Syria agreement: Russia and the U.S. agree on a plan to relieve Assad of his chemical weapons – but they explicitly leave out the possibility of backing up the demand with military force.  Obama reserves the right to intervene militarily, unilaterally – but not right now, sometime down the road.  If you were Assad, how would you be feeling all this?  I suspect he's spending more time laughing at the bozos in Washington and Geneva than anything else...

Ouch!

And:




And (Hugh Hewett via Twitter):

Caller just now: "The president's problem tonight is he had to give a speech with John Kerry's foot in his mouth"

Hmmm...

Via reader Jim M:

The One Pisses Me Off, Part 827,395...

A few days ago, President Obama made some remarks on Syria that included these:

Now, I have not made a final decision about various actions that might be taken to help enforce that norm. But as I've already said, I have had my military and our team look at a wide range of options. We have consulted with allies. We've consulted with Congress. We've been in conversations with all the interested parties, and in no event are we considering any kind of military action that would involve boots on the ground, that would involve a long-term campaign. But we are looking at the possibility of a limited, narrow act that would help make sure that not only Syria, but others around the world, understand that the international community cares about maintaining this chemical weapons ban and norm.

There's one part of the remarks above that really pisses me off.  It's this part:

...my military...

Last time I checked, that military belonged to the United States of America, not this president (or any other president).

I think that choice of words reveals an essential truth about Obama: his presumption of the status of a monarch.  This is no surprise, certainly – his behavior fairly screams that presumption.  But to have him actually say it in a public context is somehow especially infuriating.  He's openly flaunting his belief that he possesses the unlimited powers of a monarch.

And at the same time, he (lamely) punts the Syrian intervention decision to Congress.

William F. Buckley, Jr. famously said “I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University.”  I'll paraphrase that slightly and say I'd rather have a President randomly chosen from the Boston phone book than have Obama.

Hell, I'd rather have Biden than Obama...

Please Remember...

Via Instapundit:

On Syria...

Reader, friend, former colleague, and Idaho real estate mogul Doug S. sends along this tongue-in-cheek summary of all the reasons why we shouldn't intervene in Syria.  The Wall Street Journal today summarizes the reasons why we should.  Foreign Policy tells us what the big consequences of a Syria attack will be.  Michael Yon publishes the pithiest Obama criticism, a comment by Adam Holloway (member of the U.K. Parliament): “Outrage is not a strategy.  I thought military action always had to have a purpose behind it – so what is the endstate here?  Hit, and then hope?”

Me?  I'm with Sarah Palin: let's let Allah sort it out...

Oh, If Only...

Via my mom:

Flying Pig Moment...

Is the New York Times finally getting it?

They're All Bozos...

...in the White House...

Quote of the Day...

As seen on the “Book of Face”, via The Smallest Minority:

Obama wants Catholic institutions to provide birth control and abortions.  Does this mean he will force Muslims to serve alcohol and bacon?

Awesome.

Obama Cashes a Check...

Via my mom:

President Obama walks into a local bank in Chicago to cash a check. He is surrounded by Secret Service agents. As he approaches the cashier he says, "Good morning Ma'am, could you please cash this check for me?"

Cashier: "It would be my pleasure sir. Could you please show me your ID?"

Obama: "Truthfully, I did not bring my ID with me as I didn't think there was any need to. I am President Barack Obama, the President of the United States of AMERICA !!!!"

Cashier: "Yes sir, I know who you are, but with all the regulations and monitoring of the banks because of 9/11, impostors, forgers, money laundering, and bad mortgage underwriting not to mention requirements of the Dodd/Frank legislation, etc., I must insist on seeing ID."

Obama: “Just ask anyone here at the bank who I am and they will tell you. Everybody knows who I am."

Cashier: "I am sorry Mr. President but these are the bank rules and I must follow them."

Obama: "I am urging you, please, to cash this check. I need to buy a gift for Michelle for Valentine’s Day"

Cashier: "Look Mr. President, here is an example of what we can do. One day, Tiger Woods came into one of our bank branches without ID. To prove he was Tiger Woods he pulled out his putter and made a beautiful shot across the bank into a coffee cup. With that shot we knew him to be Tiger Woods and cashed his check.  Another time, Andre Agassi came into the same place without ID. He pulled out his tennis racquet and made a fabulous shot where as the tennis ball landed in a coffee cup. With that shot we cashed his check.  So, Mr. President, what can you do to prove that it is you, and only you, as the President of the United States?"

Obama: Obama stands there thinking, and thinking, and finally says, "Honestly, my mind is a total blank...there is nothing that comes to my mind. I can't think of a single thing. I have absolutely no idea what to do and I don’t have a clue.”

Cashier: "Will that be large or small bills, Mr. President?

Quote of the Day...

