What To Do About North Korea

Power Line Blog  "Here’s very interesting news item—if true—from The Independent in the UK:

China ‘tells citizens to leave North Korea’ as tensions with U.S. escalate

The Korea Times reports that the Chinese embassy in North Korea began advising Korean-Chinese residents to return to China last month, over fears the country’s military provocations could lead to retaliation from the US.

"If true, this could perhaps be an expression of China agreeing to put pressure on the Norks to behave. Or it could be much more serious than that.

"Our pal Herbert Meyer has offered up a typically astute and creative analysis of the situation over at The American Thinker that is worth taking in. He says: Let’s turn North Korea into East Germany. I know—that may sound odd: isn’t North Korea waaaayy beyond East Germany in a totalitarian awfulness? Yes, but let Herb explain more fully:

Here’s one possible objective that would defuse this crisis and perhaps even bring a few decades of stability: to turn North Korea into a modern version of East Germany.

. . .
 "In other words, we need an active strategy to subvert the regime from within. Read the entire piece for Herb’s walk through the four crucial questions about what would need to be done to make the Norks decide to change their own regime, but I’ll just give you his conclusion:

Don’t bother asking the usual Washington policymakers whether turning North Korea into a modern version of East Germany might actually be possible. They will reply — in unison, within two-billionths of a second — No, this is impossible! Kim Jong-un is crazy, and the North Koreans will never give up their nukes or agree to stop threatening South Korea and the U.S. Well, they may be right. On the other hand, these are mostly the same geniuses who told us, also with 100 percent confidence, that it was impossible to win the Cold War, and impossible for Donald Trump to get elected president. Impossible things sometimes do happen, even in politics — especially in politics. Given the risk we face of nuclear war, this is worth a shot.

State Dept. Ordered to Release Clinton Emails on Obama’s Response to Benghazi

Weasel Zippers

Honorable?

"Watch Hills throw a fit over this…

"Via Free Beacon:

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson has ordered the State Department to turn over previously redacted material in Hillary Clinton’s emails that immediately followed the terrorist attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi to Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group.

Judicial Watch announced on Friday that the State Department will need to turn over “eight identical paragraphs” of redacted documents from Clinton emails sent on September 13, 2012, detailing phone calls made by then-President Barack Obama to the Egyptian and Libyan leaders after the Benghazi terror attack two days earlier.

The two Clinton emails, which were housed on the former secretary of state’s unsecured private server, were the same: “Quick Summary of POTUS Calls to Presidents of Libya and Egypt.”

Keep reading…

I'd hate to be in range of her arm right now. 

Barack Obama, international man of interference and manipulation; dispenser of personal pronouns: I, me, mine.

Vanity, thy name is Obama.

Tony Branco

Ethel C. Fenig  "After successfully interfering to deny former FLOTUS and former senator of New York Hillary R. Clinton (D)'s destiny to smash a glass ceiling by becoming the first spouse to become president all by her valiant self in 2008, but endorsing her in her hapless campaign eight years later, after failing to prevent Britain from leaving the European Union despite his desperate trip there to warn them he would be really mad if they disobeyed him, after ignoring his own bloody red line warnings to Syria so Syria did the same, after unsuccessfully spending over $350,000 to twice defeat Israeli prime minister Netanyahu, you'd think former president Barack Hussein Obama (D) would have learned his lesson about manipulating others' election races and just shut up.  You'd think wrong.  (But of course, you knew that!)

"The vain president has once again, via Twitter, informed French citizens he supports Emmanuel Macron in the upcoming race for president of France.  Flattering the always vain French that the outcome of the election will affect not only France, not only Europe, but the world, Obama stated:

I'm not planning to get involved in many elections now that I don't have to run for office again. But the French election is very important to the future of France and the values that we care so much about[.]" ... "I admire the campaign that Emmanuel Macron has run. He stood up for liberal values, he appeals to people's hopes. And not their fears.

. . .  

