Showing posts with label extremism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label extremism. Show all posts

Friday, March 27, 2015

Those Who Rule Their Own Lives vs. Those Who Require Rulers

By Nick Sorrentino

The truth is some (many) people just want someone to make decisions for them. I am unsure if it is a genetic disposition or whether it is socialization or whether it is both. All I know is some people do not want to control their own lives. They are more comfortable with someone at the helm. They are comforted by a horizon which is limited and defined by others.

Strangely these same people also want to limit the lives of those who prefer to be free.

Who are you to pursue happiness? Who are you to be left alone to live, love, and create? Why don’t you respect authority? Why can’t you fall in line? You’re not better than us. Stand down Mr. or Ms. Individual. There are more of us than there are of you.

And to a large degree this is true. There are more of them. It is why we have the system of government we have now which seeks to restrict liberty, innovation, creativity, even joy in the name of order. There are more who wish to be controlled (whether they will admit it or not) and provided for than there are people who want to rule themselves. But in America, home of the rogue, the gambler, the pioneer, the dreamer, the number of freedom lovers is still relatively high. It’s literally in our DNA. And this is a source of hope.

Even in the face of decades and decades of statist propaganda in our primary schools and universities, on TV, and directly from the government, the thing which defines what an American is is liberty. An idea. We are not Huns, or Saxons, or Han, or whatever. We are a people – or at least we are supposed to be – which is defined by belief in human potential. By the pursuit of happiness and self ownership.

AS RUSSIAN WAR DRUMS SOUND: Obama disses NATO chief on his visit to the U.S.

By Investor's Business Daily


NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg came calling, but the president couldn't find the time to meet with him
Defense Obligations: Despite Russian submarine activity that's up a reported 50% and a rising cruise-missile threat, President Obama can't find the time to meet with NATO's new secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg.

Following a pattern of talking only to our enemies and not to Congress or allies such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Obama apparently has decided to ignore Stoltenberg during a three-day visit to the U.S. According to Bloomberg, Stoltenberg's office requested a meeting in advance of the visit, but heard nothing back from the White House.

The president presumably is too busy explaining to the Iranian people why we must sign a nuclear Munich deal with an enemy whose leaders shout, "Death to America!"

Stoltenberg, twice the prime minister of Norway, met with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Monday, to discuss the upcoming NATO summit, the rising threat of the Islamic State worldwide and Russia's aggression toward and annexation of Ukraine.

The new NATO chief is well aware of increasing Russian bomber patrols that include mock attack runs on NATO members Britain and Sweden along with threats to aim nuclear missiles at Danish warships. The patrols have also buzzed U.S. warships, overflown Guam and approached within cruise missile range of Los Angeles.

"It is hard for me to believe that the president of the United States has not found time to meet with the new secretary general of NATO given the magnitude of what this implies, and the responsibilities of his office," says Kurt Volker, who served as U.S. permanent representative to NATO under both Obama and President George W. Bush.

Russian strategic bombers entered some 16 U.S. northwestern air defense zones in one 10-day period last August and have practiced attack drills off Alaska. These practice runs come as Russia develops new cruise missiles to arm these bombers and warships.

GOWDY: Hillary Clinton Wiped Her Email Server Clean

Try and contain your surprise: Hillary Clinton is engaged in a world-class cover up:

Hillary Rodham Clinton wiped her email server “clean,” permanently deleting all emails from it, the Republican chairman of a House committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi attacks said Friday...

...Clinton, a likely Democratic presidential candidate, faced a Friday deadline to respond to a subpoena for emails and documents related to Libya, including the 2012 attacks in a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya.

The Benghazi committee demanded further documents and access to the server after it was revealed that Clinton used a private email account and server during her tenure at State.

Gowdy said he will work with House leaders to consider options. Speaker John Boehner has not ruled out a vote in the full House to force Clinton to turn over the server if she declines to make it available...

...Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said the former secretary of state has failed to produce a single new document in recent weeks and has refused to relinquish her server to a third party for an independent review, as Gowdy has requested... “Not only was the secretary the sole arbiter of what was a public record, she also summarily decided to delete all emails from her server, ensuring no one could check behind her analysis in the public interest,” he said.

It is likely, according to former federal attorney Shannen W. Coffin, it is likely that Hillary's activities constitute a series of felonies.

