Obama and the US; the view of Israelis

Yid With Lid; Has Obama Turned America into The Weak Horse?  

israelmatzav.blogspot.com

When people see the strong horse and the weak horse, people like the strong horse.” --Osama Bin Laden

 "This has been a particular awful week for President Obama and his foreign policy especially in the Middle East.  Early in the week there was the public split with Israel’s Netanyahu about drawing a “red line” that Iran’s nuke program must not pass, highlighted by a spat between the Israeli Prime Minister and the US Ambassador, and the President’s choice of a campaign appearance on Lettermen(sic) over an emergency meeting with Netanyahu."
....
"Hilary’s(sic) response to setting a red line, as well as the Administration’s statements regarding the embassy attacks which blame/excuse the violence on an intolerant anti-Muslim video on You Tube, has not been lost on Israel or Iran or the Islamist elements in the Middle East.  It reflects another example of this administrations, abandonment of our friends and showing weakness to our leaders.  The Obama version of America is the “weak horse” and the Muslim world is gravitating to the strong horse."

DEBKAfile; By refusing to see Netanyahu, Obama sharpens his Iran dilemma   "Obama’s refusal Tuesday Sept. 11 to see Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu because “the president’s schedule will not permit that,” left Jerusalem thunderstruck – and Washington too.

"At one stroke, round after round of delicate negotiations on Iran between the White House, Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, the US National Security Council, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta collapsed."  
Also this:

US disowns Israel over Iran strike: No weapons or military backup

"The Netanyahu government will bear full and exclusive responsibility for the consequences of attacking Iran.

"Obama, who has repeatedly pledged his commitment to Israeli security, is the first American president to cut Israeli adrift against a major threat to its security explicitly posed by Iran."

hasbro.com

Israel Today; Israel angered by Clinton's kid-glove approach to Iran  "Speaking to Israel's Arutz Sheva radio station, former Israeli ambassador to the US Zalman Shoval said it was time for Israel to realize that, "as usual, we are alone" in dealing with this new threat." Shame on us.

Also from Israel Today comes this snarky bit: The Chutzpa!: Clinton brings down the (nerf) hammer on Iran   "The first new sanction to hit the Iranians will be a prohibition on enriching uranium between the hours of 2-4 pm. Clinton said she is confident this punishing measure will be enough to bring Iran to its senses, but suggested that if that is not the case, the US is prepared to go much further with a second wave of sanctions prohibiting the enrichment of uranium between the hours of 2-4:30 pm. But Clinton sincerely hopes it will not come to that." 

Israel Matsav; Netanyahu on Meet the Press: Letting Iran have nukes sets a new standard for human stupidity

.

"Indeed. Except that it's only stupidity if you don't understand what you're doing. In Obama's case it's not stupidity. It's worse. He's doing it on purpose."

Rosh Hashanah; Days of Reflection and Rededication

Jonathan S. Tobin "Sundown [Sept 16th] marks the start of the Jewish New Year that begins with the celebration of Rosh Hashanah. The ten days from the start of this holiday until the end of Yom Kippur next week are known in Judaism as the Days of Awe. During this time, Jews are asked to reflect on their deeds in the past year and seek to account for them to their Creator as well as their fellow human beings."

The Sounds of the Shofar on Rosh HaShanah

The History of Rosh Hashanah

NY University Will No Longer Observe Jewish, Christian Holidays 
"The university decided earlier this month to no longer cancel classes for Christian and Jewish holidays in what it says is an effort to ensure that some religions aren't given special treatment."


What about Messianic Jews?  (from 2006) "With Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year's Day, coming on Sept. [16th], it's time for my semi-annual look at the continuing dialogue between Jews and Christians. Today, three observations:"....
"...Third, it's good that a scholarly book this year demolished the recent No. 1 Jewish objection to considering the claims of Christ: Nazis were Christians, weren't they? ...those who developed the Nazi religion "were decidedly anti-Christian because they saw Christianity as a Jewish phenomenon . . . in the 1920s to the 1940s to be anti-Semitic meant being anti-Christian and vice versa.""

Debbie Schlussel Rosh HaShanah: To My Readers and Friends; How American Soldiers Celebrated in World War II 
"Also, don’t miss the postcards I posted from Jewish-American soldiers serving in the U.S. Armed Forces in World War II that I posted in the past and the patriotic postcard from Jewish-Americans praying for America and victory in World War I as well as a couple of postcards of Israeli soldiers wishing a Happy New Year."

