Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Ebola Arrives In Texas

by JASmius



But don't worry, the Regime has everything under control.  Just because cases have also showed up in Georgia and Nebraska is absolutely no cause for alarm:

A patient in a Dallas hospital is showing signs of the Ebola virus and is being kept in strict isolation with test results pending, hospital officials said Monday.

Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas said in a statement Monday that the patient's symptoms and recent travel indicated a case of Ebola, the virus that has killed more than 3,000 people across West Africa and infected a handful of Americans who have traveled to that region.

Preliminary test results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are expected to come back Tuesday.

Hospital spokeswoman Candace White would not answer any questions about the patient or where the patient had visited.

Of course not.  Because the public has no right to know about the spread and magnitude of a disease that is virulently contagious, can be weaponized, kills horribly, and has anywhere from a 70% to 90% morbidity rate.  Until we start drowing in our own blood, anyway.

But nothing to see here, sheeple.  Move along.

Corona Constitution Class - Amendments and Conventions

Subject: Constitution Class: Amendment Process and Conventions

Corona Constitution Class, September 30, 2014

6:00 pm at AllStar Collision
522 Railroad Street
Corona, California

Article V. Establishes the Amendment Process, but carries inside it important answers to our dilemma as a nation. . . 


Amendments and Conventions

Article V is the section in the Constitution that provides the people and the States the opportunity to change the law of the land if needed by establishing the amendment process.  Originally, only the States were going to be able to propose amendments.  On the second to the last day of the Constitutional Convention, the Founding Fathers added as an afterthought to allow the Congress to propose amendments as well.  The amendment process is the only process through which the Constitution may be altered.

Amendments, according to Article V, may be proposed by either two-thirds of both Houses of the United States Congress, or by a national convention of States.  Amendments must then be ratified by approval of three-fourths of the States either through their legislatures, or through ratifying conventions.

Amendments proposed by a national convention is a process known as an Article V. Convention.

Current opinion regarding an Article V. Convention varies.  Some people and groups have warned against such a convention, fearing a runaway convention that could be used to re-write the Constitution.  The Constitution does not allow for a runaway convention.  In an Article V. Convention, only amendments may be proposed.

The call for an Article V. Convention is nothing new.  Forty-Nine States have called for it, many of those calls beginning longer than over a 100 years ago.  Over 700 applications have been made.  The convention has never taken place because the Congress will not set a time and place (the only federal duty in an Article V. Convention), for fear of the people proposing amendments, and the States ratifying them, that would limit the powers of the federal government.  Centralized systems do not like it when the individual mind gets involved, and demands change.

There are three kinds of conventions.  A con-con, which is a Constitutional Convention, and there was only one, held back in 1787, and there should only be one in our history.  In addition to the con-con, and the Article V. Convention, is a kind of convention called Republic Review.  A Republic Review may be used to audit the federal government, determine what is unconstitutional, and then form a plan of action to alter the federal government so that it falls in line with the principles of the United States Constitution.  An Article V. Convention, or the States working together through nullification, could be the result of a Republic Review.  The strategy to convene a Republic Review convention lies primarily with We the People.

Amendments, no matter how they are proposed, require three-quarters approval from the States.  This approval process is called "ratification."  Ratification is the failsafe, according to Alexander Hamilton in his Federalist 85, against conventions that may be used to rewrite the Constitution.  Any change to the Constitution is possible, as prescribed by Article V, as long as the amendment is capable of receiving three-quarters of the States' ratification votes.

The only exception to any amendment being possible is addressed at the end of Article V.  According to the Constitution, no amendment, without the consent of the State in question, may deprive a State of equal suffrage in the Senate.  This testifies to the importance, in the minds of the framers, to the need for the United States Senate to remain unchanged, with the Senators being appointed by the State legislatures.

Since the Constitution is a document that contains express powers for the federal government, granted by the States, the only way to change or add authorities is through the amendment process, with State approval.  When it is understood that the original authorities granted to the federal government were granted to the central government by the States, it is appropriate that it takes three-quarters of the States to ratify an amendment.  When Congress proposes an amendment, it is literally a case of the federal government asking for permission of the States to have a new authority, and approval by the States requires three-quarters agreement.

Marijuana Threatens Environment in California

By Douglas V. Gibbs

For some reason the old saying, "Be careful what you wish for," comes to mind.

When the colonists first came to the New World, to survive, they needed a cash crop.  Tobacco turned out to be the big money maker that would save the colonies, and ensure the development of the English Colonies that would eventually evolve into the United States of America.

Tobacco is now the enemy, and the liberal left has done all they can to kill that vice, and force any profits from cigarettes to go up in smoke.

 Marijuana is their new baby, and I think they are so supportive of the legalization of marijuana for recreational use because they know their opponents, conservatives, are generally against the legalization of marijuana.  The progressives love to play "gotcha," and love to support anything they think will piss off their opposition. . . even if doing so is idiotic.  And that is why it is so funny when leftist policies wind up backfiring in their faces.

The funny thing about cash crops is that profit becomes a pretty important thing once it starts rolling in.  And the thing about greedy profiteers like the liberal leftists who normally don't like to engage in such capitalistic activities, is they know no restraint, and are willing to do anything to make sure they get their fair share.

Pot Growers 'Clear-Cutting Redwoods, Leveling Hills, Sucking Dry Rivers'...

Biologists identify marijuana gardens as salmon threat...


Interesting.  The pot entrepreneurs, once they have a chance for profit, suddenly forget all about their environmentalist ways.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Hard Starboard Radio: Is Syria Obama's Iraq?



Eric Holder’s legacy: Enabling Al Sharpton’s “I have a scheme” civil-rights agenda; The "inequality" bed-wetters are misleading you; The Great Big End-of-September Midterm Election Roundup; Like autumn leaves, Obama's story changes to match the season; Obama hasn’t a clue what he’s doing in the Middle East - or maybe he does.  But at least he isn’t George W. Bush; and the Arab world produces nothing but hatred and violence.  Why?  Islam.

Riding the endless freefall at 6PM Eastern/3PM Pacific.

A "Little Dab" Of Democrat Voter Fraud

by JASmius



This woman exemplifies Connecticut's rejected state motto: "Like Massachusetts, only dirtier and with less character":

State Representative Christina “Tita” Ayala, D-Bridgeport, was arrested Friday on 19 voting fraud charges.

Ayala, 31, is accused of voting in local and state elections in districts she did not live, the Chief State’s Attorney’s Office said in a press release.

The arrest warrant affidavit also alleges Ayala provided fabricated evidence to state Election Enforcement Commission investigators that showed she lived at an address in a district where she voted while actually living outside the district, according to the release.

But liberals tell us voter fraud doesn’t exist.

More to the point, why do Dems need it in a state as "blue" as Connecticut?  It's not as if there's any burgeoning redneck threat in the Nutmeg State to be bludgeoned into submission with a fusillade of hanging chads.  The answer would seem to be that (1) it's an involuntary Democrat reflex, like the no-reason spontaneous boners of eighth-grade boys, and (2) Dems consider voting multiple times in multiple venues in the same election to be both an entitlement and a constitutional right.  Which makes "Tita's", er, particular "ethnic persuasion" and the smug smirk she sports in every pic of her I could find online all that much harder to ignore.  And, of course, for every "Tita" who is sloppy enough to get caught, there are countless other lefties who slide by the <snicker> "dragnet" scot-free.

