About Afghanistan and this president

Krauthammer’s Take: Obama’s 2016 Timing for Afghanistan Withdawal Is ‘Personal Narcissism’     ... "Krauthammer found it contemptible that Obama would orient military plans around the timing of his departure from office, merely to make himself look better."
 

 

Via Lucianne;   A ‘Monumental Mistake’? Obama Details Afghanistan Withdrawal Plan  From John McCain: “The president’s decision to set an arbitrary date for the full withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan is a monumental mistake and a triumph of politics over strategy. This is a short-sighted decision that will make it harder to end the war in Afghanistan responsibly,” the trio said. “The president came into office wanting to end the wars he inherited. But wars do not end just because politicians say so. The president appears to have learned nothing from the damage done by his previous withdrawal announcements in Afghanistan and his disastrous decision to withdraw all U.S. forces from Iraq.”

 

Obama taking on foreign policy critics   "The White House is mounting a concerted defense of President Obama's foreign policy against criticism that he has weakened U.S. influence around the globe. — The full-court press hinges on a speech Obama will give Wednesday at West Point's commencement … "   More here.

Richard N. Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations:  Fixing Our Foreign Policy: 12 Ideas From a Sometimes Critic  ... "I appreciate that it does not take a whole lot of effort to find fault. In that spirit, here are a dozen proposals -- some likely to be popular, others anything but -- that if adopted would enhance this country's national security. I offer them now in the hope the president and his aides are open to new ideas as they prepare his much anticipated May 28 national security speech at West Point."

 How 21st century wars end under Democratic presidents   ... "A better statement of how 21st century wars end under President Obama (and, one suspects, Democrats in general) would be that they end as soon as the president believes he can end them without politically harmful blowback and no later than dates that are predetermined by the political calendar."

Ballot Snafus Nearly Kicked This Senior Democrat Out Of Congress

 

Politix   ... "Conyers, 85, on Friday lost his appeal Friday to get on the August primary ballot after Michigan election officials found problems with the Democrat's nominating petitions, AP reports. This would have ended his 50-year career in Congress.

"But then a federal judge reinstated Conyers's name on the ballot.

"The problem was that Conyers lacked the 1,000 signatures necessary to get on the ballot. He faces a Democratic primary challenge from the Rev. Horace Sheffield III."

2010; Conyers's wife pleads guilty       ... "Her tenure has been marred by controversy and complaints about her personal behavior. Last year, in a dispute during official council proceedings, Conyers called then-council President Ken Cockrel “Shrek.' ”

Mrs. Conyers in action on the Detroit city council: 

The 5 Stages Of An Obama Scandal

Black Quill and Ink

 

... "Moreover, the VA scandal is opening the eyes of many in the media to the president’s strategy. Columnists are starting to notice the same canned responses, inaction, and smokescreens in this instance and are comparing them with other scandals.

"One can only hope that this will bring a higher level of seriousness to scandals, such as Benghazi and force the president to realize that his scandal playbook is no longer an option."

More at BQI

http://liberallogic101.com/?p=11291

What Obama’s many messes really mean  

"Another week, another scandal.

"From Fast and Furious at the ATF to the Pigford fraud at the Department of Agriculture, the IRS’ political targeting to the State Department’s Benghazi mess, the healthcare.gov debacle at HHS to spying at the NSA and the DOJ, President Obama is running out of agencies and departments to defend in his two years left in office." ...

Three cheers for the RNC’s new debate process

Via Hot Air

 

Hugh Hewitt   "Chairman Reince Priebus has done a lot of great things for the Republican National Committee he heads and the GOP he leads.

"But of all the good work, the three great "Priebus reforms" will be the re-ordering of the primary calendar for the presidential nomination process, the decision to move the nominating convention forward to late June or early July and the decision to seize control of the previously out-of-control debate schedule for the primaries and caucuses, which will choose the 2016 Republican standard-bearer.

"The first two reforms took only the agreement of the members of the national committee. The latter required a thoughtful innovation that, while coercive, is only gently so and is likely to be welcomed by legitimate contenders for the nomination.
...
"Marginal candidates may not be so happy, preferring a long, drawn-out marathon of debates as a means of selling themselves and their brand, and not necessarily with gaining the nomination."
...
"Priebus and the team will make the new rules stick. They have to. The damage from a score of roller derby debates is enormous."

