Big catch for your weekend reading

Lots of interesting items for your weekend reading, while I’ll be off line. Syria grouped at the end, as I have been doing, so you can pick and chose easily. A reminder that just because I post something doesn’t mean I agree with part or all of it. (I plan to bake two grape pies Saturday for the Church brunch Sunday.) Thanks to all who sent. I’m sorry I can’t use everything, though readers are doubtless grateful. ~Bob

Global Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Day

http://pulmonaryfibrosis.org/

September 7, 2013

Bubble Watch

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=23568&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DPD

Excerpt: The global financial crisis destroyed over one-fifth of accumulated American wealth in just one year: 2008. That huge loss was on top of a far more modest but still significant 1.62 percent wealth loss in 2007. Both the U.S. stock market bubble burst in 2000 and the housing bubble implosion of 2008 contributed to the current situation, reinforcing the need for a Federal Reserve "bubble watch" program. If we could recognize patterns that lead to these bubbles, we could see them coming and adjust policy to protect wealth accumulation and the economy as a whole, says John H. Makin, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

Why Organized Labor Is Organizing Against Obamacare

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2013/08/30/Why-Organized-Labor-Is-Organizing-Against-Obamacare

Excerpt: But Obama is getting blasted these days from an unexpected quarter: Major labor groups instrumental in helping the president win a critical second term are charging that Obamacare is undercutting existing union-sponsored health insurance programs and even encouraging employers to cut workers’ hours. This is the latest bizarre wrinkle in the unfolding political drama over Obama’s signature program for extending health insurance coverage to millions of uninsured Americans.

"McWages" and the Middle Class

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=23572&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DPD

Excerpt: Phil Hickey, chairman of the National Restaurant Association, says his first job was at age 14 washing dishes at a Big Boy restaurant in his hometown of Detroit. He says it was a job that gave him a strong work ethic and taught valuable skills that helped him move from the kitchen to eventually owning nine of his own restaurants. This experience is not uncommon. The first job held by nearly one in three Americans is in the restaurant industry. In addition to teaching personal responsibility, teamwork, discipline and accountability, these positions provide workers with opportunities for successful careers. Many of them advance from their entry-level, minimum-wage positions. Nine out of 10 salaried restaurant employees start off in hourly positions.

The Obama Recovery: Unemployment rate falls to 7.3 percent as people stop searching
http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/09/unemployment-rate-falls-to-7-3-percent-as-people-stop-searching-93677.html

Excerpt: But it fell because more Americans stopped looking for work and were no longer counted as unemployed. The proportion of Americans working or looking for work fell to its lowest level in 35 years.

Tweet from David Burge ‏@iowahawkblog

Job report: the Taco Bell that had 28 40-hour workers now has 30 28-hour workers.

Tweets from Ken Gardner ‏@kesgardner

We have 3 million more long-term unemployed after 5 years of Obama "recovery" than we had during the 2008 recession. Obama's America. -- If our labor participation rate was at the same rate as January 2009, our unemployment rate would be 10.8%. That's how bad things are.

Still getting comments on “I’m Tired” over four years later

One old jarhead (1956-1962) to another old jarhead, Semper Fi. Well done and well said. Thank you for your insight. This old jarhead at 75 has been trying tell people exactly what you have said, just not as eloquently. My only goal (on this subject) is to live long enough to tell them "I told you so". I also am not enjoying seeing the crooked politicians, illegal aliens and the 'refused to be educated' destroy what my father (WWI) and I as well as the millions before us have worked so hard to maintain since the signing of our declaration independence. Semper Fi, Bob From BC.

Hate-filled anti-Republican prof still earning full salary, also insulted Christians and athleteshttp://dailycaller.com/2013/09/05/update-hate-filled-anti-republican-prof-still-earning-full-salary-also-insulted-christians-and-athletes/

Excerpt: The professor who called Republicans racists and rapists may have been relieved of his teaching duties for the rest of the semester, but he will still be paid in full by Michigan State University. … “He had said before, ‘You have every right to disagree with me, but it may be reflected in your grade,’” she recalled.

What If I Told You that “Flat Earth” Was A Myth of Secularism? By Wes Walker
http://clashdaily.com/2013/09/told-flat-earth-myth-secularism/

Excerpt: It’s taught in school textbooks, it’s a favorite citation of New Atheism, and it’s been referenced by no less than the President himself — Medieval Europe believed the Earth was Flat. And so it’s fact! – Except that they believed no such thing. The popular view taught in schools is that scientists came along and rescued us all from the Medieval Church’s anti-scientific views that the World was Flat. The only flaw in that story is that nobody ACTUALLY believed it was flat, and hadn’t believed it was flat in a very, very long time — as far back as Greek Antiquity.

