Photos taken by US Special Operations forces show aftermath of strike that killed Soleimani

Fox News  "EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Special Operations forces on the ground in Iraq were following a convoy carrying Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani when it was struck by an American drone last week, killing Soleimani and nine others, Fox News has learned.
"The soldiers following Soleimani's convoy as it left Baghdad International Airport were about a half-mile behind when it was hit by a missile fired from a Reaper drone. They were on the scene within a minute or two and performed a so-called "bomb damage assessment," taking pictures of the scene and confirming that the drone had picked out the right car -- and that Soleimani was no more." . . . Video at the link.

Qassem Soleimani's body lies burning next to the car.

Also at the UK Daily Mail

Iraqi officials on the scene after the event.

Democrats and President Trump do not play well together

The Democrats now rightly can be renamed Leftocrats.  Their hostility to President Trump has reached pathological dimensions or worse.  Their mantras about the "top 1%" or "top 0.1%" have become the tip of a spear of seemingly bottomless hatred for our president, our history, our legal structures, our institutions, our religious heritage, our language, and our achievements in every sphere of human endeavor.  They have left the realm of constructive criticism and have moved even beyond destructive criticism into the pathological domain of hysterical dementia . . .   E. Jeffrey Ludwig

Lucianne

Trump Is Masterfully Using Democrats' Opposition against Them  . . . "What does the predictable reaction of the Democrats look like?  For example, Trump makes it clear that he is not going to fight in Syria anymore, and without exception, all Democrats immediately become militant hawks, who categorically demand a continuation of the war.  If Trump trolls the Iranian regime by threatening to attack Iranian objects, including cultural objects, all Democrats, without exception, immediately become peace doves and demand "hands off Iran!"

"The irony here is that the very opponents of Trump, who advocate for "preserving the Iranian cultural heritage," are calling for the destruction of Confederate historical monuments in America.

"No doubt, all this (D)egenerative nonsense will be beneficial to Trump during his re-election campaign." . . .

Democrats Have Become a Disfigured Reflection of the Party They Once Were  . . . "The Leftocrats are apologists for evil (not just disagreeable) foreign regimes and are against fundamental Constitutional ideas and structures such as the Tenth Amendment as they resist federal disengagement from setting nationwide education priorities.  Leftocrats have been vehemently calling for abolition of the Electoral College.  They are cursing the president from every podium and venue that presents itself and thereby undermine the separation of powers and demonstrate disrespect for the law of the land since our president is head of the Executive Branch." . . . 

Democrat hatred for President Trump is greater than their fear of our nation's enemies. TD
Officials Appeared To Withhold Soleimani Intel Due To Concern Some Might Leak To Enemies  

USA kills Sulaimani. Kudos! After 40 years, about time USA fights back against Iran terrorists.
In classified briefing, it appeared defense & intelligence reps held back info out of concern too many Congressmen can't be trusted to keep classified info from USA enemies.

. . . "[Rep. Mo Brooks, non-D, AL] continued. “So if you just had that experience where members of Congress are quite clearly leaking information that was collected in a SCIF environment, how can you trust them not to leak classified information regarding Iran that could lead to the deaths of our intelligence sources, or empower terrorist organizations to avoid American retribution for the killing that they have done?” . . .

Warren, Sanders Did Participate In That Joint Conference Call With Iranian Lobby Group Linked to Tehran  . . . "The “#NoWarWithIran Strategy Call,” hosted by MoveOn.org, another advocacy group and political action committee first organized in 1998 in response to former President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, also included commentary from Jamal Abdi, president of NIAC. U.S. Reps. Barbara Lee and Ro Khanna, both California Democrats, and others also participated.
"Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, called Warren and Sanders “disgraceful” for participating in the call with “pro-Iran group NIAC the day after Iran bombed our military bases.” . . .

