Obamacare/Gov'mint Shutdown a Distraction

 

(Image by Gary Varvel)

 

For months, commentators, Tea Partiers and other not-quite-Republicans have advocated that Republican politicians should let the Obamacare train derail on it's own--as depicted in the above cartoon.  But they insist on picking a fight by threatening to defund Obamacare inadvertantly triggering a government shutdown. 

 

True Our Dear Leader is refusing to negotiate with Republicans--but is willing to negotiate with our enemies and adversaries. 

 

But should a shutdown occur, Republicans will be the scapegoats.

 

Or is that scapelephants?

 

Thomas Sowell points out this sort of brinkmanship provides Team Obama with a distraction from all the "phony scandals". 

 

This passage in particular caught my eye:

 

What matters is that this distraction solves Barack Obama’s political problems that he could not possibly have solved by himself.

 

Reflecting on it, this strikes me as a common theme with the "O'ministration." A lot of (all of?) Obama's initiatives required others to step in (like Vladimir Putin) and pull his presidential chestnuts out of the fire.

"No Ugly, or Fat People on the Rope Line"

 

(Image:  "Fat Bastard" from the Austin Powers movies)

 

No, the title isn't mine.  I just copied it from a post from The Diplomad. 

 

According one of his latest posts, Hillary Clinton only wanted "beautiful people" near the rope line as she departed Panama.

 

Apparently, King Barack's possible successor has a mean streak that dates back to her college days. 

 

I wonder how many folks in DC really like the idea of a "Return of the Clintons?"

A Hero Emerges in Kenya

 

(Image by Bob Gorrell)

 

The other day, word got out that an ex-Royal Marine emerged as a hero during the terrorist attack against the Westgate Mall in Nairobi. 

 

This was the first article I read revealing some of the horrific experiences the hostages underwent/currently undergoing.  While the UK's Mail appears to do a fine job of reporting the harsh realities, the BBC, by comparison is suffering from a severe case of dhimmitude.

 

It also goes to show what one brave and armed person can accomplish--contrary to the passive advice given by our government, the liberal media and the gun control freaks in general:  Remember when colleges were advising women to pee or puke to avoid being raped?

Obama Guns & Phones

(Image by Glenn McCoy)

The mall siege in Kenya continues and may help the terrorist recruiting drive here in the US. 

Both Bill O'Reilly and The Diplomad rail against the unwillingness of the US and the rest of the world to confront Muslim violence.

Not only Muslims killing infidels and jews, but their fellow Muslims as well.  Now there's reports of rebel vs rebel violence in Syria.

You remember Syria don't you?  Even though Team Obama would like to sweep it under the rug.  The Diplomad, once again points out that thanks to the international bureaucracy, nothing will effectively be done about the Syrian Government's use of chemical weapons.

So what's all this have to do with a political cartoon about drug cartels, terrorists and an Obama supporter?

Well, when one of my friends e-mailed is the rebel vs rebel article, the thing that struck me the most wasn't the intra-Muslim violence, which has been going on since the death of Mohammed, but the image of a rebel wielding an M-4.

This made me think: 

I guess it's okay for Obama's Al-Qaeda buddies to be issued M-4s (which are fully automatic, by the way), while law-abiding American citizens are being told they should not be buying AR-15s (which are not fully automatic, by the way).

More Banana Republicization of America

(Image from the cover art for the 1978 version of the game Junta)

 

Remember yesterday's post about America de-evolving into a banana republic?

Here's a story out of Towson, MD, where concerned dad, Robert Small, tried asking some tough questions about Common Core, a pending, big government, one-size fits-all curriculum.  Because of this "brazen" behavior, he was manhandled out of the meeting.

Mr. Small was nearly charged with assaulting a police officer.  Fortunately, the charges were dropped--but not without an admonition from the County's Attorney General's office declaring Mr. Small was disruptive and violated the rules of the meeting.

But then again, it wasn't really a "meeting" was it?  You know, a get-together involving two-way discussions.  Instead this was intended as a briefing with no room for Q&A.

Since I don't have any children enrolled in any K-12 Indoctrination (formerly known as "public school"), I had no idea what this Common Core was all about.

Based on the wikipedia entry and the Common Core Standards website, it all sounds great and but a few hold-out states, Maryland being one of them, are on board.

But, like Obamacare, it's what's underneath the surface that has many of like-minded folks riled.  YouTube policital & social commentator, Julie Borowski reveals some of the problems with Common Core.

A Julie Borowski Fan

 

 

 

The other night, I caught John Stossel's show on FOX, which featured a segment bashing the NSA "phony scandal," by Julie Borowski (aka Token Libertarian Girl).

