Terror — and Candor

Charles Krauthammer   "With Shahzad, we find the equivalent ridiculous — and exculpating — speculation that perhaps he was driven over the edge by the foreclosure of his home. Good grief. Of course his home went into foreclosure — so would yours if you voluntarily quit your job and stopped house payments to go to Pakistan for jihadist training. As the Washington Post’s Charles Lane pointed out, foreclosure was a result of Shahzad’s radicalism, not the cause."

Liz Cheney joins calls for Steele’s resignation

Hot Air "With Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele facing a barrage of calls to resign, North Dakota Republican Party Chairman Gary Emineth, a social conservative, told The Washington Times on Friday he is quitting his post to prepare a possible challenge of Mr. Steele after November’s midterm elections." …


“I was shocked at the last RNC meeting to learn how little money we got from our major donors,” Mr. Emineth told The Times. Mr. Emineth said what moved him to consider a bid for national chairman is what he called Mr. Steele’s dismal failure with big donors who are giving to other, more trusted GOP campaign organizations as polls continue to show Republicans, if adequately financed, stand a good chance of regaining control of Congress."

Obama’s Straws And Our Tired Back (Reprise)

Victor Davis Hanson "There is another problem for the Democrats: I don’t think Obama cares much about a midterm correction for reasons other than his own narcissism. One, he already is a laureate and post-presidential historical figure. If Bill Clinton or Al Gore is any guide, he can make a billion or two sermonizing and philosophizing for the next forty years. If Jimmy Carter can create an empire of self-absorption, any president can."

Big Peace; a new site by Andrew Breitbart

Big Peace.com  "The latest outpost of the Breitbart empire, Big Peace, was launched today. Big Peace will focus on defense and security issues and will be led by our friend Peter Schweizer, Frank Gaffney and milblogger BlackFive. In his introductory post, Peter Schweizer writes:

We are launching Big Peace on the 4th of July because we believe that freedom is an essential ingredient and condition for peace.

We are lauching Big Peace on the 4th of July because the American spirit of independence and fight, exhibited by our soldiers, is what ultimately keeps us safe.

And we are launching Big Peace on the 4th of July to celebrate the ideas of freedom and liberty, which are embraced by so many others around the world. The word "peace" has been hijacked by those who don't believe in peace, but rather believe in appeasement. We intend to take it back. Peace comes from strength. Peace comes from freedom. More people were killed in the 20th century by their own governments than due to any war. Peace is a word devoid of meaning unless it includes liberty.   Powerline Blog

http://townhall.com/cartoons/cartoonist/MichaelRamirez

Thank You, America!

Jurnalul Naţional, Romania "...I became aware, before others did, of the limitations in the system imposed by the Soviet invaders, and for this I am indebted to my American colleagues. Without their help, I would not have realized that the judge, and not the prosecutor, is the fundamental pillar of fair justice. Of a justice that is independent and safe from political demands, a justice meant to ensure and maintain social equilibrium. For making these things clear, I thank you, America!" H/t to Watching America

Last Week's Other Big Supreme Court Decision

American Thinker "If you believe that religious groups should be able to set their own terms of membership, and should be able to require that people of their own faith lead their own groups, without suffering punishment at the hands of the state, then you should care about this case."

CLS v. Martinez: Some Thoughts on the Recent Supreme Court Decision  Some scholarly discussion on this subject. This case passed through the 9th Circuit Court and was upheld!

The high court's ruling against the Christian Legal Society leaves more legal questions than answers . "In the run-up to the oral arguments, CLS found support outside the evangelical world: A libertarian gay group, a Muslim group, and 14 states filed briefs in support of the Christian group. And The Washington Post penned an editorial excoriating Hastings. CLS speculated that under Hastings’ policy, atheists could take over a Christian group, or white supremacists could take over an African-American student group.
“This supposition strikes us as more hypothetical than real,” wrote Ginsburg. "

How Can Climate Change Advocates Equate My Skepticism to Holocaust Denial?

Pajamas Media  "The fact is, the evidence for the Holocaust is so concrete, the only people who would deny it are anti-Semites who don’t want to face the horrors of what their hatred could lead to. On the other hand, global warming evidence is a bunch of eggheads (and even more dimwitted actors, musicians, and journalists) pointing to a bunch of numbers on a piece of paper. It is absolutely asinine in comparison. To even compare the two as equivalent in any way is itself a sort of Holocaust denial."  Frank J. Fleming writes political humor at IMAO.us and thinks we should destroy the sun before it destroys us.

Harry Reid Curiously Quiet About Michael Steele

Legal Insurrection "In 2007, Sen. Reid opposed the Iraq "surge" and questioned publicly the integrity of Bush's general -- David Petraeus.
"In 2010, Reid supports the Afghanistan "surge" and gushes public praise for Obama's general -- David Petraeus.
"Sen. Reid owes the country an explanation. He can start with Nevadans, who must decide in November whether he's fit to send back to Washington. But in the end, he must stand accountable to the soldiers who won his "lost" war.
"There is a poster child for betting against our troops and rooting for failure. But it's not Michael Steele."

Former U.S. prosecutor to testify on New Black Panthers charges

Rantburg.com "There, two members of the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense hurled racial threats and insults at black and white voters, federal prosecutors in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division alleged in a complaint accusing the group and three members of violating the federal Voting Rights Act.

"The prosecutors later won a default judgment against Minister King Samir Shabazz, whom they identified as leader of the Philadelphia chapter, and sought dismissal of charges against the organization and two other members.

"Now, one of the prosecutors, J. Christian Adams, has resigned from the Justice Department amid a widening flap over the case. He said he was scheduled to testify Tuesday before the U.S. Civil Rights Commission in an investigation over dismissal of the charges."

Netanyahu Must Play for Time

Caroline Glick,Townhall "Over the past several months there have been repeated reports that Jewish Americans are drastically cutting back their donations to Democrats. The current trend will likely escalate if Obama forces Netanyahu into a corner next week.

"What this means is that Netanyahu is well placed to stand up to Obama's pressure. If he plays his cards wisely, he can say no to Obama and avoid an open confrontation."

What Obama Doesn't Understand About Zionism Obama couldn't have been more wrong. The roots of Jewish aspirations for a state -- what we call Zionism -- run much deeper in the cycle of history. The quest for Jewish statehood did not germinate in European persecution -- not in the Holocaust, not in the Spanish Inquisition, not in the systematic slaughter of Jews during the Crusades.
"To trace Zionist roots, one must rewind the historical tape to a non-European setting some 4,000 years ago. The genesis of Zionism starts with the Book of Genesis."....
"You can hear this revisionist argument in Palestinian circles and throughout the Arab world -- a total denial of the historical reality that Jews, in fact, are the most indigenous people in Palestine -- by a margin of several
millennia." Emphasis added.

This Fourth of July, Remember the Importance of Christianity

Townhall  "In Washington’s writings, he used the word “God” at least 146 times, “divine” at least 95 times, “heaven” at least 133 times and “providence” at least 270 times.
"His first act as president was a prayer. When he finished his oath of office at his first inaugural, he added the words, “So help me God,” and bent down to kiss the Bible. Then he led the crowd across the street to a chapel for a two-hour service. Alexander Hamilton’s wife said she was at Washington’s side when he took communion that day."  Peter Lillback