Alex Salmond Resigns as First Minister of Scotland After Independence Vote Fails

The bugger gave it his all.

At the Telegraph UK, "Alex Salmond resigns: Scotland will 'benefit from new leadership'":

Alex Salmond tells a press conference that he will be standing down as Scotland's First Minister and Scottish National Party leader.

After the referendum defeat, Alex Salmond said it was time for a new leader who could now take the devolution process forward.

Mr Salmond said he believed party, parliament and country would "benefit from new leadership".

"Therefore I have told the National Secretary of the SNP that I will not accept nomination to be a candidate for leader at the Annual Conference in Perth on November 13-15.

"After the membership ballot I will stand down as First Minister to allow the new leader to be elected by due Parliamentary process.

"Until then I will continue to serve as First Minister. After that I will continue to offer to serve as member of the Scottish Parliament for Aberdeenshire East.

More.

Does Obama Really Believe Islam is Peaceful?

Via Theo Spark, "Zo: Obama Says ISIS Isn't Islamic?!? Does he Really Believe Islam is Peaceful?"

Fit Sports Ladies: 30 Photos

At Toasted on the Inside, "Sports Bra Looks Hot on Fit Girls: 30 images."

Kelly Brook in Blue Bikini on Mykonos Beach

At London's Daily Mail, "PICTURE EXCLUSIVE: Kelly Brook turns heads in plunging blue bikini before cosying up to fiancé David McIntosh on Mykonos beach."

Also, at GCeleb, "Kelly Brook Bikini Photos in Greece."

France Launches Airstrikes on #ISIS

At Legal Insurrection, "Overnight: France launches first airstrikes against ISIS."

And at Twitchy, "Sacré bombs away! France – yes, France – launches its first airstrikes against ISIS."

How to Stay Protected from Ebola

Via Theo Spark.



And at NYT, "What You Need to Know About the Ebola Outbreak."

VIDEO: Colombian Women's Cycling Team 'Not Ashamed' of Wearing Flesh-Colored Uniforms

At the Telegraph UK, "Colombian women's cycling team 'not ashamed' of 'vagina-like' team kit."

Islamic State Video of British Hostage John Cantlie

At the New York Times, "New ISIS Video Features British Hostage, John Cantlie, as Spokesman."

Scotland Rejects Referendum on Independence

At the Telegraph UK, "UK safe as Scotland rejects independence":

05.29: And this is tomorrow's Daily Telegraph 5am edition - The United Kingdom is safe.

Also at the Guardian UK, "Alex Salmond stays away from Scottish referendum count."

Video at Sky News, "Alex Salmond's Final Push for Votes."

Scottish Referendum Live Results

At Telegraph UK.

And background at London's Daily Mail, "Britain holds its breath: Counting begins in Scottish independence vote as polls close... so is the sun about to set on the Union?"

First result of the night from Clackmannanshire: YES 16,350 NO 19,036 88.6% turnout http://t.co/6fsRq5ewCz #indyref

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) September 19, 2014

First blood to 'No' as opening count declared in Clackmannanshire. #indyref http://t.co/kezJhD9VM6 pic.twitter.com/FlehHZljke

— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 19, 2014

"Very healthy margin for the NO campaign in our first result" #BetterTogether #indyref

— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) September 19, 2014

Expect updates.

Sara Malakul Lane

Beautiful.

At Egotastic!, "Sara Malakul Poses in See-Through Bodysuit for Photoshoot."

No Matter What, Repsac3 Will Attack You as Racist!

I'll be teaching all day.

In light of stalking hate-troll Walter James Casper's pathetic allegations of "bigotry" and "racism," here's Harry Stein's, "No Matter What...They'll Call This Book Racist: How our Fear of Talking Honestly About Race Hurts Us All."

Lolz. More blogging tonight!

