Obama is a problem, but Obama is not THE problem.

Clare Lopez on the Syria / Al Qaeda Connection to the Benghazi Coverup

Clare Lopez connects the dots. Excerpt:

During the 2011 Libyan revolt against Muammar Qaddafi, reckless U.S. policy flung American forces and money into the conflict on the side of the rebels, who were known at the time to include Al Qaeda elements. Previously the number two official at the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Christopher Stevens was named as the official U.S. liaison to the Libyan opposition in March, 2011.

Stevens was tasked with helping to coordinate U.S. assistance to the rebels, whose top military commander, Abdelhakim Belhadj, was the leader of the Al Qaeda affiliate, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG). That means that Stevens was authorized by the U.S. Department of State and the Obama administration to aid and abet individuals and groups that were, at a minimum, allied ideologically with Al Qaeda, the jihadist terrorist organization that attacked the homeland on the first 9/11, the one that’s not supposed to exist anymore after the killing of its leader, Osama bin Laden, on May 2, 2011.

Although Belhadj reportedly now has moved on to Syria to help lead the fight against the Assad regime being waged by the Syrian Free Army (SFA), other Libyan fighters, who were formerly members of his LIFG and other Al Qaeda affiliates formed a new terror militia in Libya (and elsewhere) called Ansar al-Shariah (Supporters of Sharia/Islamic Law).

Here's the conclusion, but you should really read the whole thing.

“[F]alse information was either knowingly disseminated or was directed to be put out by senior policy officials for political reasons,” says Bill Gertz, citing intelligence officials. Some of those alleged “political reasons” may have had to do with ridiculous claims about the demise of Al Qaeda and the false promises of an “Arab Spring,” but others may be more deeply buried in an Al Qaeda-linked weapons supply line that was never supposed to become public.

There are a lot of points the ponder here, but the most amazing one is this: Obama is helping to arm Al Qaeda in the name of a ridiculous idea called "the Arab Spring". Here's Ms. Lopez with Glenn Beck:

 

Catholics for Romney/Ryan Message

Top Ten Reasons To Dislike Mitt Romney

A friend of mine who is a priest, and who has a very good sense of humor (as all good priests do) sent me this:

Top Ten Reasons To Dislike Mitt Romney

1. Drop-dead, collar-ad handsome with gracious, statesmanlike aura.  Looks like every central casting's #1 choice for Commander-in-Chief.

2. Been married to ONE woman his entire life, and has been faithful to her,  including through her bouts with breast cancer and MS.

3. No scandals or skeletons in his closet. How boring is that?

4. Can't speak in a fake, southern, "black preacher" voice when necessary.

5. Highly intelligent. Graduated cum laude from both Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School...and by the way, his academic records are NOT sealed.

6. Doesn't smoke or drink alcohol, and has never done drugs, not even in the counter-culture age when he went to college. Too square for today's America?

7. Represents an America of "yesterday", where people believed in God, went to Church, didn't screw around, worked hard, and became a SUCCESS!

8. Has a family of five great sons....and none of them have police records or are in drug rehab.  But of course, they were raised by a stay-at-home mom, and that "choice" deserves America's scorn.

9. Oh yes.....he's a MORMON. We need to be very afraid of that very strange religion that teaches its members to be clean-living, patriotic, fiscally conservative, charitable, self-reliant, and honest.

10. And one more point.....pundits say because of his wealth, he can't relate to ordinary Americans.  I guess that's because he made that money HIMSELF.....as opposed to marrying it or inheriting it from Dad.

[Paid for by Internet Data Farming Robots. Not sponsored by any candidate or candidate's committee.]

President Obama knew that Planned Parenthood doesn't offer mammograms

H/T Breitbart.

The official statement from Live Action President Lila Rose, following the second presidential debate last night:

"President Obama continues mislead Americans in his defense of the abortion giant Planned Parenthood. Live Action conducted an investigation last year that demonstrated that Planned Parenthood does not perform mammograms. The Department of Health and Human Services confirmed in June, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, that not a single Planned Parenthood in the nation has mammography equipment. Planned Parenthood is spending millions to preserve its place at the taxpayer trough and re-elect the president. It's no wonder that the president used the debate as a promotion vehicle for Planned Parenthood's lies."



How could Obama not know this after HHS confirmed it last year? It's all part of the narrative. Mitt Romney kills women with breast cancer and Planned Parenthood saves women from breast cancer.

And now for something completely friggin' awesome

Michelle Obama Claps for Tinkerbell

Michelle Obama believes. Ergo she claps.