Obama-Iran Nuke Deal Keeps Getting Better

Please scan these six headlines.

 

Now scan them again and really allow them to sink in. I'll wait here.

My short take: virtually the entire Western world (and rational human beings around the globe) opposes  Obama's horrific Iran deal that will allow the terror state to continue to enrich uranium and eventually deliver nuclear warheads through ICBMs or via its terror proxy, Hezbollah.

As a result of their opposition to the deal, Obama has targeted Israel (by repeatedly revealing Top Secret information that harms the security posture of the Jewish state) and any allies that dare speak up against the deal (e.g., France).

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and Iran are now engaging in a proxy war in Yemen (which Obama claimed was a success story just six months ago) as ISIS continues its expansionary efforts.

Hundreds of thousands of people have already died thanks to Obama's destabilized Middle East (e.g., the Syrian "red line", the Libya "NATO"-led coup, etc.) and many millions more will​ die in the future as a result of allowing a fanatical Iranian regime to acquire nuclear weapons.

But not to worry: President Obama says Iranian leadership calls for "Death to America" are just a reason to do the deal​.

I'd be interested in your take on President Obama's motivations for his certifiably bizarre actions.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

LOVELY: The Clinton Global Influence-Peddling Racket Initiative Received Cash from... Iranian Front Group

Why not? It's the Clintons!

Daniel Halper reports that Hill and Bill have received significant "contributions" from a front group for Iran's Mullahs and their terror proxies:

As President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry close in on a nuclear deal with Iran, it's worth remembering that the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation received money from "a front for the government of Iran" called the Alavi Foundation.

The front gave the Clintons $30,000 between April 2005 and March 2006, according to tax forms. This occurred years after law enforcement officials tied the group to Iranian radicals. “The center is funded by the New York-based Alavi Foundation, which law enforcement officials say is closely tied to the mullahs who dominate Iran,” the Washington Post reported in 2003.

In a court document, the head of the NYPD intelligence division stated that the Alavi Foundation is ‘totally controlled by the government of Iran’ and ‘funds a variety of anti-American causes’ with ties to Hezbollah and Hamas.

In 2009, U.S. attorney Preet Bharara stated that the Alavi Foundation is a "front for the government of Iran... [its] affairs have been directed by various Iranian officials, including Iranian ambassadors at the United Nations, in violation of a series of U.S. laws."

But, remember, it's the Clintons. Laws don't apply to them. They only apply to us.


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

SMART POWER: Saudis Launch Military Campaign in Yemen as Proxy War Against Iran Unfolds

By The Tower

A coalition of Gulf states, led by Saudi Arabia, launched airstrikes against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen early today, The Washington Post reports:

The strikes were a startling turn of events that came as the Houthis, in control of Yemen’s capital for months, barreled south toward the coastal city of Aden, seizing an air base along the way that was evacuated by U.S. Special Operations forces­ last week.

President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who had taken refuge in Aden after fleeing Sanaa, the capital, was said to have escaped. His whereabouts were unknown.

The military operation was announced Wednesday evening in Washington by Saudi Ambassador Adel al-Jubeir, who said it would last until Yemen’s “legitimate government” was restored.

So far, no military actions beyond airstrikes have been reported. While the Saudis have an estimated 100,000 ground forces deployed at the border, the Post points out “any ground intervention would require a long and difficult trip through the heart of Houthi-held territory to reach Aden.”

According to the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya network, all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) except for Oman have deployed jets in support of the Saudi operation, called Decisive Storm. Egypt, Jordan, Sudan and Pakistan have also have sent ships and planes to assist in the attacks on the Iranian-backed rebels.

Al-Arabiya also reports:

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

GREAT NEWS: New Ford car automatically obeys speed limits

A computer in charge of your vehicle: what could possibly go wrong?

Ford says it has the answer for speed demons who can't keep their gas pedals off the metal: A car that reads speed limit signs and automatically slows down.

Ford says that the newest edition of its S-Max car has "a new technology that scans traffic signs and adjusts the throttle to help drivers stay within legal speed limits and avoid fines."

...The technology seems to be a step in the direction of the driverless car, also known as an autonomous car. While these cars have yet to hit the market, Audi unveiled one last year that reached 140 miles per hour with no driver at the wheel.

