A Crisis of the President's Own Making

From Kim Strassel, at WSJ:

For months now, the GOP has been held hostage by a faction of its party that deluded itself into believing President Obama might be rolled on his signature health-care law. Witness now an equally grand delusion on the Democratic side, one that President Obama nurtures at his peril.

According to Democrats, their steadfast refusal to negotiate on the government shutdown or the debt ceiling is rooted in a belief that now is the moment to "break" the GOP "fever." Democrats are furious that Republicans today use every Washington deadline to extract a spending concession—and insist they must be broken of that habit.

As New York Sen. Chuck Schumer put it on ABC's "This Week": If Democrats give in now to GOP demands, "it will lead to a future negotiation like that and a future one. If you go for this kind of hostage-taking once . . . it doesn't go away, it comes back worse and worse and worse."

Fact: The only thing that will make this "come back worse and worse" is a Democratic refusal to negotiate. Upon taking the House in 2010, Republicans made clear their top priority was getting the nation's spending and debt under control—a goal backed by the vast majority of the country—and they meant it. Time and again, they have asked the White House to work with them to reform the very entitlement programs that Mr. Obama has admitted are unsustainable and the primary drivers of debt.

Time and again, a spend-happy White House and Democrats have dug in, unwilling to buck liberal interest groups, refusing to touch Social Security or Medicare, mulishly granting only small spending concessions. Those were given only under duress, and only because the GOP threatened Armageddon in the 2011 debt-ceiling fight. Even then, the White House stubbornly refused to cede one dollar more than what was necessary to push another debt-ceiling round past the 2012 election.

So yes, Mr. Obama is facing another crisis—one of his own timing and making. And one that the White House and Democrats have understood was coming ever since 2011. And one that will be coming again—two weeks from now, six weeks from now, a year from now, three months after that—until such point as the White House does a significant deal, or the president's term ends. It is entirely the president's choice.

Water runs downhill. Republicans demand fiscal discipline. Whatever the near-term solution to this current impasse, the media and Democrats are deluded if they think the GOP will give up this issue. It is built into the Republican DNA; it is a baseline expectation of party voters. Republicans will continue to use whatever tools are available—government funding bills, debt-ceiling hikes, unrelated legislation—to force Democrats to cut, and they'll do it again and again.

Republicans have always been clear on their price for ending these dramas. House Speaker John Boehner even provided a formula: One dollar in debt ceiling increase for every dollar of decreased spending. Even a law professor can do the math on what it will cost to liberate the rest of his term.

Were the president to embrace these negotiations, he could do just that. With a big enough give on entitlement reform (one that goes well beyond the tinkering in the recent Obama budget), Republicans might be willing to raise the debt ceiling to the end of Obama presidency. They're open to fixing the sequester caps on sacred liberal programs. And free of the paralyzing budget fights, Mr. Obama could use the rest of his time in office for immigration reform, a focus on the economy, the building of a legacy.

Congressional liberals in particular are repelled by this idea—which is why so many are encouraging the "break the fever" baloney. Their biggest fear is that the White House will give any cover at all—much less big cover—to entitlement reform, and rob them of their favorite campaign issue.

But Mr. Obama doesn't face re-election. He faces three years of trying to govern. And while the White House might like to brag that it is "winning" this battle, that's a relative term.

Republicans have taken heat, but Mr. Obama's own approval ratings are down. His most vulnerable House members are being forced daily to take painful votes against crucial funding, which will be used against them in 2014. Another financial downturn will be remembered in the history books as President Obama's, not as some no-name GOP backbencher's.

More at that top link.

Now Is the Time to Delay #ObamaCare

From Peggy Noonan, at WSJ (via Google):

The Obama administration has an implementation problem. More than any administration of the modern era they know how to talk but have trouble doing. They give speeches about ObamaCare but when it's unveiled what the public sees is a Potemkin village designed by the noted architect Rube Goldberg. They speak ringingly about the case for action in Syria but can't build support in the U.S. foreign-policy community, in Congress, among the public. Recovery summer is always next summer. They have trouble implementing. Which, of course, is the most boring but crucial part of governing. It's not enough to talk, you must perform.

There is an odd sense with members of this administration that they think words are actions. Maybe that's why they tweet so much. Maybe they imagine Bashar Assad seeing their tweets and musing: "Ah, Samantha is upset—then I shall change my entire policy, in respect for her emotions!"

That gets us to the real story of last week, this week and the future, the one beyond the shutdown, the one that normal people are both fully aware of and fully understand, and that is the utter and catastrophic debut of ObamaCare. Even for those who expected problems, and that would be everyone who follows government, it has been a shock.

They had 3½ years to set it up! They knew exactly when it would be unveiled, on Oct. 1, 2013. On that date, they knew, millions could be expected to go online to see if they benefit.

What they got was the administration's version of Project ORCA, the Romney campaign's computerized voter-turnout system that crashed with such flair on Election Day.

Here is why the rollout is so damaging to ObamaCare: because everyone in America knows we spent four years arguing about the law, that it sucked all the oxygen from the room, that it commanded all focus, that it blocked out other opportunities and initiatives, and that it caused so many searing arguments—mandatory contraceptive and abortifacient coverage for religious organizations that oppose those things, fears about the sharing of private medical information, fears of rising costs and lost coverage. Throughout the struggle the American people must have thought: "OK, at the end it's gotta be worth it, it's got to give me at least some benefits to justify all this drama." And at the end they tried to log in, register and see their options, and found one big, frustrating, chaotic mess. As if for four years we all just wasted our time.

A quick summary of what didn't work. Those who went on federal and state exchanges reported malfunctions during login, constant error messages, inability to create new accounts, frozen screens, confusing instructions, endless wait times, help lines that put people on hold and then cut them off, lost passwords and user names.

After the administration floated the fiction that the problems were due to heavy usage, the Journal tracked down insurance and technology experts who said the real problems were inadequate coding and flaws in the architecture of the system.

There were no enrollments in Delaware in three days. North Carolina got one enrollee. In Kansas ObamaCare was unable to report a single enrollment. A senior Louisiana state official told me zero people enrolled the first day, eight the second. The founder of McAfee slammed the system's lack of security on Fox Business Network, calling it a hacker's happiest nocturnal fantasy. He predicted millions of identity thefts. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius—grilled, surprisingly, on "The Daily Show"—sounded like a blithering idiot as she failed to justify why, in the middle of the chaos, individuals cannot be granted a one-year delay, just as businesses have been.

More ominously, many of those who got into the system complained of sticker shock—high premiums, high deductibles.

Where does this leave us? Congressional Republicans and the White House may soon begin a series of conversations centering on the debt-ceiling fight. Good: May they turn into negotiations. Republicans are now talking about a grand bargain involving entitlement spending, perhaps tax issues. But they would make a mistake in dropping ObamaCare as an issue. A few weeks ago they mistakenly demanded defunding—a move to please their base. They will be tempted to abandon even the word ObamaCare now, but this is exactly when they should keep, as the center of their message and their intent, not defunding ObamaCare but delaying it. Do they really want to turn abrupt focus to elusive Medicare cuts just when it has become obvious to the American people that parts of ObamaCare (like the ability to enroll!) are unworkable?

The Republicans should press harder than ever to delay ObamaCare—to kick it back, allow the administration at least to create functioning websites, and improve what can be improved...

It needs to be killed, actually. But it might take a couple of elections to do that, but the day is coming.

Still more at that top Google link.

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Wins 2013 Nobel Peace Prize

Malala Yousafzai should've won it, but the Nobel is a freakin' joke, so no matter.

At WaPo:

MOSCOW — The small Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons was still getting used to its unaccustomed role at the center of world affairs, overseeing the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons, when it won the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.

“The news of the Nobel Peace Prize was really overwhelming,” said Ahmet Uzumcu, director general of The Hague-based agency. “I see it as a great acknowledgement of a success story.”

