Victor Davis Hanson

Victor Davis Hanson  "The State of the Union could have been written by a computer program. All the now familiar Obama furniture was in the room: the mock outrage at “them,” the psychodramatic first-person boasting (as in, “I will oppose..,” “I will not work with…,” “I will decline…,” “I will not stand by …,” I will not cede…,” “I will not walk away…,” “I will not back down…,” “I will not go back…”); the now customary rear-view-mirror jab at his fading predecessor; the monotonous promising that something is so bad that we must have a new program for it (each year the same threat, the same solution, the same failure); and the silence about the Obama legacy of stimulus, debt, and ObamaCare.
"But the people are tired and simply by now shut their ears. Here are five things in the current age that exhaust us."
...."Wall Street crooks were only one third of the equation. Another third were equally dishonest and greedy insiders at Freddie and Fannie, such as Clinton hacks like Franklin Raines, Jamie Gorelick, or James A. Johnson, who made millions for themselves without much banking expertise, and were egged on by congressionals like Barney Frank and Chris Dodd who hid their own conflicts of interest with high talk about helping the poor. That the three chiefs of staffs in the Obama White House were all Wall Streeters who made millions, in part from the housing bubble, is proof enough of the revolving-door, get-rich schemes.


Letter to the Editor, seMissourian.com:  Wealth envy and Obama

Why do people have such a problem with rich people? My boss is a multimillionaire, and I'm proud he is and so are hundreds of others who work for him nationwide. He is the largest employer in Washington County, Mo.I'm sure he has a large group of tax experts on the payroll to find every loophole they can. That keeps more money in his pocket for more expansion and to hire more people across the country.
These wealth-envy people need to quit their jobs and go find a homeless or poor person and apply for a job with them. It isn't going to happen. Deal with it. The problem we have is Obama and his $6 trillion in debt in over three years (more than any president in history) and out-of-control government spending, entitlements and vote-buying schemes. Bernie Madoff will die in prison for the same thing that is Social Security.
We need to throw all the progressive politicians out on their butts and elect constitutional conservatives to office and hold them accountable. We don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem. Wake up, America. Time is very short.
TODD BEUSSINK, Jackson

Return to Makin Island

Youtube  "True story of the recovery of 19 US Marines Killed in Action on Makin Island in WWII and their return home to Arlington National Cemetery 58 years later." 

Carlson's Raiders on Makin Island, 1942  "Carlson himself later noted that he had reached "a spiritual low" on the night of the 17th. And again on the evening of the 18th, the battalion commander contemplated remaining on the island to organize the natives for resistance, while others supervised the withdrawal of his unit. Those who criticized him thought he had lost his aggressiveness and ability to think clearly when the chips were down. But he and his raiders would have another crack at the enemy in the not too distant future."

Makin Island raid  17–18 August 1942 "was an attack by the United States Marine Corps on Japanese military forces on Makin Island (now known as Butaritari Island) in the Pacific Ocean. The aim was to destroy Japanese installations, take prisoners, gain intelligence on the Gilbert Islands area, and divert Japanese attention and reinforcements from the Allied landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi."


Battle of Makin  20 November to 24 November 1943  "The complete occupation of Makin took four days and actually cost more in naval casualties than in ground troops. Despite its great superiority in men and weapons, the 27th Division had considerable difficulty subduing the island's small defensive force. One Japanese Ha-Go tank was destroyed in combat, and two tanks placed in revetments were abandoned without being used in combat.

"As compared to an estimated 395 Japanese killed in action during the operation,^[8] American ground casualties numbered 218 (66 killed and 152 wounded). Losses to U.S. Navy personnel were significantly higher: 644 deaths on the Liscome Bay, 43 killed in a turret fire aboard the battleship USS Mississippi, and 10 killed in action among naval shore party and aviators, totalling 697 naval deaths in the battle. Thus, the overall total of 763 American dead nearly equalled the number of men in the entire Japanese garrison.^[9]"

Hat tip  to John Paul Curnutt

The left’s respect for women: a look back (Updated)

The Daily Caller  "Since the most important story in the world right now is a popular radio host referring to someone by a rude name because he disagreed with her, I thought it might be a helpful exercise to look back at some of the glowing compliments paid to women throughout the years by our good friends on the left. How did they earn their absolute moral authority, anyway? Let’s take a look!

(WARNING: The following contains language that is offensive to women. And also men. At least the ones who aren’t already consumed with hate.)

"Let’s start with a warm-up, somebody who’s not well-known and for good reason. Back in June 2009, a Playboy.com writer named Guy Cimbalo wrote a piece called “So Right It’s Wrong.” It was all about… well, look for yourself."

