Friday, April 3, 2015

The GOP racing form: First edition


"With Ted Cruz announcing and Rand Paul and Marco Rubio soon to follow, it’s time to start handicapping the horses and making enemies.

"No point in wasting time on the Democratic field. There is none. The only thing that can stop Hillary Clinton is an act of God, and He seems otherwise occupied. As does Elizabeth Warren, the only Democrat who could conceivably defeat her.

"On to the GOP." . . .

Instead Of Displaying His Medal Of Honor, This War Veteran Wears THIS Shirt To Mock Muslim Terrorists

"Dakota Meyer, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, knows how to stand up to the Islamic extremist terrorist group ISIS. Perhaps you remember Meyer’s famous quote when ISIS started making threats against Americans. If you agree with it, bookmark this page now.

“ 'I can’t travel over there anymore now that I’m out of the Marine Corps, so having them come to me would help out a lot. ISIS targeting the U.S. military is like a sheep targeting a lion. Hopefully one of those a*****es actually shows up.”
In honor of Dakota Meyers, Ranger Up is not selling t-shirts that bear the brave veteran’s bold words.

"Ranger Up has confirmed that Dakota Meyers, who is now engaged to be married to Bristol Palin, has partnered with the label in creating these American anti-ISIS t-shirts." . . .

http://www.bizpacreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Dakota-Meyer-Shirt.png
"Another shirt quoting Meyer says, “Never Outgunned.”

"That’s appropriate because Meyer is the second youngest living Medal of Honor recipient and the first Marine to receive the award in 38 years.

"He received the honor for his heroics in rescuing 12 wounded allies and providing cover for 24 outnumbered Marines and soldiers in a battle in Afghanistan."

News Anchor Reveals Obama Will Get You Fired If You Talk Negatively About Him

"CNN anchor Carol Costello decided to come out about threats she has received by the Obama Administration for talking bad about Obama.

"She said “I felt it first hand when I was reporting on the presidential race,” … ” President Obama’s people can be quite nasty. They don’t like you to say anything bad about their boss, and they’re not afraid to use whatever means they have at hand to stop you from doing that, including threatening your job.”

"This came during a discussion about the firing of national security official Jofi Jospeh over tweets he sent out.

CNN Anchor Reveals Obama Administration Officials Threaten Journalists Who Make Obama Look Bad   
 "Ever wonder why so many mainstream media outlets seem to love Obama so much? Here’s some insight on the subject from CNN’s Carol Costello… "

 CNN anchor Costello's verbal assault on Bristol Palin  Says she:  “Okay. I’m just going to come right out and say it. This is quite possibly the best minute and a half of audio we’ve ever come across — well, come across in a long time anyway. A massive brawl in Anchorage, Alaska, reportedly involving Sarah Palin’s kids and her husband. It was sparked after someone pushed one of her daughters at a party. That’s what Bristol Palin told police in an interview after the incident. And now police have released audio of that interview. It does include some rather colorful language from Bristol. Here now is Bristol’s recollection of how that night unfolded. So sit back and enjoy.”

Silliest post of the day: SATIRE: Spielberg & George Lucas Announce Name Change For Indiana Jones #BoycottIndiana


. . . Spielberg: Correct. If Governor Pence doesn't repeal the law, then "Indiana" will no longer be a name associated with our franchise. Henceforth, all merchandise, DVDs, or Disney theme park rides will be given a new name of our choosing.

TR: What about all the times they call him "Indiana" throughout the films?

Lucas: I've spoken with all the actors, they've agreed to dub their parts. Sean Connery blew us off, but his voice won't be hard to impersonate.

TR: I'm having trouble seeing the big deal here. Wasn't Indiana just a nickname he stole from his dog? I mean, let's be honest guys, Sean Connery kind of killed the mystique there. The guy's over 70 now, adventure can't always be his name, can't you just make him give it up in the next installment as a symbol of his retirement and then continue the franchise with Shia LaBeouf as Mutt Williams?

