Poll: Three in Four Americans Don't Trust Obama's 'No Ground Troops' Pledge in Fight Against #ISIS

Well, no surprise.

It's all lies all the time from this White House. Indeed, if and when Obama does commit ground troops he'll try to weasel his way out of the "no ground troops" pledge he's made numerous times (remember how he weaseled on his "red line" on Syria's chemical weapons use?). We've seen him do it dozens of times. Just wait for it, the freakin' dirtbag.

At the new Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Annenberg survey, at WSJ, "Poll Shows Americans Expect U.S. to Send Troops to Fight Islamic State":

Nearly three-quarters of Americans don’t believe President Barack Obama’s assertion that the country won’t use ground troops to fight the militant group Islamic State in Iraq or Syria, the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Annenberg survey finds.

The poll shows a substantial lack of trust in Mr. Obama’s repeated assertions that American military efforts will be limited to airstrikes and other efforts that don’t include ground troops. Some 72% of registered voters surveyed said U.S. ground troops eventually will be deployed against Islamic State’s fighters. Only 20% said they believe the U.S. won’t end up using military ground forces.

The Obama administration has cautioned that the battle against Islamic State won’t be won quickly. It has said it will proceed with an international coalition and that the U.S. won’t  commit ground troops to combat.

“I want to be clear: The American forces that have been deployed to Iraq do not and won’t have a combat mission,” Mr. Obama said Sept. 17. “As your commander in chief, I won’t commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in Iraq.”

Ironically, if he'd just tell the truth he'd have the support of the American people for his anti-terror policy. As it is fully 45 percent of Americans now support ground troops "if military officials determined it was the 'best way to defeat the ISIS army'." Imagine how high that number would go if Obama evinced some real presidential leadership on these issues.

Still more at the link.

Brace yourself for more Obama-Democrat lies in the meanwhile.

PHOTO CREDIT: The White House Flickr page, "President Barack Obama meets with his national security advisors concerning the situation in Iraq, in the Situation Room of the White House, Sunday, July 27, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)."

The 'B-Word' Embargo

Well, most assailants are people of color, and of course plenty of them are black, but to mention the race of the perp is racism!

Mad Jewess Woman, Expose Liberals and a few others never hesitate to publicize the race of these criminals, mainly because everyone else refuses to.

And now here comes Jazz Shaw, at Hot Air, as if this is something new, "The media embargo on “the B word”."

It's not like there's a shortage of examples, or anything.

At the Other McCain, for instance, "Arrest in Hannah Graham Case."

A suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham was found on a Texas beach & is now in custody http://t.co/IJsqXi3y9W pic.twitter.com/9PGdvN5FQe

— CNN (@CNN) September 25, 2014

Police offer $100,000 reward for information on missing student Hannah Graham http://t.co/tc20ms5RHa

— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) September 27, 2014

George Clooney Marries Amal Alamuddin

Well, I've enjoyed George Clooney is some of his films, but man, he had to go and marry this BDS shill.

Background at Washington Free Beacon, "George Clooney’s Anti-Israel Fiancée Appointed to U.N. Gaza Probe."

And at the Times of Israel, "Actor Clooney weds human rights lawyer."

Mavi Marmara 'Peace Activist' Killed in U.S. Airstrike in Syria

Lolz.

Karmic justice, at Israel Matzav, "'Peaceful' Mavi Marmara activist killed fighting for al-Qaeda in Syria."

Sabine Jemeljanova 2015 Calendar

Hey, pre-order here, if that's your thing, lol.

She's lovely, especially without makeup.

FLASHBACK: "Sabine Jemeljanova #Rule5."

Monrovia's Vinyl Technology Inc. Fires 240 Illegals After ICE Crackdown: Open-Borders Shills Decry 'No Justice, No Humanity'

You know, maybe Vinyl Technology Inc. shouldn't have employed hundreds of illegals? Or, maybe the border jumpers shouldn't have broken U.S. laws through illegal immigration?

But no. It's a racist "silent raid" to enforce U.S. immigration laws. Man, so pathetic.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Monrovia defense workers say they were forced out after ICE audit":

When Raymundo Lazaro showed up for a shift last week at Vinyl Technology Inc., a Monrovia defense contractor that has employed him for the last 18 years, his boss took him aside.

Lazaro, an immigrant from Mexico who came to the country illegally 23 years ago, was told he didn’t have paperwork showing he was authorized to work in the United States. Fix it immediately, Lazaro said the boss told him, or sign a letter of resignation.

Lazaro, who had been using falsified employment eligibility documents, had no choice but to quit. “I did my best every single day,” he said Thursday. “And like that they called me in and gave me the boom.”

He is one of 240 immigrant workers at the company who have been pressured to sign resignation letters in recent weeks amid a federal audit of the company’s hiring practices, according to former employees of the company and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, an immigrant advocacy group.

At a news conference Thursday at CHIRLA's headquarters, the workers called on the federal government to stop such investigations into workers' eligibility while President Obama weighs major changes to federal immigration policy.Obama promised in June to take executive action on immigration that many hope will allow millions of people in the country illegally to stay in the United States and legally work.

The president recently announced he will not take any such action until after the November election."There’s no mercy, no justice, no humanity in the implementation of our broken immigration laws,” said Xiomara Corpeno, CHIRLA's director of community education and outreach, who described the federal investigations of companies as "silent raids."Since Obama came to office in 2009, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has changed its approach to cracking down on companies that employ workers lacking authorization. Gone are the dramatic early-morning raids on factories and warehouses that were a hallmark of the presidency of George W. Bush, when armed agents routinely detained hundreds of workers, many of whom were eventually deported.

Now the agency conducts quiet audits of employees' I-9 documents at companies believed to have hired unauthorized workers, with the emphasis on the employer's violations, not the immigrant's.

Arrests of workers have fallen as the amount of fines the agency has collected from employers has risen.

Overall, the number of workplace investigations initiated by ICE fell dramatically in the last year, from 3,903 in the 2013 fiscal year to just 1,963 in the 2014 fiscal year, which ends next month.

The decrease can be attributed to budget cuts at the agency, according to an ICE official who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for stricter enforcement of immigration laws, said ICE is being too soft on immigrants here without permission and the companies that employ them.

"Audits are an important, but you need to also have work-site arrests," he said, adding that companies that employ unauthorized workers take jobs away from Americans.

"There’s an enormous supply of American workers who are not only unemployed but who have dropped out of the labor market all together," Krikorian said. "The idea that there’s not enough bodies to do the work here is laughable."

David Weinberger, Too Big to Know: Rethinking Knowledge Now That the Facts Aren't the Facts, Experts Are Everywhere, and the Smartest Person in the Room Is the Room

I attended the iFalcon Student Success Conference at Cerritos College the Friday before last, and organizers gave away copies of David Weinberger's Too Big to Know.

A great read. Grab a copy on Amazon.

Derek Jeter Hits RBI Single for His Last at Bat

An infield single, at Fenway Park, broadcast on TBS.

Derek Jeter hits an RBI single in his final at-bat! #FarewellCaptain

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 28, 2014

The Captain says goodbye to baseball and is replaced by a pinch-runner in the 3rd. #FarewellCaptain pic.twitter.com/6uN4pNQcqn

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 28, 2014

Farewell, Captain. The final at-bat: http://t.co/WdqFkhlzKc #RE2PECT pic.twitter.com/LEdEey0tCh

— MLB (@MLB) September 28, 2014

And at the New York Times, "With His Words and Deeds, Derek Jeter Never Entered Foul Territory."

'The war on terror is not over...'

Bob Schieffer continues to sound like someone with old-fashioned common sense, and he's generally a lefty, heh.

France's Cultural Protectionism Blocks Netflix's Global Reach

At the Los Angeles Times, "Netflix struggles to win over skeptics in film-loving France":

As Netflix has spread its video streaming services around the globe, the company's been met with curiosity, skepticism and, at times, indifference.

But none of the Silicon Valley giant's adventures abroad generated the mix of fear and anxiety that it has stirred in film-loving France before its launch this month.

In a country of proud cinephiles, Netflix has been bashed by national politicians, vilified by cultural leaders and brushed off by potential broadcast partners who have instead beefed up their own competitive video offerings. These groups worry that Netflix will undermine the complex system created by broadcasters and the government to protect a French film industry that is central to the country's identity, and a significant part of its economy.