Superpowers Don't Get to Retire

Robert Kagan 

  "Almost 70 years ago, a new world order was born from the rubble of World War II, built by and around the power of the United States. Today that world order shows signs of cracking, and perhaps even collapsing. The Russia-Ukraine and Syria crises, and the world’s tepid response, the general upheaval in the greater Middle East and North Africa, the growing nationalist and great-power tensions in East Asia, the worldwide advance of autocracy and retreat of democracy—taken individually, these problems are neither unprecedented nor unmanageable. But collectively they are a sign that something is changing, and perhaps more quickly than we may imagine. They may signal a transition into a different world order or into a world disorder of a kind not seen since the 1930s. 

Thomas Sowell; How the word 'racism' sways a fool's vote; random thoughts

"Any fool can say the word “racism.” In fact, quite a few fools do say it. But clever people can also say “racism” to get fools to vote their way."

Thomas Sowell   "Everyone was free to be a communist under the Stalin dictatorship, and everyone is free to be a Muslim in Saudi Arabia. Yet whole generations are coming out of our
colleges where only those who are politically correct are free to speak their minds. What kind of America will they create?
...
"If the Democrats retain control of the Senate after this year’s election, Barack Obama can load the federal courts from top to bottom with judges who will ignore the Constitution, as he does, and promote his far-left political agenda instead, long after he is gone." (Emphasis mine, TD)
...
"Those people who want Hillary Clinton elected president, so that we could have our first woman president, seem to have learned absolutely nothing from the current disaster of choosing a president on the basis of demographics and symbolism.

"The old saying that taxes are the price we pay for civilization has long since become obsolete. The amount that the government spends to defend us from foreign attack, or to maintain law and order at home, has been overtaken by the money it spends just to transfer some people’s money to other people who are more likely to vote for the re-election of incumbents.

Any fool can say the word “racism.” In fact, quite a few fools do say it. But clever people can also say “racism” to get fools to vote their way.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2014/05/how-the-word-racism-sways-a-fools-vote/#AzeZpEZxFk08CrsM.99

 

Presidential briefing

http://netrightdaily.com/2014/05/cartoon-briefing-room/

 

When a Democrat loses Pat Oliphant, things are really bad.

 

"The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen."

Dennis Prager Q & A At University of Denver
 

 

Uploaded on May 24, 2010     

"Dennis Prager Q & A At University of Denver. To see what Dennis means when he says The American Trinity", go to http://www.prageru.com/ and click on "The American Trinity" for a 5 minute video explanation by Dennis. Also, there is another 37 minute speech by Dennis Prager about America's exceptionalism and uniqueness at http://www.idezignmedia.com/constitut... near the bottom of the page. Enjoy!

Hat tip to Walt Stier; Santa Maria, CA

How do you Remember USAF Four Star General George Babbitt?

Stick with me on this:

GENERAL GEORGE T. BABBITT in 2000.  " General George T. Babbitt is commander of the Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The command conducts research, development, test and evaluation, and provides acquisition management services and logistics support necessary to keep Air Force weapons systems ready for war.

"The general was commissioned in 1965 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the University of Washington. He trained as an aircraft maintenance officer and served as officer in charge of fighter flight lines in the United States, the Pacific and Europe. He twice commanded aircraft maintenance squadrons and was deputy commander for maintenance of a European F-15 wing.
OK, so what?

George Babbitt was the first drummer for the Ventures, but was too young to play in their venues. He was replaced by Mel Taylor who plays drums in this video.
 

Stumptown Blogger  "Do you remember the Ventures and Babbitt the drummer who played "Walk Don't Run"?Do any of you remember the USAF Four Star General George Babbitt from Tacoma, WA? Anyone who thought the military is all spit and polish and discipline? Pretty interesting. General Babbitt was a drummer at one time for the Ventures.This is cool. Watch it. You will love it if you like rock n' roll. Some of you probably don't remember the Ventures. Those that do, enjoy the clip. It should bring a smile to your face."

 

 

Hat tip to Bill Smith; Rainier, Oregon

UPDATE: The intellectual cesspool that is MSNBC and it's personalities like Toure'

Nothing but crickets from those who would destroy Paula Deen, Phil Robertson and so many others for their non-PC words.

MSNBC’s Touré Thinks Holocaust Survivors Had White Privilege
How does this man have a job in national media? Disgusting and disgraceful…

Touré, the Holocaust, and Hashtagosophy      "In four words he trivialized mass murder."

