Some tough questions for Sen. John McCain

In light of the grilling that Chuck Hagel received at the hands of the Jewish right, Paul Abrams has some very tough questions for John McCain:

1. You are trying to establish accountability for Benghazi where four Americans tragically died. For clarification, nearly 12 years later, could you tell us whom you hold accountable for 9/11/2001 when 3,000 Americans died?
2. No WMD were found in Iraq. Whom do you hold accountable for taking us into war based upon cherry-picking the information, deliberately misleading the American people and you?
3. Did you read the entire National Intelligence Estimate prior to voting for the Iraq War? What did you make of the doubts and uncertainties expressed in that document?
4. Prior to the invasion of Iraq, you said that we would be greeted as liberators and that the war would last 18 months. In fact, it lasted 9 years, 4,400 Americans were killed, 32,000 were seriously injured, and it cost more than $1 Trillion. Do you hold yourself accountable for that bad judgment? If so, what consequences are there to you for being so wrong?
5. Do you believe that the U.S. should support Israel’s foreign policy no matter what? If not, can you tell us what Israel has ever done with which you disagree?

These are questions that Independent thinking Americans, like myself, really want to know the answers to. Because the way I see if, the Republicans are going to bitch and gripe about Libya, then we should open it up to 9/11 as well. Who failed us? and why have they not been brought to justice too?

I admit it, in the beginning, I have some serious issues with what happened in Libya. I still think it could have been handled better than it was handled. But, the Republicans got the information that they wanted and yet, they still keep pressing for stuff that is just not there. You know why they keep pressing? Well, for one, partisanship and for two, they are resentful of a black President. It is just that simple. It is called racial resentment.

It is same thing that Obama did, when he let those 4 white guys die in Libya. He let them die, because they were white. Instead of the Republicans being better than Obama, they are playing the same game in reverse. It is sick and sad thing, and it sucks that the taxpayers money is paying for such monkeyshine nonsense!

Just my opinion.

Benghazi: What really happened

This is very interesting: (H/T InstaPundit)

David Petraeus was betrayed by his own bodyguards and vengeful high-ranking enemies in the CIA, who made sure his affair with his biographer was exposed to the public, a new book claims.
MailOnline can reveal a new angle on the story that rocked Washington last fall. It comes from two retired special operations commandos – a Navy SEAL and a Green Beret – who say they discovered a plot against the former CIA director while doing research about the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
Senior CIA officers targeted Petraeus because they didn’t like the way he was running the agency – focusing more on paramilitary operations than intelligence analysis. They used their political clout and their connections to force an FBI investigation of his affair with Paul Broadwell and make it public, according to ‘Benghazi: The Definitive Report.’
‘It was high-level career officers on the CIA who got the ball rolling on the investigation. It was basically a palace coupe to get Petraeus out of there,’ Jack Murphy, one of the authors, told MailOnline. — Via U.K. DailyMail

Needless to say, this is going to be an explosive book and could bring down people in the Obama Administration.

Get the Book:

The Further Consequences of Wilsonian Foreign Policy in Iraq

This is what happens when you invade sovereign nations based upon bad intelligence and do not bother to verify said intelligence.

BAGHDAD – Car bombs struck two outdoor markets and a group of taxi vans in Shiite areas across Iraq on Friday, killing at least 36 people and wounding nearly 100 in the bloodiest day in more than two months, as minority Sunnis staged large anti-government protests.
Sunni protesters have rejected calls to violence by an Al Qaeda-linked group, but there is concern that Sunni insurgents could step up attacks ahead of the April 20 provincial elections — the first country-wide vote since the U.S. troop withdrawal more than a year ago.
via 4 car bombs at outdoor markets in Iraq kill at least 36, wound 100 | Fox News.

