Most hang on and have to be overthrown.
I hope Pope Benedict lives out his remaining years in peace and good cheer. His remarkable decision might serve as an inspiration for future leaders who have peaked yet are incapable of realizing same.
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I have posted this op ed by Kim Strassel right before the cab comes to take us to the airport. (See 1 below.)
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AIPAC Conference - DC 3/3-5:
The conference I attended this past week was both highly professional and one of the most factually edifying I have had the pleasure of experiencing.
I do not wish to sound smug but I cannot say I learned a great deal that was new. Those who read my memos know I spend a great deal of time trying to stay current on what is taking place in The Middle East.
That said, the list of speakers and varied subjects covered were beyond excellent.
Vice President Biden gave a truly heartfelt and sincere address. The question I ask myself is whether his claim of having Obama's ear and his degree of influence matches his words. Time will tell.
The incoming Italian Sec. Of NATO and the Foreign Minister of Canada gave impassioned speeches explaining why their support of Israel was crucial and the basis on which it was framed.
Sen. Menendez of New Jersey,may have his personal problems, but as Chairman of The Foreign Relations Committee, he could not have been more emphatic in two regards. First, he minced no words why the American-Israeli relationship was solid and would remain so as long as he was Chairman and then he proceeded to lay out a clear and unmistakable historic case why efforts to delegitimize Israel were baseless, evil and tantamount to anti-Semitism.
Prime Minister Netanyahu,,speaking from Jerusalem, laid out the three points he will discuss with Obama when he visits Israel later this month : Iran, The Palestinian Issue and Syria.
One issue I was constantly reminded of was when it came to America's relationship with Israel. There is virtual unanimous bi- partisan support in Congress and overwhelming support among Americans. Why? Because our democratic values are the same and this tiny state remains one of our Nation's strongest and most reliable allies.I think of Israel as synonymous with a carrier fleet that is unsinkable.
There are those who claim support to Israel is too costly but they fail to acknowledge well over 80 percent of the military assistance provided is spent in America, creating jobs and Israel provides our nation with invaluable intelligence and technology that saves American lives etc.
I attended a break out session on the Iron Dome which was remarkable. This anti missile defense weapon was developed by Israel's Rafael Corporation along with a host of American and world wide partners. In the last Gaza confrontation it proved over 85 percent effective against 400 plus incoming rockets.
I could go on about what I gleaned but suffice it to say the close relationship between America and Israel is due, in large part, to the effective work that AIPAC does in providing fact based information and effective education programs. It's reach extends beyond Congress and touches many in the African American community and beyond. A simple visit to Israel is basically all it takes to dispel the lies, distortions and disinformation spread by enemies of both America and Israel and this includes many Americans with their own warped axe to grind aka, Jimmy Carter,and even Jews , ie. J Street, etc.
No, Israel is not perfect but given the hatred directed at it, the fact that it is surrounded by those who wish to annihilate its people's the nation's accomplishments, in every field of human endeavor, is remarkable.
Israel's secret weapon, beyond its people, is a fact that Golda Meier said to Sen. McCain, when he asked how Israel would defend itself . Golda said: 'we have nowhere else to go.'
In addition to the above, several personal highlights was a dinner we hosted for my favorite red head , Kim Strassel and her handsome husband, Matthew, my favorite intelligence source when it comes to Iranian Sanctions and our Treasury Department, Avi Jorisch. (Avi's wife had just given birth to their second child and could not join us.) our son-in- law's parents, David and Anica Shpilberg. David is one of the brightest and most informed men I know and Anica is an accomplished artist. We were also joined by Joshua Karsh, from AIPAC's regional Atlanta office.
The second highlight was a private chat with my friend and highly regarded WSJ Op Ed writer, Bret Stephens. Bret has been courageously outspoken in opposition to Hagel and remains quite dour with respect to Obama's commitment to stopping Iran from obtaining a nuclear capability. He sees the administration shifting from prevention to containment and believes this places Natanyahu in an untenable situation.
I share Bret's concern regarding Obama but I believe Netanyahu will do what he must when it comes to protecting Israel and Israel has a level of capability, in a military sense, that should not be disregarded.
In a meeting with Rep. Jack Kingston, he repeated his view that Israel needs several more aircraft refueling tankers and heavier munitions and because of his position on various sensitive committees I know Jack speaks with knowledge.
I might add, t Jack is a staunch supporter of the American- Israeli relationship, having visited Israel 5 times.
I, in turn, am an equally strong supporter of Jack should he choose, as I believe he will, to seek the Senate seat being vacated by Saxby Chambliss. Jack has served his constituents well in his 20 years in Congress, has an excellent staff and I have come to know and respect him since moving into his District.
I also had the chance to briefly visit with Elliot Chodoff. He is now a major in the IDF Reserves and continues his speaking and teaching responsibilities.
Finally, I saw many old Atlanta friends and made a few new ones. Though it was very stressful navigating the corridors of the cavernous Convention Center with a bum knee, and the snow caused Delta to cancel our flights, so we had to come home via Amtrack, It was an interesting and informative conference and I only scratched the surface with respect to noting the many speakers and special events we heard and witnessed
Ah,but the best moment was March 5, when we celebrated our 41st anniversary with dear friends at their most favorite DC restaurant which is now ours as well
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Other presenters:
Israeli Amb. Oren, retiring Israeli Dense chief, Ehud Barak, Sens. McCain and Ayliotte, Dennis Ross and Elliot Abrams, FRank Sesno,Marcia Fudge, various Israeli inventors and technologists, a host of Israeli citizens and military personnel with special heartwarming stories, Sen. Cornyn and Rep's. Eric Cantor and Steny Hoyer., etc.
