D-List Celebutard Tries to Get Ahead By Overstepping Comedic Line Towards Trump

Many progressives have shown difficulty in accepting Donald J. Trump as President of the United States.  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA 8th) can not bring herself to say "President Trump".  When former First Lady/Senator/Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D-NY) is not engaged in chardonnay therapy, she was attempting to front "the Resistance" as part of a inchoate attempt at remaining politically viable.

Celebrities certainly have had a tough time coping with not having their candidate win the White House in 2016.   Of late, there was Robert De Niro's rousing graduation analogy at Brown University that the newly minted Ivy League alums are now entering a world that is a "tragic dumb assed comedy."

Hyperbolic histrionics does not sate some from Hollyweird. Some celebutards feel compelled to push their consternation to the brink.  At the enormous Women who Hate Trump march the day after inauguration, Madonna intimated that she had dreams of bombing the White House after hearing of Trump's victory.  Not to be outdone, D-List comedienne Kathy Griffin posed for publicity shoots holding a bloody facsimile of America's 45th President of the United States, which she then posted on social media. Smooth move Ex-Lax.

No doubt, Griffin thought that she would be playing to her progressively oriented base and perhaps even make it off the D-List through political notoriety. After all, her bloody head pose echoed the antipathy of "The Resistance". She had the reputation of being a crass, shock type comedienne. Moreover, she could claim artistic freedom and the need to challenge boundaries in the name of comedy.  Not so much.

Consider the comedic rodeo rider who dared wear an Obama mask while maintaining the ring which caused a week's controversy and caused him to be put into diversity training. It did not help that Griffin's  graphic art echoed actual executions as infamously performed by ISIS. The country still seems to have some respect for the office of President.  One should not discount the reputation of the messenger.  Griffith is not known for taking overt political stances, and this stunt may have been seen as distasteful grandstanding by an opportunist.

Social media turned against Kathy Griffin for her ghoulish pose.  Sponsors and venues quickly started to cancel on her. Even Senator Al Franken (D-MN) was said to be backing away from a associations with with Griffin.  The Secret Service may now be quite investigating Griffin's graphic wise crack. 

What's more, is that Griffin's grotesquerie made Mr. Trump somewhat sympathetic, even to ardent opponents of the Trump Administration.   Former Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) could point to the gross graphic and condemn the repugnant and vile message in his quixotic hope for civic civility.  Mr. Trump tweeted in response to the controversy that his eleven year old son was having a hard time with this sick humor.

When it was clear that the public tide had turned against Griffin, she quickly posted on Instagram an apology.





Liberal leaning news organizations barely covered the controversy because one of the news most important powers is the power to ignore the inconvenient or incongruent.

It is difficult to discern the best course of action.  On the one hand, while I strive to be forgiving and let bygones to be bygones, it seems inappropriate to think "Aw shucks, it was nothing."   This is not a typo tweet like "covfefe"  or a knee jerk post which one regrets immediately after hitting the send button.  TMZ showed Griffin in a full blown photo shoot, with lighting, make-up and props. This was pre-meditated so to magnanimously dismiss it invites future pot shots from an opposition which seems intent to throw anything up on the wall to see if it sticks.

On the other hand, Mr. Trump has displayed a churlish reputation in the past and has used antagonisms with others (Rosie O'Donnell, Megyn Kelly, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, et ali.) as a means to brandish himself while sullying others.  The Trump Administration needs to put some wins on the board in Washington aside from a SCOTUS pick and reversing 18 prior Administrative Actions.

May Kathy Griffin be benched on the D-List without needlessly encouraging others to go down that same repugnant road. 

Trump on ISIS, Obama and Hillary

Benjamin Watson Raven (sic) About ISIS

Marco Rubio on US Born Foreign Fighters

Lindsey Graham on Fighting ISIS

Intellectual Gymnastics to Avoid Uttering "Islamic Extremism"

The Aspen Institute is a non-profit leadership organization which aspire to foster open-minded dialogue on contemporary issues.  Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson's cautious comments about not associating ISIS (The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) with Islam showed that one can be so open minded that one's brain falls out.

