Incident in Hangzhou; Obama’s humiliation in China is a sign of global disdain for the president.

Charles Krauthammer

"The president of the United States lands with all the majesty of Air Force One, waiting to exit the front door and stride down the rolling staircase to the red-carpeted tarmac. Except that there is no rolling staircase. He is forced to exit — as one China expert put it rather undiplomatically — through “the ass” of the plane.

". . . Indeed, not one of the other G-20 world leaders was left stranded on his plane upon arrival."

"Did President Xi Jinping directly order airport personnel and diplomatic functionaries to deny President Obama a proper welcome? Who knows? But the message, whether intentional or not, wasn’t very subtle. The authorities expressed no regret, no remorse and certainly no apology. On the contrary, they scolded the media for even reporting the snub.

"No surprise. China’s ostentatious rudeness was perfectly reflective of the world’s general disdain for Obama. His high-minded lectures about global norms and demands that others live up to their “international obligations” are no longer amusing. They’re irritating." . . .

Other nations know what we Americans all know: when Barack Obama rises to speak we are all going to be scolded for not pleasing him. His closing insult is usually "that's not who we are."  TD

Cartoons added by TD

Hillary's Performance at National Security Forum Was Atrocious

Weekly Standard

"So why are the media focused on Matt Lauer instead?"

"Wednesday night, NBC hosted a presidential forum on issues related to national security and the military where Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were interviewed and took selected questions from military personnel in attendance. Today host Matt Lauer served as moderator.

"If you read media reports about the forum, the event was a total fiasco. Not because Clinton did poorly—and she did—but because Lauer was totally unfair to her. A good summary of this bizarre take on events can be found on the Washington Post's Thursday morning under the headline: "Matt Lauer's widely-panned performance shows the perils for debate moderators":

. . .  Much more here...

"Both Paul Krugman and Nicholas Kristof were cited by Politico and CNN. Krugman authored a column on Monday before the debate whingeing that the media have been too hard on Clinton. The column was so shameless even commentators on the Left described Krugman's column as part of an "Unrelenting Pundit-Led Effort to Delegitimize All Negative Reporting About Hillary Clinton." Kristof's Twitter feed is similarly filled with defenses of Clinton that are at odds with the facts. And if nearly all of the criticism being cited comes from liberal columnists and Democratic operatives, how can we say Lauer was "widely panned" much less "universally" condemned?

"Why are the media are piling on Lauer here? The answer was right there in the Post's headline about the "the perils for debate moderators." Hillary Clinton's performance Wednesday was abysmal, and it's easier to spin Trump's lesser lies about relatively inconsequential lies like whether he supported the Iraq War as a private citizen. Clinton's allies in the media are suddenly very worried that she's going to bomb in the debates, and the best way to improve her chances is to make the debate moderators afraid to answer tough questions about her many lies."

John Podhoretz: Presidential forum proves no matter who wins, America loses  . . . "Listening to Clinton prevaricate about her emails and Trump prevaricate about positions he holds and doesn’t entirely seem to understand once again raises the unholy horror of the fact that out of 330 million people in the United States, these are the two who have ended up in the race for the White House in 2016."

Vet Confronts Clinton and She Lies Again

"A US Navy veteran confronted Hillary Clinton during the Commander in Chief forum Wednesday over her handling of confidential information."

Debunking the Palestine Lie

Youtube  The roots of Arab hatred for Israel.

Work Begun on Underground Barrier along Gaza Border, Israeli Defense Officials Say

And they will make Hamas pay for it!

Wall Street Journal

"JERUSALEM—Israeli defense officials on Thursday said the government has begun work on a massive underground barrier along the border with Gaza meant to block Hamas militants from tunneling into Israel.

"The project is the hallmark of a huge Israeli effort to halt the Hamas tunnels, which military officials have identified as a strategic threat. Hamas militants have used underground tunnels to attack Israelis.

"During a 2014 war, Hamas militants managed on several occasions to make their way into Israel through their tunnel network, though they didn’t reach nearby civilian areas.

"Israel destroyed some 32 tunnels during that conflict and has announced the discovery of several more tunnels since then. As a result, the military has invested efforts in technologies to detect, destroy and block them. Israel has already surrounded Gaza with a sophisticated aboveground fence fortified with sensors, cameras, barbed wire and watch towers." . . .

