Update
Random Thoughts for October, 2014. By Robert A. Hall
I had to put these first, because Dr. Thomas Sowell's latest
"Random Thoughts on the Passing Scene" column is linked below. And
his are, sigh, always better. But I try. ~Bob
General News and Comment
Leaders--It's not to early to
get your pal Barack a Christmas Gift!
Excerpt: What a non-judgmental society amounts to is that
common decency is optional – which means that decency is likely to become less
common. - The biggest issue in this fall’s election is whether the Obama
administration will end when Barack Obama leaves the White House or whether it
will continue on, by appointing federal judges with lifetime appointments who
share President Obama’s contempt for the Constitution. Whether such judges will
be confirmed by the Senate depends on whether the Senate continues to be
controlled by Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Excerpt: By 2012, the recession had been over for three-plus
years, and yet the average American saw little improvement. Average net worth
continued to drift downward. Long-term unemployment had reached record levels,
and labor force participation declined. More Americans had joined the
disability rolls than gotten work. Poverty was higher than at any time since
the 1960s. Republicans expected the election to be a referendum on President
Obama’s leadership. It wasn’t
The odds of Republicans winning the Senate are growing.
By Chris Cillizza
Excerpt: All three major election forecasting models saw an
uptick in the likelihood of Republicans winning the six seats they need to
retake the Senate majority over the past week, movement largely due to the
party's strengthened chances in Alaska , Colorado and Iowa .
Morning Jolt by Jim Geraghty is a free e-newsletter. You should subscribe. ~Bob
Bad News for
Republicans. By Jim Geraghty, Morning
Jolt
I am told by some campaign consultants that for much of the
past two years, Republican donors have felt a malaise. You see it in both the individual-campaign fundraising numbers, the committee fundraising numbers, and the spending by outside groups. A lot of wealthy Republican donors
— or even a not-so-wealthy Republican donors — are asking if it’s
worth it. They dug deep to help out their favorite candidates in 2012, and
watched their guys lose — Romney, of course, but also a slew of seemingly
winnable Senate races. They’re not sure their donations do much good. They’re
increasingly wondering if the American political system is a lost cause, if the
electorate has become addicted to Democrats’ vote-buying spending programs, too
tuned out to care about scandals, oblivious to serious problems and getting
their political views shaped by Hollywood
and pop culture. This doesn’t even get into the issue of fearing an IRS audit
or being publicly demonized like the Koch brothers. Of course, this depression,
malaise, and hesitation can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Good news for
Republicans. By Jim Geraghty, Morning
Jolt
Anyway, on to the indisputable good news for Republicans: In
just about every Senate race that matters, last week brought at least one
highly-regarded poll showing exactly what a Republican wants to see. In Alaska , Dan Sullivan has led the past four polls. In Arkansas , Tom Cotton has led 11 of the past 13 polls. In Colorado , Quinnipiac put Cory Gardner ahead, 48 percent to 40 percent. In Iowa , the Des Moines
Register poll put Joni Ernst ahead, 44 percent to 38 percent. NBC News Andrea Mitchell is
openly calling Democrat Bruce Braley “a terrible candidate.” In Louisiana , a runoff between Democrat
incumbent Mary Landrieu and RepublicanBill Cassidy is virtually assured. Cassidy led the last four polls of the runoff. Those five, just
right there, along with the expected GOP wins in Montana ,
South Dakota , and West Virginia , would give the GOP an
eight-seat pickup. Republicans could lose in Kansas and still keep the Senate. In Kansas , voters are still
digesting the fact that the Democrat dropped out and getting to know
“independent” Greg Orman. No one has polled this race in ten days, and the GOP is
pulling out the stops to save Pat Roberts. And we’ve got more races to go . .
.In New Hampshire, CNN had Scott Brown tied with Jeanne Shaheen. In Michigan , Republicans
can be frustrated that Terri Lynn Land hasn’t led any poll recently.
