Hillary Clinton wins something

Legal Insurrection

… on GQ list of “Least Influential People”

The Least Influential People Of 2016

"A comprehensive, anger-fueled list of everyone who ruined our year."

Lib angst on display.

. . . "Speaking of gifts, Democrats may want to ask Santa for a new slate of presidential candidates for 2020 (while there is still time). It will be challenging to actually nominate the current front-runner.

On the theory that it’s never too early to launch the next campaign, the new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll has identified an overwhelming front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

It’s someone entirely new.

Literally. Not an identifiable person. Just “someone entirely new.” When that description was included on a list of possible contenders, 66% of Democrats and independents said they would be “excited” to see such a person jump in the race; just 9% thought he or she shouldn’t run. That’s an overwhelming yes-please-run score of 57 percentage points for, you know, whomever.

"A whopping 62 percent of those polled don’t want Hillary Clinton to run again.

"Now, that is what I call an entirely believable and thoroughly reliable consensus!"

Israel: Obama orchestrated the UN resolution to condemn Israel

Article posted here in its entirety. Photos added; TD

J. Marsolo  "Israel has accused Obama of deliberately orchestrating the drafting and push for the U.N. resolution that condemned Israel for its settlement policy. 

David Keyes, spokesman for Netanyahu, said Arab sources, among others, informed Israel of Obama's involvement in the resolution:

 "We have rather ironclad information from sources in both the Arab world and internationally that this was a deliberate push by the United States and in fact they helped create the resolution in the first place…"

"The effect of the resolution is to label the settlement area "occupied territory," which means that the U.N. agrees with the Palestinian position that Israel is illegally occupying land because that belongs to the Palestinians.  This puts Israel at a severe disadvantage in negotiating with the Palestinians; it implies that the U.N. effectively recognizes the borders that existed before the 1967 war.  The resolution can also subject Israel to economic sanctions from members of the U.N.

"This is a deliberate betrayal of Israel, one of our strongest allies, and the only democracy in the Middle East.  This resolution does not advance, but weakens the national security of the United States and Israel.  It is consistent with Obama's deal with Iran that leaves Iran's nuclear program in place and gave Iran 150 billion dollars, rescinded sanctions, and gave Iran another billion in ransom money.  Iran thanked us by harassing our ships, seizing one of our ships and humiliating our sailors.

"When Obama promised to fundamentally transform our country, we did not know that also meant abandoning and betraying Israel, our ally, and rewarding Iran, the chief sponsor of radical Islamist terrorism since 1979.

"Obama has also deliberately betrayed one of the strongest and loyal groups supporting the Democratic Party:  American Jews.  Of course, he did this after the November election.  

"Congress should immediately declare via legislation that it rejects the resolution and supports Israel.  The initiative would pass overwhelmingly.  Obama needs to be publicly rebuked by Congress.

"Obama has created another problem for Trump because the Trump administration will have to work to rescind the U.N. resolution.  We should cut off funding for the U.N. if it does not rescind."

We must make clear to the world that Obama does not speak for the United States on this issue."

An Oklahoma Newspaper Endorsed Clinton. It Hasn’t Been Forgiven.

NewsOK  "One Sunday after church, Jeff Mullin and his wife were in line at the Western Sizzlin steakhouse here when a man, fists clenched, threatened to beat the hell out of him. 

"Mr. Mullin’s red newspaper in a red county in what is arguably the reddest of states went blue this campaign season and endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. The editorial board, in a gray-shaded column on Page A4 on Oct. 9, wrote that Donald J. Trump lacked “the skills, experience or temperament to hold office.” The headline and subhead read: “For U.S. president: Hillary Clinton is our choice for commander in chief.”

"It was the first Democratic endorsement for president in the modern history of the newspaper, which was founded in 1893. As the man’s reaction at the steakhouse suggested, Enid was stunned, and this slow-paced agricultural town of 52,000 near the Kansas state line has not been the same since.