 Of course, Johnson's conceptual contortions about not naming radical Islam is nothing new.  Avoiding utterances that could be construed as blanket condemnations of the so called "Religion of Peace" (even though Islam is better translated is "Submission") dates back to President George W. Bush after the September 11th 2001 terror attacks.  Western "leaders" have seemed congenitally skiddish about associating plethora of attacks with perpetrators shouting "Allahu Akbar" with Islam.

 

 Is this reluctance to utter reality because our elites are indoctrinated in political correctness and employ a "real world" version of the UNH Bias Free Language Guide?  Maybe it is the progressive hubris that by changing the lexicon one can alter inherent attitudes.  Or maybe there is the realization that when implemented Islam is a holistic religious and political system and by associating the violence with the religion it enlists otherwise unenthusiastic adherents.

 But as Sun Tzu wrote in "The Art of War"  in the Sixth Century BC "Know your enemy and know yourself, find naught in fear for 100 battles. Know yourself but not your enemy, find level of loss and victory. Know thy enemy but not yourself, wallow in defeat every time."    

Pamela Geller on the Jihad in America

Brad Thor on Lone Wolves

Reacting to the Chattanooga terror attack, thriller author and national security analyst Brad Thor questions the string of so called "Lone Wolf" attacks in America, particularly by radical Islamists.

So how many lone wolves make for a wolf pack?

h/t: Michael Ramirez

      Gary Varvel 

President Barack Obama on the Threat of Violent Extremism

President Barack Obama met with leaders of CENTCOM and AFRICOM at the Pentagon prior to their appearances on Capitol Hill regarding a strategy to combat ISIS.   While the Obama Administration still has not detailed a plan to defeat ISIS/ISIL/DAESH, but the so called Leader of the Free World still had some thoughts on the threat of violent extremism.

 

So apparently, one whackadoodle who killed nine churchgoers in Charleston provides cover of equivocation for the numerous attacks inspired by proclaimed adherents of "The Religion of Peace" (or Pieces). Surely, Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin should have realized that it was better ideas and not force which defeats ideologies. Can we solve the puzzle now Pat or must we wait until November, 2016?

 h/t: Rick McKee

John Kerry:<< ISIS is no more a state than I am a helicopter>>

Rand Paul: ISIS Exists Because of GOP (!)(?)

Republican Presidential hopeful Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) appeared on MSNBC to hawk his book "Taking a Stand: Moving Beyond Partisan Politics to Unite America" (2015) and expand his political base in 2016.   Senator Paul is renowned for his libertarian politics policy but seemed to have mollified his non-interventionist foreign policy tendencies since he announced his candidacy.  Senator Paul appeared to honor his father without embracing the isolationist extremism which characterized the career of his father, former Representative (and quixotic 1988 Libertarian Party and 2012 GOP Presidential candidate)  Ron Paul (R-TX 14th and 22nd).

…

However when Joe Scarborough interviewed Senator Paul on the Morning Joe, Senator Paul posited that the GOP which was the reason that ISIS exists. 

This is a curious conclusion, as the precipitous withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan occurred during the six years of the Obama Administration.  This was on top of Mr. Obama's ever fungible red line on Syrian chemical weapons. 

Senator Paul's inflammatory utterance has several unfortunate implications for winning the GOP nomination.  Firstly, it violates Reagan's 11th Commandment not to criticize your own party when campaigning.  Secondly, Senator Paul embraced the isolationist extremism, which puts him at odds with most party loyalists who will be participating in the nomination process. Thirdly, Paul's foreign policy pronouncement echoes his father, which was on the fringe of the Republican party.  Fourth, Paul's extended Morning Joe interview was an exercise to "get" Republican neocon hawks like Senator John McCain (R-AZ) as well as McCain's minion (and quasi GOP Presidential candidate) Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Furthermore, the cantankerous close contributes to the perception that Senator Rand Paul is thin skinned. 

h/t: KAL 

On First Amendment Prudence?

