Oracle Team USA Rallies for Historic America's Cup Win

At LAT, "Team USA rides a comeback wave to America's Cup victory":

SAN FRANCISCO — The end came with a burst of speed and a charge across San Francisco Bay.

As the sleek, massive American catamaran sprinted upwind, tactician Ben Ainslie called to his crew mates.

"This is it," he hollered. "This is it."

Defending champion Oracle Team USA easily beat challenger Emirates Team New Zealand on a bright Wednesday afternoon to complete one of the greatest comebacks in sports history and win the 34th America's Cup.

Down eight races to one and facing elimination for the better part of a week, Oracle managed a string of victories to reach a winner-take-all finale and prevail, 9-8, in the longest, closest series in 162 years of Cup history.

"We faced the barrel of the gun at 8-1," Oracle skipper Jimmy Spithill said of his 11-man crew. "What did these guys do? They didn't even flinch."

For Emirates, the final day was a disheartening end to nearly three weeks of racing that saw wild momentum swings and the rival boats crisscrossing and bumping at up to 50 mph as if they were stock cars.

"The Oracle boys just found another couple of gears through the regatta," Emirates tactician Ray Davies said. "Hats off to them."

Only twice before in the Cup's history had the competition come down to a deciding race. British sailing historian Bob Fisher could not recall such nip-and-tuck battles throughout a series.

"There were lead changes," he said. "We haven't seen lead changes at the America's Cup for years and years."

Emirates took an early lead when Oracle wobbled at the first mark, its twin bows plunging into the water, sending up plumes of spray. "Thought we'd keep it exciting for you guys," Spithill later quipped.

The American boat soon made up the difference, showing impressive acceleration on the upwind stretch that had once proved so frustrating.

The race was decided on that third leg, Oracle opening a lead it would never relinquish, crossing the finish line 44 seconds ahead.

More video, "America's Cup 2013: New Zealand defeat is 'very hard to swallow'."

Heroes of Kenya Siege

A couple of stories.

At Britain's ITN, "Incredible footage: Hero policeman saves terrified family in Kenya mall siege (VIDEO)."

And at the Telegraph, "Revealed: American family rescued by Muslim hero of attack on Kenya's Westgate mall."

Obama Adviser Dan Pfeiffer: We're Not for Negotiating With People With a 'Bomb Strapped to Their Chest'

Profiles in Democrat civility.

At Twitchy, "Adviser Dan Pfeiffer likens GOP to ‘people with a bomb strapped to their chest’."

Instead of negotiating with the democratically-elected opposition, the Democrats attack Republicans and terrorists and hostage-takers.

Seriously, people who aren't normally affected by such childish rhetoric are taking exception. Infantile ideological games. You have to roll your eyes after a while. The adults will be back in charge in due time.

U.S. Sees Direct Threat in Attack at Kenya Mall

Wow.

And I thought we had "decimated" al Qaeda.

Hardly, according to the New York Times:

NAIROBI, Kenya — Viewing the deadly siege at a shopping mall in Kenya as a direct threat to its security, the United States is deploying dozens of F.B.I. agents to investigate the wreckage, hoping to glean every piece of information possible to help prevent such a devastating attack from happening again, possibly even on American soil.

For years, the F.B.I. has been closely watching the Shabab, the Somali Islamist group that has claimed responsibility for the Nairobi massacre and recruited numerous Americans to fight and die — sometimes as suicide bombers — for its cause.

The Shabab has already attacked most of the major actors trying to end the chaos in Somalia — the United Nations, Uganda, aid groups, the Somali government and now Kenya. The United States has spent hundreds of millions of dollars bankrolling anti-Shabab operations for years, and there is growing fear that the group could turn its sights on American interests more directly, one of the reasons the Obama administration is committing so many resources to the investigation in Kenya.

“We are in this fight together,” said Robert F. Godec, the American ambassador to Kenya. “The more we know about the planning that went into this, the way it was conducted, what was used, the people involved, the better we can protect America, too.”

Less than a day after the bloody standoff ended, more than 20 F.B.I. agents wearing flak jackets and helmets were combing through the wreckage strewn across the steps of the mall. Dozens more agents will be headed to Nairobi, American officials say. Some of them are members of the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force squad that investigates extremist groups operating in the Horn of Africa, a law enforcement official said.

Over the next few days, agents, including a full Evidence Response Team, will be collecting D.N.A., fingerprints and other biometric information, poring through surveillance footage and examining guns, laptops, cameras and computers — anything to gain insights into how the attack was carried out and the hierarchy, planning and structures behind the group, especially if they have any ties back to the United States.

American officials are mindful that Kenya, one of its closest allies in Africa, has become a precarious buffer zone between the United States and Islamist militants who have declared foreigners legitimate targets in their war.

More at the link.

And also, "A Shaken Kenya Is Hit by 2 More Deadly Attacks by Militants."

No surprise. These murderers are doing exactly as they've promised. At the Times of Israel, "Al-Shabab vow to continue attacks on Kenya."

The #ObamaCare Death Toll Rises

From Michelle Malkin, "Obama Lied, My Health Plan Died":

Like an estimated 22 million other Americans, I am a self-employed small-business owner who buys health insurance for my family directly on the individual market. We have a high-deductible PPO plan that allows us to choose from a wide range of doctors.

Or rather, we had such a plan.

Last week, our family received notice from Anthem BlueCross BlueShield of Colorado that we can no longer keep the plan we like because of “changes from health care reform (also called the Affordable Care Act or ACA).” The letter informed us that “(t)o meet the requirements of the new laws, your current plan can no longer be continued beyond your 2014 renewal date.”

In short: Obama lied. My health plan died...

Continue reading.

And ICYMI, "'You Can Keep Your Plan' — The Left's #ObamaCare Lies."

After 20-Plus Hours, Senator Ted Cruz Still Going Strong Against #ObamaCare

I wasn't expecting this.

But I've already dropped my kid off at school, and after a long night, Senator Cruz is still speaking as this blog entry goes live.

See the Washington Post, "After 20-plus hours, Sen. Cruz still talking in an effort to defeat Obamacare":

By 5 a.m., the length of Cruz’s marathon discourse — he is not allowed to leave the Senate floor, even for a bathroom break — had surpassed lengthy filibusters by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in March and the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) in 1964. He earned a lead spot on all three network morning news shows, acknowledging that he was “a little bit” tired but still looking remarkably fresh. The television anchors dubbed Cruz’s effort a “talk-a-thon,” even as they explained to viewers that his effort would not derail the legislative process.

Just before 9 a.m., Cruz told the near-empty chamber — and C-Span II viewers — that he had been reviewing a bit of the libertarian writer Ayn Rand’s literature overnight. He then started reading from “Atlas Shrugged.”


The Cruz talk-a-thon was the latest example of the increasingly stark division among Republicans, both on Capitol Hill and nationally. The Texas newcomer, just 42 and nine months into his first term in office, is carrying the banner for conservatives who urge a take-no-prisoners approach in confronting the president, even if it means shuttering the government.

But the move angered senior Republicans, who complained that Cruz and the other junior senators pushing this strategy did not understand the wounds the GOP suffered during the mid-1990s shutdown battles with President Bill Clinton. Back then, the party controlled both the House and Senate, a luxury compared with its tenuous majority in the House today.

He's still talking, via C-SPAN, "Sen. Cruz Continues Floor Speech; Senate Procedural Vote on CR Later Today."

Also at Free Beacon, "Ted Cruz Talks ‘Star Wars’ On The Senate Floor." And see Memeorandum.

Confessions of Pop's Wildest Child

There's a method to her madness.

Seriously.

Since twerking the VMAs it's been Miley 24/7.

