There'll Always Be An Israel

Here's a nice article by P. David Hornik at FrontPage Magazine: "Israel, Lone Light in a Dark Region."

"An Embarrassing Amateur"

Boy, is the headline for Nile Gardiner's column ever right! From the UK Telegraph: "Barack Obama is proving an embarrassing amateur on the world stage compared to George W. Bush."

Watcher's Council

The Council has spoken! Here are the latest Watcher's Council results. The winner is Joshuapundit’s  Syria-Ossity, "his look at the current war drums on Syria,  why he thinks the rationale being used to drag us in is highly questionable,  why it’s  a stunningly bad idea, and why it’s certainly not a a place to risk American blood and treasure merely to provide our current president with a ‘wag the dog’ opportunity."

An Obvious Choice

Excuse me, but shouldn't Obama be focusing on problems like this in our own country:

instead of rushing into a war we don't want?

(Top cartoon by Gary Varvel, bottom cartoon by Bob Gorrell)

Steve and Eydie

Mark Steyn has a nice tribute to Steve and Eydie in his Song of the Week column.

Lots 'o Links

It's time for the latest news and comments at the reliable Betsy's Page, Larwyn's Linx, and Maggie's Farm.

The 9/11 Flag

On September 4, CNN will broadcast a documentary titled  "The Flag" on Wednesday, September 4, at 9 pm and 10:30, with encore performances on September 8 and September 11.  "A vibrant American flag, flying from the back of a boat moored very near the Twin Towers, managed to survive the destruction of the World Trade Center 12 years ago.  Someone removed the flag from the boat on September 11th.  Thomas Franklin, a photographer for the New Jersey newspaper The Record, took a searing photograph of that flag as it was raised by three fire fighters above the smoldering rubble on the evening of the terrorist attacks.  That image immediately became one of the archetypical photographs of the disaster.  Shortly after the iconic photo was taken, the whereabouts of the original flag became a mystery.  Who would keep it – and why?"

A Big Beef With a Bad Egg

I enjoyed Chef Puri's rebuttal to a nasty review his restaurant received on Trip Advisor. His writing style and his spelling should also get high marks!

Positive News for a Change

There's been so much bad news lately that it's a relief to read something like this:  "He doesn’t live on campus.  He can’t even drive there.  But an 11-year-old is among the new class of undergrads at Texas Christian University – adjusting to college life, finding the right buildings, settling in for those easy core classes. 'I’m taking calculus, physics, history and religion.  Those are my four classes,' Carson Huey-You told CBS 11 News.Carson is taking a full load of college courses this semester — and studying to become a quantum physicist. He is the youngest student the university has ever had." It's nice to read about smart, decent kids like this. Now that's a role model other kids (and adults) should look up to!

A Military Obscenity

Here's a good analysis of the situation in Syria, and why we should avoid getting involved in a war there.  Not only is it foolish to go to war over a "moral obscenity" when there's no good side to take; but how can we even think of doing so with our economy in the shape it's in?  The killing of Christians in Egypt is also a moral obscenity, but there's no talk about us going to war there.
(Cartoon by Glenn McCoy)

To Be Jewish in Sweden

It sounds like history repeating itself. Here's what it's like to be a Jew in Sweden.

Haveil Havalim Time!

Haveil Havalim: The Getting-Our-Act-Together Edition is up at i Yachol Nuchal!

America, Obama's Paper Tiger

Caroline Glick analyzes Obama's weak, embarrassing foreign policy:  "Never since America's founding has the US appeared so untrustworthy, destructive, irrelevant and impotent...Under Obama, America has made itself worse than irrelevant. In country after country, it has become dangerous to be a US ally. The world as a whole is a much more dangerous place as a consequence. Nothing short of a fundamental transformation of US foreign policy will suffice to begin to repair the damage."

Attention Conservatives: Criticize Obama At Your Own Risk!

This page contains a perfect description of what it's been like for conservatives forced to live in a liberal Obama regime.  In a novel I read, the phrase "arrange your face" was used. I have to arrange my face every single day when my co-workers (who assume that everyone is as liberal as they are) extol Obama & the Democrats and excoriate the Republicans.

Watcher's Council

The Council has spoken! Here are the latest Watcher's Council results.  Remember: the Watchers are keeping an eye on the weasels of the world, who seem to grow in number by the day.

