‘Not a Snowball’s Chance In Hell': Former Head of Marine Corps Slams Obama’s ISIS Strategy

‘Not a Snowball’s Chance In Hell': Former Head of Marine Corps Slams Obama’s ISIS Strategy

At a conference in D.C. on Friday, General James Conway (the 34th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps) slammed Obama’s ISIS strategy with a potent dose of reality.

The Daily Caller reported on what Conway had to say:

“I don’t think the president’s plan has a snowball’s chance in hell of succeeding,” retired Marine General James Conway, who served as the 34th Commandant of the Marine Corps during the end of the Bush administration and the beginning of the Obama administration, said at the Maverick PAC Conference in Washington, D.C. Friday, according to a source in attendance. 

*

The source said Conway’s major concern was that the U.S. did not have a force on the ground in Syria it could rely on, like the Kurdish Peshmerga in Iraq. Though the Obama administration believes it can support what it says are moderate rebel forces in Syria to aid in the fight against ISIS, many critics warn that there may be no truly moderate force in the country of any significant strength.

Investigative journalist and radio host: The three imperative questions NOT being asked about Benghazi | TheBlaze.com

Investigative journalist and radio host: The three imperative questions NOT being asked about Benghazi | TheBlaze.com:
"New York Times bestselling author, investigative journalist and radio host Aaron Klein has a new book out titled “The REAL Benghazi Story: What the White House and Hillary Don’t Want You to Know,” in which Klein does yeoman’s work in combing through the thousands of pages of available government documents to chronicle the numerous breathtaking but oft-underreported facts on Benghazi, identify the various inconsistencies between and among the testimony of the various parties involved, and ask the questions begging to be answered."

Maxine Waters Thinks Sharia Law And The US Constitution Go Together Like Peas And Carrots

Maxine Waters Thinks Sharia Law And The US Constitution Go Together Like Peas And Carrots - Chicks on the Right:
"Why is this lunatic in Congress?  
Why?
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) spoke at a townhall hosted by the Islamic Society of Orange County, California, and suggested that Sharia Law is totally compatible with our US Constitution.
FOR REAL. 
She spends most of her presentation talking about how domestic terrorism plots by right wing groups is a growing problem, but yeah - Sharia? 
Totally cool. 
When you hear bad stuff about Sharia, it's just scare mongering, according to Maxine.
She closes by saying "Sharia = Islam and Muslims." 
And suggests that when legislators vote against Sharia Law infiltrating our court systems, that it's basically the same as a vote against Muslims.
She says this indignantly, you guys. 
As if the right thing to do is scrap our Constitution altogether in favor of Sharia Law. 
Because, you know, they go together like peas and carrots."

The anger and hate from these morons is palpable----Teacher group: Math is ‘the domain of old, white men’

Teacher group: Math is ‘the domain of old, white men’ - EAGnews.org:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – According to a Teach for America website, culturally responsive teaching in math is important because “math has traditionally been seen as the domain of old, White men.”

As reported earlier this week, Teach for America groups across the country are committing themselves to “culturally responsive teaching,” a radical pedagogy used by communist Bill Ayers and other blatant anti-American indoctrinators.

The site, Culturally Responsive Teaching, Teach for America, says that because math is seen as a domain for old, white men, many students cannot identify with it. Therefore, educators should find ways to relate math to the lives of their students.

... the site recommends “Critically Conscious Mathematics” and “Radical Math.”

...Radical Math provides hundreds of social justice math lessons obviously meant to indoctrinate. For example, lesson titles include “Sweatshop Accounting,” “Racism and Stop and Frisk,” “When Equal Isn’t Fair,” “The Square Root of a Fair Share” and “Home Buying While Brown or Black.”

As recently reported, the site also contains letters from 5th grade students asking text publisher Houghton Mifflin why they did not include in their textbook the fact that Christopher Columbus ‘burned, slayed and hanged’ Native Americans who would not find gold for him.