Until minutes before the Norwegian Nobel Prize Committee revealed its choice in Oslo, speculation had centered on Malala Yousafzai, the 16-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban a year ago for defending education for girls. But just as it did last year when it selected the European Union,the committee took the world by surprise.

“We are now in a situation in which we can do away with a whole category of weapons of mass destruction,” Thorbjorn Jagland, the committee’s chairman, said. “Of course this is a very important message.”

On Aug. 21, a sarin gas attack in Syria killed more than 1,000 civilians, a reminder to the world of the horror chemical weapons visit on their victims. An estimated 100,000 people have died in the 21 / 2-year conflict.

OPCW inspectors were in Syria as part of a U.N. team at the time of the August chemical attack and subsequently investigated it, despite coming under sniper fire at one point. The team later produced a widely acclaimed report that documented the use of sarin in the attack and that indirectly implicated the Syrian government.

OPCW inspectors returned to Syria at the beginning of October. About two dozen inspectors are there, attempting to find and oversee the destruction of an estimated 1,000 tons of chemical weapons — in the middle of a civil war, accompanied by unarmed U.N. guards, with security entrusted to a Syrian government that doesn’t control the entire country.

Jagland said the committee hoped the prize would have implications beyond the Syrian conflict, including encouraging signatories to the Chemical Weapons Convention such as the United States and Russia to step up destruction of their stockpiles.

“The crisis in Syria highlights the need to do away with these weapons,” he said. “This is about disarmament, which goes straight to the heart of Alfred Nobel’s will.”

"Mother Forced by #ObamaCare to Choose Between 'New Health Plan or Putting Food on the Table'"

Because Democrat compassion!

Via the Weekly Standard.

Bwahaha!! MSNBC's Phil Griffin Wants Fox News Investigated After Megyn Kelly Blows Out Rachel Maddow in Key Demographic

Rachel Maddow sucks goats balls, so actually Fox News should be having MSNBC investigated for attempting to cook the books on the debut night of Megyn Kelly's new show.

At Twitchy, "‘Funniest sh*t I’ve read all day’: MSNBC president wants FNC’s ratings investigated."

MSNBC President Wants 'Investigation' Into Fox News' 'Impossible' Ratings Gain http://t.co/nBTdcwU22e

— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) October 11, 2013

MSNBC just freakin' sucks. Screw 'em.

NBC News Slams #ObamaCare Rollout as 'Public Relations Nightmare'

Look!

A real live news report with real live actual news on the disaster of the administration's signature Democrat clusterf-k.



Remember, we just had that CBS News report earlier this week completely eviscerating the administration's lies and incompetence.

AoSHQ picked up on that as well, "CBS' Jan Crawford: Obama Rollout 'Nothing Short of Disastrous'":

The left likes to flatter itself as thinking in terms of reason, facts, expertise, openness to doubt, and scorn of dogma and magical thinking.

Is this anywhere close to true?

When experts told the Obama Administration it was a fact the website was not ready, did they take seriously this advisement?

Nope! They simply said there was no cause for alarm; the strange gods of the left would just sort everything out.

Oddly enough, they didn't.

RTWT.

Here's That Spectacular Juan Uribe 8th Inning Homer Against #Braves in #NLDS

I couldn't believe it when Mattingly had Uribe bunt with Yasiel Puig at second base. Horrible play calling, but Uribe's a terrible bunter, so after failing twice to lay one down, he came back with the most dramatic home run I've seen all season. Talk about lol.

I was on Twitter and called it!

Yasiel Puig throws his hands in the air after arriving at 2nd base with a lead off double. #Dodgers

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 8, 2013

Uribe should be swinging away! #Dodgers

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) October 8, 2013

Let my Uribe swing! #Dodgers

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) October 8, 2013

I told you! Uribe! #Dodgers

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) October 8, 2013

Wow

— Mike Memoli (@mikememoli) October 8, 2013

.@Dodgers I tweeted this one minute before that #Uribe blast! https://t.co/GMmonq4tbE

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) October 8, 2013

Go #Dodgers !!!

— Jackie Johnson (@JackieJohnsonLA) October 8, 2013

That was one hella spectacular moment in #Dodgers baseball!

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) October 8, 2013

Juan Uribe: only player in MLB history to hit a go-ahead HR in the 8th inning or later of 2 series-deciding postseason games

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 8, 2013

Instant recap: Juan Uribe 8th inning HR sends the Dodgers to the NLCS for the 1st time since 2009. http://t.co/Ot46ORNc0s

— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) October 8, 2013

Stopped. The. Chop.

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 8, 2013

A great night for Los Angeles. @Alyssa_Milano #Dodgers

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) October 8, 2013

#Dodgers defeat #Braves, 4-3, to advance to #NLCS. http://t.co/yuv4deKYuJ

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) October 8, 2013

And now here's this, at the Los Angeles Times, "Don Mattingly finds that nothing answers critics like a home run":

ST. LOUIS — As Don Mattingly watched the home run that might have changed his life, he paused a few seconds to ponder the absurdity of it all.

"Playoffs are so stupid, aren't they?" Mattingly remembers thinking. "Just crazy."

Stupidity and craziness that could determine Mattingly's future with the Dodgers.

The Dodgers manager hasn't said whether he has received assurances about his job status beyond these playoffs. Dodgers management hasn't said whether it will exercise the team option on his contract for next season.

Team President Stan Kasten has been silent on the matter, which means Mattingly's fate could be tied to how the Dodgers perform in the National League Championship Series — and a result that could be decided by something as random as a two-strike home run by Juan Uribe.

If not for Uribe's home run in Game 4 of the division series, the Dodgers could have been playing the Braves again Wednesday in a winner-take-all fifth game. A loss in Game 5 could have sent Mattingly back to his Indiana farm and in search of a new job.

Uribe's home run illustrated how a manager's fortunes and reputation can suddenly change.

The Dodgers were down, 3-2, when Uribe came to the plate with Yasiel Puig on second base and no outs in the eighth inning. Mattingly signaled for a sacrifice bunt, a decision he immediately second-guessed when Uribe fouled off his first two attempts.

"Why am I bunting him?" Mattingly recalls thinking.

Never mind that Uribe doesn't bunt well. Mattingly had been criticized for bunting too much and probably would have faced more second-guessing had Puig not scored, regardless of whether Uribe successfully moved him to third base.

As the baseball gods would have it, Uribe connected on a 2-2 pitch by David Carpenter to reverse the deficit. Whatever questions Mattingly would have faced about asking Uribe to bunt disappeared into the stands with the ball.

So did questions about the Dodgers' decision to start Clayton Kershaw that day on three days' rest for the first time in his major league career.

The widespread perception was that the decision on Kershaw was Mattingly's. The manager was the highest-ranking team official to publicly talk about it before the outcome of the game was known. Kasten distanced himself from the move as much as he could, saying he had nothing to do with lineup decisions. General Manager Ned Colletti wouldn't meet with reporters face to face.

Because the Dodgers won, the decision to start became the right one and evidence that Mattingly's bold style of managing could pay dividends. With Zack Greinke in line to start Game 1 of the NLCS and Kershaw available to start Game 2, the move figures to have no lingering drawbacks.

Continue reading.

Christian Adamek, 15, Kills Himself After 'Facing Expulsion and Being Put on Sex Offender Registry' for Streaking at High School Football Game

I literally can't believe it.

We had streakers all the time when I was in high school.

At Engineering Evil, "Boy, 15, kills himself after ‘facing expulsion and being put on sex offender registry’ for STREAKING at high school football game."

This is an abomination. RT @jpodhoretz: Oh my God. http://t.co/tQA7MgLqLX

— Melissa Clouthier (@MelissaTweets) October 11, 2013

Fabulous Stacey Poole

She's one of my new favorites.

A lovely woman, on Twitter here.

