What to do in Ukraine?

STRATFOR; From Estonia to Azerbaijan: American Strategy After Ukraine   "Whatever the origins of the events in Ukraine, the United States is now engaged in a confrontation with Russia. The Russians believe that the United States was the prime mover behind regime change in Ukraine. At the very least, the Russians intend to reverse events in Ukraine. At most, the Russians have reached the conclusion that the United States intends to undermine Russia's power. They will resist. The United States has the option of declining confrontation, engaging in meaningless sanctions against individuals and allowing events to take their course. Alternatively, the United States can choose to engage and confront the Russians."

"A failure to engage at this point would cause countries around Russia's periphery, from Estonia to Azerbaijan, to conclude that with the United States withdrawn and Europe fragmented, they must reach an accommodation with Russia. This will expand Russian power and open the door to Russian influence spreading on the European Peninsula itself." ....
....  "Nor can the United States confine itself to gestures like sanctions on 20 people. This is not seen as a sign of resolve as much as weakness." ....
Read more
By George Friedman

France suspends ‘most’ military cooperation with Russia

The Freedom Fighters Journal

Don't Kid Yourself about Ukraine  ... "Does NATO really want to raise the ante with Obama, Kerry, Power, Hagel, Clapper, and Brennan at the helm? A chronically weak American politburo might not be the best team to field in a spat over Ukraine. And a government, nay an administration, which cannot manage a website in the digital age, is not one likely to prosecute a successful economic or shooting war, one with atomic potential." ...

 Get Putin's attention by reviving the missile defense in Poland  Time to reverse a very bad decision made by a rookie president with no foreign policy experience. Obama gave his lunch money to the school bully as soon as he got to school.

Senator John Cornyn writes: How to Maximize Our Leverage with Putin  "Of the three biggest U.S. diplomatic “victories” often attributed to the reset — greater Russian cooperation on Afghanistan, the New START arms-control treaty, and Russian support for fresh U.N. sanctions on Iran — only the first one (persuading Moscow to let our Afghan supply routes pass through Russian territory) looks like a genuine, durable achievement from the vantage point of March 2014."

NYT reporter: Obama administration the ‘greatest enemy of press freedom’ in a generation

Daily Caller

"New York Times reporter James Risen called the Obama administration “the greatest enemy of press freedom that we have encountered in at least a generation” on Friday, explaining that the White House seeks to control the flow of information and those that refuse to play along “will be punished.”

"Poynter reports that Risen made the remarks while speaking at Sources and Secrets conference — a meeting of journalism and communication professionals held in New York City. The foreign policy reporter, who is currently fighting a fierce court battle with the federal government over his protection of a confidential source, warned that press freedom is under serious attack in today’s America."

Urban Legend: "OBAMA CARE AT 76! NO JOKE!"

Snopes calls it false   "Letter from Judge David Kithil provides line-item criticism of health care reform legislation.

        ...Page 272. section 1145: Cancer hospital will ration care according to the patient's age. Page 317 and 321: The government will impose a prohibition on...

  ...care where hospital costs are not covered. This is only the tip of the iceberg for Obama Care. Just wait to see what happens in 2013 & 2014! Age 76...
  ...to go then looked at the computer and got very quiet and asked if I was prepared to pay for it. I said no that my insurance takes care of it. She said,...
 

Also here: http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/o/HB-3200-Obamacare.htm#.UzDQhOnjjVI

http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/2009/07/27/health-care-bill-page-425-the-truth.htm

Variations:   A later version of this piece was prefaced with the false claim that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act limits the amount of Medicare coverage provided to those over the age of 75:

PLEASE PASS THIS OUTRAGE TO EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST!!! THIS should be read by everyone, especially important to those over 75.......If you are younger, then it applies to your parents.

Read more at http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/kithil.asp#37xULHa36QFzjWzk.99

Origins:   A number of similar pieces presenting lists of line item criticisms of a pending health care reform bill (H.R. 3200) began circulating on the Internet in mid-2009, and they continue to circulate widely three years later as arguments to oppose the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), commonly known as "Obamacare."

No More Retreat; Why isn’t the GOP fighting to keep the Internet in U.S. hands?

NRO  "More important, keeping the Net in our hands would signal that we have the will, determination, and resolve to defend ourselves against the rampant anti-Americanism of the global Left and the international glitterati, who want to cut us down to size. An America saddled with an anemic economy, bleeding millions of middle-income jobs thanks to globalization and financialization policies — and recently embarrassed in Syria and Ukraine — desperately needs a fresh demonstration of the same independence and self-reliance that enabled her to fill a continent and become the world’s preeminent nation, culture, and economy in less than 150 years."

90 REASONS WHY NOT TO CREATE A STATE FOR THE PLO

The Astute Bloggers   "Last week, a shipload of advanced Iranian weapons would have reached its destination Gaza, were it not for the last-minute intervention of the Israeli Navy. And last week, 90 rockets were fired from Gaza at Israel.

"Now let’s imagine how the actions of the Gaza Palestinians would have looked if they had been West Bank Palestinians, acting from inside a Palestinian state.

"Despite the felicitous turn of phrase, there is no such thing as “a de-militarized Palestinian state.” An independent state controls its own borders. “Palestine” would be free to open its borders to truckload after truckload after truckload of Iranian (and Syrian and North Korean) weapons.

"If Israel tried to intervene, it would be accused of violating Palestinian sovereignty, denounced at the United Nations, and threatened with international sanctions.

Posted in this blog last night Can you believe this thinking?
 

