Obama’s Chicago Presidency

 What you can do if you don’t care what anybody says.

Victor Davis Hanson  Too many choice excerpts to use, so....

 

"Senator Robert Menendez (D., N.J.) was a vocal critic both of President Obama’s executive-action opening to Cuba and his nuclear non-proliferation talks with Iran. In the midst of his loud opposition, he found himself suddenly the target of renewed federal charges that had aired much earlier without consequence. I think the message was not that the administration was worried over appearances, but rather that it wished to remind all of Washington that it actually welcomed the appearance of not being worried over the idea of federal prosecutorial power being used for tit-for-tat vendettas. Malice is a valuable political tool for Barack Obama."   
 . . .
"From the petty malice of Obama-administration aides leaking slurs that Netanyahu was a coward and chickens–t to the fundamental malevolence of community-organizing Netanyahu’s opponents in an effort to defeat him at the polls to leaking previously classified information about Israel’s nuclear deterrent, the message is again Chicagoan." . . .
. . .

"Obama has chosen to skip various widely attended anniversaries, including the liberation of Auschwitz and the Battle of Gettysburg. He passed on the commemorative march of world leaders who condemned the terrorist killings in Paris. Critics pounced. How does the president have time to meet with GloZell, do his March Madness NCAA-tournament basketball picks, or banter with Internet bloggers if he cannot meet with the current chief of NATO? Why does he jet out to California to do Jimmy Kimmel, but refuse to fly to Paris to show solidarity against Islamic violence? Why would Obama fly all the way to Denmark to lobby for a Chicago Olympics, but not attend the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall? Again, those are the wrong questions.

"Whether Obama avoided these events out of lassitude or by intent matters little: The point is that it was his pleasure not to attend any of them."
. . .
"Given media obsequiousness, Obama feels that little scrutiny of his actions will follow. A move toward impeachment he might even hope for, given his iconic status and the community-organizing chance to smear anyone foolish enough to try it as a racist or bigot." . . .   Emphasis mine, TD  Photos added.   Full article

70 years ago this week: the battle for Okinawa

battle-of-okinawa-map/dandelion-films.com

Central Okinawa today, Google earth photo

Military History Online  . . . " The Battle of Okinawa is distinguished among battles, yet often unrecognized when referring to the great battles of the Second World War. Over 250,000 people lost their lives. Approximately 150,000 Okinawans, about a third of the population, perished.[1] At the battle's end, somewhere between a third and half of all surviving civilians were wounded.[2] No battle during the Second World War, except Stalingrad, had as massive a loss of civilian life. The stakes were high. The Japanese, determined to fight to the last man, almost achieved their objective, but in defeat 100,000 Japanese combatants died rather than surrender.[3] In the end, fewer than 10,000 of General Mitsuri Ushijimas's Thirty-Second Army were taken prisoner.[4]" . . . 

Ernie Pyle

 Okinawa: The final battle

151 Okinawa battle photos  Famed correspondent Ernie Pyle lies dead after being killed on April 18, 1945.

 Ernie Pyle Is Killed on Ie Island; Foe Fired When All Seemed Safe      . . . "He joined headquarters troops in the outskirts of the island's chief town, Tegusugu. Our men had seemingly ironed out minor opposition at this point, and Mr. Pyle went over to talk to a regimental commanding officer. Suddenly enemy machine gunners opened fire at about 10:15 A.M. (9:15 P.M., Tuesday, Eastern war time). The war correspondent fell in the first burst."
 

 

"United States loss of life was staggering as well. The United States Navy sustained the largest loss of ships in its history with thirty-six lost and 368 damaged.[5] The Navy also sustained the largest loss of life in a single battle with almost 5,000 killed and an equal number wounded.[6] At Okinawa, the United States Tenth Army would incur its greatest losses in any campaign against the Japanese.[7] The Tenth Army, which initially was made up of 183,000 army, navy, and marine personnel.[8]  During those eighty-two days, the Tenth Army would lose 7,613 men and over 30,000 men would be evacuated from the front lines for a minimum of a week due to wounds.[9]  Moreover, the largest numbers of U.S. combat fatigue cases ever recorded would occur on Okinawa.[10]

  

April 1&2, 1945: Marines landing on Okinawa

The Pacific: Inside The Battle - Okinawa (HBO)

The bloody World War II battle at Okinawa is recalled by U.S. veterans and the team behind the HBO miniseries "The Pacific." 