Salah Bardawil, a senior Hamas official in Gaza, said the group wouldn’t be deterred. “The Palestinian people and the resistance can overcome all the obstacles made by the occupation. The resistance is creative and advanced and doesn’t care about the occupation’s procedures,” he said.

This is why Israel must have a wall.  "During the show, which features children aged 4-10, one young boy sings, “When I wander into Jerusalem, I will become a suicide bomber.” Afterward, other children stand to call for “Jihad! Holy war to the end against the Zionist enemy.' ”

Hamas to kids: Shoot all the Jews

Trump Up, Hillary Down, Obama Out

"Without traditional battle lines to fight over, Hillary Clinton is lying low while a frenetic Donald Trump talks nonstop."

Victor Davis Hanson  "Barack Obama, who less than two years ago dipped to 40 percent in approval rating, is nowhere to be seen. He seems to know that the more he is absent and quiet, the more the public likes the idea rather than the reality of him as president — and his approval rating has risen to 51 percent. 

"In his self-imposed retreat, Obama makes no effort to defend the Affordable Care Act, which is all but disintegrating, as major insurers pull out and costs skyrocket.

"Ditto the Iran deal. Obama is learning that it is better to be quiet about Iranian violations, ransom for hostages, and provocations than to explain them away. RELATED: The 2016 Political Event Horizon Obama months ago gave up mentioning how the crushing national debt has almost doubled to nearly $20 trillion under his watch. No one seems to be defending the Obama administration’s lax immigration and border-enforcement policies." . . .

Colin Kaepernick: False rumors of conversion tied to Islamophobia

USA Today

"Colin Kaepernick knocked down rumors that he has converted to Islam and that his girlfriend, who is Muslim, led him to protest social injustices by refusing to stand for the national anthem. He tweaked presidential candidate Donald Trump in the process.

“ 'I have great respect for the religion, know a lot of people that are Muslim and are phenomenal people,’’ Kaepernick, the San Francisco 49ers' backup quarterback, said Wednesday. “But I think that (rumor of conversion) comes along with people’s fear of this protest, as well as Islamophobia in this country. People are terrified of them to the point where Trump wants to ban all Muslims from coming here, which is ridiculous.”

"Kaepernick also addressed reports that he’s been heavily influenced by girlfriend Nessa Diab, a radio host.

“ 'The impact is just conversations that we constantly have,’’ he said. “This is an open discussion that I have with many people, not just my woman. She is Muslim, her family is Muslim, I have great respect for them. I have great respect for people’s right to believe what they want to believe. And I don’t think anybody should be prosecuted for judged based on what their beliefs all.' ’’ . . .

‘What Is Aleppo?’ Gary Johnson Asks, in an Interview Stumble

NY Times

USA Today: Gary Johnson is confused about the civil war in Syria.

. . . "When host Joe Scarborough questioned Johnson's lack of understanding about Aleppo, Johnson attempted to defend himself.

"You asked 'what is Aleppo?' Do you think that foreign policy is so insignificant that somebody running for president of the United States shouldn't even know what Aleppo is, where Aleppo is, why Aleppo is so important?" Scarborough asked.

"I do understand Aleppo. And I understand the crisis that is going on, but when we involve ourselves militarily, when we involve ourselves in these humanitarian issues we end up with a situation that in most cases is not better and in many cases ends up being worse," Johnson said.

#WhatIsAleppo? was trending on Twitter shortly after the interview, as a broad swath of political commentators pilloried Johnson for being unprepared on foreign policy.

"Johnson then apparently postponed and interview later Thursday morning on a New York talk radio program." . . .

Ann Althouse gleefully posted this today 
"Oh, Gary.

"The dream is over.
"Gary said "What's Aleppo?"

Mr. Johnson expressed disappointment about the lapse in a brief follow-up interview that was broadcast on MSNBC and canceled some of his other scheduled interviews planned for later in the day.

“I’m incredibly frustrated with myself,” he said. “I have to get smarter and that’s just part of the process.”

"I've watched Gary Johnson in a number of debates and consider him famous for saying "I don't know." In the past, I've been able to admire him for that. But now... I don't know."

Thought-provoking photos from WW2

German POWs react to films of Nazi concentration camps

Berlin at the end of the war, 1945

Hillary Gets The Dr. Seuss Treatment in Hilarious Cartoon Video

Legal Insurrection  "This video spoofs Hillary Clinton appearing on the Jimmy Kimmel show, where she gets the treatment usually reserved for Republicans on late night shows."

"January 20, 2017 can't come soon enough": Rick Moran

Philippines president Rodrigo Duerte apologized at the Group of Twenty Summit for publicly calling President Obama a son of a whore. He said he didn’t intend any disrespect. It’s just that he’s been watching Donald Trump and he thought that’s the traditional way you address Democrats.  Comedian Argus Hamilton

Rick Moran: In Laos, Obama twice accuses Americans of being 'lazy'   "He just can't help himself.

"President Obama is the only president in memory - perhaps ever - who enjoys insulting Americans while overseas.

"He does it for approval, of course. Much of the rest of the world hates the US and Obama plays to that irrational, anti-American feeling by tearing down his own country.  " . . .

His "transformation" of America isn't so much bringing Euro-socialism to our shores, as it is humbling and humiliating the US and its citizens, denying American exceptionalism, and always weakening our ability to defend ourselves.

Debra Heine at PJ Media discusses this as well  . . . "Eight years have passed since then and America  -- home of the lazy, racist, bitter clingers -- still disappoints Obama. Thank goodness his long national nightmare will be over in just a few more months."

One theory of Obama's high approval rating:  . . . "In his self-imposed retreat, Obama makes no effort to defend the Affordable Care Act, which is all but disintegrating, as major insurers pull out and costs skyrocket. Ditto the Iran deal. Obama is learning that it is better to be quiet about Iranian violations, ransom for hostages, and provocations than to explain them away. 

"Obama months ago gave up mentioning how the crushing national debt has almost doubled to nearly $20 trillion under his watch. No one seems to be defending the Obama administration’s lax immigration and border-enforcement policies. 

"He is also silent on his foreign policy — “reset” with Russia, the abrupt pullout from Iraq, the intervention in Libya, the growth of the Islamic State, the disintegration of Syria, and the decision not to associate global terrorism with radical Islamism.

Roy Cooper’s Crusade Against Christ

Mike Adams

"The people of North Carolina and the alumni of N.C. State University deserve an apology. Administrators at the school have implemented a patently unconstitutional policy, which forces students to apply for a permit in order to share the gospel on a public university campus they fund with their hard earned tax dollars. To make matters worse, the permit policy is being used to target Christians specifically while others are being allowed to exercise their rights unfettered. Now that a federal judge has called their bluff, the lawless North Carolina attorney general continues to defend the indefensible. 

"Roy Cooper had the unmitigated gall to recently send two feminist lawyers – Kimberly Potter and Stephanie Brennan – into federal court to defend a policy that cannot possibly survive constitutional muster. On its face, the policy cannot be defended because even public high school students who have taken ninth grade civics know that the Constitution is the only speech permit you need to share the gospel on a university campus. 

"But the decision to spend tax dollars sending Potter and Brennan into the courtroom was even worse given that the plaintiffs had clear evidence that the speech permit policy was only being enforced against Christians. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Potter and Brennan were peppered with questions by a federal district court judge who ultimately issued an injunction against N.C. State and in favor of the Christian plaintiffs. (You can read about the decision here.) 

"Of course, this is not the first time the feminist duo of Potter and Brennan have been sent by Cooper to do the dirty work of stripping Christians of their First Amendment rights. " . . .

Kathleen Willey: I Overheard White House Staff Teaching Hillary Her Trademark ‘I Don’t Recall’ Defense

Big Government

. . . "In 1994, at the height of numerous scandals, including Whitewater, File-gate and others, Willey says Hillary Clinton and White House Counsel Bernie Nussbaum were speaking in a room with the door open, when she says she heard Nussbaum shout at Clinton that she should tell investigators she could not recall events.

"Stated Willey:

“ 'The first time I heard it I thought it, wow! And I heard Bernie Nussbaum talking extremely very loudly. To Hillary. And basically said, ‘For Christ’s sake, Hillary. All you have to say is you don’t recall. You don’t remember anything. Nobody can argue with that.’”

"Willey was speaking on this reporter’s talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio,” broadcast on New York’s AM 970 The Answer and NewsTalk 990 AM." . . .

"Willey says she was prompted to speak about the alleged exchange with Nussbaum after it was reported on Friday that during her more than three-hour interview with FBI investigators in July, Clinton cited more than three dozen things that she claimed she could not recall.

"Commented Willey: “And if you look at this and if you look at all the testimony, the grand jury testimony, all of this stuff that was being revealed like what we are looking at now. All of the FBI files. This is their modus operandi. This is what they do." . . .