Universities Sowing the Seeds of Their Own Obsolescence

Victor Davis Hanson
"The media blitz during these last several weeks revealed a generation that is poorly educated and yet petulant and self-assured without justification."

"When mobs tore down a statue of Ulysses S. Grant and defaced a monument to African-American veterans of the Civil War, many people wondered whether the protesters had ever learned anything in high school or college.
"Did any of these iconoclasts know the difference between Grant and Robert E. Lee? Could they recognize the name “Gettysburg”? Could they even identify the decade in which the Civil War was fought?
"Universities are certainly teaching our youth to be confident, loud, and self-righteous. But the media blitz during these last several weeks of protests, riots, and looting also revealed a generation that is poorly educated and yet petulant and self-assured without justification.
"Many of the young people on the televised front lines of the protests are in their 20s. But most appear juvenile, at least in comparison to their grandparents — survivors of the Great Depression and World War II.
"How can so many so sheltered and prolonged adolescents claim to be all-knowing?" . . .
Full article here.

NRO contributor VICTOR DAVIS HANSON is the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and the author, most recently, of The Case for Trump. @vdhanson

Obama, the petulant juvenile

The Tunnel Wall grooveyard. Some memories of when Obama was president, inspired by talk in 2018 of a government shutdown. 
"How can this petulant juvenile manage to stay so popular?"
"Yet they all still love this petulant juvenile President.

Obama will not attend Scalia funeral

"No doubt this petty man gets petty satisfaction from insulting a far, far better man than he."
. . . "Well, most of official Washington.  President Barack Obama has discovered he has something more important to do and will not attend.  Instead, he will be at the Supreme Court on Friday to "pay his respects" – a typical empty gesture from a man who apparently can't resist delivering one last snub to a justice who opposed him at every turn."

"The common thread through the funerals of those individuals he attended is that in death, they could do the president some partisan political good.  Scalia was useless to him politically, so Obama felt no need to honor him by attending his memorial service."  

The petulant juvenile is catching some backlash  . . . "If Obama does not attend, the president also potentially risks angering Republicans whom he will need to help confirm his eventual nominee to succeed Scalia.

"Los Angeles Times opinion writer Michael McGough raised this possibility in calling the decision a “dumb political move.' ” . . .

Obama administration releases top-secret doc revealing Israel's nuclear program  "Good heavens, what has this petulant juvenile president done now?"

From October, 2015: Obama's Spite Fences.

The Tunnel Wall   "First remember: Park Rangers Ordered to ‘Make Life Difficult’ During Shutdown Those would be the National Park Service of Obama's Rangers and never forget that.

“It’s a cheap way to deal with the situation,” an angry Park Service ranger in Washington says of the harassment. “We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can. It’s disgusting.”

"Blame whomever you will for this issue, but know that it was Obama who ordered these sites blocked!

"Police Remove Vietnam War Veterans at Memorial Wall   "After one group of veterans went around the barricade, "the park ranger told them the wall was closed," NBC's Mark Seagraves reported. "Later another group of vets showed up and moved the barricades. At that point, the memorial filled with vets and tourists. That's when police came and moved everyone out."
....
"It takes more manpower and costs the government more money to close down an outdoor wall than to let people walk past it and pay their respects.
The Obama administration has been very selective in devoting resources to shutting down memorials." This vindictive president and his administration.

"Iwo Jima Memorial Closed, Barricades Erected (Update: Vets Break Through) 
. . . 

Making Life Difficult   "The Democrats are claiming the Republicans are holding the nations "hostage." But is seems the mean- spirited hostility to the public is coming from the Obama administration."