Obama’s Middle East Delusions

Victor Davis Hanson   "Just as Russia was not reset and our enemies did not become friends, so, too, the fantasy that Barack Obama’s name, race, and lineage, when coupled with leftist politics, would win over our Middle East never arrived. All that failed — failed not just for America, but for the Nobel laureate himself. In that regard, Obama’s entire four-year project has failed: $5 trillion of borrowed stimulus did not jump-start the economy; only more federal debt and bankruptcy followed “solar and wind and millions of green jobs,” as vast new finds of oil and gas on public lands were ignored, while gas hit $4 a gallon. The problem for supporters of Obamacare is not to implement, but how to junk, this boondoggle without loss of face. Government Motors and the Volt went nowhere, and appointees like Eric Holder, Kathleen Sebelius, Timothy Geithner, and Janet Napolitano proved embarrassments. Now we are left with the Federal Reserve desperately printing money before the election.

"There was human frenzy in 2008 that entranced millions, and now we will be paying for the wages of that madness for quite some time."

Remember how they savaged Bush's initial response to attacks on our nation?

Hope n Change ; "Remember how they savaged Bush's initial response to attacks on our nation? What would they have said of Bush if he'd reacted like Barack Hussein Obama did? (By the way, this is the cartoon I'm hoping people will share with their liberal friends. Although, to paraphrase Groucho Marx, "Why you've got liberal friends, I'll never know!")"

Of Mitts and Muslims

Mike Adams in Townhall   "Dear Mitt: Despite the fact that I really do not trust or respect you, I have decided to give you some free political advice. I do it for two reasons: First, I would rather have a president I do not really trust (you) than one I actually despise (Obama). Second, the advisors and spokesmen you are paying are doing a woefully inadequate job of directing your campaign. Let me give you a couple of examples."....
"The good news is that you have been handed a golden opportunity by Muslim extremists who hate us and are, in turn, hated by most Americans. ....
"Please resist the temptation to send a message saying “Mitt isn’t anti-Muslim” by doing something stupid. Don’t announce that you support the rights of gay Muslims to join the Boy Scouts. Don’t come out in favor of letting Muslim rape victims have government-funded abortions. Just follow my three-step plan that will guarantee your election in November. Here goes:"   
Read more...

Democrats and foreign policy

Sorry, Sen. Durbin; this is not the party of Harry S. Truman.

Ryan Criticizes Obama on Foreign Policy    " Rep. Paul Ryan accused President Barack Obama of emboldening Iran and those storming U.S. embassies abroad while curtailing individual freedoms at home, during a speech here to a gathering of religious conservatives."

Haaretz; Israeli Foreign Ministry: U.S. ignored Arab radicalization

"Foreign Ministry official on signs of 'radicalization' in Arab world: ‘We knew what was happening, but the Americans preferred to find excuses.’"

The Americans were constantly trying to supply explanations and excuses for events in the post-revolution Arab states, and simply ignored the problems," one senior Israeli official said, adding, "In practice the administration's ability to affect events in the Arab world has decreased immensely.

Allen West: Rice Is "Asinine, Naive, Inept, Incompetent And Borderline Ignorant"
"Because when you understand that the Egyptian government, their intelligence services, put out a letter talking about the potential threat of an attack, uprisings, about a week before this. It was even printed in the Jerusalem Post on 9/11. " 

WSJ; The Video Did It;The White House finds a root cause of anti-American violence. 
"Ms. Rice's the-video-did-it explanation is no doubt intended to shield Obama Administration policies from any domestic political blame for the attacks. But far worse is the message it sends to adversaries and even friendly governments abroad: Overrun sovereign U.S. territory, even kill U.S. diplomats, and the first reaction of the American government will be to blame Americans for somehow provoking the violence."  (Emphasis added.)

 

Leading Sunni Clerics Demand Global Ban on Insults to Islam

CNS News   "Six months after declaring that all churches in the Arabian peninsula should be destroyed, Saudi Arabia’s top cleric called at the weekend for a global ban on insults targeting all religious “prophets and messengers,” a category that, from a Muslim perspective, includes Jesus Christ."
Are these the ones Obama referred to as "clinging to their guns and religion"?  

Speaking of "The Innocence of Muslims" stirring up hatred, why did this Bill Maher attack on Islam not stir up any violence?

The latest battle in the Islamic war against the freedom of speech.   "It has become clear that the riots were orchestrated and planned long in advance, in part to get the blind sheikh, Omar Abdel Rahman, mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, freed from prison in the U.S. and returned to Egypt, and above all to frighten the West into criminalizing honest analysis of how Islamic jihadists use the texts and teachings of Islam to justify violence and supremacism. This is a global effort to intimidate the U.S. into abandoning the freedom of speech.

"Nakoula Basseley Nakoula could be the fall guy who gains the unfortunate distinction of becoming the first offender against the new federal crime of blasphemy against Islam." Robert Spencer is the director of Jihad Watch and author of the New York Times bestsellers The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) and The Truth About Muhammad. His latest book, Did Muhammad Exist?, is now available.

Video Purports To Show US Ambassador Dragged From Benghazi Consulate
I wonder how many of these men the ambassador has greeted and shaken hands with in previous days and had them smile back.

