Doug Schoen: Obama Opts to Delay and Diffuse

In Tuesday’s address President Obama didn’t change any minds. And he certainly didn’t offer any answers to the litany of questions from congressmen, senators, commentators and everyday Americans that have been posed since the President came out in support of a military strike in Syria.

“A diplomatic resolution is always preferred over military action, but what would that resolution entail, and who will broker it?” Sen. Orrin Hatch said in a statement after the speech.

Sen. Pat Toomey said that, “the president’s presentation today leaves a lot of unresolved questions. I will continue seeking more answers before deciding whether to support a military intervention in Syria.”

Indeed, President Obama did not make the case that any military strike would have any consequential impact on degrading the chemical weapons the Syrians have now acknowledged exist. 

And he didn’t make a specific case about what a military strike would achieve beyond speaking in generalities about the arguable serious need to retaliate in kind for the chemical attack that occurred on Aug. 21st.

Via: Newsmax

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[CARTOON] A “Transparent” Environment

Via: California Political Review

Sen. Lee on Obamacare: ‘Morally Unacceptable...to Allow This Law to Continue to be Implemented'

(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Mike Lee (R.-Utah), who has been a leading advocate for Congress to prohibit funding for Obamacare, told CNSNews.com on Thursday that it would be “morally unacceptable” for Congress to vote for the funding to allow Obamacare to continue to be implemented.

Lee also said he believes that Obamacare, as the administration is planning to implement it, violates the freedom of religion by forcing individuals to buy health insurance plans that cover abortion-inducing drugs even if doing so is against the teachings of their faith.

Lee’s assertion on funding Obamacare, and thus allowing the administration to continue to implement it, came in response to a question about whether he believed it was morally acceptable for Congress to vote to give the administration the money to implement an Obamacare regulation that will force Christians and other Americans to buy coverage for abortion-inducing drugs or to provide Americans with subsidies they can use to buy health plans that cover abortions.

Via: CNS News

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HOT DEBATE: Juan Williams and Michelle Malkin Battle Over Obama’s Handling of Syria

Malkin Fights Juan Williams on Hannity Over Syria: ‘Rodeo Clown’ Obama Completely ‘Incompetent’

By Josh Feldman, Mediaite.com

Michelle Malkin got into a shouting match with Juan Williams on Sean Hannity‘s show over Syria and President Obama‘s handling of the situation. Williams was astounded at the sudden isolationist turn both Hannity and Malkin have taken, while Malkin slammed Obama as an “incompetent” “rodeo clown.”

Hannity confronted Williams about the supposedly moderate rebel forces in Syria. Malkin drew attention to the people being attacked by the rebels, while Williams argued it’s hard to control who people will elect when you get involved in their affairs. Hannity cried, “Then stay out of it!” Williams asked, “You’re an isolationist all of a sudden?”

Malkin shot back, “It’s called patriotism.” She said that beyond the “moral muddle” of helping enemies of America, the majority of Americans doubt that the “rodeo clown in the White House” know “what the hell they’re doing,” calling the Obama team “incompetent.” Williams told Malkin, “Because of your hatred of Obama, you’re turning your back on America!”

Via: Fox News

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[VIDEO] Dems Blast Tea Party 'Anarchists'-- But Admit 'Many of the Public Is Against Obamacare'

(CNSNews.com) - Following a meeting Thursday with Republican congressional leaders, four Senate Democrats stepped up to the microphones on Capitol Hill to express their disgust with tea party conservatives who "seem to live in an alternative universe (and) keep demanding the impossible," in the words of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

The Democrats marginalized conservative Republicans, using adjectives such as "rabid," "anarchists," "willful," "extreme," and "guerrilla" to describe tea party attempts to pass a continuing resolution that funds all of government, except for the health care law that passed without a single Republican vote.

Via: CNS News

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A Puzzled Ed Schultz Marvels: 'It Amazes Me That People Don't Love Obama'

A perplexed Ed Schultz on Friday couldn't fathom why Americans have failed to "love Obama." The MSNBC anchor highlighted a new poll showing that the President only has a 45 percent approval rating. Schultz marveled, "I just cannot believe this number. Seriously."

The confused host sputtered, "It amazes me that people don't love Obama...It just amazes me he can't get above 50 percent when it comes to a favorable view of the economy." [MP3 audio here. See video below.] Schultz also took time to trash Ronald Reagan, the man who won 49 states in his 1984 reelection bid.

Schultz tried to convince his viewers that the economy is in fantastic shape. Perhaps it's headlines such as this one from the liberal New York Times that are stopping Americans from truly "loving" Obama: "Many Rival Nations Surge Past the U.S. in Adding New Jobs."

Times writer Nelson Schwartz in June wrote:

[C]ontrary to the widespread view that the United States is an island of relative prosperity in a global sea of economic torpor, employment in several other nations has bounced back more quickly, according to a new analysis by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Via: Newsbusters

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Decisiveness Overrated? White House Thinks Yes

President Barack Obama’s Syria strategy may not have been particularly decisive, but that’s not a bad thing, according to the White House.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney defended his boss Thursday after a blistering few weeks of criticism in Congress and elsewhere over his handling of the Syria crisis.

