Saturday, October 18, 2014
Alan Caruba: "An American Decline that Must Be Reversed "
Warning Signs
"The tendency of pundits is to address the decline in American culture and traditional moral values. The concerns addressed include the rather sudden, but widespread embrace of same-sex marriages or calls for the legalization of marijuana so anyone can get high without the fear of arrest.
"You can probably name a few things you consider evidence of decline, but there is one you are not likely to notice much. It’s the nation’s infrastructure of highways, airports, waterways and ports. It’s only dramatic declines such as the decay of Detroit, once one of the nation’s most dynamic cities that get attention because it is so blatant. We judge the backwardness of third world nations by their bad roads and lack of infrastructure to support their economies." ... More at the link.
Obama’s Disappointing Legacy on Transportation Policy "We’ve seen it all before. Today Vice President Biden gave a speech calling for more infrastructure investment, but without offering a way to pay for it. We heard the same from President Obama this past July, May and February. While the message echoes over and over again, not much in the way of actual policy is changing. " ...
There's always plan B: Obama mocks Congress on highway spending That may have truth to it, but still, this man talks big issues but they do not get taken care of and his constant taunting of Republicans has not helped his legacy.
"The tendency of pundits is to address the decline in American culture and traditional moral values. The concerns addressed include the rather sudden, but widespread embrace of same-sex marriages or calls for the legalization of marijuana so anyone can get high without the fear of arrest.
"You can probably name a few things you consider evidence of decline, but there is one you are not likely to notice much. It’s the nation’s infrastructure of highways, airports, waterways and ports. It’s only dramatic declines such as the decay of Detroit, once one of the nation’s most dynamic cities that get attention because it is so blatant. We judge the backwardness of third world nations by their bad roads and lack of infrastructure to support their economies." ... More at the link.
Friday, October 17, 2014
WMD: NY Times Just Blasted Out of Existence Biggest Myth About George W. Bush & Iraq War
How'd it go again? Oh..."Bush lied, people died"
IJ Review "It wasn’t the only justification for the Iraq War, but it certainly has often been held up as the biggest. Although it has been claimed before that chemical weapons had been found in Post-Hussein Iraq, due to new documents uncovered by a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the New York Times is now reporting it in a piece, “The Secret Casualties of Iraq’s Abandoned Chemical Weapons.”
"While various news sources had reported the finding before, all assertions that Hussein had chemical weapons in some capacity (weapons-grade or not – they had been hidden from U.N. inspectors) were largely scoffed at as nothing more than supercilious bunk. Well, behold…"
IJ Review "It wasn’t the only justification for the Iraq War, but it certainly has often been held up as the biggest. Although it has been claimed before that chemical weapons had been found in Post-Hussein Iraq, due to new documents uncovered by a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the New York Times is now reporting it in a piece, “The Secret Casualties of Iraq’s Abandoned Chemical Weapons.”
"While various news sources had reported the finding before, all assertions that Hussein had chemical weapons in some capacity (weapons-grade or not – they had been hidden from U.N. inspectors) were largely scoffed at as nothing more than supercilious bunk. Well, behold…"
Chemical Weapons Revelations in the Middle East ... "Which is more likely? That ISIS is handling pre-1991-era leaky canisters of CW damaged and improperly stored in Iraq, or that it has taken much more modern stockpiles – perhaps new weapons produced in unshuttered facilities in Syria – for use in its destructive sweep through both countries? The first would indict the Bush administration, the second the Obama administration." ...
Marines who guarded Saddam's mysterious bunker fear weapons unleashed ...
"Although the Americans assigned to the Al Muthanna facility until 2008 were forbidden by superiors from peering inside the bunker, they knew the larger complex’s history. From 1983 to 1990, the brutal dictator’s scientists worked there, developing mustard, sarin, VX and Tabun gases for use on Iranian soldiers and Iraqi Kurds. And although it was under the control of U.S. and Iraqi military forces for most of the last decade, the entire facility - and whatever it held - is now firmly in the grasp of the Islamic State, the terrorist army that has claimed a vast swath of Iraq and Syria and allegedly used chemical weapons against Kurds this summer." ...
Sleep well; your government is watching over you
2. Letterman writer: Obama 'too competent' to make jokes about
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."]
