HELL FREEZES OVER

The Minnesota Supreme Court says Al Franken is the new U.S. Senator, beating Norm Coleman: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/court-rules-franken-has-won-senate-seat/?hp

SUPREMES WITHOUT MICHAEL JACKSON

Today's Court decisions, including a set-back for the likely in-coming Justice:
http://news.myway.com/index/id/supremeap.html But not a Michael Jackson story in the bunch.

TREE HUGGING

Cap & Trade (aka TAX) must be fought today.. call your elected officials and oppose this economic killer. It's more bureaucratic lunancy based on flawed "global warming" theory.

Speaking of tree hugging, I'm not this man: http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/chi-talk-tree-climbjun25,0,1107419.story
It's some guy with my name, charging people $20 to climb his 300 year old tree. Gotta hand it to him for being creative.

THE HAPPIEST MAN IN AMERICA

Gov. Sanford of South Carolina. The Michael Jackson story has deep-sixed his saga for the next few days.

ALL ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING

The "cap and trade" disaster-in-the-making isn't the answer: http://blog.heritage.org/2009/06/25/new-heritage-video-cap-tax-wont-save-the-earth/

OBAMACARE INFOMERCIAL ON ABC

Wow, that man can talk... filibuster is more like it. The Prez used 45 of the total 75 minutes in ABC's lovefest specials last night: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/jeff-poor/2009/06/25/abc-obamacare-special-turns-presidential-filibuster

KEEP YOUR OWN?

The President and others (on his health care talking points) keep saying "if you like your health care plan now, you can keep it". Not exactly. Employers will likely choose the cheapest coverage, aka government-provided care, instead of private plans. Now here's more evidence: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D990H1300&show_article=1
The more you dig into the White House proposal on health care (and its variations in Congress) the more horrible it looks.

THAT'S BETTER

It's a start: President Obama tells Iran's regime to 'stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people'.

AS THE CARNAGE INCREASES

President Obama is business as usual. Newsman Mark Knoeller on Twitter in the last hour: Obama just took his daughters for ice cream at a place in Alexandria. Obama seen with cup of frozen custard. This while Iran's out of control. Oh sure, the White House has updates and constant connections for the President, but what if Bush had done something similar during the crisis? New reports say 19 (or as many as 150) killed today in Iran and it's getting worse.

REAL TIME IRAN UPDATES

If you're not on Twitter, sign up (free!) and follow inside reports from Iran:

https://twitter.com/#search?q=%23IranElection

"THE WORLD IS WATCHING"

So says President Obama regarding Iran's current tightening of the noose around the necks of Tehran protesters. Yes, and the world is watching Mr. Obama's continued wimpy rhetorical response to the situation (well, watching as much as possible since Iranian officials have cut most communications and media coverage). Our last president with a wide, engaging "trust me" smile was Jimmy Carter, the man who got us into the current Iran mess in the first place. The similarities in foreign policy are disturbing. Yes, the world is watching as the speech level goes from "we're concerned" to "VERY concerned".  Part of this concern, of course, is that Iran's leaders will blame the USA for "meddling" if Obama says too much to encourage protestors. That doesn't matter since the Mullahs already do that, even in reaction to Obama's tepid response so far. Isn't it better to use words to empower liberty now, rather than to have no choice but go to military action down the road because the freedom loving resistors were trampled in the streets?

Meanwhile, the Supreme Leader Mullah had no problems with his words in the mosque Friday. With Ahmadinejad and thousands of adherents in attendance, the crowd reacted with chants of "Death the America!" and "Death to Israel!"  Yes, that'll make us "VERY DEEPLY concerned" now.  Maybe.

WEEKEND READING: For important background on the Carter era (1979) loss of Iran to the Mullahs (and a possible glimpse into Obama's reaction to all this) read Mark Bowden's excellent book, "Guests of the Ayatollah: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam".  For more recent lessons from the Tiananmen Square massacre (1989), check out "Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang".

Now on Twitter @ marklarsonradio

And on FACEBOOK...  also, show PODCASTS now available: Click on "Larson on Demand" in right column.

CRANKING UP THE TOUGH TALK?

As the Iranian regime prepares to crackdown on protestors, hoping the world can't see it happen, President Obama has increased the heat. Now he's "very concerned". Oh, yeah, THAT will send a strong message. The Mullahs and Ahmadinejad don't care a bit about Obama's magic and charm. The world's dictators fear "cowboys" like Reagan and quickly test naive new leaders who are in over their heads on foreign policy.  In the meantime, Kim Jong Il and Lil' Kim are getting nuttier by the day, ready to lob test missles toward Hawaii... on July 4th. If the Commander in Chief really believes in American virtues, he should encourage liberty and freedom, speaking more specifically to support those fighting against tyranny. 

OBAMA WORLD

Victor Davis Hanson makes excellent points about President Obama's skewed world view:
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NDMzZjhhNmUwYmU1YzdkNTExYzU3ZThhZmM3YTI3ZGU=

IRAN CRACKS DOWN

Now Iran's trying to get all journalists to leave the country. Who knows what they plan next, but our prayers go out to those who are taking a stand for freedom. As the story gets messier by the moment, watch how "caring" the ruling regime is... then mesh their moves against the dissenters with Ahmadinejad's reckless comments about Israel and the West.

TERRORISTS HOLIDAY?

The first of the former Gitmo detainees are having a swell time, enjoying Bermuda:
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1192872/Guantanamo-4-hit-shops-day-freedom.html

CALLING GEORGE ORWELL

Iran's Ahmadinejad claims this weekend's elections were free and wonderful, no problems. Pay no attention to the street riots. Or to numerous incidents of voter fraud. Or his government's pulling cell phone and internet service. Shades of Tiananmen Square. It's the worse chaos in Iran since the Mullahs took over in 1979. (We know how smoothly Jimmy Carter handled all that.)

Meanwhile, it's another case of "Dictator Envy", with North Korea's Kim Jong Il and his son, Lil' Kim, cranking up their threats and rhetoric ala, "Hey, we're crazy, too! Pay attention, Obama!"

All of the government meddling and bailouts in the USA mean nothing if national security is compromised through all of the world's nasty events. Keeping the homeland safe should be Job One, not social engineering, Pay Czars and unbridled American spending and debt.

Happy FLAG DAY! Too many forget this day.
Fly your American flag proudly!

NO MATTER...

...who wins the Iran election today, it'll be business as usual in that government. Sure, Ahmadinejad is full of incendiary rhetoric, but his "moderate" opposition is still controlled by the clerics. BTW: Iran has extended voting hour twice today. Sounds like America's elections in recent years, trying to change the result to achieve a desired result. Maybe they're awaiting last minute Florida votes, ready to analyze "dimpled chads" to determine "voter intent".

SAY WHAT?

The White House "experts"now stake their claim to determining who's-paid-what in business across America: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Administration-Rein-in-pay-apf-15500519.html?.v=6
Oh sure, they're mostly talking about keeping executive pay in line at companies dining at the national bailout trough... for now. But today's report that Obama advisors are looking in to other compensation is very disturbing. And dangerous. It's also none of Uncle Sam's business. And we'll now have a national "Pay Czar", too. Add this latest "interest" (aka "meddling") in private enterprise to the parade of other government power grabs in recent weeks... including trashing of contracts. Hugo Chavez must be proud.

We'll talk more about the economy (and then some) with Gov. Mitt Romney, tomorrow morning at 7:05 Pacific on 1170AM KCBQ and http://www.kcbq.com/

TILE FLAP UPDATE: There may have been some guidelines for the tiles placed at Sage Canyon school, but several participants didn't know about them.
There was, apparently, a blog noting tiles should reflect the curriculum. Fine, but again the people selling the tiles didn't make that clear. And my listener who's told her kids tile (with "Jesus" on it) has to come down even asked the powers that be if it was OK to do it. She was told it was fine. And again, other participants haven't followed the subtle guideline either. Stay tuned...

FOR THE CHILDREN

Sage Canyon School in San Diego County has a nice little fundraising program where parents pay $250 for a tile created by their kids. One family did this project using "Jesus" in the design. There were no specific guidelines for the creations and the design was even OK by the school-related sponsors. The tile was added to some 200 others and has been on display for months. That is until one parent complained and threatened legal action and "church-state" issues. The school says the tile has to come down, be replaced or the offending family can accept get their money back. We're checking into this and we'll keep you posted.

PAY NO ATTENTION TO WHAT'S REALLY...

...going on here.  It's more "do as I say, not as I do"... the President tells Congress if they spend a dollar they have to save a dollar.  As if he's following that advice.

NOW HE TELLS US

The President is now going to magically "create or save" 600,000 jobs this summer, with more "stimulous" spending. Of course it's impossible to verify which jobs are "saved", so he has cover. Today's bonus fun comes from the claim that a new national health care plan would be a swell way to create new jobs, too. Uh huh. Memories of the push earlier this year to OK the bailouts "or else" the economy would really tank.

WATCH LIVE VIDEO FRIDAY

FROM THE REAGAN RANCH CENTER in Santa Barbara: Watch our new KCBQ radio show 7-9AM Pacific tomorrow, plus the Reagan Roundtable luncheon I'm moderating I(featuring a guests including RR biographer Lou Cannon, longtime Secret Service agent John Barletta and others... including a visit from the legendary Jonathan Winters (yes, that Jonathan Winters). Catch more information and LIVE VIDEO STREAMING here: http://yaf.org/reaganranch/The_Reagan_Ranch_Center/roundtable-events.cfm

OBAMA'S SPEECH

Here's the full transcript: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2009/06/04/transcript-remarks-president-obama-cairo/

NEVER FORGET: Today is the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing. The incident, its secrets and what it tells us about modern day China.. all very important lessons for America: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE5520HD20090604

LARSON SHOW PODCASTS NOW READY

GET 'EM FOR FREE: Daily podcasts of our new KCBQ 1170AM talk show. Just click on "Larson On Demand" in the menu at right. Listen on demand or get the automatic podcast at no charge. Listen on your OWN schedule!

MAKING NICE

How will the President's attempt to warm to the Muslim world work? Time will tell how his big speech in Cairo plays.
We do have some indicators to consider, though. Despite making nice (or nicer, anyway) with prisoners at Gitmo, tensions are rising: www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/
ALeqM5guVbf_QIx56FAempFXMvRmp6hZZAD98J4R500
Maybe inmates are getting riled up due to Al Jazeera TV, something they get with their basic satellite television package in prison... just one of many perks.

I have no problem with the President reaching out to various faiths, but the Islamic efforts are disproportionate when considering his words and actions regarding, say, Christians and Jews.

WATER POLICE ON THE MOVE

Today marks new San Diego area mandatory water restrictions. Good luck sorting out all the details:
SAN DIEGO COUNTY RULES: http://sandiego.about.com/od/governmentcities/qt/water_tips.htm
SAN DIEGO CITY RESTRICTIONS: http://www.sandiego.gov/water/conservation/