Saturday, September 13, 2014

A devastating verdict on Obama speech: 'A president surrenders'

For a devastating assessment of President Obama’s Sept. 10 speech announcing a new policy of military engagement in the Middle East, read Walter Russell Mead’s piece in his Via Meadia blog entitled, bleakly, “A President Surrenders.” - Michael Barone/Washington Examiner @michaelbarone
By making such a point about ‘no ground troops,’ the President did two very bad things. First, he reduced the enemy’s uncertainty about our intentions. Second, he gave a global impression that he needed to promise ‘no ground troops’ to the American people because he thinks that otherwise his political position is so weak that he couldn’t get support for an air war. This is a bad mistake: it suggests to our enemies that our resolve is shaky. Even and especially if that is true, we don’t want to tell them this.”
A President Surrenders - Walter Russell Mead

President Obama is now exactly where we at The American Interest were afraid he would be when the whole Syria mess started: from the beginning it was crystal clear that all his choices were bad and we sympathized with his desire to do nothing—but we also warned that doing nothing was in fact the worst option of all. The longer he waited, the worse all of his options would get. In the end, procrastination would require him to take more action, and riskier action, than early intervention would have entailed, while both he and the country (not to mention the people of the region) would pay a high price for delay.

Sadly, those fears were justified. With his speech on September 10, President Obama acknowledged that the policy of delay has run its course, and he is now setting out to do what not only his critics but his own national security team have been begging for since 2011. The policy of evasion has failed; he is now back to engagement—military engagement—in both Syria and Iraq. The man who wanted to end America’s wars in the Middle East is now wading back in.

Faith in the Republican Party's ability to fight terrorism is at an all-time high

Americans' trust in the GOP as best able to deal with the threat of terrorist attacks is now at its highest level since Gallup began asking the question after the deadly Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on U.S. soil. - T. BECKET ADAMS/Washington Examiner

Meanwhile, faith in Democrats on the issue has nearly collapsed. As a result, the disparity between the public's view of the two parties on combating terrorism has reached an all-time high in Gallup polling.

Quarter Million Virginians Losing Health Coverage Thanks to Obamacare



Virginia lawmakers estimate 250,000 Virginians’ healthcare plans will be cancelled because they do not comply with Obamacare’s standards–and new options may cost a whole lot more. - Washington Free Beacon

Doug Gray, executive director of the Virginia Association of Health Plans, told the state legislature there was “no question” that the new plans would come with higher copays and premiums.

“We’re not allowed to offer those plans anymore, so what we’re saying to them, is you need to move to one that’s compliant with the law because that’s what we can offer,” Gray said.

New plans also do not guarantee that customers can keep their current doctors.

Not Going Away. David Haines tragically joins Americans James Foley and Steven Sotloff as among the victims the Islamic State has beheaded in public videos.



Disturbing New Video: Islamic State Beheads Hostage David Haines & Threatens Cameron and Obama - IJ Review

‘An act of PURE EVIL’ – David Cameron responds to ISIS beheading British aid worker - The Right Scoop

There are now 52 EXPLANATIONS for the pause in Global Warming



It’s been a busy year for climate scientists, who have been trying to explain why there has been no global warming for nearly two decades. - Daily Caller

WHY BORDERS MATTER

Borders matter. That became crystal clear this past week, when Tesla picked a location just over the border in Nevada, instead of locating its new battery factory in its largest market, California. The regulatory and tax burden is significantly lower just over that imaginary line. Where California is punitive, Nevada is welcoming. - by ASSEMBLYMAN TIM DONNELLY/Breitbart

Borders matter Just ask anyone who lives in a city, a town, a country dominated by ISIS. Once the Islamic Jihadists take over, they have a simple plan: convert or die. It’s that simple. If you live in an area inside of their control, you are not free to practice or not practice your religion. Sharia law becomes the law of the land. That is exactly what our Founders wanted to prevent: state-sponsored religion dictating every aspect of your life.

Borders matter. If they didn’t, then Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi wouldn’t be locked up in a Mexican jail for making a wrong turn, which put him in violation of Mexico’s intolerant gun laws. In spite of the fact that the Mexican government has no respect for our border and our laws, they take theirs very seriously. Just look at the way they enforce their southern border, and how vigorously they protect their right to vote. Voter ID laws in Mexico are some of the toughest on the planet. Funny, no one ever calls them racist for wanting to safeguard against fraud in their elections.

The only place borders don’t seem to matter is here, in California....

Krauthammer-Obama 'On The Moon'

No Comment Yet on Why Obama Held Meeting on 9/11 With Terrorist-Supporting Cleric

President Obama held an Oval Office meeting with Middle Eastern-based Arab Christians on 9/11, one member of whom is a loud and proud supporter of the terrorist group Hezbollah. - IJREVIEW

The day before, members of the same group, holding a conference under the name In Defense of Christians, booed and shouted down keynote speaker Senator Ted Cruz when he called for support of Israel. Cruz told the group, “[I]f you will not stand with Israel and the Jews, then I will not stand with you. Thank you and God bless you.”

Nancy Pelos Saysi: Civilization ‘In Jeopardy’ If GOP Takes Senate

On the one hand, California U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi claims that Democrats are not “fear-mongers;” on the other hand, she believes civilization is doomed if Republicans take control of the Senate from Democrats in November. - Daily Caller

The former speaker of the House made those dramatic, incongruous statements on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” which aired live from Washington, D.C. Friday.

Maher asked Pelosi about recent polling which shows that the GOP is likely to take over the upper chamber and asked, given gridlock in Washingon, why it matters that Democrats keep control.

“It would be very important for the Democrats to retain control of the Senate,” Pelosi told Maher. “Civilization as we know it today would be in jeopardy if the Republicans win the Senate.”

OBAMA ASSEMBLES NON-COALITION TO FIGHT NOT-WAR AGAINST ISIS

Obama Said He Has A 'Broad Coalition' To Fight ISIS... But That's Not The Whole Story

Networks Push Obama's 'Broad Coalition' as Britain, Germany Drop Out

All three network morning shows on Thursday highlighted Barack Obama's primetime speech from the night before, promoting his talk of a "broad coalition."...

Can we agree that President Obama’s Wednesday night “war speech” against ISIS, far from being the foreign-policy grand slam his sycophants rushed to portray it as, was one of the greatest failures of his presidency?  - John Hayward/Human Events @Doc_o

What an astonishing embarrassment, not just for Obama but for the nation he’s led into ruin. The weakness of American influence after six years of this man’s arrogance and incompetence is plain for all to see....