A Strategy to Defeat the Islamic State

The U.S. needs to deploy at least 25,000 ground troops to effectively contain --- much less defeat --- the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, according to the new study from Kimberly Kagan, Frederick Kagan, and Jessica Lewis at the Institute for the Study of War:

Success against ISIS requires more than effective military operations. Political accord in Baghdad and the emergence of meaningful inclusive politics in Syria are necessary but not sufficient conditions for securing U.S. vital national security interests in the region. The U.S. must use the expanding leverage increased military support will give us in Baghdad to continue to shape the emerging Iraqi government to be as inclusive and non-sectarian as possible. The U.S. and its allies must meanwhile engage directly and energetically with Sunni leaders in Iraq outside of Baghdad to determine who represents (or might represent) Sunnis willing to re-engage with the government in Baghdad.

The U.S. must also engage much more vigorously in efforts to develop an inclusive government-in-waiting in Syria. We must do more than trying to unify what is left of the moderate opposition. We must also reach out to the ‘Alawite community and to Syria’s other minority groups in search of potential leaders who could join forces with moderate Sunni leaders to oppose extremists on all sides.

The deployment of U.S. forces into Syria and Iraq is as important to these political efforts as it is to our military efforts. We must not fall again into the trap of relying on leaders in Baghdad, Damascus, Amman, or Turkey to inform us of the situation on the ground, still less to rally their people from afar. Populations under attack respect most the leaders who stay with them and fight. Those are the leaders we must seek out for the benefit of the political settlement as much as for their military capabilities.

This phase of the strategy will require a significant commitment of U.S. forces — perhaps as many as 25,000 ground troops in all in Iraq and Syria — although in roles very different from those they played in Iraq between 2003 and 2011. The decisive effort will belong to teams of Special Forces and special mission units deployed in a dispersed footprint throughout the Sunni lands, as well as advising the Iraqi Security Forces and the moderate Syrian opposition. Those forces will likely number in the low thousands.

The dispersed footprint from which they will have to operate requires the support of at least a U.S. Army Combat Aviation Brigade (about 3,300 soldiers) to operate transport, reconnaissance, and attack helicopters. These special operators will be at high risk of locally-overwhelming enemy force, as well as attacks by ISIS operatives infiltrating the tribes and even the security forces among whom they will be living. They must have access to a large and responsive quick reaction force (QRF) that can get to threatened units rapidly and with dominating force. We estimate that two battalion-sized QRFs will need to be available at
all times, one in Iraq and one in Syria. Sustaining the availability of two battalions requires the deployment of two brigades, perhaps 7,000 soldiers in all. Additional forces will be required to secure temporary bases, provide MEDEVAC coverage, and support necessary enablers. Flight times and the MEDEVAC requirements to get wounded soldiers to help within the “golden hour” dictate that the U.S. will have to establish temporary bases inside Iraq and Syria. Bases in Kurdistan, Turkey, and Jordan are simply too far away from the core ISIS safe-havens along the Euphrates.

RTWT.

Scott Wiener, of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Takes Truvada to Prevent Contracting AIDS

From homosexual Josh Barro, at the New York Times, "San Francisco Official Says He Takes Truvada to Prevent H.I.V., and More Gay Men Should, Too":

Scott Wiener, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, made an unusual public announcement on Wednesday: He takes Truvada, a daily antiviral pill, to greatly reduce his risk of contracting H.I.V.

Taking the pills is a practice known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, and some researchers believe it may reduce the risk of infection by 99 percent if patients take their medication daily as prescribed. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2012, PrEP has increasingly been embraced by public health authorities and is one of three planks of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan in New York to sharply cut new H.I.V. infections.

But it carries a stigma in some parts of the gay population, and Mr. Wiener appears to be the first public official to disclose that he’s personally on it.

“A much larger segment of gay men should be taking a close look at PrEP,” Mr. Wiener, who represents the same Castro-based district once held by Harvey Milk, said in an interview on Wednesday. “I hope that my being public about my use of PrEP can help people take a second look at it.”

Oh, preventing HIV carries a "stigma" in the homosexual population, you know, among the bare-backing rim-station demographic, folks who Walter James Casper thinks are just swell.

