ABC's Terry Moran Smears Sen. Rand Paul as 'Chickenhawk'

Pathetic, but typical.

I tweeted and Twitchy picked it up, among others, "Pathetic: ABC’s Terry Moran tries to play chickenhawk card with Rand Paul."

@terrymoran Are you calling him a chicken hawk. I never served in military but have Ph.D. in poli. sci. Can I criticize foreign policy?
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 23, 2013

More from Bridget Johnson at PJ Media, "ABC Reporter: But What Does Rand Paul Know About Foreign Policy?"

RELATED: At NewsBusters, "ABC's Moran Delights Over the 'President With a Purpose' and His 'History-Making Call to Action'."

Right.

Moran's basically a Democrat operative with press credentials. Asshole.

Fewer Than 4 in 10 Americans Positive About State of the Nation

At Gallup, "Americans Downbeat on State of U.S., Prospects for Future":

The 39% of Americans who give a six to 10 rating when asked to evaluate the nation's current status is similar to the 37% who said the same three years ago. Prior to that, however, assessments were generally more positive, including a 73% six to 10 rating in January 2001 -- the highest on record. The three previous points in time when ratings were as low as or lower than the 2013 rating were in August 1979 (34%), April 1974 (33%), and January 1971 (39%). The 1979 measure came at a time when the economy was in bad shape and inflation was rampant, while the 1974 measure came in the midst of the Watergate scandal. When Gallup first asked the question in August 1959, 68% of Americans rated the state of the nation in the six to 10 range.

And check that partisan breakdown at the table. That's a 60 point split between the parties. The Democrats no doubt see the U.S. that much closer to their long-sought socialist utopia after Obama completes his second term. Republicans on the other hand are watching their nation's liberty being dismantled before their eyes, and they're becoming resigned to it. Optimism has historically been a key indicator of the American outlook. Traditional, God-fearing citizens are losing it.

RELATED: Bill Quick links to my previous post on Obama raping America. I said "I don't know this country anymore," and he writes:

Well, you don’t know Barky’s country…but I’m not convinced his country is actually, you know America. At least large parts of it.

We'll see. I think folks are losing faith, clearly demonstrated in opinion on the future of the country.

MORE: John Hawkins says quit moaning and fight! See, "2/23/2013 Will Be A Day of Resistance."

Well, let's stipulate that not everyone's losing faith. Some folks feel they've got no choice but to fight. And with so many people alienated and pessimistic, there's a huge pool of latent revolutionaries brewing. Old Barack Hussein ain't doing himself no favors with all that escalating polarization. But that's all he knows.

Stay tuned...

HAT TIP: iOWNTHEWORLD.

Rising Inequality is Obama's Real Legacy

At IBD, "Obama Promises to Fix Inequality After Making It Worse":

A centerpiece of President Obama's second inaugural address was a call for greater economic equality, with the president saying that "our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it."

But that's precisely what's happened over the past four years, as Obama's economic policies left the majority of Americans falling behind while the wealthy few got further ahead.

Evidence of this is everywhere you look...

Continue reading.

John McCain Questions Hillary Clinton on Benghazi

I'll be updating on this throughout the day. If you're near a television, the hearing is live on CNN.

PREVIOUSLY: "Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Testimony Before House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee."

Time for U.S. Forces to Intervene in Mali

Argues James S. Robbins, at USA Today:

With U.S. troops out of Iraq and leaving Afghanistan, the last thing the American people want to hear about is the potential for another war. But the growing conflict in Mali is not a new war; it is another front in the same struggle against violent extremism America has been waging since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The insurgency in northern Mali is a collection of local tribal militias and international jihadists united by a common belief in political Islam and opposition to Western influence. One of the most important members of this coalition is al-Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization. In addition to violently exporting its radical ideology, AQIM is involved in drug smuggling, human trafficking, money laundering and the illicit arms trade.

Obama administration policy precludes direct military assistance to the current government of Mali because it came to power through a coup. However, the United States is not banned from providing assistance to coalition countries attempting to restore stability in the country, or taking independent action against al-Qaeda.

The United States already supplies France with intelligence support, including satellite imagery and signals intercepts. The White House is also considering providing refueling for French aircraft. But there are a variety of additional means the U.S. could employ short of a major ground action...

Maybe the Max Boots of the worldwide will go for this argument, but this is the last thing to expect from the "realist" clusterf-ks in the administration. But RTWT.

And see, from the editors, "Algeria attack on terrorists instructive: Our view."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Testimony Before House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Pamela Geller has it:

I expect that Clinton will lie. Profusely. She is a liar. Her husband is a liar. She lives a lie. But this is hardly a game, and national security is a stake. This is her last act as the less than stellar Secretary of State. Legislators must get to the bottom of the epic failures of Benghazi that led to murder of our Ambassador and three U.S. attaches.

Obama's foreign policy failures are without equal...

Also at Fox News, "Clinton set for long-awaited Libya testimony, as senator urges 'top-to-bottom review'."

The House testimony should be starting now, on C-SPAN. And then the Senate hearing later today.

CORRECTION: She's testifying right now, before the Senate. And I'm watching live on CNN.

And at Jammie Wearing Fools, "Hillary Feigns Crocodile Tears at Benghazi Hearing."

I caught this. Indeed, truly stunning, at Twitchy, "Hysterical Hillary: ‘What difference does it make’ why 4 Americans are dead?"

More at Twitchy.

Israel Elections Seen as Rebuke to Netanyahu

I was busy yesterday and thus had no time to follow the elections to Israel's Knesset.

Israel Matzav was live blogging and has continuing updates.

And at the Los Angeles Times, "Israel elections deal a major setback to Netanyahu":

JERUSALEM — Israeli voters dealt a stunning political rebuke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leaving parliamentary elections in a virtual tie between the right and center-left and denying him the mandate he sought to pursue hawkish policies toward Palestinian peace talks, Iran's nuclear program and construction of West Bank settlements.

Netanyahu was still regarded as the most likely candidate to form a new government after Tuesday's voting because there are few other credible figures. But the disappointing performance will require him to reach out to the center in order to form a governing coalition.

With all but votes from prisoners, military voters and some government workers counted early Wednesday, Israel's conservative and religious parties had won 60 seats in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, the same number won by centrist and left-wing parties, who were led by a surprisingly strong performance from a political newcomer, Yair Lapid.

Though the final tally could change slightly, the close race all but ensures a period of turmoil before a new government emerges, and catapults Lapid and his recently formed centrist party, Yesh Atid ("There Is a Future"), into the forefront of Israeli politics. The party formed by the charismatic former TV broadcaster won 19 seats, the second-highest number of any party.

Amid a stronger-than-expected voter turnout of 67% — up from 65% in 2009 — the conservative bloc fell five seats short of the 65 seats it amassed four years ago, while the center-left parties picked up five.

More at that top link.

And at the New York Times, "Tepid Vote for Netanyahu in Israel Is Seen as Rebuke" (via Memeorandum).

Rare Agreement on the Left's Reign of Terror Against America's Unborn

An awesome segment from last night's Hannity, in which Katie Pavlich and Democrat strategist Penny Lee find grounds for mutual agreement on the left's "pro-choice" holocaust .

Are You Not Entertained?

Via American Digest, "LowInfo Voters Fired Up and Ready to Go."

Well, we're not quite Rome yet, but the possible endings are intriguing, in any case.

'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together'

From Taylor Swift, the woman who seems unable to get it together with dudes in the first place. But whatever:

And a London's Daily Mail, "'It's been weird and sad, but Taylor Swift has helped me through': Selena Gomez on life after Justin Bieber."

Teeny-bop rock. Oh, to be a kid again. The heartbreaks!

BONUS: "Back off Taylor! Michael J. Fox says he wouldn't want Swift to date his son Sam."

