The Rubicon Is Crossed in North Korea. What now?

What Does It Mean to Cross the Rubicon?   

"To cross the Rubicon means to take an irrevocable step that commits one to a specific course. " . . .

Charles Krauthammer  "Across 25 years and five administrations, we have kicked the North Korean can down the road. We are now out of road. 

"On July 4, North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile apparently capable of hitting the United States. As yet, only Alaska. Soon, every American city. 

"Moreover, Pyongyang claims to have already fitted miniaturized nuclear warheads on intermediate-range missiles. Soon, on ICBMs.

" Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s initial reaction to this game changer was not encouraging. “Global action is required to stop a global threat,” he declared. 

"This, in diplo-speak, is a cry for (multilateral) help. Alas, there will be none. Because, while this is indeed a global threat, there is no such thing as global interests. There are individual national interests, and they diverge. In this case, radically. 

"Take Russia and China. If there’s to be external pressure on North Korea, it would come from them. Will it? On Tuesday, they issued a joint statement proposing a deal: North Korea freezes nuclear and missile testing in return for America’s abandoning large-scale joint exercises with South Korea. 

"This is a total non-starter. The exercises have been the backbone of the U.S.–South Korea alliance for half a century. Abandonment would signal the end of an enduring relationship that stabilizes the region and guarantees South Korean independence. In exchange for what? A testing freeze? The offer doesn’t even pretend to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear program, which has to be our minimal objective.

"Moreover, we’ve negotiated multiple freezes over the years with Pyongyang. It has violated every one."  Read more

Trump’s Warsaw Uprising

PJ Media

"If you want to know why Donald Trump will go down in history as a great president, listen to (or read, when it is available) his speech in Krasinski Square, Warsaw today.

"Yes, there is a lot of the usual diplomatic persiflage: “Thank you, President Duda. Thank you, Poland.” But be an adult and distinguish the gem from the setting. While the anti-Trump press was busy running stories warning about “unease in Brussels” over Trump’s visit to Poland, Trump once again totally outflanked his critics.  Those who have ears, let them hear:

1. The United States is absolutely committed to securing Poland’s access to alternative sources of energy.  Now, to whom do you think that was addressed?  What country would use access to oil and gas as political blackmail (do what we say or you can’t warm your homes, light your streets, run your factories)? Who would do such a thing?
2. The United States is absolutely committed to its trans-Atlantic partnership. That partnership, said Trump in his aspirational mode, has never been stronger: suitably translated, that means that he wishes to assure that it will never be stronger.  It was a proffered hand.  Will the EU bureaucrats reach out and grasp it?
3. Speaking of bureaucrats, Trump also—mirabile dictu—warned about “steady creep of government bureaucracy” that, left unchecked, saps a people's will and makes the flourishing of individual initiative, the very marrow of freedom, impossible.  This was a direct kick against the administrative state: I like to see it. Drain the Swamp.
4. Trump reaffirmed his absolute commitment to Article 5 of the NATO agreement -- the bit that pledges members to “collective defense”: an attack on one member is an attack on all. He praised Poland for stepping up to meet its statutory financial commitment to NATO and urged other European countries to do the same. A strong NATO means a strong Europe.
5. He noted other challenges faced by the West, including cyber-warfare and Russia’s “destabilizing activities” in Ukraine, Syria, and Iran.
6. . . . 
7. But the best part came about three-quarters of the way through.  After reminding his audience about the million people who gathered to hear John Paul II celebrate Mass in 1979, he asked: what did the people want? Answer: “We want God.” This led into the heart of Trump’s speech.  . . .

The Democrat Party is no longer the anti-socialist party of Truman and (John) Kennedy

This is most definitely not my father's Democrat Party.

Happy 4th of July From the Left to America

A few choice tweets from our friends on the left celebrating America the only way they know how: by bringing the hate. As an extra added bonus, a few rollicking responses from the right.

Trevor Thomas: The Vile, Crazy Left  . . . "And nasty is as nasty does. The left simply can’t help itself, because, for the most part, it is simply who they are. In addition to their dishonest attempts to undermine President Trump and the GOP’s agenda, time and again, liberals have left nearly no insult unturned as they have sought to ridicule and insult President Trump and his family. Along with the countless vile attacks on the President,Ivanka (see here, here, and here), Melania, (see here, here, and here), and even 11 year-old Barron Trump (see here, here, and here) have suffered the evil ire of the modern left.

"Yet President Trump is supposed to remain “dignified” and “presidential?” He is probably doing well to respond only in the manner he has. I’m not sure there is a husband and father the world over who has been forced to endure such attacks on himself and his family as has Donald Trump." . . .

