OBAMA LIED, PEOPLE DIED (OR WENT TO JAIL)

Well, it seems our President has been lying to us.  Surprise, surprise.  Apparently an al Qaeda splinter group called Ansar-al-Sharia claimed responsibility for the attack early on and this information was on secured diplomatic wires within two hours of the start of the raid.  Including, according to Reuters, the White House Situation Room.

The most common argument coming from the left right now on the issue of whether or not President Obama knew the attack on our mission in Benghazi was a planned terrorist attack relies heavily on the reasoning that Obama didn't want to "shoot first and aim later", as he (incorrectly) accused Romney of doing regarding his critique of the US Embassy's statement on free speech and the Egyptian protests. The problem with that argument is that, while it is commendable to want to get all of the facts first, the reality is, he didn't.   Apparently when he made that statement about the video on Sept. 12th, he didn't know that the White House also released a statement distancing themselves from the embassy's statement, mirroring Romney's 10pm release, at 11pm on Sept. 11th.

Perhaps he was concerned with not wanting to damage whatever progress he has made with the members of the Muslim Brotherhood that have been visiting the White House recently, so instead he made the executive decision to introduce a whipping boy to keep the heat off the real perpetrators.  How else to explain his blaming events on a Coptic christian in California who made a stupid, obscure video instead of the very real terrorist threat ever rising in North Africa?

The excuse of "He didn't want to jump to conclusions" is specious, because he did, in reality, 'jump to conclusions'.  Unfortunately, the conclusion he jumped to was that, as per usual with Mr. Obama, America is somehow to blame for everything.  And this time, instead of a straw man for the usual speech denouncing whatever it is he wants to distance himself from, he had a real man on whom to pin the blame.  The problem isn't the terrorists, you see, it's our pesky right to free speech.

By the way, why is it award-winning 'art' to fantasize about Jesus' sex life, but a crime to do the same with Mohammad?

That real man languishes even now - weeks after his arrest, and in solitary confinement - in prison on a parole violation.

Where is the outrage over this?

Yes, the fact that the President lied about the events in Libya are concerning, but no more so than the fact that he is okay with a US resident being thrown in jail and labeled a murderer by society so that he doesn't take a political hit on his campaign stump claim that al Qaeda is on the run.  What is really mind-boggling is the fact that the media - the fourth estate, our vital watchdogs - are trying their best to sweep it all under the rug.  Who would have thought that the American media wouldn't question a Nobel Peace Prize winner thinking it's okay to jail people for speaking their minds when his political life is on the line?  Rush Limbaugh likened it to Woodward and Bernstein covering up Watergate for Nixon. 

This isn't the only example of Obama's refusal to cop to terrorism being a major issue.  Let's not forget the Ft. Hood shooting that claimed thirteen service members and injured dozens of others.  The Obama administration to this day refuses to call it an act of terror, preferring instead to label it 'workplace violence'.   Even though Hasan was mentored by Anwar al-Awlaki.   Even though he shouted 'Allahu akbar!' as he murdered members of our military on home soil.  Even though he had a history of support for jihad.  Even though he continues to follow the al Qaeda playbook on working the judicial/military tribunal systems in the event of capture - right down to suddenly growing a beard and then refusing to shave it for religious reasons (in reality it is about flaunting army hygiene rules and quite effectively putting the brakes of postponement on his impending trial). 

It's interesting how our president is so concerned about not wanting to have a knee-jerk response to terrorists, but is quite comfortable throwing American citizens and military personnel under the bus.  Doesn't this speak to character?  Is this really the best man to be in charge of our country and our military?

Isn't this just as important as who knew what, and when, in Benghazi?

It isn't just that the White House knew within two hours that Benghazi was a terrorist attack - although finding out our president has been baldly lying to us is never 'optimal' and deserves a high level of scrutiny to determine just how big the lie might be.  It's that we now know that the White House, for more than two weeks (and in front of an international audience), blamed and demonized a private citizen for exercising his right to free speech when they knew damn well that, at best, that video was just a convenient excuse for al Qaeda to gin up cover for their actions.

