Friday Afternoon Roundup - A Fighting Elephant

THE BETA ELEPHANT

The GOP would like to win without fighting. It wants to wait for the voters to come around and recognize that it’s the better choice because it compromises.

Like the nerd waiting for the pretty girl to recognize his niceness, the Republican Party is futilely courting an American voter who barely even knows it’s there… at least until he watches the next Saturday Night Live skit depicting Republicans as crazy evil billionaires who want to power Christian nuclear plants with the corpses of minorities.

No one hires a lawyer to settle a court case. The court case may have to be settled, but a client expects his lawyer to get him the best terms by fighting as hard as he can. A lawyer who advertises his reasonable and moderate willingness to make a deal as soon as possible will have no clients. A party that advertises its eagerness to settle on any terms it can get will have no voters.

What’s Right about Ted Cruz & the Tea Party




Grover Norquist, Who has Ties to Actual Terrorists, Calls Tea Party “Terrorists”. I appeared on Glenn Beck's show this week, along with Frank Gaffney, to discuss Norquist.




ALL IN

Obama can only be beaten in the popular arena. In his mind, he derives his power from the bully pulpit. He is a creature of the media age and popularity is his only law and the only verdict that he will accept.

The Republican Party is still playing this game by Washington rules while Obama is playing it by Chicago rules where the only rule is to do whatever you can get away with for as long as the people let you.

Obama isn’t just challenging a few laws, he is challenging whether the government has any hard limits that can’t be overcome by asserting popular will or the force of history. 

an excerpt from my article... Beating Obama




“Activist” for Anti-Israel Group with Ties to Obama Exposed as Terrorist





IMAGINE A SOCIETY OF SERIAL KILLERS

"My hobby was to catch a cat, to place a rope around its neck, to strangle it, and throw it into the water."

"Strangulation was my hobby. When I applied for the job and did well on the tests – proving that I could take the psychological pressure and so on – they said: “Congratulations. Now, grow a moustache.”

Egypt’s Executioner Loves Allah, Killing People and Strangling Dogs




MY NAME IS BARACK, HAVE YOU TRIED UNPLUGGING YOUR MODEM?

There is something historic in Obama, the man whose office used to be associated with such notions as “Leader of the Free World”, giving a speech to explain why a website isn’t working.

Of course that website cost somewhere in the neighborhood of half-a-billion dollars. That used to be a lot of money. But in Obama’s era of 4 trillion dollar budgets, it’s more like chump change.

Obama has as few answers to that question as Bangalore tech support and as many excuses.

Obama Gives Speech Explaining Why Website Doesn’t Work





Obama’s “ObamaCare 13″ in White House Speech includes 2 Muslims





DESTROYING AMERICA TO SAVE AMERICA

That indictment could be much more decisively applied to liberals than conservatives who remain passionately devoted to some imaginary Camelot, an ivory tower state without borders or budgets that can only come into being by destroying the America that exists.

If conservatives sometimes romanticize the past, what they are attached to is an actual America. Liberals largely despise the nation of even the past 50 years. Their highlights are few and far between. They begin with the Civil Rights Movement and the election of the latest Great Liberal Savior on a mission to turn America into Europe… only to depart a failure.

Conservatives don’t love a theoretical America. They love the America that was and can be again. It is the left that loves only a hypothetical America that never existed and can never exist because it already failed everywhere it’s been trained from Russia to China to France.

“You Cannot Love America in Theory and Hate it in Fact.”


 


Muslim Brotherhood Jihad in Syria Turned 1/4 of Christians into Refugees





 IF YOU SEE A CONSERVATIVE, SAY SOMETHING

This story would be horrible even if it wasn’t taking place at Fort Hood. But it is taking place where Nidal Hasan was able to murder 13 soldiers despite repeatedly making it clear that he was all for Islamic terrorism because no one was allowed to hurt a Muslim’s feelings.

Fortunately they’re all over the real threat. The Tea Party.

Soldiers attending a pre-deployment briefing at Fort Hood say they were told that evangelical Christians and members of the Tea Party were a threat to the nation and that any soldier donating to those groups would be subjected to punishment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

While a large portion of the briefing dealt with the threat evangelicals and the Tea Party pose to the nation, barely a word was said about Islamic extremism, the soldier said.

Fort Hood Ignored Nidal Hassan, Now Warns of Tea Party Terror Threat




 Boston Marathon Bomber: “Ummah is Beginning to Rise… Muslims are One.”




THE GOP CAN NEVER GET ENOUGH AMNESTY

 “If somebody has a nexus that would reasonably allow them to become permanent residents and American citizen, we should allow them to do that,” Issa said.

Darrell Issa has an Illegal Alien Amnesty Bill




 THE PUNCHLINE IS A KILLER

Today’s United Nations punchline has been brought to you by billions of your tax dollars. It’s your money. You deserve a good laugh.