"Alas, whether elected officials, members of the press, entertainers, educators, and even those devoted to ministry, liberalism corrupts. And liberals still wonder how -- just how any self-respecting person could support Donald Trump. Maybe those devoted to killing children in the womb, killing the family, killing capitalism, redefining the oldest institution in the history of humanity, redefining gender, redefining the Second Amendment, defending and promoting pornography (and virtually any other sexual perversion imaginable), defending and promoting socialism, defending and promoting the myth of global warming, and so on, should consider how vile and vulgar many Americans find the tenets of modern liberalism.

"In other words, if modern liberals want to see something really revolting, most of them need to examine their own politics and policies."

NY Times (Wait! What?):  Back to the center, Democrats

The Democratic Party's Ominous Shift   . . . "One could also argue alarming similarities are beginning to appear between the way in which the Left and their leadership in the Democratic Party are acting today and the way radical Democrats acted in 1861 when Abraham Lincoln was elected.  And we all know what happened to Lincoln.

"Just as then, many today are in denial about the seed of hatred that is being deliberately planted by the Left.  In 1861, it was Lincoln who drew the ire of the Democrats.  They loathed his vision for America. Today, the same can be said of President Trump.  This is why the Left is so enraged over him.  He’s all about the Constitution and rule of law -- the archenemy of the Left and its relentless march for absolute power.  As long as Trump is in the White House, the Democratic party will never stand down." . . .

A clash of lefties over single-payer   . . .Let them propose "universal care" and then explain how they are going to pay for it.  My advice to Senator Warren and Senator Sanders is to check with the California Democrats who couldn't find enough rich people to pay for it.

Actress Betty Gilpin Flips Off Republicans on Independence Day  
Russ Vaughn makes this comment about Gilpin's TV show:

While most Hollywood liberals are content with just showing contempt for conservatives and their beliefs, Little Debbie, visibly demonstrating her limited math skills, takes it a step further in quite clearly saying "F--- off!" to a potentially huge segment of her television audience. 

The word is "sex", and not "gender"

UPDATED:Trump's CNN takedown stirs the pot

VIDEO: Trump Body-Slams ‘Fraud News’ CNN In WWE Tweet I like what Trump is attempting in his administration, I hope he succeeds erasing Obama's oppressive executive orders and regulations; I admire many in this administration where Obama's were feckless ineffective's. But I so wish President Trump would please stop this petty tweeting. TD

‘Extremely Unethical’ — CNN Draws Backlash After Threatening To ID Reddit User Behind Trump’s WWE Video

"CNN sparked a backlash Tuesday night after threatening to identify the Reddit user who claimed to have created a meme of Donald Trump body-slamming the CNN logo that the president later shared on Twitter."

UPDATE: Rush Limbaugh: "CNN Goes Bat Crazy Over Trump Tweet, Threatens to Dox Video Maker" 

 . . . "While many of the president’s supporters online reacted to the video with humor, the consensus among [reporters] seemed to be that Trump was inciting violence against the media.”"These same reporters also reached the consensus that Donald Trump being murdered every night on a stage in Central Park was not an incitement of violence. That was art. Donald Trump as Julius Caesar, Shakespeare in the Park getting murdered every night? “That’s just art. Trump needs to develop a thick skin!” Trump didn’t complain about it. Trump supporters did. CNN and their statement said: “It is a sad day,” a very, very, very sad day, “when the president of the United States encourages violence against reporters.”"Wait a minute. Didn’t CNN’s parent company, Time Warner, proudly announce they’re gonna continue to sponsor the Trump assassination play? See how this one-way street works in the media? They can report things that cause deranged, insane lunatic leftists to pick up guns and start shooting at Republicans — and barely even condemn it, by the way. “ABC News’ chief political analyst Matthew Dowd” former Bush administration official, George W. Bush, said that “Trump is ‘advocating violence against media…'” No, he’s not. He’s laughing at you people! He’s not advocating violence." . . .

CNN’s Cuomo Asks Whether Networks Should Expose American Citizens They Don’t Like, Deletes Tweet

Immigrant Of The Week: Henry Bello (Obotetukudo)

"Liberals have a mystical idea that we can pluck people from the most discordant cultures, put them in middle-class houses in the suburbs and then, magically, primitive tribesmen will be imbued with the core beliefs of our republic and civilization, developed over centuries. "

The killer

Ann Coulter   "Last Friday, Nigerian immigrant Henry Williams Obotetukudo, aka Henry Bello, opened fire with an AM-15 rifle at the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital, killing one doctor and injuring a half-dozen others. I would prefer to leap right in and offer my ideas for stopping these immigrant shooting rampages, but first I'll have to tell you the facts the media won't. 

"The New York Times, still unaware there's an internet, is trying to pass off the Nigerian as a Californian, the non-doctor as a doctor, and Mr. Obotetukudo as "Dr. Bello." 
"In the Times' major biographical profile of Bello the next day, he was described as a "sharp dresser from California." The only other reference to the shooter's provenance came several paragraphs later: "Dr. Bello lived in California off and on from 1991 until 2006." 

Dr. Tracy Tam, killed

"ABC News had reported on the day of the shooting that Bello was a "Nigerian national" -- so the cat was already out of the bag, New York Times. Local New York station PIX11 also reported that he was a Nigerian. Even newspapers in Ohio knew that Bello was a Nigerian. 
"But as we go to print, the Times still has not identified Bello as a Nigerian immigrant. It issued a "correction," but only to clarify the exact street of a homeless shelter where Bello had lived. No correction to the "California" bit. 
"Sadly, the Times didn't allow any comments to the online version of its story, but CBS did. There were four comments, two about the incident ("rot in hell") and two about CBS's report: 
" 'Where was Bello born?" 
"and: 
" 'Where is he from? Where did he receive his medical degree? Worthless reporting.' " 
"You're not fooling anyone, media. 
"Having misled readers about Bello's nationality, the Times professed utter bafflement about the shooter's motive, saying it was "marked with as many questions as answers."  

North Korea ICBM test a game changer

Rick Moran  "North Korea successfully tested a multi-stage ICBM that many experts believe has the range to hit Alaska and perhaps even major population centers on the west coast of the US.

"The missile, Hwasong-14, flew 580 miles reaching an altitude of 1,741 miles in its 39 minutes of flight. The flight profile suggested the missile had a range of about 5,000 miles and perhaps as much as 7,100 miles.

"Alarm bells went off all over the world when the test became public. The planet's most paranoid, unstable regime is now in possession of a weapon that, once the technological hurdles of marrying a nuclear warhead to the missile are overcome, threatens tens of millions of lives." . . .

"Without exaggeration, the test is a game changer.

. . . 

"But a cut off of all food aid from the west would certainly put unwanted pressure on Kim to come to the negotiating table. Would that do any good? Before we took military action to take out Kim's nuclear and ICBM program, a last gasp effort to resolve the issues peacefully would engender support for the military option if it came down to it.

"It's a thin hope that talks coupled with the pressure of a loss of food assistance would alter the North's nuclear policies. But right now, it's the least bad of all the options on the table for the president." . . .

Former Gitmo inmate to receive $10 million and apology from Canadian government

"Because of the cross-border jurisdictions, it is unlikely that Khadr’s victims will ever see any of the money."

Rick Moran  "A former inmate of the Guantanamo prison camp, returned to Canada in 2015 and then released, will get $10 million from the Canadian government and an apology.

"Omar Khadr, the son of a known al-Qaeda terrorist leader, was captured after a firefight in Afghanistan where he threw a grenade killing a US medic and wounding others. These facts are not in dispute. Khadr pleaded guilty to the charges but claimed he was a "child soldier" forced to fight by his father.

"Khadr's lawyer says his client was tortured by the US while he was at Guantanamo, suffering from sleep deprivation and psychological stress. The lawyer also claims that his client was not given adequate medical care." . . .

From the battlefield to the hospital at Guantanamo, the US military saved this young man's life. The idea that "nobody advocated for his health" is beyond insult. It is an outright lie.
As for torture, sleep deprivation is defined as torture in the UN convention, but the idea that a 15 year old son of a terrorist was a "child soldier" is ludicrous. The lawyers for Guantanamo inmates are notorious for lying and exaggerating about their clients' treatment. Everything he says should be checked and double checked for accuracy.
Meanwhile, the widow of the US medic murdered by Khadr as well as a wounded soldier are looking to block the $10 million payment to Khadr.

Woman’s “Top 10 Reasons I Am No Longer A Leftist” Goes Viral

The Federalist Papers

Dr. Danusha V. Goska was a lifelong liberal who “could not conceive of ever being anything but a leftist.”Her fantastic column, “Top Ten Reasons I Am No Longer  a Leftist,” details how and why her philosophies changed.