The party of Bill Clinton and Ted Kennedy-----White House ‘It’s On Us’ Sexual-Assault Campaign Is Fuzzy On ‘Consent’ (VIDEO)

White House ‘It’s On Us’ Sexual-Assault Campaign Is Fuzzy On ‘Consent’ (VIDEO):
"It doesn’t appear to properly define “consent” or lack thereof. From the PSAs to the resource materials, the campaign tells the audience that “non-consensual sex is sexual assault” and bystanders should intervene where consent “cannot be given.” This shows up under “Tools” on It’s On Us as well, which appears to have the only example of non-consent across the campaign – “too intoxicated to consent.”

This is a recurring issue in lawsuits by punished male students against their schools, such as Occidental College, where plaintiffs claim their sexual partners consented, even if drunk. 
A University of Oregon survey by sexual-assault tutorial provider EverFi implied that both male and female students don’t have the same view of “consent” as victims’ advocacy groups or the federal government, even after told what the “correct” answers are."

AP Washington Bureau Chief Reveals ’8 Ways the Obama Administration Is Blocking Information’ | TheBlaze.com

AP Washington Bureau Chief Reveals ’8 Ways the Obama Administration Is Blocking Information’ | TheBlaze.com:
"Further, the government uses FOIA requests as a “tip service” to see which stories various news organizations are investigating, she claimed.
Finally, the AP bureau chief alleged that the Obama administration is “trying to control the information that state and local officials can give out,” citing recent reports that local police departments have been directed to withhold information about surveillance technology used to acquire mass amounts of cellphone data."

Interpreting the Islamic State’s jihadi logic

Interpreting the Islamic State’s jihadi logic - The Washington Post:
"What was the Islamic State thinking?


We know it is sophisticated in its use of modern media.
But what was the logic of propagating to the world videos of its beheadings of two Americans (and subsequently a Briton) — sure to inflame public opinion?

There are two possible explanations. 
One is that these terrorists are more depraved and less savvy than we think.
They so glory in blood that they could not resist making an international spectacle of their savagery — after all, they proudly broadcast their massacre of Shiite prisoners — and did not quite fathom how such a brazen, contemptuous slaughter of Americans would radically alter public opinion and risk bringing down upon them the furies of the U.S. Air Force.

The second theory is that they were fully aware of the inevitable consequence of their broadcast beheadings — and they intended the outcome. 
It was an easily sprung trap to provoke America into entering the Mesopotamian war.

Why?"

Trust in Mass Media Returns to All-Time Low

Trust in Mass Media Returns to All-Time Low

Canadian News Outlet Warns Canadians That US Law Enforcement Officers Will Pull Them Over And Seize Their Cash

Canadian News Outlet Warns Canadians That US Law Enforcement Officers Will Pull Them Over And Seize Their Cash | Techdirt:
Canadian News Outlet Warns Canadians That US Law Enforcement Officers Will Pull Them Over And Seize Their Cash

from the US-outed-as-serial-abuser dept

The exploitation of asset seizure/forfeiture laws by law enforcement isn't anything new, but it is receiving a lot more attention thanks to an extensive exploration of the subject by the Washington Post. The findings are astonishing/sickening. Over the last 13 years, nearly 62,000 cash seizures have been made by law enforcement officers, resulting in a $2.5 billion haul. And that's just the cash. Depending on local laws, people who have had their cash seized may also lose their vehicles, houses and access to any bank accounts.

Only one-sixth of those whose cash has been seized have engaged in the expensive process necessary to retrieve their money. Nearly half of those who make this attempt have their funds returned, which indicates that many of the cash seizures are predicated on tenuous legal ground (to put it very nicely). But even more bad news awaits should a citizen fight an uphill battle against an infinitely-funded opponent: in many cases, the responding governments only offer back half of what was seized and force citizens to sign a release agreement promising not to sue before they'll hand over the check.

The abusive farce that is asset forfeiture has now reached critical mass: CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) has issued a warning to Canadian travelers. Senior Washington Correspondent Neil MacDonald posted this bluntly-titled article late last week. (via Boing Boing, which also gives us this great phrase: "robbery at badgepoint")

American shakedown: Police won't charge you, but they'll grab your money

In it, he cautions Canadians that visiting the US with a bunch of cash on hand is a good way to end up short on funds. 

