Like Rats in a Sewer

Another good Dry Bones cartoon.

How Encouraging!

"German Jews Warned:Avoid Being Publicly Recognized as Jews."

Messiah Indeed

Donald Lambro states that On every policy level, Obama has made things worse. "On just about every domestic and economic policy level, Obama has made things worse. The average length of every recession we’ve had over the last several decades has been about two years. Under Obama, many states, including some of the largest, are still in recovery. On Nov. 4, we will get a chance to tell him directly what we think of his presidency and his policies." 

Well, we had the chance to tell him what we thought about his presidency and his policies on Nov. 6, 2012 -- and look where that got us!

Lots 'o Links

Check out the latest news from Betsy's Page, Maggie's Farm, and Larwyn's Linx!

And in the PC ignorance-is-bliss department,  read about the teacher fired because he wrote about homophones -- which, as intelligent people know, means words that sound alike and has nothing whatsoever to do with homosexuals. This reminds me of the teacher fired for using the word "niggardly".  I think it's these school administrators who desperately need spelling and vocabulary lessons!

This is what political correctness does: even if you use the correct word, you get censured if it sounds bad!

Two Cartoons

This is how the mainstream media reports the Israel vs. Hamas news.

I saw this William Warren cartoon today at Lucianne.com. Perfect, isn't it?

Permission to Live

Read this column by Ronn Torossian: "This most recent flareup shows just so clearly that this isn’t a battle over whether Israel is right or wrong. Its just so painfully apparent that quite simply, in the eyes of the world, the Jews are always wrong.
And if someone is concerned about the so called 'cycle of violence,' then they should march equally to demand an end to U.S. drone strikes, and to America pursuing Al Qaeda and other enemies. In fact, perhaps there should be no more militaries anywhere in the world. But these moral hypocrites want to force Israel to accept a 'ceasefire' with an enemy that kills and wants to kill. There is not much more to be said.
Israel and Jewish leaders need to worry about the Jewish people, and not about world opinion. The State of Israel would not exist if it were up to the world. Six million Jews were wiped out in our century.
Israel and the Jewish people need no one’s permission to live."

Argus Hamilton Quips

You can find some barbed news items in the humorist's latest column, including this one: "President Obama stood on the South Lawn to greet the leaders of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras Friday. They made it over the fence in six seconds. No one wants to say the situation is bad, but all three leaders came dressed up as children and asked for refugee status."

The Situation in Israel in One Cartoon

Cartoon by Gary Varvel.

Stormtroopers on the March

Yoni Leviatan writes, "This is not 1933. It’s not 1938, 1942 or any other year during the deathly Nazi rise to become Satan’s greatest warriors on earth. This is 2014, and Europe is infested with a new army of evil, a new virus of anti-Semitic vitriol that is spreading like wildfire, festering in an all too reminiscent sea of apathy that borders on willing complicity. No matter which year it is, a leopard can never change its spots, and this is a continent which is perfectly at peace watching a new wave of insanity claim the lives of every last Jew in the pogrom-stained land that we call Europe."

Toronto “Palestinian” demo to Jews: “Go back to Germany where they can kill you again”.

And look what's happening to the Christians of Iraq. "Does innocent human life matter in the Middle East if it is Christian? We ask because while Israel’s efforts to defend itself against terrorism from Hamas have provoked worldwide condemnation and demonstrations, the ethnic cleansing of a Christian community that has been in Iraq for more than 1,600 years continues with only a whimper of protest."

Take That Back!

"US Jewish group wants its award back from Turkey's Erdogan;  Turkish PM says Israel should face International Criminal Court charges over Gaza campaign • American Jewish Congress, which gave Erdogan "Profile of Courage" award in 2004, seeks to revoke it, says he is 'spewing dangerous rhetoric against Jews.'"   While they're at it, Sweden should take back the Nobel Peace Prize from Obama. Why reward appeasers, defeatists, quislings, and haters?

Kerry, Go Home!

