To die for Estonia?

"And yet Trump deliberately, defiantly refused to simply say it: America will always honor its commitment under Article 5." Charles Krauthammer

The 1938 words of a British Prime Minister, reflecting the mood of a pacifistic nation, that opened the door to the most murderous war in the history of the world: "How horrible, fantastic, incredible it is that we should be digging trenches and trying on gas-masks here because of a quarrel in a far away country between people of whom we know nothing. It seems still more impossible that a quarrel which has already been settled in principle should be the subject of war."

Charles Krauthammer  "So what if, in his speech last week to NATO, President Trump didn’t explicitly reaffirm the provision that an attack on one is an attack on all?

"What’s the big deal? Didn’t he affirm a general commitment to NATO during his visit? Hadn’t he earlier sent his vice president and secretaries of state and defense to pledge allegiance to Article 5?

"And anyway, who believes that the United States would really go to war with Russia — and risk nuclear annihilation — over Estonia?

"Ah, but that’s precisely the point. It is because deterrence is so delicate, so problematic, so literally unbelievable that it is not to be trifled with. And why for an American president to gratuitously undermine what little credibility deterrence already has, by ostentatiously refusing to recommit to Article 5, is so shocking.

"Deterrence is inherently a barely believable bluff. Even at the height of the Cold War, when highly resolute presidents, such as Eisenhower and Kennedy, threatened Russia with “massive retaliation” (i.e., all-out nuclear war), would we really have sacrificed New York for Berlin?"  . . . 

"German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday (without mentioning his name) that after Trump’s visit it is clear that Europe can no longer rely on others. It’s not that yesterday Europe could fully rely — and today it cannot rely at all. It’s simply that the American deterrent has been weakened. And deterrence weakened is an invitation to instability, miscalculation, provocation and worse.

"And for what?" . . .

There is reason to doubt America's resolve:

In the 2013 phase of the Syrian crisis, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on 7 September 2013 "this is our Munich moment" in which the West should not remain "silent spectators to slaughter", an invocation to other countries to support a U.S. led strike against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Ironically, that strike never took place, despite Obama's invocation of the "red line", chemical attacks, which he asserted Assad had crossed.

Why Die for Tallinn?

Ethics Verdict: Hillary Clinton Is The Worst Loser In US Presidential History (PART II)

Ethics Alarms    You read PART I here.

. . . "Nonetheless, she is throwing around alternative facts like confetti. The news media was biased against her. “Voter suppression” cost her Wisconsin. My personal favorite was when she gave the cheering, indoctrinated Wellesley fems the alternative history that Richard Nixon was impeached. No, Hillary, your husband was impeached. Nixon had the requisite respect for the office to resign.

. . . 

"Being a bad loser isn’t just bad sportsmanship. It is disrespectful, unfair, irresponsible and constitutes a Golden Rule breach; it is ungracious, petty and mean. For a defeated Presidential candidate, however, it is far worse, Clinton’s brand of blame-casting and accusations undermines public trust, weakens our institutions and divides the public, society and the country, Clinton’s supporters look to her for guidance regarding how to act, and she is guiding them unethically, to behave unethically.

"It is true that President trump is also, by far, the worst winner our Presidential history has ever seen. He has gloated and preened and crowed, in part because he is wounded that the news media has not given him what he believes should be proper credit for his amazing upset. A poor winner, however only hurts himself. Clinton is harming the country to spare herself the pain of accepting accountability for her own defeat."

Boo Hoo, Kathy “ISIS” Griffin Plays Victim During Presser While Promising to Attack Trump

ronbosoldier.blogspot.

Saving the Republic  "Well at last Kathy Griffin held a presser today with, Gloria Allred’s offspring, Lisa Bloom over how she is the victim after her ISIS beheading style Trump photo shoot. Yes America that’s right the wrongdoer, the person who crossed the line in all of this is apparently the victim. She is so distraught from this PREMEDITATED PR stunt (more on that in a second) she said, “I don’t think I will have a career after this. I’m going to be honest, he [Trump] broke me.”

"Griffin is even promising to attack Trump more, which means more hell coming her way. Also take note all the shots she takes at white people, what’s that all about?

"Boo hoo Kathy, ya know what? We’re GLAD you won’t have a career after this and have been broken. That said, please spare the crocodile tears seeing that you planned all of this out you lying fraud!" . . .