At Rolling Stone, "Miley Cyrus: She knows what you think about her – and she totally doesn't care."

Also at the Other McCain, "Obligatory ‘Miley Cyrus Topless’ Post."

Al Qaeda's Minnesota Recruiting Blows Lid Off Obama's 'Tide of War is Receding' Propaganda

From Katherine Zimmerman, at the Wall Street Journal, "Al Qaeda's African Surge Threatens the U.S." (via Google):

On Tuesday, after a four-day siege by terrorists who murdered at least 67 people, the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, still appeared not to have been secured by government forces. The attack by more than a dozen heavily armed members of the Somalia-based al Shabaabterrorist group—including reportedly several Americans—was a thoroughly planned operation. Teams of the al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists entered the mall's first and second floors in a two-pronged attack. The terrorists lined up hostages, separated Muslims from Christians and others, then tested the self-proclaimed Muslims on their knowledge of Arabic and Islam. Those who failed were shot, children included. The militants then settled in with the surviving hostages to repulse attempts to extract them.

Who are these terrorists? Al Shabaab—in Arabic, "the youth"—traces its roots to the militant wing of the Islamic Courts Union, an Islamist political movement that rose to power in Somalia in 2006. A U.S.-backed Ethiopian invasion of Somalia in December 2006 toppled the ICU, whose leaders fled. But al Shabaab remained and rapidly consolidated power as the dominant insurgent force. When less capable African Union peacekeepers replaced Ethiopian troops, al Shabaab recaptured much of southern and central Somalia by 2009.

There they might have remained if not for a United States- and United Nations-backed effort to beef up the African Union force. A far more robust and battle-tested Amisom (the African Union Mission in Somalia) pushed back al Shabaab, and by September 2012 the group had lost the strategic town of Kismayo, and with it much of al Shabaab's revenue and reputation.

What followed is essential to understanding the resiliency of local Islamist extremist groups and the evolution of al Qaeda. As al Shabaab began losing ground in Somalia, a leadership battle ensued between those who wanted to be part of a global Islamist movement and others with more parochial aims. In 2012, al Shabaab declared itself part of al Qaeda, eliminating dissenters through assassination.

Al Shabaab's decision to relegate the fight for Somali territory to secondary status was a major change. A group that had espoused more limited aims was suddenly abandoning its desire for local power in favor of a more idealized global fight. It is this model that is propelling al Qaeda, allowing the Islamist network to spread in Syria, Sinai, Iraq, Libya and Yemen.

Groups like al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Ansar al Shariah in Libya, Ansar Beit al Maqdis in the Sinai, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb have metastasized from local to networked global al Qaeda groups. Al Shabaab is following al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which first hit Saudi targets and then moved on to the United States.

Yet the U.S. government insists on calling al Shabaab a local, Somali threat, playing down the potential threat to the U.S. The Obama administration has clung instead to the narrative that al Qaeda is on the "path to defeat" and its remnants are "lethal, but less capable," as President Obama put it in May.

A major tip-off in al Shabaab's transformation was its effort to recruit Americans. According to U.S. officials, 50 or so U.S. citizens have made their way to Somalia since 2007 to join al Shabaab. This includes members of the Somali diaspora and non-Somalis, such as Syrian-American Omar Hammami, who called himself Abu Mansur al Amriki, aka "the American," before he was killed earlier this month in Somalia, the victim of an internal dispute.

American Somalis began joining al Shabaab to fight the Ethiopians in 2007. Insight into its recruitment has come from the courtroom testimony of individuals who were arrested for providing material support to al Shabaab upon returning from Somalia: A local recruiter would promise vulnerable Muslim youths in the U.S. entry to paradise if they fought the Christian invaders. The youths would slip away for the trip to Somalia, often without the knowledge of their families....

Last month, al Shabaab released a video featuring what it called its "Minnesota Martyrs." Minnesota is home to the largest U.S. population of Somalis. The 40-minute video, the first in a promised series, featured three Americans. The video glorified the three young men, saying they had given their lives on what is now a global battlefield. Although some within the group may see Africa as their battleground, those who have cemented the relationship with al Qaeda understand that jihad stretches from Morocco to the Philippines, from Tanzania to Iraq. And as al Qaeda leader Ayman Zawahiri has made clear, to the United States.

If reports now surfacing regarding Americans involved in the Nairobi attack—al Shabaab's response to the Kenyan military presence in Somalia—are confirmed, it will be difficult for the Obama administration to continue claiming that al Shabaab is purely local. The terror group has the means for a major attack, and al Qaeda's focus on the U.S. provides the motive...

RTWT at Google.

Also at CBS, "Kenya mall attack terrorists included "two or three" Americans, Kenyan foreign minister Amina Mohamed says."

Related: At the Minneapolis Star Tribune, "Slick video rekindles fears that Al-Shabab is recruiting Minnesotans."

#Nairobi Attack May Bolster al-Shabab in Jihadists' Eyes

Here's an excellent report at the Washington Post, "Kenyan officials say Nairobi mall siege is over; attack may bolster al-Shabab in jihadists’ eyes."

And from last night's CBS Evening News:

Iran Rebuffs U.S. Offer to Meet

At the Wall Street Journal, "Iran Applies Brakes to U.S. Mideast Plans: Tehran Decides Against Meeting of President at U.N.":

UNITED NATIONS—President Barack Obama argued the U.S. case before world leaders for resolving the Middle East's deepest conflicts, but pushback from Iran dimmed hopes that had been building for a rapid leap forward.

Iranian President Hasan Rouhani's decision against meeting Mr. Obama—or even exchanging a handshake—at the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday soured what American and European officials had hoped would mark an advancement in efforts to wind down tensions.

Mr. Rouhani followed that rebuff with an address to the U.N. in which he aired his hopes for reconciliation while holding firm on Iran's right to enrich uranium and criticizing some aspects of American foreign policy, including economic sanctions on Tehran.

Mr. Obama's address earlier on Tuesday was framed as an explanation of his approach to the Middle East and how he plans to engage the region for the remainder of his time in office.

"Some may disagree, but I believe that America is exceptional" because of its willingness to get involved in the outside world, he said—a direct rebuke to criticism by Russian leader Vladimir Putin of Mr. Obama's call for action in Syria.

The president posed the Syrian civil war as a test for the world body—urging a Security Council resolution this week demanding the dismantling of Damascus's chemical-weapons arsenal—and called on Russia and Iran to use their influence with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to force a political process to end the conflict.

Some U.S. officials see a potential thaw with Iran as a way to gain leverage in bringing a resolution to the Syrian civil war and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Continue reading.

Also, "Transcript and Video: Obama’s Remarks at United Nations."

Intense Speculation on Whereabouts of British 'White Widow' Samantha Lewthwaite

Authorities and the press still haven't got a clue on the whereabouts of Samantha Lewthwaite, to say nothing of whether she was involved in the Westgate massacre.

Robert Stacy McCain gave us an update this morning, "Terrorist ‘White Widow’ Killed in Kenya?"

We still don't know, actually. It's paroxysms of anticipation at this point.

See the Australian, "Hunt intensifies for 'White Widow' as Kenyan president declares victory against shopping centre terrorists":

A SHOP worker has described how a woman resembling the 'White Widow' sprayed bullets in her direction during the terrorist attack on a Kenyan mall.

The witness says she was cowering under boxes when an AK-37-wielding, pale-skinned woman with long dark hair locked eyes with her.

She then opened fire from a balcony.

The witness, named only as Caroline, told the Daily Mail she managed to escape unharmed as the terrorists advanced through the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi.