As the headline in Le Monde put it on the eve of Netflix's launch in France: "Let the Carnage Begin."

Aware of how it is being perceived, Netflix spent months wooing the French, both in public and behind the scenes. The stakes for the company are high.

Netflix is increasingly dependent on international markets for growth, analysts note, and France is one of the largest countries left to conquer. Yet appealing to local consumers is costly, and the company is promising big investments to acquire and produce local content. To ease cultural fears, executives have tried to make the case that the company will expand consumer choice and film production.

For now, though, the French are skeptical.

"We want to say welcome to Netflix," said Dante Desarthe, co-chairman of France's Guild of Authors, Directors and Producers. "But we want them to be respectful of the rules we have created here in France to protect our cinema."

More.

Paul Konerko Is Retiring

Where do the years go, man?

Seems like just the other day I was watching Dodger games with Paul Konerko, but that was back in 1997-98.

At USA Today, "White Sox honor retiring Paul Konerko with statue."

And at the Chicago Tribune, "Paul Konerko video a fitting farewell to White Sox."

Plus, video's from last night's game, at MLB, "Konerko exits during 7th to huge ovation," and "Konerko thanks the fans in Chicago."

A Close-Up View of Islamic State's War Machine

At Business Week, "How Islamic State Wages War."

Some ISIS fighters all all hopped up on drugs.

Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher!

Hey, you gotta love it, no matter what you think of this tasteless prick. At RCP, "'Maher Rips Liberals Over Islam: "If We're Giving No Quarter to Intolerance, Shouldn't We Start With [Beheaders and] Honor Killers?'"

Hat Tip: Glenn Reynolds, "The thing to remember is that talk of tolerance and diversity is mostly just a political weapon for white people to use against other white people. It’s not about actually helping anyone."

Hey Walter James Casper, Are You Going to Attack Dr. Zuhdi Jasser as a Racist Bigot and 'Right Wing' Islamophobe?

I met Dr. Zuhdi Jasser at the David Horowitz West Coast Retreat a few years back. He's a really nice man. And he's Muslim.

And like Judge Jeanine Pirro, he must have missed the memo about not "jumping to conclusions" about the Oklahoma beheading.

Indeed, Walter James Casper III, are you going to attack Dr. Jasser as a racist bigot and hateful "right wing" Islamophobe? I doubt that's going to work too well on this guy.

Stop the political correctness and defeat the violent ideology of Islamic jihad:



PREVIOUSLY: "#OKBeheading Suspect Screamed 'Islamic Phrases' During Attack, Posted #ISIS Hand-Sign Photos to Facebook, But Repsac3 Smears 'Right Wingers' for 'Bigotry'," and "Wait for It! Repsac3 on #OKBeheading: Attacking Islam Just Because the Suspect Tried to Convert Coworkers is Racist!!"

Judge Jeanine on Fire! Stop the Charades! It's Us Against Islamic Jihad!

Wow!

I guess Judge Jeanine missed the "don't jump to conclusions" memo, lol!

Democracy Requires a Patriotic Education

From Donald Kagan, at the Wall Street Journal:

These values [of honor and democratic merit, of civic participation and self-sacrifice for community] have not disappeared, but in our own time they have been severely challenged. With the shock of the 9/11 terror attacks, most Americans reacted by clearly and powerfully supporting their government's determination to use military force to stop such attacks and to prevent future ones. Most Americans also expressed a new unity, an explicit patriotism and love of their country not seen among us for a very long time.

That is not what we saw and heard from the faculties on most elite campuses in the country, and certainly not from the overwhelming majority of people designated as "intellectuals" who spoke up in public. They offered any and all explanations, so long as they indicated that the attackers were really victims, that the fault really rested with the United States.

As most of us have come to know too well, the terrorists of al Qaeda and other jihadists regard America as "the great Satan" and hate the U.S. not only because its power stands in the way of the achievement of their Islamist vision, but also because its free, open, democratic, tolerant, liberal and prosperous society is a powerful competitor for the allegiance of millions of Muslims around the world. No change of American policy, no retreat from the world, no repentance or increase of modesty can change these things.

Yet many members of the intelligentsia decried the outburst of patriotism that greeted the new assault on America. The critics were exemplified by author Katha Pollitt, who wrote in the Oct. 1, 2001, edition of the Nation about her daughter wanting to fly the American flag outside their window after 9/11. "Definitely not," Ms. Pollitt replied. "The flag stands for jingoism and vengeance and war."

Such ideas still have a wide currency, reflecting a serious flaw in American education that should especially concern those of us who take some part in it. The encouragement of patriotism is no longer a part of our public educational system, and the cost of that omission has made itself felt. This would have alarmed and dismayed the founders of our country.

Jefferson meant American education to produce a necessary patriotism. Democracy—of all political systems, because it depends on the participation of its citizens in their own government and because it depends on their own free will to risk their lives in its defense—stands in the greatest need of an education that produces patriotism.

I recognize that I have said something shocking. The past half-century has seen a sharp turn away from what had been traditional attitudes toward the purposes and functions of education. Our schools have retreated from the idea of moral education, except for some attempts at what is called "values clarification," which is generally a cloak for moral relativism verging on nihilism of the sort that asserts that whatever feels good is good.

Even more vigorously have the schools fled from the idea of encouraging patriotism. In the intellectual climate of our time, the very suggestion brings contemptuous sneers or outrage, depending on the listener's mood. There is no end of quoting Samuel Johnson's famous remark that "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel," but no recollection of Boswell's explanation that Johnson "did not mean a real and generous love for our country, but that pretended patriotism which so many, in all ages and countries, have made a cloak for self-interest."

More.

Obama in George W. Bush Flight Suit on the Cover of The Economist

And the White House isn't pleased, via the Washington Times, "White House pans ‘unfair’ magazine cover with Obama in Bush’s flight suit."

Well, O's entire political skit has been the "anti-Bush," so no surprise they're no whining about being compared to a real president. It makes the Democrats look wrong, to say nothing of stupid and deceitful.

In any case, here's the Economist, "America and Islamic State: Mission Relaunched":

FOR more than three years, Barack Obama has been trying to avoid getting into a fight in Syria. But this week, with great tracts of the Middle East under the jihadist’s knife, he at last faced up to the inevitable. On September 23rd America led air strikes in Syria against both the warriors of Islamic State (IS) and a little-known al-Qaeda cell, called the Khorasan group, which it claimed was about to attack the West. A president who has always seen his main mission as nation-building at home is now using military force in six countries—Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.

The Syrian operation is an essential counterpart to America’s attacks against IS in Iraq. Preventing the group from carving out a caliphate means, at the very least, ensuring that neither of these two countries affords it a haven (see article). But more than the future of IS is at stake in the streets of Raqqa and Mosul. Mr Obama’s attempt to deal with the jihadists is also a test of America’s commitment to global security. It is a test that he has been failing until now.

IS et al

The sense that America is locked in relative decline has been growing in recent years, as it has languished under the shadow of the financial crisis and two long, difficult wars. Why should a newly rich country like China take lectures about how to run its affairs from a president who struggles even to get his own budget through? America, meanwhile, seems swamped by the forces of disorder, either unable or unwilling to steady a world that is spinning out of control. IS embodies this frightening trend. It is, in the jargon, a non-state actor, and it thrives on chaos. With each new humiliation of the governments in Iraq and Syria, it has accumulated more wealth, territory and recruits.

Its rise has also reflected American policy. First, the poorly thought-out intervention of George W. Bush, typified by the rash “Mission Accomplished” banner that greeted him on the USS Abraham Lincoln in May 2003 after his invasion of Iraq. Then Mr Obama’s studious inaction. When Syrians rose up against the regime of Bashar Assad, the president stood back in the hope that things would sort themselves out—leaving Mr Assad free to commit atrocities against his own people. Even when Mr Assad crossed “the red line” of using chemical weapons, the superpower did not punish him. About 200,000 Syrians have died and 10m have been driven from their homes. Denied early American support, the moderate Syrian opposition has fragmented, leaving the field to the ruthless and well-organised IS.

