Felix Unger on Prudence

Pablo Picasso on Life

Mark Twain on Travel

Will Rogers on Life

Eric Hoffer on Leadership

Obama's Handicap-- Golf

President Barack Obama has developed a reputation about enjoying the perks of being President, which includes frequent travel on the taxpayers dime and fancy socializing.  As the world is in crisis in the Gaza War, the shadow War in Eastern Ukraine, ISIS terrorism in the Levant and Iraq as well as racial unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, President Obama chose to take another extended vacation to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts to enjoy some (more) golf and rub shoulders with the rich and famous. 

While staying at the tony resort town, President Obama staged several brief statements to feed the media beast before keeping his tee time.  What created a media firestorm was the informal way that Mr. Obama addressed the beheading of American photojournalist James Foley (no tie, kept calling the slain journalist "Jim"), the President's short five minute  vacuous statement.  Within six minutes of ending this photo op, Barack Obama was back on the golf course, yukking it up with Alfonso Morning et ali.

The Obama Vineyard Presidential statement occurred simultaneously as James Foley's parents grieved on camera about their murdered hostage son. This  golf gaffe really stuck in the craw of the Media and called further attention to President Obama's seeming obsession with golf. 

Mark Knoeller, a veteran White House reporter who felt frustrated over how the Oval Office controlled news going to pool reporters, developed a practical metric for measuring the Commander-in-Chief performance-- study their official schedules.  Thus it can be noted that President Obama has shot 186 rounds of golf (so far) in his Presidency.  It has been observed that Mr. Obama is slow on the links, taking over five hours to complete an 18 hole course.  That tots up to 38.75 full days on the green, or 116 average work days, or 23 1/4 average work weeks.  No wonder why Greg Gutfeld asserts that Obama is addicted to golf.

But it is not just the "right wing" media who are seizing upon this obsession with golf.  The New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd penned a satirical piece titled "The Golf Address" which parodies the Gettysburg Address.  Perhaps Dowd's overdosing on a cannabis candy bar contributed to the satire of Mr. Obama's favorite President (aside from himself).  When you've lost a lefty life Maureen Dowd, this should not be dismissed as silly season stuff or partisan politics. 

Eric Schultz, a PR flak for the White House, suggested that sports are a good way for people to clear their minds and recharge their drives, and the Deputy White House Spokesman is exactly right, except as Leader of the Free World optics are everything.

President George W. Bush really used to enjoy golfing. In 2003, however, Bush gave up golfing as President in a wartime setting.  Mr. Bush reacted to pressing news on the War on Terror and then took a swing with his driver.  That was insensitive optics and the "43rd" President changed his ways. There is little likelihood that his successor will follow his lead. 

The White House has argued that the modern President is never really on vacation as he is accompanied by a gaggle of advisers and communication equipment.  Of course, Mr. Obama bragged about having his phone and his pen.  All of that is well and good, but does that stand up to real world scrutiny?  

For instance, when Missouri Governor Jay Nixon (D-MO) was going to send National Guard troops into Ferguson to quell the disrest there, the White House was unaware of the prospective deployment. So much for "Vay-cay" Obama Administration being on top of things.  But they showed their priorities in the end by sending three White House representatives to the Michael Brown memorial service/and Al Sharpton rally in Ferguson and no Obama Administration officials to JAMES Foley's Requiem Mass. 

If ISIS wanted to really get President Obama's attention, they might want to slightly change their tactics to cater to the POTUS handicap. 

h/t: Michael Ramirez

      William Warren

      Nate Beeler 

Al Sharpton on Civilization

Twenty years later, the Reverend Al Sharpton was the keynote eulogizer (with Jesse Jackson looking on) for the funeral of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

Dr. Ben Carson's Prescription for the GOP

Helen Keller on Temperament

Oscar Wilde on Arguments

Richard Dawkins and Sarah Palin Clashing In Social Media Concerning Down's Syndrome

Richard Dawkins, the acclaimed atheist ethologist from Oxford University stirred up a cyclone of controversy on social media with a Twitter posting on the morality of aborting a Down's Syndrome child in-utero.  When someone commented that she would not know what she would do if she were pregnant with a child having an extra chromosome, Dawkins doubled down on his "progressive position".  Dawkins answering like "Dear Abby (the atheist edition)" wrote: “Abort it and try again. It would be immoral to bring it into the world if you have the choice.”  So abortion was not only an option for "The God Delusion" author, Dawkins demands that it is immoral for women to deliver a child afflicted with Down's Syndrome.