The "Draw Mohammed" event in Garland, Texas has provoked some mixed reactions in the media. Pamela Geller, the proprietor of Atlas Shrugged and co-founder of the American Freedom Defense Initiative, believes that speaking out against radical Islam through an event in Garland, Texas is properly exercising her Freedom of Speech.

Greta Van Susteran went "Off the Record" condemned Pamela Geller and the Draw Mohammed event as not being a prudent application of her First Amendment rights.



Some self censorship critics, point to Constitutional limits of Freedom of Speech.  Chris Cuomo got on his high horse regarding hate speech and kept pointing to the 1942 Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire Supreme Court decision about "fighting words".

But if one relies on the Constitution as being a "living document", one must read further high court cases.  to understand that "fighting words" limitations essentially now must be provocative personal epithets. For CNN commentators preening about their juris doctor degree, check Cohen v. California 403 U.S. 15 (1971) [the "Fuck the Draft" case] and Snyder v. Philips (2010) 562 USC ___ (2011) [Westboro Baptist Church protesting soldier's funeral],

It is ironic that there are elements in the media, which ought to revel in the First Amendment, that urge those who advocate unpopular opinions to be reticent about expressing their Freedom of Speech.  That's some freedom-- not!

It is ironic that there are elements in the media, which ought to revel in the First Amendment, that urge those who advocate unpopular opinions to be reticent about expressing their Freedom of Speech.  That's some freedom-- not!

Several years ago, after the Gabrielle Giffords shooting, there was an effort for encourage civic civility. Alas, that was a progressive ploy to stifle conservative dissent and was not reciprocated by the left.

The admonitions of today to be prudent when exercising free speech seem to show the inroads of cultural jihad.  One can not express Free Speech which a Muslim might find offensive. This can be considered soft tyranny or de facto sharia.  Should we acquiesce to such sensibilities now, consider how imams like Anjem Choudrey would handle such offensive speech. 

customer survey

Kirsten Powers on Obama's Inability to Recognize Christian Persecution

During the summer of 2014, liberal commentator Kirsten Powers became convicted that President Barack Obama was not a humanitarian for his flaccid response to the Yazidi and Mosul Christians of being the expropriated, enslaved and threatened with extermination by ISIS. 

Unfortunately, in the ensuing nine months, the 44th President has done nothing to burnish his mantle of being a humanitarian. Powers pointed to the recent joint press conference between Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and President Obama at the White House.  Renzi's reaction to the news that Muslims on a refugee boat from Africa threw  twelve Christians overboard into the Mediterranean for their faith was that it was a "one off event" and that it did not reflect a clash of religious. Mr. Obama remained mute.  

When jihadist terrorists do slaughter the innocent, President Obama has shown himself unwilling to acknowledge their Christian faith.  Mr. Obama referred to the slaughter of 148 Christians by Al Shabaab in Kenya on Maundy Thursday were just folks, whereas the 21 Coptic Christians executed by ISIS in Libya were simply "Egyptian citizens".  Even Britain's Prince Charles, who occupies a primarily non-partisan role as Prince of Wales, has lamented the violent persecution of Christians in Iraq.

Perhaps it was no mistake that early in the Obama Administration, the Chosen One seemed congenitally incapable of echoing the Declaration of Independence correctly and invoking the Creator as it was written. But then again, those were the days when we expected Mr. Obama to follow the law and the Constitution as written,

On the Massacre of Christians

Barack Obama Questions Christian Love at White House Easter Breakfast

As Christians continued to celebrate the miracle of the Resurrection at a Tuesday Easter Prayer Breakfast at the White House, President Barack Obama could not resist poking at the Nazarene's faithful. While Mr. Obama's remarks does echo some of the Paschal message, he flippantly questioned some perceived deficiencies in Christian Love (presumably an oblique reference to Indiana's RFRA law controversy).