True, this: Was Mitt Romney Right About Everything? By McKay Coppins

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/was-mitt-romney-right-about-everything

Excerpt: From his widely mocked warnings about a hostile Russia to his adamant opposition to the increasingly unpopular implementation of Obamacare, the ex-candidate’s canon of campaign rhetoric now offers cause for vindication — and remorse — to Romney’s friends, supporters, and former advisers. … In the most actively cited example of the Republican nominee’s foresight, Romneyites point to the candidate’s hardline rhetoric last year against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his administration. 

Indian diarist Sushmita Banerjee shot dead in Afghanistan

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23981961

Excerpt: An Indian woman, who wrote a popular memoir about her escape from the Taliban, has been shot dead in Afghanistan by suspected militants, police say. (Good liberals will ignore this, because they know it is burka-wearing women being persecuted, not those who refuse. ~Bob.)

Director Oliver Stone says Obama is a 'snake'

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2013/08/16/director-oliver-stone-says-obama-is-a-snake/2665239/

It takes liberals a very long time to figure things out, if ever. –JJ. Makes Stone a Racist! That’s what they call us if we oppose Obama. ~Bob.

Coconut detained in Maldives over vote-rigging claims: Police take 'suspicious fruit' into their possession after claims it could have been used in black magic during elections

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/06/coconut-detained-maldives-vote-rigging

A coconut has been detained by Maldivian police on suspicion of vote-rigging in a key presidential election. The coconut, described as "young", was found near a school that will be used as a polling station on Saturday on the remote Kaafu atoll, one of the hundreds of islands that comprise the Indian Ocean archipelago state. Though the population of the Maldives is Sunni Muslim, continuing belief in magic is widespread in rural areas. (Saw something similar on a “Haunted Collector” episode on another island. Folks were having strange things happen in woods and in their newly purchased home on an island. They unearthed coconuts—or dislodged—but then brought in the equivalent of a voodoo priest, who unearthed the coconut shell entirely, explaining (through a translator) that they are used because they resemble skulls and then he pulled out hair and a decaying chicken tongue. He had them wrap the coconuts in cotton to bind the spell and wade out in the ocean to release it…..The disturbances have ceased, per the program, since the priest’s intervention. Gee, here in the US, we just worry about electronic vote rigging and DOI wanting anyone to vote, any number of times, with no accountability for fairness of elections lest we be racist. –Barb. Watch for the DNC to buy coconut futures, just in case it works. ~Bob.)

Reports: NSA subverted privacy tools

http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/320549-reports-nsa-subverted-online-privacy-tools#ixzz2e6mRnXQj 

The National Security Agency (NSA) has successfully cracked many of the tools that people use to protect the privacy of their online communications, according to documents leaked by Edward Snowden. For years, the agency has waged a secret campaign to undermine security measures and privacy tools to ensure that it has expansive access to communications for its intelligence operations, The New York Times, The Guardian and ProPublica reported on Thursday. 

Police: Man Commits Robbery While Wearing Electronic Monitor For Armed Robbery

http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/09/05/Police-Man-Commits-Robbery-While-Wearing-Electronic-Monitor-For-Armed-Robbery

Police say a Charlotte man robbed another man at gunpoint while wearing a court-ordered electronic monitoring device stemming from a previous armed robbery charge. 

Congressional committee demanding answers from IRS over veteran targeting
http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/05/congressional-committee-demanding-answers-from-irs-over-veteran-targeting/#ixzz2e4qrNuHn

Excerpt: A congressional committee is currently reviewing the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) response to lawmakers’ concerns following new revelations that the scandal-plagued agency is targeting the veterans organization the American Legion. The House Committee on Veterans Affairs last week requested that the IRS respond to complaints about its “unduly burdensome and completely unwarranted” requirements for American Legion posts. The Committee gave the IRS a September 3 deadline to respond to complaints.

Syria-ously? Obama pushes gay rights in Russia while lobbying Putin on Syria
http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/05/syria-ously-obama-pushes-gay-rights-in-russia-while-lobbying-putin-on-syria/#ixzz2e4qDb88s

Excerpt: President Barack Obama is rhetorically waving the gay-rights flag on his visit to Russia , even as he is working to soften or bypass opposition from Russia’s president to a strike on Syria…. Obama may be too vain to acknowledge the failure of his [Russia diplomatic] reset policy, but he’s vain enough to poke a finger in Putin’s eye,” said Michael Rubin, an expert on the Middle East at the American Enterprise Institute. “If Obama can score domestic political points with his core Democratic constituency, why not?” said Rubin.