Back to April 2009.* Remember Carrie Prejean? At the Miss USA pageant, she gave this answer to a question presented by blogger and aquatic mammal Perez Hilton:

Hilton’s response was as measured and well-reasoned as you’d expect:

P.P.S. If only Limbaugh could be as civil as President Obama and his supporters:

"Louis CK is hosting this year’s Radio and TV Congressional Correspondents’ Dinner. Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where it’s become a tradition for comedians to tell Obama’s enemies to die already, or to otherwise humiliate them, and he sits there laughing at it. "But Obama is expected to be at this one too. So, as much as I like Louis CK, it seems fair to include his tweets about Sarah Palin."
Update: Louis C.K. has abruptly pulled out of the annual Washington dinner of the Radio & Television Correspondents’ Association
 "But by dropping out, he may have sidestepped a fledgling controversy over his gig. Fox News host  Greta Van Susteren blogged Thursday that she would urge journalists to boycott the dinner because of C.K.’s ‘filthy language about women,’ and Sarah Palin in particular.” "

Disaster Relief Shows Why Government Should Protect – Not Harm – Good Samaritans

Heritage: Disaster Relief Shows Why Government Should Protect – Not Harm – Good Samaritans  "These fines on faith could divert dollars to Washington bureaucrats instead of charity-run relief efforts in Alabama and Indiana. As a result of these fines, some faith-based organizations may have to eliminate programs and staff and perhaps even shut down completely.
"Only houses of worship will be exempted from the mandate; most groups like these relief agencies will not. That’s because the Obama Administration has decided that only churches that serve people of their own faith should be protected as “religious organizations.” According to this logic, neither the Salvation Army nor Catholic Charities USA qualifies as religious, because they provide food, water, and shelter to whoever needs it without first stopping to ask about their theology." 

White House Picks Fight with Conscience; Congress Can Fight Back "A remarkable page in the history of American conscientious objection is being written by citizens throughout the United States who are standing up and saying, “We cannot—we will not—comply with this unjust law.”
"These are not unemployed, bedraggled 20-somethings looking for a free pass on student loans and camping trips in downtown parks, nor are they unknowns with little influence.

"These citizens are Roman Catholic bishops throughout the United States. And in statement after statement issued in diocese after diocese, many bishops are publicly declaring that they “cannot” and “will not” comply with “this unjust law.” "

Burning Defaced Korans: Islam-Approved/ Obama's team knows. He just wanted to apologize.

PJ Media:  "President Obama has apologized and Afghanistan’s Ulama (Sunni clerics) Council has been demanding that those responsible for burning the books — not the subsequent murderers — be tried.

"In reality, it is not against Islamic law to burn Korans, as two of the following three points make clear.

"First, and most importantly: authoritative fatwas exist legitimizing the burning of Korans in situations such as prevailed at Parwan. Exhibit number one is this Saudi fatwa, which spells out the conditions for disposing of Korans by either burying them or consigning them to the flames, “thus imitating Uthmaan,” the third caliph:

• If it has torn pages;
• If it has pages or suras (chapters) out of order;
• If the printed text is somehow amiss with errors or typos;
• If any of the pages are missing.

"The “Online Islamic Academy” SunniPath adds: “One should not write within the Koran nor highlight it.” Taken together, these Sunni sources clearly declare that writing in a Koran is tantamount to “corrupting” the Islamic holy book and that disposal of the corrupted book by burning is perfectly acceptable."

...."I think the president is embarrassed by the real and perceived sins of Western civilization in general and Christianity in particular, and his default position on almost every geopolitical issue is to apologize for both, early and often."

Rush! To Judgement!

donkeyhotey

Boycott Boomerang  "That Rush Limbaugh walked smack into Axelrod's trap, according to the Democrat collaborationists in the liberal media, made their subversive operation all the more successful. Or so they thought. As it turns out, few of the weak sister advertisers who bowed to the threat of a liberal boycott and abandoned Rush were national advertisers. Most were local, small fish, remoras, trying to ride in to the beach on the Limbaugh tsunami. Of those who were actually national advertisers, one, Sleep Train, is reported to be begging to return. Another, Carbonite, has seen conservative investors deciding to park their money in a company where the CEO doesn't have knee-jerk responses to news reports that cost them a 13% drop in their stock price.

Allred

Gloria Allred seeks Rush Limbaugh prosecution  "It is now entirely up to the prosecutor to exercise his discretion on whether there will be a prosecution. McAuliffe did not immediately respond to a request for comment."

Newest Limbaugh advertiser: Twitchy.com  "We’ve heard plenty about the advertisers who bailed on Rush Limbaugh in the fallout over his remarks about Sandra Fluke.  We’ve even heard about at least two advertisers who want back in after bailing out, at least one of whom was told, “No, thanks.”  Today, our own Boss Emeritus announces that she has become a new Limbaugh sponsor through her terrific new venture, Twitchy.com:"


Michelle Malkin and S.E. Cupp to Keith Olbermann: We don’t buy your belated, fake apology  "The attacks in question? In October 2009, Olbermann called Hot Air founder Michelle Malkin, “a big mashed-up bag of meat with lipstick on it.” Then, in April of last year, Olbermann tweeted about conservative commentator S.E. Cupp, “On so many levels she’s a perfect demonstration of the necessity of the work Planned Parenthood does.”
...."But the president’s politicization of a spat that didn’t concern him was what was so new and obnoxious about the entire Limbaugh/Fluke affair. If his excuse is that Fluke is a private citizen, that’s pretty lame: She’s a seasoned activist who, by testifying before Congress, consented to be made the center of any controversy her testimony might spark. Besides, as Jonah Goldberg first pointed out, he never showed such concern for the besmirching of Joe the Plumber."  (Emphasis added)

http://theweek.com/section/cartoon/71/211422/media

IS OBAMA STABBING ISRAEL IN THE BACK? (Updated)

Power Line  "That’s what Anne Bayefsky thinks:"

Over the course of a week in which the president spoke frequently on the subject of Iran, one message stood out. By vociferously arguing that his administration’s brand of diplomacy is realistically capable of ending Iran’s efforts to acquire nuclear weapons, and that views to the contrary are irresponsible war-mongering, Obama is attempting to undermine the legality of an Israeli strike.

.... "Bayefsky reminds us that the Obama administration has been saying for years that time is running out for the mullahs to demonstrate that they are not building an offensive nuclear capacity. These are just two of the examples she cites:"...
"If Israel can’t wait until November, then presumably it will call Obama’s bluff, take whatever action is necessary, and count on the overwhelming support of American voters. It is true, as Bayefsky says, that Obama’s insistence on the viability of diplomacy implies that any action by Israel would be “illegal” under international “law.” But if the crisis comes, Obama will fall into line. Not to do so would lessen his chances for re-election."

Prime minister's AIPAC address for 2012

     Tel-Chai Nation

Does the president really ‘have Israel’s back’?  "At a time when Iran is defying IAEA inspectors and is closer than ever to a nuclear weapons capability, robust investment in Israeli missile defense would help reassure our ally that it has the no-kidding backing of the world’s most powerful military.

"Increasing funding to improve these programs would send a strong, reassuring message to all our allies, not just Israel. It would signal that being on the side of the U.S. is a winning proposition. For Iran and the rest of our foes, the message would be: aggression against a U.S. ally means it must also contend with the U.S.

"But the president did not increase funding to Israeli missile defense programs in his FY 2013 budget. He halved it."....

"The president needs to demonstrate his commitment to Israel in practical ways. Paying lip service in an election year doesn’t cut it."

israel matzav: When the chips are down, the only back Obama has is his own  "What does President Obama mean when he says he's got Israel's back?"Here's an ad from the Emergency Committee for Israel. Let's go to the videotape."

White House Denies Report of Deal With Israel Over Iran  "The White House said Thursday that President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in their meetings this week, did not discuss Israel’s reported request for advanced U.S. military equipment that could be used against Iran."

OBAMA VERSUS ROMNEY: BERATING AMERICA VERSUS BELIEVING IN AMERICA

ASTUTE BLOGGERS

'We hid this during the election': Latest Breitbart tapes debut

Thomas Lifson  "The first of the posthumous Breitbart tapes debuted last night on Hannity, and today on Breitbart.com.  You can tell the left is concerned by the fact that:".
....
"Breibart promised before his death to finally vet Obama. What the mainstream media will never admit is that the public persona of Obama they have collaborated in producing is a mere facade. We live in uneasy times, leading to skepticism about whether we are being told the truth. Certainly the public overwhelmingly distrusts the media.

"The agenda inherited from Andrew is to reconstruct an image of Obama that makes sense to people better than the image of a basketball-loving guy with a great smile and sense of humor. The fact is that Obama has spent his adult life marinating in the sewage of race hatred and class envy spewed by the left, relentlessly.

"There is more to come. The predicate has been laid."

Warning Signs

THE VETTING: CNN IMPLODES OVER BREITBART'S OBAMA/BELL VIDEO

Wind farms in Pacific Northwest paid to not produce

Cowboy Byte  "Wind farms in the Pacific Northwest — built with government subsidies and maintained with tax credits for every megawatt produced — are now getting paid to shut down as the federal agency charged with managing the region’s electricity grid says there’s an oversupply of renewable power at certain times of the year."  Hat tip to Tom Williams; Merced, Ca.

This is a good place to stick an appropriate perennial favorite:

But please do not litter!

http://terrellaftermath.com/

Senate sends message to Obama on Keystone

Politico  "Thursday’s squeaker of a Senate vote on the Keystone XL pipeline serves both as a warning to President Barack Obama that a majority of both houses of Congress supports the pipeline and as encouragement to Republicans to keep pushing the issue.

"Obama had personally lobbied Senate Democrats with phone calls urging them to oppose an amendment to the highway bill that would fast-track the Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline. And as it turned out, he needed every bit of their help.

"In all, 11 Democrats joined 45 Republicans to support the pipeline. Only the fact that 60 votes were needed for passage saved the White House from an embarrassing defeat."