“The good news is that after decades of abominable acts and wanton cruelty, the United States just surprised everyone by walking up to the biggest bully in the Middle East and punching him harder than he’s been punched in about forty years. The bad news is that the bully isn’t incapacitated and now has a chance to hit back.
…the people who had no problem with The Great Appeaser killing U.S. citizens via drone strikes unapproved by Congress suddenly have issue with The Donald executing the head of a terrorist organization responsible for the murder of hundreds of Americans.
To wit, as Jim Geraghty details at NRO‘s The Corner, suddenly discovering her Catholic conscience…
“Former national security adviser Ben Rhodes, the architect of the Iran nuclear deal, purposely structured the JCPOA as a treaty that was not a treaty because he and his boss, President Obama, had no intention whatsoever of doing with the JCPOA what the Constitution mandates for all treaties, which is to obtain the approval of two-thirds of the Senate. Rhodes and Obama simply rammed through what was in effect a treaty without seeking the approval of even one Senator.
Yet here is Rhodes after the strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the secretive Iranian Quds force that sows mischief (and kills Americans, and ordered the attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad) outside Iran’s borders:
The reaction of other Progressive politicians could not be far behind…
…along with the propagandist pronouncements of their shills in the MSM…
…or the the vacuous vituperations of their Hollywood allies:
In other words, “Please do not kill us”, gentle Mullahs!
“Since 1979 the Islamic Republic of Iran has been at war with the United States. Generally a very one-sided war with only the Iranian fanatics in Tehran inflicting any casualties. The United States has been reluctant to really engage Iran, partly out of fear of things escalating into a larger regional conflict. And partly out of some misguided belief that one can negotiate with religious fanatics and expect them to abide by any treaty or agreement they enter into.
…The Democrats in Congress have complained that they were not consulted prior to the operation that resulted in killing Soleimani. Why would the president inform them beforehand about a pending military operation?It’s not a good strategy to let the enemy know what your intentions are. And the Democratsare most definitely the enemy of this president and his administration, and it’s guaranteed they would have done something to try to undercut President Trump’s decision to act.
The Democrats have repeatedly proven themselves to be untrustworthy in protecting sensitive information, and they clearly pose the greatest internal threat to our nation...”
Or as Rich noted in his blog:
“…It should be clear that General Soleimani was there to direct this attack. The General was from Iran, not Iraq. He is directly responsible for killing thousands of people in Iraq and even Iran, and at least 600 Americans in those wars. He is being compared to Osama for evil and intent to kill.
Obama gave Iran billions of dollars in cash, sneaked it in by night on unmarked aircraft, after Benghazi. Trump sent in Marines and air strikes to deliver a very different message.
This is not the start of a major war between the US and Iran. In fact, this will likely cool down the incidents that have been happening of late. Our forces are on high alert, and ready to return fire if Iran gets out of line. Iran hates the sanctions, which are crippling their economy. For the first time, ever, local gas prices doubled in Iran. That has the attention of their public and government. There are protests and riots everywhere.
The Lamestream Media will cry ‘wolf’ and demand appeasement.Let them wail, and watch the actual results that Trump gets from these actions…”
Which led Mike Pompeo to recommend…
…and Derek Hunter to point out at Townhall.com, there’s really something wrong with Dimocrats:
“While all of these people, and all of their fellow travelers in Congress and the media, lament that the killing of a man actively murdering people will only lead to more murder, what do they think leaving him alive would’ve done? Did they think he was getting bored of killing and was about to take up knitting?“
Or, as the former General Marks urges…
We’ll leave the last thoughton the subject again to D.W. Wilbur, a thought we happen to share:
“Thankfully, we have a president now who isn’t afraid to act decisively when called upon. And while his predecessor bent over backwards kissing up to the Iranians…
…and achieving nothing, the kiss President Trump gave them…
…will be much more effective and much longer lasting.“
Ultimately, only time will tell. Regardless, the lives of both our eldest son and the eldest son of a very old and dear friend, as well as the only son of another, along with the sons and daughters of countless other acquaintances, hang in the balance. Still, for now, one incredibly evil man…
…has received justice…
…sans 72 virgins.
