Bluest of Blue State Blues: California's Declining Quality of Life Under Democrat Party Rule

A devastating piece, from Andrew Puzder, at the O.C. Register, "Are Things Good Enough in California?":

California has become a very blue state. Democrats control both the governor’s office and the Legislature. With that power comes the responsibility to confront the problems facing the people of our state. In particular, Democrats are responsible for confronting our state’s increasing poverty, declining opportunity and significant income inequality – in other words, the problems Neel Kashkari is talking about. When Neel spends time as an unemployed 40-year-old looking for a job in Fresno, his point is that, despite all the gushing about a California comeback, our state government is failing to improve economic opportunities for those most in need.

The International Business Times recently noted that while California has the world’s eighth largest economy, it nonetheless has our nation’s highest poverty rate. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), for the three year period from 2009-11 (the bureau recommends the use of three-year averages to compare estimates across states), California had both the nation’s highest number (8.8 million) and percentage (23.5 percent) of people living in poverty. In the most recent report for 2010-12, the numbers were worse. While California still had both the nation’s highest number and percent of people living in poverty, there were more people (9 million) at a higher percentage (23.8 percent).

Gov. Brown refers to California’s poverty epidemic as “the flip side of California’s incredible attractiveness.” But, these are more than mere statistics. Behind these numbers are real Californians consumed by anxiety. Will there be jobs for them or their children? Will those jobs pay enough? Will they spend the rest of their lives dependent on government benefits? They struggle searching for jobs that offer dignity and self-respect, wondering whether their children will ever be able to support themselves or start families.

In July, California had the fourth-worst unemployment rate in the nation, at 7.4 percent. While that’s bad, it’s actually an improvement. Unfortunately, the big improvements have come in the wealthiest areas, particularly those affected by Silicon Valley’s high tech boom. July’s unemployment rate was 5.9 percent in the San Jose area and 4.9 percent in the San Francisco area.

Outside this enclave, it gets ugly. In Fresno, July’s unemployment rate was 10.8 percent; in Stockton, it was 11.1 percent; and, in Bakersfield, 10.4 percent. Once a beacon of opportunity, Los Angeles came in at a dismal 8.7 percent, which includes the low unemployment of the more affluent Westside.

Wealthy Californians in Silicon Valley and along our beautiful coast are prospering. For those less fortunate, those living in the other California, our state’s anti-business policies are depriving them of the jobs that could meaningfully improve their lives.

In Chief Executive Magazine’s 2014 survey of CEOs’ views on the best and worst states for business, California came in 50th for the 10th year in a row. It’s no surprise that Toyota moved its U.S. headquarters from Torrance to Texas or that even California-based Tesla Motors is locating its planned giant battery factory in Nevada rather than in California.

Small businesses fare no better. The Legislature just sent another round of bills for Gov. Brown’s signature that will further escalate California’s status as our nation’s most anti-business state and affirm the well-deserved “F” Thumbtack.com’s 2014 Small Business Friendliness Survey gave California for both small-businesses friendliness and overall regulation. Already struggling in the nation’s worst regulatory environment, California businesses, and those who desperately need the jobs they create, have little hope of assistance by way of veto from Gov. Brown.

Government regulations come at a cost. Noneconomic benefits may justify those costs but there are still costs. Rational governance would view regulations as investments in social benefits and resist regulations that fail to produce enough of such benefits or unnecessarily increase costs. California’s current leadership has failed to do so, resulting in poverty and income inequality.

According to an analysis by 24/7 Wall St. of Census Bureau data, California has our nation’s seventh-largest gap between rich and poor, the seventh-highest proportion of households earning more than $200,000 per year and the highest number of households earning less than $10,000 per year.

How can this be in a state dominated by Democrats, who proclaim their concern about income equality? It’s because California’s government has become so focused on regulating businesses and redistributing wealth that it’s forgotten that you can only redistribute wealth if you have it...

More.

California, the once-Golden State, getting even less golden under Democrat Party rule.

RELATED: A blast from the past, from Joel Kotkin, "The Golden State Is Crumbling."

Flash Flood Warnings Compound Southern California Heat Wave Dangers

Another day of heat, with flash floods.

At LAT, "L.A. heat wave: Add lightning, heavy rain to today's extreme weather."

Also at CBS Los Angeles, "Floods Cause Fears of Mudslides In Silverado," and "Southern Calif. Edison Crews Focus On Power Outages."

Cory Rasmus Racks Up Four Solid Innings Before Angels' Bullpen Falls Apart in 13-2 Loss to Mariners

Boy, things got ugly last night after Rasmus came out.

From Mike DiGiovanna, at LAT:

Cory Rasmus was "cruising" through four scoreless, one-hit innings. So why not let #Angels RHP take the fifth? http://t.co/wsUg4bJIOK
— Mike DiGiovanna (@MikeDiGiovanna) September 17, 2014

The Angels need any combination of 3 wins or Athletics losses to clinch the American League West Division.

Republicans Gaining Strength Ahead of November Midterm Elections

At the New York Times, "G.O.P. Gains Strength and Obama Gets Low Marks, Poll Finds":

A New York Times/CBS News poll shows that President Obama’s approval ratings are similar to those of President George W. Bush in 2006 when Democrats swept both houses of Congress in the midterm elections.

A deeply unpopular Republican Party is nonetheless gaining strength heading into the midterms, as the American public’s frustration with Mr. Obama has manifested itself in low ratings for his handling of foreign policy and terrorism.

"Deeply unpopular." The Times had to throw that part in. Althouse notices as well:

I'm thinking that the NYT loathes the GOP so much — the GOP is "deeply unpopular" at the NYT — that even when the poll numbers show the unpopularity of the Democratic Party, it feels compelled to say that the GOP is deeply unpopular, even though saying that raises the inference that the Democratic Party must be really unpopular to be more unpopular than the deeply unpopular GOP.

Via Memorandum.

Muslims Slice Off the Breasts of Kidnapped Christian Girls in Syria and Iraq

Oh, but they're not really Muslims!

At Atlas Shrugs:

The unspeakable savagery to those of us left with a soul is too much to bear — but the media yawns, Obama wrings his hands in frustration that Americans might associate the Islamic state with Islam.

Those of us that who warned for years of the growing Islamic global menace – savagery on an incomprehensible scale — were viciously attacked led by a media hellbent on norming sanction and vilifying anyone that disagreed. And even now, as journalists get their heads sawed off with six inch knives, the media hits bottom and keeps digging.

Here are nuns and a mother superiors slamming the media for their refusal to report on these monstrous war crimes – for fear of offending Islam...

More.

And at NewsBusters, "Nuns Slam Media Silence on Middle East Christian Persecution."

Code Pink Crashes Senate Hearing on #ISIS Threat

These idiots are the biggest communist losers.



PREVIOUSLY: "VIDEO: Code Pink Communist Medea Benjamin Denounces U.S. Combat Operations Against #ISIS."

Bwahaha! Lying Hate-Troll Now Says He Claimed Aasiya Hassan Murder Would Be Honor Killing All Along!

When all you've got are lies and allegations of "racism," naturally all you can do is respond desperately with more lies and pathetic allegations.

For quoting his very own unequivocal words, "In fact, you are telling a fairy story...," Walter James Casper calls me a liar and claims that he said Mrs. Hassan's murder by beheading would be an honor killing all along.

The very quote that that blog uses to indict me proves that the blogger is lying. See for yourself: @StopHonourKill pic.twitter.com/svCHue8fvG
— W. James Casper (@repsac3) September 16, 2014

Denouncing any claims of Mrs. Hassan's honor killing as a "fairy story?" or saying it could turn out to be one? pic.twitter.com/FPopQcH2GZ
— W. James Casper (@repsac3) September 16, 2014

Now that's dishonesty.

The remark that "In fact, you are telling a fairy story..." is a stand-alone statement. Hate-troll Repsac's comment about "This may turn out to be an honor killing" was a throwaway line, a rhetorical sop. After denouncing me, claiming "you might just as well be telling a fairy story," Repsac can't be more clear: He's completely unequivocal with this statement, "In fact, you are telling a fairy story..."