It's not a healthy lifestyle. Indeed, young homosexual men of color are the most likely demographic cohort to contract and die from AIDS. But hey, wouldn't want to discourage that kind of bare-backing promiscuity, because bigotry!!!

More at the link.

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown Calls on 'No Voters' to 'Stand Up and Be Counted'

The referendum's today.

I don't think it'll pass. Perhaps it'll be a close vote, but voters won't approve Scottish devolution. It's just hunch. I haven't looked at a single poll. Great Britain isn't great without Scotland. And both countries will be diminished, to say nothing of dangerously weakened in international politics.

Below, the former prime minister "begging" a no vote.

At at the Telegraph U.K., "Gordon Brown calls on No voters to 'stand up and be counted'":

Former Prime Minister delivers barnstorming speech at final Better Together rally before vote urging Unionists to 'hold your head high' and be confident of victory.

Gordon Brown has urged Unionists to "stand up and be counted" in a barnstorming speech to pro-UK activists on the eve of the Scottish independence vote.

The former prime minister told No voters to "hold your head high" and be "confident" that the majority of Scots will reject Alex Salmond's separatist pitch.

Mr Brown said his rejection of independence was not for himself but for "my children" and "Scotland's children", reminding Scot the vote is "a decision for all time".

The tub-thumping address was delivered to boisterous No activists as Better Together held a final rally before polls open at 7am on Thursday.

It was judged by many commentators as Mr Brown's best and most emotive intervention during a campaign which has seen him become the pro-UK camp's star speaker.

More.

Bwahaha! Walter James Casper III Shouts 'Bigotry' and 'Racism' to Silence the Opposition and Claim Victory!

Poor Repsac3.

Proved wrong from the get go, all he can do is cry bigotry like a typical leftist loser who's lost the debate. As I indicated yesterday, "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."

And drum roll please!!!! Ta-da, Repsac's allegation of bigotry: "Making an accusation just because the murderer (& his victim) are Muslim & the victim is a member of his family is bigotry."


Are you losing the debate? Check! Call your opponent a "bigot," like Repsac3! Bwahahahaa!!

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

Pathetic fascist stalker hate-troll Walter James Casper III, universally repudiated across the 'sphere, lol!

How the Left Gave U.K. Girls to Muslim Rape Gangs

At FrontPage Magazine.

Click through for the videos.

And see the Other McCain, "Rotherham Update."

PREVIOUSLY: "Political Correctness [Like Repsac's] Helped Cover Up Child Sexual Exploitation in #Rotherham."

Secretary John Kerry Takes on Code Pink During Senate Testimony on #ISIS Threat

Heh, at Hot Air, "John Kerry to Code Pink: If you care about women, you should want to fight ISIS."

Video at that link.

They're all commies, lol.

The Left's Secret Weapon! First Lady Michelle Obama to Stump for Democrat Candidates

The First Lady is hitting the campaign trail on behalf of fellow Democrats, via CNN, "Michelle Obama hits the campaign trail."

Word has it that she'll be taking the muzzle off to get down and dirty on the trail!



IMAGE CREDIT: Big Fur Hat.

This is What the Left Thinks of Women

Mind-boggling leftist misogyny.

Right up Walter James Casper's alley.

You know, those "compassionate" progressives, at Twitchy, "Elisabeth Hasselbeck makes devastating Benghazi point; HuffPo lies, libs spew foul misogyny."

HASSELBECK is FUCKING DIPSHIT FAUX NOISE BIMBO! Jokes about Domestic Abuse! FUCK AILES & her loser husband! #p2 @DavidSchantz @ehasselbeck

— WY Vet (@WYVeteran) September 17, 2014

So pathetic, she doesn't even make it into my hate-fuck column. http://t.co/lkFbK7EqM2

— SwimCharlieSwim (@swimcharlieswim) September 16, 2014

The U.N. Has Become a Global Platform for Anti-Semitism and the Destruction of Israel

From Anne Bayefsky, for Prager University, "Is the UN Fair to Israel?"



RELATED: From Danny Ayalon, "The Truth About the U.N."

The Islamic State of Sexual Violence

From Aki Peritz and Tara Maller, at Foreign Policy:

Of the many terrifying stories emerging from Islamic State-occupied Iraq and Syria, the violence directed toward women is perhaps the most difficult to contemplate.

The Islamic State's (IS) fighters are committing horrific sexual violence on a seemingly industrial scale: For example, the United Nations last month estimated that IS has forced some 1,500 women, teenage girls, and boys into sexual slavery. Amnesty International released a blistering document noting that IS abducts whole families in northern Iraq for sexual assault and worse. Even in the first few days following the fall of Mosul in June, women's rights activists reported multiple incidents of IS fighters going door to door, kidnapping and raping Mosul's women.

IS claims to be a religious organization, dedicated to re-establishing the caliphate and enforcing codes of modesty and behavior from the time of Muhammad and his followers. But this is rape, not religious conservatism. IS may dress up its sexual violence in religious justifications, saying its victims violated Islamic law, or were infidels, but their leaders are not fools. This is just another form of warfare.

Why isn't this crime against humanity getting more consistent attention in the West? It seems this society-destroying mass sexual violence is merely part of the laundry list for decrying IS behavior. Compare this to IS's recent spate of execution videos, and the industrial scale of the group's sexual assaults seems to fade into the background. Rarely do they seem to be the focal point of politicians' remarks, intelligence assessments, or justification for counterterrorism actions against the group. In his Sept. 10 speech laying out his plan for fighting IS, President Obama devoted just eight words to the issue: "They enslave, rape, and force women into marriage."

We both worked as CIA analysts focused on Iraq's insurgency and counterterrorism during much of the war. We lived and breathed the Iraq conflict for years, yet we don't recall reading internal or external intelligence products that exclusively focused upon the sexual violence that occurred in Iraq during that time, despite evidence that it was rampant as an instrument of war during the vicious sectarian reprisals of the mid-2000s.

Nor do we remember attempts to track this type of violence in the same way other types of attacks were tracked. We even asked some of our former and current CIA colleagues and they couldn't recall seeing anything specific either. While these memories are admittedly anecdotal, it suggests that there did not seem to be a particular focus on this topic. And that seems to be equally true right now...

More.

The Making of a Conservative Superstar

It's a Tom Cotton profile, from Molly Ball, at the Atlantic.

Democrats Have Lost Confidence in Butt-Ugly Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Man, this disgusting battle-axe getting canned is going to make my political year.

At Politico, "Democrats turn on Debbie Wasserman Schultz" (via Memeorandum).

A truly vile piece of human refuse:

Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz is in a behind-the-scenes struggle with the White House, congressional Democrats and Washington insiders who have lost confidence in her as both a unifying leader and reliable party spokesperson at a time when they need her most.

Long-simmering doubts about her have reached a peak after two recent public flubs: criticizing the White House’s handling of the border crisis and comparing the tea party to wife beaters.

The perception of critics is that Wasserman Schultz spends more energy tending to her own political ambitions than helping Democrats win. This includes using meetings with DNC donors to solicit contributions for her own PAC and campaign committee, traveling to uncompetitive districts to court House colleagues for her potential leadership bid and having DNC-paid staff focus on her personal political agenda.

She’s become a liability to the DNC, and even to her own prospects, critics say.

“I guess the best way to describe it is, it’s not that she’s losing a duel anywhere, it’s that she seems to keep shooting herself in the foot before she even gets the gun out of the holster,” said John Morgan, a major donor in Wasserman Schultz’s home state of Florida.

The stakes are high. Wasserman Schultz is a high-profile national figure who helped raise millions of dollars and served as a Democratic messenger to female voters during a presidential election in which Obama needed to exploit the gender gap to win, but November’s already difficult midterms are looming.

One example that sources point to as particularly troubling: Wasserman Schultz repeatedly trying to get the DNC to cover the costs of her wardrobe.