"Foiled Hamas tunnel plot would have had hundreds of fighters infiltrate Israel, attack thousands of Israelis. The IDF recently published a map showing that the tunnels were created to empty out on both sides of nearby communities. Israeli military officials had already reported that the tunnel entrances are stocked with tranquilizers, handcuffs, ropes, and other materials useful for subduing abducted civilians and soldiers. And the known cost of the infrastructure – with each tunnel costing roughly $1 million – implies that Hamas leaders were planning a coordinated mega-attack, since use of even one of the tunnels was likely to trigger an Israeli retaliation against the entire network. Revelations regarding the magnitude of the planned tunnel attack are thought to have played a critical role in the Israeli government’s rejection of a ceasefire proposed late Friday by Secretary of State John Kerry, which would have prohibited the Israelis from degrading remaining attack tunnels." Isn't this what's known as aiding and abetting the enemy? That's not a ceasefire, that's a surrender, or suicide!

Good Friday Links

The Council has spoken! Here are the latest Watcher's Council winners. Teresa at The Noisy Room was the first place Council winner, while Sultan Knish was the first place Non-Council winner.

Here's Daniel Greenfield's Friday Afternoon Roundup, titled Shave Gaza. One of his posts is his own "Are the Gazans Who Voted for Hamas Ever Responsible for their Actions?"

Milton

I get a kick out of this amusing commercial from Esurance. Watch out, GEICO!

Trending Now:Hating Jews

Here are some good articles concerning Hamas and their attempts to eradicate Israel, Jews, and Westerners.

The title of Silvio Canto's piece is "Wanted: A march calling on Hamas to stop shooting rockets at Israel."  I guess that wouldn't be politically correct.

At National Review, Abraham H. Miller writes  Progressive Jews, Wake Up. "Those who believe in women’s rights, gay rights, reproductive rights, and human rights have cast their lot with people whose culture violates the basic dignities of freedom. What explains that? Hatred!  Hatred is the great unifier. If you are going to hate anyone, hate Jews, because no one cares...Slight the voluble sensitivities of any group on an American campus and you’ll be condemned to sensitivity training and endless bureaucratic harassment. But propose to kill the Jews and you’ll find that the Constitution will be wrapped around you tighter than a piece of cling wrap."

You have to read and share all of Noah Beck's A Letter of Thanks From Hamas to the International Media, which starts out like this:  "Dear Members of the Mainstream Media, You’ve been awesome! Everyone knows that we start unwinnable wars with Israel because the real victory happens when you predictably side with us each time. And you’ve been so supportive of our strategy that we really want to acknowledge your helpfulness. In particular, we thank you for:
-Focusing so much more on our suffering than anyone else’s. Nigerians must die in far greater numbers before you take notice, so we’re glad that you value our lives so much more.
-Minimizing your coverage, if any, of our attacks that led up to Israel’s military response and generally providing so little context that outsiders think that Israelis kill Palestinians just for fun. We’re especially grateful to the French media for this. Their distortions of the conflict are so one-sided that they incite Muslims across France to attack Jews and synagogues, and that is welcomed by our anti-Semitic worldview (although, unfortunately, such attacks remind everyone why Jews need a state).
-Emphasizing our civilian death toll without explaining that (1) our casualty reports are hasty and inflated, and (2) we maximize that total by using Palestinians to shield our weapons and by urging them to stay in the very areas that the IDF – in its annoying effort to minimize our civilian deaths – warns Gazans to evacuate."

As Tom Lehrer used to sing, "Oh, the Protestants hate the Catholics, And the Catholics hate the Protestants, And the Hindus hate the Muslims,
And everybody hates the Jews."

WWI Centenary

Some of the best writing comes as a result of the most terrible things.  American Digest links to an old article about the reminiscences of a 104 year-old WWI veteran. 

At WQXR you can read about five notable classical musicians who served in WWI. One of the five is Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Kiss of Death

The latest fad is Jews and Arabs kissing each other and posting the photos on Twitter.  All the trendy kissing and annoying selfies in the world aren't going to help one bit when the goal of Hamas is to kill Jews and destroy Israel, as Larry Elder describes.

