Sunday, November 24, 2013

Losing faith in Barack Obama's cult of personality

White House photographer
Washington Examiner "Conservatives and libertarians were quick to ridicule President Obama's photobombing of the Kennedy assassination anniversary Friday -- they've gotten used to noticing how his cult of personality overshadows everything else, even the brilliance which still reflects from Camelot 50 years later.
"But the president's attempt to ride on John F. Kennedy's popularity may have been a last gasp. There are signs that even the most die-hard of Obama cultists have gotten tired of the endless, fawning hagiography."....

"The dismantling of the Obama cult has even reached across the Atlantic, with this week's cover of The Economist showing him mired in the water instead of walking on it.

 
Obama, Cyrus among GQ’s least influential list  "Obama came in at No. 17 because “nothing gets done.' ”

John Bolton: Abject Surrender by the United States; What does Israel do now?

First: Iranian news agency publishes alleged text of nuclear deal
The details of the agreement signed in Geneva with world powers, according to semi-official regime outlet Fars.


Next: Full text of Obama statement on nuclear deal with Iran
"President says interim agreement cuts off ‘Iran’s most likely paths to a bomb’ ".
Weekly Standard  "This interim agreement is badly skewed from America’s perspective.  Iran retains its full capacity to enrich uranium, thus abandoning a decade of Western insistence and Security Council resolutions that Iran stop all uranium-enrichment activities. Allowing Iran to continue enriching, and despite modest (indeed, utterly inadequate) measures to prevent it from increasing its enriched-uranium stockpiles and its overall nuclear infrastructure, lays the predicate for Iran fully enjoying its “right” to enrichment in any “final” agreement.  Indeed, the interim agreement itself acknowledges that a “comprehensive solution” will “involve a mutually defined enrichment program.”  This is not, as the Obama administration leaked before the deal became public, a “compromise” on Iran’s claimed “right” to enrichment. This is abject surrender by the United States.

"In exchange for superficial concessions, Iran achieved three critical breakthroughs. First, it bought time to continue all aspects of its nuclear-weapons program the agreement does not cover (centrifuge manufacturing and testing; weaponization research and fabrication; and its entire ballistic missile program). Indeed, given that the interim agreement contemplates periodic renewals, Iran may have gained all of the time it needs to achieve weaponization not of simply a handful of nuclear weapons, but of dozens or more.
 
"Second, Iran has gained legitimacy. This central banker of international terrorism and flagrant nuclear proliferator is once again part of the international club.  Much as the Syria chemical-weapons agreement buttressed Bashar al-Assad, the mullahs have escaped the political deep freezer." 

OBAMA'S IRANIAN NUKE DEAL IS EVERY BIT AS GOOD AS KERRY'S PLASTIC SURGERY

Iran and world powers reach nuclear deal in Geneva

The Times of Israel  "Obama hails ‘important first step’ but says Israel has ‘good reason to be skeptical’; Rouhani applauds agreement, which comes after weekend of marathon talks and puts substantial curbs
on uranium enrichment program; Kerry: Deal makes Israel safer."
....Political Cartoons by Robert Ariail
 "According to a fact sheet released by the White House, under the deal Iran will halt all uranium enrichment above 5% and “dismantle the technical connections required to enrich above 5%.” During the period covered by the deal, Tehran will also “neutralize” its existing stockpile of 20% enriched uranium, either diluting it to less than 5% or converting it “to a form not suitable for further enrichment.' ”

 
White House held secret talks with Iran for past year   "High-level, face-to-face meetings were kept from Israel and allies."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama embrace at a ceremony held in honor of Obama as he lands at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, on March 20, 2013 (photo credit: Miriam Alster/Flash90)
Khamenei and Obama are Geneva’s winners, Netanyahu the big loser   "The interim agreement announced in Geneva early Sunday morning between Iran and the world powers does not resolve the issue of Iran’s rogue nuclear power program. It is only the starting point on the way to a decisive junction that the sides will reach in another six months. Only then will it become clear how good or bad the interim agreement is for the State of Israel, the United States, Iran and its Arab neighbors. Only then will it be possible to gauge its success (or lack thereof) in reducing Tehran’s ability to attain a nuclear bomb."

