Tuesday, March 31, 2015

The Sheriff Hunkers Down...and more political news

Update

Tuesday was so nice, 60 degrees and sunny, that we took the afternoon off and a long drive to Reedsburg and the Carr Valley, perhaps the best scenic drive we have found in Wisconsin. Thus I didn't get through the email, so shorter post. Sorry. But not too sorry. ~Bob

Random Thoughts for April, 2015. By Robert A. Hall
Feel free to post or forward.


General News and Comment

Hoping it will just go away: Sheriff, regulators, Justice Bradley still silent on ethics complaint. By M.D. Kittle
Excerpt: Robert Hall, one of the few vocal conservatives standing in the liberal bastion that is Dane County, filed the complaint with Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell alleging that Mahoney violated the county’s general ordinances on impermissible use of public office. The ordinance prohibits the use of county-owned vehicles and uniforms, among other things, for political activity. Hall said he isn’t hopeful the ethics board will do anything with his complaint before next week’s Supreme Court election, pitting Bradley, a member of court’s liberal wing, against Rock County Circuit Court Judge James Daley. “It seemed to me that the sheriff and probably Justice Bradley broke the law,” said Hall, a conservative blogger who served five terms in the Massachusetts state Senate. “Liberals clearly believe that it is acceptable, in fact virtuous, to bend, ignore or break the rules and laws as long as it is in behalf of the high good of the progressive agenda,” Hall said. “The ‘higher good’ of course includes getting liberals appointed or elected to public office where they can enjoy the power, perks and pelf that those who dedicate their lives to the progressive agenda clearly deserve.” (Most of the media are ignoring this, of course. Clearly Bradley and Mahoney are hoping to hunker down, use the illegal ad through the election, and then, at most, apologize, pleading ignorance of the law. What else can they plead; "We didn't think the law applied to us?" If a Dane County Sheriff's Deputy appeared in uniform with his patrol car in an ad for a conservative candidate, you can bet the roof would fall in on that unfortunate person. ~Bob)

Worth Reading: Obama’s Chicago Presidency. What you can do if you don’t care what anybody says. By Victor Davis Hanson
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/416199/obamas-chicago-presidency-victor-davis-hanson
Excerpt: Senator Robert Menendez (D., N.J.) was a vocal critic both of President Obama’s executive-action opening to Cuba and his nuclear non-proliferation talks with Iran. In the midst of his loud opposition, he found himself suddenly the target of renewed federal charges that had aired much earlier without consequence. I think the message was not that the administration was worried over appearances, but rather that it wished to remind all of Washington that it actually welcomed the appearance of not being worried over the idea of federal prosecutorial power being used for tit-for-tat vendettas. Malice is a valuable political tool for Barack Obama.

Hypocrisy Alert: That Time Sen. Clinton Said The Bush Administration Might Have ‘Something To Hide’ By Refusing To Turn Over Documents. By Matt Vespa
Excerpt: This is all the more interesting given that then-Sen. Hillary Clinton criticized the Bush administration in October of 2003 for refusing to turn over documents to the 9/11 Commission chaired by former New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean.

The Fact-Free Meltdown Over Indiana's New Religious Freedom Law. By Guy Benson 
Excerpt: In fact, Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) very closely mirrors a federal law cosponsored by Congressional liberals and signed by President Clinton in the early 1990s. It is also extremely similar to laws enacted in 19 other states over recent decades. That list of red and blue states includes Illinois, where then-state Senator Barack Obama cast his vote in favor of the legislation, which may help explain why some Democrats are struggling to logically defend their table-pounding over Indiana's law. In short, the Hoosier State's RFRA isn't remarkable or radical under any fair reading. 

Who Trashes Liberal Arts? By Thomas Sowell
Excerpt: Liberal professors have trashed the liberal arts, by converting so many liberal arts courses into indoctrination centers for left-wing causes and fads, instead of courses where students learn how to weigh conflicting views of the world for themselves. Now a professor of English, one of the most fad-ridden of the liberal arts today, blames conservative critics for the low esteem in which liberal arts are held.
Surely a professor of English cannot be unaware of how English departments, especially, have become hotbeds of self-indulgent, trendy fads such as trashing classic writings -- using Shakespeare's works as just another ideological playground for romping through with the current mantra of "race, class and gender."

If Liberals Are The Good Guys, Why Do They Lie So Much? By John Hawkins 
Excerpt: If you listen to liberals, you’d believe that conservatives are hateful, racist, cruel, selfish dishonest, mean-spirited fascists while liberals are compassionate, caring, open-minded, honest and giving saints who want the best for everyone.
If that’s true, then why is it that liberals have to incessantly lie about what they’re doing, what’s happening in the world and also lie about conservatives?

Muscle: Beijing rebuffs Taiwan's infrastructure bank application
Excerpt: China signalled on Tuesday that Taiwan would not be allowed to join the Beijing-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which is seen as a counterweight to the Washington-based World Bank. "As for Taiwan joining [the AIIB], we maintain that we should avoid the 'two Chinas' and 'one China, one Taiwan' situation," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular briefing. Taiwan will present a letter of intent to the AIIB preparatory committee, the presidential office in Taipei said Monday following a national security meeting chaired by Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou.

Obama's Transparency: Access denied: Reporters say federal officials, data increasingly off limits
Excerpt: Tensions between reporters and public information officers — “hacks and flacks” in the vernacular — aren’t new, of course. Reporters have always wanted more information than government officials have been willing or able to give. But journalists say the lid has grown tighter under the Obama administration, whose chief executive promised in 2009 to bring “an unprecedented level of openness” to the federal government.

Hotel for Michelle O’s Cambodia Visit Cost $242,500. Two-day stay required 85 rooms
Excerpt: Hotel accommodations for First Lady Michelle Obama’s two-day trip to Cambodia required 85 rooms and cost taxpayers $242,500, according to a government contract released Friday....The trip required 85 single rooms, five office suites, five sleeping suites, and one conference room for 14 nights. Mrs. Obama herself only stayed in Cambodia for two days, leaving on March 22. The Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra is listed as a luxury five-star hotel. (Think of the airfare and CO2 emissions for this entourage for one person .... FLOTUS should decrease her CO2 footprint; according to the Shoe Lady, Michelle is--get this--a size 12! --Barb)

Report Accuses Hillary Adviser Who Ran Intel Service Of Illegally Lobbying For Vladimir Putin Ally
Excerpt: According to a Gawker report, Sidney Blumenthal, the top Clinton confidant, and “another former official from Bill Clinton’s administration were secretly lobbying the secretary of state on behalf of a billionaire in the former Soviet state of Georgia who was seeking closer ties with Putin’s Russia—seemingly in violation of a federal law designed to prevent foreign powers from covertly wielding influence within the United States.”... As Gawker notes, Kornblum “was a lobbyist for a pro-Putin politician who was exploiting a connection to the secretary of state,” and “the memo clearly constitutes evidence that Kornblum sought to influence U.S. policy on behalf of a foreign political leader, and that he enlisted Blumenthal for help in that project.” ... Justice Department spokesman Brian Fallon, who will become Hillary Clinton’s press secretary in April, reportedly did not respond about whether the Department would investigate the matter–“the maximum penalty for willfully violating FARA is up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.”

