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One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics
is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. -- Plato
(429-347 BC)
Tags:What Difference Will It Make, Hillary Clinton, Obillary 2016, editorial cartoon, AF BrancoTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Rick Manning: 9/11 will be remembered by most Americans through the horrifying images of planes crashing into the Twin Tower and the collapse of the buildings. Even though, I live in Washington, D.C., that is how I remember it. First hearing the news on my car radio while I spoke with my wife on the phone, and then seeing the second plane wipe away any doubt that our nation was under attack.
Yesterday, I gained a whole new perspective by visiting the Pentagon 9/11 memorial, which powerfully reminds of the wasted lives and lost potential due to the acts of five followers of international jihad who commandeered a passenger plane and flew it into the side of the building.
53 innocent passengers and six crew members boarded an American Airlines flight out of Dulles Airport that morning, unaware that five others on board planned suicide by plane. At 9:37 am, the east side of the Pentagon was in flames and those 59 were dead, along with 125 military and civilian personnel who were working at their desks that morning.
These terror victims are remembered individually and collectively just outside the location on the Pentagon wall where they were murdered. The memorial does not make political statements, but it does evoke a sense of resolve.
With 184 benches that arise from the ground, 59 pointed toward the building and 125 pointed away, the Memorial permanently recognizes those whose lives were sacrificed. Each bench has a still pool of water below it providing a sense of peace in the midst of horror. At night, the glow from the understated lighting of each bench casts a haunting reminder of the enormity of the loss, as a mourner looks across an expanse of seemingly randomly placed glowing granite.
A visit to the Memorial reminds that those who hate everything that America stands for will stop at nothing to harm us.
Yet, thirteen years later, we are war weary. Many believe that we can put our heads in the sand while the philosophical cousins of the Islamist thugs who killed 2,977 Americans on that fateful day are stronger than ever decapitating Christians, other Muslims, agnostics and atheists. Killing reporters, clergy, children and anyone in their path, this latest iteration of the self-proclaimed religion of peace rampages through the very land that American blood was spilled to liberate from tyranny.
As I walked amongst the benches, leaning down to look at the names of some who died, while just quietly contemplating the emotions of those who were on board the doomed flight, the words inscribed on the Memorial haunted me, “To honor the 184 people whose lives were lost, their families, and all who sacrifice that we may live in freedom. We will never forget.”
Has America forgotten? Have we become so weary of fighting evil that it just seems too hard to remain vigilant? Will these lives be lost in vain as America replaces its resolve with an easy acquiescence to those who still to this day celebrate 9/11 as a great victory?
Our nation faces threats throughout the world. Some like Russia are old and familiar, emboldened by a weak President who believes that American strength is the international antagonist that brings so many challenges. Others are rising, a China who believes that the 21st Century is theirs for the taking, and is building a modern military to seize it.
These are rational threats that can be measured and tempered through rebuilding our military might and resolve. But the Islamist threat is something altogether different. Fanatical in its nature, its danger does not lie in aircraft, tanks and guns, but instead in a willingness of its followers to live amongst us, and set off a bomb at the Boston Marathon killing and wounding their neighbors. It is this threat that must be stomped out showing the same mercy that those five terrorist showed the 59 on board that doomed American Airlines flight to Los Angeles.
As Congress and the President decide how to eradicate this threat, it might do each of them good to spend an evening at the Pentagon Memorial. A simple, elegant reminder that this enemy doesn’t care how many innocents they kill in the name of their international jihad.
The events of the past few months prove that wishful thinking that groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS can be reasoned with only emboldens them. It is now time for America to reassert ourselves in a way that makes it clear that this nation will never forget that evil cannot be negotiated with, it can only be eradicated.
Failure to take decisive action now only ensures that we will be building future memorials to other innocents who have fallen at the hands of these madmen and women, and that would demean the sacrifice of those commemorated at the Pentagon, in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and in New York City.
It is time to finish the job.
---------------- Rick Manning (@rmanning957) is the vice president of public policy and communications for Americans for Limited Government. This article was also shared on NetRightDaily. Tags:9-11, memorials, Islamist threat, finish the job, Rick Manning, Americans for Limited Government, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Return Of Security Moms, Al Qaeda On The March, Bush = Hitler?
by Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: Return Of The Security Moms - Two stories on the front page of today's Washington Post must have sent Obama White House aides rushing for the Maalox. One is about terrorism and the other is about domestic politics. They are related and they are bad news for Barack Obama and his Democrat allies in Congress.
For years, political pundits and prognosticators have obsessed over the "gender gap" and the role of women in politics. "Soccer Moms" reelected Bill Clinton in 1996. "Security Moms" reelected George W. Bush in 2004. Women swooned for Obama in 2008. And they stuck with him during the so-called "war on women" in 2012.
But now they are turning on him. The latest Washington Post/ABC News poll finds that Obama's support among female voters -- a crucial Democrat constituency -- is cratering.
Obama's approval rating among women has fallen 16 points since 2013. Right now, women disapprove of his job performance by a six-point margin -- 44% to 50%. The Post interviewed several women to get a sense of what's causing Obama's collapsing numbers.
Kimberly Cole, who twice voted for Obama, said, "He's been faced with a lot of challenges, and he's lost his way." The Post adds that Cole "worries that Obama lacks the resolve needed at a time when things at home and abroad are looking scarier."
Karlene Richardson, previously a "very strong supporter" of Obama, said, "Honestly, I just feel that what I bought into is not what I'm getting." Richardson continued, "I'm starting to wonder whether the world takes us seriously."
The Security Moms are back!
Al Qaeda On The March - Remember how Obama bragged that his administration had "decimated Al Qaeda" and that the group was "on the run"? The other front page Washington Post story today is about how various Al Qaeda groups are once again on the march.
In his speech Wednesday night, Obama pointed to Yemen and Somalia as models of success. The Post reports, "United States is still battling al-Qaeda affiliates in countries including Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. None of those groups has been eradicated, or even degraded to a degree that would allow U.S. counterterrorism operations to end."
And while Barack Obama continues to place limits on his strategy for confronting ISIS, the latest CIA analysis more than triples the number of ISIS fighters. CNN reports that new intelligence estimates suggest ISIS is capable of fielding an army of more than 30,000 jihadists.
Moreover, the CIA believes that 15,000 foreign fighters (including 2,000 Westerners) from at least 80 countries have joined the jihad in Syria.
If these headlines continue -- and they probably will (Australia raised its terror alert today) -- Obama's numbers could collapse even further.
