Old Jarhead's Political SitRep for May 15, 2013

Old Jarhead's Political SitRep for May 15, 2013

Robert A. Hall

Your one-stop-shop for political news and opinion--who needs newspapers or TV? Please forward to friends who need to be informed. This SitRep (Military for “Situation Report”) is created by many readers who send me items for inclusion, which I would have likely missed or skipped. And I can only spend at most three hours a night pulling stuff, plus the healthcare or economic stuff that crosses my desk at work. As always, I—and you—owe them thanks and appreciation. I post articles because I think they are of interest and will stimulate thought and discussion. Doing so doesn’t mean that I necessarily agree (or disagree) with every—or any—opinion in the posted article, or that I was able to verify the information presented, which is the responsibility of the author. I try not to post things that are false, or too far a stretch, regardless of the view point, but I don’t always succeed. As always on the Net, or in the legacy media, you must read critically and with skepticism.

Book Recommendation. Duty: A Father, His Son, and the Man Who Won the War. By Bob Greene

http://www.amazon.com/Duty-Father-His-Son-Man/dp/B000C4SILM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368556217&sr=8-1&keywords=duty+greene

When Chicago Tribune writer Bob Greene’s father was dying, he met BGen Paul Tibbets, USAF (Ret.) Tibbets, I hope you know, led the AAF group that dropped the atomic bombs on Japan and flew the Enola Gay, named for his mother, to Hiroshima. This is his story of both Tibbets and his dad, a WWII Infantry officer, and their generation looking at a changed America in their twilight years. Greene does a fine job of capturing their thoughts, emotions and the world view of what has been called “The Greatest Generation,” which saved the world. (Alas, it needs saving again.) I found especially moving the many tributes to Tibbets from people thanking him for saving their lives, because they, or the fathers and grandfathers, were scheduled for the invasion of Japan, where we expected a million American casualties. With even Japanese women being trained to fight with sharpened sticks, the casualties among the Japanese would have been far higher than those caused by the bombs. When at U-Mass, I took a course in the history of Vietnam from a very sharp but far left professor of Asian history. (I was the only Vietnam vet in the course, so I had to defend myself every day.) He insisted we should not have dropped the bomb, that Japan was about to surrender. But a few years ago, classified documents were released in Japan that say that even after the first bomb, they were determined to fight to the last Japanese. I highly recommend this moving and readable book.

Important: Justice Department secretly obtained AP phone records

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05/13/justice-department-secretly-obtains-ap-phone-records/

Excerpt: The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative's top executive called a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into how news organizations gather the news. The records obtained by the Justice Department listed outgoing calls for the work and personal phone numbers of individual reporters, for general AP office numbers in New York, Washington and Hartford, Conn., and for the main number for the AP in the House of Representatives press gallery, according to attorneys for the AP. (The media discovers what many of us knew about Holder and Obama all along. You helped elect the twit, so let me know where to send the TS chit. ~Bob.)

Worth Reading: The fracking gas war. By Chet Nagle

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-a-environment/297405-the-fracking-gas-war

Excerpt: To be fair, good things come from the fracking boom like jobs, drilling wells, new industrial plants, and the hope America may be energy independent one day. But Sherry Vargson is not enthusiastic. Chesapeake Energy fracked her Pennsylvania farm and now her tap water fizzes with twice the methane that could cause an explosion. Chesapeake gives her bottled water, though that might end soon since gas production on her farm dropped dramatically and her monthly royalty checks have fallen from $1000 to $100. If that’s just natural, as Chesapeake says, let’s examine some other facts. … Nagle was a director of Black Bear Energy Corporation, a company that designed gas-fired power plants in Vermont, and was a consultant to Fuel Tech, NV, a leader in clean coal technology. (Nagle is also a reader of this blog, a former Naval Aviator, former CIA agent and the author of the great thrillers The Iran Covenant and The Woolsorter’s Plague. Personally, I think fracking is important to our economic and strategic future, but thought this was worth sharing. ~Bob.)

Worth Reading: Lies About Libya. By Thomas Sowell 

http://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2013/05/14/lies-about-libya-n1593913?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl

Excerpt: There can be honest differences of opinion on many subjects. But there can also be dishonest differences. Last week's testimony under oath about events in Benghazi on September 11, 2012 makes painfully clear that what the Obama administration told the American people about those events were lies out of whole cloth.

Why high gas prices in Chicago?

http://tartanmarine.blogspot.com/2013/05/why-high-gas-prices-in-chicago.html

My letter to the editor.

