Iran

by George Dienhart

Okay, CBS News is not quite as good a source as it was years ago (see Rathergate). In my defense, I found a report, via Drudge, that states the United States has sent a second Air Craft carrier to the Persian Gulf.

While significant, we have had a second carrier in the gulf many times. What is significant is this deployment has been confirmed as a warning to Iran. In fact, this appears to be part one of a two part final warning. Part 2 will be a letter from the State Department. Liberals will no doubt be warning us of a last gasp from a war mongering administration. The truth is Iran is a dangerous rogue nation that uses its Quds forces to attack Americans in Iran has stated numerous times that they would like to see Israel “wiped of the map”- and is now developing nuclear weapons. You know, the same nuclear weapons that can be used to wipe a nation of the map, say Israel, for example. To top it off the leadership of Iran believe that any nuclear retaliation against Iran will facilitate martyring Iranian citizens, which the Iranian government sees as a good thing.

This is behavior that would outrage the world, if it were not directed toward Israel; seemingly, good and logical people appear to lose their grasp on reality when confronting this problem. Most Europeans I have met believe Israel should stand on its own. If we had applied this way of thinking in the past, a map of Europe would be drastically different- I’m looking at you, France.

Regardless of the extreme left believes Iran is a problem that needs to be handled. Before millions of people die.

No recession- where is the MSM?

by George Dienhart

Just found this at the Politico website:

BREAKING NEWS - NO OFFICIAL RECESSION: 'WASHINGTON (AP) - The bruised
economy limped through the first quarter of this year at a six-tenths of
a percentage point growth rate as housing and credit problems forced
people and businesses alike to hunker down. The country's economic
growth during January through March was the same as in the final three
months of last year, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday - but
not the kind of statistic that economists define as a recession.
Although the economy is stuck in a rut, it is still managing to keep
growing - however slightly.'

Therefore, this settles it- no recession now. We will not know if there
is even a recession until after the election. The definition of
recession:

A recession is a decline in a country's real gross domestic product
(GDP), or negative real economic growth, for two or more successive
quarters of a year.

Notice today's report is for the first quarter. We will not get two more
quarters of growth until after the elections.

The real story here is that the economy continued to grow- even with the
decline of the housing and credit markets.

That is good news; we will see how the left spins it.

Give my regards to Broad Street...

by George Dienhart

Well not that Broad Street (I never liked McCartney that much anyway). I’m talking about Broad Street in Atlanta. I received this from the Georgia Public Policy Foundation today:

Media Advisory

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 30, 2008
Contact Benita Dodd (404) 256-4050

DOT Commissioner Abraham Keynotes 'State
Of the State DOT,' a Policy Briefing Luncheon

Atlanta - Funding challenges, inefficiency, bureaucracy and mismanagement: For Dr. Gena Abraham, who took the reins as Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Transportation amid controversy just four months ago, it's the second time around dealing with a government agency that "needs improvement."

The Georgia Department of Transportation's 14th Commissioner and the first woman to hold the state's top transportation post is tasked with overseeing 5,800 employees statewide, more than 9,000 projects and an annual budget of more than $2 billion. Georgia's transportation woes have brought the Department under close scrutiny of the Legislature, the Governor, Georgia's taxpayers and soon, judging by the headlines, the federal government.

Register for the Georgia Public Policy Foundation's noon Policy Briefing Luncheon on Tuesday, May 13, at Atlanta's Commerce Club to hear Commissioner Abraham talk about "The State of the State DOT."

Dr. Abraham became Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Transportation in December 2007. Before that, she was appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue in February 2006 as State Property Officer and has served as the Executive Secretary and the Director of the Construction Division of the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission (GSFIC) since June 2003. Previously, she was an Assistant Professor of Construction Engineering and Management in the Civil Engineering Department at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Dr. Abraham has also served as Chief Engineer for the Georgia Building Authority. Before joining state government she managed construction across the nation for LaSalle Partners. Dr. Abraham serves on several boards including as Chair of the Georgia Land Conservation Council, Secretary and Treasurer of the Sapelo Island Heritage Authority, and a member of the MARTA Board, State Board of Equalization and the Capital Asset Management Advisory Council. She holds a bachelor's degree and doctorate in Civil Engineering from Georgia Tech.

Friday, May 9, is the deadline to register for "The State of the State DOT" with Commissioner Abraham. This luncheon is $30 for Foundation members/guests, $40 for non-members. Reserve your seat online at the Foundation's Web site or by calling 404-256-4050. The Commerce Club is located at 34 Broad Street, Atlanta.

Media interested in attending this event please contact Benita Dodd at benitadodd@gppf.org or 404-256-4050.
The Commerce Club is located at 34 Broad Street, Atlanta.
Directions: http://www.thecommerceclub.org/location.html

I’ll continue to focus on Transportation issues- this seems to be a good opportunity for everyone to focus on such issues, even if only for one day.