Standing back has not worked well elsewhere in the world, either. Mr Obama has spoken about the limits to American power—exhorting other governments with a stake in today’s system to do their bit to keep the world safe. He wanted the United States to be seen less as a unilateral bully, more as the leader of world opinion. Yet when America stepped back, its allies stepped back, too. The countries that most eagerly came forward were its rivals, such as Russia and China.

IS has induced a change of heart among the American people. Before vicious extremists seized the city of Mosul and began to cut off Western heads on social media, Americans doubted the merit of further military action in the Middle East. When they realised that IS threatened them directly, they began to demand protection. Mr Obama therefore has a chance not just to strike a blow for order in the Middle East, but also to give the declinists pause.

From axis of evil to network of death

He has brute force on his side. The disastrous mismanagement of post-invasion Iraq has tended to eclipse the overwhelming potency of American firepower at the beginning. In six short weeks in the spring of 2003 America and its allies defeated the 375,000 troops of Saddam Hussein with the loss of only 138 American lives. Never in history has a single country had such military dominance. It has not suddenly evaporated.

The bigger question is whether Mr Obama can carry off delicate diplomacy. The lesson from Iraq and Afghanistan is that firepower alone will not prevail. Indeed, if America comes to be seen by Sunni Arabs as nothing more than a Shia air force, strikes will only bind IS to the local people.

If he is to win the argument in Iraq and Syria, Mr Obama needs coalitions and partnerships. For that he must get the diplomacy right. So far he has done well. He insisted on the replacement of Nuri al-Maliki, the Shia-chauvinist former prime minister of Iraq, with Haider al-Abadi, who is making efforts to bring Sunnis into government. He sent John Kerry, his secretary of state, to recruit regional Sunni powers such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan, to try to persuade Sunnis in Iraq and Syria that he is not taking sides against their branch of Islam. America has argued to the United Nations that its intervention—requested by Iraq but not Syria—is legal under Article 51 of the UN’s charter. Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, appears to have accepted that argument; so should Britain’s Parliament, which will vote on whether to help America.

There is much more for Mr Obama to do...

More.

And remember, the Economist is hardly alone in this analogy. See earlier, "Foreign Policy Editor David Rothkopf Hammers Obama's Foreign Policy: Says Barack Should Take a Page from George W. Bush's Second Term."

Eric Holder: A Legacy of Race-Based Radicalism

From Matthew Vadum, at FrontPage Magazine:

The most racist, polarizing Atty Gen. is gone. His replacement will be no better because that's the way Barack wants it. And Sharpton.

— David Horowitz (@horowitz39) September 26, 2014

Attorney General Eric Holder is at long last relinquishing his cabinet post after nearly six unprecedented, catastrophic years of racial demagoguery and gangsterism.

Holder, who announced yesterday that he will leave office when a replacement is selected, will leave behind what is probably the most ugly and toxic legacy of any attorney general ever in the history of the republic.

Although he has all the moral authority of disbarred Duke Lacrosse prosecutor Mike Nifong, Holder knows he is immune to criticism because he is black and a radical leftist. He is a protected, pampered member of the ruling class and his arrogance knows no bounds. He ignores court orders and gives congressional overseers the finger.

Holder has transformed the U.S. Department of Justice into a racial grievance incubator, an intensive care unit for kooky, authoritarian ideas that should have died after the 1960s. The DoJ, especially its rotten, totally corrupt Civil Rights Division, is a lawyerly commune for revolutionaries who oppose the very idea of the rule of law. Critical Legal Theory and Critical Race Theory govern much of what goes on in the department.

It is no exaggeration to say that Holder leaves death and destruction behind after saturation-bombing the Constitution, orchestrating criminal activity in order to whip up public support for policy changes, fomenting racial tension and violence, persecuting political opponents and disfavored industries, obstructing justice, and enforcing laws arbitrarily and capriciously and in a manner calculated to benefit his friends and allies.

More.

Mini Cooper S Is a Nifty 'Personality' Car

I can see my son driving a Mini Cooper.

Reviewed by Dan Neil, at the Wall Street Journal:

THE PERSON WHO DRIVES this car is fun at parties, hot in the boudoirs, dangerous with firearms. No, not the chandelier!

You want one of these people at your weekend corporate retreat. But only one, I think.

Mini owners, right? It's a thing. And like the hilarious office mate you can't turn off, a fully optioned Mini Cooper S can be just a tick more fun than is strictly bearable on a day-to-day basis. Maybe you're not in a day-glo checkerboard mood, you know?

"That's your problem, Debbie Downer," this car says, shaking its maracas at me. "Turn that frown upside down!"

Fine.

Redesigned and re-engineered for the 2014 model year, the Mini Cooper S Hardtop (three-door compact) pretty much owns cuteness in the comparative set of midprice personality/performance. Let's meet our bachelors: VW Golf GTI, Ford Focus ST, Hyundai Genesis Coupe, Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ, Ford Mustang. These cars' transaction points hover around $30,000 and they are all powered by turbo'ed, free-spooling four-bangers (excepting the Subaru/Toyota twins, which are naturally aspirated). Some are front-wheel drive, some rear drive, with two doors or four, but they all sell handling finesse more than blazing horsepower, styling charisma more than raw sex appeal...

And at Mini, "INTRODUCING THE NEW MINI. NOW WITH 5 DOORS."

The 'Bro Hug' Has Become the Default Greeting, Especially Among the Morally Decrepit, Faux-Hip Democrat-Left

I'm not so much into the "bro hug." And I'm especially not into it if I'm going to be bro-hugging some skanky unwashed Democrat-leftists.

At NYT:

Circa Now: The Bro Hug: Embracing a Change in Custom http://t.co/T23hevRFzY

— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 27, 2014

F/A-18 Hornets and EA-6B Prowlers in Action Off the Aircraft Carrier USS George H.W. Bush

From the U.S. Navy on YouTube:

ARABIAN GULF (Sept. 26, 2014) F/A-18 Hornets and EA-6B Prowlers return to and launch from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) in support of strike, surveillance and reconnaissance missions over Iraq. These missions help increase U.S. capacity to target ISIL, and coordinate the activities of the U.S. military across Iraq and into Syria.

Emily Ratajkowski on the Red Carpet for New York Premiere of 'Gone Girl'

She's fabulous.

At London's Daily Mail, "She's red hot! Emily Ratajkowski sizzles in slinky off-the-shoulder crimson gown at Gone Girl premiere."

The beautiful @emrata looks stunning on the #GoneGirl red carpet at #NYFF. pic.twitter.com/r6cWo1aAHp

— Gone Girl (@GoneGirlMovie) September 26, 2014

What Was I Saying About the 'Khorasan Group'?

You have to stay a couple of steps before the Obama administration hacks, because it's all bullshit all the time.

I called out the White House disinformation on this fake "Khorasan group" a couple of days back, "Why is al-Nusra Front Being Relabeled as 'Khorasan'?"

And now here comes Andrew McCarthy, at National Review, "The Khorosan Group Does Not Exist" (via Memeorandum):

There is a reason that no one had heard of such a group until a nanosecond ago, when the “Khorosan Group” suddenly went from anonymity to the “imminent threat” that became the rationale for an emergency air war there was supposedly no time to ask Congress to authorize.

You haven’t heard of the Khorosan Group because there isn’t one. It is a name the administration came up with, calculating that Khorosan — the –Iranian–​Afghan border region — had sufficient connection to jihadist lore that no one would call the president on it.

The “Khorosan Group” is al-Qaeda. It is simply a faction within the global terror network’s Syrian franchise, “Jabhat al-Nusra.” Its leader, Mushin al-Fadhli (believed to have been killed in this week’s U.S.-led air strikes), was an intimate of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the emir of al-Qaeda who dispatched him to the jihad in Syria. Except that if you listen to administration officials long enough, you come away thinking that Zawahiri is not really al-Qaeda, either. Instead, he’s something the administration is at pains to call “core al-Qaeda.”

“Core al-Qaeda,” you are to understand, is different from “Jabhat al-Nusra,” which in turn is distinct from “al-Qaeda in Iraq” (formerly “al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia,” now the “Islamic State” al-Qaeda spin-off that is, itself, formerly “al-Qaeda in Iraq and al-Sham” or “al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Levant”). That al-Qaeda, don’t you know, is a different outfit from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula . . . which, of course, should never be mistaken for “al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb,” “Boko Haram,” “Ansar al-Sharia,” or the latest entry, “al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent.”

