How The Donald Trump May Ruin Christmas for America

Considering the crude back and forth between "The Donald" demanding an apology from she who will be coronated First Lady/Senator/Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Rick Wilson's predictions seems right on the mark. 

Opponents of Donald Trump are also using the Yuletide season as a time to score points against the current national Republican front-runner.

But as P.T. Barnum is supposed to have said: "I don't care what you say about me, but just spell my name right." 

h/t: College Humor 

John Boehner on Being Anti-Establishment

Speaker Boehner's anti-establishment apologia seems about as accurate to Tea Party types as Saturday Night Live's sketch: "We Did Stop (the government)".

On a related note, Speaker Boehner has now vowed to "fight tooth and nail" against President Barack Obama's unilateral Executive Amnesty action, despite the fact that the lame duck Cromnibus spending bill put no prohibitions on spending funds to implement the amnesty.

David Cameron on Scottish Independence

If Scotland votes "Aye" on the Independence Referendum on September 18th, do not expect an amicable "Conscious Uncoupling", as celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin euphemistically call their separation leading to a divorce.  British Prime Minister David Cameron has been channeling Taylor Swift by proclaiming: "We are never ever getting back together".

If Scotland becomes independent, there will be quite a bit of haggling over apportioning the debt. The Scots expect that they can still maintain a currency union with the rest of the United Kingdom after splitting away.   British Prime Minister David Cameron insists that sharing the Pound Sterling is out of the question.  But the British military would like to retain access to the Fasland Naval Base on the Clyde for the Trident nuclear submarine fleet.  Replacing that base is estimated to cost five billion pounds. But that may be a hard sell to Scottish citizens, who have a leftist and political pacifist bent.  But it should be noted that HMNB Clyde currently is the largest single employer in Scotland.  

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 

Mark Steyn on POTUS Potential

Columnist to the World Mark Steyn has been scathing to the lack of personal involvement which Barack Obama has contributed to his successes, including victories during his Presidency.  Steyn recently critiqued the White House involvement in the Twitter campaign against the Boko Haram jihadist terrorists who abducted 276 Nigerian schoolgirls to sell them into sexual slavery. 

Steyn likens social media promotion of #BringBackOurGirls  to political impotency and suggests #BringBackOurBalls.  

Of course will all of the cuts to military readiness applied by sequestration, green energy initiatives et cetera, Twitter campaigns may be the best the Obama Administration can do. But surely there is a way to blame it on Bush.  Or maybe now the bete noir are the Koch Brothers.

Santorum Cites Frankie Goes to the Vatican as Paradigm for Spreading Conservatives Good News

Former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) is widely known as a traditionally oriented Catholic. Thus it was surprising when the former (and future) GOP Presidential candidate cited Pope Francis at CPAC as an example of spreading "The Good News" for conservatives who work the American political fields. 

Since Pope Francis was chosen by the College of Cardinals a year ago, the secular mainstream media has had a platontic love affair with the New World pontiff, projecting their perceptions that Pope Francis will change Catholic disciplines and doctrines to please progressives on things like married priests, contraception, abortion and same sex MARRIAGE.  Senator Santorum keenly discerns that Pope Francis is engaged in the New Evangelization.  

Pope Francis "selfie" with faithful at St. Peter's Basilica

Pope Francis has a much more pastoral style than his predecessor, Pope (emeritus) Benedict XVI, but he has not changed a single policy.  Even the 265 page Apostolic Exhortation "Evangelii Gaudium" which supposedly slammed "trickle down economics" was not much different than Pope Benedict XVI's 2009 Encyclical "Caritas in Veritate", but the press paid more attention because they saw what they wanted to see from the new Holy See.

Senator Santorum rightly points out that conservatives should not be proselytzing Christianity.  But reintroducing bedrock principles in more engaging and inviting framework can better spread the conservative Good News.  For example, Santorum cited the 2012 GOP Convention in Tampa where there was a parade of business owners on the podium to refute Mr. Obama's exclamation "You didn't build that".   Santorum lamented that among the personal examples, there was not one waitress or little person testifying how individual entrepreneurship created their jobs and their livelihoods. 

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If Santorum and conservatives really heed the example of "Frankie goes to the Vatican", they need to outreach to unevangelized ideological audiences with messages which appeal to them which (re) introduce bedrock conservative principles.  Hallmark Channel styled films will not expand the base,  putting blue collar conservatives et ali.  front and center might but there has to continued and substantive outreach.   Outreach is one strategy but capitalizing on social media is key in contemporary campaigning.  Returning to the "You Didn't Build That" controversy, answering with a pop infused message in a timely manner (rapid response) through alternative media platforms likely would have been more effective.

And Pope Francis still has his honeymoon with the mainstream media.  When they stop projecting their progressive desires on the new Pope and figure out that the New Evangelization invites people to bedrock beliefs, the giddy gaggle of coverage will end.  A message for "The Good News" of conservative politics will get no such honeymoon with either the Lamestream Media or the comfortable Cocktail Party elites who do not want to rock the boat in the District of Calamity. 

SEE MORE at DCBarroco.com

Anticipatory Chuckles for the State of the Union

Clark S. Judge should know about State of the Union addresses.  Before Judge founded the White House Writers Group in 1993, he was a Special Assistant and Speech Writer for former President Ronald Reagan.  It is dubious that Vice President Joe Biden, our National Treasure, had any input on this year's SOTU. 

Here is hoping that this year, Mr. Obama can make it through all of the introductions before concluding his remarks.