You see, the reason Obama is losing the debates and will lose the election is that not enough people believe in fairies. Here's the anti-fairy rule as written:

The rule: Article 9, Section A, Subsection 7: "All members of the debate audience will be instructed by the moderator before the debate goes on the air and by the moderator after the debate goes on the air not to applaud, speak, or otherwise participate in the debate by any means other than by silent observation, except as provided by the agreed upon rules of the October 16 town hall debate."

But Michelle Obama is going to clap for Tinkerbell to bring the campaign back to life.

Marching toward victory

Stanley K on debate #2. Excerpt:

The core dynamic here is that Romney has proven himself to be a perfectly acceptable alternative to Obama. The silly portrayal of Romney in all those negative ads has been exploded. Obama’s inevitability is gone. The underlying state of the country, which is not at all good, has become the issue. All of that is bad for Obama and very good for Romney.>

Nuns in the tank

I get emails from Progress Ohio, a far left PAC who somehow has my email address. It's good to read these emails both for the inadvertent humor content and also to see what the enemies of truth, justice and sensibility are up to.

The other day they sent me an email promoting a very silly group called Nuns on the Bus which is currently touring Ohio. They put up a blog post about it too. They are condemning "immoral budgets" and promoting a "faithful budget" which, when translated, means more government spending of taxpayer money on everything.

I think that Luke 11:46 might apply here. "...you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers."

Here's the picture and text from the email.

Join Catholic Sisters in calling on our leaders to protect people who are struggling and calling on all Ohioans to vote our values.

Sisters from across Ohio are traveling 1,000 miles to lift up people who would be harmed by immoral budget cuts and the need for a faithful budget that affirms the life of all God's children.

As they hold up the core values of solidarity, justice and the common good, they will remind us "We are in this together - in Ohio."

Here is a short summary of why this is so pathetic. A non-smiling elderly nun dressed in a habit can cut an imposing figure if she speaks calmly and with authority. But senior citizen nuns wearing street clothes and angrily spitting out liberal, big government talking points has engaged in the kind of self-diminishment that has got to but a smile on the devil's face.

If you mention the fact that abortion is legal in our country to these sisters they will immediately show signs of anger. Not anger that abortion entails the ripping apart of an innocent baby, but anger that you brought the subject up and reminded them that they are in the tank for the political party which has a vested interest in keeping abortion legal. They are far more offended by the "Ryan budget"—a proposal to cut wasteful government spending—than they are by abortion, and I can only conclude from this that they care more about money than human beings.

Sherrod Brown has trouble paying his taxes...

...but he has no trouble raising yours, Ohioans.



Wake up and vote for Josh Mandel. Donate here.

Also I have yard signs if you need them.

That was a great debate!

Caption contest, or something.

I'll be at St. Clarence tonight at the Sister Mary McCormick presentation

Here are the  remaining events, per the Cleveland Diocese's page on the topic.

Thursday, September 27, 2012, 7:00 p.m. - St. Clarence Parish (Special Presentation on Conscience Formation by Sister Mary McCormick, OSU and not a panel presentation) 30106 Lorain Road, North Olmsted, OH.

Thursday, October 11, 2012, 7:00 p.m. - St. Mary Parish, 250 Kraft Street, Berea, OH.

The Bishop's secretary did call me back with this information. I was glad I called, not just because I learned that they had been inundated with calls on this matter, but it helped give me insight on how the Diocese reacts to pro-life activism. Many of the Catholic Pro-lifers I've encountered simply say these folks are pro-abortion. I don't claim to know that, and it's classic overstatement (a tendency for which Catholic conservatives always need to be wary), however the fact is that they simply aren't too exercised about the travesty of abortion. This might be due to their own over-reaction to certain extreme aspects of the pro-life movement, both perceived and actual.

And that's what I'm guessing I'll detect more than any blatant heretical material in the presentation at St. Clarence tonight. Maybe there will be balance and proportionality in the discussion, and maybe the speaker will demonstrate wisdom, insight and relevance. We will just have to wait and see.

Obviously

Nolte has the cliff notes version. And juicing is the perfect word for it. Excerpt:

If you're going to believe the polls released from CBS/New York Times this morning -- you know, the polls the media's currently using to beat Romney senseless and to depress Republican enthusiasm, you have to believe that the turnout advantage for Democrats over Republicans will blow away every previous record and common sense.

It's that simple. Because these polls are not only telling us that Romney is losing OH, PA, and FL by insurmountable margins; these polls are also telling us that Democrat turnout is projected to blow away every modern record.

But these media polls don't headline what they're seeing as far as the Democrat turnout advantage because no one would believe it. In fact, no one believes Obama will match the D+7 nationwide advantage he enjoyed in 2008. And no one certainly believes he will surpass it.