One of the mainstays of conservatism has always been a commitment to a strong national defense. Republicans must resist the siren song of Paulian isolationism.
Bush = Hitler - The liberal educational establishment is still suffering from BDS -- Bush Derangement Syndrome. Sixth grade English students at McKinley Middle School in Washington, D.C., were recently sent home with the following assignment: "Now that we have read about two men of power who abused their power in various ways, we will compare and contrast them and their actions. Please refer to your texts, 'Fighting Hitler -- A Holocaust Story' and 'Bush: Iraq War Justified Despite No WMD' to compare and contrast former President George W. Bush and Hitler. We will use this in class tomorrow for an activity!"Thankfully, outraged parents spoke up. The D.C. Public Schools system issued a statement that concluded: "The teacher deeply regrets this mistake, and any suggestion to malign the presidency or make any comparison in this egregious way. The teacher admits to extremely poor judgment and short sightedness and will apologize to students."
The teacher should apologize and then be fired!
But incidents like this are not limited to Washington, D.C. A few months ago, a California school district asked eighth graders to explore materials promoting Holocaust denial. They instructed: "When tragic events occur in history, there is often debate about their actual existence. For example, some people claim the Holocaust is not an actual historical event, but instead is a propaganda tool that was used for political and monetary gain.
"Based upon your research on this issue, write an argumentative essay, utilizing cited textual evidence, in which you explain whether or not you believe the Holocaust was an actual event in history, or merely a political scheme created to influence public emotion and gain. Remember to address counterclaims (rebuttals) to your stated claim."As many as 50 students concluded that the Holocaust never happened. It is shocking that something like this could happen in our schools.
Parents: As the school year begins, please be involved. Talk to your children regularly. Look over their assignments. Don't be afraid to confront school officials if necessary. Never forget that you are your child's most influential teacher!
------------- Gary Bauer is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families Tags:Weekend Review, Security Moms, Barack Obama, Al Qaeda, liberal education, Bush, Hitler, Holocaust, Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working FamiliesTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
What Obama Got Right -- and Wrong -- In His ISIS Speech
by Steven Bucci: On Wednesday, President Obama addressed the nation concerning an uptick of action against the Islamic State, otherwise known as ISIS or ISIL. It was a short address that also was short on surprises.
Obama began with an apt description of ISIS and the threat it poses. In this phase of his remarks, he got it right. ISIS is a horrendous group of murderers whose savagery knows no bounds. Action must be taken. He also emphasized there is a real threat to the homeland—not an immediate one perhaps but one that requires action.
Obama attempted to paint all the military actions taken so far as having been successful. In this, he probably overstated at least a bit. Recent operations have helped, but the problem won’t be solved without additional actions.
Obama also is correct that this is not only a U.S. problem. The Iraqis have a new government and at least a few allies have signed up to the embryonic coalition. He offered little on who was in the coalition and what they had signed up to do. Will they provide combat troops, funding, or just rhetorical support? That remains to be seen.
The next section began to float toward hyperbole. The president spoke of a “comprehensive counterterror strategy.” He gave Yemen and Somalia as examples of the validity of this methodology.
Specifically, he mentioned:
1. Direct military action: air power, special operators to kill leaders, including going into Syria to pursue them. This appears to be more of this administration’s love of drone strikes and “whack-a-mole” attempts to find the “head.”
2. Indirect military action: Depend on other peoples’ “boots on the ground.” Send nearly 500 additional advisers to help but have absolutely no combat role for U.S. ground forces. This is absurd, unless the definition of “no combat” is stretched to include our special operations forces going with regional forces to stiffen their spines and control air strikes.
This also includes support to “moderate” resistance forces in Syria. This is a nice concept but quite difficult in practice. Even if one concedes we can correctly identify the “good guys” among the mostly radical forces fighting Assad, how do we keep the arms we give them out of the hands of their radical competitor resistance fighters?
3. External Actions: Cut funds, and stop the flow of foreign fighters. This worked with core Al-Qaeda, but ISIS is far less dependent on outside funding. It has stolen huge amounts from banks in Syria and Iraq, and it sells black market oil to the tune of $1 million a day. Trying to get other countries to stop their citizens from joining the fight also is a nice thought but probably impossible.
4. Humanitarian assistance: This is primarily for displaced persons fleeing the oppression of ISIS. This is the most “doable” part of the president’s plan.
Obama must do all of the above with allied help and coalition partners. He mentioned that Secretary of State John Kerry in particular was seeking more Arab assistance. Unfortunately, Kerry’s credibility is weak, and the Arab countries are not big “joiners” when the fight is tough. But the president is right to seek this. It is a key to any measure of success.
Lastly, the president wants congressional support. He should invest the effort to build it. If he expects to get a free pass from Capitol Hill, with no questions or desire for an elaboration on the plan, he will be surprised. Congress wants to be supportive, regardless of party. It sees the need but will back only a potential winner. Obama has a bit more convincing to do.
The conclusion was spent reminding the American people of the ever-present risks in military actions and the fact this will take time. This was wise, and Obama fought the temptation to put a date certain onto the conclusion of the operation.
Obama did spend too much of the wrap-up on emphasizing how this is different from “Bush’s wars.” He could not resist the added emphasis here that again, there would be no ground combat role. Never tell your enemies what you will not do, Mr. President.
The final words were an attempt to convince the listeners that his leadership has been successful. That “case” is weak. Now the nation will wait to see if this works.
----------------- Steven P. Bucci, who served America for three decades as an Army Special Forces officer and top Pentagon official, is director of the Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation. Article shared on The Daily Signal. His twitter account is @SBucci Tags:President Obama, ISIS Speech, ISIS, got right, got wrong, Steven Bucci, Heritage FoundationTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
The full text of the letter is available here. Dear Commissioner Koskinen:
I write to express deep concern over the recent announcement by Breitbart News that the Internal Revenue Service recently notified the Breitbart News Network, LLC that it would be subject to a far-reaching, burdensome, and open-ended audit.
As you know, the Breitbart News Network LLC is a conservative-leaning press outlet. It has editors and reporters who cover daily political news and regularly breaks stories that are critical of the Obama Administration's policies. To conduct this audit, Breitbart News Network, LLC was asked to provide the IRS with all of its organizational documents, financial records, W-2s, W-4s, 1099s, and K-1s filed, personal income tax returns for each member of the company, payroll tax forms, information regarding properties and assets acquired by the company, bank statements, and array of other records documenting revenues, expenses, and depreciation costs.
