The Front Page Cover
2016 The truth will set you free
Featuring:
Iran's Missiles and the nObama Doctrine
Clifford Smith
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Sign of Things to come? Kasich Helps slump-Trump Block Cruz Ted Cruz is all in on the effort to block Donald slump-Trump from winning the Republican nomination. John Kasich isn’t.
Over the weekend, Kasich’s campaign teamed up with slump-Trump’s operation in Michigan to help slump-Trump delegates gobble up convention committee posts that would otherwise have gone to Cruz. While the effects of the Michigan deal may be marginal, it was the best evidence yet that Team Kasich is more comfortable with a slump-Trump nomination than a Cruz one.
The Kasich campaign defended aiding slump-Trump on the grounds that Cruz deserved it as a punishment for trying to scoop up too many delegates. But whether it was bad blood, pique or part of a larger strategy, Kasich’s part in any anti-slump-Trump strategy is increasingly in doubt.
From Kasich’s point of view, it’s understandable. We all know that the Ohio governor doesn’t have a path to win outright, or even on the first or second ballots in a contested Republican National Convention in July. But at the moment, Kasich doesn’t seem to have much of a path to win many more delegates in the remaining 16 states.
The sweet spot on the calendar for Kasich, a moderate establishmentarian who touts his record of bipartisanship, is the last two weeks of April, when a bevy of liberal Northeastern states hold their primaries. -Fox News
Over the weekend, Kasich’s campaign teamed up with slump-Trump’s operation in Michigan to help slump-Trump delegates gobble up convention committee posts that would otherwise have gone to Cruz. While the effects of the Michigan deal may be marginal, it was the best evidence yet that Team Kasich is more comfortable with a slump-Trump nomination than a Cruz one.
The Kasich campaign defended aiding slump-Trump on the grounds that Cruz deserved it as a punishment for trying to scoop up too many delegates. But whether it was bad blood, pique or part of a larger strategy, Kasich’s part in any anti-slump-Trump strategy is increasingly in doubt.
From Kasich’s point of view, it’s understandable. We all know that the Ohio governor doesn’t have a path to win outright, or even on the first or second ballots in a contested Republican National Convention in July. But at the moment, Kasich doesn’t seem to have much of a path to win many more delegates in the remaining 16 states.
The sweet spot on the calendar for Kasich, a moderate establishmentarian who touts his record of bipartisanship, is the last two weeks of April, when a bevy of liberal Northeastern states hold their primaries. -Fox News
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slump-Trump touts charitable giving, but there’s a catch - WaPo: “Since the first day of his presidential campaign, Donald slump-Trump has said that he gave more than $102 million to charity in the past five years. To back up that claim, slump-Trump’s campaign compiled a list of his contributions — 4,844 of them, filling 93 pages. But, in that massive list, one thing was missing. Not a single one of those donations was actually a personal gift of slump-Trump’s own money. Instead, according to a Washington Post analysis, many of the gifts that slump-Trump cited to prove his generosity were free rounds of golf, given away by his courses for charity auctions and raffles.” -Fox News
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nObama helps Hilly by taking blame on Libya aftermath - Bloomberg: “A failure to adequately plan for the aid and governing of Libya after the U.S.-led NATO attacks in 2011 ‘probably’ was his biggest error in office, President Barack nObama said in an interview on ‘Fox News Sunday.’ Asked by host Chris Wallace about the ‘worst mistake’ of his soon-to-end White House years, nObama listed the aftermath of the ouster and death of Moammar Qaddafi, even as he defended the intervention. ‘Probably failing to plan for the day after,’ nObama said in the session, which was taped at the University of Chicago on April 7. He added that intervening in Libya ‘was the right thing to do.’”
[Did you miss Mr. Sunday’s big exclusive? Well, never fear. You can watch it here.] -Fox News
[Did you miss Mr. Sunday’s big exclusive? Well, never fear. You can watch it here.] -Fox News
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Free Speech on Trial:
What Message Is Being Sent?