Check out the wonderful @StaceyPoole1 from Portugal! pic.twitter.com/xecmyhZvcU
— Damien Morley (@damienmorley) October 5, 2013

Dr. Ben Carson: #ObamaCare Worst Thing Since Slavery

At the Hill, "Ben Carson: ObamaCare, slavery both 'evil'."

And at the Blaze, "WHO JUST COMPARED OBAMACARE TO AMERICAN SLAVERY AND SOVIET COMMUNISM?"

Here's the full speech:

Sara Malakul Lane

At FHM.

5 things you need to know about Sara Malakul Lane, this month's Would Wife - http://t.co/SCKRIs1Yx7 pic.twitter.com/j8gUo5gpAF
— FHM UK (@FHM) October 11, 2013

Photos here, "Sara Malakul Lane – FHM Thailand September 2013."

Ted Cruz Heckled at Values Voters Summit

How do these goons even get into these events?

Pathetic inhuman Democrat zombies.

At National Journal, "Ted Cruz Takes On the 'Obama' Hecklers":

The Texas senator wasn't able to give a cogent speech because of outbursts of protesters. But the crowd loved it.

Also at the Blaze, "TED CRUZ WAS HECKLED REPEATEDLY AT THE VALUES VOTER SUMMIT — HERE’S HOW HE TURNED THE TABLES ON HIS HATERS."

Added: There's a Memeorandum thread.

Non-Essential? White House Knew of Veterans Death-Benefits Lapse Before Shutdown

We should be expect massive public outrage nationwide.

Indeed, Democrat negatives are surging at this very moment. This administration --- this president --- is truly depraved.

At U.S. News, "Pentagon warned of cuts to military death benefits days before shutdown."



PREVIOUSLY: "Depraved: Obama's Shameful Death-Benefit Theater."

Obama Running for the Exits in Afghanistan

Again, a truly depraved man.

At the Washington Post, "In Afghanistan, U.S. losing patience as deadline for long-term deal nears":

When Obama called Afghanistan a "war of necessity" the US had to win, did you think he was serious? http://t.co/Qz4VjuY4ec
— Jeff Jacoby (@Jeff_Jacoby) October 11, 2013

During a testy video conference in June, President Obama drew a line in the sand for Afghan President Hamid Karzai. If there was no agreement by Oct. 31 on the terms for keeping a residual U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, Obama warned him, the United States would withdraw all of its troops at the end of 2014.

With that deadline less than three weeks away and deep rifts persisting, the White House appears increasingly willing to abandon plans for a long-term, costly partnership with Afghanistan. Despite the Pentagon’s pleas for patience, much of the rest of the administration is fed up with Karzai and sees Afghanistan as a fading priority amid far more ominous threats elsewhere in the world.

Right. A "fading priority." This was the "good war" that Obama campaigned for in 2007, as the most antiwar presidential candidate in the Democrat-Treason Party.

But RTWT.

A terrible president. Worst. President. Ever.

Added: From Max Boot, "Heading for the Exits in Afghanistan."

Depraved: Obama's Shameful Death-Benefit Theater

At the San Diego Union-Tribune, "President Obama's shameful death-benefit theater":

The Obama administration insisted Tuesday it had no choice but to withhold death benefits to relatives of 1st Lt. Jennifer Moreno, a 25-year-old soldier born and raised in San Diego, and four other soldiers killed since the partial government shutdown began Oct. 1.

This is ridiculous and perverse. President Barack Obama has used an expansive — and some legal scholars believe extreme — interpretation of his powers to unilaterally rewrite key provisions of the No Child Left Behind law, the sweeping 2002 measure that drastically reshaped federal education policies. In similar fashion, the president has unilaterally rewritten key provisions of the Affordable Care Act, his sweeping 2010 measure that is drastically reshaping federal public health policies. His administration has also essentially rewritten federal laws governing illegal immigration and penalties for drug possession.

Just this month, the federal government has authorized the spending of billions of dollars since the partial shutdown began without explicit congressional approval. Contrary to the Obama administration’s representations, there are not hard, definitive rules governing how the executive branch must act during these budget fights. That is reflected in the amazingly arbitrary ways that the federal government has shuttered some services and agencies but not others — often with the barely hidden goal of making people suffer to build pressure on House Republicans to give in to the White House. For one of hundreds of examples, the Armed Forces Network serving U.S. military personnel abroad still shows news — but it has stopped showing NFL games, blaming the shutdown.

This is obnoxious enough. In denying death benefits to the relatives of fallen U.S. soldiers, however, the Obama administration has broken new ground in its budget theater. This decision is accurately described as depraved.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday that the president was prepared to act unilaterally to resolve the problem. But Carney also insisted the denial of death benefits was House Republicans’ fault. Those claims are not mutually sustainable.

Soon afterward, the White House announced that the Fisher House Foundation — a private organization that helps veterans in need — would provide the death benefits and be reimbursed after the partial shutdown. At about the same time Wednesday, the House voted unanimously to authorize paying survivor benefits. Thankfully, this problem is going to be solved, one way or the other.

But the outrage should remain. On Wednesday, CNN reported that on Sept. 27, days before the shutdown began, the Pentagon was already telling reporters it planned to suspend death benefits.

So for two weeks, the Obama administration has been anticipating this nightmare would come to pass — and did nothing to pre-empt it.

Obama loves inflicting as much pain as possible on innocent bystanders for political gain. He is truly depraved. And personally reviled by legions of patriotic Americans. 2016 can't come to soon.

Continue reading.

#ObamaCare Winners at Losers (From the San Jose Mercury News)

I read this piece when it first became available last week, but then it went viral over the weekend.

See Tracy Seipel, "Obamacare's winners and losers in Bay Area":

Cindy Vinson and Tom Waschura are big believers in the Affordable Care Act. They vote independent and are proud to say they helped elect and re-elect President Barack Obama.

Yet, like many other Bay Area residents who pay for their own medical insurance, they were floored last week when they opened their bills: Their policies were being replaced with pricier plans that conform to all the requirements of the new health care law.

Vinson, of San Jose, will pay $1,800 more a year for an individual policy, while Waschura, of Portola Valley, will cough up almost $10,000 more for insurance for his family of four.

"Welcome to the club," said Robert Laszewksi, a prominent health care consultant and president of Health Policy and Strategy Associates in Virginia.

For years, the nation has been embroiled in the political rhetoric of "Obamacare," but this past week the reality of the new law sank in as millions of Americans had their first good look at how the 3 1/2-year-old legislation will affect their pocketbooks.

This much quickly became clear:

As state- and federal-run health insurance exchanges debuted across the country offering a range of prices for different tiers of insurance coverage, the new online marketplaces -- which represent the centerpiece of Obamacare -- could greatly benefit more than 40 million Americans who now lack coverage. But an additional 16 million -- who buy individual health insurance policies on the open market -- are finding out that their plans may not comply with the new law, which requires 10 essential benefits such as maternity care, mental health care and prescription drug coverage.

In California, 1.9 million people buy plans on the open market, according to officials with Covered California, the state's new health insurance exchange. And many of them are steaming mad.

"There's going to be a number of people surprised" by their bills, said Jonathan Wu, a co-founder of ValuePenguin, a consumer finance website. "The upper-middle class are the people who are essentially being asked to foot the bill, and that's true across the country"....

Even those who don't qualify for the tax subsidies could see their rates drop because Obamacare doesn't allow insurers to charge people more if they have pre-existing conditions such as diabetes and cancer, he said.

People like Marilynn Gray-Raine.

The 64-year-old Danville artist, who survived breast cancer, has purchased health insurance for herself for decades. She watched her Anthem Blue Cross monthly premiums rise from $317 in 2005 to $1,298 in 2013. But she found out last week from the Covered California site that her payments will drop to about $795 a month.

But people with no pre-existing conditions like Vinson, a 60-year-old retired teacher, and Waschura, a 52-year-old self-employed engineer, are making up the difference.

"I was laughing at Boehner -- until the mail came today," Waschura said, referring to House Speaker John Boehner, who is leading the Republican charge to defund Obamacare.