First we had the United Kingdom and Turkey bail on Obama within hours of his speech. Then it was Germany’s turn to say no dice, expressly because they haven’t heard anything that sounds like a real strategy yet from Obama. ◼ International Business Times has the faceplant round-up:
Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier questioned whether Obama’s plan of airstrikes and equipping moderate Syrian rebels was adequate. “We haven’t been asked, nor will we do it,” he said of the airstrikes. “We need to be honest with ourselves in the current situation, we don’t yet have a final, blanket strategy which guarantees that we’ll be successful against ISIS and similar groups.“

Turkey, a crucial U.S. ally in the Middle East that borders Syria, said it won’t allow the U.S.-led coalition to launch strikes in Syria from its air bases. It also won’t participate in any combat operations. “Turkey will not be involved in any armed operation but will entirely concentrate on humanitarian operations,” an unnamed Turkish government official told Agence France-Press.

There was initial confusion after British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond saidearlier on Thursday the U.K. “will not be taking part of any airstrikes in Syria,” according to AFP. A spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron said Hammond meant to say that the U.K. would not be bombing Syrian President Bashar Assad, the Guardian reported. Obama’s plan does not include any strikes against the Syrian leader.
If Obama can’t put a coalition together against a pack of slave-taking, woman-raping, prisoner-torturing lunatics with about 30,000 men under arms (which is about twice what the intelligence community previously estimated – whoops!) then he’s not going to be leading any global efforts to take out the Iranian nuclear weapons programs. By the way, the same intelligence community that can’t get anything about ISIS right, and which Obama blames for all of his foreign policy failures, is the team he confidently assured us would know the microsecond Iran was close to deploying atomic weapons, during the same presidential campaign where he assured America that Iraq was secure and the Russians were our harmless comrades now.

Not only did Turkey tell Obama to pound sand, but as the New York Times notes, other Arab governments that “grumbled quietly in 2011 as the United States left Iraq, fearful it might fall deeper into chaos or Iranian influence” are giving Obama “tepid support” for his non-strategy to wage non-war with a non-coalition against the non-Islamic Islamic State, with the most enthusiastic support for an American bombing campaign coming from – gulp – the Assad regime in Syria:

Obama’s Iraq strategy unraveling...didn't take long for that to happen - RedState
This is damning. It shows an abysmal lack of coordination between the administration and the alleged coalition members. It is asinine to announce increased airstrikes that your coalition will not only not support, but opposes to the extent that they disavow your strategy shortly after it is announced.

If it wasn’t clear last night, it is becoming more clear today that Obama’s strategy is nothing more than a rhetorical exercise that is designed to accomplish nothing
.
Obama ISIS Speech Reaction: Germany, Turkey Won't Join Airstrikes In Syria; UK Won't Rule Them Out - IBT

Friday, September 12, 2014

Sarah Palin: "[Obama] claimed last night that ISIS is not Islamic. Um, ISIS says they're Islamic. They are so full of deception that America should be absolutely concerned with the policies that are going on"



She said while watching the address, she couldn't help but regret the fact that Sen. John McCain did not become president, - FOX

"The thought going through my mind was, I owe America a global apology. Because through all of this, John McCain should be our president. He had the advice - still giving it today to Barack Obama but he will not listen to it - about the residual forces that must be left behind in order to secure the peace in Iraq that we had fought so hard for. He was right on the surge," said Palin.

She argued that just like Hitler, ISIS is not hiding their intentions, which include attacking America and establishing an Islamic caliphate across the Middle East.

Brother of Beheaded American Journalist James Foley: State Department Threatened Us

In an exclusive interview with Fox News' Megyn Kelly last night on the Kelly File the brother of beheaded American journalist James "Jim" Foley, Michael Foley, expressed disappointment over how the Obama administration is handling the threat of terror army ISIS and in the administration's handling of his brother's capture leading up to his death. - Katie Pavlich/Townhall

In reacting to President Obama's speech earlier this week, Foley said he wanted to see a more involved strategy put on the table to stabilize the region. Further in reaction to a question posed by Kelly about whether the Obama administration did everything it could to bring James Foley home, especially after the Bowe Bergdahl swap and comments by Obama saying Americans leave no man behind, Michael Foley said his family is "appalled" by the situation. Foley also talked about how he was threatened directly by the State Department and said that when the family tried to get information from the U.S. government or from other allies, they were stonewalled.
Kelly: I'm wondering if you feel he [Obama] and the administration did all they could to get Jim back.

Foley: No, no. We're appalled by the situation and you know, it went past not doing everything they could, they were actually in impedance and got in our way and that's what really bothers me to the core. We were, I was specifically threatened by the Department of State about raising funds toward ransom demands for my brother. We were smart enough to look past it but it slowed us down. We lost a lot of time trying to regroup.
Paying ransom: the families versus the governmentNeoneocon/Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion

Therein lies the terrible ethical, emotional, and practical dilemma. By paying ransoms, the behavior of the terrorists is rewarded, more kidnappings of Americans occur, and our enemies grow richer. Plus, there is no guarantee that a group such as ISIS is actually serious about such negotiations.

Every now and then the Obama administration gets it right, and this is one of those times. However, Obama’s staff being who they are, they were probably especially cold and insensitive in communicating with the families. That being said, it’s not clear that under the circumstances there would have been any acceptable way to say “no,” or that any approach short of complete cooperation would not raise the families’ ire and frustration....

President Obama now says he will wait until after the November elections to implement an “executive amnesty” for 11 million illegal aliens, so as not to hurt Democrats’ chances this year.

Get Angry Now - Ann Coulter/Human Events

Instead of waiting to be enraged in December, voters, could you please be enraged now? Once the holiday season kicks off, you’ll be too busy going to parties and Christmas shopping to notice that you’re suddenly living in Mexico....

Obama is claiming to have the powers of a dictator. Amnesty was considered by Congress, but — here’s the important thing: It didn’t pass. It only passed the Senate, with the votes of all Democrats and 14 not-bright Republicans. After that, widespread public revulsion prevented Marco Rubio’s amnesty bill from even being considered in the House.

But according to Obama, the only reason illegals haven’t already been given amnesty is that Congress is not “doing its job.”

What does Obama imagine Congress’ “job” is? Being his errand boys? Their job is to represent their districts. I promise you, House members are doing a better job representing their districts than at least a dozen senators are at representing their states — or than Obama is doing representing the country. It’s called the “People’s House” for a reason.

Noticeably, every Republican senator running for re-election this year claims to oppose amnesty — even the ones who voted for it. (Let’s hope they remember how unpopular mass immigration is when it’s time to vote, not just when they’re running.)

Sarah Palin Goes Rogue and the Left Goes Nuts

In the September issue of Townhall Magazine, where this article originally appeared, S.E. Cupp explains why the Left still doesn't understand Sarah Palin's connection to real Americans. - Townhall

It’s not all that impossible to imagine that an engaging and provocative political voice with an active media platform and vocal fan base would find success in creating her own media outlet. Just like Arianna Huffington, the late Andrew Breitbart, and Glenn Beck have proven, there is a real market for alternative media.