Coming soon, “al-Qaeda on Hollywood and Vine.” In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if, come 2015, Obama issued an executive order decreeing twelve new jihad jayvees stretching from al-Qaeda in January through al-Qaeda in December.

Except you’ll hear only about the jayvees, not the jihad. You see, there is a purpose behind this dizzying proliferation of names assigned to what, in reality, is a global network with multiple tentacles and occasional internecine rivalries.

As these columns have long contended, Obama has not quelled our enemies; he has miniaturized them. The jihad and the sharia supremacism that fuels it form the glue that unites the parts into a whole — a worldwide, ideologically connected movement rooted in Islamic scripture that can project power on the scale of a nation-state and that seeks to conquer the West. The president does not want us to see the threat this way.

Mind-boggling lies and disinformation, but again, it pays to stay ahead of these f-kers. It's all politics. It's never about keeping people safe. And for that I can never forgive the Democrats. They're not Americans. They're anti-Americans.

The Jihad Origins of the Oklahoma Beheader’s Hamas-Mosque

What? The beheader attended a mosque? No way!

And the jihad origins of the Oklahoma beheading? Impossible!

You're racist if you jump to conclusions! And if you're Pamela Geller, you're the most racist of them all times infinity!!

At Atlas Shrugs, "EXCLUSIVE: The Jihad Origins of the Oklahoma Beheader’s Hamas-Mosque."

More at Big Peace, "Oklahoma Beheader Linked to Al Qaeda Leader Awlaki, Boston Bomber's Mosque." (Via Memeorandum.)

U.S. Expands International Coalition Against #ISIS

A report at CBS News:



And also at the Los Angeles Times, "Britain, Belgium and Denmark join coalition fighting Islamic State."

Glenn Reynolds Interviews Joel Kotkin, Author of The New Class Conflict

I've got a lot of books stacked up, but no doubt I'll be getting to Kotkin's soon.

Buy it at Amazon, The New Class Conflict.

And watch this great interview, via Instapundit:

Lily Aldridge, Karlie Kloss, Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio

They love to shop, heh.



And the fashion show airs December 9th. Tune in at American Power for all your Victoria's Secret coverage!

The #VSFashionShow will air on December 9th on CBS. GET EXCITED NOW. pic.twitter.com/vxzWOlTGXY

— Victoria's Secret (@VictoriasSecret) September 17, 2014

#OKBeheading Suspect Screamed 'Islamic Phrases' During Attack, Posted #ISIS Hand-Sign Photos to Facebook, But Repsac3 Smears 'Right Wingers' for 'Bigotry'

Following-up from yesterday, "Wait for It! Repsac3 on #OKBeheading: Attacking Islam Just Because the Suspect Tried to Convert Coworkers is Racist!!"

No surprise, but Walter James Casper III is doubling-down on his ideological hatred:

Bigotry is starting with the premise that "Muslims are evil," and viewing every case involving Muslims through that distorted lens.
— W. James Casper (@repsac3) September 27, 2014

Problem is, it's not "jumping to conclusions" when mainstream media sources report that the suspect screamed Islamic exhortations before the beheading (most likely "Allāhu Akbar!"). I mean, seriously. The suspect was proselytizing, according to coworkers. His actions were clearly religiously motivated:

Vaughn foods Co-worker who witnessed murder tells #news9 Murder suspect Alton Nolen was shouting Islamic phrases. FBI investigating
— Robin Marsh KWTV-9 (@robinmarsh9) September 26, 2014

And at the suspect's Facebook page, photos posted there express solidarity with the Islamic State, and then some:

@DelGirlsHoops @proadstudio @maysoonzayid @NY_Patricia #OK Beheaders Facebook page https://t.co/wb2CqbekZl pic.twitter.com/UENUhq8GTD
— RiWired (@riwired) September 27, 2014

So, no. No one's "jumping to conclusions." It's patently obvious that he murdered in the name of Islam.

Actually, it's Repsac3 who's a proven bigot and a racist --- something I've documented here for a long time. Walter James Casper is an epic hater and liar. His own tweets are self-refuting and utterly depraved, outside the bounds of basic decency. Man.

Leftists Sour on Obama

Well, not all leftists have soured on him. Some idiot progs will take their dying breath defending this epic fail of a presidency.

But O's hardcore support has definitely been eroding, especially among young people and moderate- to middle-class income Americans.

At the Hill, "Liberal base sours on Obama."

Megyn Kelly: Oklahoma Beheading Suspect Alton Nolen Shouted Islamic Phrases During Attack

Yes, but we wouldn't want jump to conclusions, because racism!!

At Truth Revolt, "Megyn Kelly: Suspect Nolen Shouted Islamic Phrases During Attack - Workplace. Violence."



And ICYMI, "Alton Nolen 'wasn’t just mildly Islamic in the nothing-to-do-with-terrorism sense, he was super-Islamic in the really-totally-no-terrorism-to-see-here sense...'"

Alton Nolen 'wasn’t just mildly Islamic in the nothing-to-do-with-terrorism sense, he was super-Islamic in the really-totally-no-terrorism-to-see-here sense...'

From Mark Steyn, "Winning Heads and Minds":

Colleen Hufford was born in 1960. Life is full of grim twists and cruel vicissitudes, but in mid-20th century America it would not have occurred to anyone that one needed to worry about going to work and being beheaded by a colleague. Yet that's what happened to Ms Hufford on Thursday: She turned up for her job at at the Vaughan Foods food processing plant in Moore, and Alton Alexander Nolen decapitated her.

Why would he do that? Well, as the initial reports were at pains to assure us, it's nothing to do with terrorism. That's true, in the sense that Mr Nolen is not a card-carrying member of an officially credentialed state-recognized terrorism-provider such as ISIS or al-Qaeda. It's true in the sense that he's not on any official US Department of Homeland Security terror watch list, because, under the geniuses running American national security, that honor is reserved for my fellow Hillsdale cruiser Steve Hayes. And, of course, it's also true in the sense that Mr Nolen is a recent convert to Islam and, as David Cameron and Barack Obama and many others are ever more eager to emphasize, terrorism is nothing to do with Islam. Mr Nolen had the Muslim greeting "As-salamu Alaikum" - "Peace be upon you" - tattooed upon his abdomen. And he'd tried, without success, to persuade his co-workers at Vaughan Foods to convert to Islam. So he wasn't just mildly Islamic in the nothing-to-do-with-terrorism sense, he was super-Islamic in the really-totally-no-terrorism-to-see-here sense.

So Colleen Hufford's death was, as Jim Hoft put it, just "a random workplace beheading". Indeed, many commenters at KOCO-TV seem more outraged by the mentioning of Mr Nolen's religion than by the beheading....

Judging from the various comments sections, many westerners are willing to live with a certain amount of decapitation rather than abandon the multiculti pieties. It is not a pleasant way to die, in part because it requires more expertise than you might think. A decade ago, a young lady in my employ emailed a backgrounder on the subject to me in my room at the Grand Hyatt in Amman the night before I set off on my motoring tour of Iraq. If you're lucky, your killer will insert the knife from the side, the sharp edge pointing to your front. One skilled thrust forward will cut the jugular, the carotid artery, the esophagus - and it will all be over in seconds. On the evidence of their social media videos, the ISIS boys are not that good: They go in from the front, blade facing backward, sawing back and forth for minutes on end. As I said in America Alone:

Writing about the collapse of nations such as Somalia, The Atlantic Monthly's Robert D Kaplan referred to the "citizens" of such "states" as "re-primitivized man". When lifelong Torontonians are hot for decapitation, when Yorkshiremen born and bred and into fish'n'chips and cricket and lousy English pop music self-detonate on the London Tube, it would seem that the phenomenon of "re-primitivized man" is being successfully exported around the planet.

More at Blazing Cat Fur, "‘SHARIA LAW IS COMING!!!!’ Oklahoma Beheader Celebrated Terrorists, Disparaged Non-Muslims On Facebook."

