Friday Afternoon Roundup - Locked and Loaded

LET'S GET RIGHT TO THE POINT

While the White House was busy drafting proposals to ban assault rifles, the last of the regulations imposed on Saudi travel to the United States after September 11 were being taken apart. While some government officials were busy planning how to disarm Americans, other officials were negotiating the transfer of F-16s and Abrams tanks to Muslim Brotherhood-run Egypt.

Obama is unwilling to trust Americans with an AR-15, but is willing to trust a genocidal terrorist group with Abrams tanks and F-16 jets. The F-16’s M61 Vulcan cannon can fire 6,000 rounds a minute and the 146 lb warhead of its HARM missiles can do a lot more than put a few dents in a brick wall. The Abrams’ 120 mm cannon can penetrate 26 inches of steel armor making it a good deal more formidable than even the wildest fantasies of San Francisco liberals about the capabilities of a so-called “assault rifle.”

While Obama has not been willing to respect the Constitution of the United States and its Bill of Rights, he was willing to arm a terrorist group whose motto is, “The Koran is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader, Jihad is our path and death in the name of Allah is our goal.”

If a High School student wrote that on his Facebook page, he would be in police custody within the hour, but an international organization and national government that trades in such rhetoric gets devastating firepower from our government… free of charge.

From, "Arming Terrorists, Disarming Americans". My Front Page article this week.

Gun control is not about the guns. It's about who is trusted to have them. That is the fundamental question in any gun control debate.

Gun control is not about banning all guns. It's about banning some people from having guns.




KATRINA'S SECRETS

Nagin flew to Jamaica 82 days after the storm on the dime of a city contractor who is now in jail while people were still trying to get back in their homes and cops were still finding bodies in cars and attics.

He was indicted Friday on charges that he used his office for personal gain, accepting payoffs, free trips and gratuities from contractors while the city was struggling to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

But don’t worry about Ray. He’s got a book out. “Katrina’s Secrets: Storms After the Storm.”

Hurricane Katrina left us on a quarantined island of sorts where we were surrounded by evil and ill intentions,” Nagin writes in Katrina’s Secrets; Storms After the Storm, Vol. 1, due Wednesday. “Our neighbors were not very neighborly when it really counted. They along with others helped make an intolerable Katrina experience akin to being in hell without ice water.”

Ray Nagin is a big believer that climate change is real and our only way out is to stimulate our economy by developing and mass marketing green energy alternatives. He is a user at his home, office and drives hybrid cars. During his time as Mayor of New Orleans he pushed innovative green initiatives that included two of the largest LEED certified affordable housing communities in the country. The city also has fleets of biofuel buses and vehicles.

It's not easy being green. And getting a free trip to Jamaica is just like being in hell without ice water.





ROCKETS OR SPACESHIPS

A Palestinian musician is blaming the U.S. and Israel for the fact that the Palestinians have not yet been able to send a man to the moon.

"Of course we want to go to the moon, but we cannot do it with the occupation. And who’s responsible for the occupation as well? America, the USA. They are sponsoring billions of dollars every year to make us dig under tunnels. I didn’t like it, and it was a sad song at the beginning. How come we are digging tunnels and they are reaching outer space?"

Keep on teaching your children to blow themselves up and you'll still be digging tunnels a thousand years from now.






WHAT IF THE WORLD ENDED YESTERDAY?

James Hansen, the man who looked at Venus and decided that it was once just like Earth before the Venusians built too many smokestacks and ruined it all, gave a very timely warning back on January 17, 2009.

"Barack Obama has only four years to save the world."

So we're done then. The environment is toast. Pack your bags. Bundle up your cats, dogs, penguins and cleaning robots into the SUV and drive north into the ice gloriously blasting pollution in your wake while tossing soda cans out the window because it no longer matters… the world is doomed.

And isn’t that liberating?




WHEN ALLAH CAME TO GREENWICH VILLAGE

In the seventies, the Village Voice had claimed that Henry Kissinger could take a lesson from Mamoun’s where “Arabs and Jews” eat the same table. But the lesson that would be tonight was of a very different kind.

The Muslim group was sitting on the car that McCarron and his friends were planning to drive home from their New York City outing and became aggressive when they were asked to get off.

McCarron, who had graduated with a degree in public and community services studies and participated in a Catholic church’s ministry for “the study and practice of nonviolence”, tried to defuse the situation.

“We are going to f— you up,”  one of the Muslims answered. Arming themselves with a baseball and tire irons from the trunk of their car, at least seven of them assaulted Kevin McCarron, fracturing his skull.

Sherif Rizk was arrested by the police. As was Hatem Farsakh. Facebook and MySpace profiles that may belong to Farsakh show that he calls himself the “Palestinian Prince.” Sherif Rizk’s “Likes” apparently include, “Daily Dawah”, “I need Allah in my life”, “Occupy Wall Street”, “Prophet Mohammed”, “Sucka 4 Blondes”, “I’m a Muslim and I’m Proud”,  “Israel is Not a Country” and “Please Say Yes to Support a Ban on Cartoons of Prophet Mohammed.”

