Brandon

Thursday, July 30, 2015

When Did the Life of a Single Lion Become More Important Than a Tidal Wave of Human Death?

The focus of so much outrage is misplaced and reveals much about why humanity is in the mess that it is!

Cecil the Lion currently scores more than 41,900,000 hits on Google. ISIS beheading Christians only gets 483,000. No wonder the Romans fed Christians to the lions in the Colosseum. Obviously, the crowd was cheering for the lions.

Dr. Walter J Palmer, a dentist from Minnesota has been turned into an international pariah with outrage and protests worldwide after shooting Cecil, a 13 year old lion in Zimbabwe.

Cecil in happier times.
For the record, my opinion is that trophy shooting of this sort is a senseless anachronism that has no place in the modern world. However, I am reminded that big game hunting and the revenue generated from hunting permits actually helps fund conservation efforts. Without that money, the refuges where animals are safe from hunters might not exist. But you won't hear any of those who are protesting the killing of Cecil offering to make up the difference if all hunting is stopped.

What's really puzzling is the near universal global outrage at Cecil's killing but apparently so little concern for the mass slaughter of human beings by ISIS. Or the daily destruction of thousands of human fetuses, some highly developed, in abortion mills like Planned Parenthood.

In the same way that the #blacklivesmatter crowd NEVER protests gang shootings that regularly kill black children in America's inner cities but focus instead on the RARE and frequent killing of blacks by police the outrage seems to be out of step with any real sense of proportion or humanity.

The sea ran red with blood over the mass beheading of Christians in Libya. Where's the outrage?
Babies like this butchered and sold for their parts. Where's the outrage?
No wonder humanity is in such sad shape when the death of a lion, however regrettable, garners more attention than the deaths of thousands of humans!

UPDATE: Network news covers Cecil the Lion more in one day than weeks of Planned Parenthood scandal.!

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Global Warmers Change Past Temps to Claim Today is Hotter

Caught again faking the data but few seem to care!

Remember last winter? It was SUPER COLD and the climate change crowd told us it was "weather" not evidence of a long range trend. Now, it's SUPER HOT and  you can't go anywhere without reading a story about how this is the hottest ever.

But it IS the hottest ever if you are in charge of the data and can erase records from earlier decades and that's what's happening. Manhattan Contrarian has the story of how past heat records are being erased faster than Hillary Clinton and Lois Lerner's emails.

Compare these two charts. In 1999 the data showed 1934 as the hottest year. Suddenly in 2011 1998 became the hottest year. Of course neither chart explains why there hasn't been any warming since 1998 but that's another story.


Here's an animated graph that makes the point even more clear:

All of the big scares about climate change (hurricanes, tornadoes, drought, melting poles etc.) have been proven wrong by scientific observations, much of which were put in place to PROVE the correctness of climate change theories.  If the "science is settled" why do they need to LIE about it? At what point do we say enough is enough?

Obama Immigration Agents Refuse to Arrest Illegal Alien Who Later Raped 14 Year Old Girl and Murdered Another Woman

It's another episode in the "war on women" brought to you by Obama and the open borders crowd!

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- Lake County sheriff's deputies learned that Juan Emmanuel Razo was in the U.S. illegally from Mexico more than two weeks before his arrest in the death of a 60-year-old Concord Township woman.

Razo made his first court appearance Tuesday in the death of Margaret Kostelnik where a judge set a $10 million bond. He's also accused in the attempted rape of a 14-year-old girl and the shooting of another woman who survived.

Razo pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted murder, but still faces possible murder and other charges in connection to the other incidents.

Lake County Sheriff's Det. Brian Butler said during the court hearing that during a July 7 traffic stop, deputies contacted border patrol agents who advised the sheriff's office not to detain Razo despite his status as an undocumented immigrant.
The only identification the accused presented was a birth certificate from Mexico. Yet he was let go let go by the Obama Administration. More American women raped and killed because of Obama's open border's policy. And Donald Trump is the bad guy for pointing out the problem?

The Curious Coincidence of Missing IRS and Hillary Emails

What Obama claimed would be the "most transparent Administration in history" seems to find a way to cover up just what it needs to!

Members of the House of Representatives committee investigating the IRS targeting of the Tea Party are demanding that John Koskinen, head of the IRS be removed from office for misleading Congress and failing to deliver key Lois Lerner emails that are at the heart of the scandal. Reps. DeSantis (R-FL) and Jordan (R-OH) give the key details in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal.

