEWS: After Hamas steals a load of supplies meant for beleaguered Palestinians, an awakened UN furrows its sacrosanct brow and suspends shipments. I love that the rest of the world refuses to agree with Israel. . .until the cards are most obviously on the table, and sometimes not even then.

AGGRAVATING NEWS: The FDA asserts that Peanut Corporation of America knew of tainted peanut products before they were shipped and caused the salmonella outbreak that has sickened nearly 500 and likely killed at least 8. These people are criminals, harsh charges should be brought against them, and punishment should be strenuously applied.

HEARTWARMING NEWS: Joe Biden eats some well deserved crow.