Voter ID: Don't Call Us Racist!

Jonathan S. Tobin has written a good column called The Descent From the March to Voter ID in which he writes, "The myth propagated by the left, and echoed by the Obama administration, that voter ID laws are racist is an attempt to racialize an issue that has nothing to do with prejudice against African-Americans. Whereas once civil rights meant an effort to prevent white racists from stealing elections via laws that literally stopped all members of some groups from voting, now it seems to mean preventing any effort to protect the integrity of the votes of all citizens.
The inappropriate rhetoric employed by Obama, Attorney General Holder and those charlatans like Al Sharpton who purport now to speak in the name of the cause of civil rights have debased the coinage of the rhetoric of freedom that was so nobly advanced by King and others at the march. The descent of the civil rights movement from outrage at genuine discrimination to false flag issues like Martin or voter ID shows have far this nation has come. But it also illustrates the irrelevance of that movement to the genuine problems that are faced today by African-Americans."
Good job! I am sick and tired of the attacks on voter ID, which are used to prevent voter fraud, and angry at the insults against those of us who support integrity at the polls.

Some Comments on Our Twisted Culture

I like this post by Gerald Van der Leun regarding Bradley Manning -- or should I call him Bradley Womanning now?

Lloyd Marcus wonders what's going on with America's values.

Taleeb Starkes' column is titled If G.W. Bush Had a Son, He'd Look Like Christopher Lane.

A 10 year old lemonade stand owner was robbed by another boy at BB-gunpoint (let's ban BB guns now), and the victim has been honored for his entrepreneurial spirit. He is a capitalist in the making, and his parents should be proud. But the parents of the thief should be locked up with their son.

And Sandy Banks reminds us that killings that don't make the headlines deserve our outrage, too -- the epidemic of black-on-black murders that the media doesn't want to report because it's politically incorrect to do so.

Sick crimes like these have been going on for years, but it's only when they happen so frequently, senselessly, and brutally, and when the criminals are so young and so amoral, do they finally make the news and wake people out of their apathy.

Important News

 Hope n' Change cartoon, as seen at  American Digest.

Vin Scully: The People's Voice

Speaking of the elderly, here's a nice story about Vin Scully, age 85, who is coming back for his 65th season as a Dodgers broadcaster in 2014.

No Respect

What kind of uncivilized society has this turned into when thugs murder an 88 year old veteran?   In Japan, they revere the elderly; here,  people abuse and kill them. I have always thought that anyone who kills babies and senior citizens should be immediately executed -- there is no excuse for such brutality, but you can bet excuses will be made.

The End of the Tingle

Wow! When Democrats feel this way, you know things as bad as you think.  Jeff Jarvis lambastes Obama in this column:  "Is this really the legacy you want for yourself: the chief executive who trampled rights, destroyed privacy, heightened secrecy, ruined trust, and worst of all, did not defend but instead detoured around so many of the fundamental principles on which this country is founded?  And I voted for you. I'll confess you were a second choice. I supported Hillary Clinton first. I said at the time that your rhetoric about change was empty and that I feared you would be another Jimmy Carter: aggressively ineffectual. Never did I imagine that you would instead become another Richard Nixon: imperial, secretive, vindictive, untrustworthy, inexplicable."

Evil and Political Correctness

Here's Ben Stein on the senseless murder of Chris Lane: "The comments by Piers Morgan and his guests are — again, predictably — about how this is a story about too many guns in the USA. But, of course, as everyone who is not in the MSM knows, this is not about guns. It’s about race. It’s about the appalling level of gun violence perpetrated by black young men. The people who make the U.S. homicide rate the worst in the world are not hunters and target shooters in Idaho or Minnesota. They are totally confused, absolutely immoral black kids who have grown up with the complete absence of a sense of right and wrong. This is a part of the breakdown of the black youth in America. It has zero to do with the Second Amendment. It is pitiful that the MSM is so cowardly that they refuse to tell the truth about gun death in the U.S.: it is a problem of race, overwhelmingly. No one dare say it, but it’s true...And can a society which lies to itself about its most basic problems survive? This is a crisis. Absent parents. The gang control of thought. The scourge of drugs. These have created a catastrophe for the black community. That is an immense part of the youth of this nation. Occasionally the flood jumps its bounds, goes over the river banks, and kills a white person — and then it’s new — but we blame it on guns. Our media and our leaders just cannot tell the truth."
(This crime reminded me of these vicious murders, another example of political correctness and the the media.)