Little Brother is the New King - Eagle Totem Eagle Totem

Little Brother is the New King - Eagle Totem Eagle Totem:
"While I recognize that we are all members of the family of Michigan academic institutions, I’ve always viewed U-M and MSU as cousins, certainly not brothers.
Michigan is the entitled cousin, the one from a family of means.
They genuinely wonder how others don’t just give up and bow down at the mere sight of the Block M. They expect Michigan to win every game, and always assign blame to either the officials or some non-Michigan related entity for a loss.
(U-M fans certainly regarded Rich Rod as a “non-Michigan entity”).
This cousin tends to be an insufferable bore, always bragging about wealth/status/career, but for some reason you always end up paying the tab at the bar when you hang out.

Michigan State is the cousin you better relate to, more down to earth and someone you enjoy hanging out with.
That is until the mere mention of U of M.
At this point, otherwise rational, intelligent, likeable people become rabid dogs.
All the things that kind of annoy you about Michigan drive MSU into a state of crippling psychosis.
This is the cousin that you can’t talk politics or religion with.
If you are with a MSU fan and the subject veers towards U of M, either change the subject or get the hell out of there."

13-Year-Old Kyle Bradford Had a Choice: Share His School Lunch or Throw It Away — His Decision Led to Detention | Video | TheBlaze.com

13-Year-Old Kyle Bradford Had a Choice: Share His School Lunch or Throw It Away — His Decision Led to Detention | Video | TheBlaze.com:
"Kyle Bradford went through the lunch line at Weaverville Elementary School in Weaverville, California, on Tuesday. He got a Chicken burrito. The only problem was he wasn’t particularly hungry. When he got to his table, he saw a friend who had received a cheese sandwich."

These Are The 10 Safest Places In Michigan

These Are The 10 Safest Places In Michigan - Movoto

In today’s post, we’re taking it one step further and bringing you the 10 safest places in Michigan, in our ongoing series to uncover some of the safest places in the country. 
We’ve seen the winner in Florida; we’ve taken a look at New York’s safest city, the Town of Elmira; and today, we proudly present Michigan’s safest city, Grosse Ile. 
Of course it faced some stiff competition to get to the top. 
Here are the 10 safest places in Michigan:

1. Grosse Ile Township
2. Hamburg Township
3. South Lyon
3. Village of Milford
5. City of Berkley
6. City of New Baltimore
7. Bloomfield Township
8. City of Riverview
8. West Bloomfield Township
10. City of Rochester

History for September 20

History for September 20 - On-This-Day.com
Upton Sinclair 1878, Dr. Joyce Brothers 1928, Sophia Loren 1934


1519 - Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan left Spain to find a route to the Spice Islands of Indonesia. Magellan was killed during the trip, but one of his ships eventually made the journey. 


1881 - Chester A. Arthur became the 21st president of the U.S. President James A. Garfield had died the day before. 


1953 - Jimmy Stewart debuted on the radio western "The Six Shooter" on NBC. 


1962 - James Meredith, a black student, was blocked from enrolling at the University of Mississippi by Governor Ross R. Barnett. Meredith was later admitted. 


1963 - U.S. President John F. Kennedy proposed a joint U.S.-Soviet expedition to the moon in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly. 


1984 - "The Cosby Show" premiered on NBC-TV. 


1992 - French voters approved the Maastricht Treaty. 


1995 - The U.S. House of Representatives voted to drop the national speed limit. This allowed the states to decide their own speed limits.

State Dept. Whistleblower Sued in Retaliation by John Kerry — and the Case Could Reveal Sordid Accusations of Department Misconduct | TheBlaze.com

State Dept. Whistleblower Sued in Retaliation by John Kerry — and the Case Could Reveal Sordid Accusations of Department Misconduct | TheBlaze.com:
"Over the past month, the State Department, now led by Secretary John Kerry, has had a $13,000 lien placed on Higbie’s home to collect legal fees the government says it has incurred on the case currently under appeal. The department also placed a lien on the Florida home of Higbie’s father — also named Richard Higbie — though with the younger Higbie’s birthdate and Social Security number on the document."