This media audit, coupled with the recent proposal of 49 Senate Democrats to amend the Constitution to give Congress plenary power to regulate political speech, paints a disturbing picture of a coordinated assault on the First Amendment.
In another time, under another Administration, the decision to audit a conservative news organization might not have risen to a worrisome level of concern. However, given the IRS's disturbing track record of illegally targeting conservative organizations-including the IRS recently paying a $50,000 settlement for having wrongfully leaked a conservative group's confidential tax information-and the persistent refusal by the current Department of Justice to meaningfully investigate or prosecute those crimes, the decision to audit Breitbart News Network, LLC appears highly questionable.
For the IRS to behave like a partisan political organization, targeting media organizations whose views differ from the President's, would represent a gross abuse of power. It would undermine the statutory mission and integrity of the IRS. And it would likely subject IRS employees to criminal prosecution.
I very much hope that is not the case.
I would therefore like to ask you the following questions:
How many other news organizations have been audited since President Obama has been in office?
How many of them could be identified as conservative- or liberal-leaning?
Have any other news organization been subjected to this sort of far-reaching and oppressive inquiry, including requesting the personal tax records of editors and reporters?
At what point does the IRS decide to take action to audit a news outlet?
Does the IRS worry that its extremely burdensome auditing process could effectively silence the press?
Previously, Senator Durbin wrote the IRS asking that it examine the tax-exempt status of Crossroads GPS, a Republican organization that spends money electing Republicans. Did the IRS ever receive any communications from any elected official asking it to examine Breitbart News Network, LLC?
Who, precisely, is responsible for making the decision to audit Breitbart News Network, LLC?
I appreciate your timely response.
Sincerely,
Ted Cruz
United States Senator
Tags:U.S. Senator, Ted Cruz, Texas, letter, IRS, open-ended , audit, Brietbart News, conservativesTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Politico: 'Democrats' Whopper Of A Strategy Flop On Inversions ... Pretty Much A Massive Dud ...Almost No One Is Talking About [It] On The Campaign Trail'
The Senate also is not in session today and will reconvene at 2 PM on Monday. At 5:30 PM, three cloture votes are scheduled: on S. 2199, Democrats’ so-called “Paycheck Fairness Act,” (S. 2199), which would not actually do anything to address compensation for women, and on two nominees to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Yesterday, Democrats failed to get 60 votes to advance their Democrats’ radical constitutional amendment that would gut the core political speech protections of the First Amendment. S. J. Res. 19 failed a cloture vote by a tally of 54-42. All 54 YEA votes were by Democrat Senators including Democrats with close races. For Example Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas vote yes supporting Harry Reid efforts to amend the constitution to limit free speech. All No votes were by Republican Senators.
Warren Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway is helping fund Burger King's corporate move to Canada. Does it mesh with his previous comments on taxes? ~ CNN Money Story & Video
In a must-read piece today, Politico reports, “President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies hoped to capitalize on the recent wave of companies ditching the U.S. to slice their tax bill as a populist issue to fire up the progressive base and bash Republicans as slaves to corporate interests. So far, rather than becoming the political whopper that Democrats dreamed of, the issue has turned out to be pretty much a massive dud. The one recent high-profile corporate name to consider the move, fast-food chain Burger King, did so with the stamp of approval from top White House ally Warren Buffett. Almost no one is talking about the issue on the campaign trail. And there is little chance legislation will advance or even come to a vote on Capitol Hill before the midterm elections. Meanwhile, some influential tax policy analysts suggest any of the administration’s possible unilateral actions could make the problem worse, be deemed illegal, or wouldn’t have much impact at all.”
Democrats have not succeeded in raising awareness of the issue. Politico writes. “[P]olls also show most Americans are not very aware of the inversion phenomena and don’t really understand it. A recent survey conducted by Morning Consult, a digital media company that conducts weekly national polls, showed 64 percent had an unfavorable view of ‘inversions’ when the transaction was explained in plain language. But only 40 percent had heard of the phenomena and 30 percent said they thought it was hurting the economy. ‘It hasn’t really broken through as an issue yet, though the Burger King transaction could be a milestone in that it’s a very recognizable American company,’ said Michael Ramlet, founder and publisher of Morning Consult.”
And when the Burger King news broke, “the administration refused to make an example of Burger King, saying at the time the deal was announced that they would not get into specific companies’ plans. And Burger King’s deal to buy Canadian donut chain Tim Hortons and move the combined company’s headquarters to Canada came with financing from Buffett, . . . a close ally of the president’s. . . . Another prominent Democratic backer on Wall Street this week slammed the idea that inversions are a big problem for the U.S. economy. ‘This is one where the emotion and the noise and the rhetoric is wildly bigger than the issue economically,’ Tony James, president of the private-equity firm The Blackstone Group and a major financial backer of the president, said at a POLITICO event on Tuesday.”
Democrats seem to have a problem with their allies being either unmoved by the inversions issue or being involved in them. Last month, Bloomberg News wrote, “President Barack Obama won’t return campaign donations to executives, advisers and directors who have profited from offshore mergers that reduce corporate taxes using a technique he has called ‘unpatriotic.’ Responding to a Bloomberg News report that described connections between more than 20 Obama donors and the tax-cutting transactions, White House Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz said the president will keep the cash. . . . Donors involved with the tax deals include Blair Effron, an investment banker who hosted Obama for a May fundraiser at his two-level, 9,000-square-foot apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Others are Jim Rogers, co-chairman of the host committee for the 2012 Democratic National Convention; Roger Altman, a former senior Treasury Department official who raised at least $200,000 for Obama’s re-election campaign; and Shantanu Narayen, who sits on the president’s management advisory board. ‘It’s populist rhetoric,’ said former U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey, a Nebraska Democrat who advises clients at Carmen Group Inc., a Washington consulting and lobbying firm. ‘And at some point it’s sufficiently misleading that it draws the attention away from the difficulties involved with an agreement to lower the corporate tax rates -- that’s not an easy thing to do.’ . . . Effron is co-founder of Centerview Partners LLC, a New York investment firm. Centerview advised Abbott Laboratories, which is selling some of its non-U.S. businesses to Mylan Inc. in a deal that will let Mylan put its tax home in the Netherlands. Centerview also advised AstraZeneca Plc as the London-based company rejected multiple offers from Pfizer Inc. that would have led Pfizer to take a U.K. address. . . . Rogers is a director of Applied Materials Inc., which has a pending inversion transaction with Tokyo Electron Ltd. that will place the combined company in the Netherlands. . . . Altman is the founder and executive chairman of Evercore Partners, a New York investment firm that advised Shire Plc, which has a pending inversion deal with AbbVie. . . . Narayen is the chief executive officer of Adobe Systems Inc. and a director of Pfizer, which earlier this year proposed the largest inversion in history.”