Breitbart TV  "Various tipsters have offered differing interpretations of what they hear and witness on this video.  The shouts of "Allauha Akbar" are clearly heard and many assume that the cry is meant as a celebration of the attack on the consulate and Amb. Stevens.  

"However, Arab-speaking readers have pointed out that they hear people saying “Lift him” and "bring him out." But they can’t discern why the crowd is cheering.

"Jenan Moussa, who identifies herself as a "Roving Reporter for Arabic Al Aan TV from Dubai" took to Twitter when the video first broke.  Moussa claims that some men in the video were saying "he's alive" and "lift him" (referring to Amb. Stevens.)  She writes that after reviewing the video she believes the crowd began cheering because the man was found alive." 

150 Years ago today: Antietam, the bloodiest single day in the American Civil War (Updated)

True, Gettysburg cost far more casualties, but was fought for three days. Antietam/ Sharpsburg was fought in 12 hours.

From the UK Mail; The lost document that changed the course of American history: How Robert E. Lee's secret Civil War battle plans were found wrapped around cigars under a locust tree - and ended up in Union hands

Animated map of the Battle of Antietam

Many Sharpsburg homes have Civil War history   "Walking through the rooms of the Piper House, Ray pointed out the bullet damage to doors and window frames. The nose of a lead bullet protrudes from a window frame and the end of another can be seen half buried in a door.
...."The Piper House drew Union fire — collateral damage, really — because the troops were aiming at Confederates in the steeple of a long-gone Lutheran church down the street, Ray said.
The Pipers fled town during the fighting. They returned to find two dead Confederate soldiers in the dining room, she said."   Video report on historic Sharpsburg homes

Confederate site, referring to the battle, naturally as the Battle of Sharpsburg
A virtual tour ,
The cornfield,  Carnage in a Cornfield 
Bloody Lane
From "Glory"; the opening scene depicting the Battle of Antietam

UPDATE: Antietam 360  Excellent virtual tour of the battlefield, Hat tip to Bill Newcomer in the Civil War Facebook page.Thank you, Bill. From Civil War Trust.

Antietam on Facebook.  Videos.

U.S. Government Supports Pussy Riot (But Not 'Innocence of Muslims')

American Thinker  "The U.S. government lectures the Russians about "freedom of expression" in defense of freaks who engage in public sex, public vandalism, and the denigration of a "great religion," the Russian Orthodox Church.

"But when Americans exercise First Amendment freedoms that Muslims dislike, the Secretary of State reproaches them, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs calls them to encourage them to cease and desist, and federal law enforcement officers haul them in for questioning.  
"Who's living in the police state now?"

Wikipedia has this to say about "Pussy Riot":  

The musical performance group was organized, in part, due to anger over what they perceived as government policies that discriminate against women, citing legislation that "placed restrictions on legal abortions". According to their co-founder, Pussy Riot is "part of the global anti-capitalist movement, which consists of anarchists, Trotskyists, feminists and autonomists."

TOP 10 LIBERAL RACE CARDS

Human Events   "Liberals are starting to hear the dog-whistles they say conservatives slip into their conversations as racial code words and have discovered an amazing array of such language relating to criticism of President Obama. Be prepared to cut down on your vocabulary after seeing the list of these liberal race cards."

So much for the election of Barack Obama being the great racial healing this country was waiting for. This past four years has caused racial polarization not seen since the days of Bull Connor, and it is coming not from white segregationists, but leftist Democrats. 
Come to think of it, weren't they the people who were the Jim Crow party originally?
(Left) Democrat party rally, 1922.
Wikipedia on the Klan:

Klan groups spread throughout the South as an insurgent movement during the Reconstruction era in the United States. As a secret vigilante group, the Klan targeted freedmen and their allies; it sought to restore white supremacy by threats and violence, including murder, against black and white Republicans.

The Terrifying Line in Obama's Speech That Everyone Missed

Investor's Business Daily  "But while everyone was picking apart these and other flaws in Obama's speech, they overlooked the most frightening line of all. That was when Obama promised that he'd pursue "the kind of bold, persistent experimentation that Franklin Roosevelt pursued during the only crisis worse than this one."
"That promise might have made liberal hearts swoon. But as Amity Shlaes explained in her outstanding history of the era —"The Forgotten Man" 
 — it was precisely FDR's "bold, persistent experimentation" that was largely to blame for the length, depth and severity of the Great Depression."   
(Emphasis added)

Amity Schlaes

Related article by Schlaes: Obama Is a Loser Who Wins, Like FDR in 1936

The result is our “count me out” problem; businesses that could hire are not doing so; companies that invest would invest more if the market were predictable. A similar “count me out” culture prevailed in the late 1930s. A “capital strike” was what Roosevelt crossly labeled it. The third similarity is that both candidates are especially ready to assign blame somewhere else.