Good Column: But Why? The End. By Andy Weddington
Excerpt: In 1989 two of my childhood friends and schoolmates (I don't believe they knew each other) committed suicide.

REMINDER: The Ted Kennedy Shrine Cost Taxpayers $38 Million
Excerpt: On top of an $18.9 million Defense Department grant doled out in Sept. 2010, the Institute received $13.6 million from the Department of Education, according. In the 2009 federal budget, another $5.8 million was appropriated through the Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services..... As a senator in 2010, current Sec. of State John Kerry waged an unsuccessful attempt to earmark another $28.9 million for the museum, columnist John Fund wrote on Monday.

Obama’s 2010 Economic Estimate For 2014 Off By $1 Trillion
The U.S. economy produced $1 trillion less in 2014 than President Barack Obama promised in his February 2010 financial plan....It highlights the huge gap between Obama’s promise that his progressive, big-government economic policies would jump-start the economy, and the hard reality of America’s complex society and economy....Since 2009, the U.S. population has grown from 305 million to 321 million, including 11 million illegals.

O’Malley: Presidency Isn’t ‘Some Crown To Be Passed Between Two Families’ [VIDEO]
Excerpt: O’MALLEY: Well, I think our country always benefits from new leadership and new perspectives. Let’s be honest here, the presidency of the United States is not some crown to be passed between two families. It is an awesome and sacred trust that is to be earned and exercised on behalf of the American people.

The Real Reason For Partisan Gridlock: Democracy Is Falling Apart
Excerpt: One is the lockstep connection between statism and sexual freedom; the second is that political systems that go from emphasizing liberty to emphasizing equality end up attacking their own civil societies. A third is that democracies have been sleep-walking into a political trap of their own making. Given that democracy was embraced by “the people” to safeguard freedom from oppressive government, how do we explain that everywhere we look we see more democracy, but less freedom? 

Gun News

POLICE: Liquor store clerk shoots attempted robber in Jeffersontown
Excerpt: According to police, when the attempted robber pointed his gun at the clerk, the clerk shot him in the chest.

Homeowner, burglars exchange gunfire in attempted Garland home invasion, one shot
Excerpt: “When officers arrived, they were told several men had come inside the home to rob them,” stated Garland Police Department Public Information Officer Joe Harn. “During the attempted robbery, shots were exchanged between the robbers and the homeowner.” No injuries were reported for the individuals who live in the home but police say one of the burglars had been shot. 

Suspected Robber Run Over in Possible Robbery Gone Wrong
Excerpt: Three men who allegedly attempted to rob another man during a business transaction Saturday in Southern California ended up with more than they bargained for when two of the men were shot and one of them was ran over by his alleged accomplice, police said.

One dead in west Macon shooting
Excerpt: According to a Bibb County Sheriff's Office news release, 20-year-old Drevon McLaurin called 911 at about 6:20 a.m. stating that an intruder was in his home attacking him with a hammer, the sheriff said. During the struggle, McLaurin, who called 911, shot Brown, the attacker, killing him, Davis said.

Obamacare/Government Healthcare News

Excerpt: The headline of the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) damning assessment of the fiscal damage done by H.R. 2 — the so-called Medicare doc fix negotiated secretly by House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi — is that the deal will add $141 billion to the deficit over the next ten years. Even this appalling outcome is sugarcoated. After unpacking the gimmicks underlying the estimate, the actual result is much worse. First, the worst gimmick: The bill increases spending on the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) by almost $40 billion. Yet, the CBO only includes less than $6 billion in its estimate of the bill’s costs. How did over $34 billion of CHIP spending simply vanish into thin air? Easily! Much of it was already in the baseline.

"You're Greener than Gore" News

US offer for climate treaty: Up to 28 percent emissions cut
Excerpt: The U.S. plans to announce its commitment Tuesday, the informal deadline for nations to submit their contributions to the United Nations. Although the goal of 26 percent to 28 percent by 2025 isn't new — President Barack Obama first unveiled it last year during a trip to Beijing — the U.S. proposal has drawn intense interest from the vast majority of countries that have yet to announce how deeply they'll pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions as part of the treaty.... In contrast, the U.S. is expected to point broadly to the steps it is taking under the climate action plan Obama announced in 2013, such as new rules requiring sweeping cuts from new and existing power plants, stricter emissions limits for cars and trucks, and initiatives targeting specific greenhouse gases like methane and hydrofluorocarbons. (And if they massively decrease the population exhaling all that CO2, and wipe out the animals as well, they can have a nice, barren planet with deserts like the Middle East and Africa; plants live on CO2 and convert it to O2; something often forgotten, it seems. The Regime could probably reach goal rapidly if POTUS and FLOTUS would stay in the White House (Yes, it is White House and not People's House, which sounds Communist.) Just think of all the CO2 emissions from those two between Air Force One and separate jets. Nobody asked the US population about "contribution." This sets up command economic system to the detriment of supply and demand/capitalism. Article notes EU already committed to UN with a cap-and-trade system US rejected. Socialism dictates so much more readily than Capitalism with all that "interference" when others want to be heard and not dictated to.....Barb)

Religion of Peace News


Worth Reading: Saudi-Arabia Goes to Battle: The US-Iran Strategy Under Pressure. By Dr. Josef Olmert 
Excerpt: The issue at stake is Sunnis vs. Shi'ites, the Iranian nuclear program and the impending agreement with the US and its allies is the great shadow hovering over it all, and the pawns on the ground are the various Shi'ite militias operated by Iran in Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. The same with the Sunni forces fighting them. On the ground, the immediate loser is the US, which lost its intelligence infrastructure in Yemen, as well as the large arms shipments to the Yemeni army. But the American loss is more than just that. It is developing into a strategic debacle, as not one of America's allies in the Middle East has any clue where the US is heading to. (Note that this is from Huffington Post, not exactly what I’d call a right-wing media source. Also note that the excerpt is from the third paragraph of the article, not the eye-catching lead. If I was in the administration or DOD and read this, I’d be shaken; if HuffPo is questioning you, how many liberals can there be left to support you? Ron P.)