RNC Chairman Priebus demands Holder resign over DOJ seizure of phone records
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/299585-republican-national-committee-chairman-calls-for-attorney-general-holders-resignation#ixzz2THoEaSDS

Excerpt: “Attorney General Eric Holder, in permitting the Justice Department to issue secret subpoenas to spy on Associated Press reporters, has trampled on the First Amendment and failed in his sworn duty to uphold the Constitution," said Priebus in a statement. "Because Attorney General Holder has so egregiously violated the public trust, the president should ask for his immediate resignation. If President Obama does not, the message will be unmistakable: The President of the United States believes his administration is above the Constitution and does not respect the role of a free press,” he added.

Worth Reading: Obama finds his legacy. By Wesley Pruden

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/pruden051413.php3#.UZJEz6K-o0E

Excerpt: And it's not just Benghazi. The scandal at the Internal Revenue System frightens everyone, given that an IRS audit and a heart attack are the twin terrors of the wee hours of the night. "Previous presidents," writes Joe Klein in Time magazine, "including great ones like Roosevelt, have used the IRS against their enemies. But I don't think Obama ever wanted to be on the same page as Richard Nixon. In this specific case, he now is."

Now It's 3! Major Scandals Strangling Obama. AP: Feds tapped reporters' phone records before 2012 election
http://www.wnd.com/2013/05/now-its-3-major-scandals-strangling-obama/#3LMoMUlCQdMlc5sy.99 Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/05/now-its-3-major-scandals-strangling-obama/#3LMoMUlCQdMlc5sy.99 

Excerpt: Pruitt wrote a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder demanding the records and all copies be returned. According to the AP, “News organizations normally are notified ahead of time that the government wants phone records and enter into negotiations over the requested information. … More than 100 journalists who report on government and other matters work in offices the administration targeted.

Holder recused himself from DoJ decision to seize AP records
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/299609-reports-holder-recused-himself-from-doj-decision-to-seize-ap-records

Voting “Present” -- An Obama tradition. ~Bob. Excerpt: Attorney General Eric Holder recused himself from the Department of Justice’s decision to secretly seize two months of phone records from the Associated Press. A DOJ official said the recusal came as a result of Holder being interviewed as part of the ongoing investigation into the leaks.

The IRS admits to ‘targeting’ conservative groups, but were they also ‘leaking’?
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/13/the-irs-admits-to-targeting-conservative-groups-but-were-they-also-leaking/#ixzz2TCm7WCYs

Excerpt: A little over a year ago, I reported that, ”It is likely that someone at the Internal Revenue Service illegally leaked confidential donor information showing a contribution from Mitt Romney’s political action committee to the National Organization for Marriage, says the group.” Now — on the heels of news the IRS’s apology for having targeted conservative groups — NOM is renewing their demand that the Internal Revenue Service reveal the identity of the people responsible. “There is little question that one or more employees at the IRS stole our confidential tax return and leaked it to our political enemies, in violation of federal law,” said NOM’s president Brian Brow, in a prepared statement.

IRS officials in Washington were involved in targeting of conservative groups

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-denounces-reported-irs-targeting-of-conservative-groups/2013/05/13/a0185644-bbdf-11e2-97d4-a479289a31f9_story.html

Excerpt: Internal Revenue Service officials in Washington and at least two other offices were involved in the targeting of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, making clear the effort reached well beyond the branch in Cincinnati that was initially blamed, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. IRS officials at the agency’s Washington headquarters sent queries to conservative groups asking about their donors and other aspects of their operations, while officials in the El Monte and Laguna Niguel offices in California sent similar questionnaires to tea party-affiliated groups. (Who will take the fall to protect Obama? ~Bob.)

Obama’s Chicago-style IRS

http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/13/obamas-chicago-style-irs/#ixzz2TCla0cdS

Excerpt: President Obama rails against the tea party movement. His Department of Homeland Security suggested early in his administration that groups that oppose big-government spending should be looked into as possible terrorist threats. And, surprise, the IRS set up a special unit to harass tea party groups that oppose big government.

Rep. Issa: ‘How dare’ Obama suggest he can fairly investigate IRS
http://thehill.com/video/house/299515-rep-issa-how-dare-obama-say-he-can-fairly-investigate-irs-scandal#ixzz2THojJzPh

Excerpt: House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) on Tuesday blasted President Obama for suggesting the administration could fairly investigate claims the IRS unfairly targeted conservative political groups. “How dare the administration imply that they’re going to get to the bottom of it,” said Issa in an interview on CBS’ “This Morning.” “This was the targeting of the president’s political enemies effectively and lies about it during the election year so that it wasn’t discovered until afterwards,” he added. 

