Krauthammer: Our real Syria strategy — containment-plus

Charles Krauthammer   "Late, hesitant and reluctant as he is, President Obama has begun effecting a workable strategy against the Islamic State. True, he’s been driven there by public opinion. Does anyone imagine that without the broadcast beheadings we’d be doing anything more than pinprick strikes within Iraq? If Obama can remain steady through future fluctuations in public opinion, his strategy might succeed.

"But success will not be what he’s articulating publicly. The strategy will not destroy the Islamic State. It’s more containment-plus: Expel the Islamic State from Iraq, contain it in Syria. Because you can’t win from the air. In Iraq, we have potential ground allies. In Syria, we don’t." ...
 ...
"Containment-plus. It’s the best of our available strategies. Obama must now demonstrate the steel to carry it through."

The Profound Stupidity of Liberalism on Display

Power Line  "The View is a television show that, apparently, a lot of women watch. Currently, Rosie O’Donnell, who was once famous for something–I have no idea what–is one of the hosts. Still, many women watch. So this video of The View’s women grappling with the Obama administration’s response to ISIS terrorism is noteworthy.

"I want to highlight O’Donnell’s contribution near the end: We are bombing Syria because Syria has so much oil, so there is a “financial incentive.” What the Hell is this supposed to mean? Why are liberals obsessed with oil? And what, exactly, is the “financial incentive”? Here is the clip, then some further comments:


"O’Donnell’s comments are astonishingly foolish. For one thing, Syria has very little oil: it produces less than 1/2 of 1% of the world’s petroleum. Whereas we, the United States, are the number one source of fossil fuel energy. And how would bombing ISIL give the U.S. access to more oil, at rates somehow cheaper than those at which we can develop our own endless petroleum resources? At over $1 million per Tomahawk missile, isn’t this doing it the hard way?" ...

Rosie O'Donnell: Another Leftist embarrassment in one ridiculous week  " In keeping with my contention that this was a pretty darned embarrassing week for Leftists, let me point out Rosie O'Donnell's sullen comments on her new revised View that the lust for oil and financial gain is at the bottom of O'bama's(sic) decision to bomb Syria.
"One problem.  
"Syria doesn't have much, um, oil.  
"In fact, as the Powerline blog  daddies point out, they provide one half of one percent of the world's oil, not to mention that the US sits on top of more oil than any other country if we'd only access it.  
" And then there's that problem if you bomb the oil wells, you're not going to get much oil out of it, eh.  
"So here she is, in all her glory." ...

Eric Holder's resignation (Updated)

UPDATE: Alan Caruba: Goodbye Eric Holder  ... "In the end, though, it seems like everything was about race for him and the President. Holder inserted himself into the Ferguson, Missouri, shooting of a black youth by a white police officer and, while the facts are still being investigated, the likelihood is that it was justifiable self-defense. And the President, speaking at the United Nations last week also mentioned Ferguson as an example of America’s racial bias. What happened in Ferguson was about law enforcement and justice, but neither saw it in that fashion.

"What America needs now for the remainder of Obama’s term in office is a colorblind Attorney General."

The Eric Holder Tragedy  "The resignation — if that’s what it is — of Attorney General Eric Holder signals the end of one of the most divisive tenures in the history of the cabinet. It was no doubt inevitable after Mr. Holder was determined, in a bi-partisan vote, to be in criminal contempt of the 112th United States House. He became the only sitting cabinet officer in history to be so found. He reacted to the contempt finding with more contempt. From that point on his tenure in office was unsustainable." ... Editorial of The New York Sun

 Who Will Replace Eric Holder?   "While NPR says that Solicitor General Don Verrilli is the frontrunner to replace Holder, here are two other names to put on your radar:"  Deval Patrick and Kamala Harris.

Al Sharpton Says He's Helping The White House Pick The Next Attorney General

" 'The resignation of Attorney General Eric Holder is met with both pride and disappointment by the Civil Rights community," he said. "We are proud that he has been the best Attorney General on Civil Rights in U.S. history and disappointed because he leaves at a critical time when we need his continued diligence most."

