#TXSEN: How Bobby Francis Appeases anti-Semites

"I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
Genesis 12:3

We've previously discussed the anti-Semites funding Bobby Francis' campaign; the Times of Israel documents what he's already given them:

Rep. O’Rourke has voted AGAINST overwhelmingly bipartisan pro-Israel positions on,

• Emergency Iron Dome Supplemental Funding during the Gaza War of 2014 (Protective Edge);
• the House Resolution of Disapproval on the Iran Nuclear Agreement,
• the House Resolution Condemning UNSCR 2334 (the Anti-Israel UNSC Resolution), and
• several Iran sanctions legislation.

To put this into context, out of 435 Members of the House of Representatives, he was:

• one of only 8 to vote against the emergency funding of Iron Dome,
• one of only 20 to vote against the Royce/Engel Nuclear Iran Prevention Act of 2013,
• one of only 80 to vote against condemning the UNSCR 2334,
• one of only 162 to vote against the consensus pro-Israel position on the Iran Nuclear Agreement, and
• one of only 48 members of Congress to boycott the address of the Prime Minister of Israel to a joint session of Congress.

You can learn more about the well documented anti-Semitism of the Iranian government here.

Bottom Line: Texas was one of the first states in the nation to take in holocaust refugees so, well, good luck with that....

#TXLEGE: Bob Hall discusses power grid reliability....

"And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut."
Matthew 25:10

[Note: This interview was recorded a week ago.  Due to a long series of technical issues, it's taken a week to get the recording in a form where it could be presented to the public.  Our friend Chris Williams, of Chris Williams audio, was immensely helpful in that process.]

The recent heat wave has seen a spike in stories about Texas' electric grid; given that backdrop, it seemed like a good time to bring in Senator Bob Hall to discuss grid reliability in more...challenging...circumstances:



Highlights:

• Power interruption cost businesses A LOT of money.
• 1 second = $75k for one company.

• Texas' current grid is pretty reliable...in a benign environment.

• In the modern world, electricity is the third most important element to sustain life.

• Lots of bad foreign actors have access to this technology.

• North Korea was caught attempting to smuggle missiles through the Panama Canal in 2013.

• North Korea also has potentially hostile satellites orbiting the U.S.

• Texas spends far more subsidizing wind power than this would cost.

• Israel already does this.

• The technological changes are not particularly complicated.

• We're starting to see action on the federal level.

• Power reliability is a major factor in determining corporate site locations.

• The military would probably move additional assets into Texas if we did this.

• Austin, specifically, has been specifically threatened by North Korea.

Which Texas REPUBLICAN Congressman Wants to STAY IN THE IRAN DEAL?!?

"Son of men, set thy face against Gog, and against the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,"
Ezekiel 38:2

Wait...what?!?

WASHINGTON – As President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he was withdrawing the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, reaction from Congress fell largely along party lines, with Republicans applauding the move and Democrats warning of grave international consequences.

But at least one Texan – and an important one on foreign policy issues – offered a more nuanced statement, suggesting that the Trump administration should have waited longer to see if the deal could be improved.

"I have no doubt that the [Iran deal] was flawed and that for years Iran has been deceptive about its nuclear and other programs," said U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, who chairs the U.S. House Armed Services Committee. "My preference would have been to give our European allies a few more months to strengthen the deal, but now that the president has decided that the United States will withdraw, we must have two critical priorities."

"One is to further enhance our own military capabilities," the Clarendon Republican added. "The other is to strengthen our alliances. A strong, international effort is required to curtail Iran’s aggressive behavior in a number of areas."

The Iran deal offered nothing good to anyone.  We were essentially bribing the Iranians not to develop nuclear weapons at a time when they were lying to us and developing nuclear weapons.  The only consequence of getting out of the deal is that we stop giving them money.

Bottom Line: It's a bizarre position to take, but duly noted for a future primary.

Cruz: Dangers of U.S. surrendering internet protocols to international bureaucrats.....

"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them."
Ephesians 5:11

[Author's Note: While Senator Cruz focuses on the security aspects, there's also an economic component that bears consideration.  Will turning internet protocols over to 'international' bureaucrats lead to regulatory capture by incumbent industries?!?  In a post-AirBnB, post-Uber world it doesn't take a genius to see how horribly the untended consequences of this sort of move could backfire.]

We don't often get involved on Federal issues, but this one's important; kudos to Senator Cruz:



Highlights:

• "[The internet] wasn't invented by any politician."

• "It was invented by the ingenuity of the American people with the financial support of American taxpayers."

