Mark Steyn: Easy to see why Tehran endorses Hagel

Orange County Register  "Carl Levin, the Democrat chair, stepped in to contain further damage. "We do have a position on containment, and that is we do not favor containment," he clarified. "I just wanted to clarify the clarify."

 "Containment? Prevention? What difference does it make?
Could happen to anyone. I well remember when Neville Chamberlain landed at Heston Aerodrome in 1938 and announced the latest breakthrough in appeasement: "I have here a piece of paper from Herr Hitler." Two minutes later, he announced, "I have here a second piece of paper from my staffer saying that I misspoke." "Who can forget Churchill's stirring words in the House of Commons? "If, indeed, it is the case that I said, 'We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall never surrender!,' then I misspoke. I meant to say that we're keeping the situation under review and remain committed to exploring all options."

 "It's easy to make mistakes when you're as expert in all the nuances of Iranian affairs as Chuck Hagel. After he'd hailed Iran's "elected, legitimate government," it fell to another Democrat, Kirsten Gillibrand, to prompt Hagel to walk it back. Okay, delete "elected" and "legitimate": "What I meant to say, should have said, is that it's recognizable." "

http://www.newsday.com/opinion/walt-handelsman-1.812005

 

Leno Turns Obama-Clinton 60 Minutes Segment Into Cialis Commercial

Newsbusters  "As NewsBusters reported, CBS's 60 Minutes did an absolutely gushing and fawning segment with President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this past Sunday.
"It was so bad that Jay Leno and Company turned it into a Cialis commercial on NBC's Tonight Show Thursday (video follows with transcript and absolutely no need for additional commentary):"

 

Afghanistan Declared Gun-Free Zone

The Duffel Blog

In multiple cities Afghans celebrated their new gun-free state by using old rifles to club several people to death.

“After over thirty years of senseless violence, I think it’s time we say no to big guns and the firearms industry that promotes them,” a tearful and visibly-tired Karzai told a crowd of Afghan legislators at the presidential palace in Kabul.
"Under the new government-approved policy, no one will be allowed to carry any type of firearm or ranged weapon in Afghanistan.  Swords and knives are still permissible, as long as the owner possesses a Class-III license available at most government offices."
....
"Surprisingly, Karzai’s decision has also been praised by his opponents in the Taliban."
Via Bookworm Room

I can't get this song out of my head!

Posted by Laughing Wolf at Blackfive   "Stop the Cavalry" (1980) by Jona Lewie, who appeared to be a one-hit wonder.

 Please help me get this song out of my head!

Obama green light for Israel to strike Iranian-Syrian-Hizballah military links. Be prepared for anti-Israel press, both Muslim and Western

DEBKAfile  "The air raid over the Jamraya military complex near Damascus Wednesday, Jan. 30, attributed to Israel by Western sources was Israeli’s first assault on the Syrian-Hizballah military compact forged between Bashar Assad and Hassan Nasrallah.
"That was the real strategic import of the operation, which took place with the approval of US President Barack Obama, debkafile’s military sources report.

honestreporting.com

"In every other respect, it was a surgical strike on a well-defined target, comparable to Israel’s attack in September 2007 on the nuclear reactor North Korea was building at El Kabir in northern Syria. The object then was to sever the Syrian-Iranian-North Korean nuclear link before it took physical shape and began turning out plutonium for Iran’s nuclear program.
"After its destruction, Tehran and Pyongyang decided to cut Syria out of their nuclear plans because its proximity to Israel made any nuclear site an easy mark."
The anti-Israel cartoonists are having their usual field day, See if you can find a cartoon about Arab rockets being fired into Israeli cities anywhere.

The above cartoon is from this article: Cementing Hate on Holocaust Memorial Day
"A hideous looking PM Benjamin Netanyahu caricature builds a wall cemented with blood, crushing Palestinians including women and children.
"Israel’s security barrier (of which the vast majority is a fence and not a wall) is meant to protect Israeli civilians against Palestinian terrorism. In any case, the imagery of this cartoon amounts to a blood libel on a day when the millions of victims of the Holocaust are remembered."  This is nothing new.

This sets me off on a related tangent with posts that actually could stand alone: the demonization of Israel whenever they defend themselves. TD

DEMONIZING ISRAEL - IN CARTOONS  ..."a lecture by a renowned professor on the techniques of dehumanizing jews and on their methods of psychological warfare and preparation for the annihilation of Israel."

Legal Immigrant’s Must-See Testimony Against Gun Control

Legal immigrant and American by choice, Henson Ong made a fantastic case against gun control at the Gun Violence Prevention Public Hearing in Hartford, CT.  