Soleimani’s replacement: ‘Muslims will leave no spot safe for Americans’

Youtube

Breaking Israel News: Could This be the Real Reason why the Democrats are Protecting Iran?  "Donald Trump’s elimination of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the most powerful military leader in Iran, generated a surprising level of opposition among the Democrats who feared an escalation of the confrontation with Iran. But it could be that another reason lies behind the Democrats’ support of Iran. 
"The partisan support for Iran, the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world, is so incongruous that former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley commented on it in a recent Fox News interview.
“ 'You don’t see anyone standing up for Iran,” Haley said. “You’re not hearing any of the Gulf members, you’re not hearing China, you’re not hearing Russia. The only ones mourning the loss of Soleimani are our Democrat leadership and Democrat Presidential candidates.” . . .

Sorry If You’re Offended, but Socialism Leads to Misery and Destitution (Updated)

David Harsanyi

Nearly half of American millennials would rather live in a socialist society than in a capitalist one, according to a YouGov poll. That said, only 71 percent of those asked were able to properly identify either. We can now see the manifestation of this ignorance in our elections and “The View” co-host Joy Behar

A commuter walks through the Petare neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, a district hard-hit by shortages of food, medicine, and water.

"On the same day that Venezuela’s “democratically” elected socialist president, Nicolas Maduro, whose once-wealthy nation now has citizens foraging for food, announced he was lopping five zeros off the country’s currency to create a “stable financial and monetary system,” Meghan McCain of “The View” was the target of internet-wide condemnation for having stated some obvious truths about collectivism.

"During the same week we learned that the democratic socialist president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, is accused of massacring hundreds of protesters whose economic futures have been decimated by his economic policies, Soledad O’Brien and writers at outlets ranging from GQ, to BuzzFeed, to the Daily Beast were telling McCain to cool her jets.

"In truth, McCain was being far too calm. After all, socialism is the leading man-made cause of death and misery in human existence. Whether implemented by a mob or a single strongman, collectivism is a poverty generator, an attack on human dignity, and a destroyer of individual rights.

"It’s true that not all socialism ends in the tyranny of Leninism or Stalinism or Maoism or Castroism or Ba’athism or Chavezism or the Khmer Rouge—only most of it does. And no, New York primary winner Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez doesn’t intend to set up gulags in Alaska. Most so-called democratic socialists—the qualifier affixed to denote that they live in a democratic system and have no choice but to ask for votes—aren’t consciously or explicitly endorsing violence or tyranny.

"But when they adopt the term “socialism” and the ideas associated with it, they deserve to be treated with the kind of contempt and derision that all those adopting authoritarian philosophies deserve."

"But look: Norway!" . . .

This might come as a surprise to some, but every penny of the $21,206 spent in Ocasio-Cortez’s district each year on each student, rich or poor, is provided with the profits derived from capitalism. There is no welfare system, no library that subsists on your good intentions. Having the state take over the entire health care system could rightly be called a socialistic endeavor, but pooling local tax dollars to put books in a building is called local government.

Full article here.    
Hat tip to Derrick Morris at Mark Levin's Fan Club of Intelligent, Thinking Women (and Men)

UPDATE: This comment came from a reader in the dairy country of south Tillamook County, Oregon, home of Tillamook Cheese and Tillamook Country Smoker meat products:

 Several years ago now a delegation from Russian countries , about a dozen or more people , were at OSU for some kind of learning conference...Floyd brought them to the farm one day as they were tired of the class room and the city...(they came back another day also and wanted to split wood, crazy! They loved it here.)
Floyd brought them to our house at lunch time and we got to visit with them, along with their KGB type woman interpreter...
They were so enthralled with everything. Before they came in the house they were fascinated by our new concrete floor in the pole barn..they had never seen smoothed out concrete...they just pour and level theirs...one man in the group saw our forty five or fifthy year old John Deere tractor...said his dream was to operate one...he said they only had enough petrol to operate their tractors for about 13 days a year so they had to plan their farm work that had to get done...
They came in the house and the women were chattering amongst themselves and smiling...
They wanted to use the rest room...next thing I know they were all scurring down the hall and all piled into my bathroom
I went down the hall and asked if they were ok...they were all enamored with my bathroom and chattering amongst themselves...they said their accommodations were meager at home..I wanted to send it with them and share our bounty.
While we all crowded around the table and spilled out into the living room they shared pictures and told us of their lifestyles...I felt so sorry for them....to wait in line for bread, to not have enough of what we all take for granted here...a counter with a hot plate and a curtain draped under the counter...one sausage maker Stephan said his dream was riding the John Deere, so George brought it out in the field between our house and the barn and he drove it around, hot rodded it for a couple of minutes too, he was so appreciative.....
And these young idiots want to live under socialism???
They need a dose of reality instead of the brainwashing they have received!

