Blog Archives
Lindsey Graham on Nancy Pelosi
The House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA 8th) claimed to have been “near tears” during Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s Joint Address to Congress. Wags wondered if such a scenario is possible, considering the 74 year old former Speaker’s taut visage, presumably from numerous cosmetic surgeries.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a long-shot Republican presidential hopeful, chose to go at a private fundraiser there in highlighting the top Democrat’s haughty hijinks. Though Graham later apologized for his bon mot, he may never regain the Botox primary vote.
Critics charge that Graham was unforgivable as being sexist for pointing out the plastic surgeries. Wonder if liberal critics feel any remorse when they make fat jokes at the expense of Chris Christie or mock Sarah Palin or Scott Walker’s intellectual prowess without pointing to policy specifics.
A Bit of Bibi Netanyahu on Dangers to the World
Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu made his third address before a Joint Session of Congress to in order speak about existential threats against his nation which stem from the prospective Iran Nuclear Deal.
The Obama Administration expressed offense at the Netanyahu speech because House Speaker John Boehner broke protocol by not having not cleared the invitation with the Obama White House (never mind the constitution). The ire against the Israeli P.M.’s remarks then shifted that it was too close to the Israeli elections, even though National Security Adviser Susan Rice recently railed against Netanyahu for undermining US/Israel relations. Some 56 Congressional Democrats boycotted Netanyahu’s speech. Valerie Jarrett insisted that President Obama was too busy to watch our only Democratic ally in the Middle East’s speech.
These petulant politicos missed a 40 minute speech which had the feel of a State of the Union address, but with substance arguing against making a bad deal with a revolutionary, expansionistic, jihadic regime with an earned bad reputation.
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What Does Hamas Really Stand For?
Hamas is a Palestinian Sunni Muslim group that is internationally recognized as a terrorist organization. Hamas which has dominated the Gaza Strip since 2005 when Israeli settlements were voluntarily relinquished settlements to implement the Oslo Accords as part of the peace process.
Hamas is an acronym for Ḥarakat al-Muqāwamah al-ʾIslāmiyyah, Arabic for “Islamic Resistance Movement”. The acronym means “Enthusiasm”. But sometimes acronyms are given more meaning by actions.
The modus operandi of Hamas is to indiscriminately lob crude missiles at their Israeli “enemy” (the one’s who ceded the territory where they operate). But these “brave” Muslim Brotherhood affiliates operate their rockets in the middle of civilian settlements, schools or mosques. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) discovered 20 missiles in schools run by UNRWA and then handed them back to the “local authorities” to then be fired at Israel. Then there is the Shuja’iya neighborhood in Northern Gaza, Hamas used a mosque and two adjacent buildings connected by tunnels were extended to the Israeli border and used as a depot for Hamas rockets.
Even though the Israeli Defense Forces give early warning to civilians to evacuate before the IDF attacks in Gaza, the inhabitants defiantly refuse to leave. Some pro-Palestinian apologies reason “Where can they go?” But Hamas spokemen urged the civilians not to heed the IDF warnings. These human shields can then be pointed to as brutality by their enemy. This is why Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu labels Hamas tactics as a double war crime.
Hamas knows that it can not win conventional warfare against the IDF, but if enough Palestinian civilians are killed during Operation Protective Edge, the International Press can decry the humanitarian loss along with an anti-semetic gloss.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meier anticipated this culture of death among militant Palestinians when she proclaimed: “We can
forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing
us to kill their children. We will only
have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us.“.
forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing
us to kill their children. We will only
have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us.“.
Even though Hamas might sound like enthusiasm in Arabic, based upon their tactics and weltanschaaung, what Hamas really stands for is Hiding Among Mosques and Schools.
h/t: Steve Breen
Obama’s Inconsiderate “Resolute-tions”
Much of the power of the Presidency resounds in projecting unarticulated messages through imagery, architecture and history. In the film The American President (1995), President Shepherd (Michael Douglas) told his chagrined lobbyist/love interest (Annette Benning):
You know that when the city planners sat down to design Washington, DC, their intention was to build a city that would intimidate and humble foreign heads of state… The White House has the single greatest home court advantage in the world.
But it is not just the buildings nor the monuments of the Ellipse which speak volumes. Sometimes even the furniture is fraught with meaning.
The desk which many Presidents have chosen to sit in the Oval Office as their work desk is known as the Resolute Desk. The Resolute Desk is comprised of timbers taken from the HMS Resolute, a British exploration ship abandoned during the Belcher Expedition in the Arctic in 1855 but recovered by an American whaler and presented to Queen Victoria in 1856.
The British presented the large partners desk to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880. The desk has twice been modified. President Franklin Roosevelt had the knee hole enlarged to accommodate his knee braces. A door with a modified Presidential seal was intended for FDR but President Truman liked it so much that he kept the installation.
The President’s desk projects a sense of style and authority. The photo of President John F. Kennedy sitting at the Resolute desk as his son played with the door at the bottom of the desk is iconic.
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| President John F. Kennedy working at the Resolute Desk with his son (1962) |
That is why many have taken umbrage with President Obama’s persistent inconsiderate “Resolute”-ness. The Obama White House is deliberate about all photo/ops, particularly in the Oval Office. So when Mr. Obama is photographed speaking to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH 8th) regarding a potential strike on Syria due to chemical weapons use, the President was not just stretching his legs.
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| President Obama telephoning House Speaker John Boehner Aug. 31, 2013 |
But this is not the first time the President Obama has made a Resolute faux pas while conducting foreign policy. Early in Mr. Obama’s first term, the 44th President had both feet on the desk when telephonically chatting with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in 2009.
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| President Obama speaking to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in 2009 |
This photo stirred controversy in Israel since in that part of the world it is a sign of supreme disrespect to show the sole of one’s shoe to another.
To be fair, President Obama is not the only commander-in-chief to treat the Resolute desk casually. Early in the Presidency of George W. Bush, the 43rd President is being briefed by Chief of Staff Andy Card and Special Advisers Karen Hughes and Karl Rove with his feet on the Resolute.
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| President George W. Bush in the Oval Office. |
On the one hand, President Ronald Reagan refused to enter the Oval Office without wearing a jacket as a sign of respect for the Office. On the other hand, President George W. Bush was aghast at his predecessor President Bill J. Clinton being photographed wearing running shorts in the Oval Office. Oh, if that were the only thing at which to be aghast during Clinton’s tenure in the Oval Office.
The public should be mindful that these are just snapshots, but they certainly color the narrative. For instance, after President Obama finished his talk with Speaker Boehner on Syria, he then announced that Congress would vote on the matter, but that the President felt that he still retained the authority to strike. Afterwards, President Obama went out to golf.
So when President Obama makes his big speech about Syria on Tuesday, will the American public consider his manner and leadership resolute? Or will they they think of the Vanity Fair article which dubbed Obama “The Lean Back President” which reflects poorly as a leader seeking taking America to war?
Obama’s Spring Break Trip to Israel
Today President Obama arrived in Israel for a whirlwind three day visit to the Middle East. This is Mr. Obama’s first visit to the Holy Land as President. Obama 2008 decided to make campaign stops in Jerusalem but the next year, the newly elected President eschewed visiting Israel during his “apology tour”.
As Mr. Obama arrived on the tarmac, he had another revealing “hot mike” moment. Mr. Obama’s first words to Israeli Prime Minister Binjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu upon arriving in Israel were “It’s good to get away from Congress”. Hmm, wasn’t the Obama White House engaged in a Charm Offensive blitz on Capitol Hill last week?
Obama’s Congressional quip might be dismissed as a light-hearted towel snap. But President Obama has a track record for being candid with leaders on a tarmac, especially on Scorpions for Breakfast. And Obama’s hot mike blunder with Russian Prime Minister Medvedev about having more flexibility after the election was revealing of both plans and character.
While President Obama mouths the right words about our staunch strategic ally Israel, it will soon become clear if his administration passes over Israel’s interests. Will Obama continue to insist on onerous preconditions for that ever elusive peace deal with the Palestinians? Will the President do anything concrete when our ally Israel’s safety is threatened by Egypt’s Muslim Brother led government,? How about spillover from the Syrian conflict? Or Hamas led violence from Lebanon? Or threats of a holocaust from Amadinajad’s Iran? In addition, there are the quotidien violent incidents stemming from the Gaza.
But Spring Break is a chance to chill, especially after mid-terms. The problem is that Mr. Obama is not in college and was just re-elected as President so he is still being tested and the mid terms are in November 2014.
District of Calamity 