"Now about those 90 rockets. A Palestinian state in Judea-Samaria would mean that the border with Palestine would reach the outskirts of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Those 90 rockets might have been aimed at the Western Wall, the Azrieli Towers, or airplanes landing at Ben-Gurion airport."


Carlos Latuff, creator of the above cartoon, in Palestinian dress.

Latuff's "alleged" anti-Semitism?

Libs Demand Removal Of Rush Limbaugh From Children’s Choice Book Award Contest

Weasel Zippers

 

... "He was chosen, along with three other authors, for the Children’s and Teen Choice Book award contest.

 

"When [Children's] and Teen Choice Book contest, outraged liberals demanded he be removed from contention, according to Breitbart News.

The book council refused, issuing a public letter outlining its criteria for selection, saying:

The Author of the Year and Illustrator of the Year finalists are determined solely based on titles’ performances on the bestseller lists – all titles in those categories are listed as a result of this protocol. Some of you have voiced concerns over the selection of finalists from bestseller lists, which you feel are potentially-manipulable indications of the success of a title. We can take this into consideration going forward, but cannot change our procedure for selecting finalists after the fact.

"The kids are the ones who vote, by their book purchases, and no bias is permitted in the selections or the voting process, the group said, according to its website, CBCBooks.org.
...
"The contest is not about endorsing authors, the group said, but about endorsing young readers."   Full article

From Big Journalism:  Liberals Want Rush Limbaugh Removed from Children's Book Author Contest

Under the left, America will indeed cease to be exceptional. We would become just one more of these nations: List of books banned by governments

Includes The Diary of a Young Girl (also known as The Diary of Anne Frank)
"Banned in Lebanon for "portray[ing] Jews, Israel or Zionism favorably"."
There are some that were banned in the US to the cries of "Censorship!"from the left.

Aide who accused Bill Clinton of groping her says 'Americans deserve better than the Clintons'

UK Daily Mail  ... "Kathleen Willey was a Democratic fundraiser volunteering in the White House during Bill Clinton's presidency who claims the former president kissed and groped her inside a private study off of the Oval Office.
"Now, with a potential presidential run by Hillary Clinton in the works, Willey has resurfaced to warn the American public about the 'dysfunctional' former first family." ...

 

However...

... "Following Willey's news-making allegations in 1998 on the CBS program 60 Minutes, the Clinton White House released a series of letters and phone messages, sent after the alleged 1993 sexual harassment, which seemed to show Willey had a friendly outlook toward the president, and wanted more contact – not less.

"A federal judge later ruled that President Clinton had 'committed a criminal violation' of the Privacy Act by making her letters public. He was not prosecuted for it.

"And Linda Tripp, a one-time friend of Clinton paramour Monica Lewinsky, testified in a grand jury proceeding that Willey pursued Clinton, and not the other way around."

Obamacare Rates to Double In Many Areas, Democrats to Channel Monty Python’s Argument Sketch In Response

NRO  "In politics, there’s only so much massaging of the truth and flat-out lying that one can do before the headlines catch up with the deceit. Here’s one that ought to scare the hell out of any Democrats who are still hoping that The Charge of the Light Brigade can be an effective electoral strategy for them:

O-Care premiums to skyrocket

....
" One wonders what exactly the Democrats’ plan is here. Of late, Harry Reid, Kathleen Sebelius, and a few of their more committed acolytes have started to resemble the host in Monty Python’s Argument Sketch, a man who just flatly refuses to accept whatever charge is thrown at him:

A:  Obamacare is really hurting people.
B:   No it’s not.
A:   Yes it is. Look at this woman over here. She’s lost her doctor.
B:  She’s fine. There’s nothing wrong with her. Koch Brothers.

 Full article
"Charles C. W. Cooke of National Review deserves full credit for the comparison."

 

Obamacare. Obamacare. Obamacare

A Timeline of Obamacare Delays in Pictures

Heritage   "Obamacare is now four years old. But unlike most 4-year-olds, it still can’t walk on its own. It’s been tripping and falling over itself for years.
Just in the last year, the Obama administration has delayed or changed so many parts of the law—not to mention the technical “glitches”—it’s tough to keep up. Bloomberg Businessweek looked at the law’s recent track record and inspired us to take a visual tour."

....
"Thus far, the White House says it will not budge on the March 31 deadline to enroll. Uninsured people must choose a plan or will be forced to pay a penalty."

Also here: The Administration's Obamacare Denial

Just askin'

TheComicalConservative

Obamacare or Not Obamacare?

NRO   ... "A reporter at a sparsely attended press conference learned Thursday what happens when you refer to the president’s signature health-care law by its popular nickname in front of Pelosi.

“ 'It’s called the Affordable Care Act. It’s called the Affordable Care Act. I know you didn’t intend any compliment or derogatory — it’s called the Affordable Care Act,” the California Democrat adamantly corrected. “Affordable, affordable — there’s a reason — affordable, affordable, affordable, affordable, affordable.' ”... 

.... "Additionally, Pelosi’s communications director Drew Hammill, the person in charge of the congresswoman’s messaging, has not been shy in promoting the term on his account."

Laura Ingraham On Crimea: Why Are We Only Concerned About The Borders Of Other Countries?

Downtrend 

 

"But, we have a country right now where the people look around and say, ‘Wait a second, why do we only seem to care about borders and sovereignty when they’re other countries’ borders and sovereignty?’” Ingraham said.

“Why is that we’re obsessed about that but, in our country, we have a middle class completely flatlining, we have economic opportunity dwindling, and I think it’s a hard sell to the people on spending money that we don’t really know where it’s coming from in an economy that needs desperate help here,” she said."