"According to a Politico profile in August, in the aftermath of the racially charged protests in Ferguson, Missouri, Sharpton has become Obama's "go-to man" on race issues." ...
...

Sharpton sent a statement to Business Insider clarifying that he is not involved in the "decision making."
Via Lucianne

 

House Investigators: Holder Played Politics With the Law   “ 'Mr. Holder has consistently played partisan politics with many of the important issues facing the Justice Department,” Goodlatte said. “I hope that the next Attorney General will take seriously his role as the nation’s top law enforcement officer, working with Congress to ensure that the laws of our land are followed instead of being a roadblock on the path to justice.' ”

Sharpton In ‘Conversations’ To Choose Holder Successor   “ "We come to Washington to appeal to the Justice Department to set national law and to come in and deal with these cases,” said the longtime firebrand who participated in the 1987 Tawana Brawley hoax and the 1995 street agitation that ended with a fatal shooting and arson at a Harlem clothing store “There must be specific criminal investigation on excessive force in these cases,” Sharpton said." 

Holder's Exit Not Fast Or Furious Enough   ... "Holder was the first African-American to be named the nation's top cop, a welcome and poignant milestone in our troubled history.
"But to the nation's detriment, he proved a racialist and conducted himself in the most dishonest manner, enforcing the law for some groups and not for others. He injected politics into the law at every turn.
"He ranks among the worst attorneys general ever to serve. He's also one of the longest-serving, and the damage he's done may be lasting.
"Four years ago, we demanded President Obama sack his rogue attorney general, but he stood by him as he grew bolder in his activism and constitutional flouting."

Can’t Stop Rush: Radio Host’s Show Turns Tables on ‘Grassroots’ Protesters

However, according to research conducted by Limbaugh’s camp, about 70 percent of #StopRush tweets originated from a total of 10 Twitter account holders.

The Daily Signal

 

Related: On the "Stop Rush" campaign

"For two years, a self-described grassroots army has protested “The Rush Limbaugh Show” in a campaign to convince advertisers to pull their commercials from the talk giant’s radio program. Now, Limbaugh’s show is fighting back with a new report arguing that the supposed groundswell of outraged consumers is in reality 10 “hardcore” progressive activists.

“ 'It’s a cynical form of intimidation and harassment and business destruction that targets speech a small group of extremists and bullies find disagreeable,” Brian Glicklich, spokesman for “The Rush Limbaugh Show,” said in an interview with The Daily Signal.

“ 'Stop Rush” bills itself as a multiyear grassroots effort by consumers who object to the trademark tenor and content of Limbaugh’s conservative commentary on politics, society and what he calls “the drive-by media.” The group targets businesses, charities and nonprofits that advertise on the Limbaugh show in hopes of convincing them to pull their commercials." ...

REVEALED: Conspiracy To Destroy Rush Limbaugh Is Small, Organized, Deceptive

The Hidden Story Behind Stop Rush   " The Stop Rush group claims to be made up of ordinary consumers unhappy with Rush Limbaugh’s comments. The group claims to be “grassroots,” just concerned consumers who won’t shop at businesses that advertise with Rush Limbaugh. In truth, however, there are no potential customers here, just a small number of hardcore political activists founded by Angelo Carusone, EVP of Media Matters for America."
...
"How does this small group make themselves look so much bigger than they actually are? Stop Rush has deployed custom automated tweeting software, in violation of Twitter’s rules, that lets their activists send tweets at a rate far faster than any unassisted person could do manually. They send barrages of thousands of messages through this software until advertisers are bullied and harassed into cancellation."  (Emphasis added, TD)

Meet The Top Members of The Stop Rush Conspiracy
"This list was developed so that advertisers and others can judge the credibility and motives of the activist bullies anonymously behind Stop Rush. Any other use is not endorsed."