Lucas: Absolutely not! I have make-up artists and costume designers calling me at the Skywalker Ranch every waking hour, lamenting that whenever they look upon that poster from Raiders with the word "Indiana" triumphantly pressing on them in orange and yellow letters, they see only a white, heterosexual male, literally cracking his whip of Christian oppression at them. . .

HIDDEN CAMERA: Will Muslim Bakeries Make a Gay Wedding Cake?

Truth Revolt   "Yes folks, I did this. I went there. You have this now.  Actually, I taped this video a long time ago but due to audio corruption issues, was never able to upload it.  Now that my in-house whizz kid, Jared was able to salvage the footage, I am now passing it onto you. What do you think happens when a gay, like SUPER gay Crowder tries to get a super gay wedding cake baked at a Muslim bakery? I'm pretty sure you can guess, but you might as well watch this week's adventure to Dearborn, MI to find out! "

Surrender to Tehran

NRO Editors: Surrender to Tehran. . . "The Iranians’ success has little to do with the ability of the Iranian negotiators and a lot to do with the Obama administration’s zeal for an agreement at any cost. The president wanted a deal because he has been desperate to forge a opening to the Iranian regime since the beginning of his presidency, and unenforceable international agreements that damage American interests are his favorite form of laurel. (Winning wars seems to rank a good bit lower.)"

Who can doubt that Obama will be fine as long as the deal holds together until he is out of office. Afterward he is fine with the whole thing falling apart - especially if a Republican president takes office - because he can then blame the next administration just as he has blamed his present failures on President Bush. TD


How Does Iran Interpret the Agreement?   "Well, this is a bit inconvenient. Iran’s state-controlled Tehran Times gives a breakdown of the takeaway from its nuclear negotiations. And it’s not exactly consistent with President Barack Obama’s triumphalist take."
. . . " Unfortunately, the president’s ego will likely prevent him from acknowledging that."

 Thursday, A Nuke Deal, Friday, Iran Calls Obama A Liar . . . "On Thursday, the Swiss gal who made the announcement about the EU sanctions and said much the same thing as Zarif.
"This is what John Kerry said on Thursday."  Video
 . . . "I’d like to know how we can trust our administration if they can’t even tell the truth in the speech describing the agreement."

How exactly does the US get the Russians and the EU to "snap back in place" all sanctions because we say they should? Once those sanctions end, that is it; the game is over for the good guys (non- Russian nations, that is).  .

Tehran Hoodwinks Clueless U.S. Negotiators     . . . "In the end, deal or no deal, the Obama administration's national security failings will have forever emboldened Iran to continue its regional dominance and hegemonic effort.  Iran will become an inevitable nuclear threat.

Michael Ramirez Cartoon
First Friday Prayers after Deal: “Death to America”


Political Cartoons by Steve Breen

Was Memories Pizza a Victim of Irresponsible Journalism? Yes.


First things first: We must learn the term "yellow journalism"   "Yellow journalism is exaggerated or biased media reporting that is disguised as fact. Originating out of an intense competition between rival newspapers in the late 1800s, it involves taking a factual story and presenting it in a sensational or distorted way. It may be used to invoke fear, loathing, uncertainty or even sympathy in readers, but often, the bottom line is an attempt to boost sales or viewership and gain more market share." . . . and, I might add, Democrat voters.


Reason.com    Reason.com's position: "Memories Pizza, while not as gay-affirming as many of us would like, didn't announce pending discrimination."

Memories Pizza  "Many in the media—particularly on the right—are now accusing those who reported and re-reported the story of irresponsible journalism. And they have a very good case.

"The owners of Memories Pizza, the O'Connor family, did not willingly seek out controversy, deny service to a gay person or couple, or even go out on a limb to suggest that they would. No, they merely responded to a question from Alyssa Marino, a local reporter for ABC 57 News who had come to their shop in search of a story.