When you state a fact there's no wiggle room. He denounced me and those who I cited at the blog as bigots and racists for spreading allegedly false "hatred" to smear Mo Hassan as some stereotypical Muslim.

Well, here's a harsh fact: Mo Hassan beheaded his wife in a ritual Islamic slaughter, a religious honor killing, and he was convicted at trial, and experts were proved right from the beginning.

Pathetic little Repsac's still playing the same old games he always does. He denies his own words, which are there for everyone to see. It's the old, "I'll let readers judge for themselves" ploy, attempting to cast doubt on the fact that lying Walter James Capser is indeed a liar.

What a dirtball, sleezebag and loser.

Typical, that's for sure.

Heh, Putting a Copy of the Constitution in Your Pocket is Way Cool

At the Washington Post, "On Constitution Day, putting We the People in your pocket."

Today is Constitution Day.

And take WaPo's Constitution quiz. I scored 12/13.

According to Repsac3, Accusing Any Muslim of Honor Killing, No Matter the Circumstances, Makes You Guilty of 'Bigotry'

Honor killings are by definition murders committed by Muslim fathers or husbands against their daughters or their wives. So, if a Muslim man beheads --- beheads! --- his wife after alleging that the wife had disrespected and dishonored him, as in the case of Mo Hassan, who murdered his wife Aasiya, then that person has committed a classic honor killing.

It's not hard. Or, it's not hard as long as you don't have an Islamo-enabling agenda in which you attack people as racist for identifying the obvious.

That is ideological hatred, and it's lies and dishonesty, which perfectly explains Walter James Casper when he tweets such malignantly stupid leftist codswallop:

Making an accusation just because the murderer (& his victim) are Muslim & the victim is a member of his family is bigotry. @StopHonourKill

— W. James Casper (@repsac3) September 17, 2014

Repsac's not only a liar, he's literally mentally deranged. By his logic no one could ever call out a Muslim murderer for honor killing without being attacked as a bigot and a racist. And so, poof!, by Repsac's logic, the crime of honor killing would simply disappear! Of course, that's why fanatical terror-enablers like Repsac (and CAIR) cry "bigotry!" until the end of days. Note that following the logic further makes Repsac an accomplice to Islamic murder, which certainly fits, because progressive ideology is all about coercion, violence and death.

"Bigot" (like "racism") is a term that has been drained of all meaning. It's simply a bludgeon used by leftists --- who've already lost the debate --- to silence their political enemies.

In 2009 Walter James Casper was wrong from the start. Those who he attacked as racist then --- and who he continues to falsely attack today for "bigotry" --- were right all along.

This pattern of progressive deception and lies is why Repsac was banned from this blog. He's an evil man, a genuine and proven racist and bigot himself, ideologically deranged, and burning with cancerous hatred.

A sad spectacle all around.

Power Outages During Southern California Heat Wave

At the Los Angeles Times, "Power grid groans, blackouts roll through L.A. area as heat wave nears peak," and "Thousands of customers remain without power as L.A. heat wave peaks."

And CBS Los Angeles, "Corona Residents Struggle Through Scattered Power Outages As SoCal Swelters In Record Heat."

Women and Sexy Lingerie Pics

At Barnorama.

Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Denounces Crypto-Marxist Eric Garcetti's $13.25 Minimum Wage Plan

Well, I'm skeptical the Chamber has much clout, but at least they're on the record protesting this idiot Garcetti's collectivist program.

At the Los Angeles Times, "L.A. Chamber formally denounces Garcetti plan for $13.25 minimum wage."

Kira Kazantsev, the New Miss America, Worked for Planned Parenthood of America

Oh god, what a freakin' beauty prize buzz kill.

At Life News, "Newly-Crowned Miss America Kira Kazantsev Worked at Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz."

And the requisite baby-killing congratulations have been coming in, via Twitchy:

Planned Parenthood congratulates Miss America Kira Kazantsev, former intern http://t.co/357DeDGGDY

— TwitchyTeam (@TwitchyTeam) September 16, 2014

What’s Behind Germany’s New Anti-Semitism

From Jochen Bittner, at the New York Times, "The ugly truth is that much of today’s anti-Semitism originates with people of Muslim background":

HAMBURG, Germany — Europe is living through a new wave of anti-Semitism. The president of Germany’s Central Council of Jews calls it the worst the Continent has seen since World War II. He may well be right. Attacks on synagogues are an almost weekly occurrence, and openly anti-Semitic chants are commonplace on well-attended marches from London to Rome. And yet it is here, in Germany, where the rise in anti-Semitism is most historically painful.

On Sunday, thousands of people marched through Berlin in response, and heard both Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Joachim Gauck denounce the resurgence in anti-Jewish hatred.

We’ve seen this before, of course. But there’s an important difference this time. The new anti-Semitism does not originate solely with the typical white-supremacist neo-Nazi; instead, the ugly truth that many in Europe don’t want to confront is that much of the anti-Jewish animus originates with European people of Muslim background....

Of course, anti-Semitism didn’t originate with Europe’s Muslims, nor are they its only proponents today. The traditional anti-Semitism of Europe’s far right persists. So, too, does that of the far left, as a negative byproduct of sympathy for the Palestinian liberation struggle. There’s also an anti-Semitism of the center, a subcategory of the sort of casual anti-Americanism and anticapitalism that many otherwise moderate Europeans espouse.

But the rise of Muslim anti-Semitism is responsible for the recent change in the tone of hate in Germany...

Actually, just narrow it down to Muslims and their leftist Islamo-enablers and you've nailed the locus of contemporary anti-Semitism. Now the important thing is to stamp it out, and that will mean destroying political Islam and permanently consigning the radical left to the dustbin of history.

But keep reading.

Super Hot Tuesday Teaching

Supposed to be another scorcher today.

I'm teaching all day.

More blogging tonight. Meanwhile, get cooking with end-of-summer shopping at Amazon!

#ISIS Beheadings: Real Reason Behind the 'Don't Watch, Don't Share' Movement is the Protection of Obama

Readers will recall that I reject the self-censorship movement as cowardly appeasement.

But Dawn Perlmutter says it's even more, at FrontPage Magazine, "The Politics of Islamic Beheading":

Why No One Should Watch Or Share The ISIS Video Of The Beheading of Steven Sotloff http://t.co/wq9Me4v3fv

— W. James Casper (@repsac3) September 3, 2014

After the Foley murder several news headlines announced that beheadings are back. Beheadings never went away. There are hundreds of both cartel and jihadist beheading videos easily accessible on the internet that are far worse than the Foley video. Many display torture, crucifixion, castration, flaying and dismemberment. Most of them involve threats to commit further violence if their requests are not met. One depicts jihadists playing soccer with human heads. Several display multiple beheadings with as many as 17 victims at a time.

One of the significant differences in the Foley and Sotloff beheading videos are that they openly and blatantly denigrate President Obama. The first portion of the Foley video displays news clips of the President authorizing military operations against the Islamic State. Jihad John, the executioner, directly calls out President Obama. “..any attempt by you, Obama, to deny the Muslims their rights of living in safety under the Islamic Caliphate will result in the bloodshed of your people.” “The life of this American citizen, [hostage Steven Joel Sotloff ] Obama, depends on your next decision.”

The 4 minute 40 second Foley beheading video only shows ten seconds of violent imagery at the end, 04:20 – 04:30, that depicts a knife to the neck, fades to black and then the decapitated body as proof of kill. Similarly, there is only a few seconds of violent imagery at the end of the Sotloff video. The few seconds of violence could easily be edited out of both films, however the message that clearly disrespects President Obama is the real reason the media has collectively decided to censor the video.

Disgusting, morally bankrupt left-wing political hackery.

More here.