Now I am not going to sit here and write a posting blaming Bush for all the above. Yes, Bush was wrong about Iraq; but Bush has not been President since 2009, when he left office. Obama took the reigns of the Country and he now is the President, so, basically, Iraq was Obama’s baby when he took office. There are some who believe that Obama removed our troops too early; to be quite honest with you, I really do not agree with that at all. Because to be honest with you, our presence there was causing a good deal of friction in that Country, or at the very least, adding to the friction that was already there. Now the total anti-war people say that, if we would have never invaded Iraq, this above would not be happening; because Saddam would not tolerate it. This is true, but Saddam also was a brutal dictator, who did horrible things to his people as well. So, while it is not a good thing that we invaded that country, we did get rid of someone who was a horrible tyrant. This is why I never took, and still do not take a hard stance on the Iraq War and the middle east; because it is such a complex subject, and seems to get more complex by the minute. This is why I never really bought into the, “blood for oil” meme by the Democrats and the anti-war crowd. I did feel however, that once we got Saddam, we should have started making the moves to leave the Country.

However, I will say this; this Wilsonian bungle that did happen in Iraq, will be a black mark on America for a very long time to come. The Wilsonian foreign policy crowds biggest flaw, is that they cannot see past the end of their noses. They never look past the “here and now.” They always live in the moment. They do not stop to think about what might happen down the road; they never do. All they care about is defending Israel, no matter the cost of life or money. This is their fatal flaw and they have ruined America’s credibility around the World. What gets me is, how the Republicans like to blame Obama for ruining America’s standing in the World. The problem is, Obama is a very little part of that; the Neoconservatives, with their Wilsonian foreign policy ruined America’ reputation in just eight years time. True the Democrats did destroy the housing market and the economy. But, our standing in the World was done by Bush and the Neocons.

Anyone that tells you anything different than that, is either lying or a partisan. But, then again, I repeat myself.

If President Obama is smart, he won’t even blink

Interesting story released on Sunday:

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Iran on Sunday said that Tehran would be interested in participating in bilateral talks on its nuclear program, so long as there is “honest intention,” The Wall Street Journal reported. “If there is an honest intention on the other side, then we will take that into consideration,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told a panel discussion at an annual international security conference in Germany. The minister’s reply came in response to a renewed offer by the U.S. for talks, which have been led by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. The next round of discussions would take place in Kazakhstan on Feb. 25, Salehi said. A European Union spokesperson said the EU has been trying to set a data and location for the talks since early last month, the newspaper said. The U.S. has accused Iran of attempting to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its program is peaceful, intended to develop nuclear power to generate electricity. The U.S. has imposed sanctions, designed to force Iran to abandon its nuclear program, that have crippled Iran’s economy. —- Iranian minister says nuclear talks possible – MarketWatch

If President Obama is smart, he would not even blink one iota. This could be a bluff to see what the United States of America will do. If the US does move to talk with them; they will look weak in the eyes of the international muslim community. The US should stick to their demands and not devaite from the rigid demands.

Just my opinion.

Hope and Change: Government drops probe of possible inside trading by media companies

Hmmmmm… Maybe Cornell West has a point:

The dismissal of an investigation into major media companies suspected of giving clients a sneak peek at crucial data drew great surprise on Wall Street, where traders make their living profiting from blips of information moving at the speed of light. Federal authorities had been pursuing allegations that various media companies — including Bloomberg LP, Thomson Reuters and Dow Jones and Co. — leaked key economic data to select investors, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. But the investigators dropped the probe, according to the paper, in part because they could not conclusively determine that investors were able to use the advance look at the numbers to extract profits. Wall Street analysts pronounced that explanation baffling, noting that in modern markets — fueled by high-frequency trading and robotic transactions — a mere fraction of a second can be enough to execute trades worth billions of dollars. — Government Drops Insider Trading Probe Of Media Companies, Baffling Investors

How much you want to bet that these companies told Obama, “You want our support? You had better call off your dogs on this probe.” How much you want to bet that this is what went down? I would be willing to bet you a nice steak dinner, with all the trimmings that is what happened here. This is why I did not support the Democrats this time around; because I knew this is what was going to happen. Believe you me, it would not have been any better with Hillary either; she is bought and paid for like the rest of them.

This is why I won’t be voting for Democrats in 2014 or 2016; because they are two sides of the same coin. Bought out, corrupt, self-serving vermin is all that they are, anyone that believes anything else; is crazy.