In addition to Carusone there are:

1. Name: Matthew Mitchell
Location: Altamonte Springs, FL
ID: Captain Murdock/@CaptMurdock

2. Name: Nancy Padak
Location: Kent State University
ID: npadak@kent.edu, facebook.com/nancy.padak
Fun Fact: Emails advertisers with harassment from her official Kent State email address. Gives businesses she has no relationship with 1 star ratings if they advertise on Rush. Friend of Cherie Richards

3. Name: Jason Rey
Location: Georgia
ID: Frantic Quark/@FranticQuark

4. Name: Lauren Reynolds
Location: Los Angeles, CA
ID: Lauren Reynolds/@chloesty, lonelydays46@gmail.com, facebook.com/lauren.reynolds.946179
Fun Fact: Gives businesses she has no relationship with 1 star ratings if they advertise on Rush

5. Name: Cherie Richards
Location: Powell, Ohio
ID: Kitty Fitzgerald/@KittyFitz50 kittyfitzgerald@gmail.com, facebook.com/cherier1
Fun Fact: Regularly changes online identity to hide anonymously, gives businesses she has no relationship with 1 star ratings if they advertise on Rush

6. Name: Sarah Smyea Rivers
Location: Whittier, CA
ID: SueBryce/@eurekasue49
Fun Fact: Changes ID frequently with different numbers to remain anonymous, has sent over 96,000 tweets

7. Name: Dennis William Rohner
Location: Gainesville, FL
ID: Shawtoo@Shawtoo

8. Name: Linda Kotsenburg Swanholm
Location: Covina, CA
ID: CMMorgan/@socallks, lswanholm@aol.com
Fun Fact: Develops, administers, and distributes target lists indiscriminately, gives businesses she has no relationship with 1 star ratings if they advertise on Rush

9. Name: Carol Kernahan Wallin
Location: Anaheim, CA
ID: Uses @Flushfools and @hrhprincess, facebook.com/carol.kernahan.7, flushfools@gmail.com
Fun Fact: Writes for DailyKos under both identities, long bullying/harassing pieces about political opponents.

What ‘War on Women’? By any objective measure, things have been going great for women for a long time.

Jonah Goldberg

 

... "It comes from tendentious Department of Justice surveys that count “attempted forced kissing” and other potentially caddish acts that even the DOJ admits “are not criminal.”

"According to one Department of Justice survey, more than half the respondents said they didn’t report the assault because they didn’t think “the incident was serious enough to report.” More than a third said they weren’t clear on whether the incident was a crime or even if harm was intended. But President Obama uses these surveys to justify using the terms “rape” and “sexual assault” interchangeably.

"And yet those who question the alleged rape epidemic are the ones who don’t take rape seriously? I would think conflating a boorish attempt at an undesired kiss with forcible rape is an example of not taking rape seriously." ...

 

From 2007, showing how TV came to be as it is now: Strong women dominate new US TV shows
"Prime-time viewing has ditched male-led programmes to aim at a loyal female audience that increasingly controls the family."

jobspapa.com

 

"Did Ken Burns 'in' Eleanor Roosevelt?"

Ken Burns Makes Room on Rushmore for Eleanor Roosevelt   As a whole this column speaks glowingly of the Burns documentary, but sums it up with this:
 ..."In retrospect, the program appears in the rear-view mirror as a greedy act of cannibalism of two great men to plug the Democratic Party and elevate the role of women to pay homage to the politically-correct feminists of our era."



Althouse gives us commentary on one aspect of the documentary, The Roosevelts: An Intimate History

sean said...

W.H. Auden wrote a funny piece about the desire of many gay people to claim every possible historical personage as "one of us." (Latterly, it's been Dietrich Bonhoeffer.) There's no more moronic approach to history than going through the past looking for people to suit your current sexual/political cause--it's like wondering around Katmandu looking for a McDonald's--but many people aren't able to think outside the sexual/political categories of their own time.

Carol said...

Eleanor's letters were pretty explicit..but what is funny how the media protects their heroes from being outed for something that is supposed to be fine and natural. And outs their enemies.

How do they live with such inner contradictions?