In all seriousness, if one can stomach actually watching the long laundry list of rehashed reiteration of bumper sticker federal initiatives will will amount to nothing, consider a couple of suggestions to make the time memorable.

1. Find the ugliest tie in the Chambers.  Extra credit if you can name the fashion challenged politican
2. Count the number of times that our Dear Leader utters the word "I".  
3. Play a Between-the-Beltways version of "High Bob".  This year's "magic word" is "fairness".  (N.B.  in the interests of sobriety, the word "I" has been excluded from this year's "magic word").
4. Guess how long Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX 18th) waited in the House chamber in order to secure her row seat for her annual photo op with whoever is President. 

Or if you are really ambitious and want to pay attention, play State of the Union BS Bingo.

Don't feel obliged to wait for the Spin Rooms to form your opinion.  Take part in the instant punditry on Twitter #SOTU.  Look for the handle @CalamityDC

h/t:  Marshall Ramsey

Frozen Wasteland?

As the Eastern Seaboard braces for the impact of an Atlantic Clipper followed by another "Polar Vortex", those Between the Beltways will get our first significant snowstorm in four years.  As the District of Calamity (sic) takes its time to dig out from the wintery weather, it is worth revisiting a viral video of yore celebrating a "Frozen Wasteland".

In retrospect, the filquers from "Minnesotans for Global Warming" sounded so much better than The Who did at the Superbowl in 2010.  And considering Gore Effect, one wonders if former Vice President Al Gore  had a major speech on Global Warming scheduled soon.

The Audacity of Snoop?

After public hue and outcry about the NSA collecting metadata of Americans without warrants, now President Barack Obama will now demand that private communications companies hold the information for six months (at whose expense? ) and the government will then use secret courts to access the information.  But wait, there will be an independent board to rubber stamp the rubber stamps of the FISA court.

What about the $2 billion 100,000 square foot  NSA data center that recently opened near Bluffton,  Utah (a.k.a.  Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative Data Center).  

NSA Data Center, Camp Williams, Bluffdale, Utah

Is that now a white elephant or will it continue as a black operation? Let me guess, the facility will supposedly be mothballed and the federal government will funnel communications companies money for the privately held data centers.  

Time will tell if Mr. Obama's long winded remarks on domestic spying pans out to any real reforms. The Obama Administration claims that the NSA program has saved lives, but no specifics were cited.  But we can point to egregious instances which the government dropped the ball (e.g. the Tsarnaev Brothers who conducted the Boston Marathon bombing).  Of course, Attorney General Eric Holder instructed the Department of Justice to expand the definition of "racial profiling" to include religion, even in national security cases.  So GIGO--Garbage In, Garbage Out.

It seems like it is just the Audacity of Snoop.

A Bit About the Bridge-gate Ballyhoo

Bridge-gate burst into the public eye last week as emails from high level staffer of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) were exposed indicating that four days worth of lane closures which snarled the George Washington Bridge were intentional.  Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Kelly sent a snarky text message intimating:  "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee". It has been speculated that the four days of lane closures which snarled the world's busiest suspension bridge was intended as a as punishment to Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich (D-Fort Lee), a Democrat who did not make a cross party endorsement of Christie in is wildly successful 2013 re-election effort.  

For his part, Governor Christie conducted a grueling 102 minute press conference in which he insisted that he did not know about the intentional nature of the traffic jam.  Moreover he fired Kelly along with his longtime friend and political aide Bill Stepien because of their involvement. 

Despite Christie's unequivocal denial of prior knowledge and his swift action at disciplining wrongdoers, the Bridge-gate ballyhoo dominated the headlines for over a week, and inspired comedians to do funny satires such as Jimmy Fallons filique with Bruce Springsteen of  the unoffical New Jersey anthem "Born to Run".

While there is no doubt that the story was newsworthy, as credible accusations of the use of public office for personal revenge is a serious charge, it seems like Bridge-gate is overblown as well as overwrought.

Firstly, consider the coverage.   As Newsbusters reported, in less than 24 hours, the big three broadcast networks devoted 34 minutes 28 seconds to "Bridge-gate".  This is 17 times more coverage than the Lamestream Media broadcast about  the Obama Administration's alleged use of the IRS targeting Tea Party groups for excessive scrutiny over eight months.   The coverage may also have been intensified because of its proximity to New York.  Journalists often become much more  interested when it is affecting their home turf rather than in  "flyover" country.

Secondly, consider the target.  Governor Christie has been generally considered an early front-running for the 2016 Republican Presidential nomination.   Pre-Bridge-gate polls showed Christie leading presumed Democrat front-runner former First Lady/Senator (D-NY)/ and Obama Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

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Low information voters may be lured into believing where there is smoke there is fire, even if it is blue smoke and mirrors.   Governor Christie's emphatic denials about involvement leave no wiggle room-- if he knew, then the fat lady sings ending his hopes for higher office.  But those who take time to keep informed on current events should see the trend in law-fare, smearing front-runners and the actual use of public offices for partisan pursuits.

SEE MORE at DCBarroco.com

Jay Z Inspired Faux Obama Rap

Jay Z with Obama in the background

During the dog days of summer, it is a good time to enjoy some non-polemic political parody before the full throes of the Presidential campaign.

This video by Iman Crosson (a.k.a. Alphacat) filks Jay Z's rap 99 Problems.

Methinks the protagonist protests too much. And it clearly is not authentic as the first person singular is not used enough during the rap.

Apologies to Jay Z.  For that matter, apologies for Jay Z.

Marxism Sucks

This is a great argument against attachment parenting being followed in politics.

h/t: "Tony" A.F. Franco