Senator Rand Paul Responds to Attacks in Israel

From his Senatorial website.

Nov 18, 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sen. Rand Paul today issued the following statement in response to the brutal attack that took place in a Jerusalem synagogue, resulting in the death of three Americans:

"I am deeply saddened and alarmed by the attacks that took place early this morning in Israel. These men of faith were cruelly murdered as they were worshiping in their synagogue in Har Nof. I vow to Stand with Israel and I will continue to do all I can to protect Americans at home and abroad. This is a horrific act of violence that should be universally condemned. We must demand that Palestinian leaders stop the incitement, which they have committed in word and in deed. My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Israel," Sen. Paul said.

Good. No crap about "calling on both sides" that we are used to hearing.

The Tea-hadist

72 virgins for the Tea Party:

It's like some evil genius convinced the Congressional Republicans that they would get 72 virgins if they blew up their own party.
— Rod Dreher (@roddreher) October 11, 2013

Thomas Jefferson is weeping, and not just for the cheapass theft of copy.

"Our enemies are killing each other"

Just for the record, I'm against military action against Syria. Act for America lays out why in their petition:

Dear President Obama,

We agree that the civil war in Syria is a humanitarian disaster.

However, America does not need to be dragged into another war that will stress our already exhausted military and weak economy.

Our enemies are killing each other with Iran/Hezbollah/Assad on one side and the Al-Qaida factions/Muslim Brotherhood/salafists on the other.

America's intervention in Libya and Egypt proved to be grave mistakes that undermined our respect and stature on the international stage. Enough of supporting enemies who hate us, costing us the lives of our precious sons and daughters with no clear objective or strategy in sight.

A strong majority of Americans don't want us to get dragged into another Middle Eastern civil war. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 60% of Americans do not support U.S. involvement and 89% oppose arming the rebels.

Therefore, we appeal to you in the strongest voice:

Don't drag us into another Middle Eastern Civil War and don't arm the rebel factions in Syria.

It's painful to look at how badly Obama is doing in his attempt to gain support for his military action. For example, Adam Kinzinger is a Representative from Illinois who is for military action:

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., on Sunday said he had offered the White House his help to rally support for a strike on Syria but had been ignored.

“A week and a half ago my office actually reached out to the White House and said ‘we support the strike on Syria, we’re going to help you round up support if you need it,’” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”

“I haven’t heard back from the White House yet — I haven’t heard back from anyone,” he continued. “I don’t even know who my White House liaison is, who’s supposed to be creating this relationship.”

...

“He’s trying to build a relationship with Congress and there’s a trust deficit,” he added.

"A trust deficit." Republicans are always understating things. Perma-hawk Peter King is also lamenting the poor job Obama is doing.

“I just wish the president had laid this out better,” said King on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“I wish that he would be more of a commander-in-chief than a community organizer,” he added.

“He’s commander in chief, for one year he said a red line was there and then the red line was crossed and he sends [Secretary of State John] Kerry and [Secretary of Defense Chuck] Hagel out,” said King. “We’re told Congress is not needed at the 11th hour. He brings in Congress and then he says it’s not his red line.

“I can’t imagine Harry Truman or John Kennedy or Ronald Reagan or Dwight Eisenhower ever putting a nation in a position like this on a military vote,” King added.

I like Peter King, he has done great work in exposing Islamic fascism and lunacy and he is usually in lock-step with Act for America. And truthfully, I really thought about this one, read Bill Kristol's thoughtful argument supporting action and listened to other supporters make their arguments (Hugh Hewitt, Michael Medved, et al.) I see the point, but I don't think anything we end up doing would do a lick of good for us or anybody else in the world. Obama doesn't want to do this, he's putting too many restrictions on the action and telegraphing them all. It's really a lose-lose at this point, and just because Obama flushed his credibility it doesn't mean America is going over the cliff with him. Andrew McCarthy said it best: "American credibility on the international stage is bound up in the recognition of, and willingness to act on, vital national interests. It is not embodied by any single political actor – indeed, when one branch of government acts against the national interest, our system is designed to enable the other branches to put a stop to it."

Chechen Muslims Responsible For Boston Marathon Bombings

"Chechnya is the Muslim area of the Caucasus that has been waging jihad against the Russians since the 19th century." So, the usual suspects. Hat tip to JihadWatch.

From CSB-DC:

WATERTOWN, Mass. (CBSDC/AP) — Police are locking down some neighborhoods in Boston and its western suburbs and all public transportation service has been shut down as authorities search for the remaining suspect in the marathon bombings.

The surviving bombing suspect has been identified as Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, of Cambridge, Mass.

Authorities urged residents in Watertown, Newton, Waltham, Belmont, Cambridge and the Allston-Brighton neighborhoods of Boston to stay indoors.

The announcement Friday morning comes hours after the killing one suspect, known as the man in the black hat from marathon surveillance footage. The man in the white hat is on the loose and police are calling him a “terrorist” who came here “to kill.”

Both bombing suspects are from a Russian region near Chechnya, a source tells the Associated Press. The men have lived in the United States for at least one year.

President Barack Obama has been briefed on the overnight developments at the White House.

A massive manhunt remains underway for the man police believe is the “white hat” suspect in the Boston Marathon Bombing and the other suspect is dead following a wild turn of events that began late Thursday.

“We believe this to be a terrorist,” said Boston Police Commissioner Ed David. “We believe this to be a man who’s come here to kill people. We need to get him in custody.”

The Middlesex district attorney said the two men are suspected of killing a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer on campus late Thursday, then stealing a car at gunpoint and later releasing its driver unharmed. Hours earlier, police had released photos of the marathon bombing suspects and asked for the public’s help finding them. A new photo of the suspect on the loose was released later showing him in a grey hoodie sweatshirt. It was taken at a 7-Eleven in Cambridge, just across the river from Boston.

The first images were released hours after President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama attended an interfaith service at a Roman Catholic cathedral in Boston to remember the bombing victims.

Authorities say the suspects threw explosives from the car as police followed it into Watertown. The suspects and police exchanged gunfire, and one of the suspects was critically injured and later died at a hospital while the other escaped....

How Muslims see the Boston Marathon Bombing

Thank you, Mehdi.

Areeba Kamal writes this pouty "don't blame Muslims" piece in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing. A Muslim commenter named Mehdi provides her with these wise observations and partial corrections:

I would highly advise you not to display Pakistani flag in your dorm room. I do understand your sense of patriotism, I used to do that with Bangkadeshi flag, once I came to US as a college freshman. Please try to reign in your slip of tongue for inshallah, mashallah as these words have no prevalence in Western discourse. If Americans look at us Muslims with suspicion, then it is our fault. I have been living in US for 18 years and never for a minute felt discriminated because of my faith.

Please don’t be so quick to jump to conclusion about who the perpetrator is. Investigation is underway, if the bombing is associated with Islamic extremists, I hope they get punished.

In Pakistan, blaming the US for everything is a Pakistani national past time. Society in general in Pakistan lacks the concept of introspection.

Yes, many of my friends asked me why I speak so fluent English at the par with native speaker, I had to explain to them that my parents sent me to British private school and they could afford it. Not everybody is poor and illiterate, we do have cities with skyscrapers and 10 million plus population. You just have to answer their curiosities. Anyway a good read. Please do a follow-up once the investigation is complete. Your thoughts would be much appreciated around that time.

The emphases are mine. I can say a hearty amen to these, or aameen if you like. "If Americans look at us Muslims with suspicion, then it is our fault." Well said, Mr. Mehdi. Isn't it ironic that a Muslim admitting this actually makes you look at him with less suspicion? This seems like a great example of "The Truth will set you free."

I also loved his statement "You just have to answer their curiosities." Don't take such offense to Americans not knowing facts about your own country. There are plenty of Americans that barely know about their own country and I'm sure that's true in Pakistan as well.

Another scary way in which Obama is Carter redivivus

Obama said "please", Egypt said "no". Excerpt:

The US government asked its good buddy Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy to inspect an Iranian ship suspected of carrying arms to Syria while it passed through the Suez Canal. Remember that to do so is arguably in Egypt’s own interest since Cairo is supporting the rebels while Tehran backs the regime.

The Egyptian government, despite three decades of massive US aid, licensing to produce advanced American tanks and other equipment, strategic backing and an invitation to Washington to meet Obama – refused. Indeed, Morsy headed for Tehran to attend a “nonaligned” conference.