While I don't consider myself a Libertarian, I like most of what they say and stand for, more so than the so-called progressive/liberal/Democrats.

Julie Borowski is more than just a zany YouTube personality...

 

...she's also a columnist for columnist for Townhall and policy analyst for Freedomworks.

 

I'm sure I'll come across one of her YouTube videos that I may not agree with.  But even if I do, I'm sure she'll make me laugh.

 

In addition to YouTube, Miss Borowski can also be found on Facebook and Twitter. 

The Banana Republic of America

 

 

 

Nearly all of us like-minded folks have been concerned about the direction our country is heading.  We consider the "phony scandals" to be all too real and it pains us to see our great nation in apparent--or all too real--decline.

Just how bad could America's decline be?

Mark Steyn warns that our next stop is a banana republic.

Terrorist Attack at Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya

 

Over the weekend, while our political ruling class was arguing over the debt ceiling and Obamacare, which is threatening to shut down the government (again); terrorists attacked a shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya.  As of now, "most" hostages have been freed. 

 

 

 

 

Be Sure to Read the Warning Label

(Image by Bob Gorrell)

What Difference Does It Make...

...if there is/was another Muslim Brotherhood supporter among the Clinton ranks? 

The friend who introduced us to this story wrote: 

"Huma is a pretty highly-placed MB supporter, her Weiner troubles aside. I did not know they had others in the Clintonite Camp."

I didn't either.

And where there's one--two actually--is it safe to assume there's more?

Public Safety and a Gun-Free Zone Military

(Image by Glenn McCoy)

While Our Dear Leader is once again leading his Obamacare Bandwagon Tour...

(Image by Lisa Benson)

...Michelle Malkin warns us that our government is a threat to public safety. 

Meanwhile, Bob Barr asks why do our military installations remain gun-free zones? 

Why indeed.

(The short answer is to push an anti-gun agenda).

Echoes of Munich ('38)

(Image by Glenn Foden)

Welcome to the 1930s--Part II. 

Members of Team Obama are patting themselves on the back for achieving peace in our time, but none of them have the foresight on the most likely consequences of this hint of Munich.

Since Assad was essentially granted a reprieve, he'll most likely go on murdering his own subjects.

Meanwhile, Our Dear Leader has more "important" issues to deal with...

 (Image by Henry Payne)

...like waging war against Republicans, or any other group tagged as being "anti-Obama", for that matter.

Immediate Aftermath of Washington Naval Yard Shooting

(Image: The late and unlamented Aaron Alexis)

As I mentioned in yesterday's Breaking News post, it didn't take long for liberals to take up arms on gun control.  Now Dianne Feinstein and President Obama attempt to rekindle their gun control fire. 

The lame-stream media didn't help matters any.  Instead of just reporting the facts as they were made known commentators, like CNN's Piers Morgan, took the opportunity to vent against "assault weapons," specifically, the AR-15.

The problem was--an AR-15 was not used by the shooter.  Somebody should let the folks at the NY Daily News should change their headline...

And of course, our Dear Leader's mouthpiece is talking about implementing executive actions.
Instead of demanding to disarm our law abiding citizens, those of us on the conservative side are looking at things differently.

Like:

When did military bases become gun-free zones?  It boggles my mind that someone could wreck havoc in a facility that should be an armed camp.  Major Hasan and Aaron Alexis should have been gunned down immediately after opening fire. 

How did this guy get a badge? Once again, numerous "red flags" were ignored, despite a history of disturbing behavior. 

S.E. Cupp points out that the key issue here isn't more gun control laws, which have been and will continue to be circumvented, but addressing mental health issues.

As an aside, for those of us in the Pacific Northwest, there's even a "local connection" regarding the shooter.

Exit Strategy Exit Fee

(Image by Taylor Jones)

I was trolling to internet for more details on the Washington Naval Yard shooting.  So far one suspect has been identified and 12 people have been killed .  Otherwise, the story is still unfolding.

In the meantime, I came across another gem by Mark Steyn:  Apparently we have to fly all our equipment out of Afghanistan in order to avoid "customs fines".

So our "smartest person in the room" president and his cronies forgot to take corruption into account when concocting their quickie exit strategy. 

Be Sure to Check the Cover

(Image by Henry Payne)

Mark Steyn wrote a short follow-on piece today and made the recommendation that you check the cover page of the publication before delving in to it.  Otherwise, you'll be reading something remeniscent of the Soviet Union's "Pravda."

Meanwhile, The Diplomad, rolls-in on the "Peace in Our Time Deal".