Lots 'o Links

You can catch up with your vital reading thanks to Maggie's Farm, Betsy's Page,  and Larwyn's Linx.

Argus Hamilton Quips

Here's the latest column on the news, including this item: "The Butler was ripped by the GOP because it's got Nancy Reagan running U.S. foreign policy and bringing down communism. She's played by Jane Fonda. If Hanoi Jane is playing the woman who brought down communism all you can say is, sister, that's acting."

If I Had a Son, He Wouldn't Look Like Chris Lane

This poor guy, brutally killed by "bored" black thugs. Already some on the right are blaming the guns rather than the evil minds who deliberately planned this senseless, vicious murder. 

More on the Million Muslim Men March

In an article titled "9/11: Time for million Muslim men to shut up", Farid Ghadry wisely says,  "On 9/11, I intend to remember all those who perished and keep my mouth shut. It is the only day in the year when I feel my silence is necessary and the best way to express how sorry most American-Muslims are for the tragedy of 9/11. You see, those responsible for the terror did it in our name (Arabs) and under the banner of our religion (Islam). If we cannot feel the weight of that responsibility, we do not deserve to be Americans. Besides, why use the word 'Muslim' to describe the march if religious divisiveness is not the intent?"

Faces in Space

Isn't this creative? "Cosmic Portraits Created From Hubble Space Telescope Images" by artist Sergio Albiac.

2 + 2 = 10

I think we've heard this subject before: "Common Core Teachers Taught to Praise Wrong Answers Like ’3 x 4 was 11’". Mustn't hurt feelings, you know, and by all means, make sure you send these kids to college!  And who cares if they can't do math, as long as they know the difference between D and R on the ballot.

Muslims = Nazis

Today I read two articles comparing to Kristallnacht the Muslim Brotherhood attacks on Christian homes and churches in Egypt.  And there's as little outrage over this one as there was over the Nazi pogroms against the Jews.

The Antisemitism Card

I hate it when people use racism as their excuse when things don't go their way. You don't hear the antisemitism card used too often, but when it is, I find it even more deplorable. In the most ridiculous and immature excuse yet, Ryan Braun says the urine collector was an antisemitic Cubs fan!   Does he really think people are that stupid?  Please just shut up and go away already.

(His mother didn't exactly help matters any.  "His mother, Diane, a Catholic, has said, 'He’s totally not Jewish. I heard some organization started called him ‘The Hebrew Hammer.’ I said, ‘Oh no.’ My mother would be rolling over in her grave if she heard that.” Don't feel bad, lady -- we'd prefer he not be Jewish, too.)

Despicable Defense of the Day

Just another example of how American society has turned into a cesspool.  Remember the animals that shot a baby in the head after trying to rob the mother? This is the defense:  "Defense attorneys are set to strongly suggest that the real killers of a toddler brutally shot to death in his stroller were his parents, who had a financial interest in his death - and that their 18-year-old defendant who goes on trial this week is not guilty."  You kill an innocent baby before the mother's eyes -- and then you call her the murderer? The lawyers should be ashamed.

That's Gratitude For You!

Everyone has an excuse, and this one belongs in the Department of Frivilous Lawsuits: "Woman who tried to throw herself under a train as a teenager is suing the cops who helped save her for $7m over claims they 'ruined her chances of getting a job by making suicide attempt public'."  I guess it no longer pays to be a Good Samaritan, if this is the thanks you get.  Should the cops have just let her die instead?

More Lies and Excuses

I agree with this column about Alex Rodriguez. "It’s time for this second-rate villain to put up or — finally — shut up."   It's bad enough that so-called men like him can't admit to what they have done wrong, despite evidence proving it.  It's bad enough when they lie and when they smear others to save their own skin.  But to actually accuse the Yankees of asking the doctor to deliberately botch his hip surgery? That's going too far. Obviously he is totally unfamiliar with the concept of bowing out gracefully.