Phil 'Lefty' Mickelson Offends the Lefties

I commented on this yesterday, "Golfer Phil Mickelson Speaks Out Against Confiscatory Tax Rates":

And there's more at the Wall Street Journal, "The Mickelson Vote":

California golfer Phil "Lefty" Mickelson says he will no longer publicly criticize the government for taking most of his paycheck. That's a shame. But even if it's now socially unacceptable for high achievers to suggest they should keep the fruits of their labor, that doesn't mean they will keep supplying that labor.

After a brilliant round Sunday at a tournament in La Quinta, California, Mr. Mickelson hinted that new tax burdens might drive him out of the state, out of professional golf, and perhaps even out of the country. "There are going to be some drastic changes for me because I happen to be in that zone that has been targeted both federally and by the state, and it doesn't work for me right now," he said. "So I'm going to have to make some changes."

The fan favorite who has won 40 events on the PGA tour described various state and federal levies and concluded that his tax rate now exceeds 60%. The sticker shock is understandable, now that President Obama has succeeded in raising the top income-tax rate this year to 39.6% from 35% and the top Medicare rate almost a full point to 3.8%. Meanwhile, Governor Jerry Brown persuaded Californians last fall to raise the top state income tax rate to 13.3%.

Mr. Mickelson was beginning to spark a useful conversation about the way that confiscatory tax rates discourage productive effort. But the critics began to emerge on various websites, and, alas, on Monday night the golfer took a rhetorical mulligan...

RTWT.

And see IBD, "Don't Take Rich Golfers For Granted."

Ben Shapiro's Killer Interview With Mark Levin

This thing is a doozy.

See, "Exclusive: Mark Levin's Inaugural Day Message — Fight!"

I love this part:

The Democrat Party is now a radical 1960s party; it’s the anti-Constitution, anti-capitalism, anti-individual party. It largely controls the federal government, including the massive bureaucracy and much of the judiciary -- what I call the permanent branches of the federal government. The Democrat Party represents the federal government, and the federal government expands the power of the Democrat Party. They're appendages of each other. On the other hand, the GOP today stands for capitulation, timidity, delusion -- so mostly nothing. Republicans may speak of the Constitution, limited government, low taxes, etc., but what have they done about them? Next to nothing if not nothing. Even when Bush 43 was president and the Republicans controlled Congress. What did they do? They went on a spending binge. They expanded Medicare, the federal role in local education, drove up the debt, etc. Meanwhile, we are lectured by putative Republicans like Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Tom Ridge, and a conga line of others trashing often viciously NOT Obama and what the Democrats are doing to our nation, but conservatives, constitutionalists, and tea party activists who are the only people left standing for liberty against tyranny in this country."

Levin pulls no punches. The Republican Party is an establishment institution. It's been deeply implicated in the explosion of government, and not insignificantly in the growth of out of control spending. But RTWT. We won't restore liberty in this country unless we heed warnings like this, notwithstanding differences here and there on the ultimate role of government.

RELATED: Eric Erickson apparently took some heat for congratulating President Obama on his second inauguration, and there's a thread at Memeorandum.

Robert Stacy McCain responds to Erickson, quite effectively, I might add. See, "Democrats: You Can Never Hate Them Nearly as Much as They Hate You."

More later...

Fortieth Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

Now, back to what I was about to post before I found Kathy Kattenburg attacking me in the comments.

Today's the 40th anniversary of Roe. More people think abortion should be illegal except with rare exceptions (35 percent) than think it should be legal in all circumstances (31 percent). Altogether, 67 percent oppose an unlimited right to an abortion. My view is that abortion is murder and a moral abomination. Policy wise, I'd prefer Roe overturned with states allowed to regulate the right to abortion based on local values and considerations. I do agree it's a liberty issue, although I'm personally horrified that abortion is pushed by the left as simply a matter of contraception. There is no concern for the life of the unborn and the feminist misanthropy for abortion rights literally makes me puke.

In any case, here's this from Jill Stanek, "Pro-life video of the day: The 40 Film."

Kathy Kattenburg: 'That's Not a Kaffiyeh [sic], Donald. You Are an Idiot...'

Just getting back online right now, I find this comment from radical leftist and progressive death apologist and denier, Kathy Kattenburg:

That's not a kaffiyah, Donald. You are an idiot. And stop trying to pass yourself off as pro-life, and advocates of legal abortion as pro-death. You are not pro-life.

There's a lot that pisses me off about hate-addled progressives, but honestly, their despicable lies are infuriating. Kathy's wrong. The woman at WSJ's abortion report is wearing an Arafat keffiyeh, which is spelled with an "e" not an "a" --- not to pick, but who's calling whom and idiot? Here's the woman's picture from yesterday's post:

And here's a picture of the now-dead Palestinian terrorist leader Yasser Arafat, with the identical scarf:

And here's the description of the keffiyeh at Wikipedia, where the photo is placed:

Traditionally worn by Palestinian farmers, the keffiyeh was worn by Palestinian men of every rank. It became a symbol of Palestinian nationalism during the Arab Revolt of the 1930s. Its prominence increased in the 1960s with the beginning of the Palestinian resistance movement and its adoption by Palestinian politician Yasser Arafat.

The keffiyeh would later become a trademark symbol of Arafat, who was rarely seen without a distinctively-arranged black-and-white scarf. (Only occasionally did he wear a military cap or, in colder climates, a Russian-style fur hat called ushanka). Arafat would wear his keffiyeh in semi-traditional way, around the head and wrapped by an agal. He also wore a similarly patterned piece of cloth in the neckline of his military fatigues. Early on, he had made it his personal trademark to drape the scarf over his right shoulder only, arranging it in the rough shape of a triangle, to resemble the outlines of the territory claimed by Palestine. This way of wearing the keffiyeh became a symbol of Arafat as a person and political leader, and it has not been imitated by other Palestinian leaders.

Another Palestinian figure associated with the keffiyeh is Leila Khaled, a female member of the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Several photographs of Khaled circulated in the Western newspapers after the hijacking of TWA Flight 840 and the Dawson's Field hijackings. These photos often included Khaled wearing a keffiyeh in the style of a Muslim woman’s hijab, wrapped around the head and shoulders. This was unusual, as the keffiyeh is associated with Arab masculinity, and many believe this to be something of a fashion statement by Khaled, denoting her equality with men in the Palestinian armed struggle.

Speaking of Leila Khaled, here's my photo of her iconic terrorist portrait from UCLA Israel Apartheid Week. Again, the design is exactly the same as that of the keffiyeh worn by the woman in the picture above.

The pro-choice activist's keffiyeh is an Arafat scarf, the exact same style that the terrorist leader wore when he was leader of the PLO and, obviously, when he was meeting with East European Communist dictators such as Romania's Nicolae Ceauşescu, pictured with Arafat above in 1974.

Leftist's won't argue on the merits. People like Kathy Kattenburg are hateful liars in the most vile Orwellian mode, attempting to change language to camouflage their ideological evil. And people like this are the reason that our work on the right is never done. Because the brighter the light of truth we shine of the left, the more aggressive the left becomes with their lies and Orwellian doublespeak.

Right On: Britain's Prince Harry, 'I've Killed Taliban'

At least someone's not shy of saying it: the goal is to kill the enemy, the more the better.

At Mirror UK, "'Take a life to save a life': Prince Harry reveals he killed Taliban fighters during Afghan tour of duty."

Obama Inverted the True Meaning of the American Creed

Again, I'm happy to see that others understand just how horribly the president raped America's founding values.

See Quin Hillyer, at National Review, "Inverting the Founders":

President Obama has become a master at the trick of couching progressive prescriptions in the language of the traditional American creed — thus effecting a deliberate inversion of that creed’s actual meaning. That’s exactly what he did with his second inaugural address, using the language of the American Founding to promote collectivism in almost all areas of life. The hinge came in a single clause which sounded oh-so-reasonable and inarguable, but which instead was a non sequitur in terms of its logic and a bastardization of the principles of that creed. “Preserving our individual freedoms,” he said, “ultimately requires collective action.” From that moment on, he was off and running toward a vision in which individual initiative is not just unavailing toward its ends, but actually suspect.

Continue reading.

PREVIOUSLY: "Obama's Inaugural Address Wasn't 'Grounded in Language of Founding Fathers,' He Raped Thomas Jefferson for Radical Collectivist Agenda."

After Deaths, Costa Mesa Finds Ways to Protect the Homeless

People have been freezing to death.

See the Los Angeles Times, "Costa Mesa confronts homelessness head-on."

Read it at the link. Recent temperatures have been in the 30s overnight and the city is now busing people to Santa Ana, to spend the night at the armory there.

Here's the Google map of Lion's Park in Costa Mesa, where the homeless congregate. It's not far from my home, just up the 55 Freeway a bit.

We the Government

This Wall Street Journal editorial raises some of the exact same points I raised earlier:

President Obama's second inaugural address won't be remembered for stirring lines, but then its purpose seemed to be more political than inspirational. Mr. Obama was laying down a marker that he has no intention of letting debt or deficits or lagging economic growth slow his plans for activist, expansive government.

Inaugurals usually include calls for national unity and appeals to our founding principles, which is part of their charm. With the election long over, swearing in a President is a moment for celebrating larger national purposes. But Mr. Obama's speech was notable for invoking the founding principles less to unify than to justify what he called "collective action." The President borrowed the Constitution's opening words of "we the people" numerous times, but his main theme was that the people are fundamentally defined through government action, and his government is here to help you...

Exactly, although I wasn't quite so elegant in my points: "Obama's Inaugural Address Wasn't 'Grounded in Language of Founding Fathers,' He Raped Thomas Jefferson for Radical Collectivist Agenda."

But continue reading at WSJ.

Golfer Phil Mickelson Speaks Out Against Confiscatory Tax Rates

Everybody should be speaking out, but a popular golfer like Mickelson's bound to get some added attention.

At the New York Times, "Uneasy in the Political Climate, Mickelson Talks Like Someone Ready to Step Away":

LA QUINTA, Calif. — After a middle-of-the-pack finish in his 2013 debut, Phil Mickelson stood off the 18th green at the Palmer Private course at PGA West on Sunday and talked about having to make, in his own words, “drastic changes.”

He was not referring to his equipment. Mickelson, already one of the highest-earning athletes on the planet, is not considering switching the clubs in his bag or the clothes on his back, the way the world No. 1, Rory McIlroy, did last week after signing a lucrative endorsement deal with Nike.

On the day President Obama was sworn in for his second term, Mickelson sent shock waves through the Humana Challenge when he said the political landscape in the United States was causing him to seriously contemplate his future in golf. Mickelson, who will turn 43 in June, has 40 PGA Tour victories, including four majors, and was inducted last year into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

“I’m not going to jump the gun and do it right away,” he said after carding a six-under-par 66 to finish in a 10-way tie for 37th, “but there are going to be some drastic changes for me because I happen to be in that zone that has been targeted both federally and by the state. And, you know, it doesn’t work for me right now. So I’m going to have to make some changes.”

As Mickelson spoke, the tournament was winding down to a scintillating conclusion. Brian Gay, who began the final round six strokes off the lead, closed with a nine-under 63 to end regulation tied with David Lingmerth (62) and Charles Howell III (64). He won with a 5-foot birdie on the second hole of the sudden-death playoff.

Scott Stallings, the 54-hole leader, made his first bogey of the tournament on his seventh hole and finished with a 70 to tie for fourth with James Hahn, who capped his 62 with an eagle-3 at the 18th.

Finishing eight strokes out of the playoff was Mickelson, who played the final three rounds in 17 under par but could not climb out of the hole he dug for himself with a par 72 start at La Quinta Country Club.

“I played better as the week wore on,” Mickelson said. He added: “I feel like I’m starting to play some pretty good golf. So hopefully I’ll be able to make a run on the weekend next week, because that’s what’s exciting is having a chance to win.”

Mickelson, the reigning champion at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, has more than $67 million in career earnings since turning professional in 1992. Last year, he was ranked by Forbes magazine as the seventh highest-paid athlete, with $47.8 million in earnings, including $43 million in endorsements.

“If you add up all the federal and you look at the disability and the unemployment and the Social Security and state, my tax rate is 62, 63 percent,” Mickelson said. “So I’ve got to make some decisions on what to do.”

Mickelson, who lives with his wife, Amy, and their three children outside San Diego, his hometown, said he planned to elaborate on his comments in more detail this week when the tour stopped in his backyard, at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, Calif.

I haven't heard anyone quoting that high an effective tax rate, of 62 or 63 percent, but Mickelson's figures are in the ballpark from previous estimates. Recall the Tax Prof, "Top Marginal Tax Rate Will Exceed 50% in California, New York, and Hawaii in 2013."

Obama Unbound: Inaugural Speech Declares Era of Big Government Back

From Charles Krauthammer's comments this afternoon, at RCP, "Krauthammer: Obama Speech 'A Declaration That the Era of Big Government Is Back'."

There's video at the link.

Wall Street Journal's Roe v. Wade Article Features Photo of Pro-Choice Activist Wearing Arafat Keffiyeh, Symbol of Palestinian Terrorism

Here's the report, "Support Grows for Roe v. Wade."

And the photo's from the European Pressphoto Agency. What a way to make a statement. Progressives are about killing. Be it Israelis killed by Palestinian terrorists or unborn babies killed by the left's pro-death fanatics, the end result is the same: an utter disregard for basic human decency and human life. (Via Memeorandum.)

Obama's Inaugural Address Wasn't 'Grounded in Language of Founding Fathers,' He Raped Thomas Jefferson for Radical Collectivist Agenda

The idiot Greg Sargent spins the president's disastrous inaugural speech, "An expansive case for progressive governance, grounded in language of Founding Fathers" (via Memeorandum).

No, Obama didn't "ground" his speech in the Founding Fathers. He threw the Founding Fathers to the ground, butt-reamed them, especially Thomas Jefferson, to gratify his monstrous collectivist urges, to push his extremist collectivist agenda that bears absolutely no resemblance to the limited government vision enshrined in both the Declaration and the Constitution.

Here's this from Sargent's piece:

Today, Obama quoted extensively from the Declaration, and declared that it is our challenge to “bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time.” He then went on to make the case for robust government activism in the economy — precisely in order to preserve individual freedom, i.e., the ability to pursue happiness. He linked this to the need for more government investment in infrastructure and education. For rules designed to ensure fair market competition. For maintaining the social safety net (in the form of Social Security and Medicare, achieved by two great Democratic presidents). For the need for a greater push for equal pay for women and full equality for gay Americans (which Obama linked to the struggle for civil rights for African Americans by invoking Martin Luther King).

Obama tempered his communitarian language by claiming it is not incompatible with “skepticism of central authority,” but the clear statement of his governing philosophy, which he insisted is rooted in our founding principles, was unequivocal: “Preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.”

We'll be seeing a lot of commentary on this speech over the next couple of days, but it bears noting that Jefferson's theory of "all men are created equal" is rooted in God-given rights. Obama made only the barest, most perfunctory reference to our Creator. He simply doesn't ground the source of human dignity in a higher power but in the all-enveloping arms of the state. And in making his case, he smacks the Founders to the pavement and abuses their theories in the name of state power. It's perverse and obscene. I don't know this country anymore.

CNN's Jim Acosta: 'I Feel Like I Should Pinch Myself Right Now...'