PREVIOUSLY: "Wait for It! Repsac3 on #OKBeheading: Attacking Islam Just Because the Suspect Tried to Convert Coworkers is Racist!!"

VIDEO: Lieutenant Betsy Randolph, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Wishes She'd Killed Alton Nolen in 2010

OMG racist!

At Twitchy, "‘I wish I’d have killed him': Oklahoma trooper recalls 2010 run-in with Alton Nolen."

Tressy Capps Receives Death Threats Over Mexican Flag Video

Tressy sent me the video when she first posted it to YouTube. I blogged it here, "'This Isn't Mexico ... This Is America...'"

Here's the report at FOX 11 News Los Angeles, "A Fontana city council candidate berated a stranger for flying a Mexican flag in her front yard."

Also at CBS News Los Angeles, "Woman Irate That Neighbor Is Flying Mexican Flag In Her Front Yard."

Also national media coverage, at Fox News, "California city council candidate receives death threats over Mexican flag flap."

Taking a position on an issue does not make me evil, racist or unethical if I disagree with your position. Make a mental note.

— Tressy Capps (@tlc2tweet) September 24, 2014

Frat Boys, Drunken Girls and Paternalism

A must-read from Virginia Postrel, at Bloomberg View (via Instapundit).

Well, @AmPowerBlog, give @carolineheldman credit for following #feminism to its logical conclusion, eh? http://t.co/5WMBmornLj @instapundit

— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) September 26, 2014

And Glenn writes:

Campus sex hysteria is an engineered moral panic. Its purpose is to justify targeting, punishing, and isolating the people the panic-engineers don’t like. Nothing that counters the chosen narrative, however sensible, can be tolerated. Because it’s not about helping women. It’s about demonizing and marginalizing men.

Let me be clear, as a great man likes to say: This is not a case of good intentions gone wrong. It is a case of bad intentions given free rein. Forbes should be ashamed to play the role of useful idiot here. But read the whole thing for Virginia’s somewhat more nuanced approach.

Word.

Wikipedia Is Now Trying to Eliminate The Federalist's Online Entry

Heh, so typical.

Read it all, at the Federalist.

Can't resist adding this part:

You don’t burn books because they’re irrelevant. You burn books because you’re terrified that they’re not. You don’t muzzle people who have no audience. You muzzle people only when their voices are amplified far beyond your liking. As the famous baseball player Reggie Jackson said, “Fans don’t boo nobodies.”

Heh, I guess I'm not not a "nobody" in the eyes of the tyrannical left, lol.

S.C. High School Apologizes for Forcing Students to Remove American Flags on 9/11

Lame.

And it South Carolina too, of all places.

At the Daily Signal.

High School Apologizes for Forcing Students to Remove American Flags on 9/11 - http://t.co/ajdD0tpDMs pic.twitter.com/PM0GZCELrS

— Heritage Foundation (@Heritage) September 26, 2014

Rachel McAdams Closes In On 'True Detective' Female Lead Role

Heh, she's so hot.

At Variety.

It looks like #TrueDetective has finally found its female lead in Rachel McAdams. http://t.co/kXw1xL8BBr pic.twitter.com/4ZQahoJxnX

— Variety (@Variety) September 26, 2014

Hat Tip: Wombat-socho, at the Other McCain, "LIVE AT FIVE: 09.26.14."

Storybook Ending to Derek Jeter's Storybook Career

I pretty much hate the Yankees, but you gotta give up for Jeter. The guy's an American icon.

At the Wall Street Journal, "Jeter the Hero in Final Game at Yankee Stadium: With Retirement Looming, Captain Singles Home the Game-Winning Run in Victory Over Orioles."



More at Sports Illustrated, "Derek Jeter hits walk-off single in final Yankee Stadium at-bat."

Also, at CBS This Morning, "Joe Torre on Derek Jeter's impact, next move."

Reports: Islamic State Planning Attacks on New York and Paris Subway Systems

Well, we wouldn't want to jump to any conclusions about Islamic State's intentions to destroy the U.S. homeland and maim and murder Americans. Nope, that'd be racist.

Here's Time, in any case, "ISIS Plotting Subway Attacks in New York City and Paris, Iraqi PM Says":

Militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) plan to attack the subway systems in New York and Paris, Iraq’s prime minister said Thursday, but U.S. security officials said they had no evidence to back up the claim.

Haider al-Abadi told reporters at the United Nations General Assembly that information obtained from militants captured in Iraq yielded “credible” intelligence that the Islamist group is plotting attacks in New York and Paris, Reuters reports. “They plan to have attacks in the metros of Paris and the U.S.,” Abadi said. “I asked for more credible information. I asked for names. I asked for details, for cities, you know, dates. And from the details I have received, yes, it looks credible.”

More.

And at AoSHQ, "Iraqi PM: We Have Information That IS is Plotting an Attack on the NYC and Paris Subway Systems."

Wait for It! Repsac3 on #OKBeheading: Attacking Islam Just Because the Suspect Tried to Convert Coworkers is Racist!!

Remember, according to Walter James Casper III, when American Muslims murder by beheading, it's never about Islam --- and to "rush" to the conclusion of honor killing or Islamic jihad is racist!!

Bwahaha! Recall the depraved Repsac3 a couple of weeks back:

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

And now idiot leftists are all over Twitter saying it's racist to "rush" to the conclusion that this is about Islam.

Bwahaha!! ~~> @ninoesco It's only "workplace violence." Islam is a religion of peace! ROFLMFAO!!! @AgnesClaire @TwitchyTeam @darleenclick
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) September 26, 2014

So, wait for it! PC-mongering Repsac3 will be attacking the "racist" right for "jumping" to conclusions "without the facts." Because racism lol!

American Jihad! Woman Beheaded in Oklahoma as Suspect Tried to Convert Coworkers to Islam (VIDEO)

At Gateway Pundit, "MUSLIM BEHEADS WOMAN in Oklahoma Food Plant – Tried to Convert Coworkers (Video)."



Also at Twitchy, "BREAKING: Woman beheaded in Oklahoma; Update: Assailant reportedly tried to convert co-workers to Islam; Update: FBI investigating, victims identified."

Added: From Darleen Click, at Protein Wisdom, "Woman beheaded — in OKLAHOMA: "“Workplace violence” to be declared in 3 … 2 … 1."

Also at Memeorandum.

Mary J. Blige 'One'

Some music until later tonight. I love this lady.

Bwahaha! Darleen Click Slams Walter James Casper's 'IslamoNazi Entitlement Syndrome'

Remember, for stalking hate-troll Walter James Casper III, to actually stand up against Islamic jihad --- you know, the people who are killing us --- is racism.

Darleen Click hammered terror-enabler Repsac3 on Twitter last week. Really, she just nails the "IslamoNazi" R-E-P-S-A-C.

@AmPowerBlog ROFL more of the IslamoNazi entitlement syndrome ... How DARE you question me, kafir! @MsEBL

— darleenclick (@darleenclick) September 18, 2014

And ICYMI, "Texas Hot Momma Blocks Stalking Hate-Troll Walter James Casper III."

Obama Presses World to Act Against Islamic Jihad

At WSJ, "U.S. Presses World to Act Against Extremism: Obama Implores Leaders to Join Coalition Against Islamic State":

UNITED NATIONS—The U.S. unleashed a barrage of diplomatic pressure on world leaders gathered in New York, imploring them to join an international coalition against Islamic extremism.

President Barack Obama, in a series of appearances throughout the day, outlined a very different U.S. approach to the Middle East than he did last year at the same forum—one that leans heavily on American military power and tightly focuses on ways to diminish Islamic extremism. He urged leaders in the region to do more to combat what he described as the most pressing threat to global progress.

In his sixth address to the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Obama said "the cancer of violent extremism" embodied in groups such as Islamic State now dominates his foreign-policy agenda.

"The only language understood by killers like this is the language of force," Mr. Obama said. "So the United States of America will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this network of death."

While leaders met at the U.N., the Pentagon said U.S. and Arab warplanes carried out a new wave of strikes on extremist group Islamic State in Syria, emphasizing regional support for the latest expansion of the air campaign against the group. Heads of state recoiled at a new extremist video showing the beheading of a French hostage.

