Transcript. (h/t Maz2)
Great Moments In Democratic Statesmanship
“…if there is evidence linking Russia to this, that should inspire the Europeans to do much more.”
“When the President does it, that means that it is not illegal”
The Federal Election Commission recycled the computer hard drive of April Sands — a former co-worker of Lois Lerner’s — hindering an investigation into Sands’ partisan political activities, according to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Sands resigned from the Federal Election Commission in April after she admitted to violating the Hatch Act, which bars executive branch employees from engaging in partisan political activities on federal time and at federal facilities.
The twist is that Sands also worked under Lois Lerner when the ex-IRS agent — who is currently embroiled in a scandal over the targeting of conservative political groups — worked at the FEC’s enforcement division.
h/t Marc in Calgary
Operation Empty Chair
Move along folks, nothing here to see: US officials have also reportedly played down the threat, saying the materials were not believed to be enriched uranium. They added that it would be difficult for the rebels to use the materials to make weapons.
Not A Muslim
Operation Empty Chair
“They know that the West will not respond.”
The “Arab Spring” began in Tunisia in 2010, and raced through Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Nigeria, and other countries with large or predominantly Muslim populations whether Arab or not. The movement was later renamed the “Arab Awakening,” but changing the name didn’t change its Sunni Islamic character.
The common thread throughout these rolling revolutions that cut such a broad swath of the Muslim world was the dramatic shift from largely secular autocracies to Islamist-dominated governments. Uprisings that began naïvely as movements to promote democratic government, devolved into bloody and chaotic wars, spanning the region from West Africa to Malaysia. In many cases they installed new Islamist leaders governing under strict Shari’ah law.
Deeply imbedded and often covert in these conflicts is Shi’ah Iran and its proxies such as Hezbollah, hell-bent to generate chaos; presumably the chaos Shi’ah Muslims believe will precede the coming of the 12th Imam. On the other side are scores of Sunni groups, fighting the Shi’ah in Iraq, Assad in Syria, and each other wherever they can.
h/t Frank M.
Operation Empty Chair
Hans Blix – call your office: Iraq Informs UN That “Terrorists” Have Seized a Major Iraqi Chemical/Nerve Agent Weapons Storage Facility
How’s That Hopey Changey Thing Working Out For Ya?
The Quinnipiac poll showing that Obama is now considered the worst president since World War II offers him no silver lining. There were 12 choices and the voting wasn’t close — he got the highest “worst” vote, 33 percent, with George W. Bush the next worst, at 28 percent.
Jimmy Carter, routinely mocked as a disaster, drew only 8 percent. Even Richard Nixon did better, seen as the bottom of the barrel by only 13 percent of those surveyed. And we know how Nixon’s tenure ended.
Too bad America didn’t come to its senses sooner. Indeed, the Q poll shows a huge amount of buyers’ remorse, with 45 percent saying Mitt Romney would have been a better president, while only 38 percent think Obama was the right choice in 2012. Mulligan, anyone?
And half of those work in media.
h/t EBD, north of 60
Not A Muslim
NOOoonononono… Military Bans Bibles But Forces Soldiers to Adhere to Ramadan Rules (h/t Dan)
Link fixed. Sorry – it’s been a busy day.
Operation Empty Chair
Iraq has bought used fighter jets from Russia and Belarus to battle Islamist militants after long delays in the delivery of F-16 planes from the U.S. left troops without air support, Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki said.
The jets “should arrive in Iraq in two or three days,” Al-Maliki said.
Meanwhile… Obama Proposes $500 Million to Aid Syrian Rebels
h/t Dan T.
IRSgate
Juan Williams: “This whole idea that we’re now to Watergate and burning tapes … I mean that … you’d have to … that’s quite a leap for me.”
George Will: “It’s a leap when six, not only Lois Lerner’s hard drive crashes 10 days after they get the letter from Dave Camp, the chairman of the appropriate committee, but SIX others do?!? Including those of the person who was the Chief of Staff to the IRS commission who was fired. And you know what the response to this is – Charles talks about the incompetence demonstrated here and that’s the default explanation of what government does a lot of the time – but the beauty of this – it’s almost an elegant thing – Commissioner Koskinen has said, as the perfect bureaucrat would, that all of this is evidence that the IRS needs a bigger appropriation so it can get better computers.”
Watching Juan Williams, one can’t help but remember this guy.
Update: Bill O’Reilly illustrates the rampant media coverup of this story.
“When the President does it, that means that it is not illegal”
Enjoy!
Operation Empty Chair
It’s hard not to conclude that the administration’s Syria policy is a sub-set of its Iran policy. Many people were baffled for a long time, including me, that the president didn’t seem to see Syria strategically, as a way to weaken Iran. Retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis said that toppling Bashar al-Assad would constitute the most severe blow against the Iranian regime in 25 years. A number of administration officials seemed to recognize the same thing–from former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and ex-CIA director David Petraeus. Only the president seemed to not recognize that or to see Syria in a strategic framework. What we now realize is that the president does see Syria in a strategic framework. He sees that the Syrian regime is an important ally of the Iranians and doesn’t want to be seen toppling the regime for fear of angering the Iranians.
He’s on the other side.
Supreme Court Limits EPA On Greenhouse Gases
How quaint. They’re issuing “rulings”.
The Latest From The Clinton Camp
“Blame Barack” begins: The Benghazi Deception
Not One Of Us
Want To See Something Really Scary?
No, that’s just mildly entertaining. This is really scary.
Operation Empty Chair
Way past the expiry date: Syria Is Going to Miss the Deadline for Destroying Its Chemical-Weapons Stockpile
Operation Empty Chair
The world is in the very best of hands;
Last weekend Barack Obama played his 175th and 176th rounds of golf as president. He played first at Sunnylands, the famously private course on the Rancho Mirage, California estate of the late billionaire Walter Annenberg. Obama next played at Porcupine Creek, the equally private course on the nearby estate of the very-much-alive tech billionaire Larry Ellison.
The White House said Obama received regular briefings on the worsening crisis in Iraq during his golf weekend. “The president directed [National Security Adviser Susan Rice] to continue to keep him apprised of the latest developments,” said spokesman Josh Earnest, “as his national security team continues to meet through the weekend to review potential options.”
The Decline And Fall Of The American Empire
Someone in the Obama administration has let it be known that the US Embassy in Baghdad will henceforth be reinforced by less than 100 Marines. (h/t OMMAG)
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