Yeah, this is what I was talking about.

At NewsBusters, "Giddy CNN Correspondent: ‘I Feel Like I Should Pinch Myself Right Now’."

CNN correspondent Jim Acosta was positively giddy while covering President Obama's inauguration parade on Monday afternoon, and didn't hold back his feelings on-air.

"You know, I feel like I should pinch myself right now, Wolf. I can't believe I have this vantage point of history in the making," Acosta gushed...

Even the normally staid Wolf Blitzer couldn't contain himself. He was screaming for the attention of "Mr, President, Mr. President," like a giddy schoolgirl needing to be restrained. Sheesh.

Barack Hussein Obama's Second Presidential Inauguration

When I started listening to the president's speech I immediately had the urge to go back and listen to previous inauguration speeches, Ronald Reagan's 1981 speech especially. It's as if Barack Hussein is President of the Union of Socialist States of America. Really. He wasn't shy about proclaiming a new definition of our founding creed, that the words of the Declaration, that all humankind are created equal, "have never been self-executing." It's a collectivist's nirvana in Washington today. And watching the coverage on CNN it's clear that the press is just reveling in this orgy of mass obliteration of the individualist heritage of our nation. Say your prayers, people. We've got a hill to climb this next four year. The left has erected an enormous mountain redoubt of statist power.

The New York Times has a lengthy overview, "Obama Sets Goal to Broaden Equality." And the text of the president's address is at the Wall Street Journal, "President Obama’s Second Inaugural Address."

I'll have more observations throughout the day. For example, the inaugural parade was pretty fascinating, especially the mind-boggling amount of security on hand. I literally felt nervous for a second when the president and the first lady got out of the limousine walk down Pennsylvania Avenue. It occurred to me, not for the first time, that there are people out there who'd love to see this president shot dead, more dead than perhaps any president before.

In any case, William Jacobson has more, "Obama Inaugural Speech — Collectivist We." And also at Memeorandum.

Governor Brown Seeks Dramatic Community College Makeover

There's a lot coming down the pipeline, and much of it good, although community colleges just won't be anything like they used to be. And that's a little sad if you've ever been around one for any length of time.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Brown seeks to reshape California's community colleges":

With a slate of bold and controversial budget proposals, Gov. Jerry Brown has placed a renewed focus on the state's struggling community colleges, the world's largest system of two-year schools that are often overshadowed by the University of California and Cal State systems.

The governor's recommendations are aimed at keeping community colleges affordable, keeping classes accessible and moving students faster through the system to allow them to graduate or transfer to a four-year university at higher rates. Brown's spending plan must clear the Legislature, and some college officials have vowed to oppose — or at least try to modify — some portions.

These proposals are among the most significant policy shifts in years and could reshape many campus operations.

"It's a courageous plan," said Eloy Oakley, president of Long Beach City College. "The governor is focusing on policy issues we've been talking about for many years but dancing around the margins. A lot of this has been on the table in statehouses throughout the nation, but we're addressing these issues in California in a meaningful way."

Community colleges play a vital role in California's higher education system, training large segments of the state's workforce. But the 112-college system has strained under the pressure of huge funding cuts and increased demand. Thousands of courses have been slashed and enrollment has been shrunk by more 500,000 students in recent years.

Most of the schools' 2.4-million students are unprepared for college-level work: 85% need remedial English, 73% need remedial math and only about a third of remedial students transfer to a four-year school or graduate with a community college associate's degree.

Education leaders praised the governor's efforts to follow through on his commitment to voters to restore education funding through the passage of Proposition 30, the school tax initiative —- even while expressing misgivings about aspects of the plan. The budget includes nearly $200 million in additional funding for the colleges.

"It's wonderful to have an environment where we're going to have some provocative conversations about policy," said community colleges Chancellor Brice Harris. "We're not going to shy away and [we] actually look forward to the discussion."

State officials said the plan is meant to build on changes proposed last year by a statewide task force charged with improving the colleges. Measures approved by the Legislature and Board of Governors establish registration priorities, including preventing students from repeating courses to improve their grades and allowing students who participate in orientation and academic assessment programs and have 100 units or less to enroll in classes first. Students also would have to maintain satisfactory grades to continue to qualify for fee waivers.

Brown goes further toward moving students through the system. He is seeking to limit the number of credits students can accumulate. Beginning next fall, he suggests a cap on state-subsidized classes at 90 units, requiring students who exceed that to pay the full cost of instruction, about $190 per semester unit versus $46 per unit. In the 2009-10 academic year, nearly 120,000 students had earned 90 units or more.

Students said they are particularly concerned that the unit cap is punitive for those who have a double major, who may be returning to college to train for a new job or who want to explore their interests before deciding on a field of study.

"We're going to work very hard to get rid of this," said Rich Copenhagen, a College of Alameda student who is president of the Student Senate for California Community Colleges. "The governor does seem to be interested in pushing through a lot of policy in this budget. He's in a position to say I got you more money, now you need to make your system better."

Perhaps one of the more controversial elements of Brown's plan is to change the funding formula for community colleges to pay schools for students who complete courses. Funding is now based on the number of students enrolled at the third or fourth week of the term.

The goal, said state officials, is to provide incentives for colleges to improve.

That's my college president, Eloy Oakley, interviewed for the article. And the piece mentions both of the key reforms coming down the pike, the cap on the number of credits students can accumulate at 90 (without losing subsidized tuition rates) and the shift in how colleges are paid by the state, to apportionment by how many students complete classes rather than by the number still attending at the fourth week of classes. That second reform would be devastating to community college funding, because so many students are remedial. But it's a good reform. All of these are good if they force people to wake the f-k up. The two-year colleges could make a small step toward being real colleges teaching real college-level academics. As it stands now a lot of what we do is a joke. We have a decent number of students who would excel at any college or university, but the great majority aren't ready to do the work. Things do need to change.

Terror Threat Prompts U.S. Rethink on Africa

The threat should force a rethink on U.S. security policy in Africa. Whether it does remains to be seen, and considering that the administration's going ever more "realist" with its defense appointments, I'm not holding my breath.

At the Wall Street Journal, "Developments in Mali and Algeria Spur Debate Within Obama Administration About America's Military Role on Continent":

WASHINGTON—The White House has promoted a strategy of keeping as light a U.S. footprint as possible in Africa, focusing on training and funding local militaries and providing logistical and intelligence support to African Union-led combat operations.

But events in Mali, Algeria and other countries are now spurring a reconsideration of the military role the U.S. should take on the continent, U.S. officials said.

The White House and African analysts have voiced fears that a more direct U.S. role could weaken local governments and further inflame Islamist extremism. U.S. officials have also questioned the direct national security threat posed by such Africa-based militants as AQIM, Somalia's al-Shabaab militia and the Lord's Resistance Army in central Africa.

Obama administration officials said this strategic view is being challenged by the rising terrorist activities in North Africa, including the abduction this week of Western hostages, including Americans, working at a natural-gas field in Algeria. Reports that the militants are demanding the release of two Islamic extremists from American prisons have emphasized their conflict with the U.S.

The hostage crisis follows September's terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which killed four Americans. Piracy linked to Islamist extremists also is posing a rising threat to international shipping off Africa.

Some American military officials said this week that AQIM, which is also active in Libya, Morocco, and Algeria, has grown more dangerous, more quickly than many assumed several years ago.

The Obama administration this month said it is providing limited logistical and intelligence support to a French military intervention in northern Mali, where Islamists militants fighting under the banner of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, have carved a regional haven.

The quick rise of Islamist militants, officials said, may mean that drones assigned to hunt al Qaeda's leadership in Pakistan, or al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen, could be reassigned to Africa.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Mich.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said in an interview that he still doesn't see a cohesive administration approach to countering gains by al Qaeda and Islamist militants across the continent. "You have to have an overarching policy that puts pressure on these groups from every corner," he said. "That is what's missing."