Can you imagine the hue and cry if it had been a republican president who had sat quietly by as Nakoula was taken escorted from his house at midnight and placed in custody for a parole violation and some friendly "quizzing" after spending weeks demonizing him in every forum available?  It's not hard to envision the protesters now, camped out near both the prison where he awaits his fate and in front of the White House, signs in hand calling for impeachment or arrest for war crimes and maybe even a burning effigy or two.  There would be a whole cottage industry of 'Free Nakoula!' t-shirts and bumper stickers, quite possibly with a picture of him pensively staring off into the distance, towel draped at a jaunty angle on his head.  Celebrities would speak out against the dictatorship that had incarcerated this innocent man....oh, I'm sorry, the celebrities come out for homicidal maniacs and cop killers, not free speech.  Silly me.  You get the picture, though.

Have we really reached the point where, a mere eleven years out from 9/11, we are okay with assuming the terrorists are innocent and Americans guilty? 

If the American president doesn't have the backs of American citizens and our most basic Constitutional rights, who does?

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OBAMA LIED, PEOPLE DIED (OR WENT TO JAIL)

CONGRATULATIONS ALL AROUND ON A JOB WELL DONE

Osama bin Laden is dead.

It took almost ten long years, but the deed is done.  The titular head of radical islamic terrorism is, quite literally, sleeping with the fishes. 

The wave of patriotism and joy that is sweeping over the country is a sight to behold.  Today is a day of elation, unity and national pride.  Three things that have been in short supply for far too long. 

Osama bin Laden took more than American lives that fateful day in 2001.  He took something deeper; he took our sense of infallability.  But yesterday our fine military - the best in the world - reminded us "that you can hit us, you can knock us down, but we're gonna get up and when we do, we're gonna find you and kick your ass!"  Some may lament the 'eye for an eye' attitude, but sometimes that is exactly what is called for (no small irony that he actually was shot in the eye).  Let's not forget that this slaughterer of innocents, in his final moments, used a woman as a human shield.  A heartless coward to the end. 

I had originally planned to do a post on how unusually quiet May Day was yesterday.  Europe, in particular, is usually awash in riots on May Day, but it seemed almost preternaturally quiet.  I thought it might have something to do with the residual comraderie from the royal wedding, but now, in retrospect, it's almost like it was the calm before the storm.

Of course politicians on the left are attempting to take all the credit for the get.  It is important to give President Obama high marks for making the call to send in the SEALs.  It was a risky call, and if it had gone badly, he would have taken a lot of heat, especially since the Pakistan government wasn't informed of the operation.  He took a big chance, and it paid off.  But it is also important that credit should also be given to the CIA and George W. Bush for their interrogation techniques in secret prisons that got the initial information that started us down the path to bin Laden. 

Yes, those hated programs that democrats - including our current president - went after, demonized and shut down as soon as they could are directly responsible for the actionable intelligence that led to the raid on bin Laden's compound for which they are now taking credit.  We certainly didn't get a tip-off from our "allies" in Pakistan.  No doubt there will be more investigation into their role in covering up his residency, but that is a story for another day.  No, the reality is, the Bush administration knew what needed to be done, and Obama is the beneficiary, as are we all.  The problem is, now that the head is off the hydra and we've taken away the weapon that enabled us to decapitate it in the first place, what do we do when the replacements step in?

There is a good chance al Qaeda will attempt to retaliate, so we must be ever vigilant, but for today, let's indulge in some national therapy and celebrate! 

U-S-A!  U-S-A!  U-S-A!

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CONGRATULATIONS ALL AROUND ON A JOB WELL DONE

IT'S THE IDEOLOGY, STUPID

This weekend a naturalized American from Pakistan attempted to car bomb Times Square.  Faisal Shahzad parked a Nissan Pathfinder, turned on the flashers, set the timer on the bomb and fled the scene.  Thankfully his terror training in Pakistan did not teach him that some fertilizers don't explode, and the bomb smoked and popped, but didn't detonate. 

Lance Orton, a t-shirt vender in Times Square noticed the smoke and called the police.  The man is a hero and saved countless lives.  Thank you, Mr. Orton, for seeing something and saying something.  It's a lesson more New Yorkers could stand to learn.