 

 

"Early Saturday morning, the MSNBC host/hyperventilating philosopher Touré again enlightened the world. Facing a tweeter who mentioned that his parents had survived the Holocaust and then found the American dream, Touré responded, “The power of whiteness.”

"Even for a man who thinks that Kenya sits on the Mediterranean, this was a particularly idiotic statement. With four words and an abundance of flippant pride, in one moment, Touré decided that his education project — making America understand that white supremacy still reigns — was more important than the Holocaust." ... 
...
"But having been to any of these places, one cannot but be repelled by this tweet. It’s just too full of disdain and too ignorant of injustice. Still, we shouldn’t be surprised. Touré is a fervent hashtagosopher of the lowest order." ...
Full article...

UPDATE: Touré: Hey, sorry for using Holocaust survivors as an example of the “power of whiteness”
 "Having thus proposed an exciting new strain of “white privilege” that I’m calling “Holocaust survivor privilege,” he went silent for the next three days as Twitter unloaded on him. Then, about an hour ago, he surfaced to say he’s sorry — especially for thinking that the nuances of his point would be grasped in this particular medium."

Antisemitism Is Systemic At MSNBC
"MSNBC's record, which includes a prime-time slot for Al Sharpton. the tenure of Pat Buchanan, and Chris Matthews' obsession with Jewish neo-cons is a red flag"

...
" Sharpton incited two anti-Semitic programs in New York City: the Crown Heights riot and the fire bombing of the Jewish-owned Freddy’s Fashion Mart in Harlem. The supposedly repentant Sharpton has never admitted or apologized for either riot, even though in the case of Freddy's much of the incitement was made on his radio program and transcripts still exist."

Transgenders in the U.S. Military: ‘I’m Open to That,’ Hagel Says

MRC TV

Carter administration all over again: The competence of President Obama questioned

Who will the president blame for this? Assuming his protective press cares enough to cover this subject, that is.

UK Guardian:  White House staff tried to 'un-ring the bell' after revealing CIA chief's identity 

President Barack Obama greets US troops during a his visit to Afghanistan,

which led to the CIA's station chief's identification.

 

"The White House blew the cover of the top CIA agent in Afghanistan on Sunday, when the person’s name was included on a list given to reporters during a visit to the country by President Barack Obama.

"The name was then emailed by the White House press office to a distribution list of more than 6,000 recipients, mostly members of the US media.

"The agent in question, listed as chief of station, would be a top manager of CIA activity in Afghanistan, including intelligence collection and a drone-warfare programme under which unmanned aerial vehicles mount cross-border attacks into Pakistan."
Get this man out of that country NOW

With new troubles, questions mount about Obama's competence    " 'You've been a United States senator less than two years, you don't have any executive experience. Are you ready to be president?" the late Tim Russert asked Obama on NBC."
In response, candidate Barack Obama did not address this question.

legalinsurrection.com/

 

Why is Team Obama unable to bring home Marine held in Mexico?   "After he was treated, officials chained all four of his limbs to his hospital bed. Now back in jail, he remains chained to his bed by one leg.
"Equally egregious is our own government’s lack of desire and priority to negotiate Tahmooressi’s release."  Lucianne.

BBC: Is US foreign policy 'vacuous, vapid and weak'?    "The most senior Republican on the Senate Foreign affairs committee, Bob Corker, tells me there are "questions about the United States that haven't been there in time in the past".

" 'And I think that creates a vacuum and in that vacuum other people step in," he said.

" 'I am very concerned about the lack of a clear-sighted foreign policy in our country." Lucianne.

We don't want conflict but the best way of preventing conflict in the world is retaining American power in the world”   Professor Nick Burns Harvard professor of international relations

Fear and anger among allies

Letterman writer Bill Scheft: "It's not because he's black and it's not because we're afraid. It's just that he's, just so far, just a little too damn competent and we ain't used to that. [multiple panelists say "yeah."] "

Democrats Privately Calling Obama 'Detached,' 'Flat Footed,' 'Incompetent'   ... "Haberman of Politico agreed, cited more examples, and added: "All of this adds up to somebody who just doesn't seem at all involved.' "
 

VA Fallout: Boston Globe, LA Times Declare Obama Incompetent

The 44th president – who once said that his accomplishments could compare favorably with those of any of his predecessors with the “possible exceptions” of Lyndon Johnson, FDR, and Abraham Lincoln – has always had a huge opinion of his executive gifts. The American people no longer share it. As a political creature, Obama’s talents are undeniable. When it comes to competent governance, they turned out to be anything but.