Oh Say Can You See?
The Black Flag of Al-Qaeda Being Hoisted Over the US Embassy in Tunisia
Flying Above the Compound
It wasn’t always like this. Wikipedia relates the story of another flag flying in a land far, far away and a time long long ago.
“During the rainy night, Key had witnessed the bombardment and observed that the fort’s smaller “storm flag” continued to fly, but once the shell and Congreve rocket barrage had stopped, he would not know how the battle had turned out until dawn. By then, the storm flag had been lowered and the larger flag had been raised.
During the bombardment, HMS Erebus provided the ‘rockets’ red glare’. HMS Meteor provided at least some of the ‘bombs bursting in air’.
Key was inspired by the American victory and the sight of the large American flag flying triumphantly above the fort. This flag, with fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, came to be known as the Star Spangled Banner Flag and is today on display in the National Museum of American History, a treasure of the Smithsonian Institution. It was restored in 1914 by Amelia Fowler, and again in 1998 as part of an ongoing conservation program.”
O say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
That was from the days before salaaming, bowing and scraping became all the rage. No one in this politically correct age would have the temerity to express such sentiments today. And in other news, “The NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist surveys released Thursday show the president leading Romney in Florida, Ohio and Virginia, three states critical to both candidates in November.”
Belmont Commenters
How to Publish on Amazon’s Kindle for $2.99
The Three Conjectures at Amazon Kindle for $1.99
Storming the Castle at Amazon Kindle for $3.99
No Way In at Amazon Kindle $8.95, print $9.99
Ann Barnhardt does it again – more balls than Obama and Michelle together. God bless her!
“I demand to be arrested for blasphemy. Now.”
My name is Ann Barnhardt. I’m at 9175 Kornbrust Circle, 80124, in Lone Tree, Colorado. Anybody who wants a piece of me is more than welcome to come and get it. That goes for Lindsey Graham, anyone in the government who thinks that this is a crime, or any muslims who would like to come and get a piece of me. I’ve had enough of this crap. I am not going to bow. I am not going to submit to islam, ever. EVER.”
And then she reposts her koran burning (spiced with bacon) captioned in arabic!
http://barnhardt.biz/
If the lst Amendment means anything, it means the absolute right to ridicule a goofy religion and its deluded adherents. No apologies. No retreat. No surrender.
Hunt, Mebbe we need “Burn a Koran” day. Soon. Like tomorrow.
“We may see that barbaric races have constantly followed the same methods, and may easily draw our conclusions as to how far princes should trust them.” — Niccolò Machiavelli
“Hunt, Mebbe we need “Burn a Koran” day. Soon. Like tomorrow.”
Well, if you don’t happen to have one laying around the Mosques are full of them.
Removal optional.
Oderint dum metuant.
“An army of sheep led by a lion is better than an army of lions led by a sheep”.
Anybody know if it is still flying over our embassy? I did a quick search but was unsuccessful in determining current status. Another FAST detachment of Marines is clearly needed. I’m going beyond anger to knee jerk reactions. Breathe, breathe, breathe….
Who said to her husband during a flag folding ceremony on the anniversary of 9/11, “all this for a damn flag”? Who was the husband who nodded in agreement?
They could have used circus clowns to “storm the embassy”. People would still believe every detail.
#8 stevesmith
Three vignettes:
Mount Suribachi, February 1945
http://www.mca-marines.org/gazette/photogallery/first-flag-raising-atop-mount-suribachi-feb-23-1945
Dodger Stadium, April 1976
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=QshZ34S4Ikg&NR=1
Ground Zero, 9/11
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ground_Zero_Spirit.jpg
I’m not about to let FLOTUS and her [fill in the blank with an expletive of your choice] spouse desecrate those images or the memories that go with them.
10. PA Cat
Amen
Shame on he who thinks ill of it
It sounds better in Latin. Most things do. Especially things worth fighting or dying for.
The most courageous man in this situation is Pope Benedict who is now in Lebanon and talking sense.
The hysteria and “the sky is falling” rhetoric over the last few days is hysterical, stupid and a symptom of weakness.
The Angloshere has a tradition that politics ends at the shore line.
Good idea.
Hysteria – the sky is falling- rhetoric does not serve conservative nor American fundamental interests.
The situation in Libya was a logistic and planning failure-the consulate should have been hardened – easy to do-the Ambassador should not have been there.
A real safe house with 30 claymore mines well placed + a few well armed Marines can easily kill a gang of 400 thugs-
-before breakfast
#12 Blast
Honi soit qui mal y pense is actually a French phrase (thought I’d better head Marie Claude off at the pass, so to speak).
Best rendition of The Star Spangled Banner evah! Here is my choice for second best:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4NgA-tPk_hU
#7 Knight1
Another FAST detachment of Marines is clearly needed.