"I really don't like the Republican tactics, but at least now I can understand why they are so pissed about this. When you take $10,000 out of my family's pocket each year, that's otherwise disposable income or retirement savings that will not be going into our local economy."

Both Vinson and Waschura have adjusted gross incomes greater than four times the federal poverty level -- the cutoff for a tax credit. And while both said they anticipated their rates would go up, they didn't realize they would rise so much.

"Of course, I want people to have health care," Vinson said. "I just didn't realize I would be the one who was going to pay for it personally."

And ICYMI, be sure to watch the CBS News report from yesterday, "CBS News Issues Devastating Report on #ObamaCare Failure: System Needs 'Heart Transplant'."

The Next Breeding Ground for Global Jihad

From Reuel Marc Gerecht, at WSJ (via Google):

When President Obama declared that Syrian dictator Bashar Assad must "step aside" two years ago, many believed that it was only a matter of time before the U.S. intervened on behalf of the rebels battling the regime. Now that seems increasingly out of the question. The growing power of hard-core Islamic radicals among the rebels has made the White House, and many in Congress, look upon the Syrian opposition with little enthusiasm. Instead, Washington focuses on the charade of trying to relieve Assad of his chemical weapons, as if that will have any effect on the civil war.

America ignores the rebels at its peril. Yet on the left and right, anti-interventionists argue against American airstrikes, or any serious military aid, because such assistance would abet al Qaeda-linked jihadists. Perhaps what these anti-interventionists don't realize is that the president and Congress may have already done their part to create the most deadly Islamic movement since the Taliban merged with al Qaeda in the 1990s.

Social order in the Muslim world depends, as it so often does elsewhere, on older men keeping younger men in check. In Afghanistan in the 1990s, the Taliban's medieval mores—a zealously crude form of village Pashtun ethics—gained the high ground because older men and their moderating social structures had been obliterated over three decades by Afghan communists, Soviets and civil war.

Urban culture—the core of Islamic civilization—was wiped out. The elites of the country's primary ethnic groups, who had been based in the bustling, literate, Persian-speaking culture of Kabul, went into exile or became brutal warriors. Heartless men bred by battle embraced Osama bin Laden, a Saudi-born Sunni militant. Bin Laden's vision of jihad against the United States easily melded into the Taliban's localized jihad against Ahmad Shah Masoud, the Sunni Tajik commander who formed the Northern Alliance and kept the Taliban from conquering all of Afghanistan.

To be sure, Syrian Sunni culture is vastly more cosmopolitan and urbanized than Afghan Sunni culture. Syria is where Arab Bedouins first became polished men of arts and letters and transformed Byzantine architecture into a Muslim motif that defined Islamic elegance for centuries. But the shocking satellite photos of a constantly bombarded Aleppo, the center of Sunni Syria since the 10th century, ought to warn us how quickly society can be transformed—no matter how sophisticated.

Though Arab Syrian nationalism is more solid now than when it was born 90 years ago, it isn't nearly as deep as Syrians' Muslim identity. And in times of tumult in the Middle East, Islam—and the ancient divide between Sunnis and Shiites—comes to the fore. Shatter Syria into fragments, and radical Islamists who appeal to a higher calling, just as they did in Afghanistan, are guaranteed to attract young men who yearn for a mission beyond their destroyed towns and villages. There may be as many as 1,000 Sunni rebel groups scattered across Syria, stocked with such fighters.

The Taliban played on tribal sentiments while always appealing to a post-tribal, Muslim conception of state. The Islamist fighters in Syria appear to be following the Taliban's playbook. Loyalty among these men isn't ultimately based on family, tribe, town or even country, but on the supremely fraternal act of holy war.

We don't know what the recuperative power is for Sunni Syrian society. We do know that whatever the power is now, it will be much reduced in six months. If Assad's manpower reserves can hold out for another year and a half or two years, Syrian Sunni society could be beyond help.

In such a Hobbesian world, radical Sunni groups that promise "stability"—of security, home and private property—could win over a popular base that would be very difficult to dislodge. This was how the Taliban were initially welcomed into Pashtun towns that were shellshocked by war...

Continue reading at the top click-through.

eMarketer Report: Americans Spend More Time on Smartphones, Computers, Tablets Than Television

This is interesting.

At WSJ, "In Digital Era, What Does 'Watching TV' Even Mean? Study Suggests More Time Spent on Smartphones, Computers, Tablets Than Television":

We spend a full five hours and 16 minutes a day in front of a screen, and that's without even turning on a television.

So says a statistic from eMarketer, a research firm that focuses on digital media and marketing. It says that for the first time we are devoting more attention each day to smartphones, computers and tablets. All of which points to a big question: What counts as TV-watching today?

We are actually watching more television programming, just from a growing range of devices and platforms, say digital and television executives, as well as academics and statisticians. Traditional TV or cable-network fare is now available online, via streaming services like Netflix or for sale to be watched on mobile phones and tablets.

The report says that adults are watching their televisions slightly less—with a daily intake of four hours and 31 minutes this year, seven minutes less than in 2012.

The increase in mobile devices and the multitasking they allow, plus the trend toward watching TV shows on devices other than televisions, is driving the changes measured in the report, says Clark Fredricksen, a spokesman for eMarketer. The study, which came out in August, is conducted twice annually.

The company says its numbers reflect raw data and studies of consumer media behavior from sources such as companies that measure TV ratings and online traffic, social networking platforms, gadget retailers, software manufacturers and government records.

Although Americans are gravitating toward digital platforms and social networks, "in many cases, what's popular comes from the large entertainment companies," says James Webster, a professor who studies audience measurement and behavior at Northwestern University. He points to a recent video that looks homemade and shows a woman failing badly at the twerking dance move.

After the video exploded on YouTube—it has been viewed more than 13 million times—ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel announced that his team had produced the short.

Continue reading.

CBS News Issues Devastating Report on #ObamaCare Failure: System Needs 'Heart Transplant'

Jan Crawford reported this morning.

Twitchy has it linked up, "The system worked? Check out the Obamacare website’s ridiculous definition of ‘success’ [pics]."

Database programmer on Obamacare website: "It's not even ready for beta testing for my book." http://t.co/DJU5NakhQC

— Eddie Scarry (@eScarry) October 9, 2013

And here's the video:

The Guardian's Gift to Terrorists

And Glenn Greenwald's gift to terrorists, the f-king traitor.

At London's Daily Mail, "'The Guardian has handed a gift to terrorists', warns MI5 chief: Left-wing paper's Edward Snowden leaks caused 'greatest damage to western security in history' say Whitehall insiders":

A massive cache of stolen top-secret documents published in The Guardian has handed a ‘gift’ to terrorists, the head of MI5 warned last night.

In a blistering attack, Andrew Parker said the publication of confidential files leaked by US fugitive Edward Snowden had caused huge ‘harm’ to the capability of Britain’s intelligence services. Security officials say the exposé amounts to a ‘guide book’, advising terrorists on the best way to avoid detection when plotting an atrocity.

In Whitehall, it is considered to have caused the greatest damage to the Western security apparatus in history. In his first public speech since taking the job earlier this year, Mr Parker said the leaks handed the ‘advantage’ to terrorists and were a ‘gift they need to evade us and strike at will’.

He said there were several thousand Islamist extremists living in the UK who ‘see the British people as a legitimate target’.

The security services were working round the clock to stop the fanatics, but MI5 was now ‘tackling threats on more fronts than ever before’....

Mr Parker said: ‘What we know about the terrorists, and the detail of the capabilities we use against them, together represent our margin of advantage. That margin gives us the prospect of being able to detect their plots and stop them.

‘But that margin is under attack. Reporting from GCHQ is vital to the safety of this country and its citizens.

‘GCHQ intelligence has played a vital role in stopping many of the terrorist plots that MI5 and the police have tackled in the past decade.

