A Red Line is Now a Red Line

Trump Enforces Obama’s Red Line  . . . "But Trump opposed enforcing Obama’s red line back then, nevertheless. The difference, as Trump admirably admitted from the Rose Garden, is that he’s president now and that changes your perspective on things. It’s always easy to throw brick-bats when you have no responsibility (one of the guiding tenets of this “news”letter by the way). 

Now he’s looking at the prospect of being the president who, in effect, sanctioned the use of chemical weapons, a violation of international law. As he put it in his statement Thursday night: It is in this vital national-security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons. There can be no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons, violated its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention, and ignored the urging of the U.N. Security Council. 

"That is a sound argument. But it was just as sound in 2013. " . . .

The Democrats’ Weakest Trump Talking Point  "Trump’s action to halt atrocities in Syria doesn’t obligate the U.S. to open its borders to unvetted refugees." . . . Read more.

Trump’s airstrike on Syria delivers another blow to Obama’s legacy . . . "His defense is typical Obama sophistry. In fact, he did make a decision — he decided not to act after vowing he would. His choice left a leadership vacuum filled alternately by butcher Assad, Islamic State, Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, a toxic brew with horrific consequences that will go on for years. 
"Obama’s infamous blinking on Assad’s use of chemical weapons came in 2013, but back in 2011, when the Syrian civil war was young, the president declared, “The time has come for President Assad to step aside.” 
"Yet Obama never turned that declaration into a policy with teeth. Hyped plans to arm anti-government rebels came and went repeatedly, despite his advisers favoring them." . . .

California’s Wasted Winter Rains

The drought is over but the greens keep sending the water out to sea.

Lux Libertas

“…What’s especially ironic (Not “ironic”; merely par for the Progressive course!) is that all of the water diversions intended to benefit the environmentmay be causing irreparable environmental damage. Communities and farmers have drilled deeper wells and pumped more groundwater to compensate for reduced imports from the delta, leading to severe land subsidence.

"A recent report by the California Department of Water Resources found that the San Joaquin Valley is sinking at a rate of nearly two inches per month in some areas. Land around Corcoran dropped 22 inches between May 2015 and September 2016, complicating engineering work on the state’s bullet train. (NOT the BULLET TRAIN!!!) Subsidence has also reduced the carrying capacity of the California Aqueduct, which delivers water to Southern California, by 20%.

California has an arid climate, and parched times will return, which is all the more reason to take advantage of the wet years. That greens and politicians won’t do so suggests they almost wish for permanent drought.“ . . . 

Feast...

. . . or famine:

…one thing’s for certain: the Liberal elites in Hollywood and Silicon Valley will never feel the pinch…let alone suffer the effects of real thirst. " . . .

As Charles Krauthammer noted: there's not a NEW sheriff in town; now there is A Sheriff in town. Period.

Russia, Syria, and Iran warn US about another Syria strike  "Things just got a lot dicier in Syria as the military forces of Russia, Syria, and Iran warned the United States that any further military action would cross "a red line" and be met with a military response.

"Somehow, I think when these guys talk about a "red line," they're being a helluva lot more serious than Obama was." . . .

Morning Joe: Syria was Obama’s ‘Defining Moment’ and ‘History Going to be Rough’
"When even Obama fan Mike Barnicle admits that Obama’s inaction on Syria was a “serious mistake”

"Surprising consensus on today’s Morning Joe that Barack Obama blew it bigly in Syria by punting on his redline. Even Obama fan Mike Barnicle admitted, “Syria was a serious mistake that the Obama administration made.” Foreign policy honcho Richard Haass said “history’s going to be rough on this. This is going to be the defining moment for the Obama presidency.”

"It wasn’t just the panel that trashed Obama’s mishandling of Syria. Joe Scarborough noted that not only did leading Dems like John Kerry and Hillary quickly come out in support of Trump’s strikes, but that Dems were saying things that were “almost disloyal to Barack Obama, saying we could have never moved this quickly.' ”

Trump’s Syria Strike Altered Perceptions of His Presidency — and Highlighted the Failures of Obama’s  "With a forceful response to Assad’s chemical-weapons attack, Trump surprised the world and reminded us of his predecessor’s disastrous Middle East policies. 

"Donald Trump’s many detractors tend to forget something important: The power of his office is such that simply by deploying the military might of the United States, he can change the national conversation in an instant. By ordering a missile strike on the Syrian airfield from which the Assad government — and, perhaps, its Russian enablers — attacked civilians with chemical weapons, Trump did just that. It isn’t clear yet whether this is the beginning of a more muscular, sensible approach to foreign policy in general and to Syria, Russia, and Iran in particular. But what we do know is that Trump has just demonstrated a capacity to rethink his previously held positions and to act decisively in response to an outrageous crime — in other words, the capacity to act like a commander-in-chief. This is something few of his critics thought he possessed.