Taking Religion out of the Military?

I have mixed feelings about this one:

“Soldiers with minority religious beliefs and atheists often feel like second-class citizens when Christianity is seemingly officially endorsed by their own base,” American Atheists president David Silverman told Fox News. “We are very happy the Pentagon and the Army decided to do the right thing.” A military spokesman told Fox News the cross was literally dismantled and will be removed from the base to be in “compliance with Army regulations and to avoid any misconception of religious favoritism or disrespect.” “After a Christian prayer, the cross was removed from the roof of the chapel,” the spokesman said. “During the removal, the cross was dismantled; however the cross was reassembled and currently awaits transportation to a larger operational base.” The military told Fox News the cross will only be brought out during Christian services and will be designated as a “non-permanent religious symbol.” Silverman said a Christian chapel on an Army base in Afghanistan could have put American troops in danger. “It inflames this Muslim versus Christian mentality,” he said. “This is not a Muslim versus Christian war — but if the Army base has a large chapel on it that has been converted to Christian-only, it sends a message that could be interpreted as hostile to Islam.” An Army spokesman said all chapels must be religiously neutral. “The primary purpose of making a chapel a neutral, multi-use facility is to accommodate the free exercise of religion for all faith groups using it,” he said. “We take the spiritual fitness of our Soldiers seriously and encourage them to practice their faith and exercise their beliefs however they choose.” Retired Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, of the Family Research Council, told Fox News a Christian cleansing of the military is under way. “I don’t think you can categorize it any other way,” he said. “There is a strong effort, led partially by the Administration as well as by atheist groups to destroy the identity of who we are as a nation and that means robbing us of our history.” —- Military: Crosses Removed ‘Out of Respect for Other Faiths’ | FOX News & Commentary: Todd Starnes

On one hand, I would hate to think that having Christian symbols on a battle front could be putting our Military at risk. On the other hand, I would hate to see Christianity being removed from the Military entirely. However, we are in a Muslim Nation is Afghan region; one would think that the Military would want to be respectful of those people and their culture.

It is a mixed bag, and all the more reason why we really need to get out of that Country. Our mission is done there; we killed Osama and we need to leave. We do not want to make the same mistake the Russians made there. Besides all that, Al-Qaeda has moved into other regions and is much more a threat to other interests in other parts for the world now.

So, to this Independent, the quicker we leave, the better.

Follow Up: What the President is doing and not doing on gun control

First of all what he is NOT doing:

The President is not going to order the Government come and round your guns up and take them away. This is being promoted by those who wish to make money on your fears. (See: Alex Jones)

What he is doing is this: (H/T Reuters)

Obama speaks on gun violence prevention:
• Obama proposes 23 “executive actions” on gun control
• Obama’s 23 actions can be implemented without Congressional approval
• Obama’s 23 “executive actions” costs some $500mil in FY 2014 budget
• Obama proposes requiring criminal background checks for all gun sales
• Obama directs CDC to conduct research into causes, prevention of gun violence
• Part of Obama’s CDC direction includes influence of video games
• Obama proposes ban on armor-piercing bullets through manufacture, import ban
• Obama proposes program to allow schools to hire 1,000 “school resource officers”
• Obama calls on Congress to pass new gun trafficking laws
• Obama calls for reinstatement of assault weapons ban
• Obama proposes 10-round limit on ammunition magazines
• Obama nominates Todd Jones to be director of ATF
• Obama urges Congress to confirm Todd Jones
• Document: See full list of Obama’s gun violence prevention proposals

One thing I need to point out here; you see where it says, “Proposes” and “Calls for?” This simply means that Obama wants Congress, that being the Senate and the House, to bring those items up for a vote. IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT OBAMA CAN JUST DO THOSE THINGS BY EXECUTIVE ORDER! So, despite what Matt Drudge or Alex Jones might tell you; Obama is NOT, I REPEAT NOT, NOT, NOT coming from anyone’s guns anytime soon!

The worst thing that is going to come out of any of this, is that there will be a mandatory federal background check, including one’s mental health; made on those who want to obtain a gun permit; and in the opinion of this writer, that is not a bad idea. This will keep guns out of the hands of the whack jobs, like the kid who shot up that theater in Colorado.