"She was high up but not far from me, close enough that I saw her looking along the floor where I was until she saw me," Caroline said.

"She stopped and aimed at me and then opened fire."

The shop assistant said the woman was wearing a baggy black top and had long black hair.

"I can't remember very much, but I remember she had pale skin," she said.

This witness account is but one of several reporting a white female among terrorists who attacked the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi at the weekend, killing 61 civilians and six security forces. Some 175 were injured in the attack, including 62 who remain in hospital.

She is being linked to Briton Samantha Lewthwaite, an extremist Muslim convert who has been dubbed "The White Widow" by British media.

The timing of the attack has been linked to the trial of a British man on bomb-making charges who is believed to be a friend and associate of Lewthwaite.

Jermaine Grant, of east London, and his wife Warda Breik were arrested when police raided their Mombassa home and allegedly found bomb-making materials.

Both have been charged by anti-terrorism police for possessing explosive materials and conspiring to commit crimes. Both have denied the accusations.

Lots more at the link.

And see the Belfast Telegraph, "White Widow Samantha Lewthwaite could be among dead terrorism suspects who attacked a Nairobi shopping mall in Kenya."

It's still speculation. We won't know for sure until the dead terrorists are identified or the woman's whereabouts are verified.

BONUS: At Telegraph UK, "Kenya attack: White Widow Samantha Lewthwaite was 'a lovely young girl' (VIDEO)."

Ted Cruz Takes to Senate Floor: 'I intend to speak in support of defunding #ObamaCare until I am no longer able to stand...'

Mandy Nagy has the live feed, at Legal Insurrection, "WATCH LIVE: Cruz “filibusters” to #MakeDCListen on defunding ObamaCare."

Plus see all the debate on the floor debate at Memeorandum.

'Lady'

With the exception of one or two below at the playlist, I've previously posted most of these songs from yesterday morning's drive time. Styx is not my favorite, although I confess to listening to "The Grand Illusion" (LP) all the time in high school ("Miss America" is particularly good). (On Facebook here.)

A great drive-time set, in any case, at The Sound L.A.

Today's my long day and I'm going out tonight with my family, so I'm not sure when blogging's going to kick back up. Until then, God bless...

You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet --- B.T.O. 08:18 AM

I Wanna Be Sedated --- Ramones 08:16 AM

Gimme Shelter --- The Rolling Stones 08:10 AM

Maggie May --- Rod Stewart 08:05 AM

Let My Love Open the Door --- Pete Townshend 08:02 AM

Lady '95 --- Styx 07:59 AM

Hold On Loosely --- 38 Special 07:55 AM

Suzie Q --- Creedence Clearwater Revival 07:50 AM

My My Hey Hey --- Neil Young 07:47 AM

With a Little Help From My Friends --- The Beatles 07:39 AM

Hit Me With Your Best Shot (Live) --- Pat Benatar 07:36 AM

The Evil of Global Jihad

From Tom Rogan, at National Review:

Nairobi’s Westgate mall is more than a retail center. It’s a social hub — a space for shared enjoyment and community celebration. It’s also a place for kids. In fact, a children’s event was taking place on Saturday. Then the jihadists turned up and turned it into a death trap. And that’s not all they did this weekend.

Rampaging through a mall.

Attacking a funeral in Iraq.

Blowing up worshipers in a Pakistani church.

This weekend has verified the identity of the global jihadist movement: a death cult that finds spiritual unity in the murder of innocents.

Let’s be clear. Westgate was attacked for two reasons. First, in its public character, the mall offered al-Shabab an opportunity to spread terror across all of Kenyan society. Second, packed with families, Westgate offered the terrorists hundreds of strategic pawns. In its killing sprees, al-Shabab seeks a new regional understanding: that its resolve is supreme above all others. That unless its adversaries yield, more Westgates will follow.

At a basic level, al-Shabab’s strategy is far from original. By definition, terrorism involves the deliberate cultivation of fear as a political tool.

Yet modern Salafi Jihadism takes this dynamic to an unprecedented level. It has the instinctive reflex toward unrestrained brutality. Gratuitous violence guarantees attention. Think about the Iraq war. The image of masked assailants sawing off the heads of bound and terrified prisoners is seared indelibly into our memory.

Of course, this raises a key question: How do the jihadists excuse their atrocities?

In the blend of theocratic absolutism and perverse consequentialism. From the jihadist perspective, their violence is justified in the service of God’s intrinsic will.

Grappling with this notion of ordained will is crucial. It affords us insight into the existential rigidity with which these terrorists regard the world. In short, Salafi Jihadists claim that the price of peace is our non-interference — they hint that our acquiescence will buy us our safety. They’re lying. Theirs is an ideology with a supra-national (and, as they see it, divine) pursuit — a global caliphate of absolute power.

Still more at the link.

And see Robert Spencer, "Jihad in Kenya."And Daniel Greenfield, "In the Name of Islam."

British 'White Widow' Killed as Security Forces Storm #Westgate Mall?

Reports are unconfirmed.

Here's London's Daily Mail, "Has British 'White Widow' been killed in final assault on Kenyan shopping mall? Body of white woman terrorist is found at scene."

But see the Guardian UK, "Kenya siege: UK officials investigate claims Britons were involved in attack."



More, from @ColorMeRed on Twitter, "Belfast Telegraph Front Page Tues Sep 24: Security services hunt down White Widow over Kenya massacre."

Video: Special Forces Storm #Westgate Mall in Nairobi

From KTN Kenya.



PREVIOUSLY: "Reports: Kenyan Forces Secure #Westgate Mall."

Reports: Kenyan Forces Secure #Westgate Mall

It's hard to know what's going on. Up-to-date information is sketchy, and I'm linking this stuff below provisionally. I'll be checking around for more information, especially on the identities of the assailants.

Until then, a number of reports are claiming the siege has come to an end and security forces have the mall under control.

Here's Agence-France Press and Telegraph UK on Twitter:

Kenya troops have #Westgate mall 'under control' after three day bloodbath http://t.co/OyjAG3VrJx via @YahooNews

— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) September 23, 2013

.@interiorKE says Kenyan security forces are now in control of #Westgate mall. Follow here for the latest http://t.co/mK4zNG4vT6

— Telegraph World News (@TelegraphWorld) September 23, 2013

And at the Wall Street Journal, "Kenyan Mall Siege Enters Third Night: Security Forces Mount Assault as Details on Attackers Begin to Emerge":

NAIROBI, Kenya—The standoff at a popular shopping mall here entered its third night on Monday, as sketchy details began to emerge about the assailants, among them a Caucasian-looking woman in a head scarf.

The woman, said a Western security officer briefed on the assault, fired on shoppers with an assault rifle as they fled and dove for cover. Most of the other attackers remain unidentified.

Meanwhile, on Monday afternoon, Kenyan security forces mounted a major assault in an effort to free the more-than-40 people still believed to be inside. Gunfire and explosions erupted as the operation started, accompanied by a black plume of smoke billowing into the air.

Kenyan officials said they had been able to free almost all of the civilians inside, but declined to give a figure.

At least 62 people have been killed in the three-day siege that started on Saturday, after armed assailants rushed into the mall from three entrances and opened fire on those inside.

At least two attackers were killed and 10 people have been arrested in Kenya for questioning in connection with the assault, police said.

The account of female militants jibes with witnesses who said they saw women taking part in the assault.

One man said he saw three women among the assailants that came in and out of the supermarket storeroom in which he was hiding. Interior cabinet Secretary Joseph Ole Lenku said Monday that some militants had disguised themselves women, without explaining why.

Meanwhile, Kenya's military, which is taking part in the counterassault on the mall, confirmed that the assailants came from a number of countries, although an official declined to disclose details in a briefing with reporters Monday.

