PinocchiObama lied about sequester affect

There is a growing consensus that Obama overplayed his hand in the absurd fear-mongering about the immediate impact of the sequester.

While Republican’s did their own share of fear-mongering as to military cuts, and thereby played into Obama’s hand, it still was Obama’s political hand being played.

With the acknowledgement in the media that Obama was untruthful at the presidential debate when he resolutely denied being the source of the sequester concept, to the recognition that the sky was not falling by none other than Obama himself, it seems (pick your analogy!) the Emperor has no clothes and the curtain was pulled back exposing the Wizard.

Eccentric Congressman Walter Jones wants to introduce Bill to impeach Obama if he bombs Syria

3rd District Republican Congressman Walter Jones has introduced a resolution to Congress that would make it an impeachable offense if the President were to commit military force without approval by Congress.

The current law allows the President to merely give Congress 48 hours notice prior to committing troops to action for 60 days, followed by a 30 day withdrawal period. For any longer engagement, the President requires Congressional approval.

Jones' Resolution seems designed solely for the purpose of preventing the President from using force against the terror-supporting regime of Syria's Bashar al Assad. The maneuver is unlikely to get much support from either Democrats or his fellow Republicans, other than isolationist extremist Ron Paul.

Obama wants to skirt US law to give money to corrupt UN Agency

JointMedia News Service — President Barack Obama has proposed to renew funding for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with $79 million. UNESCO agreed to admit “Palestine” as a member last October, after which the US government cut off funding to the organization.

According to the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, current US law prohibits contributions to any UN body granting membership to the PLO or any other “organization or group that does not have the internationally recognized attributes of statehood.” However, according to the White House’s 2013 Budget Request, which was submitted to Congress earlier this month, “the Department of State intends to work with Congress to seek legislation that would provide authority to waive restrictions on paying the US assessed contributions to UNESCO,” reported Israel Hayom.

Hypocritical millionaires visit Congress and prove talk is cheap

h/t Small Dead Animals

Head of Jewish Anti-Defamation League tries to raise money by attacking Israel's best friend in Congress

Abe Foxman, the head of the anti-Defamation League, which invents more cases of "anti-Semitism" than Jerry Seinfeld's Uncle Leo, has sent out a fundraising letter with a veiled attack against Congressman Allen West.

"If Joseph Goebbels was around, he’d be very proud of the Democrat Party, because they have an incredible propaganda machine," West told reporters in Washington on December 15, by way of trying to explain Republican unpopularity in some districts "Let’s be honest, you know, some of the people in the media are complicit with this and enabling them to get that type of message out."

It should not require an explanation to understand that when talking about propaganda, even in a hyperbolic, politicized context, it isn't trivializing the Holocaust or anti-Semitic to comparatively invoke the most infamous propagandist in history.

West put it correctly when he responded, “What I'm talking about is a person that was the minister of propaganda. And I'm talking about propaganda. So please."

Hearing the name of a Nazi uttered by a US Congressman evidently got Foxman salivating at the prospect of raking in some extra donations, so he promptly put out a fundraising letter to try to exploit  the situation. Perhaps Foxman was so blinded by little dollar signs floating in front of his eyes that he didn't quite realize who he was vilifying in his money-grubbing scheme.

There is no member of Congress more supportive of Israel and Jews than Allen West. But some of the self-appointed spokesmen for American Jewry and their organizations seem more concerned with their political allegiances and the fat salaries they draw than the actual interests of the people they claim to represent.

Foxman's cowardly attack, in which he didn't even have the guts to name West, went out in an email saying:

Just this past week, a Member of Congress was quoted referencing Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels when discussing communication techniques of the Democratic Party.

We are truly living in troubled times when politicians feel they can benefit the national discourse with such vitriolic comparisons which insult the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust.

This was not the first time this has happened in this political season and I fear it will not be the last time we hear such ignorant and spiteful discourse between now and next November.

If he's going to suggest that every reference to a Nazi is the same thing as an insult to the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust,  Foxman should refrain from painting other people as "ignorant."

Encouraged by the idiocy of statements like Foxman's, the Democrats launched a failed motion to censure West.

Foxman has disgraced his organization by showing himself as willing to exploit a friend as a foe in pursuit of self-interest.

But the remaining question is, when is Foxman planning to make a few bucks by asking Jerry Seinfeld to apologize for his frivolous Goebbels reference?

Obama Administration brought in a special lobbyist to advocate for Palestinian aid - Benjamin Netenyahu

From The New York Times:

WASHINGTON — When the Obama administration wanted to be certain that Congress would not block $50 million in new aid to the Palestinian Authority last month, it turned to a singularly influential lobbyist: Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.       

At the request of the American Embassy and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mr. Netanyahu urged dozens of members of Congress visiting Israel last month not to object to the aid, according to Congressional and diplomatic officials. Mr. Netanyahu’s intervention with Congress underscored an extraordinary intersection of American diplomacy and domestic politics, the result of an ever-tightening relationship between the Israeli government and the Republican Party that now controls the House.     

The rest of the article is here 

Israel's Netenyahu addresses joint session of Congress

The speech from Tuesday night:

Democratic Congresswoman wants to ban the term "ObamaCare" from House floor

The Hill reports:

After two House Republicans called it "ObamaCare," Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) asked the chairman whether these "disparaging" remarks should be allowed on the House floor.