Battle of Okinawa  "The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg,^[11] was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and included the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II.^[12][13] The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were approaching Japan, and planned to use Okinawa, a large island only 340 mi (550 km) away from mainland Japan, as a base for air operations on the planned invasion of Japanese mainland (coded Operation Downfall). Four divisions of the U.S. 10th Army (the 7th, 27th, 77th, and 96th) and two Marine Divisions (the 1st and 6th) fought on the island. Their invasion was supported by naval, amphibious, and tactical air forces."

The Rules of Racialists—Part Two

Victor Davis Hanson

"Last week I reviewed some rules to navigate [1] in our race-obsessed culture. Here are three final statutes . . ."
. . . 
"Eric Holder’s children, who improperly were flown to the Belmont Stakes with their dates in their father’s private government jet ^[2], would be entitled to affirmative action in a way that an impoverished grandchild of the Oklahoma diaspora is not. But at least a lower-middle-class white male is not penalized in college admissions to the degree that would be a straight-A Asian student. In today’s multiracial society of great economic fluidity, more than a half-century after the civil rights movement, the children of multimillionaire rappers would be deemed at a disadvantage in comparison to impoverished newly arrived destitute immigrants from Asia. But then again we are supposed to cry for the billionaire Oprah, who claims she was shown disrespect for gazing at some tony overpriced purse in a European millionaire boutique ^[3]. Such is the bathos of the current civil rights movement."

Would you agree to pay more taxes to provide jobs for jihadis?

Bookworm Room

 

Prosecution of Senator Shows Justice's Double Standard

 

  Patriot Post  "Corruption charges against Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) cleared a federal grand jury Wednesday, which itself smacks of political corruption inside the Department of Revenge Justice. According to the DOJ’s allegations, Menendez accepted bribes from a Florida eye doctor. Menendez said it was only a friendship. Former federal prosecutor Adam Lurie told The Wall Street Journal, “I think the government’s real challenge here is going to be overcoming the friendship evidence. Doing something for a friend is not a crime, and doing something because you also have a real policy concern about something is not a crime. And I think the government is going to have to deal with both of those issues here.” Attacking Menendez could solidify the Democrat Party behind Obama, as the senator was a vocal opponent of the Obama administration’s diplomatic actions with Iran and Cuba. Meanwhile, former IRS official Lois Lerner, who helped Obama win re-election by targeting conservative groups, will not be charged with contempt of Congress. According to The Hill, a DOJ attorney said it would be “inappropriate.” Indeed, Obama doesn’t send the DOJ after his friends."

 DOJ lets Lois Lerner off the contempt hook  . . . " However, Machen said DOJ lawyers determined that Lerner “did not waive her Fifth Amendment right by making an opening statement on May 22, 2013, because she made only a general claims of innocence.' ”

 Senator Bob Menendez indicted on 14 counts of corruption . . . " As has been suggested, I question the timing.  Menendez has stepped aside as ranking minority member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, which is a blow to efforts in Congress to force the president to submit any Iran agreement to their scrutiny, as well as impose further sanctions on Iran prior to the conclusion of a nuclear agreement."

 

On the media

Why No Riots for Ricky Shawatza Hall? . . . "What demands explanation is why the media and the Department of Justice have applied such disparate standards in the deaths of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown on one hand and Miriam Carey and Ricky Shawatza Hall on the other.

"The answer is fairly obvious. “Black lives matter” or “LGBTQ lives matter” only when those deaths advance the agenda of the Democrat-media complex. With Obama in the White House, the shooting death of a black person and/or a gay person by federal officers scores no political points."  This article will sting some people.

 Story About First Business to ‘Publicly Vow to Reject Gay Weddings’ Was Fabricated Out of Nothing  "Woman becomes the new face of Christian bigotry while literally minding her own business, after ambush interview, media feeding frenzy."

The Left’s New Avatar of Christian Bigotry: Memories Pizza owner Crystal O’Connor, of Walkerton, Indiana.