Koskinen repeatedly claimed that every effort was made to find Lerner's emails. Yet, here's what actually happened:
Several weeks later, on Aug. 2, the House Oversight Committee issued its first subpoena for IRS documents, including all of Ms. Lerner’s emails. On Feb. 2, 2014, Kate Duval, the IRS commissioner’s counsel, identified a gap in the Lerner emails that were being collected. Days later, Ms. Duval learned that the gap had been caused in 2011 when the hard drive of Ms. Lerner’s computer crashed.

Despite all this—an internal IRS preservation order, a congressional subpoena, and knowledge about Ms. Lerner’s hard-drive and email problems—the Treasury inspector general for tax administration discovered that the agency on March 4, 2014, erased 422 backup tapes containing as many as 24,000 emails. (Congress learned of the discovery only last month.)

Ms. Duval has since left the IRS and now works at the State Department, where she is responsible for vetting Hillary Clinton’s emails sought by congressional investigations of the Benghazi attacks.
Add to that the bombshell that the IRS failed to search five of six possible locations for Lerner emails. Conclusion of the committee investigators is that the IRS really didn't want to find those Lerner emails.

What's really astonishing is that the Obama political appointee at IRS who played a key role in the Lerner email coverup next transferred to the State Department to oversee production of Hillary Clinton emails. 

Is it any surprise then that Hillary Clinton erased thousands of emails, purportedly because they were personal, yet there is a gap of two months of emails regarding Libya at key moments of increasing tension and smaller attacks leading up to Benghazi attacks that killed our Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

Additionally, the Inspector General at the State Department found multiple instances of classified material being transmitted in Hillary Clinton emails contradicting her repeated claims that no classified material was included. The matter has now been referred to the Justice Department to further investigation. Not that we expect much from that. General Petraeus was hung out to dry for sharing classified information with his mistress. Who thinks Hillary will be held to the same standard by the Obama Administration?

Once again, the fix is in. Whether it's Lois Lerner or Hillary's emails they will disappear into the abyss before anything embarrassing to Obama or the presumptive Democrat nominee for president is allowed to surface. Transparency? who do they think they are fooling?

UPDATE: Lerner computer hard drive may have been deliberately damaged. Data may have been recovered but it was destroyed before effort could be made. Coincidence? Nixon was forced to resign for less!

#Blacklivesmatter Becomes the New Jim Crow Denying Whites Use of Public Sidewalk

More racial tension thanks to Obama, Holder and Sharpton!

During the Reconstruction era in the wake of the Civil War, the Ku Klux Klan was described as "the terrorist arm of the Democrat Party." That was the time when racial segregation and discrimination was rampant.

Looks like Democrats are about to bring a classic back with the #blacklivesmatter crowd. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports on a protest in Cleveland over the weekend where a white reporter was asked to remove himself from a public sidewalk which the protesters claimed was for blacks only:
Brandon Blackwell, a crime reporter for the Northeast Ohio Media Group who frequently covers police and demonstrations, saw the pepper spray video and rushed to the scene.

When he arrived, the police were gone but the crowds remained. Blackwell then did what he always does. He started recording with his cell phone and asking questions. On Sunday, he used Twitter's Periscope app to broadcast the scene live.

But the crowd turned on Blackwell as he filmed a large group gathered in a circle on a sidewalk outside of a CSU building. A man announced the circle was only for people of "African descent."

Blackwell, who is white, was dressed in his daily uniform of jeans, a black T-shirt and Converse shoes. He stepped outside the circle and continued to record. Then, people began blocking his camera with shirts, theirs hands, signs and other objects, including an orange traffic cone.
This kind of racial animosity is a direct result of the efforts of Obama, Holder and Sharpton to exploit unfortunate episodes starting with Trayvon Martin in Florida then Mike Brown and Eric Garner. They fanned the flames of disinformation in these cases for political purposes. It's Jim Crow with a black face. Now, the genie is out of the bottle. Who will put it back in?

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Why I Skipped a Visit with Donald Trump

I like a fighter who isn't afraid to say what we are all thinking but Trump is the wrong man for the GOP nomination!

Donald Trump made a visit to my area this week. He attracted overflow crowds at a private community here and made news nationwide by giving out the personal phone number of South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham. You can see the full video of the event here.

One woman standing in the long lines to get in was asked what she thought about Trump. She didn't like him but wanted to see him anyway because he is "a celebrity." That may have as much to do with the Trump phenomenon as anything.

I like how Trump isn't afraid to stand up to the media and political establishment and tell them off. We need more of that in potential GOP nominees. Trump isn't worried who he offends and did not back down even when he stepped in it when he suggested John McCain, the GOP's  2008 presidential nominee, wasn't "a war hero because he was captured." Interestingly, the ultra left Guardian newspaper in Britain called this a "new low" in American politics. I bet if we dig back through their archives they've said worse about McCain themselves.