Politico points out, “The issue is not exactly lighting up on the campaign trail. . . . The issue does not seem to have come up in any of the most hotly contested Senate races and most forecasters say GOP odds of taking the six seats they need to gain control have consistently risen in the months since inversions because a significant political topic.” Tags:Burger King, Warren Buffet, inversions, taxes, democrats, rhetoric, no substance, PoliticoTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by Katie Nielsen, Heritage Foundation: ISIS’s control of oil fields in Iraq and Syria is making it difficult for those countries to work with the United States to “degrade and ultimately destroy” ISIS. Not only does their grip on oil production affect U.S. strategy, the brutal terrorist organization uses that oil wealth to help finance its terror operations.
And the profit margin isn’t small. The Daily Signal’s Kelsey Harkness writes:"According to the Iraq Energy Institute, an independent, nonprofit policy organization focused on Iraq’s energy sector, the army of radical Islamists controls production of 30,000 barrels of oil a day in Iraq and 50,000 barrels in Syria.
"By selling the oil on the black market at a discounted price of $40 per barrel (compared to about $93 per barrel in the free market), ISIS takes in $3.2 million a day."This amounts to nearly $100 million each month allowing ISIS to, as Heritage expert James Phillips explains, have a “solid economic base that sustains its continued expansion.” In order to succeed in destroying ISIS, the U.S. and its allies need to work “intently on cutting the oil revenues that make up a large portion of that funding,” Phillips concludes. Do you think the President Obama’s top priority in stopping ISIS should be to cut its cash flow from the oil production? Tags:ISIS, IRAQ, Syria, oil, $100 million, every month, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Flashback: President George W. Bush Warned of What Would Happen If the U.S. Withdrew From Iraq Too Early
ARRA News: Facing criticism from opponents of the Iraq War after ordering a troop surge in 2007, President George W. Bush issued a warning of what would happen in the future should the United States withdraw armed forces from Iraq. Now, seven years later, the president’s admonition mimics what’s happening in Iraq today. On "The Kelly File," host Megyn Kelly recalled that prophetic warning from President George W. Bush in 2007 on what would happen if the U.S. withdrew from Iraq too soon.
The States Of Irrelevance: A Case For The Original United States Senate
by Tom Toth, Contributing Author: Elections to decide who will control Congressional majorities in the House and Senate are less than seven weeks away, and this calm before the political storm is as good a time as any to analyze the state our government’s most powerful branch—the people’s Congress.
Specifically, why exactly do we have two chambers that are elected the same way, with one being less accountable to the people and yet more powerful than the other?
For perspective, let’s back up for a moment. A little over 101 years ago the United States added a 17th Amendment to the Constitution that changed how the 100 members of the Senate would be selected. The 17th Amendment changed the appointment process to the direct elections we have today, replacing the Constitution’s original design of appointment directly by state legislatures.
One can rightly assume that the republic’s founders Constitutionally designed the legislative branch intentionally. But why the pre-1913 design? One reason was foundational to the nation’s establishment, yet less understood in today’s political climate: states’ rights. Simply put, Congress was to consist of representation from each state legislature, equally, as to legitimize the affairs of every state government in the workings of federal lawmaking.
Each state was to given a voice, small states equal with the large.
The people were also, similarly, to have a voice in the second half of the legislature, proportioned directly from districts drawn by population.
The unintended consequences of the 17th amendment, however, have rendered each of those principles antiquated, at best — irrelevant, at worst.
State governing has long become an irrelevant enterprise in the national political sphere. Having surrendered its influence over the Senate, states are, for all intents and purposes, now little more than minor league clubs for political aspirants and test labs for public policy. Hardly a governing body worth the power of the 10th Amendment, even in its current limited existence.
As for the people, why should a voter living in Wyoming (with a population of under 600,000) have so much more direct voting power over the national legislative process than one from, say, California (with a population of over 37,000,000)? It’s silly.
The 17th Amendment destroyed the practical purpose of interpersonal voting equality across the nation, highlighted especially by the lack of national concern for state issues in exchange for the goings-on of an ever-growing federal government.
A simple conclusion there is no good reason for there to be second Congressional chamber with an inordinate amount of power, no term restrictions, and a relative unaccountability to electorates of widely disparate vicarious influence.
The 17th Amendment isn’t without its intelligent devotees, of course. No finer defender of the amendment exists than David Schleicher, a professor at George Mason University School of Law, who has written extensively for the historical and continuing defense of the amendment. Mr. Schleicher’s — highly abridged — argument for the amendment, and likely a major contributing factor in the amendment’s creation, is that given the nation’s present state of political bipolarity, state elections, rather than driving individual concern for state and local concerns, would virtually all boil down to secondary elections for senators anyway, carrying over uniquely national concerns into state politics.
The original design of the federal government’s most important branch was irrevocably compromised for little more than political convenience — a simple response to the unfortunate realities of a two-party political system. And the 17th amendment has, in retrospect, failed even to accomplish its stated goal of separating federal and state politics, as argued by the likes of Schleicher.
The Senate was also designed, in part, to be the cooling plate of the legislature, true, and it continues to serve that purpose to a certain degree. But it was always more than that. The Senate was the single legitimate voice of the states on the national political stage.
No more.
State governments today exist in a practical state of irrelevance and Congress continues to operate clumsily, as it has for a century.
Therefore, before you complain again about disregarded states’ rights and wonder why your Senator should be able to act for himself or herself with near impunity for 4 years at a time before running a state-wide election in your state’s two largest metropolitan areas, consider why the founders designed the legislative branch differently.
Perhaps they would argue that a 28th amendment is in order.
------------------ Tom Toth is Digital Content Director and a contributing editor for Americans for Limited Government and his article was shared on the ALG blog NetRightDaily. Follow him on Twitter @TomToth3. Tags:U.S. Senate, elections, U.S. Senator, as determined by founders, Constitution, states rights, amendments, 17th Amendment, 28th Amendment, Tom TrothNSERT TAGSTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Tags:9-11, Never Forget, editorial cartoon, AF BrancoTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by Alan Caruba, Contributing Author: "ISIS is not Islamic", said Barack Obama as he gave yet another vapid speech to say what he will or will not do next about the threat of Islam. What he said is both idiotic and a lie. ISIS calls itself the Islamic State.