Reading Dawkins declarations closely, it is quite revealing of his weltanschauung.  As an atheist, Dawkins does not draw  from any moral compass. So it is not surprising that he liberally latches unto "an individual woman's right to choose. Later referring to a fetus as "it", Dawkins detaches personhood from an unborn child. Dawkins pontificating that the only moral choice is to kill a defective child ought to please both Social Darwinists (survival of the fittest) and the ironically named humanists (the banner which binds British atheists activists).

Two things should trouble the intelligentsia from Dawkins Down's Syndrome declarations. Firstly, Dawkins prefaced the right of women for early abortions, not abortion on demand until childbirth. So it seems at some point personhood is bestowed on an unborn fetus.  Or is abortion just less mentally messy when the victim does not look like an unborn child.  The other aspect which can be inferred from "Abort it and try again" aspires for a utopian perfection in offspring.  Such a callous attitude can easily devolve into getting rid of undesirable elements in society, be it physically deformed, mentally challenged or part of an undesirable group.

Sadly, Dawkins Social Darwinism for Down's Syndrome children seems prevalent in the United Kingdom.  Currently, 92% of pregnant women diagnosed with Down's Syndrome children aborted their unborn children. Moreover, half of all such cases go unreported. There are concerns that if the National Health System (NHS) expands the super accurate Ariosa Harmony testing, this figure will become nearly total, especially if NHS threatens to withhold special care for Down's Syndrome children.

It did not take long for former Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK) to respond to Dawkin's dialectic. Palin famously campaigned for Vice President in 2008 with her young son Trig, who has Down's Syndrome. Palin took her seven years of experience being a mother of a Down's Syndrome Child when she reached out to Richard Dawkins via Facebook. 

. Palin's folksy riposte to Dawkins displays a positive sense of humanity that the learned professor lacks.  In addition, Ms. Palin's Facebook posting alludes to her Down's Syndrome child as having a unique kind of absolute beauty.  This echos Governor Palin's peroration when speaking before a Right to Life Conference.

Many will dismiss the message as it came from Sarah Palin, who our "intellectual betters" from academia and the media deemed as dumb "Caribou Barbie". Yet Palin's testimony rings true and advocates valuing the individual  whereas Dawkin's tweets sound abstract and collectivist.

Even though Dawkins may have coined the concept of memes, however Sarah Palin has perfected the social media tactic. Palin dubbed Obamacare IPABs as Death Panels to deftly defending Down's Syndrome children.

So as these cultural catalysts clash on social media, perhaps it can bring us to understand how we approach ourselves and society.  Our we driven by the selfish gene as Dawkins theorized in genetics or can we inculcate altruism? Palin preaches that mothers should be open to Downs Syndrome children, but is that openness a moral imperative?

Obama's New Golf War? (sic)

While the parents of murdered photojournalist James Foley were meeting the press, President Obama took five minutes away from his current vacation on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts to comment on the brutal beheading. Within ten minutes of Mr. Obama's brief statement, the so called "Preezy of the United Steezy"   was back on the golf course, yukking it up with golf partner former hoops star Alonzo  Mourning. 

President Obama's photo op was not generally well received even in the liberal Lamestream Media. Some journalists criticized Mr. Obama's informality, speaking on such a serious subject without wearing a tie.  Another complaint was President Obama referring to the slain American as "Jim", as if the President had personally known the deceased hostage.  The vacuousness of the comments did not satisfy the hunger in the public to do something.  To that end, there were governmental leaks about a failed hostage rescue by American armed forces.  What seemed to be most damaging was the optic about Mr. Obama shifting from being Mourner in Chief to golfing with Alonzo Mourning so quickly after the event.  

On MSNBC's "The Morning Joe", host Joe Scarborough offered an alternative take on what the New York Daily News dubbed "Bama's Golf War".