What's Next, Yellow Stars?

This is not Germany in 1940. This is Belgium in the year 2014: "‘No Jews allowed’ sign removed from Belgian cafe following complaint." The sign said “Dogs are allowed in this establishment but Jews are not under any circumstances.”  I hope he goes out of business.

Lots 'o Links

Read all the latest news about Israel and the world, courtesy of Betsy's Page, Larwyn's Linx, and Maggie's Farm.

Oh, and a minor thing: the U.N. is investigating Israel for war crimes! I think someone ought to investigate the United Nations.

Haveil Havalim Time

The latest edition of Haveil Havalim titled "What war with Gaza?" is up at Esser Agaroth. I've always loved this particular blog carnival, but it's even more important now.

We're Sorry For Existing

Please read and share this letter of apology to the world media by Rolene Marks, which begins this way: "Please allow me to apologise on behalf of all the citizens of the State of Israel. I humbly apologise to you and your readers and to the world for our leaders defending our right to live. Here in Israel, we consider living a basic human right."

Nervy Lawsuit of the Day

Need some comic relief? Read this: "Man sues pizzeria for thwarting robbery."  "Sykes is trying to get money from the pizzeria by suing the employees who tackled him and wrestled his gun away during the robbery."  How cruel -- they should have had more respect for his feelings and allowed him to kill them!

El Al-legiance

I was never a big fan of Michael Bloomberg, but his flight to Israel on El Al in defiance of the FAA ban made him a bigger man in my eyes.  "Thus far, Bloomberg is the only major American politician to defy the ban; which suggests that it may not be entirely based on security concerns, but is a political move by the Obama administration to pressure Israel into a ceasefire."  In other words, extortion. And remember: this is the man who somehow won the Nobel Peace Prize!

Here's a list of new El Al slogans. Someone beat me to it with "Fly the Unfriendly Skies."

Support for Israel

Israel has a strong supporter in Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada. "In a stunning rebuke of President Obama’s tepid calls for Israel to show 'restraint' in response to daily rocket fire on Israeli civilian targets by Hamas terror redoubts in Gaza, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, long considered Israel’s best friend and strongest defender, all but condemned President Obama by name for what he regards as Washington’s irresolute support for Israel during its time of grave crisis." Too bad he's not our leader.

Here are some photos of Sunday's pro-Israel rally in New York.

Sad And True

Another perfect Dry Bones cartoon.

Kristallnacht Part 2

Sound familiar?

"Jewish Owned Stores Burned to the Ground, Synagogue Firebombed in ‘Paris Intifada’:For the second straight day on Sunday anti-Jewish rioters defied a protest ban in Paris to rampage in the predominantly Jewish suburb of Sarcelles in what one police official called the 'Paris Intifada.'  Hundreds of mostly Arab and North African youths marched through the streets wielding bars and clubs while shouting, 'Death to Israel'. The neighborhood’s main kosher grocery Naouri was burned to a shell as was a local Jewish owned pharmacy. The nearby synagogue in Garges was firebombed, but little damage was done."

Little damage was done? It sounds like a great deal of damage was done, both psychologically and physically.  Hitler would be very proud.

Being Rational With Irrational People

Michael A. Brown has a question for Israel's critics: "..since Hamas is sworn to Israel’s destruction, since Hamas initiated the recent hostilities, since Hamas rejected cease fire offers, since Hamas is using civilians, including women and children, as human shields, and since Hamas is actively attempting to infiltrate Israel and murder, kidnap, and maim its people, what do you suggest that Israel does?
Would you prefer that Israel simply turned the other cheek and let its people be slaughtered?
Would you rather that Israel’s Iron Dome defense system was not as successful, so that an occasional missile landed in a heavily populated area and wiped out some Israelis?
Did you like things better in the days of the Second Intifada, when 1,100 Israelis were killed, the vast majority of them non-combatant civilians?
Is the whole problem that there are not enough dead Jews"

Since you can't reason with people who hate Israel and who hate Jews, and since Jew-haters don't read columns like this, we should stop trying to use commonsense arguments because it's like talking to a wall. Let's just hit back hard on every front and stop explaining ourselves.  We have nothing to apologize for.