It seems rather rude for the President to turn a prayer breakfast of the most important holiday into a partisan punch line.  Unfortunately, this is not uncharacteristic of the Obama Administration. Last year, President Obama "spontaneously" called on the controversial gay Episcopal Bishop Vichy "Gene" Robinson for a closing prayer.

What was striking about President Obama's 2015 Easter Prayer Breakfast remarks is that he failed to acknowledge the massacre and martyrdom of 148 Christians at Garissa University College in eastern Kenya on Maudy Thursday by Islamist terrorists.  Of  course, when Mr. Obama did address the latest Kenyan atrocity, the President failed to mention the faith of both the "folks" who were slaughtered as well as the creed which inspired the dastardly deed.  In addition, when President Obama spoke about the bloody beheadings of 21 people in Libya by ISIS he referred to them as "Egyptian citizens" rather than as Coptic Christians which prompted their martyrdom.

Icon of the "New Martyrs" by Tony Rezk.  Coptic Pope Tawadros II declared Feb. 15th their feast day  

Of course, clearly identifying victims of the contemporary jihad by radical would wreck the impression that Christianity is about the Crusades and the Inquisition as President Obama alluded in his 2015 National Prayer Breakfast remarks.

Contemporary Civil Crucifixions?

As the Christian faithful commemorate the Triduum, when their blameless Lord was persecuted and crucified for their sins, we can contemplate contemporary crucifixions.

Sadly, we live in a world in which ISIS Islamists actually crucify and martyr "Nazarenes" for their faith.  Yet we do not have to look abroad to see contemporary civil crucifixions.

Consider how masses have been riled up and incited to violence over lies emanating from the chief priest of liberal secular humanism in social justice circles and the media. Ferguson, Missouri brought forth the meme "Hands Up, Don't Shoot", which inspired rioting both in the Show Me State as well as civil intimidation in Brooklyn.  Yet the Ferguson Grand Jury Decision showed that the "Hands Up Don't Shoot" manta was  all based on lies.

Then there was the Rolling Stone gang rape story which was meant to peddle the war on women wedge issue especially college fraternities.  Once again a fabrications yet the fraternity at the University of Virginia was forced to close until police reports showed that the accusation was based on a tissue of lies.

Lately, the focus has been on Indiana, as the Hoosier State passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.  Progressives painted a rainbow smear claiming that RFRA would allow businesses to discriminate against homosexual customers.  In reality, Indiana's  RFRA was modeled after a 1993 Federal Law (which President Bill Clinton signed)  and 19 other states (including Illinois which State Senator Barack Obama voted for), with updates to reflect the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby ruling.

Rather than being a weapon for business owners to pursue discrimination, RFRA is a shield which allows those with a strongly held religious belief to simply have their day in court.  The masses where whipped up into a frenzy under the rainbow banner to stop bigotry.

One enterprising jo-whore-nalist from ABC 57 in South Bend, sought out a pizzaria in Elkhorn, Indiana supposedly to get a small town perspective on the Hoosier RFRA law. Reporter Alyssa Marino  "randomly" chose Memories Pizza, which just so happened to be a Christian establishment. They  entertained a hypothetical of catering a same-sex wedding and concluded that participating in that ceremony would be against their religious beliefs.

This naive admission set off a firestorm of protest against the small town pizza parlor.  Rush Limbaugh suspects this was a set up for a Christian business and was being magnified by a small group of progressive activists who spin a cyber chimera of being an internet army. How else could a UHF TV station in South Bend generate thousands of social media protests in less than ten minutes?  

The hype over Memories Pizza got so severe that a high school teacher tweeted seeking comrades to help burn the place down. Memories Pizza was forced to close with all of the crank calls and calls to violence

   

After her suspension is lifted, she should stick to instructing girls' golf rather than teaching hatred and inciting violence on the internet.