In a related item courtesy of The New York Times via AEI, Nicholas Eberstadt correctly suggests, particularly in light of recent events…
“…By now we should all know the script to the North’s shakedown film. Yet many in Washington andvariousmediaoutletsseem ready to blame Mr. Kim’s latest move on an American president they detest rather than onthe time-honored North Korean playbookfrom which it is so obviously drawn. Blinded by their loathing of Mr. Trump, these people cannot see that his North Korea denuclearization policy has been more serious — and more promising — than those of previous administrations.
Mr. Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign of 2017–8 is the closest thing to a strategy for crippling North Korea’s war economy that Washington has devised to date. His diplomatic courtship with Mr. Kim, despite its inerasable creepiness, also had a rationale: The voluntary denuclearization of the world’s most totalitarian state could never occur without the assent of its ultimate decision maker.
That experiment has now been run, and we know, conclusively, the result.Hardly surprising, but arguably worth establishing without a doubt.
Pyongyang will never denuclearize voluntarily.Ever. It, too, says that it supports “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” but for the North Korean government that is code language for an end to Seoul’s defense treaty with Washington and the withdrawal of American troops and missiles from South Korea. Pyongyang (Like its soulmates in Tehran)wants nuclear weapons and ICBMs, and lots of both, because these are the indispensable instruments for achieving the unconditional unification the North has been relentlessly pursuing since its surprise attack against the South in June 1950. (Likewise the Mad Mullahs ultimate goal of destroying Israel.)
If we are to protect ourselves and our allies from North Korea’s evermore credible nuclear blackmail, we must respond now — with an aggressive long-term program to reduce its killing power overseas and eventually neuter the Kim threat…”
“I still get buzzed when I recall that a majority of Californians looked at what Gavin Newsom allowed while mayor of San Francisco — rampant homelessness, transportation gridlock, failed public projects, a widening income gap, sidewalk needles, and human, er, waste — and decided they wanted that for the whole state. They elected him governor in 2018 and now complain that California is going to hell.
If you’re a Californian and a lover of such irony, almost every dark day in 2019 was marbled with delight. It’d be easy to pick on San Francisco — so let’s start there…”
Since we’re on the subject of irony, we turn to the EnvironMental Moment, courtesy today of the WSJ and some very conflicted Environazis, who diametrically detail…
Look who’s trying to block a new renewable energy source in the desert.
Going by stories in the press nowadays, many people might think the Trump Administration wants a coal plant on every corner. But look who’s clearing the ground for the country’s largest solar farm—and who’s opposing it.
The Bureau of Land Management this week released an environmental impact statement indicating its intent to approve the 7,100-acre Gemini solar farm east of Las Vegas. The project could power 130,000 homes and would include four-hour lithium ion batteries to store solar energy for use at night. Gemini is the type of renewable energy project that environmental groups claim will be needed to move from fossil fuels that, unlike solar and wind, can provide power on demand. Nevada also needs large-scale solar to meet its 50% renewable energy goal by 2030. It currently generates 20%.
Yet greens grouse that solar arrays would disturb habitat for Mojave Desert species such as the desert tortoise, kit fox and the Threecorner milkvetch, a rare plant. They also complain that solar projects in California’s desert have been linked to thousands of bird deaths. BLM’s review details myriad measures to mitigate harm to species, including a biological monitor.
Still, greens kvetch that the project will do permanent damage to the desert. “There is no justification for this project that outweighs the importance of the desert tortoise, its habitat and BLM’s obligations to use its full authority to take actions that will contribute to the recovery of this threatened species,” the Defenders of Wildlife declared.
It’s nice to see environmental groups finally realizing that renewable energy isn’t a free lunch. Even wind and solar energy can have baleful impacts on the land. Lithium and other rare earth minerals in batteries must also be extracted from the earth, which in countries with lax environmental regulation like China can result in water pollution.
Progressives denounce anyone who points out there are costs to a fossil-fuel free future. Perhaps we’re all climate-change deniers now.
Which brings us, appropriately enough, to The Lighter Side:
Then there’s this classic from Jimmy Crilley:
Finally, we’ll call it a day with this stream of current event consciousness from G. Trevor:
P.S. Here’s an extra hat tip to G. Trevor, Speed Mach, Major Jon and Powerline Blog for other memes scattered throughout today’s offering, including the two opening numbers, which were our personal favorites.
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