What we need is a CVBG and an ESG [Expeditionary Strike Group] in the area. The CVBG will give us absolute force superiority in the area, and the ESG will give us a reinforced Marine battalion with air elements that could either kick whatever body parts were necessary without worrying about names and/or rescue anyone needed.
The FAST Team in Libya had to be flown in from the FAST forward base in Italy. A FAST Team is a deployed platoon from one of the two FAST Companys based in the US. A FAST Platoon is < 50 Marines. The one in Yemen probably came from the FAST forward base in Bahrain. The only other forward deployed FAST Team is in Okinawa. I hope that the surge FAST Teams in the ZI are being forward deployed, but have no information on that.
We have NO carriers in the Med, 3 off of the Persian Gulf, 2 in the Pacific, and the rest in port for overhaul/maintenance and unavailable until next year at the earliest; EXCEPT for TRUMAN which is at Norfolk as the “surge” carrier, but as far as I know she has not been sent [Today she had a formal induction ceremony for brand new CPO's at Norfolk]. Figure a week transit time once she leaves, if she leaves.
One does wonder why the National Command Authority has not sent her. Or maybe one doesn’t.
As far as I can tell, there are no ESG’s at sea except for one off Yemen and one near Japan. I could be wrong about that, but that is the best that I can find.
Right now, our embassies and consulates are like the circled wagon train surrounded by hostiles. And there are no Cavalry units in the Territory.
Subotai Bahadur
“The most courageous man in this situation is Pope Benedict who is now in Lebanon and talking sense.”
Bullshit! He is doing his Chamberlain act, which is kinda funny coming from a member of the Hitler Youth.
Or maybe it isn’t.
Victor, if you were an American you would be part of the rage that grips this country. We have had it up to here with those damn monkeys.
We need to start killing them. When we kill enough they will act right.
Obowelmovement is toast. I just wish he would resign and save everybody the trouble. Let Biden play in the Oval office. Joe has a testicle at least. Small, wrinkled and empty but still one more then the long legged mack daddy.
I’ve been out of the country for almost a year now, can someone tell me how this is all going down back in the States? It’s hard to gauge by just reading Twitter, blogs, and checking news sites. Plus, the country I’m in has blocked a lot of sites and my bandwidth is so awful I couldn’t watch YouTube even if the site wasn’t down. I only have access to BBC and Al Jazeera on tv too; needless to say, neither outlet is all that helpful when trying to discern what’s really going on back home.
I’m curious about how much tv coverage the protests and embassy attacks are getting and whether people are actually discussing the events or are too distracted by who’s playing football this weekend and the latest shiny gadget from Apple.
PA Cat @ 10: Rick Monday is still my hero to this day.
e2 @ 18: I’m curious about how much tv coverage the protests and embassy attacks are getting and whether people are actually discussing the events or are too distracted by who’s playing football this weekend and the latest shiny gadget from Apple.
The events are getting modest time, but here’s the thing, the American public has turned off news. All they get from the MSM is a stack of lies from the Obamanation so deep, it takes longer to list them than to say them. The MSM themselves cannot conceive that anything the Obamanation does or doesn’t do, is other than perfect. Certainly they cannot conceive of Mitt Romney doing any better.
http://www.investors.com/editorial-cartoons/michael-ramirez/625741
PA Cat 14,
Thank you, I know better. That is what happens when I blog on a phone. Strictly speaking isn’t it Norman French?
1. Intrade predicts O’s victory 67/33, and the discrepancy is growing, 2. Bernanke tries to activate markets before November, 3. Zomby voting and ballot stuffing is still in vogue…And Israel physically cannot take on Iran: too big area, sites are too dispersed, too far.
#21 Blast
Right you are. Modern French would spell the first word Honni.
The real problem is the idiot in the White House. Things will not get better until he is booted from office.
Thanks Josh@20 – It appears that things are no less opaque on the home front than they are here. My assumption is that most people have retreated to their respective ideological camps on the internet and the remaining “Honey Boo Boos,” as Zombie has named them, either aren’t paying attention or are only vaguely aware that some guys in LA made a movie that pissed a lot of people off.
Unless something else blows up majorly, I think Team O is going to come out unscathed on this one.
If Obama really got a boost in the polls by responding to the Muslim atrocities by checking to make sure that Youtube’s terms of agreement for content weren’t breached; then we’re on our way out as a force in the world. Are the American people really that freakin’ clueless and distracted? I don’t think so and I hope I’m right.