"ABC-57 reporter Alyssa Marino’s editor sends her on a half-hour drive southwest of their South Bend studio, to the small town of Walkerton (Pop. ~2,300). According to Alyssa’s own account on Twitter, she “just walked into their shop [Memories Pizza] and asked how they feel” about Indiana’s new Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

"Owner Crystal O’Connor says she’s in favor of it, noting that while anyone can eat in her family restaurant, if the business were asked to cater a gay wedding, they would not do it. It conflicts with their biblical beliefs. Alyssa’s tweet mentions that the O’Connors have “never been asked to cater a same-sex wedding.”

"What we have here is — as we called in journalism school jargon — “no story.” Nothing happened. Nothing was about to happen.

. . .  "Lest you think I’m being too dramatic. Late Wednesday, word comes that Jess Dooley, a female coach at Concord High School 45 minutes away in Elkhart, has been suspended after tweeting:

Who’s going to Walkerton, IN to burn down #memoriespizza w me

Is no one in the liberal media sickened at what media liberalism has become? This is no longer a sympathetic story about LGBTs who are offended. It’s a story of Fascists trying to destroy, perhaps even kill, people who don’t believe in gay marriage.

 

What is the left's definition of a bigot?

 This from Independent Sentinel

No, Thuggery and Threats Of Violence Are Not ‘The Market At Work’   . . . "Are any of you “social justice warriors” planning to explain yourselves to the hard-working innocent employees you’re trying to send to the unemployment line, all because of something the owner of the restaurant said – not even something the business did?

"Now that the howling hate mob has tasted blood, it’s members are starting to back away from what they’ve accomplished, comically protesting that they’re not the fascists they so obviously are. The most grimly amusing comedy routine they’re pulling is claiming that the possible demise of Memories Pizza would be “market forces” at work. No surprises there – totalitarians always try to co-opt the language of capitalism and freedom. But no, little brownshirts, forcing a business to close with harassment and threats is not “the market at work.' ”

The Shadow of Munich Haunts the Iran Negotiations

Once again our leaders are needlessly appeasing a hostile state that shows them nothing but contempt.  (Place obligatory photo of Chamberlain holding up paper he and Hitler signed here.)

Victor Davis Hanson  (Pictures added by TD) "The Western capitulation to Adolf Hitler in the 1938 Munich Agreement is cited as classic appeasement that destroyed Czechoslovakia, backfired on France and Britain, and led to World War II. All of that is true. But there was much more that caused the Munich debacle than simple Western naiveté. The full tragedy of that ill-fated agreement should warn us on the eve of the Obama’s administration’s gullible agreement with Iran on nuclear proliferation.

"Fable one is the idea that most people saw right through the Munich folly. True, Europeans knew that Hitler had never once told the truth and was already murdering German citizens who were Jews, Communists, or homosexuals. But Europeans did not care all that much. 

"Instead, the Western world was ecstatic over the agreement. After the carnage of World War I, Europeans would do anything to avoid even a small confrontation — even if such appeasement all but ensured a far greater bloodbath than the one that began in 1914.' . . .

. . .
"Finally, the Iranians,* like Hitler, have only contempt for the administration that has treated them so fawningly. During the negotiations in Switzerland, the Iranians blew up a mock U.S. aircraft carrier. Their supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, did his usual “death to America” shtick before adoring crowds.

"Our dishonor in Lausanne, as with Munich, may avoid a confrontation in the present, but our shame will guarantee a war in the near future."

*Who also wish to wipe Jews off the face of the earth. Comparisons to Hitler and the Nazis have become trite because they are true. TD

 

Timeline Puts Lie To Obama's Story About Bergdahl

 

 From American Thinker. . . "Cue the Rose Garden ceremony with creepy Papa Bergdahl and foxy Mama Bergdahl – great visuals to make the release of the dangerous captives look like a good thing, the return of a hero.

"This makes Bowe Bergdahl into just another Styrofoam column, part of the illusions Obama has always depended on to sell himself and his policies.

Investors Business Daily  . .. . "But IBD has uncovered a series of credible reports from 2012 — as well as a transcript of a candid press conference by then-Afghan President Hamid Karzai — that show the White House originally wanted to give up the Taliban commanders under just one condition: that the Taliban open a political office in Qatar "to conduct peace negotiations." It was Qatar that ended up taking the prisoners.

