Noonan on bland affluence

Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal columnist, writes today describing a lifestyle she says will end and will be replaced by a non-affluent, down-to-earth, religious, smoking and drinking lifestyle. But the lifestyle she describes, the one she says is ending, characterized by Botox, face lifts, brow lifts, dyed hair for both women and men, thin hard bodies, gyms and personal trainers, is a lifestyle that never was except perhaps in New York, where Noonan lives and works, and among the very rich elsewhere. How many of us know people who have had Botox treatments, face lifts or brow lifts?

Noonan has a tendency to write about stuff she knows little about. Last week, she passed judgment on people who work on Wall Street, as if all were little Bernie Madoffs. She must come up with a column each week. Maybe she's running out of material.

Dealing with pirates

The Navy Seals deserve great credit for executing their assignment efficiently and effectively. In fact, everyone involved, including the Maersk Alabama's crew, the captive Captain Phillips, his family, the officers and crew of the U.S. destroyer Bainbridge and the other U.S. Naval ships on scene, behaved perfectly. What a relief.

There is much discussion now on television and in newspapers about what should come next. Everyone seems to agree that piracy must stop but there is little or no agreement on how to stop it. Some are suggesting that the Marines be sent into Somalia to clean out the mess there, but that seems unnecessary. Others are suggesting that ships plying the waters around Somalia carry armed guards to protect them against pirates, which seems obvious but insufficient.

Why not reward each act of piracy with an air attack on or shelling of the pirates' home ports? No U.S. personnel would be endangered and the message to pirates would be clear: Stop the piracy or lose your life. The bombing or shelling would need to be effective, and that would require intelligence about where the pirates are located. The U.S. likely has that intelligence now.

Surely, allowing the piracy to continue and paying ransom for return of the ships and crews should not be an option.

KNBC TV embarrasses itself over "first dog"

Hard news took a back seat last night to frivolous, gushing coverage of the Obama family's "first dog," which hasn't been chosen -- or if it has, the choice hasn't been announced. So what was newsworthy about the "first dog" story that KNBC TV aired last night? Nothing. Was airing the piece a political decision? Certainly.

LAT: Stevens guilty

The LAT today takes up the case of former Senator Ted Stevens and declares him guilty, though the Justice Department canceled the prosecution and conviction and the judge accused prosecutors of the worst mishandling and misconduct in 25 years. Stevens is guilty, the LAT suggests, even if he was railroaded. But how would they know if the trial wasn't fair?

The LAT seems to think that Stevens didn't deserve a fair trial. After all, he's a Republican from Alaska. That's two strikes against him, trial or no trial.

The LAT wasn't satisfied today with declaring Stevens guilty. They brought Sarah Palin into the mix too. She's a Republican from Alaska, which means she must be guilty of something. The LAT charges her with having an opinion and voicing it. She's guilty as charged.

Obama-Brown v Sarkosy-Merkel

Not long ago, the LAT was reporting that European countries were lined up against Bush and his policies. (Of course, the Brits' government never was. Tony Blair was called Bush's poodle.) Today, the LAT reports that Britain and the U.S. are opposed by Germany and France. It used to be Bush-Blair v Chirac-Schroder. Now it's Obama-Brown v Sarkosy-Merkel. What's changed? Only the names.

Anti-Bush protests no more

The LAT today chronicles the riots in London but no longer calls them "anti-Bush." Now they're "catchall" protests, "examples of the populist unrest sweeping Europe."

Republicans voting with Obama

Roughly half of House Republicans voted in favor of the punitive 90 percent tax on AIG bonuses. Many of them must have heard from their constituents because the number voting in favor of today's "Pay for Performance Act" totaled only 10. Michelle Malkin lists the 10 on her website but of particular importance to this old fool was the vote of Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, who represents parts of Orange County, California. Usually, Rohrabacher is a safe conservative vote. He has not explained either his vote in favor of the AIG 90-percent-of-bonus tax or today's vote, but needs to.