The person who made “the movie” is under investigation. Why? If he was simply exercising his First Amendment rights, there should be no investigation. It chaps me to hear even conservative commentators refer to the “stupid film” or the “crazy preacher” or the “nutjob” filmmaker. Even if the descriptions are accurate, in this context they represent a suck-up to the barbarians. It should be made very clear that on no account do we apologize for the exercise of free speech – no matter who doesn’t like it. We will not bow before the altar of Islam, but I am afraid we have a president who just might.
18. E2
Josh is correct, NOBODY watches the ‘official’ news anymore. Or at least nobody will admit it. FOX couldn’t even get it together to call the Al Qaeda flag an Al Qaeda flag. Instead it is a “black Islamic flag’. Somebody caught one of the white house wimmin telling the media how they wanted this spun. I looked for the video on Youtube but couldn’t find it. I’ll search again later.
I supose it’s regional. I’m in the south and at the grocery tonight, the rape and murder of an ambassador was the topic of check out line conversation. EVERYBODY wanted war. Obama is toast. People still remember ‘Jimmmmah’ Carter.
The media and the blue states are hoping everybody forgets but I don’t think that will happen. We will see.
Romney needs to push on this. He is more in touch then the MSM.
Trangbang68/26
No, we are not on our way out. They are.
The God of the Muslims commands them to war
Insisting the infidel die
And Allah’s bright sword is with laughter swift drawn
For they know that the vic’try is nigh
They see that the West is afraid of them now
They see that Obama won’t act
They see that the killing of Yankees will bring
Only words spoken after the fact
But what they don’t see is that old Western man
Is living despite the elites
Who live for the pomp and wine and the spoils
And mind not at all the defeats
And deep in the souls of the white northern men
There stirs the faint traces of lust
Of lust for the blood of the dark Arab man
Who kills us ‘cause told that he must
In the great northern forests the feeling has grown
In the hills of the great western states
On the grass of the great Mississippi washed plains
The men of the West mull the fates
Of killers, beheaders and players with fire
Who think that their Allah will strike
The infidel dead should he dare to resist
Parading their heads on a pike
It’s coming to pass that enough is enough
The thousand year bill must be paid
In blood of the guilty and innocent alike
The end of the ancient Crusade
For hubris will take them, the Arab mad street
To follow the Allah command
To take out our cities with Persian made nukes
Not knowing they don’t understand
That war as conducted in the Western way
When war is decided at last
Will end in destruction of all that they own
And come not so slowly but fast
As fire is rained down on cities and towns
And villages fill with despair
They scream for their God to deliver the foe
Not knowing their God isn’t there
Yes we can fight a billion people, quite cheaply too.
War they pretend they can do.
What’s the Islamic doomsday weapon?
Ridicule. Constant exposure, mockery, and ridicule.
Quote of the year-
“Keep killing them til they act right”, stoicheion, above
22. grrr
You are thinking conventional. That is OK for checkers but a little risky for war. Indirect is the way to go.
A strike on Iran is a long haul for the IAF. More fuel, less bombs. They will take off with just enough fuel to get in the air and refuel then but that won’t help that much. Most of the bomb load will be carried by 27 F-15 E’s, or the IAF version. IIRC, they should be able to carry 2,000 lbs of ordinance on that long a low level flight. 2 1,000 Lb JDAM’s would be a best guess. That is 54 targets. The IAF also has about 75 F-16′s with coformal tanks that could make the trip.
A strike package normally has 3 parts. SEAD or (Suppression of Enemy Air Defences),
a CAP (Combat Air Patrol) that deals with enemy fighters and the actual bombers.
So no matter how it’s divided, there isn’t much in the way of firepower. Not enough to do serious damage to the bunkers and factories of the Iranian nuclear program. So lets think indirect. Nuclear weapons are complex, highly specialised precision machines. They are not very mobile. They have to be loaded in or mounted on other machines before they can perform their special functions. Neither those weapons nor their delivery systems have will. They will just sit there and gather dust until men do something with them. That makes those men the weak link in the system.
It would be hard to knock out the physical sites, which could be rebuilt in a few years anyway. The mullahs are another matter. Humans are relatively fragile.
Mossad is a real intelligence agency. They have been assassinating nuclear scientists in Iran for the last decade or so. That means they have a robust network in place AND they have the Iranian intelligence agency penetrated. I’d bet almost anything they know where the mullahs are at almost any given moment. For sure where their bomb shelters are. The IAF bought bunker busting bombs from the USA after the 2006 battle of Lebanon. No more Mullahs means the nuclear weapons campaign comes to a halt until the new big cheese takes over. If he still wants a bomb, give him one. Eventually one will figure it out. When being the big cheese in Iran is as dangerous as being Al Qaeda’s #2, things will change.
A Pair of B-2′s could carry more ordinance then the entire IAF strike package. The Iranians won’t know they are there until stuff starts blowing up. That means the Mullahs won’t have enough warning to get to their bunkers. I would do the bunkers anyway, just because.