Important: Pakistani defense chief due in Riyadh, airlifts troops for Saudi Yemen war. Aden landings imminent
Excerpt: DEBKAfile’s Intelligence sources report that the Pakistani army is preparing to airlift a large force of several brigades up to a complete division to Saudi Arabia. Our military sources note that Pakistan’s decision to intervene in the war against “Shiite Muslim Houthi rebels” presages the Yemen conflict’s expansion to ground and sea operations after four days of heavy Saudi air raids. The Pakistani brigades would relieve the substantial Saudi ground forces strung out along the kingdom’s 1,000-kilometer-long southern border with Yemen, and free them up for action against the Houthis. (Well, if the US is no longer the power that defends the Saudi oil fields, then the petrodollar agreement is DEAD! But without that agreement, the dollar is no longer propped up by anything:
Analysts insist that the reason for the dollar's decline is the Fed's announced rate hike. But if the props have just been kicked out from under the dollar, isn't that the more likely reason? Could it be that the Fed is raising rates only to hide the real reason? If my guess is correct, the dollar will not recover after the rate hike goes into effect -- barring unforeseen circumstances. Let us hope and pray for unforeseen circumstances. --Don Hank)

Worth Reading: Etiquette Versus Annihilation. By Thomas Sowell
Excerpt: Recent statements from United Nations officials, that Iran is already blocking their existing efforts to keep track of what is going on in their nuclear program, should tell anyone who does not already know it that any agreement with Iran will be utterly worthless in practice. It doesn’t matter what the terms of the agreement are, if Iran can cheat. It is amazing – indeed, staggering – that so few Americans are talking about what it would mean for the world’s biggest sponsor of international terrorism, Iran, to have nuclear bombs, and to be developing intercontinental missiles that can deliver them far beyond the Middle East.


Defense Official: Iran Giving Hezbollah Guided Warheads
Excerpt: Col. Aviram Hasson of the Israeli Defense Ministry's missile defenseprogram says that Iran is placing guided warheads on its rockets and smuggling them to Hezbollah. He gave the warning while speaking at the Israel Air and Missile Defense Conference in Herzliya, and added that Hezbollah "is in a very different place compared to the Second Lebanon War in 2006."

Iran's Basij Commander: Israel Must Be Wiped Off the Map. Even as talks over Iran's nuclear program proceed, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi issues vile statement.
Excerpt: As talks over Iran's nuclear weapons program neared their deadline Tuesday, the Commander of Iran’s Basij (volunteer) Force, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, was quoted as saying that “wiping Israel off the map is not up for negotiation.” In a basij conference in Iran, Naqdi also threatened Saudi Arabia and said that the counterattack it is waging in Yemen, against Iran-backed Houthis, “will end up like Saddam Hussein.” The report was carried on Kol Yisrael radio.

Excerpt: “And they believe, and some US members of Congress believe, that the reason Saudi Arabia and other states didn’t tell the US that it was going to launch this war against Shi’ite backed, or Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen, is because Saudi Arabia and other countries simply don’t trust the United States anymore, don’t trust this administration — think the administration is working to befriend Iran to try and make a deal in Switzerland, and therefore didn’t feel that the intelligence frankly would be secure. “I think that is a situation that is quite troubling for US foreign policy, where traditional allies — like Saudi Arabia, like Egypt, like the United Arab Emirates — don’t know if the US is reliable at this stage to hold onto sensitive information when it comes to Iran.” Iran has been conspicuous as the most aggressive enemy of the United States and our allies for decades. (Look what recently happened to Israel, with leaking of their nuclear program by Regime after election and their political rigging failed. Now they're telling Bashad in Syria he "has to go" a la Libya. So who is cutting whose proverbial throat? --Barb)

Liberal says Americans Joining ISIS is No Big Deal
Excerpt: I have officially heard it all. I really have. Now that former Clinton Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, has given his opinion on the influx of Westerners (particularly Americans) into the ranks of ISIS… I have truly heard it all. From liberals, that is.

Dozens killed in airstrike at refugee camp in Yemen
Excerpt: An airstrike killed dozens of people Monday at a camp for displaced people in northern Yemen, in what appeared to be the single deadliest attack since a Saudi ­Arabia-led coalition sent warplanes to target Shiite insurgents advancing across the country. As many as 40 people died and about 200 were wounded in the attack on the Mazraq camp in Hajjah province, said Joel Millman, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration, which runs aid programs at the facility.

'Anonymous' Threatens 'Electronic Holocaust'
Excerpt: Cyber-terror group Anonymous has issued new threats against Israel and Jews on Tuesday - this time, calling for an "Electronic Holocaust" in a video statement, according to the Daily Mail. The clip features a masked individual behind a news desk, reading a prepared script declaring a massive cyber attack on April 7 - one week before Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel. The clip then presents the threats like a news report, calling Palestinian Arab terrorists "a symbol of freedom."

New Daily Show Host's Tweets on Israel, Jews Cause Alarm
Trevor Noah, the newly-named replacement for Jon Stewart on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, is still an unknown quantity to many Americans. Curious fans and critics, eager to learn more about the South African comedian, have been combing the Internet for clues, and have turned up troubling comments about Israel and Jews that have some wondering if the new host will, like Stewart (Leibowitz), take to hiding his Jewish-sounding name to avoid controversy. ... Third: Noah’s repertoire largely consists of racial humor. (The "joke" I heard, he used race against police, reinforcing comments/agenda by DeBlasio, Holder, Obama. More black militantism crammed down throat by media just as LGBT agenda currently is. Read a book, a real book. --Barb)