On the Paris Climate Accord

Trump Steps on the Paris Agreement, Stands for Sovereignty  . . . The economic facts would have been enough to justify our withdrawal from the Agreement.  Nevertheless, the defining moment was when Trump said (my italics):

There are serious legal and constitutional issues as well.  Foreign leaders in Europe, Asia, and across the world, should not have more to say with respect to the U.S. economy than our own citizens and their elected representatives, thus, our withdrawal from the agreement represents a reassertion of America's sovereignty. Our constitution is unique among all nations of the world. And it is my highest obligation and greatest honor to protect it. And I will[.] ... It would once have been unthinkable that an international agreement could prevent the United States from conducting its own domestic economic affairs, but this is the new reality we face if we do not leave the agreement or if we do not negotiate a far better deal."

An avalanche of pullouts from the Paris Climate Agreement?   "The screeching brouhaha over President Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement could, at first glance, be called a global episode of Trump Derangement Syndrome. But with the intensity of the rage, it seems to be more than that. Former United Nations has-been and ex-President of Ireland Mary Robinson called the U.S. a 'rogue state.' France's President Emmanuel Macron offered 'refuge' to America's climate scientists, as if these people were actually in danger of losing tenure or maybe a grant, not to mention an imaginary knock on the door at midnight. Former Obama 'mind meld' Ben Rhodes calls it 'moral wreckage' adding: 'The rest of the world will watch in horror.' Billionaire greenie Tom Steyer calls Trump's act 'a traitorous act of war.'

"We know they've gone off the deep end." . . .

New York lights up One World Trade Center, Kosciuszko Bridge, and City Hall in green to protest Trump's 'reckless decision to withdraw from the Paris Accord'

Paris: Trump Blocks First of Obama's 'Three Authoritarianisms' . . . "All three of these "authoritarianisms" were entirely ex-Constitutional.  The first two were in essence treaties on which Congress (and by extension the American people) never got to vote or, for that matter, discuss in any serious way.  The Paris accord probably would have failed. As for the Iran deal, we still don't know the full contents and therefore debating it is somewhat moot. We have, however, seen its consequences -- corpses littered all across Syria, not to mention untold millions of refugees.

"Admittedly, too, the third of "Three Authoritarianisms" is still, shall we say, occluded.  We don't know the extent of this surveillance and may never. But this too is typical authoritarian behavior."

A severed head is a sign of spreading Trump Derangement Syndrome

Hillary Clinton let it rip onstage at a tech conference in California Tuesday where she refused to take any blame for her election loss to Trump in November. She’s clearly still on the warpath. Hillary Clinton just posted a photo online of her holding up the severed head of her campaign pollster. Comedian Argus Hamilton

Washington Times  . . . "After nearly 24 hours of public outcry, CNN finally cut ties with Ms. Griffin, who co-hosts their painfully awkward annual New Year’s Eve telecast.

"Outrageous language has been escalating for weeks. What began with a sexually explicit and vulgar on-air “joke” by CBS late night host Stephen Colbert led to Ms. Griffin’s provocative outburst. Each unbelievable lashing out aims to outdo its predecessor.

"I would hope all sane Americans can agree that Kathy Griffin’s despicable act was indefensible.

"Mr. Trump revealed on social media that the image upset his young son Barron, as it must have also bothered the young children of the president’s older children. Ms. Griffin thought she was being funny, which her career has shown is never the case. But more than that, she intended to galvanize the angry Left, which has consistently targeted, delegitimized and attacked this president in ways this country has never seen.

"Conservatives were deeply troubled by President Obama’s march toward European-style socialism, with big-government policies, unconstitutional actions and stifling regulations. But I don’t recall images of his severed head being shared by celebrities." . . .

More on the heroine of Hollywood

"One other big question is whether Griffin will mention what others have gotten away with, such as the picturing of George W. Bush’s head on a pike in Game of Thrones:  I certainly hope she does, and the nation has a conversation about the media's treatment of the POTUS and his family."   Thomas Lifson

Kathy Griffin Gets Her Comeuppance  "How could Kathy Griffin think she didn't cross a line with her Islamic State group­beheads­thepresident imitation? In a sense, her ignorance is understandable. Since Donald Trump was elected, there have been no lines to cross. Anything ... everything ... has been acceptable. The challenge has been not to temper the outrage but to push its limits. It was "art," she claimed at first. 

    "Despite taping a video apology, she was dumped by CNN, which had promoted this "comedian" for 10 years as New Year's Eve entertainment in Times Square alongside Anderson Cooper. It tells you everything you need to know about CNN that, up to this point, it had found her antics acceptable. 