Indeed, the miracle here is that voter fraud is even prosecuted in a Donk stronghold like Connecticut.  Which pretty much guarantees that she'll be let off with a slap on the wrist at best, and be hailed as its newest "civil rights hero" by the American Left.  It wouldn't surprise me if she's O's next recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  "Social justice" means sticking it to whitey, after all.

White House Incompetence Includes Secret Service

By Douglas V. Gibbs

It is as if being around the democrats makes everyone more stupid, and more inept. . .

SECRET SERVICE SCREWUP IS OBAMA'S LIFE SAFE?

JUMPER RACED DEEP INTO WHITE HOUSE...

Tackled by OFF DUTY agent who happened to walk by...

More than 1,000 security breaches revealed...

'We Just Keep Getting Lucky'...

I wonder if the Democrats will use this to accuse the radical rightwing extremists of trying to kill President Barack Obama.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Obama Skipped More Than Half His Daily Intel Briefs

by JASmius



Well, natch; I mean, what does an omniscient supreme being need with puny, ignorant, mortal intelligence briefings?:

In the fallout over President Barack Obama blaming the intelligence community for the rise of the Islamic State, a new report has surfaced showing that he attended less than half of his daily intel briefings.

The Government Accountability Institute, an investigative research organization, said the president went to only 42.1 percent of his intelligence meetings, known as the Presidential Daily Brief, or PDB, in the 2,079 days of his presidency through Monday, according to Breitbart.

The GAI report also revealed during his first term he attended 42.4% of the briefings, while Obama has even reduced that number in his second term, with just a 41.3% attendance record.

Of course.  Godbama doesn't need intelligence briefings, because he already knows everything, and even if he didn't, all he needs to do to solve any problem is to give a "historic" speech about it.  Which he did in Cairo, Egypt over five years ago, which "fixed" the Middle East and dissipated the War Against Islamic Fundamentalism and made all 1.2+ billion Muslims our bosom allies and close friends.  Besides, it was interfering with his ongoing auditions for the PGA Tour.

And if it turns out he was wrong to skip all those PDB's, well, it's his senior intelligence officials' fault.  Because nothing is ever his fault.  He's Godbama, and therefore perfect.

Meanwhile, in the reality he thinks he controls but does not actually even recognize, his senior intelligence officials did not, in fact, drop any balls:

The Daily Beast’s Eli Lake alleged on Monday that as long as eight months ago Obama’s senior intelligence officials had alerted the White House that ISIS was growing in power while attempting to create a caliphate in Iraq and Syria.

“In the beginning of 2014, ISIS fighters had defeated Iraqi forces in Fallujah, leading much of the U.S. intelligence community to assess they would try to take more of Iraq,” wrote Lake, adding that members of the Defense department were “flabbergasted” by Obama’s statement. 
“Either the president doesn’t read the intelligence he’s getting or he’s (lying),” a former senior Pentagon official who knew of the threat posed by Sunni extremists told the Beast.

Hmmm; yet another ex-Regime official blaspheming The One.  Either this is a sudden outbreak of mass heresy, or some of his minions are getting tired of serving as his gelded scapegoats.

And it doesn't stop there:

Breitbart noted that following his controversial TV comments Obama has been accused by people in the intelligence community of lacking interest in “live” PDBs, which allow the president to ask follow-up questions, demand further information and challenge intel suppositions.

Meanwhile, an Obama national security staffer told the Daily Mail that the PDBs have included threat assessment on ISIS since 2012.

It's pretty well-known that the president hasn’t taken in-person intelligence briefings with any regularity since the early days of 2009,” the staffer said. “He gets them in writing.

“Unless someone very senior has been shredding the president's daily briefings and telling him that the dog ate them, highly accurate predictions about (ISIS) have been showing up in the Oval Office since before the election.” [emphases added]

These aren't former Regime officials, but current ones.  Leakers.  Obviously not political appointees, but dedicated professionals increasingly alarmed and frustrated at what Barack Obama is doing to U.S. national security and outraged that he's blaming them for his deliberate foreign policy sabotage.

I don't think there's any "tipping point" coming, but it is little short of breathtaking that this level of internal uproar is emerging from the bureaucratic bowels of the Obama Regime.  It's like they're only now coming to grips with what we've long since known: That Barack Obama doesn't give a crap about foreign policy or national security beyond what has been necessary to, as he once put it, "bring American down to the level of the rest of the world."  As he has pretty much already accomplished that, why miss all those eighteen-hole victory laps?  Appearance's sake?

Leaving A News Reporting Gig To Run A Marijuana Business

by JASmius

This Alaska reporter left a paying news gig, while on the air, to make a statement about weed legalization...well that sounds completely rational...



Exit question: Since she wants to be Cheech & Chong for a living, can I have her paying news gig?  I admit I'm not as pleasant to look at, nor as "mellow," but I'd be a lot more appealing to listen to.....

Work Place Islam

by JASmius

When a Muslim tries to convert you to Islam, it is not just an invitation. It may also be a death threat.



Bill Maher Mocks Public Reaction To Obama’s Latte Salute

by JASmius

In a truly satisfying segment of “Real Time with Bill Maher,” a former United States Marine Corps General absolutely shredded the show’s host, Bill Maher, the loudmouthed liberal punk who condescends to nearly everyone.



What can we learn from this exchange?  Not much, actually:

1) Bill Maher is an irredeemable hard-left asshole;

2) Bill Maher, cocooned in the comforting folds of his hard-left arrogance, will never learn any lesson administered to him, no matter how thrashingly, because he'll never be convinced that he doesn't know everything, and his enemies are smarter, wiser, funnier, more mature, and more knowledgeable than he will ever be;

3) Bill Maher suffers from never having been beaten unconscious for his insolence years ago, when teaching of the aforementioned lesson might still have been possible.

Now?  I'm sure he has a well-paid personal security team to protect him from the consequences of his big mouth.

More's the pity.

Homosexual "Wedding" Cake Case Pushes Christian Baker To Bankruptcy

by JASmius

Behold, the cost of taking a stand for God's truth in the early twenty-first century.

At least it won't include the lives of Melissa Klein and her family - for now:

An Oregon baker accused of discriminating against a same-sex couple by refusing to make their wedding cake broke down in tears as she talked about the repercussions of the faith-based decision.

"For me personally, when I would sit down with [a customer], I just would want to know everything about her wedding," Melissa Klein said at last week's Values Voter Summit.

"I'd want to know about the flowers, her dress, the centerpieces, her colors, the way her hair is going to be. I would even want to talk about "where are you going on your honeymoon?'

At that point, Klein began to sob.

The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries earlier this year found "substantial evidence" that Klein and her husband, Aaron, owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, discriminated against the lesbian couple. The Kleins now face a fine in excess of $150,000.

Aaron Klein told the Daily Signal the fee would "definitely" be enough to bankrupt the couple and their five children.

"It's horrible to see your own government doing this to you," he added.



62 million numbnuts twice elected a gang of dinnermashing, Christophobic fascists, Mr. Klein.  What can I tell you?

As I have written on this topic before, so I shall reiterate now: There was no way on God's green Earth that this lesbian "couple" was completely unable to find a non-Christian bakery who would freely and happily, um, "service" them, and therefore, no convincing case to be made that they were "damaged" or even inconvenienced in any way, shape, or form.  The Kleins, in other words, were deliberately targeted for this persecution and trampling of their First Amendment religious freedom rights.  The Lavender Lobby isn't after "equality" or "tolerance," but superiority and dominance.  They wish to stamp out biblical Christianity every bit as ferociously as do Islamic Fundamentalists, and the lesbo plaintiffs were acting in accordance with that fatwa.