Obama used the word "war" only once, but ISIS is all about war---an Islamic holy war that has been waged since 632 AD.
The one person neither named, nor blamed is the so-called prophet, Mohammad, yet everything being done by the jihadists today is being done in his name.
In his memoir, “Dreams from my Father”, Obama, in the preface to its second edition, wrote: “Nor do I pretend to understand the stark nihilism that drove the terrorists that day (9/11) and that drives their brethren still. My powers of empathy, my ability to reach into another’s heart, cannot penetrate the blank stares of those who would murder innocents with abstract, serene satisfaction.” And therein is the problem that he, as President, and we as citizens must address.
Political correctness is so dominant in the Obama White House that no one in the U.S. government dares say anything that might be deemed critical of a so-called “religion” that sanctions beheadings, amputations, stoning, kidnapping hostages, ransoms, polygamy, and slavery. To anyone deemed an infidel or unbeliever or a Muslim who questions anything about Islam, death is the only option other than dhimmitude, a second-class citizenship.
The pure evil of Islam was seen most recently in the two videos of American hostages being beheaded by the Islamic State, but despite decades of attacks on U.S. embassies, the taking of U.S. hostages in Beirut and Tehran, attacks in Bali, Madrid and London, and the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and on the Pentagon, Americans have been slow to realize the intensity and size of the threat that the Middle Eastern and North African nations represent along with wherever else a large Muslim population exists.
As the U.S. and threatened Middle Eastern nations hurtle toward a military confrontation with the Islamic State, the name it has given to territory it has seized from northern Syria and into Iraq, a new book, Fault Lines: The Layman’s Guide to Understanding America’s Role in the Ever-Changing Middle East, ($00.00, Elevate, Boise, Idaho, softcover) provides one of the best, short histories on U.S. involvement and why, at this point, its influence has reached a low point.
Liebich writes of the way the U.S. policy regarding the Middle East changed over the years, particularly in the wake of World War II and the Cold War that followed as the Soviet Union challenged us for the implementation of communism worldwide. Dependent on the flow of oil from the Middle East, much of our strategic interest in the region was based on exercising our influence, often bringing about the removal of leaders whom we regarded as a threat to that necessity. After 9/11 that went into overdrive.
Liebich notes that our concept of nation-building proved costly, not just in the lives of our troops, but which included $50 billion in Iraq “and it didn’t work. Before you can build a nation you have to have a nation and only the citizens of that nation can decide what kind of a country they want to have.” The problem the U.S. encountered was that “In the Middle East, people related much more to the Ummah (the Muslim community) and to their own tribes.”
The problem that George H.W. Bush and his son, George W. Bush, encountered was that “The Middle East is a part of the world where many odd alliances appear. One is never sure who is allied with whom and whatever one thinks may all change tomorrow.”
Liebich takes note of the “Arab Awakening” that followed the U.S. invasion of Iraq that deposed Saddam Hussein. It began “with so much promise” followed by “its subsequent descent into chaos, has drastically changed the geopolitical landscape in the Middle East and North Africa.”
Liebich says “My definition of a vital national interest is one that deals with an existential threat to the United States, and one for which the U.S. is willing to spill its blood and to spend its treasure in order to accomplish its objectives. By this definition, the U.S. has no vital national interest in events in the Middle East.” Written prior to the emergence of the Islamic State, a new existential threat is facing the U.S.
Liebich says our strategic interests in the Middle East for many years included access to stable supplies of oil at reasonable prices; support for the state of Israel; preventing adversaries or potential adversaries from coming to power or achieving influence in the region; improving life for the people of the region; and preventing terrorist attacks on U.S. territories and citizens.
“The region has become the epicenter for terrorist groups, some of which have ambitions for a global reach.” That alone will require a renewed military involvement by the U.S. as we are the only nation with the capacity to alter the facts on the ground.
It comes at a time when the U.S. is close to having developed its oil reserves to a point where the oil of the Middle East will not determine our policies, but it is that oil which other nations such as those of Europe depend upon. China and India need it as well so its protection by and for the West as well as the developing Asian nations affects our decisions. Even Russia whose economy is dependent on oil and natural gas has cast its support for Syria along with Iran.
Everything, though, depends on understanding the true nature and intent of Islam.
Liebich ends his book with a quote from Winston Churchill who said, “We can always count on the Americans to do the right thing, after they have exhausted all other possibilities.”
Right now, the right thing is the destruction of the Islamic State.
------------ Alan Caruba is a writer by profession; has authored several books, and writes a daily column, Warning Signs disseminated on many Internet news and opinion websites and blogs. He is a contributing author at ARRA News Service. Tags:slam, face of evil, Alan Caruba, warning signsTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: Obama's Strategy - President Obama delivered a prime-time address to the nation last night laying out his strategy for confronting ISIS (ISIL). Reaction to the president's address was mixed.
Obama apologists were in full campaign mode, arguing that Republican critics were simply playing politics. But there was considerable criticism from the left. For example:
MSNBC's Chris Matthews didn't get a thrill up his leg this time. "I didn't hear in there how we're going to encourage … the Islamic world to go after ISIS," Matthews said. He added that Obama's other steps "didn't sound sufficient."
Richard Engel, NBC's chief foreign correspondent, said that Obama's references to Yemen and Somalia as models of success were, "wildly off base, frankly. I think, it's an oversimplification of the problem."
ABC's Rick Klein wrote that Obama was playing "catch-up with the public and himself," hoping to "reverse perceptions that he's been slow to respond" to ISIS. But, Klein adds, Obama "did not announce any new actions."
The fact is Obama's speech was little more than political theater. Does anyone believe that Obama now fully understands the danger we are facing?
Reuters notes that "As recently as August 8 … Obama dismissed as 'a fantasy' the argument that arming Syrian rebels earlier would have made a difference." Now Obama is going to arm the Syrian rebels.
Earlier in the year, Obama dismissed ISIS as a "JV" or junior varsity team. Now he says it is a "cancer" threatening the Middle East and America that must be destroyed.
Remember when Obama said he had no strategy? Now his strategy appears to be largely what everyone already knew -- more airstrikes and arming the Kurds. He needed a few more days to figure that out?
No, they needed a few days to see the polls and craft a speech to fit the politics of the hour.
But if you really want the evidence that he is not serious about the dangers we're facing, read on.
Obama Defends Islam…Again - Obama wasn't very far into his speech last night before he launched into a defense of Islam. First he said, " Now let's make two things clear: ISIL is not 'Islamic.'"
