You would think this would be 24/7 headline news, but it isn’t. The terrorist takeover began Sunday morning, but the regular news outlets barely covered it. Only on Twitter was it discussed at any length, thanks to the hashtag #OregonUnderAttack. Now that it is a regular non-holiday workday, the media is starting to report it. Before then, the only real … Read More
Picture Of The Year?
I don’t know, but it should be contender. The photographer is not a journalist or professional photographer, but I don’t know if that makes any difference. This is a woman who escaped ISIS territory and was able to wear color again, taken sometime in early December 2015.
Did Ted Cruz Leak Classified Information During The Latest GOP Debate?
It went down like this. While Rubio and Cruz were debating each other’s records on national security and surveillance, Cruz got into some details about what the bulk data program covers. “What he knows is that the old program covered 20 percent to 30 percent of phone numbers to search for terrorists,” Cruz said, referring to Rubio. “The new program … Read More
The Trump Backlash Continues
A $6 billion golf community under construction in Dubai is removing his name from the project. Trump was tossed from a respected business network in Scotland, where the billionaire says he invested more than $300 million in golf courses and other developments. And Lifestyle, a retailer that does business in an enormous marketplace spanning the Middle East, India and Africa, … Read More
Trump May Have Hit The Ceiling
Donald Trump has defied political pundits for months now. When he first attacked John McCain, the thought was that it would kill him in the polls, but then he went up. And that’s been the story for over four months now. He keeps on appealing to the worst-of-the-worst conservative base and his numbers go up. But many are now saying … Read More
Thoughts and Prayers
There seems to be a backlash to this almost reflexive (and increasingly meaningless) response to mass shootings, best exemplified by the cover of today’s New York Daily News: There has also been a backlash to the backlash. Christians got offended at what is being called “thoughts and prayers shaming”. The Weekly Standard offered a headline that blared,“Liberal Outrage Over Prayers … Read More
The San Bernadino Shootings: Terrorism Or Not?
Here’s what we know about the shooters: They have been identified as Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27. Farook was an environmental specialist who had worked for the county health department for five years. Farook attended a holiday party for county employees earlier that day. Farook left the party under circumstances that were decribed by witnesses as “angry” … Read More
Today’s Mass Shooting: San Bernadino, California
Breaking news 2:46 pm EST: 12 reported dead, many injured. Some reports include a second and even third shooter. Related: 2:55 pm: The building where the shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., was reported provides services for developmentally disabled people, according to its website Dozens of civilians being evacuated right now. Hands up… #PD being very cautious and still searching for suspects. … Read More
Planned Parenthood Shooting Is Domestic Terrorism
I’ve been vacationing and the holidays and yada yada, so there’s been light blogging lately. The big news that I missed was a terrorist attack here on the United States, although whether to call it a “terrorist attack” seems to be arguable. I’m talking of course about the shooter at Planned Parenthood. On Saturday, November 27, a shooting and five-hour … Read More
Trump: Annoy Your Local Police With Your Paranoia
Well, what he said was this today (emphases are mine): We can’t let it happen anymore. We have to be strong, we have to smart. We have to be fair, we have to be fair to all side. And it’s tough. You know, if you’re Muslim — and there are so many, they’re so great, they’re such good people — … Read More
Anti-Refugee Fearmongering Continues
What Obama Says: What I say: [fb_embed_post href=”https://www.facebook.com/ken.ashford/posts/10153779656910820?comment_id=10153779735840820¬if_t=feed_comment/” width=”550″/] Turning our backs on desperate Muslim refugees plays right into ISIS’s hands. After all, they recruit from a disenfranchised and angry population. What better to create a disenfranchised and angry population?
How Hating Muslims Plays Into Terrorists’ Hands
Jonathan Chait: This is what ISIS, the Islamic State, wants. “This is precisely what ISIS was aiming for — to provoke communities to commit actions against Muslims,” said Arie Kruglanski, a professor of psychology at the University of Maryland who studies how people become terrorists. “Then ISIS will be able to say, ‘I told you so. These are your enemies, and … Read More
GOP Frontrunner on Terrorism: I’m A Psychic
Donald Trump has magic feels and can tell when terrorism will hit: “I predicted Osama bin Laden,” Mr. Trump declared in Knoxville, adding, “In my book, I predicted terrorism. Because I can feel it, like I feel a good location, O.K.?” “In real estate — my father always used to tell people, ‘You know, he may be my son, but everything … Read More
Vetting Syrian Refugees: A Governor With Guts
Kudos to Gov. Peter Shumlin SOUTH BURLINGTON – Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin said Monday that governors who turn away Syrian refugees are “stomping” on American values. As of early Monday afternoon, nine Republican governors had said they would attempt to stop the relocation of refugees from Syria because of safety concerns following Friday’s deadly attacks in Paris. “The governors who are … Read More