‘It causes enormous damage to make public the reach and limits of GCHQ techniques. Such information hands the advantage to the terrorists.

'It is the gift they need to evade us and strike at will. Unfashionable as it might seem, that is why we must keep secrets secret, and why not doing so causes such harm.’

Obama Denies Death and Burial Benefits to Families of 4 Dead Soldiers

Clearly Obama relishes extracting pain from everyday citizens.

Absolutely outrageous.

At the New York Times:

You have to shake your head at the Obama death benefit snit. Beyond the gross immorality of it, it's just plain stupid. #caring

— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) October 9, 2013

Pentagon military and civilian personnel have largely escaped furloughs through legislation signed by President Obama and on orders from the defense secretary. But the death benefits — at least for the families of military personnel killed since Oct. 1, when the government shut down — are not covered by either move.

Last week, Congress quickly passed the Pay Our Military Act to ensure that active-duty soldiers and civilian support staff members were paid for their work. Over the weekend, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the Pentagon concluded that most of its 400,000 civilian employees were covered by the bill.

Some House Republicans have suggested, without citing specific language in the bill, that it also covered death benefits. “The intent of Congress was to permit D.O.D. to honor all payment and allowances to service members,” Representative Duncan Hunter, Republican of California, said in a letter to Mr. Hagel.

“The department’s decision to not make these payments is a matter of choice,” he added. “And until a correction is made to the law, it is up to you to make the appropriate judgment based on a more correct interpretation.”

The House Appropriations Committee is moving to get a bill to the floor to reinstate the benefits as early as Wednesday.

“Frankly, I think it’s disgraceful that they’re withholding these benefits,” Speaker John A. Boehner said in a brief news conference Tuesday afternoon. “But again tomorrow, the House is going to act specifically on this and I hope the president will sign it.”

#ObamaCare on #SNL

I don't watch SNL that much, for obvious reasons. But I thought they did a pretty good job mocking the Abominable Care Act last weekend, and picked up by CNN yesterday:



More at WSJ, "Software, Design Defects Cripple Health-Care Website: Government Acknowledges It Needs to Fix Design and Software Problems."

Janis Joplin, Sensational

From Kayla Yandoli, at BuzzFeed, "17 Sensational Live Performances By Janis Joplin."

Elizabeth Smart Shares Kidnapping Story '100 Percent' in New Book

At LAT, "Elizabeth Smart tells her story in new memoir."



Also at London's Daily Mail, "'He used me to act out his sick Adam and Eve fantasies': Elizabeth Smart reveals her full horror of being her captor's sex toy and slave in bombshell memoir."

'Clock is Ticking' — China Warns U.S. Over Budget Showdown

And like it's going to do any good.

At the Independent UK, "Get your fiscal house in order: China warns US as superpower expresses concern for $1.3tn of investments":

China, the biggest foreign creditor of the United States, has waded into the American budget crisis, warning Congress that it must resolve the political impasse over the debt ceiling without further delay.

The Chinese Vice Foreign Minister, Zhu Guangyao, told America’s deadlocked politicians on Monday that “the clock is ticking” and called on them to approve an extension of the national borrowing limit before the federal government is projected to run out of cash on 17 October.

“We ask that the United States earnestly takes steps to resolve in a timely way the political issues around the debt ceiling and prevent a US debt default to ensure the safety of Chinese investments in the United States,” Mr Zhu told reporters in Beijing. “This is the United States’ responsibility,” he added.

The American government entered its seventh day of shutdown on Monday, following the failure of Congress to approve the national budget a week ago. And there was little sign of progress on the still more crucial issue of the fast-approaching “debt ceiling” deadline.

Continue reading.

Johnny Carson's Second Wife Kept Secret Apartment with 'Shrine' to NFL Legend Frank Gifford

He broke into her apartment to get proof of her adultery and was devastated at what he found. He broke down in tears, according to his attorney in a new memoir.

See London's Daily Mail, "Johnny Carson confirmed his second wife's affair after he broke into her secret Manhattan apartment to discover a 'shrine' to NFL legend Frank Gifford says his one-time attorney and confidant":

The one-time lawyer and closest confidant of legendary 'Tonight Show' host Johnny Carson has revealed the moment the notoriously mercurial star broke down in tears when he discovered his wife was allegedly cheating on him.

Having been roped into breaking and entering the secret Manhattan apartment of Joanne Copeland, Carson's second wife, attorney Henry Bushkin and the entertainer discovered a virtual shrine of photographs to pro-footballer Frank Gifford - confirming Carson's greatest fears.

As Carson began to weep, Bushkin, who was aged only 27 during the clandestine 1970 raid recalls that the multi-millionaire television host's raincoat had fallen open to reveal a .38 revolver in a holster on his hip...

RTWT.

Daniel Mitchell on the Debt Ceiling

He's a good man.



Also at the New York Times, "Senate Leaders Mull Raising Debt Ceiling in Challenge to House."

Texas Teacher Cristy Nicole Deweese Outed as Playboy 'Coed of the Month'

Well, it was awhile back. No worries, right?

Actually not.

At London's Daily Mail, "Parents' outrage after high school Spanish teacher, 21, revealed as Playboy model."

Government Shutdown Gives Skateboarders New Life in Washington

This reminds me of the infamous "Skateboarding is not a crime" stickers back in the 1980s, when cities passed all kinds of laws prohibiting skating in public.

At WSJ:

Skateboarders score in shutdown; With D.C. plazas empty, the banned sport is suddenly on http://t.co/HAJ73E0KHb
— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) October 7, 2013

Mika Brzezinski: Ted Cruz Doesn't Love This Country

At Legal Insurrection, "Mika Brzezinski No. 1 on list of MSM losing it over gov’t scale-back."

And at Free Beacon, "Mika: Ted Cruz, Like-Minded Republicans Don’t Love America."

Senator Ted Cruz on 'The Kelly File'

At Fox News, "Megyn Kelly Asks Ted Cruz: What's It Like to Be the Most Hated Man in America?"

#PresidentStompyFoot

A total riot.

At Twitchy, "#PresidentStompyFoot: Obama’s shutdown snit fits inspire another ‘nails it’ hashtag."

Ah! A very accurate hashtag describing the shallow, narcissistic, petty, petulant child @BarackObama #PresidentStompyFoot

— prophet of doom (@QuisUtDeus7) October 5, 2013

A Tale of Two Mannings: 0-5 and 5-0

At USA Today, "Giants say Eli Manning is trying too hard to save team's season":

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Eli Manning has long been a fourth-quarter fortress of calm and clutch playmaking.

But not Sunday, not during a season that kept crumbling with Manning's three interceptions on consecutive drives against the type of pressure the two-time Super Bowl MVP has typically ignored in big games.

The quarterback nicknamed "Easy" has been pressing too hard to lift his wounded team, coach Tom Coughlin conceded after a crushing, 36-21 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles that buried the Giants' season.

For a while Sunday, Manning was the reason the Giants showed signs of life. He threw a pair of third-quarter touchdowns to receiver Rueben Randle. The second putting the Giants up 21-19 late in the quarter.

But then Manning and his team came unraveled. With the Giants winning two Super Bowl championships among the past six, neither players nor fans are used to failure on this scale: The Giants are 0-5 for the first time in a non-strike season since 1979.

Manning became the first quarterback since Daunte Culpepper in 2005 to throw 12 picks in first five games.

Also, "Tom Coughlin: Blame me, not Eli Manning, for 0-5 start."

And here's the other Manning. Boy, what a game, "Peyton, Broncos outduel Cowboys thanks to Romo INT."

Obama Loves Him Some Terrorist Rendition

Well, it's not "extraordinary rendition," but it's still rendition, and Uncle Barry campaigned against it.

But he's embraced it now, the hypocritical asshole.

At WaPo, "Al-Qaeda suspect’s capture represents rare ‘rendition’ by U.S. military":

The capture of an alleged al-Qaeda operative outside his home by Special Operations forces in Tripoli on Saturday and his secret removal from Libya was a rare instance of U.S. military involvement in “rendition,” the practice of grabbing terrorism suspects to face trial without an extradition proceeding and long the province of the CIA or the FBI.

U.S. officials hailed the capture of Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, who was wanted in connection with the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, as an intelligence coup that will disrupt efforts by al-Qaeda to strengthen its franchise in North Africa.

Keep reading.

And at WSJ, "Americans at War in Africa":

Al-Libi ought to be an intelligence gold mine if the Obama Administration is willing to extract it. U.S. officials are saying he is likely to be tried eventually in U.S. criminal court. But for now he is probably on a U.S. Navy vessel, where he can be interrogated safe from American civilian due process.

Al-Libi ought to be brought to Guantanamo as an illegal enemy combatant and tried by military commission. But it apparently offends the Obama Administration's political sensibilities less to keep captured killers on board a ship for weeks instead. That's also how the Administration dealt with Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, a Somali member of al Qaeda who was captured in April 2011 and kept incommunicado at sea for some two months. Secret prison, anyone?

The benefit of capturing such men, as opposed to firing a missile from a drone, is to gain intelligence to stop future attacks. The Obama Administration has captured very few al Qaeda operatives and as a result we know less than we should about the ways that al Qaeda is decentralizing and expanding in Africa. Let's hope it doesn't offer al-Libi a Miranda warning.

The benefit of capturing such men, as opposed to firing a missile from a drone, is to gain intelligence to stop future attacks. The Obama Administration has captured very few al Qaeda operatives and as a result we know less than we should about the ways that al Qaeda is decentralizing and expanding in Africa. Let's hope it doesn't offer al-Libi a Miranda warning.

Yeah, well, let's hope not. We've still got idiot Eric Holder pulling a lot of strings in the Oval Office, the goddamned traitor.

Sen. Tom Coburn: U.S. Won't Default on Debt Ceiling Impasse

At Memeorandum, "Tom Coburn: No default if ceiling stays."



Also at WaPo, "Rand Paul: It’s ‘irresponsible’ of Obama to talk about default."

Shutdown Stalemate Week Two

At WSJ, "Boehner Ties Deal to Talks on Debt: Speaker Won't Propose End to Standoff Unless Democrats Agree to Broader Deficit Negotiations":

WASHINGTON—The government shutdown enters its second week with the two parties still bitterly divided and Republicans increasingly tying the fight to a fast-approaching deadline to avoid a default on U.S. debt.

House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) said Sunday he wouldn't bring up bills to fully reopen the government or increase the country's borrowing limit unless Democrats agree to broader talks aimed at trimming the deficit. The speaker insisted he couldn't muster enough votes to pass either one without the concessions.

"The votes are not in the House to pass a clean debt limit, and the president is risking default by not having a conversation with us," Mr. Boehner told ABC in his first interview since the shutdown began. "I'm not going to raise the debt limit without a serious conversation about dealing with problems that are driving the debt up."

The fight to this point has centered on Republican demands to delay or dismantle parts of the 2010 health-care law in exchange for funding the government. Now, by pairing the standoffs over funding the government and raising the debt ceiling, the speaker is trying to force President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) to agree to GOP priorities on deficits and federal spending in return for movement on both. The two Democrats have repeatedly rejected GOP attempts to use the mid-October deadline to increase the debt limit as a bargaining chip.

White House officials responded to Mr. Boehner's comments in a series of Twitter messages. Deputy press secretary Josh Earnest said Republicans "don't have to give up anything. Just pay nation's bills on time, no strings attached." Mr. Reid challenged Mr. Boehner's view that he lacks the votes to pass a government-funding bill without Republican priorities.

"I think he does," Mr. Reid said via Twitter. "Let the House vote, and we'll find out."

Mr. Boehner faces two challenges from inside his party. Centrist Republicans, eager to fully reopen the government and avoid a default, have already reached across the aisle to explore possible solutions, while conservatives are threatening to turn their back on the speaker if a broader deficit-reduction deal doesn't include changes or delays to the new health-care law.

The tough talk from Mr. Boehner is as much about preserving his leverage with Democrats as it is about keeping Republicans unified. A group of House Republicans—members say there are 15 or more—have expressed frustration with the shutdown and urged party leaders to put the episode behind them. But the bloc has bypassed opportunities to vote against Mr. Boehner, raising questions about whether it would break with party leaders.

Continue reading.

Astonishing Visual Record of the Ku Klux Klan

Bizarre.

At London's Daily Mail, "Under the hood: Astonishing glimpse into secretive rituals and mundane home life of Ku Klux Klan members in the 21st Century."

Annie Lennox Slams 'Overtly Sexualized' Women's Pop 'Pornography'

From Annie Lennox, on Facebook:

I have to say that I'm disturbed and dismayed by the recent spate of overtly sexualised performances and videos. You know the ones I'm talking about. It seems obvious that certain record companies are peddling highly styled pornography with musical accompaniment. As if the tidal wave of sexualised imagery wasn't already bombarding impressionable young girls enough..I believe in freedom of speech and expression, but the market forces don't give a toss about the notion of boundaries. As long as there's booty to make money out of, it will be bought and sold. It's depressing to see how these performers are so eager to push this new level of low.Their assumption seems to be that misogyny- utilised and displayed through oneself is totally fine, as long as you are the one creating it. As if it's all justified by how many millions of dollars and U tube hits you get from behaving like pimp and prostitute at the same time. It's a glorified and monetized form of self harm.

She's especially talking about Miley Cyrus and Rihanna, apparently.

More at London's Daily Mail, "Annie Lennox takes aim at Miley Cyrus and Rihanna as she launches attack over 'pornographic' music videos."

As I was saying earlier, I watched Miley on SNL last night and thought it wasn't too bad. However, I've never watched the "Wrecking Ball" video until just now, which is pretty much all gratuitous nudity.

Meh. I'd much prefer to see Katy Perry nude on a wrecking ball like that, lol.

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



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

Cartoon Credit: Nate Beeler.

Judge Jeanine Pirro Worried About America's Social Breakdown and Lawlessness

Yet again a must-watch segment from Judge Jeanine.

She concludes: "Now I'm a tough New Yorker, but even I'm worried. And if I'm worried, you should be worried."

Miley Cyrus on #SNL

I watched it.

She was pretty good.

And like I always say, she and her handlers are marketing geniuses. It's working out for her way past the obligatory 15 minutes.

At LAT, "Miley Cyrus can't stop on 'SNL'."

And at Twitchy, "SNL viewers agree: Miley Cyrus should keep the hot Michele Bachmann look."

The Boehner/Bachmann spoof is here, "SNL Miley Cyrus Parody - "We Did Stop (The Government)" ft. John Boehner and Michele Bachmann."

#SpiteHouse

OMG this is delectable!

At Twitchy, "#SpiteHouse: President Stompy Foot sparks new name for White House [Photoshops]."

'Welcome to Ted Cruz's Thunderdome'

Ben Shapiro takes down MoDo, at Big Journalism.

And here's the senator on CNN this morning:



More here, "Cruz: Obamacare is hurting millions."

Speaker John Boehner on 'This Week with George Stephanopoulos'

At ABC News, "‘This Week’ Transcript: House Speaker John Boehner." (Via Memeorandum.)



Also from the Speaker's Office, "Boehner on ABC This Week: Democrats’ Refusal to Negotiate Putting Our Country At Risk."

Pasadena's Cliff's Bookstore Closes: Was One of the Many That Once Lined East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena

These are changing times.

I'm always a little surprised to see independent book sellers these days. I'd never been to Cliff's, although I've made trips to Vroman's Books right there on Colorado Blvd.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Pasadena's Cliff's Books closes up shop":

Bookstores thrived in the Playhouse district in the late 1990s. Vroman's, Super Crown, Borders, Barnes & Noble and four used book stores all made their home along a few blocks of Colorado. Today, only Vroman's, Barnes & Noble and one used book store remain.

Not only is it a tough market for booksellers, the Playhouse district has gentrified in the last decade, making it harder for quirky stores like Cliff's to compete with increasing numbers of big box stores. "Mom and pop stores are going out; you got franchise businesses coming in," said Don Cotten, manager at Angels School Supply, just a couple of doors down from Cliff's.

To Fix Education, Look to the Past

From Joanne Lipman, at WSJ, "Why Tough Teachers Get Good Results":

I had a teacher once who called his students "idiots" when they screwed up. He was our orchestra conductor, a fierce Ukrainian immigrant named Jerry Kupchynsky, and when someone played out of tune, he would stop the entire group to yell, "Who eez deaf in first violins!?" He made us rehearse until our fingers almost bled. He corrected our wayward hands and arms by poking at us with a pencil.

Today, he'd be fired. But when he died a few years ago, he was celebrated: Forty years' worth of former students and colleagues flew back to my New Jersey hometown from every corner of the country, old instruments in tow, to play a concert in his memory. I was among them, toting my long-neglected viola. When the curtain rose on our concert that day, we had formed a symphony orchestra the size of the New York Philharmonic.

I was stunned by the outpouring for the gruff old teacher we knew as Mr. K. But I was equally struck by the success of his former students. Some were musicians, but most had distinguished themselves in other fields, like law, academia and medicine. Research tells us that there is a positive correlation between music education and academic achievement. But that alone didn't explain the belated surge of gratitude for a teacher who basically tortured us through adolescence.

We're in the midst of a national wave of self-recrimination over the U.S. education system. Every day there is hand-wringing over our students falling behind the rest of the world. Fifteen-year-olds in the U.S. trail students in 12 other nations in science and 17 in math, bested by their counterparts not just in Asia but in Finland, Estonia and the Netherlands, too. An entire industry of books and consultants has grown up that capitalizes on our collective fear that American education is inadequate and asks what American educators are doing wrong.

I would ask a different question. What did Mr. K do right? What can we learn from a teacher whose methods fly in the face of everything we think we know about education today, but who was undeniably effective?

Continue reading.

I was born too late.

And sadly, I won't be able to retire too soon. I'm cracking up at some of my colleagues at work who are just now noticing how horribly they've been affected by ever-encroaching leftism and political correctness.

Diana West: "The Rebuttal: Defending 'American Betrayal' from the Book-Burners"

Diana's publishing her response to the attacks from the David Horowtiz/Ronald Radosh cabal, and I'm happy to announce that she's been gracious enough to include one of my essays in her compilation.

At Diana's blog, "FLASH: Now Available! The Rebuttal: Defending American Betrayal from the Book-Burners."

Click to RTWT at the link, although here's the list of patriots she's included:

I have published both my rebuttal, which originally appeared in three parts at Breitbart News, and a selection of these essays written in my behalf in a new book, The Rebuttal: Defending American Betrayal from the Book-Burners. Authors include Andrew Bostom, Vladimir Bukovsky, Donald Douglas, Edward Cline, M. Stanton Evans, Ruth King, Clare M. Lopez, Ned May, R.S. McCain, Takuan Seiyo, Cindy Simpson, David Solway, John L. Work and more.

And check Amazon, "The Rebuttal: Defending 'American Betrayal' from the Book-Burners."

(In Kindle here.)

And ICYMI, see the astonishing essay right now, "BUKOVSKY & STROILOV ON AMERICAN BETRAYAL."

In Georgia, Urging Republicans to Stand Strong

At NYT, "Conservative Georgia District Urges G.O.P. to Keep Up the Fight":

FORT OGLETHORPE, Ga. — Just down the road from where Union troops suffered their worst defeat of the Civil War, Jeff Epperson sang the praises of his congressman, Representative Tom Graves, whose Defund Obamacare Act set the table for the partial government shutdown.

Even though business has been slow at Mr. Epperson’s sword and knife shop since tourists stopped visiting the historic Chickamauga battlefield, which closed on Tuesday because of the furlough of federal workers in the shutdown, he said the only thing that would weaken his support for Mr. Graves would be if the congressman caved in now. In that case, he might vote for a more conservative choice in the next Republican primary.

“If he backs off, then I would say absolutely I’d be inclined to look for someone else,” said Mr. Epperson, whose store flew a Don’t Tread on Me flag.

The Republican insistence in the House on tying financing of the federal government to dismantling the Affordable Care Act is being driven by a deeply conservative caucus from places like Mr. Graves’s 14th Congressional District, newly created by Georgia’s Republican-controlled Legislature.

Even as Republican elders warn that the party is risking a voter backlash that could cost it in future elections, interviews here indicate that hard-liners like Mr. Graves have more to fear, if they waver, from a potential challenger to their right.

Mr. Graves, 43, won 73 percent of the vote in November in a district that is 85 percent white and has a 16.6 percent college graduation rate. A journey through the district, which stretches from the exurbs of Atlanta to the northwest mountains on the Tennessee border, found many voters who, even if they were unfamiliar with Mr. Graves’s biography, strongly supported him.

“He represents the people,” said Tim Ferguson, a forklift operator who was waiting for a haircut at Paul’s Barber Shop in Calhoun. “He’s not going to commit political suicide by backing down.”

Voters here viewed the Washington stalemate just as Mr. Graves and many of his party members in Congress portray it: a tale of Republicans who have repeatedly shown a willingness to compromise, while Democrats petulantly refuse to meet halfway.

“Obama should not be so dogmatic,” said Julia Welch, 82, who runs an antiques store in Dallas, the seat of Paulding County. “He wants his way and no other.”

Jon Tripcony, a surveyor in Dallas, recalled a photograph of Republican leaders in shirt sleeves facing empty seats across a table. The photo, which Mr. Graves posted on Twitter, was staged to dramatize Republicans’ call for Democrats to discuss a budget passed by the House. It may have been dismissed as a publicity stunt by much of the news media, which noted that House Republicans repeatedly refused to join a conference on a budget the Senate passed earlier. But in northwest Georgia it was taken at face value.

“There was not one single Democrat,” Mr. Tripcony said. “They’re just spoiled little kids. I don’t get it.”

Mr. Ferguson, 48, said House conservatives should not shrink from the next fiscal deadline, raising the debt ceiling, even if it means defaulting on government bonds, a prospect that economists overwhelmingly say would bring down catastrophe.

“If it has to happen for the American people to get what’s best, defunding Obamacare, so be it,” Mr. Ferguson said. “Our credit rating’s going to go down, but it went down before. Did the apocalypse come?”

The number of hard-line House conservatives is estimated from two dozen to as many as the 80 who signed a letter to Speaker John A. Boehner demanding that he tie financing the government to defunding the Affordable Care Act, which he had initially ruled out. Their politics are shaped less by the national picture for Republicans, who have lost five of the last six popular votes for president, than by the demographics of districts like this one that were drawn by conservative legislatures after the 2010 census to ensure safe Republican seats.

That the president, who lost Mr. Graves’s district by 49 percentage points last November, is unpopular was no surprise. But the level of animosity from some was acute. He was compared to a tyrant preparing to end constitutional democracy, as in Germany in the 1930s. Peggy Newsome, 73, who was picking up bags of groceries at the Paulding County Helping Hands food bank, said, “Everything he’s put his hands on, he’s screwed up.”

Shoot, Ima move to Georgia. Damn, them thar's some conservative voters.

U.S. Navy SEALs Stage Raid on Shabab Militants in Somalia

Just in on Twitter:

#BREAKING: U.S. Navy SEALs raid al-Shabab leader's Somalia home in response to Nairobi attack: http://t.co/QCrUTAJaIl

— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 5, 2013

Also at NYT, "U.S. Says Navy SEALs Stage Raid on Somali Militants." (Via Memeorandum.)

