Life in the Obama years

Obama signs expanded Violence Against Women Act

Fox News "The revitalized Violence Against Women Act also marked an important win for gay rights advocates and Native Americans, who will see new protections under the law, and for Obama, whose attempts to push for a renewal failed last year after they became entangled in gender politics and the presidential election."
....
 "Sensing a political advantage, Senate Democrats offered an expanded law that specifically protects gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender Americans and gives tribal authorities the power to prosecute non-Indians for abuse committed on tribal lands. Republicans saw the move to load a popular bill with controversial elements as a provocation and objected to the Native American provisions on constitutional grounds. Democrats rejected a Republican alternative, arguing it didn't go far enough."

More on the Paul Filibuster

Shout out to Sen. Ron Wyden   "I will concede that Wyden is no grand champion of conservative causes. However, this act merits at least as much respect, if not more, than Paul’s.
"Why?"

JAWA thinks the Paul filibuster serves Obama's purposes  "It's simple: President Obama needs the controversy in order to make those opposed to him seem like they are crazy.
"In effect, by not answering Rand Paul's rather simple question he is creating another birther controversy. He's attempting to make the opposition out to be extremists, and a little off kilter."
Lindsey Graham thinks so as well. More here.
"I like and respect John McCain and Lindsey Graham but they really are out-of-touch." More here.   Dog-bites-man: MSNBC praises Graham-McCain

anntelnaes

Here Are All the GOP Senators That Participated in Rand Paul’s 12+ Hour Filibuster… and the Ones Who Didn’t  h/t to Danny Shouse of Facebook
"The Republican senators who participated in the filibuster with Paul include, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Pat Toomey (R-Penn.), John Thune (R-S.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wy.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.),
Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.)."
"There are a total of 47 Republican members of the U.S. Senate, meaning 33 other GOP senators sat out the filibuster protesting the federal government’s controversial drone program. To find out who those senators are, comb through the full list here."

Charles Krauthammer: Rand Paul’s Filibuster A Stroke of Political Genius; Should become National Figure after this  "Here is video of Charles Krauthammer on the “Special Report” panel last night where he said Sen. Rand Paul’s “Drone” Filibuster, that ended up last nearly 13-hours, was “a stroke of political genius.” Krauthammer said he believes this will be remembered as the moment that “launched Rand Paul as a National figure.”
"I think Krauthammer is right. My guess is there are a lot of Senators this morning thinking, “Why didn’t I do that?”"  H/T to Danny Shouse on Facebook

Ted Cruz And Rand Paul Introduce Bill To Ban Drone Killings Of American Citizens On U.S. Soil…  That's fine until we are fighting Al Qaeda in our streets.

Sen. Paul declares victory after Holder offers assurance on drones
"For 13 hours yesterday, we asked him that question, so there is a result and a victory. Under duress and under public humiliation, the White House will respond and do the right thing."
The letter in its entirety:

 

Watch for Rand Paul posts later today

We await more commentary on this and will draw from it as the day progresses. Meanwhile these should be sufficient.

Mr. Paul Goes to Washington  "It delayed, if not aborted, a terrible nominee's confirmation. Brennan should not assume directorship of the CIA, and a little sand in the gears of his confirmation is welcome."

His filibuster raises very important issues about citizenship.  "There are a few things about this debate worth considering. One is that we are too much focused on the instrument of these killings rather than on the moral and political context of them."

Unreal: Lindsey Graham Uses Poster On Senate Floor To Attack Rand Paul… 

A Government to be Feared

American Thinker  Excerpts posted here,  but the article contains much more content on the subject.

TOTUS

 "With each passing day of President Obama's second term he continues to consolidate power and undermine any notion of conventional democratic governing norms."
....
"Let us think about that statement. Yes, 9/11 would certainly constitute an extraordinary circumstance that would have justified Dick Cheney's order for the military to shoot down a hijacked plane... that would have resulted in massive loss of American life. But that is not what is happening at the moment. At the moment, Department of Homeland Security is ordering that drones be adapted to detect a gun-carrying citizen at the same time that it is purchasing souped-up armored vehicles typically found on the battlefield. One report estimates that by 2020, there will be 30,000 drones flying in American airspace."

....
"Putting aside the fact that Obama has never articulated national security objectives for his administration, he has yet to explain why a civilian national security force is required to be funded with money the government does not have to face an enemy or threat that is nonexistent."
....

"As a Jew, I fear the beginning of history repeating itself." 
Read more.  

 

The sins of Secretary Clinton are falling on John Kerry

Fox News  "John Kerry is going to have a rough tenure as secretary of state. But let’s face it, whoever came after Hillary Clinton was going to have to deal with a foreign affairs press corps that has been sleeping for four years. From the moment Hillary entered Foggy Bottom, political reporters have treated their beloved secretary of state with kid gloves.
"Watching media outlets now play catch-up on just how dangerous the world really is makes you feel a bit sorry for Kerry. Suddenly the State Department reporters have realized that Iran is about to get a nuclear weapon, GITMO is still open, North Korea is invigorated, the Russians are actively out-maneuvering us, Syria is in flames and the French are leading the fight against Al Qaeda. "  Hat tip to Harley Standlee; Placerville, CA

Maybe Republicans Should Try Being Popular

Ann Coulter  "Republicans don't control the U.S. Senate and they don't have the presidency. Instead of wasting time and energy in doomed efforts to defeat President Obama's Cabinet nominees or sucking up to illegal aliens, why not focus on issues where Republicans can be off-the-charts popular while forcing Democrats into taking stupid positions?
"After the slaughters at Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., Tucson, Ariz., and Newtown, Conn., every sentient person knows we need to do something about institutionalizing the mentally ill and -- at the very least -- keeping guns out of their hands."

....
"After the Virginia Tech shooting, an ABC poll showed that while Americans remained dubious about the effect of more gun control laws, 83 percent supported requiring states to provide information on the mentally ill* for gun background checks.
...
At the risk of joining the Republicans' circular firing squad when we ought to be fighting Democrats, here's how I think Republicans should be looking at things:
-- Pushing amnesty for illegal aliens: 80 percent of Americans ferociously oppose you.
-- Pointlessly opposing Obama's Cabinet nominees: 99 percent of Americans need a constant supply of NoDoz just to listen.
-- Staking out an Amnesty International position on a president's hypothetical ability to use a drone against an "American citizen" (named Anwar al-Awlaki) about to launch a devastating terrorist attack on U.S. soil: 70 percent of Americans are against you.
-- Opposing the Democrats' idiotic proposals on gun control: 60-70 percent of Americans support you, but the other 30 to 40 percent will hate you because they want to "Do Something."

-- Proposing the involuntary commitment of dangerous psychotics and implementing measures to prevent them from obtaining guns: 83 percent of Americans support you and will be furious at Democrats for trying to undercut such laws.

worldnewscurator

*Ok, I agree with that, but how do you keep someone like the Newtown shooter from taking another gun owner's weapons? Do you keep anyone in the mentally deranged person's home from owning weapons?

All tin-pot dictators may now move up one space (UPDATED)

Breaking News: Hugo Chavez is still dead  "After Franco's death, Chevy Chase, reader of the news on NBC's Saturday Night's comedic news segment Weekend Update, announced the dictator's death and read a quotation from Richard Nixon: "General Franco was a loyal friend and ally of the United States. He earned worldwide respect for Spain through firmness and fairness."... As an ironic counterpoint to this, a picture was displayed behind Chase, showing Franco giving the fascist salute alongside Adolf Hitler"

Obama's former mentor praises Hugo Chavez's 'warmth and generosity'

"Professor Charles Ogletree served on the president’s black advisory council"   Video here. 

 Via Lucianne

 

UPDATE:  Ahmadinejad’s claim that Chávez will be resurrected with Jesus ‘went too far’   "The reappearance of Mahdi is anticipated by believers in a manner comparable to that with which Christians anticipate the second coming of Jesus. Shia Muslims believe both will come on the resurrection day."
 

 

From the UK: How typical of the Left to idolise a despot who gloried in attacking America and Britain   "

One can only speculate as to what post-Imperial resentment has inspired such irrational sentiments — and led such people to view a belligerent bully like Chavez as some sort of saint."

I'd have much preferred to select the print version of this article to get rid of the trashy links that come with it, but that did not seem possible. TD

Related, wouldn't you say? Speaking of tin-pot dictators: A Government to be Feared   "With each passing day of President Obama's second term he continues to consolidate power and undermine any notion of conventional democratic governing norms." 

This article is of such import that TW will post it elsewhere as a stand-alone feature. I use it here as to show you that America is not far from being a third-world country with third-world economics and a congress containing far too many members who honor third-world rulers and want our president to emulate them.

Speaking of deadly weapons in the hands of a man with dysfunctional thought processes...

 

Alan Caruba; The Speech No One Heard  "By any measurement one applies, the nation is sliding toward another financial crisis and Mitch McConnell’s efforts in the Senate continue to go largely unreported.

"Is anyone listening?"
Too bad that McConnell's over-Botoxed face cannot register the emotion that is needed to attract listeners.

Sequester Spin  "So, the janitors who were about to take a body blow from the sequester actually got a raise.

"The White House has, however, eliminated tours for the public under pressure of the Sequester.  But, so far, is keeping the staff calligraphers."

Email tells feds to make sequester as painful as promised  ...."So it is our opinion that however you manage that reduction, you need to make sure you are not contradicting what we said the impact would be," Mr. Brown, in the internal email, said his superiors told him."  Read it all here.
Hat tip to Neal Boortz, who, as you may notice, subtly spells Obama's name with a zero. Low-information types aren't likely to catch that.

 

Forbes Magazine; Sequester This! President Obama's Colossal Media Blunder  "With a glut of examples a mere Google search away, it won’t be long before even the most disengaged voter—facing some Obama-generated inconvenience and having these stories shoved in his face—asks, “What do you mean I can’t get my passport renewed? Couldn’t they fire Obama’s $100,000 a year dog trainer instead?” And if this phony “austerity” is imposed on the rest of us, how do you think the public will react to the First Lady’s next multi-million dollar vacation?
"Sound far-fetched? Then consider that the sequester has already backfired on Obama once."...
 

Michael Barone; The New Economic Normal? Maybe spending cuts are the cure for stagnation. "Republicans are being attacked as irresponsible for allowing the relatively small sequester cuts to occur. But maybe that was the responsible thing to do. Maybe it would be responsible to cut spending even more."