Breaking News: Mass Shooting at Washington Naval Yard

All the national networks are covering the news of a mass shooting that occurred earlier today at the Washington Navy Yard.  The story is still unfolding. 

Another scrolling update is available at Breitbart. 

Even though the manhunt for other suspects/accomplices (at this time, its reported as two additional perpetrators), the "usual suspects" have already slithered out of the woodwork demanding gun control.

The first is none other than "the Fonz", while commentator David Frum made snide swipes at law abiding gun owners.

Both fail to realize that military installations are essentially "gun free zones."  No matter how many gun control laws are passed, anyone hellbent on wrecking havoc will be able to hunt with several minutes of impunity at the gun free zone watering hole.

When I first heard the news this morning, I thought "oh, a Fort Hood copycat killer." 

Even though I'm a mere blogger, my memory is better than a paid CNN anchor. 

My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.

Rendering America Ineffective

(Image by Beeler)

 

During last week's Syrian shenanigans, I managed to read observations from just about every commentator that I like and respect.

 

But one voice was missing:  Mark Steyn.

 

It wasn't until Friday the 13th that he finally rolled-in with his commentary on American Ineffectualism.

 

VDH follows up with an encapsulated view of Team Obama's flip-flop and floundering in his Syria in a nutshell article.

Gun Grabbing Senators Get the Boot in CO

(Image from FOX News)

While the liberal media is patting Our Dear Leader on the back for "playing" Czar Putin, a gun rights battle was waged in the Centennial State.

Both senators were voted out of office by an historic recall election because Coloradans had no stomach for their proposed gun control laws.  Of course, Angela Giron, one of the now-ex-senators believes there's another culprit responsible for her loss:  "Voter suppression"

Of course, the outcome of the vote had nothing to do with what Ms. Giron's co-conspirator, John Morse, said about his fellow gun-owning citizens...

Which is probably why I haven't heard any post-election meltdowns by Mr. Morse.  He's said enough already.

Now that the Empire State's Moff Bloomberg's dream of bringing gun control to Colorado melted down, he may be funneling "Bloomberg Bucks" into Virginia. 

Hopefully, Virginians will follow the example set by the citizens of Colorado.

Clown Car Diplomacy

(Image by Henry Payne)

It's been a heckuva ride for Team Obama this week.  All set--kinda sorts--to use some dubiously miniscule amount of force to "fire a shot across Assad's bow" in response to the "overwhelming evidence" the Syrian government.  Then Vladimir Putin stepped in and offered to broker a deal of disarming the Syrian government of it's chemical weapons. 

Here's where things stand now.

Some liberal media types are tyring to convince us that Obama is Machiavelli incarnate.

 

(Image by Eric Allie)

But us conservative-ish types see it differently.  Essentially, Putin has taken Obama off the hook for something he really didn't want to do.

(Image by Chip Bok)

Czar Putin was even nice enough to write an op-ed in the NYT (this version annotated by the WaPo). 

But Charles Krauthammer has read between the lines, exposing Putin's, Assad's and even Obama's strategy and warns about the bitter fruits of epic incompetence.

Michael Gerson concludes that Obama's missteps that have led to our retreat from Syria.

For a thoroughly scathing review of Team O's incompetence, you can read some of The Diplomad's recent posts about:

Driving the Obama-Kerry Clown Car into the ditch .

The sad little man in the world's biggest office

and

Now we dither

Our Dear Leader and his team are definately out of their league when dealing with Putin.  Heck they've been playing out of their league when dealing with Assad, Kim Jong Un, just to name a few from the world's Rogues Gallery.

(Image by Eric Allie)

There's been a lot of message traffic this week between my friends and I over the Russo-Syrian Alliance.  This post is already link-heavy, so I'll just add the response from a friend who explained the appeal of this last political cartoon I hijacked from Townhall:

It's...just so hilarious. I find it funny on so many levels because it so concisely reflects the true situation:

1) Obama is so clueless he’s playing the wrong game.
2) Obama is so dumb he doesn’t even know how to play the game he thinks he’s playing.
3) Obama is so smug that he thinks he actually won the game.
4) Putin just can’t believe what a fool Obama really is.

Scandals? What Scandals?

 

 

 

Team Obama has pulled one of the oldest tricks out of the Machiavellian Playbook:  When a leader is faced with trouble at home, generate/exacerbate a crisis beyond the borders. 

High-Seas Hijinks in the Med

While we await Our Dear Leader's speech on Tuesday (10 Sep 2013), Russia and now China are dispatching naval ships to the Mediterranean (the "Med" in naval jargon).  In Russia's case, they're sending reinforcements for the ships already there.

