op ed review 8/31
THIS WEEK’S NEWS
On ISIS: “We don't have a strategy
yet”: Obama stuns Washington by
admitting he is clueless about tackling ISIS
Krauthammer: “I thought that the president could no longer
surprise me,” Krauthammer said. “I was wrong.
The result of American weakness: Russian troops roll into Ukraine: Putin calls eastern Ukraine “New
Russia”.
California Gov Jerry
Brown "nodded to the immigrants in
the room, saying it didn't matter if they had permission to be in the United
States." "You're all welcome in California," Brown reportedly
said. "This is the other Mexico," he said of the United
States, which has about 11 million Mexican immigrants. Brown told the crowd at
the event that they were welcome in the state regardless of their citizenship.
A Pew Research survey has found that one third of Mexico
wants to move to America.
Too many government employees with not enough to do: “Government publishes detailed instructions
on how to safely roast marshmallows”
The Obama administration is working to forge a sweeping
international climate change agreement to compel nations to cut their
planet-warming fossil fuel emissions, but without ratification from Congress.
This is what Ferguson was really about: “The racial unrest caused by tensions over
the shooting of black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., could be a
rallying cry for Democratic get-out-the-vote efforts, according to the voter
education committee chair for the Democratic Southern caucus.”
Obama Sends White House Aides To Attend Michael Brown’s Funeral
Michigan teacher compares Ferguson looting to the Boston Tea
Party.
Rapper Common leads tributes to slain Missouri teen Michael
Brown at MTV Video Music Awards.
Ferguson-like shooting in Utah escapes media notice; doesn’t
fit the liberal narrative, not useful for democrat get-out-the-vote efforts.
“Obamacare Now Pays for Gender Reassignment”
And as soon as they get it done they can join the
military. “Having already lifted the
“don’t ask, don’t tell” ban on gays in the military, the Pentagon is poised to
allow “transgendered Americans to serve openly in the military”.
“Except for a few
well trained groupies in the front row throwing themselves about on cue, the
American Legion remained rock silent during President Obama’s bewildering
speech to the American Legion”.
In a unanimous 71-0 vote, with no debate or discussion, the
California State Assembly passed a bill that would require the state´s board of
education to teach students the racial "significance" of Barack
Obama´s presidency as part of the standard history-social science curriculum in
the Golden State.
If you ever doubted the direction France is headed, you need
doubt no more. The headline reads: “One in six French people say they support
ISIS” ???
President Obama’s favorite billionaire has thrown him under
the Burger King bus. Warren Buffett stuck one of his big Midas thumbs in
Obama’s eye Tuesday by agreeing to pony-up $3 billion so the hamburger chain
can buy a Canadian doughnut outfit — and avoid paying millions in U.S.
corporate taxes by moving part of its headquarters to Ontario. (the US has one of the highest corporate tax
rates in the world.)
In the UK, a violent father-of-two
escaped deportation moments before being put on a plane to Jamaica – by
suddenly declaring he was homosexual. Alvin Brissett, 55, was ordered to be
sent back to his Jamaican homeland after building up a long criminal record
including thefts, drug possession, and assaults. Yet at the last moment, while
he was in handcuffs in a van at the airport, he announced that he was gay and
claimed he could not be sent to Jamaica because he could face discrimination
there. This claim halted his deportation in its tracks.
In August 2012, journalist James Foley retweeted a link to a
CNN story asking “Right-wing extremist terrorism as deadly a threat as al
Qaeda?” The article concluded that indeed it was. Two years later, a former
branch of Al Qaeda chopped off his head.
Report: “Obama Delayed James Foley Rescue a Month, Fretting over His Image and Golfing…..Pentagon
sources said Foley and the others might well have been rescued but Obama,
concerned about the ramifications of US troops being killed or captured in
Syria, took too long to authorize the mission."
The Department of Veterans Affairs depicted dissatisfied
veterans as Oscar the Grouch in a recent internal training guide. The cranky Sesame Street character who
lives in a garbage can was used in reference to veterans who will attend
town-hall events Wednesday in Philadelphia.
A Justice Department official admitted that former IRS
official Lois Lerner’s apparently missing emails actually exist on a backup
server, but the government doesn’t plan to retrieve them because “it would be
too hard.”
_________________________________________________________________________
THIS WEEK’S FEATURED COLUMN
Is Barack Obama Plotting a Coup?
John Hinderaker, Powerline Blog 8/3
That seems like an awfully strong word, but it is the term
that distinguished law professor Glenn Reynolds, no hysteric, uses to describe
the Obama administration’s oft-reported plan to issue executive amnesty to five
or six million illegal immigrants in violation of federal law. Glenn’s
characterization is a fair one. When a tyrant asserts the right to rule by
decree in a state that has formerly been subject to the rule of law, he is
commonly described as carrying out a coup d’etat.