 Yes, I know. The thought of those small, terrorized children being sprayed with gunfire made me sick of guns and I wished they all would disappear from the face of the earth. But they are here in their hundreds of millions and they will always be in the hands of those looking for helpless human prey. Nothing would have kept those evil people from using those guns and I just regret that none of the adult victims had been armed.

That would make America like the wild west, you say? Shed your obtuseness for a minute and you will see that we are there now and ask yourself what is left for us to do? Do you find yourself looking up more often when a door opens in a public place? Do men with bulky clothes make you suspicious? Do you sometimes look for where you might hide in case of a gunfire incident?

Listen in this video to Mr. Ong and see what reasoned, cogent argument you would make against his words.

I can tell you that the arguments against gun ownership I see on Facebook are little more than "right-wing gun nuts", or "F--k off!". The Tunnel Dweller
 

Via ConservativeVideos.com with a hat tip to Tom Williams at Oregon Military Veterans, Family and Supporters

Photo below is from Pete Simmering, Depoe Bay, OR

Our Old Grand Fantasies About Radical Islam

elizaphanian

Victor Davis Hanson  "Most things that we read in the popular media about radical Islam are fantasies. They are promulgated in the mistaken belief that such dogmas will appease terrorists, or at least direct their ire elsewhere. But given the recent news — murdering in Algeria, war in Mali, the Syrian mess, and Libyan chaos — let us reexamine some of these more common heresies. Such a review is especially timely, given that Mr. Brennan believed [1] that jihad is largely a personal quest for spiritual perfection; Mr. Kerry believed [2] that Bashar Assad was a potentially moderating reformer; and Mr. Hagel believed [3] that Iran was not worthy of sanctions, Hezbollah was not deserving of ostracism, and Israel is equally culpable for the Middle East mess."

teamofmonkeys

Why the juxtaposition of cartoons about Muslim victory mosques along with commentary on liberal attitudes about Islam? Read this and see if you can understand that radical Islam holds infidel countries like the US in contempt, along with our feeble attempts to make them respect us.

 

 Building mosques is a symbol of Muslim conquest " "The case for or against the building of the Cordoba Center (named after one of the largest and most murderous conquests in Muslim history—the 8th century establishment of the Cordoba Caliphate and the attendant genocide of Christians and Jews) roils New Yorkers and Americans alike."

" "In Jerusalem, triumphant Muslims built the Al-Aqsa mosque on top of the Jews' revered Temple Mount. They transformed what had been for a thousand years the largest cathedral in Christendom, Constantinople's magnificent St. Sophia basilica, into a sprawling mosque complex. And the Moorish Ummayad dynasty in Spain, made the city of Cordoba its capital, and installed an immense mosque on the site of an ancient Christian church there."  More... 

Immigration: Getting it right

Charles Krauthammer  "Americans are a generous people. They don’t want 11 million souls living in fear among them. They would willingly, indeed overwhelmingly, support amnesty — as long as it is the last. They don’t want another Simpson-Mazzoli, another bait-and-switch that lets in another 11 million illegal immigrants — and brings us back where we began.
"There is an obvious solution: enforcement first. Hence the attraction of the bipartisan Senate deal reached by the Gang of Eight, led by Democrat Chuck Schumer and Republicans John McCain and Marco Rubio. It is said to feature border enforcement first, then legalization.
"Not quite."....

holycoast

He concludes with these words while everything else in the middle is pure Krauthammer:
...."But remember: Enforcement followed by legalization is not just the political thing to do. It is the right thing to do — an act both of national generosity and national interest. It has long been the best answer to the immigration conundrum. It remains so."

Blood On The Hands Of The LEFT

From Canada; Howard Galganov ".... It didn’t happen because of the so-called gun culture, or because of poor security at the school. It happened because of the modern LEFTIST culture that has removed all semblances of personal responsibility and respect.
"It happened because of the Hollywood and television types who lecture the Conservatives on how people should live, while they make FORTUNES producing absolute FILTH in their movies and on television programs."
Much more at the link...


Howard Galganov was also discussed in Snopes.com They established that the quite interesting editorial appraisal of Barack Obama titled, "I Told You So – Yes I Did" was indeed by Mr. Galganov. In it, he wrote:

When Obama won the Presidency with the help of the LEFTIST Media, Hollywood and Entertainment Liberals, Ethnic Socialists (ACORN), Stupid Non-Business Professionals and Bush Haters, I wrote:
It won’t take 6 months until the people figure this guy out and realize how horrible a mistake they’ve made. And when they come to that realization, the damage to the United States of America will be so great, that it will take a generation or more to repair - IF EVER.
The IDIOTS who not only voted for the Messiah, but also worked their sorry asses-off to promote his Lordship, are now left holding the bag.