" Last night’s strike forced Trump’s media tormentors to stop speculating for the moment about unproven collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. It might also have begun the process of changing the way we think about Trump. We’ve lived through two months of what looked like a presidency in crisis, replete with West Wing palace intrigue and a disastrously failed effort to repeal and replace Obamacare. Trump’s trademark lack of discipline and belligerent disregard for the truth had cratered his favorability ratings, and his failure to break through Washington’s gridlock had created a narrative of incompetence.

" Yet in less than a week, Trump just proved that he is capable of reacting to unforeseen events, evaluating the options, and then making what appears to be exactly the right move at exactly the right time." . . .

Black Lives Matter mob shuts down Blue Lives Matter speaker at Claremont McKenna College

Legal Insurrection

Heather Mac Donald targeted by crazed protesters, while her UCLA appearance also disrupted.

"Just a day earlier, Mac Donald gave the same speech at UCLA and things went smoothly for the most part but left wing students couldn’t resist the urge to make it all about them.

"The College Fix reported:

‘War on Cops’ author Heather Mac Donald shouted down at UCLA by hysterical Black Lives Matter protest

A speech by Heather Mac Donald at UCLA on Wednesday frequently descended into chaos as Black Lives Matter protesters stormed the stage and chanted their signature phrase over and over, and also took over portions of the Q&A with angry accusations and raucous shouting, a video of the event shows.

Mac Donald, a Manhattan Institute scholar who spoke on campus at the behest of the Bruin Republicans to give a “Blue Lives Matter” talk about her 2016 book “The War on Cops,” appeared to be able to largely get through the first half of her speech without much dissension.

But when she opened the floor to questions, the uproar began. The chants launched, with several people taking over the floor at the front of the room and continuing to yell over and over: “Black lives — they matter here! Black lives, they matter here!”…

After the uproar — which lasted about eight minutes — finally died down, Mac Donald (pictured) fielded questions from the audience, including from a black female who asked her to speak on whether “black victims killed by cops” mattered.

"This is a video of the entire event but it’s cued to begin at the moment when things went haywire. Just press play:"

Time for the "I find Easter offensive" posts.

Todd Starnes  "Parents across Australia are blasting what they call “nonsensical political correctness” after a number of schools removed the word “Easter” from their annual hat parades.

"To achieve “inclusiveness”, one public school has decided to hold a “Happy Hat Parade” instead of their traditional Easter Hat Parade, The Telegraph reports.

“ 'How pathetic,” one mother wrote on Facebook. “I will make sure my hats say HAPPY EASTER all over the damn hats and get my kids to sing Easter bunny songs.”

"It appears the Aussies are dealing with a serious infestation of anti-Christian bullies.  

"The newspaper reports that several schools have reinstated the word “Easter” after complaints from parents.

"But the principal at Batemans Bay Public School is standing firm – even though more than 600 people have signed a petition urging him to reconsider.

"The petition, launched by Sarah Culic, alleges that a “parent allegedly called the school and expressed their outrage at the supposedly offensive, culturally exclusive festivity.”. . . 

"A parent"... "A".

Trump Blows Up Obama’s Foreign Policy Straw Men

Diplomacy with Iran is over — and so is the era of Obama’s straw men.

Matthew Continetti at National Review  "President Trump did more than retaliate for Bashar al-Assad’s illegal and inhumane use of nerve agents against civilians when he ordered the launch of 59 Tomahawk missiles to destroy al-Shayrat airbase in Syria. He also detonated a few shibboleths of his predecessor’s foreign policy. 

First is the idea that President Obama’s 2013 deal to remove Assad’s weapons of mass destruction was a success. Susan Rice and John Kerry have lauded the agreement with Russia to supervise the extraction and destruction of Assad’s weapons stockpiles as recently as the last year. But Assad’s brazen attack on civilians in Idlib Province exposed their celebrations as premature. Trump’s swift, decisive, and limited response ended more than a half decade of vacillation toward’s Assad’s behavior. Obama diplomacy failed, but hard power may yet deter Assad from using weapons banned for almost a century. 

"The second casualty of the U.S. strike was the absurd Obama line that the only alternatives available to a president are inaction on one hand and a massive ground invasion and occupation on the other. Obama and the architects of his echo chamber would slam any advocate of military measures as a bloodthirsty warmonger ready to repeat the worst mistakes of the U.S. experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the reality has always been that there are a range of intermediary steps America can take to pursue her objectives and enforce the standards of Western civilization. " . . .

