US Fruitless Talks with Taliban

By Sajjad Shaukat  "It is notable that in the past, Taliban leaders had refused any dialogue with America and Afghan President Hamid Karzai until foreign troops leave Afghanistan. They can again put this condition by rejecting American military presence on limited scale.
"American officials also say that the Taliban must accept the constitution and honour the gains made in the last 10 years by the Karzai regime and NATO, since they were ousted from power, but about these conditions, Taliban have shown no sign of acceptance."


Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations
 H/T to Watching America


West's romancing of the Taliban  by Praveen Swami of The Hindu  "Last month, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sought to reassure secular Afghans, promising that her country “intends to stay the course with our friends.” “We will not leave you on your own”, said Germany's Foreign Minister, Guido Westwelle, echoing her words."


Obama's Surrender in Afghanistan

2009: Obama: "Victory" is not our "Goal" in Afghanstan.

Will the courts rein in Obama's illegal recess appointments?

Rick Moran  "But there are also judges who wish to expand the power of the courts and this would seem to present them with such an opportunity. If the courts end up siding with the administration, the president will have been handed a new power not granted in the constitution. At the very least, it makes a mockery of the senate's "advise and consent" role."

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/glennfoden/2012/01/09/95333

The Hill: Obama's recess appointments might not hold up in court:  "Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, said waiting until Cordray or the new NLRB appointees act would make for “a much stronger case than the one they moved last week.”


NRO: Obama’s Overreach  "Yet Obama has betrayed the original understanding of the Constitution in another sense — as did Pres. George W. Bush before him. Prof. Michael Rappaport of the University of San Diego has argued that the Constitution, as originally conceived, empowered the president to make recess appointments only to those vacancies that arose when the Senate was in recess. This vacancy, however, has existed since Obama signed the Dodd-Frank bill into law in July 2010.

"If Republicans want to put teeth back into the Constitution, they should demand a return to the original understanding of the recess-appointment power in full."

Mr. Obama’s 99%; Are We Poor or Just Unequal or Both or Neither?

Victor Davis Hanson  "The 2012 campaign is heating up and we can see the outlines of an impending us/them class war. But in our strange 21st-century world, lots of crazy things blur the president’s 1%/99% divide. We watch the super-rich struggle for ever creative ways of blowing their money to distinguish themselves from the rest of us [such as] Johnny Depp’s... hosting of a creepy, expensive costume Halloween party at the White House ...
....
"Meanwhile we see the “poor” near rioting over buying the first few pairs of Michael Jordan $200 sneakers, or mobbing for big screen televisions on holiday shopping sale outings."
....
"Being unequal is not poor. And not having what the “rich” have hardly means having it bad. Sorry, that’s just the way it is."

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/2012/01/16/95496

Alan Caruba: The U.S. is on a Suicide Watch/ Obama's "Fairness" is Pure Communism

The U.S. is on a Suicide Watch

"But America’s economic problems will not go away until Americans insist that the shackles of Big Government be cut loose to enable the growth of an energy industry that can not only make the nation energy independent, but produce billions in revenue as far as the eye can see into the future.


Where in Washington can we look to find economic wisdom?  Debbie Wasserman-Schultz?  Labor union headquarters? Bernie Sanders? Maxine Waters? Anybody in Obama's circle of advisors?  Not in this life. (You may say Ron Paul, but he is on the international suicide watch and ensures we will die not an economic death, but death by radical Muslims)


Obama's "Fairness" is Pure Communism

"Obama’s belief in the redistribution of income is hardly fair. Taking money from decent, hard-working Americans and giving it to those who won’t work or came here illegally hardly fits the description of fairness. It is, however, the classic definition of “economic justice” which gave us the 2008 financial meltdown when bad housing loans nearly destroyed the banking system."


It is not a good sign that we should have to fear whether Obama will get reelected because our national issue has become much more than Barack Obama. 
It shows that we recognize the American people are perhaps less than we were decades ago; that we have become the type of people who would elect someone like Obama to run this nation.  Hence the idea Mr. Caruba posits about national suicide (reflected in the Tunnel Wall masthead quote, in case you hadn't noticed). Alan nails it perfectly. TD


Both posts from Mr. Caruba's blog, Warning Signs.

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/2012/01/17/95529

Libs Using Maxed Out Race Card On a Daily Basis, Now

Nice Deb "The reaction of the SC debate crowd to Newt Gingrich’s smack-down of Juan William’s race baiting question at the debate last night should have sent a warning to racial demagogues – people are clearly fed up, and not  putting up with the racialist BS any longer.
"Juan Williams was booed, and Gingrich was given a standing O for standing up to the demagoguery:"

Only on MSNBC can Mitt Romney be considered a racist for giving money to a black woman in need.

From The Black Sphere:  Kevin Jackson... has made it his mission to expose the left's ignorance and racist political escapades.

Can Real Liberalism and the Democratic Party Be Saved from the Radical Takeover?

