What’s interesting in the news today?
1. Joint Chiefs Chair: ‘Open Borders and Immigration Issues’ Make ISIL ‘Immediate Threat’
From CNSNews “Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a Pentagon press briefing yesterday that “because of open borders and immigration issues,” the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is an “immediate threat.”
In the context of this ISIL threat, Dempsey said he had had conversations with his European colleagues “about their southern flank.” He did not specifically mention the U.S.-Mexico border, which is the southern flank of the United States.”
“Well, the immediacy is in the number of Europeans and other nationalities who have come to the region to become part of that ideology,” said Dempsey. “And those folks can go home at some point. It’s why I have conversations with my European colleagues about their southern flank of NATO, which I think is actually more threatened in the near term than we are.
“Nevertheless,” Dempsey continued, “because of open borders and immigration issues, it’s an immediate threat. That is to say, the fighters who may leave the current fight and migrate home.”
______________________________________________
2. What a bunch of hypocrites. If this was the Koch brothers they’d be whining endlessly about money in politics.
From NationalJournal “Super PACs spent July beefing up for the fall campaign. Many groups filed new disclosure reports this week, leaving a paper trail littered with big checks from big names.
Democrats dominate the list of notable July donors, as there have simply been more Democratic dollars flowing to that type of outside group this year. There’s still plenty of conservative money out there; it’s just that more of it is going toward nonprofits, which don’t have to disclose their donors. Here are a handful of July super PAC donations that stood out.
STEYER: Climate-change activist Tom Steyer gave the biggest super PAC donation in this month’s reports: $7.5 million to his own group, NextGen Climate. Steyer, who made his fortune as a successful hedge-fund manager, also spread some of that money around. NextGen gave a half-million dollars to Senate Majority PAC, the biggest Senate Democratic super PAC, and $150,000 to the League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund, another environmental group.
BLOOMBERG: Michael Bloomberg is staying plenty active in his post-mayoral days. Aside from funding his gun-control-focused super PAC, Bloomberg has written checks to Senate Majority PAC and super PACs that backed GOP Sens. Thad Cochran and Lindsey Graham during their primary battles. Most recently, the former New York City mayor donated $2 million to Women Vote!—the largest contribution the EMILY’s List super PAC has ever received. Only Steyer has given more money to super PACs this election season.
SOROS: Democratic financier George Soros’s checkbook has been active this summer: The prolific donor gave $500,000 apiece to House Majority PAC and the League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund. But that million dollars wasn’t his family’s only big outlay so far this summer. Soros’s daughter, Andrea Soros Colombel, gave $250,000 to Planned Parenthood Votes.”
And the list goes on and on.
______________________________________________
3. Of course he is. He knows that come November the political landscape will be changing.
From TheHill “Groups that closely follow regulations are expecting the Obama administration to continue issuing controversial rules through the midterm elections, despite the political risk it could pose for Democrats.
With time running out on President Obama’s second term, federal agencies are hitting the gas on a number of regulatory initiatives that are central to the White House’s “go-it-alone” agenda.
The pace of rulemaking is a stark contrast from the months leading up to the 2012 presidential election, when the flow of rules came screeching to a near halt.
The expectation that the gears of the regulatory process will keep moving highlights how the president’s desire for a second-term legacy sometimes conflicts with the short-term political considerations of congressional Democrats.”
______________________________________________
4. Good enough?
From TheWashingtonExaminer “Under new rules released Friday, the Obama administration said for-profit companies like Hobby Lobby can avoid paying for their employees’ birth control costs through the same Obamacare exemption given to religious groups.
The Obama administration unveiled the policy shift after the Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that closely held corporations should not be forced to pay for their workers’ contraception if they have religious objections.
As outlined by the administration, the companies and religious groups would notify the government of their objections to covering birth control for their employees. The insurance companies would then pick up the cost of contraception before being reimbursed by the federal government.”
______________________________________________
5. According to the GAO food stamp fraud is rampant.
From FoxNews “Americans receiving food stamps were caught selling and bartering their benefits online for art, housing and cash, according to a new federal report that investigates fraud in the nation’s largest nutrition support program.
Complicating the situation is the fact states around the country are having trouble tracking and prosecuting the crimes because their enforcement budgets have been slashed despite the rapidly-rising number of food stamp recipients, according to the Government Accountability Office report.
Under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, 47 million people have been awarded $76 billion in benefits. State agencies are responsible for addressing SNAP recipient fraud under the guidance and monitoring of the Food and Nutrition Service.