Tulsi Gabbard and the anti-Trump channel

Gabbard was interviewed on CNN, accusing the US of going to war with Iran. I just had to respond against her not accusing Iran of declaring war on our country and to think she did it on the very site called "American Pravda": CNN.

My letter to her site:

I cannot disagree more fervently with you  over Iran. Mr. Trump did not begin a war with Iran; Iran declared war on America 40 years ago and still chants for our death while holding their own people under their oppressive thumb. Finally we have a President that, however abrasive he may be, is not ashamed of those nation as far too many Democrats are.  Please do not allow yourself to be a tool of CNN with your point of view; your military service has been too honorable to let them cheapen it.

The Tunnel Dweller. Below is evidence of how the Tunnel Wall regards Mr. Zucker's propaganda channel

CNN: Remember when they called it "the most trusted name in news"?
Why?
Read the quality of information CNN wants to pass on to us. They provide the very darkness that the WaPo fears "democracy will die in".

Oscars to Go Hostless as Viewers Tune Out the Woke Award Show

Beeler

Breitbart via Doane Barile  "It was once one of the most highly coveted gigs in comedy. Now no one wants the job as viewers at home are tuning out in droves.
"The Oscars ceremony will once again go hostless, leaving this year’s white elephant of an awards show without an emcee to keep the proceedings moving. The ceremony has been moved up by nearly a month to Sunday Feb. 9, as part of organizers’ efforts to juice plummeting viewership and shorten Hollywood’s interminable awards season.
"Variety reported Wednesday that Karey Burke, the head of ABC Entertainment, confirmed that the upcoming telecast will have “no traditional host” during a talk at the Television Critics Assn. winter press tour.
"Last year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences opted to go host-less for the first time in decades. Comedian and actor Kevin Hart had been tapped to host the show but abruptly stepped down after journalists dug up the star’s old tweets.
"That show featured a slew of political moments from director Spike Lee urging the audience to “mobilize” against President Trump; actress Maya Rudolph warning Trump that Mexico won’t pay for a border wall, and actress Emilia Clarke saying U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — like her Game of Thrones character Khaleesi — is “a woman who has spent her career at the forefront of the fight against gender discrimination.”
"Hosting the Oscars has quickly become a job that few comedians wish to take on, due to unrelenting criticism from social media and overly censorious entertainment journalists.
"The show, which usually clocks in well over three hours, is a challenge for even the most skilled comedians, requiring a light touch and an ability to find humor in what is essentially a stiff and lugubrious evening.
"Ratings have fallen consistently since 2014’s high of 43.7 million viewers. In 2018, the show only managed to draw an audience of 26.5 million, its biggest yearly decline. That was the year the show was hosted by the anti-Trump Jimmy Kimmel, who feuded with President Donald Trump after the commander in chief mocked the ratings in a tweet." . . .

The McConnell-Pelosi show

Tony Branco

How McConnell Outplayed Pelosi  "Mitch McConnell was clear when he addressed the Senate December 18: Any impeachment trial of President Trump would follow the precedent established by the trial of President Clinton 20 years ago.
""Clinton's trial was divided into pieces. The Senate agreed unanimously to begin with a briefing, opening arguments, questions from senators, and a vote to dismiss. Whether to hear witnesses or introduce additional evidence were questions decided later. "That was the unanimous bipartisan precedent from 1999," McConnell said. "Put first things first, lay the bipartisan groundwork, and leave mid-trial questions to the middle of the trial."
"The arrangement satisfied Chuck Schumer back when he was a recently elected junior senator from New York. Funny how times change." . . .