Sorry, Steve Running, Wildfires Are Decreasing with Global Warming

Sorry, Steve Running, Wildfires Are Decreasing with Global Warming | Heartlander Magazine:
"A Billings Gazette article last week quoted University of Montana global warming activist Steve Running claiming major wildfires have quadrupled since 1986, but the facts show wildfires are actually declining.
In the September 7 Gazette article, “Global warming makes firefighting more dangerous,” Running is quoted saying “Since 1986, longer, warmer summers have resulted in a fourfold increase of major wildfires and a sixfold increase in the area of forest burned, compared to the period from 1970 to 1986.” 
Fortunately for scientific truth, the National Interagency Fire Center keeps detailed statistics on wildfires going back to 1960.
The objective data show wildfires are decreasing, not increasing, as the planet modestly warms.
The National Interagency Fire Center reports 85,000 wildfires occurred in 1986, versus only 47,000 wildfires last year.
Fewer wildfires occurred in 2013 than any year since 1984, and 2013 had the third-fewest wildfires since records began in 1960.
This year’s wildfire season may end up being even quieter than 2013.
On the same day Running’s claim was quoted in the Billings Gazette article, the Washington Times reported only 38,000 wildfires have occurred so far this year.
The 2014 wildfire season will almost certainly be one of the three quietest since 1984, and may well end up quietest of them all."

Obama's war against Americans---------Onerous ATF rules threaten to put gun dealers out of business

Onerous ATF rules threaten to put gun dealers out of business - Washington Times
The Form 4473 asks questions such as where the purchaser lives and whether the person has ever committed a crime.
Leaving one of the 132 items on the six-page questionnaire blank, or filling it in incorrectly, is an ATF violation. One violation can lead to a license revocation, which would put Mr. Stockman out of business.
Out of SSG Tactical’s 7,500 guns sold, the company could have made as many as 990,000 mistakes from the Form 4473 alone.
Turns out, Mr. Stockman’s team made about 180 errors — a 99.98 percent accuracy rate.
The majority of the violations were on the 4473 and included incorrect information on ethnicity, wrong dates and leaving a box empty when the city and county go by the same name, Mr. Stockman said.
“These mistakes were anything but willful — they were simply human error,” he said. “Now, if anything more turns up, in any future audit, we could lose our license — our business.”
Federal law obligates licensed firearm dealers to record all transactions so guns connected to crimes can be traced. In addition to 100 percent compliance on the Form 4473, dealers must log all “acquisitions and dispositions” by manufacturer, purchaser, model, serial number and caliber, and the date the dealer bought and sold each gun.
All paperwork needs to be kept for 20 years and be made available for inspection. Mr. Stockman’s audit took about seven months to complete and required him to make one of his full-time employees available to help ATF’s compliance officer sift through the shop’s records.
“The government is making it virtually impossible to grow a business,” said Mr. Stockman. “The amount of oversight and regulations has only grown over the years and in this administration.”

Investigator Says He Found Multiple ‘Fake Cell Towers’ Near White House, Russian Embassy | TheBlaze.com

Investigator Says He Found Multiple ‘Fake Cell Towers’ Near White House, Russian Embassy | TheBlaze.com:
"He explained further: Even if an agency had a warrant to track an individual, breaking into their cell phone conversation is definitely off limits. 
“I have a pretty high level of certainty that I don’t have any active warrants out against me, so if it was done legally they would need warrants to break into my communications,” he said. “That means someone is doing it outside of the law, be that a formal intelligence service, a corporate entity conducting industrial espionage here in the area, ugh, who knows.”
As TheBlaze pointed out last month, the “towers” aren’t necessarily large structures that people may think."

Protect your female children, don't let them go to college! Obama says 1 in 5 attacked at college!!!!-----Hamm, other stars join campaign against assault

Hamm, other stars join campaign against assault - Yahoo News:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has enlisted Hollywood stars including Jon Hamm of "Mad Men" and Connie Britton of "Nashville" to help fight campus sexual assault.