And this is just the beginning.

Exit thought: Ironic, isn't it, that homosexual extremism is turning America into precisely the moral cesspool that makes Islamic jihadists want to destroy us so passionately.  Makes you wonder what that final showdown will look like, after the rest of us are no more.

Intruder Ran Deep Into White House

by JASmius




It figures that this White House couldn't even be candid about a knife-wielding assailant's lofty "home invasion":

The man who jumped the White House fence and entered the building earlier this month was able to make his way farther inside than previously reported, according to new reports Monday.

Iraq War veteran Omar Gonzalez made it not only into the unlocked front entrance of the White House, but was able to overpower a Secret Service agent and ran through a good portion of the main floor, says the Washington Post

Initial reports indicated Gonzalez was tackled soon after he got inside the White House.  But Gonzalez wasn't stopped until he reached the Green Room, an official told the New York Times.

According to the Post, the knife-wielding Gonzalez ran past a half-flight of stairs leading to the first family's living quarters, then ran into the East Room before being tackled.

So many questions spring instantly to mind.  Why did Gonzalez do it?  Was it Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?  Did his service in Iraq destroy his life and prompt him to seek some kind of unfocused revenge?  Was he pissed that Obama deferred his Executive amnesty decree until after the midterm elections?  Did Obama operatives know of Gonzalez's intentions and order Secret Service personnel to let him reach the deep interior of the White House so as to create an anti-veteran/anti-military, and implicitly anti-Tea Party, exploitable propaganda incident to affect the midterms?  Or were Secret Service personnel all drunk, sleeping off benders in nearby streetcars, as the infamous John Parker was outside Ford's Theater the night President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated?

We still don't know Gonzalez's motivations.  But as to Secret Service incompetence, there is some indication - as well as its ultimate source:

The Post reported that an alarm box near the front entrance had been turned off because the usher's office had complained it made too much noise. It reportedly had gone off by accident several times.

Alarm buttons are posted throughout the grounds, and a Secret Service agent can press one whenever someone jumps the fence to alert other agents about the breach. The system is also supposed to alert a guard at the front entrance to lock the front door....

[Representative Jason] Chaffetz [R-UT3]  told the Post that if the "crash boxes" were, in fact, muted to avoid being "disruptive," it shows the problem is not a lack of resources or an insufficient number of checkpoints or barriers.

"The agency needs a solution that goes deeper than more fences and more people," Chaffetz told the Post. "It must examine what message is being sent to the men and women who protect the president when their leader sacrifices security to appease superficial concerns of White House ushers." [emphases added]

I'm at a loss, folks.  Does Barack Obama have a deathwish?  Does he still believe that the entire planet worships him and would, thus, never even think to harm him or his family?  Is he so convinced of his godhood that he thinks himself omnipotent, able to cut down any attacker with a wave of his divine putter?  Or that his mellifluous telepromptered speechifying can win over any and everybody who comes within his radius of rhetorical awesomeness?

Or is it as I speculated above, and he sees this as an impromptu "October surprise"?  Or worse yet, is the thinking that The One would become even more powerful as a martyr than the public laughingstock he's become?

Problem with that is, his assailant wasn't white.  Or, so it's been disclosed, even a "white Hispanic".  But he is a veteran.  Perhaps that will be enough.

As for Secret Service Director Julia Pierson, she'll be grilled by Representative Chaffetz's House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on Homeland Security, she'll pull a Lois Lerner, than fall on her sword.  And her replacement will pick up right where she left off, because the problem isn't at her pay grade, but in the Oval Office itself - whether beset by obliviousness, hauteur, or deathwish.

O couldn't lower the seas.  Maybe he thinks he can resurrect himself.

But we'd better hope and pray he never, EVER gets the chance.  Looking back on how assassination transmogrified a mediocre POTUS like JFK into a sainted figure, and unleashed a decade and a half of leftwing agitation, radicalization, advances, and national turmoil, the prospect of what would follow Red Barry's demise is far, far too harrowing to even contemplate.

Monday, September 29, 2014

Beyonce Wardrobe Malfunction Defines America

By Douglas V. Gibbs

The number one story at Yahoo! is how Beyonce's blouse burst open during a concert with rapper Jay-Z in Toronto.  Americans are enthralled with the singing star's top exposing her breasts while Islam is expanding its terror through ISIS in Syria and Iraq, and through other groups in other countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa; an American woman was beheaded by a Muslim in Oklahoma, and another in that State has made a similar verbal threat; the President of the United States has been promising to  unconstitutionally sidestep Congress and grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens, as the Pentagon toys with allowing illegals to serve in the U.S. Military; Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine; China is clinching its iron fist on Hong Kong; various new nuclear powers have vowed to use their weapons against America; the leftists are trying to use Common Core to complete their destruction of parental rights and our education system; Gun Control advocates, working to take away our right to defend ourselves, are using children as pawns in their latest ad campaign; Hamas is using children as shields in Gaza; ISIS terrorists are beheading Christian children and in some cases have been filmed using the heads of those children as soccer balls; evidence is emerging that California's drought is the result of liberal left policies, not the man-made global warming myth; opponents of the Obama administration are being targeted legally with bogus indictments; leftists are using media campaigns to silence conservative pundits in an attempt to silence any opposition to the progressive liberal left commie bastard agenda; despite Obama's pinprick bombing of ISIS, the terror group is advancing; and the chaos goes on and on and on. . . and the biggest concern by Americans is whether or not they can catch a glimpse of the exposed chest of a member of the entertainment industry.

Even more alarming is the name of the event: Global Citizen Festival 2014.

The One World Government globalists no longer hide, and are now doing all they can to get the uninformed voters to crave a worldwide, authoritarian system without borders, without sovereignty, and without individual identity as a nation. . . or as a person.

It is as if they are saying, "Join the collective.  Resistance is futile."

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Holy Grail! Beyonce has Wardrobe Malfunction While on Stage with Jay Z - Yahoo! Music

Louisiana Gov. Jindal Sues Federal Government over Common Core - Fox News

Anti-Second Amendment Crowd Uses Children as Props in DISGUSTING New Anti-Gun PSA - Tea Party News Network

ISIS VIDEOS: Jihadists kicking severed heads around in Iraq to mark start of World Cup, "This is our Football, it is made of skin" - Pamela Geller

California's Water Shortage Driven By Bad Policy - You Tube

Obama Critic D'Souza spared prison for violating election law - Reuters

Revealed: Conspiracy to Destroy Rush Limbaugh is Small, Organized, Deceptive - Daily Caller

Schools Scramble to Help Teens Who Crossed Border - Associated Press

James O'Keefe Exposes Plan to Use Illegal Aliens and Voter Fraud to Turn Texas Blue - Breitbart

U.S. Congressman Linked to Muslim Terrorist Organization - Walid Shoebat

Support for ISIS is Growing and World War III Looms on the Horizon - Walid Shoebat

Another Muslim Man in Oklahoma Snaps and Tells Co-Worker: I represent ISIS, I will cut your head off, ISIS kills Christians - Walid Shoebat

ISIS Overruns Iraqi Army Base Near Baghdad, Executes 300 Soldiers - Walid Shoebat

Hong Kong's student protesters ignite campaign against Beijing - Yahoo News\

Beijing Warns Against Foreign Intervention, as Hong Kong Protesters Block Roads - CSMonitor

Hard Starboard Radio: Enough Idealism, Already



When you get your politics from Lena Dunham, yoooooou might be too dumb to vote; By any objective measure, things have been going great for (non-Islamic) women for a long time; Eric "The Red" Holder’s legacy: Enabling Al Sharpton’s “I have a scheme” civil-rights agenda; How two presidents courted Middle East disaster; and the Khorosan Group is either (1) an investment firm on Corscucant, or (2) a fictitious name the Obama Regime invented to deceive us.