SomeoneHasToSayIt said...

More troubling than "in"ing Eleanor, was his gratuitous slandering of Republicans.

But, we now expect this of the partisan Burns. Unfortunately - because he clearly has talent.

 

HuffPo's Gay Voices has this perspective

How Come No Street Protests Against ISIS From The Left Wing?

1975 and nothing has changed today!

  "... In response to Israel’s military defense, we witnessed vicious anti-Israel, anti-Jewish protests all across Europe organized by leftists and Moslems.  They were hateful, with signs calling for “Jews to the gas chambers,” duplicated here in America by various Moslem groups.
...American Thinker
"Since then, ISIS has reared its barbaric head.  ISIS is not acting in self-defense, rather going on a brutal lust binge: beheading, enslaving, raping, crucifying… and loving every minute of it.  None of these things have ever been done by Israel, nor would Israel ever do so.  ISIS is not content with one limited war, but gleefully announces its intent to annihilate all Christians from its ongoing path, enslave women as permanent sex slaves, burn, loot, and round up children for mass beheadings and use the heads of those it murders for sport.  It is engaged in real, actual genocide of non-Moslems.  Yet, not a word from the “moral” crowd." 

... "By now it’s clear that current political feminism is no longer about protecting women.  If so, they would be first in line criticizing Islam." ...More here

Wash. Post Admits Error Sending Pro-Hamas Reporter to Cover Anti-Israel D.C. Protest

"Washington Post gives free advocacy advertising space to pro-Hamas group Code Pink."

Monkey in the Middle

Students Walk Out of School to Protest History Classes That Promote Patriotism

Thank you, Howard Zinn and liberals everywhere.

CNS News  "ARVADA, Colo. (AP) — Hundreds of students walked out of classrooms around suburban Denver on Tuesday in protest over a conservative-led school board proposal to focus history education on topics that promote citizenship, patriotism and respect for authority, in a show of civil disobedience that the new standards would aim to downplay.

"The youth protest involving six high schools in the state's second-largest school district follows a sick-out from teachers that shut down two high schools in the politically and economically diverse area that has become a key political battleground." ...

More here...

Obama’s breathtaking naivete at the United Nations; fact checked

Washington Times  (Excerpted below)

 

Quoting what the Times calls naivete:  " ... the United States is not and never will be at war with Islam. Islam teaches peace. Muslims the world over aspire to live with dignity and a sense of justice. And when it comes to America and Islam, there is no us and them, there is only us."

"But Islam and the holy Koran on which Muslim militant groups like al Qaeda and the Islamic State base their actions do call for the extermination of all who do not follow Islam, do demand that followers kill anyone who leaves the religion, do subjugate women. For the record, the Koran contains more than 100 verses that call Muslims to war with nonbelievers.

"Mr. Obama said in his speech that "all people of faith have a responsibility to lift up the value at the heart of all great religions: Do unto thy neighbor as you would do — you would have done unto yourself." But that is not a cornerstone of Islam. Militant Muslims have a very different belief: "Fight in the name of your religion with those who disagree with you." And that edict comes straight from their holiest book.

..." Again, the callowness is astounding. While he urged the world, "especially Muslim communities," to reject the ideology that underlies al Qaeda and the Islamic State, nothing will change the fact that cold-blooded killers are determined to destroy the West, wipe all infidels from the face of the earth and build a new caliphate based on strict adherence to Shariah law  (which leans heavily toward beheadings, lashings, stonings)."

 

AP Fact-Check Shreds Obama UN Speech;  Debunks key claims about America’s response to global warming

"An Associated Press fact-check on President Obama’s climate change speech to the United Nations Tuesday accused the president of clearly spinning the facts and distorting the truth about America’s response to global warming.

"The AP fact-checker faulted Obama “gloss[ing] over some inconvenient truths” in his global warming lecture Tuesday, particularly in regard to his claims about America’s attempts to clean up emissions at home and his insistence that emissions reductions do not have an impact on the economy." ...