Expert: Watch to see if Kim Jong-Un goes into hiding after Syria strike

Retired four-star Gen. Jack Keane told Fox News on Wednesday that the U.S. is "rapidly and dangerously heading towards the reality that the military option is the only one left when it comes to getting North Korea to denuclearize and not weaponized [intercontinental ballistic missiles]."

Alyssa Madruga, Fox News

"The U.S. bombardment of a Syrian airbase just outside of Homs Friday was likely seen by North Korea as a clear warning that President Trump will use his military if United States interests are at risk.

"The immediate focus after the strikes was on Russia’s Vladimir Putin’s reaction. Russia was not happy with the U.S., it spoke in defense of Syria and moved warships. But now the attention is on the next move by another world leader: Kim Jong-Un.

"Gordon Chang, a Daily Beast columnist and author of “Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On The World,” said in an emailed statement to Fox News Friday that the U.S. strike on the Syrian airfield “tells North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un that he must now heed American military power, something that he probably dismissed before.”

“ 'Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, disappeared from public view for about six weeks in 2003 at the time of the Iraq war. Kim Jong-Un loves the public spotlight, and it will be telling if he similarly goes into hiding,” the author said.

"The airstrikes are “a warning to China’s People’s Liberation Army, which had grown dismissive of the U.S. Navy and Air Force.  Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader visiting Mar-a-Lago, almost certainly interpreted the strike as a sign of disrespect to him,” Chang said." . . .

U.S. airstrikes in Syria a smackdown for Iran's mullahs  . . . The mullahs’ “influence” is something which should not be taken lightly. The Syrian people’s peaceful uprising against the Assad’s dictatorship in 2011 could have taking a different turn had it not been for the IRGC and Quds Force stepping up in full support of the regime in Damascus.

"The Assad regime was on the edge in 2013 and outside the capital it had no control over the rest of the country. With the aid of mullahs who spent billions in Syria while their own people at home were hungry, and the inaction of Obama administration by turning a blind eye to Assad’s crossing its established “red line,” the Syrian dictator survived.

"Now it seems that a new plan is unfolding in Washington to stop the genocide in Syria with the U.S. administration’s firm respond to Assad’s use of chemical weapons against his people. The attack may not have a major military significance but it has firm political tone to it. The action no doubt has resonated as far east as Tehran." . . .

Trump's strikes on Assad; dare we be optimistic?

Tom Cotton: A Strike in Syria Restores Our Credibility in the World  . . . " 'It's hard to overstate just how low the standing of the United States had fallen because of President Barack Obama's failure to enforce his own 'red line' against Mr. [Bashar] Assad's use of chemical weapons in 2013," Cotton wrote in a New York Times op-ed.

" 'I was one of the few Republican members of Congress who supported strikes against Syria then," he wrote. "Because of that, I've heard from dozens of world leaders expressing their doubts about the security commitments of the United States.' " . . .

US Vows To Keep Up Pressure On Syria After Missile Strikes

Obama’s red line decision got rebuked this week (and his former staff aren’t happy about it)  . . . "But not everyone who was part of the previous administration is playing defense for their former boss this week. Politico Magazine reports some Obama alumni say the strike was long overdue:" . . .

Uh-oh; be careful what you predict:  Haley: Regime change in Syria 'we think is going to happen' . . . " 'This is a complicated situation. There are no easy answers and a political solution is going to have to happen," Haley said. "There's not any sort of option where political solution is going to happen with Assad at the head of the regime, if you look at his actions if you look at the situation, it's going to be hard to see a government that's peaceful and stable with Assad.' ". . . 

Weakened Putin's last great bluff: Military experts dismiss Russian president's threats to block further US attacks on Syria, saying he's desperate to avoid a clash with America  . . . "He has also dispatched a warship to patrol Syria’s coastline and thwart further US action.

"But senior defence analysts told The Mail on Sunday that President Putin is actually desperate to avoid a clash with the US and wants to cut a deal to end the six-year Syrian civil war which has cost more than 400,000 lives.

"Igor Sutyagin from the Royal United Services Institute said last night: ‘Putin is raising the stakes but he is bluffing, because he knows he cannot do anything militarily to cause a direct confrontation with the US." . . .

