Wednesday, July 23, 2014

A LOT of important news and comment

General News and Comment
                         
Chart.

Movie Recommendation: America: Imagine the World Without Her.
http://www.americathemovie.com/
Bonnie and I finally had time to see thi terrific movie. If you haven't they told us here playing through Thursday, July 31, best hurry. The only problem is that the people most likely to see it don't need to, while the low-info voter is more into sex and violence movies. We hope to be able to take the granddaughter. See the review below. ~Bob
 
D'Souza's "America" is vital refreshment for Obama-besieged nation. By Gina Miller
Excerpt: On Sunday afternoon, my husband and I finally set aside a little time to make a very rare visit to the movie theater to see Dinesh D'Souza's, America: Imagine the World Without Her. I know many clear-minded people have already written glowing reviews, but there's always room for one more big thumbs-up. A number of liberals have also written typically spiteful "reviews" in an effort to thwart attendance. But, as we fully understand, if liberals hate it, then we know it's probably good, and this is certainly true with America. (One of several excellent reviews of this movie about the real America, not the imperialist, racist, corrupt, oppressive one that they've been teaching in too many schools for too long. I hope to get a chance to go see it. --Del)

Book Recommendation: A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell
Bonnie and I read this fine novel for a small book group we belong to. It is set in NW Italy in WWII during 1943-45. It is the story of Jews behind German lines, both Italian and refugees from other countries, of the Italian people who aided them, often at the cost of their lives, and of the brutal partisan war against the Nazis and the Italian fascists. It is also meticulously researched--it took her seven years to finish it. The narrative is harshly realistic, the characterization strong and the dialog sparkling. Russell, a paleoanthropologist academic by training holds a PhD. This was her third novel.

BRAVO: The Movie
This sounds good. ~Bob

Jeremiah Denton, admiral, senator and defiant Vietnam POW, is buried in Arlington
Excerpt: He was held with the most recalcitrant captives in the Hanoi prison dubbed “Alcatraz” (

Excellent Video of Malaysian Flt 17 being hit by missile
Excerpt from email: Looks like the right engine and wing area took the hit. Note the camera operator is able to record the moment of impact in the first 2 seconds of this clip. Note the smoke burst left behind on impact with the #2 engine area. There is a 18 second delay (speed of sound delay) due to the distance and altitude of the explosion. Question: how did this video operator know to have his camera running just prior to the missile explosion? How many people run their camera in the sky looking for an airplane cruising at altitude so high that most are not visible to the human eye? Note that the pilots are maintaining wings level, the airplane and burning wing still intact, in what appears to be an uncontrolled descent from 33,000 feet when the video ends at 1+19sec. (480P is best resolution available)(select FULL SCREEN) (Perhaps President BO needs to finance with more money the Ukrainian Russian Separatists to at least beg them to bring back the pieces of the 777 and the bodies of all of that plane's passengers that they murdered when they stole any possible evidence of that plane's shoot down. In so doing, their efforts were to, at least, contaminate all of that downed aircraft's pieces of wreckage so that as much of the evidence needed to confirm who and what shot the Malaysian Aviation 777 aircraft down were highlighted to confirm who, what, where, how, and why that 777 was shot down. This videotape shows - in pretty clear evidence - how, what, and why that 777 was shot down. The world's leader are, thus far, working on building their own case that Putin was trying to gin up his excuses and alibis for that plane's shoot down. Meanwhile, President BO was very busy flying around the country for fundraising tours, playing golf with celebrities, and doing every thing else except spending time on the phone with leaders of like-minded countries and their leaders to present a united front against Putin's obvious efforts to keep himself and his country more than at arm's length length away from their very real complicity in Putin's country and their innocence in this murdering of almost 300 people on board that aircraft. --Paul)

Two Ukrainian military jets shot down over rebel-held area
Excerpt: Separatists fighting the Kiev government claimed credit for shooting down two warplanes Wednesday over eastern Ukraine near where a passenger airliner crashed last week after being struck by a missile. The attack on the warplanes came just six days after the Malaysia Airlines disaster, which has drawn international outrage and showcased the advanced firepower that apparently is available on the ground in the region. 
Report: Sen. John Walsh (D-Mont.) plagiarized War College thesis. By Sean Sullivan 
Excerpt: Sen. John Walsh (D-Mont.) plagiarized a substantial portion of of this final thesis at the United States Army War College, a news report Wednesday said -- a revelation that threatens to hamstring his underdog campaign for a full term.