• "Since the internet's inception, the United States' government has stood guard over critical internet functions; in almost any other country that power could have been used to deny internet access to websites that were deemed politically undesirable."

• "Because of the first amendment to the constitution...the United States' government; as long a it has authority to oversee the infrastructure of the internet, has a duty to ensure that no website is denied internet access on account of the ideas it espouses."

• In 16 days, USG relinquishing "historic guardianship" in favor of international body.

• ICANN = Global bureaucracy with blurred lines of authority.

• "Sadly, ICANN officials have already begun showing extraordinary affinity for China; the world's worst abuser of internet freedom."

• Reporters weren't allowed to cover ICANN conference.

• "Why risk it?!?"

• "What is the problem that is trying to be solved here?!?"

CD-21 candidates address Central Texas Republican Assembly

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
But when a wicked man rules, the people groan."
Proverbs 29:2

The Central Texas Republican Assembly held a special meeting this afternoon to hear from Congressman Lamar Smith; Matt McCall, his main opponent in the March primary, briefly addressed the group as well.

Smith's Prepared Remarks:



Highlights:

• Obama bad re: Keystone.

• Budget deal bad

• Paul Ryan -- re: Immigration - Saying the right things though he hasn't done them in the past.
• Something, something, "regular order."
• Phony crises followed by rushed bills: "That time is over."

• Kevin Braday as Ways and Means chair good.

• Iran deal bad.

• EPA bad

• National Science Foundation wasting lots of money.

• Patent Reform -- Sponsored "America Invents Act."
• Sponsored by Democrat Pat Leahy from Vermont in Senate.
• Heritage writes about the 2011 version of the bill: "The patent reform legislation pending in Congress has a serious flaw: It delegates to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) of the Department of Commerce the power to both hike the fees imposed on Americans who deal with the USPTO and then spend the revenue derived from those fees, without any further congressional exercise of the appropriations power. When the House of Representatives considers the patent reform bill, it should, in addition to addressing any other flaws in the bill, adopt an amendment to provide that the USPTO may spend the revenues it receives from fees “to the extent and in the amounts provided in advance in appropriations Acts” and not make the fees available to the USPTO to expend without fiscal year limitation."

Smith Q&A:

Highlights:

• Why should we send you back after 30 years of the problems getting worse?!?
• Blames Harry Reid and John Bohener.
• Seniority -- Typically takes 20 to 25 years to become a chairman.
• Author's Note -- We can think of no greater condemnation of the status quo than the statement above.

• "What assurances did you get" from Ryan re: Amnesty?!?
• Ryan doesn't trust Obama.
• Hastert rule.
• Sends reading material to other members re: Border Issues.

• Attending official candidate forum?!?
• "We'll see who files."

• "America invents" act screws small inventors.
• "I hope you're an outlier."

• How many calls did you get re: Bohenher and Ryan?!?
• Wouldn't answer but did say his office usually gets about 500 constituent contacts per week and that it takes a dozen contacts to get their attention and about 50 to flip their vote.

• Will the pattern we've seen at the state level (coalition of D's and liberal R's running everything) continue at the federal level?!?
• Give Paul Ryan a chance.

Matt McCall's remarks:

Highlights:

• "I'm Matt McCall and I'm running against Mr. Smith."

• "On the one hand he tell us he's this senior powerful member of congress...on the other hand he tells us he's only one out of 435."

• Over 30 years, which one of our values has Mr. Smith advanced?!?
• Debt up from $2 trillion to $20 trillion.
• 60.  MILLION.  ABORTIONS.

• If Paul Ryan can skip several levels of seniority to become speaker, seniority doesn't matter.

• "One man can do a lot."

Bottom Line: The contrast between a 30-year incumbent like Lamar Smith and a grassroots candidate like Matt McCall speaks for itself; thanks to both gentlemen for taking time out of their day to address the group.

A Hero's Welcome for Senator Ted Cruz

"Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong."
1 Corinthians 16:13

Phenomenal speech by Ted Cruz at last weekend's GOP convention:



Highlights:

• "I spent all week in Washington D.C. and it's great to be back in America."

• Texans have always led the way for Freedom, from Dwight D. Eisenhower, to Rick Perry, to Rand Paul.

• The Constitution was designed, as Thomas Jefferson said, "to bind the mischief of government."

• "If you're litigating against nuns, you've probably done something wrong."

• "We already have a common core in this country, it's called the Constitution of the United States."

• "In the time Pastor Saeed has been in that jail he has led dozens of his fellow captives and jailers to Christ."

• The people who are struggling are the ones hurt most by the Obama economy.

• Unleash the American energy renaissance that is producing MILLIONS of high paying jobs.

• "Repeal every blessed word of Obamacare."

• Abolish the IRS.

• Audit the Federal Reserve.

• In 1980, Washington D.C. despised Ronald Reagan.

Senator Ted Cruz on War in Syria

Senator Ted Cruz appeared on one of the Sunday talking head shows to discuss the ongoing Syria kerfuffle:



Highlights:

• The administration begins from the wrong objective.

• No realistic plan for success.

• U.S. should cut off aid to Iraq unless they halt Iranian overflights.

• Make Russia and China exercise a veto on the world stage.

• "Just because Assad is a murderous tyrant doesn't mean his opponents are any better."

On Syria -- An Open Letter to George W. Bush

Dear Mr. President,

I hope retirement is treating you well.  How are Laura and the girls?!?  41's internet sock phenomenon was awesome.

I'm writing today because, with Syria in the news, people are talking about you.

James Carville:

You know, what I would say and maybe a little bit of a different view here. I think what really is freaking people out is the incompetence of the Bush administration in Iraq.

Sgt. Schultz on MSNBC:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Best of all was Timothy Egan in the New York Times:

Blame Bush? Of course, President Obama has to lead; it’s his superpower now, his armies to move, his stage. But the prior president gave every world leader, every member of Congress a reason to keep the dogs of war on a leash. The isolationists in the Republican Party are a direct result of the Bush foreign policy. A war-weary public that can turn an eye from children being gassed — or express doubt that it happened — is another poisoned fruit of the Bush years. And for the nearly 200 members of both houses of Congress who voted on the Iraq war in 2002 and are still in office and facing a vote this month, Bush shadows them like Scrooge’s ghost.

Mr. President, thank you for keeping America out of Obama's War in Syria.

Mr. President, thank you for disappearing for 12 hours while a(n) CIA Weapons Depot American Consulate was attacked and keeping America out of Obama's War in Syria.

Mr President, thank you for overthrowing Mubarak, and keeping America out of Obama's War in Syria.

Mr. President, thank you for ignoring the Iranian Green Revolution and keeping America out of Obama's War in Syria.

Mr. President, thank you for delivering a timetable to our enemies in Afghanistan and keeping America out of Obama's War in Syria.

Since you control events, Mr. President, America owes you a debt for slowing down Obama's war in Syria.

Sincerely,
Adam Cahn
Austin, TX
September 7, 2013

P.S. Next time you talk to Roger, make sure you tell him to vote NO on Syria.

Dr. Gary Frazier: It Could Happen Tomorrow

With the Mayan calendar being a bust, you might be wondering what comes next; Dr. Gary Frazier of Discovery Ministries explains it all in the sermon that saved me:


It Could Happen Tomorrow - Dr. Gary Frazier - April 22, 2012 from Great Hills Baptist Church on Vimeo.

Highlights:

• Matthew 16

• The main reason people talk about the end of the world (eg. The Mayan Calendar) is because we all know instinctively that the world will one day end; it's in our DNA.

• A two sided message:
• For the Saved -- Awesome and Incredible News (Yaaay)
• For the Unsaved -- A word of warning.

•  This message is not intended to scare you, it's intended to prepare you.

• Eternity is too long for you to be wrong.

• We do not know the date of Jesus' return, but it could be today.

• At a time when you think not, He's gonna come.

• Why our generation is uniquely different:
• 1) The Re-Birth of the Nation of Israel in 1948
• 2) Rogue nations with nuclear weapons.
• 3) The explosion of technology the past 20 years.
• 4) We are living in the greatest era of spiritual deception the world has EVER known.

•  9 future events on the near horizion:
• 1) The rapture of the Church -- When God pulls the saved on Earth up to heaven to be with Him forever.
• After that, events on Earth are going to be YOUR problem.  I'll be with the Lord.  I just warn you, it's gonna suck for those of you left behind.

This is a very intense sermon, but if you're ready the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has more information here.

Discovery Missions: Can Christianity Survive in it's Birthplace?!?

This piece from Discovery Missions is a must read.

Obama's Record on Radical Islam

Today is the anniversary of the Ft. Hood jihadist attack workplace violence.  Obviously, tomorrow is election day.  Given this juxtaposition, now is an appropriate time to review his record.

One Note: Whoever wins tomorrow, we need to reconfigure our strategy in this conflict.  Obviously, Obama's approach has been a treasonous disaster, but the alternatives advanced by George W. Bush and Ron Paul aren't satisfactory either.  I've outlined broad principles here.

Barack Obama has:

• Appointed Muslim Brotherhood linked operatives to numerous National Security positions and generally abetted Muslim Brotherhood infiltration of the United States government.