Google and Nokia have also been experimenting with driverless cars. Google's electric-powered LUTZ Pathfinder started rolling through London last month at a not-so-brisk 12 miles per hour, and the company plans to expand tests later this week.

All the way back in 2012, I wrote that Americans should be very leery of self-driving cars. My rationale was simple and completely relevant today.

• How long until these cars (and therefore all of us) are tracked in real-time by the government?

• How long until government mandates the use of self-driving cars, under the aegis of safety, fuel efficiency, traffic control or heaven knows what?

• And how long until the government determines where you are permitted to go and when you will go there, like an ant-colony form of mass transit?

Knowing the power-hungry band of thieves and worse we currently employ in Washington, the answer to each of these questions is most assuredly: not long.

Self-driving cars are not bad ideas per se. But when government gets involved, you can be sure they will be used as tools to control citizens. For that is precisely what this enormous, bankrupt, doddering leviathan of a federal government always does.

It never scales back. It never "right-sizes". It never strips away laws or sheds outdated regulations.

Write it down. Put it in the time capsule.

Self-driving cars ride on the road to tyranny.


Hat tip: BadBlue Tech News.

WHITE HOUSE: Yemen a success story for Obama foreign policy even as country falls to rebels

Some days you can't tell whether The Onion has hacked a news site.

A White House spokesman said American efforts in Yemen are a "template that has succeeded," even as President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi was forced to flee the country by boat.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest on Wednesday said that the U.S. still had Yemeni extremists in its crosshairs.

...Earnest told reporters that U.S. officials were not aware of Hadi's destination but insisted that American officials still had a level of control over the chaotic situation.

"We have the ability to continue to apply pressure on the extremists," Earnest told reporters. "They are still in the crosshairs of U.S. security forces."

Yes, the "extremists" (misunderstanderers of Islam, no doubt) are "in the crosshairs" even though U.S. Special Forces evacuated the country just a few days ago.

You simply must listen to Earnest explain that Yemen is a success story.

Or perhaps this is just another psychological ploy by the smartest President ever, whose stated strategy is "leading with his from behind".

Update: Can you say "World War III"? "Saudis Prepare to Deploy in Yemen for Iran Showdown".


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

TESTIMONY: Obama's Executive Amnesties Violate Federal Law AND The Constitution

By Kris Kobach

The Senate Judiciary Oversight Subcommittee held a hearing yesterday on the implications of Texas v. United States - the case 26 governors and attorneys general brought against President Obama’s executive amnesties. Kris Kobach, the Kansas Secretary of State and former immigration advisor to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, cited three reasons why the executive amnesties are unlawful: “(1) the executive actions do not comply with the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA); (2) even if they did comply with the APA, they would still be in direct violation of substantive provisions of federal law; and (3) even if they did not violate federal law, they would still be unconstitutional.”

Below are excerpts from his testimony.

On APA Non-Compliance:

“The APA requires that agencies implementing federal statutes in whole or in part do so through rulemaking… An administrative action that establishes criteria for exception from removal from the United States and defines a class with affirmative eligibility for benefits is quintessentially a “rule” under the APA… DHS has set out in [directives] a determination of future rights, privileges, and benefits. In so doing, the Administration has attempted to bury, outside of the APA, rulemaking decisions that have the ‘inherently arbitrary nature of unpublished ad hoc determinations.’… A central facet of the APA is the exposure of a proposed rule to public comment and criticism…By attempting to make this policy change through executive fiat, DHS avoided this public scrutiny and plainly violated the terms of the APA.”

On Violations of Federal Law:

“In 1996…(f)rustrated with executive non-enforcement of federal immigration laws, Congress enacted the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA)…Congress inserted several interlocking provisions…to require removal when immigration officers encounter illegal aliens…8 U.S.C. § 1225(a)(1) requires that “an alien present in the United States who has not been admitted…shall be deemed for purposes of this chapter an applicant for admission.” This designation triggers 8 U.S.C. § 1225(a)(3), which requires that all applicants for admission “shall be inspected by immigration officers.” This in turn triggers 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A), which mandates that “if the examining immigration officer determines that an alien seeking admission is not clearly and beyond a doubt entitled to be admitted, the alien shall be detained for a proceeding under section 1229a of this title.” The proceedings under 8 U.S.C. § 1229a are removal proceedings in United States Immigration Courts.