Despite the U.S. appeals, the scope and longevity of his coalition to fight Islamic State remained unclear.

Major European allies—France, the U.K. and Germany, so far all have declined to send their aircraft into Syrian airspace, in part, because of the lack of U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing the use of such force.

In Paris, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls reiterated the government's refusal. Instead, the French premier bemoaned how world powers had missed the opportunity to deploy air power over Syria in the wake of the alleged chemical attacks last year—when France believed there was a clear legal basis for intervention.

"We wouldn't be in this situation in Syria if the international community had intervened," Mr. Valls said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron is still smarting from the defeat he suffered last year when Parliament opposed his plans to join the U.S. in the airstrikes that Mr. Obama eventually called off. Although Mr. Cameron has the authority to launch military action unilaterally, lawmakers say the Syria experience makes it important for the U.K. leader to secure parliamentary approval before taking military action in Iraq.

On Wednesday, Mr. Cameron's government said Parliament would meet on Friday to debate a request from the Iraqi government for airstrikes against Islamic State in Iraq, but not Syria.

In his General Assembly speech Wednesday night, Mr. Cameron backed a U.K. military response in advance of the Friday vote, but left open whether it would entail a combat role against Islamic State militants.

"We should be uncompromising, using all the means at our disposal—including military force—to hunt down these extremists," Mr. Cameron said in his address, while adding in anticipation of criticism that the West should avoid the mistakes of the past in Iraq.

The president heralded the inclusion of five Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, in the airstrikes in Syria this week. And the U.S. welcomed commitments by Belgium and the Netherlands to each deploy fighter jets for military operations.

However, a number of Washington's closest Mideast allies—particularly Turkey and Qatar—appeared to be on the fence in terms of how significantly to support the U.S. campaign, though four Qatari planes provided surveillance for coalition attacks on Islamic State Monday.

More.

'Sundown tonight marks the start of the Jewish New Year that begins with the celebration of Rosh Hashanah. The ten days from the beginning of this festival until the end of Yom Kippur next week are known in Judaism as the Days of Awe...'

From Jonathan Tobin, at Commentary, "A Pause to Account for Ourselves."

Just go read it.

The Hidden Story Behind Stop Rush

At Rush's page, via Instapundit, "Actually, this reads like Limbaugh’s thinking of suing."

Look at the unadulterated Hate fest going on at the #stoprush vine... Good lord these people need help... They make my skin crawl.

— Beanfrompa (@BeanfromPa) September 25, 2014

Anais Zanotti Sexy While Eating Ice Cream

At Egotastic!, "Anais Zanotti Licks the Cream from the End of Summer's Cone."

Hervé Gourdel Beheaded

Another one brutally murdered.

See the New York Times, "French Hostage in Algeria Is Beheaded in Video."

Maybe France will rethink its position on not joining the airstrikes in Syria?



Added: At Bare Naked Islam, "Islamic State (ISIS) video says: 'The best thing you can do is kill civilian disbelievers (non-Muslims) – Americans, Europeans, Canadians, etc…'"

Why is al-Nusra Front Being Relabeled as 'Khorasan'?

You know, who the f-k came up with this stupid terrorist moniker, "Khorasan"? These thugs are the al Nusra Front terrorists, a Syria-based off-shoot of al-Qaeda just a brutal as any out there. They've been in the news for years. Indeed, Clarissa Ward reported on "Khorasan" yesterday, and immediately reverted to the al-Nusra label for the bulk of her report.

It's like some Obama White House hacks started floating this idiotic "Khorason" label to scare the bejesus out of people, kinda like referring to the Sicilian mafia as "La Cosa Nostra": it just sound shadowy and sinister, although, of course, some halfway coherent bottom-dwellers would immediately recognize this group for who they are without the fascist leftist relabeling.

It's totally lame and completely unhelpful. But we've got Democrats doing PR in DC, so any half-addled dolt with a laptop can figure this stuff out.

In any case, here's the spooky report at WaPo, "Targeted by U.S. airstrikes: The secretive al-Qaeda cell was plotting an ‘imminent attack’."

CNN's Nic Robertson provides a pretty good breakdown at the clip:



More at this Ashleigh Banfield segment, "What is the Khorasan Group?"

And see especially, Thomas Jocelyn, at the Long War Journal, "US airstrikes target Al Nusrah Front, Islamic State in Syria."

Sill more, at BuzzFeed (via Memeorandum), "How 'Khorasan' Went From Nowhere to the Biggest Threat to the U.S."

U.S. Promises Long Campaign in #Syria

At the Wall Street Journal, "Syria Strikes: U.S. Reports Significant Damage in Attacks on Islamic State, Khorasan; American, Arab Warplanes Hit Targets Around Iraq-Syria Border":

WASHINGTON—The first U.S.-led airstrikes on extremist groups in Syria hit militant leaders, training camps and control centers, U.S. officials said, promising this was only the start of a long campaign.

The attacks were conducted with the aid of Arab allies, but the U.S. carried out the bulk of the raids. After the first wave of strikes, the U.S. said it conducted follow-on attacks during the day Tuesday that hit two Islamic State armored vehicles in Syria.

The U.S. and its allies unleashed more than 160 missiles and bombs on targets inside Syria, disrupting infrastructure used by the extremist groups Islamic State and al Qaeda-linked Khorasan, Pentagon officials said in the first assessments of the impact of the strikes.

While it will be days before a definitive conclusion can be drawn, U.S. officials said they believe some leaders of both Islamic State and Khorasan were likely killed in the strikes on training camps and headquarters buildings.

The expansion of the military campaign against Islamic State from Iraq to Syria carries significant risks for President Barack Obama's administration.

Mr. Obama has spent his presidency extricating the U.S. from two long and costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now there is the prospect of getting mired again in a protracted Middle East war.

Western-backed rebels fear U.S.-led airstrikes on Islamic State and other extremist groups inside Syria will ultimately tip the balance in the multi-sided civil war in favor of the Syrian regime that Washington opposes.

Also, Islamic State made a new threat against a Western hostage. The family of British captive Alan Henning, an aid-convoy volunteer being held by the group, said on Tuesday that they had received an audio recording of the prisoner pleading for his life.

Islamic State has released videos showing the beheadings of three Western hostages—two of them Americans—since the U.S. began airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq in early August.

U.S. officials didn't provide estimates of casualties, though local residents said many were killed, including civilians. American officials said there were no indications of civilian casualties and promised to review any such claims.

The U.S.-led strikes will continue over coming days, U.S. officials said, though they cautioned that future waves are likely to be smaller than the opening round as the campaign quickly settles into a lower, but persistent beat.

"I can tell you that last night's strikes were only the beginning," said Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary...

More.

And don't miss Walter Russell Mead, "THE PARALLELS BETWEEN BARACK OBAMA AND GEORGE W. BUSH" (via Instapundit).

Still more at Memeorandum.

Bwahaha! People's Cube Just Destroys Idiot Collectivists on Obama's Disgraceful Latte Salute

This is fabulous!

Liberals are equating these pics. If you know anybody with a pet Styrofoam cup. Let me know. #tcot @michellemalkin pic.twitter.com/utPuu03IfI

— The People's Cube (@ThePeoplesCube) September 23, 2014

Progs are such losers.

There's a reason President Bush got standing ovations at West Point, and Obama not so much. And that reason goes to the core of who our current loser president is, not least of which is an America-hating coward and appeaser who earns no respect for our uniformed personnel.

PREVIOUSLY: "Barack Obama's Latte Salute."

'They're just people looking to the east...'

From the Sound L.A., yesterday morning.

The Doobie Brothers, "China Grove." What a rockin' song.

Lady
Styx
8:50 AM

Whole Lotta Love
Led Zeppelin
8:45 AM

Lay It On the Line
Triumph
8:39 AM

China Grove
The Doobie Brothers
8:35 AM

Wrapped Around Your Finger
The Police
8:22 AM

More Than A Feeling
Boston
8:18 AM

Brown Eyed Girl
Van Morrison
8:15 AM

Everybody Wants You
Billy Squier
8:11 AM

Sara
Fleetwood Mac
8:05 AM

Bad Company
Bad Company
8:01 AM

Huge Majority Supports Airstrikes Against #ISIS in Syria

A classic rally-'round-the-flag effect, at Gallup, "Slightly Fewer Back ISIS Military Action vs. Past Actions."