Yet again we have dodged a bullet. 

Thank God.

This has been a very active year for our radical enemies.  So far they have only had one success, but they are certainly trying hard to change that.   The question is, why so many attempts recently?

Could it be the new stance our government has taken towards our enemies?  Perhaps they have taken President Obama's measure and found him to be more like Bill Clinton than George W. Bush.   Clinton was very much a "paper tiger", but Bush, on the other hand, was a tiger with teeth.  They must see Obama, with his bowing, scraping, apologies and payoffs as not just a paper tiger, but a paper tiger cub, naive to the ways of the real world. 

When you consider that, in the past year and a half, there have been four major terror plots against us, you get a clearer picture of what might be coming down the pike.  One plot succeeded, one never got off the ground, and two were failures only because of faulty equipment. 

The Obama administration's foreign policies are giving the appearance of weakness to our enemies.  His theory of appeasement = peace is fatally flawed.  The left think that Bush's policy of carrying a big stick is what caused 9/11, in combination with the hatred of America that exists in some parts of the world.  This, too, is a fatally flawed idea. 

9/11 was the result of perceived American weakness, not an over abundance of strength.

What the left is missing is the mindset of these jihadis.  We Americans are blessed to have, for the most part, quiet, peaceful lives with very little real violence in them.  Middle Eastern peoples, however, are raised in sometimes brutal conditions.  Until the US invasion, Iraq was a terrifying place, where lives were on the line on a daily basis.  Where we look to our government for safety and protection, Iraqis and other Middle Eastern peoples feared their government.  Death, even violent death, is a part of daily life.  Those who are weak are subjugated or destroyed; those who are strong survive.

This is a question of ideology, not social justice.

The left are trying to create a new victim group that they can practice their social justice magic on.  The new narrative involves painting these poor victims as desperate, destitute and delusional.  The media are frantically grasping at straws to forward this narrative for their lefty taskmasters, and are proved wrong in their postulations over and over again.

They are supposedly desperate because  they 'have no future'.  Let's not forget that the elitists in our government equate a university degree with a bright future.  Many common people in Middle Eastern countries don't even have a high school education, let alone college.  Here's a clue, guys - it's not the lack of education so much as it is the opression that keeps them from realizing their dreams. And much of that opression comes directly from the ruling class, including the religious leaders (often the same thing).

Destitution was a favored theme for a while there, until Abdulmutallab burst onto the scene (or should I say 'fizzled').  Even so, although he was the wealthiest terrorist to date, the others were hardly poverty stricken.  They were kept well by their radical patrons or held good jobs, but some lived austere lives in observance of their religion. Others, like Shahzad, were living the American dream.  There is no set pattern here, and there has never been a clear link to economic destitution.

The attempt to paint terrorists as delusional has never been more apparent than in the case of Malik Hasan. "Secondary Trauma", Time Magazine?  Really?  Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is now contagious, apparently.  CNN's take of "Calm, cool and religious" seems closer to the truth, but even they bring forward a lame sort of "he was being bullied" defense.  If he was so upset with the military as long ago as 2001, why didn't he get out?  Probably because he was more of an asset to his radical brethren on the inside.

The media are desperate for a violent crime to pin on conservatives - especially the Tea Party - and their disappointment is becoming palpable.  Mayor Bloomberg illustrates this point beautifully in his interview with Katie Couric:

“A home-grown?” she asked, to which Bloomberg responded, “Home-grown, maybe a mentally deranged person or somebody with a political agenda that doesn’t like the health care bill or something. It could be anything.”

Although he was just spitballing, that sort of armchair quarterbacking does no one any good, and opens the door to more misguided accusations.  It's interesting that his first thoughts on who might have done this would be an American with a grudge against ObamaCare.  It's possibly due to early reports of a balding white man taking off his sweater on video - which might have been a ruse to make Shahzad think they were on to someone else.  The fact that there has been no violence from the Tea Party means nothing; nor does the numerous cases of islamic violence - those were just isolated incidents, right?