I worry when America counts our bridges before they're hatched. TD

"Dayenu, President Trump! For each thing you’ve done, it would have been enough"

Bookworm Room  "Passover is around the corner and I have an ear worm: The Passover song Dayenu. The Hebrew word “Dayenu” (דַּיֵּנוּ) means “it would have been enough,” or “it would have sufficed.” The pattern of the song is to list the miracles God performed for the Jewish people, with the chorus being “Dayenu” — it would have been enough.

"Here’s a short sampling of the lyrics:

Verse 1:
If He had brought us out from Egypt,
and had not carried out judgments against them
— Dayenu, it would have sufficed!
Verse 2:
If He had carried out judgments against them,
and not against their idols
— Dayenu, it would have sufficed!
Verse 3:
If He had destroyed their idols,
and had not smitten their first-born
— Dayenu, it would have sufficed!

"And here’s the Maccabeats’ delightful version of Dayenu, which will give you a nice sense of the song:"

Obama likes these boys singing about him.

“I want to thank the Maccabeats for their outstanding performance. They just did an outstanding number for me — it was very brief — that said, “four more years.” It was good. I really liked it. So thank you.”  BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States 

Nikki Haley Receives Text At UN: “Thank You For What You Said Today. It’s So Good To See America Lead.”

NoisyRoom.net

. . . "Our allies are cheering the action and breathing a huge sigh of relief. Our enemies are calling it an act of aggression. It’s an act as old as time. But President Trump is no ‘lead from behind’ president as Barack Obama was. Peace through strength has once again taken center stage." . . .

Post- Obama America earned the respect of this Syrian

"Watch Syrian Refugee Call Out CNN/Dem Hypocrisy, Praise Trump For Action"

As Dr. M.L. King once asked, this Syrian judges Obama only by the content of his character

California Watch: California Split Back in the News Again

Nigel Farage jump-starts break-up talk in the not so Golden State.

American Spectator

"The latest news about California — a break-up plan touted by the leaders of Brexit — could serve as a case study of how mischaracterizations spread across the Internet, and how many media outlets echo what others have published or tweeted without apparently doing much checking.

"Reports suggest that the so-called “Bad Boys of Brexit,” Nigel Farage and Arron Banks, came to Huntington Beach, Calif., where they raised $1 million for a “Calexit” plan and championed a two-state solution to our ungovernable wreck of a state.

"The two were reportedly recruited by former Orange County GOP Chairman Scott Baugh to work on a break-up initiative that would slice the liberal coastal areas away from less-tony inland areas. Published maps show the new coastal state starting with Los Angeles, and lumping more conservative, urban coastal counties (Orange and San Diego) with the new eastern state." . . .

And it is always time to stay focused on the facts: Breaking up the state is not the same thing as seceding from the union. There’s still no map in play, but some serious, well-connected Californians are indeed raising money for a run at the ballot. However accurate the reports, I’m thrilled that the Farage and Banks visit has jump-started this debate.

“State of Jefferson” Backers Remain Optimistic, While 6-Way Partition of California Heads for 2016 Ballot

Then there is outright secession, which is a big thing:

Prof. Adams: "Why I’m Banning Illegal Aliens From My Classes"

Adams' has a way of making you look, doesn't he?

Mike Adams

"The sky must be falling. Just a few hours ago, a Marxist feminist professor sent an email that I agreed with completely. It explained why she doesn’t allow people to cut in line by enrolling in classes for which they have not yet satisfied the enrollment requirements. I’m so inspired by her eloquence that I am extending her logic and banning illegal aliens from enrolling in my classes. Her inspirational email is printed below: 

“I do not provide overrides for students who haven’t completely satisfied the pre­requisites for the senior seminar to enroll. That would be like allowing (cutting) in line in front of someone else who has been waiting (his or her) turn. Once (they) have senior standing, then (they) can enroll in the class provided all the other pre­requisites are completed too … Several faculty members have sent advisees to me to request an override. I’m not doing them. I would appreciate it if advisers would not send their advisees to me with these requests.” 

"In case you did not follow that, let me provide a little context. Our majors are required to take a senior seminar before they graduate. However, before they enroll in the senior seminar, they have to take two classes – one in research methods and the other in statistics. Students usually take these two classes their junior year so they can be prepared to take senior seminar their senior year, which, of course, makes intuitive sense." . . .

 Bonus pick:  At Awards Ceremony, Walter Williams Slams PC Campuses, Thanks His Teachers For ‘Not Giving a Damn About His Self Esteem’

Williams credited his teachers for treating him like an adult and “not giving a damn about his self esteem.” He contrasted his academic experience with the snowflakes of today, noting that too many teachers and employers “care more about people’s feelings rather than their performance.”
He elaborated on the usual suspects.