It may be that current public support is "slightly fewer" than previous military efforts, but remember, the U.S. has been at war continuously since October of 2001. Obama's got public support for his actions against ISIS. The trick now is not to blow it. Knocking out a few windows and demolishing a few buildings won't defeat the terrorists. The president is boxed in by his antiwar rhetoric, and if that rhetoric doesn't change, Americans will continue to be in danger.

Slightly Fewer Back #ISIS Military Action vs. Past Actions... http://t.co/7HhLopCl2Q pic.twitter.com/B0rXZzZfvB

— GallupNews (@GallupNews) September 23, 2014

Angels' Wade LeBlanc Makes Pitch for Playoff Spot in 2-0 Win Over A's

It was a great game. And a relief too. I'm worried about the Angels' pitching going into the post-season.

At LAT:

The tangled web of an injury-plagued and struggling Angels rotation grew even more convoluted Tuesday night, but for a good reason. Veteran left-hander Wade LeBlanc has thrust himself into the playoff picture.

LeBlanc, filling in for the injured Matt Shoemaker, allowed five hits over 5 1/3 scoreless innings in a 2-0 victory over Oakland that pushed the Athletics into a tie with the Kansas City Royals for the American League wild-card lead.

Combined with his 5 1/3-inning scoreless effort last Thursday against Seattle, LeBlanc, who was designated for assignment three times this season — twice by the Angels — has thrown 10 2/3 scoreless innings in two starts, allowing eight hits, striking out four and walking one.

With Shoemaker questionable for the division series because of a rib-cage strain and Hector Santiago getting shelled in his last two starts, LeBlanc has positioned himself to be considered for the playoff rotation. At the very least, he should earn a long-relief spot...

More.

Cory Rasmus, who's pitched a few games this last couple of weeks, is looking good too. Mike Scioscia needs to let him play longer.

I would have blogged more about the Angels since they clinched a playoff berth, but it's been depressing. Who knows if they'll clear 100 wins for the season, which is almost over?

The Wages of Discrimination

From Sarah Kendzior, at Al Jazeera, "As income inequality now rivals that of the gilded age, scrounging for survival has become a mainstream way of life."

"For anyone who came of age after the millennium, war and economic decline are all we have known." http://t.co/N38aSTsoKn

— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) September 23, 2014

Freedom to Blog Update September 24, 2014: AmSpec Caves to Vexatious Asshat Brett Kimberlin

Sometimes the bad guys win. Or, sadly, sometimes the good guys cave to the bad guys.

See Popehat, "American Spectator Surrenders to Vexatious Litigant and Domestic Terrorist Brett Kimberlin."

Left-Wing Activists Hold White House 'Die In' to Support #ISIS Genocide

I'm just shaking my head as I post this. But then, these are brain-dead leftists we're talking about.

From Daniel Greenfield, at FrontPage Magazine.

Dead LAPD Officer Found Inside Thousand Oaks Home

A suicide, apparently.

At KABC-TV Los Angeles, "DEAD LAPD OFFICER FOUND IN THOUSAND OAKS RESIDENCE AFTER DISTURBANCE REPORT."

Prime Minister David Cameron Speaks to NBC's Brian Williams

I really like him, except for his Achilles heel of political correctness. Nobody's perfect, I guess.

Here, "Britain's David Cameron on ISIS: 'These People Want to Kill Us'."

USS Arleigh Burke Launches Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles

Via the U.S. Navy, on YouTube.

Europe's Anti-Semitism Rises — From the Precincts of the Islamo-Fascist Left

Something I've written about quite a bit, sadly.

At the New York Times, "Europe’s Anti-Semitism Comes Out of the Shadows":

SARCELLES, France — From the immigrant enclaves of the Parisian suburbs to the drizzly bureaucratic city of Brussels to the industrial heartland of Germany, Europe’s old demon returned this summer. “Death to the Jews!” shouted protesters at pro-Palestinian rallies in Belgium and France. “Gas the Jews!” yelled marchers at a similar protest in Germany.

The ugly threats were surpassed by uglier violence. Four people were fatally shot in May at the Jewish Museum in Brussels. A Jewish-owned pharmacy in this Paris suburb was destroyed in July by youths protesting Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. A synagogue in Wuppertal, Germany, was attacked with firebombs. A Swedish Jew was beaten with iron pipes. The list goes on.

The scattered attacks have raised alarm about how Europe is changing and whether it remains a safe place for Jews. An increasing number of Jews, if still relatively modest in total, are now migrating to Israel. Others describe “no go” zones in Muslim districts of many European cities where Jews dare not travel...

Keep reading, but note: Once again, the mainstream press whitewashes Islamic anti-Semitism, raising the specter of "right-wing" parties, blah blah.

No. It's leftist Islamo-fascism that's the threat to Jews in Europe today. The media's only making things worse. And that's even more sad.

The Utter Failure of Obama

A great piece, from Bruce Walker, at American Thinker:

Barack Obama is destined to be the greatest flop in American presidential history.  He is, in every sense of the word, an utter failure.

Consider first his signature achievement, Obamacare.  Not only has Obama had to delay implementation, creating a perfect precedent for his Republican successor to do the same, but the law is more unpopular today than it has ever been according to all polling data.

Pew Research reports that 55% of Americans disapprove of Obamacare.  A clear plurality of Americans believe that they will be worse off because of Obamacare.  CBS News lists the “strongly approve” of Obamacare at 16%, while “strongly disapprove” is a whopping 47%.  Every polling organization, no matter how the question is worded, shows the same public disdain for this law.

The fear conservatives had that a new entitlement will create a permanent constituency may not happen this time, because Obamacare, unlike Social Security or Medicare, helps almost no one and hurts a lot of people.  Moreover, by foolishly rejecting a bipartisan reform, Obama and his party cannot claim broad support for his law.

This political hack, who had the power to do anything during his first two years, could think of nothing more imaginative than (1) spending federal dollars like water based upon the ancient and failed “stimulus” idea and (2) implementing an even greater failure – ask any Briton or Canadian – of nationalized health insurance simply, one suspects, because Barry had no keener mind or greater imagination than to pick up tired ideas of British Socialism eighty years old.

Obama, who “won” the Nobel Peace Prize almost as soon as he took office, is now officially a warmonger president – but one who leads from behind and rejects every attempt to form a national consensus policy, and whose utter haplessness in guiding national security is stunning.  Syria, Libya, Ukraine, Iraq – everywhere in the world, really – Obama’s foreign policy has been almost comic opera.

Obama's White House staff seems almost as incompetent as he is, as anyone who has listened to Ms. Harf for more than a minute quickly grasps.  Everyone around Obama simply reads talking points and denies, without any support at all, anything that challenges those talking points.

Has anyone around Obama, for example, confessed that the attack in Benghazi was not caused by an anti-Islamic film, and that any explanations to the contrary were simple invention?  Has Barry or his “Not Ready for Prime Time Players” ever acknowledged any failure beyond the ubiquitous and meaningless mantra “I accept full responsibility”?  Who truly trusts Obama anymore on national security issues, and who abroad relies on anything he says or any promises he makes?

Some presidencies that are successes in policy areas, like the Nixon presidency, are unwound by corruption and cover-ups.  Has any administration been as marinated in lies about important facts in investigations as this administration?  The IRS e-mail scandal surpasses anything Nixon did in Watergate.  The destruction of documents by a Hillary State Department to hide information from Congress relating to Benghazi, if true – who, really, doubts that now? – would surpass any misconduct in presidential history.

Now Barry is on the verge of doing what no president has done: leading his political party into two consecutive midterm election debacles.  Eisenhower and Nixon suffered heavy losses in their second midterms, but not their fist.  Clinton did just the opposite.  Reagan actually gained Senate seats in his first midterm, but he lost the Senate in his second midterm.

Even our worst presidents like their bright spots.  Grant was a truly noble character and a war hero whose memoirs of the Civil War remain great history.  Harding’s low-tax and pro-growth policies led to the Roaring Twenties, and Harding was a fierce champion of black rights.  Truman, a courageous combat veteran in 1918, helped birth Israel and preserve South Korea.  Nixon was brilliant, and his opening the door to China transformed the geopolitical world.  Carter was an honorable man, a graduate of the Naval Academy who served on a nuclear submarine, however dreadful the Carter presidency was.  