Carney said the American people “appreciate a president who doesn’t celebrate decisiveness for decisiveness’ sake.” He also said Americans like that Obama is open to “new information” and adjusts his course accordingly.

Carney said that in the end, the president will deserve credit if the diplomatic initiative with Russia to get Syria to give up its chemical weapons arsenal succeeds.

Carney brushed off criticism from the Syrian rebels that simply taking Assad’s chemical weapons does not hold him accountable for the gassing of his citizens.

And he reacted strongly to Vladimir V. Putin’s op-ed in The New York Times, which ripped Obama for calling America “exceptional.” But Carney didn’t go so far as to say the president was “insulted,” as Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, did earlier Thursday.

“We’re not surprised by President Putin’s words. But the fact is that Russia offers a stark contrast that demonstrates why America is exceptional,” Carney said.

“Unlike Russia, the United States stands up for democratic values and human rights in our own country and around the world. And we believe that our global security is advanced when children cannot be gassed to death by a dictator,” he said.

Carney said Russia “is isolated and alone in blaming the opposition for the chemical weapons attack on Aug. 21.”

And he said that there’s “a great irony” in Putin placing an op-ed “because it reflects the truly exceptional tradition in this country of freedom of expression. And that is not a tradition shared in Russia.”

That said, Carney sought to keep the pressure on Russia to deliver on its proposal with a verifiable, timely destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons.

Russia “has put its prestige and credibility on the line in backing this proposal to have Syria, the Assad regime, give up the chemical weapons that until two days ago it claimed it did not have [and] turn them over to international supervision with the purpose of eventually destroying them.”

Via: Roll Call

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Colorado flood: "Wall of water" flattens out in Boulder

A "wall of water," predicted by the National Weather Service flattened out early Friday morning.

But the flash flood warning for Boulder County continues until 6 a.m. and more rain is expected during the night.

Separately, the NWS has also issued a flood emergency for the Big Thompson Canyon and the town of Loveland, as rain continued to fall there as well. NOAA reported that the Big Thompson River at Drake is more than 4 feet above its flood stage of 6 feet.

Larimer County officials, including Sheriff Justin Smith, warned residents of the Big Thompson Canyon on Twitter and other social media to seek higher ground and the weather service extended the flash flood warning until 8 a.m.

The NWS said in a statement that the floodwaters will continue to rise until sunrise. At 10.55 feet, the Big Thompson was running higher than it did during its deadly flood in 1976 — 9.3 feet.

Meanwhile, Fort Collins city officials closed bridges after a late-night surge on the Poudre River, after water began topping Seaman Reservoir in the Poudre Canyon. The city warned residents to stay clear of the river.

In Boulder, officials announced before midnight that they were tracking a large "wall of water, containing debris and vehicles," as it made its way down Emerson Gulch from the Fourmile burn area .

Gabi Boerkircher, a Boulder spokeswoman, said a drainage gulch at the edge of the Four Mile burn scar that was holding a large amount of water has burst, and released a 30-foot wall of water carrying debris including vehicles.

At 12:30 a.m. Boerkircher said the surge of water seemed to have flattened to between 6 and 7 feet deep. Shortly after that, spokeswoman Sarah Huntley told 7News that the flow in the creek had started to slow.

The surge of water knocked out area sensors monitoring the creek.

She said it is unknown if anybody has been trapped in that debris as it makes its way down to Boulder Canyon.

Via: Denver Post

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Krauthammer Op-ed: The Fruits Of Epic Incompetence

The president of the United States takes to the airwaves to urgently persuade the nation to pause before doing something it has no desire to do in the first place.

Strange. And it gets stranger still. That “strike Syria, maybe” speech begins with a heart-rending account of children consigned to a terrible death by a monster dropping poison gas. It proceeds to explain why such behavior must be punished. It culminates with the argument that the proper response — the most effective way to uphold fundamental norms, indeed human decency — is a flea bite: something “limited,” “targeted” or, as so memorably described by Secretary of State John Kerry, “unbelievably small.”

The mind reels, but there’s more. We must respond — but not yet. This “Munich moment” (Kerry again) demands first a pause to find accommodation with that very same toxin-wielding monster, by way of negotiations with his equally cynical, often shirtless, Kremlin patron bearing promises.

The promise is to rid Syria of its chemical weapons. The negotiations are open-ended. Not a word from President Obama about any deadline or ultimatum. And utter passivity: Kerry said hours earlier that he awaited the Russian proposal.

Why? The administration claims (preposterously, but no matter) that Obama has been working on this idea with Putin at previous meetings. Moreover, the idea was first publicly enunciated by Kerry, even though his own State Department immediately walked it back as a slip of the tongue.

Take at face value Obama’s claim of authorship. Then why isn’t he taking ownership? Why isn’t he calling it the “U.S. proposal” and defining it? Why not issue a U.S. plan containing the precise demands, detailed timeline and threat of action should these conditions fail to be met?

Via: Washington Post

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Enviros attack CA Dems’ fracking bill

Environmentalists are protesting a Democratic bill on its way to California Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk that would regulate — but not ban — hydraulic fracturing.

On Wednesday, California lawmakers passed a bill that would “erect a permitting system, mandate groundwater monitoring and dictate more disclosure, including having fracking firms notify neighbors of planned wells and release more information about the chemicals they shoot underground,” The Fresno Beer reports.

Environmental activists were displeased.

“This bill will not protect Californians from the enormous threats of fracking pollution,” said Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute. “Fracking poses unacceptable risks to the air we breathe, the water we drink and our climate. We’ll keep working to end this inherently dangerous activity in our state.”

The Center for Biological Diversity is part of Californians Against Fracking — a coalition of environmental groups that have been pushing for a complete ban on fracking in California and have adamantly opposed the more moderate bill, which has been backed by state Democrats.

“There’s only one prudent next step to protect California’s water, air, and climate – for Governor Brown to place an immediate moratorium on fracking, acidizing, and other unconventional methods of exploiting fossil fuels,” said Victoria Kaplan, campaign director at MoveOn.org.

However, state Democrats have supported the bill despite the fact that it’s not a complete moratorium on fracking.

“I still believe that a moratorium is the best way to go with respect to fracking,” said Democratic Assemblyman Richard Bloom, “but this bill is the next best alternative.”

Via: Daily Caller

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Boston school recites Muslim poem instead of Pledge of Allegiance on 9/11 anniversary

A school in Boston reportedly had a Muslim poem recital over the intercom instead of the Pledge of Allegiance on the 12th anniversary of 9/11.

The principal of Concord Carlisle High School, Peter Badalament issued an apology and said that a 'small number' of people were outraged at the poem, which was meant to promote 'cross-cultural understanding'.

According to the Washington Times, the Pledge of Allegiance was not read because of some confusion and the principal said that the school was unaware that their student pledge reader was unavailable that day.

The report said that Mohja Kahf's 'My Grandmother Washes Her Feet in the Sink of the Bathroom at Sears' was recited in which a granddaughter's account of watching her grandmother adhere to the religious Muslim custom of washing her feet five times a day, is described.

Badalament said that the district will integrate the feedback that has been offered into their future work with students, the report added.

Via: Business Standard

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OFA Continues To Demonize Global Warming “Deniers”…

Be like the Drone Army and blindly believe.

Drew –

Here’s how you know that we’re winning the climate change deniers debate:

A conservative think tank is about to spend $1.5 million on a campaign to try to cast doubt on climate change science.

If you ever doubted the power of your voice, just look at how the other side is acting right now. The work we’re doing on climate change is making them awfully nervous.

That means we need to get louder — donate $5 or more to OFA today, and let’s keep calling out climate change denial.

In other news that makes me think our message is getting through, a House committee has scheduled a hearing to question whether we should actually be taking steps to fight climate change.

Now, keep in mind: several members of this panel are climate change deniers, so I doubt we’re going to get anywhere. But this marks the first House committee hearing on climate change in quite some time.

You can prove them wrong — make a donation of $5 or more today to OFA:

https://donate.barackobama.com/Organizing-Matters

Thanks,

Ivan

Ivan Frishberg
Climate Campaign Manager
Organizing for Action

Via: Weasel Zippers 

Can Obama Recover?

Never has Winston Churchill’s epigram looked so apt as right now: “Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing,” the eloquent Briton reportedly said, “after they’ve exhausted all the other possibilities.” Barack Obama at first tried just about every possibility in dealing with Syria but the right one. For many months, he ignored the spreading civil war there, even as it spilled over the borders into Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. Obama also failed to respond to the regime’s previous, if smaller, chemical attacks when they were documented in June, despite saying he would act; this failure unquestionably emboldened Bashar al-Assad to escalate his use of chemical weapons until the brazen and deadly attack of last month. And when Obama finally did respond, it was with a neck-wrenching pledge to launch an imminent attack. The turnabout caught everyone off guard, especially vacationing members of Congress whom Obama pledged to bypass—until he abruptly delegated his decision to them.

The president never got his timing right. If Obama wanted Congress to approve military action, he should have waited until members returned from their summer recess, rather than allowing them to get ambushed by an angry and ill-informed public in town meetings while the media chewed up his evidence piecemeal on talk TV over the last two weeks. “That was a miscalculation,” says Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. Mike Rogers, the committee chairman, also pointed out, “You can’t really go from a dead stop to full speed. We created our own problem here.”

But now Obama has won a reprieve—thanks to the Russians, of all people, America’s chief antagonists—from what looked like an all-but-certain congressional defeat. In the coming days, the president thus has a chance to avoid what could have been the worst humiliation of his presidency. Indeed, he could even achieve two major victories at once. If Syria, under Russia’s disarmament plan, goes beyond its already startling admission that it possesses chemical weapons (coming only days after Assad’s denials, this is already a victory) and gives its stockpiles up to international inspectors for elimination, it will prove a huge American diplomatic triumph in a region where there haven’t been any U.S. breakthroughs for a very long time.

Via: National Journal

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