"The News & Eagle, with a circulation of 10,000, lost 162 subscribers who canceled the paper. Eleven advertisers pulled their ads, including a funeral home that had a sizable account. Someone stuck a “Crooked Hillary” bumper sticker on the glass doors of the paper’s downtown office. A man left a late-night message on the publisher’s voice mail, expressing his hope that readers would deliver, to put it delicately, a burning sack of steaming excrement to the paper.". . . 

How terrible. As much as I disliked Hillary, that verbal threat was terrible and I condemn it. I had hoped it was only the left that did such vicious acts. TD

More commentary on Obama and Israel

TOM COTTON ON OBAMA’S PARTING SHOT AT ISRAEL
"If the consequences include ending all financial assistance to the U.N., that would be a nice coda to the Obama presidency."

Report: Obama To Have Kerry Lay Out Plan For ‘Peace’, Get UN Approval To Impose On Israel…

Jonathan SchanzerVerified account‏@JSchanzerReport: Obama to have Kerry lay out parameters for permanent peace, then seek Security Council approval for his plan

Jonathan Schanzer ‏@JSchanzer  18h18 hours ago

Basically, after dousing the region in gasoline for 8 years, Obama is about to light a match & flick it over his shoulder as he walks away.

'Jaw-Droppingly Condescending & Arrogant': Rove Rips Obama

"On "Your World" today, Karl Rove ripped President Obama for his claim that Fox News and Rush Limbaugh created a "fictional" portrayal of him.

" 'You understand that if people are angry that somehow the government is failing, then they are going to look to the guy who represents government," Obama told The Atlantic. "And that applies, by the way, even to some of the folks who are now Trump supporters. They're responding to a fictional character named Barack Obama who they see on Fox News or who they hear about through Rush Limbaugh."

"Rove said that Obama's comments are revealing, not about Fox News or Limbaugh, but about the president's "jaw-droppingly condescending and arrogant" attitude toward the American people.

"Rove explained that Obama is essentially saying that supporters of President-elect Donald Trump weren't influenced by facts, but by their own racism and bigotry.

" 'At the heart of it is an assault, a condescending and arrogant assault upon the good sense of the American people," Rove said.

"He said this attitude has permeated the entire Democratic Party, which still refuses to acknowledge that they lost the election because they had a "lousy message" and a "lousy candidate.' "

IT’S OFFICIAL: OBAMA IS WAY WORSE THAN JIMMY CARTER  "I dimly recalled that Carter made a similar move in his last year in office, voting to abstain on a UN resolution that sounds identical to the one passed yesterday. Only that time Carter reversed course—sort of. To refresh your memory, here’s my account of it from volume 1 of The Age of Reagan:"

This time Vance persuaded Carter that the time had come for the U.S. to signal its displeasure with Israel by voting in favor of the resolution.  The resolution passed unanimously, and all hell broke loose.  An angry Robert Strauss, Carter’s campaign chairman, told Carter, “Either this vote is reversed or you can kiss New York goodbye.” Invoking a parliamentary technicality, the U.S. managed to get a revote on the resolution the next day, and changed its vote from “yes” to “abstain.”

UPDATED: In his farewell column, Thomas Sowell looks back at quarter century of writing syndicated commentary

WND  "Even the best things come to an end. After enjoying a quarter of a century of writing this column for Creators Syndicate, I have decided to stop. Age 86 is well past the usual retirement age, so the question is not why I am quitting, but why I kept at it so long.

"It was very fulfilling to be able to share my thoughts on the events unfolding around us, and to receive feedback from readers across the country – even if it was impossible to answer them all.

"Being old-fashioned, I liked to know what the facts were before writing. That required not only a lot of research, it also required keeping up with what was being said in the media.

"During a stay in Yosemite National Park last May, taking photos with a couple of my buddies, there were four consecutive days without seeing a newspaper or a television news program – and it felt wonderful. With the political news being so awful this year, it felt especially wonderful.

"This made me decide to spend less time following politics and more time on my photography, adding more pictures to my my website.

"Looking back over the years, as old-timers are apt to do, I see huge changes, both for the better and for the worse." . . .

On Black Lives Matter and the Question No One Seems to be Asking (But Should Be)

Applying biblical truth to social, political, and theological issues in our world. . . . "Any conversation about the value of human life, whether it be with regard to social injustice, abortion, or child slavery, must start with God and with His objective construct of why human life matters.

""That the issue of the significance of human life is deemed by many to be worthy of protest in its various and sundry forms, is only because God, who is the Author of all life, has attributed significance to it.

“Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves.” – Psalm 100:3a (NASB)

 "It is the same today as it was thousands of years ago, when God declared holy the ground on which Moses stood as he encountered the glory of God at the burning bush (Exodus 3:5). 

"Only God could declare sacred and hallowed [קֹדֶשׁ] something as useless and expendable as the dirt that Moses’ worn out sandals had come in contact with in that one extraordinary moment. 

"Conclusion

"Human life matters because, in our humanity, we bear the image of the One who gives life to each of us (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).

"That we, as human beings, are of a particular race, ethnicity, or nationality is of no significance given that even those aspects of our earthly existence are sovereignly ordained by God, so neither you nor I have anything to boast of in ourselves (Acts 17:26).

"Not our race. Not our ethnicity. Not our individual socio-cultural experiences.

"Nothing.

“But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” – Galatians 6:14 (NASB)

Born and raised in the inner-city housing projects of southwest Atlanta, Georgia, Darrell B. Harrison currently resides in Covington, Georgia (about 45 miles east of Atlanta) and attends Rockdale Community Church, a Reformed Baptist congregation located in Conyers, Georgia (just outside of Covington).
Much more about Mr. Harrison here. and here.

How Trump’s Election Helped Sink Navy’s Push For Political Correctness

Weasel Zippers

"I always thought criticism of the use of the term ‘man’ has to be one of the stupidest things. ‘Man’ as in ‘fellow man’ has always included within it man and woman for centuries. Only in the ridiculous past decade have people attempted to claim it hasn’t. They are the ones really disenfranchising women from a history that they were in fact included in with such thought.

"Via NY Post:

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus last week dropped his drive to eliminate hundreds of “sexist” job titles — thanks to fury in the ranks. It’s a welcome defeat for the forces of political correctness.

Mabus’ target was a host of words that end in “-man.” He cloaked the move as simply an effort to modernize the pay-rate system, but no one ever bought it: Mabus is known for being obsessed with symbolic equality.

Indeed, at an October event at the National Press Club, he justified his policy by saying, “It’s time to quit segregating women.”

But countless former and current sailors weren’t having it. A White House petition opposing the move garnered more than 100,000 signatures — and the less formal outrage was far louder.

Keep reading…

Dear Michelle: There Most Certainly Is Hope

Eileen F. Toplansky  "In her usual crass, coarse, and graceless manner, Michelle Obama epitomized the very worst of the America she so disdains when she opined about "hopelessness" regarding the election.  She conveniently forgets about the debt her husband piled up, or the incredible unemployment numbers, or the decrease in Americans' buying power, or the diminution of America's standing in the world, or the worsening race relations – courtesy of her husband.

"The Obamas had the means to effect so much positive change.  But as dutiful leftists who hate the United States of America, they were intent upon sowing division and destruction.  They were never concerned about the people, despite all the hype about hope.

"It would shock Mrs. Obama to learn that many young people do not share her dismal view of victimization and do not engage in racism.  And despite the anti-Trump hysteria at many colleges, there are those instructors who really do insist upon critical thinking skills.  To that end, this semester, I distributed the following prompt: " . . .

"Michelle Obama, of the pouty smirk, will never understand the greatness of this country and its amazing strides.  My students, though products of a failed educational system, are still reachable.  With the sea change that has occurred in the White House, we will begin to regain the potential of this great land.  Let Michelle wallow in disgust for America.  Good riddance to her and her husband." 

Major ISIS Recruiter Arrested In Libya… Guess How He's Connected to Obama

Conservative Tribune  "A major Tunisian militant and Islamic State group recruiter who was arrested this week in Libya used to be confined at the Parwan Detention Facility in Afghanistan, but President Barack Hussein Obama decided to have him transferred to Italy.

"It was there that recruiter Abu Nassim was acquitted of all terror charges. He was later sentenced to six years in prison after an appeal, but by then, he had already fled and returned to the battlefield, according to The Foreign Desk, an international news website founded by Fox News commentator Lisa Daftari.

. . . 

"A year later, the militant took part in the Bardo National Museum attack in Tunis, Tunisia, where 22 innocent men, women and children were killed by gunmen. His role in that attack remains unclear, though the fact still remains that he would have had no role — and the attack may not have even occurred — had he not been released.

“ 'If the information on Fezzani proves to be true, it is very disturbing,” Dr. Sebastian Gorka told The Investigative Project on Terror has remarked. “Just like the head of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, this was a man we had in our detention facility and let go.”

"Yet despite reports like this popping up rather frequently, the president continues to release more detained terrorists every single month."

Obama Quietly Signs The "Countering Disinformation And Propaganda Act" Into Law

Zero Hedge . . .  "But while the passage of the NDAA - and the funding of the US military - was hardly a surprise, the biggest news is what was buried deep inside the provisions of the Defense Authortization Act.
. . . 
 And so, with the likes of WaPo having already primed the general public to equate "Russian Propaganda" with "fake news" (despite admitting after the fact their own report was essentially "fake"), while the US media has indoctrinated the public to assume that any information which is not in compliance with the official government narrative, or dares to criticize the establishment, is also "fake news" and thus falls under the "Russian propaganda" umbrella, the scene is now set for the US government to legally crack down on every media outlet that the government deems to be "foreign propaganda."

Just like that, the US Ministry of Truth is officially born.

Obama’s unintended consequences: King of Bahrain openly celebrates Hanukkah with Jews

Jerusalem Post: Analysis: Obama sees himself as on the right side of history  "The president may personally dislike the prime minister – their relationship has been fractious for years. But more than simply sticking it to Netanyahu, Obama sought to codify in the clearest way he could a position he has always believed is in Israel’s long-term interests. Should the promise of a two-state solution survive Trump’s presidency, Obama hopes that Resolution 2334 will stand the test of time and remind his successors of a once-strong international consensus in favor of two states for two peoples.

Thomas Lifson   "President Barack Obama promised a fundamental transformation for America and its role in the world. But as the inept community organizer prepares to leave office, it is becoming clear that his clumsy overreach is backfiring on multiple levels. The election of Donald Trump is but one example of the changes that lie ahead, sparked by backlash to Obama’s policies.

"One minor yet significant example of President Unintendedconcequences: drawing together Arabs and Jews in the Middle East. Yes, you read that correctly. The president who stabbed Israel in the back at the UN Friday (as Alan Dershowitz put it this morning on Fox & Friends) has actually paved the way for peace between Israel an the Arabs of the Middle East. By scaring Arab leaders in the Gulf (Saudi Arabia plus the emirates) with his deal to allow Iran nuclear arms, he has reminded the potentates that Israel is no threat to their power, while Iran openly lusts for control over their oil and their citizens, many of whom are Shiites.

"Israel, as it happens, is believed to have excellent intelligences sources within Iran, and has the technological sophistication to pull off Stuxnet and other sophisticated attacks on the mullahs, who have sworn to wipe Israel “off the map.” . . .

2016: A year that will live in infamy for Obama and Israel.

CNN, of course: Obama's exit interview: Hope and change can still win elections/ 2016 at the U.N.   "Arguing that Americans still subscribe to his vision of progressive change, President Barack Obama asserted in an interview recently he could have succeeded in this year's election if he was eligible to run. 

