As IF Times

link ROYAL CAR ATTACK: Blunder left Camilla cowering after hit with stick by protestors | Mail Online.

According to Police reports, the royal security people were within ‘seconds’ of using their firearms to counter the rioters who had surrounded the limousine carrying the royal couple.  I have to say,  the Brits really are a different breed of people.  The stiff upper lip that the English are so  famous for seems to permeate all levels of their society.  Even the police, renowned for their trademark restraint outdid themselves here.  Some may recall that in the old days, they were to be armed only with a whistle and a truncheon.  Surely that would be enough to subdue any unruly ruffian.

In this particular incident, it was reported that Camilla was actually prodded by a stick thrust through one of the broken windows of the car.  Apparently, she had a momentary loss of decorum and let escape an almost-royal scream.  How undignified indeed.  Charles of course was deeply embarrassed by her shameful display of common behaviour and glared at her reproachfully. ” Camilla”, he sniffed,  “One does not scream in the presence of commoners.  One must behave as a Royal.”  The security team assigned to the protection of the royal couple were equally adamant that all was in hand.  They were monitoring the scene and despite the poking of Camilla by a stick, apparently, she was in no real danger.  A police commander reports, ” Should Lady Camilla have been ensconced in a full nelson, a  headlock or some other grapple hold, we would have been forced to respond”  It’s likely the first response would have been to blow a whistle loudly followed by harsh words.  Apparently, the unruly mob’s yelling of “OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!”, the breaking of the limo’s windows and tossing of paint all over the car didn’t quite come across as provocation or cause for alarm in the judgement of the bobbies on duty. 

Compare this to the recent trip by the American President to Spain wherein he was ferried about in the mammoth armor plated Presidential limo, an entourage of black Suburbans equipped with machine guns and rocket launchers and of course a phalanx of G-men with suspicious bulges under their suits.  The west have become such sissies.  I’ll bet you Camilla and Charles didn’t even bother with seat belts so required of those here in the west.  Heck, here in the west, we are afraid of everything.  Michelle Obama even thinks child obesity is a threat to national security.  Speaking of the First Lady, imagine if Michelle had been prodded by a stick through a broken window of a car carrying her: it’s doubtful that the Secret Service would have been just within seconds of using their firearms.  If so, there would be heads rolling like  bowling balls. 

The Brits may want to take this security thing a little more seriously.  The notion that it’s just kids who are exercising their lawful right to protest may be a bit naive.  I don’t recall that “Off with their heads” is a legitimate form of protest, but, I have been out of school for a while.  Things must have changed.

link RealClearPolitics – Video – Obama Ditches Tax Cut Presser, Bill Clinton Takes Control.

Ok hands up anyone who can imagine George W Bush being brought back to the Presidential podium to address the media and offer advice.  Anyone?  What a shock, no hands.

With each passing day and dramatic event, it appears as if the present administration has less and less control and grasp of what’s going on.  This should alarm everybody.  Without regard to any partisan bias, if one considers the big picture, it’s all unravelled astonishingly quickly.

It was only 2 years ago when this administration was swept into office on a wave of popular support on the theme of ” change”  wherein the Democrats wound up controlling both the House and the Senate in addition to the White House.  It was a complete three-fer.  The Republicans retreated to the status of backbenchers on the backlash of the unpopular George Bush.   The fawning liberal media were like 12 year old girls at a Justin Bieber concert and were breathlessly reporting every move and gesture of the new hero.  So big was the political victory that many were predicting the end of conservatives in America. 

In an almost unprecedented circumstance, the Dems had the opportunity to introduce and pass whatever legislation suited them since there was no legislative manoeuvre that the Republicans could use to stop them and most of the supposedly watchdog  media was on side.  And that’s just what happened,  the new universal health care plan was introduced and passed.  The plan to buy up GM and Chrysler, passed.  The plan to shovel money to overstretched banks , admittedly a Bush proposal  called TARP, passed.

But a funny thing happened on the way to one party government.  The public took notice.  It wasn’t the Republicans.  They were in ICU trying to rebuild a devastated party.  It wasn’t the skeptical media; for the most part, they were cheer-leading every move.  It soon became obvious that the new health program, dubbed Obamacare was not well thought out.  They couldn’t even explain it to people.  It was expensive.  Most damningly, some of the President’s own constituency, ie: unions,  who supported and fought to have it implemented were themselves excused from having to participate in it.

Suddenly, the roster of ideological issues that the Dems ran on all collapsed during implementation.  Gitmo didn’t close.  War in Afghanistan didn’t stop.  Terrorists were to be tried as civilians in NY despite widespread skepticism from regular people.  Global warming was exposed as fraudulent, so cap and trade died.  Nations such as Iran, N. Korea, Venezuela and China essentially thumbed their noses at U.S. foreign policy overtures.   Now, Wikileaks is outing dirty laundry and nobody seems to be able to stop them.  Most poignantly, unemployment remains high.    The dissatisfaction was most clearly manifested during the mid-term elections when the Democrats lost an historic number of House seats as well as being wounded in the Senate.  All of a sudden, the majority was gone.  So, apparently was the magic.  Even some notables within the party dared to voice critical complaints, something that would not have happened only a year ago.  Even the fawning press began offering some skeptical views. 

In this most comical political tactic anyone’s ever seen, they have now resuscitated Bill Clinton to sell the present tax deal…to Democrats!  Enough grumbling has swelled up among the ranks of the faithful, that they had to draw upon the “charisma” and wisdom of the old master to calm the waters.  The idea was to use the supposed capital Clinton had to sway the jittery faithful  What they fail to understand though, is that Bill had the support of a Republican congress when he was taking credit for all the good results.   They made him look good.  If the present administration weren’t so inept, they would have figured out that if the Dems had wanted Bill redux, they would have anointed Hilary as leader in the first place, not Barack.   There is no more clearer admission of ” I have no idea what to do”,  than to hand the microphone to Bill Clinton in order to run off to have dinner with the wife.  It was so painful, even Obama had to excuse himself.   It’s vaguely reminiscent of the time during Ronald Reagan’s tenure when he was shot and Alexander Haig stepped up and announced that he was now in charge.  

This event has to rate high on the list of incompetent things done by this President.  To leave Clinton unsupervised at a microphone in front of a helpless crowd is like telling Roman Polanski to watch your daughter while you go out.  It’s going to be pretty difficult to re-assert your authority once you’ve given it away to the experienced guy.   We will see incidents like the famous one when  Hilary was asked if her husband agreed with her on a policy issue.  To which she icily responded, “he is not the secretary of state, I am”.