Kurdish, Syrian, and Turkish Ironies

Victor Davis Hanson

Critics now upset about abandoning our Kurdish friends demanded abject withdrawals — and the abandonment of friends — in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Turkish soldiers stand near military trucks in the village of Yabisa near the Turkish-Syrian border in Syria,

. . . "Like the Poles, the Armenians, the Greeks, and the Israelis, the Kurds are an honorable, ancient, and brave people who drew history’s unfortunate lot of living in a dangerous geography between much larger and aggressive nations. And, to be frank, all these endangered peoples at some point in their histories, ancient and modern or both, seem to have fought against Turkish forces, been targeted by them, or threatened by Ankara.
"So, yes, it is incumbent on the Trump administration in general and on Secretary Pompeo in particular to find ways to prevent mass Turkish attacks on the Kurds, while not inserting American ground troops into a cauldron of fire between Turks and Kurds. That effort will require a great deal of skill and deftness that are weirdly forgotten in the current bipartisan exclamations of “We sold out the Kurds!” — given the labyrinth of paradoxes that surround Turkey, Syria, Kurds, and the U.S. and the lack of information about the actual redeployment of American troops." . . .

WHERE WAS THE MEDIA? ISIS Committed Genocide on Christians, Shiites and Yazidis, Killing 170,000 While Obama Partied and Did Nothing

The Gateway Pundit  "You might have missed the ISIS genocide of Christians, Shiites and Yazidis in Iraq-Syria.
"The media ignored the tens of thousands of victims.
"Obama was president and they did not want to harm him in any way."

"IN 2014 VIDEO WAS RELEASED OF ISIS SLAUGHTERING HUNDREDS OF SHIITE YOUTHS IN IRAQ
"ISIS committed genocide of Shiites. They filmed it and posted it online.

"Shiite Youths BEG FOR MERCY BEFORE THEY WERE MASSACRED BY ISIS—"

. . . "Obama did nothing and media ignored this mass slaughter or told lies to defend ISIS.

In fact, Obama was partying.

"In 2014 Barack Obama partied with African dictators while old women and children were dying from thirst on Sinjar Mountain." . . .

2014: ISIS BEHEADING CHILDREN AND WOMEN (AFTER STRIPPING NAKED) -PARALLELS HINDU STORY  Content advisory

2014: Obama’s monsters ball: How the White House opened its doors to some of Africa’s most evil dictators and homophobes and turned blind eye to their human rights record

Why Obama Spared ISIS Oil  . . . "If ever a statement by a former administration official offered a glimpse into the loony priorities of the Obama administration, this is it. We did not bomb the oil fields upon which ISIS depends for the bulk of its revenue because of our concerns about adding to carbon emissions that promote global warming (in the desert!)." . . .

ISIS convoys unbombed by Obama to keep from polluting 

Former CIA Deputy Director Gives A Stunning Reason Why Obama Has Not Attacked ISIS' Oil Infrastructure  . . . "Then we started asking questions, others joined in, and everything changed: "So now we’re hitting oil in trucks and maybe you get to the point where you say we also have to hit oil wells. So those are the kind of tough decisions you have to make."

"Of course, the lunacy gets even more ridiculous when one recalls that none other than one of the democrat frontrunners for president, Bernie Sanders, suggested in all seriousness that the real cause for terrorism is climate change, an allegation subsequently echoed by both UK's Prince Charles and none other than the chief of the UN, Ban Ki-moon himself.

"So here is the purported logic: climate change leads to terrorism, but one can't eradicate the primary funding source of the biggest terrorist threat in the world, the Islamic State, because of dangers it may lead to even more environmental damage and climate change.

"We are truly speechless at this idiocy." . . .

Woke ‘Batwoman’ Endorsed By Critics, Shredded By Audience

Daily Wire

“Not good, trying way too hard,” writes one audience reviewer. “Very boring and preachy, could of been great but as is now its a HUGE fail,” writes another.