Fortunately, like the miracle of the resurrection after the public crucifixion, there is a happy ending for Memories Pizza.  BlazeTV personal Dana Loesch organized a crowdfunding effort to help the O'Connor family with their Memories Pizza business.  In a couple of days, 30,000 people contributed over $850,000. This will allow Memories Pizza to weather the RFRA firestorm and to expand.  

Yet progressives still sought to punish Memories Pizza.  Some conspiracy minded liberals implied that the O'Connors intentionally created the media frenzy for online donations.  These are the same type of people who obsess over Loose Change  Another internet activist, who co-incidentally is a social media employee of WTVR-TV CBS6 in Richmond, Virginia, implied that the crowdfunding was fraudulent to discourage contributions.  

While during Holy Week it is facile to focus on crowds being whipped into a frenzy to be the cat's paw for leaders.  But it is also worth considering why the Romans resorted to crucifixions in their empire.  These brutal crucifixions served as examples not to challenge the orthodoxy of the powers that be. 

Crucifixion (even the civil kind)?  No, I would rather choose religious freedom. 

But like Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979), it is best to "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life".

H/T: A.F. Branco

   

Jeb Bush: Hillary Can't Do the Heisman

Typically, the Heisman refers to an award given to the outstanding college football player in the United States since 1935.  The Heisman Memorial Award trophy is distinct as it is a  lost wax process bronze casting design by well known sculptor Frank Eliscu that depicts a skilled and powerful football player, sidestepping and straight-arming his way to a touchdown.

Sculptor Frank Eliscu and the Heisman Trophy

Recently, when former Governor Jeb Bush (R-FL) was interviewed by Hugh Hewitt, the undeclared Republican Presidential hopeful invoked the Heisman when surveying the 2016 political playing field. Jeb Bush was asked about all of  chaos in the Middle East which the Obama Administration's foreign policy precipitated (namely Libya, ISIS and an inchoate Arab nuclear arms race).  Governor Bush responded that:

 "I think she can’t do the Heisman on the first four years of the Obama foreign policy. She’ll try. I mean, she’s going to, look, this is very Clintonian, I think, to figure out a way to get out of a mess."

Bush invoked the image of the Heisman stiff arming opposition before striding into the end zone for a score. Certainly, the big bench of talented GOP Presidential candidates will seek to stop Hillary from side stepping opposition blocking her way to the South Lawn of the White House despite screens from the Lamestream Media.

It should be remembered, however,  that the Heisman Award is an honor given by sportwriters (journalists) through a beauty contest vote.  There is concern about the Heisman curse that designated winners often do not perform well the big game or during their careers  in pro football despite the honor and the hype of the Heisman. Certainly, parallels can be made to Hillary's proto Presidential campaign and presumed coronation at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Obama Unsteady After Golf Junket

It was near record cold and windy day  for the end of March in the District of Calamity.  But this did not deter the Celebrity in Chief President Barack Obama from hitting the links. He hopped on Air Force One to Palm City, Florida with Houston Astros owner Jim Crane and partial owner of the Boston Celtics Glenn Hutchins to play the private Florida National Golf Club. Coincidentally, half of the foursome had close connections to the energy industry (including one from the much maligned Halliburton Corp.).

The Press Pool assessed that this was not a working trip as one wag reported: "You can tell this is a non work trip ... someone forward of the press cabin ordered 3 beers at 9:26 a.m.".   Hmm.  There were no reports on how Mr. Obama golfed on his 222nd round since assuming the Oval Office, as the Press Pool was relegated to maintenance shed at the Florida National Golf Club.

However, as President Obama returned to DC at Joint Base Andrews, in Landover, Maryland, President Obama was unsteady as he walked the ramp deplaning from Air Force One.



So what difference does it make how he handled his handicap if he had a good good time?  Well, for taxpayers, the junket was estimated to cost $850,000 just for flight (which will be reimbursed for a fraction of the cost).  But at least there was not a beheading in close proximity to the golf excursion as with ISIS execution of James Foley.

Netanyahu: “The greatest danger facing our world is the marriage of militant Islam with nuclear weapons.”