The rest of this stuff will never pass the house in Congress at all. Do not believe me?

Here is Fox News’s report:

The story:

President Obama’s sweeping plan to address gun violence was met Wednesday with swift and stiff resistance by gun rights advocates and conservative lawmakers, setting up a tense debate that will be held on the airwaves, in congressional hearing rooms and in communities across America.
The package proposed Wednesday is the most comprehensive in decades. The president called for a new, tougher assault weapons ban and a 10-round limit on magazines, as well as legislation to bar the possession of armor-piercing bullets and require criminal background checks for nearly all gun sales.
Separately, he approved 23 executive actions while calling for additional funding to address mental health and school security.
The movement comes in the wake of last month’s school massacre in Connecticut, where 20 children and six adults were killed.
“If there’s even one life that can be saved, then we’ve got an obligation to try,” said Obama, joined at the White House by four children who wrote to the president following the Newtown, Conn., tragedy.
But several lawmakers said the president’s proposals in large part would not have prevented a shooting like the one at Sandy Hook Elementary School. They accused the president of glossing over potential factors like the entertainment industry and the country’s mental health system, making clear that the legislative proposals could face an uphill climb.
“Nothing the president is proposing would have stopped the massacre at Sandy Hook. President Obama is targeting the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens instead of seriously addressing the real underlying causes of such violence,” Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said. “Rolling back responsible citizens’ rights is not the proper response to tragedies committed by criminals and the mentally ill.”

So, as I say, nothing big is coming off here. Despite my initial fears; this is a bit of a nothing burger really.

However, I will say this; this will hurt the Democrats in the long run. The President’s party will pay for this little move in 2014 and 2016. You can bet on that one. Wherever the Democrats are easily routed in elections; they will be. Bank on that one.

Also too, just a little opinion; this from the NRA, did the gun right crowd no favors at all. What idiots. 🙄

Blogger roundup here.

Answering Digby

Just thought I’d answer a progressive blogger.

Digby who runs Hullabaloo, which is a left-wing blogger, reacting to this story here, asks the following:

I have to say that while Scott Walker is clearly the meanest of all the GOP wingut Governors (and Jan Brewer is clearly the dumbest) Rick Scott has got to be the weirdest. And that is saying something.
Florida, what were you thinking?
via Hullabaloo.

The same darned thing that you progressives and the rest of the rube idiots were thinking, when you elected and reelected that flipping dishonest, wall street brought and paid for, Marxist asshole in the White House — that’s what! The man campaigned on hope and change and what’d we get? More of the same. More of the same polices of George W. Bush. More drone strikes of American Citizens, More of “F*** the big three!” More of this President being interested in so-called “High tech jobs” and not low tech, general labor jobs.

So, the next time you want to lash out at the right there Digby. Remember, try looking in your own backyard for a change. (Hope Change?) Because your man is not really much of a prize either. In case you have not figured it out; I was not, am not, and never will be a fan of this President. Not because of his skin color; but because of what he is. Malcolm X summed him up very nicely — there are two kinds of blacks — Field and House; and Obama is a House. I have friends who are Field, and they are the best people ever. Most of the House kind are on Fox News and now are in the White House.

Now only this; and this comes from a personal standpoint; namely mine. He promised these jobs would come springing out of the woodwork. Just where the hell are all of these jobs at? I am unemployed, have been since 2005. Well, except for blogging, which really does not count as a job; because for one, I love doing it and for two, it really does not pay that great. But, where are these “Shovel-Ready” projects that this idiot actually had the stones to say would come popping out of woodwork? Now, you cannot blame the Republicans! You all had a majority in the Congress and the House for the first two years. Not to mention now, you basically have a majority in both houses, with a bunch of candy ass Republicans in both houses. So, where are the jobs at, that your “Hope and Change” savior promised?