Bin Laden's former doctor believed to be leading jihadists in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/09/05/bin-laden-former-doctor-believed-to-leading-jihadists-in-egypt-sinai-pennsula/?test=latestnews#ixzz2e4nR0F1Z

Excerpt: According to reports in the Long War Journal , sources have told several Egyptian media outlets that Ramzi Mowafi has been leading a group responsible for numerous attacks in the lawless Sinai Peninsula over the past two years. Reports say that Mowafi – who is believed to also be an explosives expert – was spotted in the Sinai in August 2011 providing military training to a number of people.

Immigration: The Most Important Public Educaton Issue No One Talks About. By Mike Antonucci

http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2013/09/05/the-most-important-public-education-issue-no-one-talks-about/

Excerpt: Children from other countries can fill the gaps left by the low U.S. birth rate, but immigration numbers are a product not just of economic and family decisions, but political ones as well. 

Tweet from John Nolte ‏@NolteNC

Probably a good time to start a pool predicting Obama's next pivot to the economy.

Germany's Energy Poverty: How Electricity Became a Luxury Good

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/high-costs-and-errors-of-german-transition-to-renewable-energy-a-920288.html

Excerpt: German consumers already pay the highest electricity prices in Europe. But because the government is failing to get the costs of its new energy policy under control, rising prices are already on the horizon. Electricity is becoming a luxury good in Germany, and one of the country's most important future-oriented projects is acutely at risk.

Tweet from Jerome Hudson ‏@JeromeEHudson

Not holding a sitting president responsible for any of his failures because he’s black is a different kind of racism. (Hudson is black. ~Bob.)

Creative Destruction: Obamacare versus artists, writers, musicians, actors, et al.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/creative-destruction_751425.html

Excerpt: Nancy Pelosi waxed rhapsodic in 2010 as she imagined the benefits of Obamacare: “Think of an economy where people could be an artist or a photographer or a writer without worrying about keeping their day job in order to have health insurance.” Well, that was the economy we used to have. 

The Scariest Jobs Chart Ever

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-scariest-jobs-chart-ever-2013-9

ObamaEd is Coming to a School Near You 

http://politicaloutcast.com/2013/09/obamaed-coming-school-near/

Excerpt: Do you know what the Common Core Curriculum is? Whether you have children or not, unless you live in Alaska, Texas, Nebraska or Virginia, it behooves you to become familiar with it before it kicks in, full-bore, in 2014. Forty five states have adopted the entire Common Core Curriculum.

Feds Spending $2.2 Million to Study Lesbian Obesity

http://freebeacon.com/feds-spending-2-2-million-to-study-lesbian-obesity/

Excerpt: The study, being led by S. Bryn Austin, an associate epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, sets out to find the biological and social factors for why “three-quarters” of lesbians are obese and why gay males are not. (Lesbian friend told me that gay males have big body-image issues, lesbians not so much. I’m guessing they don’t have to care what men think and thus eat what they want. ~Bob)

Disabled Woman Stops Home Invader with Concealed-Carry Handgun

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/09/05/Disabled-Woman-Stops-Home-Invader-With-Concealed-Carry-Handgun

Excerpt: A 64-year old disabled Middletown, Ohio woman named Mabel Fletcher used a concealed-carry handgun to stop a home invader who entered her house just after midnight Wednesday. 

America's Greatest Days Lie Ahead. By Daniel Hannan

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danielhannan/100234551/americas-greatest-days-lie-ahead/

Excerpt: When I talk of the peculiar inheritance of the English-speaking peoples, some critics hear nothing but English chauvinism. Bennett and Lotus, by contrast, have only one Anglo grandparent between them. What they are writing about is plainly a cultural rather than an ethnic patrimony. (Wish I thought so. ~Bob.)

11 surprisingly apt lessons from Machiavelli's The Prince

http://theweek.com/article/index/249042/11-surprisingly-apt-lessons-from-machiavellis-the-prince#

A professor at U-Mass had us read it as the start of modern political thought. ~Bob

Nigerian Islamists gun down 5 Christians after they declare their faith

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/3/nigerian-islamists-gun-down-5-christians-after-the/

Excerpt: Islamists gunned down five people in a roadside ambush near Nigeria’s central city of Jos, only killing them after they declared their Christian faith, church representatives said Monday.