“Such rapid program growth can increase the potential for fraud unless appropriate agency controls are in place to help minimize these risks,” the investigators said in their report.”
______________________________________________
Wandering Views 
@1 – I notice they say ISIL. I mentioned this yesterday in my SS lesson about Daniel 7. Pres. Obama, in his speech about the beheading, said ISIL vice ISIS. This is not trivial.
ISIS means Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. ISIL means Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The Levant includes Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and Cyprus. To say “ISIL” seems to recognize their claim to all of that. I have never seen ISIL on FoxNews. Though that doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened. I haven’t noticed it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Add Michael Morrell to the growing list of Obama administration officials and former officials who consider ISIS a clear and immediate threat to the United States. Morrell, who served two shifts as Obama’s acting CIA director, said on Face the Nation that ISIS’s rise presents ‘the most complex terrorism problem that I have ever seen.’ …”
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2014/08/why-obama-slept.php
My take: In addition to a letting down of our guard politically, I also think we as a nation (and people) have become lax and complacent with regard to terrorism. It’s somewhat understandable, considering the years following 9/11 brought no new major attacks on our soil (though I suspect many were thwarted).
Remember when our first thought was “terrorism?” at every plane that went down, every fire that was reported? After a few years, we seemed to all breathe a collective sigh of relief, thinking maybe 9/11 was the start & the end of it both.
It also raises fair questions, I think, about our previous actions in Iraq — our intent was good, but did the result only wear us down and lead to an Islamic backlash, making things worse? History will have weigh that one, given more time.
At any rate, we have a situation now where none of us in the U.S. is up for any more war. 😦
But now, up for it or not …
These folks are genuinely scary and are gaining power.
LikeLike
Interesting piece picked up by First Things:
“Mehdi Hasan presents evidence in an article in the New Statesman that jihadists aren’t the most devout of Muslims. Often the opposite. …”
http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/leithart/2014/08/not-religious
LikeLiked by 2 people
“I say ISIL so that is what it is!” President Barack Obama.
LikeLike
I always liked Dale Gribble on King of the Hill. He also has the makings of a fine reporter:
http://www.vdare.com/letters/a-nebraska-reader-reports-us-justice-department-sending-a-mediator-to-address-an-outhouse-in-norfolk-ne?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-nebraska-reader-reports-us-justice-department-sending-a-mediator-to-address-an-outhouse-in-norfolk-ne
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey Donna J.
It also raises fair questions, I think, about our previous actions in Iraq — our intent was good, but did the result only wear us down and lead to an Islamic backlash, making things worse? History will have weigh that one, given more time.
I don’t think we even need any more time to judge. Many of the protesters of our moving against Iraq were predicting this stuff with great accuracy (I wasn’t one of them). I think OBL has been the clear winner, and the US the big loser, by far.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Big Bush’s National Security Advisor explained in advance the stupidity of invading Iraq. Little Bush didn’t listen.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB1029371773228069195
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ricky,
The so-called Civil Rights Division is a joke. It’s just the govt version of the Jesse and Al scam. Easy to dismiss when it’s those two scam artists, but much tougher when you realize these hucksters have the full force and weight of govt behind their version of the scam. They cry wolf over nonsense like that and real civil rights violations pay the price, so that even legitimate ones become questionably viewed. They hurt the cause as much as Al and Jesse.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I was only drafted for 2 years, US Army. I was only an E-5, Spec 5. I was in a MASH. I was trained how to change bed linens, dress a wound, take and record vital signs.
Iraq
The powers that be decided it was not a good thing to have an army that was Baathist run, so the Iraqi army was disbanded for a year.
It takes at least 6 months to learn how to be a soldier.
it takes at least 1 year to learn how to be a corporal.
It takes at least 1 year to learn how to be a sergeant.
It takes at least 1 year to learn how to be a Staff Sergeant.
By my estimate it took at least 3 1/2 years, more like 4 years for an Iraqi army to be reconstituted and to start to become a real army, capable of fighting on it’s own. Isn’t that about what we in fact saw in Iraq? It was pretty foolish to think that was the culmination of a real, integrated (Sunni, Shia, Kurd and Christian) Iraqi army. It would probably take much longer for the integration to become real and to start to filter down into Iraqi society as a whole. Until that happened, the US Army would have to be there to hold the many forces in check. How long would it take for this religious integration to take place? How long did it take in the US Army?