Pelosi Broadcasting Service  . . . "It’s not Nancy Pelosi’s show anymore. As President Trump says, we’ll have to wait and see what happens."

Pelosi: House will move to transmit impeachment articles next week  . . . "The decision to release the articles came as fellow Democrats in recent days had started to voice frustration and impatience with the speaker's approach. They stressed the urgency with which impeachment was treated at the end of 2019 and questioned why the House would then delay a trial by using articles as leverage." . . .

CNN: Pelosi says she'll miss the Niners playoff game: “I have, unfortunately, responsibilities to save our country from peril”  . . . "Some in the briefing room laughed at the remark. Pelosi did not elaborate on what "peril" exactly means." . . .

Pelosi defiant as Democrats grow restless over impeachment delay  . . . "The House can impeach a president on a simple majority vote, but the Senate needs a two-thirds majority to convict and remove a president from office. Democrats would need 20 Republicans to join them for Mr. Trump to be convicted.
"Mr. McConnell told GOP senators that he expects the articles to be delivered to by Friday, suggesting a trial could start early next week." . . .

Iran’s Options in a Showdown with America Are All Bad

Victor Davis Hanson

Trump governs the tempo of the confrontation.

"After losing its top strategist, military commander, and arch-terrorist, Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian theocracy is weighing responses.
"One, Iran can quiet down and cease military provocations.
"After attacking tankers off its coast, destroying an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia, shooting down a U.S. drone, and being responsible for the killing and wounding of Americans in Iraq, Iran could now keep quiet.
"It might accept that its strategy of escalation has failed to lead to any quantifiable advantage. Trump did not prove a passive “Twitter tiger,” as his critics mocked. Instead, he upped the stakes to Iran’s disadvantage and existential danger.
"The chances, however, for such a logical and passive readjustment by Iran are nil.
"Iran believes that Trump’s beefed-up sanctions have all but destroyed its economy and could now extend to secondary boycotts of nations trading with Iran. U.S. sanctions have also squeezed Iranian expeditionary efforts to forge a permanent hegemony and a Shiite crescent extending to the Mediterranean." . . .

. . . "Given the quick criticism of Soleimani’s killing from Trump’s progressive domestic opponents, and given the Obama administration’s past appeasement in response to Iranian provocations, Tehran might conclude that a hit-and-pause strategy is preferable.It could incite Trump’s political opponents to brand him a warmonger who acted illegally by “assassinating” Soleimani." . . .

 Trump Calls the Ayatollah’s Bluff  "The successful operation against Qassem Soleimani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, is a stunning blow to international terrorism and a reassertion of American might. It will also test President Trump's Iran strategy. It is now Trump, not Ayatollah Khamenei, who has ascended a rung on the ladder of escalation by killing the military architect of Iran's Shiite empire. For years, Iran has set the rules. It was Iran that picked the time and place of confrontation. No more." . . .

 And indeed, this is what the Democrat/Ayatollah alliance is doing:
Democrats pile on to blame America for downing the Ukrainian plane
"It's hard to recall, but once upon a time, the majority of American politicians, including Democrats, were able to set aside partisan bickering for at least a moment in the face of foreign aggression against the United States.  After 9/11, for example, Congress spontaneously responded by singing Irving Berlin's "God Bless America.' "

Investigate Obama stopping Project Cassandra

Don Surber

Meanwhile, though, most of the media has ignored a larger scandal called Project Cassandra. Politico was the exception.

. . . "The investigation began under President George Walker Bush. Obama stopped it as a favor to his friends, the ayatollahs.

"The story said investigators "followed cocaine shipments, some from Latin America to West Africa and on to Europe and the Middle East, and others through Venezuela and Mexico to the United States. They tracked the river of dirty cash as it was laundered by, among other tactics, buying American used cars and shipping them to Africa. And with the help of some key cooperating witnesses, the agents traced the conspiracy, they believed, to the innermost circle of Hezbollah and its state sponsors in Iran.