President Barack Obama could visit Africa this year, making stops in several democratic countries, administration officials said.

Yeah, that Mike Rogers nails it.

But continue reading at the link.

MAP CREDIT: The Other McCain.

'Ever the Same'

Rob Thomas, in an interesting live clip:

Song background at Wikipedia.

We were drawn from the weeds
We were brave like soldiers
Falling down under the pale moonlight
You were holding to me
Like someone broken
And I couldn't tell you, but I'm telling you now

Just let me hold you while you're falling apart
Just let me hold you and we'll both fall down

Fall on me
Tell me everything you want me to be
Forever with you, forever in me
Ever the same

We would stand in the wind
We were free like water
Flowing down
Under the warmth of the sun
Now it's cold and we're scared
And we've both been shaken
Hey, look at us man...
This doesn't need to be the end!

Just let me hold you while you're falling apart
Just let me hold you and we'll both fall down

Fall on me tell me everything you want me to be
Forever with you
Forever in me
Ever the same
Call on me
And I'll be there for you and you'll be there for me
Forever it's you
Forever in me
Ever the same

You may need me there
To carry all your weight
But you're no burden I assure
You tide me over
With a warmth I'll not forget
But I can only
give you love

Fall on me tell me everything you want me to be
Forever with you
Forever in me
Ever the same
Call on me
I'll be there for you and you'll be there for me
Forever it's you
Forever in me
Ever the same

Forever with you
Forever in me
Ever the same

Ever the same..

Inauguration Day: How Emancipated Are We Really?

That's not my question.

It belongs to communist Laura Flanders, at the Guardian UK, "At Obama's second inauguration, how emancipated are we really?"

She attempts, rather badly, to make some historical analogies to current American politics, but her bottom line is this paragraph:

How emancipated are we today? It depends on whom you talk to and which questions you ask. Judged against slavery, today's society is relatively free – but what a standard! To recall the Eldridges and Tubman, the means that people need to live freely are still stratified, and along the old tracks. Quality education, housing, work, health; we've legislated away the old "whites only" signs, but look at wealth, the most decisive indicator of access to any of those things.

Freedom for communists is economic equality. It does not matter that President Obama is being elected to a second term and that that's not a deal. We crossed that racial milestone four years ago. It can be done.

BONUS: A Flanders interview at the Stalinist Counterpunch Magazine, "An Interview with Laura Flanders on Alexander Cockburn."

Encouraging Young Women to Cherish Their Self-Worth

"Self-Worth and the Hookup Culture," via Anna Maria Hoffman:

Will the Real Moderate Palestinians Please Stand Up?

From Professor Michael Curtis, at American Thinker:

The Western media has been eager to proclaim that Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, and Saeb Erekat, the chief negotiator of the PLO, can be regarded as Palestinian moderates and believe in genuine peace with Israel. Indeed, Erekat did write recently that a two-state solution is the best for all concerned, though he added that the Israeli government does not admit it.

Yet, it is right to be wary of this characterization of moderation. Are there indeed Palestinian leaders whose position is more moderate than that of the acknowledged extremists? One must also ask the question about those Arab leaders who, according to mainstream media, may be pursuing policies of political moderation, given the revelations in recent days of the horrific extreme bigoted comments made by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi about Jews and Zionists, "bloodsuckers who attack Palestinians, these warmongers, the descendants of apes and pigs."

The stance of Hamas, and its leader Khaled Meshal, is clear to all except the majority bloc in the United Nations General Assembly which consistently proposes and votes for anti-Israeli resolutions. Not surprisingly, Meshal expressed delight when shells fired from the Gaza Strip reached Tel Aviv. He remains committed to violence as the way to victory and liberation. No one can misconstrue his words, "The West Bank is inseparable from Gaza, and they are both inseparable from Haifa, Jaffa, Beersheva, and Safed... Palestine, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, is our land, our right, and our homeland."

Does President Abbas agree with this view? In an interview on December 9, 2012 he spoke of the desirability of reconciliation of his Fatah group with Hamas, and the "unity of our people...when we are talking about a Palestinian state." The two Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, are supposed to be seeking such reconciliation under Egyptian auspices. But it is difficult to envisage a compromise between the two groups and their positions if that of Fatah is considered a sincere one of moderation and of "peaceful popular resistance."

It is equally difficult to accept Fatah's behavior as responsible when President Abbas sought by taking unilateral action to have the United Nations agree to the existence of a Palestinian state.

More at that top link.

Obama Loyalists Are Now 'Organizing for Action'

It's Team Obama, now pawning themselves off as a tax-exempt 501(c)4 nonprofit social welfare organization, and thus not bound by any campaign finance limitations on advocacy, naturally.

See the Los Angeles Times:

The new group, unlike its predecessor, will be independent of the Democratic National Committee. It is being run by Jon Carson, who most recently directed the White House Office of Public Engagement. Based in Chicago and Washington, the organization's board is stocked with veteran Obama aides Robert Gibbs, Stephanie Cutter, Jennifer O'Malley Dillon, Erik Smith and Julianna Smoot, as well as technology entrepreneur Frank White, a top campaign fundraiser.

Set up as an tax-exempt advocacy group, Organizing for Action will have freer rein to operate, as well as the ability to deploy the sophisticated databases and software developed for Obama's reelection campaign. The campaign will lease those valuable assets to the advocacy group, retaining control for the foreseeable future.

The arrangement gives Obama allies supervision over the campaign's voter files, technology and email lists, which are coveted by other Democratic candidates and interest groups. The campaign has not yet made any decisions about who else will get access to them.

The decision about how — and if — the campaign's infrastructure will be shared is one of the most pressing questions being raised in Democratic circles in the wake of the group's launch.

"We've never had a presidential campaign that created and retained the kind of information that the Obama 2012 campaign built," said Democratic strategist Steve Hildebrand, who served as a top Obama campaign official in 2008. "So it's going to take more than a few weeks to figure this new environment out and how it should apply to future elections."

That's all boilerplate. This group has one goal: keep Democrats in power, through demonization of Republicans and propaganda about its own policies. Just looking at Stephanie Cutter is enough to make you ralph.

Algeria Terrorists Had Help From Inside

At Telegraph UK, "Algeria hostage crisis: al Qaeda had help from inside claim security sources."

PREVIOUSLY: "War Against al-Qaeda in Africa Could Take Decades."

Can the Guardian Survive?

I've been reading and blogging the UK papers more than usual during the hostage crisis, and for the first time I hit my limit of 20 articles at Telegraph UK. Bummer. So I'm checking around online to see if the Guardian uses a paywall as well, and I find this piece at Intelligent Life, which looks like a magazine published by The Economist. In any case, it's a good read, "CAN THE GUARDIAN SURVIVE?"

Charred Bodies: Horrific Images From Algerian Hostage Massacre Emerge

At Telegraph UK, "Algeria: charred bodies and summary executions as picture of hostage takers emerges."

And see Blazing Cat Fur, "Until we learn to be as single-minded as the fanatics - at home and abroad - we're ALL hostages."

Teenage Girl Says She Will Have Sex With Teenage Boy If He Gets 1 Million Facebook Likes

I have no words for this one, except to say it's no joke.

At Instapundit.

Well, the post at the click-through does say, "RIP Society," so I'll give 'em that.

Mellisa Clarke Crowned Page 3 Idol Winner for 2013

Well, researching the English newspapers for news on Algeria takes you to the most amazing places!

At the Sun UK, "‘Tomboy’ Mel’s the girl for you." (NSFW.)

Algeria Hostage Massacre: First British Victim Named as Paul Thomas Morgan

The Algeria massacre's a game-changer for Britain.