Walter James Casper Denounced Claims of Aasiya Hassan's Honor Killing as a 'Fairy Story' in 2009

Muzzammil Hassan was convicted in 2011 of the murder of his wife Aasiya in a ritual honor killing under Islamic Sharia "family justice." See Pamela Geller, "GUILTY! Moderate Muslim Beheader Convicted of Islamic Honor Killing in New York, “Hassan may have been conscious when the defendant started to behead her”."

When I blogged this murder at the time Walter James Casper denounced me as a racist and a bigot for spreading "lies" about Mrs. Hassan's honor killing by beheading. Actually, as is always the case, it's Repsac3 who's lying. He was on Twitter calling me "dishonest Donald" yesterday after I pointed out his extreme political correctness to Renegade Cowboy.

But the fact is, in February 2009, at this blog, dishonest Reppy was unequivocally denouncing any claims of Mrs. Hassan's honor killing as a "fairy story":

There is nothing new in this post... Just more speculation and bigotry repeating the lie that when a Muslim man does it, it must be because of his culture or religion.

This may turn out to be an honor killing... But until you can back your statements about "methodical, premeditated religious ritual" with facts actually from this case, you might just as well be telling a fairy story.

In fact, you are telling a fairy story...

Longtime readers will recall that Walter James Casper III is an epic liar, harasser and leftist stalker who was banned from this blog years ago. Repsac's MO is to attack people as bigots and racists, but when proven wrong --- which is always --- there's never so much as an admission of guilt or an apology for his prejudice --- which is exactly what it is when you preemptively attack people who were right from the beginning. It's leftist, collectivist prejudice and hatred in the defense of murder in the name of Allah.

Repsac is a sick, disgusting and evil man. He's a liar who does demonic work. He supports all the worst enemies of America and Israel, and he'd have you six feet under before admitting that his disgusting "progressive" ideology is the work of raw anti-Americanism and terror-enabling.

More from Phyllis Chesler, "Jury Finds Honor Killer Muzzammil Hassan Guilty, and "Cold, Premeditated, Ritual Murder: The Honor Killing of Aasiya Z. Hassan. Part Two."

RELATED: At the Other McCain, "Portrait of a Stalker Troll: @Repsac3, Also Known as Walter James Casper III."

Shock Poll: Three in Four California Voters Support Blanket Amnesty for Illegal Aliens

Well, amnesty will be the largest Democrat voter drive in history.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Poll Voters support a path to legalization":

Though deeply concerned about the effects of illegal immigration on California, state voters broadly support a path to legalization for the nation's 12 million unauthorized residents, according to a new poll.

Across major demographic and partisan groups, nearly three in four of those surveyed favor an overhaul of federal immigration laws. But sharp divisions emerge over the fate of unaccompanied minors from Central America who have streamed over the U.S. border in recent months, the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll shows.

Nearly half call for the children to be immediately deported, but a similar number say they should be allowed to stay in California as they await legal proceedings.

The dichotomy reflects a pragmatic belief that something must be done without creating an incentive that prompts more people to cross the border illicitly, said Dave Kanevsky of American Viewpoint, a Republican polling firm that helped conduct the bipartisan survey.

"Voters are compassionate to those here illegally — they recognize this is a problem that needs to be addressed," he said. "But what they don't want to do is have solutions that let the problems continue and fester.... They're compassionate to immigrants but they're not open-border advocates."

The findings also reflect a state electorate that has grown increasingly tolerant of people here illegally in the two decades since the passage of Proposition 187, the ballot measure intended to deny taxpayer-funded services to those in the country illegally. (It was virtually invalidated later by the courts.)

Illegal immigration is a crisis or major problem, according to 72% of poll respondents. That belief was shared by strong majorities of all races, political leanings, income levels and geographic regions, and even among those who favored a conduit to legal status.

Beverly Bloom, a 59-year-old from Corona who works in physical education at a high school, said she sees the effect of unbridled immigration every day. But she doesn't want her students or their families, many of them in California illegally, punished.

"I don't want to hold it against these kids, because these kids are wonderful children," said Bloom, a Democrat. "Many of them have been here since they were infants, or their parents are undocumented, and I would hate to see these people sent back."

But she is alarmed by the consequences of illegal immigration.

"Oh my gosh, it's impacted us. Economically, for jobs, it's impacted us. Insurance, housing, our schools are overcrowded — just across the board," Bloom said. Those factors prompted her to favor deportation of the unaccompanied minors.

That crisis is the most recent flashpoint in the immigration debate, and it came to a head this summer in Murrieta, drawing national attention.

Protests forced away federal buses carrying Central American parents and children apprehended after crossing into Texas and bound for the Inland Empire city's Border Patrol facility.

Nearly half of all poll respondents, and of white voters, said they would be very or somewhat concerned if they had such a facility in their communities. Blacks and Asians were the most concerned and Latinos were the least, at 57% and 41% respectively.

Latinos were most in favor of aiding the minors. Two-thirds of Latinos surveyed said the children should be allowed to stay while awaiting hearings on their status, compared with less than half of white voters who felt that way.

And 60% of Latinos support a legislative proposal to provide $3 million for legal aid for the minors, compared with 41% of white voters...

More.

Not All Publicity is Good Publicity

From Carol Roth, at CNBC:

RT @AWastler: Check out @caroljsroth guide to "what were you thinking?" at end of this column http://t.co/QM43qHObjb pic.twitter.com/EKaS1Zrlea

— Carol Roth (@caroljsroth) September 15, 2014

The idiocy of humans du jour comes courtesy of fashion retailer Urban Outfitters, which featured a $129 Kent State sweatshirt (no, the price is not the most outrageous part). The shirt appeared to be soaked in blood with elements resembling blood spatter, ostensibly referencing the 1970 school shooting at Kent State that killed four students and wounded nine.

I am all for pushing the envelope and being bold, and I have personally been known to be quite controversial in some of my statements. Furthermore, I don't like being politically correct and can see how humor defuses difficult situations. That being said, there is a line between being funny, ironic or hip and being in pure bad taste. Selling a massacre-throwback sweatshirt, in my opinion, clearly and transparently crosses that line...

Keep reading.

Bill Whittle's Firewall: 'Tie-Dyed Tyranny'

Once again, the inimitable Bill Whittle:

Report: Hillary Clinton 'Confidants' Scrubbed Damaging Benghazi Documents

From Sharyl Attkisson, at the Daily Signal, "Benghazi Bombshell: Clinton State Department Official Reveals Details of Alleged Document Review":

Shocking new report reveals extensive #Benghazi cover-up. @SharylAttkisson reports: http://t.co/VMwpn62qEs pic.twitter.com/eKFfBJgSpn

— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) September 16, 2014

As the House Select Committee on Benghazi prepares for its first hearing this week, a former State Department diplomat is coming forward with a startling allegation: Hillary Clinton confidants were part of an operation to “separate” damaging documents before they were turned over to the Accountability Review Board investigating security lapses surrounding the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attacks on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya.

According to former Deputy Assistant Secretary Raymond Maxwell, the after-hours session took place over a weekend in a basement operations-type center at State Department headquarters in Washington, D.C. This is the first time Maxwell has publicly come forward with the story.

At the time, Maxwell was a leader in the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, which was charged with collecting emails and documents relevant to the Benghazi probe.

“I was not invited to that after-hours endeavor, but I heard about it and decided to check it out on a Sunday afternoon,” Maxwell says.

He didn’t know it then, but Maxwell would ultimately become one of four State Department officials singled out for discipline—he says scapegoated—then later cleared for devastating security lapses leading up to the attacks. Four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, were murdered during the Benghazi attacks.

‘Basement Operation’

Maxwell says the weekend document session was held in the basement of the State Department’s Foggy Bottom headquarters in a room underneath the “jogger’s entrance.” He describes it as a large space, outfitted with computers and big screen monitors, intended for emergency planning, and with small offices on the periphery.

When he arrived, Maxwell says he observed boxes and stacks of documents. He says a State Department office director, whom Maxwell described as close to Clinton’s top advisers, was there. Though the office director technically worked for him, Maxwell says he wasn’t consulted about her weekend assignment.