“The DACA and DAPA Directives order the ICE officers to violate these provisions of federal law by declining to place certain aliens into removal proceedings, when federal law clearly requires them to place such aliens into removal proceedings...

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

YES, REALLY: Obama Tacitly Endorses Iranian EMP Attack on U.S.

By Investor's Business Daily

Threatened: A translated military handbook showing Tehran's support for a nuclear electromagnetic pulse attack on the U.S., and the presence of Iranian warships off our coast, show that Israel isn't the mullahs' sole target.

Last month in a speech to his air force commanders, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, boasted of Tehran's achievement in enriching uranium to the 20% level.

A BBC transcript of his speech showed that twice the assembled air force commanders chanted, "Death to America." Is there something about this that President Obama does not understand?

This is the same ayatollah, Obama assured us in his speech to the Iranian people five years after he ignored and failed to hear cries during the 2009 Green Revolution, who had issued a fatwa against the development of nuclear weapons.

Fatwa? Fat chance. Sadly, we have reached the point where a U.S. president trusts American security not even to a piece of parchment but to an Iranian mullah's fatwa.

Iran's true intentions were documented by a column by Peter Vincent Pry, executive director of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security, a congressional advisory board.

PEACE IN OUR TIME: Ayatollah Khamenei Rebuffs Obama’s Overtures, Calls for “Death to America”

By The Tower

As the deadline looms for a political framework deal between the P5+1 nations and Iran, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei struck a defiant tone on Saturday in response to a conciliatory message offered by President Barack Obama to commemorate Nowruz, the Iranian new year.

In his statement, Obama said:

This year, we have the best opportunity in decades to pursue a different future between our countries. Just over a year ago, we reached an initial understanding regarding Iran’s nuclear program. And both sides have kept our commitments. Iran has halted progress on its nuclear program and even rolled it back in some areas. The international community, including the United States, has provided Iran with some relief from sanctions. Now, our diplomats—and our scientists—are engaged in negotiations in the hopes of finding a comprehensive solution that resolves the world’s concerns with Iran’s nuclear program.

Obama stated that the nuclear agreement presented a “historic opportunity” for Iran and the West to reconcile their differences.

LOVELY: Obama Accused of Obstructing Battle against Boko Haram to Promote Axelrod's Nigerian Muslim Client

By James Simpson

When the notorious Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram, kidnapped 278 school girls from the town of Chibok in northeastern Nigeria last year, Michelle Obama began a Twitter hashtag campaign, #BringBackOurGirls. But behind the scenes, the Obama administration was undermining Nigeria’s efforts to take the battle to the terrorists. Obama refused to sell Nigeria arms and supplies critical to the fight, and stepped in to block other Western allies from doing so. The administration also denied Nigeria intelligence on Boko Haram from drones operating in the area. While Boko Haram was kidnapping school girls, the U.S. cut petroleum purchases from Nigeria to zero, plunging the nation’s economy into turmoil and raising concerns about its ability to fund its battle against the terrorists. Nigeria responded by cancelling a military training agreement between the two countries.

The Nigerian presidential election is coming up Saturday, March 28, 2015. AKPD, the political consulting group founded by Obama confidante David Axelrod, is assisting Retired Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim presidential candidate from Muslim-dominated northern Nigeria, where Boko Haram was spawned and wields the most influence. Buhari is well-known throughout the country, having led as “Head-of-State” following a military coup in 1983. He was dislodged following another coup in 1985.

Monday, March 23, 2015

TREY GOWDY: Hillary must turn over her illegal email server or "face the full powers of the House"

By Victoria Taft

Congressman Trey Gowdy, who heads the Select Committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi attack, sent a letter this week to former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Gowdy’s letter firmly requests that Clinton turn over her email server by April 3rd to a neutral third party, or he plans to litigate:

Sunday, March 22, 2015

How Obama has destroyed America’s free enterprise system, in 2 charts

By James Pethokoukis

011414startups1

The decline in business startups may not be news to my readers, but these charts and stats from Gallup (h/t to John Dearie) are still startling to me:

— The U.S. now ranks not first, not second, not third, but 12th among developed nations in terms of business startup activity. Countries such as Hungary, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Sweden, Israel and Italy all have higher startup rates than America does.