Yup, kill the paymasters
The protesters are just earning a paycheck
They need to learn to behave,
Their concepts of career advancement need to evolve
Still, if overpopulation.is a problem
I got the perfect volunteers
News Flash for Joe Biden: Osama bin Laden is dead but al qaeda is alive and well”
News Flash for Joe Biden: “Osama bin Laden is dead but al qaeda is alive and well”
I’ve often wondered if the steep decline in viewership/readership of MSM news has more to do with people tuning out the news altogether, rather than just moving to alternative sources. Back before cable tv and the internet, a lot of people probably watched the news simply because there was nothing else on.
But now, in the age of Tivo and streaming video, it’s possible to watch only what you are interested in. I think it’s clear that large numbers of Americans have zero interest in current events and are now capable of completely blocking the news out of their lives.
This effect, combined with decades of public education so crappy it has actually inhibited the development of even basic critical thinking skills, may explain why sizable numbers of the population (especially younger generations), are so ignorant that they are incapable of acting in their own self-interest, e.g. Millennials and Gen X’ers voting for socialist politicians and policies that will screw them over in the long run, and people relinquishing their freedom one soft drink ban at a time.
As disturbing as it must be for those in the States living in the eye of the storm right now, I can assure you that it’s far more disconcerting watching the American way of life unravel from abroad. I spend most of my time these days in pretty sketchy countries (in the past 12 months, I’ve been in three of the countries where our embassies were attacked this week), which seems to only heighten my awareness that the number of safe havens in the world are dwindling day by day.
35. E2
I think it’s clear that large numbers of Americans have zero interest in current events and are now capable of completely blocking the news out of their lives.
I think you’re right. Unfortunately they still insist on voting.
Democracy is simply not a stable form of government. The universal franchise will destroy us. The Founders understood this, which is why they restricted the vote to the most sober, educated, and responsible members of society, which were white male property owners.
That made perfect sense in the 18th century. That particular restriction wouldn’t work today, but we need to come up with a new way to restrict the vote to the most sober, educated, and responsible members of society. I’m open to suggestions.
#17. stoicheion
More courage than any blowhard whose only engagement is running his mouth about nuking half the hemisphere, should such a person exist, of course
re #36. I still like Heinlein’s suggestion in Starship Troopers the best. Only those who defend it get the franchise.
It won’t happen because it will hit too close to home, but there should be a campaign commercial showing Al Jazeera displaying the raising of the AQ flag, scored to the Star Spangled banner.
subotai @ 16: “What we need is a CVBG and an ESG [Expeditionary Strike Group] in the area. The CVBG will give us absolute force superiority in the area, and the ESG will give us a reinforced Marine battalion with air elements that could either kick whatever body parts were necessary without worrying about names and/or rescue anyone needed.”
That would be nice.
Even better would be Montana class fast BBs, close enough so the mob could see and hear them.
I cried when I watched the video of the Star Spangled Banner. I feel as if I am sitting at the bedside of a beloved friend who is dying of cancer and nothing can be done. I have watched and listened in rage and fear as Obama and Co. have relentlessly weakened and dismantled my beloved country. The shining city on the hill, it’s lights are going out. Can we stop this, can we stem the tide. Apologies, I’m not usually this sentimental and maudlin. Wouldn’t it be sad and ironic if this country, after all the outside threats and dangers that we have faced and put down, would succumb to an inner rot and decay. Is our 200+ year experiment over?
I don’t understand how so many here still talk in terms of “we” this and “we” that, “our” response should be… Who is this we? Do you still consider the freaks that attended the dem convention your fellow countrymen?
They aren’t, and they never will be again. The US cannot formulate a coherent strategy in the middle east or anywhere else because the US is no longer a coherent nation.
Every history book I’ve ever read tells me that civil war is certain at some point in the coming decades.
Re: watching the news. I don’t watch live TV (no TV service, just internet for general internet purposes and Netflix), nor do I generally watch news on the internet. In fact, the only news I get is from Belmont Club and the occasional news item posted by friends on social media sites. I appreciate Belmont Club because of Wretchard’s historical and cultural analysis — how many news sites feature poetry? — but even the news as reported here causes stress and is of dubious value for my life.
The fact is that there is almost no benefit to me from knowing about world or even national events during the 24hrs news cycle. I’m not intelligent enough to read the signs of the times that quickly (sell this stock today!) and I’ll learn about the more important things through my networks. If anything, following the 24hr news cycle is a negative thing, as it only causes me to worry about things that I can do nothing about.
So, count me among those who pay little attention to the blather of the media. . .
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/09/14/Colonel-Says-Hillary-Clinton-Made-Decision-to-Have-No-Marines-at-Benghazi
Well gee, It’s looks like we have no readiness or contingency planning for any of this. I wonder what else we haven’t planned for?