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are unveiling the "It's On Us" campaign Friday at a White House event.

A website that went live Friday morning, ItsOnUs.org, features a public service announcement with Obama, Biden and other familiar faces telling viewers it's their responsibility to stop sexual assault. The star power also includes NBA all-star Kevin Love, actresses Kerry Washington, Rose Byrne and Mayim Bialik, comedian Joel McHale and musicians Randy Jackson and Questlove.

With an estimated 1 in 5 college women attacked, the campaign encourages everyone on campus to make sure friends are safe and to intervene before an assault happens. The message is particularly targeted at men.....

But not a penny available for roads..... unless we approve a new tax?---------Construction to begin Sept. 25 on new Wings arena, entertainment district

Construction to begin Sept. 25 on new Wings arena, entertainment district | Crain's Detroit Business
It’s official: The ceremonial groundbreaking to herald construction of the $650 million Detroit Red Wings arena and entertainment district centered at Woodward and I-75 will happen Sept. 25.
....The project’s financing received approval from the DDA, which will own the venue, on Tuesday, and from the Michigan Strategic Fund, which will issue bonds to pay for its construction, on Wednesday.

Politics of man who sought to firebomb black congressman’s office won’t surprise you

Politics of man who sought to firebomb black congressman’s office won’t surprise you « Hot Air
You already know that if this man had even glanced at a pro-tea party website in the last four years, you would have heard a lot more about this incident and its far-reaching implications. Now, following the arrest of the alleged suspect, 28-year-old Eric King, you know why this episode has not sparked calls for a national conversation about race and progress in America.

Via Kansas City’s Fox affiliate:

King was arrested on Tuesday as he was leaving his apartment. According to the affidavit he was carrying a backpack that contained red spray paint, charcoal lighter fluid and a clear plastic bottle with a tube sock placed over it. Acting on a search warrant, agents found a hand-written letter entitled “Operation House Committee” in his apartment. The letter detailed supplies and steps that aligned with what King is accused of doing.

It also specifically read: “The Missouri congress has been a willing partner in the US governments (sic) capitalist war hungry agenda.” It also listed other potential targets that included the Federal Reserve, banks and pay day loan shops.

Well, the phrase “capitalist war hungry agenda” sure doesn’t evoke images of pensioners in tricorner hats with teabags dangling from the brims.

If there was any doubt in your mind about King’s affiliation, spoke with a local urban radio station in May where he described how he became an anti-capitalist activist. This segment focused on his aversion to genetically modified foods

The Winners and Losers in Detroit Bankruptcy

The Winners and Losers in Detroit Bankruptcy [Michigan Capitol Confidential]
Overall, the projections on retirement obligations are set to drain city finances.
Payments for pension contributions are expected to increase to roughly one-third of the city's general revenue, according to the city's proposal to creditors.
Note that these are projected outflows of cash necessary to pay retirement obligations.
There also are projected payments on other types of debt.
With these costs included, more than half of the city's general fund revenue is pledged to pay for legacy costs.
Clearly, this cannot stand as it is and the city is seeking to mitigate this burden through cuts to the pensions earned by retirees.
...On the losing end would be state taxpayers.
The state already delivers more money to Detroit than every other city. 
The state has also helped Detroit borrow money that was supposed to bridge the gap between fiscal problems and solvency.
Still, other creditors are not subject to the protections offered to pensioners.
Indeed, some creditors are being asked to take 85 percent cuts in the latest proposal.
So pensioners are being offered levels of protection beyond other creditors.

Just Watch John Kerry Struggle to Respond When Asked if the U.S. Is ‘At War’ With the Islamic State | Video | TheBlaze.com

Just Watch John Kerry Struggle to Respond When Asked if the U.S. Is ‘At War’ With the Islamic State | Video | TheBlaze.com:
"Secretary of State John Kerry took nearly a minute to answer a yes or no question Thursday when asked if the U.S. is “at war” with the Islamic State.
“Mr. Secretary, yes or no: is America at war?” Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) asked during a hearing on Capitol Hill.
Kerry took nearly a minute to meander through a response."

