Afghanistan R.O.E. - Clarify, Not Change

Blackfive "I agree that soldiers need to be able to protect themselves. Personally, I think that the ROE was not that restrictive. I believe that some commanders on down the line took it upon themselves to interpret the ROE in order to ensure that no civilians were killed under their watch in order to protect their careers." Uncle Jimbo.

More Tunnel Vision  "But the purpose of this post (and those that follow) isn't to relive the past so much as it is to examine the present - and determine what, if anything, has changed. Certainly something has (or some things have) but before identifying them it's worthwhile, says I, to revisit a point in time not long ago - before that change occurred... "Greyhawk in Mudville Gazette

Obama Making Carter Years look Like Paradise

Townhall "Plus, the Carter administration didn't view every real or perceived crisis as a political "opportunity." Quite the contrary: The Carter administration learned that crises can lead to political demise. Where did that demise eventually come from? Independent voters. They had committed to Carter because they were weary of Watergate and President Gerald Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon. They wanted change they could believe in. " Matt Towery is a former National Republican legislator of the year and author of Powerchicks: How Women Will Dominate America.

American Decline is a State of Mind

Victor Davis Hanson "The United States still remains the most racially diverse, stable, free, productive and militarily strong country in the world. Its current crises are largely the political and cultural creations of the most affluent and leisured generation in civilization's history -- not due to long-standing civil unrest, structural weakness or a sudden shortage of natural resources.
"America may well soon decline and simply become no different from any other nation. But such a depressing future would largely be our generation's own free choice; it is not a historical inevitability."

Bill Kristol Must Resign

Ann Coulter "But Iraq also was a state sponsor of terrorism; was attempting to build nuclear weapons (according to endless bipartisan investigations in this country and in Britain -- thanks, liberals!); nurtured and gave refuge to Islamic terrorists -- including the 1993 World Trade Center bombers; was led by a mass murderer who had used weapons of mass destruction; paid bonuses to the families of suicide bombers; had vast oil reserves; and is situated at the heart of a critical region."
Ann's words, not mine.

http://www.investors.com/EditorialCartoons/Cartoon.aspx?id=539459

Why the Personal Mandate to Buy Health Insurance Is Unprecedented and Unconstitutional

Heritage "Executive Summary : A mandate requiring all individuals to purchase health insurance would be an unprecedented form of federal action. The government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States. An individual mandate would have two features that, in combination, would make it unique. First, it would impose a duty on individuals as members of society. Second, it would require people to purchase a specific service that would be heavily regulated by the federal government."

http://bigjournalism.com/

WE LOVE PIXAR: How Hollywood Cynicism Almost Ruined ‘Toy Story’ (and Pixar)

Big Hollywood "Under Katzenberg’s charge, Toy Story became an irreverent, mean-spirited muddled mess. It was only when Lasseter, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton and others returned to the old-fashioned idea of staying true to their vision that Toy Story came alive. The ‘edgy’ storyboards were thrown on the scrapheap, and the characters were re-drawn from the heart of the writers. The rest is history: Toy Story became a family-oriented, masterfully told hit film and one of the most beloved franchises in modern cinema. But it is worth mentioning the film’s allure came when the budding filmmakers stopped making what they thought the studio wanted, and instead made the film they would want their kids to watch."

Donald Berwick “We Must Redistribute Wealth”

Eyeblast "In 2008 while speaking on the British health care system in the UK, Berwick said wealthy individuals must redistribute their wealth to those less fortunate for health care funding. Also during this speech, he told those in attendance that he opposes free markets."

Sarah Palin; the latest

Matthews: Media will destroy Palin if she wins in the primaries  "No one questions whether that is actually the media’s job, to intentionally try to destroy political candidates. It’s all just a given. Palin runs, media will attempt to destroy her — and it serves as an implicit admission that the media did exactly that in 2008."

Levi Johnston Publicly Apologizes To The Palins, But Will the MSM Do the Same?  "It was a pretty good ride for Levi Johnston. After surfing the wave of celebrity that was primarily fueled by a willingness to lie about almost everything about Sarah, Todd and Bristol Palin, Levi has finally come clean in the pages of People, admitting; “”I publicly said things about the Palins that were not completely true.” "

After Promoting Levi Johnston in '09, CBS Ignores His Admission of False Statements "...co-host Maggie Rodriguez conducted her first interview with Johnston, and introduced the segment by proclaiming: "He [Johnston], along with his mother and sister, sat down with me last night for an interview to clear up the 'lies' they say the Palins have been telling about them." Rodriguez sympathized with the former boyfriend of Bristol Palin by wondering: "Did you get your heart broken?"

A youthful indiscretion?  "I don’t see deliberately and methodically slandering your child’s grandparents as a “youthful indiscretion.” That’s fullblown malice, irrespective of ones youth. What do you think?"

Obama, Netanyahu Deny Rift in Relations After White House Meeting

Fox News "Obama has called on Jerusalem to halt settlement construction and on the Palestinians to show progress on security and inciting violence against Israel."

Netanyahu's Stupid Pet Tricks  "Obama summoned Netanyahu to Washington in advance of the November elections when many expect there will be a rout of the Democrats. (I am not so sure, so crooked are they.) Why Israel and the U.S. Are In Crisis, an article I recently wrote for the Thinker, reflected the reality of US/Israeli relations."  Obama will visit Israel in September- just ahead of the November elections. And in time for campaign sound and video bites.

Stop Iran Now Debuts New Ad

Stop Iran Now Need sound and video.

Via Weekly Standard "Stop Iran Now debuts a new ad today, asking the president to be on the right side of history:"