Ex-next president Hillary joins the resistance. We dodged a bullet.

americanthinker.com/cartoons

Assessing President Rodham Clinton's first 100 days   . . . " 'The era of the American military being used to intimidate and assault the freedom-loving people of the world is over," Clinton is alleged to have proclaimed." . . .
. . . "Due to the untimely death of Justice Antonin Scalia and the precipitous retirement in February of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Clinton has been given her golden opportunity to railroad through her picks for the Supreme Court.  As a result, Elizabeth Warren is on track to become the first Native American female justice, with Loretta Lynch not far behind (with the competing double-credential of first black woman – which will triumph?).  Those irritating challenges to the constitutionality of the administration's agenda from freedom of speech to gun control will all be DOA." . . .
. . . "And of course, Obamacare is on the point of being repealed and replaced...with a single-payer system run exclusively by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in close consultation with the Veterans Administration and the Bureau of Indian Affairs: "America (finally) Cares.' " . . .
. . . "Regardless of any failing of the Trump administration, "bullet" is far too feeble a word to describe what we as a nation have dodged."

Charles Krauthammer sees it differently: Trump: ‘normalized’ but still scary

. . . "Trump is orchestrating a worldwide campaign to pressure North Korea on its nukes and missiles. He dispatches (finally) the USS Carl Vinson strike group to Korean waters and raises the possibility of a “major, major conflict” with Pyongyang. Meanwhile, we are working furiously to complete a THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea to intercept North Korean rockets.

"At which point, out of the blue, Trump tells Reuters that Seoul will have to pay for the THAAD system. And by the way, that five-year-old U.S.-South Korea free trade agreement is a disaster and needs to be torn up." . . .

The Donald's best pals: Barack and Hillary   . . . "It is a relationship that benefits Trump, because every time Obama or Clinton open their mouths, America is reminded of what was rejected in 2016 — Clinton's presidential hopes and Obama's dreams that she'd keep his legacy intact." . . .

"Here's how the Obama Temple should be built: 

"With a series of reflecting pools, and along the edges, statues of Obama at different stages of his life, so that he might stare into his reflection for all of eternity.

"But outside the Obama Temple, Chicago remains a violent bloodbath, innocents and thugs dropping every day in the city's street gang wars. He did nothing about it as president for eight years. There was talk, yes, but no real development, no real jobs, nothing.

"There should be a sign out front: Obama helped Iran more than he helped Chicago." . . .   Emphasis added by TD

Oldest footage of New York City ever

From 1905 and some from 1896. The corresponding maps are a big asset.

Youtube  "The oldest and most incredible footage of New York City ever, including where the WTC would be built. With added maps carefully researched to show where the camera was. 28 shots of classic footage with a new twist and a new soundtrack."

American Power on the way to North Korea

A digression, but related:  Is the USNS Harvey Milk part of this flotilla?  Or maybe the good ships Cesar Chavez and Gabrielle Giffords? Behold the Democrat navy of Obama.

Obama Endorses Candidate In French Presidential Election…

Weasel Zippers  Let's see how many times he mentions himself.  

✔@kylegriffin1:   Obama has just endorsed Emmanuel Macron

Many comments on this

Favored to beat Maurine Le Pen. Wait! What will Hillary say about this?

Emmanuel Macron policies – what is his manifesto?  

Excerpts from the article:

Emmanuel Macron on…. Immigration . . . "In stark contrast to Marine Le Pen, Mr Macron does not envisage a France that shut outs immigrants and asylum seekers."

Emmanuel Macron on… Defence and Security  . . . "Mr Macron has publicly pledged to increase defence spending to two per cent of the country’s GDP by 2025.  Security investments include hiring 10,000 extra police officers and creating an additional 15,000 prison places." . . . 

Emmanuel Macron on… the Economy  . . .  'He plans to cut corporate tax from 33 per cent to the European average of 25. The 35-hour legal work would remain, but he would let companies negotiate real work hours. "

Emmanuel Macron on… Education and Culture . . . "The number of early primary school pupils would be halved to 12 per class in some 12,000 lower income zones across the country.

Fire Colbert, or maybe his viewers.

Fire Colbert! Because, well, he's, he's..."homophobic*"! Yeah that's it! . . . "Late night comedy has historically pushed the limits of decency and with shows like "Saturday Night Live" so you kind of know what to expect. You certainly don’t expect balance and if you’re easily offended you can always switch to the Food Channel. However, Colbert not only jumped the shark of decency, his rant showed what you might get if soft porn and political commentary had a love child:" . . .
Colbert REFUSES to apologize for his 'homophobic' Trump gag and defiantly says 'I have jokes, he has the launch codes - it's a fair fight'

. . . "At the mention of the term 'c**k holster', the entire audience - which had been laughing through the more than 12-minute monologue - erupted into gasps. 

"The reaction was so loud that Colbert had to wait for them to settle back down to finish the rest of his speech." . . .