At London's Daily Mail, "Pictured: First British victim of Algerian hostage crisis identified as full horror emerges of bloodbath at gas plant."

More at that link.

I get a little misty-eyed looking at the photo of Morgan. I can see myself hoisting a pint with the dude. RIP.

War Against al-Qaeda in Africa Could Take Decades

I think this piece really hits home, so it deserves a stand alone post.

At Telegraph UK:

Britain faces a battle against Islamic extremism in North Africa and the Sahara that could last for decades, David Cameron warned on Sunday.

The Prime Minister said that countering the rise of al-Qaeda-affiliated groups in the Sahel region will require an “iron resolve” and greater military, diplomatic and economic engagement with the region.

He spoke as it was confirmed that six British citizens had died after extremists took scores of hostages at a gas plant in eastern Algeria.

France on Sunday night called the hostage-taking “an act of war”.

Some of the dead were “executed” by their captors as Algerian forces stormed the In Amenas complex, William Hague confirmed.

One witness described how a Briton was forced to call out to colleagues to lure them out of hiding, then shot dead.

More at that top link.

San Francisco Stuns Atlanta to Advance to Super Bowl XLVII

My wife walked in with a 12-pack right when San Francisco was clinching their Super Bowl berth. Now I'm chilling for the AFC championship.

The New York Times' report is here, "San Francisco Heading to the Super Bowl." And at USA Today, "49ers dig out of deficit, beat Falcons to stamp Super Bowl return."

Sunday Cartoons

At Reaganite Republican, "Reaganite's Sunday Funnies."

And see A.F. Branco, at Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – 2nd Amendment Remedy."

Also at Jill Stanek's, "Stanek Sunday funnies 1-20-13," and Theo Spark's, "Cartoon Round Up..."

Katy Perry Red, White and Blue Inauguration 'Fireworks'

She's looks awesome.

At London's Daily Mail, "Star spangled babe: Katy Perry wows in American themed outfit as she headlines the Kids’ Inaugural Concert."

Also at CNN, "Katy Perry brings ‘Fireworks’ to kids at inauguration concert."

Bill Plaschke on the Mante Te'o Hoax

I'm a little late posting this, but it's good, "Manti Te'o hoax never should have gotten this far":

This country's most inspirational sportsman is exposed as a cheat. Two of the greatest players in baseball history are denied entry into the Hall of Fame because they are cheats. The NFL spends the first three weeks of the season using fake referees. A college football powerhouse admits to switching uniform numbers and deflating footballs.

Into a sports world filled with deceit stepped Manti Te'o with a story too good to be true, too necessary to be questioned.

A senior Notre Dame linebacker leads America's most traditional football program to its first unbeaten season in 24 years while playing for the memory of a dead girlfriend. It was a modern-day win for the Gipper. It was tear-stained pages torn from a "Rudy" script.

Te'o preached it. Notre Dame nurtured it. The mainstream media bought it. A stadium full of emotional fans wearing No. 5 jerseys and brightly colored leis cheered it.

Now that Deadspin.com has exposed the girlfriend as an Internet fabrication, the sad joke is on everyone, its impact illuminating the potholes on the modern sports landscape. The story of the phony Lennay Kekua is not only a story of a lie, but a truth, that today's sports teams create myths that fans are desperate to swallow and journalists are too stretched and hurried to debunk...

Continue reading.

Obama 2.0 — Dear Leader Embraces Confrontation Mode

Well, the "bipartisanship" front was a scam to begin with, but at least the MSM admits that O's doubling-down for the second term.

Here's the Los Angeles Times with an amazingly honest front-page report, "Obama comes out swinging for second term":

WASHINGTON — In President Obama's first term, a promise of bipartisanship withered on stony ground; as his second begins, he has openly embraced confrontation.

On a parade of hot-button political issues, including the budget, gun control and immigration, Obama has begun to hammer on weak points in the Republican coalition.

He has made little effort to woo members of the opposition in Congress, whose positions he has characterized publicly as "intransigent," "extreme" and "absurd." Instead, he appears intent on dividing them.

That approach has unified Democrats, who remain staunchly supportive of the president, while exacerbating splits in Republican ranks, according to polls. While the strategy involves considerable risk, Obama and his aides seem convinced it offers their best hope of winning major legislative victories in an era of deep partisan divisions in Washington and in the wider electorate.

The administration wants to "stay away from inside-the-Beltway, elite negotiations and try to pursue an outside-in strategy, where the president seeks to mobilize public opinion and put pressure on a minority of Republicans," said William Galston of the Brookings Institution, a public policy think tank.

The idea, he said, is to find weak spots in the GOP coalition, then "stick a wedge into the crack and wiggle it back and forth until it breaks."

Continue reading.

And see Ronald Brownstein, "Expect Obama to Be More Aggressive in His Second Term."

IMAGE CREDIT: The People's Cube.

Twenty-Five More Bodies Found at Algeria Plant

A report at the Times of Israel.

And see Pamela Geller, "#MY JIHAD IS "THOSE WHO SIGN IN BLOOD": DEATH TOLL CLIMBS IN ALGERIAN JIHAD, AT LEAST 81 DEAD":

How perfectly iconic of the Obama reign of terror. He parties while Americans are slaughtered wholesale. The crisis is going on for five days now, and the President has not said a cross or blasphemous word.

How many Americans died? We know of two, but the enmedia won't discuss this. They don't want to tarnish the Second Coming.

Continuing coverage of the Algerian jihad here.

More from Matthew Vadum, at FrontPage, "Algeria in Jihadi Flames."

Obama Inauguration T-Shirt Touts Second Term as 'Earned, Not Given'

Via Garance Franke-Ruta, whom I tweeted:

@thegarance Would that they felt the same about individual success and upward mobility! #Obama #Inauguration #Dependency
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 20, 2013

RELATED: At Weasel Zippers, "Inauguration Poster Likens Obama to Jesus…"

Jihadists' Surge in North Africa Reveals Grim Side of Arab Spring

You think?

At the New York Timers, "In Chaos, a Grim Side of the Arab Spring":

WASHINGTON — As the uprising closed in around him, the Libyan dictator Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi warned that if he fell, chaos and holy war would overtake North Africa. “Bin Laden’s people would come to impose ransoms by land and sea,” he told reporters. “We will go back to the time of Redbeard, of pirates, of Ottomans imposing ransoms on boats.”

In recent days, that unhinged prophecy has acquired a grim new currency. In Mali, French paratroopers arrived this month to battle an advancing force of jihadi fighters who already control an area twice the size of Germany. In Algeria, a one-eyed Islamist bandit organized the brazen takeover of an international gas facility, taking hostages that included more than 40 Americans and Europeans.

Coming just four months after an American ambassador was killed by jihadists in Libya, those assaults have contributed to a sense that North Africa — long a dormant backwater for Al Qaeda — is turning into another zone of dangerous instability, much like Syria, site of an increasingly bloody civil war. The mayhem in this vast desert region has many roots, but it is also a sobering reminder that the euphoric toppling of dictators in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt has come at a price.

“It’s one of the darker sides of the Arab uprisings,” said Robert Malley, the Middle East and North Africa director at the International Crisis Group. “Their peaceful nature may have damaged Al Qaeda and its allies ideologically, but logistically, in terms of the new porousness of borders, the expansion of ungoverned areas, the proliferation of weapons, the disorganization of police and security services in all these countries — it’s been a real boon to jihadists.”

The crisis in Mali is not likely to end soon, with the militants ensconcing themselves among local people and digging fortifications. It could also test the fragile new governments of Libya and its neighbors, in a region where any Western military intervention arouses bitter colonial memories and provides a rallying cry for Islamists.