Op-Ed: The Saudis Should Break Iran’s Weakest Link: Assad. Why the Sunnis best course of action is to militarily harass and degrade the Houthis and Saleh by blocking Iran’s air and sea resupply of the Houthis, while liquidating Iran’s Assad on the ground.
Excerpt: The Sunni Arab world has finally congealed against the waxing Persian/Iranian menace. Iran has exploited its false Shiite Muslim veneer to enslave the entire Sunni and Shiite Arab world. In response to a blatant Iran coup, Saudi Arabia has commenced bombing Shiite Houthi strongholds throughout Yemen. Egypt has tasked 4 warships to regain control of the Yemeni side Mandab Straits. But, what next? A southward Saudi ground war against the Houthis where northwest Yemen is just one huge mountain range is, at best, a long war. The Saudis will have to fight up mountains 3,666 meters high. Five and half years ago, the Houthis started a border war against the Saudis, and the fighting was brutal. Even with Yemeni Army help, and Jordanian commandos, after several hard months of fighting over only a 500-meter high mountain, the Saudis lost 133 soldiers. (Here is a writer who has spent a lot of time and effort in the Middle East, and has a really different viewpoint. I have no idea if these ideas of his would work, but he sure makes an interesting case. Still, in the Middle East, I don't think anyone can predict exactly who will do what, when, and how it will turn out. It is one enormously complicated, convoluted region with so many plots, subplots, and sub-subplots that I don't think any mere human can figure it out. But it is a possibly dangerous region, things that go badly there can in the long run have effects in far distant lands. --Del)

*****
Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam Veteran who served five terms in the Massachusetts State Senate. He is the author of The Coming Collapse of the American Republic. http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Collapse-American-Republic-prevent/dp/1461122538/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1304815980&sr=1-5 For a free PDF of Collapse, e-mail him at tartanmarine(at)gmail.com. Hall’s eleven books are listed here:

Random Thoughts for April, 2015.

Random Thoughts for April, 2015. By Robert A. Hall

If John Boehner or Mitch McConnell were chanting, 'Death to Obama, Death to Democrats" maybe Obama would be eager to negotiate with them.

The nuke deal with Iran keeps getting worse. If the Mullahs hold out another of couple of weeks, Obama will give them some of our bombs.

I'm beginning to think Hillary may not be the Democrat nominee in 2016.

But Hillary was smarter than Nixon. He erased 18.5 minutes of tape. She erased everything. Nixon probably would have survived if he said, "Well, we taped to double check afterwards, but we didn't keep them. That would be wrong."

We are being overwhelmed externally by China, Russia and Militant Islam (all of which, like a rabid predator, can smell weakness and fear), and internally by cultural collapse, illegal immigration and the un-payable debt and unfunded liabilities. These problems existed before Obama, but he tore down the defenses. It is hard to see how the country can recover, regardless of who is elected president in 2016. Adam Smith famously said, "There's a lot of ruin in a country" when told that the American Revolution had ruined Britain. We will see how much there is in America.

They say Rome wasn't built in a day. It's also true that Rome (and Constantinople, capital of the Easter Roman empire) didn't fall in a day. It took centuries of internal rot and relentless pressure from external enemies. But things move faster in our age.

Obama says the "Death to America" chant in Iran is "for domestic political consumption." Suppose a candidate for President called for "Death to Iran" or "Death to Muslims" for "domestic political consumption." Think it would make the news? I say "Death to anyone who calls for Death to America." Does that make me Islamophobic?

Actually, I understand that Obama has been tough in the deal with Iran. From now on, they will only be allowed to chant: "Serious head injury and coma for America!"

See if I have this right. Iran's leader says "Death to America, death to Israel" and it's no big deal. Israel's leader says he won't agree to a two state solution (because the one state wants to destroy Israel). It's an outrage against peace. Go figure.

I actually think things look brighter. Oh, not for the country or the world, just around me since my cataract surgeries.

Marchers in Madison have paraded to the capitol building to protest a Madison cop shooting a black man. Of course, the city and mayor, not the state and governor, control the police department. But it's a very liberal mayor, liberal city council and liberal police force. More fun protesting the state and Governor Walker even if they have nothing to do with it.

Obama has quite the legacy. Iraq was quiet, now a violent hell hole. Same for Libya. The ISIS "JV team" is murdering thousands. Iran, a state sponsor of terrorism, is much closer to getting a nuclear bomb. our former allies Egypt and Israel have been alienated, China is moving to dominate its neighbors, while "flexibility" and the reset with Russia has led to the conquest of parts of the Ukraine (and they are eying the Baltic Republics). And Obama says the world is safer than it's been in years. Meanwhile at home, there is the IRS scandal, the fast and furious scandal, the Benghazi scandal, the debt that he called "unpatriotic" under Bush has doubled, illegal aliens are flooding the system threatening economic collapse, Obama has been caught in lie after lie about Obamacare (which adds to the looming fiscal disaster), about Benghazi, about transparency and about being against gay marriage in 2008. I can't think of another president with half that legacy.

Spring is God's way of telling us not to give up.

If you are running for public office, DO NOT compare the opposition to Hitler, Nazis, Terrorists, ISIS, Jack the Ripper, or any group or person associated with murder. If your opponent was that bad, you'd already be dead.

It's not that Obama refuses to take the gloves off to fight terrorism. It's that as a metro-sexual, his hands are so soft you cannot tell that he doesn't have kid gloves on.

Making a Nuke deal with Iran is like the peace treaty Stalin made with Hitler. Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa as soon as he thought it was a good idea. You can feed a tiger breakfast and it will agree not to eat you--until lunch.

Stupid and incompetent are not they same thing, though they often come bundled in the same person.

Liberals want a reasonable two-stare solution for Palestine.

If Asians or Whites dominate pro sports as blacks do, you can bet that Al Sharpton, Jessie Jackson, Eric Holder, et al would be screaming racism, disparate impact, etc.. And the media would back them.

As readers know, I'm not worried about gay marriage. I think a far bigger threat is straights having kids and not getting married. But if I was planning a gay wedding, I wouldn't go to a baker who was opposed to gay marriage on religious or philosophical grounds. They might add a pint of pee to the recipe.

Talk about unsung public servants; I doubt anyone in DC has worked half as hard over the past six years as the Obama vacation coordinator.

I suppose I'm cruel, but I hope that all the politicians who were desperate to appease Iran are in the first American city nuked by an Iranian-supplied terrorist A-bomb. I suspect they will hit us at the same time they take out Tel Aviv.

I fear that the Supreme Court is going to rule in favor of Obamacare to prevent the disruption of over turning it, hastening the coming fiscal collapse--and exploding the myth that we are a government of laws, not of men.

I think we will never know what was in many of Hillary's emails, unless Russia, China or Iran releases their copies to us.

If Hispanic immigrants voted Republican, there would be 50,000 Democrat union workers building a wall across the southern border at this minute.

When the present location of NYC is a smoking nuclear ruin, Obama will be able to say he really did fundamentally transform America. Unless he's there making a speech for $200k at the time of the "transformation."

I believe in protecting the environment. And one of the most important things in a good environment is good jobs for average people so they can provide food, shelter, clothing and heat for their families at reasonable costs. Anything that distracts from this degrades the environment.