• Attempted to give Khalid Shiekh Mohammed, the architect of (the first) 9/11, a civilian trial in New York City.

• Failed to support the Green Revolution in Iran.

• Failed to stop the Ft. Hood shooter or properly define him; refuses to declassify the military after-action report.

• Failed to stop the Christmas Day 2009 pantybomber despite having been warned by the guy's father six weeks before the attempted attack; despite this, Janet Napoletano said 'the system worked.'

• Dithered in Afghanistan for a year then failed to give the military what they'd asked for.

• Condemned Israel's Gaza flotilla raid.

• Supported the Terrorist Victory Monument Islamic Cultural Center at Ground Zero.

• Had multiple members of his administration attempt to silence the counter-Islamic speech of a Pastor in Florida.

• Supported the Muslim Brotherhood over a longstanding American ally in Egypt.

• Launched an illegal war against a quasi-American ally in Libya without Congressional authorization, and that's just what he did in 2011.

• Dragged his feet on the bin Laden mission for a year, then revealed sources and methods to the enemy.

• Joined with the Organization of Islamic Conference to promote criminalizing counter-Islamic speech.

• Lectured Israel to return to the Auschwitz lines.

• Failed to renegotiate our Status of Forces agreement with the Iraqi government, squandering America's hard fought victory in Iraq.

• Shown no willingness to do anything difficult to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuke; blabs incessantly about the few steps he has taken.

• Signed a law allowing him to detain indefinitely U.S. citizens that we don't need to fight terrorism.

• Speaking of which, don't get me started on how much worse the TSA has gotten under Obama; the silver lining is that, in Barack Obama's economy, people can't afford to fly anywhere in the first place.

• Failed to secure a border where Islamic terrorists are working with Drug Cartels.

• Blamed a YouTube video for a series of coordinated attacks against U.S. embassies.

• Benghazi-gate continues getting worse.

• Stonewalled Congress regarding 80 boxes of discovery material provided to the defense in the Holy Land Foundation trial.

I did this list off the top of my head, so I've probably missed some stuff; feel free to add your 'favorites' in the comments.

Trevor Louden: An Urgent (pre-election) Message for America

Trevor Loudon, author of Barack Obama and the Enemies Within, sends this urgent message from New Zealand on geopolitical implications of the upcoming U.S. Election:



Highlights:

• There's a ChiCom backed Marxist Govt. in Fiji, 1500 miles away from New Zealand

• The bad guys around the world are getting bolder

• In 1984, New Zealand fell for a Commie influence operation planned in Moscow that drove a wedge between New Zealand and the West.

• The U.S. Military has always been the international Left's #1 target.

• Stalin wanted as many American Commies in Hawaii as possible because it was home to the U.S. Navy.

• Alice Palmer, an agent of Moscow, got Obama his first job in Politics.

• Leon Panetta is was a longstanding friend of a know associate of Frank Marshall Davis.

(h/t Right Reason)

Mitt's good, but not great, National Security speech

Mitt spoke about National Security today in Virginia:

Highlights:

• The attacks against us in Libya were not an isolated incident.
• A larger struggle is playing out across the Middle East.
• The 9/11/12 attacks were committed by folks aligned with the folks who pulled off 9/11/01.
• Iran has never been closer to nukes, more emboldened, or less deterred than it is now.
• Hits Obama had for squandering our victory in Iraq.
• Mitt thinks Turkey is an American ally; it's not.
• FREE TRADE IS A CRITICAL ELEMENT OF OUR STRATEGY.
• The first purpose of a strong military is to prevent war.
• No flexibility for Vladimir Putin.
• Endorses Palestinian State (barf!)

Bottom Line: On the biggest issues of Peace through Strength, Trade, Iran, Russia, and standing up for our friends, Mitt did a really good job.  Unfortunately, the strong parts of the speech were mixed in with too much George W. Bush style "freedom agenda" talk.  That being said, the strong parts of the speech are solid, and I think, over time, conservatives can disabuse Mitt of the notion that greater 'democracy' (ie. Sharia) in the Middle East is an American interest.

Bibi Netanyahu's United Nations Speech

Bibi spoke to the U.N. today; I was struck by the more in sorrow than anger tone:

Highlights:

• 3000 years ago, King David reigned in our eternal capital Jerusalem

• Throughout our history, the Jewish people have overcome every tyrant who has sought our destruction.

• Tyrannical ideologies have been discarded by history, but the Jewish people live on.

• Jews have lived in the land of Israel continuously throughout Jewish history.

• In Israel, we walk the same path today as our patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

• In Israel, the past and the future find common ground.

• He links the Biblical and the Geopolitical really well.

• It's not whether this fanaticism [Islamic Supremacism] will be defeated, it's how many lives will be lost in the process.

• Nothing would imperil our common future more than arming Iran with nuclear weapons.

• Iran and Al Qaeda have the same motivations (Author's note: Bibi didn't mention this in the speech, but Iran invented Al Qaeda.)

• Given the pre-existing record of Iranian aggression, imagine Iranian aggression with Nuclear Weapons.

• Militant Jihadists behave very differently from Secular Marxists (Author's note: As William Federer discussed at the event I attended a few weeks ago, the reason for this is because if you're an atheist who loses everything when you die, you want to live; Islamic Supremacists, by contrast, would rather get into 'heaven' than live.)

• Twelfth Imam ideology guides Iranian policy making.

• Iran uses diplomatic negotiations to buy time.

• Sanctions have not stopped Iran's nuclear ambitions (Author's note: Nor will they.)

• Red Lines don't lead to war, Red lines prevent war; in fact, the failure to draw red lines often invites aggression.

• A Red Line must be drawn on Iran's efforts to enrich Uranium.

• Amassing the enriched Uranium is much more important than the nuclear fuse.

• The only way to prevent an Iranian nuke is to prevent them from acquiring enough enriched Uranium.

• ISRAEL'S RED LINE: BEFORE IRAN FINISHES STAGE TWO ENRICHMENT.

• I believe that faced with a clear Red Line, Iran will back down (Author's note: God Bless Bibi, but I DO NOT agree with that statement; I think they'll plow ahead)

Mediterranean Update Tuesday: Islamists Love Hard-line Leftists

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Genesis 1:26

Well, it's official: anti-American Islamic Supremacist violence has spread to Greece.  Iran's apocalyptic President is meeting with Occupy Wall St, on American soil.  Meanwhile, the leftist government currently in charge of the United States is exploiting this crisis to advance a key component of the Islamic Supremacist agenda.

Chaos is here gang, and things are going to get a whole lot worse before they get better.

Islamists and Hard-line leftists work together because they're both Utopians who seek to radically alter the existing order.  Both Islamists and Hard-line leftists seek to subsume individual autonomy under an all powerful state, the only difference is between atheistic and theocratic tyranny.  Western Judeo-Christian civilization, which believes God created man in His image, threatens both; if God creates you in His image, then other men cannot subsume your rights under their tyranny.

This is nothing new.  Islamists have a long history of working with Hard-line Leftists against civilization.  The early Muslim Brotherhood were big fans of Hitler's leftist government.  Leftists routinely back Palestinian barbarism as some sort of 'resistance' to some non-existent occupation.  Don't get me started on leftist "human rights" lawyers that advance the Islamist agenda.

As much as I disagree with Mitt Romney on certain domestic issues, one thing he does understand is the situation in the Middle East.

11 Steps to a more effective National Security policy....

The other day, I discussed how the United States will continue to be at war for the foreseeable future.  The bad guys, for reasons of their own, need to remove the United States from the picture.  Regardless of what we do, they're going to continue coming.  We are both the Great Satan and Vladmir Putin's primary obstacle, whether we like it or not.  The United States must restore global dominance within the reality created by other global actors pursuing their interests.

Barack Obama's policy of strategic surrender hiding behind tactical belligerence isn't working.  But, quite honestly, George W. Bush's confused muddle of a foreign policy won't cut it either.  While George W. Bush introduced some positive elements in his first term (ie. Preemption and not giving super-national organizations a veto over U.S. action), his second term 'Freedom Agenda' laid the foundation for the disaster we face today.

We can do better.  Thinly veiled appeasement, neoconservative democratization, and Ron Paul style isolationism aren't our only options.  I offer the following principles as guidelines against which to assess future policies.

• A Growing Economy -- Getting our economy moving is step one to restore American dominance.  With robust economic growth, our current problems become much more manageable.  The greatest military in the world is much easier to afford in an economy growing at 4% than in one limping by on around 1.5%; that's even truer if said military is deployed overseas, which ours, realistically, will continue to be.  A crucial component of a growing economy that will also aid our foreign policy is...

• Free Trade -- International trade is a frequently overlooked way to minimize wars.  Under Obama, free trade has taken a backseat to union pandering.  Open global trade is the low-hanging fruit of geopolitics.  Unfortunately, many problems exist that we cannot solve through economics.  When those more difficult problems occur, our first step is....