The fact that almost every act of terror perpetrated on this country, with the exception of the loon who flew his plane into the IRS building (yes, that guy was delusional - read his writings and you'll agree),  was executed by an islamic radical is apparently something that really bothers the media.  Why can't those silly islamists play along and support the narrative?  It's just so darned frustrating!  One might even say it was cringeworthy.

It's not desperation, destitution, or derangement; nor is it based on race, position or nationality.  It's about IDEOLOGY. 

These radicals believe that what they are doing is holy and right.  They take the most violent parts of the Koran and chose to live their lives by them.  The left's belief that Islam is a religion of peace, like Buddhism, is untrue.  There is as much about war as peace in that book, make no mistake.  A majority of Muslims pursue the path of peace. but a sizeable group choose only the warlike elements to follow.  They are our enemies, because they will not stop their campaign of terror until we are all either muslim or dead.

When the left, and expecially the current administration, finally understand that fact, then perhaps we might have a fighting chance.  Until then, we are sitting ducks, because our esteemed leaders think money and maybe some pharmaceuticals should do the trick.

God help us all.

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IT'S THE IDEOLOGY, STUPID

STATE OF THE YAWN-ION

Boy, was the State of the Union speech boring last night.  Even his own people couldn't stay awake.  Well, except for Nancy Pelosi, who was doing her annoying jack-in-the-box/seal clap routine. Granted, political speeches generally are boring, but this one was particularly so because it was just a rehash of every other speech he has given for the past year.

I guess you could say that speaks to his convictions.  Unfortunately, even his own party is starting to reject his agenda - after all, he may not be up for reelection this year, but they are. 

He has offered to listen to other ideas for health care reform.  Okay, how about the many options the Republicans have offered up that are languishing in committees in both Houses?  The problem with them is that they don't require a massive new bureaucracy and entitlement, so the democrat leadership aren't interested.

He blames Bush and the Republicans and literally in the next sentence calls for bipartisanship.  Nice.

He calls for spending freezes because of our faltering economy - to start next year.  What about this year, champ?  We're hurting now.

He mentions Cap and Trade, too.  Great....more billions spent on 'science' that is looking more and more dubious with every passing day.  He argues that green jobs will stimulate the economy.  I think Spain would argue with that - for every green job they created, they lost 2.2 regular jobs.  Yeah, that will help - help make us nostalgic for the good old days of 10% unemployment....

He barely mentioned foreign affairs or the two wars we are waging.  I suppose national security isn't important enough to rate more than 5 minutes.  Perhaps he didn't want to dwell on it and risk alienating our enemies.  Wouldn't want to offend the terrorists, now would we? 

All in all, it was the same old schtick.

He is going to continue to ram his agenda down our throats, he is going to continue to bankrupt the country and risk massive inflation by printing money to pay for his agenda, and he is going to continue to ignore the fact that there are people out there in the world who want to kill as many of us as possible.

The only new thing was his announcement to repeal 'don't ask, don't tell'.  As a free society, everyone has a right to be who they are, and if you are gay and want to fight and possibly die for your country, so be it.  No one should have to pretend to be something they're not, especially when you put your life on the line every day.  Our military fights for the freedom of all Americans, so all Americans should be able to join the ranks.

For those who are wary of the gayification of the military, rest assured - I'm pretty sure the more flamboyant characters won't be signing up and sashaying to the front lines wearing guyliner, platform boots and sparkly glamoflage.  There have been gays in the military throughout history, and there are gays in our military now.  As a free society, if they want their peers to know their orientation, they should be allowed to speak about it without fear of reprisal.  The stigma of homosexuality isn't what it was 20 years ago - most young people these days have known at least one gay person - and, as I said earlier, it's their country, too, and if they want to serve it, they should be allowed to do so.

So aside from 'don't ask, don't tell', the speech was pretty much the same old, same old.    Dear Leader is hell bent on bankrupting our children and forcing us all to be subservient to the Nanny State.

I have to say it's actually a little bit of a relief that he has decided not to 'pivot' and head back to the center.  That means the republicans are pretty much guaranteed to take the House come November, and possibly make the Senate a 50/50 split.

Now that's a state of the union I can get behind!

