Friday, July 3, 2015

The Vision of the Founding Fathers; What kind of nation did the Founders aim to create?

Political Cartoons by Steve Breen

 . . . "The “security of a free Constitution,” he said, depends on “teaching the people themselves to know and to value their own rights; to discern and provide against invasions of them; to distinguish between oppression and the necessary exercise of lawful authority; . . . to discriminate the spirit of liberty from that of licentiousness,” and to unite “a speedy, but temperate vigilance against encroachments, with an inviolable respect for the laws.”
 
National Review Online   "Men, not vast, impersonal forces — economic, technological, class struggle, what have you — make history, and they make it out of the ideals that they cherish in their hearts and the ideas they have in their minds. So what were the ideas and ideals that drove the Founding Fathers to take up arms and fashion a new kind of government, one formed by reflection and choice, as Alexander Hamilton said, rather than by accident and force?
. . .
 . . . "Washington was even more explicit about this, the third of the great Founding ideas: A democratic republic requires a special kind of culture, one that nurtures self-reliance and a love of liberty. Constitutions are all very well, the Founders often observed, but they are only “parchment barriers,” easily breached if demagogues subvert the “spirit and letter” of the document. They can do this dramatically, in one revolutionary putsch, or they can inflict a death by a thousand cuts, gradually persuading citizens that the Constitution doesn’t mean what it says but should be interpreted to mean something different, or even something opposite.". . .

California Is A Microcosm Of American Mediocrity

 
Victor Davis Hanson   "California keeps reminding us what has gone astray with America in recent years.

"The state is in the midst of a crippling four-year-old drought. Yet it has built almost no major northern or central mountain reservoirs since the New Melones Dam of 1979. That added nearly 3 million acre-feet to the state's storage reserves — a critical project that was almost canceled by endless environmental lawsuits and protests.

"Although California has almost doubled in population since the dam's construction, its politicians apparently decided that completing more northern and Sierra Nevada water projects was passe. So the parched state now prays for rain and snow rather than building reservoirs to ensure that the next drought won't shut down the state.

"Curiously, once infrastructure projects such as the New Melones Dam are finished, few seem to complain about the life-saving water they provide the public in times of existential drought." . . .

Raid on Entebbe, July 4 1976-When Israel Displayed 'The Spirit of 76'

This gives special meaning to the Fourth of July for Israel.

The Lid
 

. . . "Thirty-nine years ago it was a different world.  Much of the intervening time since the raid, was filled with Western appeasement of terrorism.  We negotiate, we give in to their demands, we refuse to call them terrorists, we celebrate terrorists like Arafat and Abbas, we even blame terrorist acts on the victims.

"In 1976 Israel stood up to terrorists and their daring raid was celebrated across the world. Today it is the terrorists who are celebrated, Israel is condemned for protecting herself from terror, and this American administration refuses to wipe out the terror that threatens it, and negotiates with the rogue regimes who sponsor the terror. 

"Entebbe may have been one of the final acts of of Western defiance, sure the United States sends our brave heroes to fight the terrorists, but at the same time we refuse to give them the tools, or the rules of engagement which would allow them to finish the job. Instead with every act of appeasement, with each acquiescence to terrorist demands, terrorism is suckling at the teat of Western lack of resolve. In the end, the West is feeding the monster that most assuredly  will cause its destruction." . . .

Benjamin Netanyahu's brother, Yoni was the only Israeli raider killed. By a Ugandan sniper.


Operation Thunderbolt: Hostage Rescue at Entebbe Airport

TENNESSEANS: They Heard Obama Was Coming, How They Greeted Him Is HILARIOUS


"They really know how to show some Southern Hospitality."
If there’s one thing we know by now, it’s that some people in the South love their Confederate flags, so a bunch of people in Tennessee decided to greet President Barack Obama’s the only way they know how.

Obama was at the Stratton Elementary School in Madison to deliver a speech on his health care law, and several people lined the street, waving Confederate flags.

Some also were holding the flag along Obama’s motorcade route as he returned to the airport after his speech,according to The Hill.
 . . .
A Message from Bo Duke…
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Hey @UnitedChurch – BDS duped you, and here’s the proof (#OurKairosMoment)


 


 What's BDS you ask? The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS Movement).

