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Election Season 2014

And it has brought us to this trainwreck called ObamaCare and we have bankrupted our kids and grandkids!

We are now headed into the 2014 Election Season and common sense and conservatism are on the rise. Please stand-up and be counted!

Reading Collusion: How the Media Stole the 2012 Election is a great place to start!

The Founding Father's Real Reason for the Second Amendment

And remember the words of Thomas Jefferson "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." See Video of Suzanna Gratia-Hupp’s Congressional Testimony: What the Second Amendment is REALLY For, below (u-tube HERE).

The Leaders Are Here... Palin, Cruz, Lee, Paul, Chaffetz....

T'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Can You Really Still Believe That None of These People Would Have Done a Better Job???

Bloggers' Rights at EFF

SIGN THE PETITION TODAY...

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Watcher’s Council Nominations – Buh Bye 2014 Edition –

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Welcome to the Watcher’s Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the ‘sphere, and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council.Then we vote on the best two posts, with the results appearing on Friday morning.

Council News:

The Council In Action!!

Bookworm Room was cited and linked at Ace of Spades HQ

This week, Blazing Cat Fur, The Pirate’s Cove, and Doug Ross earned honorable mention status with some great articles.

You can, too! Want to see your work appear on the Watcher’s Council homepage in our weekly contest listing? Didn’t get nominated by a Council member? No worries.

To bring something to my attention, simply head over to Joshuapundit and post the title and a link to the piece you want considered along with an e-mail address (mandatory, but of course it won’t be published) in the comments section no later than Monday 6PM PST in order to be considered for our honorable mention category. Then return the favor by creating a post on your site linking to the Watcher’s Council contest for the week when it comes out on Wednesday morning

Simple, no?

It’s a great way of exposing your best work to Watcher’s Council readers and Council members while grabbing the increased traffic and notoriety. And how good is that, eh?

So, let’s see what we have for you this week….

Council Submissions

Honorable Mentions

Non-Council Submissions

Enjoy! And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that!And don’t forget to tune in Friday for the results!

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Our Weasels Of The Week!! 12.30.14

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It’s time again for the Watcher’s Council’s ‘Weasel Of The Week’ nominations, where we pick our choices to compete for Award the famed Golden Weasel to a public figure who particularly deserves to be slimed and mocked for his or her dastardly deeds during the week. Every Tuesday morning, tune in for the Weasel of the Week nominations

Here are this weeks’ nominees:

Joshua Williams (St. Louis County PD photo)

‘Peaceful Protester’ Lefty Media Darling And Serial Arsonist Joshua Williams!!

VA Right:  I am going to nominate Joshua Williams who had become the poster boy for advocating peaceful protests in Ferguson, Mo and was caught torching a Berkeley convenience store last week. So much for peaceful protests.

On Oct. 13, he was photographed walking arm-in-arm with author and activist Cornel West toward the St. Louis University campus where protesters staged a sit-in.

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The Razor :My weasel of the week is the Airline Industry. Since they were bailed out after the 9-11 attacks the industry as a whole has shown its gratitude. As the New Yorker notes in Why Airlines Want to Make You Suffer, “The necessity of degrading basic service provides a partial explanation for the fact that, in the past decade, the major airlines have done what they can to make flying basic economy, particularly on longer flights, an intolerable experience.” As someone who has watched the airfares to Europe over the past year, the price of gasoline has fallen by almost 40% while tickets haven’t budged. Just something to remember the next time the industry goes cap-in-hand to Congress seeking more taxpayer cash.

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President of the 57 U.S. States and Fluent Austrian Speaker Barack Hussein Obama!!

The Noisy Room : I nominate Barack Obama this week for his preemptive emptying of Gitmo.

The Obama administration hopes to transfer dozens of
detainees from Guantanamo Bay in the next six months as part of a
stepped-up effort to reduce the population there, according to a
U.S. official.

As many as five detainees are expected to be moved from the
detention facility in the next few days, with several more transfers
anticipated in early 2015, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The news comes less than a week after the United States announced it
had repatriated four detainees from Guantanamo to Afghanistan leaving 132 detainees at the U.S. naval base in southeastern Cuba.

This is one instance where Obama is transparent. His motives on Cuba had
a great deal to do with eliminating Gitmo. Open the gates and free the
poor, misunderstood Jihadists. His betrayal of all those who have lost
loved ones on 9/11 and in various other terrorist attacks is
breathtaking. Anything to support Islam and screw the infidel. Obama is
one weasel who stays true to his Muslim roots.

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Wal-Mart. Yes, Wal-Mart!

Nice Deb : It is with deep sadness that I must nominate my beloved Walmart for continuing to fund racial agitator and shake-down artist Al Sharpton whose extreme, race-baiting rhetoric has long contributed to racial hatred and violence for close to 30 years.

The National Legal and Policy Center wrote a letter to Walmart on 12/22 asking them to no longer contribute to Sharpton and his organization, the National Action Network (NAN). As of yet there has been no response from Walmart, which is decidedly craven and dare I say, weaselly of them.

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The Right Planet : In typical Pavlovian fashion, the Huffington Post pins the blame for the execution-style murders of two NYPD officers, PO Rafael Ramos and PO Wenjen Liu, on … wait for it … the NRA! After listening to countless liberal commentators urge people to not blame an entire group, i.e. protesters, on the actions of one deranged individual, Ismaayl Brinsley, in the senseless murder of two NYPD police officers, I predicted it wouldn’t take long before the left blamed the NRA. Well, the HuffPo didn’t let me down … once again proving that you just can’t fix stupid.

Ayala Shapira,11, was seriously injured in a firebomb attack on December 25, 2014 while riding in the car with her father near the West Bank settlement of Maale Shomron. (Photo: courtesy)
Two ‘Palestinian’ Terrorist Cowards TBA

JoshuaPundit : My Weasel Nomination is a little out of the norm since the nominees names haven’t been released yet,although they soon will be. It goes out to two inhabitants of Samarian village of Azun, near Nablus, a city in the Arab-occupied Area A part of Judea and Samaria.

These brave Arab warriors targeted 11-year-old Ayala Shapira when she was riding in her car with her father and firebombed them. Her father, Avner was lightly injured but Ayala was the main target. She received third degree burns over most of her body and almost died. She’s still in critical condition, and if she lives she will have to have her entire face reconstructed.