The lie-fielding never ends at 6PM Eastern/3PM Pacific.

Ted Cruz: ISIS No Reason To Cozy Up To Iran

by JASmius



Reason?  No.  Opportunity?  NOW you're getting warm:


The rise of a nuclear Iran is the single greatest foreign threat to the United States, and President Barack Obama is wrong to pursue a path of diplomatic rapprochement as he focuses on the threat of the Islamic State (ISIS), said Sen. Ted Cruz.

In an opinion piece for Politico magazine, the Texan Republican said it would be a mistake to make Iran an ally in the fight against the militant group without increasing the pressure on Iran to halt its nuclear program and release the four American hostages.

"Last week…President Obama gave a major speech to the United Nations General Assembly. He focused on issues such as Ebola, ISIL militants in Iraq, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine—all crises worthy of the attention of the American president and the United Nations. But entirely absent from his remarks was the grim threat posed to the United States and our allies by a nuclear-armed Iran," Cruz wrote.

Of course.  I would think the way he sat back, headed bobbing sagely, as the mullahs crushed the infamous Green Revolution five years ago would be more than sufficient indication of what Barack Obama thinks about the grim threat posed to the United States (we don't have allies anymore) by a nuclear-armed Iran.  His view of that prospect is as it has always been and remains to this day: If America has nukes, what right do we have telling the mullahs they can't have 'em, too?  After all, it's only "fair" that they be able to wipe us out as a deterrent against the Great Satan.

Which is to say, O has been "cozying up to Iran" for going on six years now.  ISIS is just the latest excuse for doing so.  Indeed, he would be cozying up to ISIS as well if not for their beheading two Americans in front of the entire world.  And his pretend-bombing of the Islamic State will only last until he can get them out of the headlines, or Election Day five weeks from now, whichever comes first.  And then will follow his inevitable "pivot to diplomacy".

Assuming he doesn't blunder into a war with the Russians first.  His infernal majesty is a multi-tasker, you know.

Russia: "Syrian Airspace Under Our Protection"

by JASmius



I touched on this likelihood just the other day, and sure enough....:

Russia has delivered a behind-the-scenes threat to retaliate if airstrikes carried out by the U.S. or its allies target the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Middle Eastern security officials told WND.

The security officials said Russia complained Sunday in quiet talks with United Nations representatives that the Obama administration’s current aerial campaign against Islamic State fighters in Syria is a violation of international agreements regarding control of Syrian airspace.

The officials said Russia warned it could potentially retaliate if U.S. or Arab airstrikes go beyond targeting [the] Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, and instead bomb any Syrian regime targets.

Given that the Obama Regime is only technically "bombing" anything in Syria territory (or Iraqi territory, for that matter), this is probably not a huge concern.  But mistakes can be made - "fog of war," and all that - and it's anybody's guess how elastic is Boy Assad's - or Vladimir Putin's - definition of what constitutes "targeting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad".  There's always the possibility that Czar Vlad might see this as an opportunity to provoke a direct military confrontation with The One as a means of bullying massive concessions out of him via-a-vie eastern  Europe - its "de-NATO-ization," as it were.  And forgetting about Ukraine altogether.

Or matters could get totally out of control.....



This is what happens when a POTUS goes totally limp across the foreign policy board and out of his way to aggravate friend and foe alike: He cannot belatedly address one crisis without exacerbating one or more others. His options are whittled down to the point where war on the enemy's terms and initiative is the only one left.

Or, in other words, welcome to "smart power".

[h/t: Larry Wallenmeyer]

Obama's ISIS Deception


By Douglas V. Gibbs

President Barack Obama's recent episode where he stormed out of a military briefing, commenting as he left, "[Don't] try and paint all of Islam with the same brush," was very telling.  The episode was not at all surprising to those that have been critical of Barack Obama from the beginning, because his allegiance to his sympathies towards Islam have been all too clear for those who have been willing to admit they exist, and have scrutinized his actions and words as they relate to his bias towards Islam.  Because of his discriminate opinions, Obama has softened the government's stance against terrorism, and has made statements and has taken actions counter to the federal government's constitutional duty of providing for the common defense.  The perceived weakness of the President has inflamed the Middle East, emboldened the jihad, and has enabled the pieces for a pro-sharia caliphate to emerge.  The chaos in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Iraq, and other points throughout the region, have been directly influenced, and enabled, by Barack Obama's foreign policy.  He has funded and armed militant groups connected to terrorism, and has time and time again turned his back on America's greatest ally, Israel.

Either the President refuses to recognize the reality of the danger that Islam poses to the world, or he secretly wants to encourage their effort to achieve global chaos and the establishment of a new Islamic caliphate poised for a campaign determined to obtain worldwide domination by Islam.

The rise of ISIS may have been unexpected by some, and Barack Obama claims "we underestimated the rise of ISIS," but those involved in national security paints a different picture.

"We" did not underestimate the rise of ISIS, or the severity of the problem associated with the Islamic jihad.  It is the politicians that have been convinced to dumb down the language, and proclaim Islam is the religion of peace.  It is the classic Orwellian propaganda campaign.  War is Peace.  Freedom is Slavery.  Ignorance is Strength.

Meanwhile, like the pigs in Animal Farm, Islam proclaims that some ideologies are more equal than others.

I was talking to someone the other day who has an inside scoop on what really goes on.  He was telling me that FBI briefings have to be approved by a division that is overrun with members of the Muslim Brotherhood.  The Muslims in the FBI cross out terms and phrases in reports and presentations that make any reference to Islam that are not flattering.  The word out there among the non-Muslim personnel is to not include all that you plan to present in a briefing, and say as you want once the briefing comes up.  If you add all you want to say, it will be censored out by the Muslim Brotherhood.

I was talking to a former Muslim that was receiving threats by a local Muslim group, and her story was one that nobody hears about.  A local group of people representing a local mosque had been threatening her and she filed a complaint with the police, which eventually reached the FBI.  The request bypassed the local agents, and was received by an agent in Los Angeles, who is a Muslim.  He came all the way out to the Inland Empire and gave her the riot act.  Later, when she finally got a hold of the agents in her area, she was informed they were never aware of the request, and there was no record of the L.A. agent coming out to see her.

Our government has been infiltrated by Islam, and the President is fully aware of it.  He wants to do all he can to appease Islam, because he carries sympathies for Islam that he has been trying to hide.  The intelligence briefings regarding the Islamic threat did not underestimate the rise of ISIS, or the danger ISIS poses.  One former member of the intelligence community says that Obama can't fault America's intelligence personnel as he has been doing for underestimating the rise of ISIS.  They knew about it, and warned him about it, and he refused to listen. . . or agreed but refused to act.  Either President Obama did not read the intelligence reports, "or he's bullshi**ing us."

Obama's ISIS deception is the same deception he poses regarding Islam.  He wants you to believe he is concerned, but he also wants you to believe the problem is not Islam, but a few renegade cells that are defying the peaceful nature that Islam says it stands for.

Walid Shoebat and I.Q. al Rassooli, both former Muslims, have both told me: "All Muslims are potential terrorists."

There may be good people in Islam, or they think they are good people, but since the day they were born they have been conditioned to hate non-Muslims, and to be willing to kill for the false prophet Muhammad.

Brigitte Gabriel says that if moderate Muslims do exist, they are irrelevant, like the German people under the Third Reich.  The German people, be it out of fear, or out of support for the fascist ideology, refused to stand against Nazism - as today's Muslims refuse to stand against the jihad.  Only those that have turned their back on Islam, and has ceased being a Muslim, seem to be the ones willing to stand up for the truth of what Islam is all about.  If they have not turned their back on the satanic teachings of the Koran, they are potential terrorists, and allies of ISIS.

OBAMA: 'They Don't Call Moscow' When There's Trouble In The World - Business Insider


Exit Eric Holder

by JASmius

It's curtains for the accomplice general. ISIS comes in second. And fracking Hollywood.



The Constitution Recipe

By Douglas V. Gibbs

My homemade salsa recipe is not mine.  My dad came up with the ingredients, heavily influenced by ROTEL's recommendations, and he tweaked it on how to put it together.  I follow his recipe pretty much to the tee, adding just a tad more cilantro because of my fondness of that unique Mexican flavor.  Once, he told me a story about how another person had asked him how he made his salsa, because they wanted to try the recipe for themselves.  He told them how he made it, they took careful notes, and a few weeks later called him and said there was something wrong with the recipe.  He went over the recipe with them, and found that they had changed a few ingredients.  The amazing part of it all was that they didn't understand why those few changes altered the final product so much.

Instead of using lime juice from a fresh lime, the folks used lemon juice from a plastic container.  Instead of room temperature Roma Tomatoes, they used refrigerated beef steak tomatoes.  Instead of green onions, they used a yellow onion.  Yet, they wondered what was wrong with my dad's recipe he had given them, and blamed him for providing a flawed recipe.

At least they had enough sense to go back to the person that originally came up with the recipe.

On the phone, he went over the recipe for them one more time, this time carefully articulating the original ingredients.  Listening to him go over the original recipe, they were able to identify their erroneous substitutions, and then with the next batch produced a product that tasted as it was expected to.

The United States Constitution is much like that original salsa recipe.  If followed as originally provided, the product is a system that champions liberty, provides justice, and encourages prosperity.  However, over the past two centuries wrong ingredients have been added to the recipe, items that do not belong and actually change the final taste of the resulting political system.  We have been convinced by politicians and lawyers that the originally recipe is not quite right, but they have interpreted the lime juice to be artificial lemon juice, that any tomato at any temperature is a good tomato for the recipe, and that a more modern and bulbous onion is preferable over the archaic green onion.  Then, as liberty slips through our fingers, we are told the problem is the recipe, that somehow the Constitution is flawed, and that the system of freedom has failed us because the original writings of the Constitution are out of date, out of style, and written by a bunch of selfish, rich, white guys.  The large minds of academia, the judiciary, and the political realm have changed the recipe, and now they blame the original recipe for the failure of the final product.

As with my Dad's friends, how can we know where we went wrong with the recipe if we don't fully understand the original recipe as it was intended?  Should not the original intent of the United States Constitution be the definitions we seek?  How can we remove the erroneous additions that has placed our American System in danger if we don't understand the original recipe as it was designed by the Founding Fathers?

Unfortunately, few people understand the original intent of the U.S. Constitution, and a large segment of our political animals do not approve of the limited government principles established by that document.  They not only don't understand the original recipe, but they want to change it to be something that has a proven historical record to fail.  We must, based on our knowledge of the original documents, protect original intent, and educate others about the original intent of the United States Constitution.

The Founding Fathers were activists and problem solvers, and they expected us to be the same.  They understood that limited government is the essence of liberty.  The Constitution was not written to grant to the federal government unlimited powers, but to vest in the government in Washington only those authorities necessary to protect the union, and State Sovereignty.  The individualism of the States, and We the People, were supposed to be the guiding principle, using the concepts of choice, self-reliance, personal responsibility, hard work, a free market, and a firm reliance on divine Providence as the foundation of our system.  The rule of law is the set standard, based on moral principles, and righteous governance by the consent of the governed.  The law says what it says, and was originally intended to mean what it says.  However, the rule of man, based on the whims of the politicians, judges, academics, and the conditioned (since birth in many cases) loudest segments of the population, have inserted so many sour ingredients that the original recipe is almost no longer recognizable.  We the People have an opportunity to change that.  We the People, however, must be willing to learn, educate, and fight for the original recipe.  It is up to us to hand down the perfect recipe of the United States Constitution to our posterity.  We cannot pass down freedom through osmosis.  It must be handed down, through hard work, dedication, and blood, sweat, and tears.  Are we willing to be like the framers?  Are we ready for the heavy burden of protecting liberty?

In the final sentence of the Declaration of Independence, the path before us is clear: "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

Lives, Fortunes, and sacred Honor.

Learn more about the Constitution by visiting articles by Douglas V. Gibbs on this site, as well as his classes, and other events.

Doug's book, 25 Myths of the United States Constitution is on sale now.  The Basic Constitution will be on sale soon.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Definition of divine Providence: The care and superintendence which God exercises over His creatures.

What The Dhimmedia Doesn't Want Us To Know About Alton Nolen

by JASmius

.....he is, indeed, a jihadist:



Money quote:

[T]he Quranic quote on the photo is what we predicted last week in our warning that they will follow the instruction: "when you meet the unbelievers then strike off their necks (Quran) فإذالقيتمالذينكفروافضربالرقاب" as was his conviction to answer the call of Islam, to kill Americans and behead them as we forewarned last week in the ISIS Manifesto, which we begged all Americans to read, lock and load, and be ready.

What we warned about came and will continue till kingdom come. We are definitely entering the days when the ones who will behead you will be thinking that they are doing God a service. For two decades, I warned Americans "they will come to behead you" and "what part of kill do you not understand?"

Never assume "it could never happen to me or my children" or "this is in Syria and Iraq." It happened in conservative Oklahoma and the sooner you wake up the better.
This is what your government and your media prefers you do not see, this in not only an ISIS Manifesto, but stems from Islam itself as stated on page 5, of the Fatwa which should answer what every westerner  asks: "Why chop off our heads?"

And as we stated on our previous report, the instructions circulate the social media calling for carrying out the fatwa to kill Americans using Ihsan "The act of kindness and charity" during the killing:

"It was shown in Sahih … the Prophet said "Allah wrote everything we need to know about Ihsan(kindness) so if you kill, perfect your killing and if you slaughterperfect your slaughter and sharpen your blade and comfort your sacrifice" (also see Hadith Muslim 107/13)

And this is what they mean when they say that "Islam is a religion of mercy."

I don't call Islam "demonic" for nothing.

Huckabee, Cruz Blast Hillary @ Values Voter Summit

by JASmius



Opening question: Which one is Hillary!?

Hillary Rodham Clinton is the one figure uniting religious conservatives frustrated by a leaderless Republican Party that's divided over foreign policy, immigration and social issues.

Boy, I bet you can't guess this is an Assholiated Press wire story, huh?

The prospect of another Clinton White House stirred anguish at the Values Voter Summit this weekend where hundreds of conservative activists debated the GOP's future and warned that the acknowledged but unannounced 2016 Democratic front-runner would cement what they see as President Barack Obama's attack on religious freedom.

"Never forget she will be Barack Obama's third and fourth term as president of the United States," Minnesota-6 Representative Michele Bachmann, an unsuccessful GOP presidential candidate in 2012, said Friday night.