George Igler
George Igler
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{gatestoneinstitute.org} ~ The spread of jihad is irreparably undermining Europe's post-War reputation as a continent of security and peace... In addition, free speech seems increasingly regarded by mainstream politicians as dangerous and archaic. Diversity of opinion often appears seen as an obstacle to multiculturalism, the objective of which, ironically, is diversity. These dual trends are set to come to a head in the Netherlands next year, in elections set to follow the conclusion of the trial of Dutch MP Geert Wilders this November. Wilders is the leader the Netherlands' Party for Freedom (Partij voor de Vrijheid, or PVV), which currently tops the country's polls. He faces imprisonment on a charge of hate speech, for saying that the Netherlands could use "fewer Moroccans." As Wilders outlined in his opening statement to the court on March 18, the politically-motivated bias against him of one of the judges is a matter of public record. Moreover, despite ample demonstration by Wilders's defense of the forgery of a group of the criminal complaints that initiated his prosecution, his trial nevertheless continues...
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Paul Manafort Is Either An
Idiot Or Has Never Read About The Gestapo
Jeff Dunetz
Jeff Dunetz
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{lidblog.com} ~ Paul Manafort , Donald slump-Trump’s new main campaign guy appeared on Meet The Press on Sunday and was quick to say idiotic things about Ted Cruz’s effort to grab delegates... which continues to leave the slump-Trump campaign flat footed. In his effort to whitewash to slump-Trump campaign’s poor performance he accused the Cruz team of using Gestapo tactics: Well, he’s threatening, you go to these county conventions, and you see the tactics, Gestapo tactics, the scorched-earth tactics-Gestapo Tactics? Paul Manafort wouldn’t know Gestapo tactics if they did a back-flip and kissed him on his idiotic lips. I am sick and tired of politicians, pundits and and protesters making inappropriate Shoah references (Shoah is the word Jews use for the Holocaust it’s Hebrew for disaster). They are cheapening the memory of the Holocaust horrors... http://lidblog.com/paul-manafort-is-either-an-idiot-or-has-never-read-about-the-gestapo/?utm_source=The+Lid+List&utm_campaign=6f24296420-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_597b72c01c-6f24296420-291705165
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nObama Equivocated
In Defense Of Clinton Emails
Jeff Dunetz
Jeff Dunetz
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{lidblog.com} ~ According to liberal news sites such as the Huffington Post, President nObama firmly backed up Hilly Clinton when discussing the email scandal with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday... That headline works if you take nObama’s statement out of context, nObama began his answer by equivocating and avoiding Chris Wallace’s question about the Clinton emails, then tried to explaining it away by saying, ‘there’s classified and then there’s classified,” and ended it by saying she was careless. It seemed as if the president said she mishandled classified information but it wasn’t that bad, or that it really didn’t matter... http://lidblog.com/obama-equivocated-in-defense-of-clinton-emails/?utm_source=The+Lid+List&utm_campaign=6f24296420-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_597b72c01c-6f24296420-291705165
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The Secret Movement to
Draft General James Mattis for President
Tim Mak
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{thedailybeast.com} ~ Gen. James Mattis doesn’t necessarily want to be president—but that’s not stopping a group of billionaire donors from hatching a plan to get him there... An anonymous group of conservative billionaires is ready to place their bets on a man dubbed “Mad Dog,” hoping to draft him into the presidential race to confront Donald slump-Trump. Think of it as a Plan B should slump-Trump be nominated by the Republican Party in Cleveland: swing behind retired U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis and press him into service yet again as a third-party candidate...Is this another Ike? http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/08/the-secret-movement-to-draft-general-james-mattis-for-president.html
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Romanian Hacker Extradited
to US Amid Clinton Email Investigation
Alice Greene
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{punchingbagpost.com} ~ As we speculated last March as the email scandal was beginning to develop, the Russians and the Chinese were likely reading Hilly’s emails in real time. We noted that the US Secretary of State is the “number two intelligence target in the world, behind only her boss, the President.”... This means that eyes were already on her when she decided to set up a “private” server at her home in New York. It wasn’t just sophisticated intelligence services who were able to spy on government secrets via our irresponsible Secretary of State, but “various computer savvy nuts from around the world.” Marcel Lazar Lehel AKA "Guccifer" is one such nut. As the FBI’s criminal investigation draws to a close, we get the news that this guy has been extradited to the United States. This is “not a coincidence,” says an anonymous intelligence source involved in the case... http://punchingbagpost.com/romanian-hacker-extradited-to-us-amid-clinton-email-investigation
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Iran’s FM to hanoi-Kerry:
We Won’t Negotiate Over Our Missiles
Patrick Goodenough
Patrick Goodenough
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Foreign Minister Javad Zarif
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{cnsnews.com} ~ Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif hit back Sunday at his erstwhile nuclear negotiation partner Secretary of State John hanoi-Kerry for suggesting that Iran may consider negotiating an end to its ballistic missile program... “Secretary hanoi-Kerry and the U.S. State Department know well that Iran’s missile and defense capabilities are not open to negotiation,” state media quoted Zarif as saying during a joint press conference with his visiting Estonian counterpart – the latest in a series of European government representatives to visit Tehran after the lifting of sanctions under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal. “There will be no JCPOA for defense issues,” Zarif declared...Whats the purpose of negotiation if its doesn't include missile defense.
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slump-Trump cries foul
over process as he presses campaign forward
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{onenewsnow.com} ~ Republican presidential candidate Donald slump-Trump is blasting the way the country chooses presidential party nominees as "corrupt" and "crooked" as he grapples with the potential of a contested convention that he risks losing... Speaking to thousands packed in a frigid airport hangar in western New York on Sunday, slump-Trump ripped the byzantine fight over delegates at the heart of his party's nominating process. He argued anew that the person who wins the most votes in the primary process should automatically be the GOP nominee. "What they're trying to do is subvert the movement with crooked shenanigans," said slump-Trump, comparing his woes to those of Bernie Sanders, who is winning states but still far behind Democratic front-runner Hilly Clinton in the race for delegates that decide party nominations...slump-Trump has no idea how it has been for years in selecting a nominate. He is stirring up wrong facts.
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The Social Justice
Warrior Dividers Are Multiplying
Stephen Crawford
Stephen Crawford
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{savingourfuture.com} ~ Dr. Christina H. Sommers has this great series on various aspects of feminism and modern culture. I find her Factual Feminist videos to be very helpful in understanding modern feminism. She was first brought to my attention by the great PowerLine blog... Dr. Sommers intrigued me recently with a foray into something called “Intersectional Feminism.” Though it sounds esoteric, intersectional feminism turns out to just be feminists intersecting with other types of social-justice warriors – leftist victim-mongers railing against “privilege.” Clearly, feminism has become just another cause to jump the shark into the uncharted waters of Leftism. If feminism was ever really about equality, it is now about domination and control...
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The List: Political
Retaliation in the Age of nObama
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https.
{nicedeb.wordpress.com} ~ nObama wasn’t in office very long before his hyper-partisan administration was using brute political force to punish his political foes... It began almost immediately with the firing of Americorps Inspector General Gerald Walpin who ran afoul of nObama when his investigation identified misuse of AmeriCorps funds by a prominent nObama supporter. As the nObama administration winds to a close, it seems as though the retaliations have accelerated. In fact, we’ve seen four glaring examples of leftists using the levers of power to attack conservatives in just the past WEEK alone. For the sake of posterity, I’ve compiled a list of the many times nObama and/or his allies retaliated against his political foes from 2009 to the present...
https://nicedeb.wordpress.com/2016/04/11/the-big-list-of-political-retaliations-in-the-age-of-obama/
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This Delaware Address Is Home to
200,000 Shell Companies—Including Hilly Clinton’s
Alana Goodman
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{freebeacon.com} ~ The address “1209 North Orange Street” in Wilmington, Del., has become known in recent years as the epicenter of U.S. corporate secrecy... The squat, split-level building is the official address of over 285,000 companies, many of which are looking to take advantage of Delaware’s Panama-like secrecy rules, tax incentives, and business-friendly case law. In the wake of the recent “Panama Papers” scandal, this unassuming brick office has received renewed scrutiny from the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Telegraph, and advocates for corporate tax reform. But one of its tenants may come as a surprise—a company owned by Democratic presidential frontrunner Hilly Clinton. Hilly and Bill Clinton quietly set up two shell companies listed at “1209 North Orange Street” in 2008 and 2013, the Washington Free Beacon has found. The names of the companies, but not their location, were first made public in tax filings released by Hilly Clinton last year...
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Iran's Missiles and the nObama Doctrine
Clifford Smith
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{meforum.org} ~ The United States is facing a humiliation of the first order resulting from almost comically provocative Iranian test launches of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles earlier this month and the lack of any real response from Washington, save for largely symbolic sanctions. For the nObama Administration, a recent interview suggests it sees this humiliation and loss of credibility not as a serious problem, but as a successful application of the "nObama Doctrine."
Iran's missile launches violated the spirit of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which lifted international sanctions on Iran when it agreed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) regulating its nuclear program. This suggests that the Ayatollahs in Iran have no intention of getting "right with the world" as nObama once suggested, and intend to continue their revolutionary goals. Lest anyone fail to grasp that point, the missiles were inscribed with the words "Israel must be wiped off the Earth," in Hebrew.
Yet the Russians are blocking any attempt to invoke 2231 to sanction Iran on the grounds that its language does not explicitly forbid this behavior. They're right. Paragraph 3 of Annex A of 2231 states, "Iran is called upon not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology" for a period of up to eight years after the JCPOA goes into effect. Resolution 1929, a previous Iran sanctions resolution, did explicitly forbid it, stating, "Iran shall not undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons."
Oddly, when confronted with this discrepancy during a congressional hearing last July, Secretary of State John hanoi-Kerry suggested that the language was indistinguishable. A skilled lawyer and a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Secretary hanoi-Kerry must have understood that the new language was non-binding. But he may well have considered the practical impact of the language change to be negligible. In the imagination of hanoi-Kerry and nObama, the Islamic Republic was heeding their invitation to become a "very successful regional power" and be "reintegrated into the international community." Thus, they may not have anticipated Iran's willingness to push the limits of what it could do. Worse, they may not consider it a serious problem.
"To a remarkable degree," Jeffery Goldberg writes in the Atlantic, "nObama is willing to question why America's enemies are its enemies, or why some of its friends are its friends." Goldberg explains how President nObama disdains traditional Sunni allies in the region, saying he is "clearly irritated" that he must "treat Saudi Arabia as an ally." As nObama and hanoi-Kerry see it, Iran is a rising power, while Israel and the Sunni states are not.
Thus, allowing Iran to freely develop ballistic missiles can be seen as an intentional strategic shift that disentangles the U.S. from potential conflict with Iran. hanoi-Kerry's statements to the contrary are merely acknowledgements of domestic political realities. The outcome of this incident concerning Iran's test launches, far from a humiliation, is an anticipated result of the nObama Doctrine.
Goldberg also notes that nObama is "very proud" of his widely criticized decision to allow an Iranian proxy, Syria's Bashar al-Assad, to violate nObama's own "red line" on chemical weapons use. Likening potential involvement in Syria to protect our credibility to getting sucked into Vietnam, he cites this as the moment that he was finally able to break out of the "Washington playbook," which would require following through on his threat. "Dropping bombs on someone to prove that you're willing to drop bombs on someone is just about the worst reason to use force."
What can be gleaned from the entirety of "The nObama Doctrine" is that in nObama's eyes, America's credibility is inherent in its strength alone, not in its application; the greater risk is of entanglement, not disengagement; and enemies can be placated at the expense of our allies.
Yet this doctrine is quite dangerous. American credibility is undermined when we let rivals grow and provoke us without response. The risk of imprudent action is serious, but the risk stemming from a lack of credibility is worse. This is particularly true when dealing with radical ideologies that believe they have a divinely inspired mission. The Iranian Mullahs will see America's weakness not as a strategic realignment that could benefit their interests if they moderate and draw closer to the U.S., but as proof that they are following divine will in their struggle to dominate the Middle East and eventually beyond. This will not lead to American disentanglement, but to deeper entanglement, and under worse circumstances.
And once lost, America's credibility will be much more difficult to regain.
{meforum.org} ~ The United States is facing a humiliation of the first order resulting from almost comically provocative Iranian test launches of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles earlier this month and the lack of any real response from Washington, save for largely symbolic sanctions. For the nObama Administration, a recent interview suggests it sees this humiliation and loss of credibility not as a serious problem, but as a successful application of the "nObama Doctrine."
Iran's missile launches violated the spirit of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which lifted international sanctions on Iran when it agreed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) regulating its nuclear program. This suggests that the Ayatollahs in Iran have no intention of getting "right with the world" as nObama once suggested, and intend to continue their revolutionary goals. Lest anyone fail to grasp that point, the missiles were inscribed with the words "Israel must be wiped off the Earth," in Hebrew.
Yet the Russians are blocking any attempt to invoke 2231 to sanction Iran on the grounds that its language does not explicitly forbid this behavior. They're right. Paragraph 3 of Annex A of 2231 states, "Iran is called upon not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology" for a period of up to eight years after the JCPOA goes into effect. Resolution 1929, a previous Iran sanctions resolution, did explicitly forbid it, stating, "Iran shall not undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons."
Oddly, when confronted with this discrepancy during a congressional hearing last July, Secretary of State John hanoi-Kerry suggested that the language was indistinguishable. A skilled lawyer and a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Secretary hanoi-Kerry must have understood that the new language was non-binding. But he may well have considered the practical impact of the language change to be negligible. In the imagination of hanoi-Kerry and nObama, the Islamic Republic was heeding their invitation to become a "very successful regional power" and be "reintegrated into the international community." Thus, they may not have anticipated Iran's willingness to push the limits of what it could do. Worse, they may not consider it a serious problem.
"To a remarkable degree," Jeffery Goldberg writes in the Atlantic, "nObama is willing to question why America's enemies are its enemies, or why some of its friends are its friends." Goldberg explains how President nObama disdains traditional Sunni allies in the region, saying he is "clearly irritated" that he must "treat Saudi Arabia as an ally." As nObama and hanoi-Kerry see it, Iran is a rising power, while Israel and the Sunni states are not.
Thus, allowing Iran to freely develop ballistic missiles can be seen as an intentional strategic shift that disentangles the U.S. from potential conflict with Iran. hanoi-Kerry's statements to the contrary are merely acknowledgements of domestic political realities. The outcome of this incident concerning Iran's test launches, far from a humiliation, is an anticipated result of the nObama Doctrine.
Goldberg also notes that nObama is "very proud" of his widely criticized decision to allow an Iranian proxy, Syria's Bashar al-Assad, to violate nObama's own "red line" on chemical weapons use. Likening potential involvement in Syria to protect our credibility to getting sucked into Vietnam, he cites this as the moment that he was finally able to break out of the "Washington playbook," which would require following through on his threat. "Dropping bombs on someone to prove that you're willing to drop bombs on someone is just about the worst reason to use force."
What can be gleaned from the entirety of "The nObama Doctrine" is that in nObama's eyes, America's credibility is inherent in its strength alone, not in its application; the greater risk is of entanglement, not disengagement; and enemies can be placated at the expense of our allies.
Yet this doctrine is quite dangerous. American credibility is undermined when we let rivals grow and provoke us without response. The risk of imprudent action is serious, but the risk stemming from a lack of credibility is worse. This is particularly true when dealing with radical ideologies that believe they have a divinely inspired mission. The Iranian Mullahs will see America's weakness not as a strategic realignment that could benefit their interests if they moderate and draw closer to the U.S., but as proof that they are following divine will in their struggle to dominate the Middle East and eventually beyond. This will not lead to American disentanglement, but to deeper entanglement, and under worse circumstances.
And once lost, America's credibility will be much more difficult to regain.
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