. . . "How far left was I? So far left my beloved uncle was a card-carrying member of the Communist Party in a Communist country. When I returned to his Slovak village to buy him a mass card, the priest refused to sell me one. So far left that a self-identified terrorist proposed marriage to me. So far left I was a two-time Peace Corps volunteer and I have a degree from UC Berkeley. So far left that my Teamster mother used to tell anyone who would listen that she voted for Gus Hall, Communist Party chairman, for president. I wore a button saying “Eat the Rich.” To me it wasn’t a metaphor.

"I voted Republican in the last presidential election.

"Below are the top ten reasons I am no longer a leftist. This is not a rigorous comparison of theories. This list is idiosyncratic, impressionistic, and intuitive. It’s an accounting of the milestones on my herky-jerky journey." . . .

Happy Birthday, America

Independence Forever: Why America Celebrates the Fourth of July  . . . "As a practical matter, the Declaration of Independence publicly announced to the world the unanimous decision of the American colonies to declare themselves free and independent states, absolved from any allegiance to Great Britain. But its greater meaning-then as well as now-is as a statement of the conditions of legitimate political authority and the proper ends of government, and its proclamation of a new ground of political rule in the sovereignty of the people. "If the American Revolution had produced nothing but the Declaration of Independence," wrote the great historian Samuel Eliot Morrison, "it would have been worthwhile.' " . . .  
And, sadly:

One charge that Jefferson had included, but Congress removed, was that the king had "waged cruel war against human nature" by introducing slavery and allowing the slave trade into the American colonies. A few delegates were unwilling to acknowledge that slavery violated the "most sacred rights of life and liberty," and the passage was dropped for the sake of unanimity. Thus was foreshadowed the central debate of the American Civil War, which Abraham Lincoln saw as a test to determine whether a nation "conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal" could long endure. . .

 Lincoln's vital understanding of July 4th  "British prime minister Margaret Thatcher famously once said, "Europe was created by history.  America was created by philosophy."  Nearly all European nations trace their beginning to a common ethnic kinship or a cultural characteristic, but America was created by exiles united in voluntary assent to shared political beliefs.  That's why British writer G.K. Chesterton visited the United States for the first time and remarked that America was "a nation with the soul of a church" – not because of its religiosity, but because of a common creed enshrined in "sacred texts" of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution." . . .

Obama warns Americans about too much patriotism — on July 4th weekend!  Sorry. I must have got carried away. TD

Obama’s Socialist Housing Projects Coming to a Neighborhood Near You

Out of his movement came the Furthering Fair Housing Act. HUD mapped every neighborhood in the country. At the same time, he administration established massive databases of Americans by race, class, and income. The goal of all this is to force people to live according to the government ideal of what a neighborhood should look like.

S. Noble  "If the left has their way, Socialist, crime-ridden housing projects will end up in every neighborhood in the nation.

"The social engineers are pushing for low-income housing in rich and middle class neighborhoods. The movement begun by Barack Obama continues to gain steam on the left. The NY Times had a hit piece out this week. According to them, anyone who doesn’t think it’s a good idea is a racist.

"Former Missouri state Representative Don Calloway went on Monday with Tucker Carlson to argue for redistribution of public housing in America.

. . . "The leftist Democratic Party today is no longer liberal. These people want to tell you what to eat, to drink, to smoke, to wear, what to watch on the news, and they want to tell you where to live.

"It’s a nationalization of the housing sector with housing projects known for crime put into every neighborhood where people move to get away from exactly that." . . .

Ignatius: Fighters in Syria Cheer Mention of Trump’s Name

"More seriously, the big attacks that have taken place around Raqqa, one in particular, a surprise landing by helicopter, I was told, by the top U.S. commanders, would not have taken place if it hadn't been for President Trump's decision to delegate military authorities down to the level of command," Ignatius said. "Under Obama, that would have taken a couple weeks of White House meetings, and they still wouldn't have made up their mind."

Free Beacon

"Washington Post columnist David Ignatius said Monday that during his travels in Syria, rebel fighters there cheered any mention of President Donald Trump's name.

"Appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Ignatius prefaced his comments by warning that he would say something "sympathetic to Trump." It was only the second airing of the show since Trump touched off a firestorm with his tweets mocking Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.

" 'As I traveled across Syria meeting with Syrian fighters who were trying to take down the regime of Bashar al-Assad, every time the name President Trump was mentioned, there were cheers from the audience," he said in a clip flagged by Legal Insurrection.

"One Syrian Kurdish commander, Ignatius said, colorfully remarked Trump had the equivalent of what would be called "cajones" in Spanish. Ignatius said Trump's looser approach allowed commanders on the ground to more expeditiously carry out operations." . . .