Columbus Day Controversy

(Image from:  Wallpapers and Images)

 

I almost forgot today is Columbus Day.  While it's a federal holiday, it's not a WA State holiday, so I nearly forgot about it.

 

Unfortunately, activists aren't likely to forget anything that's happened since 1492.

 

Even when I was in grade school, way-back-when, the phrase "Columbus discovered America" was falling out of vogue for the obvious reason that the western hemisphere was already settled by Native Americans. 

 

The controversy has gotten more intense. 

 

In nearby Seattle, today is Indigenous Peoples Day. 

 

I try not to get too caught up in this.  Anyone who has read history knows that in the long European vs. Native conflict, atrocities were committed--by both sides. 

 

Leftists have a tendency to view everything prior to the Civil Rights Movement and the Feminist Movement as bad.  No, I certainly don't believe the successive governments that ran our country acted with the purest motives either.

 

I simply acknowledge the good and bad that happened in the past, and I don't hold anyone living responsible for the acts, behavior and attitudes of their long-dead ancestors.

Columbian Hookers--Back in the Limelight

(Image by Bob Gorrell)

Remember the part about the Columbian Hookers in the "Book of Phony Scandals?"

Well, it looks this particular chapter will have to be re-edited. 

Apparently, after vehement denials by Our Dear Leader's former mouthpiece, a White House staffer was, according to stifled whistleblowers, involved in the scandal.

The hooker's john, in this case one Jonathan Dach, has been given a job at the State Department's Office of Global Women's Issues.

I guess Jonathan the John's Columbian close encounter qualifies him as an expert in this field.

(Image by Michael Ramirez)

Obama, Campaign Contributors and the Ebola Outbreak

(Image by Michael Ramirez)

Yesterday, the first Ebola patient in the US died. 

Not satisfied with Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital's "procedural flaw" PR statement, explaining how they failed to catch Thomas Duncan's symptoms right away, Michelle Malkin "follows the money" which leads to some big Obama donors.

Meanwhile, Our Dear Leader's War on Ebola has had a case of mission-creep. 

Initially, the troops being deployed to Liberia were told they would be assisting in the construction of hospitals and training Liberians how to combat the disease.  In addition to all this humanitarian aid, US troops are to be tasked with handling Ebola-contaminated blood samples.

On the Ebola War Homefront, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been charged with ramping-up additional screening efforts, primarily by taking travelers' temperatures, at airports.  The details on this are, of course, vague.

All these connected dots gives us good insights into Obama's view of America in relation to the rest of the world.

(Image by Henry Payne)

Big Trouble in Little China

(Image from Steve Breen)

No this isn't a review of the 80s action movie, but about the protests going on in Hong Kong since 26 September.

Apparently, the former British colonists prefer a more democratic form of government than what the People's Republic of China has to offer. 

As of two days ago,  protestors gave in a bit, but are not planning on leaving anytime soon.  Whether this ends in another Tiananmen Square crackdown remains to be seen.

Some (many?) leftists wax poetic on how the 21st Century will be the "Chinese Century."  Meanwhile, us like-minded folks wonder if and when a US/PRC Showdown will erupt.

China is certainly making its neighbors skittish with its territorial claims in the South China Sea, along with causing all sorts of aggravation among cyber security folks.

But how powerful will China become in this century?

A lot may depend on how much power America gives away.

(Image by Henry Payne)

Bombing ISIS is Not Enough

(Image by Steve Breen)

So far, we've merely been lobbing ordnance at ISIS positions--whether they're occupied or not.

The bombing campaign appears to have little, or no effect because now there's dire reports that ISIS is winning. 

The terrorist army appears to be on the verge of seizing the border town of Kobani.

Meanwhile, inside the Ramparts of Civilization:

Four men were arrested in a terrorist investigation in London,
while tech-savvy terrorist sympathizers launched a cyber attack against an Air Force member and his son. 

Then there's the ISIS wannabe arrested in Chicago.

But of course, any American who managed to slip through the dragnet and link-up with his terrorist buddies entitled to return to the US.

The pot is on the verge of boiling over.  The question is:  How bad will we get scalded?

(Image by Gary Varvel)

 

Victory Squandered 400 Years Later?

(Image by Bob Gorrell)

Today is the 444th anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto, a crucial sea battle fought between the naval forces of Christendom and the Ottoman Empire.

This last major battle between galleys was a decisive defeat for the Ottomans.

So was the Battle of Vienna fought between 11-12 September, 1683.  The Islamic high water mark was on the 11th, which puts the September 11 Attacks into a larger historical continuum.