That is just what the Obama administration has done, and
reportedly will continue to do. When Obama changed the Affordable Care Act by
decree–to name just one example, substituting “2014″ for “2013″ in a critical
provision of the statute–he acted as a tyrant. In his refusal to enforce the
immigration laws, contrary to the Constitution which requires him to “take care
that the laws be faithfully executed,” he has acted like a tinpot dictator,
asserting the right to change or ignore the law by fiat. If he now directly
nullifies Section 274(a) of the Immigration and Nationalities Act by
legalizing, and issuing work permits to, five or six million illegal
immigrants, thereby repealing federal law by decree, how else can we describe
his action but as a coup? The Obama administration openly takes the position
that the rule of law no longer applies.
Can you imagine the furor that would have resulted if
President Nixon, in the midst of the Watergate crisis, had asserted the right
to repeal or amend federal statutes by decree? No, actually, you can’t. Forget
impeachment; he would have been escorted out of the Oval Office by the Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs. What, then, makes Barack Obama special? How can he claim
the right to rule by decree without suffering the same condemnation? Well, the
answer is obvious: he is a Democrat. But is that really enough? No president,
Democrat or Republican, has ever dreamed of asserting such unconstitutional
authority.
I am one of many who have ridiculed the Democrats’ seemingly
weird obsession with impeachment. But perhaps there is method to the Democrats’
apparent madness. If they know that President Obama is about to do something
that obviously warrants impeachment–asserting the right to rule by executive
decree, and repealing the nation’s immigration laws by fiat–perhaps it is
shrewd on their part to preemptively attack the idea of impeachment and commit
Republicans to the fact that they have no thought of any such thing. Then, when
Obama makes his move, it will be harder for Republicans to switch gears and
start talking about removing him from office. That strikes me as the most
logical explanation for the Democrats’ well-coordinated, but seemingly
pointless, anti-impeachment campaign.
Today, the White House started backing off on plans to issue
an executive amnesty. Maybe, as Glenn Reynolds says, this is a sign that
someone in the White House is in touch with reality. Perhaps a coup has been
averted, on this subject at least. But eternal vigilance is the price of
liberty, so let’s not let down our guard.
________________________________________________________________________
FROM OTHER COLUMNS
"[T]he majority of fast-food customers are probably
less inclined than the petitioners of MoveOn.org to mistake high tax rates for
patriotism. This kind of distorted understanding of national loyalty may work
in populist politics, but not so much in markets. Few reasonable humans will
meditate on Burger King's corporate tax 'inversion' -- or even its Brazilian
owners -- as they wait for the frozen french fries to be dropped into the
deep-fryer. The four best-selling cars in America so far in 2014 are the Toyota
Camry, Nissan Altima, Honda Accord and Toyota Corolla. One of the best-selling
cellphone brands is South Korean. And so on. Does a Whopper taste like a
Whopper? That's all that matters. And it's all that should. Nothing really
changes for the consumer. Even among those who do pay attention, there will
very likely be many who don't believe that the purpose of a business is to
placate the Obama administration or generate more revenue for government. The
executive's charge is to grow and sustain a healthy business, which this deal
almost unquestionably does."
-David Harsanyi
________________________________________________________________________
LEFTIST WATCH
A shadowy network of wealthy liberal donors bankrolled an
operation to pack one of America’s most powerful courts with progressive
judges, according to documents reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon. Now the
effort could prevent an Obamacare challenge from reaching the Supreme Court,
legal experts say.
As the 2014 midterm elections approached, the media were
quick to criticize conservative donors like the Koch brothers for backing
issues important to them. But journalists largely ignored the incredible
financial power being used to promote the liberal agenda. Five top donors –
Michael Bloomberg, Warren Buffett, Pierre Omidyar, Tom Steyer and George Soros’s
own son, Jonathan – are major funders of the left. Together, they have
contributed at least $2.7 billion since 2000 to groups pushing abortion, gun
control, climate change alarmism and liberal candidates. That’s not how major
media depicted them.
Billionaire liberal activist Tom Steyer is dumping millions
into campaign ads this year, attacking Republican lawmakers he deems unfriendly
to the environment. But Steyer´s colorful and sometimes bizarre advertisements
-- the latest of which shows Iowa Republican Senate candidate Joni Ernst in the
pocket of creepy cigar-chomping business tycoons -- are drawing mixed reviews.
"
____________________________________________________________________________
BOOKS
America may be ready for a
conservative-leaning late night host, but the networks would never allow it,
argues a longtime producer of “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”. “I absolutely
think America would welcome a conservative late night host with open arms,”
Dave Berg, who worked on Leno’s “Tonight Show” for 18 of the 21 years it was on
the air, told The Daily Caller in an interview about his new book, “Behind the
Curtain: An Insider’s View of Jay Leno’s Tonight Show.” “The critics would
despise it, which would give it even more credibility,” he continued. “However,
you won’t see
______________________________________________________________________
ISLAM
The convicted shooter in the Fort Hood massacre has written
a letter to the leader of the ISIS saying he wants to become a
"citizen" of the caliphate, in the latest example of the terror
group's reach inside the U.S.
How do some Muslim women show their support for ISIS? “Women from Britain, Australia and Malaysia
have reportedly travelled to Iraq and Syria to serve as 'comfort women' for
Isis militants, a phenomenon which has become known as "sexual
jihad."