And as an employee of Glenn Beck’s TheBlaze, a subscription-based network and model similar to Palin’s, I can tell you there is real currency in being able to capitalize on cult of personality, if it’s married with smart, incisive content that fills legitimate gaps in the marketplace. In its first year, the network gained 300,000 subscribers and generated more than $40 million in revenue.

Not only does Palin have the opportunity to deliver her unique perspectives to users who genuinely want it, but she is offering something that millennials in particular demand of their media experience and which most politicos have yet to harness: access and interactivity.

Col. Ralph Peters on Obama's ISIS Address: Idiotic Nonsense

Peterson may have best shot at GOP win this year

If Republicans have any chance this year of winning statewide office in this blue state, it probably rests on the shoulders of Pete Peterson, who’s running for secretary of state - Dan Walters/Sacramento Bee

...Peterson’s background in technology and as an advocate for civic engagement seems to fit the secretary of state’s position well, the lackluster performance of termed-out Democratic incumbent Debra Bowen provides campaign ammunition, and he’s picked up some potent editorial endorsements, including one from Padilla’s hometown newspaper, the Los Angeles Times.
Finally, as a Republican, Peterson could benefit from what likely will be an extraordinarily low voter turnout for the Nov. 4 election, following the record-low primary turnout in June – ironically, since he says that if elected, raising participation would be a priority.

However, Peterson has not, at least yet, attracted the campaign funds to counter Padilla’s demonstrated ability to raise big money, especially from unions....

POLITICAL EMPIRE: GOP secretary of state candidate running for ‘dream job’
__________________

Pete Peterson is Executive Director of the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and an official candidate for California's Secretary of State.
WEB: petesos.comNEWSDONATELIKE Pete Peterson on FACEBOOKFOLLOW Pete Peterson on TWITTER

After (Wednesday) night's primaries, who REALLY has a problem with race?


SURPRISE: 93% of Democratic Senate or Governor Candidates Are White - REDSTATE.COM

Shocker.

Maher vs. Charlie Rose: To Claim Islam Is Like Other Religions Is Naive And Plain Wrong

Maher vs. Charlie Rose: To Claim Islam Is Like Other Religions Is Naive And Plain Wrong - Real Clear Politics

Bill Maher clashed with Charlie Rose over Islam during an appearance on Rose's Bloomberg Television program this week. Maher, the host of Real Time on HBO, scoffed at Rose's numerous attempts to link Islam to Christianity and to try to disavow radical Muslims as representatives of the religion. Rose contended numerous times that "moderate Muslims" do not approve of the actions of radical groups like ISIS. Maher noted Muslims when polled overwhelmingly agree with ideas like killing those who leave Islam and stoning adulters. Rose said the Koran does not teach Muslims to do "these kind of things."

Bill Maher ABSOLUTELY CRUSHES Charlie Rose For Comparing Islam To Christianity - FOX
...
MAHER: There are illiberal beliefs that are held by vast numbers of Muslim people that --

ROSE: A vast number of Christians too.

MAHER: No, that's not true. Not true. Vast numbers of Christians do not believe that if you leave the Christian religion you should be killed for it. Vast numbers of Christians do not treat women as second class citizens. Vast numbers of Christians --

ROSE: I agree with that --

MAHER: -- do not believe if you draw a picture of Jesus Christ you should get killed for it. So yes, does ISIS do Khmer Rouge-like activities where they just kill people indiscriminately who aren't just like them? Yes. And would most Muslim people in the world do that or condone that? No.

ROSE: No.

MAHER: But most Muslim people in the world do condone violence just for what you think.

ROSE: How do you know that?

MAHER: They do. First of all they say it. They shout it.

ROSE: Vast majorities of Muslims say that?

MAHER: Absolutely. There was a Pew poll in Egypt done a few years ago -- 82% said, I think, stoning is the appropriate punishment for adultery. Over 80% thought death was the appropriate punishment for leaving the Muslim religion. I'm sure you know these things.

ROSE: Well I do. But I don't believe --

MAHER: So to claim that this religion is like other religions is just naive and plain wrong. It is not like other religious. The New York Times pointed out in an op-ed a couple weeks ago that in Saudi Arabia just since August 4th, they think it was, they have beheaded 19 people. Most for non-violent crimes including homosexuality.

Must-Watch: Bill Maher Schools PBS Host Charlie Rose Over Islam's 'Illiberal Beliefs' - Newsbusters

The PBS host first noted that his guest was "very strong in terms of the threat of radical fundamentalist jihadism." Maher's initial reply: "I think liberals should stop booing me for pointing out that Islam is not like other religions – that it's a unique threat." Rose then made the first of many interruptions/objections: "But it's not Islam you're against."...

Senate GOP Blocks Harry Reid's Silent Coup

Senate Republicans pumped their muscle in the upper chamber today by managing to block a constitutional amendment on campaign spending. - Breitbart
The purpose of the amendment would have reversed the Supreme Court's Citizen's United Ruling. Democrats needed 60 votes to conclude debate on the measure, but failed to do so. In addition, a constitutional amendment needs 67 votes to pass the Senate. The measure failed 54-42 with members voting along party lines.

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the amendment would have altered the Bill of Rights and prevented free speech.

“It should worry everyone that there are 54 Senators who think that less free speech is better. Our government is stronger when more citizens participate in the electoral process. That includes exercising the right of political free speech and exercising the right to vote. Free speech creates a marketplace of ideas and fosters participatory democracy, allowing an educated citizenry to cast votes to elect its leaders,” Grassley said in a statement....

The amendment, proposed by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), would have permitted the federal government and the states to regulate and limit fundraising and spending on federal candidates. Sen Ted Cruz (R - TX) blasted the amendment saying Saturday Night Live's Lorne Michaels would be jailed under the amendment's regulations.

“Congress would have the power to make it a criminal offense; Lorne Michaels could be put in jail under this amendment for making fun of any politician. That is extraordinary. It is breathtaking, and it is dangerous,” the Texas Republican said on the Senate floor on Tuesday.

“Citizens United was one of the worst decisions in the history of the Supreme Court,” Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) said floor Tuesday. “It was a disaster.”

The 2010 Citizens United decision struck down restrictions banning corporations and unions from spending money from their general treasury funds to support or oppose candidates. The court's McCutcheon decision struck down aggregate limits on individual contributions to candidates.

