Don't panic over slower economic growth. The mainstream media will probably try to discourage the public about the economy even more than usual today. The reason? Gross domestic product grew at only 1.3% in the first quarter, the slowest growth rate since early 2003. Should we panic? I say no. First of all, I wouldn't be surprised if the figure is soon revised upward, like it often is. Second, we saw similarly slow GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2005 (1.8%) but the economy came back strong the following quarter, growing at an impressive 5.6% rate in the first quarter of 2006. It takes more than one quarter to tell the tale. That is why economists define a recession as consisting of at least two consecutive quarters of economic shrinkage. As of now, the economy has been growing steadily for five-and-a-half years, yet the media has portrayed it as a weak economy. Remember this: the economy grows during war time. The recent troop surge in Iraq and higher government spending on the war is likely to keep the economy growing. Some economists are not predicting a recession this year; others say there is a one-in-three chance of a recession occurring soon. My advice: don't worry about a recession until it happens, and even when it does, try to go on living your normal lifestyle. That's the best defense we have as consumers against an economic downturn.

Two helpings of good news about the war on terror:

Story #1: A senior al-Qaida operative is captured.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8OP1BT80&show_article=1

Story #2: Saudi Arabia arrests 172 militants and foils an attack plot.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6599963.stm

Is Osama bin Laden still among the living? I know this question is asked often, and speculation about the al Qaeda leader's possible death has been common in the past. Still, bin Laden's recent silence does make me wonder. The last time we saw video of bin Laden was in 2004, and he did not look healthy. He released a few audio tapes in 2005, but experts say that his voice sounded weak on those tapes. Considering all of the things that have recently happened in Iraq and Afghanistan, you would think that bin Laden would be making more tapes (audio or video) to address these events to his followers. Instead, we only hear from his No. 2 man Ayman al-Zawahiri, or from people like the Taliban commander who has recently been interviewed by the Al Jazeera network.

This Taliban leader claims that Osama planned the alleged attack on Vice President Cheney in Afghanistan this past February, as well as the ongoing terrorist operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, there has never been evidence that bin Laden does any actual operational planning for al Qaeda. He is thought to be mainly a spiritual leader for the network, while actual planning for operations is conducted by his deputies. Also, there is no proof that the attack on the air base where Cheney was visiting was anything other than a coincidence. Al Qaeda did not claim that the attack was aimed at Cheney until the worldwide media had been reporting for hours about Cheney's presence at the base. The terror network probably had no prior knowledge of Cheney's visit.

Al Qaeda clearly wants to believe that bin Laden is alive, and they want the rest of the world to believe it as well. So, why won't Osama show his face, or at least his voice? There has been speculation that bin Laden died last summer in Pakistan from typhoid fever, but of course there is no confirmation that it is true.

It wouldn't be the first time that there was a three-year gap between bin Laden videos. After a pale-and-frail Osama appeared in a November 2001 video which was deemed demoralizing to his followers, he did not issue another video until October 2004, just before the U.S. presidential election. So it is possible that he is simply staying invisible for another three year period. But, again, it seems unlike him to be silent in times like these.

I'll paraphrase what President Bush said during that previous three-year gap between bin Laden videos. If Osama is still alive, we'll get him. If he's dead, then we got him.

Hooray! Rosie O'Donnell is leaving "The View". Here is the story:

http://finance.myway.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt.jsp?section=news&feed=ap&src=601&news_id=ap-d8onrtt80&date=20070425

I realize that this does not mean we have heard the last of Miss Ignorance. If anything, she'll probably get her own show and make more money. Still, it's nice to know that there will at least be some point in time in which I will not hear constant reports about the hateful comments that this woman makes on the air. You know, like the one about radical Christianity being just as threatening as radical Islam. What exactly is "radical Christianity", Rosie? Or, how about her suggestion that the recent hostage situation in Iran was just a conspiracy by British leaders who wanted to go to war with Iran? Or, how about her attempt to smear Kelly Ripa as a homophobe simply because Ripa did not want Clay Aiken to put his hand over her mouth?

It's amazing what nonsense Rosie can get away with, considering the whole flap over Don Imus.

Dow Jones passes 13,000; AP presents it as bad news. Gotta love this! The Dow Jones industrial average reached new record highs today, surpassing 13,000 for the first time ever. At one point during the day, it went just above 13,100. Great news for our ever-booming economy, right? Of course, the Associated Press says it's not good. Here is a sample of the AP's ability to spin an economic milestone as a bad thing:

It looks like a cause for celebration: The Dow Jones industrial average surged from 12,000 to 13,000 in just six months. But appearances can be deceiving, and there may be more reason to worry rather than rejoice about Wall Street's latest accomplishment.

Stronger-than-expected profits from several large companies helped push the stock market to historic heights. But many big corporations, including the Dow components, made a chunk of that money overseas, where economies are growing faster than in the U.S. And many of the same worries that weighed on investors earlier in the year remain: rising energy costs, a slumping housing market and a possible credit crunch.

Riiiight. Here's the real reason the AP is not happy about this: there is no Democrat in the White House to take credit for it. This also raises the bar for the Dow to reach a new record high the next time a Democrat is in the White House.

This type of reporting makes me feel even better when there is good economic news. A liberal's pain is my pleasure.