The Shin Bet found the perpetrators and they readily confessed, admitting they had received the firebombs from a third party, walked along a road leading from Ma’aleh Shomron to Matan where the Shapiras live and waited by the side of the road for a good target with Israeli plates to pass by. Neither reportedly expressed any remorse for what they had done, which is fairly typical.

Weasel is something of a misnomer here, as it insults weasels. These creatures are something far worse.They are Amalek personified.

Well, there it is! Are these worthy weasels or what? Check back Thursday to see which Weasel walks off with the statuette of shame!

Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum.

And remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning.

It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere, and you won’t want to miss it...or any of the other fantabulous Watcher’s Council content.

And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that, y’know?

Monday, December 29, 2014

None Dare Call It Treason 50 Years Later

By: Cliff Kincaid  -  Accuracy in Media  -  Cross-Posted at the – NoisyRoom and at AskMarion

Treason

I recently asked John A. Stormer, author of the 1964 bestseller None Dare Call It Treason (Kindle), if he thought President Barack Obama was a Marxist. “He’s two things,” Stormer told me. “Is he a Marxist or is he a Muslim? He is really involved in both of these things. He’s anti-American.”

Obama’s policies have benefited enemies of the U.S. across the spectrum, from Muslim to Marxist. All of these anti-American forces have made dramatic gains under Obama. This means that the situation is far worse for America than when Stormer wrote his seven-million-copy bestseller.

Stormer’s book was described at the time as an exposé of how the U.S. government was ostensibly “fighting” communism with its right hand, while actually aiding, supporting, and promoting communism with its left. The book was self-published at a time when the U.S. was opposing communism in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, but doing business with countries like the Soviet Union, which were supplying the enemy that was killing American soldiers on the battlefield.

The difference now, as we have seen with Obama’s recognition and bailout of the Castro regime in Cuba, is that the U.S. government doesn’t even pretend to be anti-communist anymore. Obama has made the U.S. into a facilitator of international communism.

Our troubles are compounded by the spectacle of “conservatives” who pretend not to grasp what is going on. Columnist George Will writes at National Review that Cuba is a “geopolitical irrelevancy.” He says, “Cuba’s regime, although totalitarian, no longer matters in international politics.”

Will must have missed Vladimir Putin’s visit to Cuba in July, when he had meetings with brothers Raul and Fidel Castro and participated in a ceremony at the Memorial to the Soviet Internationalist Soldier. It is a tribute to Soviet soldiers who were stationed in Cuba in the early 1960s and died there. Putin forgave most of Cuba’s debt to the former Soviet Union.

Before that, in May, investigative reporter Bill Gertz noted that Cuba and Russia “concluded a security deal” aimed at bolstering “intelligence and military ties” between the two countries.

Will must have missed that dispatch.

But Russia isn’t the only U.S adversary that considers Cuba geopolitically relevant.

Toby Westerman, editor of International News Analysis Today, wrote a 2012 column noting that Communist China regards the island of Cuba as “strategically located for the interception of U.S. military and civilian satellite communications,” and that “China’s spy service also cooperates closely with Havana’s own world-class intelligence services.”

Westerman added, “The value Beijing places upon the information acquired via Havana can be seen in the October 2011 visit to the island by General Guo Boxiong, Vice Chairman of China’s Central Military Commission. Guo’s presence in Cuba underscored that China has a special military commitment in addition to a sizable economic investment in Cuba.”

Considering the damage that is being done to the United States, and the failure of “conservative” columnists such as George Will to recognize it, we are reminded that the title of Stormer’s book came from the famous John Harington quotation: “Treason doth never prosper: what’s the reason? Why, if it prosper, none dare call it treason.”

But it gets worse.

Just two days after Obama announced his new Cuba policy, Raul Castro received the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, Dmitry Rogozin, during an official visit to Cuba on the occasion of the 12th Session of the Cuba-Russia Intergovernmental Commission.

Will should be advised that all of this is being covered in the English-language version of the official Cuban Communist Party paper Granma. The information is not a national security secret.

The Cuba-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on economic-trade and scientific-technical collaboration held a meeting designed to “advance tasks and objectives established during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Cuba in July…” The objective, according to Granma, is “to realize agreements in order to increase exchanges in diverse spheres” and “address key areas of interest to both countries.”

While Raul Castro’s talk of a “new economic model” in Cuba has been trumpeted far and wide by the U.S. media, his December 20 speech to the “National Assembly of People’s Power” said this does not mean that capitalism will be tolerated. He said the “guidelines” for the new economy make it clear that “The economic system which will prevail in Cuba will continue to be based on the people’s socialist ownership of the fundamental means of production, governed by the socialist principle of distribution, from each according to his/her capacity to each according to his/her contribution.”

He referred to “the irreversibility of socialism in Cuba.”

To understand the strategic significance of Obama’s change in policy toward the dictatorship in Cuba, Castro said he will be participating in the Seventh Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama on April 10-11, 2015. The event is managed by the Organization of American States (OAS), a group that used to be dedicated to promoting democracy in the hemisphere.

How things change.

In January 1962, the OAS was an anti-Communist organization, having established a “Special Consultative Committee on Security Against the Subversive Action of International Communism.” The group declared, “The principles of communism are incompatible with the principles of the inter-American system.”

It passed a resolution declaring, “The present Government of Cuba has identified itself with the principles of Marxist-Leninist ideology, has established a political, economic, and social system based on that doctrine, and accepts military assistance from extra-continental communist powers, including even the threat of military intervention in America on the part of the Soviet Union…”

Nothing has changed over the years, except that Russia has replaced the Soviet Union and international communism has made dramatic gains in the hemisphere.

Another big change, of course, is that the U.S. President is either a Marxist or a Muslim. Take your pick. Perhaps, as Stormer says, anti-American is the best description.

Referring to Republican Senators Rand Paul (KY) and Marco Rubio (FL), Will writes, “As they brawl about Cuba, a geopolitical irrelevancy, neither seems presidential.” But this is the kind of debate that we desperately need to have. It will determine if the U.S. is a force for good or evil in the world. Senator Paul has sided with Obama and Castro. Senator Rubio has come down on the side of freedom.

This debate will not only determine if the Republican Party remains pro-freedom and anti-communist, but whether the United States will stay true to Ronald Reagan’s vision of a world free from communism.

It is troubling, 50 years after the publication of None Dare Call It Treason (Kindle), that we have to go through this debate all over again—this time with the stakes even higher.

One thing is clear at this point: we need a new generation of conservatives in the media willing to take a stand for freedom, and to conduct a review of the “death of communism.”

Even Pope Francis Was In On the Deal!

Forum: What Are Your Predictions For 2015?

Every week on Monday morning , the Council and our invited guests weigh in at the Watcher’s Forum, short takes on a major issue of the day, the culture, or daily living. This week’s question: What Are Your Predictions For 2015?

The Noisy Room:

1. Gitmo will be emptied and closed.
2. The Republicans will facilitate and fund the full implementation of
Amnesty.
3. The Republicans will facilitate and fund the full implementation of
Obamacare.
4. The Republicans will support and assist Obama with the Trans-Pacific
Partnership.
5. Riots and violence will increase across the US and you will see a
nationalization by Obama of our police forces.
6. Net Neutrality and censorship will be implemented on the Internet.
7. There will be a stock market correction or crash.
8. Inflation will begin to spiral out of control.
9. The dollar will be replaced as the international monetary standard.
10. Christians and Jews will see increased persecution worldwide.
11. Russia will bring more satellite countries into the fold and will
encroach on Europe.
12. ISIS will march on and spread the caliphate further.
13. China will expand their military.
14. Venezuela will finish going bankrupt.
15. Russia, China and Iran will gain a much bigger toe hold in South
America.
16. There will be a rapid rise in the illegal alien influx, cartel
violence and border skirmishes.
17. There will be a major terrorist attack in the US.
18. IRS abuses will get even worse in the coming year.
19. Taxation will increase on many fronts.
20. Employment will continue to diminish for Americans and all economic
indicators will be further manipulated by the government and become
utter fabrications of reality. It will be one aspect of a massive
propaganda blitz by the US government to keep Americans docile.

My last prediction is that I will not be invited to any cocktail parties
as I can clear a room in 10 seconds flat. ; )

The Right Planet: I’m not really one to make predictions, since I always seem to be wrong. But, I’ll take a stab at it …

  • The national debt will continue to skyrocket (as always) and nothing will be done about it.
  • Obama will continue his racial agitation, despite the fact he’s the first “black” president in U.S. history who promised a “post-racial” America.
  • The radical left will continue to search for the next Michael Brown in order to in order to whip even more racial animus.
  • Obama will continue to dismantle the military.
  • The GOP establishment will do nothing to stop Obamacare, despite campaign promises to the contrary
  • Another massive new wave of illegal immigrants.
  • The GOP establishment will continue to push presidential candidates like Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney, despite the base’s lack of enthusiasm for these establishment types.
  • The left will push for Marxist radicals like Elizabeth Warren as their next presidential candidate in 2016.
  • Despite the fact the GOP won a major victory in the 2014 midterms, they’ll still act like they lost.
  • Obama will unleash the most radical agenda ever seen in the history of the United States, because he feels he’s got nothing to lose.

Sorry, I think it’s going to be a sh*tty year for the USA. And I think it’s only going to get worse.

Laura Rambeau Lee at Right Reason : 2015 is shaping up to be a defining year for America. Lame duck President Obama will continue to push through executive orders, further undermining the balance of power and the rule of law. Even with Republican majorities in the House and Senate I don’t see them effectively challenging him. One or two will speak out, but will be vilified as radical right extremists by the left and also by the establishment GOP.

I am afraid the events at the end of 2014, with thousands of people protesting against the police in Ferguson, MO and New York, are a precursor of things to come in 2015. The left will continue its agenda of dividing our country by race, religion, class, and cries for social justice.

As we head into the 2016 election season, younger voters will become involved in the political races based on social issues, such as same sex marriage and the legalization of marijuana and align themselves with Democrat candidates or Libertarians. Conservative Republicans will need to find a strong voice who will speak out for fiscal restraint, smaller government, and traditional values, or we can expect to see Jeb Bush being propped up as the frontrunner.

As the world continues to become more dangerous we will be drawing down our military and will be unable and unwilling to get involved.

While we have seen a little improvement in the job market and the economy, as new regulations roll out expect small businesses to take a bigger hit and many will close their doors for good. The cost of doing business in this country has become punitive for the average small business owner.

I hope I am wrong, and the Republican led Congress will work towards gutting Obamacare, cutting punitive regulations from the EPA and CFPB to name a couple, and not approving any funding for Obama’s illegal amnesty action, but I just don’t see it happening.

JoshuaPundit: Hmmm…OK, domestic politics. I’m not prepared to predict  how the new congress will behave, but  I will say that if it simply becomes business as usual, you will see a major revolt by the Republican Party base to the extent where we may end up with a third party that ultimately replaces it.That’s almost certain if the GOP leadership tries to foist someone like Jeb Bush on the party as a presidential nominee.I actually expect the new congress to attack some areas, like EPA regulations that restrict coal. And don’t be surprised if you see increased opposition to the president’s amnesty bill, especially when it comes to attacking its funding. It was the one area Boehner left open, not because he wanted to but because he had to give the conservatives in congress something in order to get votes to pass cromnibus in the House.

Don’t be surprised if the Supremes gut ObamaCare. What will happen after that is anyone’s guess, since the health insurance industry has been monkeyed with almost beyond repair and will take some time to come back.

I also predict that we will see increased tension  between the president and the new congress, especially when it comes to his appointments, investigation of the various scandals surrounding the White House, his amnesty and the funding of certain presidential executive orders.

I think the GOP nomination will boil down to a choice between Rand Paul,  Mike Huckabee,  and Jeb Bush. I don’t think Dr. Carson will run in 2016, nor will Ted Cruz as much as I ‘d like to see him do so, but I’m happy to be wrong on that one. Either one may end up as VP candidates.

I see the chances of Hillary Clinton running as no more than 50-50, because of her health, her unpopularity withthe party’s far Left progressives  and because of continued revelations on how horribly she ran the State Department, including the Benghazi fiasco. Elizabeth Warren is a more likely choice, I think.

Other domestic predictions; I regret to say that I think we’re headed for a major terrorism attack, along with a huge scandal concerning our domestic intel setup. I see it as being an attack that the media will attempt to paint as being carried out by a so-called ‘lone wolf’, but will in reality be one aided and abetted by our overseas enemies, just like 9/11 was. I hope I’m wrong on that one.