Afghanistan: “We commend Saudia Arabia as they continue to enhance the protection and promotion of human rights…

China: “We appreciate efforts made to protect the rights of children and to have dialogues of religious tolerance…”

Pakistan: Commended “laudable steps taken by Saudi Arabia to promote and protect the rights of children and women…”

At UN, Pakistan Praises Saudi Arabia for Protecting “Women’s Rights”




 THE SEDUCTION OF DAVID BROCK

Let’s go on a magical journey following David Brock’s logic here.

1. Hillary Clinton had great security policies

2. She took responsibility for the bad security policies in Benghazi… even though she didn’t know about them… even though she was tasked with running the State Department

3. Hillary Clinton did the right thing every step of the way… including the steps where she did the wrong things

4. Hillary Clinton is super-qualified to be president because she didn’t know anything was wrong and then didn’t do anything to fix it and told Congress that it doesn’t make a difference anyway

Media Matters Boss David Brock Calls Benghazi a “Hoax”





 Obama’s Welfare Cost More than Iraq and Afghanistan Wars Combined




SENATOR MCCAIN HAS ALREADY FLOWN OUT TO MEET WITH THE SAND FLIES

Perhaps believing that the straight Sunni vs Shiite grudge match of the Syrian Civil War was a little too boring, some flesh eating parasites decided to join the senseless violence.

“Doctors in Syria are also seeing a flare-up of typhoid, hepatitis, and the flesh-eating parasite, leishmaniasis."

It’s not clear whether Leishmaniasis is allied with the Shiite or Sunni side. Or whether the disease transmitted by sand flies represents a third side in the Syrian Civil War making it the third point of a triangle.

Flesh-Eating Virus Joins Al Qaeda and Hezbollah in Syrian Civil War




 Obama Chewed Gum, Played with Phone, During Syrian War Plans




THE FATWAS OF THE LEFT

The Egyptian left and the Western right found common ground over the Morsi takeover as Egyptian protesters brandished Tea Party photoshops of Obama in turban and beard while American conservative columnists quoted Egyptian accusations about his collaboration with the Brotherhood.

It would be premature to imagine the Western right and the Arab left coming together the way that the Western left and the Islamists have. And yet it’s not inconceivable. The liberal split over Communism transformed the landscape of American politics. A split over Islam on the left could have equally serious political consequences.

The Western left has ostracized liberal critics of Islam as thoroughly as it once suppressed liberal critics of the USSR. The treatment meted out to Richard Dawkins shows that even for its notables, criticism of Islam is a red line that may not be crossed.  Those politically correct fatwas from the ayatollahs of Georgetown and the London School of Economics carry far more force than most Muslim fatwas.

The Western Left’s Fatwa Against Muslim Liberals



Obama Dumps Green Energy Billions on “Moderate Muslim” Country that Stones Adulterers




A MODERATE CRACK HOUSE

The Prime Minister accused opponents of the proposed mosque of spreading “ludicrous” rumours. “I support Muslims in Chipping Norton having somewhere to pray. The idea that this means ensuring ‘your children will kneel before Allah’ is ludicrous.”

Samantha Lewthwaite was the daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth Christine (née Allen) Lewthwaite in Banbridge, County Down. She was a soldier’s daughter. Then she converted to Islam, married a Muslim terrorist and became consumed with that religion’s homicidal rage for non-Muslims.

Once a Brit converts to Islam, he takes on the fanaticism of the convert and tends to drift toward an uncompromising embrace of Islam. Cameron cannot deny the simple fact that the mosque opening statistically means that some local lads will convert and that some of them will drift toward terror abroad or at home.

You wouldn’t want even a moderate biker gang or a moderate drug shop in your neighborhood. Because we’re all familiar with the concept of gateway drugs and feeders. A mosque is no different. It’s a feeder. Even if it’s not overtly selling Jihad, its Dawah is a gateway drug for the real thing.

UK PM: “The Idea That ‘Your Children will Kneel before Allah’ is Ludicrous.”




Muslim Speaker Proves Islamic Extremism Doesn’t Exist




EINSTEIN SHOULDA WORN A BURKA

Booth said Muslim schools in Manchester, where she now lives, had a “refreshingly modest dress code” which, she argued, could boost girls’ academic success and improve their emotional well-being.

Muslim students in the UK perform worse than any other group.

In his latest book, British Muslims and State Policies, published in 2003, he shows that the majority of Pakistani Muslims show lower educational achievement as compared to whites or Indians

Official statistics released by the Federal Education Ministry of Pakistan give a desperate picture of education for all, espcially for girls. The overall literacy rate is 46 per cent, while only 26 per cent of girls are literate. 

Does the Hijab Increase Academic Performance for Girls?



“Our Holy Pilgrimage will be Complete Once We Have Killed You, Ripped Out Your Hearts and Raped Your Women.”




WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

"The uncle of the Palestinian Authority Arab terrorist, who was shot dead after trying to carry out an attack in an IDF base, claimed on Friday that his nephew got lost and did not intend to carry out a terror attack."

Well that seems sincere. Maybe it was all a misunderstanding.

“He was a humble and optimistic person, who did not have any mental problems except for his anger over the death of his brother,” the uncle said.

Wait. The death of his brother? How did his brother die anyway? Did it by any chance involve trying to run over non-Muslims with a bulldozer?

"His brother Marei was killed while carrying out a similar bulldozer attack near the Malha Mall in Jerusalem on March 5, 2009."

Uncle Claims Muslim Terrorist Who Attacked Israeli Base was Just “Lost”




Arab Judge Bans Israeli Mosque Ad that Offends Muslims




GET READY FOR THE SACCO AND VANZETTI DAY PARADE

“The historical figure of Columbus is complicated to say the least,” Mr. de Blasio, the front-running candidate for mayor, said today at a press conference right before he marched in Manhattan’s Columbus Day parade.

“That’s not what this day is about, it’s not about the individual. It’s about the people that are represented on Columbus Day,” he argued. “When I’m out here marching on Columbus Day I’m thinking about the pride in my Italian heritage.”

Columbus Day has nothing to do with Columbus… according to Bill de Blasio.

When he marches in the Columbus Day, he’s thinking about Sacco and Vanzetti. Or Antonio Gramsci.

Bill de Blasio Attends Columbus Day Parade, Attacks Columbus




AND THE WORLD ENDED...

The “feds” always are there in the background, setting the standards by which we live, providing funds to research cures for our kids’ illnesses, watching over our food supply and work environment.

At a warehouse, factory or other worksite, a young minority exposed to racial slurs by his boss had one fewer place to turn for help. Federal officials who oversee compliance with discrimination laws and labor practices weren’t working, except in emergencies.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was not issuing right-to-sue letters, so people could not take discrimination cases into federal court

“The afternoon before the shutdown we got a complaint of a restaurant where a … 14-year-old was operating a vertical dough mixer,” said James Yochim, assistant director of the U.S. Department of Labor’s wage and hour division office in Springfield, Ill. “We (were) not able to get out there and conduct an investigation.”

AP Reveals Horrific Government Shutdown of Underage Dough Mixers, Racial Slurs and Ghost Trains




PATRIA

Chris Matthews confuses patriotism with something like obedient citizenship. If so it’s a poor choice of words.

The American usage of Patriot contrasted with that of Loyalist. It was a deliberate contrast. Unlike the Loyalist, the Patriot was devoted to his native soil rather than to any government.

Thus for example, Sam Adams wrote, “If ever time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.”

Or as Thomas Paine put it, “It is the duty of the patriot to protect his country from its government.”

Or as Theodore Roosevelt put it, “Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does NOT mean to stand by the President or any other public official save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country.”

A Lesson in Patriotism for Chris Matthews




IF I ONLY HAD A BRAIN

The second-largest hospital in the Southern African country of Swaziland may be operating a black market in human body parts used in magic spells, according to claims made by a reverend and others.

The organ trade at Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital in the city of Manzini has been described as “an open secret” by critics such as Rev. Grace Masilela. Accusers say people come to the hospital from neighboring South Africa to buy bones, hearts, brains and other organs.

The Raleigh Fitkin was financed by Abram Fitkin, an evangelical minister and businessman, and named after his deceased oldest son. Fitkin was a Republican. Somehow I don’t think he would have been fond of this brand of ObamaCare death panels.

A human brain costs R1 000. Other parts, from internal organs to body fat, fetch from R400 to R1 000.

That’s about a 100 bucks for a brain. That’s so cheap even Obama could afford it.

Southern African Hospital Running Black Market in Organs for Black Magic




WELCOME TO THE THIRD WORLD

Much of New York’s middle class housing was built until the 70s. Since then the boom has mainly added more poor and rich housing. And both conspire to lock the middle class out.

A housing project automatically trashes property values. No one wants to live near drug markets and muggings and all the rest.  The area becomes a lost cause fit only for more housing projects.

And if you invest in a 500k condo, then you make sure to protect your property values by making the area too expensive for anyone else to live in. It’s not quite racism, but of course it is, and practiced by liberal anti-racists.

So New York City, like so many other places inhabited by liberals, is broken down into a sharp class divide with no room for the middle class.

And that may be the future of America.

New York, Bloomberg and Affordable Housing




NONE OF THE ABOVE

Relating to Harry Reid's made-up "Can't stand to look at you quote", Neo-neocon asks...