Headline of the Day

From Breitbart as seen at Lucianne.com: "Egypt/Israel To John Kerry's Mediation Offer --'Please God, NO!'"  Read the whole article.  Everything Obama and Kerry do only makes things worse, so stay out! Let Israel finish the job and destroy Hamas, since obviously the antisemites around the world are too busy worrying about Gazan casualties to help Israel!

Rocket Men

Want to see how frequently Israel is being hit by Hamas rockets? See this online clock, the creation of Aaron Friedman and Yehonatan Tsirolnik.

Some TV News

Last night PBS showed a preview of Ken Burns' upcoming documentary, "The Roosevelts", and I can't wait to see it. Paul Giamatti will be the voice of Teddy Roosevelt; Meryl Streep the voice of Eleanor R.; Patricia Clarkson will play Daisy Suckley; and Edward Herrmann, who has played FDR so wonderfully before, will be his voice.

The New York Times has a nice tribute to David Suchet, who is ending his reign as the best Hercule Poirot.

How Can You Trust John Kerry?

"Mr. Apartheid State" is at it again. From the UK Guardian:  "The secretary of state, John Kerry, on Sunday appeared to criticise Israel’s claims about the targeted scope of its attacks on Gaza, as a open microphone caught him talking to an aide ahead of a TV interview.'It’s a hell of a pinpoint operation, it’s a hell of a pinpoint operation,' Kerry, who was appearing on Fox News Sunday as part of a tour of all five main US talkshows, said to an aide on the phone, in a frustrated tone."  Has he not heard about the Hamas terrorists who managed to infiltrate tunnels into Israel, and the ones who were prevented from doing so?  Does it have to take the slaughter of Jews to convince people like Obama, Kerry and the British and French brownshirts that the goal of Hamas is to wipe Israel off the map?

Remember this, during the failed peace talks in November 2013? "But Thursday night, in his joint television interview to Israeli and Palestinian television, we 'discovered' a different Kerry: nasty, threatening, one-sided, blind to the malfeasance and unreliability of Palestinian leaders, and dangerously oblique to the explosive situation he himself is creating.  Channeling the Palestinian line, Kerry showed no appreciation whatsoever for Israel's positions and concerns (aside from the usual throw-away vague protestations of concern for Israel's security')."

Violent Anti-Jewish Hooliganism in Canada

Israel's Operative Protective Edge is just being used as an excuse by rabid, violent antisemites such as those in Canada, described in Cara Lebonzon's column "Hate Rally in Canada, Israel's Strongest Ally":  

"I am absolutely disgusted, embarrassed and outraged that this was allowed to take place in my home town and that peaceful Israel supporters were attacked in broad daylight for holding Israeli flags as members of the Calgary community yelled “KILL JEWS”.

"The people who attended this protest are not pro-Palestinian, they are not pro-human rights, and should barely be considered Canadian. They do not seek justice and peace, and they do not respect, nor value the democracy, freedom and liberty that Canada has provided them with. They are anti-Palestinian, anti-Jew, and anti-human rights. They are ignorant, violent people that adorned their children in anti-Israel signs and t-shirts, using them political pawns, beat up members of my community for being Jewish and are taking advantage of our freedom of speech to commit these atrocious hate crimes."

At least people are speaking up against, and posting videos of, these anti-Jewish attacks in cities such as Paris, London, Boston, and now Calgary and showing these savages for what they truly are. It's not Israel they hate, it's Jews in general, and in the fight of good versus evil, they clearly demonstrate what side they're on.

