Today's offerings

G-Mail: No call from the governor

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

Syrian Child Raped and Brutalized by Jihad

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

Graphic picture. Unverified. ~Bob.

Egyptian security forces move against protesters’ camps

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

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

Social Security Disability Insurance Costs More than Medicare

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When failure carries no cost. By Caroline Glick

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

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

Energy Manipulation. By Walter E. Williams

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hope this speculation is wrong. ~Bob.

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

Israel army shoots down rocket near Egypt border

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A BLUNDER AT THE MONEY FACTORY

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

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

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

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

The Deification of Hillary Clinton

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tweet from Stubbornly Me. ‏@lybr

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

Twenty things that require a photo ID. By Ashe Schow 

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

Tweet from Trish (D-Queen Bee) ‏@ExPoleDancer

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

Tweet from David Burge ‏@iowahawkblog

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

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

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

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

Tweet from ~Anna~ ‏@tayandmae

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tweet from Jerome Hudson ‏@JeromeEHudson

I support a civics test as a requirement to vote.

The Disaster Called OBAMACARE

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

Compilation of links to recent articles.

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

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

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

Bankrupt? Detroit leaders still chasing away jobs

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

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

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

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

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

Voting problems prompt retraining of poll workers

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

The coming collapse in one graph

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

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

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

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

A few items of interest

While I no longer have the time or energy to do the Political SitRep, I will forward a post a few items as I get to them. (I have to lay down and recover after masking the bed, and packing to move is taking forever.) ~Bob

Are less than 30% of American floating the bill for entire nation? I think we have reached the tipping point.

http://ehsmanager.blogspot.com/2013/06/are-less-than-30-of-american-floating.html

Excerpt: When you take a quick summary of our nations 316 Million people, who is left that can actually contribute to our nations economy or pay our debts? Hard to think about? Well now try to comprehend how much "more" can these same people could give over the next decade to pay down our nations $16 trillion debt and continue carrying the  costs of the other 70% of Americans? The NUMBers - "Something is not adding up"  Of the 316 Million Americans, there are 156 Million in the civilian labor force with 146 Million falling into a low-income category that does not make enough to have a net gain for contributing to tax revenues. Does that mean ONLY 10 Million people contribute to our nations economy? My NUMBers put it at 95 Million or 30% net gainers, but it may actually be that bad... but hey, I 'm an optimist!

‘Healthy’ Democrats. By Betsy McCaughey

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/healthy_democrats_5KqEzeBhVwPy7zgPa8MO4I

Excerpt: California is trying to keep secret how it spends $910 million in federal taxpayer money granted by the Obama administration to set up its health-insurance exchange, Covered California.What we’ve learned so far about the misuse of that money should raise red flags in all states setting up exchanges — including New York. In California,some of the $910 million is going for rich compensation packages for exchange employees ($360,000 a year for the executive director). More than half the funds are being handed out in contracts to third parties, and the lion’s share of those contracts are for what the exchange terms “outreach.” In truth, the money is going to build Democratic Party enrollment. (Wow, a dishonest system set up by the party in power to serve their interests.  Who would have ever thought of it? Although this one is so bad that maybe it deserves some kind of reward.  You have to admire the chutzpah. Del)

Ted Cruz Exposes Amnesty Bill: $5000 Penalty For Hiring Citizens Over Legalized Aliens

http://freedomoutpost.com/2013/06/ted-cruz-exposes-amnesty-bill-5000-penalty-for-hiring-citizens-over-legalized-aliens/

Excerpt: We can’t possibly expect our Senators to read a 1200 page bill before voting on it. Can we? Well Thank God Ted Cruz read it. Not only did Cruz read it but he schooled anyone who would listen from the Senate floor on Tuesday. Cruz found a loophole that actually penalizes an employer $5000 for hiring a citizen over a legalized alien. Seriously. You can’t make this stuff up. (Yep, some genius tucked this into the 1200 pages and nobody noticed.  Imagine the insanity of it, and what would happen as soon as some citizens got turned down for jobs that went to newly legalized aliens.  Especially if the citizen were Black and lost out to a brand-new legalized immigrant. All these giant bills are disasters in the making, inevitably the politicians either just put in stupid things out of ignorance, or put in clever things for their own gains, like John Kerry with Obamacare funding for hospitals.  Hopefully the publicity on this will get it fixed, but I'm sure there are other nice little surprises still hidden in the other pages. --Del)

Obama's Climate Plan Has No New Ideas, But Would Make Economy Worse

http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewFreeUse.act?fuid=MTcyNzg0NTA

Excerpt: In a much ballyhooed speech, President Obama on Tuesday released his Climate Action Plan. The plan contains no new ideas but would amplify the economic damage of his current policies. Except for resolve to curb carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from existing power plants, this manifesto either doubles down on the subsidized green energy programs of his first term or creates mushy-to-the-point-of-meaningless new programs to weather (extreme) weather. The president's thinly veiled plans to eliminate coal from our nation's energy supply would undermine the reliability, affordability and adequacy of electricity. (Nothing actually helpful, of course, a listing of the stupid aspects of the President's campaign on the subject.  Another way to do damage to our society. --Del)

Ace in the War on Affordable Energy

http://tartanmarine.blogspot.com/2013/06/ace-in-war-on-coal.html

What Obama really saw at the ‘Door of No Return,’ a disputed memorial to the slave trade

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/06/28/what-obama-really-saw-at-the-door-of-no-return-a-debunked-memorial-to-the-slave-trade/?hpid=z2&wpisrc=nl_pmpol

Excerpt: But if you ask Africa scholars, they’ll tell you a very different story. “There are literally no historians who believe the Slave House is what they’re claiming it to be, or that believe Goree was statistically significant in terms of the slave trade,” Ralph Austen, who as a professor emeritus at the University of Chicago has written several academic articles on the subject, told the Associated Press. (Slavery was more than a chapter in world history. Every culture enslaved and every people held slaves and were enslaved, usually by their own kind, until western civilization turned against it. William Wilberforce and William Lloyd Garrison deserve to be remembered. In his excellent essay, “The real history of slavery,” Dr. Thomas Sowell points out that at the same time half a million African slaves were brought to North America (but many more to South & Central America), a million European slaves were kidnapped by Muslims to Africa. Muslims also probably held more African slaves than Americans, as slavery is endorsed in the Qur’an. Mohammad, who is considered the perfect example of conduct for Muslims, held slaves and endorsed sex with slave women, making it halal for Muslims today. Unfortunately, slavery still exists in the world today, and not only in Muslim countries, but in many western countries including the US where women are brought for sex work and held captive. See some of the raids on “Asian Massage Parlors.” ~Bob)

Tennessee imam: Jews and Christians filthy, their lives and property can be taken in jihad by the Muslims

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/06/tennessee-imam-jews-and-christians-filthy-their-lives-and-property-can-be-taken-in-jihad-by-the-musl.html

Excerpt: Note also his words about jihad, quoting Muhammad: "I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify la illaha illa Allah [there is no god but Allah]." And Qadhi says: "The life and property of a mushrik [one who worships others besides Allah] holds no value in the state of jihad....which means if they don't sayla illaha illa Allah, their lives and property are halal" -- that is, permitted to be taken by the Muslims.

Egyptian Protesters Storm Headquarters of Ruling Party

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/world/middleeast/egypt-protests.html?hp&_r=0

Excerpt: As millions of Egyptians streamed into the streets of cities across the country to demand the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi, attackers stormed the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood here early on Monday after hours of clashes with armed people trapped inside. (Photo: https://twitter.com/TakeIt_RAWW/status/351524989687721984/photo/1)

Hey, Remember When the Media Covered the Tahir Square Uprising As If It Were the Most Important Democratic Event Since the Fall of the Soviet Union?

http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/06/30/Hey-Remember-When-the-Media-Covered-the-Tahir-Square-Uprising-As-If-It-Were-the-Most-Important-Democratic-Event-Since-the-Fall-of-the-Soviet-Union

Excerpt: Is it because the thrill of democracy was only thrilling to the media last time because it could be portrayed as vindicating Obama's very-much-implied Messianic power to change the world? Why is a democratic, reformist, more secular movement not exciting to the media now? Some reports say that seventeen million have taken to the streets to protest Morsi's Islamist, repressive, backwards, corrupt, and thuggish government; where is the media interest in the democrats?

Pedophiles want same rights as homosexuals: Claim unfair to be stigmatized for sexual orientation. By Jack Minor

http://www.greeleygazette.com/press/?p=11517

Excerpt: Using the same tactics used by “gay” rights activists, pedophiles have begun to seek similar status arguing their desire for children is a sexual orientation no different than heterosexual or homosexuals. (OK, now it is REALLY starting to go to Hell in a handbasket!  And some people are ready to support this..... great. Hopefully there will be such a screaming uproar that this will get buried deep, deep under the outrage. --Del)

Syrian rebels behead a Catholic priest before a cheering crowd. Where's the Main Stream Media reaction? By Damian Thompson

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100224075/syrian-rebels-behead-a-catholic-priest-before-a-cheering-crowd-wheres-the-msm-reaction/

Excerpt: The headline is taken from a Tweet from Dan Hannan, who's rightly bemused by the absence of coverage of this filthy murder except on religious websites (see below):

France's triumphant 'Joan of Arc' promise to bring back the franc and destroy euro. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/10151286/Frances-triumphant-Joan-of-Arc-vows-to-bring-back-franc-and-destroy-euro.html

Excerpt: It is no longer an implausible prospect. "We cannot be seduced," she said, brimming with confidence after her party secured 46pc of the vote in a by-election earthquake a week ago. Her candidate trounced the ruling Socialists in their own bastion of Villeneuve-sur-Lot.

WH Touts Kenyan Program to Obtain National ID Cards for Voter Registration

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/wh-touts-kenyan-program-obtain-national-id-cards-voter-registration_737990.html

Excerpt: As President Obama and his family continue their tour of Africa, the White House put out a Fact Sheet entitled "U.S. Support for Strengthening Democratic Institutions, Rule of Law, and Human Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa." One of the first items highlighted by the White House is a $53 million program in Kenya that helps young people "obtain National identification cards, a prerequisite to voter registration." (Ah, say, how do we reconcile these two different points of view coming from the same source?  "Cognitive dissonance" in action? So it's fine in Africa to require official ID to vote, but back here it's an "unnecessary obstacle".  It must just be bad wiring in my brain, but somehow that just doesn't work out for me.  Call me old fashioned, but I like consistency in policies. --Del)

Could South Vietnam Have Been Saved? New scholarship raises questions about the antiwar consensus of Vietnam historians. By Mark Moyar

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323949904578540402202969658.html

Excerpt: Fifty years ago, South Vietnamese generals, with the covert support of the U.S. government, assassinated President Ngo Dinh Diem in one of the most momentous events of the Vietnam War. For the next four decades, American opinions of Diem were informed primarily by the accounts of journalists like David Halberstam and Stanley Karnow, who depicted him as an aloof and obtuse reactionary. Hence Diem's overthrow constituted merely the transfer of power from one hopeless South Vietnamese government to another. (Dr. Mark Moyar, a leader among the new wave of historians researching the war in Viet Nam, has brought to the public's attention three new books on the war which also depart from the "conventional" view.  (Which supports the narrative that it was a civil war, none of our business, unwinnable from day one, and a form of military loss by US forces.) It's an uphill battle to rebut that basically antiwar narrative, which was established in the later days of the war by the wave of antiwar figures who had become professors or media figures.  For over 20 years their writings have dominated the literature on the war, and now a second and even third generation of professors and reporters accept that view as gospel.  Fortunately there have emerged some excellent historians who have explored that history more carefully and factually, and have contributed to its revised (and more accurate) version.  They of course have been attacked by the establishment in academia, but no solid rebuttals of their research (some of which depends on examination of the records in Hanoi) are to be found. We can hope that with more time, more research, and more historians who do truly objective writing, a much more valid understanding of the war will gradually be accepted. --Del)

The Buck Stops Here. By Mark Steyn

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/352389/buck-stops-here-mark-steyn

Excerpt: "I just received an 8 page letter from the USDA, telling me that by July 29 I need to have in place a written disaster plan, detailing all the steps I would take to help get my rabbit through a disaster, such as a tornado, fire, flood, etc. They not only want to know how I will protect my rabbit during a disaster, but also what I will do after the disaster, to make sure my rabbit gets cared for properly.  I am not kidding–before the end of July I need to have this written rabbit disaster plan in place, or I am breaking the law." (Step one: Shoot, cook and eat the rabbit. Step two: Shoot any bureaucrats coming around to check on the rabbit. ~Bob)

Washington's Decadent Lawmaking Lives In The Shadows. By Mark Steyn

http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-viewpoint/062813-661860-washington-home-to-corrupt-bureaucracy-and-pseudo-legislature.htm?fromcampaign=1#ixzz2Xbv4C9mc

Excerpt:  … Gregory Roseman, deputy director of acquisitions (whatever that means), became the second IRS official to take the Fifth Amendment, after he was questioned about awarding the largest contract in IRS history, totaling some half-a-billion dollars, to his close friend Braulio Castillo, who qualified under a federal "set-aside" program favoring disadvantaged groups — in this case, disabled veterans. For the purposes of federal contracting, Mr. Castillo is a "disabled veteran" because he twisted his ankle during a football game at the U.S. Military Academy prep school 27 years ago. How he overcame this crippling disability to win a half-billion-dollar IRS contract is the heartwarming stuff of an inspiring Lifetime TV movie. (Steyn does it again, using the scalpels of facts and wit to dissect the sad, sometimes disgusting facts of US politics as practiced today.  It is enough to make you want to weep or scream. While he does it from a clearly conservative point of view, there is enough in his complaint that is not partisan at all, just basic protest at a messed up and counterproductive way that things are done.  Things that in the end will have serious repercussions on the lives of all of us.  When legislators don't have any understanding of what they are voting for, sometimes of what they supposedly wrote, we are all in trouble. --Del)

Flashback Video: Paula Deen Embraces Michelle Obama, Compares To Jackie O

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2013/06/26/Flashback-Video-Paule-Deen-Embraces-Michelle-Obama-Compares-to-jackie-O

Excerpt: The media aren't all that interested in Bill Maher calling an innocent five-year-old child a "retard," and seem to be even less interested in a Democratic lawmaker hurling a racial slur at Justice Clarence Thomas yesterday. But pounding away at the Food Network's Paula Deen over some racist moments in her past has been a very high media priority going back to last week.

20 Signs America is in Decline. By John Hawkins

http://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2013/06/29/20-signs-america-is-in-decline-n1630414?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl

Excerpt: Those who attack American culture and tradition should recall that historically, freedom and prosperity are the aberrations, not servitude and poverty. Our nation's success is not a happy accident or part of a natural, unstoppable progression that can't be changed. Nothing could be more foolish than to abandon the traditions, religion, work ethic, family structure, moral code and culture that made this country wealthy and free while expecting to continue to reap the rewards of practices we now scorn as too demanding and judgmental. (Frankly, I think we may be at the tipping point.. For a free PDF of my 80-page book, “The Coming Collapse of the American Republic” write tartanmarine(at)gmail.com All royalties go to help wounded veterans. ~Bob)

Swedish Court Hands Out Light Sentence to Muslim Teen Rapists: Statistics show that due to immigration, a Swedish woman now has a one in four chance of being raped in her lifetime.

http://www.clarionproject.org/news/swedish-court-hands-out-light-sentence-muslim-teen-rapists

Excerpt: A light sentence has been handed out to six teenage boys, aged 15 to 17, from the diverse Muslim community in Sweden for raping a 15-year-old girl in a north-western suburb of Stockholm in March. Five of the teens were found guilty of aggravated rape by the Solna District Court, with the sixth guilty of attempted aggravated rape. Immigrants refusing to assimilate, and being taught that women who expose any part of their bodies are asking for rape, and it's no crime to oblige them.  The Swedes are the consummate PC people, and as a result they have created a ton of social problems for themselves.  Being on the dole in Sweden gives you a solid middle class lifestyle, and you can stay on it almost indefinitely.  In Denmark, with Muslims as something like 4% of the population, they made up something like 70% of the people on the dole.  The Danes did finally react, and put through a whole new bunch of laws about immigration, that have drastically cut the number of people coming it. --Del)

And don’t forget: Eddie Grabowski's Gift: A Marine Christmas Story. By Robert A. Hall

https://www.createspace.com/4252748

http://www.amazon.com/Eddie-Grabowskis-Gift-Marine-Christmas/dp/1484165861/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366731117&sr=1-4&keywords=Grabowski

Eddie Grabowski’s Gift is a short novella, with an old Marine’s lessons on life, love and giving. All author royalties are donated to the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation to support the National Museum of the Marine Corps. The MCHF receives a larger royalty when you order directly from CrateSpace.com

Vote ID

Click on the picture if too small to read. If it’s discriminatory to require ID to vote, isn’t it discriminatory to require ID to buy booze or a gun? If minorities have equal rights to buy these things, and can’t get ID, then yes, it shouldn’t be required. I have read that between the 2004 and 2008 presidential election, Indiana instituted voter ID to vote, sand the number of voters increased by about 300,000. If true, the claim that voter ID suppresses the vote is a lie by those who want to defend voter fraud.