" 'But as Project Cassandra reached higher into the hierarchy of the conspiracy, Obama administration officials threw an increasingly insurmountable series of roadblocks in its way, according to interviews with dozens of participants who in many cases spoke for the first time about events shrouded in secrecy, and a review of government documents and court records. When Project Cassandra leaders sought approval for some significant investigations, prosecutions, arrests and financial sanctions, officials at the Justice and Treasury departments delayed, hindered or rejected their requests.' "

Image by Ghenghis Gary

The Democrat-CNN/MSNBC alliance: a great threat to this country

I feel our main threat is the Ayatollahs-Democrats-CNN/MSNBC alliance that makes such a perfect home for Trump-Haters who are made more vindictive by the Presidents taunts. TD

Photosnark by Rich Terrell

Killing terrorists is how you...kill off terrorism   . . . "Thank goodness we have a president who understands that the way to reduce terrorism is to cut off the funding and take out the terrorists themselves instead of leave them to maim and kill at will, including Americans. 

"Most of the media make the world much more dangerous as they cheer for whatever Democrats say and seek to destroy Trump no matter how much good he does to strengthen and protect Americans." . . . 

Democrats implicitly are advising tyrants to give terrorists an official title so they will be protected from harm  . . . "Then they can roam the world, working with other terrorist groups to plan and execute attacks.  If a leader of any country decides that these terrorists should be killed, he will be said to have escalated tensions by assassinating a government official.  If that sounds stupid, it is." . . .

Most of the media make the world much more dangerous as they cheer for whatever Democrats say and do and seek to destroy Trump, no matter how much good he does to strengthen and protect Americans.

Trump is Damned if He Does and Damned if He Doesn’t

"President Trump announced that tensions with Iran have eased Wednesday after Iran fired off wild missile shots missing US personnel. There won’t be a war. The president’s good news was quickly contested by his two leading Democrat critics, Damned if He Does and Damned if He Doesn’t"  Comedian Argus Hamilton

[California] Dem Rep Blames Trump for Iranian Plane Crash  . . . "Rep. Jackie Speier (D., Calif.) on Thursday said that Iran's shooting down of a Ukrainian airliner was collateral damage from President Donald Trump's killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.

"CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer had asked Speier if she believed Iran confused the commercial flight for a U.S. military plane, suggesting that "it certainly sounds like it was a mistake by the Iranians." Speier did not mention Iran in her response, only implicating Trump in the downed flight.' . . .

CNN Fails to Disclose Its Iranian Guest Threatened to Kill American Hostages in 1979

Legal Insurrection
“She herself said she would personally shoot U.S. hostages in the head if American troops came to liberate the hostages.”

. . . "Tyler O’Neil reports at PJ Media:

CNN Gives Friendly Interview to Iranian Woman Who Said She Would Kill U.S. Hostages in 1979

On Tuesday night, CNN aired an interview between its international anchor Christiane Amanpour and Masoumeh Ebtekar, currently Iran’s vice president for women and family affairs. Amanpour did not once mention Ebtekar’s connection to the Iran Hostage Crisis in 1979, however. Ebtekar was one of the pro-Islamic Revolution students who seized the U.S. Embassy. She herself said she would personally shoot U.S. hostages in the head if American troops came to liberate the hostages.

In a brief segment cut from a 15-minute interview, Amanpour asked the Iranian leader whether the strike that killed Quds Force leader Qasem Soleimani had brought Iranians together.

“I’m saying that the American government — the American president — made a serious miscalculation. They made a serious mistake by assassinating, by taking this terrorist action against Commander Soleimani,” Ebtekar said.

"Amanpour shared the segment on Twitter: . . ."

Comedian Argus Hamilton sized up CNN's reputation as a news source pretty quickly:
"Iran’s Major General Qaissim Solieman’s casket was carted through the streets in Teheran to a memorial service Tuesday. The huge crowd broke into a stampede, killing fifty mourners. That evening, CNN was reporting that President Trump killed fifty people during a Muslim funeral service"