The Times of London Are A-Changin'

"Tens of thousands protested in London Saturday afternoon against Israel’s military operations in Gaza, denouncing Israel as a terrorist state and castigating British Prime Minister David Cameron for backing Israel’s right to self-defense against Hamas rocket fire."  Do you people not remember the Blitz?  Did you all just sit there while Hitler attacked you every day? Did you consider the UK a terrorist state and criticize Winston Churchill for his self-defense of London?  What short memories you disgraceful people have!

Good Friday Links

The Council has spoken! Here are the latest Watcher's Council winners from the Hamas Delenda Est edition.

Here is Daniel Greenfield's Friday Afternoon Roundup.

Disaster in the Sky

What a horror. First Malaysian Airlines MH370 disappears, now MH17 is shot down over the Ukraine.  It had to have been a mistake, like the shooting down of that Korean airliner by the USSR, and the shooting down of the Iranian jet was by our Navy years ago, Neither Russian nor Ukraine has anything against Malaysia, so why would this attack have been deliberate? If Putin is smart, he will arrest those in charge and make reparations as soon as possible.

About Israel

Dan Calic has written a good column titled "Israel: Damned if the do, damned if they don't." He concludes his column by saying "No civilized nation should be expected to endure attempts to murder its civilians, especially on a sustained basis. Israel has the right to take protective measures to ensure the safety of its people. As long as they face an enemy who believes it’s honorable to murder innocent civilians, I have only one suggestion for those who criticize Israel for doing what any other nation would do under similar circumstances- Please come and live in Sderot."

Corey Feldman's column titled "Why We Fight" is also worth reading. "What is it like to be a child in Sderot? A study published in 2011 found that approximately 75 percent of the city’s children show signs of suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a result of the constant rocket fire. Think of your own childhood: how does it compare to growing up in Sderot? Did you ever have trouble focusing during exams? How hard would it have been to focus if you knew that at any moment you might have to run for cover from an incoming missile? As a parent, would you allow your children to play outdoors in Sderot?..But what about the elderly? How would you feel if your parents lived in Sderot? The elderly are not quick enough to run for cover in 7-15 seconds. During yesterday’s siren, I watched two men in their eighties who were playing checkers at a café when the siren went off. Their stress was palpable as they shifted around uncomfortably, flicking their eyes towards the sky every few seconds, but continuing to play their game of checkers. They knew full well that even if they had 50 seconds they could never reach a shelter before the rocket hit."

I think we have to stop caring about what gentiles and Arabs think of us and do our best to protect ourselves by any means necessary. If death and destruction is all haters and murderers like Hamas believe in, we'll gladly accommodate them.

Support Israel and The IDF

The ground war against our enemy Hamas has begun. Think of the IDF with this prayer tonight.

Read this excellent column by David A. Harris: "To Israel's Critics: Speak up now while literally millions of Israelis live from one alarm to another, or remain forever silent."

Lots 'o Links

Here we go, the great news and culture roundups by Betsy's Page, Maggie's Farm, and Larwyn's Linx.

A question: what did we ever do to Norway to make them such rabid antisemites?  Read this.

How Liberals Think

Only a liberal would have the gall to dare to make this comparison:  "MA Governor: Deporting Illegal Children Like Sending Jews To Nazi Concentration Camps."

"A Moral Scandal"

Read Jonah's Goldberg's column at National Review: "The Palestinian ‘Genocide’ Lie. It’s a moral scandal that it’s even necessary to debunk equating Israel with the Nazis." 

He also quotes Netanyahu:  "Here’s the difference between us. We’re using missile defense to protect our civilians, and they’re using their civilians to protect their missiles.” Another difference is that we don't dance in the streets and hand out candies in celebration of murder; nor do we engage in vile physical and verbal attacks.  Sometimes I wonder how we restrain ourselves, since it doesn't seem to matter how many times you bend over backwards to be civil to your attackers.

(Graphic seen at American Digest)

A Real Draw

I have some favorite editorial cartoonists including Bob Gorrell, Michael Ramirez, and Gary Varvel.  The lively art work in the above Varvel cartoon made me laugh.