In 2012, Wasserman Schultz attempted to get the DNC to pay for her clothing at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, multiple sources say, but was blocked by staff in the committee’s Capitol Hill headquarters and at President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign headquarters in Chicago.

She asked again around Obama’s inauguration in 2013, pushing so hard that Obama senior adviser — and one-time Wasserman Schultz booster — Valerie Jarrett had to call her directly to get her to stop. (Jarrett said she does not recall that conversation.) One more time, according to independent sources with direct knowledge of the conversations, she tried again, asking for the DNC to buy clothing for the 2013 White House Correspondents’ Dinner.?

Wasserman Schultz denies that she ever tried to get the DNC to pick up her clothing tab. “I think that would be a totally inappropriate use of DNC funds,” she said in a statement. “I never asked someone to do that for me, I would hope that no one would seek that on my behalf, and I’m not aware that anyone did.”

Tracie Pough, Wasserman Schultz’s chief of staff at the DNC and her congressional office, was also involved in making inquiries about buying the clothing, according to sources. Pough denies making, directing or being aware of any inquiries.

But sources with knowledge of the discussions say Wasserman Schultz’s efforts couldn’t have been clearer. “She felt firmly that it should happen,” said a then-DNC staffer of the clothing request. “Even after it was explained that it couldn’t, she remained indignant.”

This story is based on interviews with three dozen current and former DNC staffers, committee officers, elected officials, state party leaders and top Democratic operatives in Washington and across the country.

Many expect a nascent Clinton campaign will engineer her ouster. Hurt feelings go back to spring 2008, when while serving as a co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, Wasserman Schultz secretly reached out to the Obama campaign to pledge her support once the primary was over, sources say.

Meanwhile, the Obama team was so serious about replacing her after 2012 that they found a replacement candidate to back before deciding against it, according to people familiar with those discussions.

Obama and Wasserman Schultz have rarely even talked since 2011. They don’t meet about strategy or messaging. They don’t talk much on the phone.

Instead, the DNC chair stakes out the president of the United States at the end of photo lines at events and fundraisers.

“You need another picture, Debbie?” Obama tends to say, according to people who’ve been there for the encounters.

Chairing the DNC should be a political stepping stone — Ed Rendell, Terry McAuliffe and Tim Kaine all went onto bigger things, and even Howard Dean used the post to rehabilitate himself from the man who yelped his way out of a presidential campaign.

And without a doubt, the Florida congresswoman has had plenty of successes. She has overseen the integration of key elements of the Obama campaigns, including its voter file and data programs. After being left with $25 million in bills from the Obama campaign, the DNC enters the fall with the debt cleared and over $7 million on hand. She’s started new efforts to build relationships with labor and small business leaders and prioritized the DNC’s outreach to women voters.

“My tenure here is not about me,” Wasserman Schultz said in an interview with POLITICO at DNC headquarters. “I like to help build this party. That’s what I love and that’s what I focused on.”

She rejects the idea she is over-extended.

“I have always taken on a lot. It’s what I love to do. I don’t do anything half way,” she said, dismissing any worries that she’s overextended. “In some cases, it’s sniping, in other cases people are worried about me. I have a lot of Jewish mothers out there that I think very kindly say, ‘My god, she’s doing so much.’ It’s OK.”

More.

Saint Lucia-Based Flogg Blog Taken Down by Google

Well, Google's taken down individual blog posts at American Power. I won't be surprised if they take down my whole damn blog for some bogus "violation" of the terms of service (no doubt after complaints from leftist totalitarians).

And the Flogg Blog? Must have pissed someone off royally.

At Blazing Cat Fur, "Was a popular Saint Lucia blog taken down by Google hateful or just outspoken?"

And at Flogg Blog, "WHO SHUT DOWN THE FLOGG BLOG? A PRELIMINARY REPORT ON A CONTINUING INVESTIGATION."

Lovely Joey Fisher in Tight Jeans and Top

A lovely lady.

At Egotastic!, "Humpday Huzzah! Joey Fisher Strips Down to Bra and Jeans in Bodacious Photoshoot."

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.