Barry Rubin  "Forget about making Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Roosevelt your villains. It’s historically untrue and plays perfectly into the left’s hands. It is more than happy to pretend to be the natural successors of such people, all the better to dupe the large part of its constituency that reveres those presidents but would be horrified to understand that it is really being fooled into following the successors of the Communists and New Left.
....

"Real liberals understood this very well and derided the dupes as “fellow travelers.” During the 1940s and 1950s liberal groups were energetically anti-Communist, suspicious of an excessively big government, believed in American greatness, and supported a U.S. international role as a great power.

"Remember that it was Truman who led America to recognize and fight the Soviet threat and it was his administration that successfully purged Communists from the U.S. government. And the labor unions threw out the Communists, too."

....

"The left may lose to conservatism at the ballot box. But its hegemony over universities, publishing, entertainment, culture, and the mass media can only be defeated by an ideological revival of moderate liberalism. Like it or not, those controlling these institutions have been too inoculated with the  demonization of conservatives to be challenged by them."

Newsweek on Why Obama's critics are dumb

From the liberal Politico: Right blogs take on Newsweek cover  

[Andrew] "Sullivan, a self-described “unabashed supporter of Obama from early 2007 on,” writes in the cover story that attacks against the president are not only out of bounds but “simply — empirically — wrong.” "


Big Government: Why Is Andrew Sullivan So Dumb?  "Aside from the war on Al Qaeda, Obama squandered every diplomatic and military success bequeathed to him by Bush. He destroyed missile defense in Europe, and wasted hard-won gains in Iraq by withdrawing troops against the advice of the military. While appeasing Iran and gutting the future of our defense, Obama alienated and undermined U.S allies. Sullivan, who detests Israel, even applauds Obama’s pointless confrontation with Benjamin Netanyahu–hardly a way to sell a second Obama term."


 I thought only in North Korea did they write puff pieces such as Sullivan's about their Dear Leader. This may make it on the always-watchable-unless-Alan-Colmes-is-on-the-panel Fox News Watch this next Saturday evening.


Newsbusters asks: "Is there anything the mainstream media won't do to get Obama reelected?"

Ethel Fenig in American Thinker wonders: Why are Newsweek's supporters so dumb?  "Want more titillation?  Next to Obama's left ear, in still smaller, bold caps we can learn of MRS. SANTORUM'S SURPRISING PAST.
"Brown's short term desperation to punch up newsstand sales, to set off a short term buzz just might backfire, turning off the remaining middle of the road subscribers without adding new Obama lovers.
"If so, it couldn't happen to a more deserving magazine and its editor."


Neal Boortz has his always-interesting perspective:  "The accompany article is by Obama sycophant Andrew Sullivan, and it signals the beginning of an age-old Democrat theme in presidential elections:  Conservatives are stupid, liberals are smart.  Gerald Ford; clumsy and dumb.  Ronald Reagan: dumb.  George H.W. Bush, affable, but dumb.  George W. Bush, dumb.  Now if you are a critic of Barack Obama, you’re just dumb.  What a surprise.

Look … there are going to be three constant themes during the campaign

1. Republicans and conservatives are ignorant.
2. Republicans and conservatives are racists.
3. Republicans are only for the rich.  

Nile Gardiner from the UK wonders Why are Barack Obama’s critics so smart?  "In response to Sullivan’s provocative article, which has stirred up a good deal of debate in America, here are five reasons why President Obama’sconservative critics are significantly smarter in their approach and thinking than his failing Left-wing administration in Washington:"  Read on as each of the points below are discussed...
1. Obama’s critics have a far better understanding of the concerns of the American people and the mood of the country
2. Obama’s critics reject big government and the ludicrous idea that bureaucrats know best
3. Obama’s critics reject appeasement of America’s enemies, support America’s allies and don’t believe in apologising for their country
4. Obama’s critics believe that a presidency should behave with decorum, and show respect for opposing views
5. Obama’s critics know a gaffe-prone, embarrassing administration when they see one

Obama: Incompetent or Evil?   "The most acute division on the right — the one that will give Mitt Romney the most trouble — is not between moderates and hard-core right-wingers, between electability-minded pragmatists and ideologues, or between the Tea Party and the Republican establishment. It is between those Republicans who disagree with Barack Obama, believing his policies to be mistaken, and those who hate Barack Obama, believing him to be wicked."


How the Network Morning Shows Are Trashing Republicans and Trumpeting Barack Obama in Campaign 2012   "- By a 4-to-1 margin, ABC, CBS and NBC morning show hosts have employed an adversarial liberal agenda when questioning this year’s Republican candidates. But those same hosts’ questions for President Obama leaned in his direction, with mostly liberal-themed questions.  
"- Four years ago, questions for the Democratic candidates tilted by more than two-to-one to the left, a friendly agenda."
The foregoing was a summary of this 19-page report from the Media Research Center.  Here is a pdf of the full report

The odyssey of Vince Offer, the ShamWow guy

Here is the commercial that made him famous

After that he did the Slap Chop commercial. But then Offer ran afoul of the law by punching out a...well, lady of the night... er, working girl. 