Well, Mr. President, the first "I" in "ISIL" stands for "Islamic." One hundred percent of its members are avowed Muslims. The one characteristic of every Westerner who has joined ISIL is that they were either born Muslim or converted to Islam. Practicing Baptists and Catholics need not apply.
Moreover, the first thing ISIL does when it conquers territory is impose Sharia or Islamic law, which they wouldn't care about if they weren't devout Muslims. Many Muslims bristle under Sharia law, but the imposition of Sharia is what ISIL members believe Allah demands of them.
Then Obama said this: "No religion condones the killing of innocents." Obama needs to check his Koran and talk to Hussein bin Mahmoud. The Koran specifically calls for the smiting or killing of the infidel. And, Mr. President, if you are an infidel, according to fundamentalist Muslims, you're not innocent.
It's true that many Muslims disagree. But a 2013 Pew poll of just 11 Muslim countries found that 13% of the respondents supported Al Qaeda. That equates to approximately 100 million Muslims. For the president to act like Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and ISIL (ISIS) are part of a fringe conspiracy to smear a peaceful religion is ludicrous.
This picture of a former British rapper posing with a severed head
Obama noted that "the vast majority of victims have been Muslims." Well, Mr. President, that's the point. ISIL sees their Muslim victims as insufficiently committed to the faith, as apostates. The reason the overwhelming majority of victims have been Muslim is a matter of geography -- ISIL operates in a predominately Muslim region . . . for now.
If ISIL, Hamas and Hezbollah ever get to Israel, the great majority of their victims will be Jews. On the morning of 9/11, whose anniversary we are marking today, the great majority of victims were Americans -- Christians, Jews, members of other faiths and those with no faith.
Rather than going on TV to deny the obvious, our leaders, including George W. Bush, should be saying, "There is a war going on within Islam. The ascendant force within Islam wants to go back to its medieval roots of conquest. There is some resistance, but not nearly enough."
9/11 -- 13 Years Later - Thirteen years ago today our country was attacked by radical Islamists. Yes, Islamists. They struck our financial center and symbols of America's economic power. They struck the Pentagon, the symbol of America's military power and our commitment to defending freedom around the world.
They planned to strike a symbol of our republic, perhaps the White House or the Capitol. That plot was foiled when the brave passengers of Flight 93 organized the first American counterattack in what has been a long and difficult war.
This evening I will be speaking at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, reflecting on the events of that day, the attack on our consulate in Benghazi two years ago today and the war against Islamofascism that continues. Eight years ago, on that very campus, a jihadist drove his SUV into a group of students to "avenge the death of Muslims around the world."
Pray that America never loses the resolve to stand firm in the face of tyranny. Pray that future generations will answer the call as our fathers, grandfathers and Founding Fathers did, and as our brave men and women in uniform are doing today. Pray that America remains forever the land of the free and home of the brave.
------------- Gary Bauer is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families Tags:Obama's Strategy, Obama Defends Islam, Remembering 9/11, Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working FamiliesTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
McConnell Speaks on 13th Anniversary of the 9/11 Attacks
Today in Washington, D.C. Sept 11, 2014: This morning, following a moment of silence to remember those killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell spoke on the Senate floor on the 13th anniversary of those attacks: "Yesterday I joined congressional leaders in awarding three congressional gold medals to the memory of the thousands of men and women who perished so tragically on this day, 13 years ago. Every American that morning bore witness to terrible tragedy and suffering. But that wasn’t all we witnessed. We also saw incredible acts of bravery, and compassion, and heroism. We saw it in a great city, we saw it on the edge of a capital, and we heard about it high above the clouds."
“The sacrifices of those heroes of 9/11 inspired us then, and they inspire us now. “The memory of every man and women who perished so tragically that day continues to serve as a unifying force for our nation. And we will never stop honoring them.”
The Senate reconvened at 9:30 AM today and began with a moment of silence in tribute to the Americans’ whose lives were taken in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
The Senate then resumed post-cloture consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 2199, Democrats’ so-called “Paycheck Fairness Act,” (S. 2199), which would not actually do anything to address compensation for women. Yesterday, the Senate voted 73-25 upon reconsideration to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 2199, Paycheck Fairness Act by Paycheck Fairness Act Voice Vote
At 1:45 PM today, Democrats failed to get 60 votes to advance their Democrats’ radical constitutional amendment that would gut the core political speech protections of the First Amendment. S. J. Res. 19 failed a cloture vote by a tally of 54-42. All 54 YEA votes were by Democrat Senators including Democrats with close races. For Example Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas vote yes supporting Harry Reid efforts to amend the constitution to limit free speech. All No votes were by Republican Senators.
Following that vote, the Senate will hold voice votes on the nominations of John Hoover to be Ambassador to Sierra Leone and Joseph Nimmich to be Deputy Administrator of FEMA. Also scheduled for voice votes are nominees to be the NASA CFO, the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, and three members of the board of directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The House reconvened at 9:00 AM today. The adjourned at 3:52 PM. They are scheduled to return at 12 PM on Monday, Sept. 15, 2014.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) today issued the following statement after bipartisan House passage of H.R. 3522, the Employee Health Care Protection Act, which would allow Americans in the group insurance market to keep or choose the plans they like: “In this tough economy, hardworking families need all the peace of mind they can get, and by helping them keep the plan they like, Bill Cassidy’s bill does just that. It will also mean getting more people back to work, lowering costs at home, and restoring opportunity. Of course, to protect our workers from all of ObamaCare’s broken promises, we need to repeal this law and replace it with solutions that lower costs and protect jobs. For now, given that Senate Democrats promised Americans early and often that they would be able to keep their plans, we hope they will not consign this bill to the same fate as so many of our jobs bills.” - See more at: http://www.speaker.gov/press-release/helping-families-keep-their-plan-peace-mind#sthash.9czEvpxW.dpuf
Today they passed the following: H.R. 3522 (247 - 167) — "To authorize health insurance issuers to continue to offer for sale current group health insurance coverage in satisfaction of the minimum essential health insurance coverage requirement, and for other purposes." H.R. 5057 (Voice Vote) — "To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to permit exemptions for external power supplies from certain efficiency standards, and for other purposes." H.R. 5161 (402-0) — "To promote the non-exclusive use of electronic labeling for devices licensed by the Federal Communications Commission." S. 276 (Voice Vote) — "To reinstate and extend the deadline for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric project involving the American Falls Reservoir."