And it comes as world powers struggle with civil war in Syria, where another Arab autocrat is warning about the furies that could be unleashed if he falls.

All of this is understatement.

The Arab Spring unleashed a structural transformation in international politics, and the bloody implications are unraveling before our eyes.

More at Telegraph UK, "Algeria: 'we face decades of terrorism struggle', says David Cameron."

Gun Enthusiasts Flock to Gun Shows Around the Country

The Los Angeles Times has a photo roundup:

A Republican consulting firm promoted Saturday as Gun Appreciation Day. Separately, thousands attended peaceful Guns Across America rallies nationwide to oppose tighter gun laws.

Also at Twitchy, "Photos: Second Amendment supporters celebrate Gun Appreciation Day at state capitols."

And see Jeff Goldstein, "Josh Marshall wants you to know that an unwillingness to keep and bear arms is a virtue."

Image Credit: Emily Miller on Twitter:

Drive-In Movies Nearly Extinct as Studios Move to Stop Distributing 35-Millimeter Prints

I can't remember the last time I saw a movie at a drive-in, but it's pretty cool that they're still around. Maybe not much longer, though.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Drive-in theaters facing a digital demise":

As the night grew darker, a cold wind whipped across the asphalt expanse of the vintage Rubidoux Drive-In Theatre in Riverside. A howling gust banged open the door to the snack bar, where hot dogs glistened on metal spits and the black-and-white linoleum floor gleamed.

Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" flickered to life on the colossal screen — for an audience of eight cars.

This time of year is always slow at drive-in theaters, which have been struggling with declining attendance for decades. But it's not just cold weather that has made this a winter of discontent. The digital revolution is here, and that could mean lights out for many of the nation's 368 surviving drive-ins.

Hollywood is expected to stop distributing 35-millimeter film prints to all U.S. theaters later this year. The vast majority of indoor theaters — hardtops, in drive-in lingo — have already converted to digital projectors, but 90% of drive-ins have not, according to an industry trade group. Conversion costs of $70,000 or more per screen could be too expensive for many drive-ins.

The Rubidoux plans to convert to digital projection, but its owner says the switch will be a struggle for many others.

"There's been panic, definitely," Frank Huttinger said. "Ma and pop outfits, second- or third-generation places, are hesitant to put up all that money."

The drive-in market today is a shell of what it was in the late 1950s, when teens and big families in big cars found drive-ins a fun alternative to indoor theaters. At their peak, there were more than 4,000 drive-ins, accounting for 25% of the nation's movie screens. Today, that's down to 1.5%.

By the late 1980s, more than three-quarters of American drive-ins had closed as multiplexes proliferated. Urban sprawl and soaring land values led many to be bulldozed to make way for malls and other commercial developments.

The drive-ins that survived have been doing better in the last decade, spurred partly by cost-conscious families who can see double features or first-run movies at half the price of the hardtops, said National Assn. of Theatre Owners spokesman Patrick Corcoran.

For younger audiences, there's the chance to travel back in time.

"My car's pretty roomy, and it's chill to sit there together," said Casey Welch, 19, who was at the Rubidoux Drive-In with girlfriend Jonnie Byrd.

"It's chill to sit here." That would have been "boss man," in an earlier era. Fascinating though.

More at that top link.

Emily Miller Talks Guns

She knows what she's talking about.

Details of Dramatic Final Attack at Algeria's In Amenas Gas Plant

At the Guardian UK, "Algerian crisis over after assault ends with death of seven remaining hostages":

El Watan - quoting official sources - hostage takers had given up hope of escaping and started killing hostages then the assault launched
— peter beaumont (@petersbeaumont) January 19, 2013

A final assault by Algerian special forces on the group of jihadist hostage-takers who seized the In Amenas gas facility ended on Saturday with the deaths of the seven remaining foreign hostages. Also killed was the Niger terrorist believed to lead the al-Qaida splinter group's leader, Abdul Rahman al-Nigeri. Five Britons and one UK resident were believed to be among the 23 hostages killed during the standoff

Sixteen foreign nationals – including two Americans, two Germans and a Portuguese – were freed during Saturday's operation.

After a day of desperate uncertainty over the fate of the remaining British captives, David Cameron said the deaths would unite world leaders in the cause of defeating global terrorism. The prime minister added: "Our determination is stronger than ever to work with allies right around the world to root out and defeat this terrorist scourge and those who encourage it."

The White House released a statement from Barack Obama, in which the US president said: "The thoughts and prayers of the American people are with the families of all those who were killed and injured in the terrorist attack in Algeria. The blame for this tragedy rests with the terrorists who carried it out, and the United States condemns their actions in the strongest possible terms. We have been in constant contact with Algerian officials and stand ready to provide whatever assistance they need in the aftermath of this attack.

Announcing the latest casualties, foreign secretary William Hague said: "We believe that there are five British nationals and one British resident who are either deceased or unaccounted for, in addition to the one fatality that we had already confirmed."

He added: "We are working hard to get definitive information about each individual. We are in touch with all of the families concerned."

Continue reading.

'How to Be a Heartbreaker'

From Marina and the Diamonds:

Erik Loomis Back on Twitter (and Still Making an Idiot of Himself)

I posted on Amanda Marcotte yesterday, "This Over-the-Top Amanda Marcotte Anti-Rush Limbaugh Rant Demonstrates Just How Far Apart are Left and Right in American Politics." Check the thread there for a brief back and forth between me and Professor Dan Nexon. Somehow Rush Limbaugh is being compared to Erik Loomis and the big controversy over those "death" tweets and retweets he was sending out late last year. He almost got himself fired. And he's still facing tenure review and no doubt these issues will come up.

In any case, Twitchy has this, "Death threat retweeter Erik Loomis claims Rush Limbaugh incites violence, accuses Michelle Malkin of hypocrisy."

After attacking me for metaphor, Malkin is ANGRY that @amandamarcotte calls out Rush's violent anti-women "metaphors." lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2013/01/metaph…
— Erik Loomis (@ErikLoomis) January 19, 2013

Look, there's partisan polarization and people take sides. Still, I think Loomis should have thought twice about retweeting this, "“First fucker to say the solution is for elementary school teachers to carry guns needs to get beaten to death”." That's not so metaphor-ish.

Gun Appreciation Day

At Sooper Mexican, "“Gun Appreciation Day” Rallies All Across America!! Whiny Liberals Hardest Hit."

And at the Wall Street Journal, "5 Hurt in Shootings at U.S. Gun Shows."

And from Ann Althouse, "Video from the "Guns Across America" rally here in Madison, Wisconsin today." She's got a description of that sign at the post, commenting about how it's hard to read.

Althouse photo via Flickr.

Dear Leader Barack Hussein: Child Exploiter-in-Chief

Fresh off our Dear Leader's child exploiting press conference earlier this week, Comrade Obama's now getting some push back from former President Bill Clinton, "Bill Clinton to Democrats: Don't trivialize gun culture." (Via Memeorandum.)

Bless old Bill's heart. Before Hillary's even out of office he's preparing for her centrist re-positioning for 2016. Well, we're so far left now that it's going to take a lot more than rejecting Obama's culture-destroying and Constitution-crushing power grabs. We need a political revolt of Americans. People who understand and practice our values. The Clintons long ago went over to the other side. Screw 'em. (More at Memeorandum.)

IMAGE CREDIT: PEOPLE'S CUBE.

Assassination Attempt on Bulgarian Opposition Leader (VIDEO)

That's Ahmed Dogan, the founder and leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, a liberal party representing Turkish interests in Bulgaria. He's lucky to be alive:

Details at London's Daily Mail, "Heartstopping moment would-be assassin aims gun at Bulgarian opposition leader's head and pulls the trigger... but victim survives after weapon misfires."