Don’t Fire Colbert — Fire His Crowd

The real problem is that so many on the left and right demand ever-cruder political discourse.

 . . . "In both, he makes essentially the same joke about Donald Trump fellating Vladimir Putin. (Hilarious and creative, right?) The truly troubling thing isn’t the joke itself — there will always be comedians willing to go low for a laugh, after all — but the crowd’s reaction:"

"Our political and cultural agenda is typically dictated by those who care the most, and right now those who care the most also tend to hate their opponents on the other side with a fiery, reflexive passion. "

"Watch again. Listen to the screaming and cheering.

. . . 

"In short, the people who truly care move this country, and the people who truly care are truly angry. Their anger is so all-consuming that it often forecloses the possibility of a debate about ideas. One of the more remarkable things about the 2016 election was that it was simultaneously the most vitriolic of my adult lifetime and the least ideological. Trump and Clinton were and are extraordinarily malleable, driven by self-interest above all else. Trump shifts positions almost daily. Yet the partisan devotion remains. Hillary is celebrated as a martyr to the progressive cause, and Trump’s base holds firm behind him."

* "Homophobic" has been placed within quotation marks because the term was used - improperly, I feel - by the left to designate any non-adoring references to that movement as coming from psychotic issues. Used properly (if possible), the word should refer to an inordinate fear of homosexuals and not to a rejection of their activism. The Tunnel Dweller

Trump Rebukes Abbas Three Times, Signals to Palestinian Leader that the Obama Years are Over

Legal Insurrection  "President Donald Trump appeared to rebuke Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at least three times in their joint statement on Wednesday.

First, at the beginning of his remarks, Trump recalled the Oslo Accords:

Almost 24 years ago, it was on these grounds that President Abbas stood with a courageous peacemaker, then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Here at the White House, President Abbas signed a Declaration of Principles — very important — which laid the foundation for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.

The President — Mr. President, you signed your name to the first Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. You remember that well, right? And I want to support you in being the Palestinian leader who signs his name to the final and most important peace agreement that brings safety, stability, and prosperity to both peoples and to the region.

"Trump is saying here, “you committed to making peace, I expect you to follow through.” Notice that he didn’t call Yasser Arafat a peacemaker either.

In the very next paragraph Trump delivered his next rebuke:

I’m committed to working with Israel and the Palestinians to reach an agreement. But any agreement cannot be imposed by the United States, or by any other nation. The Palestinians and Israelis must work together to reach an agreement that allows both peoples to live, worship, and thrive and prosper in peace. And I will do whatever is necessary to facilitate the agreement — to mediate, to arbitrate anything they’d like to do. But I would love to be a mediator or an arbitrator or a facilitator. And we will get this done.

"Trump says that he’ll act as a facilitator, but “any agreement cannot be imposed by the United States, or by any other nation.” He’s signalling that he won’t cover for Abbas’s intransigence like his predecessor did.

"In a conference call with reporters earlier this week, former negotiator Amb. Dennis Ross observed that Abbas boasted in the Palestinian media of saying “no” to President Barack Obama a dozen times. Despite this, Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry consistently blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for blocking progress to making peace. (And yes we know that it was Abbas who torpedoed Kerry’s 2013-2014 peace initiative.)" . . .

Yeah, but... "Trump Falls Down 'Peace Process' Rabbit Hole"  
. . . "Immediately after the announcement, two things occurred which guarantee the failure of any new peace initiative. First, Abbas’ empty rhetoric about seeking peace based on the “two-state solution” was immediately denounced by Hamas, the governing party in the Gaza Strip. Second, and equally predictive of failure, was the denunciation of any attempt to reopen negotiations with the Palestinians by members of Israel’s HaBayit haYehudi party. The defection of this party would topple the current governing coalition, leading to new elections in which the alignment might be quite different than it is now." . . .

Now we know: Bill Clinton cost his wife the presidency

Dana Milbank  "So now it can be told: Bill Clinton cost his wife the presidency.

"Almost three hours into a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, FBI Director James Comey shed new light on his decision to go public about his agency’s investigations into Hillary Clinton’s emails, first in July 2016 and again, with devastating effect, in late October, 11 days before the election.

"The specific reason he cited: Bill Clinton’s decision to board Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s plane in late June, when their planes were both on a tarmac in Phoenix. “The capper was — and I’m not picking on Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who I like very much — but her meeting with President Clinton on that airplane was the capper for me,” Comey said. Comey decided to “step away” and announce, without consulting the Justice Department, that Hillary Clinton shouldn’t be charged." . . .

. . .  "Yet he acknowledged an aide told him “what you’re about to do may help elect Donald Trump president,” and Comey said he considered “not for a moment” that huge impact.

"The director asserted that he had only “two doors” on Oct. 28 — speak or “conceal.” Thus did he ignore the obvious third option: Let his agents find out whether there was anything worthwhile in the new batch of emails (there wasn’t) before throwing the election into chaos."

7 Key Quotes From Hillary Clinton's Interview With Christiane Amanpour
"Here are seven key and sometimes fiery quotes Clinton gave during the sit-down interview: . . ."
Let It Go, Lady: Clinton Says She's Now Part Of The Resistance
. . . "There is a thing called dying with dignity. It appears that Hillary knows that her career in public life is over. She won’t be president. The fact the she told The New York Times Nicholas Kristof that she’s probably done running for office at the Women in the World conference, another liberal gathering, shows she at least cognizant of that fact. Still, she wants to be in the limelight. It’s over, lady. Go home; enjoy the grandkids, and your millions of dollars."

Just where ARE those "scared-off" Hillary voters she claims exist?

Would all the 'scared off' Hillary voters please report to CNN  "If you sum up Hillary’s excuse for losing the election it all comes down to voters who were positively going to vote for her until Comey and Putin changed their minds to vote for Trump.

"If this is the case, as Hillary clearly suggests, then there should be literally thousands of voters who were “scared off” from voting for her who can corroborate that excuse. So where are all those “scared off” voters, and why haven’t any of the alphabet news organizations found even one of them to tell their story of how they were disenfranchised by Comey and Putin from voting for Hillary." . . .

It stands to reason that if Hillary’s excuse is the truth, then at least some of the “scared off” voters would actually feel disenfranchised and demand to have their votes changed back to Hillary.

As we speak, I'm sure some editors are assigning young reporters the task of finding such people by any means possible. TD 

Comey Didn’t Sink Hillary. Hillary Sank Hillary  . . . "Moreover, as Comey basically admitted again today, Clinton had clearly broken the law. The only struggle was proving intent (though gross negligence was the standard.) So rather than smearing Comey, Clinton should be thanking him for not suggesting she be indicted".  From The Federalist, which contains more on this here, here, and here, among others.

New Evidence Bolsters Probability that Hillary Clinton Was Hacked  . . . "I believe Judicial Watch may have unearthed the “smoking gun” revealing just such a compromise, or at least an attempt to hack Mrs. Clinton’s system.  At the very least, I believe this finding should have been investigated by federal authorities if they were aware of it. If they were not aware of it, or were aware, but have not investigated it to date, they should do so now.

"The discovery of this information and its possible significance requires some explanation." . . .

Ann Coulter: Swamp People: 47; Trump: 0

"How would Trump, the businessman, react if an underling charged with developing a new golf course could never break ground? . . .'And I have caved, and caved, and caved -- so now our opponents know what good guys we are.' Trump would fire that employee so fast your head would spin. We want the ruthless businessman we were promised."

Ann Coulter  "If this is the budget deal we get when Republicans control the House, the Senate and the presidency, there's no point in ever voting for a Republican again. 
"Not only is there no funding for a wall, but -- thanks to the deft negotiating skills of House Speaker Paul Ryan -- the bill actually prohibits money from being spent on a wall. 
"At a CYA press conference on Tuesday, Trump's ridiculously chipper budget director, Mick Mulvaney, described the bill's prohibition on building a wall as a MAJOR win. (At least Mulvaney said it in English, unlike his all-Spanish 2014 townhall.) 
"True, there will be no wall. But the Democrats graciously agreed to allow the administration to fix broken parts of any existing fences on up to 40 miles of our 3,000 mile border. 
"The other big wins, according to Mulvaney, are: 

1) more defense spending, which is fantastic news, because I was worried Boeing and Lockheed Martin CEOs were falling behind Mark Zuckerberg with their gluttonous salaries; and 
2) school choice, an obsession of Washington wonks that is hated out in America, where parents move to high-tax towns for the express purpose of avoiding schools full of disaffected urban youth, and the disaffected urban youth don't want to spend two hours on a bus every day. 

"But Mulvaney assures us that this monstrosity of a spending bill has set things up beautifully for the next budget negotiation in October. 
"That has become the GOP's official motto: "Next time!' "  . . .