But Democrat Gary Peters’ share of the vote is actually declining
from the mid-40s to the low 40s, with a lot of undecideds left out there. In
North Carolina, Thom Tillis can’t quite get the lead over incumbent
Kay Hagan, but she’s consistently in the mid-40s or even low 40s — a very
precarious spot for an incumbent. Beyond Kansas ,
Democrats hopes for picking up a GOP seat are evaporating. In Georgia , David Purdue has led four of the past five polls. In Kentucky , Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has led every poll since
June. In the House, everybody’s expecting a small gain for
Republicans. Larry Sabato: “We talked to senior Democrats and
Republicans involved in the House contests to inform this report, as well as
some of our fellow analysts and journalists (all were given anonymity so they
could speak freely). We asked each source to give his or her best guess as to
what the net change in House seats would be on Election Day. The guesses were
generally in the range of a five-to-eight seat GOP net gain — the same as ours
— with a low guess of Republicans adding two seats to a high guess of
Republicans adding nine.” So 235 to 240, maybe 245 House Republicans? A nice
total, probably pretty close to the natural ceiling for the GOP. We can go over
the gubernatorial races tomorrow. But the bottom line is, the ingredients
are coming together for not just GOP control, but potentially a big, big year
for Republicans. But it requires everybody to get active and give 110 percent
between now and Election Day.
Thinking of not voting? Put this sign on your mirror:
"Supreme Court Justice Eric Holder." ~Bob
Excerpt: Eric Holder’s tenure as Attorney General was
fraught with controversy, race-baiting and snapping at Congress. Or, as
President Obama put it, “a superb job.”
47% Think Holder More
Interested in Politics Than in Justice
Excerpt: Voters think Eric Holder played politics as U.S.
attorney general and hope President Obama picks someone who’s not like him to
be the nation’s next top law enforcement officer. But those who view the
Constitution as “a living document” are much more appreciative of his efforts
than those who favor a strict interpretation of that document. A new Rasmussen
Reports national telephone survey finds that 47% of Likely U.S. Voters believe
Holder was more interested in politics than in administering justice in a fair
way. Just 28% disagree and think fair administration of justice was Holder’s
chief interest.
Better than expected: Report: Obama Has Missed Over
Half His Second-Term Daily Intel Briefings
Excerpt: A new Government Accountability Institute (GAI)report reveals that
President Barack Obama has attended only 42.1% of his daily intelligence
briefings (known officially as the Presidential Daily Brief, or PDB) in the
2,079 days of his presidency through September 29, 2014.
Worth Reading
https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140925023742-84021053-6-reasons-i-m-happier-because-i-went-to-war
https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140925023742-84021053-6-reasons-i-m-happier-because-i-went-to-war
Excerpt: Eight years of my life was spent enlisted in the
U.S. Marine Corps. I was deployed to Fallujah , Iraq and Helmand
Province , Afghanistan
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2014/09/29/why-6-reasons-im-happier-because-i-went-to-war-went-viral/
It's all good stuff, and maybe it'll register with some people who don't
understand. --Del )
Ray Rice, Roger Goodell, Hope Solo and Domestic Abuse: Hypocrisy
and Hidden Agendas. By David L. Goetsch
Excerpt: The sight of a professional football player
knocking out his fiancée (now wife) in a hotel elevator has precipitated what
is becoming the worst scandal in the history of the NFL. The abuse viewed on
camera in that elevator is bad enough by itself, but what is making matters
even worse are the hypocrisy and hidden agendas of those responding to it.
Although I feel for Mrs. Rice, I am glad that her misfortune has finally
brought the issue of domestic abuse out of the closet and into the daylight.
Perhaps now that the NFL scandal has pulled back the
curtain on domestic abuse, the issue will get the attention it has so long
deserved.
The World is on Fire: Where is theU.S.
The World is on Fire: Where is the
Excerpt: Russia ’s
revitalized Army seizes Crimea and skillfully exerts control in Eastern Ukraine . The Islamic State, a collection of
fanatical Sunni Muslim terrorists in pickup trucks crush the U.S. trained Iraqi Army and overrun territory
from Aleppo to Baghdad . On the Anniversary of Japan’s defeat
in WW II, China ’s
leaders pledge to expunge corruption from the PLA’s senior ranks and build a
more powerful Chinese Army. What is the Army’s response to these challenges? The
Army is blazing a path backward into the Cold War.
One-fifth of U.S.
Excerpt: On e in five U.S. workers was laid off in the past
five years and about 22% of those who lost their jobs still haven't found
another one, according to a new survey that showed the extent Americans have
struggled in the sluggish labor market since the Great Recession ended.
Tweet from Jonah Goldberg @JonahNRO
Hey, I just noticed every time we spend 20 trillion on a war
on poverty and it doesn't work, govt says they need more money.
New US Marine Corps Crisis Unit To Be Based in Kuwait
http://mobile.defensenews.com/article/309290020
http://mobile.defensenews.com/article/309290020
The US Marine Corps is preparing to deploy about 2,100
grunts to be based out of Kuwait
in a new unit configuration designed to respond to crises in the region,
according to Corps officials.
Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force (SPMAGTF)
Central Command will be equipped to perform noncombat evacuation, humanitarian
assistance, infrastructure support, tactical aircraft recovery, fixed-site
security and theater sustainment missions, said Brig. Gen. John Love, assistant
deputy commandant for plans, policies and operations. Plans to deploy the unit
predate the conflict in Iraq
and Syria
with the Islamic State.
Two Elderly Marines
Walk 300 Miles to See Obama… He Refuses to See Them
Excerpt: President Barack Obama refused to see two former
U.S. Marines who walked hundreds of miles to the White House to raise awareness
of a fellow Marine jailed in Mexico .
Terry Sharpe and Allen Brown completed
their walk on Sunday, arriving at the White House with a police escort and
a number of others who support their efforts to secure the release of Marine
Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi. They were not
invited inside the White House, nor did anyone from the Obama
administration apparently greet them. (They should have jumped the fence. ~Bob)
White House fence-jumper made it far deeper into building than previously known
Excerpt: The man who jumped the White House fence this month
and sprinted through the front door made it much farther into the building than
previously known, overpowering one Secret Service officer and running through
much of the main floor, according to three people familiar with the incident. ...
The officer posted inside the front door appeared to be delayed in learning
that the intruder, Omar Gonzalez, was about to burst through. (Since he was
Hispanic, they were probably afraid to touch him for fear Obama would say he
was just looking for a better life and they were racists. Nothing in DC works
anymore. ~Bob)
Remember when the
troops respected the CIC?
18 Stats That Prove
That Government Dependence Has Reached Epidemic Levels. By Michael Snyder
Excerpt: Did you know that the number of Americans getting
benefits from the federal government each month exceeds the number of full-time
workers in the private sector by more than 60 million? In other words, the
number of people that are taking money out of the system is far greater than
the number of people that are putting money into the system. And did you know
that nearly 70 percent of all of the money that the federal government spends
goes toward entitlement and welfare programs? When it comes to the transfer of
wealth, nobody does it on a grander scale than the U.S. government.
UDALL LIED (AGAIN):
Embattled Sen. Arrested for More Than Just Pot http://coloradopeakpolitics.com/2014/09/29/udall-lied-embattled-sen-arrested-just-pot/
Excerpt: Pot is one thing, but three ounces is a lot for a
casual user and is usually reserved for dealers. Wait…. You
weren’t selling that weed were you, Mark? And,
then, amphetamines? Really? It’s no secret in Colorado that Sen. Mark Udall has some
problems telling the truth.
Figures: Obama's USDA To Spend 31.5 Million on
'Healthy" Food Stamp Program
Excerpt: The number of food stamp recipients has seen a
gargantuan increase since Obama became president in 2008. Late in 2012 the
number of those on the SNAP program had exceeded the populations of 24 states and the District of Columbia . By
2014, enrollment in the program jumped to over 45 million Americans. Even with
historic levels of Americans now dependent on welfare and the middle class poorer today than it was in 1984, Obama
continues to claim that his economic policies have made things better. (Wonder
if it will end up in the garbage can like the school lunches? --Barb. Actually,
I like this. In fact, would limit all food stamps (SNAP or EBT cards) to
healthy items. It would put a crimp in the style of the healthy looking, white,
20-something guy in line ahead of me at Walgreens. he tried to buy to energy
drinks with his card. Didn't allow it, so he paid cash--with a $100 bill. After
he left, the tired-looking 40-something clerk looked at me and said, Our money."
People are going to reach the end of their tolerance. See the older piece: Craigslist
makes turning food stamps into cash a SNAP http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/10/22/craigslist-makes-turning-food-stamps-into-cash-snap/
~Bob)
Top VA Official
Conspired With Her Married Boyfriend To Thwart Investigations
Excerpt: A recent
investigation has uncovered a shocking tale of corruption and adultery
at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Susan Taylor, a longtime federal
employee and Deputy Chief Procurement Officer at the Veterans Health
Administration since 2010, not only used her position to award government
contracts to a former business partner, and worked with said company to hide
the thousands and thousands of dollars it was making off the government, but
conspired with her married boyfriend — who also had close personal ties to the
company — to thwart investigations into her misconduct.
No surprise: Wisconsin
Reporter Was Sent to Cover Michelle Obama’s Speech and What She Says an Aide
Told Her Had Her ‘Creeped Out’
Excerpt: Meg Kissinger is a seasoned reporter at the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin ’s
well-known newspaper. She’s seen a lot in her days. But what she said happened
at a speech by Michelle Obama in the state on Monday left her utterly “creeped
out.” Kissinger took to her Facebook and Twitter page to describe what
happened. In short, she said, aides for both the first lady and Wisconsin Democratic candidate for governor, Mary Burke,
told her she was banned from talking to members of the crowd. (If the press is
allowed to talk to the public, the Fuehrer might lose control! ~Bob)
Excerpt: The inequality police are worried that we are
living in a new
Gilded Age. We should be so lucky: Between 1880 and 1890, the number of
employed Americans increased by more than 13 percent, and wages increased
by almost
50 percent. I am going to go out on a limb and predict that the Barack
Obama years will not match that record; the number of employed Americans is
lower today than it was when he took office, and household income is down.
Grover Cleveland
is looking like a genius in comparison.
Getting to Know the
Chinese Navy. By Steve Cohen
Excerpt: The Obama administration very much wants a
diplomatic success somewhere in the world. So when the president orders the
head of the U.S. Navy to meet with his Chinese counterpart and find areas of
cooperation, it is neither surprising nor inappropriate. But the possibility
that the Chinese Navy will gain real insight into how our aircraft carriers
operate is worrying our Pacific allies and could compromise our security.
The End of American Naval Supremacy? By Michael Rubin
Excerpt: Four days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine ,
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel spoke of how American forces would soon be at
pre-World War II numbers. Sequestration will force a further retraction. Adm.
James “Ace” Lyons, U.S. Navy (retired) has noted that he commanded more ships
in the Pacific Ocean during the Carter
administration than exist in the entire U.S. Navy today.
Navy sailors distrust
commanders, fear crippling political correctness. Complain of zero-tolerance
disciplinary environment, excessive political correctness
Excerpt: Navy sailors
harbor “widespread mistrust” in the admirals who command them, complaining of
poor leadership and a disciplinary environment that tolerates absolutely no
mistakes, says a survey of the fleet. The disgruntlement runs deepest in the
officer corps, where scores of commanders have been relieved of duty in recent
years. (Some say the Navy is the most political of the services, but I'm not
sure of that, what about the Air Force? --Del )
Armed contractor with
criminal record was on elevator with Obama in Atlanta
Excerpt: A security contractor with a gun and three
convictions for assault and battery was allowed on an elevator with President Obama
during a Sept. 16 trip to Atlanta ,
violating Secret Service protocols, according to three people familiar with the
incident.
CDC confirms first case of Ebola in US. By Jessica Mulvihill
Excerpt: The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed on Tuesday that a patient being treated
at a Dallas hospital has tested positive for
Ebola, the first case diagnosed in the United States . (Ebola has been far
down my list of worries. below, for example, my fear that Global warming
hysteria will bankrupt the country and reduce our life styles to the Medieval
level. This may move it up a notch. ~Bob. First case, someone returning from Liberia
brought it back. No details on the person, are they a health worker, a
Liberian, an immigrant or what? Not that it matters I guess, and the
authorities are 100% confident that this will be perfectly contained, they know
(they think) everyone the person came in contact with, will be watching them,
etc. And caught this early, the person should have an excellent chance of
surviving. Let's see how this goes.....Del )
Public School Lets
Boy Use Girls Bathroom and Locker Room
Excerpt: A “transgender” teen – a teen who was born a boy
but has decided that he is actually a girl – will be allowed to use the girl’s restrooms and locker room at
Atherton High School
Excerpt: The man who now stands as Roberts' only serious
opposition is Greg Orman, a born-again "independent." According to
polling, which is still unsettled in the wake of the ballot upheaval, Orman
holds a single-digit lead over Roberts. Who is this guy? Put simply, he's
a Democrat, despite his denials. He's donated
thousands to Obama, Hillary Clinton and Harry Reid, but now he's
playing games by declining to state which party he'd caucus with, if elected.
Stage production for
18-minute Obama speech cost $94,360. By Elizabeth Harrington
Excerpt: “Elite Productions,” the go-to company for
prominent Democratic politicians such as Bill and Hillary Clinton and Nancy
Pelosi, put on the set for Obama’s speech to troops at MacDill Air Force Base
in Tampa , Fla.
Scientist calls for
death to humanity
Excerpt: An award-winning Texas scientist was given a standing ovation
after he advocated the extermination of 90 per cent of the Earth's population
by an airborne Ebola virus.
Race Card News
The Moral Failures of
Eric Holder. By Victor Davis Hanson
Excerpt: Eric Holder’s left many baleful legacies: being
censured by the House of Representatives; withholding subpoenaed documents,
proving untruthful about a failed gun-walking caper in Mexico; failing to
enforce laws on the books, from immigration to the elements of the Affordable
Care Act; illegally billing the government for his own private use of a
government Gulfstream jet; snooping on Associated Press reporters; giving de
facto exemptions to renegade IRS politicos; and trying to create civilian
trials for terrorist killers like KSM, one of the architects of the 9/11
attacks. But he will be known mostly for re-teaching Americans to think of race
as essential, not incidental, to our characters.
Good for her: Black Woman Says Black People Should
"Speak Properly"
http://godfatherpolitics.com/17373/black-woman-says-black-people-speak-properly/
http://godfatherpolitics.com/17373/black-woman-says-black-people-speak-properly/
Excerpt: As difficult as blacks had it during the days of
segregation, a distinctly black culture developed, even in the prevalence of
racist attitudes and restrictive laws. We forget, or have never been told, that
Washington , D.C. Washington was a segregated city, blacks
simply created their own metropolis. . . . The first black bank, the Industrial
Savings Bank, was started here.” While “the black population of New York’s
Harlem inherited many of its buildings from previous white owners, . . . many
of the buildings in Shaw were paid for by black businessmen and built by black
hands.”[1]
Families were intact, the divorce and unwed mother rates were no different from
that of white communities. (The pathologies in our cities have nothing to do
with race and everything to do with culture. In England , the underclass yobs are
white English people. See Life at the
Bottom by Theodore Dalrymple. ~Bob
Mumia Abu-Jamal to
give college commencement speech
Excerpt: Convicted Philadelphia
cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal has been selected as the commencement speaker for a Vermont college. Goddard College announced
that the infamous inmate will address its graduates
at Sunday's ceremony. (An infamous convicted cop-killer has yet again
been chose to give the commencement speech to college kids. The college
president is really happy about this, because it shows that "this newest
group of Goddard graduates expresses their freedom to engage and think
radically and critically." Yes, that's what higher education certainly
about, teaching young minds to value the inputs of a murderer, not a repentant
killer with messages about sin and redemption, but a racist fanatic who stood
over a policeman on the ground and pumped bullets into him. He is apparently a
charismatic personality and impressive speaker, who became a cause
célèbre for Liberals, and has been extolled as an example of White racism
and injustice. Examination of the facts of the officer's death leaves no doubt
at all as to his guilt, but somehow that makes no difference and he is the
personification of noble suffering of injustice. And people keep buying this
package. What he will say to the college kids I don't know, but I'm pretty sure
it'll be along the lines of what he's written about forever, which is the
horrors of White racism and the corruption of the whole system, and
yadda-yadda-yadda. The kids who hear this and take him on as another hero like
Che Guevara are just bound to be great citizens, ready to join all the others
whose idea of their crusade will be to take apart this nation. Heaven help us.
--Del )
Title: It's 2nd
Base & "2nd Base" Season. By Andy Weddington
Excerpt: Six and a half years ago breast cancer forever
changed life for my wife. And for me. Our story shortly. Breast cancer
awareness month begins today. Since diagnosis, pink, the disease's
official color, is my wife's favorite hue. This month, once in a
while, I'll wear a pink shirt. Year round a small metal pink ribbon is
pinned to the side of my Marine ball
cap.
Federal Spending Spree at End of Fiscal Year
Excerpt: Yesterday marked the end of the 2013-2014 fiscal
year. And because agencies cannot carry their funds over from year to year,
explains Brianna Ehley of the Fiscal Times, federal agencies tend to spend
September 30th on a shopping spree, spending the rest of their funds before
they lose them. In 2013, federal agencies spent $50 billion in the last week of
the fiscal year -- the Department of Veterans Affairs purchased $562,000 worth
of artwork, while the Department of Agriculture bought $144,000 in toner. The
Department of Defense spent $5.5 billion on September 30, 2013, sending emails
to employees telling them to spend the rest of their funds.
Obamacare/Government Healthcare News
http://www.ok.gov/triton/modules/newsroom/newsroom_article.php?id=258&article_id=14797
Excerpt: Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt hailed the state’s victory in
its lawsuit challenging the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. In
September 2012, Oklahoma
was the first to challenge the legality of an IRS rule that caused billions in
illegal subsidies to be paid out, despite Congress having never authorized
those payments. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Ronald White ruled in favor of
the state’s lawsuit challenging that IRS rule. (Makes it likely the Supreme
Court will have to hear the challenge. ~Bob)
LA Times: Doctor
Shortages, Buyer's Remorse Plague California
Excerpt: California 's
narrow Obamacare networks have many Obamacare customers experiencing buyer's
remorse over health care plans that are turning out to include far fewer
doctors than they were led to believe, reports the Los Angeles Times. "Where
was the state in protecting people from these false promises?" California
Obamacare customer Heidi Shurtleff, 53, told the Times.
"I'm not getting what I paid for."
Obamacare 1 Year Report Card Scores a Big ‘F.’ By Dave Jolly
Excerpt: The New
York Post took a look at Obamacare and graded it like a school grades
a student. The subjects to be graded are: The Uninsured, Your Plan, Premiums,
Cost, Jobs and then Overall Grade.
Undocumented Democrat News
Video: Illegals
Flooding Over the Border… But This AZ Farmer Was Prepared
http://www.thepoliticalinsider.com/illegals-flooding-border-az-farmer-prepared/
http://www.thepoliticalinsider.com/illegals-flooding-border-az-farmer-prepared/
According to the news video, the Illegal was carrying two SS
cards and a fake visa. ~Bob. Check out the link. An illegal shows up with a gun
at a farm near the border, and ends up in a shootout with the farmer. Who only
has a shotgun and birdshot. Clearly not one of us! First box of ammo for the
shotgun is the buckshot. But the other box of ammo most of us have is for the
long gun, at least a 5.56mm, if not a 7.62 or 30-06, and that illegal with his
pistol would have been starting to rot in the sunshine by the time the deputies
arrived. But it is another example of why we need to get very serious about tightening
up the border, and exporting illegals out of here on a rush basis. --Del
"You're Greener than Gore" News
Excerpt: According to the International Energy Agency, the United States is producing oil at the same level
as Saudi Arabia ,
producing 11.5 million barrels per day. It is on track to surpass Saudi Arabia and become the world's largest oil
producer, though, according to Saudi
Arabia , the country has the capacity to
increase its oil production further. The
United States
Excerpt: Global warming contributed to extreme heat waves in
many parts of the world last year, but cannot be definitively linked to the California drought,
according to a report released Monday. (That won't stop the warming cultists
from doing it, even though the warm trend stopped in 1995. Water diverted to
save a minnow is a big part of it. Also the growth of Almond farming. Takes
over a gallon for each almond--enough water goes to almonds to supply over 80%
of California
families, I have read. ~Bob)
5 Policies That Would Make Gas Cheaper. By Nicolas Loris
Excerpt: Sick of paying too much at the pump? If you are,
there’s good news: There are policies Congress and the Obama administration
could implement that likely would lead to lower prices. If you’re looking to
lower gas prices, first look at crude oil prices.
Religion of Peace News
Excerpt: It’s funny how President Obama is always talking
about “I” and “me” whenever it makes him look good, but suddenly it’s “they”
and “we” when mistakes are made. For instance, for years Obama boasted about
how he ended the Iraq
war and how he withdrew American troops. “You know I say what I mean and I mean
what I say,” he boasted on the campaign trail in 2012. “I said I’d end the war
in Iraq .
I ended it.” Then, over the summer, as one Iraqi city after another fell to
Islamic State militants, and as critics insisted that Obama’s decision to pull
all of our troops out of Iraq was partly to blame, he suddenly changed his
tune, mocking the critics. “What I just find interesting is the degree to which
this issue keeps on coming up, as if this was my decision [to withdraw U.S. troops].”
Excerpt: The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL),
sometimes called ISIS or IS, is a Sunni
extremist group that follows al-Qaida’s anti-West ideology and sees a holy war
against the West as a religious duty. With regard to nonbelievers, the Quran
commands, “And kill them wherever you find them, and turn them out from where
they have turned you out.” The Quran contains many other verses that call for
Muslim violence against nonbelievers for the sake of Islamic rule.
Contrast the words of the Quran with the statements of
limp-wristed Western leaders such as this by President Barack Obama: “We have
reaffirmed that the United
States is not and never will be at war with
Islam. Islam teaches peace.”
Syria and Iraq is
Vietnam: Che Guevara vs Colonel and Congressman Scott Perry and Lessons from
Vietnam
Excerpt: Before I turn to Che Guevara and Colonel and
Congressman, Scott Perry, this news. Great
Britain will help in bombing the terrorists but only in Iraq , not at their home base in Syria ,
as now authorized by vote of their Parliament. They worry that they would
violate the “sovereignty” of Syria ,
whose government, while privately welcoming help against any and all rebel
factions, has publicly denounced any foreign country’s airpower being deployed
within their border. Ahem. History lesson for the Brits and those Americans
born after the Vietnam war or who listened to the biased media at that time
instead of noting the facts. Journey back with me for a moment to the Vietnam
War and the 1970 “incursion” into Cambodia
ordered by then President Richard Nixon, which provoked hysterical and
sometimes violent demonstrations across America by the radical left. (Wow,
a congressman who can look ahead and act on clear thinking. I'm a hawk from way
back, and I want ISIS smashed, wiped out to a
man, but how can I support another set of half-measures by a President who
doesn't want to be there at all and is doing whatever the least is he can get
away with. Which is guaranteed to NOT solve the problem, but cost us big buck
and maybe some blood. Same scene, same lines, slightly different cast, but
it'll come out the same way- not well. --Del )
Yazidis haunted by
cries for help as militants bury victims alive
Excerpt: Refugee Samo Ilyas Ali has nine children to feed
but he can't focus on the future because the sounds of women and children
crying out for help while being buried alive by Islamic State militants in
northern Iraq
often consume his mind. ... "They tied the hands of one woman to the back
of a car and her legs to another car and they split her into two," he said
beside makeshift tents as women cried.
Our Double Standard
on Civilian Casualties
Excerpt: The Obama administration has acknowledged that its
strict policy of preventing civilian deaths does not apply to American airstrikes in Syria and Iraq . The statement confirming the
loosening of high standards pertaining to minimizing collateral damage comes
amid reports that as many as a dozen civilians, including women and children,
were killed by a U.S.
strike of a Syrian village. U.S.
officials believed that members of the Khorasan group, an al-Qaida splinter
organization, were based in the village that was struck by the U.S. Air Force,
resulting in civilian deaths. ... "The suspicion that militants are
operating nearby does not justify strikes that put at risk the lives of so many
innocent civilians," the Statement Department said after Israel shelled
a United Nations school that was used as a Hamas terrorist base.
CNN exclusive: ISIS
fighter says U.S.
Excerpt: The United States
may be touting its strikes on ISIS targets in Syria , but one of the terror
group's fighters says the hits are trivial at best. In an exclusive interview
with CNN, a Syrian ISIS fighter using the pseudonym Abu Talha said the militant
group has been preparing for such attacks.
Iraqi pilots
mistakenly drop supplies — instead of bombs — on Islamic State terrorists
Excerpt: Members of Islamic State recently received an
unexpected surprise from the Iraqi military’s inexperienced pilots: an airdrop
of food, water and ammunition.
Employing Armor Against the Islamic State: The Inevitable
Urban Combined Arms Fight. By Dennis A. Lowe
Excerpt: ISIL cannot be destroyed relying solely on
airstrikes, guided missiles and special operations. The Russians made a
critical mistake thinking artillery and airstrikes could bend the Chechen’s to
their will in 1994 and 1999. Military options confined to these capabilities
will hinder ISIL in the short term. Ultimately, they will adapt to survive the
circumstances imposed by external actors operating without a significant and
stable ground presence. As long as ISIL controls territory and shelters among
civilian populations in easily fortified urban environments, a combined arms
ground force will be required to root them out and establish alternative
governance. Essential to a major combined arms effort is the enlightened
employment of armor and the mobile, protected firepower it provides.
Netanyahu Goes All
Out In UN Speech
Excerpt: In a blistering speech to the United Nations,
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Monday that Hamas and the
Islamic State group are "branches of the same poisonous tree," both
bent on world domination through terror, just as the Nazis were.
An Illusory
Victory: Obama refuses to give up his foolhardy “mission
accomplished” message. By Rich Lowry
Excerpt: “Mission
accomplished” has been his essential message about al-Qaeda for years. The
terror group, according to the president, is “decimated,” “on the run,” “on the
path to defeat.” The president spiked the football so many times, his arm must
have been about to give out. He gave every indication that al-Qaeda was all but
eliminated, except for some mopping-up operations. And now here we are
launching what is projected to be a years-long bombing campaign against an
al-Qaeda offshoot, the Islamic State, which controls territory roughly equal to
Great Britain , and we are
hitting a faction of al-Qaeda in Syria , the so-called Khorasan
Group, that represented an “imminent” threat to the West. It raises the
question: What happened to al-Qaeda’s being on the verge of defeat?
Obama’s ‘Mission Accomplished’ moment. By Marc A. Thiessen
Excerpt: No, I’m not talking about President George W.
Bush’s May 1, 2003, speech aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. I’m talking about
President Obama’s speech at the White House on Oct. 21, 2011, in which he
boasted about his decision to withdraw all U.S.
troops and bring “the long war in Iraq ” to an end. It’s still on the
White House Web site under the (now ironic) headline “Remarks
by the President on Ending the War in Iraq.” “As a candidate for President,
I pledged to bring the war in Iraq
to a responsible end,” Obama solemnly declared, “[And] today, I can report that,
as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of
the year. After nearly nine years, America ’s
war in Iraq
will be over.”
Obama Betrays the
Kurds: The Kurds are fighting bravely, but they need arms, and
they need air support. By Robert Zubrin
Excerpt: As these lines are being written, some 400,000
Kurds in and around the town of Kobane in northern Syria, on the Turkish
border, are being besieged and assaulted by massed legions of Islamic State
killers armed with scores of tanks, armored personnel carriers, and heavy
artillery. Against these, the Kurdish defenders have only AK-47s and
rocket-propelled grenades. The Kurds have called on the U.S. to send in
air strikes to take out the jihadist forces. (The Kurds are pro-American
Muslims. Not the kind Obama favors. but he'll change their attitude; as in Egypt , all
sides will hate us when he gets done. ~Bob)
Worth Reading : Iraq Was Then,
Syria Is Now: Obama hasn’t a clue what he’s doing, but at least
he isn’t George W. Bush. By Victor Davis
Hanson
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/389094/iraq-was-then-syria-now-victor-davis-hanson
Excerpt: The October 2002 joint congressional authorization
to go to war was not just about fears of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
Other worries prompted broad bipartisan support for the resolution. A majority
of Democratic senators (as evidenced by their passionate speeches from the
Senate floor) cited many of the resolution’s 23 writs. The latter were mostly
concerned with things other than WMD: harboring terrorists, offering bounties
for suicide bombers, giving refuge to at least one of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing suspects, committing genocide,
attempting to kill a former U.S.
president, and so on. Hillary Clinton should watch her own 2002 speech from the
Senate floor.
Radical Sheik Who
Called For Deaths of U.S.
Excerpt: Sheikh Rachid al-Ghannouchi was invited to headline
an event this afternoon, despite that he was a member of a group that endorsed
the murder of U.S. troops,
and he was banned from the U.S.
for supporting Hamas. (And then the left and Muslims wonder why so many
Americans blame all of Islam. ~Bob)
Excerpt: Twin bombings near an elementary school in Syria
killed at least 32 people on Wednesday, including at least 10 children, with
the second blast going off as screaming parents frantically searched for their
sons and daughters in a street littered with school bags and body parts. ...
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll in the
twin attacks at 39, including 30 children under the age of 12. It said the
second blast was caused by a suicide bomber. ... There was no immediate claim of responsibility for
Wednesday's attack, but Syrian rebels fighting to oust Assad have carried out
numerous bombings in government-held areas of Homs
Taliban Suicide
Bombers Kill 7 in Kabul
Excerpt: Taliban suicide bombers struck two buses carrying
Afghan soldiers in Kabul
early Wednesday, killing seven people and wounding 21, just a day after the
signing of a key U.S.-Afghan security pact.
Excerpt: After protestors scolded him, he, with his
bodyguards, went into a supermarket and, as video footage revealed, Erdogan
grabbed one protestor, a Muslim, by the nape of the neck and yelled: "Why
are you running away, you sperm of Israel !" After the incident
the man also told the press that he was slapped by Erdogan; then, thinking
better of it, the man testified that he had been beaten by Erdogan's
bodyguards, not by the prime minister; and he finally apologized to Erdogan for
"forcing the prime minister to insult him."
Hidden Terror in Europe . By Abigail R. Esman
Excerpt: Europe is in
trouble. Even as America and
its European allies begin their war campaign against ISIS and its
self-proclaimed Islamic State in Syria
and Iraq ,
European Muslims are increasingly showing their support for Islamic terror
groups and their jihad. With the number of Muslims heading to Syria to join
ISIS and Al Nusra (the Syrian branch of Al Qaida) on the rise, those who remain
behind in countries like Belgium and the Netherlands are now working to raise
funds to support their families, and to defend other European Muslims accused
of plotting terrorist attacks at home. (If you sow the wind...~Bob)
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