" 'I am confident in this vision because I'm confident that if I had run again and articulated it, I think I could've mobilized a majority of the American people to rally behind it," Obama told his former senior adviser David Axelrod in an interview for the "The Axe Files" podcast, produced by the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and CNN." . . .

CNN

Obama’s UN Legacy: Whitewashing Iran’s Nuclear Cheating; Outlawing Jewish History  . . . "Eleven months after exonerating Iran, Obama put Israel in the penalty box by allowing a resolution that stated, “that Israel’s establishment of settlements in Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, had no legal validity, constituting a flagrant violation under international law,” meaning of course that the Jewish presence in the Old City of Jerusalem, (which Jews were illegally ethnically cleansed from by Jordan in 1948) is against international law." . . .

. . . "Hypocritically, the Obama administration is refusing to apply the Fourth Geneva Convention to rein in Iranian aggression resulting from the nuclear deal, but using it to vilify Israel.

"In short, what Obama has done is used the U.N. to give every benefit of the doubt to Israel’s enemies and to criminalize Israel for existing. This is Obama’s shameful Middle East legacy done with the connivance of the United Nations."

Perfidious Obama’s Last Betrayal  . . . "Israel was thus delegitimized and ordered to return to the borders it had before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. 
"President Obama’s enmity toward Israel, though often denied, has been obvious since his inauguration. Through many meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his attempt to force a false peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and his nuclear weapons deal with Iran, Obama has made it clear to anyone who wanted to see that his hatred of Israel coincided with his intention to diminish our national security as well as that of the Jewish state." . . .

Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu accuses Barack Obama of creating and promoting UN resolution that denounced West Bank settlement operations  . . . " 'And, as I told John Kerry on Thursday, friends don't take friends to the Security Council. I'm encouraged by the statements of our friends in the United States, Republicans and Democrats alike. 

" 'They understand how reckless and destructive this UN resolution was, they understand that the Western Wall isn't occupied territory.'

Netanyahu also summoned the US ambassador for a meeting - a rare decision by an Israeli leader. 

The resolution, which condemned the occupation by Israeli settlers of parts of the West Bank that were seized by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War, passed 14-0 on Friday."

"Rumor has it more is coming. Bibi is turning to President-elect Donald Trump for help, although I’m not sure how much he can do before being sworn in. But if anyone can at this point, it’s Trump."

Obama’s Betrayal of Israel Is a Black Day for American Diplomacy

. . . "I italicize “armistice lines” to highlight that the demarcations, even back in 1967, were not national boundaries. They were disputed even before the Arab war of aggression. The armistice lines merely reflect the position of Israeli and Arab forces when the cease-fire went into effect. They were not accepted as final boundaries by the affected countries. As we shall see, they could not be accepted as final boundaries by Israel." . . .

Obama Leaves Another Hot Mess  "For eight years, countless liberal Jews and other supporters of Israel have insisted that Obama is resolutely pro-Israel. By refusing to veto the U.N. resolution today, Obama has just thrown all of them under the bus. Elliott Abrams has a more exhaustive take that is very much worth reading. I’ll just focus on a few points of my own." . . .

Roger L. Simon: Obama's Israel Vendetta Opens the Door for Trump to Defund the UN

Meanwhile, this "peaceful" organization that has had no effect whatsoever on ending war spends most of its working hours bashing the state of Israel.  In 2015 alone the UN General Assembly adopted 20 resolutions singling out Israel for criticism — and only 3 resolutions on the rest of the world combined.And what does the U.S. taxpayer fork over for participating in this global society for slanderous garbage?  $3.04 billion in 2015, to be exact.  Now admittedly that's not as much as Barack Obama has been shoveling to Iran's mullahs, but it's still a lot.

Cruz: No U.S. Money for UN Until Anti-Israel Resolution Reversed
.  .  . "Friday's abstention prompted a wave of criticism from Trump, Republicans and even members of the Democratic Party.