The Nanny State on Wheels

Here's yet another attempt by our government to make people as helpless and dependent as possible: "Government Wants Talking $30K Shopping Carts to Tell Food Stampers to Eat Healthy." Why are benefits-receiving people always treated like they're helpless? If they want to eat healthy food, that should be their own responsibility to do so. If they really want to, they can go to the library (it's free!) and look up healthy recipes.  I don't want my tax money promoting stupidity.

Pogroms in the Year 2014

The European Jewish Congress has used the word "pogrom" in denouncing yesterday's virulent attacks on two Paris synagogues.  I'm glad they did so in order to highlight the scope of the hatred and violence towards Jews. Politically correct silence and euphemisms are not wanted!

Jew Hatred in Boston & The World

I was very ashamed and very angry to hear about this: "Jewish students called ‘Jesus killers’ and swarmed by dozens of anti-Israel demonstrators at rally outside Israeli consulate."  I haven't been called a Jesus killer since I was in elementary school, so it's obvious that things haven't changed for the better since then.

There are violent anti-Israel protests in France, too: "An anti-Israel demonstration at the city’s Bastille Square quickly turned violent with protesters seeking out and attacking Jewish targets and screaming 'death to the Jews' and 'Hitler was right' according to community newspaper, JSS News....Hundreds of Parisian Jews were trapped in a synagogue while rioters threw stones and bricks." (I half-expected to read that they had set fire to the synagogue)

What do these antisemites do, follow the same sick script?

Good Stuff By Daniel Greenfield

In his Friday Afternoon Roundup, Daniel Greenfield says "Romney, Don't Run". I agree. The media has all but proclaimed Hillary Clinton the next President, so unless the Republicans suddenly turn liberal and find themselves an illegal alien black woman nominee to hand out more free stuff, I can't see how we can win people's hearts and minds.

Also, read his column at Frontpage Mag, "A Game Changer in Gaza." He writes, "Terrorism is a game. The rules are simple. You have three choices. 1. Destroy the terrorists. 2. Live with terrorism. 3. Give in to the terrorists. There are no other choices."  This is just plain common sense, but unfortunately many people today lack common sense.

Our Alternative Universe

The Algemeiner lists 15 phrases that Israel's supporters must stop using.  These include "the Palestinians" and "Israel “'Seized' Arab Lands in 1967." Shouldn't Israel's detractors read this instead?

Meanwhile, the United Nations - surprise! - is calling for a cease-fire.

And in other alternative-universe news, "Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators massed outside the Israeli embassy in London on Saturday, calling for an end to 'Israeli aggression' against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip." Yes, those poor "Palestinians", always attacked for no reason.

Watcher's Council

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

All You Need To Know About Israel & Obama in 2 Headlines

From the Jerusalem Post:  "ANALYSIS: Stunned by Israel's fierce response, Hamas sends distress signals. Hamas apparently expected a limited response to the recent rocket attacks on Israeli cities and towns; The organization is concerned the IDF's operation could be the end to Hamas’s rule over the Gaza Strip." Good for Israel -- keep it up!

Meanwhile, here's Obama's unsurprising reaction: "WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is telling Israel's leader that the United States is willing to negotiate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas."  Cease-fire? We don't need no stinking cease-fire - we need to obliterate the enemy.

As World Jewish Daily put it, "Hamas attacks Israel and guess who gets blamed."

Lots 'o Links

Rehash this week's news by visiting Betsy's Page (she's back and cruising the web!); Larwyn's Linx; and Maggie's Farm. As a bonus, read about the latest entitlement, courtesy of Protein Wisdom.

Haveil Havalim Time!

The latest edition of Haveil Havalim, the Jewish blog carnival founded by Soccer Dad, is up at Adventures in AliyahLand.

Another Difference Between Arabs and Jews

To those liberals who see no difference between Israelis and Arabs, I give you this example: "Islamist plot to blow up Eiffel Tower, Louvre and nuclear power plant foiled, say French police."  Muslims are obsessed with killing and destroying -- remember 9/11/01; the USS Cole; the Khobar Towers; Leon Klinghoffer; and on and on.  You never see headlines like "Jewish plot to blow up Eiffel Tower, Louvre and nuclear power plant foiled, say French police."  Muslims kill to rid the world of Jews and Westerners. Jews kill in response to Muslims.