Silent Coup: Harry Reid’s plan to hand America to liberal billionaires - Matthew Continetti/Washington Free Beacon
Writing in June that the nonprofit “strongly opposes” the so-called Udall amendment, the ACLU’s Laura Murphy and Gabriel Rottman called the Democratic proposal “deceptively complex,” “unnecessary,” “redundant of existing law,” “dangerous for liberties,” “vague,” “overbroad,” “exceedingly dangerous to democratic processes,” and “the first time the amendatory process has been used to directly limit specifically enumerated rights and freedoms.” Reid’s baby, the ACLU said, would “‘break’ the Constitution” by “amending the First Amendment.”

Two levels of government would be permitted “to criminalize and censor all issue advocacy that mentions or refers to a candidate under the argument that it supports or opposes that candidate.” Recall that Citizens United, which the Udall amendment is supposed to address, was not about Tea Party Astroturf. It was about the FEC’s attempt to censor a film critical of her royal highness.

The mandarins at the FEC and IRS, as well as their counterparts at the state level, would be responsible for distinguishing political communications that “support or oppose” a candidate from those that do not. They would penalize the individuals and groups they subjectively deem violators of administrative diktat. If this is not about “limiting free speech,” what is?

I am not speaking abstractly. Want an image of a post-Udall world? Think Lois Lerner on Spring Break—after a bottle of tequila.....

What we saw in Harry Reid’s Senate this week, when the Udall amendment failed a cloture vote, when 54 Democrats voted to refashion the First Amendment to serve the interests of incumbency and power, was not a noble cause. It was not good government. It was not an example of altruistic intentions stifled by Wall Street.

What we saw in Harry Reid’s Senate this week was an attempt by the ascendant part of the elite, the part that makes its living from abstraction, to vanquish the declining part, the part that makes its living from extraction. And this sorry excuse for a legislative week did more than reveal, in real time, the structure and nature of class struggle in America today. It also occasioned a sentence I never thought I would write. If only Harry Reid listened to the ACLU.
Harry Reid is mad that Republicans didn't obstruct his bill - Ashe Schow/Washington Examiner
After Monday's bipartisan 79-18 vote, Reid vented to reporters that Republicans were trying to "stall" the Senate, indicating that he never intended for the campaign finance amendment by Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., to go to a real floor debate.

Politico reporter Burgess Everett writes that many Republicans voted to advance the amendment Monday in order “to foul up Democrats’ pre-election messaging schedule, freezing precious Senate floor time for a measure that ultimately has no chance of securing the two-thirds support necessary in both the House and Senate to amend the Constitution.”

The move not only guarantees a lengthy debate over Democratic efforts to limit the First Amendment, but it also limits the amount of time left for debates over other doomed measures on gender pay equality and the minimum wage, which were intended to frame the coming elections for Democrats as they defend their Senate majority.

Don’t Give the Masters of the Universe Their Amnesty

The Senate isn’t doing anything to stop Obama’s plans — thank the plutocrats. - Jeff Sessions, National Review

Earlier this week I spoke about the president’s promise that he would issue an executive amnesty to 5 or 6 million people. The planned amnesty would include work permits, photo IDs, and Social Security numbers for millions of people who illegally entered the U.S., illegally overstayed their visas, or defrauded U.S. immigration authorities.

The Senate Democratic conference has supported and enabled the president’s unlawful actions and blocked every effort to stop them. Not even one of our Democratic colleagues has backed the House legislation that would stop this planned executive amnesty or demanded that Senator Reid bring it up for a vote. Every Senate Democrat is therefore the president’s partner in his planned lawless acts.

Tonight I would like to talk about the influence of special interests on our nation’s immigration system. How did we get to the point where elected officials, activist groups, the ACLU, and global CEOs are openly working to deny American workers the immigration protections to which they are legally entitled? How did we get to the point where the Democratic party is prepared to nullify and wipe away the immigration laws of the United States of America?
Just yesterday Majority Leader Reid wrote in a tweet something that was shocking. He said: “Since House Republicans have failed to act on immigration, I know the President will. When he does, I hope he goes Real Big.”

Let this sink in for a moment. The majority leader of the Senate is bragging that he knows the president will circumvent Congress to issue executive amnesty to millions, and he is encouraging the president to ensure this amnesty includes as many people as possible. And the White House has acknowledged that 5 to 6 million is the number they are looking at....

Pretty cool feedback from students! "The group’s final vote: Kashkari 58, Brown 37."

El Dorado students deconstruct debate - Folsom Telegraph

One major reason for the enduring opposition is that the law has violated virtually every major promise erected in dishonest ideologues' sales pitch.

Healthcare Expert: Obamacare's 'Quiet Summer' is About to End in a Big Way - Guy Benson/Townhall

Dan wrote up yesterday's Washington Post/ABC News poll, which was jammed with crooked numbers for President Obama. Most striking was the (30/55) majority deeming Obama's presidency "a failure," along with the prevailing opinion that he's divided the country, and his unsightly leadership score. The survey also included a dreadful (38/56) presidential approval rating on the implementation of Obamacare; support for the law itself was also underwater, with an outright majority opposed, despite this polling series' silly question wording that omits any mention of 'Obamacare' or the 'Affordable Care Act.' A new Kaiser Family Foundation poll produces similar findings, with support for the president's signature domestic accomplishment swamped by opposition. It's been this way for years, across hundreds of national surveys....

Healthcare industry expert Bob Laszewski is out with ◼ a must-read post on next steps for Obamacare. He argues that the law may have been largely out of the news for the last few months, but a fresh round of cancellations and the coming open enrollment period are about to change all that:
To say this fall's 2015 Obamacare open-enrollment has the potential to be problematic is an understatement. The HealthCare.gov backroom is not built yet––a year and counting after it should have been. How many people are enrolled in Obamacare? Without a government to insurance company accounting system yet built, no one knows. While the open-enrollment is now scheduled to begin until 11 days after the November election there will be plenty of renewal and cancellation letters going out in October––not the least will be more pre-Obamacare policies being cancelled this year now that their one-year extension is up––carriers aren't necessarily allowing policies to be extended further...Does this all sound confusing? Just wait until we approach the next open-enrollment with millions of people hearing about all of this complexity and having just four weeks to get their enrollment validated for January 1. The Obamacare anxiety index is going to be off the charts well before November 15th. Add to all of this bigger deductibles for 2015 (those go up with cost trend as well as the rates) and more narrow networks as well as generally larger rate increases for the plans that got the most enrollment and there will be lots to talk about...The last couple of months have been very quiet for Obamacare. That is about to end.

The Newspaper Headlines From Sept. 12 Tell The Tragedy Of 9/11





It was the day after the tragic terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. - Daily Caller

Thursday, September 11, 2014

New York City Commemorates 9/11 Anniversary With Annual Tribute in Light — 11 Powerful Images


If the images in the tweets below don't load, refresh your browser:

11 Powerful Images, at the link - The Blaze

New York City commemorated the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks Wednesday night, powering on nearly 100 7,000-watt xenon bulbs to illuminate into the sky two beams indicating where the Twin Towers once stood.

