"The Bear Is Loose" 

We've been hearing that phrase a lot lately. White House staffers refer to Obama as "the Bear" when he is sneaking burgers behind Michelle's back or cutting loose on the campaign trail. Unfortunately, there is a very different bear loose on the international scene -- the Russian bear. 

The evidence is overwhelming that Russian forces or highly trained Moscow-aligned separatists in Ukraine shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. They have routinely shot down Ukrainian fighter jets and helicopters. 

Yesterday there were several ominous online messages posted by pro-Russian separatists. One claimed to have seized a Buk surface-to-air missile launcher. Another said they had just shot down a military transport. A third, posted around the time MH17 went down, said, "We warned you, do not fly in our sky." That last tweet was deleted once it became clear that it was not a military transport but a civilian jetliner that had been shot out of the sky. 

The Ukrainian government has also released what seems to be intercepted phone calls between Russian military officers and separatists in the area discussing the wreckage. 

Responding to initial reports yesterday, President Obama's first reaction was a brief 40-second statement in which he said, "It looks like it may be a terrible tragedy." May be a terrible tragedy? That much was obvious, even at that early stage. 

Ronald Reagan was dealt a similar situation in 1983. Here's how he responded to such an atrocity. 

No doubt many on the left and some on the right will say, "Well, what do you want to do? Go to war with Russia?" They have it backwards. Continued U.S. weakness makes war more likely. 

Far be it from me to offer advice to the White House, but here are a few suggestions: 

Stop sending pink slips to our veteran officers and announce that America is going to rebuild its military might and morale. 

Stop gutting the defense budget to get money for income redistribution schemes. 

A lot of Russians love to vacation in the United States. Cancel all visas until further notice. 

Call an emergency meeting with European leaders, apologize for canceling the missile defense system and announce that construction will begin immediately. 

Israel Moves Against Hamas 

Yesterday Israel launched a ground incursion into Gaza. Predictably the news coverage is becoming increasingly anti-Israel, spinning a narrative of "Big, bad Israel against the poor Palestinian people." 

Let's be clear about what is happening: This is not simply a ratcheting up of the "cycle of violence" by Israel. This ground action came in response to a Hamas terror attack against a Jewish community using underground tunnels. 

This is not Israel against the Palestinian people, but Israel against Hamas -- a terrorist entity that has vowed to destroy the Jewish state. 

Unfortunately, it must be noted that the Palestinian people voted for Hamas and a recent poll found that 60% of Palestinians say their main national goal for the next five years is "to work toward reclaiming all of historic Palestine from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea." Only 27% favor working toward a two-state solution. 

As happens in war, there are tragic events. A few days ago, four Palestinian boys were killed on a Gaza beach. Asked about that incident during an interview on CNBC, Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer said, "We regret the loss of any civilian lives. I have no doubt that Hamas was celebrating when these children were killed. …They want to use these terrible pictures of children being killed to generate pressure on Israel."

Not surprisingly, a number of commentators are now trying to turn Dermer's remarks into a controversy, but he is exactly right. Hamas is engaged in asymmetric warfare against Israel. It is using, as Alan Dershowitz put it, "a dead baby strategy." 

That is the nature of terrorists. They are murderous against their enemies and they take refuge behind civilians, like hiding rockets in U.N. schools. 

Israel routinely warns Palestinian civilians to leave targeted areas. Hamas tells them to go back in. As Prime Minister Netanyahu said, "We use missiles to defend our civilians. They use civilians to defend their missiles." 

Today Obama phoned Netanyahu to express his concern. The president reportedly told the prime minister, "The United States and our friends and allies are deeply concerned about the risks of further escalation and the loss of more innocent life." 

I'd like to think that the president would be concerned about terrorists tunneling under Israel's borders. Then again, he doesn't seem that concerned about thousands of illegal immigrants pouring across ours. 

Borders Matter 

It has been amusing to watch reporters discussing various international conflicts lately -- Ukraine and Russia, Iraq and ISIS, China and Vietnam, Israel and Gaza. The common denominator in every scenario is the importance of a geographical border.

Watching the talking heads fret over the borders of these distant lands, the thought occurred to me: "Rio Grande, anyone?" 

Obamacare: A Bad Deal 

Suppose some slick salesman pitched this deal to you: "I'll do less than half of the job for twice as much!" You'd laugh, then slam the door in his face, right?

Welcome to Obamacare. 

During the congressional debate over Obamacare in 2010, critics repeatedly warned that the government has a horrible track record of estimating entitlement costs. And when it comes to Obamacare, it's record remains intact. 

Our friends at The Weekly Standard noted this week that in March of 2010, the Obama Administration estimated that "Obamacare would cost $938 billion over a decade and would reduce the number of uninsured people by 19 million as of 2014." 

So, here we are four years later. How did Obamacare do? 

In February the government estimated that Obamacare would cost more than $2 trillion over ten years, while the number of uninsured Americans has been reduced by just 8 million. 

Less than half for twice as much. 

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