Baucus, now investigating IRS, urged IRS to target conservative groups in 2010
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/13/baucus-now-investigating-irs-urged-irs-to-target-conservative-groups-in-2010/#ixzz2TChDciDR

Excerpt: Democratic Montana Senator Max Baucus is leading an investigation into why the Internal Revenue Service targeted conservative nonprofit groups for extra scrutiny despite the fact that Baucus once wrote a letter urging the IRS to do exactly that. Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance  Committee, will head the committee’s investigation into the IRS, which apologized Friday for targeting groups with the terms “Tea Party” and “Patriot” in their titles for extra scrutiny of their nonprofit status as early as 2011. However, Baucus once wrote a letter requesting that the IRS engage in that very conduct. (Article notes Baucus has announced he is retiring. --Bob.)

IRS Asked About Political Views, Tea Party Groups Claim Mistreatment

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/irs-asked-political-views-tea-party-groups-claim/story?id=19171967#.UZJBVqK-o0E

Excerpt: When Jennifer Stefano of suburban Philadelphia tried to start a tea party group, the IRS sent her so many questions that she figured it was easier to quit. "In the documents that were sent to me, if you did not tell the whole truth by not putting all your personal information out there by Facebook, by Twitter, of your personal relationship with candidates and parties ... it could be considered perjury and perjury carried jail time," Stefano, 39, told ABC News. "That was frightening and that's why I shut it down. I shut my group down." (Perjury is a very serious crime…unless, of course, you are the President lying in a sexual harassment case. Then it’s no big deal. ~Bob.)

Exclusive: McConnell: IRS Revelations “Just The Beginning’

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/13/Exclusive-McConnell-comment-IRS

Excerpt: The Obama effort to shut up opponents isn’t limited to the IRS,” he stated. “It applies to the FCC [Federal Communications Commission], SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission], FEC [Federal Elections Commission], HHS [Department of Health and Human Services] …. And you remember, the Obama campaign last year published a list of eight businessmen who it believed were enemies.” McConnell further noted reports that the Department of Health and Human Services had been contacting businesses “skeptical about the implementation of Obamacare and asking them to contribute money to sell the program to the American people. That’s absolutely improper if not illegal. 

Stewart Destroys Obama Over IRS Scandal, “You’ve Vindicated Conspiracy Theorists”
http://clashdaily.com/2013/05/stewart-destroys-obama-over-irs-scandal-youve-vindicated-conspiracy-theorists/

Excerpt: Jon Stewart mercilessly tore into the Obama administration tonight over the revelation that the Internal Revenue Service specifically targeted Tea Party groups for scrutiny. (How come FEMA’s response to Katrina was George Bush’s fault, but anything the IRS, the Justice Department of the State Department has done in the last five years was totally separate from Obama? ~Bob.)

The IRS Has Been Corrupted By The Obama Regime, Do You Trust Them To Administer Your Health Care

 http://floppingaces.net/2013/05/13/the-irs-has-been-corrupted-by-the-obama-regime-do-you-trust-then-to-administer-your-health-care/

Excerpt: When a government agency, our most feared government agency, with the power to destroy individuals, becomes a corrupt political tool, it has lost all credibility. The IRS can seize your assets, your property, your bank accounts with little or no protection for citizens and soon it will be in charge of your health care. …. Health Care, Obama Style, will primarily be a political weapon, similar to buying half pints of whiskey to get skid row bums to vote a certain way; with one caveat, this time the stakes are much higher, it will be the health care of the general public. The question will be, “Do you want Health Care or do you want to vote your conscience?”

Meet the IRS Team in Charge of Exempt Organization Reviews

 http://pjmedia.com/jchristianadams/2013/05/13/meet-the-irs-team-in-charge-of-exempt-organization-reviews/

Excerpt: Their work is in the news, so let’s meet the leadership team at the Internal Revenue Service that was in charge of reviewing those Tea Party applications for 501 (c) status. Lois Lerner is the director of Exempt Organizations. All of the mischief which occurred at the IRS took place under her supervision. Prior to joining the IRS, Lerner was a bureaucrat at the Federal Election Commission.

IRS Did Not Tell Congress About Tea Party Targeting

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/14/irs-congress_n_3271549.html?ref=topbar

Excerpt: On Monday, the IRS said Miller was first informed on May, 3, 2012, that applications for tax-exempt status by tea party groups were inappropriately singled out for extra scrutiny. Congress, though, was not told tea party groups were being inappropriately targeted, even after Miller had been briefed on the matter. At least twice after the briefing, Miller wrote letters to members of Congress to explain the process of reviewing applications for tax-exempt status without disclosing that tea party groups had been targeted.

IRS sent confidential info on conservatives to liberal nonprofit ProPublica
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/14/irs-sent-confidential-info-on-conservatives-to-liberal-nonprofit-propublica/#ixzz2THizULF1

Excerpt: In response to a request for the applications for 67 different nonprofits last November, the Cincinnati office of the IRS sent ProPublica applications or documentation for 31 groups. Nine of those applications had not yet been approved — meaning they were not supposed to be made public.

Lawyers: Targeting of conservatives more vast than just Cincinnati, also involved DC office
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/13/lawyers-targeting-of-conservatives-more-vast-than-just-cincinnati-also-involved-d-c-office/#ixzz2THk3rUq4

Excerpt: “We’ve dealt with two offices in California, the one in Cincinnati of course , and one in Washington, D.C. So when that story came out on Friday, we knew instantaneously it was false, because we had personal dealings with four different IRS offices from coast to coast and that was in connection with our representing 27 Tea Party groups and conservative groups in 19 states," French said, adding that the two California offices were located in Laguna Niguel and El Monte. “We knew from the beginning that this was not just a low-level Cincinnati employee operation,” French said.

A Tainted Campaign?

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/348253/tainted-campaign

Excerpt: If it is proven that the IRS thwarted some groups from obtaining tax-exempt status in fear that their traditional or conservative messages might hurt the 2012 Obama campaign (especially if it did so under pressure from White House-affiliated operatives), and if it is proven that the Obama administration deliberately ignored warnings about lax security at the Benghazi consulate, missed real opportunities to send help, or deliberately massaged intelligence reports in order to mislead the pre-election public about the true nature of Benghazi in order to further a false campaign narrative of a near dormant al-Qaeda and a calm progressing post-Qaddafi Libya, then the scandals point to the potential corruption of the electoral process itself. The election outcome may have been successfully affected by these Machiavellian tactics. 

#Scandalpalooza: #Benghazi cover up, IRS targeting, HHS shake downs, AP records …

 http://sistertoldjah.com/archives/2013/05/13/scandalpalooza-benghazi-cover-up-irs-targeting-hhs-shake-downs-ap-records/

Excerpt: The White House is running out of excuses and places to hide from probing conservative journalists and even some mainstream media reporters after a wave of embarrassing but predictable scandals have broken wide open in the last week. ….The deets on this one are going to be intriguing, to say the least … assuming anyone can get beyond the usual stonewalling, dodging, and deflecting this administration has become infamous for. My question to you, my dear readers, is this: Can you predict the next Obama administration scandal? 

President Obama’s disastrous political week. By Chris Cillizza

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/05/14/president-obamas-disastrous-political-week/?wpisrc=nl_pmpol

Excerpt: It’s only Tuesday. But President Obama is already in the midst of one of the worst weeks, politically speaking, of his presidency — besieged by an burgeoning scandal at the Internal Revenue Service, revelations that the Justice Department secretly obtained phone records of reporters at the Associated Press and ongoing Republican criticism over the terrorist attack in Benghazi last fall.

Scandal politics sweep Capitol Hill

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/scandal-politics-sweep-capitol-hill-91297.html?hp=l1

The Chicago Way catches up with Obama. ~Bob. Excerpt: The inquest into the IRS is just the latest in a string of GOP-led investigations suddenly gaining steam on Capitol Hill. Instead of negotiating with the White House, GOP lawmakers are now investigating it. There are currently five separate committee investigations into the attack on a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, and a probe into Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius raising millions of dollars to promote Obamacare. Ways and Means is demanding answers to seven questions on this matter, as well. All together, roughly one-third of House committees are engaged in investigating some aspect of the Obama administration.

Congress Investigating Obama Admin’s Hostility To Religious Liberty In The Military

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/13/Congress-Investigating-Obama-Admin-Hostility-to-Religious-Liberty-in-the-Military

Excerpt: Following 59 Members of Congress sending a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel regarding Pentagon officials meeting with an anti-Christian extremist, another group of 56 House Members has sent a second wide-ranging letter, exploring whether these infringements on religious liberty violate both federal law and the Constitution. The first letter demanded that Hagel explain why Pentagon brass met with anti-Christian extremist Mikey Weinstein. … The (second) letter reminds Hagel that—as Breitbart News previously reported—Congress enacted Section 533 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to protect freedom of religious belief and conscience for all men and women serving in uniform, with a special focus on military chaplains.

Syrian rebel leader eats heart of enemy soldier on camera [VIDEO]
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/13/syrian-rebel-leader-eats-heart-of-enemy-soldier-on-camera-video/#ixzz2TCmxb1nd

Excerpt: A video posted online on Sunday shows Abu Sakkar, the leader of the Syrian rebel group Farouq Brigade, taking a bite out of the heart of a dead Syrian soldier. Sakkar is shown cutting into the torso of the soldier and saying to his comrades, “I swear to God we will eat your hearts and your livers, you soldiers of Bashar the dog,” Reuters reports. (It's their culture. Who are you to judge? ~Bob.)

That's the Middle East --- and the West, too. By Paul Greenberg

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/greenberg051413.php3#.UZJEXqK-o0E

Excerpt: The bloody war-by-proxy continues in Syria. It pits the embattled, increasingly desperate but still determined and far from defeated dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad against a disorganized amalgam of rebels, aka the Free Syrian Army. Each has its own array of sponsors, enablers or just cheerleaders behind them. The cast of this tragedy also includes a multitude of not-so-innocent bystanders waiting to see how it will end, if it ever does. Syria's strongman, who's no longer as strong as he once was, can count on support from Iran's fanatical regime, a world headquarters of terror with various branches. Chief among them is Hezbollah, which supplements its terrorism with an appealing social-welfare program, much as the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi for short) did in 1930s Germany.

Traveler from Saudi Arabia arrested at Detroit Metro with pressure cooker
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130513/METRO01/305130415#ixzz2TCwXfVkT

Excerpt: Federal agents have arrested a Saudi Arabian traveler who arrived at Detroit Metropolitan Airport with a pressure cooker, a key component used in the Boston Marathon bombings last month. Hussain Al Khawahir appeared for a brief hearing at 1 p.m. in federal court on charges he allegedly used an altered passport and lied to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agent about the pressure cooker. It was unclear Monday whether his arrest is terrorism related or a misunderstanding. (Lucky guy, he'll probably collect two million bucks suing for Islamophobia. ~Bob.)

The black flag flies in Raqqah

http://www.longwarjournal.org/videos/2013/05/the_black_flag_flies_in_raqqah.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LongWarJournalSiteWide+%28The+Long+War+Journal+%28Site-Wide%29%29

Excerpt: The Telegraph reports that the black flag of al Qaeda flies "from all the lampposts" in the Syrian city of al Raqqah. More: In Raqqa, a once conservative but by all accounts not religious city, the triumph of al-Qaeda's Syrian arm, Jabhat al-Nusra, would seem to be complete.

I’ll Say It: Western Civilization is Superior to Islamic Civilization. By Pete Parker

http://clashdaily.com/2013/05/western-civilization-far-superior-to-islamic-civilization/

Excerpt: Ever since 9/11, Western leaders have labored tirelessly to pay homage to Islam and its “revered” culture. From calling it the religion of “peace” and “tolerance” to purporting that it played a “vital” role in the nascent stages of western development – this gaggle of craven politicos have never stopped genuflecting at the altar of Islam and its pedophilic Prophet. (If I was him, I’d cancel my Mid East vacation plans. ~Bob.)

China's Growing Military Might: Top 4 Concerns For The Pentagon. By Anna Mulrine

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2013/0509/China-s-growing-military-might-top-4-concerns-for-the-Pentagon/Frequent-cyberwarfare-attacks-other-espionage-efforts

Excerpt: China continues to increase spending to grow its already considerable military, and top Pentagon officials continue to watch the developments carefully. In a report issued this week, the Department of Defense for the first time directly accused China’s military of using cyber attacks to spy on US networks. In this arena and others, “China’s military buildup shows no signs of slowing,” said David Helvey, deputy assistant secretary of Defense for East Asia, who presented the congressionally mandated report on the state of China’s military activities.

Two Somalis sentenced to prison for aiding terrorism

http://www.startribune.com/local/207228161.html

Didn’t get the memo. ~Bob. Excerpt: Two men were sent to prison Monday for their key roles in what prosecutors said was a terrorist “pipeline” to send young men to fight in the Somali civil war. Muhamud Said Omar, 46, a janitor at a Minneapolis mosque, who was convicted in 2012 of aiding foreign terrorism, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

I do... for now. UK Muslims revive temporary marriages. By Shabnam Mahmood and Catrin Nye

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22354201

Excerpt: The temporary marriage, or nikah mut'ah, is an ancient Islamic practice that unites man and woman as husband and wife for a limited time. Historically it was used so that a man could have a wife for a short while when travelling long distances. So why are young British Muslims adopting the practice now? (Makes prostitution legal, as you can “marry” for say 90 minutes. ~Bob.)

Preaching by extremists and discrimination through segregation has become widespread trend at UK universities equality group claims

http://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/preaching-by-extremists-and-discrimination-through-segregation-has-become-widespread-trend-at-uk-universities-equality-group-claims-8613522.html

Excerpt: Radical preachers spoke at nearly 200 events at universities including Cardiff and University College London (UCL) over the last year. Research found that segregated seating for men and women was promoted or implied at more than a quarter of the events, at 21 separate institutions, despite university rules forbidding it. 9it’s their culture. Who are we to judge? ~Bob.)

Father to contest sentence in daughter's conversion to Christianity
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2013/05/13/Father-to-contest-sentence-in-daughters-conversion-to-Christianity/UPI-70861368461098/#ixzz2THOfzOLI

Excerpt: That man, the Lebanese director of a company where the woman worked, has been sentenced to six years in prison and 300 lashes, Gulf News reported Monday.

As many as 10 killed in car bomb explosion outside hospital in Benghazi, Libya
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/05/13/car-bomb-reportedly-explodes-outside-hospital-in-benghazi-libya/#ixzz2THP4FG1h

What difference does it make? ~Bob.

Worth Reading: How Syria Killed the “Arab Spring.” By Daniel Greenfield 

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/how-syria-killed-the-arab-spring/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fbe4da2676-Mailchimp_FrontPageMag&utm_term=0_57e32c1dad-fbe4da2676-156414477

Excerpt: The best evidence of the unlamented death of the Arab Spring (2010-2013) was the nervous response in Washington D.C. to the Syrian crossing of the Red Line. … But instead of carving out a No Fly Zone and then telling the American people about it three days later, Obama blinked. No sooner did Assad supposedly cross the Red Line than Obama aides rushed out to explain that paying attention to the colorful line was misreading what Obama had really meant to say.

Liberals Mourn Conviction of Abortion Doctor

http://justcommonsense-lostinamerica.blogspot.com/2013/05/liberals-mourn-conviction-of-abortion.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FMoXTa+%28Lost+in+America%29

Excerpt: Liberals this week are mourning the conviction of abortionist doctor Kermit Gosnell. They did not, and will not mourn the death of thousands of infants as little as two months away from birth. At one point in his practice he was so busy killing babies he had to flush them down the toilet to dispose of them, call the plumber to clear the backup and make it ready for the next batch of murdered babies bound for the city's sewer system. Dr. Gosnell practiced in a Black community where abortion as birth control is common practice. (Fulfilling Margaret Sanger’s Planned Parenthood dream of “keeping more of the unfit [blacks] from being born. ~Bob.)

Keeping Our Heads in the Sand After Boston

http://www.investigativeproject.org/4016/keeping-our-heads-in-the-sand-after-boston

Excerpt: The Obama administration's policy banning references to "Islamic extremism" and "jihad" in discussions about terrorism drew criticism during last Thursday's House Homeland Security Committee hearing on the Boston Marathon bombings. The bombings "should again teach us that the enemy we face is violent Islamist extremism, not just al Qaida," said former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman. 

DREAMers from Afghanistan Crossing Mexican Border into US. By Daniel Greenfield 

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/dreamers-from-afghanistan-crossing-mexican-border-into-us/

Excerpt: Some experts suggest that this fine commitment to national security led us to the Al Qaeda attacks of the Clinton Administration leading up to September 11 and the second wave of September 11 attacks under Obama. But those people are probably racist for suspecting more of those fine DREAMers from Afghanistan.

Pentagon to Buy Russian Helicopters Despite Ban

http://en.rian.ru/military_news/20130405/180451358.html

Excerpt: The US Department of Defense said Thursday it plans to sidestep a Congressional ban to purchase 30 helicopters from Russian state-owned defense firm Rosoboronexport, despite objections from US lawmakers who allege that the firm has equipped the Syrian government to commit brutal crimes against civilians.

NYT calls murdered babies ‘fetuses’ in article about Gosnell conviction
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/13/nyt-calls-murdered-babies-fetuses-in-article-about-gosnell-conviction/#ixzz2THThmMpU

Excerpt: Gosnell, a former Philadelphia abortion doctor, was found guilty of first-degree murder Monday afternoon for severing the necks of three born-alive infants. The New York Times referred to those infants as “fetuses” six times in the paper’s write-up:

Dear Media: Obama's Indignant Benghazi Response Revealed a Lot Yesterday! By Jim Geraghty, Morning Jolt

http://www.nationalreview.com/newsletters
Dear friends in the media. Come on. I mean, come on. You and I know what's going with the Benghazi thing. Let me share something that I first put into play during the "was Anthony Weiner's Twitter account hacked" debate, but that comes from watching the Lewinsky scandal, the where-did–Mark-Sanford-go scandal, the why-is-David-Wu-dressed-in-a-tiger-suit scandal, and a wide variety of wrongdoing committed by politicians. When there is evidence of scandalous or bizarre behavior on the part of a political figure, and no reasonable explanation is revealed within 24 to 48 hours, then the truth is probably as bad as everyone suspects. Nobody withholds exculpatory information. Nobody who's been accused of something wrong waits for "just the right moment" to unveil information that proves the charge baseless. Political figures never choose to deliberately let themselves twist in the wind. It's not the instinctive psychological reaction to being falsely accused, it's not what any public communications professional would recommend, and to use one of our president's favorite justifications, it's just common sense. So . . .You and I both know, in our guts, and based upon everything we've seen in Washington since we started our careers, that there's no innocent explanation for the Obama administration's actions before, during, and after the Benghazi attacks. (Worth subscribing to. I can’t give you the whole column, and no link to it on line. ~Bob.)

Sebelius solicitation of Obamacare outreach funds raises eyebrows. By Russ Britt

http://stream.wsj.com/story/supreme-court-health-law-decision/SS-2-24938/SS-2-231083/

Excerpt: Leaders in Congress are questioning Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’s solicitation of funds from private businesses and charities to help pay for public outreach on Obamacare to get prospective enrollees signed up for health exchanges.

Worth Reading: Gosnell Is Not an Aberration. By The Editors

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/348196/gosnell-not-aberration

Excerpt: Gosnell’s human abattoir is the logical endpoint of our morally fraudulent national approach to abortion, the proponents of which maintain that they wish the procedure to remain “safe, legal, and rare,” in Bill Clinton’s cynically triangulating formulation, while at the same time resisting any and all restrictions upon the procedure. Gosnell’s murders are not an aberrant abuse of the abortion license but an inevitable result of it.

Worth reading: Terrorism as Therapy: The Obama administration is intent on downplaying the Islamic roots of contemporary terrorism. By Victor Davis Hanson

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/348129/terrorism-therapy

Excerpt: One common theme emerges from the hearings over the Benghazi disaster: The Obama administration is intent on downplaying the Islamic roots of terrorists who harbor an existential hatred of the West.

Obtaining AP phone records required Holder’s approval

http://washingtonexaminer.com/obtaining-ap-phone-records-required-holders-approval/article/2529585?utm_source=Washington%20Examiner:%20Opinion%20Digest%20-%2005/14/2013&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Washington%20Examiner:%20Opinion%20Digest

Excerpt: On Monday afternoon, the Associated Press reported that the U.S. Department of Justice had “secretly obtained two months of telephone records” from 20 phone lines assigned to reporters and editors from the global news organization. The shocking revelation comes on top of news that the IRS targeted conservative groups for special scrutiny. It will be harder for President Obama to pin the DOJ’s action on lower level bureaucrats, however, because requests to subpoena news organization records require the approval of Attorney General Eric Holder. (I blame George Bush. Or Global Warming. Or maybe Islamophobia. Not sure. ~Bob.)

Worth Reading: Memo Reading for Idiots: Missing Video Hidden in Third Edit. By Michael Ledeen

http://pjmedia.com/michaelledeen/2013/05/13/memo-reading-for-idiots/

Excerpt: Somebody must have said to somebody else: “Hey! Let’s blame it on the video.”

I think I know when that happened, even if I don’t know who said it or to whom: it happened between versions two and three of the 12 draft memos. The first two talk about “attacks” that were “spontaneously inspired” by events in Cairo. However, number three edits out “attacks” … and replaces it with “demonstrations.”

Fixing a Deficit of Facts. By Laurence Kotlikoff and Nick Troiano

http://www.rollcall.com/news/fixing_a_deficit_of_facts_commentary-224711-1.html?pos=oopih

Excerpt: Truth is, the trajectory of our federal budget represents a massive intergenerational redistribution of wealth. On the whole, older Americans and current retirees are set to receive a significant net financial benefit from public resources over the course of their lifetimes, with a massive bill for this spending to be passed on to the young and future generations. This policy path is both fiscally irresponsible and morally reprehensible. (The younger generation voted for Obama, they can just live with the results. Though probably most aren’t smart enough to figure out why they are screwed. ~Bob.)

Rick Scott Says Allen West Would Make 'Great' Lieutenant Governor

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/13/rick-scott-allen-west_n_3268497.html

Excerpt: Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) opened the door to a comeback for former Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) Friday, saying he'd be a "great" pick for his second in command. Scott told AM Tampa Bay on WFLA radio Friday that he believes West would be a good pick to fill the lieutenant governor's office, vacated in March by former Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll (R). Scott has indicated he will name Carroll's successor soon, and had planned to wait until after the state Legislature adjourned last week.

Infinite Crisis On Earth: President tells millionaires he wants to 'institutionalize' emergency atmosphere among general public
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/13/obama-hopes-for-extended-crisis-atmosphere/#ixzz2THgt32cl

Excerpt: President Barack Obama says he wants to “see if we can institutionalize” in Washington the community spirit that sometimes emerges after a terror attack or an industrial explosion. … “More than anything, what I will be striving for over the next three and a half years is to see if that spirit we saw in Boston and West Texas, to see if we can institutionalize that [and] if we can create a framework where everybody’s working together and moving this country forward,” he told the community of wealthy donors, according to the pool report…. “If there are folks who are more interested in winning elections than they are thinking about the next generation then I want to make sure there are consequences to that,” he said, without explaining his threat. (How about more interested in winning elections than in saving American lives? That a problem for anyone? ~Bob.)

U.S. diplomat detained in Moscow, accused of spying on Russia

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/russia-says-it-detained-us-spy/2013/05/14/d8bdf394-bc86-11e2-9b09-1638acc3942e_story.html

Excerpt: An American diplomat has been detained by Russian security officials, who accused him of trying to recruit a Russian officer to work as a U.S. agent, Russian news services reported. Russian authorities said they caught the officer with disguises, cash and a recruitment letter.

Cheney on White House reaction to Benghazi: ‘They lied’ [VIDEO]
http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/14/cheney-on-white-house-reaction-to-benghazi-they-lied-video/#ixzz2THkkF04x

Excerpt: On Monday’s “Hannity” on the Fox News Channel, former Vice President Dick Cheney accused the Obama administration of launching a politically-motivated cover-up in the wake of last September’s terrorist attack at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. Cheney told host Sean Hannity had the truth been revealed about the attack at the time, it would “destroyed” the image of a competent Obama that his reelection team was attempting to advance…. “I think it’s one of the worst incidents, frankly, that I can recall in my career.

They had the bravery of giants

http://mysoutex.com/bookmark/22506869-They-had-the-bravery-of-giants

Excerpt: At least two U.S. Marine Corps veterans who survived combat during the Vietnam War will be in Saturday’s Parade That Never Was. Ramon Eloy Rodriguez and Albert White were both pretty small in stature for Marines.

Obama doesn’t punish wind industry for bird deaths, goes after oil companies

http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/14/obama-doesnt-punish-wind-industry-for-bird-deaths-goes-after-oil-companies/#ixzz2THlX5kz2

Excerpt: Federally protected birds killed by oil companies are treated differently than those killed by wind turbines, according to The Associated Press. An AP investigation found that the Obama administration has been protecting the wind industry from being punished under federal wildlife laws as the Wildlife Society Bulletin estimates that more than 573,000 birds are killed by wind turbines each year. Under the Obama administration no wind energy company has ever been prosecuted.

Pearls of Wisdom

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2013/05/13/pearls_of_wisdom

Excerpt: "This no longer is a government of, by, and for the people. …We pay the government to protect the liberties that we are guaranteed by the Constitution. They are working to undermine them." "Be wary, folks, of any politician who talks about the Constitution and uses things like 'I am constrained.'"

The Monsters that Walk Among Us

http://pjmedia.com/blog/the-monsters-that-walk-among-us/?singlepage=true

Excerpt: I’ve spent most of my police career in Los Angeles working in similar neighborhoods, and even in those that genuinely are “tight-knit” there are always those few individuals who, like Ariel Castro, are themselves at varying stages of coming unraveled. I’ve arrested murderers who had been living right under the noses of people who couldn’t bring themselves to believe that their friend, neighbor, or even family member had shot, stabbed, or bludgeoned someone to death. Once he washes the blood off his hands, your typical murderer looks much the same as anyone else. (The author, a currently serving Los Angeles police officer, points out how difficult it is to know which people are merely odd and which are dangerous. Imagine how much more difficult it has to be to pick out those that merely lie, steal, and cheat. It is good odds that somewhere along the way, someone regularly worked and/or played with this particular monster and never noticed a thing. Bad people don’t often carry a sign saying “I’m a bad person.” Ron P. well, you can look for the “Yes, We Can” button. ~Bob.)