The Insiders: See no Obama, hear no Obama, quote no Obama. By Ed Rogers
Excerpt: The Obama administration is dangerously close to causing a serious fracture within the Democratic Party. There is so much deceit, delusion and incompetence coming from this administration and Democratic Party leaders that rank-and-file Democratic candidates are becoming leery of being seen with President Obama and are exercising caution in signing on to administration initiatives, repeating its talking points or giving the White House the benefit of the doubt even on routine matters. Democratic candidates must be starting to feel as though it is every man or woman for himself or herself. Being a team player and a good soldier is not worth the risk.

How’d that nonintervention and ‘smart diplomacy’ work out? By Jennifer Rubin
Excerpt: These days are troubled for anti-interventionists and multi-lateralists. Virtually all of their nostrums have proven false. We can woo powers by economic engagement? That didn’t work with Russia. We let Russia into the World Trade Organization, and Europe’s economy is more intertwined than ever with Russia’s. That, it seems, has made it harder, not easier, to check Russian aggression.

Single Mother Arrested for Carrying Gun to Protect Her Children
Excerpt: A mistake could separate a single mother from her children and send her to prison for three years. Her crime? Unlawfully possessing a gun in New Jersey that she could legally possess and carry in her home state of Pennsylvania. Shaneen Allen, a single mother with two children, planned to spend the weekend celebrating her son’s birthday in New Jersey. Along with the supplies for the party, she made sure to pack her .380 handgun for protection. Having been robbed twice before in the same year, Allen bought the gun in Pennsylvania just one week before her drive. (Black. 1:00 AM. Driving [carrying] while black? ~Bob)

Tree planted in memory of George Harrison felled ... by beetles
Excerpt: In a case of unbelievable coincidence, a pine tree planted in memory of the late Beatle George Harrison was killed by a beetle infestation.

NAACP Legal Defense Fund: Detroit Water Service Shutoffs Are Discriminatory
Excerpt: After a class action lawsuit filed against the city of Detroit, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund says that recent water shutoffs to Detroit residents were discriminatory. (After a class action lawsuit filed against the city of Detroit, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund says that recent water shutoffs to Detroit residents were discriminatory. --GS. well, I see their point. In a black-run city, expecting blacks to pay their bills like the rest of us is of course racist. Detroit should provide everything free to minorities--borrow the money like the feds do. ~Bob)

Watch Some Marines Confront a Man Impersonating An Army Sergeant Major
Excerpt: At a military funeral this weekend in West Palm Beach, Florida, a couple of possibly retired Marines confronted a man dressed in a U.S. Army dress uniform.

Help Make Offshore Drilling a Reality
Map shows where drilling is blocked

http://reason.com/blog/2014/07/22/border-patrol-agent-draws-gun-on-boy-sco
Excerpt: Central Iowa received a lesson they won't forget in federal manners at a border crossing from Canada into Alaska. According to the scoutmaster, a casual snapshot of a Border Patrol agent got the group of about two dozen scouts and volunteers detained, searched—and one of them ultimately held at gunpoint.

Obama’s double talk and double standards. By Jennifer Rubin  
Excerpt: If nothing else, both parties — and allies and foreign foes — have learned not to take anything this administration says very seriously. Red lines come and go. Secretary of State John F. Kerry says there’s “progress” in the Hamas truce talks, but he had said there had been progress in the “peace process.” Time and again, we’ve seen hypocrisy or intellectual dishonesty (or both) from this crew:

Beretta Dumps Maryland After New Gun Laws: Moves manufacturing to Tennessee
Excerpt: Beretta USA, one of the nation’s largest firearms manufacturers, will move its manufacturing and approximately 300 jobs out of Maryland because of the state’s new gun control laws, the company said in a statement Tuesday. Beretta said the company will transition its manufacturing from Maryland to Tennessee in 2015, citing Maryland’s passage of Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley’s Firearms Safety Act last year and the state’s general gun control atmosphere.

Excerpt: "The longer individuals were exposed to socialism, the more likely they were to cheat on our task," according to a new study, "The (True) Legacy of Two Really Existing Economic Systems," from Duke University and the University of Munich. The team of researchers concluded this after working with 259 participants from Berlin who grew up on opposite sides of the infamous wall.

Worth Reading: Do Blacks Need Favors? By Walter E. Williams
Excerpt: Earlier this month, the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act was celebrated. During the act’s legislative debate, then-Sen. Hubert Humphrey, responding to predictions, promised, “I’ll eat my hat if this leads to racial quotas.” I don’t know whether Humphrey got around to keeping his promise, but here’s my question: Is it within the capacity of black Americans to make it in this society without the special favors variously called racial preferences, quotas, affirmative action and race-sensitive policies? What might a “yes” answer to that question assume and imply about blacks? Likewise, what would a “no” answer assume and imply? Let’s look at it. (Williams grew up poor and black in the Philadelphia projects, earned a PhD in economics without affirmative action, and was head of the economics department at George Mason University. ~Bob)

Worth Reading: Bordering on Madness. By Thomas Sowell
Excerpt: In a recent confrontation between protesters against the illegal flood of unaccompanied children into the United States and counter-protests by some Hispanic group, one man from the latter group said angrily, "We are as good as you are!" One of the things that make the history of clashes over race or ethnicity such a history of tragedies around the world is that — regardless of whatever particular issue sets off these clashes — many people see the ultimate stakes as their worth as human beings. On that, there is no room for compromise, but only polarization. That is why playing "the race card" is such an irresponsible and dangerous political game.

Costco and the perils of mixing politics and business: Retailer pays a price for getting too close to Obama. By Ben S. Carson.
Excerpt: Astute business people generally do not make their political views widely known, because they realize that about half of their customers agree with them and half of them do not. There certainly is no need to unnecessarily create animosity, especially when you are trying to sell products. In the case of Costco, a company highly respected for very wise business practices, Jim Sinegal, the co-founder and CEO until recently, has made no secret of his profound admiration for President Obama and his policies. For the sake of disclosure, before I go further, I should reveal that I have been a member of the Costco Board of Directors for 15 years. (Carson is the brilliant black pediatric neurosurgeon, not retired from practice, who performed the first successful operation separating twins co-joined t the head. ~Bob)

WaPo Fact Checker: Obama's claim that the GOP has 'blocked every serious idea.' By Glenn Kessler
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0714/fact_checker.php3#.U9BxivldW8M
Excerpt: "So far this year, Republicans in Congress have blocked every serious idea to strengthen the middle class." -President Obama, weekly address, July 12, 2014 This has become a standard line in the president's oratory, as part of making his case that he's "acted this year to help working Americans on my own- when Congress won't act." ... But to claim that "every serious idea" has been blocked is going too far-given that the president lauded at least three bills as aiding the middle class. (Update: In a speech the morning this column appeared, the president adjusted his language appropriately: "Republicans in Congress keep blocking or voting down some of the ideas that would have the biggest impact on middle-class and working families.") Three Pinocchios.

Obama raises funds while international crises loom. By Dave Boyer
Excerpt: Facing emergencies from Ukraine to the Mexican border, President Obama left Washington on Tuesday for a three-day Democratic fundraising trip amid signs that his image-makers are worried about criticism that the president’s excursion is an “unsavory distraction.” Mr. Obama’s schedule on the West Coast is packed with five party fundraisers at the exclusive estates of wealthy donors, at a time when Israel is engaged in an escalating ground war with Hamas, European allies are grappling with the downing of a jetliner in Ukraine by Russia-backed separatists, and the administration is scrambling to stem to flow of unaccompanied minors from Central America. (No golf? ~Bob)

Big Business: Lapdog of the Left: Why there will never be a bipartisan alliance against corporate welfare. By Jonah Goldberg
Excerpt: The Ex-Im gives U.S. taxpayer-backed loan guarantees to the foreign customers of giant U.S. corporations that don’t need the help. It socializes the risk while privatizing the profits. Basically, it’s free money for big businesses like GE, Caterpillar, and particularly Boeing (hence the outfit’s nickname, “the Bank of Boeing”). Even Barack Obama, shortly before he became president, derided Ex-Im as “little more than a fund for corporate welfare.” Ex-Im is up for reauthorization in September. Not surprisingly, both the people who get free money and the people who enjoy giving out money that doesn’t belong to them would like to continue doing so.

Just  Words, Just Words: Does Putin — or anyone — believe Obama’s rhetoric anymore? By Tom Rogan
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/383452/just-words-just-words-tom-rogan
Excerpt: Why, Fournier asks, did the White House see a game of pool as more presidential than crisis management? Fournier then ventured an answer: "[Obama] and his advisers are so certain about their moral and political standing that they believe it’s enough to make a declaration. If we say it, the public should believe it." Indeed. But this dysfunction is not only due to arrogance. Ultimately, it’s a symptom of the administration’s strategic incompetence. 

Tale of the Tapes: IRS head confirms investigators have found backup tapes in Lerner probe
Excerpt: The revelation is significant because the IRS claimed, when the agency first told Congress about the missing emails, that backup tapes "no longer exist because they have been recycled." It is unclear whether the tapes in IG custody contain any Lerner emails, but Koskinen said investigators are now checking. ($20 says no emails, or no incriminating ones, or they would have vanished. ~Bob)

The Democrats’ Obama problem. By Aaron Blake 
Excerpt: President Obama is unpopular. In the 12 states that will decide control of the Senate this November, though, he's even more unpopular. A new poll from Democratic pollster Democracy Corps shows 60 percent of people in these states say they disapprove of Obama, compared to just 37 percent who approve. Perhaps more striking: 50 percent of voters in these states say they not only disapprove of Obama, but they "strongly" disapprove of him.

Excerpt: According to a Pew survey, the “next-generation left” has a huge, generational disagreement with older, traditional left-liberals. Among the older liberals, for instance, 83% identify “circumstances” as the cause of poverty. Nexties are almost evenly split on this, with 47% blaming circumstances and 42% blaming “lack of effort.” Fifty-six percent of the older Democrats think Wall Street does more harm than good, whereas 56% of the younger ones think the reverse. 

VA reform: Sen. Sanders' socialist agenda holding up help for America's veterans. By Pete Hegseth
Excerpt: They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results. The definition of insanity in Washington is when, despite painfully obvious facts and experiences, ideologically-slavish legislators insist the “solutions” (read: more money) that they’ve tried for years will finally solve persistent problems.
The latest personification of such insanity is Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the self-proclaimed socialist who also happens to be the chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs (VA) committee. This comes under the heading of "Are you nuts?" And the answer is..... not hard to figure out. The VA system is the problem, where all the upper level managers are in the civil servants' union, and very close to untouchable no matter how arrogant or incompetent or amazingly stupid they are. The only real fix to the "culture of corruption" is an extreme makeover, that would break the power of the union and subject everyone to the same kinds of requirements for performance that everyone in private industry has. Then and only then will things really change. If a fresh set of managers and reviewers from Congress then decide that spending money to hire more doctors or build more facilities is part of the answer, then it should be given some credence. But the important thing is to change the system, and that will require a major battle with the union that nobody in Congress wants to get into. For one thing, they contribute a lot of money to campaigns, and that sure means something to the politicians. We have to hope that keeping up pressure on Congress to grow a pair and really face the situation will finally result in the kind of changes that will actually make a difference in VA performance. --Del)

China's President Xi Jinping signs Venezuela oil deal
Excerpt: They include a $4bn (£2.34bn) credit line in return for Venezuelan crude and other products. The agreements came on the latest stop of a four-country visit to Latin America. Mr Xi has already signed key deals in Argentina and Brazil. He has now departed from Venezuela and will visit Cuba next. (The article clearly demonstrates a huge 'nail in the coffin' of the free world as we knew it. The newly formed BRICS will bail out all the bankrupt countries on the planet..... Everyone should note the influence of China in AFRICA and South America. CHINA built the new $200 Million Dollar headquarters of the AFRICAN UNION in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2011. --Bob B.)

Interesting: Mary Burke Addresses Trek Outsourcing 99.5% of Their Bikes: "Trek Does What it Can to Manufacture Bikes Here." By Jud Lounsbury, Progressive News from the Cheddarsphere. 11/01/2013
Mary Burke is the Democrat candidate for governor. Gov. Scott Walker has criticized her on this. Here is a liberal's view from last year. ~Bob. Excerpt: Plus, Burke is one of Trek's private owners and currently sits on their board. This is a real-time issue. Did she object or do anything to stop Trek for sending jobs to China? Is she doing anything right now to bring back the Trek jobs back? ... But, here's the kicker. During her time at Trek, Burke served as a board member on the Bicycle Parts Suppliers Association (BPSA), a powerful trade association that, among other things, has lobbied for weakening tariffs and free trade. In addition, they've defended Chinese manufacturing and fought regulations during the recent Chinese manufacturing lead paint scare. So, while it is nice to hear Mary Burke bemoan unfair trade deals, the reality is that she in past has fought for them and personally profited from them. (Of course, we know how this all ends. Every Madison progressive, every union member, every liberal beating the drum for protecting American jobs who sneered about Mitt Romney's greed will shrug their shoulders and vote for her . . . just because she's the Democrat. -- Jim Geraghty, Morning Jolt)

Chappaquiddick: When Progressivism Started Issuing Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Cards. By Jim Geraghty, Morning Jolt
Last Friday was the 45th anniversary of the Chappaquiddick incident. Brian Cates wrote why Chappaquiddick matters -- and why the U.S. public would be wise to study the last half-century — in a lengthy series of Tweets collected on Storify. I'd just add one more note . . .Ted Kennedy was one of the biggest, earliest, most glaring examples of how many progressives believed, despite their professed values, the personal wasn't political. You could be the biggest womanizer around, but if you voted to support abortion, the professional women's movement would look the other way on any other behavior. ... "The personal is political" is a pretty dumb philosophy used to justify a lot of political meddling in our personal lives. A better saying would be "both the personal and the political matter" — that is, how you treat people matters, and it's easy to argue that how you treat others — "Love your neighbor as you love yourself" — is way more important than your philosophy, ideology, or politics. If you're a jerk who agrees with me all the time, I probably don't want to hang around with you or be associated with you. Sure, a lot of politicians on both sides of the aisle drink too much and womanize. But Ted Kennedy killed somebody, or at the very least, let her die. For almost all of us, serious legal charges would follow that kind of behavior. But Ted Kennedy got a two-month suspended sentence for leaving the scene of an accident. The judge declared Kennedy, "has already been, and will continue to be punished far beyond anything this court can impose." The legal term for that conclusion is horse pucky. ... Signaling that your personal behavior doesn't really matter as long as you have the right political beliefs is a formula to encourage really dreadful personal behavior. 

Worth Reading: The Valley of the Shadow: How mansion-dwelling, carbon-spewing cutthroat capitalists can still be politically correct. By Victor Davis Hanson
Excerpt: Stranger yet, Silicon Valley excelled at 1950s-style profit-driven capitalism while projecting the image of hip and cool. The result is a bizarre 21st-century 1-percenter culture of $1,000-a-square-foot homes, $100,000 BMWs, and $500 loafers coexisting with left-wing politics and trendy pop culture. Silicon Valley valiantly tries to square the circle of driving a Mercedes or flying in a Gulfstream while lambasting those who produce its fuel.

Obamacare News

Batting .500 on Obamacare suits, Democrats still suffer a loss. By Jennifer Rubin 
Excerpt: On the same day that the D.C. Circuit struck down the subsidies in federal exchanges, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion saying the law is vague and therefore the administration can do what it wants. The split decision practically guarantees the case will go to the Supreme Court. 

DC Circuit Court Ruling Deals Massive Blow to Obamacare. By Guy Benson
Excerpt: A full-blown Obamacare earthquake. The 'second highest court in the land's'judgment may not be final -- the administration will almost certainly appeal for an en banc hearing before the full court, and there's always SCOTUS -- but for now, it is the binding decision. ... UPDATE III - The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals just ruled in the opposite direction on this precise issue, increasing the likelihood that we're ultimately headed to SCOTUS.

Oklahoma Man Struggles for Three Months to Cancel Obamacare Enrollment
Excerpt: The Obamacare woes continue as an Oklahoma man spent three agonizing months trying to cancel his health insurance plan. David Emanuel’s 65th birthday last April, when he became eligible for Medicare, spurred him to cancel his private health insurance plan. He called BlueCross BlueShield to terminate the plan and was met with resistance. “They said, ‘You can’t do anything until healthcare.gov tells us that you can drop it,’” he said.

Obamacare's Fraudulent Incentives. By Conn Carroll
Excerpt: GAO investigators used fictitious identities and documents to apply for Obamacare coverage on 12 separate occasions. The Obama administration granted coverage and subsidies to 11 of 12 fraudulent applicants. Additionally, as of July 2014, the GAO reported that fake documentation sent for two enrollees had been "verified". (well, if you can vote without proving who you are, why not get insurance coverage without proof? ~Bob)

Has the ACA Slowed Health Care Spending Growth?
Excerpt: More recent data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis indicates that the recent 2009 to 2012 slowdown in health spending may, in fact, be reversing: Real per capita GDP growth from the first quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014 was 0.8 percent, but real per capita health care spending grew at 2.2 percent. Preliminary estimates indicate that health care spending as a share of GDP will increase from 17.2 percent in 2012 to 17.4 percent in the first quarter of 2014. The authors also looked to employment growth within the health care sector, finding that health care employment has continued to grow faster than the economy as a whole: ("Bend the cost curve downward" was, of course, just another Obama lie. ~Bob)

Company That ‘Saved’ HealthCare.gov Faces Questions of Cronyism. By Melissa Quinn
Excerpt: Jarred by the defect-riddled rollout of the Obamacare website, Obama administration officials signed up a technology company to rid HealthCare.gov of its bugs. Now, though, congressional Republicans are scrutinizing that outfit for a potential conflict of interest because its sister company, UnitedHealthcare, is among insurance companies selling plans to Americans through online marketplaces, or “exchanges.”

Undocumented Democrat News

Gov. Perry to send National Guard troops to Mexican border amid migrant crisis
Excerpt: Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced plans Monday to send up to 1,000 of his state’s National Guard troops to the Mexican border within 30 days, saying that the Obama administration has not kept Texas secure. Perry (R) said the troops will be integrated into a state law enforcement program called Operation Strong Safety, which is aimed at preventing criminal activity by Mexican drug cartels on the Texas side of the border. 

Tex. Lt. Gov: 80-85% Of Illegals Aren't Unaccompanied Kids
Excerpt: Texas Lt. Governor David Dewhurst (R) reported that the vast majority of illegal immigrants coming over the southern border are not unaccompanied minors in an appearance on Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “The Daily Rundown.” “Our effort in Texas is not focused on the unaccompanied children...we are focused on-the unaccompanied children represent some 12%-20%. We're focused on that 80, the 85% of which a quarter according to the border patrol, have a criminal record” he said about Texas’ recent deployment to of the National Guard to the southern border.

Report: Illegals Allowed To Stay Longer Because Immigration Courts On Verge of 'Implosion'
Excerpt: According to Reuters, "U.S. immigration courts have a backlog of 375,373 cases, almost 50,000 more than they faced two years ago." Marks, the judge who is also the president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, is "one of the 243 judges presiding over 59 immigration courts in the United States," and she is setting "hearing dates as far off as 2018." It reportedly "now typically takes three to five years for cases to clear the system."

Obama Wants $4.3 Billion to Solve Border Crisis. But He Plans to Spend Only $25 Million This Year.
Excerpt: The Congressional Budget Office has released its score on how President Barack Obama’s$4.3 billion emergency request on immigration will be spent. The big news? The CBO score confirms that the president’s $4.3 billion emergency request is not warranted. CBO reports that only $25 million of the president’s request would be spent in fiscal year 2014 and the remaining funds would not be spent until the next fiscal year or in the out-years.

Roger Simon calls National Guardsmen child-killers. …Does Politico agree? @politico: Well, at least he didn't call them 'baby-killers.' That's progress, right? By Moe Lane 
Excerpt: Let me explain the entire good/bad thing. There’s Roger Simon, over at Pajamas Media. I generally call him ‘Good’ Roger Simon, because that way I can distinguish him from the Roger Simon over at Politico, who I used to typically call ‘Bad’ Roger Simon. Only now I’m just going to call Bad Roger Simon nothing but Bad Roger Simon, on the basis of this particular tweet.

Religion of Peace News

Fantasy in Gaza and Vienna. By Jennifer Rubin  
Excerpt: Once again President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry are learning that simply proclaiming their desires is not a foreign policy. Indeed, the more empty threats and grand pronouncements they make, the less influence they have. So it is with the Gaza conflict.

Our Sudden De Facto Travel Ban on Israel. By Jim Geraghty, Morning Jolt
Excerpt: I suppose there's a bit of logic to the Federal Aviation Administration's decision to bar all flights into Tel Aviv — after the shoot-down in the Ukrainian skies, surely everyone in the aviation world is more jittery than usual. But by barring flights, we're giving Hamas what they want. We're stopping all U.S. flights into Tel Aviv for 24 hours . . . and then what? We've just told Hamas that we'll stop our flights into Israel whenever they hit near the airport. The airport is well within range; it's just a matter of firing enough until one gets through the Iron Dome air defense system and scaring away air travelers.

U.S. Funds Muslim Brotherhood Who Burn Churches, Defile Priest Corpses
Excerpt: Fr. Anthony Hanna saw a 4th-century church after Muslim thugs looted, torched it, then dug up priests, crushed and burned their bones. Fr. Anthony Hanna saw a 4th-century church after Muslim thugs looted, torched it, then dug up priests, crushed and burned their bones. (Kerry caught on hot mic saying Israel effort very pinpoint and we have to get over there. Why? To screw it up Israel’s accurate efforts to protect itself and its citizens and to further the goals of HAMAS and radical Islam….Barb)

Shocking moment ISIS militants take sledgehammers to Mosul tomb of Prophet Jonah as more than 50 blindfolded bodies are found massacred south of Baghdad
Excerpt: The rebels, who are members of the Islamic State terror group, were filmed attacking centuries-old graves in the north-west city of Mosul in Ninevah province. …One of the devastated tombstones belonged to the Prophet Jonah (Younis in Arabic) and was revered by Muslims and Christians alike, according to Iraqi authorities. The prophet, who is the central figure in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Jonah, is best known for being swallowed by a fish or a whale, depending on translation. (Evil is rampant, swallowing heritage. The world is upside down. Here is an innocent telling Jonah’s story, Mary Margaret: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4VrujheblY&list=PLB1344DECED2624AC --Barb)

Excerpt: Imagine the outcry if a Jewish or Christian cleric prayed something like this about Muslims. But no one will take any particular notice of this. Just don’t, whatever you do, call them “savages,” you greasy Islamophobe.

Excerpt: Hamas posted this video on Facebook. Clearly Hamas jihadis believe that they don’t have to take the slightest pains to hide the fact that they launch attacks from civilian areas. They know that the international media will cover for them, no matter what.

Boko Haram insurgents kill 100 people as they take control of Nigerian town: Survivors say group fired RPGs, threw bombs into homes and gunned down people trying to escape the ensuing fires
Excerpt: Boko Haram extremists have killed more than 100 people and hoisted their black and white flag over a north-eastern town left undefended by Nigeria's military, according to a civil defence spokesman and a human rights advocate.

Gaza conflict: France criticises 'anti-Semitic' riot
Excerpt: Jewish-owned businesses and a synagogue were targeted in the suburb of Sarcelles, just outside Paris. Shops were looted and 18 people were arrested as youths went on the rampage during Sunday's protest, which had been banned by authorities. ... "What's happened in the past few days is terrible. They're shouting 'Death to the Jews' and attacking synagogues. It's completely out of control", he said. ("Youths" is Europe media code for "young Muslim thugs" ~Bob)

 AMP Official Defends Hamas, Praises Israeli Casualties
Excerpt: The group American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) does not shy away from its support for the terrorist organization Hamas. The group's National Campus Coordinator, Taher Herzallah, recently posted Palestine TV photos of injured Israeli soldiers and a destroyed tank to his personal Facebook page. The caption for both photos read: "The most beautiful site in my eyes."

"Gas the Jews": Anti-Semitic Protesters Loot Shops, Burn Cars In France's 'Little Jerusalem.' By Cortney O'Brien 
Excerpt: Eighteen people were arrested for attacks on shops, including a kosher supermarket, a Jewish-owned chemist and a funeral home. Rioters, who carried batons and threw petrol bombs according to eyewitnesses, were yards from the synagogue when they were driven back by riot police who used tear gas. “They were shouting: ‘Death to Jews,’ and ‘Slit Jews’ throats’,” David, a Jewish sound engineer told The Times. “It took us back to 1938.”

Albright: Hamas Civilian Human Shields Hurt Israel’s Moral Authority. From The Patriot Post
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright offered one of the more half-baked theories on the Israel-Hamas conflict we've heard yet. She lamented Palestinian civilian deaths, saying, "I do think that it is very hard to watch the number of Palestinians that are being killed -- innocents." Indeed, it is hard -- more than 600 are dead so far, despite Israel's incredible efforts to minimize those deaths. Albright then explained why it's happening: "It is hard to dispute the fact that, as Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu has said that, in fact, there are innocents being put in the way in order to act as shields." Therefore, Hamas should be condemned for such barbarous acts, correct? Not exactly, says Albright. She concluded, "[T]he bottom line is, I think that this is hurting Israel's moral authority." Hamas' use of human shields hurts Israel's moral authority? In what universe is that coherent?

Presbyterian Church Slams Israel —- Ignores Christian Persecution. By Raymond Ibrahim 
Excerpt: Netanyahu responded: It should trouble all people of conscience and morality because it’s so disgraceful. You know, you look at what’s happening in the Middle East and I think most Americans understand this, they see this enormous area riveted by religious hatred, by savagery of unimaginable proportions. Then you come to Israel and you see the one democracy that upholds basic human rights, that guards the rights of all minorities, that protects Christians—Christians are persecuted throughout the Middle East. So most Americans understand that Israel is a beacon of civilization and moderation. You know I would suggest to these Presbyterian organizations to fly to the Middle East, come and see Israel for the embattled democracy that it is, and then take a bus tour, go to Libya, go to Syria, go to Iraq, and see the difference. And I would give them two pieces of advice, one is, make sure it’s an armor plated bus, and second, don’t say that you’re Christians. (I was a Presbyterian. Now a Lutheran. Not that the ELCA is much better. ~Bob)

Dear God...Struggling to Keep Afghan Girl Safe After a Mullah Is Accused of Rape
Excerpt: It was bad enough that the alleged rape took place in the sanctity of a mosque, and that the accused man was a mullah who invoked the familiar defense that it had been consensual sex. But the victim was only 10 years old. And there was more: The authorities said her family members openly planned to carry out an “honor killing” in the case — against the young girl. The mullah offered to marry his victim instead. This past week, the awful matter became even worse. On Tuesday, local policemen removed the girl from the shelter that had given her refuge and returned her to her family, despite complaints from women’s activists that she was likely to be killed.

Kerry Pledges $47 Million in Aid for Gaza

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday pledged $47 million in humanitarian aid for Gaza as he flew to the region to intensify efforts for an immediate truce, AFP reports. Kerry, who has voiced willingness to tour the region as long as needed, started his mission in Cairo where he met visiting UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The two leaders both called for an end to two weeks of violence. "We are deeply concerned about the consequences of Israel's appropriate and legitimate effort to defend itself," Kerry told reporters as he met Ban. (Frees up Hamas money to buy rockets. ~Bob)

1 comment:

  1. I believe that the video of the aircraft shootdown is actually that of the AN-26 that went down on July 14, rather than that of MH-17.

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