The time is past for Bill de Blasio to resign

Hot Air  I’m not going to beat around the bush here. It is time for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to resign. Yesterday’s assassination of two of New York City’s finest was only the latest and most devastating brush stroke on a canvas which has been coming into focus for months. When you are the mayor of a city you have many responsibilities, but one of the most vital (in terms of maintaining a functional societal structure) is the mandate to enforce the laws and maintain social order. It is the same for mayors everywhere, as well as governors and presidents. But currently, the state of relations between City Hall and the New York Police Department has devolved to the point of complete dysfunction, and criminals are well aware of this state of affairs. The fault for the creation of this toxic atmosphere is essentially found solely at the feet of Mayor de Blasio.

"Former Governor George Pataki summed up the situation correctly:

  George E. Pataki        ✔ @GovernorPataki Follow

Sickened by these barbaric acts, which sadly are a predictable outcome

 of divisive anti-cop rhetoric of #ericholder & #mayordeblasio. #NYPD

"So caustic is the current state of relations between the Mayor’s office and the police that a shocking and dismaying scene took place in the wake of the horrific assassinations. When de Blasio arrived at the hospital yesterday, the uniformed officers literally turned their backs to him as he walked by. And this was at a moment when, in more normal times, they should have been rallying to the leadership of the executive.

..."While he has been cloistered with those fomenting violence and rebellion against law enforcement, we know that he has been made aware of this video. In it, he has seen his own citizens marching in the hundreds and chanting, “What do we want? Dead cops! When do we want it? Now!' ”

Obama Calls For ‘Patient Dialogue’ After Police Officers Murdered in New York City
Any honesty on the part of those fed up with this street violence will result in their destroyed careers and/or their home addresses being publicized .

A Nation at War with Itself, Crying out for Leadership  ... "Thus a man who came to national prominence in 2004 proclaiming, “There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America,” now plays golf in Hawaii while a black murderer executes a Latino and an Asian police officer in New York. A revenge attack, where police had been heroes in the wake of 9/11, in a controversy racialized by the president and his allies." ...

NYC Police Union: “Blood of 2 Executed Police Officers Is On Hands of Mayor de Blasio”

First the background: Two New York Cops Murdered in Possible “Revenge for Garner” Ambush

Some Actually Celebrated After Saturday Execution of N.Y. Cops

NYC Police Union: “Blood of 2 Executed Police Officers Is On Hands of Mayor de Blasio”
Infidel Bloggers Alliance   "The Sergeants Benevolent Association – comprised of approximately 12,000 active and retired sergeants of the NYPD – put the blame of yesterday’s execution style murders of two police officers on Mayor de Blasio."

  SBA @SBANYPD Follow

The blood of 2 executed police officers is on the hands of Mayor de Blasio. May God bless their
 families and may they rest in peace.

"This comes after the Democratic mayor smeared the NYPD police after the Eric Garner grand jury decision.
"On Saturday New York City police officers turned their backs on Mayor Bill de Blasio as he entered the press conference on the two executed officers.

Sally Kohn Says "Don’t Blame Protesters For Cops’ Murder, They’re Just Like “Critics Of Public Schools' ”
..."Clearly this has slipped through Sally Kohn’s big brain, but comparing anti-cop protesters who shout “What do we want? Dead cops!” with “critics of public schools” is so devoid of intellect, it’s staggering."
...
"One of the “leading progressive voices in America” also must not have grasped that when a mob attending an anti-cop rally chant the murder of police officers, and a person who clearly sympathizes and supports the anti-cop protesters actually murders police officers, it’s a direct connection."

Don’t wish Christians ‘Merry Christmas’ says Isma

The Rakyat Post

"With Christmas looming this Thursday, Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) has once again stirred up controversy by saying Malays should not wish Christians “Merry Christmas” and celebrate along with them.

" 'According to Isma activist Abu Ameen in his commentary, while it was natural for Muslims to show kindness to their fellow neighbours as part of Allah’s commandments, the community should also ask themselves whether this gesture is permissible under Islam.

“'Especially at this time and age, Muslims should not be singled out as being unfriendly or not part of the community.

“ 'How then can a simple wish be non-permissible in Islam? Many Muslims are also confused how saying ‘Merry Christmas’ and participating in Christmas celebration is considered a blasphemy for them.”

From the Iron Burka: "The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18), and those who deny that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God are antichrist (1 John 2:22).
"Don’t wish Christians ‘Merry Christmas’ says Isma."

Mayo Clinic atrium piano, charming older couple...

Mayo Clinic atrium piano, charming older couple...   "Fran & Marlo Cowan (married 62 years in 2008 when this was taken) playing impromptu recital together in the atrium of the Mayo Clinic. To read more about the day we took this lovely video go here.  "The song is Old Grey Bonnet."

More here 

Fark comments here.   
Hat tip to Jack Hamner of Orcutt, CA

Obama Apologizes to Castro

 

The Weekly Standard  "Cuban communist leader lectures Obama for 30 minutes."

"Barack Obama apologized to Cuban president Raul Castro during their phone conversation after the American commander in chief's opening remarks. Speaking to reporters at his final White House press briefing of 2014 Friday afternoon, Obama gave more details about his phone call with the communist leader of Cuba earlier this week before the announcement of a change in U.S. policy on the Caribbean island nation.

 

This happened at the Mandela funeral

"Obama began the phone call with Castro with what he described as 15 minutes of opening comments. It was the first conversation between the heads of state in both countries since 1961.

" 'I apologized for taking such a long time," Obama said. Castro responded by reminding Obama that the American president was still young enough to beat Castro's brother, former Cuban president and revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, who once gave a 7-hour-long speech.

"According to the president, Raul Castro proceeded to speak to Obama uninterrupted for 30 minutes.

rightwingnews.com

Islamic militants buy plumber's old truck, use it in Syria

Snopes

 

 A photo posted on an Islamic militant group's Twitter feed shows a Texas plumbing company's old truck turned into an anti-aircraft firing weapon on the front lines of Syria's civil war. The company wants to make clear they're not aiding terrorists. 

USA Today  "It's all because of a photo posted on an Islamic militant group's Twitter feed. It shows one of Mark-1 Plumbing's old work trucks with its logo on the side, turned into an anti-aircraft firing weapon on the front lines of Syria's civil war. " 'We had no intentions or no idea that this would even happen," said Jeff Oberholtzer, son of Mark-1's owner. "He traded the truck in himself in November 2013 at an AutoNation Ford dealership about 20 miles away in Houston.

"The truck immediately went to auction and likely traded owners over and over before apparently winding up in the hands of a Chechen group named Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, a dealership spokesman said." 

From Snopes:

 Oberholtzer said that shortly after the photo went viral, he started receiving phone calls accusing his company of supporting terrorist groups. Regardless of how this truck ended up in Syria, Oberholtzer said he has learned a valuable lesson and will be removing the company's logo before selling any more trucks:

We have a secretary here, she's scared to death. We all have families. We don't want no problems. We have nothing to do with terror at all.

 ... Hat tip to Jeff Hayden; Plano, TX 

You want torture? Feed the Gitmo prisoners the First Lady's school lunches

 

 http://terrellaftermath.com/

Dec 20, 1944; the siege of Bastogne begins. Then and now images from Bastogne

"An American tank moves past another gun carriage which slid off an icy road in the Ardennes Forest during the Battle of the Bulge, Dec. 20, 1944."

Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Wikipedia: Siege of Bastogne "was an engagement in December 1944 between American and German forces at the Belgian town of Bastogne, as part of the larger Battle of the Bulge. The goal of the German offensive was the harbour at Antwerp. In order to reach it before the Allies could regroup and bring their superior air power to bear, German mechanized forces had to seize the roadways through eastern Belgium. Because all seven main roads in the Ardennes mountain range converged on the small town of Bastogne, control of its crossroads was vital to the German attack. The siege lasted from December 20–27 when the besieged American forces were relieved by elements of General George Patton's Third Army."

http://screamingducks.com/campaigns/battle-of-the-bulge/bastogne-then-and-now/

• More Bastogne images, then and now
• Then and now photos from Battle Detective
Elsewhere in the Ardennes: In the Footsteps of Battlegroup [Kampfgruppe] Peiper " Much of the route that Peiper and his Kampfgruppe took can still be followed today. The following photos show a look of today's area that Kampfgruppe Peiper fought through. 

In 1944 Battle of the Bulge, Albert Darago, then 19, took on a German tank by himself ,... "Seventy years ago, Darago, now 89, crept down a long, open hill with a loaded bazooka, figuring that he was going to die. He peeked over the top of a hedge and, at a distance of a few yards, fired at a German tank, disabling it." ...

Sony: tell me again what the definition of "super power" is..

First it all started with caustic texts by Sony execs...

 

...who really weren't so "progressive, but rather regressive.

Remember how Hollywood is called "courageous" when they portrayed conservatives as outrageous? Next is a typical example of Hollywood "courage":

"Law & Order": another TV show that sucker-punches half the American population 
 "We began watching a 2009 episode of "Law and Order" entitled "Fed" last night and I had to shut it off at the start. We saw people like ourselves - TEA partiers, portrayed as rifle-toting, hateful bigots. Only Hollywood is capable of inspiring dislike and outrage by the simple means of the skillful acting of those who portray people like you and me as despicable and violent. They give us the same treatment they give to pharmaceutical  and insurance companies.
"May God bless all courageous conservatives in our country trying to stem the socialist tide sweeping America because the left has such massive force to bring against them. And the propaganda is being spoon-fed to the American public. How do we stand a chance?" The Tunnel Dweller;  February 28, 2011. 

That would be a pro-Bush TEA Partier on the right.

Training for president should also include a semester of Econ 101. Period

 

 comicallyincorrect.com

Krauthammer: How to fight the lone wolf

Charles Krauthammer

Pakistani human rights activists light lamps as they take part in a protest 

in Karachi on December 18, 2014, against the attack by Taliban militants

 on an army-run school in Peshawar

"The lone wolf is the new nightmare, dramatized and amplified this week by the hostage-taking attack in Sydney. But there are two kinds of lone wolves — the crazy and the evil — and the distinction is important.

"The real terrorists are rational. Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter, had been functioning as an Army doctor for years. Psychotics cannot carry that off. Hasan even had a business card listing his occupation as SoA (Soldier of Allah). He then went out and, shouting “Allahu Akbar,” shot dead 13 people, 12 of them fellow soldiers. To this day, Hasan speaks coherently and proudly of the massacre. That’s terrorism."... Read more.

2009: White House Christmas Decor Featuring Mao Zedong Comes Under Fire

Fox News

"Mao Zedong is in the White House, hanging out with a drag queen. Not far away, Barack Obama is making a play to have his head etched in stone.

"Critics of President Obama are setting their sights this week on the official White House Christmas tree, which features controversial ornaments including an orb depicting the late Chinese dictator, another that shows drag queen Hedda Lettuce, and yet another that shows a picture of Mount Rushmore -- with Obama's head pasted to the side of Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and Roosevelt's.

"God rest ye, merry gentlemen.


Click here for photos of the White House Christmas Tree decorations.