Unclear and Present Danger? Obama’s Actions over WWII Memorial Tips His Handful of Sad Jokers   “ 'Public lands” DO NOT belong to the Federal Government, they belong to “the public.” As such, the Federal Government has NO authority to keep “the people” from access to land which belongs to “the people.” The government can only stop the upkeep and maintenance of the property. It CANNOT block public access to public lands, at least “constitutionally.' ”

DEVELOPING… National Park Service Blocks Roads To Keep Drivers From Viewing Mount Rushmore

Diana West @diana_west_ 

UNBELIEVABLE: NPS blocks lane to prevent viewers from stopping on the side of the road to view Mt Rushmore!
The National Park Service is run by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar who sits at the table with Barack Obama during cabinet meetings. Here is where the President can give him instructions on what to do with American's access to national parks and memorials, including telling him not to spend money on blocking visitor access. Or, being Obama, this is likely where he told Salazar to make things as difficult for Americans as possible.
Somehow I picture laughter around the cabinet table as Salazar told Obama he even put cones in the road so people cannot even stop to look at Mt. Rushmore. 
"Attaboy, Ken! I can't wait to blame this on the Republicans!"
How vindictive of this petulant, spiteful, juvenile president.

The Tunnel Dweller

What counts, character, sex, or race?

Gino Gambino‎atMoretti Underground

If it can be said, I personally judged Obama by his character and not his race. Unfortunately I found his character to be that of a petulant, vindictive juvenile. Examples can be happily listed on demand.  The Tunnel Dweller

Trump agrees to recruit the mentally ill for military service and pay for 'sex change operations'

Ed Straker   "Trump agrees to recruit the mentally ill and pay for sex-change operations

"A few months ago, President Trump agreed to ban transvestites, the so-called "transgendered," from the military.  Obama, on his way out the door, had ordered these mentally ill people to be recruited into the military...but only after he left office.  Curious, that. . . ." The petulant juvenile struck again.TD

. . .
"If the Trump administration had taken this to the Supreme Court, it is very likely it would have prevailed.  There is no constitutional right for the mentally ill to be in the military, despite whatever name they invent for themselves.  Trump could even have gone to the Supreme Court right now to get the preliminary injunction stayed.

Instead, not only did Trump fold on the preliminary injunction, but he gave up on the entire case.

Now that the mentally ill are going to be admitted to the military (and given free "sex change operations"), you can bet that the military will become advocates for their inclusion and seek them out for recruitment.  They will be put in the middle of life-and-death situations and given control of dangerous weapons.  That's not a place for the mentally ill to be.

The next time you see a flattering news story about a mentally ill fighter pilot in charge of a billion-dollar bomber armed with nuclear warheads, think to yourself, "Thanks, President Trump!"

Can't you see a Democrat administration bringing this about here?

UK Socialized Medicine Asks for  Female Nurse for Cervical Smear, Gets Tattooed Trans Man With Stubble  "The National Health Service (NHS) patient said she was “embarrassed and distressed” when summoned by a nurse with “an obviously male appearance … close-cropped hair, a male facial appearance and voice, large number of tattoos and facial stubble” to carry out a cervical smear, The Times reports.

"When she pointed out what she thought was a mistake, the nurse told her off: “My gender is not male. I’m a transsexual.”

"Speaking after the examination, which she ultimately decided to abandon, the patient said it was “weird where somebody says to you: ‘My gender is not male’ and you think: ‘Well, what does that even mean? You are clearly a man.’ ”

"In a formal letter of complaint, she objected that “People who are not comfortable about this are presented as bigots and this is … kind of how I was made to feel about it.”

Rabbi Marvin Hier On His Experience At President Trump’s Inauguration / What damaged US-Israel Relations

Yeshiva World News

Senior Israeli Diplomat Dore Gold Says Obama’s Arrogance Hurt Relationship With Israel  Always the petulant, vindictive juvenile.

"Now that Obama has been replaced by Donald Trump, those who served in the Israeli government can start to unburden themselves about the anti-Israel Obama administration that left office last week. The first to speak out was Dr. Dore Gold, former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, former Director-General of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and advisor to Prime Ministers Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu.

"On Friday, Israeli Newspaper Makor Rishon (First Source) published an interview with Gold who spoke about the incredible arrogance of Barack Obama, who along with saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, thought he knew more about what Israel and the Palestinians needed than Israel and the Palestinians knew themselves." . . .