Re. #31 stoicheion
” That means they have a robust network in place AND they have the Iranian intelligence agency penetrated. I’d bet almost anything they know where the mullahs are at almost any given moment. For sure where their bomb shelters are.”
No intelligence agency EVER won a war.. or change history.
One must consider the worst and this is at least 4 more years of the idiocy. Besides I am not sure that Romney presidency will substantially change the course. Reagan’s didn’t. Just look at both Bushes and Clinton in between.
So I wish I had your conf.
Hmm. A Coptic made a low budget film, in English? Wonder what grievance they might have given how well they are treated in (all but one of) the middle east countries? Interesting watching the MSM (and Justice Department) turn on a persecuted minority. Wonder who they’ll target next?
Since there’s no chance any of the rioters watched the movie and understood english, someone had to translate it – or why bother translating – just make up your own audio track. Perhaps an AQ affiliate? Or like the cartoons perhaps one of their psyops folks said “why don’t we improve on the meme and use it to make the great satan jump?” “See what happens when we poke here? They roll over and beg. Great fun and all we have to do is publish some blasphemous pictures and words. The immam says it’s ok, the ends justify any means.”
Even more interesting is maybe 1 in 100 of those folks have internet access – when connectivity even at a cyber cafe costs more than a week’s food. Where just downloading pictures over the satellite internet modem that services the typical cafe is painful – video is out of the question. So who are these “community organizers?” How are they inciting the crowds? Could they say anything and be believed? Why are they chanting “we are all Osamas?” Could it be they blame us (esp. given Mr. O takes personal credit) for ending UBL? And that’s the grievance motivating those at these “protests?” That happen to be held on the anniversary of UBL’s greatest triumph?
A pity we don’t have a real press putting lives on the line to get the answers. Or at least doing what they do best – compromising U.S. and other nations’ intelligence collection efforts to get to and publish ground truth. Oh right – since it doesn’t support the meme it’s an even a more tightly held secret than by a government. Yesterday it was JFK’s corruption (buying elections) not just his womanizing (ditto Mr. Clinton and China interference in U.S. elections – with the women being a convenient, perhaps purposeful, distraction), today it’s turning a blind eye to the obvious.
Imagine the hissy fit Hillary is throwing right about now at Huma Abedin.
“HUMA! Get your a** in here. You Promised! They Promised! You said they would be compliant!”
@36 – My suggestion for the franchise: Make passing the test we give to naturalizing aliens the predicate of voting. Pass the test, you have the right to vote, can’t pass it, can’t vote. ‘Course, the Party that depends on the stupid vote will never buy that and we’d have to have five really solid votes on the USSC.
I think that the baby was thrown out with the bathwater in the civil rights days; the francise was made far, far too universal and I think the states really ought to get back to protecting their interests by making certain that a person has some meaningful indicia of residence in the state and district before they can vote there. Why must the standards for voting in a federal election be the same as those for voting in a state or polisub election?
I would also like to see federal employees required to maintain their residency for purposes of voting at the point of hire or in the case of the active duty military at the point of enlistment. Since both federal employees and active military can be transfered at the employer’s direction, they can never establish and intent to remain at a domicile. Frankly, in The West, federal employees are like an occupying army and a large military population anywhere skews voting patterns. States need to make it easy and convenient for federal employees and active military to vote absentee, but some place they’re temporarily assigned is not their residence. Likewise, anyone claimed as a dependent for federal taxes or for benefits should be considered a resident of the locality at which they are claimed. That would take care of all the college town vote fraud, or at least most of it, and I like the idea of making Obama’s big babies living on their parents’ health insurance stay registered to vote at their parents home address.
Just some modest proposals.
E2 @ 35: As disturbing as it must be for those in the States living in the eye of the storm right now, I can assure you that it’s far more disconcerting watching the American way of life unravel from abroad.
It’s very “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” here, where it seems that every day another of your neighbors has been replaced by an alien pod duplicate.
It’s like something crucial has just switched off in a majority of the citizens walking around.
I could quote another dozen classics of alienation, invasion, and apocalypse. Bottom line is, it can happen here.
There’s a line in Niven’s “Ringworld” novel, or no, I think it’s in the sequel, “Ringworld Engineers”, where the entire Ringworld is off its axis, the control systems are broken, and it will soon fall into the sun killing not only trillions of inhabitants but our protagonists, too. So Louis Wu is trying to convince The Hindmost to act and is laying out their alternatives, “Well we can try, and either we will succeed or we will find ourselves in a situation any astrophysicist would envy”, and it works, The Hindmost uncovers one of his “heads” and asks, “What situation?”, and Louis Wu shouts at him, “The chance to study sunspots from underneath!”