"The new DC Universe television series “Batwoman,” which was hyped by DC and The CW as an overtly social justice-oriented series, finally aired two weeks ago amid much buzz. With two episodes released, reviews of the series reveal a dramatic gap between the response of critics and viewers. While the critics overall have given the series their official endorsement, viewers loathe it to a degree of unanimity rarely seen.

"The new “Batwoman” series features a lesbian lead character who is “armed with a passion for social justice and flair for speaking her mind,” as The Hollywood Reporter described it when it was first announced last year:
. . . 
“ 'Intersectional” controversy quickly arose when the identity of the actress who would play Kane/Batwoman was first announced last year.  Actress Ruby Rose, who generally presents herself as female but identifies as “gender fluid,” came under such severe backlash from angry left-wing critics for being “not gay enough” that she felt compelled to get off social media." . . .

CNN: With a name like "Zucker", it has to be good!

Thomas Lifson: Ratings crash for Dem presidential debates -- CNN hardest hit

"Two conclusions leap out from the ratings of televised presidential debates:

- the viewing public is already tiring of the Democrats’ presidential field;

- the viewing public doesn’t trust and doesn’t want to watch CNN – even when it is televising live events.

"Writing at Breitbart, John Nolte gathers and analyzes the ratings data. Here is the data on the four 2019 Democrat presidential debates in sequence: " . . .  

A debate not worth watching  . . . "My sense is that the candidates are predictably boring.  They have two messages:

1) "I hate Trump" with "I hate Trump more than you do" on the B-side; and

2) "I will give you something for free" with a Spanish “illegals qualify” version for Jorge Ramos.

"The Democrats created a mess with these early debates.  They exposed their candidates way too early and now have to deal with the reality that none of them can beat President Trump." . . .

Venezuela Reaches the Final Stage of Socialism: No Toilet Paper

Rich Terrell

CATO Institute  "In 1990 I went to a Cato Institute conference in what was then still the Soviet Union. We were told to bring our own toilet paper, which was in fact useful advice. Now, after only 16 years of Chavista rule, Venezuela has demonstrated that "Socialism of the 21st Century" is pretty much like socialism in the 20th century. Fusion reports:" . . .

Crime and Scams in Venezuela: What You Need To Know  "IMPORTANT: Venezuela is currently considered a "Do Not Travel" destination by several government travel advisories. For more information, check out our Venezuela travel alerts page.
"How dangerous is Venezuela for travelers? Find out about kidnappings, carjacking, hotel and airport safety." . . .

Lawmaker Dares Bernie Sanders to Visit Socialist Venezuela With No Bodyguards
"A Venezuelan assemblyman, currently in exile from socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro’s regime, has issued a challenge to presidential candidate and democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — daring the senator to take a week strolling through the streets of Venezuela without bodyguards and report back what he sees."
. . . 
"Ballasy went on to tell Guerra that activist Jesse Jackson has actually come to the defense of Maduro, and added that both Jackson and Sanders appear reluctant to speak publicly about what is going on in the socialist country." . . .

"If only the right people had tried it".  Does anybody really think our Democrats are the "right people", considering their "social justice" and political correctness requirements? TD

UPDATE: Case in point, Elizabeth Warren...

WSJ Columnist: This Is When The Deep State Felt They Got The Green Light To Defy Trump

Matt Vespa at Townhall  "The moment acting Attorney General Sally Yates decided to defy President Trump concerning his executive order on immigration that the media erroneously dubbed the Muslim ban, you saw the vestiges of what we now call the Deep State. It’s the cadre of government workers who are working against the Trump administration in the shadows. They hate the president and will do anything to push back at all costs. It also doesn’t help that there were oodles of Obama holdovers when Trump was inaugurated in 2017."
"Anyway, the point is that there is ample evidence that there is a deep state working against the Trump White House. Its members are not really known to the public, and The Wall Street Journal’s Kimberley Strassel details how this anti-democratic club is a cancer to the country in her new book “Resistance at All Costs: How Trump Haters are Breaking America.”

"Strassel notes that former CIA Director John Brennan and fired FBI Director James Comey are some of the folks used as examples of deep state antics. Their conduct was less than honorable; Comey’s was worthy of termination, which Trump promptly did in May 2017. The Department of Justice’s inspector general report makes that quite clear. Yet, she notes these are political appointments that are subject to scrutiny and can be removed." . . . 

"Anyway, the point is that there is ample evidence that there is a deep state working against the Trump White House. Its members are not really known to the public, and The Wall Street Journal’s Kimberley Strassel details how this anti-democratic club is a cancer to the country in her new book “Resistance at All Costs: How Trump Haters are Breaking America.”

"Strassel notes that former CIA Director John Brennan and fired FBI Director James Comey are some of the folks used as examples of deep state antics. Their conduct was less than honorable; Comey’s was worthy of termination, which Trump promptly did in May 2017. The Department of Justice’s inspector general report makes that quite clear. Yet, she notes these are political appointments that are subject to scrutiny and can be removed. 

Who Is, and Is Not, On the [Democrat] Demand Justice #SCOTUS (Not-So) Shortlist?

Volokh Conspiracy

Omitting all "partners at corporate law firms" excludes most judges from Hillary Clinton's hypothetical shortlist

"Demand Justice has released a "shortlist of possible [Supreme Court[] nominees in the next Democratic administration." The group selected 32 "brilliant lawyers who have spent their careers fighting for progressive values and represent the diversity of our nation."

"Who was selected? The nominees generally fall into 5 broad categories:"

• Academics: Michelle Alexander (Union Theological Seminary),  James Forman, Jr. (Yale), Pamela Karlan (Stanford), M. Elizabeth Magill (Virginia), Melissa Murray (NYU), Bryan Stevenson (NYU), Zephyr Teachout (Fordham), Timothy Wu (Columbia),
• Progressive Litigators: Brigitte Amiri (ACLU), Nicole Berner (GC SEIU), Deepak Gupta (Gupta Wessler), Dale Ho (ACLU), Sherrilyn Ifill (NAACP LDF), Shannon Minter (National Center for Lesbian Rights), Nina Perales (MALDEF), Thomas A. Saenz (MALDEF), Cecillia Wang (ACLU),
• Current/Former Government Officers: Xavier Becerra (California AG), Sharon Block (one of the three NLRB appointments at issue in Noel Canning), Vanita Gupta (Former Obama DOJ), Lawrence Krasner (Philadelphia DA), Catharine Lhamon* (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights), Katie Porter (House of Representatives), Jenny Yang (Former EEOC Chair)
• Federal Judges: Richard F. Boulware (D. Nev.), Jane Kelly (8th Circuit), Cornelia Pillard (D.C. Circuit), Carlton Reeves (S.D. Miss.)
• State Judges: Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar (California Supreme Court), Anita Earls (North Carolina Supreme Court), Leondra Kruger (California Supreme Court), Goodwin Liu (California Supreme Court),

"Who didn't make the cut? We can speculate." . . .

*Catherine Lhamon Chair, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Legal Affairs Secretary, Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom

JOSH BLACKMAN is a constitutional law professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, and the President of the Harlan Institute. Follow him @JoshMBlackman.

Trump Brings Witnesses, Calls On Them To Prove Pelosi LIED About WH Meeting

Donald Trump had Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Kellyanne Conway, Larry Kudlow and Mercedes Schlapp — all present at yesterday’s meeting — give their accounts of the event.

Conservative Flash  "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed that President Donald Trump lost his mind and slammed his fist on the table during an infrastructure meeting at the White House on Wednesday.
"However, Trump not only set the record straight himself, he brought several witnesses with him to tell the media what really happened in the closed-door meeting.
"During an event on Thursday morning from the Oval Office, the president was announcing a $16 billion aid package for farmers.
"But when the topic changed to the meeting, Trump called on several of his top aides who were present at the meeting — White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway, Communications Director Mercedes Schlapp, Chief Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow, and Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
"Trump called upon his aides to back him up by sharing their own recollections of what occurred and whether Pelosi was spreading fake news.
"“Very calm. No tamper tantrum,” Conway said of Trump’s demeanor during the meeting.
"Conway then mocked the “facts-first” media for the blatant “lie” they helped perpetuate that the president had raged at the Democrat leaders.
"Trump then turned to Schlapp and asked for her take on the meeting.
" 'You were very calm and you were very direct,” Schlapp said, noting that it was “discouraging” to see Pelosi make incendiary comments right before the meeting.
"Trump then turned to Kudlow and asked a similar question." . . .

Stilton's Place  (parody, or maybe plain sarcasm) "Just to make sure no one forgets their enthusiasm for fascism, House democrats like John Garamendi and Rashida Tlaib are now actively planning the logistics of grabbing "uncooperative" members of the Trump administration and throwing them into the House jail if they don't help with the ongoing coup attempt.

No More Pretense: Journalists, Dems Use Identical Talking Points on Impeachment

Newsbusters  "Television journalists these days sound so similar to Democrats on impeachment that it's nearly impossible to tell them apart. Weeks before the impeachment inquiry was even announced, talking heads were passing off Democratic talking points as objective information about the President's alleged wrongdoing.

"What follows is a compilation video of some of the liberal media's greatest minds spouting DNC talking points. These journalists have not had their words taken out of context while attempting to summarize the Democrats’ position. Whether or not they they were intentionally regurgitating the words of Democrats, they did so without attributing their words to anyone. Watch below:

. . . 

" 'Journalists' also dutifully repeated Democrats’ allegations of a “coverup” by the Trump administration. For example, on October 4, CNN’s gray eminence Carl Bernstein assured the viewers of New Day: “Let’s be clear here; we are watching a cover-up. We are watching a cover-up by the President of the United States.”

"Later that evening, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow sounded alarmingly similar to Adam Schiff when she theorized that “the investigation into the cover-up” might “end up being a whole, separate article of impeachment in terms of obstruction of justice.” That latter charge — obstruction of justice — also received considerable mileage on CNN and MSNBC.

"On the October 6 edition of New Day, CNN analyst April Ryan rattled off all of the above charges with the confidence of a Democratic operative: “[This] is obstruction of justice; it’s bribery; demeaning the oath of office; demeaning the office.' ”

'suggests"?

CNN Production Supervisor Wishing For Trump’s Death, ‘Hopefully He Dies Soon’

CNN boss Zucker should be beaming with pride. Watch CNN for coverage on this...any minute now.

Rich Terrell

A New Insight Into Media Bias  . . . "See how this works? It's the same with "climate change," abortion and many other issues. Anyone who goes against the faith of the secular-progressive culture is simply ignored, or ridiculed. In totalitarian societies it's called propaganda." . . .

Project Veritas  Scott Garber, Senior Field Engineer at CNN: “We used to cover news. We used to go out and do stories…But Trump is more important.”
"Adia Jacobs, CNN Technical Operations Supervisor: “When Zucker took over it wasn’t until Trump that we ended up being all Trump all the time.' "

O’Keefe Strikes Again! Undercover Video Shows CNN Production Supervisor Wishing For Trump’s Death, ‘Hopefully He Dies Soon’ 

Project Veritas
 . . . "Project Veritas unveiled Part 3 of its #ExposeCNN series on Thursday.

"CNN conceded on video they are “left leaning” but don’t want to openly admit it.

"O’Keefe also caught CNN Field Production Supervisor Gerald Sisnette wishing for President Trump’s death.

“ 'This is a story that’s not gonna go away,” Mr. Sisnette said.

“ 'Oh the Ukraine thing? Or just Trump in general?” the CNN whistleblower asked.

“ 'Trump in general. The only way this will go away is when he [Trump] dies. Hopefully soon,” Gerald Sisnette said. . . "

Project Veritas Scoop: Of Course We’re Leftists, CNN Manager Says  . . . "Will Zucker suffer any consequences for this? I’d doubt it, unless it starts impacting the ratings. Credibility’s great, but advertisers pay for eyeballs on TV and websites."

James O'Keefe‏ 

BREAKING: “When I got this job thirteen years ago, @CNN was nothing like this...They sold themselves to the devil. It’s, it’s sad.” - Floor Manager at CNN Mike Brevna #ExposeCNN

Project Veritas Scoop: Of Course We’re Leftists, CNN Manager Says  . . . "Will Zucker suffer any consequences for this? I’d doubt it, unless it starts impacting the ratings. Credibility’s great, but advertisers pay for eyeballs on TV and websites."

Pelosi and Schumer bolt from Syria meeting with Trump after ‘meltdown’

NY Post  "Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer stormed out of a White House sitdown on Syria with President Trump after he called Pelosi “ a third-rate politician” and a Communist sympathizer in what the House speaker termed “a meltdown.”
“ 'He was insulting, particularly to the speaker. She kept her cool completely. But he called her a third rate politician. He said that there are communists involved and you guys might like that,” Schumer said.
“ 'This was not a dialogue. It was sort of a diatribe, a nasty diatribe not focused on the facts, particularly the fact of how to curtail ISIS, a terrorist organization that aims to hurt the United States,” he said.
"Pelosi said Trump was shaken by an earlier House vote condemning his decision to pull troops from northern Syria."
. . . 
"House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy blamed Pelosi, as did the White House.
“ 'To storm out of a meeting, which I’ve watched time before, during other crisis, is really not — the ability of a speaker, or the style of how a Speaker should carry herself,” McCarthy told reporters.
“ 'The president was measured, factual and decisive, while Speaker Pelosi’s decision to walk out was baffling, but not surprising. While Democratic leadership chose to storm out … everyone else in the meeting chose to stay in the room,” spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham told PBS.
"Along with Trump and Esper, acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, White House counsel Pat Cipollone, and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin attended the meeting.
"Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Jack Reed, (D-RI), were also there, among other senators. A bi-partisan group of House members also attended."

Elijah Cummings, esteemed longtime Baltimore congressman, has died at 68

Cummings in 1973

CBS News  "Representative Elijah Cummings, of Baltimore, died early Thursday at the age of 68, his office said. Cummings passed away at Johns Hopkins Hospital at 2:45 a.m. from "complications concerning longstanding health challenges," his office said.

"He hadn't returned to work after having a medical procedure that he said would only keep him away for about a week, The Baltimore Sun noted.

"Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, the chairwoman of the Maryland Democratic Party and Cummings' wife, said in a statement that Cummings was "an honorable man who proudly served his district and the nation with dignity, integrity, compassion and humility." . . .

Elijah Cummings through the years

Photo: Elijah Cummings attacked in the Selma, Alabama civil rights march.

Who is U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings?  "Cummings was born in 1951 and raised in Baltimore, where he still resides today, according to his congressional biography.
"He is one of seven children to parents Robert Cummings Sr. and Ruth Elma Cummings, née Cochran, both of whom worked as sharecroppers in South Carolina on land where their family’s ancestors were enslaved. The couple moved to Baltimore in the late 1940s. 
"As a child, Cummings struggled in elementary school and was assigned to special education courses. However, after showing promise in high school at City College, he won Phi Beta Kappa honors at Howard University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science. He graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law and passed the state bar in 1976.
"According to his congressional biography, the congressman is an active member of New Psalmist Baptist Church and is married to Dr. Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, who was elected chair of the Maryland Democratic Party in December." . . .

Cummings at his older brother's graduation

UK Daily Mail: A sharecropper's son, Cummings was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1982 and rose through the ranks before winning a US congressional seat in 1996.

From 2015: Congressman John Lewis was one of the many civil rights leaders who marched in Selma, Alabama 50 years ago today, and throughout the day, he has tweeted a dramatic recounting of the March and the horror of Bloody Sunday.
Not America's finest moment.

Elijah Cummings marching with the group.

Somehow our institutions are so much better than we have been; America had the image of Abraham Lincoln superseded by that of these angry police and the images of Dr. Martin Luther King and Elijah Cummings by Al Sharpton and Maxine Waters.  TD