"Suddenly there was a phone call from Air Force One which along with the crew carried President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton, and Secretary of State [never will be president] John Kerry."Yoav Horowitz, Netanyahu’s chief of staff, answered the phone . . . “Tell your boss that if he wants a funeral like Peres’, he should begin to move, to go forward.” the American voice on the other end said. Horowitz passed on the message immediately. “Tell him,” Netanyahu responded, “that I give up the honor, because I have no intention of participating in the funeral of my country.' ” 

An Instant Thaw?  "President Trump is fond of saying of almost any problem he identifies “this stops right now.” Unfortunately, many of the problems in question are not so tractable.

"But there’s one problem Trump has stopped already — the bad blood between the U.S. and its great ally Israel.
"The Washington Post reports that the president talked by phone today with Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump described the conversation as “very nice.” Netanyahu’s office called it “very warm.”

It was Barack Obama who struggled to identify our friends. Or maybe, Groucho Marx style, he couldn’t form a bond with any nation that had a high regard for ours.

Obama's middle finger to our country on his last day

Obama Commutes Life Sentences of Four Mexican Cartel Leaders

"Four family members who ran one of the largest cartel smuggling operations in south Texas had their life in prison sentences commuted and will likely be returning to this border city from where they ran their criminal empire. One of the main destinations that the criminal organizations delivered drugs to was Chicago, Illinois. 

"This week, outgoing President Barack Obama commuted the sentences of 209 convicted criminals and pardoned 64 others. The majority of the convictions were from drug trafficking or production offenses.

One bit of hope: Horowitz to Lou Dobbs: Trump Will Undo 200 Obama Executive Orders  . . . "Horowitz told Dobbs that Trump, who takes the oath of office Friday, is "our not-so-secret weapon."

" 'If Chuck Schumer tries this too much, he's going to get a million tweets," he added, referring to the Democratic New York senator's efforts to stall confirmation hearings on several of Trump's Cabinet picks.

" 'Trump has already changed the Republican Party," Horowitz told Dobbs. "It's going to take a longer effort by being a leader, being a fighter."

"Trump, Horowitz argues in "Big Agenda," will "drive a wedge" between Democrats and their inner-city base with his jobs-focused agenda.

" 'He has a new deal for the inner cities," Horowitz told Dobbs. "The Democratic Party has monopoly control of the inner cities.' " . . .

Obama transfers four MORE Guantanamo inmates in waning hours of presidency - then berates Congress for foiling his promise to shut it

Obama commutes 330 drug sentences on his last full day as president  "Obama brought his total number of commutations granted to 1,715, more than any other president in U.S. history
"Has also ordered free[ing of] 568 inmates who'd been sentenced to life in prison

"Prominent offenders who had sought clemency and were NOT given it include Bowe Bergdahl, Rod Blagojevich and Edward Snowden."

A biker friend of mine told me once, with a sly smile, "Some girls just like bad boys."  It appears the same can be said for Barack Obama.TD

Obama Booby Traps Trump With These 5 Moves  "It’s customary for the lame duck to sit around and do nothing. To shop for houses or plan a vacation, but not Obama. This guy has unleashed his plot against Americans in his final days as President. Shockingly half the country is too blind to face the facts because they’re too busy boycotting an inauguration.

"Trump is stepping into the biggest White House disaster in history, and cleaning up the debris will be a mammoth undertaking. Hurricane Katrina made less of a mess. It’s like Obama went around setting booby traps for Trump to fall into. However, Trump won’t fall alone. He’s the leader of this great nation, which proves Obama never cared in the first place." . . .

You will find it pointed out in numerous places of the Tunnel Wall that Obama is a petulant, vindictive, juvenile-ish community organizer.

How Can We Miss a President Who Won’t Go Away?

WSJ  "Obama plans to stay in Washington. The capital city’s namesake took a different approach."

Video added by the Tunnel Dweller

. . . "Most former presidents return to where they came from and fade into the background, re-emerging in the capital mostly for ceremonial occasions. If they’ve served two full terms, the norm is to express relief, at least publicly, at the lifting of the office’s great burdens after eight long years.