"And they did give her a story—but not the one she reported. Her initial headline was "RFRA: First Michiana business to publicly deny same-sex service" (Michiana is the region in Indiana where Memories Pizza is located). That headline implies two things that are false. The O'Connors had no intention of becoming the first Michiana business to do anything discriminatory with respect to gay people; they had merely answered a hypothetical question about what would happen if a gay couple asked them to cater a wedding. And the O'Connors had every intention of providing regular service to gay people—just not their weddings." . . .

. . . "The people who made those threats are at fault, but so are the journalists who erroneously reported on this story—who made a merely unfriendly policy seem like a declaration of pending discrimination against the next gay person to walk through the front door of Memories Pizza."
 Political Cartoons by Gary Varvel

Sorry, Media: Polls Show Majorities Side with Indiana’s Christian Pizzeria   "A Marist poll taken just last month found that 54% of those polled, including a 47% – 45% plurality of Democrats, agreed with “allowing First Amendment religious liberty protection or exemptions for faith based organizations and individuals even when it conflicts with government laws.' ”


Ann Coulter: “We have a different hate campaign each week.”. . . " She pointed out that the left has adopted a regular cycle of outrage which usually turns out to be false. She also urged Republicans and conservative Christians to stand up to bullies." Video

Memories Pizza Owner: We Plan to Re-Open Soon . . . "Said O'Conner, "It is not a sin that we bring gays into our establishment and to serve them. It is a sin, though, if we cater their wedding. We feel we are participating, we are putting a stamp of approval on their wedding."

"A fundraiser was started for the owners of Memories to support them and the public has raised more than $485K."



ESPN's Olbermann Still Wants Final Four Out of Indianapolis "After Louganis unsurprisingly called for full repeal of the “ridiculous” religious freedom bill, Olbermann—who said he would have to restrain himself from giving his full political opinion unless he got his old show back—repeated his call for moving the Final Four from the “anti-LGBT” state:" . . .

One look at who is NOT the media's villain of choice

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Obama’s Chicago Presidency

 What you can do if you don’t care what anybody says.

Victor Davis Hanson  Too many choice excerpts to use, so....



 (Pool Image/Getty)
"Senator Robert Menendez (D., N.J.) was a vocal critic both of President Obama’s executive-action opening to Cuba and his nuclear non-proliferation talks with Iran. In the midst of his loud opposition, he found himself suddenly the target of renewed federal charges that had aired much earlier without consequence. I think the message was not that the administration was worried over appearances, but rather that it wished to remind all of Washington that it actually welcomed the appearance of not being worried over the idea of federal prosecutorial power being used for tit-for-tat vendettas. Malice is a valuable political tool for Barack Obama."   
 . . .
"From the petty malice of Obama-administration aides leaking slurs that Netanyahu was a coward and chickens–t to the fundamental malevolence of community-organizing Netanyahu’s opponents in an effort to defeat him at the polls to leaking previously classified information about Israel’s nuclear deterrent, the message is again Chicagoan." . . .
. . .

"Obama has chosen to skip various widely attended anniversaries, including the liberation of Auschwitz and the Battle of Gettysburg. He passed on the commemorative march of world leaders who condemned the terrorist killings in Paris. Critics pounced. How does the president have time to meet with GloZell, do his March Madness NCAA-tournament basketball picks, or banter with Internet bloggers if he cannot meet with the current chief of NATO? Why does he jet out to California to do Jimmy Kimmel, but refuse to fly to Paris to show solidarity against Islamic violence? Why would Obama fly all the way to Denmark to lobby for a Chicago Olympics, but not attend the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall? Again, those are the wrong questions.

"Whether Obama avoided these events out of lassitude or by intent matters little: The point is that it was his pleasure not to attend any of them."
. . .
"Given media obsequiousness, Obama feels that little scrutiny of his actions will follow. A move toward impeachment he might even hope for, given his iconic status and the community-organizing chance to smear anyone foolish enough to try it as a racist or bigot." . . .   Emphasis mine, TD  Photos added.   Full article

70 years ago this week: the battle for Okinawa

Battle Of Okinawa Map picture
battle-of-okinawa-map/dandelion-films.com

Central Okinawa today, Google earth photo


Military History Online  . . . " The Battle of Okinawa is distinguished among battles, yet often unrecognized when referring to the great battles of the Second World War. Over 250,000 people lost their lives. Approximately 150,000 Okinawans, about a third of the population, perished.[1] At the battle's end, somewhere between a third and half of all surviving civilians were wounded.[2] No battle during the Second World War, except Stalingrad, had as massive a loss of civilian life. The stakes were high. The Japanese, determined to fight to the last man, almost achieved their objective, but in defeat 100,000 Japanese combatants died rather than surrender.[3] In the end, fewer than 10,000 of General Mitsuri Ushijimas's Thirty-Second Army were taken prisoner.[4]" . . . 
Ernie Pyle in Italy, late 1943
Ernie Pyle

 Okinawa: The final battle
151 Okinawa battle photos  Famed correspondent Ernie Pyle lies dead after being killed on April 18, 1945.

 Ernie Pyle Is Killed on Ie Island; Foe Fired When All Seemed Safe      . . . "He joined headquarters troops in the outskirts of the island's chief town, Tegusugu. Our men had seemingly ironed out minor opposition at this point, and Mr. Pyle went over to talk to a regimental commanding officer. Suddenly enemy machine gunners opened fire at about 10:15 A.M. (9:15 P.M., Tuesday, Eastern war time). The war correspondent fell in the first burst."
 
 Journalist Ernie Pyle shortly after being killed on Ie Shima, 18 Apr 1945

"United States loss of life was staggering as well. The United States Navy sustained the largest loss of ships in its history with thirty-six lost and 368 damaged.[5] The Navy also sustained the largest loss of life in a single battle with almost 5,000 killed and an equal number wounded.[6] At Okinawa, the United States Tenth Army would incur its greatest losses in any campaign against the Japanese.[7] The Tenth Army, which initially was made up of 183,000 army, navy, and marine personnel.[8]  During those eighty-two days, the Tenth Army would lose 7,613 men and over 30,000 men would be evacuated from the front lines for a minimum of a week due to wounds.[9]  Moreover, the largest numbers of U.S. combat fatigue cases ever recorded would occur on Okinawa.[10]
  
April 1&2, 1945: Marines landing on Okinawa


The bloody World War II battle at Okinawa is recalled by U.S. veterans and the team behind the HBO miniseries "The Pacific." 

Battle of Okinawa  "The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg,[11] was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and included the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II.[12][13] The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were approaching Japan, and planned to use Okinawa, a large island only 340 mi (550 km) away from mainland Japan, as a base for air operations on the planned invasion of Japanese mainland (coded Operation Downfall). Four divisions of the U.S. 10th Army (the 7th, 27th, 77th, and 96th) and two Marine Divisions (the 1st and 6th) fought on the island. Their invasion was supported by naval, amphibious, and tactical air forces."

The Rules of Racialists—Part Two

Victor Davis Hanson
Barack Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder at Holder’s portrait unveiling ceremony, Department of Justice, Washington DC—Feb. 27, 2015 (Rex Features via AP Images)

"Last week I reviewed some rules to navigate [1] in our race-obsessed culture. Here are three final statutes . . ."
. . . 
"Eric Holder’s children, who improperly were flown to the Belmont Stakes with their dates in their father’s private government jet [2], would be entitled to affirmative action in a way that an impoverished grandchild of the Oklahoma diaspora is not. But at least a lower-middle-class white male is not penalized in college admissions to the degree that would be a straight-A Asian student. In today’s multiracial society of great economic fluidity, more than a half-century after the civil rights movement, the children of multimillionaire rappers would be deemed at a disadvantage in comparison to impoverished newly arrived destitute immigrants from Asia. But then again we are supposed to cry for the billionaire Oprah, who claims she was shown disrespect for gazing at some tony overpriced purse in a European millionaire boutique [3]. Such is the bathos of the current civil rights movement."

Would you agree to pay more taxes to provide jobs for jihadis?