What’s interesting in the news today?

1. Bad idea?

From TheDailyMail  “House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is set to appoint a Muslim lawmaker to the Intelligence Committee, congressional aides said Tuesday, giving him access to some of America’s most closely held secrets in the war on terror.

The move will come as the world is still grappling with an al-Qaeda death squad’s massacre last week of journalists at the French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo, executed because they had published a cartoon of the Muslim prophet Muhammad.”

“In a Huffington Post interview two months ago, he reflected on his time as a police officer assigned to track terrorism and conduct counter-intelligence.

‘What I learned is that in the U.S., as in the UK, it is impossible to fight the threat of global terror without help from Muslims,’ the congressman said.

‘But there is a problem with institutional bigotry.'”

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More here, from  BizPacReview  “U.S. Rep. Andre Carson, an Indiana Democrat, may be one of Nancy Pelosi’s handpicked selections to serve on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, but he has a lot of explaining to do on who made political contributions to his campaign — and a history of racially charged, inflammatory statements.

According to the Daily Caller, Carson, the first Muslim to get a seat on the committee, spoke to the 37th Annual Islamic Circle of North America-Muslim American Society Convention in Hartford, Conn., declaring the need to incorporate some Islam-based practices into the U.S. system.

“America will never tap into educational innovation and ingenuity without looking at the model that we have in our madrassas, in our schools, where innovation is encouraged, where the foundation is the Quran.””

“Carson also made a racially charged statements about the tea party members of Congress suggesting, “Some of these folks in Congress right now would love to see [blacks] as second class citizens. Some of them in Congress right now with this tea party movement would love to see you and me…hanging on a tree.””

And as you’d expect, he also has questionable donations from questionable Islamic sources. I believe the wording used was “unindicted co-conspirators.”

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2. The first western reporter to embed with ISIS is talking about the experience.

From Breitbart  “Todenhofer lived side by side with the jihadist fighters for ten days in the Islamic State-stronghold city of Mosul, Iraq. He was accompanied only by his son, who served as his cameraman.

“I always asked them about the value of mercy in Islam,” but “I didn’t see any mercy in their behavior,” explained Todenhofer. He added, “Something that I don’t understand at all is the enthusiasm in their plan of religious cleansing, planning to kill the non-believers… They also will kill Muslim democrats because they believe that non-ISIL-Muslims put the laws of human beings above the commandments of God.”

The German reporter then elaborated on how shocked he was about how “willing to kill” the ISIS fighters are. He said that they were ready to commit genocide. “They were talking about [killing] hundreds of millions. They were enthusiastic about it, and I just cannot understand that,” said Todenhofer.”

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3. Barry’s not gonna like this….

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “As talks over Iran’s nuclear program resumed Sunday in Geneva, lawmakers in Congress moved forward with legislation to impose new sanctions on Tehran, defying a veto threat from President Obama.

The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee announced that it would meet Thursday to consider bipartisan sanctions legislation by Sens. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., and Bob Menendez, D-N.J.

It’s an indication that the two senators have lined up enough support to deliver Obama a humiliating defeat on the issue just days after he publicly threatened to veto any proposed sanctions. Last month, Kirk told the Washington Examiner that he and Menendez were aiming for legislation that could receive bipartisan support sufficient to overcome any presidential veto.”

“Support for sanctions is strong in both chambers of Congress, in spite of intense administration lobbying on the issue. Legislation to impose new sanctions on Iran passed the House in July 2013 by a 400-20 vote. In the Senate, an earlier version of the legislation by Menendez and Kirk had majority support last year but was blocked by then-Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.”

Further proof that it was Reid who was the real obstructionist in the legislature.

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4. Will the Obama White House try to bury the Bergdahl report?

From FoxNews  “Last Sunday, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, indicated that he expected a decision “fairly soon” on whether the Army will court martial Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for allegedly deserting his post in Afghanistan, or has cleared him, paving the way for separation from the service and back pay in excess of $200,000. Moreover, a decision to clear Bergdahl may well open the door for him to be designated a former prisoner of war, ensuring him substantial monthly pay, medical and educational benefits for the rest of his life.

To those who have followed all angles of Bergdahl’s case, it appears the Army has a true dilemma on its hands, as does the Obama administration. By now the investigating team has done an in-depth look into the circumstances surrounding Bergdahl’s disappearance from his post, has probably interviewed every witness with credible information, has looked at every piece of physical evidence and has reviewed hundreds of classified intelligence reports regarding his captivity. Its conclusions are long overdue.”

“In White House terms, not charging Bergdahl means that he was indeed worth the trade for the Taliban Five. But charging him on any level means that releasing the five Taliban was an error of monstrous proportions, one the administration will never be able to explain away satisfactorily.

Watch for the announcement, in all likelihood on a Friday afternoon. If Bergdahl is charged, the administration will hope it’s old news by Monday. If he’s not charged, it will be big news for a long time to come.”

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