In Panetta's Final Stretch of Tenure, a New Crisis Emerges

He's been showing some resolve, with comments way more in line with protecting national interests than what the president usually has to say. But he's on the way out, so not much good it's going to do.

At the New York Times, "Panetta, in His Last Lap as Defense Secretary, Navigates a Crisis":

LONDON — Leon E. Panetta’s final weeklong trip to the old capitals of Europe initially had the feel of a valedictory lap, one that would nurture the trans-Atlantic alliance and give him the chance to dine in the Italy of his heritage. His staff had to insist it was not a junket.

But by the time Mr. Panetta, the defense secretary, arrived in Rome on Wednesday, news had broken about the hostage-taking in Algeria as Pentagon officials, frustrated and alarmed, scrambled to get basic information out of Algiers.

Mr. Panetta learned of the seizure of the Algerian gas facility after a meeting on Wednesday afternoon with Prime Minister Mario Monti of Italy. He declared it a “terrorist act,” cut short a dinner that night with the Italian defense minister and was up until midnight in his hotel room in briefings.

By Thursday, he was overseeing plans to deploy American military cargo planes to ferry French troops and equipment to Mali, where the government of neighboring Algeria said France’s armed intervention was the cause of the abductions.

On Friday, he trundled into a hastily scheduled meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain as snow fell outside 10 Downing Street. “Let’s start with Algeria,” Mr. Cameron said.

Earlier, Mr. Panetta inserted language into a set-piece speech on the United States’ relationship with Europe, telling students at King’s College London that “terrorists should be on notice that they will find no sanctuary, no refuge, not in Algeria, not in North Africa, not anywhere.”

But the reality is that pursuing those terrorists and any others is now to be the job of the next defense secretary. Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s nominee for the post, is encamped down the corridor from Mr. Panetta’s Pentagon office, preparing for his Jan. 31 confirmation hearings. If Mr. Hagel, 66, is confirmed, Mr. Panetta is likely to exit in mid-February, leaving a NATO meeting later that month in Brussels to his successor.

“The time has come for me to go home,” Mr. Panetta told the students in London.

Chuck Hagel the "realist."

Boy, this ought to be interesting. Maybe Hagel will convince Obama to stop saying that the terrorists are "de-capacitated." Or, well, probably not.

No Sweeping Generalizations!

I don't know?

I try to block these stalking asshats, but no doubt by now these these f-kers have multiple accounts. It's definitely the same MO:

@ampowerblog @rsmccain There's good and bad people in every sect so please dont generalize a whole religion because of actions of some few.
— #PrayForGaza (@WeLovePalestina) January 19, 2013

Meanwhile, Kevin Robbins, the flaming "backside boogie" baker boy at American Nihilist, is keeping teh stupid alive. Get a life you freak. (And be careful at that link ---- Kevin's "backside boogie" bros are [YMCA] NSFW.)

BONUS: Evil Blogger Lady comments on "troll-rights" ringleader Walter James Casper III:

He would make a good partner for Andrew Sullivan. I know Sully is married now but apparently they are into swinging...

Shoot, he's probably already made a "good partner" for Andrew "RAWMUSCLEGLUTE" Sullivan!

If it feels good do it!

They're animals. Depraved f-king animals.

Deadly Conclusion in Algeria Hostage Crisis

Well, the terrorists freaked out and started killing hostages, and then the final assault began.

At Telegraph UK, "Algeria hostage crisis: desert siege ends in bloodshed":

The hostage crisis in Sahara desert has been brought to a bloody end following an assault by the Algerian military, Philip Hammond, the British defence secretary has confirmed.

It was not immediately clear how many of the hostages being held by the terrorists at the In Amenas gas complex had survived the battle between Algerian special forces and the al-Qaeda-linked militants.

BP said that four of its staff who were working on the site were still missing while 14 were safe. Two of their employees were injured, according to Bob Dudley, the companies chief executive.

William Hague, the British foreign secretary, had earlier warned that "fewer than 10" Britons were still "at risk or unaccounted for" as the Algerian forces began their final assault on the gas plant.

He warned the country had to "prepare for bad news".

There had been earlier reports that seven foreign hostages died while 11 terrorists had been killed in the fighting at the plant.

Continue reading.

Also at the Australian, "Algerian forces storm gas field, militants execute seven hostages before being killed."

And check for live updates at the Guardian. UK.

ObamaCare Slams Part-Time College Professors

Well, I wonder if part-timers will rail against their "unjust" college administrators cutting them loose, or the clusterf-k administration in Washington causing a wave of layoffs and cutbacks around the country. Actually, I don't wonder. Obama walks on water, even for the idiot progressive educators paying the price for the health care monstrosity.

At the Wall Street Journal, "Health Law Pinches Colleges: Some Schools Cut Hours of Hard-Pressed Adjuncts to Avoid Rules on Insurance":

The federal health-care overhaul is prompting some colleges and universities to cut the hours of adjunct professors, renewing a debate about the pay and benefits of these freelance instructors who handle a significant share of teaching at U.S. higher-education institutions.

The Affordable Care Act requires large employers to offer a minimum level of health insurance to employees who work 30 hours a week or more starting in 2014, or face a penalty. The mandate is a particular challenge for colleges and universities, which increasingly rely on adjuncts to help keep costs down as states have scaled back funding for higher education.

A handful of schools, including Community College of Allegheny County in Pennsylvania and Youngstown State University in Ohio, have curbed the number of classes that adjuncts can teach in the current spring semester to limit the schools' exposure to the health-insurance requirement. Others are assessing whether to do so, or to begin offering health care to some adjuncts.

In Ohio, instructor Robert Balla faces a new cap on the number of hours he can teach at Stark State College. In a Dec. 6 letter, the North Canton school told him that "in order to avoid penalties under the Affordable Care Act…employees with part-time or adjunct status will not be assigned more than an average of 29 hours per week."

Mr. Balla, a 41-year-old father of two, had taught seven English composition classes last semester, split between Stark State and two other area schools. This semester, his course load at Stark State is down to one instead of two as a result of the school's new limit on hours, cutting his salary by about a total of $2,000.

Stark State's move came as a blow to Mr. Balla, who said he earns about $40,000 a year and cannot afford health insurance.

"I think it goes against the spirit of the [health-care] law," Mr. Balla said. "In education, we're working for the public good, we are public employees at a public institution; we should be the first ones to uphold the law, to set the example."

Irene Motts, a spokeswoman for Stark State, a two-year community college, said the new rules were necessary "to maintain the fiscal stability of the college. There are a lot of penalties involved if adjuncts go over their 29 hours-per-week average. The college can be fined and the fines are substantial."

Nationally, colleges through trade groups such as the American Association of Community Colleges are asking the Internal Revenue Service to write special rules for adjuncts. The IRS recently acknowledged the issues in higher education, but so far hasn't agreed to take further steps.

That's a slap in the face for Professor Balla, who sounds pretty idealistic about the role that professors are supposed to be playing. He's probably a progressive. What a harsh awakening for the dude. And isn't it funny that community colleges are looking to get a waiver from the IRS, only so far to be blown off by this president's administration, which has ruthlessly exploited community colleges as part if its jobs and retraining agenda?

But progressives still love him. We could have hundreds of thousands of layoffs from ObamaCare ---- and we probably will ---- and Democrats will still worship this gobsmacked idiot presidential freak. I'm looking ahead to 2016. The pendulum may well swing back to the GOP, and with a vengeance.

Sniper Kills Al Jazeera Reporter in Syria

At Blazing Cat Fur: "Video: Al Jazeera Reporter Picked Off By Sniper In Syria." That's graphic.

And from Al Jazeera, "Al Jazeera reporter killed by sniper in Syria."

Also at the Committee to Protect Journalists: "In Syria, Al-Jazeera reporter killed in Daraa."