Saturday, November 23, 2013

It’s a way for the Obama administration to avoid confronting Iran, and to buy time to acclimate the world to accepting a nuclear Iran.

William Kristol  "Lincoln’s speech at Gettysburg will be studied as long as people care about the American experiment in self-government, or about political greatness. But Lincoln knew as well as anyone that speech has to be supported by deeds. It was the soldiers’ hard-won victory in the battle of Gettysburg that was the precondition for Lincoln’s remarks, and for America’s “new birth of freedom.” So Lincoln was telling the plain but deep truth when he emphasized, and gave priority to, “what they did here.” In politics, deeds matter. Speech, even the most eloquent and thoughtful speech, is not enough.
"Benjamin Netanyahu understands this. Jewish history, and not just Jewish history, teaches this lesson. Netanyahu may well judge that he has to act to stop the Iranian regime from getting nuclear weapons. If he does, then Israel will fight. And Israel will be right."      
From the apparent absence of America in prophecy, the U.S. will be "neutralized" sometime before this Middle-East conflict begins. The United States will be unwilling or unable to defend Israel against her enemies.  For the Bible warns Israel must stand alone . . . with God!

‘Sucker’s deal’

Charles Krauthammer   ...."The only reason Iran has come to the table after a decade of contemptuous stonewalling is that economic sanctions have cut so deeply — its currency has collapsed, inflation is rampant — that the regime fears a threat to its very survival
.
"Nothing else could move it to negotiate. Regime survival is the only thing the mullahs value above nuclear weapons. And yet precisely at the point of maximum leverage, President Obama is offering relief in a deal that is absurdly asymmetric: The West would weaken sanctions in exchange for cosmetic changes that do absolutely nothing to weaken Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.'....
....
"The mullahs are eager for this interim agreement with its immediate yield of political and economic relief. Once they get it, we will have removed their one incentive to conclude the only agreement that is worth anything to us — a verifiable giving up of their nuclear program.

"Brilliant."

This Iranian political cartoon nicely captures the country’s view of nuclear talks

'In case you don't know your foreign diplomats by sight, the left panel shows U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry gesturing to E.U. foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. The joke is pretty clear: that the United States, under the guise of good-faith negotiations, is actually pushing Iran (and maybe the European Union) toward disaster. It's a reminder that, just as many in the United States are skeptical of Iran's intentions, so, too, are many Iranians skeptical of the Americans."

UPDATE: French Foreign Minister: Iran Nuclear Deal Reached  'The French foreign minister says Iran and six world powers have reached a first-stage agreement on curbing Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. Laurent Fabius gave no details as he left a meeting of foreign ministers early Sunday in a fifth day of talks. A formal announcement was expected soon."

Senior General: US in Greatest Danger Since 1930s

israelnationalnews   "Senior military analyst Lt. Gen. Thomas G. McInerney spoke to Arutz Sheva on Tuesday, warning that rising Russian and Iranian influence, coupled with America's waning Middle East presence, has put the US in the most dangerous situation it has been in since the 1930s just prior to World War II."....

"In particular McInerney highlighted the danger of US President Barack Obama's handling of longtime US ally Egypt, which has recently turned to Russia. Just on Wednesday reports revealed that Egypt signed a $4 billion arms deal with Russia designed to let Egypt attain parity with the IDF."....
Hat tip to Allyson's Geo-political Inspections

17 Scenes From Dallas’ Historic JFK Assassination Memorial Ceremony

Buzzfeed  "It’s been 50 years since Lee Harvey Oswald shot President John F. Kennedy from the Texas School Book Depository in downtown Dallas.

" Hundreds of people visited Dealey Plaza to pay tribute — or extol conspiracy — on Friday."
 

Friday, November 22, 2013

Textbook Tells Fourth Graders ‘White Voters’ Were Unlikely To Support Black President

Crow and Moore ShowPicture
"Children at Bluffview Elementary who have been assigned to read the book entitled “Barack Obama,” published by Lerner Publications and a part of Scholastic’s “Reading Counts” program, were informed on page 40 that despite Obama being a “nice fellow,” many allegedly believed that no white American would likely vote for him in 2008 based solely on the color of his skin.

“ 'But some people said Americans weren’t ready for that much change. Sure Barack was a nice fellow, they said. But white voters would never vote for a black president,” the book reads.