A Shout-Out to Israel!

Congratulations to the brave people of Israel, enduring constant bombs and threats from the Arabs, much as the British people stoically made it through the Nazi blitz.  The Times of Israel's headline is "An Iron Dome and nerves of steel." In adversity, there is strength.

Argus Hamilton Quips

Read the humorist's take on the news, including this item: "President Obama ripped Congress for refusing to pass immigration reform. GOP House leaders said they don't trust Obama to enforce the border. Immigration reform advocates point out that illegal aliens will do the job Americans refuse to do, like run the U.S. government."
(Cartoon by Michael Ramirez)

Uncle Sap

Book censorship - is this the Soviet Union or America?   "Costco removing D'Souza's 'America' from shelves".

And get this: Feds to Send Riot Police to Murrieta to Impose Illegal Alien Invasion.  If anything, the riot police should be sent to Murrieta, and every other city, to stop the buses and planes from disgorging thousands of illegals. This is being forced on us, yet we're expected to simply accept and pay for it. Can you picture the future state of our emergency rooms, doctors' offices, schools, and food pantries, among other things? I have an idea: drop them off at the National Mall, and have them build a tent city for themselves.  Maybe the disgrace of that sight will embarrass Obama into deporting them - but I doubt it.

(Old cartoon by Chuck Asay)

Apt Comparison of the Day

Matt Lewis at the UK Telegraph, in a column about this president:  “If Obama were a movie, he'd be Gigli.”

That Star-Spangled Banner

Just look at this amazing 1873 photograph of our famous flag! I was privileged to see this flag at the Smithsonian.

Hypocrites

Headline of the day: "The Tragedy of Collective Punishment:Israel is too quick to punish innocent Palestinians for monstrous crimes committed by other Palestinians."  Excuse me, but the whole world is too quick to condemn and attack Israel for everything!   Talk about a disproportionate response: are we as Jews expected to show more outrage when a Palestinian boy is murdered by 6 Jews in revenge for the murders of the 3 Israeli teens, just because it's PC to be pro-Palestinian?  I'm sorry about the Palestinian boy, but I'm sorrier about the rockets and terror that Israel has to live with every single day.

Good Weekend Links

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

Visit Daniel Greenfield's Friday Afternoon Roundup - This is What Revolution Looks Like.

Blame Israel

This powerful column by David M. Weinberg is worth reading. It's titled "Five Minutes" and starts off this way:

"Five minutes is all it took for the world to issue the strongest of condemnations following the murder on Wednesday of a 16-year old Palestinian boy from east Jerusalem. Five minutes. Then the fiercest of denunciations swiftly poured in.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry rushed to 'condemn in the strongest possible terms the despicable and senseless abduction and murder' of Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir. 'It is sickening to think of an innocent 17-year-old boy snatched off the streets and his life stolen from him and his family. There are no words to convey adequately our condolences to the Palestinian people.'

'Despicable' and 'sickening.' 'Snatched off the streets.' 'There are no words.'

Similarly, Quartet envoy Tony Blair called the murder 'horrendous' and 'heinous,' and said that 'the perpetrators must be found swiftly and brought to justice.' Blair is so 'very worried' about 'the unrest in Jerusalem and the West Bank, including assaults on Palestinians, 'price-tag' attacks and settler violence that cannot be tolerated.'

'Horrendous.' 'Heinous.' 'Very worried.' 'Cannot be tolerated.'

For most of the world, Israel's guilty verdict had already come in. Guilty until proven innocent. Trigger-happy to convict Israel. All within five minutes."

That Was a Man

Today is the 75th anniversary of Lou Gehrig's courageous farewell speech at Yankee Stadium.  ESPN has a nice tribute, and so has The Daily Beast, with an excerpt from Ray Robinson's wonderful book "Iron Horse".  Sadly, there is still no cure for ALS.