Morons - Par for the Course

Finally! Since the PGA Championship, there's been some well-deserved backlash over the boorish behavior and obnoxious bellowing by golf fans on every single hole. This post says it all: "In shocking news, Americans are obnoxious. This of course isn’t true across the entire spectrum of American society, but Americans – more so than people of many other nations of the world – are obnoxious. A microcosm of this obnoxiousness is heard weekly on the PGA Tour in the form of 'mashed potatoes', 'babbadoowee' and 'chewbacca' – heard in the form of screams. Obnoxious screams from golf fans.   Fans overseas don’t do this. People at the Masters don’t do this. Look PGA Tour, I am talking directly to you. I am telling you that this idiotic, barbaric bellowing from probable drunk, attention-seeking, moron golf fans needs to come to an end, as soon as possible – please. I mean, you banned something that was actually fun and harmless last week, as well as going in accordance with the banning of another controversial topic which effects players on Tour directly. The LEAST you can do is get rid of this stupid barking from beyond the trenches – please."

Fans overseas don’t do this. People at the Masters don’t do this. - See more at: http://usgolftv.com/golf-fans-obnoxious-american-fans-yelling-is-poor-ettiquette-golf-is-about-respect-mashedpotatoes-babbadoowee/#sthash.jitZVXGn.dpuf

In shocking news, Americans are obnoxious.
This of course isn’t true across the entire spectrum of American society, but Americans – more so than people of many other nations of the world – are obnoxious. A microcosm of this obnoxiousness is heard weekly on the PGA Tour in the form of “mashed potatoes”, “babbadoowee” and “chewbacca” – heard in the form of screams. Obnoxious screams from golf fans.
- See more at: http://usgolftv.com/golf-fans-obnoxious-american-fans-yelling-is-poor-ettiquette-golf-is-about-respect-mashedpotatoes-babbadoowee/#sthash.jitZVXGn.dpuf

From Sphinx to Stinks

If anyone should be marching in protest, it should be the Christians of Egypt.  It's just disgraceful that the destruction of churches and homes hasn't gotten more media attention. Oh well, just so long as the mosque is safe -- then Obama might've spoken up.

Watcher's Council

The Council has spoken! Here are the latest Watcher's Council winners!

Very Sorry

You have to read Matt Walsh's wonderfully sarcastic apology letter to Obama, seen at Cold Fury.  He's apologizing for the rodeo clown episode. One part of the letter reads as follows:

"So how could anyone be upset at you? How could they delight at the degradation and mockery of Barack Obama? What’s wrong with these right wing rednecks? Are they still sore about the whole thing where you sent the IRS after your political opponents to harass and hinder them during an election cycle? Or the stuff about spying on the phone records of every American? What about all this business about you arming and funding Islamic Militants overseas and then orchestrating a coverup when a bunch of them murdered your ambassador? Are folks STILL mad that you funneled weapons to drug cartels and then threatened whistleblowers into silence? Or is it all this fuss over your Justice Department spying on and attempting to prosecute journalists? Is it the wildly unpopular two thousand page health care law? The regulation mandating that religious employers provide abortifacients to their employees? The millions of tax dollars you’ve given to the abortion industry and the blessings you wished upon a group of wealthy abortionists? The bailouts? The green energy scams? The massive expansion of government? The out of control deficit spending? The lies? The broken promises? The betrayals? The corruption? The attacks on our fundamental liberties?
I can’t imagine why anyone would get too worked about any of that. Like you said, that stuff didn’t happen. Or it did, but it’s not a big deal. Or it’s not a big deal because it didn’t. I can’t remember, I just know that you treat anyone who raises any of these concerns with utter contempt and disregard, which clearly proves that they are wrong."

Argus Hamilton Quips

Here is the latest column, which includes such news items as this: "General Wesley Clark followed General David Petraeus and General Colin Powell in extra-marital dalliances Monday. Soldiers can't commit adultery in the service. When all three of these generals retired they were presented with the Order of the Red Corvette."

Salt in Our Wounds

I am irate over the notion of the Million Muslim March on September 11. They say they are marching for their rights.  We should march for our right -- not to be brutally attacked and murdered by Islamic terrorists! To have them slap us in the face so brazenly on September 11, our sacred day -- it's really too much.I think they are counting on the political correctness here and Americans' spinelessness, and unfortunately, it seems to be working all too well.

Happy Birthday, Elvis!

From the UK Guardian: Twenty essential Elvis songs. One of my favorites that isn't on this list is "Memories".

Lots o' Links

It's time again for some good reading, brought to you by Maggie's Farm, Betsy's Page, and Larwyn's Linx.

Middle East Mayhem

Here we go again:  "Palestinians Celebrate Release of Terrorist Murderers;Israel frees 26 killers to bolster 'peace talks'".  (I love WorldJewishDaily,com -- they call it like it is.)  Also, check out how well Egypt's Arab Spring is going!

The Demise of Common Sense

Let's get this straight: you now have to present a photo I.D. at CVS to buy nail polish remover -- but you shouldn't have to show a photo I.D. in order to vote?

Watcher's Council

The Council has spoken! Here are the Watcher's Council winners from August 9.

A Bunch of Bozos

Just when you think that political correctness can't get any worse: sensitivity training -- for rodeo clowns!  Does this mean that anyone who dares to wear an Obama Halloween mask (if they even dare to sell such a thing) will be forced to take sensitivity training, too?  I remember the Nixon masks protesters used to wear, and the Bush=Hitler signs, masks, and effigies -- but I don't recall any political indoctrination afterwards.  What has happened to this country?

Slaughter in Nigeria

This has hardly made news here, probably because reporting it would be offensive to Muslims: "Suspected Islamic militants wearing army fatigues gunned down 44 people praying at a mosque in northeast Nigeria, while another 12 civilians died in an apparently simultaneous attack, security agents said Monday."

Argus Hamilton Quips

Here's the latest column, which includes news items like this one: "President Obama said on the Tonight Show the NSA does not spy on Americans. They can monitor anyone's online postings, their web history and chat sessions. However if it can't keep Anthony Weiner from getting elected mayor, what good is it against al-Qaeda?"

Governing by Fear & Threats

It's typical of this administration to blame everything on racism or on the GOP.  The contemptible Harry Reid insinuated that the only reason Republicans oppose Obama is "racism".  Obama told disabled veterans  their benefits may be cut because of the sequester that was his idea!
Just take the headline and fill in the blanks: "Obama warns _________ prolonged sequester could put _________ in jeopardy."  We have to put up with three more years of this, or seven years (of bad luck) if the female Obama is elected, so the Republicans had better find some very strong, conservative candidates for 2016.

Obama Press Conference: No Laughing Matter

At Doug Ross @ Journal, you can find this comic strip: "The Press Conference". Read it and weep.

A Family Story

Here's a happy ending to a sad story from Jennifer Mendelsohn: "An Unexpected Family Reunion, Seven Decades After the Holocaust.My husband’s grandmother’s family was decimated by the Nazis. But at 95, she discovered relatives she never knew."

How to Win Friends & Influence Tourists

How is this for stupid and insulting?  "A Welsh holiday town has lost out on over £100,000 from Jewish tourists, who have gone elsewhere after a health and safety ban on lit candles, it was claimed."

Nonessential Surgery

By Gary Varvel.

Conservative Websites

Right Wing News lists the 100 most popular conservative websites for 2013.  It's a good way to see which sites you already visit, and which sites you might want to start visiting.

A Man-Caused Disaster in the White House

It's insane that we are still having this discussion twelve years after September 11, but Charles Krauthammer reiterates the fact that you can't fight terrorism if you are still too politically correct to condemn it! He ends,  "In the end, this isn't about language. It's about leadership. The wordplay is merely cover for uncertain policy embedded in confusion and ambivalence about the whole enterprise. This is not leading from behind. This is not leading at all." And thanks to the stupidity of the dependent American voter, Obama will be not leading for an additional three long years!

Here's a similar column by Caroline Glick -- note the Ramirez cartoon!

Lots 'o Links

For your reading pleasure, visit Maggie's Farm, Betsy's Page,  and Larwyn's Linx.   (Bonus: check out this infographic on Obamacare. You'll first need a doctor after you'd looked at it.)

Come On, Feel The Noise!

Esther J. Cepeda could have been speaking for me when she wrote this column about how noisy our society has become: "The Unbearable Loudness of Being".