The truth is, he could not create jobs! You knew it, Obama knew it; and the Democratic Party knew it! But, they instead chose to LIE to the uneducated idiot voters and they bought that damned lie and proceeded to elected and reelected the man. I knew what Obama was about, long ago. Which is why I broke away from that Party! Yeah, the Republicans are for the rich people. I get that; but at least they do not blow smoke up people’s butts and promise them stuff that they cannot deliver on. I give them that credit. Which is a heck of a bunch more than I can say about Obama and the Democrats now.

My detractors always tell me, “get a job!” My response is, “find me one, and I will!”

Of course, when you are a housewife out in Santa Monica and not actually in the real world, trying to find a job; one can only expect so much. I am just saying.

Honestly, why would NRA expect anything different?

This seems to be a bit silly, but I really think the NRA did not know what was coming:

Via the Weekly Standard:

“The National Rifle Association of America is made up of over 4 million moms and dads, daughters and sons, who are involved in the national conversation about how to prevent a tragedy like Newtown from ever happening again. We attended today’s White House meeting to discuss how to keep our children safe and were prepared to have a meaningful conversation about school safety, mental health issues, the marketing of violence to our kids and the collapse of federal prosecutions of violent criminals,” reads the NRA statement.
“We were disappointed with how little this meeting had to do with keeping our children safe and how much it had to do with an agenda to attack the Second Amendment. While claiming that no policy proposals would be “prejudged,” this Task Force spent most of its time on proposed restrictions on lawful firearms owners – honest, taxpaying, hardworking Americans. It is unfortunate that this Administration continues to insist on pushing failed solutions to our nation’s most pressing problems. We will not allow law-abiding gun owners to be blamed for the acts of criminals and madmen. Instead, we will now take our commitment and meaningful contributions to members of congress of both parties who are interested in having an honest conversation about what works – and what does not.”

I hate to be the one to say “Well Duh!” but….um…:

The NRA should have known better than to even remotely think that they were going to get anything other than what they got from this Presidential Administration. This is why they need to hire me to do their political consultant work. I can tell them everything that they need to know about guns and Democrats. 😀

Interesting note about Jack Lew

Honestly, what does Barack Obama have against the working class in this Country? Quite a bit, it seems:

With President Obama poised to tap current chief of staff Jack Lew as his next treasury secretary, Republicans are already attacking Lew for supposed slights during budget talks. Some progressives may bring renewed scrutiny to his time at CitiGroup. But if history is any guide, there will be little talk about another line on Lew’s résumé: The key role he played in New York University’s campaign to rid itself of a graduate student workers’ union.
Lew, the former director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Clinton, joined NYU as chief operating officer and executive vice president in 2004. At the time, NYU was the only private university in the United States whose graduate students had a union contract. By the time Lew left two years later, NYU graduate students had lost their collective bargaining rights. In between, picketers hoisted “Wanted” posters with his face on them.
Reached over email, Andrew Ross, NYU professor of social and cultural analysis, charged that “the administration followed every page of the union-busting playbook, as instructed by the anti-union lawyers retained for that purpose.” Ross, a co-editor of the anthology “The University Against Itself: The NYU Strike and the Future of the Academic Workplace,” wrote that despite broad faculty and community support for the union, “students on the picket line were threatened with expulsion. There was no indication that Lew, as a senior member of the team who executed this policy, disagreed with any of these practices. To all appearances, he was a willing, and loyal, executor of decisions that trampled all over the students’ democratic right to organize.”
When contacted for a response, White House spokesperson Eric Schultz emailed: “Jack Lew has been a strong supporter of the right of workers to organize – as has the President. And that support will not change in his new role as Treasury Secretary.” – via Jack Lew’s union-busting past – Salon.com.

I always said, since day one of the first election cycle of Barack Obama; that he was nothing more than a two-bit phony. I believe that in his second term, we are going to find out just how big of a two-bit phony that he can really be towards the unions and the working class. Would Hillary have been any better? I really do not know. But, when I hear a Democrat basically say, “I care about the high-tech jobs.” and not say anything about the unskilled laborers, like myself. I have to really wonder, just what kind of person is he really? We are about to find out, I think and I believe it is not going to be good for the unions and the working class in general —- not to mention most gun owners.