If sanctions don't work, why does Iran want a deal to lift them?  Why not tell us to buzz off and going on with no restrictions? Not that they will keep the deal as soon as it become inconvenient for them.

I read that Putin has "taken personal charge" of the investigation of the murder of a political opponent. He learned that from the Obama Administration, which has investigated itself many times, without finding a "smidgen of corruption."

I acquire books like a ship acquires barnacles. Unfortunately, I don't acquire the time to read them.

With now 25 right-to-work states, they should go on sucking jobs out of deep blue states, reducing both progressive and union power, plus blue state revenue.

All you need to know about Obama is that he's willing to work with and trust Iran, but not Congress.

Why are progressives for "peaceful nuclear power" in Iran, but against it in the US? Maybe because opposing it at home helps Iranian oil exports so they can fund terrorism.

Yes I have back problems...the worst is getting through back email.

There is no finer example of the concept of "tough love" than Marine Corps boot camp.

Next it will be not only racist to disagree with any Obama action or policy, it will be Islamophobic.

Hillary: "I will give up my email when they pry Bill's cold, dead hands off my server."

I notice that the DOJ, headed by Eric "Racism Under Every Bed" Holder has found that the FPD was racist, but exonerated Officer Darren Wilson and reported that the "Hands Up Don't Shoot" narrative was a lie. Will the celebs, athletes and politicians who used that meme apologize? Not likely--being a liberal means never having to say you're sorry.

If Hillary is the Democrat nominee, Sexism will be the new Racism, the all-purpose accusation of the left in response to any disagreement with or criticism of her.

Hillary says it's time for a woman president, thus making plumbing more important than policy.

Democrats say it would be good for Billary to have a Democrat opponent, because she is rusty. They may be right. In 1972, one of the errors my opponent, Sen. Joe Ward made was to put a guy in the GOP Primary against me, to drain my limited funds and efforts. He was so out of it, he didn't know he was being used. Called me to ask me to withdraw, but couldn't name the towns in the district. His uncle had a restaurant where the Ward held his victory parties, had the lottery claims license for Leominister, had lost a car in a mysterious explosion. I ignored him, concentrated on the Ward. When I crushed the ringer in the GOP primary, it gave me credibility in the media and with voters as a serious candidate.

I would like to be wealthy enough to replace the Koch brothers as the liberal boogeyman.

Obama: Alienating allies and enabling enemies.

Never mind "Big Money." Let's get "Big Liars" out of politics. Yes, you know who I'm thinking of.

If you pour Scotch on a wound, it kills germs. Stands to reason it performs the same service internally.

My wife likes The Tree House Master program, wherein rich folks with money to burn have expensive--but cool--tree houses built. I think there might be a possible spinoff for poorer, more rural folks. Announcing: The Outhouse Master. (Yes, Marines, I know what I should have called it.)

"Low" doesn't mean "No." Products that advertise they are low in salt or sugar often have quite a lot, just less than the brands regular products. many advertisers are like barnyard roosters loosed in a field of capons. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

MSNBC has BO Breath.

Ignorance is one thing. Willfully wallowing in it is another.

Afghanistan. Once a "war of necessity--a war we must win" according to BO, it is now the future home of the next ISIS province. You read it here first.

I notice that when blacks kill anyone, the media tries not to identify their race. But if a white person kills a black....

You have to say this for ISIS--there's a lot of opportunity for advancement, given that their leaders keep getting killed.

Most liberals never get the taste of Kool-Aid out of their mouths.

For the Left, lies are not only acceptable, but a positive good, as long as they support the "Greater Truth" of the Progressive Narrative.

The founder unaccountable left out of the Constitution the part that allows the President to legislate instead of Congress if the Congress doesn't agree with his.

I fear that Net Neutrality is going to make us long for the days of Internet dial-up.

When Obama took office, Iran was listed as the leading state sponsor of terrorism. Now they aren't on the list at all. Progress? No, they act the same--he just took them off the list to make his nuke deal look better.

The Left's favorite debating technique--silence the opposition.

The best part of Obama's drone war is that he's a liberal, thus gets a pass from the left and the media over all the collateral damage. They'd eviscerate a Republican for these deaths.

Is March Madness over yet? Must be about the 68th year in a row I didn't make up a bracket.

If the media had been with Nixon the way they are with Obama and Hillary, Nixon would have finished his term in office.

Obama's position is that it's fine if Iran nukes New York, as long as it's after he's president.

What's the difference between partial birth abortion and infanticide? About three minutes.

I suspect many progressives were the victims of partial birth abortions. The doctor sucked their brains out, but they survived anyway.

Let's review. Starbucks is a criminal empowerment (gun free) zone, making it unsafe to go there. Now they want to discuss race with me while selling me over-priced coffee drinks full of staff that is bad for me. I could go and read them my 16,000 word essay "Racism in America" (including the extensive reading list), but my coffee would get cold and the folks in line behind me might not appreciate it. I think I'll just buy my coffee at places more friendly to guys like me.

I notice that people who call political opponents "Nazis" often use Nazi-like bulling tactics.

Work on getting conservatives elected to local office and the state legislature. That's the future bench for national leaders.

Scratch a liberal. If you don't find a Star of David, chances are you find an Anti-Semite.

Israel is a one-bomb country--one nuke and it's game over. We, on the other hand, could survive NYC being nuked, though it would have fiscal, economic, political and social collapse, and life would become harder than anyone now alive has experienced, except some combat vets.

If Global Warming will be such a disaster, one would think that scientists would welcome other scientists with theories that it might not be so bad, and want to investigate them. But science is no longer about free inquiry; it is about tenure, publishing, jobs in academia and bringing in government grants. uttering any thought that deviates from the global warming orthodoxy cuts you off from these benefits. And it gets you treated like a Muslim who questions the perfection of Mohammad or the Qur'an in Islamic countries. It has become such a religion that anyone who disagrees is treated as an apostate or an infidel.

I keep seeing Conservatives/Republicans saying "I'd never vote for X if he/she is the GOP Nominee." While I like some candidates better than others, there is no potential GOP candidate I wouldn't vote for over Billery, Biden or Chief Warren. Trump would be the hardest, but I don't think he's a potential nominee.

Huh. I saw a poll late in March that said 47% of voters approve of the job Obama is doing, but only 27% think the country is on the right track...

Government can't tell you what to do with your own body, say liberals. unless of course you want to eat or drink something they don't approve of. That's different that sucking babies brains out.

The race for the Republican nomination in 2016 is underway and as usual, Republicans are coming to the liberals' aid by ripping GOP candidates they don't like.