Colorful Photographs

I love these:  "A day in the life of the city: Mesmerising photographs capture 24 hours in just one picture."

Idiocy of the Day

I saw this ridiculous story at the New York Post yesterday, and I guess we're all supposed to think that this is perfectly normal: "ABC News editor Don Ennis strolled into the newsroom in May wearing a little black dress and an auburn wig and announced he was transgender and splitting from his wife. He wanted to be called Dawn. But now he says he suffered from a two-day bout of amnesia that has made him realize he wants to live his life again as Don."  Oh brother -- is everybody crazy?

Benghazi Bluster

The White House is being urged to arrest the Benghazi suspects quickly. "If our government knows who perpetrated the attack that killed four Americans, it is critical that they be questioned and placed in custody of U.S. officials without delay," House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa said in a statement.  That's a laugh. It's been a year already, and the prevailing sentiment of  "What difference does it make?" seems to be as strong as ever.  Does anyone else find odd the suddenness and the timing of the announcement that charges had been filed? (Cartoon by Bob Gorrell)

Swiffer: Good for the Jews

What fun to come across this article about Lee & Morty Kaufman, the haimish couple in the adorable Swiffer commercial!

Honoring Anne Frank

This is a nice column by Cal Thomas: "Her modest living conditions after the family was forced to move out of their home, is a monument to the power of individual courage and the triumph of good over evil. In her diary, as in her life, Anne Frank is a heroine, a role model, a martyr and a reminder of the power and influence one individual can have.  Anne Frank's life was a candle in the midst of great darkness. Her flame should burn forever."

The Bomb

This article at Forbes is titled "Happy Anniversary, 'Little Boy' And 'Fat Man'".   Take a look at the Enola Gay, which helped us win the war.

"Ugh" is Right

Per New York magazine: "Today in Ugh: Al Qaeda Has Developed an ‘Undetectable’ Explosive".  But don't dare mention the words "terrorism" or "Muslims".

Argus Hamilton Quips

Here are the columnist's latest takes on the news, including this item: "Mayor Bob Filner said Thursday a reason he groped women at work is San Diego had no sexual harassment information seminars to educate him. He blamed his downfall on a lack of bureaucracy. You have to admit there is a certain glory to dying like a Democrat."

The Night Sky

Here's a beautiful video from the 2013 Smithsonian In Motion Video contest.

You Can Call Me Al...Qaeda

Next month it will be 12 years since the September 11 terror attacks, and 1 year since the September 11 Benghazi attack (no terrorists have been arrested, but the filmmaker is still in jail). We now have a travel alert and the closing of embassies; and we have Al Qaeda-related prison breaks.
Yet we are still supposed to believe that Al Qaeda has been destroyed and that Islam is the religion of peace.  Is it political correctness, liberalism, or just plain stupidity that makes Americans think this way?

Watcher's Council

The Council has spoken! Here are the latest Watcher's Council winners!

Citizen's Arrest

Is this America or is this Russia? Moronic edicts like this one are almost impossible to believe, even in this era of political correctness: "'Citizen' and 'brown bag' are now offensive words, Seattle tells government employees."  What are they going to do, arrest them?  What's truly offensive is that the government wastes time and money on nonsense like this in order to placate a few whiners.

Obama Administration: Pure Intimidation

CNN has always been friendly towards Obama, so when they break a devastating story like this about Benghazi,  you know it has to be the real thing and not just a "phony scandal":
"Since January, some CIA operatives involved in the agency's missions in Libya, have been subjected to frequent, even monthly polygraph examinations, according to a source with deep inside knowledge of the agency's workings. The goal of the questioning, according to sources, is to find out if anyone is talking to the media or Congress. It is being described as pure intimidation, with the threat that any unauthorized CIA employee who leaks information could face the end of his or her career."  I guess it's only when Republican presidents do this that it's considered an impeachable offense.

Lots 'o Links

Catch up on the latest news thanks to Maggie's Farm, Betsy's Page, and Larwyn's Linx.

Defund Obamacare

This infographic explains the process.  And if they don't actually defund it, then just stop forcing everyone to use it!  Since it's "the poor" who demanded it, then let them use it -- without the help of the navigators. (If you're going to get something for nothing, the least you can do is fill out your own form!)