As much as I admire Trump's plain speaking, we've seen this play before. He ran in 2012 and dropped out after the shtick got old. He never offered voters then any kind of comprehensive policy program then and thus far has not done so now. I agree with those who call Trump's bid a "sideshow" but at the same time I continue to hope that the rest of the GOP field will discover that Trump's bold, outspoken willingness to take on all comers is what GOP voters are looking for in a potential nominee.

While the GOP establishment may be happy to "go along to get along" the millions of GOP voters who make up the base are tired of candidates who promise to fight but throw in the towel at the first whiff of criticism from the left and the media (sorry for the redundancy). Trump shows that there is a better way. Now, if we could only find a better candidate than Trump to embrace that hard charging strategy we might find a winner!

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Sec. State Kerry "Disturbed" That Iran Leaders Still Hostile to U.S. Following Nuke Deal Giveaway

The Iranians are laughing at Kerry and Obama behind their backs. Do  you think Obama and Kerry will learn? Nah!

When British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returned from signing the Munich Agreement with Hitler in 1938 he did so to a sea of nearly universal adulation. Only Winston Churchill wasn't fooled. In the wake of the Munich signing Churchill said "You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor and you will have war."

It took a while before Chamberlain realized his mistake and by then World War II was inevitable.

At least it didn't take that long for Secretary of State John Kerry to realize how he was duped by Iran. Though one wonders if he realizes how complete his and our defeat was.
REUTERS: The United States said on Tuesday it was disturbed by anti-U.S. hostility voiced by Iran's top leader after a nuclear deal, as both countries' top diplomats sought to calm opposition to the accord from hardliners at home.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said a speech by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday vowing to defy American policies in the region despite a deal with world powers over Tehran's nuclear program was "very troubling".

"I don't know how to interpret it at this point in time, except to take it at face value, that that's his policy," he said in the interview with Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television.

"But I do know that often comments are made publicly and things can evolve that are different. If it is the policy, it's very disturbing, it's very troubling," he added.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the highest authority in Iran, told supporters on Saturday that U.S. policies in the region were "180 degrees" opposed to Iran's, in a Tehran speech punctuated by chants of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel".
At least when Hitler snookered Chamberlain he let him enjoy his moment in the sun for a few months before Hitler's deceit was obvious. The Iranians have so little regard for Obama and Kerry it only took days! Was Kerry really so delusional that he thought Iran's war against the West would cease because of this deal?

Obama's Foreign Policy of Delusion!

By now it's a cliche to point out Obama and Kerry's foreign policy delusions. The see the world the way they wish it would be, not as it is. They are not wearing rose colored glasses, They are wearing left wing blinders. The best hope now for peace is that the built in stall mechanism in the Iran nuke agreement lasts long enough until we get an adult back in the White House.

I'm reminded of another Churchill quote that fits: "The Americans will always do the right thing… After they’ve exhausted all the alternatives." We've tried it Obama's way and it hasn't worked. The world is a more dangerous place since he became President and our only hope is to replace him with a leader that doesn't suffer the same ideological blindness!

UPDATE: Code Pink Applauds Kerry

If you needed a further sign that this Iran deal is a HUGE mistake, this photo says it all. Code Pink, the far left anti-war whackos who consistently protest against any action by the U.S. to stand up to war criminals around the world (think North Korea, Saddam Hussein or anyone who hates the United States and kills Americans) had a love fest for Kerry at hearings on Capitol Hill on Thursday:


When these lunatics are cheering you, you know you've done something wrong. The irony that escapes Code Pinko is that the policies they prefer will eventually lead to war and history shows that war will be far worse than any military action which might have prevented it!

Monday, July 20, 2015

Illegal Immigrants Who Fled Deportation Orders Kill Puerto Rican Woman in Massachusetts

Does Mirta Rivera's life matter or is looking the other way on illegal immigration more important?

I could run a story like this once a week. Perhaps I should. Below you'll find the #blacklivesmatter crowd shouting down former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, who said "all lives matter." Earlier we talked about the silence from Obama when Kate Steinle was gunned down by a repeat deportee criminal alien in San Francisco.

Now, Mirta Rivera, 41, a grandmother originally from Puerto Rico and living in Massachusetts has been killed by criminal aliens who had been ordered deported:

Does Mirta's life matter? Why were criminal aliens
who killed her allowed to escape deportation order?
Boston Herald: Deportation orders failed to oust two illegal immigrants who are now up on drug charges and under investigation in the July 4 shooting death of a Lawrence grandmother — in an alarming case that critics say illustrates a revolving immigration door with dangerous consequences.