If you burned a Qur'an, there would be worldwide riots by millions of Muslims, many deaths and millions in damages. But ISIS can destroy the artifacts or religious places of outer cultures with hardly a peep of protest from "moderate" Muslims.

Saw an ad for used Caddies in the local paper. They offer a "Comprehensive...Limited Warranty." So, which is it? Not that I'm buying a Caddy.

People say "No Way!" because they are too polite to say "Bullshit!" in public.

Based on current precedent, the presidential oath in 2016 should be, "I swear to fully and faithfully execute the laws and defend the Constitution except when I don't agree with them, so help my Go."

I'm a fast eater, but a slow sleeper. Now days it usually takes me nine or ten hours to get a night's sleep. Might be the drugs. Can't be the booze--I'm limited to one a day max.

I told my wife if and when I buy the farm, I don't want any flags at half mast. I've dedicated a good portion of my life trying to keep our flag flying high. Let if fly high on my way out.

Liberals clearly believe that it is acceptable, in fact virtuous, to bend, ignore or break the rules and laws as long as it is in behalf of the high good of the progressive agenda. The "higher good" of course includes getting liberals appointed or elected to public office where they can enjoy the power, perks and pelf that those who dedicate their lives to the progressive agenda clearly deserve.

I'm not opposed to gays at all, though I wonder if a black baker can be forced to provide cakes for the KKK.

I wonder what the media reaction would be if a gay couple sued to require a Muslim-owned bakery to sell them a wedding cake, given that Shari'a Law calls for the execution of gays.

Articles that begin with a question mark rarely are worth reading. Things like, "Did Hall take Koch/Soros money to run his blog?" They are floating speculation they can't prove, often not true. as in this case, alas.

Get the collection! My “Random Thoughts” from 2008 through July, 2013 are collected in this book: The Old Jarhead's Journal: Random Thoughts on Life, Liberty, and Leadership by Robert A. Hall
The Old Jarhead’s Journal is a collection of Random Thoughts on politics and life and Conservative Political Essays, mostly published on the author’s blog, including the essay “I’m Tired” which went viral on the Internet in 2009, “The Hall Platform,” “This I Believe,” and “Why I’m a Republican.” While they will be of interest to conservative thinkers, they are collected here in book form as a service to readers who wish to give a copy to favorite liberals and watch their heads explode. All royalties are donated to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.

*****


Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam Veteran who served five terms in the Massachusetts State Senate. He is the author of The Coming Collapse of the American Republic. http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Collapse-American-Republic-prevent/dp/1461122538/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1304815980&sr=1-5 For a free PDF of Collapse, e-mail him at tartanmarine(at)gmail.com. Hall’s eleven books are listed here: http://tartanmarine.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-book-published.html. His blog of political news and conservative comment is www.tartanmarine.blogspot.com.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Today's Political News and Conservative Opinion

Update

The pup is better today and the weather is lovely, mid-50s. I'm doing well, did usual at rehab, but a lot of mucus in the lung. Guess it's the season's change. ~Bob

General News and Comment


Worth Reading: Hillary: The Democrats’ Nixon. By John Fund
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/416151/hillary-democrats-nixon-john-fund
Excerpt: Ever since Hillary Clinton’s e-mail scandal broke earlier this month, comparisons between her secretive style and that of Richard Nixon, whom she ironically pursued as a young lawyer on the House impeachment committee, have been frequent. But with Friday’s revelation that she wiped her private e-mail server clean after her records were requested by the State Department last year, the comparisons are becoming more concrete. Washington wags note that even Nixon never destroyed the tapes, but Hillary has permanently erased her e-mails. Exactly what would a Hillary presidency look like, and could it plunge the nation into another round of debilitating Clinton scandals? That’s a question Democrats should ask themselves before they hand the nomination over to her with barely a fight. Indeed, while a new CBS poll finds more than eight out of ten Democrats want her to run, a surprising 66 percent want to see her run with strong competition in the primaries.

The Most Transparent Administration in History: Administration sets record for withholding government files. By Ted Bridis, AP 
Excerpt: The Obama administration set a record again for censoring government files or outright denying access to them last year under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, according to a new analysis of federal data by The Associated Press. The government took longer to turn over files when it provided any, said more regularly that it couldn't find documents and refused a record number of times to turn over files quickly that might be especially newsworthy. It also acknowledged in nearly 1 in 3 cases that its initial decisions to withhold or censor records were improper under the law — but only when it was challenged.

Worth Reading: When The Laws Of War Kill. By James S. Robbins
Excerpt: The laws of war are intended to limit conflict and minimize casualties. But what happens when terrorists use these same laws to expand conflict and kill more people? This paradox is at the center of a new report, "2014 Gaza War Assessment: The New Face of Conflict," commissioned by the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. It is the product of a study by senior retired U.S. military officers and academics, using primary source documents and interviews with senior Israeli, Palestinian and United Nations officials. ... The most important lesson for the United States facing similar conflicts is to spend as much time and energy as the adversary in shaping the images and messages flowing from the battlefield, both in traditional and social media. Also, it is important for reporters to understand the true limitations and implications of international law, even before they arrive in the theater of war. Unconventional foes focus on the information fight because it is the only one they can win. It will take careful planning and foresight to make sure that they don't.

8 Things Vietnam War Movies Leave Out (By an Enemy Soldier). By Evan V. Symon, Nguyen Hoa Giai 
Excerpt: Even if your knowledge of the Vietnam War comes exclusively from Hollywood films and Texan textbooks that only refer to it as "that one the good guys lost," you've probably heard about the Viet Cong. They were a bunch of jungle-fighting guerrilla warriors who killed American boys via night-time ambushes and terrifying traps. Well, that's one side of the story. Here's another: They were a bunch of scared (mostly) young kids fighting in a massive conflict for very personal reasons. We sent a writer out to Vietnam to speak with Nguyen Hoa Giai. He fought as a Viet Cong from the late 1950s to the end of the war in the mid-'70s. Here's what he told us. (There's a bunch of stuff in here that definitely sounds real to me, but a lot of the phrasing is not exactly the way a Vietnamese would speak, so I assume the American reporter did a bunch of editing on style. Interesting that the Vietnamese specifically mentions the atrocities committed by the communist forces in or near battles, but doesn't mention any of the atrocities committed by VC in villages to terrify the inhabitants into submission. Overall, a contribution to some understanding of how the committed communist VC thought. But they were always a minority, sometimes a small minority, of those fighting, and he even alludes to that. --Del)

1 dead after driver tries to ram gate at NSA headquarters
Excerpt: Two men dressed as women tried to ram the gate of the National Security Agency headquarters in Fort Meade with an SUV Monday morning, resulting in a shooting that left one person dead, according to authorities and sources familiar with the investigation.
After the gate was rammed around 9:30 local time, a guard reportedly got into an argument with the men and gunfire erupted. It is believed that the guard shot one or both of the men, sources told Fox News. The NSA later said in a statement that one of the two people in the car is dead.