"Bergdahl, who walked off his post and into the arms of the Taliban in June 2009, wasn't even part of the negotiation back then. The original deal was a one-sided release, naked any trade for a "POW" or "hostage" or soldier who allegedly had served "with honor and distinction."

"Consider this timeline: . . ."   Full article here.

. . . "Obama also had several chances to rescue Bergdahl on the ground, but he reportedly ignored them all. Why? He wanted a terrorist trade to help close down Gitmo. Don't be fooled: This is what Bergdahl was all about."

 

Obama Told Negotiators to Ignore Deadline, Iran Talks Continue

Foreign Policy  . . . "The talks were scheduled to conclude on March 31 with a political framework, but the United States abandoned that notional deadline when it became clear that Iran was using it to its advantage. “They were turning our own deadline against us to see if we would give ground,” a senior U.S. official told the New York Times. President Obama told U.S. officials “to ignore the deadline, make it clear that the president was ready to walk away and leave all sanctions on Iran in place, and see if that would change the dynamic.” There were signs yesterday that Iran may be shifting its position to allow the phased lifting of sanctions under a deal, though differences persisted over the conditions under which they would be reimplemented if an agreement is violated. “We have made significant progress in the talks but still we have not agreed on the reviewed solutions,” Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif told reporters. Meetings will resume this morning. " . . . 

     

High School Coach: Anyone Want to Help Me ‘Burn Down’ the Pizzeria That Won’t Cater Gay Weddings?

From the Gateway Pundit

 

NRO  "The softball and girls’ golf coach at Concord High School in Elkhart, Indiana posted a tweet asking if anyone wanted to “burn down” Memories Pizza with her over its announcement that it would not cater gay weddings. “Who’s going to Walkerton, IN to burn down #memoriespizza with me?” Jessica Dooley asked in the tweet, which has since been deleted. “Agree with #FreedomOfRelgionBill? ‘That’s a lifestyle they CHOOSE’ Ignorant.” Okay.. . ."

"TMZ is reporting that Memories has been forced to close after being “flooded” with threats.

 Read more"

"Harry, we hardly knew ye": Charles Krauthammer

Harry Reid's epitaph   . . . "I do think he was a disgrace to his own institution because he emasculated it in the name of protecting the president and trying to re-elect Democrats. He didn’t succeed because he essentially shut down the Senate as soon as Republicans took the House in 2010. He failed as a partisan because nine senators of his party lost re-election, but he succeeded in protecting the president from having to exercise the veto. And in order to achieve that he killed his own institution."  More at The Blaze

Why Harry Reid’s Home Exercise Accident Story Does Not Add Up

 I don’t believe for a minute that whatever happened to Harry Reid has anything to do with an exercise machine unless somebody repeatedly threw him intoit. Harry Reid looks like and is acting like — and now with this announcement, behaving like — somebody who may have been beaten up. Nobody… I’ve never seen anybody have an accident with an exercise machine that ends up suffering symptoms much like Harry Reid’s for as long as Harry Reid has.  Rush Limbaugh

Vegas Paper’s Editor Killed Column Critical of ‘Friend’ Harry Reid   . . . "Nevada political reporter Jon Ralston, a former Sun reporter, filed a column in 2012 criticizing Reid’s baseless allegations that then-Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney had not paid income taxes in a decade.
“The column was never published because Las Vegas Sun Editor Brian Greenspun attempted to protect his friend, Reid, from the criticism,” Ralston wrote on his website Wednesday.

Harry Reid Admits to Smearing Mitt Romney  . . . “Romney didn’t win, did he?” Reid said in response to Bash’s question of whether he regretted what he had said about Romney.

"Think about that logic for a minute. What Reid is saying is that it’s entirely immaterial whether what he said about Romney and his taxes was true. All that mattered was that Romney didn’t win."

Receding Harry Line
 

. . .  "Reid's major accomplishment as Senate Majority Leader was to pass Obama's worst pieces of legislation by fair means or (more typically) foul - screwing up Senate tradition and procedure to such an extent that the institution may be damaged irreparably.

"And of course, once Republicans gained power in the House of Representatives, Reid essentially shut down the Senate so no Republican-sponsored budget or bill could be voted on or possibly reach Barack Obama's pristine and uncluttered desk. As historians and scholars will someday say, Reid was the banana jammed in the tailpipe of the engine of Democracy."