I would like to hear what kbells husband thinks about my little guesses. Wasn’t he a Special Forces soldier?
LikeLike
Bob B, @3:25 right. An army isn’t created overnight.
I supported the Iraq invasion because I thought they were the bad guys and I didn’t know anything about Islam. I have studied extensively since then and realize that we made several mistakes. The main one was in thinking that we could take the dictators out and put in a democracy. Islam doesn’t permit that. Every nation was in better shape when a dictator was in charged. It was possible for Sunni’s, Shi’a, Jews and Christians to live in the same land when the horrible dictator Sadaam was in charge. We gave them democracy and got chaos.
Same for Libya.
I understand how I could be so ignorant about Islam, but somebody in high places should have known. GWBush said, “Islam is a religion of peace.” I understand that he might say that to keep two billion Muslims from rising up against him. But he shouldn’t have believed it.
I am teaching Daniel chapters 7, 9 & 12 this month. I am convinced, from the book JoeB (now Drivesguy, I think) recommended, God’s War on Terror, that the fourth beast of Daniel 7 is the revived Ottoman Empire. And the Little Horn (Antichrist) will come from that.
Makes sense..
LikeLike
With that fact in mind. Why do we want to get rid of Assad in Syria? Things are better than they will be when he goes.
LikeLike
I’ll refrain from saying I told you so because I didn’t predict this much chaos — ie the rise of ISIL — arising from the Iraq invasion. I do think news networks need to refrain from asking Cheney, McCain, etc, for comments regarding Middle East politics and instead ask some who led the protests in 2003 for comments.
The de-bathization idea was copied from the denazification of Germany and is probably a good idea on why we shouldn’t be hasty on drawing historical parallels. It also might have been a good idea for those in charge to read a history book as denazification only succeeded at the upper levels of gov’t and was ignored elsewhere. And unless you have an absolute foolproof plan to establish law and order don’t tear down existing structures. Its as if the Bush administration hadn’t read Edmund Burke (should be required of all good conservatives)
The confusion around ISIL and ISIS probably arose from translating it from Arabic to English.
Government and politics differ based on historical culture — its not a one size fits all world. However, I’d caution against assuming a dictator is the best form for a particular culture or religion. In part because the people living there usually don’t agree with our assessment. What usually is the case is people will accept a gov’t that respects tradition, culture, provides law and order, and an opportunity for improvement especially over the generations. The form that takes — republic, parliamentary democracy, constitutional monarch, one party rule, authoritarian, etc — doesn’t really matter to the majority as long as the basics are taken care of.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Chas — Syria is an example of cold war politics. He’s a friend of Russia and Syria is the last foreign naval base for Russia. Hence, the West becomes friends with the opposition. Yeah — some of them are religious fanatics but what could go wrong………
LikeLike
donna — its true of domestic crime rates, terrorism, civil unrest, etc., when there is a surplus of young men we will have a problem. Want to lower crime and ensure peace and tranquility here and abroad? Give each man a job, a wife, a kid and a mortgage.
LikeLike
Oh and link for the day.
Salon is featuring excerpts from the book “Rise of the Warrior Cop”
http://www.salon.com/2013/07/07/%E2%80%9Cwhy_did_you_shoot_me_i_was_reading_a_book_the_new_warrior_cop_is_out_of_control/
LikeLike
Obama wants to work with US allies in the region.
We have no allies in the region.
Except Israel. And Obama doesn’t want to work with Israel.
LikeLike
Through NATO, the US is allied to Turkey.
There are US bases in Bahrain and Qatar. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and UAE are also allied with the US. Yemen’s gov’t leans towards the US and seeks assistance in controling the countryside. Oman and Jordan are friendly to the US but not nearly to the same degree as the Saudis and the Gulf states.
Lebanon has enough domestic problems that its foreign policy is non-existent.
Egypt is the second largest recipient of US military aid — Israel is first — and thus the Egyptian military who are currently in charge are quite friendly to US interests.
The Iraq gov’t tries to be neutral but the Kurds maintain their own pro-US foreign policy.
Syrian president Assad is Russia’s sole ally in the region and the only leader not friendly with the US, hence, western support for the rebels.
I’d say the US has a lot of friends in the region but I’m not sure those are the types of friends it should have.
And then there is Israel. Surprisingly US friendship with Israel and the above Arab states is quite compatible since the Arab regimes regard the Palestinians as a nuisance.
LikeLike