Yesterday, the House passed: H.R. 2678 (422-2) — "To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 10360 Southwest 186th Street in Miami, Florida, as the "Larcenia J. Bullard Post Office Building"." H.R. 4751 (422-0) — "To make technical corrections to Public Law 110-229 to reflect the renaming of the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, and for other purposes." Tags:U.S. Senate, Democrat, Constitutional Amendment, limiting free speech, House U.S. House, healthcare, keep your plan, remembering 911To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by Ken Blackwell, Contributing Author: It’s one of the oldest rules in politics. And it’s one that her husband, Bill Clinton, made famous: “When you’re in a hole, stop digging!”
So why is Secretary Hillary Clinton continuing to dig away? Her book tour was bound to be rocky. With a tin ear for the nuances of young feminists, she titled her book, Hard Choices. But the Washington Post recently published Janet Harris’ column urging all liberals to “stop saying abortion is a difficult choice." If you talk like that, Harris says, you are putting the focus on the fetus. Well, we can’t do that! Difficult Choice? Hard Choices? Her very book title is off-key in the pro-abortion chorus. Even worse, Hillary Clinton famously told Newsweek in 1994 (October 31st issue) that “abortion is wrong.” She had never said it before and she has never said it since. But she said it. And that spells trouble with the Left that will not provide legal protection for a single one of the 57,000,000 unborn children whose lives have been sacrificed to choice. Then, there’s young Rob Goodman’s piece in Politico. It’s titled “Duck this Dynasty.” That’s pretty clever, I’ll admit. And the argument this activist makes is most interesting.
If the Democrats hope to make an issue out of income inequality, they need to choose a leader who can make this issue resonate with young Americans who are climbing mountainous college debt and sliding into valleys of dependency. Hillary’s comment that she and Bill were “dead broke” on leaving the White House was a disaster. Her approval numbers seem to have fallen off a cliff after that. What? Did they run out of time to sell presidential pardons? Or did they run out of rich convicts to sell them to?
Goodman basically argues that the Left needs a tribune of the people to rally the Occupy Wall Street caucus, someone who can represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party—as Howard Dean memorably put it.
The book launch was trouble enough, but Madame Secretary kept digging. She gave an interview to The Atlantic in which she said: “’Don’t do stupid stuff’ is not an organizing principle for a great nation.” Now, Don’t Do Stupid Stuff may not have the ring of Don’t Give Up the Ship, but it is nonetheless the signature statement of President Barack Obama on foreign policy. It may be that his DDSS bracelet has replaced WWJD as a constant reminder to the Commander-in-Chief not to become entangled in ground wars. She was trying in an incredibly clumsy way to “distance herself” from the administration of which she was an integral part for four years. We’re getting the impression that Hillary is no longer “likable enough” to this president.
Because her husband frittered away his eight years in the White House, perhaps she has forgotten that—as Daniel Day-Lewis reminded us in his magisterial portrayal of Lincoln—that “the President of the United States is clothed in immense power!” If she doubts that, she need only ask survivors of Hubert Humphrey’s 1968 campaign what becomes of a top administration figure who tries to “distance” him or herself from the party’s designated leader. President Lyndon Johnson dared not show his face at his party’s 1968 convention, but he still held the whip hand as far as his harried vice president, Humphrey, was concerned. And LBJ showed that even a Lame Duck could still deliver a stunning kick.
But then there is Hillary Clinton’s amazing unforced error. Yahoo defines an unforced error for us. It is “a mistake that you make due to simply hitting the ball incorrectly (shanks, mishits) or using improper positioning,” Hillary Clinton decided recently, for some incalculable reason, to do a book review for the Washington Post’s Sunday “Outlook” section. She chose—of all the books in the world—Henry Kissinger’s latest bestseller: World Order. Talk about curious titling for your book. Dr. Kissinger’s opus arrives at the moment when only Antarctica seems peaceful. World Order? But at least this 432-page marvel is No. 1 in books on Diplomacy. Clinton’s own book is only an anemic No. 6 on Amazon’s listing and seems headed for the remainder stacks.
What could she have been thinking in giving Dr. Kissinger’s book a generous review? She acts like she already has her party’s 2016 nomination sewn up and is deciding to “move to the center.”
She seems not to realize that for a substantial portion of her party’s liberal base, Dr. Kissinger is a evil figure. The late Christopher Hitchens spent years—literally years—clamoring for Henry Kissinger to be indicted for war crimes!
Conservatives do not react to Henry Kissinger with anything like the fierce hatred of the Left. But conservatives—while acknowledging the Harvard professor’s scintillating brilliance—have steadfastly opposed his Realpolitik.
From 1976 onward, conservatives have insisted on a foreign policy that is both visionary and realistic. For America, conservatives believe, only the high idealism of a president like Ronald Reagan is ultimately realistic in the world.
As George W. Bush eloquently put it in his eulogy to Reagan, the Gipper said “Tear Down this Wall;” he didn’t say knock the top three bricks off it.” In the end, it proved more “realistic” to bring down the Wall than to arrange weekend visits for the captive peoples behind it.
As she struggles to regain her footing for the next few years, it may be that this paragraph will come back to haunt her, especially with Iowa’s Peace Caucus-goers:Kissinger is a friend, and I relied on his counsel when I served as secretary of state. He checked in with me regularly, sharing astute observations about foreign leaders and sending me written reports on his travels. Though we have often seen the world and some of our challenges quite differently, and advocated different responses now and in the past, what comes through clearly in this new book is a conviction that we, and President Obama, share: a belief in the indispensability of continued American leadership in service of a just and liberal order.Conservatives and Left-liberals alike will be scratching their heads trying to figure out why Hillary Clinton decided to publicly embrace Henry Kissinger. We will try to resist the cynicism of French Foreign Minister Talleyrand. Legend has it that when informed the Russian Ambassador had collapsed and died en route to a meeting in the Quai D’Orsay with Talleyrand, the wily Frenchman stroked his chin and said: “I wonder why he did that?”
Still, with all her other troubles, I have to ask of Hillary Clinton’s valentine to her eminent predecessor, Dr. Kissinger: “I wonder why she did that?”
-------------- Ken Blackwell is a former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Ohio Secretary of State and mayor of Cincinnati. He is a contributor to the ARRA News Service. Tags:Hillary Clinton, book tour, Henry Kissinger, Ken BlackwellTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
ARRA News Service - Sept 11, 2014: Thirteen years ago, America witnessed terrorism at a level never experienced before. Our eyes were opened, and our hearts were ripped apart with the images of the World Trade Center (New York City), the Pentagon (Washington, D.C. area), and the crash site in Pennsylvania.