“She told me, ‘Ray, we are to go through these stacks and pull out anything that might put anybody in the [Near Eastern Affairs] front office or the seventh floor in a bad light,’” says Maxwell. He says “seventh floor” was State Department shorthand for then-Secretary of State Clinton and her principal advisers.

“I asked her, ‘But isn’t that unethical?’ She responded, ‘Ray, those are our orders.’ ”

A few minutes after he arrived, Maxwell says, in walked two high-ranking State Department officials.

In an interview Monday morning on Fox News, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, named the two Hillary Clinton confidants who allegedly were  present: One was Cheryl Mills, Clinton’s chief of staff and a former White House counsel who defended President Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial. The other, Chaffetz said, was Deputy Chief of Staff Jake Sullivan, who previously worked on Hillary Clinton’s and then Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns.

More, including video, at the link.

Obama vs. the Generals

From Marc Thiessen, at the Washington Post:

Pity poor Gen. Lloyd Austin, top commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East.

Rarely has a U.S. general given his commander in chief better military advice, only to see it repeatedly rejected.

In 2010, Gen. Austin advised President Obama against withdrawing all U.S. forces from Iraq, recommending that the president instead leave 24,000 U.S. troops (down from 45,000) to secure the military gains made in the surge and prevent a terrorist resurgence. Had Obama listened to Austin’s counsel, the rise of the Islamic State could have been stopped.

But Obama rejected Austin’s advice and enthusiastically withdrew all U.S. all forces from the country, boasting that he was finally bringing an end to “the long war in Iraq.”

Now the “long war in Iraq” is back. And because Obama has not learned from his past mistakes, it is likely to get even longer.

Last week, Obama announced a strategy to re-defeat the terrorists in Iraq. But instead of listening to his commanders this time around, Obama once again rejected the advice of . . . you guessed it . . . Gen. Lloyd Austin.

The Post reports that, when asked for his recommendation for the best way to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, Austin told the president that “his best military advice was to send a modest contingent of American troops, principally Special Operations forces, to advise and assist Iraqi army units in fighting the militants.” Obama was having none of it. Austin’s recommendation, The Post reports, “was cast aside in favor of options that did not involve U.S. ground forces in a front-line role.”

That's really frustrating. We won't defeat ISIS without ground troops. Hey, let the bombing campaign rip, but at some point you'll need the kind of human intelligence that comes only from on-the-ground operations.

Interesting commentary from Thiessen, in any case. Keep reading.

Well Duh: Obama Needs Congress' Vote on Going to War Against Islamic State

Jonah Goldberg asks why the rush? Let the debate rage on war authorization against the Islamic State.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Obama is rushing into war against Islamic State."

And more from Da Tech Guy, "Why A Formal Declaration of War on ISIS should be voted on and passed."

(Personally, I say bomb the f-kers now and worry about congressional approval later. That said, Obama's obviously going to need authorization for a long-term campaign against ISIS.)

New Claudia Romani Pics

At Egotastic!, "Claudia Romani in a Blue Bikini on Miami Beach."

Bill Clinton: Evil Republithugs 'trying to get you to check your brain at the door...'

Hillary Clinton was in Iowa yesterday for the Tom Harkin steak fry, and the only people fooled by Hillary's "I haven't decided on a run yet" lies are the slavering journalist following her around like puppies.

And of course, Bill "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" Clinton was on hand to dispense timely attacks on the Republicans. It's going to take an awful lot to convince voters that a Hillary presidency won't be a third term of Barack Obama, but with big Bill on the hustings there'll be plenty of clown show gags to provide distractions. I mean really, the GOP wants you to check your brain at the door? I'd say that's what the country's been doing for the last six years of "hope and change." But then, Bill Clinton didn't inhale either. Remember, a sucker's born every minute and the Democrats are counting on it.

At the Hill, "Bill Clinton: Republicans 'trying to get you to check your brain at the door'."

The Secret Senate Rule Book

So much for transparency.

These things aren't supposed to be secret.

At USA Today, "Senate has a secret book of rules."

Remember, the Democrats have held the majority in the Senate since 2006. Greater government transparency is another reason to throw these bums out in November.

Via Instapundit and Memeorandum.

Ground Zero Wedding Photo Reunited with Owner After 13 years

A wonderful story, at CBS News:



More at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Wedding photo found in 9/11 rubble reunited with owner after 13 years."

Seeking Relief from the Heat

It was 102 degrees during yesterday's Angels game at Anaheim Stadium. And it was pushing 100 degrees in Irvine.

Thank goodness for air conditioning.

At LAT, "Southern Californians seek relief from soaring temperatures."

'Hideaway'

Fun dancing, from Kiesza:

France: 27 Percent of 18-24 Year-Olds Support Islamic State

Heh, nearly one third of French youth is fully down with ISIS.

And does anyone really wonder why the National Front is on the verge of taking power in France? Seriously, there's talk that Marine Le Pen could win the presidency.

At Newsweek, "16% of French Citizens Support ISIS, Poll Finds":

One in six French citizens sympathises with the Islamist militant group ISIS, also known as Islamic State, a poll released this week found.

The poll of European attitudes towards the group, carried out by ICM for Russian news agency Rossiya Segodnya, revealed that 16% of French citizens have a positive opinion of ISIS. This percentage increases among younger respondents, spiking at 27% for those aged 18-24.

A recent Ifop poll placed French president Francois Hollande’s approval rating at just 18%...

Newsweek’s France Correspondent, Anne-Elizabeth Moutet, was unsurprised by the news. “This is the ideology of young French Muslims from immigrant backgrounds,” she said, “unemployed to the tune of 40%, who’ve been deluged by satellite TV and internet propaganda.” She pointed to a correlation between support for ISIS and rising anti-Semitism in France, adding that “these are the same people who torch synagogues”.

France is home to an estimated 5 million Muslims, largely of North African descent, who arrived from the 1950s onwards in the wake of France’s decolonisation and the 1970s 'regroupement familiale' policy, which welcomed the families of migrant workers from ex-colonies...

More.

I guess that "regroupement" ain't working out so hot after all.

Now It's U.K.'s Alan Henning with His Neck on the Line

Poor fool.

He might be (or might as well be) dead already. And that British murderer "Jihad John" will mock the West one more time in the next video release.

Meanwhile, "Cameron" (not Prime Minister Cameron) will have everyone singing the same tune, "Islam is a religion of peace --- hurrah!"

At the Independent UK, "Alan Henning: Second British hostage in Isis beheading video named as ‘kind and funny’ aid worker":

+++ BRITISH HOSTAGE HELD BY ISIS IS AID WORKER. Tomorrow's @Independent front page: pic.twitter.com/z6YcXEGU9A +++

— amol rajan (@amolrajan) September 14, 2014

The second British hostage whose life is being threatened by Islamist extremists is a volunteer aid worker with two children who left his job as a taxi driver to deliver supplies to Muslim refugees caught up in the Syrian civil war.

Alan Henning, 47, who is being held by the same Isis terrorists who murdered another British aid worker, David Haines, was captured in December while he was part of an aid convoy near Syria’s border with Turkey.

Yesterday, David Cameron described Isis fighters as “monsters” not Muslims, as he pledged to “hunt down” those responsible for the acts of brutality against British and American citizens over recent weeks.

Tributes to Mr Haines, whose death was shown on a video posted on the internet on Saturday night, were led by his brother Mike, who quoted the Koran as he warned the poisonous ideology fuelling Isis poses a threat “to the wholesale safety of every person in the world”.

In a statement released by the Foreign Office, Mike Haines said: “We agree with the Government in that Isis are extremely dangerous, and pose a threat to every nation, every religion, every politics and every person.

“I have become aware of a number of verses in the Koran that I feel are particularly apt at this time, if I may: ‘Since good and evil cannot be equal, repel the evil with something that is better.’”