'Gravity' — Between Earth and Heaven

A.O. Scott reviews "Gravity," at the New York Times:

“Life in space is impossible.” That stark statement of scientific fact is one of the first things to appear on screen in “Gravity,” but before long, it is contradicted, or at least complicated. As our eyes (from behind 3-D glasses) adjust to the vast darkness, illuminated by streaks of sunlight refracted through the Earth’s atmosphere, we detect movement that is recognizably human and hear familiar voices. Those tiny figures bouncing around on that floating contraption — it looks like a mobile suspended from a child’s bedroom ceiling — are people. Scientists. Astronauts. Movie stars. (Sandra Bullock and George Clooney in spacesuits, as Mission Specialist Ryan Stone and Mission Commander Matt Kowalski; Ed Harris, unseen and unnamed, as “Houston” down below).

The defiance of impossibility is this movie’s theme and its reason for being. But the main challenge facing the director, Alfonso Cuarón (who wrote the script with his son Jonás), is not visualizing the unimaginable so much as overcoming the audience’s assumption that we’ve seen it all before. After more than 50 years, space travel has lost some of its luster, and movies are partly to blame for our jadedness. It has been a long time since a filmmaker conjured the awe of “2001: A Space Odyssey” or the terror of “Alien” or captured afresh the spooky wonder of a trip outside our native atmosphere.

Continue reading.

Melissa Debling for Zoo Today

Here's the lovely lady on Twitter.

Also at Zoo Magazine.

Joseph Stalin's Comeback

Actually, I don't think he's "poised" for a comeback. Shoot, he's rehabilitated for all practical purposes. It's just a matter of the continued raising of the proletariat's "revolutionary consciousness." The Democrat Party class warfare agenda is doing that right here at home.

More on that later.

Meanwhile, at WSJ, "Statue of Limitations Runs Out for Keeping Stalin Off His Pedestal: Hometown to Resurrect Bronze of Dictator, Move It to Museum; Mugs, T-Shirts, Vodka":

GORI, Georgia—Under cover of darkness here three years ago, municipal workers tore down a giant statue of this ramshackle town's most famous son: Joseph Stalin.

The 20-foot-high bronze sculpture of the former Soviet dictator, which stood on a 30-foot pedestal in Gori's central square for six decades, was dumped face down in an abandoned airfield 13 miles away. Georgia's government said the statue would be "consigned to the dustbin of history" and permanently removed from public display.

Now, "Uncle Joe" is poised for a controversial comeback.

Local officials this summer won approval from a Tbilisi court to resurrect the bronze ode to the man of steel, after petitioning Georgia's new government, which favors healing ruptured ties with Russia. The decision will see the statue restored on the grounds of Gori's Stalin Museum in time for his birthday on Dec. 21. The move has rekindled a decadeslong debate about the legacy of a man whose name has become synonymous with institutionalized brutality and oppression.

Many people are horrified in Georgia, a former Soviet state turned U.S. ally that boasts one of the world's only avenues named after George W. Bush. President Mikhail Saakashvili said the decision was "an unimaginably barbaric anti-Georgian, anti-national, anti-state act," that would place Georgia "in international isolation." But the former dictator's resurrection has been welcomed by many other Georgians and cheered in his hometown, where the Stalinist cult of personality remains intact.

Continue reading.

"Uncle Joe's" cult of personality.

Kinda like "Uncle Barry's" cult of personality. Lots of people cheer this stuff, otherwise you'd never see a return to respectability of one of the 20th century's most brutal mass murderers.

Never say "it couldn't happen here." It's already happening with the Democrat Party's statist-totalitarian agenda.

Kenya Identifies Terrorists in #Westgate Massacre (VIDEO)

At BCF, "Nairobi terrorists named as police confirm 'White Widow' not among them."

And LAT, "Four gunmen named in attack on mall in Kenya."

Veterans Resist Closure of Memorials

At Maggie's Notebook, "Ongoing UPDATES – PHOTOS: Bikers Escort WW II Veterans – Moving Barricades: Facebook Shutdown State Biker Pages."

And Legal Insurrection, "Battle of the Barrycades – Vets storm Vietnam Memorial, U.S Park Police called in."

Heading to WWII Memorial. Word is the gate is wired shut. "We're going to tear that damn thing down!" H. Obland, vet pic.twitter.com/mIASWbrFA3

— Elias Johnson (@ejohnsonNEWS) October 5, 2013

Via Memeorandum.

Dee Gordon Was Safe at Second in #Dodgers' Game 2 Loss in #NLDS

I don't care, really. But I been yanking the chains of some Braves fans on Twitter. They insist Dee Gordon was out.

Actually, it could have gone either way.

See, "Dee Gordon stolen base attempt looms large in Dodgers' loss."

Got a lot of great GIFs out of it, in any case. See, "Dee Gordon called out on controversial stolen base attempt."

Plus, more Dodgers news at LAT, "Dodgers' Dee Gordon insists he was safe on stolen base attempt." And, "Splitting is a headache for the Dodgers."

We Want the Airwaves

Ramones.

Let's rock tonight, well alright...

Enjoy...

Is Baseball Still the National Pastime?

From the Letters to the Editor, at the New York Times:

To the Editor:

Jonathan Mahler, in “Is the Game Over?” (Sunday Review, Sept. 29), seems to confuse the status of Major League Baseball with the standing of the game of baseball in American society.

While he correctly observes that professional baseball is enjoying good times even as television ratings fall far behind professional and collegiate football and basketball, he doesn’t mention more important barometers of baseball’s continuing vitality and popularity among the American people.

These include the millions of boys and girls who join thousands of youth, scholastic, collegiate and American Legion baseball teams, along with the men and women who play baseball and softball in industrial and semiprofessional urban and rural leagues, and the continuing interest in the history and cultural meaning of baseball, as measured by the sale of baseball books, the popularity of baseball films like “The Natural” and “Field of Dreams,” and the public’s continuing fascination with the origins of the sport.

Major League Baseball may indeed rank a poor third to football and basketball in television ratings, but the game remains the national pastime because it resonates more deeply in the country’s soul than any other sport.

GEORGE B. KIRSCH
Hackensack, N.J., Sept. 29, 2013

The writer is the author of “Baseball and Cricket: The Creation of American Team Sports: 1838-72” and “Baseball in Blue and Gray: The National Pastime During the Civil War.”

More at the link.

Cal Worthington, 1920-2013

You know, I've been posting all these obituaries, but frankly I've felt guilty for not posting on Cal Worthington. I drive by his dealership nearly every day. And as kid I used to crack up at his "Go see Cal" television commercials. Who didn't?

At the Los Angeles Times, "Cal Worthington dies at 92; car dealer known for wacky 'dog Spot' ads'."

Strip Search After DUI Arrest?

Well, this is probably more shocking than NSA surveillance, although actually less invasive in the end.

At WJLA News 7 Washington D.C., "Dana Holmes sues Illinois police, alleges humiliating strip search."

'Your kids will meditate in school...'

I used to jokingly play this song back in the days when California was about to reelect Governor Jerry Brown to another term as the state's chief executive. But I don't think I've been seriously reminded of Moonbeam's supreme kookiness until yesterday, with his signing of the idiotic and disgusting bill allowing more than two parents to claim custody of children.

See the Los Angeles Times, "Brown signs bill to allow children more than two legal parents."

Megyn Kelly Returns to Fox News

She was on O'Reilly's on Thursday. Her new primetime debut is scheduled for next week.

A great lady.

Samantha Lewthwaite Spells Out Her Need to Murder Disbelievers and Incites Others

At Blazing Cat Fur, "The White Widow's 'Jihadi children'."

Sarah Michelle Gellar

She's returned to network television.

LEAKS REVEAL: Obama Preparing to Destroy the Separation of Powers

At Director Blue.

Mountain Lion P-22

A great story, at the Los Angeles Times, "Scientists track cougar's wild nightlife above Hollywood."