The powerful scene was captured by multiple photographers, including Recode editor Anthony Quintano.





On the 13th anniversary of September 11, we visit moving memorials around the U.S. that honor those who were lost. - Architectural Digest

Dissatisfaction with government topped the list of problems; terrorism was number 9 on the list



Asked, "What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today," 18 percent of Americans said "dissatisfaction with government," while 4 percent said terrorism, and 3 percent said the situation in Iraq. - CNS News

Horns, instead of halo


There are two things very peculiar with Obama in this picture, can you spot them? - YoungCons.com
PHOTOS CAPTURE OBAMA 'HEAD OF HORNS'... - ◼ Via Drudge

ABC, CBS, NBC Refuse to Cover Benghazi Anniversary, Do Find Time for Dancing Bear


The second anniversary of the Benghazi attack - Newsbusters

On this 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, ABC, CBS, NBC and MSNBC appropriately devoted time to commemorating that tragic day in our history. But today also marks the second anniversary of the Benghazi attacks that led to the deaths of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, foreign service officer Sean Smith and two CIA contractors, Tyrone Woods and Glenn Doherty.

So how much time did the Big Three and MSNBC, on Thursday morning, devote to their memories and the surrounding controversy around the attack?

Zero seconds.

"Facts are stubborn things," Mr. Carney.



Carney, McCain Engage in Epic Battle on CNN Over Obama's Handling of Iraq and ISIS - Newsbusters



Gingrich — and Reality — Also Humiliated Jay Carney on CNN Wednesday Night - Newsbusters

The Humbling of a President - Wall St. Journal

In the war with ISIS, the U.S. needs genuine presidential leadership, not a utility infielder playing everyone else's position.

Let us note briefly the commanding irony of Barack Obama delivering—hours before 9/11—the anti-terrorism speech that history required of his predecessor after September 11, 2001. There is one thing to say: If we are lucky, President Obama will hand off to his successor a terrorist enemy as diminished as the one George Bush, David Petraeus and many others left him.

If we're lucky.

...What we now know is that Mr. Obama is not even close to being his own best Secretary of State, his own best Secretary of Defense, his own best national security adviser or his own best CIA director.

The question is: Does he know it?

Can a humbling experience of such startling proportions have sunk in? It had better. What the U.S. needs if it is to prevail in the battle Mr. Obama put forth Wednesday is the genuine article of presidential leadership. What the U.S. does not need in the Oval Office is a utility infielder playing everyone else's position. We are competing against global terrorism's heaviest hitters, who have established state seizure as a strategic goal.

CFRW Capitol Update: President's Message

President's Message

The Morning of September 11, 2001 began with a beautiful sunrise over lower Manhattan, the Pentagon in Arlington, VA and a quiet field in Shanksville, PA. By the time the sun set that day we were a Nation in shock, horror, and mourning and at war with people and an ideology who hate us because of our freedom and way of life.

This Thursday we will be remembering a very solemn day for America. We must NEVER FORGET the 3000 innocent victims men, women and children who died that day just because they went to work or boarded an airplane, firefighters and rescue workers who entered the buildings knowing they would never walk back down the stairs alive and the families of the victims who will have to live with the horror of their loved ones death for the REST OF THEIR LIVES.

This will be the 13th anniversary since the attacks of 9/11.We continue to move forward but we never want to see the horrors of that day again. In lower Manhattan the 1,776 foot tall Freedom Tower is rising upward to the sky. The reflecting pools have become a beautiful and solemn memorial to all the innocent victims of September 11, 2001 and the museum is completed with remembrances and a lasting memorial to all those who died that day. The World Trade site has become a testimonial not only for the victims but also the courage and strength that is AMERICA!

This year we also need to remember all the events that led up to that attack. History does repeat itself and we can learn from history. Today we see an America as vulnerable as it was in 2001. The ideology that led to our attack in 2001 has grown stronger due to an administration that favors a weak national defense.

When we remember 9/11 this year we have to do more than just light a candle, attend a Memorial service, say a prayer, 9/11 is our wake up call and we need to keep the message of that day alive. When the Bush administration was confronted on Sept. 12, 2001 with the question “Do we fight the war over there or wait for them to come here?” President Bush knew the correct answer. Our President today still has no plan to protect America plus he is cutting back on the military and defense funding. We can not become complacent and we can make a difference by talking to our friends and the voters. We can make a difference on election day by being sure we elect all our Republican candidates. I am proud to be a Republican because Republicans believe in a strong National Defense and we know America must flight the enemies abroad to prevent them coming here.

We live in the greatest country the world has ever known and we all want to continue to pass on the American Dream to our children and grandchildren. On Sept.11 we remember a sad day, those we lost and we also remember our military who continue to risk their lives every day to protect our freedom, especially those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

“WE MUST NEVER FORGET 9/11”

God Bless America

Thank you for all you do,
Roseann
Working together To Make A Difference

If you think you are the only one baffled by Obama’s speech, you aren’t. Consensus: ‘WTF?’

Well, the best part of Obama’s speech on Wednesday night seemed to be the weird echo. The speech itself? A hot mess. - Twitchy









How 17 Candid Americans Reacted to Obama’s ISIS Speech - The Daily Signal

Full text of President Barack Obama’s special address on combating the Islamic State (ISIS / ISIL)



Remarks of President Barack Obama Address to the Nation September 10, 2014 Washington, D.C.

My fellow Americans – tonight, I want to speak to you about what the United States will do with our friends and allies to degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group known as ISIL.

As Commander-in-Chief, my highest priority is the security of the American people. Over the last several years, we have consistently taken the fight to terrorists who threaten our country. We took out Osama bin Laden and much of al Qaeda’s leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We’ve targeted al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen, and recently eliminated the top commander of its affiliate in Somalia. We’ve done so while bringing more than 140,000 American troops home from Iraq, and drawing down our forces in Afghanistan, where our combat mission will end later this year. Thanks to our military and counterterrorism professionals, America is safer.

Still, we continue to face a terrorist threat. We cannot erase every trace of evil from the world, and small groups of killers have the capacity to do great harm. That was the case before 9/11, and that remains true today. That’s why we must remain vigilant as threats emerge. At this moment, the greatest threats come from the Middle East and North Africa, where radical groups exploit grievances for their own gain. And one of those groups is ISIL – which calls itself the “Islamic State.”

Now let’s make two things clear: ISIL is not “Islamic.” No religion condones the killing of innocents, and the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been Muslim. And ISIL is certainly not a state. It was formerly al Qaeda’s affiliate in Iraq, and has taken advantage of sectarian strife and Syria’s civil war to gain territory on both sides of the Iraq-Syrian border. It is recognized by no government, nor the people it subjugates. ISIL is a terrorist organization, pure and simple. And it has no vision other than the slaughter of all who stand in its way.