Oh, except this non-stop litany of media polls being wielded like weapons by the corrupt media.

In other words, the story that the media is missing is that according to the polls, Democratic turnout is going to pretty much blow Republican turnout away in epic proportions.

Hugh Hewitt has been all over this on his show, and his interview with National Journal's Steven Shepard all but proves there is deliberate book-cooking going on.

Why are these pollsters oversampling? Because they are mediabots in the tank for Obama, and they want to show a much closer race because it works. It depresses GOP voter turnout and fundraising.

All the people I hear discussing politics who rely on the mainstream media for news are saying it's totally over. Obama is going to win a 40-plus-state landslide and wipe the floor with Romney the way Reagan did with Dukakis in '84.

I have to say that it amazes me that Obama continues to practically live in Ohio when he is supposedly up so far in the polls. My guess is that the Obama campaign's internal polling paints, shall we say, a more exciting picture.

Obama doesn't care that you paid in

I guess the application of "You Didn't Build That" knows no bounds.

Whose views better represent Catholicism?

Everyone is bloviating about how Catholic Paul Ryan really is and how much of Ayn Rand's philosophy he buys into. As usual, Bill Donahue has the most clear and succinct analysis. And, it seems to me, the most Catholic.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the two Catholic vice presidential candidates:

In many respects, the Catholic community today is divided into pro-life and social justice camps. That is unfortunate, and while this division can be overstated, it remains true that most Catholic activists sit in either one camp or the other; cross-over Catholics are a rare breed.

Paul Ryan represents the pro-life wing, and Joe Biden represents the social justice wing. Indeed, both exemplify the differences, and not just on the issue of abortion. For example, Ryan’s idea of freedom of choice commits him to supporting school vouchers; Biden’s notion of choice commits him to abortion rights. Ryan is opposed to reinventing the institution of marriage; Biden wants to expand marriage to include two people of the same sex.

The Catholic Church opposes abortion and gay marriage. On both of these issues, Biden disagrees with the Church. Biden’s defenders, e.g., Catholics who identify with social justice concerns, argue that Ryan’s budgetary prescriptions make him the dissident Catholic; his ideas are said to hurt the poor. This assumes, however, that there is a clear Catholic teaching on what constitutes the best means to conquer poverty. There isn’t. For instance, fidelity to the Church’s preferential option for the poor can be realized by making a serious case to raise taxes, or to lower them. In effect, both Biden and Ryan can plausibly maintain that he is a champion of the poor. But only one, Ryan, can be identified as the champion of the unborn.

Not all policy issues are equal. Abortion is regarded by the Catholic Church as “intrinsically evil.” Moreover, the bishops’ conference has explicitly endorsed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. This puts Biden at a decisive disadvantage in making the case that he better represents Catholic teachings.

The key sentence: "This assumes, however, that there is a clear Catholic teaching on what constitutes the best means to conquer poverty. There isn’t." This needs to be repeated over and over again until Catholics get it through their heads that fiscal conservatism is completely compatible with a preferential option for the poor. If the economy contracts then rich people sit on their cash. The poor are hurt worst. This is self-evident; look around if you doubt. And while you're at it, compare the charitable giving of Republicans with that of Democrats.

Romney Tied With Obama in Ohio

Wow, how did that happen? Wasn't Obama up 6 percentage points?

Rasmussen Reports’ latest look at the presidential race in Ohio shows President Obama and Mitt Romney running dead even at 45% each.

A new telephone survey of Likely Ohio Voters finds that six percent (6%) prefer some other candidate and four percent (4%) are undecided.

Obama says we're doing fine

Break out the champagne, folks.

Competence, not "fairness"

The Economist gets it precisely. Excerpt:

In that case, the election will revolve not around fairness, but competence. Mr Romney is fond of saying that Mr Obama has no idea how the economy works and how jobs are created. The way the Obama campaign talks about Bain Capital suggests that his criticism is correct. Mr Obama, as noted above, likes to insinuate that there is a conflict between pursuing profits and creating jobs. In the long run, however, in a competitive economy, that is nonsense. Only profitable firms can sustain any jobs, and the more profitable they are, the more money they have to invest in new ventures with new workers. Mr Obama is guilty not of rhetorical excess but of economic muddle. That is far more worrying.

Mother's Day with the Romneys

I don't know, these people seem to be in touch with my life experience. No patronage appointments here.

Dog Eater

Dianonymous sent this to me the other day.

My favorite picture, around 2:05. "If I had a dog, it would look like the one Obama ate."

Tough.