"George Washington put it this way in his 1796 Farewell Address: “Not unconscious in the outset of the inferiority of my qualifications . . . every day the increasing weight of years admonishes me more and more that the shade of retirement is as necessary to me as it will be welcome.”

"Mr. Obama is different. If the Constitution allowed it, he most certainly would have sought a third term. In a year-end interview with his former aide David Axelrod, the president said he thought he would have beaten Donald Trump. At the top of his Tuesday farewell speech, the audience chanted “Four more years! Four more years!” His response: “I can’t do that”—not eight is enough. Almost an hour later, near the end of his soliloquy, Mr. Obama declared: “I won’t stop. In fact, I will be right there with you, as a citizen, for all my remaining days.' ”. . .

The one act that defined President Barack Obama . . . "I will simply recount the one lasting legacy of Barack Obama that will always be emblazoned in my memory.  When I think of him, I will think of this.  When I reflect on his promised era of hope and change, I will be drawn to this image." . . .
Charles Krauthammer once remarked, "They're not even the big sisters of the poor."

But in my mind, it will be Obama's barricading open air memorials during the "shutdown" and -of course - his actions against Israel. Both vengeful, vindictive acts of a spoiled, juvenile-ish petulant man. TD

This petulant, vindictive juvenile president strikes again

Cartoons added by TD

Obama Administration Betrays An Ally to the Repugnant U.N.

"The Obama administration defied the wishes of Prime Minister Netanyahu and President-elect Donald Trump.

"Democrats are the so-called friends of Israel and they just lodged a major rebuke of our only Democratic ally in the region. It was a condemnation of their right to exist.

"The U.S. allowed the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israel’s settlements, which are simply apartment building or homes in their own country, in their own real capitol of Jerusalem.

"The U.N. Security Council called settlements a “flagrant violation” of international law.

"The only thing that is flagrant is what Obama just did. Thankfully, Hillary didn’t win because she said she would do the same thing." . . .

Defying extraordinary pressure from President-elect Donald J. Trump and furious lobbying by Israel", "... the Obama administration on Friday allowed the United Nations Security Council to adopt a resolution that condemned Israeli settlement construction," the NYT reports.

The administration’s decision not to veto the measure.... broke a longstanding American policy of serving as Israel’s sturdiest diplomatic shield at the United Nations....

 The vote came a day after Mr. Trump personally intervened to keep the measure, proposed by Egypt, from coming up for a vote on Thursday, as scheduled. Mr. Trump’s aides said he had spoken to Mr. Netanyahu. Both men also spoke to the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Egypt postponed the vote.

From the comments to this Althouse post:

Static Ping said...
I want to thank Obama for confirming permanently that voting for Trump was the correct decision.

Chuck said... Last night on Fox, Alan Dershowitz made the case that this Obama decision could be damaging for years or decades into the future, without any chance (or much chance) for a President Trump to reverse it. It is a UN resolution; it isn't any old executive order. Trump can't do a new UN resolution with a stroke of his pen. Dershowitz also made the case that even a president-elect Hillary Clinton would have been calling Obama this week and begging him to not take this step.
I'm no Israel expert; not even close. But this might be the most anti-Israeli thing that Obama has ever done, in an eight-year run of anti-Israeli things.

 M Jordan said...Netanyahu is the only world leader who didn't bow down and worship our man-child president. Obama waited until the curtain was closing on Act 5 to take a dump on him.

 Unknown said...Well, they said that if I voted for Trump that we would have a racist, anti-semitic president who would stab Israel in the back!
And they were right!

 Michael The Magnificent said...Dear American Jews, please pay attention to who treats you like a friend, and who doesn't.

 

Why not Hillary? American voters already chose a petulant, vindictive juvenile twice.

Hillary and the culture of impunity  . . . "Mr. Trump's call for a special prosecutor now puts the stakes in this year's presidential race in sharp focus. No one believes, of course, that this attorney general will seek the appointment of a special prosecutor. But for Mrs. Clinton, Trump's demand means that she will almost certainly face new federal investigation and, quite likely, prosecution if she loses the election. 