Never forget, Barack Obama will be Barack Obama's third and fourth term as POTUS.  Hillary Clinton has as much chance at even the Democrat nomination as she has getting elected mayor of Quahog, Rhode Island.  A fact of which Mary Tyler Less would be cognizant, if she wasn't dim-witted enough to have thought herself presidential timbre at one time in the not too distant past.

She was among the high-profile Republicans, including past and prospective White House contenders, at the annual conference attended by some of the most prominent social conservatives and hosted by the Family Research Council, well known for its opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage.

"High-profile" Republicans?  I thought we were talking about Michelle Bachmann.

This year's gathering expanded its focus to religious freedom, or the persecution of Christians and their values at home and abroad. It was a message that GOP officials hope will help unify a fractured party and appeal to new voters ahead of November's elections and the next presidential contest.

The Republican Party is not "fractured"; though it isn't for the Tea Party's lack of trying.  The Democrats, on the other hand....

On the third hand (if one is Triexian, anyway), good luck getting Republican political consultants to unify around a so-con centered campaign theme.

But it was Clinton's name that was as much a rallying cry as the theme of religious liberty.

I.e. she's the GOP's fundraising scarecrow.


Texas Senator Ted Cruz....

....who is more than intelligent enough to know better, both about Hillary Clinton's political viability and his own dubious presidential qualifications....

....a prospective presidential candidate....

See what I mean?

....challenged Clinton to "spend a day debating" the Denver nuns who run nursing homes for the poor, called the Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged, and have challenged the Obama health law's requirement that some religious-affiliated organizations provide insurance that includes birth control.

Why would she need to debate when she already knows everything?

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, a once and perhaps future contender, described Clinton as "tenacious."

"She's got all the skills and would be an incredibly formidable candidate," Huckabee told reporters, suggesting that Clinton is politically vulnerable. "She's got to go out and defend Barack Obama and her record in the first four years she was secretary of state."

Please, do explain to us, Huck, just exactly how and in what ways the Empress is "incredibly formidable"?  She carpet-bagged a gift-wrapped U.S. Senate seat in one of the "bluest" states in the country.  She ran for president in 2008 as the presumptive general election winner and couldn't get out of the Donk primaries.  The Nutroots hate her pasty guts.  She's dragging Benghazi and the Obama legacy of division, Ameriphobia, deliberate malaise and decline, economic sabotage, etc., etc., etc. behind her like an anchor.  The candidate she most tempermentally resembles is Richard Nixon circa 1962.  And she's almost 70 years old and looks at least ten years older, with health concerns to match.

Looks like Huckles has as much political acuity as soon-to-be-former Representative Bachmann and Senator Cruz.  Which suggests that the only real division in the Republican Party is between those who can judge political talent and those who cannot.

And that group most assuredly does not include the Assholiated Press, whose analysis of the "crowded, front-runnerless GOP field" sounds less like analysis and more like wishful thinking.

Walker-Cruz '16.  You heard it here first.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Email of the Week: What did Hillary Clinton Say?

Email of the Week's: QUOTE OF THE DAY

Quote of the day, no, of the week, make that a month. Yet it probably is quote of the year ! No. DECADE. Wait a minute. It's the greatest quote ever !

“My accomplishments as Secretary of State? Well, I'm glad you asked! My proudest accomplishment in which I take the most pride, mostly because of the opposition it faced early on, you know… the remnants of prior situations and mindsets that were too narrowly focused in a manner whereby they may have overlooked the bigger picture and we didn’t do that and I’m proud of that. Very proud. I would say that’s a major accomplishment.” - Hillary Clinton 11 March 2014

Could someone please tell me JUST what she just said?
And she may be running for President?

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

46% Of Investors Worried About Retirement Savings

by JASmius



Welcome to my world, folks:

Many studies have come out showing that Americans aren't adequately saving for their retirement.

Indeed, most do not.  But that isn't my specific problem.

And a new Wells Fargo/Gallup survey of investors shows that they agree. Almost half, 46%, are very or somewhat worried about outliving their savings, including 50% of non-retirees and 36% of retirees.

I definitely share that concern.  But not because I haven't saved like a wildman.  I am German, you know.

Social Security represents a major cause for concern.

"Clearly Social Security plays a key role in thinking about retirement income, and concerns about the government's ability to address the system's financial problems exist for both retirees and non-retirees," Karen Wimbish, director of retail retirement at Wells Fargo, said in a statement.

A total of 58% of the respondents don't think Washington will act in time to preserve Social Security for future retirees. Only 38% of investors aged 18 to 49 expect to receive most or all of their benefits, compared with 73% among those 65 or older and 71% of those aged 50 to 64.

I've known for twenty years that I'm never going to see one thin dime, one red cent, of Social Security.  The optimistic estimate of when it will die - 2029 - just happens to be the year I reach the current statutory retirement age, which I've always considered to be a cosmic belly laugh at my expense.  Which is most of why I've saved like a Wildman my entire adult life, stayed in my dinky cracker box dump of a house, never traveled, never bought a new car and only purchased "pre-owned" cars when I absolutely had to, didn't see a doctor for almost thirty years, and all around eschewed the conspicuous consumption that has long characterized the "paycheck to paycheck" crowd.  I've worked hard, played by the rules, lived well within my means, and followed all the advice of my parents who grew up during the (First) Great Depression.

My reward was to be screwed out of my job and see my career destroyed before the age of fifty.

Which is what makes these CNBCCCP recommendations almost comically problematic:

"Aim to max out your 401k, IRA and other tax-advantaged accounts." Workers 50 and up can contribute extra to their 401k accounts in an IRA. So do it if you can.

That would help me how, exactly?  I've got no income, so the most I would be doing would be shifting money from savings I can access to savings I cannot for another decade.  And since I'm not getting my Monopoly money within a country parsec of the Bubble Market and interest rates guarantee that money market accounts won't earn jack on either end, it would be, for me, nothing more than financial masturbation.

"Hang on to your job just a little longer." The longer you put off retirement, the more wealth you can accumulate by the time you get there.

That's just cruel.  If I could apply that recommendation, I wouldn't be in this mess.

"Strategize Social Security." The rule of thumb is that the longer you wait to collect on Social Security, the better, because that allows time for your benefits to build up. But if you need money soon, you may not have a choice.

I've run the numbers, gents; I hear what you're saying and agree on the substance, but that's the difference between burning through two-thirds of my retirement before I reach retirement age and burning through three-quarters of it.  And that's the best case scenario, barring winning the proverbial lottery or any other unforeseen fiscal manna from heaven.  And it also assumes that Social Security will be around when - if - I reach 65, which it won't be.

I guess that's why, for me, there's a certain clinical detachment with which I regard commie butchers like Ezekiel Emanuel and their "mandatory death age" arguments.  He can talk about a 75-year-old age limit all he wants, but I'll have starved to death long before I could ever live that long.

No Global Warming In 18 Years

by JASmius



Funny how the "inconvenient truths" all seem to be on the other side of the ideological ledger these days, huh? (via Newsmax Insider:

On September 21st, an estimated 300,000-plus demonstrators turned out for the People's Climate March in New York City to call for international action against climate change.

Two days later, President Obama addressed the United Nations General Assembly and called on all countries to cut carbon emissions "right now."

And eight days after that, October 1st, will mark 18 consecutive years without global warming.

There has been "no significant warming trend in surface average temperature" in those 18 years, said Patrick Michaels, director of the Cato Institute's Center for the Study of Science....

Michaels pointed to findings by the University of Illinois' Polar Ice Research Center that Antarctic ice "is at its highest extent measured by the current microwave satellite sounding system" since 1978.

"And if you take a close look at the Arctic data, it appears the decline [in polar ice] stopped around 2005/2006, which means we've almost had 10 years without any net loss in Arctic ice."

And all of that despite the fact that the ChiComms and Indians are pumping out carbon like there's no tomorrow.  Makes you think, doesn't it?

Makes me think that nature even just on this one small planet is enormously vaster than little, insignificant homo sapiens can affect simply by existing.  It sounds rather conceited when you stop and think about it.  It also sells nature short; I mean, if this is a fully developed "Gaia" type ecosystem, if Earth is "alive" in even a metaphorical sense, then it must have natural coping mechanisms, yes?  Like an immune system?  And, whaddaya know, remember how the Deep Water Horizon oil spill four years ago in the Gulf of Mexico was resolved by natural means without much input from tiny ol' mankind?  It's not as if the planet hasn't suffered major, cataclysmic climatic disruptions in the past, right?  If it's really 4.6 billion years old (which it isn't, but you get my point).  Why do greenstremists have so little confidence in "Mother Earth"?

The other thing it makes me think is that it's odd how the ChiComms and Indians are always, for whatever reason, cut a pass on their egregious "greenhouse emissions," while the West in general and the United States in particular, which has already significantly reduced its carbon emissions at enormous cost and has done more for environmental quality than any nation ever, is relentlessly flogged by these same selectively blind-eyed people as Public Climate Enemy #1.  Largely because the beleaguered U.S. middle class still exists, I'm guessing.  Because, as we're all supposed to know and understand, the greatest threat to the planet is a healthy, robust, and prosperous U.S. middle class.

Al Gore and other climate change alarmists will have to concede that their predictions of catastrophic global warming were off by a long shot, Michaels, who has a doctorate in ecological climatology, told CNS News.

"It has to be admitted eventually that too much warming was forecast too fast," he said. "This just has to happen. You can't go on and on and on.

To quote the noted climatologist Bugs Bunny, "He don't know them vewy well, DO he?"

NFL Week 4 Predictions

by JASmius



LAST WEEK STRAIGHT UP: 12-4
LAST WEEK vs. SPREAD: 12-4

SEASON STRAIGHT UP: 29-19
SEASON vs. SPREAD: 22-26


Now that's more like it.  At least for a week, anyway.

The Champs got back on track in a game that I'm sure the League and every football fan outside the Pacific Northwest was grousing should have been the one that unfolded almost eight months ago at the Snoopy Bowl.  To which I beg to differ only in the sense that epic Super Bowl beat-downs are the hallmark of legendary, all-time great teams.  Dynasties, if you will.  And the 'hawks' has just begun.

But however you get there, we beat Peyton Manning and the Broncos then, and we beat them a week ago.  And who knows?  The trifecta may manifest at the Glendale Toaster a little over four months from now.  For the Forehead (or "Fivehead," as some waggishly refer to him), the adage "Be careful what you wish for" comes to mind.

Exit question: After a reprise of Super Bowl XLVIII in Super Bowl XLVIX, would that be enough to convince PM to call it a career?  Futility can be ignored for only so long, y'know.

[Straight up picks indicated by asterisk (*); picks against the spread in parentheses (x).]

~  ~  ~


Atlanta* (-.3)
Minnesota

Buffalo* (+3)
Houston

Carolina
Baltimore* (-3)

Detroit* (-1)
N.Y. Jets

Jacksonville
San Diego* (-13)

Miami*
Oakland (+4.5)

Green Bay
Chicago* (-1)

New Orleans* (-3)
Dallas

Philadelphia (+4.5)
San Francisco*

Tampa
Pittsburgh* (-7.5)

Tennessee
Indianapolis* (-7)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New England*
Kansas City (+4)

Constitution Study Radio: Lesson 23 - Income Tax and the Federal Reserve

Through the Constitution with Douglas V. Gibbs

The 16th Amendment established an allowance for Congress to enact direct taxation. The same year the Federal Reserve Act went into action. The Progressive Era gained full steam in 1913, followed shortly after by the 17th Amendment. Direct taxation was never supposed to be enacted, and it was a political game connected to the Bailey Bill that created the environment needed to "soak the rich." As for the Federal Reserve Act, the democrats split the republican vote to achieve their dream of private international bankers issuing, and manipulating, American currency. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Join Douglas V. Gibbs of Political Pistachio as he journeys through the United States Constitution. We study the concepts, principles, and direct text of the U.S. Constitution from the original point of view of the Founding Fathers.

New episodes each Sunday Morning at 9:00 am Pacific Time. Go to Constitution Study Radio for all podcasts of past episodes.

Doug's book, 25 Myths of the United States Constitution is available on Amazon, and CreateSpace.

2014 U.S. Senate Scoreboard (9/28/14)

by JASmius




The GOP bleeding stops, for the moment, and even reverses in Arkansas, while Alaska gets a little redder and Michigan comes within a deuce....

(Incumbents in bold; all polling via Rasmussen Reports)

SAFE REPUBLICAN

ALABAMA:  Jeff Sessions (R) - unopposed
IDAHO:  James Risch (R) 54%, Nels Mitchell (D) 29%
MAINE:  Susan Collins (R) 59%, Shenna Bellows (D) 31%
MISSISSIPPI:  Thad Cochran (R) 48%, Travis Childers (D) 31%
MONTANA:  Steve Daines (R) 55%, Amanda Curtis (D) 35% (GOP pickup)

NEBRASKA:  Ben Sasse (R) 51%, David Domina (D) 34%
OKLAHOMA:  James Inhofe (R) 58%, Matt Silverstein (D) 27%
SOUTH CAROLINA:  Lindsey Graham (R) 49%, Brad Hutto (D) 30%
SOUTH DAKOTA:  Mike Rounds (R) 44%, Rick Weiland (D) 29%, Larry Pressler (RINO) 18% (GOP pickup)

TEXAS:  John Cornyn (R) 47%, David Alameel (D) 29%
TENNESSEE:  Lamar Alexander (R) 47%, Gordon Ball (D) 32%
WEST VIRGINIA:  Shelly Moore Capito (R) 50%, Natalie Tennant (D) 33% (GOP pickup)

WYOMING:  Mike Enzi (R) 63%, Charlie Hardy (D) 27%


SOLID REPUBLICAN
ALASKA:  Dan Sullivan (R) 48%, Mark Begich (D) 43% (GOP pickup)
ARKANSAS: Tom Cotton (R) 47%, Mark Pryor (D) 40% (GOP pickup)
GEORGIA:  David Perdue (R) 46%, Michelle Nunn (D) 40%
KENTUCKY:  Mitch McConnell (R) 46%, Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) 41%


LEANING REPUBLICAN

LOUISIANA:  Bill Cassidy (R) 44%, Mary Landrieu (D) 41% (GOP pickup)


TOSS-UP

IOWA:  Bruce Braley (D) 43%, Joni Ernst (R) 43%


LEANING DEMOCRAT

COLORADO:  Mark Udall (D) 44%, Cory Gardner (R) 42%
MICHIGAN:  Gary Peters (D) 41%, Terri Lynn Land (R) 39%


SOLID DEMOCRAT
KANSAS: Greg Orman ("Independent") 45%, Pat Roberts (R) 40% (Dem pickup)

MINNESOTA:  Al Franken (D) 50%, Mike McFadden (R) 42%
NEW HAMPSHIRE:  Jeanne Shaheen (D) 48%, Scott Brown (R) 42%
NORTH CAROLINA:  Kay Hagen (D) 45%, Tom Tillis (R) 39%

SAFE DEMOCRAT

DELAWARE:  Chris Coons (D) 49%, Kevin Wade (R) 34%
HAWAII:  Brian Schatz (D) 60%, Cam Cavasso (R) 28%
ILLINOIS:  Ali Dickbar al-Durbini (D) 48%, Jim Oberweis (R) 38%
MASSACHUSETTS:  Ed Markey (D) 49%, Brian Herr (R) 31%
NEW JERSEY:  Corey Booker (D) 48%, Jeff Bell (R) 35%
NEW MEXICO:  Tom Udall (D) 54%, Allen Weh (R) 33%
OREGON: Jeff Merkley (D) 48%, Monica Wehby (R) 35%
RHODE ISLAND:  Jack Reed (D) - no polling, prohibitive favorite
VIRGINIA:  Mark Warner (D) 53%, Ed Gillespie (R) 36%

HIGH:  GOP picks up Montana, South Dakota, West Virginia, Alaska, Louisiana, Iowa, Arkansas, and Colorado, but loses Kansas, for a net gain of seven seats and a 52-48 majority in the next U.S. Senate.

MEDIAN:  GOP picks up Arkansas, Montana, South Dakota, West Virginia, Alaska, Louisiana, and maybe Iowa, but loses Kansas, for a gain of five or six seats and either a 51-49 majority or a 50-50 split in the next U.S. Senate.

LOW:  GOP picks up Alaska, Arkansas, Montana, South Dakota, and West Virginia, but the Democrats pick up Kansas, for a net GOP gain of two seats, leaving the Democrats to retain a 51-49 majority in the next U.S. Senate.

After falling behind in North Carolina and Kansas the past two weeks, welcome news arrives out of Arkansas as Representative Tom Cotton surges to a seven point lead over incumbent Democrat Mark Pryor.  Which may help explain why his name is in the post-Holder Attorney-General sweepstakes.

Additional encouragement comes in what might be described as the raising of the Republican floor, with Dan Sullivan expanding his lead over Alaska Donk Senator Mark Begich to five points, and Republican Terry Lynn Land pulling into a virtual dead heat with Democrat Gary Peters in Michigan.  "Make no mistake," I'd cream myself if the GOP could run the proverbial table, but it is perhaps even more important to lock in that six-seat minimum gain to the greatest extent possible.

37 days to go.....

Saturday, September 27, 2014

U.S.-Led Airstrikes Fail To Halt ISIS March In Syria

by JASmius



See if you can spot the reason why:

New U.S.-led air strikes against Islamic State fighters failed to stop them from pressing their assault on a strategic Syrian town near the Turkish border on Saturday, hitting it with shell fire for the first time.

The U.S. Central Command said the air strikes destroyed an IS building and two armed vehicles near the border town of Kobani, which the insurgents have been besieging for the past ten days.

It said an airfield, garrison and training camp near the IS stronghold of Raqqa were also among the targets damaged in seven air strikes conducted by the United States, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, using fighter planes and remotely piloted aircraft.

Three air strikes in Iraq destroyed four IS armed vehicles and a "fighting position" southwest of Arbil, Centcom said.

The scale of this "air campaign" is what the good folks in the candy business would call "fun size".  Ten airstrikes combined.  Ten.  I seem to recall that during the "shock & awe" phases of the two Gulf Wars, there would be ten air sorties an hour against Saddamite Iraq, not ten period.  We took out "an" (singular) ISIS "building" - a tent, perhaps? - a "fighting position" (whatever the hell that is - a foxhole, maybe?) and six "armed" vehicles.  Now this isn't to say that the Islamic State had multiple tank armies in reserve somewhere, but when I think of "armed vehicles," I picture two guys going "hunting" in an old beater sedan with a case of Old Buckhorn and a couple of .22s mounted in the passenger window.  And we eliminated a whole half dozen of them from ISIS's military inventory.

Judging by the phrasing - an airfield, garrison, and training camp were "among the targets" - I can only conclude that the "US-behind-led" airstrikes either missed them entirely or didn't have enough onboard munitions to go around and had to abandon them.  Which, given the timing of the attack on the training camp - 2AM, when nobody was there - was just as depressingly well.

Please understand folks, I am not ridiculing the U.S. military personnel undertaking this glorified dronefest; they're doing the best they can with the threadbare, increasingly obsolete equipment they have to work with and the absurdly constraining orders they've been given and are carrying them out beyond the best of their ability, which is without parallel in the annals of martial prowess.  To the contrary, I heartfeltly feel for them, I silently rage in frustration at the humiliation being forced upon them by their commander-in-chief, I gnash my teeth at how they are not just being set up to lose, but are being practically commanded to do so.  It's like a pro wrestling babyface being bound, gagged, handcuffed, legironed, and booked in a ten-on-one handicap match against the top heel faction.  It's a match that isn't going to last very long, and isn't going to be much fun to watch.

And so the ISIS offensive rolls on, unfettered by the "world superpower," towards the Turkish frontier, which still isn't changing Ankara's mind about intervening against the Islamic State, although even Islamist President Tayyip Erdogan publicly acknowledged that, "You can't finish off such a terrorist organization only with air strikes. Ground forces are complementary ... You have to look at it as a whole. Obviously I'm not a soldier but the air (operations) are logistical. If there's no ground force, it would not be permanent."  Which probably means that O doesn't want the Turks in his "Coalition of the Invisible".

There is, however, still the possibility of escalation if something goes horribly, horribly wrong:

Russia questioned the legality of U.S. and Arab state air strikes in Syria because they were carried out without the approval of Damascus, Moscow's ally.

"It's very important that such cooperation with Syrian authorities is established, even now that it's an accomplished fact," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Friday.

First of all, the Russians are the last ones to be able to speak credibility of "legality" given what they're doing to Ukraine.  And they ought to know that when it comes to Barack Obama, legalities are for mere mortals to grapple with, not "gods".

Still, that sounds like snark to me.  The Russians aren't going to formally object to O's pinpricks against ISIS-occupied Syrian territory because, to the degree that they make any difference at all, it will redound to the benefit of their client, Bashar al-Assad.  And the White House did give Boy Assad a heads-up, and the vaunted Russian-made Syrian air defense system isn't shooting at our hodgepodge of "fighter planes and remotely-piloted aircraft".  They probably can't bring themselves to do so because they're laughing so hard.

But....would President Don't Mock Me take an opportunity, now that he is, in a token sense, bombing Syria, to revisit the "red line" threats against the Assad regime on which he chickened out a year ago?  Stir up the ire of Moscow and the Iranian mullahgarchy?  Not with a hodgepodge of Air Force surplus, he isn't.

Meanwhile, back in Iraq:

Monday, several Iraqi officials confirmed that ISIS murdered over 300 soldiers using chlorine gas in Saqlawiyah, north of Fallujah.  The soldiers suffocated and died from the chemical attack.

You know, from that stockpile of chemical WMDs Saddam Hussein sent to Syria for safekeeping before Gulf War II that animals like Barack Obama insisted didn't exist.  And it yielded them yet another Iraqi army base and haul of U.S.-made supplies and weapons.



I hope O has some pinpricks left over.  We wouldn't want ISIS in Iraq to feel left out.