American business deaths now outnumber business births. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the total number of new business startups and business closures per year — the birth and death rates of American companies — have crossed for the first time since the measurement began. I am referring to employer businesses, those with one or more employees, the real engines of economic growth. Four hundred thousand new businesses are being born annually nationwide, while 470,000 per year are dying.

Saturday, March 21, 2015

FOUNDER OF GREENPEACE: Why I am a Climate Change Skeptic

By Dr. Patrick Moore

I am skeptical humans are the main cause of climate change and that it will be catastrophic in the near future. There is no scientific proof of this hypothesis, yet we are told “the debate is over” and “the science is settled.”

My skepticism begins with the believers’ certainty they can predict the global climate with a computer model. The entire basis for the doomsday climate change scenario is the hypothesis increased atmospheric carbon dioxide due to fossil fuel emissions will heat the Earth to unlivable temperatures.

In fact, the Earth has been warming very gradually for 300 years, since the Little Ice Age ended, long before heavy use of fossil fuels. Prior to the Little Ice Age, during the Medieval Warm Period, Vikings colonized Greenland and Newfoundland, when it was warmer there than today. And during Roman times, it was warmer, long before fossil fuels revolutionized civilization.

The idea it would be catastrophic if carbon dioxide were to increase and average global temperature were to rise a few degrees is preposterous.

Friday, March 20, 2015

As Relations With Israel Plummet To New Low, Obama Cuts Video for Iran Praising the Ayatollah

By Weasel Zippers


Anyone think it’s a coincidence Obama chose today to release his Nowruz message (it begins on the first day of spring)?


Who, then, is "treasonous"?


Read more at WeaselZippers.us

CHART: The Obama Islamic Threat Advisory System

Spotted at LiberalLogic101:


Hat tip: BadBlue News.

U.N. finally finds the worst abuser of women's rights and it's... Israel

By Sara Noble

It’s hard to understand why we allow the U.N. to take up the most expensive East River real estate in New York. They are an organization of anti-Israel and anti-American socialists, dictators and fascists.

This year they selected Israel as the worst abuser of women’s rights – of Palestinian women’s rights. Their selection was posted in a U.N. report titled, “Situation of and assistance to Palestinian women.” Forty-five states participated and only Israel and the U.S. opposed the censure. Thirteen members of the European Union abstained.

The U.N.’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) chose Israel out of 193 nations, which includes countries that allow women to be beaten by their husbands, women who need four witnesses to prove they’ve been raped, women who suffer sexual mutilation, and women who have to walk around covered up from head to toe.

They did not choose China with its millions of women who face forced abortions and sterilizations.

One of the members of the CSW is Iran where adultery is punishable by stoning and women who kill their rapists are executed. Women in Iran need the consent of their husbands to hold a job. An Iranian woman must not step beyond her house for her presence in society breeds sin. She must stay at home, serving her husband’s carnal desires and taking care of the household. Women of Iran can’t be judges and they can never be president. Harsher punishments are issued for women, their credibility as witnesses and inheritance rights are half those of men in Iran.

The CSW will say the alleged Israeli occupation prevents Palestinian women from advancing and becoming self-reliant. It’s not their religion and traditions. It’s the Jews' fault.

The Incredible Economic Benefits of Right-to-Work

By Richard Larsen

This week Wisconsin became the 25th state in the union to pass and sign into law so-called “right to work” legislation. Despite the pejorative light oftentimes associated with right to Work (RTW) laws, in reality all they do is proscribe the requirement that a worker join or pay dues to a union as a qualification for employment.

Unions often view laws removing compulsory union membership for work in the private sector as “anti-union,” while advocates of right to work laws maintain it’s a matter of personal liberty and economic freedom. They argue that workers in given trades or industries should have the option to choose whether to join a union or not. Arguably, if a union is doing a good job representing the interests of its members, it should not be threatened by the freedom to choose, as the benefits of union membership would be self-evident.

Even some union leadership supports such a sentiment.

BEFORE AND AFTER PICS: Lying Takes Its Toll

Relayed by Dan from New York:


Courtesy of @PC_GoneWild.