This County had 124% More Registered Voters than Eligible Voters – Counting Dead People and Felonshttp://joemiller.us/2013/09/this-county-had-124-more-registered-voters-than-eligible-voters-counting-dead-people-and-felons/

Genocide in North Korea: Prison Camp Larger than London.

http://moonbattery.com/?p=36147

Excerpt: Meanwhile, in the statist utopia of North Korea, "Thousands of North Korean prisoners may have died after a notorious prison camp larger than the size of London was closed at the end of last year, a new report from a human rights group says. The Washington-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HNRK) says Kim Jong Un consolidated the country’s prison camps after the death of his father in 2011, according to The Telegraph."

Wanting to avoid getting mugged, raped or killed is racist.

http://moonbattery.com/?p=36150

Excerpt: Don’t you dare steer your family away from the parts of town where they would be likely to be subjected to violence. That would be racist: 'A new app originally named “ghetto tracker” is causing all kinds of controversy. In less than 24 hours, this brand new app created enough backlash to prompt an immediate name change.'

Syria

Remember when Obama said that Afghanistan was a war of necessity, not of choice, a war we had to win? Good times. ~Bob

U.S. intercepts Iranian order for attack on U.S. interests in Iraq: report

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/06/us-syria-crisis-usa-iran-idUSBRE98504120130906

Excerpt: The United States has intercepted an order from an Iranian official instructing militants in Iraq to attack U.S. interests in Baghdad in the event the Obama administration launches a military strike in Syria, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. (Attack our embassy? That darn video! ~Bob.)

Iran threatens brutal attacks on Americans, Obama family if US hits Syria

http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/05/iran-threatens-brutal-attacks-on-americans-obama-family-if-us-hits-syria/#ixzz2e4s6zjtb

Excerpt: As Congress debates whether to support President Obama’s call for a limited strike against Syria for the alleged use of chemical weapons, Iran is vowing to back Bashar al-Assad’s regime to the hilt and threatening to unleash terrorism should the U.S. strike. … And in an unprecedented statement, a former Iranian official has warned of mass abductions and brutal killings of American citizens around the world and the rape and killing of one of Obama’s daughters should the United States attack Syria.

FYI, Mr. President, America Helps Good Guys! By Andy Weddington

http://acoloneloftruth.blogspot.com/2013/09/fyi-mr-president-america-helps-good-guys.html

Excerpt: It's not about Syria's president.

Biden During 2012 Campaign: Romney ‘Ready To Go To War In Syria’

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2013/09/05/biden-during-2012-campaign-romney-ready-to-go-to-war-in-syria/

Excerpt: Two months before the 2012 presidential election, Vice President Biden warned on the campaign trail that Mitt Romney wanted to go to war with Syria. (He warned me if I voted for Romney we’d attack Syria. But did I listen? Nooo. All my fault. ~Bob.)

Woman informing Kerry, McCain’s opinions on Syria also an advocate for Syrian rebels
http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/05/woman-informing-kerry-mccains-opinions-on-syria-also-an-advocate-for-syrian-rebels/

Excerpt: The woman whose opinion lawmakers are relying on to go to war in Syria is also a paid advocate for the war-torn country’s rebels. … “Contrary to many media accounts, the war in Syria is not being waged entirely, or even predominantly, by dangerous Islamists and al-Qaida die-hards,” O’Bagy wrote for the Journal on Aug. 30.

Kerry Portrait of Syria Rebels at Odds with Intelligence Reports
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/kerry-rebels-intelligence-reports/2013/09/05/id/523987#ixzz2e2Fn3o3A

Excerpt: Secretary of State John Kerry's public assertions that moderate Syrian opposition groups are growing in influence appear to be at odds with estimates by U.S. and European intelligence sources and nongovernmental experts, who say Islamic extremists remain by far the fiercest and best-organized rebel elements.

McCaul 'stunned' at Kerry's estimate of jihadists among Syrian rebels
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/320315-mccaul-stunned-at-kerrys-estimate-of-jihadists-among-syrian-rebels#ixzz2e6nbZIRD 

Excerpt: McCaul says he's learned in various briefings that the number of jihadists migrating to Syria to take on the government there is closer to 50 percent. The chairman said he was "quite frankly stunned" when that number was disputed at a House Foreign Affairs committee hearing Wednesday afternoon. 

Why Do John Kerry and John McCain Believe that Syria’s Rebels Are Mostly Moderate?