“Palestinian Prince” and Muslim Gang Savagely Assault Catholic Student Committed to Non-Violence




WE CARE A LOT

Both sides in the Syrian civil war have racked up a score of 885 Palestinian Arabs dead.

Hamas told the UNRWA that they will not accept Palestinian Arab refugees from Syria because it will undermine their political case against Israel.

President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority agreed, saying, “It’s better they die in Syria than give up their right of return.”

Jordan has announced that it won’t take their Palestinian Arab “brethren” because… it’s Israel fault. 

Syria Kills 885 Palestinian Arabs that Palestinian Authority, Hamas and Jordan Refuse to Take In





FORGET IT BARACK, IT'S CHICAGOTOWN

The former chieftains, several of them ex-convicts, represented some of the most notorious gangs on the South and West Sides, including the Vice Lords, Gangster Disciples, Black Disciples, Cobras, Black P Stones, and Black Gangsters. Before the election, the gangs agreed to set aside decades-old rivalries and bloody vendettas to operate as a unified political force, which they called Black United Voters of Chicago.

A Latin King, interviewed at Cook County Jail, recalls how the top leader of his gang, the Corona, ordered every member in his area to vote for Ricardo Muñoz, the 22nd Ward alderman. “Every chapter had to vote for that guy, anyone who was eligible to vote,” says the Latin King. “That was a direct order. That means you can’t say no. If you do, you face a violation”—typically a beating, or worse.

Chicago Politicians Solicit Support from the Gangs Responsible for 80% of Murders





HOW MAYOR BLOOMBERG FUNDS AL QAEDA

New York has the highest cigarette tax rate of any state, and nearly two-thirds of the state’s cigarette market is illegal, announced the think tank Tax Foundation on Thursday.

In New York City the tax rate is even higher, adding another $1.50 per pack to the state rate. It’s not uncommon for smokers to pay $12 for a pack.

Large scale cigarette smuggling networks in New York State are dominated by tight knit nationality-based networks, primarily families through blood or marriage of Lebanese, Yemeni, Jordanian and Palestinian descent.

Federal and New York State law enforcement officials estimate that nearly 60 percent of all convenience retail outlets in New York City are now Arab-owned, and with the Arab networks compartmentalized by ethnicity and family ties, the risk of infiltration by law enforcement is minimal.

In total, law enforcement officials in New York State estimate that well-organized cigarette smuggling networks generate between $200,000 – $300,000 per week. A large percentage of the money is believed to be sent back to the Middle East where it directly or indirectly finances groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas and Al Qaeda.

...maybe they can get into large sodas next.

3 Out of 5 Cigarettes Sold in State With Highest Cigarette Taxes are Smuggled





BY THE BBQ LIGHT OF ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION

In 2009, Obama visited Cairo and in his famous speech praised Al Azhar University as “a beacon of Islamic learning; and for over a century.”

“It was Islam, at places like Al-Azhar,” Obama said, “that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe’s Renaissance and Enlightenment.”

And nothing says light of civilization… like cannibalism.

“Listen also to what they teach to kids… It says, “We allowed the eating of the flesh of dead humans… under necessary conditions. It [Dead human flesh] must not be cooked or grilled to avoid Haram [wrongdoing]. o he’s allowed to eat him without cooking or grilling. …and he can kill a murtadd (apostate) and eat him."

"This is being taught here at al-Azhar (religious university)?"

"Listen, sir!… “Al-Azhar al-Sharif (honorable al-Azhar) Azhari Colleges Section, Central Administration for Books, Libraries & Teaching Aid… “… for 3rd year high-school."

Obama’s Favorite Islamic University Tells High School Students They Can Kill and Eat Apostates, As Long As They Don’t Cook Them

Because cooking them would be truly barbaric.





NOW TAKE THOSE F-16S AND THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'VE DONE

 This contains not just a call for terrorism against Israelis, but calls on Muslims around the world to support Hamas and “besiege the Zionist wherever they are”. That looks a lot like a call for international terrorism against Jews.

Then there is a call for the ethnic cleansing of all Jews from “Arab or Islamic land.” That means the ethnic cleansing of the Jews of Israel, and of Egypt and every other Muslim country, or every country that Muslims consider their own.

We’re talking about the destruction of Israel and the ethnic cleansing of Jews from the Muslim world. I repeat, this is worse than anything Ahmadinejad has said.

This is not about a racist insult. This is about Obama sending F-16s and 200 tanks to a man who makes Ahmadinejad seem moderate.