In a region that has known so much bloodshed, these terrorists are unique in their brutality. They execute captured prisoners. They kill children. They enslave, rape, and force women into marriage. They threatened a religious minority with genocide. In acts of barbarism, they took the lives of two American journalists – Jim Foley and Steven Sotloff.

So ISIL poses a threat to the people of Iraq and Syria, and the broader Middle East – including American citizens, personnel and facilities. If left unchecked, these terrorists could pose a growing threat beyond that region – including to the United States. While we have not yet detected specific plotting against our homeland, ISIL leaders have threatened America and our allies. Our intelligence community believes that thousands of foreigners – including Europeans and some Americans – have joined them in Syria and Iraq. Trained and battle-hardened, these fighters could try to return to their home countries and carry out deadly attacks

I know many Americans are concerned about these threats. Tonight, I want you to know that the United States of America is meeting them with strength and resolve. Last month, I ordered our military to take targeted action against ISIL to stop its advances. Since then, we have conducted more than 150 successful airstrikes in Iraq. These strikes have protected American personnel and facilities, killed ISIL fighters, destroyed weapons, and given space for Iraqi and Kurdish forces to reclaim key territory. These strikes have helped save the lives of thousands of innocent men, women and children.

But this is not our fight alone. American power can make a decisive difference, but we cannot do for Iraqis what they must do for themselves, nor can we take the place of Arab partners in securing their region. That’s why I’ve insisted that additional U.S. action depended upon Iraqis forming an inclusive government, which they have now done in recent days. So tonight, with a new Iraqi government in place, and following consultations with allies abroad and Congress at home, I can announce that America will lead a broad coalition to roll back this terrorist threat.

Our objective is clear: we will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy.

First, we will conduct a systematic campaign of airstrikes against these terrorists. Working with the Iraqi government, we will expand our efforts beyond protecting our own people and humanitarian missions, so that we’re hitting ISIL targets as Iraqi forces go on offense. Moreover, I have made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are. That means I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL in Syria, as well as Iraq. This is a core principle of my presidency: if you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.

Second, we will increase our support to forces fighting these terrorists on the ground. In June, I deployed several hundred American service members to Iraq to assess how we can best support Iraqi Security Forces. Now that those teams have completed their work – and Iraq has formed a government – we will send an additional 475 service members to Iraq. As I have said before, these American forces will not have a combat mission – we will not get dragged into another ground war in Iraq. But they are needed to support Iraqi and Kurdish forces with training, intelligence and equipment. We will also support Iraq’s efforts to stand up National Guard Units to help Sunni communities secure their own freedom from ISIL control.

Across the border, in Syria, we have ramped up our military assistance to the Syrian opposition. Tonight, I again call on Congress to give us additional authorities and resources to train and equip these fighters. In the fight against ISIL, we cannot rely on an Assad regime that terrorizes its people; a regime that will never regain the legitimacy it has lost. Instead, we must strengthen the opposition as the best counterweight to extremists like ISIL, while pursuing the political solution necessary to solve Syria’s crisis once and for all.

Third, we will continue to draw on our substantial counterterrorism capabilities to prevent ISIL attacks. Working with our partners, we will redouble our efforts to cut off its funding; improve our intelligence; strengthen our defenses; counter its warped ideology; and stem the flow of foreign fighters into – and out of – the Middle East. And in two weeks, I will chair a meeting of the UN Security Council to further mobilize the international community around this effort.

Fourth, we will continue providing humanitarian assistance to innocent civilians who have been displaced by this terrorist organization. This includes Sunni and Shia Muslims who are at grave risk, as well as tens of thousands of Christians and other religious minorities. We cannot allow these communities to be driven from their ancient homelands.

This is our strategy. And in each of these four parts of our strategy, America will be joined by a broad coalition of partners. Already, allies are flying planes with us over Iraq; sending arms and assistance to Iraqi Security Forces and the Syrian opposition; sharing intelligence; and providing billions of dollars in humanitarian aid. Secretary Kerry was in Iraq today meeting with the new government and supporting their efforts to promote unity, and in the coming days he will travel across the Middle East and Europe to enlist more partners in this fight, especially Arab nations who can help mobilize Sunni communities in Iraq and Syria to drive these terrorists from their lands. This is American leadership at its best: we stand with people who fight for their own freedom; and we rally other nations on behalf of our common security and common humanity.

My Administration has also secured bipartisan support for this approach here at home. I have the authority to address the threat from ISIL. But I believe we are strongest as a nation when the President and Congress work together. So I welcome congressional support for this effort in order to show the world that Americans are united in confronting this danger.

Now, it will take time to eradicate a cancer like ISIL. And any time we take military action, there are risks involved – especially to the servicemen and women who carry out these missions. But I want the American people to understand how this effort will be different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil. This counter-terrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist, using our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground. This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years. And it is consistent with the approach I outlined earlier this year: to use force against anyone who threatens America’s core interests, but to mobilize partners wherever possible to address broader challenges to international order.

My fellow Americans, we live in a time of great change. Tomorrow marks 13 years since our country was attacked. Next week marks 6 years since our economy suffered its worst setback since the Great Depression. Yet despite these shocks; through the pain we have felt and the grueling work required to bounce back – America is better positioned today to seize the future than any other nation on Earth.

Our technology companies and universities are unmatched; our manufacturing and auto industries are thriving. Energy independence is closer than it’s been in decades. For all the work that remains, our businesses are in the longest uninterrupted stretch of job creation in our history. Despite all the divisions and discord within our democracy, I see the grit and determination and common goodness of the American people every single day – and that makes me more confident than ever about our country’s future.

Abroad, American leadership is the one constant in an uncertain world. It is America that has the capacity and the will to mobilize the world against terrorists. It is America that has rallied the world against Russian aggression, and in support of the Ukrainian peoples’ right to determine their own destiny. It is America – our scientists, our doctors, our know-how – that can help contain and cure the outbreak of Ebola. It is America that helped remove and destroy Syria’s declared chemical weapons so they cannot pose a threat to the Syrian people – or the world – again. And it is America that is helping Muslim communities around the world not just in the fight against terrorism, but in the fight for opportunity, tolerance, and a more hopeful future.

America, our endless blessings bestow an enduring burden. But as Americans, we welcome our responsibility to lead. From Europe to Asia – from the far reaches of Africa to war-torn capitals of the Middle East – we stand for freedom, for justice, for dignity. These are values that have guided our nation since its founding. Tonight, I ask for your support in carrying that leadership forward. I do so as a Commander-in-Chief who could not be prouder of our men and women in uniform – pilots who bravely fly in the face of danger above the Middle East, and service-members who support our partners on the ground.