"I’m wondering: which presidents could I ever stand to look at or listen to? I don’t remember a bit of difficulty watching Eisenhower when I was a child, although I was a Stevenson kid in a Stevenson family. JFK was great to look at and listen to, especially the sharp but strange accent. LBJ ugh! Nixon and Carter both set my teeth on edge. Ford was so-so. Reagan’s actory quality bothered me. Bush the First was dullsville. Clinton seemed like a fake even before Lewinsky. And George Bush wasn’t so fab for viewing, either, believe me."

The last president I could tolerate listening to was Reagan. And I was in elementary school back then.

All I can do is grade the succeeding ones on how intolerable listening to them is. Obama scores in first place. Followed by Clinton. Followed by Bush II, who had decent speechwriters, but who was incapable of delivering a speech, for presumably political reasons.

I was never able to understand the enthusiastic reactions to Obama's speeches early on. I get the JFK thing. I don't get the Obama thing. Once you take away the theatrics and the speechwriting, the delivery isn't just off-putting, it's not presidential. You don't feel like you're listening to a political speech, but to a bad actor who has learned to pitch his voice, but barely cares about what he's saying.

Liberals accused Reagan of being a bad actor, but Reagan was actually a pretty good one. He kept going even when his mind was deteriorating. There's probably a movie in that alone, but obviously not one you can expect Hollywood to make.

Obama actually is a bad actor. He doesn't offer much except fake enthusiasm and fake gravitas and they're bad fakes. It's a Will Smith performance running on ego and self-confidence, but with no content.

Ironically, when it comes to giving speeches, his mentor Jeremiah Wright is a much better speaker. If you're going to listen to someone screaming about how he hates America, I would pick Wright over Obama any day.




HARRISON BERGERON, PHONE YOUR OFFICE

In essence, Guidelines advocates abolishing human comparison by prohibiting the identity of referents. In the foregoing example, one would be discouraged from expressing a judgment or evaluation of a person who has offered abundant evidence of his inability or unwillingness to think normally or to perform some task. Such a person is simply there, like a rock or a tree, beyond discrimination (in the strict, nonracial, nonsexist meaning of that word), beyond evaluation, beyond recognition. He is not incomparable; more precisely, he is non-comparable. To compare the inventor of the steam engine with a man who is unable to do simple math or boil a kettle of water without harming himself is, by egalitarian anti-standards, a grave breach of “social justice” and an unforgivable faux pas.

According to Guidelines, “[a]djectives such as poor and unfortunate have a similar [negatively connotative] effect and are patronizing, as are such epithets as heroic and courageous.” Thus, if Guidelines’ authors have their way, not only will it be considered a breach of egalitarian etiquette to make a distinction between heroism and cowardice, but it will not be permitted to establish distinctions between normalcy or abnormalcy by which to measure anyone’s character, ability or physical condition. There will be no such thing as normalcy or any hierarchy of values, or value-measurement, just whatever the slot machines of egalitarianism and multiculturalism happen to disgorge from an eclectic, random stew of humanoids. A genius and an idiot are not to be distinguished, discriminated, or even recognized; each is “differently abled” or “specially conscious,” and no value may be placed on one over the other.

This is not the pursuit of “social justice,” even if one could assign a benign intent to the concept. It is a formula for the manufacture of politically correct automatons.

 The Ghouls of Grammatical Egalitarianism from Edward Cline




DECLINE AND FALL OF THE WEST - PART 335

In August, I visited the Hawthorne Street Fair in Portland, Oregon, and had a blast. A parade of Occupy protesters marched down the street, calling on everyone to vacate their houses and live outside — and to turn their houses into houseplant sanctuaries. I hadn’t been at the street fair more than five minutes before I was asked to sign something in support of Planned Parenthood. Then I saw the NARAL Pro-Choice America booth, encouraging activism in support of abortion rights. A few blocks later I was thankful to see enthusiastic signage in support of adoption. It turned out to be about pet adoption. By the time I got to the tent with a sign that said “Thank you for not breeding,” I’d had enough.

Fecundophobia: The Growing Fear Of Children And Fertile Women




MYSTERIES OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

It sometimes becomes downright politically and diplomatically inconvenient to tell it like it is. At such junctures creative copywriters conjure up imaginative alternatives.

This was the kneejerk inclination after a Gazan bus driver slammed his vehicle on February 14, 2001 into a bus stop at the Azur junction, killing eight and wounding a further 21. Although he steered directly into the crowd of passengers on the pavement at a speed of 147 kilometers per hour and plowed the length of the sidewalk, the initial reaction was that this was a road traffic accident.

The driver continued in a mad race southwards toward Gaza, until he was finally apprehended near Gan Yavneh. He then inconsiderately spoiled Israeli officialdom’s pretense by announcing to all and sundry that he had intentionally set out to run down Israelis. The murderer, who never expressed even a vague suggestion of remorse, was freed in the Gilad Schalit deal to a hero’s welcome in Gaza.

Sarah Honig:  Attracting a crowd of people