Americans see Putin as only slightly more imminent threat than Obama, poll says. By Peter Van Buren 
Excerpt: People in the United States feel under threat, both from beyond our borders and within them. In fact, when asked about both U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin, it was a pretty darn close call — 20 percent saw Putin as an imminent threat compared to 18 percent who said the same about Obama. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll asked more than 3,000 Americans what they see as some of the biggest threats to themselves and the country. You can slice and dice the information in literally hundreds of different ways here. People were shown a range of potential threats and then asked to rate how dangerous they were with one being no threat and five meaning the threat is imminent. (A well done article, displaying a lot of ways to look at what people said when asked about what they were afraid of. Personally, I agree with being afraid of our political parties. Both of them. One may be more harmful to the Republic than the other, but neither one seems capable of acting like real statesmen in office to fulfill responsibilities to give the people the best government possible. And without good government and good leadership, all the other things that worry us won't get dealt with very well. --Del)

The True Facts About Religious Freedom Laws. By Sarah Torre
Excerpt: The mainstream media has launched an all-out blitz over a new law that protects the fundamental freedom of Indiana citizens from unnecessary and unreasonable government coercion. The media’s gross mischaracterizations of the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act ignore the truth: Religious Freedom Restoration Acts prevent government discrimination against religious free exercise and simply provide a way to balance religious liberty with compelling government interests.

Conn. Governor To Ban Travel To Indiana Over Religious Freedom Law His State Has Too. By Chuck Ross
Excerpt: Connecticut Gov. Dannell Malloy will issue an executive order on Monday calling for a ban on state-funded travel to Indiana because of its new law, which he believes is intended to discriminate against gays. Only problem: Connecticut has a similar law on the books.

4th Grader Gets Standing Ovation After Shaming School Board Over Standardized Testing
Excerpt: This girl is definitely going places. Sydney Smoot, a fourth grader at Brooksville Elementary in Florida, had some harsh words for the Hernando County School Board earlier this month on the state’s restrictive standardized testing program. She told the board: “This testing looks at me as a number. One test defines me as either a failure or a success through a numbered rubric. One test at the end of the year that the teacher or myself will not even see the grade until after the school year is already over. I do not feel that all this FSA testing is accurate to tell how successful I am. It doesn’t take in account all of my knowledge and abilities, just a small percentage.” Smoot even provided the board with suggestions for how to make the testing process – known as The Florida Standards Assessment Test – more productive, such as breaking the larger test up into smaller, more frequent tests throughout the year.

Report: Chicago schools teaching ‘safe’ anal sex to 5th graders. By Renee Nal
Excerpt: A graphic sexual education curriculum meant for Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS) fifth and sixth graders shocked parents during a presentation given during “report card pickup” at the Andrew Jackson Language Academy. The presentation included slides that are clearly not age appropriate, and include “demonstrations” of applying male and female condoms (FC), DNAinfo reports. While CPS spokesman Bill McCaffrey said in a statement that the “objectionable material presented at Andrew Jackson Language Academy this week is not and never was part of the student sexual education curriculum” as reported at the local NBC affiliate, the slides shown to parents are also posted at Waters Elementary School as part of the “Sexual Health Education” curriculum for “Grade 6.”

Gun News

Shots that killed robber at Miller Auto Sales 'justifiable'
Excerpt: Police say the fatal shots that 27-year-old Alan Miller fired on Thursday afternoon were justifiable. Miller shot a man twice in the chest as he attempted to rob Miller Auto Sales, located at 4314 Rossville Blvd. Police say the shots Miller fired were in self-defense, and charges will not be filed against him.

Armed Marshall County homeowner repels would-be home invaders
Excerpt: "Three people ran in and grabbed my wife," Eddie Gilmore said. "She stood up." Eddie Gilmore says as his screaming wife was taken to a back room by a masked intruder who was holding a gun to her head, another intruder told him to get on the floor in the living room. "And I got over between the couch and the coffee table and when I did I went down and put my arm on the coffee table to kind of hide myself and I pulled the drawer open because I had a gun in there," Gilmore said. That's when, Gilmore says, he started shooting in every direction he could, hitting two of the subjects. The suspects fired back, but neither Eddie or Cindy were hurt.

2 Dead After West Philly Triple Shooting
Excerpt: Police say two men in their twenties got off the trolley at 56th and Lansdowne Avenue and headed toward Media and Conestoga when two other men approached and announced a robbery. One of the victims then reportedly pulled out a gun and shot those two robbers. ... All three people who were shot were rushed to the hospital in critical condition. One of the robbers and the friend of the armed victim were later pronounced dead.

Chicago--Have not verified but sounds right from news reports.

Race Card News

“Empire” actress says her son was “racially profiled” – Police release footage telling VERY different story
Excerpt: Taraji P. Henson is a star on the popular TV show Empire, an Academy Award- and Emmy-nominated actress, and also a liar. She told Uptown Magazine that her son was racially profiled by the Glendale Police. She also claimed that police searched his car illegally, another egregious lie. Fortunately, we have video evidence. A dashcam video was released by the L.A. Times and not only did it not show the cop behaving as described, but it clearly shows the officer go out of his way to be polite and kind to a 20-year old Marcel Johnson, who had committed multiple infractions.

Obamacare/Government Healthcare News

Obamacare At Five Years Old: A Disappointment. By Sally Pipes
Excerpt: In September 2009, President Obama addressed Congress, vowing that his healthcare plan would “slow the growth of healthcare costs for our families, our businesses, and our government.” But costs for all three have actually grown. During the campaign in 2008, Obama repeatedly said that his health reform plan would save the average family $2,500 a year in premiums. But this year, almost half of those surveyed by CBS and the New York Times characterized “the affordability of basic medical care as a hardship.” That’s a quarter more people than said so last year.