When we helped prevent the massacre of civilians trapped on a distant mountain, here’s what one of them said. “We owe our American friends our lives. Our children will always remember that there was someone who felt our struggle and made a long journey to protect innocent people.”

That is the difference we make in the world. And our own safety – our own security – depends upon our willingness to do what it takes to defend this nation, and uphold the values that we stand for – timeless ideals that will endure long after those who offer only hate and destruction have been vanquished from the Earth.

May God bless our troops, and may God bless the United States of America.

###

How 17 Candid Americans Reacted to Obama’s ISIS Speech - The Daily Signal

(H)e insisted in his Wednesday night speech that the Islamic State is not Islamic — what is it? Hindu? Zoroastrian? A lost tribe of Hasidic Jews? — and that we are fighting an amorphous “terrorist group” (the Irish Republican Army? Basque separatists perhaps?)

The Nowhere Man Goes to War - Roger L. Simon/PJM

Pity Barack Obama. Our hapless chief executive must be suffering from a cognitive disorder the size of Alpha Centauri. The poor guy grew up on the anti-imperialist mouthings of lefty poet Frank Marshall Davis, schoolboy revolutionary Bill Ayers and later anti-Israel professor Rashid Khalidi, not to mention the well-known anti-American excrescences of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, and now he has to go to war — as an imperialist — against the very Third World people he was told again and again we colonized and destroyed. His head must be about to explode.
He’s a real Nowhere Man
Sitting in his Nowhere Land
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

PEACE PRIZE PREZ DECLARES WAR....

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Obama: "clear" that "ISIL is not Islamic"

















What to watch for in Obama's ISIS address TONIGHT



Major Garrett to Obama’s spokesman: No, really, why should anyone bother watching his ISIS speech?- Allahpundit/HotAir

By the way, if you can believe it, he’ll be making these remarks one year to the very day that he gave a primetime speech proposing that we bomb the sworn enemy of the people he’ll be proposing we bomb tomorrow night. No fooling’.


MIGHTY ISIS! Obama ready to strike at Islamic State militants in Syria, he tells policy experts - Juliet Eilperin and David Nakamura/Washington Post
PRIME TIME SPEECH - AFP
Bypassing Congress -- AGAIN... - Ed Driscoll/PJMedia
Obama Wants a Blank Check to Fight ISIS—and Congress Is Ready to Give It to Him - The Daily Beast

Here are five things to watch for tonight in President Obama’s primetime speech on confronting the threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

1. Resolve
2. Response to criticism
3. Reassurance
4. Reflection
5. Reality











Obama’s ISIS Speech Drinking Game - Daily Caller

Let history note that the worst abuse-of-power scandal in modern history was not without its moments of dark comedy....



HOLDER AIDE SCREWS UP, CALLS HOUSE OVERSIGHT TO ASK FOR HELP LEAKING IRS SCANDAL DOCUMENTS - John Hayward/Human Events @Doc_o

Let history note that the worst abuse-of-power scandal in modern history was not without its moments of dark comedy. ◼ Breitbart News reports on what might be the funniest wrong-number phone call ever...

Rep. Elijah Cummings is a major player in the IRS scandal, one of the top Democrats involved in turning the Tax Exempt Organizations division into a political weapon, and the point man for stonewalling congressional investigations. Cummings denied his involvement in the scheme until hard evidence was uncovered last April, proving that his staff was in direct communication with the IRS, requesting information on conservative group True the Vote. Of course that’s who the Attorney General’s aide thought he was calling....

Issa: Justice Dept. staffer made a bad call - Washington Post

Attorney General Eric Holder’s communications director is being accused of calling the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s Republican staff and asking for help spinning a story. The twist? The GOP staff alleges that Holder’s spokesman thought he was talking to the Democrats....

Issa’s letter claims that Brian Fallon asked for a specific committee aide and then told that person that he wanted to get materials to “interested reporters” before sending them to the majority, so t-hat the agency could spin the story first.

Neel Kashkari: "Enjoyed my second debate against Jerry Brown today on Univision. He didn't show. I was hoping for an empty chair on set."


Airing this weekend
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Four Facts About a Strategy to Defeat ISIS

A credible plan will need to acknowledge them. - Peter Hannaford and Robert Zaposochny/The American Spectator Online – 9.10.14

Americans are outraged over the beheadings of James Foley and Steven Sotloff. We all want President Obama to defeat these savages. For any plan to be credible, it must acknowledge four important facts.

(1) Without oil, ISIS has no economy:

In 2012, crude oil was 84 percent of Iraq’s exports. Only 33 percent of Iraq’s GDP is generated from the private sector and many of those workers get much of their business from government contracts.

Currently, ISIS controls seven oil fields in Northern Iraq that produce 30,000 barrels per day (bpd). This is small compared to overall Iraq production in August, which was reported to be 3.1 million bpd, of which 2.44 million bpd was exported.

Most of country’s oil is in the south. The only place in northern Iraq with appreciable oil reserves is near Kirkuk, producing one million bpd. Any strategy against ISIS must involve keeping these terrorists away from Kirkuk and also destroying the few fields now under ISIS control. ISIS also controls refineries in Syria that produce 50,000 barrels per day. These should be targeted for destruction also.

ISIS sells the oil it has on the black market. By destroying their Iraq fields, we could cripple their cash flow. (Ransoms paid for hostages, as some European governments apparently have done, are not a sure source of steady revenue.)

(2) Iraq is a republic if the Iraqis choose to keep it:

The rise of ISIS occurred in part because the Sunni population lost faith in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The new Iraqi government must provide plans for Sunnis and Kurds to have more of a say in its operations. Among other things, after ISIS is defeated, the government should redouble its efforts to repair and secure the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline.

Secretary of State George Shultz wrote in his memoirs that he was trying to convince the Iraqi government to reopen the Mosul-Haifa pipeline during the Iran-Iraq War. This pipeline was closed after the creation of Israel. In 1984, it was estimated that this pipeline could be operational within six months.

Less Iraqi oil exported through the Straight of Hormuz is in the interests of both Iraq and the United States. Both pipelines could give the Sunnis and Kurds a sense that they have some leverage over the Iraqi government.

The Kurds understand that it would be unwise to declare independence because their leading neighbor, Turkey, might attack them in order to prevent its own Kurdish population from revolting.

In order for the Sunnis and Kurds to be part of a re-energized Iraqi government, they need assurances that the Shi’a in Baghdad will share the oil revenues, as originally promised by the Maliki government. If these are not forthcoming, they should be allowed to export oil directly from northern Iraq.

Beyond sharing the oil wealth, Iraq In the long run will only remain united if the government uses some of its resources to modernize the economy, upgrade the country’s infrastructure and provide a stable base on which businesses and trade can grow.