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu made his third address before a Joint Session of Congress to in order speak about existential threats against his nation which stem from the prospective Iran Nuclear Deal. 

The Obama Administration expressed offense at the Netanyahu speech because House Speaker John Boehner broke protocol by not having not cleared the invitation with the Obama White House (never mind the constitution). The ire against the Israeli P.M.'s remarks then shifted that it was too close to the Israeli elections, even though National Security Adviser Susan Rice recently railed against Netanyahu for undermining US/Israel relations.   Some 56 Congressional Democrats boycotted Netanyahu's speech. Valerie Jarrett insisted that President Obama was too busy to watch our only Democratic ally in the Middle East's speech. 

These petulant politicos missed a 40 minute speech which had the feel of a State of the Union address, but with substance arguing against making a bad deal with a revolutionary, expansionistic, jihadic regime with an earned bad reputation.  

While Prime Minister Netanyahu displayed extraordinary graciousness to Democrats (and had a shout out to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Bibi underlined underpublicized kindnesses which President Obama has shown towards Israel, the speech was a methodical public policy schooling of the perils of bad deals with Persians.  Shortly before he delivered his remarks, the White House warned Netanyahu not to reveal state secrets about the Iran talks. Hence, Mr. Netanyahu noted that he was using public sources for his citations so people could Google it.

Mr. Netanyahu also thanked Congress for its robust support for their alliance in a rough neighborhood over the years.  To illustrate how instrumental the American-Israeli relationship has been, Netanyahu noted: "This Capitol Dome helped build our Iron Dome" (the missile system which protected Israeli civilians from random rocket terror during the latest military campaign by Palestinian militant terrorism from HAMAS. 

Netanyahu substantiated the ignomy of the revolutionary Islamic Republic of Iran and reminded people that spreading jihad is part of the current Iranian constitution. While Washington seems to have been concerned about ISIS's atrocious antics, Mr. Netanyahu opined that Iranian intentions toward crafting it's own caliphate is no better as the are both competing for the crown of militant Islam.  Thus: "The enemy of  your enemy is your enemy."  

Prime Minister Netanyahu argued against making a bad deal with Tehran rather than no deal at all.  Netanyahu detailed how a deal on the Iran Nukes would not be a farewell to arms but a farewell to arms control in the Middle East.  The Prime Minister invoked U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's analysis that Iran could eventually gain nuclear weapons because the prospective agreement does not require destruction of centrofuses and could quickly be ramped up after an agreement.  Bibi quipped that Tehran is adroit at playing "hide and cheat" with weapons inspectors.  Besides, inspectors just document but do not stop cheating. Furthermore, the Iranian missile program is not covered in the nuclear deal, so the Islamic Republic could quickly propel their inchoate arms to Europe or even America. 

Netanyahu rallied the Congressional crowd by exhorting: "We must all stand together to stop Iran's march of conquest, subjugation and terror."  This was coupled with the wisdom "The greatest danger facing our world is the marriage of militant Islam with nuclear weapons."

The Lamestream Media has been lax at explaining the nuances and prospective pitfalls of the Iranian Nuclear Talks.  Netanyahu's speech brought these issues to the forefront of public consideration.  Moreover, the warm reception which the Israeli Prime Minister was received by Congress highlights the strength of US-Israeli relations, in the face of an Obama Administration which seems intent to punish its friends and rewarding its enemies in a tough neighborhood of the world. In arguing against the existential threat against Israel, the Prime Minister underlined that it will act alone in necessary but that "I know that Israel does not stand alone-- America stands with Israel."

Jordanian King Abdullah on ISIS

Contrast the clear statement which the King of Jordan made about the barbarically brutal burning of their prisoner of war with the convoluted comment made by President Barack Obama.

    Jordan has promised a swift, "earth-shaking" response to ISIS immolating their hostage.  No doubt that "the leader of the free world" will be happy to lead from behind providing logistics and support to an effort to eradicate this inhumane organization.