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STATE OF THE YAWN-ION

LIVING IN FEAR

As the wife of a man who has to travel by air fairly frequently for work, situations like the Detroit bombing attempt really put me on edge.  Not only did we narrowly miss a catastrophe on Christmas Day, but now it turns out that just yesterday there was a security breach at Newark Airport. 

A man was seen walking the wrong way past security screening to the 'sterile' boarding areas.  It caused much delay and the man has yet to be found.  Flights that had boarded were cleared and the passengers re-screened.  Needless to say it caused major delays.  Hopefully they will identify and locate the person soon.

It is amazing how one pair of C4 skivvies can do so much to set us back on our heels.  Where I once had a vague feeling of unease, I now am on red alert. 

Who knows if reports of more underwear bombers are true or not, but we know these crazies are nothing if not persistent, so I wouldn't be surprised.  But after Christmas Day, I just don't have the confidence in the security systems in place.  It's as if 9/11 never happened.  Why?

Bureaucracy, plain and simple.  There are so many chefs in that kitchen that it is standing room only. 

The problem with this bureaucracy is that lives hang in the balance.  Much like ObamaCare, actually.  But twice as frightening.

As someone once said, we have to get it right every time - they just have to get it right once.  We were incredibly lucky to have averted disaster due solely to weapons malfunctions.  They are working out the kinks, and the next time we might not be so lucky. 

Part of the problem lies with the Bush era Office of the Director of National Intelligence for not putting the puzzle together (even though it was like a wooden toddler puzzle), but a larger part resides with the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  The sheer number of missed opportunities to catch Abdulmutallab is staggering, and they all happened on Obama's watch.  Yes, the ODNI should have put the pieces together, but just one of the many instances where he slipped under the radar (or was completely ignored in the interest of fairness or some such idiotic politically correct claptrap) should have alerted at least one of the agencies to the danger.  But none of them were.

Do they just not get it?  The terrorists weren't attacking us because George W. Bush was president.  They are attacking us because America is the 'Great Satan'. 

They hate us because we are rich, we are free, and we are Israel's greatest ally.  It's time for the Obama administration to realize this and act accordingly.  Actually, they've done quite a lot recently, at least as far as making us less rich, less free and less of a friend to Israel, but those aren't the changes we need, and they don't seem to be doing much to garner goodwill with the terrorist factions out for American blood.

Mirandizing Abdulmutallab and trying to cut a deal with him to get information on potential bombers in the works is a joke.  He has 'lawyered up' and won't say a word, because he was taught how to work the system.  This man is an al Qaeda operative - he has acknowledged it and so has al Qaeda.  That makes him an enemy combatant - an enemy soldier attacking civilians.  A war criminal.   He should be tried as such before a military tribunal.  Al Qaeda has studied our civilian courts and know how to exploit them - they want us to try them civilly.  We are playing into their hands.

To those who use the 'Bush tried Richard 'Shoe Bomber' Reid, among others, civilly' argument, please just stop.  I'm so sick of this administration using this argument.  Didn't Obama run against everything Bush?  Wasn't the whole point of the 2008 election to illustrate how Bush did nothing right?  I find it appalling how they cherry pick things that he did to justify doing the same thing, while in the same breath talking about how horrible Bush was and how flawed his decision making was.  Which is it?  I personally didn't agree with trying Richard Reid civilly.  He was also an al Qaeda operative who tried to slaughter civilians and should have been tried by a military tribunal.  Just because he doesn't wear a uniform and didn't sign paperwork to join al Qaeda doesn't mean he isn't an enemy soldier.  This isn't World War II, where armies were massed against each other and certain rules of engagement were observed.  This is terrorism, the next step in guerrilla warfare.  It is war, they are soldiers, and our governement needs to acknowledge this.

And waterboard the jihadi right out of Abdulmutallab, too, while you're at it - if there's a chance he has information on future plots, we need to know right now. It's nice to know I'm not alone in my thinking on that particular point. 

Perhaps if more of our bureaucrats were forced to fly commercial, there would be more done to make it truly safe.

In the meantime, every time my husband boards a flight, I live in fear.  It seems to me the terrorists are more successful than we give them credit for.

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LIVING IN FEAR