ISIS=NAZI

When I saw this frightening map on the news last night,

 I thought of this:

Lots 'o Links

Catch up with the latest news courtesy of Larwyn's Linx and Maggie's Farm.  Also, no matter how Obama spins the unemployment and economic numbers, remember this:  "The number of Americans 16 and older who did not participate in the labor force climbed to a record high of 92,120,000 in June, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Israel in the News

How convenient! When I heard about the dead Arab teen and the riots in East Jerusalem, my immediate thought was that this was staged to make it look like the Jews killed him in revenge for the kidnapped boys. That's the level of hatred and mistrust the Arabs have engendered.

Here's a column from the Jerusalem Post titled "Obama’s callousness toward the ‘kidnapped’ kids... and Israel."  Gil Troy writes, "... his backers will support him and his calls for evenhandedness. They will debate the easily refuted 'anti-Israel' charge instead of this tougher critique of insensitivity and ineptitude. As Israel mourns and fights, as Israeli soldiers take great risks to root out those kid-killing terrorists and their armories, Obama will demand 'restraint.' Meanwhile, The New York Times will run absurdly amoral articles comparing Israeli kids victimized for being Israelis with Palestinian kids hurt while menacing soldiers, the UN will condemn Israel, and Israel will have to continue protecting itself militarily while fending off an ideological onslaught. That’s why it is fair to denounce Obama’s incompetence and iciness, along with Palestinian evil and enablement."

Truth in Humor

I love this newspaper parody over at The Weekly Standard: Iraqis Concerned: How is Violence Affecting Obama? The photo caption reads "In a street in front of the U.S. embassy, Baghdad women bewail the discomfort that the ISIS insurgency has caused U.S. President Barack Obama."

It's Called 'Personal Responsibility"

I like this Gary Varvel cartoon.  This isn't a "war on women", it's a war BY women! If they don't want to pay for their own birth control, they should have their boyfriends, husbands, or one-night stands pay for it. If you can't afford $9, then get a second job, but stop kvetching about it!

News Roundup

Read Victor Davis Hanson on Obama and his unpresidential whining: "Apparently someone other than Obama is in charge when the IRS goes rogue, the VA implodes, the Justice Department goes after Associated Press reporters, the consulate in Benghazi is overrun, the NSA taps the phones of allied leaders, Iraq is torn apart, the Middle East melts down, or we trade five terrorist kingpins for an American deserter. Obama’s impromptu adolescent moaning was bizarre and reminds us again why he would be wiser to stay close to his teleprompter."
(He's also blaming the Republicans for the invasion of illegals into the U.S.)

Dan Margalit at Israel Hayom suggests we follow the example of Golda Meir:  "It was the day that conflicting reports about a possible terror attack at the Munich Olympics started pouring in. At the end of that day, the murder of 11 Israelis by Palestinian terrorists was confirmed. The elderly, heavy footed woman turned to the generals around her and declared that the murderers and their accomplices must not be allowed to live. She spoke plainly, and the world knew that the Palestinian murderers were dead men walking, with targets on their foreheads just waiting for an Israeli bullet. The full execution of Meir's instructions stretched out over 20 years. In 1992, the last of the terrorists who took part in the Olympic massacre was killed. To their dying day, they were frightened and on the run."

Thanks, Obama!  "Obama’s inability to make a decision on Keystone has finally yielded a result – Canada has made the decision for him. Breitbart reports Canada has just approved the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project – a major pipeline to ship Canadian oil to Asia. The Canadian oil will still be burnt – in Asia, instead of America. All the jobs and energy security which Canadian oil could have delivered to America, will instead be delivered to Asia."

Add this to your running list of Obama scandals: "A government-contracted security force threatened to arrest doctors and nurses if they divulged any information about the contagion threat at a refugee camp housing illegal alien children at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, sources say."  Is this the former Soviet Union, or is this really America?  Political correctness is evidently more important than public safety in this administration.

Do the American people care about any of this?