Well, isn't that special?  Here's a pro tip for Joe Scarborough -- resist Potomac Fever.  As late as March, 2014, Scarborough, the former four term Republican (?) Congressman from the Florida panhandle (FL-1st), had been publicly toying with a Presidential run.  You have no real path to the Oval Office and you will never be able to make $99,000 a week other than doing something like your faux conservative schtick on "The Morning Joke".

Pro arguendo, if President Obama is intentionally projecting an image of being a cold customer to intimidate ISIS, it is worth considering the results of this "strategerie".

In attempt to be charitable, one hopes that this is not a concerted strategy from Obama's Oval Office (or putting green), but is a manifestation of a Celebrity-in-Chief who is just playing through-- same as it ever was.

h/t: New York Daily News

     Michael Ramirez 

Rick Perry on Facing Adversity Fighting the Criminalizing of Politics

Mug shot of Tom Delay (2005)

Governor Rick Perry (R-TX) was indicted by federal grand jury in Travis County, Texas on two counts of abuse of power.  In 2013, Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg was arrested for DWI with a blood alcohol level of .239 (thrice the legal limit).  Governor Perry refused to fund the Travis County D.A.'s office with $7.5 million of state funds as Mr. Perry cited a loss of confidence in the office while Lehmberg was still in office.  For publicly acting under the authority of his office as Governor, Mr. Perry potentially faces 99 years in prison.  Despite this potential outcome, Governor Perry insists that he would do it again.

Governor Perry submitted to a mug shot at the Travis County courthouse which could be mistaken for a glamour pose.  Perry followed the mirthful mien of former House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-TX 22nd) who took a smiling mugshot when another Travis County grand jury indicted him on political charges (N.B.- Delay's conviction on trumped up campaign finance charges was overturned on appeal as there was not sufficient legal evidence for conviction).  Alas, Governor Perry did not seem to listen to "the Exterminator" Tom Delay's warnings about the Travis County D.A.'s office, as Ms. Lehmberg is in the same mold as her predecessor Ronnie Earle.

These are not the only prominent instances of the Travis County D.A. playing politics through malicious indictments.  After Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) won a special election with 67% of the vote to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Lloyd Benson (D-TX) in 1993, Travis County D.A. Ronnie Earle concocted charges of Hutchison allegedly abusing power as State Treasurer for ordering records destroyed.  Indubitably, this was meant to tarnish Hutichson's re-election bid in 1994.  But minutes after the trial got underway, the case was thrown out and the judge directed a "Not Guilty" verdict.  As former Senator Hutchison reflected at the time: "The only crime I committed was doing a great job as state treasurer and winning an election by a landslide."

Those with political aspiration should be concerned about brushes with the law, as adverse headlines can tarnish hold held political dreams.  That might explain Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg's addled obsession with the optics of being held overnight on DWI charges. But such uses of criminal charges ought to be constrained to real wrongdoing, not made up malfeasance such as using the authority of one's office to follow what an official believes is the will of the people.  Lehmberg's repeated requests to "Call Greg" (Travis County Sheriff Greg Hamilton) and her reminding law enforcement officers that she is the District Attorney smacks more of abuse of power than does defunding the Travis County D.A.'s office.

Progressive political players, like the George Soros funded Think Progress, have launched Battlefield Texas to try to to turn the Lone Star State blue. It is a pity that partisans in elective office seem intent to speed up the process by using their powers for transparent political purposes. 

In this constitutional Republic, we remain a nation of laws not of men.  Governor Perry acquiescing to a mug shot shows that the Governor still believes in the ultimate fairness process.  However,  do not let Rick Perry's happy face fool you, as he will vigorously fight what he believes is an unrighteous political prosecution.

William J.H. Boetcker on Character

"Un"-Orthodox Attack on Ukrainian Uniates By Russian Orthodox Patriarch

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill I (ne Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev) made some bold, nationalistic statements which seem to affirm Russian President Vladimir Putin's stealth war in  Eastern Ukraine relying upon GRU kinetic operations in the Donbass region.

But before you take the Russian Orthodox's philippic as gospel, there are a few things to consider. The Uniates are Eastern rite Catholics (whose worship is quite similar to the Orthodox except they are loyal to the Pope) is only the majority in three Western Ukrainian Oblasts.  Of the 75% of Ukrainians who believe in God, just over 5% are "Greek Catholics".   

Patriarch Kirill referred to the Euromaidan (which he called the Kiev Maidan), in which he alleges that the some of the Uniate demonstrators denounced from the dais Orthodox and called for the eradication of Orthodoxy in Ukraine.  Really?  The Euromaidan hosted HOURLY ecumenical prayers for the several months that protesters made their stand at the Maidan in the freezing cold.  It seems rather implausible that an extreme minority faith working in an ecumenical environment for positive change would agitate for eradicating Orthodoxy from Ukraine.  This sounds more like Russian Intelligence Disinformation which preys upon long standing schisms of Christianity rather than the facts on the ground in the Donboss.

To rebut Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kiril's charges, the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church released an official statement which reads in part:

 The Ukrainain Greek-Catholic Church has appealed throughout all the months of the  violent  uprisings for searching ways of peacefully regulating this.  Simultaneously, it does not contradict the right and obligation of Ukrainian citizens to protect their freedom and independence.  Together with representatives of other Churches and religious organizations, UGCC is making concrete efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the victims-residents of the Eastern regions of Ukraine, regardless of their nationality or religious affiliation. We categorically condemn any violence towards the peaceful residents of Ukraine, especially its clergy, regardless of the fact to which confession, religious or ethnic group they may belong.  Once again, we remind all of the appeal of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations for an immediate end of the violence and the surrender of arms by all illegally armed contingents, whose evil deeds have taken the lives of hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers, law enforcement personnel, and civilians, including women and children.
 Attempts to claim that during the Anti-Terrorist  Operation (ATO) the Orthodox faithful of the Moscow Patriarchate are the only ones who suffer, is a dangerous intention to set off the whole  Ukrainian society against one confession.  Intolerable is the evil attempt to label the realization of the natural right of the Ukrainian people for freedom and independence of their country, into the inter-confessional area, which provokes new tensions and new sadness in Ukrainian society – this time in the activities of inter-confessional relations.  Today Ukraine needs from its church men not a provocation of violence, but a construction of peace.
Ukrainian armed forces  are not structured according to confessions.  Therefore, in the area of ATO activities, there are chaplains of various confessions.  

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire occurred in the 5th Century A.D., Eastern Christendom was ecclesiastically governed by autocelaphous bishops (where a head bishop does not report to higher ecclesial authority) in regions.  Unfortunately, autocelaphaly can caesaropapism (combining the power of  secular government with the religious power, or making it superior to the spiritual authority of the Church).

It is shameful that at a time when Christians in the Middle East (Copts, Orthodox and Catholic) are being martyred by organized Islamist jihadists, that Christian leaders are jockeying for supremacy in ways which parallel secular Russian Federation expansionism.

h/t:  Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church

Reba McEntire on Life

Homer Simpson on Decisions

Kurt Vonnegut on Life

Joseph Campbell on Life

Leonardo da Vinci on Life

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on Freedom

Early Retreat from Mesopotamia?

Now that President Obama declared that the United States would commence air strikes in Iraq for humanitarian help to the Yazidis who ISIS is committing genocide, one can wonder if Mr. Obama lead America on an early retreat from Mesopotomia.

President Obama has declared that there will be no soldiers deployed  for these new missions over Iraq.  Perhaps he thinks that unless there are boots on the ground that there is not war.  But the Military Times reports that these "targeted air strikes" will require 15,000 troops. Because there are no longer American troops stationed in Iraq, this will have to be done via carriers or distant air bases.

 It is a pity that the Obama Administration failed to secure a Status of Forces Agreement with the Iraqi government, so America abandoned its military equipment there (in many cases now in ISIS hands) to withdraw from Iraq.  This suited President Obama as he promised to end the war in Iraq before the 2012 Presidential election, and he did-- sort of.

Mr. Obama blames the Maliki government for not agreeing to a SOFA.  Perhaps some blame lies with Chief US negotiator Vice President Joe Biden.  But this was more likely a SOFA strategy designed to fail from the Oval Office .  Having US troops with immunity in Iraq would be a tough sell for the Maliki government. The Pentagon wanted 10,000 to 15,000 troops and they were wanted by the Iraqi government.  The Commander-In-Chief countered with a bid of 3,000 troops.  This token level was unacceptable to the Iraqi government as it was ineffective and not worth the heat in their domestic politics.  So President Obama could brag about bringing the boys back home from Iraq for his re-election campaign as a promise kept.

And here we are today.  Bringing the fight back to Iraq after an early retreat. Not having the infrastructure on the ground which American troops fought so hard.  Needing to do costly missions from carriers.  Fighting an evil enemy with too little and to late help to prevent humanitarian atrocities with Christians, Yazidis and Sunni Muslims who do not suit ISIS.

So Mr. Obama announced timorous airstrikes without a set strategy or a timetable.  Then Mr Obama flew off to Martha's Vineyard for another several week vacation.  . 

Mike Huckabee on Evil ISIS

Even though ISIS had been threatening "Nazaranes" (Christians in Iraq) in Mosul with expropriation or extermination unless they renounced their faith, this had not moved the Obama White House into action.

A fortnight later, 40,000 Kurds who practice the Yazidi faith  were herded onto Mount Sinjar and left to fend for themselves or be slaughtered. Yazidis  have a monotheistic faith which has roots in Zoroastrianism with elements of Islam as well as Christianity.

What may have prompted President Obama to act in the case of the Yazidis rather than the Iraqi Christians may have been concentrated the ethnic  on a mountaintop for genocide and then bragging about it on Twitter. Or perhaps it was ISIS terrorists putting Yazidi kids' heads on a pike as a message to the world.  Nonetheless, former Governor Mike Huckabee has it right, it is evil

Errant Elders Advocate Homogenizing Hamas

Former President Jimmy Carter authored a piece published in Foreign Policy along with ex Irish President (and UN Human Rights Commissioner) titled:  "How to Fix It" which suggests that ending the Gaza War begins with recognizing Hamas as a legitimate political actor.

Really?  The United States lists  Hamas as a terror organization. Wonder why?  The Hamas Charter is thoroughly anti-semitic and vows to extinguish Israel. When Hamas took over Gaza in 2007 after winning an election, they literally threw one Fatah legislator out a window, targeted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for assassination with 118 people dead and 550 people wounded. Hamas directed $100 million of Western humanitarian aid to build terror tunnels as offensive weapons in the current Gaza War. Then consider Hamas tried and true tactic of hiding weapons in UN schools, placing missiles in mosques as well civilian neighborhoods, yet complaining to the international community about all of the civilian deaths. No wonder why one can think that Hamas stands for Hiding Among Mosques and Schools

When Mr. Carter spoke at the Elders event at the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies, the 89 year old former President joked that Elders are "Has Beens" who do not have any real power.  Considering Robinson's and Carter's modest proposal on "How To Fix It" is a good thing.

What might be a better thing is for aides who care about preserving any remaining modicum of Carter's good reputation and keeping him off the center stage.  Carter has become increasingly anti-semitic as he has aged. However,  this latter day foray in foreign policy serves as a reminder as to why Carter is considered by many to be the second worst President in modern history.  President George W. Bush has scrupulously avoided commenting on current affairs so as not to interfere with his successors.  This is a courtesy which Carter can not claim. 

Desmond Tutu on Injustice

Ryan Crocker on Organized Evil

Barack Obama Underestimates ISIS's Abilities

When President Obama dismissed all-Qaeda linked militants (i.e. ISIS) as "jayvee", his Administration could not imagine that eight months later POTUS would be ordering limited airstrikes against the jihadist terror group in Iraq.  White House spokesman Josh Ernest tried some fancy moves to distract from an uneasy question about this foreign policy flip-flop.

Perhaps President Obama would now choose another favorite sports analogy that the terror group is "punching above their weight". 

Richard Nixon on Life

Forty years ago today, Richard Nixon resigned from the office of President of the United States.  The Nixon Administration was roiled in the Watergate scandal.   

While Nixon had no hand in the Watergate break-in, the Oval Office taping system threatened to expose President Nixon as involved in the cover up.  In order to avoid impeachment and continuing the American nightmare, Nixon chose to resign the office and return to San Clemente, California leaving Vice President Gerald Ford in charge at the White House.

Before he left the White House, President Nixon  addressed the Cabinet and the White House staff:

Nixon's peroration reflects knowing both the deepest valleys and the highest mountains: "Always give your best, never get discouraged, never be petty; always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself." 

Niel Bohr on Experts

Victor Hugo on Ideas

Charlie Rangel on Congress

In this same interview with the Daily Beast in 2013, the 22 TERM Representative from Harlem also bombastically blustered about the Tea Party:

“It is the same group we faced in the South with those white crackers and the dogs and the police. They didn’t care about how they looked. It was just fierce indifference to human life that caused America to say enough is enough. ‘I don’t want to see it and I am not a part of it.’ What the hell! If you have to bomb little kids and send dogs out against human beings, give me a break.”

Between these inflammatory analogies and 84 year old incumbent's ethical violations which caused "Good Time Charlie" to be censured and kicked off the powerful Ways and Means Committee hearing, thus it is no wonder that Rangel has won two suspiciously close primary victories against challenger State Senator  Adriano Espaillat  (D-NY State 31st).

Thucydides on Society

Thomas Jefferson on Liberty

Jon Lovitz on the Gaza Conflict

So much of the Palestinian propaganda sounds like the tall tales of Tommy Flanagan, Pathological Liar.

Yet the peace patsies of the international press will buy these yarns hook, line and sinker, and cover the event like Israel is the unprovoked aggressor.   Yeah, yeah, that's it, that's the ticket.

A Momma Grizzly, a Lone Survivor and Even a Self-Proclaimed Rodeo Clown Take Aim at Jesse Ventura's Defamation Victory

Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura (Reform-MN), who also can boast that he was once a Navy SEAL, won a defamation civil lawsuit against the estate of American Sniper author Chris Kyle.  In  American Sniper (2012), Kyle's best selling book about being a Navy SEAL and who  credited as the most lethal sniper in American history, he alluded to a bar brawl with "Scruff Face".  This unnamed individual who was bad mouthing America military involvement at the wake for a fellow SEAL.  During the publicity tour for the book, Kyle was asked by Opie and Anthony if the boisterous attendee was Jesse Ventura and Kyle answered honesty.

Taya Kyle at her husband's funeral Feb.2013

Ventura's suit alleged emotional distress and defamation of character seeking a $15 million in damages.  Since Chris Kyle had been killed in Feburary 2013 as he helped a fellow veteran deal with PTSD, so that meant that defending the defamation suit fell upon Kyle's widow and single mother Taya Kyle. Ventura's lawyers argued  that: “it would be unjust to permit the estate to continue to profit from Kyle’s wrongful conduct and to leave Governor Ventura without redress for ongoing damage to his reputation.”


 Jurors were initially deadlocked as the eleven defense witnesses had slightly different recollections of "the punch".  The defense consented to allowing for a split verdict.  When the judge sent them back for further deliberations, the jury rendered an 8-2 verdict awarding Ventura $500,000 for defamation and $1.3 million for "unjust enrichment". Mrs. Kyle's lawyers are considering an appeal of the federal civil case.

While the jurors rendered their verdict, the public relations appeal certainly was not favorable.  Ventura claimed that he initiate the defamation suit to clear his name in the prospect of a 2016 Presidential run  as an Independent.  Ventura better not expect any support from reform minded conservatives, based on the reaction to the Ventura verdict.

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK) used her presence on social media and her new SarahPalinchannel.com streaming network to go Mamma Grizzly on ex-SEAL and WWF wrestler sometimes known as "The Governor".

Palin's point about  the irony when a supposedly strong public figure like former Governor Ventura running to lawyers when words get rough and tumble in the public arena is made more poignant because of "Sarahcuda's" savaging in the media.

Marcus Luttrell, the now medically retired Navy SEAL who wrote the book Lone Survivor (2007) about his ordeal in Afghanistan in Operation Red Wing, was not as subtle as Sarah Palin in her criticism of the Ventura verdict. Luttrell used social media to post several memes which reminded the world that Ventura was picking on a widow.

Aside from the bad optics of battling against a widow, Ventura violated a key precept of SEAL culture, namely having your brothers-in-arms' backs.  No wonder why Jesse joked that he would be unwelcome at future SEALs reunions.

Glenn Beck has facetiously referred to himself as a "rodeo clown"  closely identifies with the honor of military men and women.  In fact, the impetus to hold Restoring Honor in 2010 was to both restore honor in  America but as a fund raiser for the non-profit Special Operations Warriors Foundation, a charity providing college scholarships to children of KIA special force personnel. So Ventura's victory in court in a defamation suit against Special Operator's widow prompted an unusual answer.




Beck is all about honor and pro arguendo could appreciate Ventura trying to recover his good name.  But Beck suggests that after winning the case Ventura should forgo collecting the cash from a widow.  It is a common sense solution which would restore his honor and burnish his brief for future public service.  But I'll bet that is as likely as Jesse Ventura scoring Howard Stern for his VICE Presidential running mate in 2016.

Now that the courts has restored Jesse Ventura's good name, as it is, it is appropriate for the court of public opinion to judge Jesse Ventura's character.  After all, Ventura claims: "I would rather be uncomfortable with the truth than be lied to in comfort. That's my nature."

Do remember that Jesse Ventura has advanced 9/11 conspiracy theories when peddling his book "American Conspiracies" (2010) which were so far out that the HUFFINGTON POST deleted the piece.

Jesse Ventura was so incensed at airport security by the TSA that he blustered: "I've had enough of the Fascist States of America" and threatened to obtain dual citizenship with Mexico.

Ventura's television venture on the Ora TV "Jesse Ventura: Conspiracy Theories" has evolved to "Jesse Ventura: Off the Grid", as the 62 year old pro wrestler turned politician is hiding from drones and broadcasting someplace in Mexico Ventura claims that he will continue to broadcast as long as his solar panels and satellite connection holds up.

Still feeling comfortable with this body of truth?

Boris Yeltsin on Forceful Conquest

The first President of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin had a rough time transitioning the Soviet command and control economy into a free market economy as privatization had a good deal of the nation's wealth fall into the hands of a handful of oligarchs. When Yeltsin suddenly resigned the office on December 31, 1999 and left the office to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Yeltsin had an approval rating of 2%. Still an American rock group named itself "Somebody Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin".

 

World Class Gymnast Gives Up Gold to Aid Ukrainian Army

[L] Natalia Godunko performing Rhythmic Gymnastics  [R] Gold Medal being auctioned for Ukrainian Army

Natalia Godunka, a 29 year old world class Rhythmic Gymnast from Ukraine, decided to auction her team Gold Medal from the 2001 World Championships in Madrid to support the Ukrainian army in the War of the Donbass (Eastern Ukraine).

To get an idea of the caliber of athlete Godonko is, witness her frenetic but flawless ribbon performance at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.



Godunka boyfriend, musician Sasha Polozhynsky, announced the auction of the medal on Facebook.  Plozhynsky regrets that Godunka put the medal up for auction but since it has been bid upon, he hopes that it will raise more money and inspire others to also help fund the cause. 

In one day, the auction had garnered bids had garnered bids up to $843 US.   The auction runs until August 10th, 2014.

During the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia  a couple of Ukrainian athletes protested violence at the Euromaiden protests in Kiev by Russian backed paramilitaries  by not showing up to their events.

Godunko sacrificing her gold medal  to support her country's army to inspire shared sacrifice to forestall Finlandization of Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin's expansionistic incursions using  non-linear warfare.

Many celebrities will spout off about causes about which they know little or that lending their support comes at no cost.  It is admirable that Ukrainian athletes like Natalia Godunko as well as Olg and Bohdana Matsohski are willing to personally sacrifice for their country and their freedom. 

h/t: Ukrainian Pravda 

Cicero on Service

Obama's Late Lament on Torture

During a long winded Friday afternoon press conference, President Barack Obama blithely blustered that "we tortured folks" when pursuing the War on Terror.  




The President's imprudent utterance undermines a Senate Intelligence Committee Report which goes out of its way not to declare harsh CIA tactics as torture.   Obama's opinion from the Oval Office could have serious legal, political, diplomatic and criminal implications.  But at least President Obama did not just Blame Bush, he threw the CIA under the bus too.  

Funny how this President is willing to imperil intelligence offers at the tip of the spear who get actionable intelligence to keep us safe, but will execute his forays against militants via drone to get a several news cycle lead headline.

This talk of torture in the War on Terror supposedly confused actor James Woods on Twitter: