Today's offerings

G-Mail: No call from the governor

My reprieve on the new, user-hostile G-Mail compose window has apparently expired, and I’m forced to use it. I loath Gmail more every time I send a message now. Screws up the formatting when I cut and paste things like this. The old window worked well, except it didn’t have auto-spell-check, like Outlook. I don’t think the new window does either, but there are extra clicks to get to everything. I’m stuck as I have it on the blog, my books and my personal cards. I now would urge people not to switch to G-Mail.

Syrian Child Raped and Brutalized by Jihad

http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/syrian-child-raped-and-brutalized-by-jihad/

Graphic picture. Unverified. ~Bob.

Egyptian security forces move against protesters’ camps

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/egyptian-security-forces-move-against-protesters-camps/2013/08/14/bc079750-04a7-11e3-9259-e2aafe5a5f84_story.html?wpisrc=al_national

Excerpt: A health ministry official, Hamdi Abdel Tawab, said 55 people were dead and at least 562 injured in violence across the country. (Latest reports over 100 dead and climbing. ~Bob.)

Social Security Disability Insurance Costs More than Medicare

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=23488&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DPD

Excerpt: SSDI was originally created as a modest safety net aimed at severely disabled workers who were close to retirement age, but Congress has expanded benefit levels over the decades and eligibility standards have been greatly liberalized. The result is that people capable of working are instead opting for the disability rolls when confronted with employment challenges. Once on the disability rolls, experience shows that individuals are likely to remain there, which is bad for the individuals, taxpayers and the economy. The process for determining eligibility for disability insurance benefits has become a bureaucratic nightmare.

The Unsteady States of America: It is not just Detroit. American cities and states must promise less or face disaster

http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21582258-it-not-just-detroit-american-cities-and-states-must-promise-less-or-face-disaster

Excerpt: Other states and cities should pay heed, not because they might end up like Detroit next year, but because the city is a flashing warning light on America’s fiscal dashboard. Though some of its woes are unique, a crucial one is not. Many other state and city governments across America have made impossible-to-keep promises to do with pensions and health care. Detroit shows what can happen when leaders put off reforming the public sector for too long. (The cities are run by Democrats. Democrats are beholden to the public unions for votes and money. The unions will never agree to even modest reforms. Collapse is coming. ~Bob.)

Is Obamacare paving the way for single-payer system? By Sally C. Pipes

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/Aug/01/obamacare-singlepayer-healthcare-system/#article-copy

Excerpt: Suffering from illness or injury? Good thing you’re not British. U.K. police recently investigated the deaths of 300 patients at one hospital. The suspected cause? Neglect. No wonder — average waiting times for accident and emergency patients have hit a nine-year high.

ObamaCare Spurs Shift Away From 30-34-Hour Workweek. By Jed Graham
http://news.investors.com/080513-666340-obamacare-cuts-part-time-jobs-below-30-hours-data-show.htm

Excerpt: In the second quarter, the number of workers putting in 30 to 34 hours at their primary job fell by a monthly average of 146,500, or 1.4%, from a year earlier. By comparison, the number working 25-29 hours per week in their primary job rose by 119,000, or 2.7%.

When failure carries no cost. By Caroline Glick

http://www.carolineglick.com/e/2013/08/when-failure-carries-no-cost.php

Excerpt: [The US and Europe] are taken in by Iran because they want to be taken in. They want to believe that they don't have to attack Iran and overthrow the regime to prevent it from becoming a nuclear power. They want to believe they can appease Iran by pretending it isn't a danger, just as they believe they can end the threat of terror by jihadists in the US military and Benghazi by pretending they don't exist.

Energy Manipulation. By Walter E. Williams

http://townhall.com/columnists/walterewilliams/2013/08/14/energy-manipulation-n1662249?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl

Excerpt: What partially explains the high European and Japanese prices is the fact that global natural gas markets are not integrated. Washington has stringent export restrictions on natural gas. Naturally, the next question is: Why are there natural gas export restrictions? Just follow the money. According to OpenSecrets.org, The Dow Chemical Co. "posted record lobbying expenditures last year, spending nearly $12 million, and is on pace to eclipse that number this year." 

Obama Disconnected From Nation's History And Constitutional Principles. By Betsy McCaughey

http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewFreeUse.act?fuid=MTczODIxNDA

Excerpt: At his press conference last Friday, President Obama said that when Congress won't agree to what he wants, he will act alone. That statement, which he has made before, should send shivers through freedom-loving Americans. (Let's be fair here, and take special note, after the hits on Mr. Obama, to the last part, where everybody serving in Congress was happy to get a super-duper special deal out of Obamacare that is for them and only them. This is what we quaintly refer to as "corruption" in politics. That both sides of the aisle went for it is a sad commentary on how few real servants of the people we have working for us anymore. --Del)

400 US surface-to-air missiles 'stolen' from Libya during Benghazi attack and are 'now in the hands of Al Qaeda' says whistleblower. By David Martosko 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2390642/400-surface-air-missiles-STOLEN-Libya-Benghazi-attack-says-whistle-blowers-attorney.html#ixzz2btS6XT56

Hope this speculation is wrong. ~Bob.

Excerpt: Four hundred American surface-to-air missiles were 'taken from Libya' during the terror attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, a former U.S. Attorney who represents whistleblowers claimed on Monday. He added that the U.S. intelligence community is terrified they might be used to shoot down airliners. Joe diGenova, whose wife Victoria Toensing – a former deputy assistant attorney general – also represents Benghazi witnesses and others with knowledge of the terror attack, told WMAL radio that the loss of those missiles is also one the reason the U.S. State Department shut down 19 embassies across the Middle East last week (This is maybe a bit far out... in fact, let's hope it's completely wrong, since we REALLY don't want 400 of our missiles in the hands of the Bad Guys! --Del)

Israel army shoots down rocket near Egypt border

http://news.yahoo.com/israel-army-shoots-down-rocket-near-egypt-border-062740011.html

Excerpt: The Israeli military on Tuesday shot down a rocket launched from neighboring Egypt toward a popular Red Sea resort, and an al-Qaida-linked militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, fueling concerns that jihadist groups are trying to disrupt the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty. (And we still send foreign aid money and weapons to Egypt. Here's an idea, send the money and weapons to Israel instead. – LLW)

The Crusades Reconsidered. By Mike Konrad
http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/08/the_crusades_reconsidered.html

Excerpt: One of the idiocies passed off for decades among Western historians is bemoaning the Crusades as evil. The Islamic world -- the Ummah -- has disseminated this imaginary charge against the West, and like fools, we have absorbed Arab lies and taken the blame to heart. But the most superficial reading of Western history should put that canard to rest. Shortly before he died in June 632 AD, Mohammed ordered Muslims to prepare to wage war against the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire. (I've known about this history for a very long time, and there are numerous books out about the Crusades, and the results they achieved and how things ended badly in terms or reclaiming the Holy Lands, but ended well in terms of saving Europe and reclaiming Spain. Oddly enough, in Spain there is an increasing population of Muslims, who are demanding the right to hold their worship in the churches that were originally mosques, but have been Catholic for so many centuries. Oddly enough again, the greatest mosque in Istanbul was originally a Catholic church, but no Christians have tried to get Mass said in there lately. --Del)

Dad: Son 'sorry' for beating white boy on bus
http://www.wnd.com/2013/08/dad-son-sorry-for-beating-white-boy-on-bus-2/

Excerpt: Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice today recommended probation for two of the three black teens charged in a vicious school-bus attack on a white student in Gulfport, Fla., last month, according to the Tampa Tribune. (I just saw on Fox that the prosecutor in the case against the three black drug dealers that nearly beat that white kid to death on a bus is asking for 9 months probation for them. Oh, and they aren't allowed to beat him up again. –LLW)

Benghazi and the Banality of Evil. By Daren Jonescu
http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/08/benghazi_and_the_banality_of_evil.html

Excerpt: Is it just me, or is the string of distractions that seem to pop up right on cue every time new light is about to be shed on the Benghazi story getting a little old?

Months late, CNN has gotten around to "breaking" a story that might help to complete the disturbing puzzle for the mainstream public, namely the allegation that Benghazi was the hub of a CIA weapons-running operation.

Obama’s ‘soft power’ policy in a world of hurt

Excerpt: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/aug/13/obamas-soft-power-policy-in-a-world-of-hurt/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/aug/13/obamas-soft-power-policy-in-a-world-of-hurt/Bottom of Form

Excerpt: The Obama Doctrine is looking more like a leaky rowboat than an unwavering ship of state in the president’s second term. Mr. Obama’s foreign policy strategy of “soft power” and reliance on international organizations is suffering setbacks around the globe this year, including from Egypt, Syria, Russia and China.

A BLUNDER AT THE MONEY FACTORY

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/08/blunder-at-the-money-factory.html

Excerpt: So the Fed is returning more than thirty million hundred-dollar notes and demanding its money back, Felix wrote. Another thirty billion dollars’ worth of paper sits in limbo awaiting examination, and Fed officials have informed the bureau that they will not accept any hundred-dollar notes made at the Washington, D.C., facility until further notice. Felix’s letter says internal quality-control measures should have prevented the bureau “from delivering defective work,” and that those responsible would be held accountable. (Yeah, sure, right. Keep payin’ em. The buck never stops on you-know-whose desk. Figures it is DC. –Barb. I’d be willing to take a stack with, say, a 90% discount, just to help them out. ~Bob.)

Rate doubtful: Muslim Brotherhood Claim: We've Got 'Goods On Obama': Son of jailed leader says evidence could put U.S. president in prison.
http://www.wnd.com/2013/08/muslim-brotherhood-claim-weve-got-goods-on-obama/#AjUWqqfc2oFQmrYE.99 

Arabic-speaking former PLO member Walid Shoebat has translated the report by the Turkish News Agency Anatolia as follows: In an interview with the Anatolia News Agency, Saad Al-Shater, the son of a Muslim Brotherhood leader, the detained Khairat Al-Shater, said that his father had in his hand evidence that will land the head of United States of America, President Obama, in prison. He stressed that the senior U.S. delegation currently visiting Egypt, knows full well that the fate, future, interests and reputation of their country is in the hands of his father, and they know that he owns the information, documents and recordings that incriminate and would condemn their country. Such documents, he says, were placed in the hands of people who were entrusted inside and outside Egypt, and that the release of his father is the only way for them to prevent a great catastrophe. (WND sometimes has interesting links, but always has their hair on fire and gets into deep spin and speculation. And anything said by an Islamist needs to be taken with a barrel of salt. ~Bob.)

The Deification of Hillary Clinton

http://lastresistance.com/3009/the-deification-of-hillary-clinton/

Excerpt: Speaking with George Stephanopoulos regarding a Hillary Clinton candidacy, Donna Brazile said: “So while I do think it’s too early to handicap the race, there is no question, if Hillary Clinton gets into the race, there will be a coronation("ascension?~JB) of her, because there are so many Democrats who last time around supported her, who I think are anxious to see her back out there again.”

A Six-Pack With Your Overnights? U.S. Postal Service Wants To Deliver Alcohol To Boost Revenue
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/08/13/a-six-pack-with-your-overnights-u-s-postal-service-wants-to-deliver-alcohol-to-boost-revenue/#ixzz2bxhy8q00

Excerpt: It probably didn’t go down quite that way but that’s exactly what the struggling U.S. Postal Service has proposed in their desperation to up the numbers, get revenues boosted, and make the Post Office once again as essential to American life as it was pre-Internet. Because getting your alcohol delivered right to your door – despite rain, sleet, snow or hail – is just what every American needs in the 21st Century

Jesse L. Jackson Jr. sentenced to 30 months in prison

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/jesse-l-jackson-jr-set-to-be-sentenced-in-dc-federal-court/2013/08/13/ac5e8296-0452-11e3-88d6-d5795fab4637_story.html?wpisrc=al_comboPN

Once his dad used racial blackmail to force Budweiser to make Junior rich, his sense of entitlement overwhelmed all judgment. ~Bob.

Tweet from Stubbornly Me. ‏@lybr

Did Jesse Jackson REALLY just blame bi-polar disorder for his corrupt, thieving sons, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., actions? Wow. New low.

Twenty things that require a photo ID. By Ashe Schow 

http://washingtonexaminer.com/twenty-things-that-require-a-photo-id/article/2534254?custom_click=rss&utm_source=buffer&utm_campaign=Buffer&utm_content=buffer3ac95&utm_medium=twitter

Tweet from Trish (D-Queen Bee) ‏@ExPoleDancer

And Mexico! RT @MAJGrey: @ExPoleDancer Every Euro -socialist country the Libs so admire has strict voter ID. Strict.

Tweet from David Burge ‏@iowahawkblog

Racist countries requiring ID to vote: Canada, Sweden, France

Tennessee: 5 pillars of Islam replace 10 Commandments in public school, tolerance reigns supreme

http://bradleycountynews.wordpress.com/2013/08/09/tennessee-5-pillars-of-islam-replace-10-commandments-in-public-school-tolerance-reigns-supreme/

Excerpt: The 5 Pillars were youthfully drawn onto a white cardboard canvas complete with definition and meanings of the 5 pillars of Islam. Interestingly enough the 5 Pillars contained what is often considered the 6th Pillar called Jihad and was missing Zakat, Charity or the tithing pillar which most religions consider very important, more so than Jihad or Holy War.

Tweet from ~Anna~ ‏@tayandmae

My boyfriend and I got couples tattoos today!!!! PLEASE do not tell my husband

The Unsavory Truth About Violent Young Blacks & the Media. By Donald Joy

 http://clashdaily.com/2013/08/the-unsavory-truth-about-violent-young-blacks-the-media/

Excerpt: According to FBI statistics, including Uniform Crime Reports and National Crime Victimization Surveys from across the country, young black males commit upwards of 50% of all murders and other violent crime in the United States. This is despite their representing only about 3% of the country’s entire population. In 2010, young blacks committed homicide at nearly 14 times the rate young whites did. Blacks are 39 times more likely to commit a violent crime against whites than vice-versa, and 136 times more likely to commit a robbery. (What this column neglects to point out is that violence and crime by young black males is most often directed at other blacks, by far. Decent black folks have more reason to be tense around young black males than white folks do. Tolerance of this hurts everyone, but it is destroying the black community and the futures of young black people who get sucked into the gangs and crime. ~Bob.)

White House rejects petition calling for ‘Gun Free Zone’ around Obama, Biden
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/316999-white-house-slaps-down-call-for-a-gun-free-zone-around-president-obama

Risky, since we all know that GFZ keep you safe. ~Bob

Tweet from Jerome Hudson ‏@JeromeEHudson

I support a civics test as a requirement to vote.

The Disaster Called OBAMACARE

 http://nation.foxnews.com/2013/08/14/disaster-called-obamacare

Compilation of links to recent articles.

Liberal Distortion at The Atlantic: Contra what is said about my recent column, affirmative action is the true racial injustice. By Victor Davis Hanson

http://nationalreview.com/article/355737/liberal-distortion-atlantic-victor-davis-hanson

Excerpt: The way to reach our goals of racial parity is not to downplay black urban male youths’ statistical underperformance in terms of test scores and GPA records, or statistical overrepresentation in criminal activity, but to reverse the equation — statistical overrepresentation in matters of academic excellence and underrepresentation in matters criminal. As someone who taught Classical languages for over two decades to mostly minority youths, both goals are achievable.

Bankrupt? Detroit leaders still chasing away jobs

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130813/OPINION01/308130019

Excerpt: Detroit lost a growing business this month and Detroit politicians cheered. The blue-collar jobs that Detroit Bulk Storage supports at its Detroit River loading dock will disappear this fall after U.S. Congressmen Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, and John Conyers, D-Detroit, and state House Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, protested the loading of a coal-like energy source, petroleum coke, on barges for export to power plants.

Voter integrity matters.... So why aren't conservatives understanding this?

http://illbeinthehospitalbar.blogspot.com/2013/08/voter-integrity-matters-so-why-arent.html?spref=tw

Excerpt: One hundred sixty-three polls workers were told they were no longer allowed to serve as polls workers. That represents about 5.6% of the entire county polling staff. A number which seems relatively low, however, that percentage represents the highest number of people told they're not welcome to serve as a poll worker in the future. 

Voting problems prompt retraining of poll workers

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20130814/NEWS010602/308140034/Voting-problems-prompt-retraining-poll-workers?nclick_check=1

The coming collapse in one graph

https://twitter.com/genelingerfelt/status/367711139003506688/photo/1

'You preyed on girls because they were not part of your community or religion', says judge as he jails Rochdale sex gang for 77 years

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/you-preyed-on-girls-because-they-were-687987

Excerpt: Nine 'pure evil' men who abused girls as young as 13 were today jailed for a total of 77 years for their roles in a child sex grooming ring. ,,, The court heard most of the men are from Rochdale's Pakistani community and were married with children.