• Priorities -- After determining what we can afford, the United States needs to prioritize the greatest threats and devote our resources to them.  Right now, the United States squanders too much energy in areas that are irrelevant to our national interests.  In my opinion, the primary threats to U.S. national security these days comes from Iran, Russia (yeah, I know), and our Southern Border.  Egypt and Libya could, unfortunately, become top-tier threats before Mitt's inauguration.  Once you establish priorities, it allows you to project....

• Credible Threat of Force -- This is where peace through strength conservatives differ from libertarians.  Peace through strength conservatives understand evil exists in the world; if we don't defeat evil, evil will grow.  That's not to say every recent U.S. military action has been well advised or prudent (*cough* Libya *cough*; *cough* Kosovo *cough*).  Peace through strength conservatives support military action where it advances American interests, NOT gauzy humanitarian bull-crap.  Regarding Afghanistan and Iraq, most peace through strength conservatives believe we were right to remove the Taliban and Saddam Hussein, but we stayed too long and tried to do too much.  This is important, because a credible threat of force needs to be tempered with....

• Realistic Expectations -- George W. Bush's second-term "Freedom Agenda" is the direct antecedent of today's chaos in the Middle East.  Yes, Obama's treasonous misconduct made the situation immeasurably worse, but Condoleeza Rice's State Department let this cat out of the bag.  If there's one lesson America has learned the hard way this decade, it's that the United States cannot change an Islamic political culture that is theologically incompatible with with Adam Smith and John Locke.  In Iraq, for example, the United States would have been far better served by installing Ahmed Chalabi and drawing down to 30,000 shortly thereafter.  One we've tempered the credible threat of force with realistic expectations, we must....

• Fight to Win -- The rules of engagement in Afghanistan have been an issue since Obama took office. In the Egyptian embassy attack, our Marines weren't allowed live ammunition.  Heck, this is the administration that invented a military award for 'courageous restraint.'  That's ridiculous, once we deploy our military under the circumstances described above, we need to unleash its full force and get the job done.  Unfortunately, fighting to win requires a cultural shift at the top of the Pentagon that we will only achieve if we....

• Audit the Pentagon -- This idea, which originates from the Ron Paul crowd, is one peace through strength conservatives would be wise to adopt.  In his convention speech, Rand Paul said "not every dollar spent on the military is necessary or well spent."  He's right.  Corporate welfare for defense contractors doesn't promote national security, and often hinders it.  Any organization that loses $2.3 trillion into thin air needs serious reform.  More important, an audit would break up the calcified culture of complacency of senior Pentagon management.  Changing Pentagon culture via audit is a precondition to....

• Stop Political Correctness -- Was the Ft. Hood jihadist attack really 'workplace violence'?!?  Are jihadist terror attacks 'man caused disasters'?!?  I could give countless examples, but the fact that our embassy apologized after the Egypt attack takes the cake.  We need to speak uncomfortable truths, and act accordingly.  Islamic Scripture supports Islamic Supremacism.  The Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated the U.S. government.  Many Latin American drug cartels are Marxist true believers who mean the United States harm.  Jesus said it best: "And ye shall know the truth and it shall set you free."  Before our government will speak the truth, however, we first have to....

• Clean out the State Department -- I can't prove (yet) that Huma Abedin is a traitor.  I can, however, say with full confidence that the State Department bureaucracy is infested with hard-line leftists who advance a progressive internationalist agenda no matter who holds elected office.  From Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush, recent Republican Presidents have had their agendas stymied by the State Department bureaucracy.  While I cannot prove it, I strongly suspect the State Department bureaucracy was behind George W. Bush's "Freedom Agenda."  Once America cleans out the State Department, we will be able to....

• Know who our friends are -- One of the best decisions George W. Bush made as President was telling the UN to pound sand over Iraq.  America should not give the a fore mentioned progressive internationalists, or a corrupt French President, a veto over U.S. action.  That does not mean, however, that America should actually follow the left-wing straw man and 'go it alone.'  America has allies and friends we must honor and with whom we should work closely.  Barack Obama's cavalier destruction of longstanding alliances and friendships is another dangerous aspect of his legacy.  America must diligently and unapologetically rebuild those relationships.  Finally, America MUST....

• SECURE THE DAMN BORDER -- Don't get me started, but it needs to be done.

Again, I am not (yet!) advocating a set of policies.  I'm outlining a set of principles to guide future policy-making.  This strikes me as a good start....

War, whether we like it or not....

"To everything there is a season...a time of war and a time of peace." Ecclesiastes 3:1...8

I already did my 9/11 reflection piece; I now have a quick comment looking forward.

Today, on the anniversary of 9/11, the United States Embassy in Egypt was attacked.