"UCC aligned with the BDS movement, which opposes dialogue between Israeli and Arab youth."

Legal Insurrection    "The United Church of Christ recently passed a resolution adopting part of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) platform.

"The resolution purported to demand divestment from the “occupation,” but in fact a late amendment broadened it substantially to include virtually every Israeli company, as I explained in my prior analysis. (Another resolution, declaring Israeli guilty of the Crime of Apartheid, had a split vote short of the 2/3 needed for passage.)

"Throughout the committee-level and annual meeting debate and presentations about divestment, aligning UCC with BDS was repeatedly stressed as part of a peaceful process of ending the conflict.
The anti-Israel Jewish Voice for Peace played a central role in Jew-washing the nature of the BDS movement, allowing BDS supporters at UCC to say – hey, look, there are Jews who support what we are doing." . . .
Bear in mind that these Jews are Liberals first. They just happen to be Jewish, but no big deal.

"If UCC’s delegates and leadership thought aligning UCC with BDS was a move towards peace, it was severely duped. Here’s a perfect example of how BDS is against peaceful reconciliation." . . .
. . .
"Who could be against Israeli and Arab students learning to interact without guns or threat? Who would think fostering mutual understanding in the younger generation is a bad thing?

"Who would boycott such a peaceful and peace-promoting project which is what the UCC claimed was its goal?

"The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, that’s who.

"As we reported in 2014, BDS Movement boycotts online peace discussions among Israeli and Arab youth:' . . .
Illustrative photo of signs calling for the boycott of Israel at an anti-Israel protest in San Francisco, April 2011. (CC BY-dignidadrebelde, Flickr)

Episcopal Church rejects Israel boycott resolutions   Imagine that.

. . . "Its House of Bishops defeated the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) resolution brought to the vote at the church’s 78th General Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah." . . .

Why you should stop waving the rainbow flag on Facebook

 "Armchair allies shouldn't co-opt gay pride." says this gay writer

WaPo
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was one of 26 million who changed his profile picture after the Supreme Court's gay marriage ruling on Friday. (Facebook)
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was one of 26 million who changed his profile picture after the Supreme Court’s gay marriage ruling on Friday. (Facebook)

"This past weekend, I saw more rainbow flags than I had previously seen in the 26 years of my life combined. Everything – the White House, corporate logos, and especially my Facebook feed – suddenly was covered in the colors of gay pride. Since Friday, an astonishing 26 million people have overlain their profile pictures with semitransparent rainbow stripes, a feature Facebook created to celebrate gay pride after the Supreme Court’s historic ruling in favor of same-sex marriage.
But the more flags I saw last weekend, the more uncomfortable I felt." . . .

 
. . . "That’s why it wasn’t comforting to see hundreds of my Facebook friends’ profile pictures draped in rainbows. It didn’t feel like they were understanding my struggle; it felt like they were cheapening it, celebrating a victory they had no part in winning." . . .

The worst agreement in U.S. diplomatic history

 Meanwhile Obama wants to ban confederate flags and color the White House with LGBT lighting.


Charles Krauthammer


"The devil is not in the details. It’s in the entire conception of the Iran deal, animated by President Obama’s fantastical belief that he, uniquely, could achieve detente with a fanatical Islamist regime whose foundational purpose is to cleanse the Middle East of the poisonous corruption of American power and influence.

"In pursuit of his desire to make the Islamic Republic into an accepted, normalized “successful regional power,” Obama decided to take over the nuclear negotiations. At the time, Tehran was reeling — the rial plunging, inflation skyrocketing, the economy contracting — under a regime of international sanctions painstakingly constructed over a decade.

"Then, instead of welcoming Congress’ attempt to tighten sanctions to increase the pressure on the mullahs, Obama began the negotiations by loosening sanctions, injecting billions into the Iranian economy (which began growing again in 2014) and conceding in advance an Iranian right to enrich uranium." . . .     Full article here

A classic comedy bit that would get you hate mail today


Oregon bakers fined, ordered to stay silent about Christian beliefs

 "For years, we’ve heard same-sex marriage will not affect anybody,” Klein told The Blaze. “I’m here firsthand to tell everyone in America that it has already impacted people. Christians, get ready to take a stand. Get ready for civil disobedience.”

Examiner.com
 Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, were stripped of their First Amendment rights by pro-gay state commissioner.

"On Thursday, Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of Sweetcakes by Melissa, were ordered to pay $135,000 to a lesbian couple for refusing to bake a wedding cake. They were also essentially stripped of their First Amendment rights with a gag order that prohibits them from discussing how their Christian beliefs shapes their views on gay marriage.

“ 'The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries hereby orders [Aaron and Melissa Klein] to cease and desist from publishing, circulating, issuing or displaying, or causing to be published … any communication to the effect that any of the accommodations … will be refused, withheld from or denied to, or that any discrimination be made against, any person on account of their sexual orientation,” Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian wrote. In short, the Kleins were ordered to “cease and desist” from speaking publicly about not wanting to bake cakes for gay weddings based on their Christian beliefs." . . .   Hat tip to Joe Newby


Thursday, July 2, 2015

Gay Marriage Bigotry


"Everybody knows President Obama was against same sex marriage until he was for it. He said he evolved on the issue. Justice Kennedy and four other members of the Supreme Court also evolved this week. Now that it’s a civil right, opposition to gay marriage could be considered bigotry."

What's the latest on Hillary today?

 Political Cartoons by Steve Kelley

 Latest Batch Of Hillary Clinton Emails Reveals More Lies    "Accountability: While the latest batch of Hillary Clinton emails contains many embarrassments — like her troubles with a fax machine — it also exposes still more deceptions on her part and by those around her.

"Clinton might have hoped she put that whole silly email kerfuffle behind her when she deigned to hold a press conference in March to answer questions about all the official email correspondence as secretary of state that took place on her personal account.

"But several claims she made then have since been shown to be blatantly false, and the latest batch of emails released by the State Department raises still more questions about her veracity as well as those who tried to cover for her." . . .

libertyunyielding.com

Clinton Emails: The Benghazi Lie Continues To Unravel  . . . "Judicial Watch, however, has been combing through the emails and finds they tell a different story.
"They indicate a cover-up occurred. Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said the documents that keep piling up "show the Obama White House was behind the big lie, first promoted by Hillary Clinton, that an Internet video caused the Benghazi terrorist attack.' " . . .
Newsmachete claims that Hillary Clinton "treats volunteers like trafficked sex slaves"
 Well, one could say there is a bit of logic to the comparison.
". . . With all her millions, why doesn't Hillary Clinton pay for housing for her volunteers?

Mrs. Clinton’s campaign prides itself on living on the cheap and keeping salaries low, which is good for its own bottom line[.]
 
Blumenthal’s Advice to Hillary ‘Unsolicited’? E-mails Suggest Otherwise  "Despite an express ban on his employment by the Obama White House, newly released e-mails show how Hillary Clinton confidant Sidney Blumenthal operated as a shadow State Department employee during the first year of her term as secretary of state, sending her a steady stream of diplomatic memos and media advice even as her staff fretted over his possible discovery." . . .

The Petulant and Vindictive Obama Channels Reverend Wright



Colin Flaherty   "After 11 years of hiding and hinting, the real Barack Obama is back.

"The guy who spent twenty years listening to Reverend Jeremiah Wright preach the gospel of racial hostility has decided it is just too much trouble to keep his black-on-white resentment all bottled up.

"So the president put it on full display last week at the eulogy for the pastor who was a victim in the Charleston mass murder.

"And what we saw was quite a bit different than the fresh-faced, new-vision, ‘put race behind us’ guy who electrified the country with his speech to the Democrat National Convention in 2004." . . . 

 . . . "Reverend Wright would be proud."  Read more
 

UPDATE:  Obama’s Petulant, Passive Aggressive Leadership Reveals a Fixed Adolescent Mindset "Is there any mindset which defines Obama’s default attitude better than to say it is simply “adolescent?” No, for the following reasons. Barack’s interactions with the real world evokes from him responses which can be described as: angry; superior, haughty, dismissive, dishonest, petulant, cocky, petty, vengeful, mocking, holier-than-thou, and full of faux-insights and dishonesty. In other words, Barack acts like a big kid pretending to be someone he’s not, everyday on the job. This is not only aggravating to observe, and depressing to consider, but worse—extraordinarily dangerous for a leader."

"This article examines this disturbing pattern"...