I'm sure he meant it all in a nice way, however.

 

About Mr. Galganov;  ...."As for my interest in the USA - As America goes . . . so goes the world.
"Also, it is incredibly painful for me to watch a member of our North American Family that has been so good to Canada and the rest of the world take such a beating at the hands of the LEFTIST Something-For-Nothing Bunch, that I can’t just sit back and watch without trying to do something.
"I will not hesitate to use my voice and writings if they can make a difference, because it’s the least one Member of a Family can do for another."
Hat tip to Mr. T.C. Collins; Richardson, TX

Obama's broken economy. Let's give him a third term!

 

 

Andrew Malcolm at IBD; Unemployment rate creeps back up, as Obama lays off his own jobs council   "With his last election almost three months behind, Obama need maintain the charade no longer.

" “It’s the inglorious end of a tragic and wasted affair on jobs,” said an outspoken council critic, Chris Townsend, who is not a Republican congressman. He's actually a political action operative for the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America."

Chuck Hagel's bad day. I hope this will not get President Obama upset with Republicans

Legal Insurrection; Ted Cruz’s not “bogus attack” on Hagel   "Cruz’s line of inquiry was not “bogus.” Israel went far out of its way to avoid civilian casualties and probably cost itself a military victory because of that, while Hezbollah fired rockets into civilian area for the purpose of hurting civilians.  That’s not a “bogus” distinction, it’s the core of Hagel’s misaligned view of the Middle East."

Hot Air; Unspinnable: White House “disappointed” in Hagel’s performance at hearing " If they’re willing to vote for a guy who believes idiocy like this, they’re not going to torpedo him for having a bad day at the microphone:"....

RealClearPolitics; Matthews On Hagel Hearing: "The Boiling Hatred Of The American Right Poured Over" What is it with Chris Matthews?

Democrats Say Hagel Will Be Confirmed   "...in fact, the hostile GOP questioning might have made Democrats even more united, or so the White House hopes and believes. And if that's the case, Hagel will have support from a majority of senators. So the question becomes: Do Republicans decide to mount a filibuster against Hagel?"

JustOneMinute posted this:
Hagel’s 7 Worst Moments in Round One  " Hagel once called the surge “most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam.” Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) came ready Thursday, bombarding Hagel with a simple, repeated question: Did the Iraq surge work?" 

 

"Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) lambasted Hagel over his 2009 interview with Al Jazeera where he agreed with a description of the United States as the “world’s bully.” " 

Read more...

 

Blackfive: Chuck Hagel- Wrong for so many reasons

Why do I refer to Blackfive? Because it is a soldier's blog and I want to include their view of liberals and the Obama administration.

"He showed a lack or preparation, a deficit of intellect and made a flailing, failing attempt to change every substantive policy statement he had made in his adult life. He showed he was fundamentally unsuited to be Secretary of Defense, due to a glaring lack of professional competence and holding foolish foreign policy positions. Sadly in this city, that may not be enough from stopping his confirmation."

"Here is an RNC edit of the most pitiful 80 seconds of Hagel..." 

Hagel's Senate confirmation hearing shocks supporters  "The big question about former Senator Chuck Hagel's nomination as Secretary of Defense used to be the content of views. Now, it is his competence. He embarrassed himself and those who have publicly backed his nomination, in particular Senators Chuck Schumer and Armed Services Committee chairman Carl Levin."

No matter. Hagel will merely be a puppet of Obama and whomever is guiding the president.

 

John Cornyn ; The Case against Hagel  "Whether or not Chuck Hagel is confirmed as our next defense secretary, his nomination has already done serious damage to U.S. credibility on Iran, thereby emboldening the most dangerous regime in the Middle East. To limit the damage, President Obama should choose someone else to lead the Pentagon" 

Wards of the State

Bruce Thornton  "Yet, as Nicholas Eberstadt documents in this brief but powerful book, if left unreformed, our metastasizing entitlements will continue to corrupt not only our economy, but also our national character itself. Eberstadt, a political economist and fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, has written extensively on economic development, foreign aid, global health, demographics, and poverty. His latest work, A Nation of Takers, combines his international experience and economic knowledge into a relentless, fact-based argument for reforming entitlement spending."