Dominican Republic nationals Wilton Lara-Calmona and Jose M. Lara-Mejia were arrested on drug charges by police investigating the shooting death of Mirta Rivera, 41. The Lawrence nurse was killed in her sleep by a gunshot fired through the ceiling from an upstairs apartment, where both men lived.

But Immigration and Customs Enforcement records reviewed by the Herald show the men shouldn’t have been in the country in the first place.

Lara-Calmona, 38, was deported in April 2012 and arrested for re-entering the country last November, the records show.

Lara-Mejia, 35, was nabbed crossing the border in August 2013 and ordered deported in April 2014, but had remained in the country illegally.

ICE spokesman Shawn Neudauer confirmed that Lara-Mejia “was ordered removed by a federal immigration judge on April 9, 2014, after failing to appear before the immigration court. He was considered an ICE fugitive until his July 4, 2015, arrest by local authorities in Lawrence, Massachusetts.”
...
Vaughan said crime involving illegals could be preventable, but the Obama administration has encouraged officials to look the other way when it comes to enforcing immigration laws — like the law that carries a two-year prison sentence for illegal re-entry, 10 years when it involves a felony crime.

“There is a law on the books intended to make people think twice after they get deported, but the problem is the U.S. attorneys often will not prosecute until someone has been deported multiple times,” Vaughan said.
There were no riots when Kate Steinle or Mirta Rivera were killed. No one protested or shouted down presidential candidates. Perhaps someone should! If all lives don't matter than no life matters! 

UPDATE: Government Accountability Office documents thousands of murders by illegals.

For those who think that the examples cited here are rare, a U.S. Government report from 2011 showed 70,000 sexual assaults, 25,000 murders and 125,000 robberies by illegal aliens. And that's just the ones that were caught. Furthermore, these stats are BEFORE the big wave of new illegals and fewer deportations brought about by Obama's policies.

O'Malley, Sanders Booed by Left Wing Extremists for Saying "All Lives Matter"

If you weren't convinced how extreme and racist a segment of the Democrat liberal base has become, see the video!

Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley and Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont attended a left wing Netroots conference in Phoenix over the weekend. The event was overtaken by the #Black Lives Matter crowd. You know who they are. They're the bunch that goes bonkers on those RARE moments a white cop shoots a black man but can't seem to find any outrage when black children are gunned down by gang bangers in Chicago every holiday weekend.

It must be tough for far left candidates like O'Malley and Sanders to be interrupted and booed by people they thought would be among their supporters but hey. Get used to it. For all the blather about how extreme GOP voters are, it's good to know that left wing crazies are out in force like never before.

I cued the tape to the critical moment, but feel free to watch the whole thing. It's a revelation into the warped mind of the left. When O'Malley said "Black lives matter, white lives matter, all lives matter" he was repeatedly booed. He later apologized for being so insensitive to include white people.

It's official. The racial divide begun by years of Obama and Holder's racial politics has become a permanent feature of the Democrat Party!

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Muslim Shooter Kills 4 Marines in Chattanooga. Will Tea Party be Blamed?

How far will Obama go to deny the link to ISIS?

It was only last month that leftists were insisting right wing extremists were more dangerous than Islamic terrorism (something Obama refuses to acknowlege exists).

Thursday we had the Chattanooga shooter killing four Marines before being killed by police. His name was Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez so naturally he must be a member of the Tea Party.

This despite the claim by ISIS for the attack which took place BEFORE the attack began.

Meanwhile, we continue to wage a feckless war against ISIS at it's source in Syria and Iraq.

Thanks Obama!

P.S. News reports indicate the military facilities attacked by this Tea Party Terrorist Muslim advocate for peace, were gun free zones!

UPDATE: The "nothing to do with Islam" delusion continues!

As usual, the Obama Administration and it's news media allies are bending over backwards to try and steer clear from connecting the dots in this attack to radical Islam and ISIS. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest went so far as to say “The FBI made clear yesterday that they are looking at a variety of possible motives, including the possibility of domestic terrorism.” Yet, the shooter has a blog with posts describing his journey to radical Islam and talked about past Islamic leaders who "fought Jihad for the sake of Allah. Every one of them had to make sacrifices in their lives." Yet if you listen to Earnest and the media you won't hear that.

Here's a sample of media reaction:
SHEPARD SMITH: (music) Now the search for motive.

DON LEMON: (music) ...too soon to know the motive.

LESTER HOLT: The motive for the attacks unknown.

JOHN BERMAN: Any sign of a motive?

PAUL CRUICKSHANK: We do not yet know the motive at this point.

ERIN BURNETT: They're desperately trying to figure out what the motive might have been.