ISIS may target Pope Francis.
The federal government believes a terrorist attack at the
U.S.-Mexico border is imminent and has put out a bulletin on the matter
A laptop allegedly seized from an ISIS base in Syria
contains plans to launch devastating terror attacks harnessing the bubonic
plague.
Execution of seven people caps off a prayer service at a
mosque in Gaza. Friday's events began with the shooting of 11 alleged informants at the
Gaza City police headquarters in the morning. Of the 11, two were women.
An Iranian Grand Ayatollah has said high speed internet is
unethical and contrary to humanitarian principles. “… third generation mobile communications
technology — and broadband internet were morally wrong, and that there needed
to be standards to prevent users from dangers such as “immoral and inhumane”
videos and photos, rumors, and espionage.”
Jimmy Carter To Give Keynote Speech At Muslim Convention
In Detroit
___________________________________________________________________________
ARTICLES
Sometimes a round of
golf is just a round of golf. And sometimes it reveals the essence of a man. President
Obama’s decision to hit the links and yuk it up with pals immediately after
speaking about the beheading of James Foley was no ordinary mistake. Nor was
it a simple gaffe. The decision continues to cause an uproar because, like an
X-ray, there is no escaping the image. It shows there is no there there. With
even his media praetorian guard appalled, the golf outing is sparking a wider
understanding that Obama is hollow, empty of the routine qualities Americans
expect from their president. Simple decency and respect for Foley’s horrified
parents should have been enough to sober him. If that didn’t do it, the
realization that the Islamic State had declared war on America in the most
gruesome fashion imaginable should have sounded a call of duty in his head. Instead,
Obama continued with his vacation and was photographed looking as if he didn’t
have a care in the world. Suddenly, that megawatt smile that often charmed
voters wasn’t so charming. It was vacuous. He looked like an empty-headed frat
boy, numb to the world. Maybe that’s not just an appearance. Maybe it’s the
truth. Maybe that’s all there is.
At last, we know the
reason why comedy writers don’t make fun of President Obama. It turns out the
man is completely unmockable……..Says retired Saturday Night Live
jokewriter: “It’s like being a rock
climber looking up at a thousand-foot-high face of solid obsidian, polished and
oiled…..There’s not a single thing to grab onto — certainly not a flaw or hook
that you can caricature……” Got that? The charter Choom Ganger,
confessed eater of dog and snorter of coke. The doofus who thinks the language
spoken by Austrians is “Austrian,” that you pronounce the p in “corpsman” and
that ATMs are the reason why job growth is sluggish. The egomaniac who gave the
queen of England an iPod loaded with his own speeches and said he was better at
everything than the people who work for him. The empty suit with so little
real-world knowledge that he referred to his brief stint working for an
ordinary profit-seeking company as time “behind enemy lines.” The phony who
tells everyone he’s from Chicago, though he didn’t live there until his 20s,
and lets you know that he’s talking to people he believes to be stupid by
droppin’ his g’s. The world-saving Kal-El from a distant solar system who told
us he’d heal the planet and cause the oceans to stop rising. The guy who shared
a middle name with one of the most hated dictators on earth……Nope, nothing
there to mock. No way to get a grip on this polished, oiled obsidian. So comedy
writers didn’t and mostly still don’t.
Karl Rove is at it once again. The so-called “strategist” is again
confusing strategy with tactics, and is about to blow easy Senate pickups in
Arkansas and North Carolina. This is not merely snatching defeat from the jaws
of victory -- this is snatching defeat from the bowels of victory -- in
astonishing tone-deaf fashion. There is absolutely no excuse for not winning
these two races. So how is the one-time “boy genius” doing this? By running ads
attacking Senators Mark Pryor and Kay Hagan from the left. Yes, you heard that
right.
Debate about Ferguson between the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Dr.
Ben Carson, who may decide to run for president. You can see from this
conversation why Carson would be such a compelling candidate. And oh, how nice
it would be if African Americans would listen to him instead of people like
Jackson and Al Sharpton.
In Washington State, we know all about the blue-state Diaspora: “Over the last few decades, residents of many
traditionally liberal states have moved to states that were once more conservative.
And this pattern has played an important role in helping the Democratic Party
win the last two presidential elections and four of the last six.”
__________________________________________________________________________
WEBSITES
The National Republican Senatorial Campaign has developed a
multi-level online computer game. The game, called "Mission
Majority," is programmed to look like an 8-bit-era video game and features
an elephant named Giopi (sounds like "GOP") as a playable character.
The player runs and jumps, collecting "keys" to Republican victory
and vanquishing bad guys like "taxers" and "mudslingers." A
successfully destroyed baddie emits an embarrassing audio clip from Democrats
like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
_________________________________________________________________________
WISE WORDS
"Anyone may arrange his affairs so that his taxes shall
be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which best pays
the treasury. There is not even a patriotic duty to increase one’s taxes."
-Judge Learned Hand
“Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the
germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition."
-Thomas Jefferson
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