GOP BORDERING ON VICTORY. (Entire article posted here)

Ann Coulter   "Everyone is on tenterhooks wondering what the Republicans' national strategy for the November elections will be. Shouldn't they be thinking of that soon? The GOP desperately needs a "wave" election to rack up Senate seats this year, because the next two election cycles are not favorable for Republicans.

    Let's see, what would make a good national issue?

    Democrats are far savvier than Republicans when it comes to winning elections, and I note that Obama has decided to put off his "executive amnesty" until after the elections. Does that ping any neurons in your tired "Diversity Is a Strength" synapses, Republicans?

    Another obvious place to look for a good national issue is the polls. According to months of polling, the No. 1 most important issue to voters is immigration -- by a landslide. In Gallup polls in July and then again in August, Republican and Republican-leaning Independent voters chose immigration as the "biggest problem" facing the nation.

    Commenting on its July poll, Gallup noted that more than twice as many Republicans as Democrats called immigration the nation's No. 1 problem, suggesting that by "problem" they mean illegal immigration, not the failure to pass "comprehensive immigration reform."

    In Gallup's August poll, immigration was again voted a bigger problem among Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents than either the economy or even Obamacare. It was the third "biggest problem" for Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents, after dysfunctional government and unemployment/the economy.

    The magnificent Republican Tom Cotton, running for the Senate against amnesty-supporting Democrat Mark Pryor in Arkansas, says he's gotten more questions about immigration than any other issue. He says voters keep asking: "What can we do to stop the border crisis. ... What can we do to stop Obama issuing another unilateral amnesty?"

    That sounds like a terrific opening for the GOP to shout: Vote Republican!

    But while individual Republicans are talking like Tom Tancredo, the national GOP seems strangely reluctant to make this election a referendum on immigration. If there is a single Democrat running for office this year who isn't forced to take a position on Obama's coming amnesty, Republicans aren't doing their job.

    Which they aren't. How about some national ads denouncing Obama's executive amnesty?

    Democrat Mickey Kaus suggests that Republicans' insistence on keeping immigration an isolated issue raised only by individual candidates is a warm-up to the big GOP sell-out on amnesty.

    If Republicans think they can betray their own state's voters as long as the national media don't call them on it, they should ask themselves: Is The Drudge Report national? Do they think Matt Drudge won't notice? The Daily Caller, Breitbart.com, all of talk radio -- any of those "national"?

    In for a dime, you're in for a dollar, GOP.

    Republicans might also wait to see if Marco Rubio gets re-elected before concluding his "screw-the-voters-on-amnesty" was a good strategy. Or they might notice how newfound amnesty opponent Thom Tillis is doing in Senate polls right now.

    In the North Carolina legislature, Tillis was Chuck Schumer on immigration. Thanks to his incessant shilling for the Chamber of Commerce on bringing in "guest workers" -- who are now being supported by taxpayers -- Tillis is currently the only Republican trying to replace a Democrat in a red state who has been consistently down in the polls.

    In Arkansas, Louisiana, West Virginia, Montana and South Dakota, the Republican Senate candidates are crushing their Democratic opponents in the polls. Luckily, none of those Republicans have Tillis' sorry record on immigration. No wonder Tillis is suddenly so gung-ho for a fence.

    Maybe Tillis genuinely does want a secure border first, and then he'll bring in lots of guest workers for his cheapskate corporate buddies. In any event, better to vote for the candidate who says he'll do the right thing than one who promises not to -- like Kay Hagan, who voted for the Schumer-Rubio amnesty.

    Even if you detest your Republican Senate candidate -- I detest at least two of them -- don't think of it as a vote for them. Think of it as a vote to give President Mitt Romney or President Ted Cruz a Republican Senate in January 2017. Think of it as a vote to stop Obama's judicial nominees or a vote against Obamacare. Remember, America: The end of the health care waivers is another one of Obama's exciting post-election surprises.

    (Romney precedes Cruz in the above paragraph because Cruz is getting nutty on immigration, again. His latest immigration plan is to stop illegal immigration by bringing in all the same people legally.)

    Republicans can win a Senate majority, take back the presidency, repeal Obamacare, build the Keystone pipeline, slash oppressive government regulations, end special tax deals and government contracts for the Democrats' big donors, restore an honest IRS and nominate serious people to the federal bench.

    But they'll never do any of those things if they can't learn that mass immigration from the Third World is wildly unpopular with voters.

Semper Latte: Obama under fire for insult to military

Thomas Lifson    " “Semper latte” is but one of the jokes following in the wake of a casual presidential insult of our military.  Yesterday, when exiting Marine One after landing in New York City, President Obama returned the crisp salutes of the Marines standing at the base of the helicopter stairs with casual salute, coffee cup in hand, thus violating military protocol, and demonstrating causal ignorance (at best) or contempt for the  etiquette demanded of a commander-in-chief.

"An outraged Allen West posted a video to YouTube, though the White House itself had no qualms about posting a video of the incident to its Instagram account." 

 

I'd say this subject has been covered enough except for the following points:

... "This gaffe joins his infamous “corpse-man” mispronunciation as a tell: this president has little knowledge of and even less respect for the traditions and honor of the United States military that dedicates itself to the service and protection of the American people he and they are supposed to be serving.
 
"I am sure that many of Obama’s supporters will dismiss this as an insignificant incident. And it is true, no lives were lost, no money wasted, and no bodily harm was caused. But the presidency, especially in the age of pervasive electronic communications, has a huge element of symbolic communication as part of its core function. Vast resources are devoted to crafting images that send the right message.
 
"The day after Obama committed military resources (and potentially, lives) to a war in a new country, he showed his utter disregard for those forces. "   Read more:

About the "Stop Rush" campaign

First, what Rush has to say: The Rush Limbaugh Show Exposes the Stop Rush Conspiracy  

  ... "How does this small group make themselves look so much bigger than they actually are? Stop Rush has deployed custom automated tweeting software, in violation of Twitter’s rules, that lets their activists send tweets at a rate far faster than any unassisted person could do manually. They send barrages of thousands of messages through this software until advertisers are bullied and harassed into cancellation.

"These activists have long operated in secret and anonymously. But now, The Rush Limbaugh Show has the results of an investigation that names the people tweeting, facebooking, and emailing small businesses with harassing and bullying messages over and over until they surrender. These names are surprising, and include a tenured professor at Kent State University using her official email account to badger advertisers." ...

 

In summary, #StopRush is an organized effort by Media Matters for America to widely and indiscriminately distribute lists of targets, and harass and bully them, under cover of anonymity. It is not grassroots, but deployed by extremist activists using deception and automated software to appear bigger and more prevalent than they are.

What the Rush Limbaugh Camp Says They Found out About the Political Activists Behind the ‘Stop Rush’ Campaign

... "The activists have been able to make their reach look larger by using automated tweeting software, which is in violation of Twitter rules, according to a release by Limbaugh’s camp. The automated tweeting software allows them to send tweets faster.

"The Limbaugh show is releasing the names of those top 10 tweeters, who account for 70 percent of all tweets.

"One of the top tweeters is a professor at Kent State University. Another is a contributor to the liberal blog Daily Kos." ...

Rush Limbaugh Tips Waitress Very Generously. She Repays Kindness With Vileness.    "But the waitress, Merrit Tierce, is a Limbaugh hater. The pro-life radio host’s generosity failed to change her mind."

Rush Limbaugh strikes back at DCCC  ... " On Tuesday, DCCC Chairman Steve Israel sent a blast email asking supporters to sign a petition calling on Limbaugh's sponsors to pull their advertising from his program because of remarks he had made about rape. Israel characterized Limbaugh as saying, "…No" means "yes" if you know how to spot it…” The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee sent out a similar email on Wednesday." ...

Rush sponsors in 2013  A stop Rush site that gives contact info to protest Rush. You may also use it to support Rush.

From 2012; Sponsors That Still Support Rush Limbaugh