Friday Afternoon Roundup - Romney Don't Run

via American Digest

MYTHS AND FACTS

Israel is fighting an enemy that insists on having all the advantages of a state and statelessness with none of the disadvantages. The PLO/Hamas unity government is a state when it wants something from the United Nations or the United States, but it’s not a state when it comes to taking responsibility. The Muslims who live in Gaza and the West Bank are considered citizens when it comes to having political rights, but not when it comes to taking responsibility for the consequences of their political decisions.

Their votes are to be taken seriously, but once those votes lead to war they are no longer responsible.

The Palestinian Authority is a state when it comes to its territorial claims, but not a state when it insists on open borders with Israel while claiming that any Israeli border security is a violation of its rights.

The Myth of Israeli Collective Punishment

... you can find this article in Hebrew at Mida, for those who blog or distribute articles in Hebrew.

You can also find it at my new Hebrew blog as translated by talented translator Dan Bornstein. If you run a blog in Ivrit, feel free to link to it or pass along any of the articles.



Lefty Peace Conference in Tel Aviv Shut Down by Rocket Attack




THE BUCK STOPS WITH BUSH

 So there’s Barack Obama, the White House occupant.

And there’s also Barack Obama, the brand, who is owned by OFA, which is just the Obama campaign.

And it’s not always clear which Obama is Obamaing it up, especially when he’s flying to fundraise using Air Force One, but we shouldn’t ask about that because then @BarackObama might call us racist, which Barack Obama might or might not disagree with…

 White House: Barack Obama Not Responsible for what Barack Obama Tweets




White House: Border Security is at its Strongest 

Americans Missing 5 Mil Jobs, Obama Wants Amnesty for 5 Mil Illegal Aliens

Hillary’s Hard Choices is a $10 Million Loss for Publisher - Paying her a $14 million advance for a badly ghostwritten book about the time she did nothing as Secretary of State proved to be a really bad choice.



THE NEW REALITY

Obama is an ideological interventionist, not a nationalist interventionist. And despite his multilateralist rhetoric, he isn’t your usual globalist either. Instead he uses national and international power as platforms for pursuing ideological goals without any regard to national or international interests.

He will use national and international institutions to promote LGBT rights or Green Energy. He won’t however get involved in actively using them for national security unless he absolutely has to in order to protect his own political power.

To a transnational mindset, institutions exist to promote issues. America is only of value to the extent that it can promote the left’s agenda. To the extent that it doesn’t, America is dead weight.

Why Obama Ignored Iraq




In the Name of Social Justice, Union of Government Employees Will Boycott United Negro College Fund



DON'T ASK ABOUT HIS PLAN FOR TACKLING HOMOPHOBIA

Lord Scott, a former Supreme Court Judge, cited his own family – in which two of his four children married Muslims – as an example of how interfaith families can thrive.

He said:  “Of my two sons one has become a Muslim and of my two daughters one of those has become a Muslim, and I have 12 lovely grandchildren, seven of whom are little Muslims.

British Lord: Fight Islamophobia by Converting Your Children to Islam




Dems Declare Obama Presidential Outhouse Worse than Slavery




 BETTER THAN TRANSFORMERS VIII

 Rather refused to retract the story, then retracted it, then unretracted it, and hangs around Cuban’s network pretending to be a journalist while insisting that a time traveling computer was to  blame.

Now the exciting story of that time traveling computer is coming to a theater near you (probably not).

“There had been anything like it, a mobilization of right-wing internet users… they would use their numbers, their volume and their sheer insistence to rip at a respected anchor/reporter, a news program and a network,” the elitist Mapes writes, outraged that ordinary people could dare challenge her.

Obama Fanboy and 2 Leftist Actors to Make Movie About Dan Rather’s Time Traveling Computer




DON'T RUN

The rumors are growing that Romney intends to make a comeback. It's not too hard to imagine him sitting in a hotel room somewhere being talked into taking another shot at it until he feels "called".

Please don't.

We've seen this show before. It doesn't play.

Mitt Romney failed last time because he couldn't connect to working class and middle class whites as well as Obama connected to his base of black women. Unless Romney has transformed his image from slick corporate salesman, another "Staples Campaign" will be a disaster. Except this time he'll have to convince white women not to vote for Hillary.