WOLF BLITZER: This individual, we don't yet know the motive, Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez.

JOIE CHEN: Investigators are already looking into the suspected shooter's background to identify some motive. The trail so far has not revealed much.
ABC News even ran a story calling the shooter a "typical American kid." Really? Shameful!

8 yr. old Martin Richard.
Killed by ??? 
While the White House seems desperate to avoid any link to their failed policy to combat ISIS, this is the seventh terrorist attack on U.S. soil during Obama's presidency with the death of dozens of Americans including eight year old Martin William Richard (pictured right) at the Boston Marathon. The White House would rather have you believe that right wingers are the real threat. Perhaps that's why they have devoted so much time fighting the Tea Party and Fox News and so little effort put into combating ISIS.

Obama Administration's attempt to deceive themselves (the American people are NOT fooled) would be laughable if the consequences of ignoring the problem were not so dire. I'm reminded of this video from a few years ago. Watch....



The Deadly Consequences of Obama's Indifferent War

Four Marines were killed Thursday. Among them was LCpl. Skip Wells, 21 from Marietta, Georgia. Wells had just graduated from boot camp. His service to his country was over just as soon as it began.

 LCpl. Skip Wells
The other three Marines:

Marines Carson Holmquist, Thomas Sullivan and David Wyatt were killed Thursday when a gunman opened fire on Chattanooga’s Naval Reserve support center.


Gun Free Zone Unless You Are an Islamic Terrorist

If gun free zones aren't the height of liberal stupidity I don't know what is!

"Firearms prohibited in this facility" reads the sign on the window of the Military Recruiting Center in Chattanooga.

UPDATE: 5th victim dies in hospital Saturday

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith, 26 pictured  with his three daughters, all under six, and wife Angie

Want to stop lone wolf terrorism? Flatten ISIS!

Why can't Obama figure this out? It's obvious!

At National Review Online:
News flash: The single-most persuasive thing you can do to “win the war of ideas” is obliterate ISIS. To the jihadist mind ISIS’s success is the best argument for more jihad. ISIS’s success inspires new foot soldiers, leading radical Muslims to believe that finally the tide is turning in their favor, that the caliphate is upon us. Jihad thrives on success. Conversely, it withers in the face of defeat. This should be a matter of common sense, but too many Americans misunderstand martyrdom, believing that successful military operations are self-defeating because they “create martyrs.” No, martyrs are only truly inspiring (on a large scale) when they succeed, not when they fail.

Presidents can laud Islam as a “religion of peace,” they can host Muslim celebrations in the White House, and they can wage propaganda war all they want, yet absolutely none of it will matter so long as ISIS appears to prevail on the battlefield. Our current military campaign — while enjoying some tactical successes — fuels ISIS recruiting not because we’re killing Muslims but because ISIS is seen as confronting American might and prevailing.

Iran: A Bad Deal That May Lead to War

Obama has been lying to himself about the deal. The consequences may be deadly!

At least 36 times Obama said some variation of "if you like your health care plan you can keep it." The lie was so outrageous that Politifact made it the "Lie of the Year" for 2013. Did Obama know he was lying? In December  2013 he told his supporters that he never said those words and that he meant something else. So, who are you going to believe? Obama or your lying ears?

Iran inspections no 24/7 but 24 days or more!

Well now we have a new one in the Iran nuclear deal. Obama made all kinds of promises that there must be "a serious, rigorous verification mechanism. And that, I think, is going to be the test as to whether we get a deal or not." Announcing the deal Obama repeated the claim and said that the deal was “not built on trust — it is built on verification.That means this deal is not built on trust. It is built on verification. Inspectors will have 24/7 access to Iran’s nuclear facilities,” and went on to add that "inspectors will have 24/7 access to Iran’s nuclear facilities."

But there is nothing in this deal that guarantees Iran will or even must comply with those inspections. Iran is free to dispute any inspection and a process that was agreed for handling those disputes could take weeks or months.

Now, Ben Rhodes, famous for his part in putting together the blame Benghazi on a video talking points, is saying that the Administration never intended "anytime, anywhere inspections." Except that's exactly the opposite of what he said in April.

Once again, does Obama and his team know they are lying? Do they think no one will notice?

And of course that's not the only part of this deal that stinks. The Obama Administration tossed away a whole series of objectives in order to get the deal.

Iran keeps hostages but we lift sanctions on terrorist responsible for thousands of American deaths!

Then there are the four American hostages held in Iran. Obama and his Administration said it wouldn't make sense to link their release to this deal because it was about nuclear matters. Yet, they agreed to an Iranian demand to lift sanctions on Qasem Soleimani, General of the Quds force, the worst of the worst of Iranian terror organizations directly responsible for thousands of dead Americans.