    "CNN started putting her on air in 2007 after her award­ acceptance rant at the Creative Arts Emmys during which she told Jesus Christ to "suck it." She cracked: "A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus." 

    "Griffin has long used smears on conservatives and Republicans to boost her career. In 2010, she caused CNN stars John King and Dana Bash to laugh nervously as she described Sen. Scott Brown's teenage daughters as "prostitutes.' "  . . . 

Followed by outrage which she savored.

Franken To Griffin: On Second Thought, It's Best If You Just Skip My Book Event

Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) was supposed to have Griffin attend one of his book tour events in July. At first, he said the gig was still on, but later decided that it would be best of the comedian just didn’t show up (via Politico)

Kathy Griffin claims she is victim of ‘bullying’   . . . "One other big question is whether Griffin will mention what others have gotten away with, such as the picturing of George W. Bush’s head on a pike in Game of Thrones:

 Targeting Trump – Kathy Griffin in 2016: “my edge is that I’ll go direct for Barron.”…  "Against the backdrop of Kathy Griffin producing a video where she decapitated President Donald Trump; and yesterday hiring attorney Lisa Bloom to conduct a press conference scheduled for today, it is worth noting an interview Ms. Griffin gave to Vulture Media at the Equality Now Gala in December of 2016:

[…] “So I’m happy to deliver beat down to Donald Trump — and also to Barron. You know a lot of comics are going to go hard for Donald, my edge is that I’ll go direct for Barron. I’m going to get in ahead of the game.”  (link)

Washington Post Reporter Called A White Nationalist

Mike Adams  "Washington Post reporter Cleve Wootson was recently given the responsibility of reporting on a lawsuit in which I am involved. The story he was assigned to write is actually quite simple. A California university unconstitutionally denied a student group’s request for funding to host a conservative speaker (me) on their campus. The decision to deny funding was a blatant case of viewpoint discrimination that is supported by a mountain of evidence. Thus, Wootson had an easy story to write if he simply stuck to the facts. Instead, his article wound up being a masterpiece of bad journalism. 

"Wootson begins his article with an image of campus violence that is totally unrelated to the group that invited me to speak. He then provides a list of “white nationalists” who have recently spoken on other campuses. He continues his journalistic hit piece by characterizing Charles Murray as a person who "has been called a white nationalist" – because, of course, anonymous accusations define the man. Only after sufficiently poisoning the well does Wootson get around to mentioning the point of the article. 

"It’s hard to miss what Wootson is doing here. He wants to link the plaintiffs in the California case to violence. Then, he seeks to link them to white nationalism in a case that has nothing to do with race. But the worst part of the article is probably his suggestion that Charles Murray is a racist, which is based solely on an anonymous accusation of adherence to “white nationalism.” Here is a newsflash for Cleve Wootson: Cleve Wootson has also been called a white nationalist! " . . .

The Complete (And Ever Expanding) List Of Hillary's Excuses For Election Loss

Daily Wire

"Two-time failed presidential hopefully Hillary Clinton has blamed everything and everyone other than the old lady looking back at her in the mirror for her 2016 presidential election loss. The politically irrelevant former politician began whining and complaining about her stunning loss to Donald Trump soon after Election Day, and shows no signs of letting up.

"Here's a full list of all the people, organizations, government entities, and abstract concepts Hillary Clinton has blamed for her loss thus far: 

1. Former FBI Director James Comey​2. Sexism
3. The electoral system
4. WikiLeaks5. "Minions"6. Right-wing media
7. Mainstream media8. Democratic National Committee 9. Democrat Party 10. 1,000 Russian agents
11. Vladimir Putin
12. Donald Trump
13. Republican-enabled voter suppression 14. Citizens United  15. Facebook16. "Millions" of Twitter bots17. Steve Bannon18. Netflix19. "Alt-right" media like Infowars
20. Bernie Sanders21. Suburban women22. Rural women23. "Anti-American forces"24. Bad polling25. Low-information voters26. "Content farms in Macedonia"27. Fake news28. Colluding Trump campaign officials 29. Stupid Americans who can't tell the difference between real and "fake news" 30. The "broad assumption I was going to win"
31. Goosefer
32. DCLeaks33. Data from the Republican National Committee 
34. Technology
35. The FBI

The Last Refuge

The Conservative Treehouse  "This is rich.  After facing massive backlash and financial losses from a publicity stunt, where Kathy Griffin produced a video enactment of a beheading, and presented an image of a decapitated President Donald Trump, Ms. Griffin has hired Lisa Bloom to represent her legal and financial interests against the victimized Trump family.

