John Bolton: Vote for Hillary--Not Indicted Yet!

 

Should PTSD Signify "Plagiarists' Thesis Shucking Disorder?"

When President Obama chose six term Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) to be the Administration's new Ambassador to the Peoples's Republic of China in February 2014, there was a short term appointment into what had been the world's greatest deliberative body, as that seat needed to face the voters in November 2014. Montana Governor Steve Bullock (D-MT) appointed his Lieutenant Governor John Walsh (D-MT) to the position, as he was already running for the seat and incumbency might help Walsh's chances in a uphill year for Senate Democrats, especially in "purple" states.  

The people were not able to fully vet now Senator John Walsh (D-MT) until the campaign was in full throes.  Unfortunately for Senator Walsh, this increased scrutiny exposed an embarrassing chink in his political armor.

Part of an elective appeal for John Walsh is that he spent 33 years in the Montana National Guard, rising to the level of Adjunct General.  Walsh led the 1st Battalion 163rd Infantry Regiment into combat in Iraq and is the first Iraq War veteran to serve in the US Senate.. The 53 year old freshman Senator made his military service a major Walsh had made it major selling point of his candidacy. 

But the New York Times recently reported that in 2007 when Walsh wrote his "strategic research project" (akin to a Masters thesis)  at the United States Army War College,  he seemingly plagiarized substantial portions  of the 14 page project on American Mid East Policy.  The New York Times analysis indicates that a quarter of the quotes from “The Case for Democracy as a Long Term National Strategy" were borrowed from other authors without attribution.  The Washington Post points out that Walsh "borrowed" from a paper written by a Harvard scholar in 1998.  

This was more than sloppy scholarship on the part of Walsh.  Walsh concluded his thesis by offering six recommendations that were lifted nearly word-for-word from  2003 Foreign Affairs piece by Thomas Carothers from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.  

Some scholarship.  Some honor. At West Point, the cadet honor code is "A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do." Cheating includes plagiarism defined as presenting someone else's ideas, words, data, or work as one's own without documentation.

When this plagiarism problem popped up in the press, Senator Walsh's campaign spokeswoman  Lauren Passalacqua tried to quickly shoot down the scandal by saying:  “This was unintentional and it was a mistake.”  When that quick quip did not fly, Senator John Walsh told AP:  "I don't want to blame my mistake on PTSD, but I do want to say that it may have been a factor.  My head was not in a place very conducive to classwork and an academic environment."  Walsh maintains when he wrote the thesis, he had PTSD, was stressed at a fellow veteran's suicide and was on medication. Anonymous Walsh campaign staffers  pointed to drugs to treat PTSD to give a context for Walsh's circumstances.  

Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome is a serious consequence of modern warfare, in which may not take as many lives or limbs but leaves mental scars.  PTSD is often manifested by recurring flashbacks, hyperarousal, and avoidance or numbing of memories of the event. Plaigiarizing a master's thesis does not really seem to fit PTSD. 

Other politicians have plagiarized and survived.  Then Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) plagiarized British Labor Leader Neil Kinnock rise from humble roots (and later Robert Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey), which forced him out of the race for the 1988 Democrat Presidential nomination, but he bounced back and is now the Vice President of the United States.  What is more memorable than sloppy scholarship is a propensity to blame others and play for sympathy. 

Citing PTSD as an excuse for academic dishonesty demeans PTSD, dishonors Walsh's military valor, and smacks as a play for sympathy votes.  The Walsh Senate campaign's tactic of employing underhanded excuses to invoke pathos makes one wonder if PTSD should signify "Plagiarist Thesis Shucking Disorder" in the District of Calamity. 

Illustrating Obama's Lack of Leadership

There is a maxim that a picture can tell a thousand words.  To illustrate President Barack Obama's lack of leadership, one need not waste so many words.

A day in the life-- July 17, 2014

Top Left- A Malaysian Passenger Airliner with 298 people (including 23 Americans and 80 children) was shot down at 31,000 feet over Ukrainian airspace near the Russian border with a sophisticated Surface to Air Missile.  Pro Russian "rebels" against Ukraine trumpeted a shootdown on Twitter and then retracted it once the civilian debris was spread over a path of 10 miles. These rebels also claimed to take the plane's black box.    Russia wildly claims that Ukraine was responsible, claiming that the shot was intended for Russian President Putin and declaring that Ukraine was responsible for their own territory.

Top Right-  After 10 days of intense indiscriminate bombardment from the Iranian backed Hamas terror forces from Gaza, and a Hamas invasion force into Israel right after a five hour seize fire,  the Israeli Defense Forces launch a sustained air, sea and land campaign in Gaza to take out tunnels used to terrorize 2/3rds of Israel's civilian population.