Obama Tabs Political Hack as Ebola Czar ... " Mr. Klain has no medical background but can be counted upon to be a reliable water carrier for the party which is what really matters. Just when you think that the Obama operation can’t sink any lower they hit bottom and set up a drilling rig."
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."]
Obama Tabs Political Hack as Ebola Czar ... " Mr. Klain has no medical background but can be counted upon to be a reliable water carrier for the party which is what really matters. Just when you think that the Obama operation can’t sink any lower they hit bottom and set up a drilling rig."
What the Left Can’t Admit about the Politics of Ebola "The threat of Ebola maybe be hyped, but the threat of government incompetence is real." ...
Obama to Appoint Gore Recount Lawyer, Former VP Chief of Staff as Ebola Czar
Does this administration choose anybody for anything on the basis of competence?
PJ Tatler ... "On Friday morning, CNN reported that Obama would name former Vice President Al Gore’s and VP Joe Biden’s chief of staff Ron Klain to the position.
"The Democratic Party operative has worked as a lawyer since leaving the White House in 2011. He led the legal team fighting for Gore in the 2000 recount and was portrayed by Kevin Spacey (Below, left) in HBO’s Recount."
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| http://www.trendyink.net/blog/2009/movies-and-tv/movie-recount-hbo-films/ |
"It's interesting to me that Obama appointed a political hack, rather than a medical professional. That should tell you all you need to know about this administration's priorities." AboveTopSecret
Wikipedia reports: "Ronald A. "Ron" Klain is an American lawyer and political operative best known for serving as Chief of Staff to two Vice Presidents - Al Gore (1995–1999) and Joseph Biden (2009–2011).[1][2] He is an influential Democratic Party insider. Earlier in his career, he was a law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Byron White during the Court's 1987 and 1988 Terms and worked on Capitol Hill, where he was Chief Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee during the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination. He was portrayed by Kevin Spacey in the HBO film Recount depicting the tumult of the 2000 presidential election. On October 17, 2014, CNBC reported that Klain is to be named the newly created "Ebola Czar" by President Obama.[3]"
Actor Kevin Spacey, Georgetown's Ron Klain Discuss Politics and Ethics (Video, if you have the time and inclination to watch it.)
Actor Kevin Spacey, Georgetown's Ron Klain Discuss Politics and Ethics (Video, if you have the time and inclination to watch it.)
Krauthammer: Ebola vs. civil liberties
Charles Krauthammer "Unnervingly, the U.S. public health services remain steps behind the Ebola virus. Contact tracing is what we do, Centers for Disease Control Director Tom Frieden assured the nation. It will stop the epidemic “in its tracks.” And yet nurses Nina Pham and Amber Vinson, who developed Ebola, were not even among the 48 contacts the CDC was initially following.
Nor were any of the doctors and nurses who treated the “index patient,” Thomas Duncan. No one even had a full list of caregivers.
"The other reassurance was: Not to worry. We know what we’re doing. We have protocols. When, however, we got the first Ebola transmission in the United States, it was blamed on a “breach in protocol.”
"Translation: “Don’t blame us. The nurse screwed up.” The nurses union was not amused. Frieden had to walk that back the next day, saying he didn’t mean to blame anyone." ...Full Article here.
Charles Krauthammer writes a weekly political column that runs on Fridays. View Archive
Biden’s Son Hunter Discharged From Navy Reserve After Failing Cocaine Test
Wall Street Journal
"Vice President Joe Biden ’s son Hunter was discharged from the Navy Reserve this year after testing positive for cocaine, according to people familiar with the matter.
"Hunter Biden, a lawyer by training who is now a managing partner at an investment company, had been commissioned as an ensign in the Navy Reserve, a part-time position. But after failing a drug test last year, his brief military career ended.
"Mr. Biden, 44 years old, decided to pursue military service relatively late, beginning the direct-commission process to become a public-affairs officer in the Navy Reserve in 2012. Because of his age—43 when he was to be commissioned—he needed a waiver to join the Navy. He received a second Navy waiver because of a drug-related incident when he was a young man, according to people familiar with the matter. Military officials say such drug waivers aren’t uncommon.
this year after testing positive for cocaine, according to people familiar with the matter.