At least we’ll have that.
I guess I’m not big on flags, though it’s certainly nice to tell that the British aren’t there yet.
In the modern era, they help you find post offices and, if abroad, help you find embassies so you can be with ordinary people for a short time.
Other than that, burn all the flags you want. It’s free speech, and a good canary in the coal mine for free speech, because all the right people get really outraged over it.
I’d recommend a pink bunny flag over US embassies until Obama is voted out.
I only dimly remember my 1st Amendment tests from ConLaw, so I’ll plagiarize this blog-comment by “Dexelpred” http://www.halfsigma.com/2012/09/nakoula-basseley-nakoula.html:
“[This] doesn’t fall into a 1st Amendment exception. It’s not fighting words (Chapinsky) so let’s leave that out. The other relevant exception is if the speaker, with the specific intent (that’s a term of art) to incite violence, creates a clear and present danger of imminent lawless action. The danger has to be both imminent, and of a large magnitude.
This wouldn’t qualify, because: (1) there was no specific intent to incite violence (he didn’t say – “hey, go kill people” with the intent that they go kill people; (2) the lawless action was too speculative to be “clear”; and (3) the lawless action wasn’t “imminent” – there was a temporal disconnect.”
President Obama taught ConLaw at U.Chicago Law, no? I assume Secretary Clinton took the class, too.
From President Obama’s speech on Libya last year http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/03/28/remarks-president-address-nation-libya: “[We] must stand alongside those who believe in the same core principles that have guided us through many storms: . . . our support for a set of universal rights, including the freedom for people to express themselves”
Well, in light of the news that the White House asked Google to take down the youtube clip altogether, it appears Obama’s new position is that 1st Amendment protected speech as well as rebukes of his (though obviously not Bush’s) foreign policy ought to end at the “water’s edge”.
In the 1950s-60s, the provocation of the civil rights movement compelled some violent responses but also a transformative national discussion on the plight of blacks in the Jim Crow South. Modern Democrats claim the civil rights movement as their collective birth. Certainly, Nakoula/Bacile/AKA is nothing like Dr. King, but there is an oppressed group in question. Why are Democrats not beginning a national – or international, as the case may be – discussion on the plight of Coptic Christians in Egypt?
Another thought: The last time the ruling crews were replaced an masse was the aftermath of the WWI.
37. Peter Boston
Idiot, you have no idea how large the hemisphere is and how small a nuke is.
I prefer to avoid Ad Hominem attacks but since YOU started it;
Us non-idiots realise that the constant drip drip drip of terrorism has to stop. America civilization is being waterboarded. If you had even a room temperature IQ you would understand there are only Two direct ways to stop the waterboarding.
We surrender, or we destroy Islam. If you can think of a third choice you are being a delusional idiot. America has been offering Islam the way of peace since WW2. Read up on the Atlantic Charter.
If you want to surrender, go for it. Find a mosque, go in and ask to convert. I won’t. I’m a man, an old man but still a man. You sir, are a cowardly weasel. So go to a mosque and surrender, The Mullahs will wisk you off to some mudhole country and train you to be a suicide bomber.
I have grandchildren. I will protect them any way I can.
Every been in combat? I thought not. Combat is a young man’s game. 70 year old men do not put on 65-90 pound packs and go yomping through the boondocks. So I try to support my sons and nephews and nieces by words. It is all I have left.
There was an article in some left wing English rag (mostly pictures because, one assumes, their audience was not literate) Saying that Muslim children were growing up hating Americans. I posted that American children are growing up hating Muslims.
You are a cowardly weasel but most Americans ARE NOT. America isn’t running from a fight. Islam wants to party, let’s get it on.
Cowards like you got us into this mess. A few dozen nukes, killing 20 to 30 million would be a good start. Every City where Americans have been attack plus Mecca and Tehran. Muslims do not respect America, so we need to teach them to fear us. Fear leads to respect, which leads to peace, or at least the absence of war.
So open your eyes, climb out of your box. It is inevitable that America kill millions of Haji. Maybe even hundreds of millions. The sooner we get started, the sooner we get finished.
The anniversary of the Battle of Vienna was a few days ago. The 12th to be precise. We beat these animals EVERY time we fight them. That is why we need to fight them again. That was September 12, 1683. That fight was enough to keep them back on the farm until the early 20th century. The 20th century fight broke up the Islamic empire of the Ottomans. it has taken them 93 years to regroup. The judicial application of nuclear weapons will finish the threat once and for all.
Haji can’t shoot.