""The book, approved for children as young as seven years old, also goes on to specifically mention controversial comments made by President Obama’s former pastor Jeremiah Wright, while also claiming that the president has worked to bring whites and blacks together.

" 'The book’s comments were brought to the attention of the “Moms Against Duncan” Facebook page, a group of parents and education activists opposed to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan who recently claimed that “white suburban moms” only opposed Common Core because it showed that their children weren’t as smart as they thought, attempting to paint the nation-wide backlash against the curriculum as a race based issue."....



 

Texas Navigators exposed in O'Keefe videos won't face government action

American Thinker "It looks like the Obamacare navigators captured on videotape telling applicants to lie about their income by James O'Keefe's Project Veritas will face no consequences from any governmental authorities. Eric Holder's Department of Justice, which wouldn't prosecute club-wielding Black Panthers at polling places will obviously do nothing. And Texas state authorities, where the videotapes were made, claim to have no jurisdiction over Navigator behavior in Texas.
Political Cartoons by Glenn McCoy

Greta Van Susteren Calls on African-American Leaders to Speak Out against the “Knockout Game” – Video 11/18/13


"Here is Greta Van Susteren calling on African-American leaders to condemn the growing trend among African-American teens to take part in “The Knockout Game.” Reports are increasing around the country of African-American teen gang members sucker-punching unsuspecting victims with the goal of knocking them out with one punch. Greta takes the issue on, saying no one wants to even get close to the topic of race. But she “begs” African-American leaders like the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Rev. Al Sharpton, and President Obama to speak out against this crime as role models for black youth".
 
Greta has called on these leaders repeatedly to speak out against this all week. She pointed out how Mr. Obama previously spoke out against numerous other civil issues such as the Prof. Gates arrest and the Trayvon Martin issue.

Knockouts High and Low. Without self-restraint, we slip toward barbarism.

Mark Steyn    '“No justification of virtue will enable a man to be virtuous,” wrote Lewis — and, likewise, no law can prevent a thug punching an old lady to the ground if the thug is minded to. “A society’s first line of defense is not the law but customs, traditions, and moral values,” wrote Professor Walter Williams a few years ago. “They include important thou-shalt-nots such as shalt not murder, shalt not steal, shalt not lie and cheat, but they also include all those courtesies one might call ladylike and gentlemanly conduct. Policemen and laws can never replace these restraints on personal conduct.' "

How sad that such great men as Dr. Ben Carson, Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams and other noble African-Americans are looked at with fear by people passing near them because of these brutes. And those who fear these gangs of animals are considered the racists!

"That’s “visceral man.” What about Lewis’s “cerebral man”? In free nations, self-restraint is required not only of the underclass but of the rulers, too. Harry Reid is an unlikely gang leader, but, for a furtive little rodent, he landed a knockout punch on America’s governing norms. Like the lil’ old lady, Mitch McConnell never saw it coming. One minute, the time-honored practice that judicial appointments required supermajorities was there; the next, it was lying on the ground dead. Yes, yes, I know Senate procedural rules aren’t quite as gripping as “polar-bearing.” But, as I said, a free society requires self-restraint at all levels. Forget the merits of Reid’s move to simple majority rule, and simply consider how he did it."....
Political Cartoons by Glenn McCoy
 

It's 1938 Again

Melanie Phillips
Neville Chamberlain declares 'Peace in our time' with Hitler, 1938"When Hassan Rouhani was elected President of Iran, western leaders declared, in the teeth of stark evidence to the contrary, that this man was a reformer. So they rushed to do a deal with him over Iran’s nuclear programme, considered by the west to be a threat to the free world.
But Rouhani does not run Iran. The man who actually calls the shots – the only man who matters – is Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Earlier this week, Khamenei said the Jews of Israel
‘cannot be called humans, they are like animals, some of them’
"and that Israel was"
‘the rabid dog of the region’.
....
"Presented with unambiguous evidence of the Supreme Leader’s genocidal prejudice towards the Jews of Israel, the Obama administration merely flapped the limpest of wrists. A spokesman said Khamenei’s remarks were ‘not helpful’, while Secretary of State John Kerry said: ‘Obviously we disagree with it profoundly’."