"This takes the 2016 race out of anything before seen in American history. It's Hillary's own fault, of course. But it still makes this contest uncomfortably like an election in a Third World country." . . .

The moral rot which pervades Clintonism proceeds apace. As Bob Dole said in 1996 (when campaigning against Bill Clinton), "where's the outrage?"

Why didn't El Chapo create a foundation?  . . . "El Chapo's gang could have avoided the whole thing with the creation of a foundation.  They could have put some pretty face up front and collected cash for the purpose of sending glasses for the poor children of Oaxaca and other poor areas in Mexico." . . . 

Gowdy: Hillary Used a Special Tool to Wipe Home-brewed Server  (video). . . “ 'That’s the interesting thing about credibility and believability, you can’t just keep it in one compartment,” said Gowdy discussing Clinton’s email press conference. “When you are a habitual, serial liar, in this facet of life, it tends to make people not believe you in other facets of life.' ” . . .

Byron York: Hillary Clinton BleachBits her past  . . . "Amid growing controversy over the Clinton Foundation, possible conflicts of interest, and allegations of access and pay-to-play, Gowdy's words served to return the focus to what the New York Times' Mark Landler recently called the "original sin" of the Clinton email affair: Clinton took it upon herself to decide which of her emails as Secretary of State would be preserved, and which would be destroyed." . . .Byron York

Lucianne today is a treasure trove of Hillary commentary. 
(Suddenly I miss Marco Rubio.)

Judicial Watch:  Court Orders New Clinton Email Production by September 13  Why is this source doing the job that the MSM is supposed to do but isn't?

Clintons Already Planning Next Stage Of Corruption  . . . "And what’s one big thing Madam President Hillary will have to do if she wins? Clean up the mess that is Obamacare. And one way for health care companies to court favor with the House of Clinton will be to contribute to the “Clinton Health Access Initiative,” which is coincidentally the foundation’s largest program. “Access” indeed. (See below.)

Time: Hillary Clinton’s Reaction to Her Foundation Scandal Is Disastrous  Pro-Democrat Time magazine gives Hillary loving advice on how to help herself win. Much more Hillary-friendly than this next:

New revelations show a nation for sale under Hillary Clinton

Hillary claims running the State Department gave her the experience and temperament necessary to be president. But if anything, it reminds us of the Clintons’ propensity for scandal and dishonesty. And if Clinton wins this year, she’ll become the most ethically compromised president in contemporary times. Perhaps ever.

 The Clinton Foundation’s Global Bribery and Crony Access Scam
"Prostituting the State Department isn’t a sly joke—it’s unethical, it’s a national disgrace and it’s probably criminal. It will take a special prosecutor to evaluate the criminality because the Obama Administration is culturally and ethically incapable of conducting an investigation. Attorney General Loretta Lynch is totally compromised by the Clintons. The late June 2016 meeting in Phoenix between Lynch and Bill Clinton followed by FBI Director Comey’s sell out of the law proved that."

Investors Business Daily: The Clinton Foundation’s Global Bribery and Crony Access Scam   "Prostituting the State Department isn’t a sly joke—it’s unethical, it’s a national disgrace and it’s probably criminal. It will take a special prosecutor to evaluate the criminality because the Obama Administration is culturally and ethically incapable of conducting an investigation. Attorney General Loretta Lynch is totally compromised by the Clintons. " . . .

Lucianne

Not covered much by the TW, but Hillary's health is an item to be discussed.  If unable to physically or mentally handle the job of President, I see her being elected as a figurehead and, well, how about this: Valerie Jarrett can be on her staff, running America behind the scenes? She already has eight years experience doing just that. 
The Tunnel Dweller.

Lecturer-in-Chief Obama irks La. flood victims with memo warning them not to discriminate

How can this petulant juvenile manage to stay so popular?

Washington Times

"President Obama has refused so far to survey the Louisiana flood disaster, but he did let state and local officials know that he’s watching to make sure they don’t engage in racial discrimination.

"In a 16-page guidance issued Tuesday, the Obama administration, led by the Justice Department, warned Louisiana recipients of federal disaster assistance against engaging in “unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin (including limited English proficiency).”

"The guidance’s frameworks “highlight the importance of complying with nondiscrimination requirements of civil rights statutes, addressing the needs of the whole community, and ensuring equal opportunity to access recovery efforts.”

"Needless to say, some Louisiana residents were offended, including the American Conservative’s Rod Dreher, who took umbrage at receiving an anti-discrimination lecture from Washington, D.C., as locals struggle to rescue, house and feed their neighbors.

“ '[E]verywhere you look you can find black folks and white folks loving on each other, helping each other through this crisis,” Mr. Dreher said in a Thursday post.

"He referred to the guidance as a “long bureaucratic memo” issued by the “Department of Justice and many other agencies of the executive branch overseen by He Who Cannot Be Troubled to Leave Martha’s Vineyard.' ”

Obama swims in a sea of racism and bigotry, getting drenched in the process

Obama: Every American Is Racist

. . . “ 'If we are honest, perhaps we have heard prejudice in our own heads and felt it in our own hearts. We know that. And while some suffer far more under racism’s burden, some feel, to a far greater extent, discrimination’s sting, although most of us do our best to guard against it and teach our children better, none of us is entirely innocent.' ” . . .

After Dallas, Obama Faces Class Action Lawsuit For Inciting Violence   . . . "Larry Klayman, the head of Freedom Watch and founder of Judicial Watch, filed a class action lawsuit on Monday in federal district court in Dallas against President Obama and others for inciting violence, leading to the killings of law enforcement officers.

In his complaint, Klayman named not only Barack Obama but Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, former Attorney General Eric Holder and the Rev. Al Sharpton, among a total of nine defendants." . . .

Obama Refuses Request To Honor Dallas’ Fallen Heroes  . . . "Although the White House has been illuminated for occasions such as Breast Cancer Awareness (pink) and the Supreme Court’s legalization of same-sex marriages (rainbow), Obama refused Adler’s request." . . . Petulant juvenile.
The Texas governor's mansion, however, did honor the fallen officers.

Words that a Democrat liberal could have said but did not seem capable of:
George W. Bush’s Remarks at Dallas Police Officer Memorial Ceremony Were a Welcome Change   

 . . ."President George W. Bush spoke at the memorial service for the fallen Dallas officers killed in last week’s attack. His remarks were a welcome departure from the current narrative and a reminder that principled leadership can still be found in this country.

"Speaking of American values and our common bond, President Bush said, “we have never been held together by blood or background. We are bound by things of the spirit, by shared commitments to common ideals.”

“ 'Too often, we judge other groups by their worst examples, while judging ourselves by our best intentions,” he observed.

"A uniter indeed." . . .

Is anyone out there sick of Obama's reprimands?

Petulant juvenile: Obama’s tantrum a striking display of failed leadership

"It is understandable that Americans do not want to hear in such an outrageous act of war that is the Orlando massacre that they are the enemy.  Leading an entire nation, rather than a political party, is much more difficult than the more ideological task of a campaign. Ben Voth

Michael Goodwin

"If it is true that the best defense is a good offense, President Obama should be celebrating in the end zone now. Obviously furious over criticism that his anti-terror policies are weak and that the Orlando slaughter proves it, he went on a televised tirade to let America know he’s mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.

"He laid waste to a field of straw men, cable-TV pundits and the always-evil “partisan rhetoric,” by which he means anyone who disagrees with him. It was a striking display of personal anger and pent-up grievances — and a total failure of leadership during a national crisis." . . .

On Islamic Terror, Words Do Matter  . . . "It is understandable that Americans do not want to hear in such an outrageous act of war that is the Orlando massacre that they are the enemy.  Leading an entire nation, rather than a political party, is much more difficult than the more ideological task of a campaign.  In a world of 24-hour campaigning, even once elected, that patriotic duty may be easy to forget." . . .


Florida governor (a Republican): Obama 'has not called' after Orlando terrorist attack   . . . "It's typically commonplace for the president to call the governor of a state after such catastrophic events. 
"Scott said that he received a call from former President George W. Bush, who said that he and former first lady Laura Bush "were praying for us."

"Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, also phoned him, Scott said." . . .

Trump: 'He was more angry at me than he was at the shooter!'

Do any millennials out there have even a smidgen of interest in US foreign policy?

Yet they all still love this petulant juvenile President.

A Week in the Life of John Kerry  . . . "Cataloguing Secretary Kerry’s misstatements and poor judgment is getting to be a regular job. One expects much more from a would be “messiah.' ”

Kerry Says He Didn't Want to Threaten Nuclear Agreement with U.S. Hostage Negotiations by attempting to ask Iran to release all US hostages last year.

Obama's Syrian policy goes down the rabbit hole . . . "Perhaps the administration’s Syrian policy, and the overall failed policies of the Obama-Clinton regime in all areas, is best summarized by the Furqa al-Sultan Murad commander quoted in the article:

Othman said he was in regular contact with his American handlers about the problems on the ground. “The Americans must stop [the YPG] — they must tell them you are attacking groups that we support just like we support you,” he said. “But they are just watching. I don’t understand U.S. politics.”

Longest-Held U.S. Hostage in History Hits 9th Anniversary  "Levinson, who served 28 years with the FBI and DEA, went missing off the coast of Iran in March 2007 while working as a private investigator. Levinson’s family later received images of him in captivity, though the Iranian government has maintained they don’t know who is holding him.

"He is the longest-held U.S. hostage in history."

State Newspaper: Cuba Won't 'Concede an Inch' Despite Obama Visit  . . . "An editorial in Granma pledged that the long-embargoed nation would cling "to its revolutionary and anti-imperialist ideals," and that normalized relations with the United States would not lead to reform there.

" 'Cuba has assumed the construction of a new relationship with the United States, fully exercising its sovereignty and committed to its ideals of social justice and solidarity. No one can presume that to do so we must renounce a single one of our principles, [or] concede an inch in their defense," the nearly 3,000-word piece stated." . . .

Cautionary words for America from Dr. Thomas Sowell

Are you familiar with Dr. Thomas Sowell?

"Thomas Sowell was born in North Carolina and grew up in Harlem. . . . After leaving the service, Thomas Sowell entered Harvard University, worked a part-time job as a photographer and studied the science that would become his passion and profession: economics.". . .  "In 1990, he won the prestigious Francis Boyer Award, presented by The American Enterprise Institute."Currently Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute in Stanford, Calif."

Sharing, I think, my concern that the nation which chose a petulant, vindictive juvenile president for - not one, but - two terms, has not learned and is ready to choose another petulant leader. TD

Doctor Sowell writes:
Last Chance for America? " The "Super Tuesday" primaries may be a turning point for America -- and quite possibly a turn for the worse. After seven long years of domestic disasters and increasing international dangers, the next President of the United States will need extraordinary wisdom, maturity, depth of knowledge and personal character to rescue America.
"Instead, if the polls are an indication, what we may get is someone with the opposite of all these things, a glib egomaniac with a checkered record in business and no track record at all in government -- Donald Trump.

"If so, the downward trajectory of America over the past seven years may well continue on into the future, to the point of no return." . . .

Last Chance for America? Part II   "After the results of "Super Tuesday," we find ourselves with front-runners in their respective parties who each could, as President of the United States, take the decline of America under the Obama administration, even further down, to a point of no return.

"As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton was in charge of the foreign policy that destroyed governments in Egypt and Libya that were no threat to America's interests or allies, and plunged both countries into a turmoil from which only Egypt managed to rescue itself, while Libya has become another hotbed of terrorist activity.

"Yet Secretary Clinton is running on her "experience" -- even though it is an experience of unmitigated disasters for America, around the world. " . . .

"But politicians do not always do things that make sense for the country, whether in 15th century China or 21st century America. But we will know the answer to that question by the end of this month. And generations yet unborn may have to live with the consequences of that answer."