We’re Selling Iran, er “Iraq,” WHAT?!

Debbie Schlussel  "It’s not exactly a newsflash that the government of Iraq is very tight with the government of Iran, and that Iran-backed Shi’ite Nouri Al-Maliki remains Iraqi Prime Minister. Whether or not Iraq merges with Iran, it is a satellite state of Iran, so it makes no difference. Given that, why the heck are we selling Iraq 36 F16 fighters? And against which country do you think Iraq would use these fighter jets? Not Iran, not Syria, not any country but for maybe, um . . . wait for it . . . ISRAEL! They say they need the jets to halt Iraqi border “transgressions.” Riiight We know what they are for. It’s absurd to sell these jets to Iraq/Iran, but hey, this is the “NEW” Iraq President Bush–not Obama–created. We might as well be selling the jets to Hezbollah, which most of Shi’ite Iraq supports." Emphasis added.

F16 fighters to help Iraq halt borders transgressions, State of Law MP    "A Member in State of Law Coalition headed by Iraq Premier Nouri Al Maliki said on Sunday that transgressions on the Iraqi borders cannot be halted but by using F16 fighters and added that the sovereignty and reverence of Iraq in the region will not be complete without these airplanes adding that Al Maliki’s announcement of the willingness to double the number of bought airplanes is great news for all Iraqis." 

Our watchdog press

Marco Rubio Serves Up The Painful Truth (Updated)

Neal Boortz  "No, seriously. You need to see this video of Marco Rubio speaking on the Senate floor about the debt ceiling debate. He even takes questions from … John Kerry! Just watch it. It’ll be worth it."

Marco's Constituent Mailbox: Debt Ceiling, Social Security, Jobs, and Government Spending

Numerous posts, pro and con at Drudge

A Tea Party Triumph "This one includes no immediate tax increases, despite President Obama's demand as recently as last Monday. The immediate spending cuts are real, if smaller than we'd prefer, and the longer-term cuts could be real if Republicans hold Congress and continue to enforce the deal's spending caps."

Rush doesn't but this theory, thinking its a media trick to get recalcitrant conservatives on board. More on this Tuesday when Rush's transcripts come out but his thought is that if it's a TEA Party win, Obama will not sign off on it.

Rush Limbaugh on Tuesday  "I've just been handed a note here that says, "Rush, you were right. Harry Reid, joint committee, must include taxes or trigger will kick in." Well. Told you. Yesterday we were sitting here and we were discussing whether the Bush tax cuts sunset or not. No matter what the scenario, there will have to be a tax increase. The Republicans were running around all day yesterday and the day before claiming victory because they had come up with a plan that guarantees no tax increases. Obama doesn't get to raise taxes, no tax increases in this deal."

Barack Obama the Pessimist; His lack of faith in American exceptionalism has dashed any hope of a 'transformational' presidency..

FOUAD AJAMI  "By that Reagan standard, Mr. Obama has been a singular failure. The crippling truth of the Obama presidency is the pessimism of the man, the low expectations he has for this republic. He had not come forth to awaken this country to its stirring first principles, but to manage its decline at home and abroad. So odd an outcome, a man with an inspiring biography who provides no inspiration, a personal story of "The Audacity of Hope" yielding a leader who deep down believes that America's best days are behind it.
Amid the enthusiasm of his ascent to power, the choreography of a brilliant campaign, and a justifiable sense of pride that an African-American had risen to the summit of political power, it had been hard to tease out the pessimism at the core of Mr. Obama's vision."   Emphasis added.TD

Atheists Cross Over 'Cross'

American Thinker  "This is the same group demanding that Brooklyn rename a street named in honor of seven Brooklyn firefighters killed on 9/11. They claim that changing Richard Street to "Seven in Heaven Way" violates the "separation of church and state." David Silverman, president of American Atheists, told Fox News: "It implies that heaven actually exists."

"They also filed suit seeking the removal of roadside crosses honoring fallen Utah state troopers. A federal court ruled in favor of the crosses but an appeals court ruled against them. The Utah Attorney General has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the ruling and the American Civil Rights Union has filed an amicus brief in support."

....

"Silverman also wants something that "represents atheism, such as the American Flag" or an "atom." How about nothing?

"Here's an idea-include every religious symbol that spontaneously appeared when the dust cleared."

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/06/outrageous.php

Why Obama actually cared about the Aug. 2 deadline

Hot Air 

[H]e also wanted to get back to some other critical business: fundraising for his 2012 campaign. Obama turns 50 on Thursday. The day before, he is scheduled to fly to his hometown of Chicago for a pair of birthday fundraisers at the Aragon Entertainment Center. The events will feature musical performers and cost up to $35,800 per person, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. …

After the Chicago trip, one administration official [said], the president will hit the road several more times before his annual vacation in Martha’s Vineyard at the end of August.

Sharpton's Affirmative-Action Win

The Daily Beast   "Sharpton has a long and well-documented history of leveraging his civil-rights profile for his own benefit. Grabbing a prime-time anchor spot in exchange for cheerleading for a controversial merger would be the capper on that career. It’s gone remarkably unnoticed that Sharpton was the first major black leader to endorse the Comcast merger, which met fierce resistance."

Sharpton says:  "First of all, then we have to say the American public overwhelmingly voted for socialism when they elected President Obama."

Please tell me...

Rush Limbaugh: The Race Card, Football and Me  "Shortly thereafter, the media elicited comments from the likes of Al Sharpton. In 1998 Mr. Sharpton was found guilty of defamation and ordered to pay $65,000 for falsely accusing a New York prosecutor of rape in the 1987 Tawana Brawley case. He also played a leading role in the 1991 Crown Heights riot (he called neighborhood Jews "diamond merchants") and 1995 Freddie's Fashion Mart riot."

Rich Terrell: The Fastest Finger in the West

http://terrellaftermath.com/

 

Reid signs off on debt deal as negotiators get close

Politico  "Opening the Senate at noon, Reid had proceeded with an attempt to cut off debate on an alternative package he put forward. That motion failed 50-49, as expected, but Reid kept his options open to force a second cloture vote if he so chose. Timing was crucial with financial markets reopening Monday, one day before the threat of default.

"While both sides stress that nothing is final yet, the contours of the would-be agreement suggest a more practical approach by Republicans, led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, to achieve many of the party’s goals without pushing Obama and the nation into default."

Reid signs off on bipartisan debt deal but Boehner holds out  "But the emerging deal may be imperiled by last-minute reluctance from House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) who worries the proposal cuts too much from future Pentagon budgets."  More here.

(Video) Rand Paul: Obama Manufactured this Crisis

You have to endure a 30-second commercial first.

Krauthammer: Why the Boehner Plan must pass " I have every sympathy with the conservative counterrevolutionaries. Their containment of the Obama experiment has been remarkable. But reversal — rollback, in Cold War parlance — is simply not achievable until conservatives receive a mandate to govern from the White House."

CNN anchor to Rand Paul: I hope you’re happy with yourself, Mr. Tea Party  "From that perspective, this is actually a dynamite sneak preview of how the media will react on Wednesday if today’s deal falls apart and we end up hitting the ceiling. If you want to ask someone why they’ve resorted to desperate measures, at least let ‘em explain why they think these are desperate times, no? Especially since, per Paul, these measures aren’t as desperate as they might be."

http://www.worldmag.com/editorialcartoons/

Rich Lowry: Sounding the Alarm on Defense Cuts  Quoting John Bolton:

....Defense has already taken hugely disproportionate cuts under President Obama, and there is simply no basis for expanding those cuts further. Republican negotiators must hold the line, since the Obama Administration plainly will not.

Mark Steyn on Nancy Pelosi and the debt fight: Decline starts with the money, but it doesn’t stop there.   "That thoughtful observer of the passing parade, Nancy Pelosi, weighed in on the “debt ceiling” negotiations the other day:

“What we’re trying to do is save the world from the Republican budget. We’re trying to save life on this planet as we know it today.”

"It’s always good to have things explained in terms we simpletons can understand. After a while, all the stuff about debt-to-GDP ratio and CBO alternative baseline scenarios starts to give you a bit of a headache, so we should be grateful to the House minority leader for putting it in layman’s terms: What’s at stake is “life on this planet as we know it today.” So, if right now you’re living anywhere in the general vicinity of this planet, it’s good to know Nancy’s in there pitching for you."

Fort Hood Suspect Had Left-Wing Fan Base

Alana Goodman in Commentary  "When Pfc. Naser Abdo applied for CO status last year, the utterly discredited Iraq Veterans Against the War organization posted a message in support of him on its website, and asked readers to donate to his legal defense fund. And Kimber Heinz, a writer for the far-left website Truthout, unluckily chose to profile Abdo in a 2010 article entitled, “One Year After Fort Hood: The Missing Story of Muslim Peacemaking.”

" “We must lift up the stories and ongoing work of Muslim peacemakers like Naser Abdo,” Heinz wrote."

Hat tip to Weasel Zippers via Freedom Fighter's Journal

Truth in pictures

Hat tip to Ronbo over at Freedom Fighter's Journal  for these.

Moody's: Neither debt plan protects the nation's AAA rating

The Hill   ""Reductions of the magnitude now being proposed, if adopted, would likely lead Moody's to adopt a negative outlook on the AAA rating," the credit rating agency said in a new report. "The chances of a significant improvement in the long-term credit profile of the government coming from deficit reductions of the magnitude proposed in either plan are not high."

"It added that "prolonged debt ceiling deliberations" have increased the odds of a downgrade, but that the firm is still confident policymakers will avoid a default."

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/garyvarvel