I find it very interesting that of all the vessels China could dispatch to "observe the actions" of US and Russian ships, they're sending an amphibious dock landing ship. 

I didn't know amphibious dock landing ships made good reconnaissance vessels.  Of course, it's been a while since I've played a naval wargame, so what do I know?

What if this amphibious dock landing ship actually docks with something, like a pier in a Syrian port, then "observes" supplies being rolled off?

What would Team Obama do about a Chinese naval vessel serving as a Syrian supply conduit? 

Anything?  What could we do without triggering a direct confrontation with China?

I admit I'm speculating about this possible sea-side "Ho-Chi-Min Trail."  But I can't help thinking that, despite all the firepower we're sending to the Med, Team Obama is still ignoring every principle of war published since Sun Tzu's best seller.  Meanwhile, we may be witnessing the Chinese employment of Economy of Force. 

Another interesting tidbit, is that while Russia's on-again-off-again cohort is sending an "observation ship," our longest standing ally, Great Britain has bowed out of this one.

Someone needs to update this graphic in the newsroom...

 

And here's some real estate in Damascus, Team Obama may be looking at...

 

Ramping-Up for the Bay of Pigs II?

 

Obama's "wartime logo?"

 

A couple of days ago a scathing article by Robert H. Scales was published in the WaPo.  As a retired US Army major general, he's been hearing a lot of complaints by his colleagues about the Syrian "non-war" plans.  Most damning of all--this is a war they don't want to fight.

Charles Krauthammer points out that unless Obama gets serious about what is to be accomplished by attacking Syria, then Congress should vote "no."

Meanwhile, the Obama machine is rolling forward and stifling critics.  Even members of the Congressional Black Caucus were told to "zip it" on Syria.  And to top it all off, Our Dear Leader is scheduled to appeal to the American people for intervening in Syria on September 10th. 

Normally, I'm seeing bad guys taken out and their toys broken.  But what liberal politicians and the liberal media don't understand is that war is an all-or-nothing undertaking.  Despite the rabid cries of "Bush Lied, Kids Died," at least the previous administration (and his dad's) had some objectives in mind, albiet however limited they were, or turned out to be.

Team Obama has none.

The Diplomad made our current mobilization to the Bay of Pigs. 

Hopefully, if Obama orders a strike against Syria, it won't end the same way as the original fiasco.

Obama's Cool War

While I've been off-line due to work, my e-mail inbox nearly burst with the accumulated message traffic for the past several days. 

Nearly all of it had to do with one topic:  Syria.

So, where to begin?

First, there's this indictment of Obama's staggering incompetence...

(Image by Eric Allie)

...which of course, now Obama's saying he didn't set any red lines, the world did. 

Meanwhile the GOP is also on thin ice, threatening to taking the US back to the 1930s.  But on the otherhand most of us conservative types don't want America acting as Al-Qaeda's Air Force. 

We're also upset over the blatant about face Democrats, along with the media have done, since "Bush's Wars."  Nancy Pelosi is now against it before she was for it, while the DNC Chairman is also for it.  Comrade Karla was quick to point out her chutzpah:

"She so forcefully makes the same arguments she condemned just 10 years ago!"

Here's another about-face example:

(Image by Glenn Foden)

The commentators and bloggers I read are all against attacking Syria:

Diplomad is not happy with the idea of attacking Syria, as evidenced by his posts here, here, here and most recently here. 

VDH points out how, over the years, Obama indicted Obama and asks, is the war to save face, or save lives?

And finally, Mark Steyn compares "Bush's Wars" with Obama's accidental war.

But it's not going to be an acutal "war," just a "shot across the bow."  With all the contortions the Democrats are doing to justify the impending non-war, Dennis Miller rolled-in with this comment on Facebook: 

"We have GOT to be the only country that sends out "Save the Date" attack cards." 

Operation True Lies?

(Image:  "Spy Romance" by "Spycrap")

 

Just over a week ago, news broke of yet another misuse of our government's intelligence capabilities.  Apparently, an undisclosed number of employees at the NSA have been spying, not on our nation's enemies, but on their "love interests."

 

Or in pseudo spook-speak:  "LoveInt."

 

Maybe this is a case of Live imitating art...

 

...Operation "True Lies"?

 

Last night, one of the commentators on Red Eye, I think it was Andrew Levy, who said that normally, this story wouldn't garner much notice.  However, when added to all the other "phony scandals," it makes people wonder what other abuses of power is going on?

 

Or at least among those of us who care and are paying attention.