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Roger Ailes hits thenail on the head. (See 2 below.)
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Dick
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1)
The GOP Takes Back Tax Reform
Republicans are not only doing a tax rewrite this year, but making it their signature policy initiative.
By Kim Strassel
In Virginia Tuesday, President Obama stood before roaring crowds and clicking cameras to act out his latest sequester melodrama. About the time he finished, a lone Michigan congressman sat down in a quieter Capitol Hill conference room to unveil the real news of the week.
The politico: Dave Camp, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. His subject: tax reform. The news—which by rights overshadows sequester, the Oscars, maybe even the pope's resignation—is that Republicans are not only doing a tax rewrite this year, but making it their signature policy initiative. Maybe the GOP is tired of losing after all.
House Speaker John Boehner's confirmation that the vaunted title of H.R. 1 will go to comprehensive tax reform is notable because it wasn't assured. As the GOP has publicly waged a sequester fight, it has privately spent the past months in an intense internal debate over tax reform. Mr. Camp, who has been pushing the tax-reform rock up the GOP hill for years, claimed victory—but not before one last heave.
Those who warned against rushing ahead, including Majority Leader Eric Cantor, advised that tax reform holds political risk. A simple code sounds pleasant, but getting there means tough votes on dangerous topics. Want to lose friends fast? Chop the charitable deduction, squeeze mortgages, take away that tax perk for the biggest job creator in your district. Business will howl. Voters might freak. Democrats will pounce. Indeed, the White House may turn those votes into a central plank of its campaign to take back the House.
Proponents didn't argue the point so much as overcome it with the simple reality that the GOP needs this—for both defense and offense.
The defensive point is wrapped in today's budget fight. The White House knows that another straight-up tax-rate increase is impossible. The only way it can sate its desire to spend is to cadge further revenue under the guise of tax reform. Thus has the president become a tax-reform evangelical, using his pulpit to daily call for "closing loopholes."
To remain silent on tax reform was for the GOP to cede a signature issue, even as it gave Mr. Obama leverage in the budget fight. How long could the party hold out for the president's call for "reform" without a plan of its own?
Speaking of signature issues, Republicans also had a pressing need to reset the terms of the debate. Mr. Boehner's November offer to use tax reform to give Mr. Obama revenue was a legitimate attempt to avoid rate increases. But it also opened the floodgates to the Democratic argument that tax reform is about raising funds for government coffers.
Those pushing for a grand deficit deal now envision a process by which Republicans and Democrats split the tax-reform difference, with some revenues going to government and some to lower rates. Even some Republicans—those worried by sequestration cuts to defense—have been lulled by this idea. Others have similarly bought into the Democratic argument that "tax reform" consists of revamping only the corporate code (since that piece allows Mr. Obama to rage about Big Oil and corporate jets and capital gains).
Messrs. Boehner and Camp used this week's announcement to reapply the most basic conservative tax-reform principles. One: Any House bill will be "revenue-neutral," meaning money raised gets plowed back into lowering rates. Two: Any House bill will simultaneously reform both the individual and corporate codes. "This is real tax reform," one Republican staffer notes. "We needed to remind the public, Democrats—and ourselves—of that."
But the better argument, and the one Mr. Camp has been doggedly making to his caucus, is that this is a way for the GOP to get back on economic offense. There is a glum GOP awareness that the party's role of late has been that of responsible bearer of bad news. It has had to warn about deficits, advocate cuts, tackle entitlements. Somewhere along the way it lost its tax punch, and it has been outflanked by a president who has used class warfare to position himself as protector of the middle class.
H.R. 1 is a path to a bold and rejuvenated message on taxes—one that links simplicity and lower rates to economic revival. Done right, it's a GOP response to Mr. Obama's "fairness" line, allowing the party to stand with the millions of average Americans who can't afford tax lawyers or lobbyists to carve out shelters. It's a means for the GOP to make a growth argument that clicks. Tax cuts and new jobs aside, tax reform is a path to higher wages and more money for the weekly budget, the college fund and the retirement account.
"There is no better way to recapture the party's core issues of taxes, the middle class and the economy" than tax reform, says one senior GOP aide. "It is the one silver bullet that hits all of those pieces."
Far from being debilitating, this was an internal GOP debate worth having. Tax reform done right will be hard; Republicans needed to know that. Yet in knowledge can come wisdom. Having committed, the party's task is now to do it big, do it bold, but mostly do it smart.
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2)Ailes Calls Obama ‘Lazy’ in New Bio
Fox News chief Roger Ailes says President Barack Obama is “lazy’’ and claims the commander-in-chief “never worked a day in his life,’’ a controversial new book claims.
Ailes also takes shots at Vice President Joe Biden, saying, “he’s as dumb as an ashtray,” and at Newt Gingrich, who he says is a “sore loser.”
In his upcoming biography, “Roger Ailes: Off Camera,’’ author Zev Chafets writes that Ailes reacted to a crack by Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen that Ann Romney, wife of last year’s Republican presidential candidate, “never worked a day in her life,” with his own blunt opinion of the president.
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