"We have an idea who these people are, and they are clearly a multinational collection from all over the world," said Maj. Gen. Julius Karanja, the chief of general staff for the Kenyan military.

The Somali al-Shabaab militant Islamist group claimed responsibility for the attack but didn't provide details on the assailants.

A list of purported attackers, including Europeans and Americans, appeared to have come from a Twitter account not sanctioned by the group. The list couldn't be independently verified.

The security forces also appeared to be growing to include international participants. Israeli forces joined Kenyan troops pursuing the militants inside the mall on Monday, said witnesses.

The Israeli government declined to comment on their presence and Kenyan officials continued to stress that the rescue was a purely Kenyan operation.

There are a number of Israeli-owned shops in Westgate and the mall itself is at least partially Israeli-owned.

More at that top link.

I'll be updating throughout the night.

Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union Wins Triumphant German Election

Chancellor Merkel was reelected to a third term.

At the New York Times, "Merkel Re-Elected in Show of Strong Support for Party":

BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel scored a stunning personal triumph in Sunday’s national elections in Germany, becoming the only major leader to be re-elected twice since the financial crisis of 2008 and winning strong popular endorsement for her mix of austerity and solidarity in managing troubled Europe.

Although final vote tallies were not expected until Monday, the surprising show of strength for the chancellor and her center-right Christian Democrats — even their own polls had not suggested such a result — might just translate into an absolute majority, according to exit polls by both major German television stations. That is something no German chancellor has achieved since Konrad Adenauer in 1957.

Ms. Merkel, 59 and a physicist raised in Communist East Germany, was unusually buoyant when she appeared before supporters, who chanted “Angie! Angie!” and gave her two whole minutes of applause at party headquarters. She exuberantly thanked voters, campaigners and her husband, the quantum chemist Joachim Sauer. Mr. Sauer, who tends to shun the limelight, stood at the side of the stage, acknowledging the jubilation of her fans.

Later, during a raucous celebration at her party headquarters, Ms. Merkel clapped and sang along with the crowds but reminded them, “Tomorrow, we work.”

For all her success, it is not clear how Ms. Merkel will govern in her third four-year term. Her allies for the past four years, the business-minded Free Democrats, were expected to lose their place in Parliament, missing the 5 percent cutoff. And a narrow majority would be unstable — risking defeat in crucial parliamentary votes needed to pass more aid or credits for troubled economies.

So the most likely course is that Ms. Merkel will enter a grand coalition with the No. 2 party nationally, the center-left Social Democrats.

Continue reading.

Also at Der Spiegel, "Election Triumph: Merkel Victorious But Faces Tough Talks, and "Merkel Country: Trouble Ahead for Triumphant Queen Angela."

More, "Wiped Out: Free Democrats Reel from Election Fiasco," and "Grand Coalition? Social Dems Deflect Talk of Merkel Alliance."

Plus, an analysis at the Economist, "Angela Merkel's bittersweet triumph."

Jihad in Kenya: Photos

At Pamela's, "PHOTOS: JIHAD IN KENYA, DEATH TOLL HITS 68 IN MUSLIM MASSACRE AT WESTGATE MALL."

And at BNI, "UPDATE NAIROBI ISLAMIC TERRORIST MALL ATTACK: 59 dead, 175 wounded, terrorists still holding hostages, Israeli Security Forces arrive to help."



And then see FrontPage Magazine, "UK PM Says Terror Attack Carried Out for Islam has Nothing to do with Islam" (via Blazing Cat Fur).

Boy, that David Cameron. He's a regular riot.

Don't Wave the White Flag of Surrender — Sarah Palin Slams Cannibalistic RINOs on #DefundObamaCare

Sarah Palin's laying down some major support for Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Lee.

She references her Big Government piece today at the clip, "Sarah Palin: Americans Are Fed Up with #ObamaCare."



And see William Jacobson, "What are the Republican doughboys afraid of?"

Also at Twitchy, "‘See your filthy paw prints, Rove’ Who sent oppo research on Ted Cruz to Chris Wallace?", and "Sarah Palin to Chris Wallace: Expose which GOPers are trying to ‘trash Sen Cruz’."

Carnage and Survival at Westgate Mall, #Nairobi

At at the National Post, "Graphic: Survivor’s Stories from the Nairobi Mall."

Hat Tip: Trending Kenya.

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



Also at Randy's Roundtable, "Friday Nite Funnies," and Reaganite, "Reaganite's SUNDAY FUNNIES."

CARTOON CREDIT: Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – Piling On."

Raw Video From #Nairobi Terrorist Attack

At Pamela's, "SHOUTS, SCREAMS... AND THEN A SPRINT FOR THEIR LIVES: RAW VIDEO FOOTAGE SHOWS FULL TERROR OF MOMENT MUSLIM TERRORISTS STRUCK AT KENYA MALL."



Added: Another version of the video with talking head commentary, at KTN Kenya, "Most chilling video of the Westgate attack."

'Well I tried to make it Sunday...'

I should post America more often.

It's been a couple of years now.

I love their music.

Starting Over With Emily Ratajkowski!

Working on my roundup yesterday I couldn't find a decent Rule 5 post over at Dana Pico's, even in the archives. The pictures weren't loading. Turns out his blog was devastated by a malware attack.

But he's back: "Rule 5 Blogging: Starting Over."

And here's Emily to form a one-woman welcoming committee, lol.

(I'm on on Emily jag, in case you haven't noticed.)

The Cult of #ObamaCare

A majority of Americans disapprove of the law, yet according to some Obama cultists, folks like this should be denied health coverage.

Support for Obama has always been cultish, but calling people who disagree on policy grounds "non-believers" is a new low.

At Twitchy, "Unhinged: UCSF fundraiser wishes death on all Obamacare ‘nonbelievers’; Nick Searcy shreds."

here you are, little girl wishing death on those who disagree with your great socialist overlords. @shandlerr pic.twitter.com/jTLWZ0uI57”

— Yes, Nick Searcy! (@yesnicksearcy) September 21, 2013

@dmbatten @UCSF @shandlerr That she uses word "nonbeliever" is ludicrous and creepy. #obamacare is NOT a belief.

— NancyBellicec (@Nancy_Bellicec) September 21, 2013

Truly creepy. But that's the left in action. Creep-tastic 24/7.

#Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw Tunes Up for Playoffs With 4-0 Victory Over Padres

The Dodgers are playing right now at San Diego.

Yesterday's game was a gem, as reported at LAT.

RECAP: @ClaytonKersh22 Ks 10, @YasielPuig and @AJEllis17 HR in 4-0 win over Padres: http://t.co/n0zfl64ntA pic.twitter.com/rCBQhYXw9A

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 22, 2013

Wife of U.S. Diplomat Killed in #Nairobi Terror Attack

Really, this is a major attack, a breakthrough for al-Qaeda in Africa, represented by al-Shabab.

At Fire Andrea Mitchell, "Wife of American diplomat killed in Kenya as death toll rises to 68."

And at London's Daily Mail, "US Embassy worker's wife among 68 dead in Kenya mall massacre: Witnesses report huge explosion as special forces move in to free dozens of hostages held by Muslim terrorists in siege live-blogged on Twitter."

Also at Reuters, "Islamist gunmen hold hostages in Kenya siege, 68 dead."

Previous coverage here.

Added: More at Gateway Pundit, "Nairobi Mall Terror Attack Continues, Americans Injured, Wife of U.S. Diplomat Killed."

New Rash of Gun Killings Overnight Friday in #Chicago

This should be the national gun debate we are having, but the left is all about lies and deceit, so the social pathologies of urban, black-on-black crime just don't rate.

Sad.

#Chicago bloodshed continues: 6 hurt, 5 dead in separate gun attacks. @DLoesch http://t.co/dDymjlx57x

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) September 22, 2013

Can 'Blurred Lines' Elevate the Culture?

Well, I don't know if Robin Thicke's song can elevate the culture or not, although no doubt Emily Ratajkowski has caused some elevation, IYKWIMAITYD.

From Megan Fox, at PJ Media, "From Rapey to Righteous: Can Robin Thicke’s Controversial Hit Song ‘Blurred Lines’ Elevate the Culture?"



Read it all at the link.

Megan discusses and links this version of the song, "Robin Thicke – Blurred Lines (Freestyle) Lyrics."

And I'll disagree with Megan here: I don't think the original topless "Blurred Lines" is gross. As Emily Ratajkowski puts it, "I think that the video was tasteful, beautiful, and there’s nothing offensive about it."

New York Times' Tyler Hicks Interview at 'This Week with George Stephanopoulos'

I posted on Tyler Hicks' amazing coverage earlier, "Witness to a Massacre in a Nairobi Mall."

And he's interviewed by Martha Raddatz at "This Week."



More at Atlas Shrugs, "*GRAPHIC* SCENES FROM JIHAD MASSACRE IN KENYA."

'You Can Keep Your Plan' — The Left's #ObamaCare Lies

Following up from yesterday, "Leftists Cheer as Anthem Blue Cross Boots Michelle Malkin From Company's Individual Insurance Market."

I'd be remiss if I didn't update with the clip from Linkmaster Smith, at the Other McCain, "Mrs. Malkin Misapprehends: The Underside of the Bus *IS* Your Healthcare Plan."



Keep in mind this "you can keep your plan" lie is just one lie in an epic campaign of lies designed to socialize and destroy the American healthcare market.

Leftism is predicated on lies. Most everyday citizens have little time or inclination to do the enormous fact-checking required to fully expose the deceits of the left. But it is being done by patriots who saw this coming a mile away. Of course, the leftist cluster-k media keeps the lies going for the Democrat-Socialist usurpers -- the clusterf-k media is key to the entire Big Lie deception underwriting the left's totalitarian project for the fundamental transformation of America.

It's all lies. Anti-Americanism and lies. And that's why no matter how successful are the defunding efforts this week, the long-term project of exposing Democrat lies never ends. Patriots will turn this around. So much of the system is working to screw the average person, and the smokescreens of "fairness" have been spread so far and wide that it takes a Herculean effort to bust through. But it's happening. The health care law is a miserable failure. Only epic Orwellian lies have been keeping it going. But we're approaching the reckoning. And patriots don't give up. We can see the whites of their eyes now.

More from Darleen Click, at Protein Wisdom, "#ObamaCare — designed to fail."

Nairobi Terror Continues in Second Day Standoff

At the BBC, "Kenya standoff: At least 59 dead, Uhuru Kenyatta says."



Also at USA Today, "Blast rocks Kenya mall in second day of standoff."

Sarah Palin: Americans Are Fed Up with #ObamaCare

From Governor Palin, at Big Government, "BOMBS AWAY ON OBAMACARE; CRUZ IS OVER THE TARGET":

Americans who are fed up with Obamacare won a victory yesterday. The House voted to defund Obamacare while still funding the federal government to avoid a “devastating” shutdown. (I shall not digress, but it’s beyond distressing to hear liberals try to convince Americans that any government slowdown is comparable to “terrorism.”)

Now the battle goes to the Senate, and we’ll find out if Harry Reid is so committed to the horrendous “Un-affordable Care Act” that he’ll be the one to shut down the government to fund the unworkable Obamacare.

Let’s be clear. Republicans in Congress aren't advocating a government shutdown. That’s why they voted in the House to fully fund our bureaucracy while defunding Obamacare. The conservatives in Congress are listening to the majority of Americans who do not want Obamacare.

Following the will of the people is apparently a novel idea in D.C. these days. Just ask Senator Ted Cruz and his liberty-loving posse on Capitol Hill who have led the charge to defund Obama’s train wreck.

Those of us who hang in there supporting a major political party with our energy, time, and contributions would like to believe that that party would praise principled conservatives like Ted Cruz and Mike Lee for following through on campaign promises. We’d like to believe that the GOP establishment would applaud the way these bold leaders have rallied the grassroots to their cause. But, no, such praise would require a commensurate level of guts and leadership, and the permanent political class in D.C. is nothing if not gutless and rudderless.

We’re now, once again, subjected to the “anonymous sources” backstabbing game. The Capitol Hill cowards are rushing to anonymously denounce Senator Cruz to any reporter with a pad and pen.

Welcome to our world, Ted. The same people have been denouncing conservatives like me for years (right after they ask for help fundraising for themselves or endorsing the latest candidate they’ve suckered into paying their exorbitant consulting fees). We can compare shiv marks next time we meet, my friend.

Continue reading.

More at Memorandum.

PREVIOUSLY: "'A Vote for Cloture is a Vote for #ObamaCare' — Senator Ted Cruz on Fox News Sunday."

'A Vote for Cloture is a Vote for #ObamaCare' — Senator Ted Cruz on Fox News Sunday

The interview this morning with Chris Wallace, via Becca Lower.

Discussion at PuffHo, "Ted Cruz: Republicans Who Vote To Take Up Bill Defunding Obamacare Are Voting For Obamacare."



Also at Politico, "McCaskill: GOP should stop throwing 'tantrums'" (via Memeorandum).

India's Child Slavery Scourge

At Der Spiegel, "Daughters for Sale: Aid Organizations Confront Child Slavery in India":

Millions of Indian children work as slaves in factories, brothels or in the homes of families. Out of poverty and desperation, parents sell their daughters, and human traffickers wait at train stations for runaways and scour for orphans in monsoon-ravaged villages.

On the day that Durga Mala was rescued, she lay crying on the stone floor, where she was attempting to cool her back. She was 11 years old and her skin was covered with blisters, from her shoulder blades to her buttocks. A few days earlier, her owners had poured hot oil over her because they thought she was working too slowly.

Suddenly Durga heard screams and huddled on the floor. Acting on a tip, police stormed the apartment in the heart of Bangalore. When they broke the door down, Durga crossed her arms in front of her chest and closed her eyes. She was only wearing a pair of panties -- that's all the clothing that her owners had allowed her to have. Durga says: "I was ashamed."

One of the men wrapped the small girl in a sheet and brought her to a hospital. Doctors treated her for a number of days. In addition to her burns, she was malnourished, infected wounds covered her fingers and her lips were scarred. "I dropped a glass once," says Durga, "and the woman got angry and pulled my fingernails out, one by one." Sometimes they poked her in the mouth with a needle. Durga was supposed to work, not speak.

It's estimated that millions of children in India live as modern-day slaves. They work in the fields, in factories, brothels and private households -- often without pay and usually with no realistic chance of escaping. The majority of them are sold or hired out by their own families.

According to an Indian government census from 2001, this country of over 1 billion people has 12.6 million minors between the ages of 5 and 14 who are working. The real number is undoubtedly significantly higher because many children are not officially registered at birth -- and the owners of course do their best to keep the existence of child slaves a secret. Aid organizations estimate that three-quarters of all domestic servants in India are children, and 90 percent of those are girls. Although both child labor and child trafficking are illegal, police rarely intervene -- and the courts seldom convict child traffickers and slaveholders.

Continue reading.

And what to say?

India's a developing country with a huge population. Tremendous poverty obviously forces many parents to think of children as burdens and sources of financial remuneration. Hence, parents selling off children to human traffickers, which is something that people would find horrifying in the United States.