This is a clear act of war.

This is an ongoing situation, and I want to sleep (and pray) on it before saying anything specific.  We need a better strategy for dealing with foreign threats.  I'm not sure what that strategy entails, but it runs through Tehran.

  For now, I want to expand on a point I made about Afghanistan in March:

Some will argue that we should leave entirely because the Jihadists and Russains will leave us alone if we leave them alone.  This is nonsense; Vladimir Putin and the Jihadists don't want to be left alone, they want to dominate the globe.  They're going to play that game whether we like it or not.

That Afghanistan-specific quote also applies to the broader world.  This world is fallen and, as such, evil people will continue to be at war with the United States.  We can't change them; they view the United States as an obstacle.  I'm all for developing a more effective approach, because the current mix of appeasement and nation-building isn't working, but naive myopia won't cut it.  America will continue to be at war, whether we like it or not, for the foreseeable future.

EXCLUSIVE: GBTV's Erick Stakelbeck on Global Terror Trends

This afternoon, I had the opportunity to speak with Erick Stakelbeck of CBN and GBTV about events in the Middle East and repercussions they could have in the United States.  Unfortunately, I pressed a wrong button on the phone, so there's no recording.  The following write up is from my notes.

Israel and Iran

Erick has been saying for months that he expects Israel to strike the Iranian nuclear program sometime soon. If you look at the history of modern Israel, they always launch pre-emptive strikes when faced with existential threats.  They did it in 1967, they did it in 1981, and they did it in 2007.  A nuclear Iran would be the greatest existential threat to Israel in modern history.

The biggest question we face is when the Israeli strike will happen.  Erick Stakelbeck thinks there is "a good chance" it will occur BEFORE the U.S. Presidential election, possibly October.  The reason for this is that Israeli leaders fear striking Iran in a potential Obama second term, and want to get the strike behind them while Obama is still accountable to U.S. voters.

Another possibility: What if Iran strikes first?!?  Methinks, I've read about this somewhere....

Iranian Retaliation

Hostility between Barack Obama and Bibi Netanyahu notwithstanding, the Iranian regime believes Israel and the United States are joined at the hip; they're the little Satan and we're the Great Satan.  Thus, when Israel strikes the Iranian nuclear program, we should expect some sort of retaliation against U.S. interests.  That could take several forms, including attacking U.S. embassies abroad or terror attacks on U.S. soil.

An open question is how the Islamist groups that have infiltrated the U.S. government during the late Bush and Obama administrations would impact U.S. policy in response to potential attacks.

Iran as the epicenter of Global Islamist Terror

The longer I study Global Islamist Terrorism, especially the work of Yossef Bodansky, the more I think everything boils down to Iran; Erick Stakelbeck agrees.  Iran and all the other various Islamist bad guys have all worked together in the past.

One point that hasn't drawn nearly enough attention is Iran's role in 9/11.  Last year, a Federal Court in New York found Iran guilty of aiding and abetting the 9/11 attack.  That's DIRECT Iranian complicity in 9/11.  Additionally, the 9/11 commission found that the Iranian government let several hijackers pass through Iran unmolested.  Additionally, Bodansky's work makes clear that Iran played a major role in the growth of Usama bin Laden's network in the 1990's.

The bottom line is that Iran has its tentacles in EVERY Islamist operation around the globe.  They're the keystone of global terror.  Dealing with any other Islamist entity before dealing with Iran is pointless.

Syria

Which brings us to Syria.  Syria is an Iranian client state.  If Assad goes, it weakens Iran.  On the other hand,    we shouldn't maintain any illusions about what would replace Assad.  It's a choice between Islamists allied with Iran or Islamists allied with Al Qaeda.  Its a bad choice either way.

One thing to keep in mind:  Assad could decide to go out in a final orgy of sour grapes blaze of glory, and launch chemical weapons at Israel.  Erick Stakelbeck thinks Israel would retaliate directly against Damascus.  Once again, I think I've read about that somewhere.

Afghanistan

Erick Stakelbeck believes we're never going to win the hearts and minds of the Afghans; they'll always be Islamist and tribal.  Furthermore, the rules of engagement our troops are facing are ridiculous.  Erick Stakelbeck believes we need to dramatically lighten our Afghan footprint and focus much more closely on killing Al Qaeda and Taliban.

Conclusion

There are three major global terror trends to watch over the next 6 to 12 months:

1. Iran, Iran, Iran.
2. How will Assad go out?!?  Will he engage in an orgy of sour grapes?!?  Will he launch chemical weapons?!?
3. The Muslim Brotherhood consolidating power in Egypt and 'tweaking' the Camp David accords.