Bottom Left- A picture of the supposed US border where an alluvia of illegal aliens are overwhelming the US Border Patrol as Other Than Mexicans expect to gain "permisos" from the Obama Administration.  This stream of illegal immigrants are being kept in close quarters in makeshift refuge camps, often on underutilized military bases, without screening for communicable diseases like scabies, whooping cough, tuberculosis, Hand and Foot disease and swine flu.  These illegal aliens are being distributed around the country, being given EBT (food stamp) cards and told to report for a hearing months (or years) into the future.  The Obama Administration's solution was a $3.9 Billion spending bill, which only dedicates $100 million to the Border Patrol.

Bottom Right-  President Obama's schedule included meeting with an unemployed American at the Barbecue Pit in Delaware, a partisan rally for raising National Highway Funds in Wilmington, Delaware and then off to New York City for two political fundraisers which were closed to the press.  During the 30 minute Highway speech, Mr. Obama devoted 36 seconds to the world crises but noting that the downed jet  "may" have been a terrible tragedy and our first priority is to determine whether American citizens were onboard.  Nearly a day later, the Obama Administration's investigation can not confirm if Americans were onboard.  Perhaps it is data lost on an IRS/EPA/FEC hard drive crash.

Biden Blusters for Black History Month

As part of the Obama Administration marking Black History Month, Vice President Joe Biden told a crowd of his hoops prowess and how he could give a good game against his boss. 

Perhaps Biden was trying to be intentionally funny, as he was on a charm offensive as he also appeared on  "The View" and "Late Night with Seth Myers".

Yet after Biden being Biden, the Vice President went on to question states passing Voter ID laws, which he linked to the battles during the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s. It seems incredible that Biden can keep uttering these questionable quips without controversy from the Lamestream Media.  Yet by virtue of the office, Biden can claim that fighting voter fraud is akin to Jim Crow laws and afterwards are covered straight by a sympathetic media.

At least Biden was not so wrapped into pandering so as to repeat the "They'll put y'all back in chains" remark from during the 2012 Presidential campaign.

h/t: Washington Free Beacon

      Eric Allie

Obama's Puerile Politics Epitomized

Of late, the Obama 2012 campaign has been seizing on puerile political memes.  The killing Big Bird soundbite from the first debate.  When threats of a Million Muppet March proved to have no political legs, the Obama Ad Hominem Express shifted to the “Binders of Women” meme from the townhall debate.  Little good that did, as Republican Presidential nominee Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) erased the previous 16% gap with women.

How could the wunderkind braintrust from the Chicago office top this? They did not want to wait for the “horse and bayonets” trope from the third debate to play out.  So they released: “The First Time” with performance artist Lena Dunham waxing poetically about her first time...voting for Barack Obama.




The sad part of this “First Time” campaign is that it isn’t even original.  Barack’s boys copied ads for Russian President Vladimir Putin.  So once again, Obama copies European lefties.




Aside from the unabashedly adolescently vulgar appeal for the youth vote, it is astounding how Obama’s campaign seeks the female vote by consistently degrading women.  The Binders of Women memo probably produced Beavis and Butthead chortles, as if it was President Bill Jefferson Clinton’s little black book.  In reality, the “Binders of Women” referred to outreach that Romney had to qualified female candidates to be part of his gubernatorial administration in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Then there was the Tumblr posting “Vote like your Lady Parts depend on it (because they do)".  It was quickly withdrawn after public hue and cry.  Consider the objectification involved in the “Lady Parts” appeal.   To use the parlance to make a point, I believe that wise women vote with their lady smarts rather than just their lady parts.

Now in its final days, the Obama Campaign comes up with an innuendo ad prompting women to make their first time a good one.

No wonder why the Obamas have been urging everyone to vote early, including your knucklehead friends, per First Lady Michelle Obama.

 The puerile politics displayed in their outreach, as well as the Dear Leader labeling his opponent a bullsh**ter in Rolling Stone are signs of serious presidential campaign imploding.

Obama Gets a Lift from Campaigning

[photo credit:  Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP]

While campaigning in South Florida, President Barack Obama (D-IL) made an unannounced stop at Big Apple Pizza and Pasta Italian Restaurant in Fort Pierce, Florida.  Mr. Obama was enthusiastically greeted by owner Scott Van Duzer, who lifts the candidate off the ground with his bear hug.

The story was supposed to be about a small business owner who did not vote for Mr Obama in 2008 who now supports him, but this awkward optic overwhelms the intended message.  The scene certainly conveys a warm greeting, but it may not convey the commanding presence of the President of the United States.

It seems that the Obama2012 Advance Team dropped the ball and let star struck citizens get carried away.  Fortunately, Van Druzer did not drop the candidate. 

Obama 2012 Speed Bump

h/t: Michael Ramirez

Better than "The Beast" being stuck outside the entrance of the American Embassy in Dublin, Ireland.




Some things, like armor or a bad economy, can weight POTUS down

Spreading the Campaign Stash Around?

Nobody is supposed to share from the Obama stash unless Dear Leader is given credit.

h/t: Rich McKee, Augusta Chronicle