Barack Obama Hails Failed & Rejected 111th Congress As “Most Productive in Decades”

Gateway Pundit  "...They promised jobs, but instead we got this…

"Barack Obama tripled the national deficit in one year. When Speaker Pelosi took over Congress the national deficit was $162 billion. When she exits as Speaker it will be at $1.29 Trillion dollars.

"Obama topped a trillion dollars his second year, too."

Senate Approves U.S.-Russia Arms Treaty

GlobalSecurity.org  "Following are details of the treaty, as previously reported by American Forces Press Service:"

http://terrellaftermath.com/

Ratification All But Certain  "Other GOP Sens. including Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., have indicated they will be satisfied by planned changes to ratification resolution language to reflect a White House committement to fund missle defense. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is shopping the amendment to the resolution of ratification.

"The amendment does not tweak treaty language, so its passage would not force the United States to renegotiate the accord with Russia."

Top 25 Left-Wing Films: #17 – ‘The American President’ (1995)

Big Hollywood  "After all, it only makes sense for Democrat characters to believe in and make a case for Democrat ideas. And while today’s Hollywood is entirely too intolerant and close-minded to even consider making a film like this using sympathetic Republican characters, (though Nazis, terrorists and child molesters might have a chance), that doesn’t stop many of us in the loyal opposition from relating and sympathizing on a human level.

"The story is also intentionally sly in holding off on the more partisan stuff until long after we’re completely invested in the central love story."

The Christmas Truce of 1914: “One of the Most Unusual Events in Human History”.

Raglinen  

"The Germans, who had been engaged in fierce trench warfare with the British and French, spontaneously erected small Christmas trees and lights outside their trenches, and began singing [Christmas]* songs. Not long after, across “no man’s land,” the British and French troops began caroling." Via iowntheworld

*I'm sure if you asked every man who was there that day, they would not have said they were singing "holiday" songs. Even historical narratives seem to be PC. Did "O Tannenbaum" mean "O Holiday Tree"?

Scrooge Was a Liberal

Ann Coulter "What the Bible says about giving to the poor is: "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians (9:7)
"Being forced to pay taxes under penalty of prison is not voluntary and rarely done cheerfully. Nor do our taxes go to "the poor." They mostly go to government employees who make more money than you do."

Merry Christmas, Moscow

Heritage  "The Obama Administration will certainly take even more unilateral steps toward nuclear disarmament. Their combined nonproliferation and nuclear disarmament policy is now clear: The policy requires that the U.S. take an additional unilateral step toward nuclear disarmament in order to prove its good intentions in response to each additional adverse development in the realm of nonproliferation. This misguided policy will significantly increase the likelihood of the use of nuclear weapons against both the U.S. and its allies."

http://townhall.com/cartoons/bobgorrell

EPA to double down on climate

Politico  "The Obama administration is expected to roll out a major greenhouse gas policy for power plants and refineries as soon as Wednesday, signaling it won’t back off its push to fight climate change in the face of mounting opposition on Capitol Hill.

http://townhall.com/cartoons/henrypayne

"The Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to a schedule for setting greenhouse gas emission limits, known as “performance standards,” for the nation’s two biggest carbon-emitting industries, POLITICO has learned."

Goodbye DADT, Hello ROTC

http://terrellaftermath.com/

InsideHigherEd  "Columbia's Senate on Monday announced the creation of a "task force on military engagement" in light of the end of the military's policies barring openly gay people from serving. The committee plans to hold hearings and conduct a student survey on a possible return of ROTC."

Senate poised to ratify new U.S.-Russia nuclear weapons treaty; vote would be major foreign-policy victory for Obama

Washington Post  "In six days of debate on New START, Republican critics have expressed concern about several substantive issues. One is missile defense: Although the pact does not legally bar the U.S. government from proceeding with its plans for a missile shield, Republicans worried that a few brief mentions of missile defense in the pact could provide Russia with a political pretext to pressure Washington. The administration said it will not be constrained. "

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER from November 26, 2010:  "The problem is never the weapon; it is the nature of the regime controlling the weapon. That's why no one stays up nights worrying about British nukes, while everyone worries about Iranian nukes."  More here:

The Illusory Linkage Between Nuclear Modernization and New START  "Current White House policies bar steps that would lead to the development and procurement of “new nuclear warheads” or “capabilities” to meet new missions in the 21st century. There would be no modernization of warheads or delivery systems. To call this “modernization” is like saying that taking your car to Jiffy-Lube is “modernizing” the transportation network."

General Petraeus's Surge Map

Wall Street Journal "CIA drone strikes on safe havens in western Pakistan are reaching their height this winter. Even better would be U.S. raids into Pakistan's tribal region so the leaders could be captured and interrogated. Militants are less useful dead. That's what special forces leaders are calling for. But the State Department, fearing backlash from Pakistan, so far has won the argument that the military should hold back.
"The U.S. surge also changed attitudes in Pakistan. Islamabad has now deployed some 150,000 troops—up from 30,000 a year and a half ago—into the tribal regions used by the Islamist insurgents. American forces run joint missions with them. Pakistan isn't a reliable partner, but count this as progress."

Will Mrs. Obama Downsize Your Kid?

Mona Charen "The amount of all of this food that winds up uneaten in the trash can only be guessed at (though anecdotal evidence abounds). Wouldn’t it make more sense, economically, nutritionally, and (importantly) socially to eliminate school lunches altogether? Parents can pack a highly nutritious turkey, tuna, or peanut-butter sandwich with an apple or an orange. Poor parents can afford to do this with help from the food stamp program. The older kids can pack their own lunches. (A child who repeatedly showed up at school without lunch would receive attention from child protective services.)
"

Christian's Death Verdict Spurs Holy Row In Pakistan

NPR   "Still, the life of Asia Bibi, a mother of two and stepmother of three, is at stake. A cleric has offered 500,000 rupees — roughly $5,800 — to anyone who kills the jailed woman, who is being held in the district jail in the city of Sheikhupura. The Taliban also have threatened retribution should she be spared, yet another sign the case has become a rallying point for extremists."
Via Warren Throckmorton  and The Freedomist.