I'm not saying that Romney is a bad man. He may be a good man. And maybe in the 1950s, he would have won. But his persona is wrong for modern politics. It's really wrong for an economic crisis. There were times when he seemed to break out of it and show a more human side, but I have no confidence that a campaign won't mean the same plastic Romney who takes no risks.

No thanks.

It's not that the 2016 playing field is filled with great candidates. It isn't. Nearly every likely candidate supports amnesty. The one principled candidate is not ready for prime time. After the Christie meltdown, I understand why the establishment would turn to Romney.

It's still not going to work.

In an economic crisis you need someone who can speak to people who are insecure about their future and make them feel as if he cares about their problems. That's the poll section of "Shares my values/Cares about my problems" which Republicans invariably lose and Obama wins.

Romney is not the guy to change that. I'm not sure if the GOP will be able to find someone who can, but the election will likely be lost or won on "I feel your pain".

On the empathy gap.

The good news is that Hillary Clinton is a cold fish. The bad news is that Bill Clinton, the master of I Feel Your Painness, will be on the campaign trail every day reminding voters how good the economy used to be.

Hillary Clinton's two big assets are gender and her husband's rosy recollections of a better economy.

You're not going to beat that with Mitt Romney.

For anyone who thinks I'm being unfair, watch this video, especially in light of the VA scandal.


Don't make excuses for Romney. Imagine how Bill Clinton would have dealt with that question. Now imagine a Republican who could turn a moment like this into a signature moment in his campaign and you have the 2016 candidate who can beat Hillary.

Just about every prospective 2016 candidate would have done a better job here.




TURN SALON INTO A VA CLINIC

There is no doubt to any thinking Socialist that both companies would no doubt benefit from being nationalized and the vast improvements and service that would result from all those overpaid engineers and executives fleeing to be replaced by union members.

Just imagine your Google searches taking only four to eight weeks to complete.

Or Amazon charging you twice as much for your orders to subsidize free contraceptives for all customers.

It’s Time to Nationalize Liberal Websites 




80-Year-Old Grandpa Fires Gun in Jerusalem to Protect Family from Muslim Rioters, Police Confiscate Gun



ISLAMIC TRIAGE

For Islamic terrorists it’s all about priorities. Do you shoot the Christians first or the Jews? Do you kill the woman with a 9th grade education or the 12th grade education? Do you burn a library or a museum?

It’s not like Mohammed headed for Jerusalem as soon as he found a donkey that could tolerate his presence.

Instead he spent a lot of time killing and robbing locals, including Jews, and then his followers had to make up a story about him flying on a flying horse to Jerusalem, so they could displace the indigenous Jewish inhabitants.

ISIS: Killing Shiites More Important Than Killing Jews




NEITHER FAIR NOR BRIGHT

“I am a Utah man, sir, and I live across the green.” is now “I am a Utah fan and I live across the green.”

“Our coeds are the fairest and each one’s a shining star” is now, “Our students are the finest”.

They were going to go with “Brightest” but they wisely changed their minds.

“No other gang of college men dare meet us in the muss” is now “No rival band of college fans”

University of Utah Changes Fight Song to Make it More “Inclusive”, Ruins it Completely




THE ALPS ARE CALLING ZEKE

I realize that Zeke is not exactly the sort of doctor who sees patients, but even he ought to know the difference between birth control and blood transfusions.

Religious exemptions in medicine, for example when applied to children, differentiate between necessary medical treatment and optional treatments. No court is going to hold that a company can deny coverage of blood transfusions.

(For that matter, Hobby Lobby isn’t opposed to birth control, it’s opposed to some very specific abortifacient types of birth control.)

ObamaCare Architect Doesn’t Know the Difference Between Birth Control and Blood Transfusions



THE ROUNDUP

EVIL EVER TO EVIL TURNS

A large share of the casualties in Gaza during Protective Edge, maybe even a majority of them, are the result of Gaza residents ignoring Israeli warning and heeding the siren calls of Hamas.

Yet writers for the New York ‘Times and Washington Post ignore the obvious and look for reasons to fault Israel. This isn’t reporting. It is advocacy. Worse, it advocacy for terrorism.

Operation Protective Edge: The Liberal Media’s Advocacy for Terrorism