I think we’ve seen the worst, it might stay at about this level for the next week or so but until Israel does something I doubt it is going to get any worse. The eye opener should be is if Israel had done as they have been threaten to do there would have been similar embassy attacks as we see now and I would expect even more and worse than now so this leads to the question; If the US is uncertain when Israel will strike and Israel’s Prime Minister hasn’t been on “secret trading” terms with 0bama administration for awhile now than why haven’t they (0bama Admin and/or State dept) had beefed up security already in place, just in case Israel was to do what has been threatened for awhile… Actions like the current situation aren’t lining up, this is really spelling out the ineptness of 0bama’s team…America’s enemies are less watched than our allies with the 0bama Administration and that can be a very, very bad thing, probably explains why the Chinese could shoot a missile off our coast 2+ years ago and why a Russian attack sub can roam around outside our East Coast Boomer base undetected (laying who knows how many sensors) and then cruise the Gulf of Mexico and not get spotted… No wonder the narco’s are using subs to bring in their Drugs!
Richard, thank you for that gorgeous traditional rendition of our National Anthem.
At first when I saw the video still of the 4 f-16′s, I was reminded of the flights of 4 Phantoms I saw over downtown Tehran in ’77, before another weak and helpless Democratic President re-empowered Islam’s endless War against the West, a war that has been going on since the 7th Century A.D., or perhaps more accurately the war that has been going on since Cyrus and the Persians conquered Ionia in 547 B.C., per Herodotus.
I confess I agree with Stoicheon, would this thousands-year war be more or less peaceful now if we had gone all Harry Truman before the sun ever set over the smoking ruins of the WTC, the Pentagon and Flight 93 on 9/11/01?
On a lighter note, while I do love the military choirs’ rendition, I find this one more personally moving, sung at the Super Bowl, America’s equivalent of ancient Olympia, during the early days of the First Gulf War: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupsPg5H6aE
God bless America, God bless mankind. The absence of self-defense NEVER leads to peace.
Josh@49
Your “Ringworld” quote reminds me of that saying (can’t remember who said it first) that from a certain point of view, nuclear war would be really interesting.
I don’t think I really want to find out how interesting nuclear war would be, but I am rather fascinated by what seems to be the inexorable societal collapse of the West. As has been discussed at length on BC, we may all revert back to tribalism in the not so distant future. DWD above at 42 has a point, there isn’t much of a “we” left in the “We the People of the United States.” It’s definitely more “Us and Them” these days. But we Americans have weathered one civil war, so I hope we come through the next major societal rift and continue on as a country…but I’m not optimistic.
But the White House accepts $1,000,000 donation from anti Islam film maker…
Drudge headline “Feds investigate Christian Filmmaker”. That will probably turn back 1500 years of Muslim savagery and atrocities. Hey Akmal, they’re going to clamp down on that crappy youtube video. I think Special Agent Roger Ebert is going to interrogate infidel film maker. Oh praise be to the prophet, break out the goats.
S53, you are way out of line. While you have many valid points, there was no need toersonally attack as you did. PB is one of the most thoughtful contributors to this site. He has been steadfast in his conservative and Christian ideology, and I’m offended for him by your comments. I suspect that I speak for many others here as well.
G.K. Chesterton addressed the conflict:
http://www.bartleby.com/103/91.html
Walt continues in his tradition.
Steeple, stoicheion might seem a little intemperate, but as another old man, I’m sick and tired of our country bending over for the muslims. We are at war, though mostly at the mall, and eventually we are going to have to do something drastic or all go to the mosque and submit. Muslims are not rational and cannot be dealt with like rational actors. IMHO we should have nuked mecca on 9/12/01 – barring that we should have followed Ann Coulter’s advice – invaded, taken their oil and forcibly converted them to Christianity or Zen Buddhism ten years ago. The fact that we’ve screwed around for 11 years is just going to make the end result that much worse for all concerned. Re-visit the three conjectures.
Obama can’t surf
# 59 Steeple,
Nope, you don’t speak for me. We should have nuked them into non-existence on Sept 12 2001. We would be experiencing a totally different attitude from the survivors had we done so.
“S53, you are way out of line. While you have many valid points, there was no need toersonally attack as you did. PB is one of the most thoughtful contributors to this site. He has been steadfast in his conservative and Christian ideology, and I’m offended for him by your comments. I suspect that I speak for many others here as well.”
Maybe so. Why were you not defending me when I was attacked?
“More courage than any blowhard whose only engagement is running his mouth about nuking half the hemisphere, should such a person exist, of course”
This is not a place for flame wars but I think I have the right of self defence.
I really don’t need your help defending myself from a fuzzy bunny. I’m not Carter, I’m not Obama nor Peter.
Skipping to the chase, if Peter the wabbit wants to discuss the evil that is the Roman Catholic Church, I am ready willing and able. If he wants to trade Ad hominems, I can manage that, although I would prefer not to… I’ve been posting here since the last century. I will tell you that Richard has a short way with flame wars. Rightly so.