Witness to a Massacre in a Nairobi Mall

Very compelling, at the New York Times:

The New York Times staff photographer Tyler Hicks was nearby when gunmen opened fire at an upscale Nairobi mall, killing at least 39 people in one of the worst terrorist attacks in Kenya’s history. He was able to go inside the mall as the attack unfolded.

Check it out at the link.

Hard Times for the Climate Change Alarmism Industry

Again.

I should say "Hard Times for the Climate Change Alarmism Industry" again, since it seems with each passing year there's another devastating setback for the global warming climate shills.

Here's a report on the latest controversy surrounding the upcoming IPCC climate report, at the Telegraph UK, "Row over IPCC report as nations 'try to hide lack of climate change’":

Scientists working on a landmark UN report on climate change to be published this week are at loggerheads over their explanation for why the earth’s surface temperature has stopped rising as rapidly as they previously predicted.

The behind-the-scenes wrangling is likely to cast a shadow over the publication on Friday of the 2,000-page report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The report is still in a draft version and will be finalised over the next five days with heated discussion centring on how to explain the fact that since 1998 the earth’s temperature has barely risen.

It is claimed some governments have even tried to intervene to remove references to the 15 year climate change 'hiatus’ or 'pause’.

The report - the fifth report by the IPCC and the first in five years - is hugely influential because its conclusions serve as the scientific basis for UN negotiations on curbing emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. A global climate treaty is supposed to be adopted in 2015.

A leaked copy of an earlier draft of the report, seen by The Telegraph, will insist that the likelihood that global warming exists and that its cause is man-made has risen from 90 per cent certainty to 95 per cent certainty.

The study will also make predictions for rises in the earth’s temperature and sea levels to the end of the century.

One scenario suggests an average temperature rise of as little as 1.8 F by 2100 while at the most alarming end of the scale temperatures may rise by as much as 8.6 F, according to the draft version.
In the worst case scenario, the sea level could rise by as much as 3ft by the end of the century, the final report is expected to say.

The report will also touch upon solutions to global warming, including a hugely controversial and expensive proposal to put giant mirrors in space which can deflect the sun’s rays in order to cool the earth down.

The report, co-authored by 257 scientists, will be finalised this week ahead of its publication in Stockholm on Friday.

But scientists are “struggling” to explain the slowdown in global warming since 1998, it is being claimed.

Documents seen by the Associated Press (AP) show attempts at political interference in the final report, and that “several governments that reviewed the draft objected to how the issue was tackled”.
In a leaked draft, dating from June, the IPCC said that the rate of warming between 1998 and 2012 was about half the average rate since 1951.

The draft report blames the slowdown on the “natural variability” in the climate system, as well as cooling effects from volcanic eruptions and a change in solar activity.

The draft says that a reduction in warming for 1998 to 2012 compared to 1951 to 2012 is “due in roughly equal measure” to natural variations in the climate and factors such as “volcanic eruptions and the downward phase of the current solar cycle.”

But the documents, according to AP, show Germany called for the reference to the slowdown to be deleted while the US urged scientists to include as its “leading hypothesis” that the reduction in warming is linked to more heat being transferred to the deep ocean. Both countries’ governments have policies which state their belief in man-made climate change.

Belgium meanwhile objected to using 1998 as a starting year for any statistics because it claimed it was a particularly warm year.

The row will fuel claims by global warming sceptics that the issue has become too political and that governments are now spending vast sums of money on policies to combat a phenomenon that may not exist and may not be man-made. The effect of those policies, claim sceptics, is to increase global poverty because the policies are expensive to implement.

Continue reading.

This is simply another case of "hide the decline," only this time it's "hide the tapering temperatures," since they badly disprove all the sky-is-falling predictions of IPCC hacks.

These climate change hucksters are a freakin' joke. They've got their global warming co-religionists backing them, but that's about it. The science is not settled, as it shouldn't be. And as more and more countervailing evidence comes to light, the climate change industry simply must escalate the lies and intimidation to keep the whole house of cards standing.

More on this from Erika Johnsen, at Hot Air, "UN climate panel: Hmm, how can we selectively edit these inconvenient truths to outwit those anti-science denialists?"

Also from Alan Caruba, at Theo Spark's, "Global Warming: The BIGGEST LIE Exposed." Following the links takes us to a big report from the Heartland Institute, "Climate Change Reconsidered II: Physical Science." The executive summary is here.

And somewhere earlier I clicked on this report from the Wall Street Journal last year, "No Need to Panic About Global Warming: Concerned Scientists Reply on Global Warming." A very concise summary of why the alarmism should be rejected.

Expect updates. It's going to be a rough week for the climate hucksters.

Fabulous Kate Hudson Steps Out at iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas

At London's Daily Mail, "Kate Hudson shows off her sculpted legs in purple playsuit as she supports fiance Matt Bellamy at iHeartRadio music festival":

Having given birth to two children, actress Kate Hudson is one hot mama.

The 34-year old showed off her gorgeously sculpted pins, donning a purple playsuit while supporting her husband at the iHeartRadio music event in Las Vegas on Friday.

Rocking her blonde tresses straight, the married actress made a bold beauty statement, wearing a bright red lipstick.

Definitely hot.

More at the Los Angeles Times, "iHeartRadio 2013: Katy Perry, Elton John roll out the hits."

Video of Heavily Armed Starbucks Customer Thanking Staff Before Policy Change

Via the New York Times:



Following the links takes us "KHOU Houston, "Pastor carries rifle in Hunstville to raise awareness of open carry laws."

The man's group, Open Carry Texas, is here.

RELATED: From Dana Loesch, "Gun Ban Fail: Starbucks Only Frowns Upon Firearms."

Dutch Welfare State Unsustainable, King Willem-Alexander Declares

Amazing.

The Netherlands realizes that the European-style welfare state is totally unsustainable, at the same time that the increasingly-socialist U.S. just keeps digging itself in deeper.

You can't make this stuff up.

Seriously. We're a freakin' nightmare. To say nothing of the world's sickest joke under this administration

Blazing Cat Fur reports, "Dutch King Willem-Alexander declares the end of the welfare state":

King Willem-Alexander delivered a message to the Dutch people from the government in a nationally televised address: the welfare state of the 20th century is gone.

In its place a "participation society" is emerging, in which people must take responsibility for their own future and create their own social and financial safety nets, with less help from the national government.

"The shift to a 'participation society' is especially visible in social security and long-term care," the king said, reading out to lawmakers a speech written for him by Prime Minister Mark Rutte's government.

So, the Dutch are announcing the aspirations toward a "participation society" based on personal responsibility, while the U.S. is consolidating a "dependency society" based on rapidly-expanding welfare-state freeloading and Democrat class-warfare demonization. That's real progress.

Leftists Cheer as Anthem Blue Cross Boots Michelle Malkin From Company's Individual Insurance Market

Here's Michelle on Twitter, "The Anthem letter informs us open enrollment begins Oct. 1. Look what they're advertising: Obamacare exchanges!"

And she writes further, "Obamacare is destroying the private individual market for health insurance. By design, not accident."

Yep. And the leftist ghouls are loving it.

At Twitchy, "Liberals gleefully berate ‘whining losers’ forced to switch health plans."

Things are really coming into focus. Have your liberty destroyed, and your health choices ruined, and leftists couldn't be happier.

Depraved. But you knew that.

IDF Sergeant Tomer Hazan Kidnapped and Murdered in West Bank

He got lured away to his death?

At the Times of Israel, "IDF soldier Tomer Hazan, 20, kidnapped and killed in West Bank":

An IDF soldier was murdered by a Palestinian acquaintance who lured him to a village near Qalqilya in the West Bank, Israeli authorities said Saturday. The soldier was named Saturday night as 20-year-old Bat Yam native Sgt. Tomer Hazan.

Hazan, a sergeant in Israel Air Force, was lured on Friday to the village of Beit Amin, south of Qalqilya, by a 42-year-old Palestinian resident of the village, Nidal Amar. Amar worked illegally at an Israeli restaurant, in Bat Yam, where Hazan also worked part-time.

Amar was arrested and confessed to killing Hazan, the Shin Bet security service said.

According to the Shin Bet, Amar recounted how he picked up Hazan in a taxi on Friday after convincing him to accept a ride. He took the Israeli to an open field, killed him and threw his body in a well, the agency said.

Israeli forces raided Amar’s home early Saturday and interrogated Amar and his brother.

Relatives seen near the house of murdered IDF soldier Tomer Hazan in the coastal city of Bat Yam in central Israel on September 21, 2013 (Photo credit: Gideon Markowicz/Flash90)

The Shin Bet said Amar confessed to intending to trade Hazan’s body for the release of another brother, a member of the Fatah Tanzim terror group, who has been serving time in an Israeli jail since 2003 for his role in several terror attacks, including planning a suicide bombing by a female bomber that was thwarted.

Amar showed the Israeli forces where Hazan’s body was hidden. The agency did now say how Amar convinced the soldier to join him on the ride Friday.

More at that top link.

And at the New York Times, "Israeli Soldier Is Lured to West Bank and Killed":

The kidnapping of soldiers in Israel, where military service is mandatory for most Jews, is among the most profound fears for Israelis. In late 2011, Israel agreed to release more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Gilad Shalit, a soldier who had been abducted five years before by Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military recently reported a sharp rise in Palestinian plots to kidnap soldiers in hopes of trading them for some of the 4,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. A total of 37 such plans have been thwarted so far this year, more than in all of 2012, according to Colonel Lerner.

Israel released 26 long-serving Palestinian prisoners last month, and is expected to release about 75 more in three phases, as part of the Washington-brokered peace talks that started this summer. Right-wing politicians who oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state seized on the killing to bolster their argument.

“One does not make peace with terrorists who throw soldiers’ bodies into a hole in the ground,” Naftali Bennett, an Israeli minister, said Saturday. “One fights them without mercy.”

Well, yeah.

Also at Ynet, "IDF soldier's murder: Shin Bet's race against time."

HAT TIP: Israel Matzav, "Angry protesters outside restaurant that hired IDF soldier's killer."

Emily Ratajkowski for Fredericks of Hollywood

At Bro Bible, "25 Photos of Emily Ratajkowski Smoldering in Frederick's Lingerie."

Eagle's Flight

Via Althouse, "Fly Like an Eagle."



Also at Geek, "Camera attached to an eagle creates amazing flight video."

And at the Los Angeles Times, "Video: Camera accompanies eagle soaring over France." That's France. It's some of the most beautiful footage I've ever seen.

Modesto Junior College Restricts Constitutional Speech on Constitution Day

Greg Lukianoff of FIRE reports, "“I Bet They Wouldn’t Even Let You Pass Out Constitutions on Constitution Day”":

Robert Van Tuinen, a student at Modesto Junior College in California, had a theory. He believed that the policies at his college limiting protests and expression were so restrictive that the college would try to shut him down even if he tried to hand out copies of the United States Constitution on September 17--Constitution Day.

Sadly, he was correct.

Continue reading at the link.

Also embedded there is this clip from FIRE:



More at Tech Dirt, "California College Tells Student He Can't Hand Out Copies Of The Constitution On Constitution Day."

Keystone Inaction Hurts American Families

From Cathy McMorris-Rogers, for the GOP conference:

WASHINGTON – House Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) released the following statement today on the 5th anniversary of the first application to begin construction of the Keystone XL pipeline:

"The President's refusal to approve the Keystone XL pipeline is hurting American families. Five years ago today, the first permits were filed to begin construction on the pipeline, and the project remains impeded by the President’s political posturing. And the consequences are significant. To the American people, this means 20,000 direct jobs and 100,000 indirect jobs that will not be available. It means $7 billion that won't be invested in the U.S. economy. And it means 830,000 barrels per day of North American oil that won't be transported.

"Our economy is in a state of stagnation – and recent numbers only paint a grimmer picture. The Census Bureau just today announced that the percentage of Americans on food stamps has risen yet again. Just days ago, we passed the bitter milestone of 1,000 days where gas prices have hovered around $3 per gallon.

"The President's policies continue to make life more difficult for hardworking Americans – from gas pumps to grocery stores. Approving the Keystone XL pipeline would create shovel-ready jobs and ease the burden on America's working families. They've waited long enough, and they can no longer afford to pay the price for the President's inaction. It's time for the President to put people before politics."

The Consistently Divisive Rhetoric of President Obama

This is something Victor Davis Hanson has been highlighting for years.

See Jay Cost, at the Weekly Standard, "Uncommonly Partisan":

In the wake of last week’s mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard, as first responders were tending the victims, police were searching for more culprits, and the nation’s capital was entering lockdown, President Barack Obama gave a speech. This normally would not be news. After all, the president is a loquacious man, and, moreover, the country now expects the president to be therapist-in-chief whenever some sort of disaster, human or natural, occurs.

But Obama’s speech was different from what one would expect. After a few rote words of condolence to the victims, he went after his political opponents with vehemence, charging them with fiscal recklessness and a disregard for the plight of the middle class, and mocking them for wanting to repeal Obamacare. It was a remarkably tone-deaf presentation considering the events of the day. But it was par for the course for this administration, which is one of the most partisan we have seen in the last 60 years.

Emily Miller made similar points on the day of the speech, focusing especially on the gun control angle.

But seriously, Obama's not only the most partisan president we've had in 60 years, he's the worst president. Indeed, he's the worst ever.

What a disgrace.

More at that top link.

Amerisclerosis — and Poverty

From James Pethokoukis, "The Age of Amerisclerosis: Are jobless recoveries here to stay?"

It’s not just Obamanomics. The US is stuck in its third-straight “jobless recovery,” just like after the 1990 and 2001 recessions. And new research suggests this “persistence of unemployment” could mean future US recessions and recoveries will continue to resemble Europe’s 1980s downturn. Even after growth recovered, hiring didn’t. That’s when “Eurosclerosis” was coined.

Now get ready for Amerisclerosis. US labor markets used to rebound much faster. After the 1981-82 downturn, the jobless rate was back to normal in 18 months. More than four years after the Great Recession’s official end, however, the unemployment rate is only halfway back to where it was in 2007. And even this slow rate of recovery overstates the job market’s true health given the accompanying decline in the labor force participation rate.

The trends aren't new, although I wouldn't discount "Obamanomics" for exacerbating them.

The U.S. might have had a Reagan-esque recovery had the U.S. focused on job creation this last five years, rather than social redistribution, "universal" health care, and blame-the-rich demonization politics. The economy is primed for a surge of growth. Government policy is not only holding it back, but it's keeping people poor. As the New York Times highlighted earlier this week, "Median Income and Poverty Rate Hold Steady, Census Bureau Finds":

The government’s authoritative annual report on incomes, poverty and health insurance, released Tuesday, underscores that the economic recovery has largely failed to reach the poor and the middle class, even as the unemployment rate continues to sink and growth has returned.

Government programs remain a lifeline for millions. Unemployment insurance, whose eligibility the federal government expanded in response to the downturn, kept 1.7 million people out of poverty last year. Food stamps, if counted as income, would have kept out four million.