"Lisa Bloom is the daughter of Gloria Alred a notorious political legal activist.  According to the joint media release Kathy Griffin is claiming she has endured “bullying from the Trump family” as a result of her graphic publicity stunt:

. . . 

"Apparently reenacting a grotesque ISIS type beheading of a husband, father, and President of the United States for financial gain, personal branding, and publicity broadcast should not lead to concerns about “bullying“… or something.

"Seriously folks, liberalism is a mental disorder. Together with the failed Clinton run for office, the entire progressive movement has lost their collective mind and are flailing around miserably."

What the House Subpoenas of Rice, Brennan, and Power in the ‘Unmasking’ Probe Mean

"It’s not all about Russia."

Andrew C. McCarthy  "The House Intelligence Committee has reportedly issued seven subpoenas in connection with its investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and of the Obama administration’s potentially illegal use of the government’s foreign-intelligence-collection power for the purpose of monitoring Americans — in particular, Americans connected to the Trump campaign and transition. 

"The news was broken Wednesday afternoon by the Wall Street Journal.

" The most intriguing detail of the subpoenas is the demand for any information related to requests for unmasking by Samantha Power, President Obama’s ambassador to the United Nations. “Unmasking” is the revealing in intelligence reports of the identities of Americans whose communications (or information about whom) have been “incidentally” intercepted during foreign-intelligence-collection operations." . . .  Read More

Press Barking (Mad) Up the Wrong Tree

comicallyincorrect.com  "Hillary Blames Everyone and everything 
but herself for the loss to Donald Trump, a grand Conspiracy."

Ann Coulter  "The American media are so obsessed with their own Russian collusion story that they can't see the possibility of actual corruption right in front of their noses. It's gotten to the point that Trump could start shooting reporters on the White House lawn and The New York Times' headline would be: In Trump's New Tack, Echoes of Russia. 

"In fairness to the media, this is all part of the liberal proclivity to embrace any conspiracy theory under the right conditions. There are random conservatives who might believe nutty things from time to time, but conspiracy-mongering is a plant that doesn't fully bloom except in the soil of liberalism.

"The psychoanalyst Erich Fromm argued that because freedom is terrifying, one way to escape the anxiety is to have a strong belief system, providing a central magnet for all the metal filings to coalesce around.

"Liberals have no strong belief systems, only base impulses. This is why their passions must be corralled into conspiracy theories, to bring conformity to their lives. They hate Trump, so everything he does must be on orders from Moscow.

"Meanwhile, it is a known fact that the FBI is looking at Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. It is a known fact that the Kushner family has used its connections to President Trump to drum up Chinese investors for the family's real estate portfolio. It is a known fact that Jared is looking for investors in his 666 Fifth Avenue building, which is underwater. It is a known fact that Jared met with the Russian ambassador -- as well as a representative of a state-owned Russian bank -- during the transition. It is a known fact that he neglected to mention those meetings on his security clearance forms.

"All of this is probably perfectly aboveboard. But if you weren't insane, the blindingly obvious question would be: Why did Kushner meet with the head of a state-controlled Russian bank?

"That's not what our media want to know! Reporters see all those facts, put 2 and 2 together and ask: How does this advance the narrative that Russia colluded with the Trump campaign to steal the election from Hillary? " . . .

Nets Tout Hillary’s Excuses for Losing, Conspiracy Theories

Media Research Center   Video.

"After Hillary Clinton used a softball interview during a Silicon Valley tech conference on Wednesday to blame everyone but herself for her failed presidential campaign, Thursday’s network morning shows eagerly promoted her excuses, even pushing unfounded conspiracy theories advanced by the former Democratic nominee.

"On NBC’s Today, co-host Savannah Guthrie announced: “President Trump, James Comey, Russian interference, were all targets of Hillary Clinton in her most outspoken interview yet about the presidential race. She now says she suspects the President’s campaign gave direct guidance to Moscow."

"In the report that followed, Clinton superfan Andrea Mitchell dutifully highlighted all the former Secretary of State’s main talking points. She proclaimed: “As Congress launches its Russia investigation and accelerates it, Hillary Clinton is trying to connect the dots about her unexpected loss. And putting a lot of the blame on fake news circulated by a sophisticated Republican internet operation.' ” . . .