If Peter wants to discuss his phobia about nuclear weapons, we can do that too. As a snide aside, those with a phobia about water think those that don’t fear water are crazy. Same for Acrophobia, Ailurophobia( a fear of cats), Aulophobia (a fear of flutes). Everybody has a phobia of some sort and they all think that those who don’t share their fear are crazy.
Atomosophobia is the fear of atomic explosions. Look it up.
Why should I accept being insulted and abused to satisfy another persons phobia?
Would you?
S53, you are way out of line.
He’s a sad blowhard armchair warrior. He’s also a Christian-hater who supports the leftist filth known as Pussy Riot. Surely the host here does not approve of his genocidal ranting.
Josh is correct, NOBODY watches the ‘official’ news anymore.
Approximately 7 million people watch each of the network’s evening news broadcasts. (Check TV By The Numbers for the ratings). The vast majority of Americans who pay attention to politics and world events get their news from ‘official’ sources, including those who rely on internet sites like cnn.com. Only a small percentage of Americans ever read political blogs.
For what little it is worth, the top imam in Bahrain apparently focused his Friday sermon on the point that Muslims are disrespecting Mohammed’s teaching by burning embassies and killing people. His guidance was that good Muslims should protest indignities imposed upon the memory of Mohammed, but protest peacefully.
Of course, Bahrain has its own problems with Shia/Sunni violence, so the message of peaceful protest was actually aimed at a different audience. As others have pointed out, there is a lot of intra-Muslim world score-settling proceeding under the banner of protesting some movie that no-one has even seen. It is not all about us, and not all Muslims are the same; not all Muslims are the enemy.
But let’s talk about us. Specifically, the Forbidden Topic of — What are we going to do about the murder of the Ambassador? The only relevant leak I have noticed in the Obama Media is that the US is going to track down the perpetrators, i.e. the Obaminoids are treating this as a crime committed by specific criminals, who should be apprehended & punished.
Personally, I think that is a mistaken approach. But since there is no discussion of the Forbidden Topic, it does not matter what anyone’s view is.
Remember that the current problem in the Muslim world is taking place against a background of the imminent collapse of unsustainable government over-spending throughout the western world. External pushes just bring forward the day when the whole edifice of the modern ‘liberal’ bureaucratic fascist state tumbles down. The best hope is an unpleasant period of chaos; the realistic expectation is a world-wide series of international & civil wars.
The sad thing is — it did not have to be this way! But this is what our ‘Best & Brightest’ have bumbled their way into. The long-run prognosis for the human race remains excellent, but the next couple of generations could be hard times indeed. Let’s figure out how to keep the flame alive through the inevitable dark days ahead.
@59 Steeple – Gotta side a bit with stoicheon. Boston @17 was out of line, making the blowhard comment. Of course, stoicheon’s comments were kinda harsh, too. Yes, Boston’s on our side.
Tempers are running hot right now, especially among us old men who have a different value system. We are old and crusty and have no time for this nonsense. These attacks on our embassies are taboo with us. We remember all too well the 444 days of captivity of our embassy staff in Tehran.
I disagree about using nukes, though. We should re-enact the firebombing of Dresden. Have our allies get their people out of Benghazi, then incinerate it with fire bombs. “Let not one stone remain upon another.” Make the rubble bounce. Then ask, “Who’s next?” Benghazi delenda est.
Of course, if we had had this attitude in the first place, we would have fortified the place and had troops with orders to open fire on the filthy mob which was providing the camouflage for the attack.
@ 61: “The fact that we’ve screwed around for 11 years is just going to make the end result that much worse for all concerned.”
The longer we wait, the harsher the “technical correction to the market” will be.
blackdog52 @ 27:
For his bow to the Emperor of Japan, ‘Takuan Seiyo’ said: (I paraphrase)
‘His bow was one of a broken backed toilet attendant bowing to his ultimate master.’
If you know Japanese culture that is a rough insult.
stoicheion @ 53:
I assume it is that you have read our host’s essay?
http://belmontclub.blogspot.com/2003/09/three-conjectures-pew-poll-finds-40-of.html
We would not escape unscathed from that act(s). We would not be the same people who claim to be righteous.
Marc Malone @ 66:
Um, sorta. Us old guys know that “fair” fights are for kids on the school grounds. Those between adults are for one thing only… to survive. The modern liberal hates anyone not him. They are useless and need to go the way of the dinosaur. An old guy will just obliterate the threat right out of the box.
The modern denizens of the Beltway, Liberal and RINO, are testosterone deficient girly-men. All of them. Go find Kim DuToit’s old essay on the P-$$fication of the American Male.
I will come out and address the elephant in the room. The world will not know peace until Islam had been destroyed.