Obama unites Israel and Arabs in opposition to deal.

About the only good thing you can say about this deal is that it has united Arab nations and the Israelis in opposition. However, Arab states like Saudi Arabia may soon start building their own nuclear weapons touching off an even more dangerous arms race in the Middle East.

What the New York Daily News called "a foreign policy by wishful thinking," will have far reaching and deadly consequences. Like other do-gooder liberals before him Obama's delusions on Iran may bring about the very war he intended to prevent!

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

New Film Exposes ISIS Slave Market in Young Girls

Where are the women's rights advocates?

Remember the "war on women" that Democrats insist was being waged by Republicans? Because Hobby Lobby only paid for 16 forms of birth control but not abortion drugs the Dems told us the entire GOP doesn't care about women.

But where are these activists when young girls are being ripped from their parents and sold as sex slaves by ISIS? There's the REAL war on women and you won't hear a peep from Democrat activists!

Suprisingly, the Frontline program on PBS has a new documentary (full length video) highlighting the problem. Here's the trailer:


As ISIS and terror related groups like Boko Haram continue to expand the cancer grows. And yet, the most we see from the left was a hashtag campaign #bringbackourgils when Nigerian school girls were kidnapped and sold as slaves. They're still gone from their families. How many thousands more will be brutalized? Ask Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. They and their minions on the left are to blame for their indifference to this evil. It's the real war on women and it's brought to you by Democrats!

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Obama's Silence on the Death of Kate Steinle at Hands of Repeat Deportee Illegal Aliens Tells Us Much About His Motivations

He can't score political points from her death the way he did with other high profile cases!

Kate Steinle. Killed
by repeat offender
illegal alien.
When Donald Trump accurately described Mexico's policy of dumping their most illiterate, poor, unskilled and criminal citizens across the U.S. southern border the news media pounced. How dare he say such a thing even if it's true!

A week later Kate Steinle was murdered walking along a tourist area in San Francisco by a gunman who had multiple felony arrests and  had already been deported five times but was recently released by the City of San Francisco due to it's Sanctuary City policy despite requests for detention from federal authorities.

Considering the high profile nature of the case many have wondered why Obama hasn't weighed in on the case. He's certainly no stranger to involving himself and his administration in high profile cases, particularly where race is involved.

Megyn Kelly at Fox News goes deeper:
A stark contrast to what we saw after Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson. A man we know was attacking a police officer at the time of his death. His funeral saw three Obama officials in attendance, his death drew comments from President Obama personally and his administration also sent in the DOJ and 40 FBI agents dispatched to Missouri after Michael Brown was killed. Where is the swarm of agents in San Francisco?

Then there was Freddie Gray in Baltimore, a repeat drug offender who was killed in police custody. Here again his funeral was attended by three Obama administration officials and again the President spoke personally to Freddie Gray’s death. And again sent the DOJ in to investigate. When Trayvon Martin was killed in Florida, the president spoke to his death which was later ruled to be in self-defense. But Katie Steinle, nothing. No comments, no swarm of FBI agents, no DOJ investigation, nothing. Why?
We all know the answer as Scott Johnson at Powerline points out. There was no politcal gain for Obama in mentioning Kate's murder. No fundraising appeals for Al Sharpton and friends. No way to score cheap political points. Only embarrassment at supporting an open door immigration policy that deliberately allows the worst sort of people from Mexico to enter the U.S.

According to the Government Accountability Office:
The percentage of all federal prisoners who are criminal aliens has remained the same over the last 3 years--about 27 percent. The majority of criminal aliens incarcerated at the end of calendar year 2004 were identified as citizens of Mexico.
Family Security Matters reports that hundreds of thousands of illegal alien felons remain at large within the U.S. It's likely the number may be even higher as we don't know how many illegal felons who have been deported have also returned.

While inartful in his description of illegal aliens, Donald Trump's main point was correct. And Obama's silence is all the proof you need!

UPDATE: Mexican illegal kidnaps and rapes 13 year old girl. It's a War on Women and it's being facilitated by DEMOCRATS!

The list of crimes committed by illegal aliens continues to grow (1,2,3) Who stands up for the rights of American citizens?