In summary: Four passenger airliners were hijacked by 19 al-Qaeda terrorists so they could be flown into buildings in suicide attacks. Two of those planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, were crashed into the North and South towers, respectively, of the World Trade Center complex in New York City. Within two hours, both towers collapsed with debris and the resulting fires causing partial or complete collapse of all other buildings in the WTC complex, as well as major damage to ten other large surrounding structures. A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, was crashed into the Pentagon (the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense), leading to a partial collapse in its western side. The fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, was targeted at Washington, D.C., but crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after its passengers tried to overcome the hijackers. In total, almost 3,000 people died in the attacks, including the 227 civilians and 19 hijackers aboard the four planes. It also was the deadliest incident for firefighters in the history of the United States. [Source Wikipedia]
On this day in 2014, it is more than strange to have to consider that we still have al-Qaeda members locked up at GITMO and that just a few months ago President Obama went rogue and swapped five top terrorists for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. Now today, we have the threat of ISIS or ISIL as the President prefers to call them. We again hearing the war drum beating, and this evening, after hearing President Obama last night speak to the Nation about his response the growing threat of ISIL in Iraq and Syria and its threat to our allies and to America.
The below video is a tribute shared on July 25, 2006:
Tags:9/11, September 11, 2001, tribute, video, 2014, President Obama, IRAQ, Syria, ISIS, ISIL, war drums, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Update on Missing Articles for 9/11/2014.: A Storm Rolled through the Ozarks and damaged our Internet Service service. As of 2 PM today 9/12, services were not restored. Have relocated to be able to share this and other articles. However, television networks were undamaged, so we did not miss our "dear" president's speech on his proposed option to deal with ISIS (or ISIL as he prefers). A couple articles are are being dated to 9/11 to keep items in order. Tags:ARRA News, Internet down,To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Tags:assult on liberty, President Obama, Liberty, editorial cartoon, William WarrenTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
by John Nantz, Townhall: “One day in the pavilion at Karakorum he [Genghis Kahn] asked an officer of the Mongol guard what, in all the world, could bring the greatest happiness.
‘The open steppe, a clear day, and a swift horse under you,’responded the officer after a little thought, ‘and a falcon on your wrist to start up hares.’
‘Nay,’responded the Kahn, ‘to crush your enemies, to see them fall at your feet -- to take their horses and goods and hear the lamentation of their women. That is best.’” — Harold Lamb, Genghis Khan: The Emperor of all Men.For Barack Hussein Obama, ISIS is an abstraction amenable to management. Obama’s only experience with men of violence is merely derivative and their acts of murder, their provocations to war are only viewed dispassionately from a flat screen television. The ivory tower of academe and the tinkling milieu of restaurants exclusive to the liberal aristocracy provide absolutely no relatable context for Obama. He is a man of delicacy and privilege. How can he understand the brutish reality, the dank stench of the bestial army of Jihad? They are animals driven mad by the lash of a rabid and feral cult of death.
While ISIS barbarians brandish their dull and brutish knives, Barack Obama contemplates the break of his new khakis atop his expensive golf shoes on the manicured back nine. Only the “optics” of his nonchalance give him pause. Brutality and death are not to be found on the putting green. Nor are they found within the cloistered walls of a multi-million dollar estate on Martha’s Vineyard. Our President is a spoiled playboy, too consumed by his narcism to give attention to presidential intelligence briefings collected despite mortal danger to intelligence operatives. He is openly taunted by “JV” desert thugs and while he gawks slack-jawed, they tear through flesh and bone until a grimaced head is rended from its corpse and dangled in triumph. This is brutal reality and it’s Obama’s shame.
Soon, we’ll hear from the dapper cicero with the golden teleprompter, but Obama will only dazzle with spectacular equivocation. It is a fore gone conclusion, Obama is an automaton following his progressive programming. The dynamism of foreign policy befuddles him because the intricacies of reality do not conform to his static, synthetic dogma. His plan for ISIS will not be muscular, but will consist of half measures designed to contain. But, a containment strategy for a movement impelled by such explosive hate will produce the same result as attempting to compress water in a closed cylinder. Eventually, the cylinder will rupture with catastrophic force. However, this isn't Obama's concern. Pragmatically, all he has to do is kick the can a bit further down the road. So, Obama will propose to manage the ISIS problem. It isn’t really our problem anyway.
Progressives like Obama are not adept at analysis because the analytical faculty is suppressed by indoctrination and left to atrophy throughout the process of “higher learning”; the progressive acolyte applies an artificial paradigm developed apart from real world experience. It is a construct manufactured in isolation from the lessons of history, the dictates of morality, or the accumulated experience of generations. Progressivism is a political abstraction.
Obama dithers because he has been programmed to expect a result that reality refuses to manifest. Despite applying the golden rule of progressivist foreign policy, an obsequious appeasement, he is not transformative in an environment where the rule of “might makes right” prevails. Among nations, it’s the will to power that makes the world go round. And, if America does not intimidate, the jackals feel bold to circle near.
Russia, China, North Korea, and the mad Jihadists are all on the march because Obama has withdrawn American influence from the great global chess game. It doesn’t matter that Obama doesn’t want to play the game, the other guys do. The evil empires don’t care about Obama’s pouting theory of Western Imperialism. Where our influence recedes the will to power consumes, expands, and consolidates.
Genghis Kahn knew all of these things. He was a man of the world, a warrior, a murderer, and eventually, lord of almost the entire world. Genghis Kahn, despite his obvious flaws, is in one way an example of what Obama should be, a man to be taken seriously. If Obama isn't taken seriously then American lives become fodder. When Obama vacillates in Syria, we all play the fool for it. When Obama responds to the beheading of an American journalist by delivering a tepid speech and returning seven minutes later to his golf game he puts a target on all of our backs. Obama’s weakness is America’s weakness. And, the newest bully on the block sees opportunity.
Obama’s plan for ISIS should be simple and direct. It should crystalize the objective of total victory—the extermination of a committed enemy. But, it won’t. Obama doesn’t see America as a force for good but rather as malevolent. He views our diminished influence as a net good. He does not understand that ISIS is not amenable to politics but only to power. His colossal naiveté does not recognize that the history of man is the conquest of power. Our President is an adolescent in a world of very serious men.
-------------- John Nantz is a graduate of Regent University School of Law and has served in the law enforcement community for 16 years. He lives in the Washington, D.C. area is a Townhall columnist and can be found on Twitter @TheJohnNantz Tags:John Nantz, President Obama, Genghis Kahn, ISISTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
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