This is a long one, but choice: Matt Walsh writes an apology letter to President Obama, tongue planted very firmly in cheek.  The lead:

Dear President Obama,

I’m reaching out to you as a friend. I know you must be deeply hurting after what happened at the Missouri State Fair. Sure, you probably try to avoid watching the news while you’re on vacation, but I’m sure the pilot who airlifted your dog to your rental mansion in Martha’s Vineyard probably caught you up to speed (that guy is such a chatterbox). Your jaw must have hit the floor when you heard the news: A rodeo clown in Missouri poked fun at you. Yeah, I know, almost impossible to believe. The gall! The gumption! The racism! Don’t worry, the entire country erupted in outrage, Democrats and Republicans issued statements of condemnation, and now the offending clown has been banned for life from the Missouri State Fair. There will likely be “action taken” against the Missouri Rodeo Clown Association, and I do hope justice is visited upon them swiftly. I think we’re all a little sick of the Missouri Rodeo Clown Association causing trouble. It’s something new every week with those freakin’ guys. 

You most definitely want to read the whole thing.

What a thin skin our narcissist-in-chief has!

Not So Fast...

Listening to Obama and the lapdog lamestream media's reports, you'd think that the U.S. was burning up with record high temperatures, burning down from wildfires, being blown apart by tornadoes and hurricanes, and so on.

Reality?  Not so much...

How To Safely Keep Those National Secrets...

Passed along by reader and neighbor Marisa S., who says “Good One!”:

I wasn't able to confirm that it was actually Mike Huckabee who said this, but it does sound like him...

Phony Scandal? I Think Not, Mr. President...

The Benghazi scandal (one cited by Obama as “phony”) keeps getting worse and worse.  Jake Tapper – one of the few mainstream media reporters actually working this story – has uncovered compelling evidence of a massive CIA coverup.  One of the facts revealed: there were dozens of CIA operatives on the ground in Benghazi when our ambassador and three others were killed.

Dozens.

For whatever reason, the CIA seems to be in a flat-out panic about keeping a lid on whatever those CIA operatives were doing.  There's lots of speculation about that, but (as yet) no hard facts.

Phony scandal?  Sounds to me much more like a phony president...

But Then...

Via my mom:

Yes, I Miss Him Yet...

I miss having a genuinely compassionate and warm man as our President.  I had (and have) many disagreements with George W. Bush, but his humanity and his humility are very attractive compared with the cold, narcissistic, and egotistic Barack Hussein Obama...

An Excellent Rant...

From a politician, about Obama.  An Irish politician:

No Free Pass...

The lines have clearly been crossed, Mr. Obama.  So far, I see nothing but free passes.  When are we going to see some consequences for the violations of our basic civil liberties?

I Sense a Pattern...

Some elements of the pattern:

For decades, American businesses have been held liable for the reasonably foreseeable (and sometimes not so foreseeable) criminal behavior of their employees.  So American businesses did the obvious thing: they started making criminal background checks before they hired people.  People with an alarming criminal history would be rejected.  Now the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is suing two American companies (just the beginning, I'm sure) to prevent them from making pre-employment criminal background checks.  Why?  Because blacks fail these background checks more than others, so therefore the background checks are discriminatory.  Why do blacks fail these background checks more often?  Because they're convicted of crime more often!

Scottsdale, Arizona had (until recently) a thriving pedicab community.  Recently the city passed legislation requiring pedicab operators to carry million dollar liability insurance policies.  This was provoked by a drunk driver striking a pedicab.  These insurance policies cost at least $250 a month – far more expensive than a pedicab business can support.  A Scottsdale policeman expressed surprise about the steep decline in the number of pedicabs.  Similar things have happened in the other major cities of the area.  Never underestimate the ability of government to completely screw small business, and government bureaucracy's cluelessness about business...

A British immigrant to the U.S., here for eight years, says: 'I’m a U.K. citizen hoping soon to become a U.S. citizen, a lifelong admirer of the American project and its founding principles. But after living here for eight years, I’ve started to wince when I hear the expression, “It’s a free country.”'

Senator Lindsay Graham – a Republican – says: 'If I thought censoring the mail was necessary, I would suggest it, but I don't think it is.'  Censor our mail to protect us against terrorism?  Why do I suspect that censorship would not include Senator Graham's mail?

A guy with a large Twitter following is very critical of Obama.  He is careful never to actually threaten him, but the fact that he despises Obama is abundantly clear if you read his Twitter feed.  This is America, and we have freedom of speech; there's nothing wrong (or illegal) about his behavior.  So why am I noting this?  Because this Twitterer was visited in his home by the Secret Service – and they were there only because of his legal, Constitutionally-protected free speech.

So I examine the elements of this pattern, and the result is a single word:

Doom...