And the White House’s response to that is, “President Morsi should make clear that he respects people of all faiths, and that this type of rhetoric is not acceptable or productive in a democratic Egypt.”

White House Condemns Morsi’s Call for Destruction of Israel, Will Still Send Him F-16s and 200 Tanks




NOW TAKE THIS 480 MILLION DOLLARS AND THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'VE DONE

Senator McCain disapproves of calling Jews the “descendants of apes and pigs”, endorsing Hamas and calling for the destruction of Israel. He just doesn’t disapprove enough to hold up the 480 million dollar bailout of Morsi’s regime.

There are clear lessons from history here. The Soviet Union and Nazi Germany were initially in very bad economic shape. Germany had huge debts and the USSR faced a major famine. Instead of cutting them off, they were given help.

The United States, at a time when many American children went to bed hungry, launched a massive relief effort in the Soviet Union. The USSR made some concessions and it all looked good. The fruits of that relief effort allowed the Bolsheviks to stay in power and led to the Cold War and the near destruction of all human life on earth.

So by all means. Let’s add 500 million, to the billions form Qatar, the EU and the IMF. What’s the worst that could happen?

McCain Criticizes Morsi’s Calls for War and Terrorism, Will Still Give Him $480 Million Bailout





NOW TAKE THOSE F-16S AND CRUSH YOUR DOMESTIC OPPOSITION

Retired Brigadier General Safwat Al-Zayat said, “It is obvious that the finalisation of the deal on 11 December, which happened to be at the height of the mass demonstrations in Tahrir Square against Morsi, conveyed a political message. Between the lines, Washington was sending a message to three parties. The first was to Morsi and it stated, ‘We support you. Move ahead.’ The second was to the army and it said, ‘We are encouraging this man,’ meaning Morsi. The third was to the opposition forces and it said the same thing.”

 Egyptian Brigadier General: “F-16s Are a Message of Support from Obama to Morsi”




ADDITIONAL READING

A former D.C. Prosecutor discusses how the city's gun ban helped lead to a crime wave.

Congressman Guam Is Sinking claims NRA only opposes Obama because he's Black. If only he were white, like Clinton.

But the most important piece may be Larry Elder's column. "Gun Problem or Fatherless Problem?"

Of the 11,000 to 12,000 gun murders each year, more than half involve both black killers and black victims, mostly in urban areas and mostly gang-related. The No. 1 cause of preventable death for young black men is not auto accidents or accidental drowning, but homicide...

Rapper/actor Ice T (“Cop Killer”) and I attended the same high school. In the 1991 John Singleton film “Boyz n the Hood,” the teenagers attend that school, and car-cruise the South Central Los Angeles boulevard after which the school is named.

Crenshaw High opened in 1968. By the time Ice-T left, less than a decade later, Crenshaw had become, in the rapper’s words, “a Crip school” — meaning one controlled by that street gang. Because of the school’s reputation for violence, Time Magazine called it “Fort Crenshaw.” A powerhouse in basketball and football, the school lost its accreditation 2005, before getting it back in 2006 on a short-term basis.

In 1970, I was part of the second graduating class in the new school’s history. Some kids, who started with me in the 10th grade, did not finish. But it was the exception rather than the rule. By 2012, only 51 percent of Crenshaw’s students graduated.

But liberals can't talk about that. What they do instead is "honor MLK's Legacy" by having a Planned Parenthood drive.

Confirmation comes from the Justice Department.

The study, released Dec. 20, also discovered that an American youth was 3.8 times more likely to become the victim of a serious violent crime if he or she lived in a home where the householder was unmarried than if he or she lived with married parents. In 2010, 7.4 out of every 1,000 youth living with married parents became the victims of a serious violent crime. At the same time, 27.8 out of every 1,000 living with an unmarried householder became the victims of a serious violent crime.

Broken Families Far More Lethal To Children than Guns






IF WE CAN SAVE JUST ONE LIFE...

If there’s even one life that can be saved, then we’ve got an obligation to try,” Obama said.

Let’s take him at his word.

- While Obama has been working up to an attack on the Second Amendment, his administration gutted post 9/11 restrictions on Saudis traveling to the United States. If there’s even one life that can be saved, those restrictions should be restored.

- Profiling Middle Eastern men in airports. Obama is officially against it, but if it can save even one life, then Obama is obligated to try. It might violate their civil rights, but so do his proposed attacks on the 2nd Amendment.

- Ending illegal immigration. Illegal immigrants have much higher rates of criminal offenses. If even one life can be saved, the border must be secured and illegal aliens must be deported.

I bet we could save a lot more than one life that way.




IT'S OBAMA'S WORLD, WE JUST LIVE IN IT

Just imagine the horror when a team of scientists discovers a cure for cancer… and it turns out that none of them are Lesbian or Latino. We’ll have to scrap the cancer cure, delete all their work and start all over again to create good role models for the children.