Fears were mounting last night for the safety of Mr Henning, who is believed to have been captured in the city of Ad-Dana by a band of masked men. The 44-year-old is understood to live in Salford with his wife and two children. The Bolton News reported that Mr Henning and eight other volunteers travelled from Bolton to Syria in December. They joined a convoy of 20 vehicles, according to the newspaper.

Catrin Nye, from the BBC Asian Network, who met Mr Henning while he was packing aid convoys in Salford, said he was known as “Gadget” because of a fondness for technology and described him as a “very likeable” and “funny” man. “He had travelled on a convoy, he had been into a refugee camp … and it had been a life-changing experience,” she said. “He had handed out the goods. He described holding the children … and how that really affected him. He told me he had to go back.”

Last night, Mr Henning’s family sanctioned the Foreign Office to release a photo of him holding a young child in a refugee camp on the Syrian-Turkish border.

Large Majority of Americans Lack Confidence in Obama Mission to Destroy ISIS, Poll Shows

At NBC News.

The president simply doesn't exude leadership, and hence he fails to inspire confidence.

Still more than two years of this shit. Just watch your back, like I said. And keep your family safe at home.

We'll get through this.

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



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

Also at Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – Remembering 911," and Theo Spark's, "Cartoon Roundup..."

CARTOON CREDIT: William Warren.

Bwahaha! Fight Against Islamic State Threatens Obama's Defense Budget 'Peace Dividend'

Well, I guess "the tide of war" isn't receding so much after all, lol.

At LAT, "Cuts to defense budget threatened by battle against Islamic State":

Members of Congress and the White House anticipated a peace dividend by winding down America's foreign wars, closing bases and shedding tens of thousands of troops.

But President Obama's new, open-ended strategy to confront Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria is likely to eat into some of the nearly $500 billion in Pentagon spending cuts that were planned over the next decade.

The first five weeks of U.S. airstrikes in northern Iraq has cost $262.5 million, according to the Pentagon, and Obama personally lobbied key members of Congress in recent days to appropriate $500 million to help train and arm Syrian rebels at camps in Saudi Arabia.

While that's still a pittance compared with the total $496-billion Pentagon budget, or the $1.2 trillion spent for the ground wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the costs of intervention are certain to increase under the plan to step up airstrikes, intensify surveillance and conduct counter-terrorism operations against the Sunni extremist force and its leaders.

There are already calls in Congress to eliminate the $45 billion in sequestration spending cuts that are set to hit next fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1, and to increase the supplemental appropriations used to fund the actual war-fighting, as opposed to other parts of the Pentagon budget.

Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.), who chairs a House subcommittee on counter-terrorism and intelligence, said lawmakers should reconsider cuts to the defense budget to ensure the latest military venture is funded for the long haul.

"This is not just bombing a mountainside or securing a dam," he said. "This is a war that could go on for another 10, 15 years. And to do that we're going to have to recalibrate our thinking toward defense, and realize that we have to be on a wartime footing when it comes to spending."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said budget discussions were already underway to address the new national security priorities.

"Every time we talk about any initiative for the use of force or the initiation of hostilities, it's a question of resources," she said. "There is a concern and it's been brought up in our meetings. But we have a first responsibility to protect and defend. That is the oath we take."

The military action has meant a policy reversal for Obama, who vowed in May 2013 to take America off its "permanent war footing" and to curtail the use of drones. As of Saturday, the U.S. had launched 160 airstrikes in northern Iraq in five weeks, compared with 147 drone strikes over the last three years in northwest Pakistan, where Al Qaeda is still based.

For lawmakers, voting to increase military spending may be easier than approving other spending hikes, given the public outcry since videos surfaced last month showing Islamic State fighters beheading two American journalists. A third video released Saturday appeared to show the beheading of a British aid worker. Opinion polls show broad public support for U.S. airstrikes against the insurgents.

Yeah, well, I'm sure unicorns and rainbows would have been less expensive, but keep reading.

Here's That Joe Arpaio-Ku Klux Klan Photo from the Arizona SB-1070 Amnesty March in 2010

I posted this to Twitpic back in the day, but Twitter is forcing the company to shut down, so I might was well post it again to the blog.

Originally here, "Immigrants and Socialists March Against SB 1070 in Phoenix."

Heat Wave in Southern California

I'm watching the Angels and it's got to be 100 at Anaheim Stadium.

.@EvelynTaft OMGosh the #Angels are playing in this September heat!

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) September 14, 2014

And see LAT, "Southern California heat wave to last through Tuesday, forecasters say."

President Obama Would Release the Hostages and Pin Notes on Their Chests

Folks couldn't believe it, but indeed, Obama imagined he was an "adviser" to ISIS and that "he would not have killed the hostages but released them and pinned notes on their chests..."

At the New York Times, "Paths to War, Then and Now, Haunt Obama."

Pinning notes on chests??? In a thousand years I couldn't have made that up. He is desperate to back out of this.

— Sick for Home (@motownrefugee) September 14, 2014

And at Twitchy, "You seriously will not believe Obama’s plan were he an ‘adviser to ISIS’ (it’s beyond parody) [photo]," and "It started with Obama advising ISIS to ‘pin notes on [hostages] chests.’ It ended with this brutal mockery."

The American Conservative 'Clears the Way for Global Jihad...'

From Robert Spencer, at Jihad Watch, "“The American Conservative” embraces the Islamic supremacist agenda":

The American Conservative (TAC) is a paleocon publication that counts among its founders Pat Buchanan and Taki Theodoracopulos, both bitter critics of Israel who have been repeatedly accused of anti-Semitism, so it is not surprising that it would be venomously anti-Israel. But now its opposition to American interventionism (which I generally share, and particularly share in regard to the Iraq and Afghanistan disasters) has driven it straight over the cliff into active support for the Islamic supremacist agenda of demonizing foes of jihad terror and friends of Israel, thereby clearing away resistance to the global jihad.

Keep reading.

British Prime Minister David Cameron: 'Islam Is a Religion of Peace...'

Does anyone truly believe this anymore? That Islam is a "religion of peace"? That line, bandied about in the days following 9/11, even by President Bush, is proved wrong by the very practitioners of the faith, day in and day out.

British PM David Cameron again proclaimed that Islam is a "religion of peace." I'll post the vid when it's up. #ISIS #IslamicState

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) September 14, 2014

The claim that "Islam is a religion of peace" is the Big Lie of our current era, designed to appease Muslims and their leftist enablers. At least George W. Bush was still willing to take the fight to the jihadis. At this point David Cameron's not even up for that, to say nothing of Barack "Red Lines" Obama.

Americans better just take care of their own and watch their backs. Nothing's stopping fanatical jihad at this point. I'll update if old Baracky changes his tune.

Watch Cameron at the video. Literally the first thing he says at the clip is how "Islam is a religion of peace."

Here: "David Cameron 'ISIS Have Planned And Continue to Plan Attacks Across Europe and In OUR Country!'"

Americans Ambivalent Over New U.S. Military Intervention in the Middle East

It's always the matter of whether core interests are threatened. A lot of Americans say that things should just work out as they may in the Middle East, rather than expending American blood and treasure in trying to secure the region.

Personally, I'd like to see a major bombing campaign not unlike Dresden in 1945. If that doesn't do it, send in the Marines (and the Army).

But then again, folks are tired of war, and I understand that too.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Americans express ambivalence over a new Mideast military plunge":

Back at New York's 9/11 Memorial, amid a tourist medley of foreign languages and the water flowing where the World Trade Center towers once stood, Jay Reynolds said he was glad Obama was more directly going after Islamic State terrorists, even though he has a son in the Army Special Forces and believes the conflict will soon escalate from bombing to a ground invasion — never mind the president's promises.

"When you put your hands on us, we're coming," said Reynolds, 50, a hospice worker in Vicksburg, Miss. The site where he stood reminded Reynolds that the U.S. could have acted sooner to fight Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda but didn't.

As for his soldier son, Reynolds said, he'll keep him in his prayers.

'Perhaps those who soft-pedal evil simply cannot wrap their minds around the breadth and depth of brutality – in spite of visual evidence and confirmation...'

An amazing post, at Patterico's Pontifications, "Refusing To Believe There Is Such A Thing As Evil." (Via Pirate's Cove.)

Here's That Video of Bill Maher Mercilessly Denouncing Islam as a Violent Faith of Murder and Violence

I pretty much hate atheists all around, but once in awhile Bill Maher indeed rings the right bells of political incorrectness.

He's definitely on target here, to the great dismay of the hopelessly PC Charlie Rose.

At Creeping Sharia, "Bill Maher tells Charlie Rose: “Most Muslim people in world condone violence…absolutely” (video)."



Plus, see the great discussion at Hot Air, "Video: Bill Maher vs. Charlie Rose on jihadism and moderate Islam."

And following the links takes us to that infamous Pew poll in Islam cited by Maher, "The World’s Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society."

It's a murderous, barbaric religion. No need to beat around the bush about it. And that means you, lurking leftists and Democrat jihad enablers.

9/11 and the Fog of Denial

From Robert Spencer, at FrontPage Magazine:

Thirteen years after 9/11, there is one thing that virtually all our politicians, law enforcement officials, and mainstream media guardians of opinion know: that attack had nothing whatsoever to do with Islam, and neither does any other jihad terror attack, anywhere, no matter how often its perpetrators quote the Qur’an and invoke Muhammad. Islam, we’re told again and again, is a good, benign thing – indeed, a positive force for societies, and to be encouraged in the West. Jihad terror is an aberration, an outrage against the Religion of Peace’s peaceful teachings. These lessons from our betters are coming more and more often in light of the advent of the Islamic State.

The caliph Ibrahim, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has a PhD in Islamic Studies. But Barack Obama is unimpressed with his Islamic erudition: “ISIL speaks for no religion. Their victims are overwhelmingly Muslim, and no faith teaches people to massacre innocents.” State Department spokesperson Marie Harf emphasized that Obama meant what he said: “ISIL does not operate in the name of any religion. The president has been very clear about that, and the more we can underscore that, the better.”

Secretary of State John Kerry said that for some members of the international coalition he hopes to build against the Islamic State, joining it “will mean demolishing the distortion of one of the world’s great peaceful religions.”

British Prime Minister David Cameron chimed in:

What we are witnessing is actually a battle between Islam on the one hand and extremists who want to abuse Islam on the other. These extremists, often funded by fanatics living far away from the battlefields, pervert the Islamic faith as a way of justifying their warped and barbaric ideology – and they do so not just in Iraq and Syria but right across the world, from Boko Haram and al-Shabaab to the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

Where is “Islam” actually battling these “extremists who want to abuse Islam”? Cameron didn’t say.

Showing as much grasp of the situation as Kerry, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond declared: “Isil’s so-called caliphate has no moral legitimacy; it is a regime of torture, arbitrary punishment and murder that goes against the most basic beliefs of Islam.” On the opposite side of the aisle, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper complained that Islamic State “extremists are beheading people and parading their heads on spikes, subjugating women and girls, killing Muslims, Christians and anyone who gets in their way. This is no liberation movement — only a perverted, oppressive ideology that bears no relation to Islam.”

Unfortunately, for every Islamic State atrocity she enumerated, there is Qur’anic sanction...

Keep reading.

And as always, it's in the Koran.

Islamic State Fears Nothing

Following-up from earlier, "David Cawthorne Haines Beheaded."

And now from Pamela Geller, "The Islamic State Beheads Another Hostage, British Aid Worker David Haines #Savages":

They fear nothing. They know Obama cannot get a golf game together, let alone a coalition. The Brits and the Germans have said they won’t join him. The Arab States won’t join the Great Satan to attack the Islamic State. Tepid lip service is all he will get from the Arab States. And Obama is conflicted between his duty to this country (which he chose to lead) and his perception in the Muslim world as Muhammad.

Obama is a spineless, feckless coward; he hates the US almost as much as the Islamic State does.

Quran 47:4 “When you meet the infidels, smite their necks.”

More.

Bob Crewe Dies: Was Songwriter for Frankie Valli and Four Seasons

At LAT, "Bob Crewe dies at 83; songwriter behind Frankie Valli, Four Seasons":

Bob Crewe — the songwriter and producer behind dozens of hits, including standards like "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," which boosted Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons into pop posterity — died Thursday in Scarborough, Maine. He was 83.

Crewe, a four-decade resident of Los Angeles, had been in worsening health since injuring his brain in a fall four years ago. In 2011 he moved to Maine to be closer to his brother, Dan Crewe, who confirmed his death.

With no formal music training, Crewe parlayed natural talents into a long and successful career, helping to advance the fortunes not only of Valli and the Four Seasons but also Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels, Bobby Darin, Lesley Gore and Oliver.

Most of Crewe's songwriting hits were in the 1960s, but the 1970s brought one of his last chart-toppers, the soul hit "Lady Marmalade" for Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash of the vocal group LaBelle. The song, written with Kenny Nolan, launched a sexually suggestive line — "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi (ce soir)? — into the vernacular of a generation.

"He was an enormous talent," Valli said Friday. "He was making records from the early '50s to the '60s and '70s. He had his own record company for a while. Sometimes I wonder if the industry really realized what a talent he was. He was surely one of the most creative people I ever worked with."

Crewe, portrayed in the movie and Tony-winning Broadway musical "Jersey Boys," frequently collaborated with Bob Gaudio, the singer, songwriter and keyboardist who was one of the original members of the Four Seasons.

Although Crewe couldn't play an instrument or read music, "he sort of had a way of painting a picture of what he wanted," Gaudio told The Times. "He had a way of communicating with people — and they got it. He'd say, 'I want to hear some blue streaks here.' He's noted in the show as saying, 'I want to hear sky blue; you're giving me brown.'"

More.

David Cawthorne Haines Beheaded

British Prime Minister David Cameron has responded on Twitter:

The murder of David Haines is an act of pure evil. My heart goes out to his family who have shown extraordinary courage and fortitude.
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) September 13, 2014

We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes.
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) September 13, 2014

And at Mirror UK, "David Haines 'beheading': Latest updates after ISIS video claiming to show execution of British hostage."

More at Telegraph UK, "Foreign Office working urgently to verify video showing British hostage David Haines 'beheading' by Isil terrorists." And BuzzFeed, "New ISIS Video Purports To Show Execution Of British Citizen."

Added: At Bare Naked Islam, "Islamic State (ISIS) claims to have beheaded British hostage, David Haines, and is threatening to behead another Briton, Alan Henning."

Obama's Betrayal of the Constitution

From leftist Professor Bruce Ackerman, at the New York Times (via Ms. EBL):

BERLIN — PRESIDENT OBAMA’s declaration of war against the terrorist group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria marks a decisive break in the American constitutional tradition. Nothing attempted by his predecessor, George W. Bush, remotely compares in imperial hubris.

Mr. Bush gained explicit congressional consent for his invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. In contrast, the Obama administration has not even published a legal opinion attempting to justify the president’s assertion of unilateral war-making authority. This is because no serious opinion can be written.

This became clear when White House officials briefed reporters before Mr. Obama’s speech to the nation on Wednesday evening. They said a war against ISIS was justified by Congress’s authorization of force against Al Qaeda after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and that no new approval was needed.

But the 2001 authorization for the use of military force does not apply here. That resolution — scaled back from what Mr. Bush initially wanted — extended only to nations and organizations that “planned, authorized, committed or aided” the 9/11 attacks.

Mr. Obama is rightly proud of his success in killing Osama bin Laden in 2011 and dismantling the Qaeda network he built up. But it’s preposterous to suggest that a congressional vote 13 years ago can be used to legalize new bombings in Syria and additional (noncombat) forces in Iraq. In justifying earlier bombing campaigns in Yemen and Somalia, the administration’s lawyers claimed that the 2001 authorization covered terrorist groups that did not even exist back then. They said it sufficed to show that these groups were “affiliated” with Al Qaeda.

Even this was a big stretch, and it is not big enough to encompass the war on ISIS. Not only was ISIS created long after 2001, but Al Qaeda publicly disavowed it earlier this year. It is Al Qaeda’s competitor, not its affiliate.

Mr. Obama may rightly be frustrated by gridlock in Washington, but his assault on the rule of law is a devastating setback for our constitutional order. His refusal even to ask the Justice Department to provide a formal legal pretext for the war on ISIS is astonishing...

More.

And for the prototypical leftist response, see depraved authoritarian Steve M. at No More Mister, who blames it all on George W. Bush and the evil Republi-thugs, "MY SECRET SHAME: OBAMA'S SHREDDING THE CONSTITUTION, AND I DON'T REALLY CARE."

Nowhere does Steve M. actually rebut Professor Ackerman. Steve M. mocks Professor Ackerman and blames Republicans. Fact: George W. Bush went to Congress for war authorizations in 2001 (Afghanistan) and 2002 (Iraq). Now we have a president who simply refuses to seek congressional authorization for wars and improvises at each step along the way. I mean, Steve M. doesn't even offer the most reasonable rebuttal to Professor Ackerman, that Obama is acting under his power as commander-in-chief, with his own interpretation of presidential war powers; and that absent the large, wholesale, long-term deployment of ground troops, the president has ample authority to authorize strikes against terrorist on the basis of executive power alone.

But again, it's not about whether or not Obama has exceeded his authority. For Steve M. and other left-wing partisan hacks, it's all good as long as it's a black Muslim socialist who's pulling the strings up on Pennsylvania Avenue. The Republi-thugs are just standing in the way of the coming of leftist Heaven on Earth.

Nina Agdal for Leonisa Lingerie September 2014

At Egotastic!, "Nina Agdal poses in Leonisa Lingerie September 2014."

'Moderate', Obama-Backed Syrian Rebel Front (SRF) Signs Non-Aggression Pact with Islamic State — #ISIS

Right.

Remember the SRG is one of the key factions that compose the Free Syrian Army, the supposed anti-Assad rebels upon whom the Obama administration has staked its Syria policy.

Hmm, big mistake.

Basically, we're funding the Islamic State at this point.

At PuffHo, "ISIS Strikes Deal With Moderate Syrian Rebels: Reports."

And from Patrick Poole, at Pajamas Media, "Yet Another US-Backed Syrian Rebel Group Makes Peace With ISIS":

According to the media reports other groups joining the ceasefire with ISIS include Liwa Ahrar Turkman al-Golan, Liwa Hittin & Liwa al-Umma al-Wahida.

When seeking US heavy weapons, including TOW anti-tank missiles, SRF commander Jamal Maroof was full of bravado, declaring war against ISIS. In May, McClatchy reported that SRF and other “vetted moderate” rebel groups had received TOW missiles from the US and posted videos of their use.

But as soon as weapons were being delivered to Maroof’s SRF forces, he was giving interviews to Western media making clear that “Al-Qaeda is not our problem.”

A May 2014 report by Jenan Mousa of Al-Aan notes that Maroof runs SRF in a cave with his 3 wives and children...

During that interview where Maroof talks about receiving US military aid and his soldiers receive US training, there is one curious artifact in the background:

Yeah, talk about not understanding the optics!

More at the link.

Basically, forget about "aiding" the "moderate" Syrian rebels. There's no such thing. Perhaps at one point, years ago, there were. But not now. We need to start bombing the "Islamic State" like it's 1945. That is, if the U.S. is really serious about "destroying" ISIS. I think somebody of particular importance said that, somewhere. And, well, time's a wastin'.

Countries Around the World Trying to Suppress the Flow of Jihadists to #ISIS

Well, good luck with that.

At the New York Times, "Nations Trying to Stop Their Citizens From Going to Middle East to Fight for ISIS":

UNITED NATIONS — France wants more power to block its citizens from leaving the country, while Britain is weighing whether to stop more of its citizens from coming home. Tunisia is debating measures to make it a criminal offense to help jihadist fighters travel to Syria and Iraq, while Russia has outlawed enlisting in armed groups that are “contradictory to Russian policy.”

The rapid surge of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and its ability to draw fighters from across the globe, have set off alarm bells in capitals worldwide. Countries that rarely see eye to eye are now trying to blunt its recruitment drive, passing a raft of new rules that they hope will stop their citizens from joining extremist groups abroad.

The United States has seized on the issue, pushing for a legally binding United Nations Security Council resolution that would compel all countries in the world to take steps to “prevent and suppress” the flow of their citizens into the arms of groups considered to be terrorist organizations.

Recruits from 74 countries are among the estimated 12,000 foreign militants in Syria and Iraq, many of them fighting with ISIS, according to Peter Neumann, a professor at King’s College London, who has culled the figures largely from government sources. The largest blocs of these fighters come from nearby Muslim countries, like Tunisia and Saudi Arabia, but smaller contingents come from countries as far away and disparate as Belgium, China, Russia and the United States...

Continue reading.

Amanda Marcotte's '7 Female Misogynists' Is Actually 10, But Who's Counting?

She's a vile woman.

Funny though, she's not lesbian, which is an anomaly for Robert Stacy McCain and his series on radical feminism.

Marcotte ain't so great with numbers, that's for sure. The Politichicks --- Ann-Marie Murrell, Morgan Brittany and Dr. Gina Loudon --- count as one woman is Marcotte's rogue's gallery of femisogynists.

Happy Saturday! Here is a list of 7 female misogynists. http://t.co/jSJwEOgniK Glad to have my Twitter mentions turned off!
— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) September 13, 2014

And yes, turn off those mentions! What better way to avoid the fact that you're reviled by the entire world?!!

Walter James Casper take note!

Added! From Darleen Click, "Vagina Warrior Amanda Marcotte has an Enemies List."

Cathy Young & I at top of SALON enemy list.We are both pro-choice, pro-LGBT,libertarian-leaning feminists.Our crime?We check feminist facts.

— Christina H. Sommers (@CHSommers) September 13, 2014

Saturday Roundup

Let's start things off with the Mad Jewess Woman, "Start War Before Elections. Brilliant Plan of the #Communist #Democrats," and "Speaking Out Against Tyranny Is Gods' Will."

And at Maggie's Farm, "Sunday Morning Links."

Also at Blackmailers Don't Shoot, "Quinnspiracy Rule 5 Linkaround, and Odie's, "Special Watch ~OR~ Rule 5 Woodsterman Style."

90 Miles from Tyranny, "Morning Mistress."

From William Teach, at Right Wing News, "Nancy Pelosi: Civilization Is In Jeopardy If GOP Takes Back Senate."

And at Pirate's Cove, "If All You See……is a wonderful greenspace which would be perfect for solar panels (as long as it is far from your home), you might just be a Warmist."

Matt Vespa, at Town Hall, "Fighter Pilot Was Tasked With Taking Out United 93 By Crashing Into It," and John Hawkins, "Millennials, Hollywood Is Lying To You About Work And Success (Part 2)."

At the Conservative Hideout, "Racial Violence: Two Black Women Force White Tenants out at Gun Point, Tired of ‘White People Moving Into Area’."

Now at Camp of the Saints, "The Obamas: Tone Deaf, Blind, and Dangerous."

And at EAG News, "University paper publishes 9/11 editorial, claims USA needs to ‘get over’ terrorist attacks."

More at Pat Dollard's, "Leftist Nutcase Bill Maher Says He Might Vote For Rand Paul Due To Libertarian Nutcase’s Anti-American Foreign Policy."

From Peter Ingemi, "Why a Formal Declaration of War on ISIS should be voted on and passed," and Zero Hedge, "Obama’s ISIS War Is Not Only Illegal, It Makes George W. Bush Look Like A Constitutional Scholar."

At Drunken Stepfather, "STEPLINKS OF THE DAY," and the Chive, "There Are Sexy Chivers Among Us (97 Photos)."

And at Lonley Con, "Kirsten Gillibrand Won’t Disclose Who Harassed Her."

From Dana Pico, "Economics 101: Maybe going on strike for higher wages when your jobs are already being replaced by robots isn’t the wisest idea."

Check out Jack Dunphy, at PJ Media, "Oakland Firefighter Plays Victim Card Until Police Release Video."

And JWF, "Democrat Fossil James Clyburn Say Sexting is a ‘Great Tool’ for Organizing Voters."

Also at Egotastic!, "Yasmine Colt Pink Bikini Sextastic for Today’s 138 Water Shoot."

At Knuckledraggin', "The most popular girl at the office," and Good Stuff's, "GOODSTUFFs BLOGGING MAGAZINE (155th Issue)."

California State University Could Limit Enrollment to Transfer Students

This is the first I've heard of it.

At LAT, "Cal State trustees raise scenario of transfer-only university":

Could California State University one day limit enrollment to transfers, admitting burgeoning numbers of community college students but turning away new freshmen?

The idea sounds far-fetched, but that scenario was raised Tuesday by trustees who cautioned that insufficient state funding could radically reduce the mission of the nation's largest university system.

The warning came during a discussion of the preliminary 2015-16 budget, which predicted growing demand for the 23-campus system. The Cal State system drew a record 761,000 applications for the fall 2014 term.

Much of that demand, officials said, is likely to come from community college transfers for two reasons: increased state funding is expected to boost two-year college enrollment by 60,000 students this year, and increased numbers of community college students will earn associate degrees for transfer, which guarantee admission to a Cal State campus.

After years of budget cuts and enrollment declines, funding for the Cal State system is increasing under Gov. Jerry Brown's multiyear plan that calls for an additional $119.5 million each for the Cal State and University of California systems in 2015-16.

But that number is $116.5 million short of what the Cal State system says it needs for operations, including a target enrollment increase of about 12,000 students. About half the students who qualify for Cal State entry but are turned away end up at community colleges, further increasing the transfer numbers, officials said...

More.

It's a sky-is-falling scenario.

Cal State will get more funding. The state's economy is picking up steam and tax revenues are increasing. There'll be a political outcry if freshmen are denied admissions to Cal State.

Should Children Be Held Back for Kindergarten?

Well, we held back our youngest son, who has ADHD and other neurological issues. And remember, I used to be skeptical of all the reports of ADHD, especially among my own students at college. But until you have a child with severe developmental issues, it's really hard to comprehend what kids --- and their parents --- go through.

So, keeping a kid back depends on the kid. Our oldest son is an outstanding student, basically a regular kid. He went to kindergarten when he was 5. But we kept back our second son and I'm glad we did. It's been helpful.

Either way, check the Wall Street Journal, "Many parents are holding back their 5-year-olds from school for a year, but the benefits are doubtful."

Republicans Putting Together an Agenda for First 100 Days of 2015

Just in case they win control of the upper chamber in November, which is looking increasingly likely.

At the Hill, "GOP Senate's first 100 days."

HETEROSEXUAL SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Boy, that really pisses off the homosexual fascists.

At Instapundit, "21ST CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: HETEROSEXUAL SAME-SEX MARRIAGE angers gay rights activists who say it 'trivializes marriage'."

Heh, the irony.

Big Solar Storms Expected This Weekend

At CNN:



Also at the Sydney Morning Herald, "Twin solar storms head towards Earth."

Lucy Collett's Twitter Video!

Watch, via Zoo Today.

Northern California Nudist Camp Accused of Stealing Water

Nudists. Progressives.

The biggest f-king hypocrites.

Tweeted earlier, from LAT:

Progressive values: Bay Area nudist resort accused of stealing 280,000 gallons of water. @Instapundit http://t.co/x5b43gv4sf

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) September 13, 2014

Microaggressions on Campus

Via Maggie's Farm, "You can't be too alert for microaggressions on campus."

UC Davis Researchers Develop Nanoparticle Cancer-Fighting Treatment

As Professor Glenn Reynolds always says, "faster please."

Via CBS Sacramento:

NewsBusted: President Obama's Approval Ratings Hit a New Low

Via Theo Spark:

Foreign Policy Editor David Rothkopf Hammers Obama's Foreign Policy: Says Barack Should Take a Page from George W. Bush's Second Term

A phenomenal piece, at Foreign Poilcy, "National Insecurity: Can Obama's Foreign Policy Be Saved?":

"YOU'RE STILL A SUPERPOWER," a top diplomat from one of America's most dependable Middle Eastern allies said to me in July of this year, "but you no longer know how to act like one."

He was reflecting on America's position in the world almost halfway into President Barack Obama's second term. Fresh in his mind was the extraordinary string of errors (schizophrenic Egypt policy, bipolar Syria policy), missteps (zero Libya post-intervention strategy, alienation of allies in the Middle East and elsewhere), scandals (spying on Americans, spying on friends), halfway measures (pinprick sanctions against Russia, lecture series to Central Americans on the border crisis), unfulfilled promises (Cairo speech, pivot to Asia), and outright policy failures (the double-down then get-out approach in Afghanistan, the shortsighted Iraq exit strategy).

The diplomat with whom I was speaking is a thoughtful man. He knew well that not all of these problems are the result of the blunders of a single really bad year or the fault of any one president. The reality is that any president's foreign policy record depends heavily on luck, external factors, cyclical trends, and legacy issues. And, to be sure, Obama inherited many of his greatest challenges, some of the biggest beyond his control.

Obama's presidency is largely a product of a moment in history that likely will be seen someday as an aberration -- the decade after 9/11, during which a stunned, angry, and disoriented America was sent spinning into a kind of national PTSD. Call it an age of fear, one in which the country and its leaders were forced to grapple with a sense of vulnerability to which they were unaccustomed. The response of George W. Bush's administration -- entering into the long, costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, remaking U.S. national security policy around the terrorism threat -- led to a backlash that ushered Obama into office with a perceived mandate to undo what his predecessor had done and avoid making similar mistakes.

The problem is that in seeking to sidestep the pitfalls that plagued Bush, Obama has inadvertently created his own. Yet unlike Bush, whose flaw-riddled first-term foreign policy was followed by important and not fully appreciated second-term course corrections, Obama seems steadfast in his resistance both to learning from his past errors and to managing his team so that future errors are prevented. It is hard to think of a recent president who has grown so little in office.

As a result, for all its native confidence and fundamental optimism, the United States remains shaken and unsteady more than a decade after the 9/11 attacks. Many of its problems have only grown dangerously worse: Its relative influence has declined; the terrorism threat has evolved and spread; and U.S. alliances are superannuated, ineffective shadows of their former selves. Compounding this is such gross dysfunction in Washington that, on most issues, the president is presumed to be blocked by Congress even before he has had the opportunity to make a move.

If the nation is to recover fully, Obama must not only identify and attempt to reverse what has gone wrong, but he also must try to understand how he can achieve new gains by the end of his second term. That is to say that huge challenges remain unaddressed and rising to them requires a hard look at himself -- his responses, his messages, his management, and his team.

He must start by devoting special attention to the instances that knocked his foreign policy off the rails. And one stands out, even in the minds of some of the president's most prominent loyalists...

Keep reading.

Rothkopf wraps up the essay with a comparison of Presidents Obama and G.W. Bush. The former should take a page from the latter. (Although I don't expect he will.)

Hey, How About a New TV for Football Season?

Now that would be a huge commission, lol.

At Amazon:

Cecily Strong Out as SNL 'Weekend Update' Anchor

The New York Times reports, "New Comic to Anchor ‘Update’ on ‘S.N.L.’":

The new season of “Saturday Night Live” will have a significant change in its cast and its most prominent segment, “Weekend Update.”

Michael Che, a comic perhaps best known for his role as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” will replace Cecily Strong, who will remain on “S.N.L.” as a regular cast member.

More.

And at Rolling Stone:

'SNL' will replace Cecily Strong as 'Weekend Update' anchor with writer Michael Che http://t.co/WxfGgRdI5y

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) September 12, 2014