(3) There is nothing further Iran will do to help us:

When the Kurds were being attacked by ISIS, Hezbollah, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Iran, provided some manpower and weapons to help fight back. In Syria, Hezbollah is training Assad’s army in guerrilla warfare. As our coalition pushes ISIS out of Iraq, we will see the anomaly of ISIS fighting Assad’s army, Hezbollah, and the Free Syrian Army rebels all at once. War makes strange bedfellows.

(4) America can end wars faster when its people are united:

One way to focus on the goal of degrading and destroying ISIS is to prevent radicalized Americans from joining it and apprehending any who have already joined it from re-entering the U.S. with the intention of causing harm here. It is estimated that approximately 100 U.S. citizens have joined ISIS (as have several hundred Europeans). We must strengthen our entry procedures as part of a program to prevent any of these fighters from entering the United States with U.S. or European Union passports.

Another threat could come from homegrown terrorists recruited by ISIS through social media. Any credible terror-prevention plan will require working with moderate American Muslim leaders and organizations to blunt the effects of this ISIS effort.
__________________

Peter Hannaford was closely associated with the late President Ronald Reagan for a number of years. His latest book is “Presidential Retreats.” Robert Zapesochny is an analyst currently researching the end of the Cold War.


Feds Force Public Schools To Enroll Illegal Immigrant Children With No Medical Screening



In the event that any of these thousands of Central American children are carrying communicable diseases, experts claim, any subsequent health crisis will likely first manifest itself within a public school environment. -= Daily Caller

...the federal government has sent the unaccompanied minors to various U.S. locations to live with relatives or, in some cases, to live as foster wards. The children then enroll in local, taxpayer-funded public schools with no questions asked — by law.

Lynn (Massachusetts) officials: Illegal immigrant children are stressing city services - FOX Boston

Lynn is a municipality on the brink. Key department officials say a recent influx of illegal immigrant children and families in the city is stressing almost every service from trash collection to healthcare.

"We have been aware of the unaccompanied children issue for quite a while, and we were able to absorb a lot of these children early on," said Lynn Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy. "But now it's gotten to the point where the school system is overwhelmed, our health department is overwhelmed, the city's budget is being sustainably altered in order of accommodate all of these admissions in the school department."

..."The way this is going, Lynn looks like a microcosm of the United States, in that we have been filled to capacity and we can't take anymore without having the people who are already here suffer," she said.

ISIS, ISIL or the Islamic State?

On the eve of President Barack Obama's speech outlining Washington's strategy against the group, in which he will likely refer to it as ISIL, we ask: What's in a name? - CNN
President Obama, the United Nations and some news organizations refer to the jihadist group by the acronym ISIL, which stands for Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.

CNN Global Affairs Correspondent Elise Labott said the U.S. has stuck with ISIL because the group appears to have to set it sights beyond Iraq and Syria. And also because Washington doesn't want to recognize their plans for a caliphate....

ISIS is an English translation of the acronym in Arabic for Al-Dawla Al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham, or the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham.

The organization has said its goal is to form an Islamic state, or caliphate, over the entire region, stretching from Turkey through Syria to Egypt and including the Palestinian territories, Jordan and Lebanon.

Some think ISIS flows better as a word in English. It also happens to be the name of one of a goddess of ancient Egypt.

CNN has been referring to the organization as ISIS, shorthand for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
link

Obama's Use Of ISIL, Not ISIS, Tells Another Story - FOX
With the exception of Reuters and now the Associated Press, most news organizations have not referred to ISIL until President Obama began using the term, which stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. But when Obama used the term 5 times on June13, and 16 times in his commencement speech at West Point on June 19th, he was using his bully pulpit to make a point.

Most, like this publication, continue to use the widely accepted acronym ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or al-Sham, but both describe the same murderous organization. The difference is that the Levant describes a territory far greater than simply Iraq and Syria. It’s defined as this: The Levant today consists of the island of Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and part of southern Turkey.
ISIS vs ISIL – Which One Is It? - inquisitr.com

Goldberg: Obama Will Do 'Just Enough to Make ISIS Headlines Go Away'

The Beltway is buzzing about what President Obama will announce in a primetime address Wednesday that will deal with combating ISIS. - FOX

Jonah Goldberg argued on Happening Now that President Obama's strategy on foreign policy and the war on terror is to do "just enough" to get it out of the headlines and to "put out annoying political fires."

"[His approach] is to always use words whenever words are possible and when the words don't do the job or the words get him into more trouble to take actions that do just enough to take this headache off of his plate," said Goldberg.

But while the questioning of allegiances and agendas of these individuals never moved beyond a small circle of conservative websites and analysts, American experts who had spent their lives in law enforcement or the military either lost their jobs or were constrained from further sharing of their expertise.

HAS THE NEW YORK TIMES JUST PROVIDED PROOF OF MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD INFLUENCE OPERATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES? - Breitbart

For years, a handful of national security experts, NGOs, and members of Congress have been trying to raise a red flag over what they suspected were active influence operations by the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States....

On June 13, 2012, five members of Congress called for an investigation into Muslim Brotherhood influence operations in the Obama administration. The five members-- Michele Bachmann (R-MN), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Tom Rooney (R-FL), and Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA)-- were widely criticized for doing so, even by their own Republican leadership, including John McCain (R-AZ), John Boehner (R-OH), and Mike Rogers (R-MI).

At the time, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) said, “It’s not right to question the loyalty of fellow Americans without any evidence.” Well, now we have the evidence.

The New York Times published a comprehensive article on September 7th entitled, “Foreign Powers Buy Influence at Think Tanks.” The article documents multi-million dollar donations to Washington-based think tanks that include the Brookings Institution, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Atlantic Council, by foreign governments as a way of buying influence in Washington....

The New York Times has provided a very important glimpse into a new era of foreign-government influence operations in the United States. Those who raised concerns about it in the past should now feel vindicated. But if members of Congress or the Department of Justice decide to dig deeper into this issue, their investigation cannot stop at influence-buying of US think tanks but must look into every aspect of America’s national security apparatus.
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TH MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IN AMERICA: A 10 Part Course

The Muslim Brotherhood in America: The Overview
Part 1: The Threat Doctrine of Shariah & the Muslim Brotherhood
Part 2: The Brotherhood’s ‘Civilization Jihad’ in America
Part 3: Brotherhood Influence Operations Against ‘Policy Groups’: Conservatives & the GOP
Part 4: Suhail Khan, A Case Study in Influence Operations
Part 5: The Organizations Islamists Are Using to Subvert the Right
Part 6: Electing Islamist Republicans
Part 7: Advancing the Islamists' Agendas
Part 8: Team Obama & the Islamists
Part 9: Team Obama & the Islamist Agenda
Part 10: What’s to be Done?