Our jihadist enemies believe that once an area comes under Muslim control, no matter how temporary, it is still considered part of the Islamic Ummah.  The infidels currently occupying these "lost lands" are merely squatters that should be evicted.

This concept and the key historical dates behind it are ignored by leftists (not to mention the true, ideological nature of the threat itself), and even disregarded by some conservatives.

While the Battle of Lepanto saved Europe, the question is, does Western Civilization have the will to resist today's Islamist horde? 

Especially since we already have jihadist enemies, or at least sympathizers, already inside the Ramparts of Civilization, coupled with a leader more concerned about political rivals than real enemies...

(Image by Glenn Foden)

 

Bill & Ben's Celebrity Debate on Islam

(Image by Branco) 

Last month, Bill Maher, not known for his conservative views, ventured off the Leftist Reservation while discussing Islam with Charlie Rose. 

Since then he's been crucified, figuratively of course, by fellow leftists for speaking truth to Politically Correct Power. 

Meanwhile, this past Friday, it was reported that British aid worker, Alan Henning, was beheaded--literally.

That night, Bill had it out with Ben Affleck over the ideology behind the Islamic threat.

Now, I'm no fan of Mr. Maher, and I don't expect him to become a conservative convert, a la Andrew Breitbart.  (Although we can always hope, can't we?).   But I do admire him for taking a stand against Islam's violent, political ideology.

Ben Affleck, on the other hand, has proved he's a useful fool for Jihad, and fails to recognize that cases like Oklahoma beheading has everything to do with Islam.

PC Pestilence Overrides Common Sense

(Image by Mike Lester)

Despite growing concern, Our Dear Leader is not considering a travel ban to and/or from ebola outbreak areas. 

The Party Line/Big Lie continues to be:  Implementing a quarantine will make the outbreak worse.

Politically Correct Madness has plummeted to new depths.  According to one guest on CNN, we're morally obligated to maintain travel links to Liberia because of slavery.

Talk about cherry-picking one's historical facts.  Liberia was founded by freed slaves, hence the name "Liberia."

As I mentioned in today's earlier post, if ebola does run rampant through America, it will be due to the assistance of Big Government and Political Correctness.

(Image by Dana Summers)

We're already seeing the results of such a "perfect pandemic." 

A couple weeks ago, Comrade Karla wondered if there was a correlation between the "mysterious origin" of Enterovirus 68 and the mysterious destinations our government whisked away all those illegal alien kids that have crossed the border in recent months.

Now, The Diplomad and Sharyl Attkisson are asking the same question.

The Great PC Pestilence

(Image by Robert Ariail)

 

For the past few weeks our news feeds have been plagued by the on-going coverage of the ebola outbreak in West Africa. 

 

Then, when the first patient diagnosed with the deadly disease showed up in a hospital in Dallas, TX, it's certainly looking like the Fourth Horseman has joined his fellow Apocalypse Riders...

 

(Image by Gary Varvel)

 

 The CDC Director claimed they will stop ebola in the US.  So far, the CDC hasn't been the Patient Zero in the Parade of Phony Scandals involving some of the other alphabet soup agencies. 

 

However, even this elite group of Pestilence Police isn't immune to Orwellian Newspeek.  The idea that stopping travel to & from contaminated areas will increase the likelihood of contagion makes folks wonder:  Is the government doing enough?

 

This isn't the first time a bug has been diagnosed as a Threat to Life as We Know It. 

 

If ebola turns out to be the biggest bug since the 1918 Flu Pandemic, it will have plenty of help from two other "viruses" infecting our society:  Political Correctness and Big Government, which is more concerned about "...controlling law abiding citizens than protecting them." 

 

(Image by Glenn McCoy)

 

Hazards of the Presidency...

...or at least the Obama Presidency.

I thought I'd start the week off with a dose of humor, before proceeding to the grim business of chronicling the on-going foreign policy, economic and illegal immigration disasters.

(The above image was e-mailed to me from a friend.  I'm not sure of the source at this time. If & when I found out, I'll add the proper citation).

300 Airstrikes Against ISIS--and Counting

(Image by Steve Breen)

Well so far, over 300 airstrikes have been conducted against ISIS--and yet, the terrorist army is still considered a potent threat.

As history has shown us, it's always best to end conflicts decisively on the ground, rather than tossing an assortment of high explosive ordnance at the bad guys.

(Image by Michael Ramirez)

But as The Diplomad points out, Our Dear Leader is only engaged enough in this "overseas contingency operation" to show voters, who will be going to the polls next month, that he's "doing something" about ISIS.