Wikipedia gives us this: "On February 7, 2009, Offer was arrested in Miami Beach, Florida on a charge of felony battery after an altercation with a 26-year-old prostitute. Offer contended that he struck the prostitute when she "bit his tongue and would not let go." Prosecutors later declined to file formal charges against either individual."



But now Vince is back in this Schticky commercial. (I love a guy who makes fun of himself. Attaboy, Schticky).  Here's a brief bio of the Israel-born Offer Schlomi.  
Yes, that's his real name, Offer.

Obama’s One-Man Rule; Is Obama thumbing his nose at the Constitution? Read and decide.

Michael Barone via Neal Boortz:   [Obama's] "scorn for the Constitution is something else. 

That scorn has been expressed most recently in his “recess” appointments of members of the National Labor Relations Board and the chairmanship of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The quotation marks are appropriate because when he made the appointments the Senate was not in recess as the Constitution requires."

....

"The Framers of the Constitution saw it a different way. When the Senate refuses to confirm a presidential appointee, that person does not take office. When the Senate is not in recess, the president cannot make a recess appointment.
"The Framers thought it more important to limit power than for government to act quickly. Barack Obama disagrees."


Naturally the legal cover was provided by Obama's Justice Department headed by Eric Holder, whose department also refused to enforce immigration laws and to declare Black Panther voter intimidation illegal. As the above article points out:

The White House has belatedly trotted out an opinion from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (headed by a political appointee) saying that the president was justified in considering the Senate in recess, because the sessions it was holding every three days were just pro forma or, in the words of Obama defenders, “gimmicks.”

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/2012/01/16/95481

Question of the Day

Neal Boortz asks:  "If Bain Capital had taken a look at Solyndra, would they have invested $500 million in that mess?"


Bain Capital and the Little Steel Mill That Could  "Romney’s firm is behind one of American steel's few recent success stories."
"For every tragic story of a company that  fails at the expense of its workers and investors, there are stupendous successes such as that of Steel Dynamics, and they would not happen without the capital and expertise of firms such as Bain." 

Workers World Party on the Occupy Wall Street Movement

NoisyRoom.net  "The pro-North Korea/Cuba, Workers World Party is heavily involved in the Occupy Wall Street movement.
" “Defend Occupy Wall Street,” Larry Holmes, WWP First Secretary, speaking at the Workers World Forum in New York City, Nov. 18, 2011."

Marines show the Taliban who is number one. (Updated)

Michael Ledeen: Pissing on the Enemy  "To the media pack, the “pissing story” was a welcome present, because they can unleash their full primal scream of righteous indignation against the Marines, whom they resent because the Marines are so very good at what they do.  DIGRESSION:  As an institution, the military, at least temporarily, is the best we’ve got, and the Marines are the best of the lot, both because they’re relatively small, and because they are well led."
....
"If I were advising the secretaries of state and defense I’d say:

1.  Treat it as a routine matter.  “Boys will be boys.  Especially in war.  Stuff happens.  We enforce our rules.”
2.  Don’t pass judgment, even hypothetically.  Just say, it’s been referred to the investigators.  When we find out what happened, we’ll get back to you.
3.  If Karzai delivers more moral lectures, have the president of the United States give a speech about Afghan sexual culture, including the treatment of young boys by older men, and the treatment of women by all Afghan men.  And then suggest, ever so sweetly, that Karzai is not really in a strong position to lecture us.

 General Patton urinates into the Rhine river in Germany  ""I drove to the Rhine River and went across on the pontoon bridge. I stopped in the middle to take a piss and then picked up some dirt on the far side in emulation of William the Conqueror." General George S. Patton, March 1945"

Blackfive: THE NATURE OF WARRIORS.... "The nature of warriors is something that only warriors will ever know.  Those that have never experienced this will never know why these men felt the need to do what they did.  But if our military is going to be effective in the long run, our enemies must fear us.  They must believe that we are capable of unspeakable evil and every now and then, we have to pull back the curtain a little and let them see a smidgen of what we are holding the lid on while we bomb them further into the stone age.  That fear of what those warriors are capable of will save lives."


Update from Hot Air:  Rep. Allen West on the reaction to the Marines incident: “Shut your mouth; war is hell” "Words of support for the troops are needed now as always, but they’re hardly forthcoming. The Republican presidential candidates, for example, have made no statements of support for the predominantly well-behaved troops as a buttress against the effects on public opinion of the administration’s eager denouncement of the few. William Kristol highlights their silence:"


Taliban atrocities show what real war crimes are  "If the photos of the U.S. troops become an issue, the United States should show pictures of Taliban members standing around, while masked, watching their leader behead a helpless captive."


Maybe this guy in black is one of those our Marines were doing the number one over. Picture from a video at BareNakedIslam; find it yourself; the sight is too disturbing to link to. 
Sorry if this photo is offensive, but I wanted you to remember just who the bad guys were in that photo of the Marines. TD