Writer Marc Thiessen expands on the theme of Obama's silence:
Why has Obama been so reticent to speak out? Perhaps it is because any soul-searching in this case would require him to confront the fact that his administration has been releasing tens of thousands of dangerous illegal immigrants with criminal convictions into our communities — including many who have gone on to commit murder.
It got little notice, but on May 28, Sarah Saldana, director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, admitted in a letter to Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) that between fiscal years 2010 and 2014, the Obama administration had released “121 unique criminal aliens who had an active [deportation] case at the time of release and were subsequently charged with homicide-related offenses.”
In 2013, the Obama administration released 36,007 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions — 1,000 of whom were subsequently convicted of other crimes after their release. Last year they released 30,558 such immigrants. According to the House Judiciary Committee, only 8 percent of those were due to the Supreme Court’s decision in Zadvydas v. Davis, which requires that illegal immigrants be released after 180 days if their home countries won’t take them back. The other 92 percent were released because of Obama’s policies.
Obama doesn’t want to talk about that.

Thursday, July 09, 2015

John Kasich Visits Mike's America

 Proud to say the Governor of Ohio is still the down to earth regular guy I first met over  30 years ago!

It's that time in the GOP presidential nominating process where would be candidates for President start making their way down to see the regular folks in South Carolina. Up to now, GOP wannabees have mostly concentrated their visits in the State Capitol, Columbia, to line up support with party big wigs. Now, the more serious are hitting the trail to smaller venues like Hilton Head Island and the Lowcountry where Mike's America lives.

In the past I've covered visits by Newt Gingrich, Michelle Bachmann, Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani, George Pataki, Mitt Romney and John McCain. In most of these encounters I take the opportunity to ask the tough question that conservatives considering their primary vote would like to hear the candidate answer.

I open the 2016 cycle with a visit by Ohio Governor John Kasich on Wednesday to a Mexican restaurant on Hilton Head Island. Unlike Hillary Clinton's scripted, invitation only events, this was an overflow crowd of well wishers.

Governor John Kasich (R-OH). Just as down to earth and real as he was over 30 years ago.
Photo by Mike's America.
Kasich wins longshot congressional
race in 1982 at the age of 30.
Mike's America was there.
The visit with Governor Kasich (I still call him "John") was a bit of a homecoming for me. Thirty three years ago this fall I was busy putting up Kasich for Congress yard signs in southern Delaware County, Ohio where I was a member of the County Republican Party Central Committee. While I was putting up the signs one afternoon Kasich drove by in his yellow Ford Fairlane as he campaigned across the district. Kasich went on to win that congressional seat against a Democrat incumbent in 1982; a year that was a disaster for the GOP in Ohio and nationally. Kasich was the only GOP congressional candidate to defeat a Democrat incumbent that year. We had a good laugh about those old days after the lunch on Wednesday. He's still the same good natured, down to earth guy he was then.

Kasich: The American Dream but a Man in a Hurry

Kasich's story goes back to McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, a working class town near Pittsburgh. Kasich didn't come from a family of wealth and privilege. His parents were the children of immigrants from eastern Europe. His father was a mail carrier. His grandfather a coal miner. He went to Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. That's where he got his first real introduction to politics. As a first term freshman he wrangled a meeting with the university president (not an easy feat) which led to an introduction to President Nixon. Despite being told he would have a 5 minute meeting with Nixon the private event went on for 20 minutes. As Kasich joked on Wednesday, it was the most time he's spent in the Oval Office even after being elected to Congress!

By now the political bug was deeply planted. After college Kasich went on to win a seat in the Ohio Senate at the age of 26 in 1978. Four years later he won his first election to Congress. On Wednesday Kasich reminded his audience that he became Chairman of the House Budget Committee and was the architect for a balanced budget that created a rare budget surplus.

As Governor he's restored fiscal sanity to Ohio as well and put the state budget back in the black. But he has faced criticism for cutting income taxes while raising the state sales tax. The voters of Ohio are pretty happy with Kasich. He was re-elected in 2014 in a landslide winning all but two counties including Democrat strongholds that Obama won by large margins. On Wednesday the Governor told us how he put together that bipartisan landslide by working WITH people, not dividing them. He's very proud that he received 26% of the black vote in the same year most Republicans got only 10%.

In a nutshell, that's Kasich's rationale for running for President. He believes he has demonstrated a way to work with ALL the people and not continue down the polarized path Obama has followed. Democrats in Ohio are the first to concede that Kasich has done some good things for the people of the state.

Many Questions to Answer for Presidential Run

Kaisch's remarks Wednesday were largely biographical and character related. Perhaps a smart choice considering that he's not well known outside the Buckeye State. He has yet to put forward any kind of comprehensive program or set of issues on which to base his candidacy. Even the web site for his PAC New America has no specifics. One would expect that to change once he makes his announcement to run on July 21.

During his appearance he did make it clear he wants to restore America's military and relations with our allies. He also mentioned the need to defeat ISIS and make sure China understands that annexing areas in the South China Sea is not acceptable. Kasich would have a much more robust foreign policy where "action, not talk" would replace Obama's dithering across the board.

One note, he never directly mentioned Obama's name or Hillary Clinton at all. He didn't mention his Republican rivals either. All part of  the "get to know me" campaign I suppose.

Members of the audience did have the opportunity to answer questions and one was regarding immigration. Kasich responded with a long rambling response and indicated his desire for the kind of comprehensive immigration reform that has been blocked in Congress due to conservative skepticism regarding any border security measures. He didn't provide any reassurance on that score.

Before he has a serious chance of competing for the nomination, for which he must be considered something of a longshot at this point, he will have to get much more specific and detailed on issues like immigration, Obamacare and others of great concern to conservative voters which make up the majority of South Carolina primary voters.

No doubt he'll be back again as the campaign unfolds and I look forward to hearing more of his thoughts on the issues. Meanwhile, here's a last look from the event. Kasich introduced his two 15 year old twin daughters Emma  and Reese. He said his girls were always on their phones and invited them to snap a photo of the crowd and share it on social media. They dutifully complied. Who knows, Mike's America may be popping up on the phones of teenagers across the Buckeye State!

Emma and Reece Kasich joined their father on Hilton Head Island for Wednesday's lunch.
Photo by Mike's America
For those who want to know more about Kasich, I recommend Molly Ball's article in the Atlantic.

Saturday, July 04, 2015

On Independence Day America Still Stands Proud Despite Obama & Hillary

The United States of America is STILL the greatest country on earth!

For years I attended the 4th of July fireworks in Washington, DC. Early on I was just another spectator. Later I had the privilege to attend a 4th of July party on the White House grounds. But even when I was at the White House I left to watch the fireworks from the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial so as to get as close as I could to the action.

Over the years I also tried to take the perfect fireworks photograph. The one below is my favorite. It was taken with a 35mm camera (still can't get a digital camera to take anything like this) with film specially balanced for the incandescent lighting on the Washington Monument.

Photo by Mike's America.
After 7 years of Obama fewer are proud to be American

After years of Obama and the Democrats, and now Hillary, using race to keep blacks scared and voting (and to keep them from questioning why blacks are so much worse off than before Obama was elected) the deluge of racial politics has taken it's toll. Could it be a factor in this latest Gallup Poll:

The metric is now back to below it was when Bill and Hillary Clinton left office and began amassing the fortune that has him as the wealthiest ex President. Quite a feat to go from almost nothing to more than $55 million in a few years. I wonder how they did it?

Still, the outlook of Americans turned around after Bill and Hillary left office and it can do so again when Obama leaves office. Providing of course that Hillary doesn't take over as Obama's third term. It's up to Republicans to show some backbone for once and make that happen. And they can if they have the courage to seek out a leader like Reagan who isn't afraid to make this country great again as Reagan saw it: a "shining city on a hill."

For all Obama and Hillary's efforts to denounce America as a racist, oppressive country this is still the land of opportunity. Where else can a black man become President in a white majority country? Many of our top athletes and entertainers are black. Two Secretaries of State (appointed by a Republican President) were black. Hundreds of thousands of Hispanics, including children, risk death and violence to cross our southern border. Usually people flee oppression not the other way around.

This is still the greatest country on earth. Though how long it remains so is an open question. If Obama and Hillary get their way then our best days truly are behind us!

Happy 4th of July!

Wednesday, July 01, 2015

Jimmy Carter: Obama's Foreign Policy Success "Minimal." Most Foreign Relations Not Better Than When Bush was in White House

Wow! Obama criticized on foreign policy by Jimmy Carter? That's GOT to hurt!

Until Obama came along I couldn't think of a worse President for foreign policy than Jimmy Carter. And now even Carter is dumping on Obama. This from a discussion at the Aspen Insistute:


From the Washington Free Beacon:“On the world stage, I think [Obama’s accomplishments] have been minimal,” Carter said. “I think he has done some good things domestically, like health reform and so forth. But on the world stage, just to be objective about it, I can’t think of many nations in the world where we have a better relationship now than when he took over.”

Carter declined to blame Obama for the U.S.’s dismal foreign policy outlook, stating simply that circumstances “have evolved.” However, he did state that the U.S. had suffered a reversal of fortunes in foreign policy since Obama took over from President George W. Bush.

“I would say the U.S.’s influence and prestige and respect in the world is probably lower than it was six or seven years ago,” Carter said.
This is just a taste of what historians will write about Obama's failed foreign policy after he's left office. Carter is just getting his two cents in early!
fsg053d4.txt Free xml sitemap generator