Suppose They Gave a Climate Conference and Nobody Came

Roger L. Simon » Suppose They Gave a Climate Conference and Nobody Came
We evil climate deniers often enjoy comparing the current uproar over the weather with Stalin’s misuse of science by Trofim Lysenko.  
But I think the devotion to extreme climate, or whatever today’s catch phrase may be, is far more in the realm of magic and metaphysics than real physics — Lysenko was, after all, a genuine agronomist — and is much more akin to the story of Sabbatai Zevi, the 17th century Sephardic rabbi many Jews believed was  the long-awaited Messiah but who ended up ridiculing his supporters and converting to Islam.

Nevertheless,  your United Nations, at the the behest of your president, is on the case.  On September 23, they are convening aUN Climate Summit.
From their website:Climate armageddon is a messianic cult based almost entirely on religion and faith and very little on science.
And, like the Sabbatean movement where many adherents remained devoted to Zevi no matter what he did or how he behaved,  it’s still thriving, somewhat, despite the many blows that it has taken lately — no warming in the last fifteen years, Antarctic ice cap bigger than ever, more polar bears than ever, all kinds of leaks of fraudulent figures and fudged graphs, etc., etc.   
The list, available at www.wattsupwiththat.com by scrolling backwards, is almost comical in its extent.
It’s amusing to read the myriad theories for why the ice cap is bigger, motivated, for the most part, by panic on the part of the scientists involved that they might have their stipends cut.

Climate change is not a far-off problem. It is happening now and is having very real consequences on people’s lives. Climate change is disrupting national economies, costing us dearly today and even more tomorrow.  But there is a growing recognition that affordable, scalable solutions are available now that will enable us all to leapfrog to cleaner, more resilient economies.

There is a sense that change is in the air. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has invited world leaders, from government, finance, business, and civil society to Climate Summit 2014 this 23 September to galvanize and catalyze climate action.

Problem is most of those leaders aren’t coming.  Maybe they realize the whole thing’s a shuck.  From Newsweek(apparently back in print — go figure):

But the U.N. Climate Summit, set for September 23, is likely to be hampered by the failure of leaders from the U.N.’s three largest member nations—China, Russia and India—to attend. China’s Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli will represent the country at the summit, as well as the September 24-30 General Debate, instead of President Xi Jinping, and the Russian Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will lead the Russian delegation. The top leaders of China and Russia won’t be coming because their schedules are too demanding, Think Progress reports.

So what, pray tell, is going on here?  

In a word:  distraction. 

Although the UN secretary general has pronounced climate “the defining issue of our times” (Obama and Kerry have made similar remarks), everyone with an IQ in triple digits knows that it isn’t — and has for some time. 

...I went to Copenhagen in 2009 for this website to cover another UN climate conference (COP 15), then considered to be extremely crucial.  

Several islands — Micronesia, I think — were supposedly about to go under from the rising tides.  

I ran into the representative from one of those islands and asked him if he was worried.  

He started to laugh and shook his head.  

So I asked him what he was doing at the conference.  

I want the money, he said.

LA School District Reluctantly Gives Up The Grenade Launchers The Pentagon Gave Them

LA School District Reluctantly Gives Up The Grenade Launchers The Pentagon Gave Them | Techdirt:
Just last week, MuckRock posted on its site about a FOIA request from California, detailing the military equipment given to school police forces.
Just the fact that any military equipment is being given to school police should raise some serious questions, but the one that really stood out was that the LA School Police had been given three grenade launchers, along with 61 assault rifles and one MRAP (mine resistant vehicle -- the big scary looking armored vehicles that have become one of the key symbols of police militarization). 
Asked to explain itself, the LA School police chief, Steve Zipperman, claimed that the district had actually received the grenade launchers and the rifles all the way back in 2001 (though the MRAP is brand-spanking-new).
But, he claimed, we shouldn't worry too much, because the police didn't think of them as "grenade launchers," but rather "ammunition launchers," and they were mainly kept around in case other police needed them: