A Look At James Mattis’s First Year As Defense Secretary

Via Weasel Zippers

Getting rid of a feckless, liberal Democrat commander-in-chief was the first step. What on earth were Obama's motives for micro-managing the war, other than making sure his left-wing base didn't complain? TD

Washington Reacts to a Year of C.H.A.O.S.  "It has been over a year since retired U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis took the oath of office as secretary of defense.

"Despite what his old call sign of “Chaos” implies, which actually stands for Colonel Has An Outstanding Solution, and while it was made tongue-and-cheek at the time, it brings a mantra that many in the military and civilian population hoped Mattis would take with him to his new job.

"Approved overwhelmingly for the Cabinet position —Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) was the sole dissenting vote and who did not respond to multiple requests for comment — the majority thinking in “the Swamp” was that Mattis would be one of the best in Trump's administration.

"His first year has been marked with significant accomplishments, and he continues to enjoy being the most popular member of Trump's Cabinet. IJR was able to get comments from members of Congress and others to see how they think he has done so far." . . .  Read the full article...

Excerpts here:

ISIS: If there’s one thing members of Congress can agree on, it’s that Mattis has successfully overseen the near-destruction of ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

Iran: Hunter: Obama was good for the Iranians, plain and simple. Mattis is not and Trump is not, [however] Iran is not an existential threat to the United States right now. North Korea is. 

North Korea: With Trump taking a more-vocal approach in dealing with North Korea, Mattis has taken a supportive role to help Secretary of State Rex Tillerson find a peaceful solution in the region. White said this allows U.S. diplomats to “negotiate from a position of strength.”

 Transgender Military Ban: . . . Those interviewed all agreed Mattis has handled the delicate situation just as he does with any other subject, with professionalism:" . . .

More.... 

Dreamer

Mike Ramirez

Why have Iranian naval craft stopped harassing US Navy ships?

Rick Moran  "For the last few years, Iranian patrol boats manned by Revolutionary Guard sailors have been harassing US naval vessels in the Persian Gulf. The boats would rush toward US ships, sometimes barely avoiding collisions. It's as if the Iranians were daring the US Navy to defend themselves.

"But since August, the routine harassment of US ships from Iranian boats has ceased. And the Navy can't figure out why."

. . . 

In some of the more serious incidents, Iranian crews have directed spotlights at ship and aircraft crews, potentially blinding pilots as they conduct operations, according to U.S. military officials. In one case, an Iranian boat pointed a weapon at an American helicopter flying off a Navy vessel, officials said. In the most serious incidents, U.S. vessels have fired warning shots in return.

. . .
"It was easy for them when Obama was president. They knew they had nothing to fear - especially after kidnapping and holding our sailors for ransom. If the US didn't respond after that extreme provocation, the Iranians probably figured they could anything short of firing a missile at our ships.

"I don't know if US ships have recieved revised rules of engagement, but it wouldn't surprise me. Another possibility for the end of Iranian naval harassment is that the Iranians don't want to give Trump an excuse to end the nuclear deal. It would be crazy for them to do something that would end such a one sided, advantageous agreement. 

"Whatever the reason, provocations from the Revolutionary Guards have ceased for the time being."

The New Occupation of Europe

Interestingly enough, while the jihadist marches calling for beheadings and death are accepted as freedom of expression, counter-protesters who call for stricter laws are always branded as racists and Nazis. So my question is, between World War II and now, what the hell happened?

American Thinker . . . "The irony is that had FDR and Truman fought World War II the way current leaders are forced to fight modern wars, the so-called International Criminal Court would not have been established in the Hague because the Netherlands would probably still be under Nazi occupation, and the Dutch would not have had the chance to atone for colluding with the Nazis and sending almost every single Dutch Jew to his death in the concentration camps.  More than twenty thousand Dutchmen did, after all, join the Waffen S.S.  Must be something in the water there. 

"To demonstrate how much things have changed in the last seventy years, today, much of Europe, particularly Western Europe, is again under enemy occupation, yet those countries did not fire even a single shot in their own defense (okay, so things have not changed that much in France).  Not only has Europe capitulated to this new conqueror, but many countries have made it illegal to even criticize the enemy or to point out that he is, in fact, the enemy. 

. . . 

"And who, pray tell, is this new enemy?  Militant Islam, jihadists, Muslim terrorists, whatever you want to call them – as long as you don't call them that in Western Europe, because you will likely be arrested for it.  They are bold in their intentions, marching down the broad boulevards of Europe's capitals, with police protection, bearing signs and banners that say things like "Kill those who insult Islam," "Islam will dominate the world," and "Be prepared for the real Holocaust." 

"They mean it, quite literally, as evidenced by the frequent slaughter of innocent people around the world every single day.  And for you apologists and moral equivocators, these acts are not the random violence of lunatics or otherwise mentally deranged individuals; this is a highly organized worldwide campaign with tens of millions of followers, millions of whom not only support the creation of a worldwide caliphate and the imposition of sharia law on the rest of us, but are willing to kill and to die to see it happen." . . .

Melania Just Destroyed Trump ‘Holocaust Denier’ Accusations Without Saying Single Word

Jonathan Pincus

"First lady Melania Trump skipped out on a trip to Davos, Switzerland, and instead chose to honor the millions of lives lost under the Nazi regime by visiting the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C., on Thursday.

“My thoughts and prayers are with the people whose lives and families were broken by the horrors of the Holocaust,” she said in a statement. “Yet it is also through our shared humanity that we come together now in commemoration, strength, and love.

“ 'My heart is with you, and we remember.”

Melania Trump said Thursday that she chose to visit the memorial ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Saturday to honor the victims lost during the horrific genocide.

"Accompanied on her visit by the museum’s director Sara Bloomfield, the first lady visited a multitude of exhibits and artifacts that detailed the rise of the Nazi Party, the liberation of concentration camps in 1945 and the policies implemented against the Jewish people.

"The first lady tweeted Thursday about her unexpected visit, thanking the museum for the “powerful & moving tour that honors the millions of innocent lives lost, and educates us on the tragedies and effects of the holocaust.” .  .  .

Will Unfinished Train Overpasses Become California’s Stonehenge?

Victor Davis Hanson

The misbegotten project, now stalling, should never have been started.

"Nobody quite knows who built Stonehenge some 5,000 years ago in southern England. The mysterious ring of huge stone monoliths stands mute.

"Californians may leave behind similarly enigmatic monuments for puzzled future generations. Along a 119-mile pathway in central California, from Bakersfield to Madera, there are now huge, quarter-finished concrete overpasses. These are the totems of the initial segment of a planned high-speed-rail corridor.

"Californians thought high-speed rail was a great idea when they voted for it in 2008. The state is overwhelmingly progressive. Silicon Valley reflects California’s confidence in new-age technology. Californians are among the highest-taxed citizens in the nation. They apparently are not opposed to borrowing and spending for ambitious government projects — especially to alleviate crowded freeways." . . .Read more

The Women Movement’s Embrace of Rape-Torturer Psychopath Donna Hylton

The Women Who Speak for Women  . . . "During this interview with the psychologist, Donna Hylton lied and said she was nowhere near the man who died. Evidence disputes this:

Once arrested, Hylton and her friends were put in a holding pen. “I told [the police] these people were going to kill my daughter, we had to find my daughter. I was having nightmares and couldn’t sleep. And it was in all the papers, and people would point to me and say. “There she is,’ like I was some kind of morbid overnight celebrity, the leader of this girl gang. When they told me the victim was dead I just broke down. I didn’t believe it. Look, I know I did something wrong, but I didn’t kill anybody and I didn’t want anybody killed. I wasn’t out for anything evil, maybe love, maybe acceptance.”

Hylton’s signed statement, and the recollections of Detective Spurling, tell a different story. “All the girls’s hairs were on the bedsheet they wrapped him in,” recalled Spurling, “so they were all on the bed with him, or maybe having sex with him.” Rita and Theresa recalled hearing Hylton reading the ransom statement, while Vigliarole’s captors held a knife to his throat and tried to force him to repeat it after them into a tape recorder. She was indeed sighted as the deliverer of the ransom note and tape. [Emphasis added.] . . .

Snopes: Women’s March Speaker Donna Hylton Served Time for Murdering a Man

Life as we know it.

Rich Terrell

Trump: 'Fake news' to say I tried to fire Robert Mueller

Tony Branco

Washington Examiner  "The Times' report said Trump ordered Mueller to be fired, and was stopped by White House counsel Don McGahn, who said firing Mueller in the middle of his probe into Russian meddling in the election would be a political disaster for Trump.

"McGahn later said the idea of firing Mueller has "never been on the table, never."

"Trump was set to deliver remarks to the World Economic Forum Friday morning at 8 a.m. EST." . . .

Journalists boo and astonished billionaires gasp in Davos as Trump attacks 'nasty' press for 'fake news  . . . "Some journalists in the back of the room let out unmistakable 'boo's, others said, while billionaires who came to hear Trump preach his prosperity gospel gasped in astonishment. 

"Others laughed and applauded. A few directed their booing to the media, according to an eyewitness in the room." . . .

Did Trump Really Try To Fire Bob Mueller Last June?   . . . "Is there any evidence to corroborate this spectacular claim? The best argument that it really is FAKE NEWS! is that it’s hard to believe TrumpWorld, which leaks like a sieve, could have kept a secret this sensational for six months. As it turns out, though, there *is* a bit of corroboration, right here in our own archives. On successive days, June 13 and 14, I wrote about new rumblings that Trump was preparing to can Mueller. His friend Chris Ruddy, the head of Newsmax, went on PBS and confirmed that Trump was thinking of firing him. (The White House denied it.) The next day, the Times reported that the president lately had begun “entertaining the idea of firing Mr. Mueller even as his staff tried to discourage him from something they believed would turn a bad situation into a catastrophe, according to several people with direct knowledge of Mr. Trump’s interactions.” Something obviously leaked to the paper at the time, but not solidly enough to justify the story they finally were able to publish last night." . . .

Is Kamala Harris the Future of American Politics? "We should all hope not."

 But there’s no question that on the strength of these hearings, she can lay claim to a style that is the future of American politics: Her combination of incivility, bullying, and victimhood makes her the perfect reflection of our current moment. 

Her rock star pose

Jonathan S. Tobin  "Democrats may not have gotten everything they wanted out of a series of recent televised Senate Intelligence Committee hearings that ostensibly concerning Russian interference in the 2016 election. But as the party of the ‘resistance’ shifted its focus from alleged collusion between Moscow and Republicans to President Trump’s alleged obstruction of justice, the hearings also produced a new heroine for the anti-Trump Left. 

"Senator Kamala Harris emerged from confrontations with the three national intelligence chiefs and Attorney General Jeff Sessions with her reputation enhanced. Her manner of attack was praised and she was acclaimed as a victim of sexism on the part of her colleagues. Harris may lack the talent to fulfill her not-so-secret desire to emulate Barack Obama by parlaying a single unfinished term in the Senate into a successful presidential bid. But there’s no question that on the strength of these hearings, she can lay claim to a style that is the future of American politics: Her combination of incivility, bullying, and victimhood makes her the perfect reflection of our current moment. 

"Harris’s new celebrity stems from two incidents in which Republicans criticized her manner of questioning witnesses during an Intelligence Committee hearing. Her rapid-fire interrogation of Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein prompted Senator John McCain and then committee chair Richard Burr to reproofs in which she was cautioned to allow the witnesses to answer her questions. Harris clearly tried to bully both Sessions and Rosenstein, cutting them off as they spoke and not giving them a chance to speak before she moved on to a new insinuation. But you wouldn’t know it from reading the mainstream media or the liberal Twittersphere. As the New York Times headline on the incidents put it: “Kamala Harris Is (Again) Interrupted While Pressing a Senate Witness.”
 Read more.

Harris carries the Obama's torch of racial division  

Harris portrayed blacks as marginalized and oppressed across America, describing Republicans as seeking to deny “persons of color” the ability to vote.

Mark Levin took particular issue with the “disrespect” shown by Harris in a hearing with DHS secretary, and decorated veteran, Gen. John Kelly.  . . . "Levin described Harris as a “know-nothing, pathetic, left-wing kook from California who they’re now promoting as another presidential candidate.' ” . . .
Californiaitis is metastasizing

If you’re not familiar with Senator Kamala Harris, think Maxine Waters about 20 years ago.  . . . " The junior senator from California supports Black Lives Matter, and she’s as arrogant and entitled as her mentors Barack and Michelle Obama. The rabid Trump-hater was on Capitol Hill for the Intel hearings, where she totally disrespected Admiral Mike Rogers when he wouldn’t say President Donald Trump had done anything wrong." . . . 

Lester Holt, the cream of journalism

American Thinker

NBC host duped by North Korea after reporting from 'staged' ski resort

"An NBC News host was reportedly duped by North Korean propaganda after he delivered an upbeat news report from a ghost town in the secretive state that had been transformed into a ’busy’ ski resort.

"Lester Holt reported from the Masikryong resort on Monday, a facility that was personally ordered by Kim Jong Un and is typically empty.

"But as Holt delivered the TV report, he failed to notice that the North Korean government appeared to have drafted in skiers who wore identical outfits in an attempt to give the impression of a busy and progressive ski resort.

"During the report, Holt claimed that the the resort is a ‘source of immense pride for a country trying to present a new and modern face to the world’.

. . . 

"Throughout the trip, critics slammed Holt’s coverage for being sycophantic, with The New York Times accusing him of filming ‘propaganda’.

" ‘Yes, NBC is eager to promote next month’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. But that hardly required anyone to travel north of the DMZ to film propaganda for a regime that enslaves 25 million people — and holds another 50 million southerners as quasi-hostages, under constant (if low-grade) threat of war’, a damning editorial claimed.

"Holt is yet to directly respond to the criticism."

National Review Editors:Holt’s Assist to Hillary , Sept, 2016:  . . . "If Holt didn’t rappel into the debate Candy Crowley–style, it was because he didn’t need to. Antagonistic questions were directed toward one candidate and one candidate only. Donald Trump was asked about his tax returns, his role in promoting the birther controversy, whether he flip-flopped on the Iraq War, and what he meant when he said recently that Clinton does not have a “presidential look.” Clinton, by contrast, was not asked about her private e-mail server, the Clinton Foundation, Benghazi, or any one of the many topics about which voters have rightly expressed concerns. Instead, she was asked open-ended policy questions and permitted to dilate about renewable energy and the sundry misdeeds of George W. Bush. 

"The institutional slant of the media being what it is, the Republican nominee is always at a disadvantage when it comes to debate moderators, and should prepare accordingly." . . .Read more.

Wow: 'Journalist' Reveals 2005 Photo of Obama and Racist Farrakhan, Kept Secret to Protect Obama's Career

"[Farrakhan] also hurled venom at white people -- calling them the "race of devils," the "anti-Christ, and "worthy to be hated" -- as well as the LGBT community.  He is the moral equivalent of Duke, to whom Trump was linked because of Duke's praise of his candidacy, and Trump's opaque and dishonest responses to resulting challenges from reporters.  By contrast, Obama said he opposed Farrakhan's spasms of hateful ideology, but hey, who was he to tell the guy to stop saying nice things about him? . . .  

Guy Benson

"Now they tell us.  More than a year after President Obama left office, a journalist is finally revealing a photograph he deliberately hid from the American public for well over a decade, for the explicit purpose of shielding Obama from political backlash.  Talking Points Memo has the details, including the story of a 'panicked' phone call placed by a Congressional Black Caucus representative, who was desperate to prevent the photo from going public:" . . .