Since the recession ended in 2009, income gains have accrued almost entirely to the top earners, the Census Bureau found. The top 5 percent of earners — households making more than about $191,000 a year — have recovered their losses and earned about as much in 2012 as they did before the recession. But those in the bottom 80 percent of the income distribution are generally making considerably less than they had been, hit by high rates of unemployment and nonexistent wage growth.

Moreover, economists believe that the report understates the degree of income inequality in the United States, by not including, among other things, earnings from capital gains made on rising stock prices.

In one glimmer of improvement, the number of men working full time year-round with earnings increased by one million from 2011 to 2012, to a total of 59 million. Still, the labor market continues to look weak, in particular for less-educated and lower-income men. The labor force participation rate of men has fallen steadily for the past 60 years. In no small part, that is because the median earnings of men working full time have not increased in real terms since the early 1970s.

For women, the earnings stall started about a decade ago, when the gender pay gap stopped closing. “The wage gap hasn’t budged a penny,” said Fatima Goss Graves of the National Women’s Law Center. “After 11 years of no progress on equal pay, policy makers need to get moving to improve the country’s pay discrimination laws, raise the minimum wage and remove the barriers women face in higher-wage jobs.”

The West was the only region that experienced a statistically significant increase in median income, the Census Bureau said, while all other regions were flat. That most likely reflects the relatively strong growth in Washington, Oregon, California and Utah last year. North Dakota, experiencing an oil and gas boom, is the fastest-growing state, though its population is so small that it barely affects the national statistics.

No racial or ethnic group experienced significant changes in income, but that left the gap between Asians, at the top, and blacks, at the bottom, as wide as before. The median income for Asian households was $68,600. For non-Hispanic whites, it was about $57,000, while the typical Hispanic household had an income of $39,000, and blacks were at $33,300.

The poverty rate held steady at about 15 percent in 2012, about 2.5 percentage points higher than before the recession began. Neither the number nor the proportion of people living in poverty changed from 2011 to 2012, the Census Bureau found.

Obama's crony capitalism is keeping higher income households above the heap, while his corrupt socialist redistributionism has actually done nothing but expand the size of government at the expense of individual upward mobility at the lower quartiles. In a word: Abomination.

Hot Saturday Rule 5!

Theo Spark's been on fire lately.

See, "Benghazi Black Friday Totty...," and"Saturday Totty..."

Also, "Bonus Totty..."



More at Blackmailers Dont' Shoot, "Pretty Girls on a Thursday, End of Summer Edition."

And Daley Gator, "DaleyGator DaleyBabe Nathalia Bodenmuller."

Wirecutter has "Your Good Morning Girl (#1)," and "Your Good Morning Girl (#2)."

At Drunken Stepfather, "STEPLINKS OF THE DAY."

Now over at Pirates' Cove, "If All You See……is a world killing bottle of water, you might just be a Warmist."

And from Subject to Change, "In the Kitchen."

Bob Belvedere has last Saturday's "Rule 5 Saturday: Arianna Sinn." And at A View from the Beach, "Rule 5 Saturday - Naomi Watts Stiff Upper Lip."

At Soylent, "Weekender: Bare Rug."

Plus, at Randy's Roundtable, "Thursday Nite Tart: Rozanna Purcell."

Also, from Reaganite, "'Miss Sweden World 2013' is Agneta Myhrman Lilliesköld..."

Still more from Proof Positive, "Friday Night Babe: Kellie Pickler!" And, "Best of the Web* Linkaround."

At Good Stuff's, "GOODSTUFF'S BLOGGING MAGAZINE (115th Issue)." And from the Last Tradition, "Weightlifting prego mother Lea-Anne Ellison gets heavily criticized as selfish for lifting weights up to her 9 month."

At Odie's Place, "Welfare Office ~OR~ Rule 5 Woodsterman Style."

And see EBL, "Angie Dickinson Rule 5."

Plus, Postal Dogs has "Heavy Hitters." And from Wine, Women and Politics, "Hot Wednesday Women."

At American Perspective, "House Bunny" Anna Faris - Rule 5."

90 Miles From Tyranny has "Morning Mistress," and "Girls With Guns."

Dana Pico has, "From Around the Blogroll," and "Rule 5 Blogging: At Sea."

Finally, at the Other McCain, "Rule 5 Wednesday."

AND IF I MISSED YOUR RULE 5 ENTRY, DROP YOUR LINKS IN THE COMMENTS AND I'LL UPDATE ASAP!

RULE 5 FOREVER!

Islamists Massacre at Least 30 at Nairobi Shopping Mall

Religion of peace update.

Al-Shabaab is suspected.

At the Independent UK, "Nairobi mall attacks: Gunmen 'pinned down' as 22 killed after attackers open fire at Nairobi shopping centre."

And at London's Daily Mail, "All Muslims leave... we only want to kill non-Muslims': Gunmen massacre at least 22 in Kenyan shopping mall after releasing anyone who could prove they were Islamic by reciting a prayer."

Also at the New York Times, "Upscale Mall Becomes War Zone in Kenya Terror Attack":

NAIROBI, Kenya — An upscale mall popular with the Kenyan elite and the foreign diplomats and businesspeople who call Nairobi home turned into a war zone on Saturday, as gunmen opened fire on shoppers in an apparent terrorist attack, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens more.

At nightfall, the mall remained sealed off to the public as police officers and soldiers searched floor by floor for the gunmen, who were still believed to be inside with hostages.

Witnesses described hearing explosions and gunfire as they fled, leaving behind blood, broken glass and carnage in what was apparently one of the worst terrorist attacks in the country’s history.

Joseph Momanyi, 26, an employee at the Nakumatt grocery store there, said that as he was running away he heard the attackers shouting that “Muslims should leave” the complex.

The authorities said it was too early to identify the culprits, but suspicion immediately focused on the Shabab, the ferocious Somali militant group that has been linked to past attacks in Kenya, including a grenade and gunfire attack on two churches last year that killed 15 people.

Kenya is widely considered a beacon of stability in an often unstable region. The United Nations has a hub here, as do many nonprofit organizations and corporations. The country’s economy is heavily dependent on tourist revenue, with peaceful safaris and gentle holidays on the coast attracting people from all over the world.

Even before the rise of the Shabab, Kenya was a target for terrorist attacks by Al Qaeda, like the 1998 bombing of the American Embassy in Nairobi and coordinated attacks on an Israeli-owned hotel in Mombasa and an Israeli airliner in 2002. But Kenya has found itself ever more enmeshed in the bloody volatility of Somalia since October 2011, when Kenyan military forces invaded Somalia to help fight the Shabab.

Gen. Abbas Guled, secretary general of the Kenyan Red Cross, said in a phone interview on Saturday that 30 people had been killed and more than 60 wounded. The police had not yet confirmed any fatalities, and there was no claim of responsibility....

Also at Memeorandum.

#ObamaCare and Rape

Via Theo Spark, "Opt Out - The Exam - Creepy Uncle Sam."

And Gateway Pundit, "Creepy Care: Government Gynecologist."



Also at National Journal, "Right-Wing Ad Equates Obamacare and Rape." (The author there, naturally,  does a little editorializing against the group that sponsored the ad, Generation Opportunity.)

#Dodgers Reliever Brian Wilson Slams John McCain on Twitter

I love it.

At Hardball Talk, "Brian Wilson responds to John McCain on Twitter."

Senator McComplain knows a thing or two about coming in second and watching someone take a plunge in the pool (I mean poll) #POoLITICS
— Brian Wilson (@BrianWilson38) September 20, 2013

PREVIOUSLY: "#Dodgers Celebrate in #Diamonbacks' Swimming Pool."