War is coming; be prepared.

Paul Ryan on National Security

Over the past month, I've had a lot of positive things to say about Mitt's approach to national security.  That's good, because Paul Ryan's national security positions are unspecific and vague.  On national security, Paul Ryan is a blank slate.

In looking into Paul Ryan's record on national security issues I was amazed at it's thinness, especially for someone who has been in Congress for a decade and a half.  Paul Ryan supports standard Republican boilerplate on Afghanistan, he voted for some sanctions against Iran, and he opposed cutting and running in Iraq five years ago.  That being said, Paul Ryan has maintained remarkable silence on many national security issues, from border security, to domestic Islamic subversion, to Vladimir Putin's Russia.

Paul Ryan does deserve credit, however, for his position on Obama's War in Libya.  Last year, Paul Ryan said:

"[Obama] didn't go to Congress, didn't ask for authority, the leading from behind strategy at NATO I think was very strange, and I don't think they had a mission well defined.

This is important, because it demonstrates that Paul Ryan understands that the issue of Congressional approval supersedes any discussion of the merits or demerits of the policy.

I had hoped Mitt would pick Alan West or Michele Bachmann, both of whom have demonstrated national security leadership in the past year.  That obviously didn't happen.  Paul Ryan's addition to the ticket tells us nothing about the national security policies of a Romney/Ryan administration.

Bottom Line: Paul Ryan is a blank slate on National Security.  Unlike Barack Obama and Joe Biden, however, neither Mitt Romney nor Paul Ryan is actively committing treason against the United States.  That's good enough.

Update: John Bolton on this topic.

On Releasing the Blind Sheikh

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Ephesians 6:12.

"Treason against the United States, shall consist...in adhering to their Enemies, giving them aid and comfort." United States Constitution, Article III, Section 3.


"The Blind Sheikh is the most famous international terrorist ever tried in the United States, and among the most dangerous ever prosecuted anywhere....After all, Osama [sic] bin Laden credits Abdel Rahman with having issued the fatwas approving the 9/11 attacks, the most horrific acts of terrorism in American history, direct from the federal penitentiary I helped put him in."  Andy McCarthy, Willful Blindness: A Memoir of the Jihad, p. 91.


In June, the Obama administration issued a visa to enter the United States to Hani Nour Aldin, an operative of the Egyptian Jihadist organization Ga'amat al-Islamia.  While in Washington, Aldin met with Obama administration officials, where apparently they discussed releasing the Blind Sheikh.  This is a VERY dangerous development, and it needs to be stopped.

First things first, who is the Blind Sheikh?!?

Omar Abdel Rahman was born in Egypt in 1938, and lost his sight to diabetes in 1942.  Known as the 'Emir of Jihad,' Abdel Rahman rose through the Islamist ranks in the 1970's.  He was imprisoned for three years following his widely suspected role in the 1981 assassination of Egyptian dictator of Anwar Sadat; Abdel Rahman's trial in the Sadat affair remains a legendary piece of Jihadist propaganda (49).  Following his acquittal, the Blind Sheikh moved to Afghanistan, where he exercised "great influence over the so called 'Arab-Afghans;' who joined the mujahideen resistance against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.(25)"  In Afghanistan, his relationship with Usama bin Laden flourished.  Following the Afghan jihad, the Blind Sheikh relocated to Brooklyn, where he provided spiritual 'guidance' to a terrorist cell that was responsible for the 1990 assassination of Rabbi Meir Kahane, the original World Trade Center bombing in 1993, and the foiled 1994 NYC Landmarks Plot.  In 1995, he was convicted for Seditious Conspiracy against the United States and sentenced to life in Prison.  Ever since, his release from American custody has been a major Jihadist goal.

While the comparison is imprecise, the Blind Sheikh can be reasonably understood as Usama bin Laden's predecessor.  As Andy McCarthy explains, "the Blind Sheikh admired the Grand Ayatollah [Kohmeini], and harbored dreams of an Egyptian replication of the Iranian coup d'etat. (35)"  Sadly, this longstanding Jihadist objective is now reality.  A Blind Sheikh released into a newly Islamicized Egypt could wreak untold havoc.  And the Obama administration is apparently giving serious consideration to his release.

Releasing the Blind Sheikh would be an act of treason against the United States, as defined in Article III, Section 3.  The Blind Sheikh is clearly an enemy of the United States, and his release would clearly be an act of "adherence," "aid," and "comfort."  It's important to establish the terms of the debate now, and to give Barack Obama advance notice, in order for Barack Obama to be held properly accountable should he chose to release the Blind Sheikh.