But Barry – has he really done anything at all?  Does Obama have the slightest ennobling quality?  Has he taken a single courageous stand on anything?  Does our president do anything at all, really, except savor the perks of office and read his notorious teleprompter?

Soon, very soon, the utter failure of Obama will be a truth known by all his countrymen.

No, no ennobling qualities. He's a disaster from the get go. Yes, it's going to be a crushing November election, but then, we'll still have two more years of this f-king Democrat Party misery.

FLASHBACK: April 27, 2009, "Worst. President. Ever."

The Incoherence of Liberal Feminism

At the Other McCain.

"Another clever young girl trying to get rich selling books to slightly-less-clever girls" http://t.co/QjzvB1KVBy pic.twitter.com/VPwhxPzyke

— Robert Stacy McCain (@rsmccain) September 23, 2014

The Unfree Speech Movement

From Sol Stern, at the Wall Street Journal:

This fall the University of California at Berkeley is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Free Speech Movement, a student-led protest against campus restrictions on political activities that made headlines and inspired imitators around the country. I played a small part in the Free Speech Movement, and some of those returning for the reunion were once my friends, but I won't be joining them.

Though the movement promised greater intellectual and political freedom on campus, the result has been the opposite. The great irony is that while Berkeley now honors the memory of the Free Speech Movement, it exercises more thought control over students than the hated institution that we rose up against half a century ago.

We early-1960s radicals believed ourselves anointed as a new "tell it like it is" generation. We promised to transcend the "smelly old orthodoxies" (in George Orwell's phrase) of Cold War liberalism and class-based, authoritarian leftism. Leading students into the university administration building for the first mass protest, Mario Savio, the Free Speech Movement's brilliant leader from Queens, New York, famously said: "There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious—makes you so sick at heart—that you can't take part. . . . . And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all."

The Berkeley "machine" now promotes Free Speech Movement kitsch. The steps in front of Sproul Hall, the central administration building where more than 700 students were arrested on Dec. 2, 1964, have been renamed the Mario Savio Steps. One of the campus dining halls is called the Free Speech Movement Café, its walls covered with photographs and mementos of the glorious semester of struggle. The university requires freshmen to read an admiring biography of Savio, who died in 1996, written by New York University professor and Berkeley graduate Robert Cohen.

Yet intellectual diversity is hardly embraced. Every undergraduate undergoes a form of indoctrination with a required course on the "theoretical or analytical issues relevant to understanding race, culture, and ethnicity in American society," administered by the university's Division of Equity and Inclusion.

How did this Orwellian inversion occur? It happened in part because the Free Speech Movement's fight for free speech was always a charade. The struggle was really about using the campus as a base for radical politics.

I was a 27-year-old New Left graduate student at the time. Savio was a 22-year-old sophomore. He liked to compare the Free Speech Movement to the civil-rights struggle—conflating the essentially liberal Berkeley administration with the Bull Connors of the racist South.

During one demonstration Savio suggested that the campus cops who had arrested a protesting student were "poor policemen" who only "have a job to do." Another student then shouted out: "Just like Eichmann."

"Yeah. Very good. It's very, you know, like Adolf Eichmann, " Savio replied. "He had a job to do. He fit into the machinery."

I realized years later that this moment may have been the beginning of the 1960s radicals' perversion of ordinary political language, like the spelling "Amerika" or seeing hope and progress in Third World dictatorships.

Before that 1964-65 academic year, most of us radical students could not have imagined a campus rebellion. Why revolt against an institution that until then offered such a pleasant sanctuary? But then Berkeley administrators made an incredibly stupid decision to establish new rules regarding political activities on campus. Student clubs were no longer allowed to set up tables in front of the Bancroft Avenue campus entrance to solicit funds and recruit new members.

The clubs had used this 40-foot strip of sidewalk for years on the assumption that it was the property of the City of Berkeley and thus constitutionally protected against speech restrictions. But the university claimed ownership to justify the new rules. When some students refused to comply, the administration compounded its blunder by resorting to the campus police. Not surprisingly, the students pushed back, using civil-disobedience tactics learned fighting for civil rights in the South.

The Free Speech Movement was born on Oct. 1, 1964, when police tried to arrest a recent Berkeley graduate, Jack Weinberg, who was back on campus after a summer as a civil-rights worker in Mississippi. He had set up a table on the Bancroft strip for the Berkeley chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Dozens of students spontaneously sat down around the police car, preventing it from leaving the campus. A 32-hour standoff ensued, with hundreds of students camped around the car.

Mario Savio, also back from Mississippi, took off his shoes, climbed onto the roof of the police car, and launched into an impromptu speech explaining why the students had to resist the immoral new rules. Thus began months of sporadic protests, the occupation of Sproul Hall on Dec. 2 (ended by mass arrests), national media attention and Berkeley's eventual capitulation.

That should have ended the matter. Savio soon left the political arena, saying that he had no interest in becoming a permanent student leader. But others had mastered the new world of political theater, understood the weakness of American liberalism, and soon turned their ire on the Vietnam War.

The radical movement that the Free Speech Movement spawned eventually descended into violence and mindless anti-Americanism. The movement waned in the 1970s as the war wound down—but by then protesters had begun their infiltration of university faculties and administrations they had once decried.

"Tenured radicals," in New Criterion editor Roger Kimball's phrase, now dominate most professional organizations in the humanities and social studies. Unlike our old liberal professors, who dealt respectfully with the ideas advanced by my generation of New Left students, today's radical professors insist on ideological conformity and don't take kindly to dissent by conservative students. Visits by speakers who might not toe the liberal line—recently including former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Islamism critic Aayan Hirsi Ali —spark protests and letter-writing campaigns by students in tandem with their professors until the speaker withdraws or the invitation is canceled...

Still more.

Everything the left touches it destroys. So it is with so called "free speech." America's campuses today are the least free places in the United States. Always resist these people. Always stand against the left, whatever you do. You'll be on the right side of decency. The leftists, not so much.

'Maybe Democratic leaders aren't finding success in expanding their liberal base because fair-minded Americans don't easily gravitate to a political party led by people whose default election tactic is to demonize its opponents..'

Well, of course, the Democrats are the party of hate.

From Tom Bevan: The End of Civil Rhetoric (via Instapundit):

It’s also true that Democrats are under pressure to rev up what appears to be a lethargic electorate or face defeat at the polls in November. It’s unfortunate that we’ve come to accept the idea that voters can only be motivated by fear and anger toward their political opponents.

Yep, that's all they've got.

Barack Obama's Latte Salute

So disrespectful, god.

Watch here.

And at Breitbart, "Obama's Disrespectful 'Latte Salute' Shocks and Offends."

The #ISIS Threat to the U.S. Homeland

Andrea Mitchell reports for NBC News, and she's taking the ISIS threat quite seriously:

Charles Krauthammer: Syria Airstrikes 'Not Significant' Militarily

Once again, the inimitable Dr. Krauthammer:

Michelle Fields Calls Out Celebrity Warming Hypocrites at New York People's Climate March (VIDEO)

Hey, classy babe Michelle Fields was batting 1.000 at the communist people's march on Sunday. She just hammered the celebrity hypocrites, Leo DeCaprio most deliciously.

Outstanding.

At Pajamas, "PJTV’s Michelle Fields: Are Climate Change Hypocrites Leonardo DiCaprio and Senator Bernie Sanders Out of Touch with Reality? (Video)."

Talking to Leonardo Dicaprio about climate change. Don't think he was happy about me bringing up his yachts & jets pic.twitter.com/3TAkP6rbjD

— Michelle Fields (@MichelleFields) September 21, 2014

Leonardo Dicaprio suddenly loses his hearing when I ask him about his yachts http://t.co/aAUv0RMzF2 #ClimateChangeMarch

— Michelle Fields (@MichelleFields) September 22, 2014

VIDEO: RFK Jr. refuses to give up cellphone to save planet... http://t.co/81EjlTGDlJ

— DRUDGE REPORT (@DRUDGE_REPORT) September 22, 2014