Does this mean Egypt is going to ally with Iran? No, Egypt will fight Iran for influence tooth and nail. The two countries will kill each others’ surrogates. But it means Morsy feels no friendlier toward America than he does toward Iran. And Cairo will not lift a finger to help Washington against Tehran unless, perhaps, America is willing to put a Muslim Brotherhood government in place in Syria, which might well happen.

In other words, under Jimmy Carter’s watch we got Islamist Iran – and, yes, things could have turned out very differently – and under Obama’s watch – and, yes, things could have turned out very differently – we got Islamist Egypt.

"There is no such thing as an Islamic terrorist."

Just in case you missed it. This is a companion piece to David Horowitz's exchange with a Muslim student at UCSD back in May 2010.


Uhhh, students, this question is going to be on the test from now on, so make sure you can answer it before showing up to class.

Flotilla Choir: "We Con the World"

Thanks to Pikkumatti for pointing out this great parody. HT Powerline.

My favorite line = "Like some cheese and missiles for the kids."

Biden: "This would end tomorrow if Hamas agreed..."

"... to form a government with the Palestinian Authority on the conditions the international community has set up." This is Joe Biden on the Charlie Rose show talking about the so-called "peace flotilla" incident.

Readers know that we've taken shots at Joe Biden plenty of times here at Est Quod Est, but he is speaking the truth with so much clarity in this interview with Charlie Rose that he must be praised. He rightly points out that there are so many ways in which Hamas could deliver relief supplies that it is ludicrous to suppose that they have to sail through the Israeli's blockade. He also affirms Israel's right to search the ships based on common sense and mentions twice the 3,000 rockets fired from Gaza into Israel. Twice―that's probably more times than the mainstream media has mentioned it in the last year. I never thought I'd say I was proud of our Vice President, but I must confess that I am while listening to his proper defense of Israel. It's a welcome break from the regular talking points which comprise the tide against which he is swimming.

Hamas Terrorist Caught on Candid Camera Using Human Shields in Gaza

There's no sound, obviously, so you have to read the captions within the video for the play-by-play. Here's the text from the sidebar of the youtube.com video.

Captured in this aerial footage, a Hamas terrorist plants an IED and then climbs into a house containing uninvolved civilians. Later the civilians and the Hamas terrorist exit the house waiving a white flag, at which point IDF troops approach and arrest the terrorist.

This is just one of many examples of how Hamas uses uninvolved civilians as human shields. This example is particularly egregious since the terrorist used civilians waving a white flag to try to evade IDF soldiers.

Hat Tip: email from TIP.

Palestinian Demonstration

Comments welcome.

Pope Benedict on Original Sin

In his regular weekly public audience on December 3, Pope Benedict called the doctrine of Original Sin and "alternative to a vision of despair." Excerpt from the Catholic Culture piece:

"Does Original Sin exist or not, then?" the Pontiff asked rhetorically. He pointed out that St. Paul, in sketching "the basic outlines of the doctrine" in his Letter to the Romans, explains Original Sin by comparing the Fall in Eden with the redemption brought by Christ, the new Adam.

Every rational person recognizes the reality of human weakness, the Pope said. The doctrine of Original Sin goes beyond that obvious reality to address the "ontological foundation" of evil, he said. "In effect, there is a contradiction in our being. On the one hand we know we must do good, and in our inner selves this is what we desire, yet at the same time we feel an impulse to do the opposite, to follow the path of egoism, of violence."

Many people don't seem to know this, but Muslims do not believe in the doctrine of Original Sin. I'm not a theologian, so I don't know if that's why some of them believe it's okay to kill and enslave people. But it does seem that desperation and despair characterizes Islam, even the non-violent part.

More questions about Bill Ayers and Barack Obama

With regards to Jonathan's post mentioning William Ayers of the Weather Underground and his connections to Barack Obama, the following anonymous comment caught my eye:

Since it is clear that over two years of intense scrutiny has turned up precious little evidence of wrong doing or poor judgment, it is not surprising that his political adversaries would try to attack him with examples of what other people said or did. Why don't people who are opposed to the upcoming Obama presidency try to make valid arguments against his policy proposals? When you try to convict him of guilt by association you just reinforce the conclusion that the opposition to our 44th president is baseless and purely partisan.

My italics highlight the sincere question and following a tradition in American politics, I'll respond with several questions of my own.

1) Assuming you are an Obama supporter since you refer to him as the 44th president, shouldn't we expect you to respond with as much indignation when his policy proposals, like teaching sex ed to kindergartners, are simply mentioned, let alone argued against, as was evidenced several weeks ago by other supporters?

2) Does "precious little evidence" explain the all-out offensive against Stanley Kurtz launched during his appearance on WGN-AM in which he discussed his research into the matter?

3) In light of (2) above, isn't it natural that the question "What are they hiding?" is the one that comes to our mind?

Fortunately, Stanley Kurtz's first amendment rights haven't been denied him, and he has a new article out today on the topic. Excerpt:

Despite having authored two autobiographies, Barack Obama has never written about his most important executive experience. From 1995 to 1999, he led an education foundation called the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC), and remained on the board until 2001. The group poured more than $100 million into the hands of community organizers and radical education activists.

The CAC was the brainchild of Bill Ayers, a founder of the Weather Underground in the 1960s. Among other feats, Mr. Ayers and his cohorts bombed the Pentagon, and he has never expressed regret for his actions. Barack Obama's first run for the Illinois State Senate was launched at a 1995 gathering at Mr. Ayers's home.

The Obama campaign has struggled to downplay that association. Last April, Sen. Obama dismissed Mr. Ayers as just "a guy who lives in my neighborhood," and "not somebody who I exchange ideas with on a regular basis." Yet documents in the CAC archives make clear that Mr. Ayers and Mr. Obama were partners in the CAC. Those archives are housed in the Richard J. Daley Library at the University of Illinois at Chicago and I've recently spent days looking through them.

The piece goes on to deduce from the facts the intimate collaboration that must have occurred between William Ayers and Obama at the Chicago Annenberg Challenge that, for some reason, Obama wants to dismiss or at least downplay by saying "Hey, he's just some guy, you know, I met once or twice." He concludes that "participation" is a far better word than association to describe Obama's involvement with the known radical terrorist.

The Obama campaign has cried foul when Bill Ayers comes up, claiming "guilt by association." Yet the issue here isn't guilt by association; it's guilt by participation. As CAC chairman, Mr. Obama was lending moral and financial support to Mr. Ayers and his radical circle. That is a story even if Mr. Ayers had never planted a single bomb 40 years ago.

I'm going to close with another anonymous comment from the first post which I found to be interesting though speculative.

I have in the distant past been in the company of both Ayers and Dohrn (even in their home). Being the ideological antithesis of the 'Weathermen' movement and having more than a casual knowledge of their operational goals for reasons I choose not to share, I was nonetheless curious to see what mindset is in play, that contributes to the development of what is referred to today as 'domestic terrorism.'

This is my take on the couple. They are as charming and intelligent as they are committed and venomous. They are not aging hippie types whom time has past by, but rather they still maintain the fire of commitment to their shared anarchists ideology of some four decades. As much as they would like the public to think that their activism, terrorism as it were, was successful in achieving their ultimate goals (i.e., "legends-in-their-own-minds") they know on balance they failed. Both of them are too intelligent not to have analyzed and reflected on the facts (over all these years) and then concluded they have not yet achieved goals set out for themselves in the 60's & 70's.

However, I would submit that an Obama presidency would finally provide them an institutional ("establishment") vehicle to finally achieve what they failed to achieve 40 years ago. Mark my words; because of their personable, charismatic and intellectual persona's -- in an Obama presidency, I would expect Ayers would be appointed to a high ranking policy position in the Department of Education. Dohrn on the other hand will be appointed to a policy position in the Justice Department. Not exactly the kind of domestic terrorism they cut their teeth on so long ago, however, this scenario would finally provide the couple an opportunity to achieve from the inside what they failed to achieve from the outside looking in with their bombs. Remember, the Justice Department oversees the FBI and eduction provides knowledge to our progeny. What better way to clear the slate of all past failures to destroy the "military-industrial complex" through violence than to manipulate a way they can join that 'complex' and then destroy it from within like a cancer. Then these two leftists along with their cronies can begin to seed their brand of social responsibility in the minds and hearts of our youth.

Although I believe Obama to be a bright fellow, he has a long way to go to be the intellectual equal of either Ayers or Dohrn. Truth be said, Obama is a mere stepping stone for the couple to have their ideology aired, otherwise he is meaningless even if he were to become president.

[cross-posted at scrappycons]