Undocumented Democrat News

Democrat Leader Releases “Toolkit” to Help Illegal Criminals Not get Deported
Excerpt: Rep. Gutierrez has become the leader of the amnesty faction in Congress. In fact, Gutierrez has become so pro-illegal that he is now publishing books to teach people how to break our laws! This is an example of where a liberal who wants to do “good” has lost sight of what is “good” and has settled in on success by “any means necessary.” Sadly, the truth of the matter is that the “ends” don’t always “justify the means.” Rep. Gutierrez has gone too far in his support of illegal immigrants and has begun to openly tutor them on the best means of flouting our laws and escaping prosecution

"You're Greener than Gore" News


Religion of Peace News

Worth Reading: Obama’s race to chaos. By Michael Goodwin
Excerpt: If you’re confused about the Saudi Arabia-led air attacks against Islamist rebels in Yemen and can’t tell one group of head-choppers in Iraq and Syria from another, don’t despair. All you need is imagination. Close your eyes and imagine that those countries and terrorists have nuclear weapons. Imagine their barbarism going nuclear as they blow up cities, wipe out ethnic and religious groups and turn the region into cinders. Now open your eyes and realize you’ve seen the future, thanks to President Obama’s policies. It is a future that will be defined by Obama’s Wars. Yes, plural. (This writer is a well known Conservative, and has always been very critical of Mr. Obama. However, even considering that, is his vision of a possible horrible future just something to be dismissed? I don't think so. There IS craziness in that part of the world, with people who believe in various levels of myth about how the world can be conquered and they can bring into being the perfect new world. In those myths it doesn't matter that the use of nuclear weapons could bring on total, horrendous disaster for the entire region, because they "know" that in the end, they will prevail. Up to now, everyone possessing nukes has been at least sane, and understand that in a nuclear war there can be no real winners. But imagine Bin Laden or his successors with nukes- would they hesitate to use them? Not at all. And the Iranian ayatollahs are just as insane about nukes, which they would aim first at Israel, a nation that cannot afford to absorb even 2 or 3 small nuclear blasts. The Shia-Sunni conflict goes back many centuries, and remains bitter enough in some quarters that it too is a place where nukes would go into use. The bottom line is that it was US power and domination of nuclear weaponry that stopped a race to nukes in the Middle East. Even when Israel got nukes so long ago, no one worried, because the Israelis are sane, and don't want to ever start a nuclear exchange. But with insane zealots having nukes, all bets are off. No matter what the Iranians say or promise about nuclear weapon development, they have been total liars and deceivers since the takeover from the Shah. Accepting them as good faith negotiators now is just as smart as believing Hitler was in 1937. All the evidence says that Mr. Obama does believe he can deal with the Iranians and ignore all the past deceit and the daily calls for Death to America. His naïveté is far, far too dangerous for everyone. The future is very scary now. --Del)

Graduation Picture of Saudi Female Doctors (according to the Internet.)

Can Saudi Arabia Feed Its People? Gulf Economies. By Yossi Mann
Excerpt: In 2007, almost thirty years after setting out on an ambitious agricultural project, Saudi Arabia announced it would be phasing out government handouts to the agricultural sector, which would end in their entirety in 2016. Outsiders criticized the project from its beginnings, emphasizing the burden it would place on the economy and the damage it would inflict on the country's water assets. Critics were particularly scathing of the decision to subsidize the project and its detrimental effects on the Saudi economy as a whole. (Let them eat ethanol. ~Bob)

No Let-Up in Attacks On Europe's Jews. By Abigail R. Esman
Excerpt: Seventy years ago this month, Anne Frank died in the concentration camps of Bergen-Belsen, leaving behind, stashed in the rooms where she and her family hid from the Nazis in Amsterdam, one of the most valuable historic documents of our time: her diary. But try telling this story in a Dutch classroom today. "Holocaust Classes? Bulls**t! Say the Students" declared a headline of Dutch newspaper AD. Indeed, large numbers of Dutch students, all of them Muslim, refuse to listen to lessons about the Shoah [the Holocaust], denouncing them as exaggerations and lies, and threatening their teachers. It is a capital example of the kind of exploitation one finds increasingly among radicalized and even non-radicalized Muslim youth in Europe: for even as many question the existence of the concentration camps, the efforts at genocide, they demonstrate in pro-ISIS and anti-Israel rallies chanting "All Jews to the gas" and "Hitler was right."

Kerry on Iran Deal: ‘If Allah Wills It’
Excerpt: Secretary of State John Kerry allegedly responded in a most unusual way to a reporter’s question Friday whether a nuclear arms deal could be reached with Iran before the March 31 deadline. “Allah willing,” Kerry replied — in Arabic, according to Laura Rozen, a reporter covering the Iran nuclear talks in Lausanne, Switzerland, for the Washington, D.C.-based online publication, Al-Monitor. As news reached the public Friday that a deal may be forthcoming, Rozen tweeted: ("Insha'Allah" means 'If Allah wills." But usually used by Arabs like "Insha'Allah, I will be at your office Wednesday" meaning, might be there, might not, who knows? ~Bob)


Interesting: Understanding the Islamic State. By Philip Jenkins
Excerpt: ISIS is not just an Islamic movement, and not just a Sunni Muslim movement. To understand that, look at the religious statistics for the nation of Iraq (insofar as that “nation” still exists). Our best estimate is that the whole nation has around 36 million people. Of these, Shi’ites compose around 60-66 percent, say 20-24 million people. Christians, Yezidis and other minorities represent less than two percent, or at least that was the figure before the current catastrophe – around one million. That leaves Sunni Muslims as the remainder, some twelve to fourteen million Iraqis. (Let’s not quibble about a million here or there).

Worth Reading: Criticizing Hamas: the Newest Campus Hate Crime. By Daniel Greenfield 
Excerpt: It was the summer of 2014. Hamas rockets had pounded Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The rockets were stored in schools. They were launched from mosques and churches. The dead included Daniel Tregerman, a 4-year-old Israeli boy killed by shrapnel. Another Hamas massacre of Jewish children was narrowly averted when a father managed to get kindergarteners inside before a rocket hit. At the beginning of August, even the White House spokesman had called Hamas’ actions “barbaric”. ... A Jewish professor was being forced to deny that he had dehumanized a violently racist terrorist group that calls Jews “Brothers of apes and pigs”. (Once again I defer to Maslow. It's ok to threaten and kill, and support those who do...but threaten their self esteem??? Go figure. --George)

*****
Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam Veteran who served five terms in the Massachusetts State Senate. He is the author of The Coming Collapse of the American Republic. http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Collapse-American-Republic-prevent/dp/1461122538/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1304815980&sr=1-5 For a free PDF of Collapse, e-mail him at tartanmarine(at)gmail.com. Hall’s eleven books are listed here: