Congress still doesn't know why CENTCOM cooked the books in ISIS intel

When you appoint a short story writer to an important seat on the National Security Council, ignorance becomes a badge of honor.

Political Cartoons

Rick Moran  "Two congressional reports on CENTCOM's handling of ISIS related intel have concluded that superior officers intervened with analysts to get them to report on progress against the terrorists more positively.

"Fifty of those analysts complained to the Pentagon inspector general that their analyses were being altered.

"Motivation for cooking the books is unknown. There has been no link discovered that would lead back to the White House, although Republicans speculate that officers at CENTCOM tailored their reports to the White House narrative on the war against ISIS, which claimed we were making good progress. Why they would do this may be as simple as trying to curry favor.

"Whoever ordered the altering of intelligence reports, the scandal has set us back in the war against Islamic State.

. . . 

OBAMA, CLINTON AND THE POWER OF MENDACITY

There's that word "mendacity" again, each time referring to Obama.

Caroline Glick  Originally published by the Jerusalem Post. 

"Why Hillary will be just as dangerous in the White House as her predecessor."

. . . "The media cover for Clinton and Obama because they care more about advancing the Left’s policy goals than about reporting the dire, dangerous consequences of those policies. That is, they are propagandists rather than journalists.

"Over the years, many commentators and observers have argued that Clinton is less dangerous than Obama. Obama they say is an ideologue whereas Clinton is driven by a simple lust for power and, of course, her own convenience. Consequently, she causes damage in little ways – like endangering the lives of US agents – while Obama clears a path for Iran to rise as a regional hegemon and nuclear state.

"The problem with this assessment is that it ignores their symbiotic relationship. Clinton has decided that her interests lie with acting like a loyal Democrat and implementing Obama’s policies.

"Like Obama, she doesn’t need to worry about the consequences of those policies for the US and the world. Because like Obama, she is sheltered from criticism by a loyal media." . . .

DNC Hack Way Worse Than Originally Thought

Legal Insurrection

Democrats panicking over imminent release of more emails

. . . "The New York Times reported:

The main targets appear to have been the personal email accounts of Hillary Clinton’s campaign officials and party operatives, along with a number of party organizations.

Officials have acknowledged that the Russian hackers gained access to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which is the fund-raising arm for House Democrats, and to the Democratic National Committee, including a D.N.C. voter analytics program used by Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign.

But the hack now appears to have extended well beyond those groups, and organizations like the Democratic Governors’ Association may also have been affected, according to Democrats involved in the investigation.

. . . "Meanwhile, Wikileaks is offering $20k reward for information on the mysterious death of DNC Staffer, Seth Rich."

Wikileaks: Soros email giving Clinton her marching orders

comicallyincorrect

TK Whiteman  "Undoubtedly another stunner that the American media will ignore. This time it’s that Wikileaks has revealed that multi-billionaire and renown globalist George Soros has at least once issued orders to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"As reported by the Moscow-based RT.com, a recently released Wikileaks email sent directly from Soros to Clinton gives her step-by-step instructions on how to intervene in the internal workings of the sovereign nation of Albania.

"Not only did Soros give Clinton specific instruction how to handle the Albanian situation, he also made clear that his instructions will be carried out.

"At the end of the Soros email, there is a strong suggestion (order?) from Soros to Clinton that his “foundation” in the Albanian capital of Tirana can double as the de facto US State Department and CIA in country.

"Per the leaked email (direct link here): (Emphasis mine)

. . . 

"As RT.com also noted, “Several days after the email was sent to Clinton, the EU did send one of Soros’ suggested nominees, Miroslav Lajcak, to meet Albanian leaders in Tirana to try to mediate an end to the unrest' ”

enterstageright

Hillary: Trump’s death would be good for U.S., economy — Video

Joe Newby

"Where’s the media on this?  While speaking at an event in Warren, Michigan, on Thursday, Democrat Hillary Clinton said that Donald Trump’s death would be good for America and the economy if the government was allowed to dispose of his assets.

"According to Clinton, arguably the most evil person to ever be nominated by a major party for the White House, confiscation and redistribution of his wealth is much preferable to anything else.

“ 'And then there’s the estate tax, which Trump wants to eliminate altogether,” she said.  “Now if you believe that he’s as wealthy as he says, that alone would save the Trump family four billion dollars. It would do nothing for 99.8% of Americans. So they’d get a four billion dollar tax cut, and 99.8% of Americans would get nothing.”

"But she wasn’t finished." . . .

On Trump as of Friday, Aug 12th

Political outsiders are overrated apparently.

Trump's 2nd Amendment Problem  "I don't much doubt that Donald Trump is pro­gun rights, at least far more so than Hillary Clinton. Supposedly he has a concealed carry permit, and his sons are firearms enthusiasts. But in the midst of a hotly contested election, against an opponent and a hostile national media who will afford no quarter, Trump has at least twice undermined his 2nd Amendment bona fides. This has provided Hillary room to attack, distracted national attention from yet more Clinton corruption, and once again damaged Trump's attempts to appear presidential, after barely surviving a disastrous couple of weeks where he hurt his own campaign with unforced errors."

If the man would just shut up so Hillary would be the only news the media has to report he'd be doing much better.

Learning from Trump  "Though his candidacy looks increasingly damaging for Republicans, conservatives can still find value in it.

"Even conservatives who oppose Donald Trump — perhaps especially those conservatives — could learn a few things from him. That’s true even if he ends up losing the election in November." . . .

Jonah Goldberg: Letting Trump Run Wild Exposes GOP’s Lack of Principles  "The first Catch-22 has been the subject of widespread conversation over the last few weeks. As GOP pollster Glen Bolger summed it up for the New York Times: “Do we run the risk of depressing our base by repudiating the guy? Or do we run the risk of being tarred and feathered by independents for not repudiating him?” 

“ 'We’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t,” he added." . . .

PJ Media: Report: Trump, RNC Back for Couples Therapy   . . . "There has been some play-nice-together functionality between Team Trump and the RNC in the area of fundraising. They've got some money now and are preparing to spend it. None of that will matter if Trump keeps giving the MSM freebies to obsess over. This doesn't mean that the media should get a pass, but we all know that this part of the game is actually rigged, and it doesn't help to make it easier for them." . . .

All of this is predicated on RNC officials being able to expressly convey a strategy that will not only get through to Trump, but to make him embrace it.
So good luck with all of that...

John Cornyn asks Loretta Lynch about DOJ declining to investigate Clinton Foundation

Washington Times

"Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, on Friday sent a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch asking questions about a report saying the Justice Department turned down requests to investigate the Clinton Foundation for possible wrongdoing while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state.

“ 'As the press have reported widely and emails released over the past few days confirmed, representatives of the Foundation repeatedly sought special treatment for its donors and associates from senior officials at the State Department,” Mr. Cornyn, the U.S. Senate’s No.2-ranking Republican, wrote to Ms. Lynch.

. . . 

"CNN also reported this week that FBI officials wanted to investigate whether there was a criminal conflict of interest with the State Department and the Clinton Foundation when Mrs. Clinton was secretary of state, but that Justice Department officials pushed back against doing so." . . .

Exasperated Reporter to State Dept. Spox on Hillary Emails: 'Am I Not Speaking English?'

Debra Heine

"Frustrated reporters struggled in vain Wednesday to get a straight answer out of State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau about the latest batch of Hillary Clinton's emails."

. . . "Reporters who asked Trudeau about the possibility of an improper "pay to play" relationship between the Clinton Foundation and Clinton's State Department were quickly shut down with either vague answers or no answer at all. The hapless spokeswoman repeatedly asserted that the department "regularly talks to a wide range of people" to combat notions that improper cronyism may have taken place. When asked about a specific email chain, she answered repeatedly, "I can't speak to that.' " . . .

Four Ways the 'Prosperity Gospel' Twists Christianity

Jeff Sanders

"Over the past 40 years I have encountered and debated the merits or deficiencies of a theology that I did not know had a name. Its supporters call it the "Word of Faith" teaching; it's detractors call it the "Prosperity Gospel." Its most popular adherents are famous televangelists, authors, and public speakers such as Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland, and T.D. Jakes.

"Much of its theology is traceable to the late Kenneth Hagin, and many of his ideas stem from E.W. Kenyon in the early 20th century.

"Although I have numerous issues with this popular version of Christianity, here are just four points of contention I have with the "Prosperity Gospel":" . . .

THE WORD on The Word of Faith

This is pretty much how the news looked this week

hopenchangecartoons

"This is pretty much how the news looked to us this week, although the reality is quite different for most television news viewers - mostly because Hillary's multiple, escalating scandals were almost completely ignored, while Trump's ill-considered but casual joke about the Second Amendment was broadly reported as a rabid call for his opponent's assassination and armed insurrection against the government. Sheesh." . . .

Krauthammer: To each his own Olympics

Charles Krauthammer

"You may be thrilled by the feats of Katie Ledecky, mesmerized by the grace of the women gymnasts, startled by Rio spectators mocking U.S. soccer star Hope Solo with chants of “Zika! Zika!” (the first recorded instance, noted one wit, of a stadium rocking to the invocation of a virus). Allow me, however, to interrupt the prepackaged, heart-tugging, tape-delayed Olympic coverage to bring you the real sporting news of the year.

"It has just been announced that on November 11 in New York City the World Chess Championship will begin.

"You scoff, of course. For years, I’ve had to put up with amused puzzlement at my taste in entertainment. (Old joke: How do you do the wave at a chess match? With your eyebrows.) But I remain undaunted." . . .

"True, chess is not an Olympic sport. But it should be. In 1984, when challenger Garry Kasparov forced that championship match into 17 draws in a row — each about five hours of unbearable, unrelenting concentration — world champion Anatoly Karpov was so physically and mentally drained (he lost 22 pounds) that the Kremlin pressured the World Chess Federation to stop the match, thereby saving Soviet-favorite Karpov from forfeiting the title to the brash, free-thinking, half-Jewish Kasparov." . . .