"Hunter Biden, a lawyer by training who is now a managing partner at an investment company, had been commissioned as an ensign in the Navy Reserve, a part-time position. But after failing a drug test last year, his brief military career ended.
"Mr. Biden, 44 years old, decided to pursue military service relatively late, beginning the direct-commission process to become a public-affairs officer in the Navy Reserve in 2012. Because of his age—43 when he was to be commissioned—he needed a waiver to join the Navy. He received a second Navy waiver because of a drug-related incident when he was a young man, according to people familiar with the matter. Military officials say such drug waivers aren’t uncommon."
"Hunter Biden, a lawyer by training who is now a managing partner at an investment company, had been commissioned as an ensign in the Navy Reserve, a part-time position. But after failing a drug test last year, his brief military career ended.
"Mr. Biden, 44 years old, decided to pursue military service relatively late, beginning the direct-commission process to become a public-affairs officer in the Navy Reserve in 2012. Because of his age—43 when he was to be commissioned—he needed a waiver to join the Navy. He received a second Navy waiver because of a drug-related incident when he was a young man, according to people familiar with the matter. Military officials say such drug waivers aren’t uncommon.
this year after testing positive for cocaine, according to people familiar with the matter.
"Hunter Biden, a lawyer by training who is now a managing partner at an investment company, had been commissioned as an ensign in the Navy Reserve, a part-time position. But after failing a drug test last year, his brief military career ended.
"Mr. Biden, 44 years old, decided to pursue military service relatively late, beginning the direct-commission process to become a public-affairs officer in the Navy Reserve in 2012. Because of his age—43 when he was to be commissioned—he needed a waiver to join the Navy. He received a second Navy waiver because of a drug-related incident when he was a young man, according to people familiar with the matter. Military officials say such drug waivers aren’t uncommon."
ISIS, Islam and Obama
ISIS, Islam And Obama: Understanding The Threat To The Free World [Opinion] "The viewpoint of ISIS echos throughout the Islamic world. Mawlana Abul Ala Mawdudi, founder of Pakistan’s Islamic Fundamentalist Movement, which boasts hundreds of thousands of members, spoke openly and honestly about the religion of Islam.
“Islam is a revolutionary faith that comes to destroy any government made by man. Islam doesn’t look for a nation to be in better condition than another nation. Islam doesn’t care about the land or who own the land. The goal of Islam is to rule the entire world and submit all of mankind to the faith of Islam. Any nation or power in this world that tries to get in the way of that goal, Islam will fight and destroy.”
Read more at The Inquisitr
You just crossed her red line
What on earth has happened to race relations in this country?
I have found nearly every encounter in this town with a black person is a pleasant one, where we have each been polite and friendly to each other. Can it be that most of them are burdened over the image followers of the news are seeing of the despicable racist acts done by bullies of their race?
May I ask when will we see crowds of African-Americans demonstrating in the streets against each of these incidents described in the following article? When will we see Rev's Sharpton, Jackson and Wright giving public denouncements of these acts?
Please do not take this as an argument against the African-American people; express your anger at demagogues from those mentioned on up to every Black national leader who continues to scrape the scabs off of our historical wounds, who profit socially and financially from racial animosity.
Don't give us that line about our guilt for slavery. Nearly all of us had no part in enforcing Jim Crow and justly condemn it now, feeling shame at what was done because of it. But if you hold whites still guilty over it, then by all means, remember the guilt of the Democrat Party in supporting the Ku Klux Klan.
Bus Driver Organizes Black Mob Violence Against White Family "A black Baltimore bus driver organized a mob of 20 black people to assault a white family of three on her bus, which they did with gusto and pepper spray. All the while, the other black passengers hooted and hollered in encouragement.
"All while the bus driver waited for the beating to finish so the attackers could get back on the bus. With her thanks.
"The bus company didn’t give a darnn. And it took Baltimore police two months before they even investigated it.
...
"Charging documents show the bus driver watched the assault and yelled several times, "Yeah, that's what you get." After the teens were finished with the beating, they got back on the bus, and the bus drove away, offering the victims no assistance, police said. Video
May I ask when will we see crowds of African-Americans demonstrating in the streets against each of these incidents described in the following article? When will we see Rev's Sharpton, Jackson and Wright giving public denouncements of these acts?
Please do not take this as an argument against the African-American people; express your anger at demagogues from those mentioned on up to every Black national leader who continues to scrape the scabs off of our historical wounds, who profit socially and financially from racial animosity.
Don't give us that line about our guilt for slavery. Nearly all of us had no part in enforcing Jim Crow and justly condemn it now, feeling shame at what was done because of it. But if you hold whites still guilty over it, then by all means, remember the guilt of the Democrat Party in supporting the Ku Klux Klan.
Bus Driver Organizes Black Mob Violence Against White Family "A black Baltimore bus driver organized a mob of 20 black people to assault a white family of three on her bus, which they did with gusto and pepper spray. All the while, the other black passengers hooted and hollered in encouragement.
"All while the bus driver waited for the beating to finish so the attackers could get back on the bus. With her thanks.
"The bus company didn’t give a darnn. And it took Baltimore police two months before they even investigated it.
...
"Charging documents show the bus driver watched the assault and yelled several times, "Yeah, that's what you get." After the teens were finished with the beating, they got back on the bus, and the bus drove away, offering the victims no assistance, police said. Video
MSNBC has their own ways of causing damage: Want a travel ban from Ebola countries? You're not even a 'thinly veiled' racist says MSNBC hosts.
These ladies should discuss this, then: Ebola ruled out as passenger dies on Nigeria flight to JFK
"A passenger died on a Nigeria-to-JFK flight after a vomiting fit Thursday — and a top lawmaker said officials gave the corpse only a “cursory” exam before declaring that the victim did not have Ebola."
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Bush Didn’t Lie; So why did his administration sit on the evidence of Saddam Hussein’s WMDs?
Deroy Murdock " ...The late dictator Saddam Hussein did have weapons of mass death, and the United States of America was correct to invade Iraq, find these toxins, and destroy them. Also vital: padlocking this Baathist general store for militant-Islamic terrorism.
"As I explained on July 17, 2006:
While the liberal press gently sleeps, evidence continues to mount that Hussein had WMDs, though perhaps not in quantities that would bulge warehouses.Full article..
“Since 2003 Coalition forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded mustard or sarin nerve agent,” states a June 21 declassified summary of a report from the National Ground Intelligence Center. “Despite many efforts to locate and destroy Iraq’s pre-Gulf War chemical munitions, filled and unfilled pre-Gulf War chemical munitions are assessed to still exist.”
Operation Inherent Resolve?
"President Obama met with twenty military chiefs of Allies at the White House Tuesday to devise a strategy to defeat ISIS. The terrorist army captured three more towns in Iraq this week and they have declared themselves the Islamic State. Their national bird is a hand gesture." Argus Hamilton
American Thinker " ....I’m an old combat infantryman who has no problem with an enemy who hates me with a deadly determination to destroy me. But I swear to all of you out there, I cannot support a commander in chief and his politically correct administration who subject our nation in general and our military in particular to this sort of international ridicule.
"I do believe I am inherently resolved to oppose these silly Democrat fools who profess to lead us.
"Thomas Lifson adds: "Resolve" cannot by its nature be "inherent." Resolve is an act of will. The phrase is self-contradictory. " ... More
Analyzing ‘Operation Inherent Resolve’ ... "The choice–”Operation Inherent Resolve”–has both a loneliness and a longness about it, and even a sadness. It reflects both the dashed hopes of the past and the distance anticipated before future gains. It doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence either. Indeed, it almost sounds despondent.
"Operation Inherent Resolve also stands in stark contrast to the more optimistic names of the past three U.S. wars in the Middle East and south Asia: In 1991, the United States launched the robust-sounding Operation Desert Storm to oust Iraq from little Kuwait. Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, launched in 2001, had an idealistic ring to it, especially as a response to the 9/11 attacks. In 2003, Operation Iraqi Freedom was supposed to signal the creation of a new democracy after the toppling of a notorious dictator.
"All three of those operations were messier and longer than anticipated. They also had unintended consequences that deferred or muddied straightforward U.S. goals. The military moniker for this newest battle reflects those realities." ...
Syria-Iraq fight gets a name: 'Inherent Resolve' "Inherently bland."
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