The economy will continue about how it’s been, but probably with slightly higher interest rates come midyear. The economy is a colossal con, with real unemployment and real CPI inflation far higher and our growth and GDP far lower than we’re being told, but so far we remain the best game in town in terms of relatively safe foreign investment. The reckoning will come in very gradual stages after Obama is safely out of office.

Baseball will have a resurgence next year. This year was about getting rid of the stench of the steroids scandal. 

Foreign Affairs; We will continue to flail around in Iraq, with this president gradually increasing troops on the ground. His real object is to have Iran doing more of the fighting against Islamic State, with the result, of course, that Iran will control Iraq as part of the nuclear armed Shi’ite bloc they wish to create. 2015 will also likely be the year that Iran explodes a successful nuclear weapon unless Israel stops them. Obama will not.

Syria may well see a cease fire and an arrangement between Assad and IS to share the country, midwifed by Putin. The way things are now, neither side can win but both sides need time to consolidate their gains and lick their wounds.

Israel will continue its move to the right politically, with Naftali Bennett continuing to rise in popularity. Israel will continue to expand its increasingly closer ties with India, China and East Asia. The EU will continue to become more hostile to Israel, perhaps even to the point of sanctions by countries like Ireland, the UK (at least in the short run) Spain, Portugal,  Scandinavia, Belgium, the Netherlands and France.Other countries like Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Italy, the Balkan states  and other eastern European countries will simply ignore any sanctions.

While the Obama Administration will likely veto the current UNSC resolution to unilaterally force a Palestinian state by the Palestinian Authority,  the Obama regime  will almost certainly abstain and allow another one to pass if it’s  put before the UNSC after the Israeli elections in March. The Obama team is attempting  to interfere in the Israeli elections to get the Left wing Labor Party elected  and they will want to see if they can mange it before taking the political flak of allowing a UN diktat to pass..which would be opposed vociferously by congress. 

Of course once that happens the relationship between America and Israel is going to change quite a bit,which was what this president has wanted all along. Since getting Labor/Hatnua elected with enough seats to form a governing coalition is highly unlikely, I think that scenario is what we’re ultimately looking at. Expect continued terrorist attacks on Israel in this current Third Intifada, which will be followed by a major crackdown boo-hooed by all the usual suspects.

Russia will likely attempt to assert its authority over one or more of the Baltic States…not by invasion, but by simple intimidation ala’ Finland. I’d say Estonia is the most likely target.

Japan and  Australia will rearm and increase their defense spending.They will also increase their security cooperation, which will likely include Vietnam and the Philippines. Germany will do the same; expect an enlargement of the Bundeswehr and security coordination with its neighbors like Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

Expect UKip to do exceptionally well in the British Elections, And while French elections aren’t until 2017 unless the socialists and the extremely unpopular Hollande is forced out,  expect Marine Le Pen’s right leaning Front National (FN) to continue to gain massive ground. 

Rhymes With Right: Well, my friends, after having had a mixed year making projections for 2014, I’m once again at it. I’ll once again stare into that foggy crystal ball and catch a glimpse into the future — undoubtedly with mixed results. Each of my four categories will have a prediction that I feel is almost certain to come true, one I feel is somewhat more iffy but still probable, and one that is a long-shot and will in twelve months be seen either as prophetic genius or utter folly.

World Affairs

  • Safe Prediction — Benjamin Netanyahu will remain Prime Minister of Israel following a challenge by a more secular and more leftist coalition. The reason for his success — which will not be expected only weeks prior to new elections — will be a renewed campaign of terrorist attacks on civilians in the wake of UN recognition of a “State of Palestine”.
  • Not-So-Safe Prediction — Continued North Korean anger over The Interview will lead to more attacks on the American entertainment industry. The target? Online streaming services renting/selling The Interview and Team America: World Police.
  • Long-Shot Prediction — King Abdullah of Jordan is overthrown in an Islamist coup.

National Affairs

  • Safe Prediction — Barack Obama will continue to govern using the same playbook as the late Hugo Chavez, issuing executive decrees and usurping Congress’ lawmaking role despite the restrictions on executive power contained in the Constitution.
  • Not-So-Safe Prediction — There will be an unexpected resignation from the Supreme Court at the end of the 2014-2015 term. This will set the stage for a major confirmation fight and, after the rejection of Obama’s nominee, an effort by the President to make a recess appointment to the High Court.
  • Long-Shot Prediction — A bipartisan immigration reform bill will be passed by both houses of Congress and be signed by the president. It will have broad support among the American people, but will be rejected by both the progressive wing of the Democrat Party and conservative wing of the Republican Party in Congress.

Texas Affairs

  • Safe Prediction — Despite strong opposition by the grassroots, Joe Straus is again selected as Speaker of the House in the Texas Legislature. When the filing date for the 2016 primary passes in December, a record number of well-funded conservative challengers will have filed to run against incumbent legislators in the Republican primary.
  • Not-So-Safe Predictions — The resignation of Steve Munisteri as Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas will result in the election of Tom Mechler by the State Republican Executive Committee. The selection of the current RPT treasurer will be more about interim stability than the long-term direction of the state party, with everyone looking toward a major floor fight at the 2016 convention between former Harris County GOP chairman Jared Woodfill and Dallas County chairman Wade Emmert in which the grassroots will make their voices heard.
  • Long-Shot Prediction — Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick surprises political observers by being an even-handed consensus builder as the presiding officer over the Texas Senate.

2016 Presidential Politics

  • Safe Prediction — As 2015 ends, the GOP will have a spirited race for the presidential nomination underway, with the leading contenders being Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, and Rand Paul, followed by Ted Cruz, Bobby Jindal, and Paul Ryan.
  • Not-So-Safe Prediction — Chris Christie does not seek the Republican presidential nomination.
  • Long-Shot Prediction — As 2015 ends, the Hillary Clinton juggernaut faces unexpected difficulties in the race for the Democrat presidential nomination. These will come in the form of leaked documents from Hillary’s time as Secretary of State, a new Bill Clinton sex scandal that raises questions about Hillary’s sensitivity to women alleging sexual abuse/assault, and an unexpectedly strong challenger from the Left.