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2013/09/05/why-do-john-kerry-and-john-mccain-believe-that-syrias-rebels-are-mostly-moderate/

Excerpt: In short, the man behind the source for the notion that Syria’s rebellion is moderate is, himself, an Islamist among Islamists, according to FrontPage. One member of the SETF’s Board of Trustees/Board of Directors, Dr. Jihad Qaddour, was also a trustee of the Muslim American Society, which is a front for the Muslim Brotherhood. Another, Bassam Estwani, appears to have been the Imam of the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center, also known as Al-Qaeda leader Anwar Al-Awlaki’s former mosque. 

Did Vladimir Putin Bait a Trap for the United States in Damascus? By David Samuels

http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/143492/samuels-syria-vladimir-putin?all=1

Excerpt: The prize Putin is seeking for obliterating the American "red line" is not victory in Syria—since his client Assad is clearly winning anyway. The point of the attack is to publically expose Obama's deep ambivalence about the use of force to stop Iran. If Obama's red line against the use of chemical weapons in Syria can fall so easily, after the public deaths of more than 1,000 innocent people, including hundreds of children who died foaming at the mouth, how many cruise missiles might Iran's putative acquisition of nuclear weapons capacity cost? (I don't know how much stock to put in this assessment by David Samuels in Tablet magazine, but it sure is thought-provoking. -- Jim Geraghty, Morning Jolt)

World leaders at G20 summit uncertain about who launched Syria chemical weapons attack

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/world-leaders-at-g20-summit-uncertain-about-who-launched-syria-chemical-weapons-attack/2013/09/06/2556a916-16ba-11e3-961c-f22d3aaf19ab_story.html

Excerpt: World leaders are venting over Syria’s civil war but look no closer to agreeing on international military intervention to stop it.

Pentagon Is Ordered to Expand Potential Targets in Syria With a Focus on Forces

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/world/middleeast/pentagon-is-ordered-to-expand-potential-targets-in-syria-with-a-focus-on-forces.html?ref=world&_r=0

Excerpt: President Obama has directed the Pentagon to develop an expanded list of potential targets in Syria in response to intelligence suggesting that the government of President Bashar al-Assad has been moving troops and equipment used to employ chemical weapons while Congress debates whether to authorize military action.

Closing Europe trip, Obama renews call for global support on Syria, but few signs of progress

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/closing-europe-trip-obama-renews-call-for-global-support-on-syria-but-few-signs-of-progress/2013/09/06/d97a62ae-16ae-11e3-961c-f22d3aaf19ab_story.html

Excerpt: China’s a firm no. The European Union is skeptical about whether any military action can be effective. Even Pope Francis weighed in, urging leaders gathered here to abandon what he called a “futile mission.”

Pope Francis appeals to world leaders to avoid 'futile' Syria strike

http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-pope-francis-syria-20130905,0,833678.story

As world leaders gathered Thursday for a G-20 summit in Russia, Pope Francis urged them to pursue a negotiated end to Syria’s civil war and abandon the “futile pursuit of a military solution.” (The Pope opposed Obama? Racist! ~Bob.)

Syrian government sends reinforcements to Christian village attacked by rebel fighters

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrian-government-sends-reinforcements-to-christian-village-attacked-by-rebel-fighters/2013/09/06/02d6337c-16db-11e3-961c-f22d3aaf19ab_story.html

Excerpt: Opposition fighters led by an al-Qaida-linked rebel faction attacked the mountainside sanctuary of Maaloula on Wednesday, and briefly entered the village a day later before pulling out in the evening. The assault has spotlighted fears among Syria’s religious minorities about the prominent role of Islamic extremists in the rebel ranks fighting to overthrow President Bashar Assad’s regime.

Video: Al-Qaeda Attacks Two Syrian Churches to Cries of ‘Allahu Akbar!’

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2013/09/05/video-al-qaeda-attacks-two-syrian-churches-to-cries-of-allahu-akbar/

Excerpt: More information on yesterday’s al-Qaeda led attack on the Christian Village of Maaloula near Damascus,Syria. Not only did they firebomb the village, and threaten to slaughter all Christians once the U.S. helps “liberate” Syria, but they also fired missiles and mortars at two ancient churches, St. Alias Church and St. Grace Church, while spraying the entrances of the churches with bullets. (Mr. McCain, this does not mean “God bless.” –Barb)

Voters Explode On John McCain At Phoenix Town Hall: ‘We Didn’t Send You To Make War For Us’

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/09/05/voters-explode-on-john-mccain-at-phoenix-town-hall-we-didnt-send-you-to-make-war-for-us

Excerpt: A number of Sen. John McCain’s constituents are not happy with the Arizona Republican’s support of President Barack Obama’s plan to take military action against Syria. Voters made that much perfectly clear when they confronted him at a town hall in Phoenix on Thursday. “We didn’t send you to make war for us. We sent you to stop the war,” one man said to applause, CNN reports.

McCain wants to expand Obama's battlefield authority

http://thehill.com/video/senate/320269-mccain-wants-to-expand-obamas-battlefield-authority#ixzz2e6n7T0Bi 

Excerpt: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), an influential Senate voice on national security matters, will offer an amendment to the Syria use-of-force resolution that would significantly expand President Obama’s authority to strike at Syrian President Bashar Assad. McCain wants to give Obama authority to launch a military intervention aggressive enough to degrade Assad’s ability to trigger chemical weapons and “change battlefield momentum” drastically enough to ensure Assad’s departure from power.

Obama on Verge of Historic Rebuke Over Syria

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/obama-syria-vote-house/2013/09/05/id/524077?s=al&promo_code=14C73-1

Excerpt: President Barack Obama appears to be dangerously close to what would be an historic rebuke at the hands of Congress, if the current whip-count projections on the authorization to attack Syria continue to hold. Pundits on both sides of the aisle say losing the high-stakes bid for congressional authorization would make Obama an instant lame-duck, and might well endanger his entire second-term agenda.

House Whip Count Shows Syria Resolution in Deep Trouble

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2013/09/05/house-whip-count-shows-syria-resolution-in-deep-trouble/

Excerpt: WaPo’s blog The Fix has been updating their whip count on the Syria resolution all day and at this point, it looks like the president is heading for a disastrous fall. In fact, it’s no contest. As of Thursday evening, 204 House members — including 54 Democrats — have come out publicly against taking military action against Syria or are leaning that way. Two hundred seventeen votes are needed for passage.

Interfax: 4 Russian naval ships headed toward Syria in eastern Mediterranean

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/interfax-russian-landing-ship-headed-for-eastern-mediterranean-near-syria/2013/09/06/dd6acfcc-16d9-11e3-961c-f22d3aaf19ab_story.html

Excerpt: Interfax reported that another landing ship had left the Black Sea port of Sevastopol on Friday morning and was to pick up a “special cargo” in Novorossiysk before sailing toward the eastern Mediterranean. 

Interesting History: Syria’s Christians Risk Eradication. By Philip Jenkins

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/syrias-christians-risk-eradication/

Excerpt: Most puzzling of all, though, is why the United States seems so determined to eradicate Christianity in one of its oldest heartlands, at such an agonizingly sensitive historical moment. Syria has always been a complex place religiously. Although the country has a substantial Sunni Muslim majority, it also has large minority communities—Christians, Alawites, and others—who together make up over a quarter of the population. Those communities have survived very successfully in Syria for centuries, but the present revolution is a threat to their continued existence. … Philip Jenkins is Distinguished Professor of History at Baylor University and serves as Co-Director for the Program on Historical Studies of Religion in the Institute for Studies of Religion.

Kerry: Bush officials 'so discredited' they're not relevant to Syria debate
http://thehill.com/blogs/global-affairs/middle-east-north-africa/320587-kerry-bush-officials-so-discredited-by-iraq-theyre-not-relevant-to-syria-debate#ixzz2e6llj8OT 

Excerpt: “We are not presenting to the American people the same shoddy intelligence that was presented to the American people back in Iraq,” he said. “We will not put American boots on the ground. We will not take over a civil war in which the United States clearly has no interest being directly involved.”

Syria poses new economic risks. By Ben White

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/syria-us-economy-96354.html

Excerpt: Should votes in the Senate or House to support strikes fail, an already difficult fall legislative calendar could crumble into total partisan chaos, dramatically increasing threats of a government shutdown or a far more damaging debt default. And an intervention in Syria, especially if it goes badly, could have unpredictable consequences for an economy still struggling to gain significant traction.

Russia gave UN 100-page report in July blaming Syrian rebels for Aleppo sarin attack.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/09/05/201268/russia-releases-100-page-report.html#.UinjQNK-r8J

Excerpt: Russia says a deadly March sarin attack in an Aleppo suburb was carried out by Syrian rebels, not forces loyal to President Bashar Assad, and it has delivered a 100-page report laying out its evidence to the United Nations. (Do you really think, if the Syrian rebels win and get control of the nerve gas, they won’t use it? Against us? ~Bob)

Pelosi’s Dance With Assad. By Majid Rafizadeh 

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/majid-rafizadeh/pelosis-assad-dance/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=859443ed78-Mailchimp_FrontPageMag&utm_term=0_57e32c1dad-859443ed78-156414477

Excerpt: Pelosi seemed to enjoy a good relationship with Assad, when she rejected President George W. Bush’s recommendation to not meet with Syria’s dictator. In 2007, Pelosi ignored the Bush administration’s foreign policies and met with one of the most authoritarian leaders of the world— one who has ruled Syria by killings, torture and oppression. Later, though, Pelosi praised Assad by stating, “We came in friendship, hope, and determined that the road to Damascus is a road to peace.”

Obama Arrives Alone For Putin G20 Syria Dinner

http://www.breitbart.com/system/wire/CNG---ccc2e4b678092cd804db4e081596770b---431

Excerpt: World leaders arrived Thursday for a dinner hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin where they would discuss the crisis in Syria, with US President Barack Obama showing up alone and well after the main group. (Couldn’t seem to get out of the sand trap on 13. ~Bob.)

Special Ops Vet Group Wants Truth About Benghazi Before Syria Strike

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2013/09/05/Special-Ops-Veterans-Americans-Must-Be-Told-Truth-About-Benghazi-Before-Intervening-in-Syria

A group of special operations veterans is demanding House Speaker John Boehner form a Select Committee to uncover the truth behind the Benghazi attacks. The group said that Americans and the world will not be able to trust the Obama administration on Syria until it tells the truth about what happened in Benghazi. 

White House considering using military to train Syria rebels
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/09/05/white-house-considering-using-military-to-train-syria-rebels/#ixzz2e4me1i6B

Excerpt: The Obama administration is considering sending American military trainers to Syria to work with the rebel fighters in an expansion of the CIA's training program already underway in Jordan. U.S. official tells Fox News the prospect of sending trainers to Syria is being “kicked around” at the White House, but is part of the administration’s broader Syria policy and would not be tied to a potential military operation. The official stressed that one of the major obstacles in launching this type of operation is that they are having serious problems vetting which are the trustworthy groups in Syria. (”What’s it matter?” –Barb)

Dempsey outlines Syria options, including deployment of ‘thousands’ of ground forces
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/07/22/house-intelligence-committee-signs-off-with-reservations-on-administration-call/#ixzz2e4lvpPE5

Excerpt: Dempsey's letter, released Monday, went far beyond arming the opposition in outlining potential options. He sent the letter after taking heat at last week's confirmation hearing from Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who pressed Dempsey for his advice on Syria while suggesting the administration had not done enough -- McCain threatened to place a hold on Dempsey's nomination until he got answers. (Can we just send McCain back to AZ to retire and play iPhone poker? –Barb)

Kerry: Bombing Syria Would Not be an "Act of War"...Per Se
http://lastresistance.com/3149/kerry-bombing-syria-act-warper-se/

Excerpt: Kerry says that he and the President are not asking Congress for permission to go to war. They’re just wanting to execute a “limited action.” A surgical strike. With cruise missiles. But that is not war in the “classic sense” of the word. I guess it depends on what the definition of “is” is. (So Pearl Harbor was what? ~Bob.)

'Barbarians are Barbaric' By Willaim Kristol

http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/barbarians-are-barbaric_751405.html

Excerpt: Huns will be Huns. Those who act mercifully toward Huns bear direct responsibility for the fact that nuclear weapons are being built in Iran, chemical weapons are being used in Syria and doomsday weapons threaten the future of the Middle East. Those who underestimate the inherent danger of the Huns bear direct responsibility for the deaths of today’s victims, the Syrians, and tomorrow’s victims, the Israelis, Europeans and Americans.

On the record: Hillary backs Obama on Syria.

http://hotair.com/archives/2013/09/03/on-the-record-hillary-backs-obama-on-syria/

Excerpt: As someone (can’t remember who) said on Twitter, imagine if Hillary were still SoS and had to sell this shinolapile on TV today instead of Kerry. Good lord. She quit just in time.

Clear-Cut Stupidity on Syria. Everyone’s on the hook for Obama’s “red line” comments. Except Obama. By Jonah Goldberg

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/357748/clear-cut-stupidity-syria-jonah-goldberg

Excerpt: ‘The genius of you Americans,” the Arab-nationalist and one-time president of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser, once explained, “is that you never make clear-cut stupid moves, only complicated stupid moves which make us wonder at the possibility that there may be something to them which we are missing.” … But now, faced with the prospect of going it alone, he’s in effect telling Congress, “Hey, it’s not like I need your company, but you’d be crazy not to go to war with me.”

Tweet from Larry Elder ‏@larryelder

A "moderate" forces Christians into converting to Islam. An "extremist" kills them without offering the choice. Welcome to Syria.

Senators backing war in Syria are flush with defense industry cash. By Eric Boehm

http://watchdog.org/104692/senators-backing-war-in-syria-are-flush-with-defense-industry-cash/

Excerpt: According to an analysis by MapLight, which tracks lobbying and campaign contributions in Congress, senators who voted in favor of the resolution received, on average, 83 percent more money from defense contractors and other defense interests than senators who voted against the resolution. 

Tweet from John Ekdahl, Jr. ‏@JohnEkdahl

My military. Your credibility. The world’s red line.

Tweet from Stubbornly Me. ‏@lybr3

If American troops, & their fams, didn’t have to back up Obama's false courage, I'd find it a lot funnier watching him lie & try 2 act tough. (From a black guy. ~Bob.)

Tweet from Jake Tapper ‏@jaketapper

CNN's @brikeilarcnn notes the more House/Senate Dems hear in intel briefings the less likely they seem to support action v Syria

Terrorist links led U.S. military to cut ties with Syrian opposition leader

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/20130905-terrorist-links-led-u.s.-military-to-cut-ties-with-syrian-opposition-leader.ece

Excerpt: When the main Syrian opposition group speaks, it is often through a longtime U.S. resident whose ties to Islamist extremists were detailed in a 2010 Dallas Morning News report.

U.S.-Backed Syrian Rebel Commander: ‘Israel Is An Enemy Country;’ Assad and Hizballah 'Israeli Collaborators’

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/us-backed-syrian-rebel-commander-israel-enemy-country-assad-and

Excerpt: Brigadier General Salim Idris, who Sen. John McCain has called a "fine leader" and who leads the Supreme Military Council of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), which is supported by the Obama administration, told Al Jazeera in a May 8 video interview that “Israel is an enemy country” and that Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and the Lebanese terrorist group Hizballah are "Israeli collaborators." - See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/us-backed-syrian-rebel-commander-israel-enemy-country-assad-and#sthash.qCM24Pnn.dpuf

Tweet from Frank J. Fleming ‏@IMAO_

If there was a video game for being president, convincing Republicans to blow people up in the Middle East would be the tutorial mission.

Tweet from Ken Gardner ‏@kesgardner

GALLUP: by 51-36, Americans oppose a military strike against Syria. Going to war without broad public support is always a bad idea.

Not one of 'bad guys,' but Syrian rebel group proclaims 'anti-American' bent

http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/06/20348901-not-one-of-bad-guys-but-syrian-rebel-group-proclaims-anti-american-bent?lite

Excerpt: As debate grows over the extremism of some armed factions battling to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, an incendiary illustration on the Facebook page of one such group leaves little doubt where its leaders envision the uprising ending – with masked Islamic fighters marching through Washington, D.C., as the U.S. Capitol burns in the background.

Barack Obama is heading for a humiliating defeat over Syria. This will be a massive blow to his presidency. By Nile Gardiner

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100234357/barack-obama-is-heading-for-a-humiliating-defeat-over-syria-this-will-be-a-massive-blow-to-his-presidency/

Excerpt: Politico has an eye-opening piece today revealing the extent to which the White House is staring defeat in the face over Syria. According to the influential Washington-based publication, President Obama doesn’t have the votes in the House of Representatives to secure a win, with large-scale opposition among Republicans, and lukewarm backing among Democrats: "If the House voted today on a resolution to attack Syria, President Barack Obama would lose — and lose big."

PHOTOS: Viral Facebook Page: 'I didn't join the Navy to fight for Al Qaeda in a Syrian civil war. By Soopermexican.com

http://www.soopermexican.com/2013/08/31/viral-facebook-picture-i-didnt-join-the-navy-to-fight-for-al-qaeda-in-a-syrian-civil-war/

Excerpt: Between now and the vote for authorization, there are going to be a lot of voices for and against, but none would move our wills as much as those who will be asked to perform the strike, the U.S. Military.

My Labour Day Rant Against Obama's Syrian Strike: "Go to Hell, Muslim World!" By Soopermexican.com

http://www.soopermexican.com/2013/09/02/my-labor-day-rant-against-obamas-syrian-strike-go-to-hell-muslim-world/

Excerpt: You know what world, we're sick & tired of spending our American lives & our money to have you hate and despise us. Attack Syria YOURSELVES!

VIDEO: Syrian Rebels Shell Ancient Christian Village.

http://weaselzippers.us/2013/09/06/video-syrian-rebels-shell-christian-village/

Excerpt: Some of the shells appear to hit the Mar Sarkis monastery.