"That is a disparaging reference to the president of the United States; it is meant as a disparaging reference to the president of the United States, and it is clearly in violation of the House rules against that," she said.

Is a Democrat admitting that Obama's health care plan is so terrible that associating him with it is 'disparaging'?

Is this one of the Republicans who could defeat Obama in 2012?

Recently elected congressman for Florida's 22nd district, Allen West has a fascinating history.

According to Wikipedia:

West is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and obtained his master's degree in political science at Kansas State University. He also holds a Master of Military Arts and Sciences from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff Officer College in political theory and military history and operations.

West's awards and decorations include the Bronze Star; Meritorious Service Medal; (two Oak Leaf Clusters); Army Commendation Medal (two Oak Leaf Clusters, one Valor Device); Army Achievement Medal (one Oak Leaf Cluster); Valorous Unit Award; Air Assault Badge and the Parachutist Badge.

In addition, West has been awarded the following service medals and ribbons: National Defense Service Medal (with bronze star device); Southwest Asia Service Medal; Army Service Ribbon; Army Overseas Service Ribbon (multiple awards); Saudi Arabia Kuwait Liberation Medal W/Palm Tree and Kuwait Liberation Medal.

What is particularly interesting about West is the way his military career ended:

While serving in Taji, Iraq, on August 20, 2003, as commander of the 2d Battalion, 20th Field Artillery Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel West was in charge of an interrogation of a civilian Iraqi police officer who was suspected of having pertinent information regarding attacks on American soldiers in the area. Interrogators had learned that the detainee had information about a planned ambush. When the interrogators were unable to extract the needed important information for some time, LTC West was asked to come try to obtain the important information. As the detainee continued to hold back the information, LTC West fired his pistol past the detainee's head into a clearing barrel, frightening (but not physically harming) the detainee and getting him to finally give the information. According to Lt. Col. West's sworn statement, the detainee informed West that:



“ [The attack] was to occur Friday morning in Saba al Boor vicinity of the police station by positioned snipers supposedly being brought in from Fallujah. [The detainee] was to ID my vehicle and myself for these rooftop firers. We took this information and the following day established flask CPs and used AH-64s overhead. There was no attack and no further attacks have emanated from the town since the apprehension of [the detainee] and his named associates. ”


At least one man was apprehended as a result of the information obtained through the detainee's interrogation. His home was searched, but no plans for attacks on Americans or weapons were found. Colonel West testified that he did not know whether "any corroboration" of a plot was ever found, adding: "At the time I had to base my decision on the intelligence I received. It's possible that I was wrong about [the detainee,] Mr. Hamoodi."


West, who at the time was just short of having 20 years of service, was charged with violating articles 128 (assault) and 134 (general article) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. West was processed through an Article 32 hearing in November 2003, where he admitted wrongdoing, was fined $5,000 over two months for misconduct and assault. He then submitted his resignation, and was allowed to retire with full benefits in the summer of 2004.


At a hearing, West was asked by his defense attorney if he would do it again. "If it's about the lives of my men and their safety, I'd go through hell with a gasoline can," he said. Apparently not knowing West's gun was aimed into a barrel, "Hamoodi cracked and gave information about the planned ambush on West's convoy, thwarting the attack." West said there were no further ambushes on U.S. forces in Taji until he was relieved of his leadership post on October 4." "After West's resignation was brought to public attention the next fall, he received over two thousand letters and e-mails from the American public offering him moral support. In addition, a letter was drafted to the Secretary of the Army, its signatories being ninety-five members of Congress in West's support.

This interview with Congressman-elect West is worth watching. In it, he makes the cogent point that the "War on Terror" is not only not over but the term itself is a misnomer. He accurately observes that terror is not an enemy, but a tactic and uses the example that World War 2 was not a war on "Blitzkrieg" but a war against fascism. The "War on Terror" is nothing other than a war on extremist Islam, even though few in the White House want to say that out loud.

 

h/t stubble jumping redneck

Michael Medved: Why Is Obama Still Talking About 'Change'?

Obama can't credibly pose as protester rather than president.

But he keeps trying, nevertheless.

Yes, President Bush, America does miss you

From England's The Telegraph:

Several months ago a huge billboard appeared near Wyoming, Minnesota, with a beaming photo of George W. Bush with the caption “Miss me yet?” The answer to that question is clearly yes, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research poll, which shows the former president staging a remarkable political recovery despite having largely disappeared from public life since leaving office:

By 47 to 45 percent, Americans say Obama is a better president than George W. Bush. But that two point margin is down from a 23 point advantage one year ago.

“Democrats may want to think twice about bringing up former President George W. Bush’s name while campaigning this year,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

This has to be one of the most extraordinary political comebacks in decades.And as this week’s Washington Post/ABC News poll showed, nearly 25 percent of Democrats now believe “a return to Bush’s policies would be good,” a staggeringly high figure

 Read the rest here

The volume comes down on obnoxious TV commercials

Legislation to turn down the volume on those loud TV commercials that send couch potatoes diving for their remote controls looks like it'll soon become law.

The Senate unanimously passed a bill late Wednesday to require television stations and cable companies to keep commercials at the same volume as the programs they interrupt.


More here