Obama Hires “Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity”




RACISM IS REALLY COMPLICATED

There’s also a dark vein of intolerance in some parts of the party,” Powell said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “What do I mean by that? What I mean by that is they still sort of look down on minorities.”

Powell also pointed to former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu, who was an aggressive surrogate for Mitt Romney, for calling Obama “lazy” after the first debate during the campaign.

GREGORY: You brought up Israel. He referred to a “Jewish lobby,” saying it intimidates a lot of people on Capitol Hill. What kind of thinking does that reflect? Can you understand pro-Israel senators being concerned by that comment?

POWELL: They shouldn’t be that concerned. That term slips out from time to time… 

At least Powell didn't accuse the vast Jewish conspiracy of being lazy. Now that would be racist.




 COMMUNISM ISN'T JUST FOR CHICAGO ANYMORE

Once upon a time, Hollywood movies were controlled by censors who prevented them from bringing subversive and controversial subject matters into theaters. Thankfully those days are long gone now. Now Hollywood movies are censored by the officials of the Chinese Communist Party. And it’s a censorship that begins at the script stage and affects what you see on the screen.

Co-productions like “Kung Fu Panda 3” draw close monitoring by the censors at every step. Scripts are submitted in advance. Representatives of S.A.R.F.T., according to Mr. Cohen and others, may be present on the set to guard against any deviation. And there is an unofficial expectation that the government’s approved version of the film will be seen both in China and elsewhere

But here's one cable series that they won't want to censor.

 Briefly sidelined by Sandy, FX’s The Americans started production in New York in December and gets a speedy launch on the network later this month.

“It might be a little different to believe and get used to, but we want you to root for the KGB,” said EP Joel Fields. “They’re going to try to get the Soviets to win the Cold War.”

“If you tried to tell a story like this about al-Qaeda now, it would be impossible; no one would want to hear it,” Fields continued. “I feel even the same could have been said up to 10 years after the cold war ended.”

Does anyone outside Hollywood want to hear it now?




CALIFORNIA UNTER ALLES

In 1970, six years after the end of the baby boom, children made up more than one-third of California’s population. By 2030, they will account for just one-fifth. The state’s birthrate fell to 1.94 children per woman in 2010, below the replacement level of 2.1 children, according to the study. California’s rate is lower than the overall U.S. rate of 2.06 children in 2012, according to the Central Intelligence Agency.

With more than 90% of the state’s children under age 10 born in the state, “the majority of the next generation of workers will have been shaped by California’s health and education systems,” Mr. Myers said.

California Running Out of Kids to Subsidize its Teacher’s Union Pensions

And those workers won't have anyone to cover their pensions because of all the great "shaping" that they did.




AND NOW THE ROUNDUP...

Now this is the kind of term that Obama would like to serve...

Today Mahmoud Abbas begins the ninth year of his four-year term, having originally taken office on January 15, 2005, after a quickie election held a few weeks after Yasir Arafat died in the ninth year of his own four-year term. As Daled Amos notes, “it’s nice work if you can get it.” 

I am apparently a winner in the 2nd annual Zilla awards.



THE USELESS GOP

Time for the monkeys to stop surrendering says Doug.

Speaker Boehner and Skippy Cantor, here are the facts:

a) You'll get blamed by the media no matter what

b) Your last series of surrenders, in the kindest words possible, eh... failed to inspire the electorate

c) The country faces an existential financial crisis

d) There are great ideas for dealing with Obama (see below)

e) So how about doing what's right, for a change?

DrewM at Ace of Spades takes another tack

A conservative country that claims to support smaller government doesn’t elect Barack Obama not once but twice (no matter how awful Romney was). A conservative country doesn’t run up annual $1 trillion deficits and a $16 trillion cumulative debt. A conservative country doesn’t accept ObamaCare as either good policy or a law within the bounds of the Constitution. A conservative country doesn’t build a welfare state that has unfunded liabilities of "$86.8 trillion, or 550% of GDP" and growing.

I could go on but you know the rest.

Far from being a bulwark against this out of control spending and growth in federal partner, the GOP has been at best an enabler and at worst a perpetrator.

And I don’t blame the GOP one bit.

Political parties and politicians are about winning elections. In the end the best way to win an election is to give a majority of the people in the electorate what they want. What far too many Americans want (even some conservative Republicans in good standing) is other people’s stuff. 

That's true and it isn't. Selling a product, any product, isn't just about meeting demand, it's about creating it.

Politics is as often about telling people what they want, as it is about doing what they want.

Romney tried the latter approach. Obama tried the former. A year before the election most people thought they wanted a better economy. But the turnout of the people who wanted a few freebies and a crackdown on the evil Republicans won out.

The Democrats are not winning the policy argument. They're winning the political game.

And let's not act as if the GOP has done a great or even halfway decent job of communicating what it stands for and what the issues are.