The Glittering Eye: For many years at The Glittering Eye I would do an annual predictions post. Last year I gave up the practice. It wasn’t because my track record wasn’t pretty good — it was around 85% right — but because like everybody else I never managed to predict the really big stories of the year.

However, I’ll get into the spirit of things and give you one prediction. The Supreme Court will decide in favor of the plaintiffs in King v. Burwell with a vote of 5-4, Justice Kennedy concurring with the majority. That’s the case challenging the paying of federal subsidies to individuals who live in states that did not set up their own healthcare insurance exchanges.

Well, there you have it! Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum. and every  Tuesday morning, when we reveal the weeks’ nominees for Weasel of the Week! And remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning. It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere, and you won’t want to miss it...or any of the other fantabulous Watcher’s Council content. And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that, y’know?

fab50-winner-180-241 sm

Watchers Council Blogging Group – Best Blog Ring Award Winner

Saturday, December 27, 2014

The Council Has Spoken!! The Watcher’s Council Results

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The Council has spoken, the votes have been cast, and the results are in for this week’s Watcher’s Council match up.

But first, we have some important business to take care of. We have an important Occasion to celebrate, the birthday of our own Dave Schuler, The Glittering Eye.

It actually works out in a way that this week’s Council Results coincide with Boxing Day rather than Dave’s actual birthday, which falls on Christmas Day. This way, he doesn’t have to share his birthday party with any other holiday, and it gives us an extra day for celebration.

First, a suitable cake. On a previous occasion, we really enjoyed a double Dutch chocolate number with chocolate ganache icing and just a lil’ bit of rum for flavor, and it went over so well I decided to get two for this occasion…one with rum, one without.

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I also picked out some chilled Veuve Cliquot to drink…brut, of course.

http://www.veuve-clicquot.com/sites/default/files/optimized/hist_sign-yellow.jpg

And we’ll also have a nice assortment of fruit juices and mineral water.

And for those of you whom want something a little stronger, one of my faves..Talisker’s 18-year old Single Malt,a real charmer.

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Dave and I go back, what..is it really ten years? He predates me on the Council, and I’ve never forgotten his first reaction when I came aboard. In those days, we didn’t vote on new members, the Watcher simply decided on his own, and Dave used to write little blerbs giving his own reaction to each Council member’s entry, something I wish he still did. At my debut, he wrote on his site to the effect that he had enjoyed New Sisyphus (the member I replaced) but was going to wait and see about this Joshuapundit guy. I hope he’s finally made up his mind about me!

Dave Schuler runs one of the best one man blogs out there. He remains very much the Council’s renaissance man, whose varied interests run the gamut from politics and world affairs, to opera, wine, economics, cooking, dogs, martial arts and a thousand other subjects. And he has a lot to say about all of them! Even more to his credit, he specializes in common sense, a quality today that’s not at all common nowadays.

In all the time I’ve known him, not only has he cheerfully put up with all my nonsense but he’s always been there whenever I’ve needed help and good advice. And I’ve never ceased to appreciate his clarity of thought, his ability to get to the heart of the matter, or our friendship.

And that’s the thing, really. You meet the most wonderful people blogging.

Happy Birthday, Dave, and many many more. And no worries..we’ve already alerted the Fire Department about all those candles.

Another brief note before we get down to business. Our dear friend and Council member Marion Algier of Ask Marion has been fighting a tough battle against cancer. She’s a real scrapper though, and I’m proud to say that based on a recent medical report she appears to be getting the upper hand, G-d willing!

Such fights are fairly expensive,however.

If any of you feel able to visit her site and drop some shekels in her PayPal tip jar, please do so. It would be a wonderful thing to do, especially at this time of year. And send her your prayers.

“Christmas can be celebrated in the school room with pine trees, tinsel and reindeers, but there must be no mention of the man whose birthday is being celebrated. One wonders how a teacher would answer if a student asked why it was called Christmas.” – President Ronald Reagan

“I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

“And in despair I bowed my head;
There is no peace on earth,” I said;
For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

“Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
the Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!”
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Christmas isn’t a season, it’s a feeling -Edna Ferber

Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection. - Sir Winston Churchill

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This week’s winning essay is my piece over at Joshuapundit-What Christmas Really Means, And Why The Left Hates It .Here’s a slice:

In two days, Christians around the world will celebrate Christmas, the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth, called the Christ..or as I, a non-Christian sometimes respectfully refer to him, Rav Yussel ben-Yosef. For among other attributes, Jesus was also a learned rabbi.

While historical evidence points towards the actual birthday of Jesus being in the spring, the December 25th date – January 6th for Orthodox Christians – are the traditional days Christians celebrate.

It is a time of year when people in predominantly Christian countries are more expansive, more gentle and more at peace with each other. They smile more, and they let the little things go because it’s Christmas, a time of cheer and good will, a time for friends and family.

It is also a time when the secular Left unleashes savage attacks on the very nature of Christ and the holiday itself. Satanists demand the right to set up displays next to manger scenes, smarmy writers mock the traditions of Christmas and Christianity and atheists and Leftists go on the warpath with lawsuits designed to try and stop public religious displays of faith, especially Christian ones.

One writer whom I won’t link to even made the point in a very well-known far Left outlet that religion in general is ‘rapey’ (her word) and Christianity in particular because – wait for it- it teaches that G-d raped the Virgin Mary without her consent, since consent isn’t explicitly mentioned in Scripture. So of course, this is just another instance of the ‘Patriarchy’ in action.

Before I go on, let me point out that all of these attacks are permissible free speech, although there’s no doubt in my mind that if we were talking about Islam, they’d be a lot more circumspect.Or perhaps outright cowardly and hypocritical is a more accurate way to put it.

But if we get beyond the secular trapping and look at the real meaning of Christmas, it becomes obvious that all these attacks on Christianity have a distinct motivation.It becomes glaringly apparent why the Left does what it does.

Christmas is above all a time for Christians to celebrate a miracle of their faith, the birth of their Messiah,born in the humblest of surroundings but recognized by the Magi and generations of future Christians as Lord and Savior. To Christians, Jesus is whom they owe ultimate allegiance to, not to government or to secular power, but to heavenly power. If Jesus is their Lord, than no secular lord can be, and if Jesus is the way, the truth and the light, salvation comes from the Lord, not from Moscow, or Peking, or Washington DC, or any other seat of government.

The Founders themselves understood this quite well, that the unalienable rights they sought came from their Creator, not government, or an earthly king.

To the Left, this belief goes against everything they stand for. That’s why the Left needs so badly to to mock, attack and destroy it. And why all of us, even those of us whom are not Christians need to defend it.

You’ll find much more at the link.

In our non-Council category, the winner was Heather MacDonald’s fine piece at the City Journal The Big Lie of the Anti-Cop Left Turns Lethal submitted by The Watcher. It is simply one of the better things written so far about the current war by the Left against the police.

We hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas!

Here are this week’s full results:

Council Winners

Non-Council Winners

See you next week!

Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum. and every  Tuesday morning, when we reveal the weeks’ nominees for Weasel of the Week!

And remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning.

It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere, and you won’t want to miss it...or any of the other fantabulous Watcher’s Council content.

And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that, y’know?

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Simpler Times, A Groetzmeier Christmas – 2014

The 1950’s and early 1960’s were simpler times allowing holidays, family traditions and faith to take their full and proper place in the hearts and minds of children, leaving fond and enduring memories for a lifetime.

Although we had a small extended family that we would see for an American style Christmas Day Dinner of ham or turkey and fixings (from where I still make my Grandmother’s (Oma’s) meat stuffing to this day), when we were young, holidays for us were primarily built around our small nuclear family… first the three of us, then four of us after a couple of years in America and ultimately the five of us.

December 24th and 25th are obviously special days for Christians and for Christian children of all ages as well as for most children in America and the western world, no matter what their faith. The traditions and heritage wrapped around those days and the Christmas Season have been interwoven into the fabric of the United States and a good part of the world. Yet each family and person has their own special memories and traditions attached to that festive season. And so it was with us. Our parents tried to combine their old world ways and traditions with the new ones of this land we now called home plus those of their European Catholic upbringing.

Putting lights up on the outside of your house was something that wasn’t done in Germany and Austria before we left there, but going to see the lighted houses in the evening after dinner was a new tradition we all enjoyed and that we built into our Christmas Holiday ritual. By the mid to late 1950’s the displays of lights and other decorations had reached their zenith having become bigger and greater every year. Whole neighborhoods would decorate in themes while others would compete between neighbors. Some neighborhoods had such spectacular decorations that there would be lines of cars for blocks or more just to drive past the houses or to find parking to walk the neighborhoods. Some neighborhoods were even sponsored like one of the favorites in the Los Angeles area where each home had Disney displays; agreeing to take part yearly was part of the real estate agreement when purchasing a house there.

A few miles from our house was an oversized corner lot with a ranch style home that went all out. It had seemingly endless lights everywhere, moving elves and reindeer, a playhouse turned into Santa’s workshop and a huge sleigh filled with wrapped presents. There were two large pine trees dripping with painted glass globes and other shaped ornaments, icicles and branches thick with snow. You could hear the Christmas music at least a block away and Santa would be out every night for the entire month between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve to talk to the children after which Mrs. Santa handed out candy canes to all who came by. It really was something to see and we never tired of going by there, throughout the season, year after year. It was always part of our last light viewing tour each Christmas Season.

Most children think their memories and their parents were the greatest, as it should be. But I have to say that my parents did an amazing job of making the holidays, especially Christmas, and other traditions like trips to yearly regular vacation spots and trips to amusement parks something very very special… much more magical than I hear in recounts from others or than I managed to create with my own children, even though I tried.

My father worked for Pacific Bell, part of the largest utility company in America at the time before the government broke it up, and my mother was a stay at home mom, like most moms in those days. On Christmas Eve my father would always come home from work early after a half day. Traditionally half of the employees would work a half day, but were paid in full, which consisted primarily of a company paid Christmas party on Christmas Eve and the other half would work half day on New Year’s Eve. People with children usually got Christmas Eve off and the young and single people tended to want New Year’s Eve.

By the time our dad got home, we were all more than anxious for the Christmas Festivities to begin. We, the kids, would have wrapped our gifts for our parents and put them under the tree; the only packages that were ever set under the live Christmas tree in our living room before Christmas Eve when Santa came. It wasn’t until sometime in the 1960’s that artificial trees popped up, and by the mid-60’s a few of the modernists were putting up silver trees made out of the same material that tinsel is made of, usually decorated with all one color round ornaments and using a color wheel to light the tree instead of strings of lights. We only ever knew one family that had one. In fact they were the only people we ever knew, growing up, that had a fake tree. We preferred the stories of trees with real candles, homemade and traditional ornaments with meaning told from our parents’ upbringing, over the idea of a futuristic Christmas.

Going to get our Christmas tree was always a family event, as were most Christmas related activities, but since we were city kids we did go to a tree lot which was attached to a nursery and garden shop covered with a permanent canopy in aviary fashion. Once inside the sounds and smells of Christmas were everywhere. They played non-stop carols and had somehow piped in the smell of gingerbread. Yet we were almost overcome with the smell of fresh wreaths and rows of trees which seemed to go on forever. We always seemed to look at each and every one of them in our size range before choosing, in the ultimate search for the perfect tree. About the time I turned ten or eleven, flocked trees became popular; for a few years some were even flocked in pink and light blue. We always got an unflocked Noble that our father had to trim down after we got home, because somehow it always ended up being just a bit too tall for the room. And each year on our way to the register to pay for the tree, we got to pick one new ornament from the racks where they had them individually displayed. Years later, after I was already out of the house, the family made it out to the wild a few times to actually chop down a tree, like my parents did in the old country.

Getting a tree and putting it up several weeks before Christmas was one of the changes that our folks made. In Germany, the Christ Child (das Christkindl) comes on Christmas Eve and brings the tree already decorated for the children to see for the first time the next morning. In Austria, the family puts it up, but not on until Christmas Eve Day. In Germany and Austria, Santa (St. Nicholas) comes on December 6th and brings slippers, fruit, nuts and candy. In the country areas he often brings a dark character with him, der Krampus, who threatens to take the bad children and stick them into his sack, or he leaves them just a lump of coal. My dad grew up after World War I in a small town in Austria without a father. They got lots of snow and used cross country skis to get to school. Many of the women raised four, five , six or more children on their own with very little money or help after losing their husbands in the war. My father said he remembered more than once, knowing of a pre-teenage boy that was giving his mother a hard time that was picked up by the Krampus and taken on a scary ski ride at night in a big sack. Those are among the traditions and memories my parents left behind, but kept alive by telling stories of their childhood and having an Advent Calendar that included a story or telling of a memory with each day’s opening.

One of our favorite stories was always about the Kaufladen. It was a homemade storefront or kiosk type set-up made completely out of wood for my mother and her sister to play store. It was made with dozens of small apothecary type drawers that were filled every year with new dried beans, peas and lentils, candies, and other items that they could sell, taking turns being the merchant and the customer. It actually survived and went on to our cousins in Germany, and then to their children.

Getting the tree and decorating it was always a special day. Although my parents left pretty much everything behind when we moved here after having already lost virtually everything they had from their childhoods during the destruction of the war (WWII), they managed to pick up some European style decorations here and there that were interspersed between those purchased primarily at Sears and Roebuck, whose Christmas Wishbook was tattered and tagged throughout by us kids for months before Christmas. I remember going to a German store or special exhibit a couple of times that had handmade wooden and glass German ornaments; each crafted and painted by hand, so they were special, but not cookie cutter perfect like those that came out of the boxes here. I remember buying a little skier and a couple brightly colored mushrooms. They were always my favorites. In Germany many people still put real candles on their trees or the spritzers, where the colored water bubbles in the middle of each light; both only impressions in my memory from the stories my parents told.

As we decorated we would play both German and English Christmas carols on my parents hi-fi on vinyl singles or 45’s, as they were called, that you constantly had to change. We sang along enthusiastically to White Christmas by Bing Crosby and Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer by Gene Autry, the singing cowboy, as well as to Silent Night and O Tannenbaum in both English and German. My mom always had a batch of her homemade spiked egg nog made-up that we were allowed a sip of and there were always a few special German chocolates and marzipan piglets, as well as cookies and stolen from the German butcher shop. And some years there were goodies out from our Aunt Lisbeth and family in Frechen, Germany, like Printen or Speculatius, plus a fresh homemade batch of American style chocolate chip and sugar cookies. My dad would have a variety of shelled nuts out, that always included walnuts, that he would open for us with his nutcracker. There would also always be a platter of figs and dates, persimmons, pomegranates, tangerines and some type of fruit cake, rum cake or special bread, which he and his brothers and sister considered special treats as they grew up. Those were the days of the strings of lights that would not work if one or more were burned out, so sometimes it could be a huge project just to get the lights working. And after all the ornaments and garland were hung, the tinsel would go on last one strand at a time, so it would shine and sparkle without unsightly lumps scattered about the tree. We always had a big star as the topper with a spot in the middle for a light. Placing the topper was Daddy’s job. Tinsel duty and later supervision as we became older and helped to put it on, was Mom’s. We would end the day with a light German style meal and then go for a Christmas light viewing drive after dinner, as we would several more times during the season and one last time on Christmas Eve.

On Christmas Eve we would all be dressed up a bit more than usual for dinner. And dinner would always be traditional German or Austrian fare. Many years it was a variety of sausages: Bratwurst, Weisswurst, and Blutwurst, mashed potatoes and red and white cabbage (rot kohl and sauerkraut) or cucumbers in vinegar and oil. Some years it would be Weiner Schnitzel with white asparagus instead of the sausages and kraut. We kids, of course, would be squirming around in our seats, much too excited to eat.

As soon as we were done eating, my father would say, “How about we get into the car and go look at the lights one last time? And who knows, maybe Santa will stop by while we are gone?” …same exact words every year, even when we were teenagers. At the last minute, as we were putting on our sweaters, my mom would always say, “You know, maybe I won’t go and get this kitchen cleaned up?” We would always protest and Dad would say, “Yah Maria, that is probably a good idea and we won’t be gone long anyway!”

We would pile into the car. I would get to sit in front because I was the oldest and we would head out. We would basically take a tour of our favorite lighted houses, which normally ended way too soon for us. But on Christmas Eve, it always seemed like we were gone forever, even though I’m sure it wasn’t nearly long enough for Santa! ;-)

We would get back and run to the back door where we entered from the garage. My mom would be changed from what she was wearing at dinner, have the kitchen completely cleaned up and as we entered the kitchen we’d all be asking, “Was he here? Was he here?” She would always respond with, “No I don’t think so. I didn’t hear a thing in there!” We lived in a small two bedroom duplex until I was a junior in high school and she certainly would have heard!! We would open the sliding door into the living room and in that short span of a time it had been transformed into what seemed to us like Santa’s workshop: packages everywhere, with at least one or more items that had to be assembled ready to go, platters of homemade goodies and goodies sent from Europe with Christmas Carols playing in the background. To us it was a miracle!! And now looking back it was even more of a miracle than we realized, that our mom could have done all of that in such a short time! My sister and I tried to duplicate all of that with our kids and pass those traditions along. And with two of us playing Santa and usually not having a whole kitchen to clean, we were barely able to get it done! And then there is the question of where was all that stored before that night in that little place?!?

Our parents wrapped every pair of socks separately and we loved every gift (no electronics then). After all, we had spent months leafing through the Sears Christmas Wishbook Catalog hoping and making out our lists and letters to Santa. By the time we were through unwrapping and sampling the goodies it seemed like there was barely enough time to put on our new outfits, that were part of our gifts, and head to mid-night mass where we met up with family friends whose kids were all wearing their newly unwrapped Christmas outfits as well.

Both our parents grew up poor in a one parent home between World War 1 and World War II and although their parents did their best, their childhoods were tough and their Christmases and holidays were scant with gifts so they went out of their way to make ours extra special.

My mother grew up living in a small apartment with just her mother, until she remarried, above the town movie theatre where our mom fell asleep listening to the soundtrack seep up through the floorboards. She had a doll with a porcelain face and a real hair wig. Each year the doll would get a new head for Christmas because every year our mother would take the doll downstairs to play with other kids from the neighborhood and invariably she would allow someone to hold the doll after endless prompting, and the next thing she knew someone would drop and break her, after which the doll (one of her main gifts) was put away until next Christmas.

By the time we got home from church it was always very late so after another look at our stash we all went to bed and everybody could get up as early or as late as they wanted to play with and organize their gifts. Then by noon or so we’d head off to Oma and Opa’s (Grandma and Grandpa’s) each year, until they moved up North, for Christmas dinner with our cousins and family.  After that our mom would fix a Christmas goose at home each year since we had turkey for Thanksgiving.

Now that my kids and nieces and nephews are grown and my Christmas experience is made up of generations of tradition and varied experiences intertwined, I realize that those growing up years and then the ‘early years’ with my own children and nieces and nephews, who are all about the same age, were the best and are the years that come to mind first when Christmas and Christmas Eve are mentioned. I am grateful for the love my parents put into those holidays and other special events and occasions, and although I tried my best to pass on those special traditions and create new ones along side them, I can only say, “Thanks, Mom and Dad, I wish I could have done as well…”

By Marion Groetzmeier Algier from her book in progress (Working title: The Groeztmeiers) – Originally Posted at Ask Marion in 2010.

That was then… And this is now:

The Digital Story of the Nativity – Video: The Digital Story of the Nativity  and Video: The History of Christmas Tree Lights on the Internet

Plus NORAD Tracks Santa on Christmas Eve

For more than 50 years, NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have tracked Santa’s flight.

The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement for children to call Santa misprinted the telephone number. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief’s operations “hotline.” The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location, and a tradition was born. LINK: NORAD tracks Santa on Facebook

In 1958, the governments of Canada and the United States created a bi-national air defense command for North America called the North American Aerospace Defense Command, also known as NORAD, which then took on the tradition of tracking Santa.

Since that time, NORAD men, women, family and friends have selflessly volunteered their time to personally respond to phone calls and emails from children all around the world. In addition, we now track Santa using the internet. Millions of people who want to know Santa’s whereabouts now visit the NORAD Tracks Santa website.

Finally, media from all over the world rely on NORAD as a trusted source to provide updates on Santa’s journey.

Santa Tracker Christmas or Santa Tracker

Merry Christmas! : Celebrating America’s Greatest Holiday

A great book on Losing Our Religion by atheist S. E. Cupp, who says she is he perfect person for this book because she has no dog in the hunt, takes on the all too often avoided question and discussion of religion in America…

The Battle for Christmas & The War on Christmas

The Snow Angel

Also check out:

The Reason For the Season 

Ben Stein on Christmas

Merry Christmas 2014 From Just One More Pet

Saturday, December 20, 2014

The Council Has Spoken! Watcher’s Council Results 12.19.12

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The Council has spoken, the votes have been cast, and the results are in for this week’s Watcher’s Council match up.

“I don’t believe it is possible to transcend race in this country. Race is a factor in this society. The legacy of Jim Crow and slavery has not gone away. It is not an accident that African-Americans experience high crime rates, are poor, and have less wealth. It is a direct result of our racial history.” – Barack Obama,

“Barack Obama is like the old joke about boats. The two best days of owning a boat are the day you buy it and the day you sell it.”- Howie Carr

“None of what Barack Obama is doing or wants to do to this country is anything the rest of the world hasn’t seen before and already failed at.”
- Rush Limbaugh

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This week’s winning essay,Nice Deb’s -Sheriff Clark: After Obama, We’re Going To Need A “Period Of Reconstruction To Put The Country Back Together” Is her astute take on an interview with Sheriff David Clark of Milwaukee concerning race relations under President Obama. Here’s a slice:

Milwaukee Sheriff David Clark joined Megyn Kelly, Thursday night to discuss a new Fox poll that shows that 62% of voters believe race relations have gotten worse since Barack Obama became president.

Kelly asked the the clear-eyed, straight talking sheriff, “are they right?”

“Of course they’re right,” Clark answered without hesitation. “He built that…..remember that statement, ‘you didn’t build that’? Well, he built this racial divide, it was a wound that had been healing for a number of years – number of decades – and he reopened it with his divisive politics.”

He continued, “Obama has benefited from the divide and conquer strategy – it secured two successive electoral victories for the White House but it’s been very destructive for America.” He went on to ask a devastating question, “Who would have thought that after the election of first black president in the history of United States, that we would need a period of reconstruction to try to put this country back together?”

Clark claimed that instead of taking a neutral tone, Obama has habitually fanned the flames.

Megyn gave Clark an opportunity to give Obama a pass and put most of the blame on people with whom he surrounds himself, but Clark was having none of it.

“It’s a cabal of people,” he acknowledged. “But he’s at the top. When the president speaks, people listen and he has to choose his words carefully.”

Megyn, playing devils advocate, noted that Obama often acknowledges the sacrifices made by police.

Clark countered by saying that Obama likes to “throw a few bones out there” for law enforcement with “a wink and a nod” to the racial agitators. “People know what he’s doing,” the Sheriff declared.

More at the link.

In our non-Council category, the winner was Kurt Schlichter Townhall with Nothing Succeeds Like Liberal Secession submitted by The Razor . It’s a fascinating look at what things would be like in Blue America and Red America decided on a mutual peaceful parting of the ways, with a nice side order of Schlichter’s wry sense of humor.

Here are this week’s full results:

Council Winners

Non-Council Winners

See you next week!

Make sure to tune in every Monday for the Watcher’s Forum. and every  Tuesday morning, when we reveal the weeks’ nominees for Weasel of the Week!

And remember, every Wednesday, the Council has its weekly contest with the members nominating two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The votes are cast by the Council, and the results are posted on Friday morning.

It’s a weekly magazine of some of the best stuff written in the blogosphere, and you won’t want to miss it...or any of the other fantabulous Watcher’s Council content.

And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that, y’know?

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Watcher’s Council Nominations – Cuba Betrayed Edition

WC Cuba

With today’s announcement by President Obama that the U.S. will be normalizing relations with Cuba, American foreign policy took a very dark turn. Just at the point when this hideous regime was on the verge of collapse, our president took action that will not promote freedom for the Cuban people, but will throw an economic lifeline to a brutal dictatorship to enable it to stay in power. Disgraceful and shameful beyond words.

Welcome to the Watcher’s Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the ‘sphere, and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council.Then we vote on the best two posts, with the results appearing on Friday morning.

Council News:

The Council In Action!!

- Greg at Rhymes With Right was quoted in Breitbart.

- My latest, Fear And Loathing – Labor And Livni’s Hatnua Join Forces is up at the Times of Israel.

- This week, The Political Commentator, IOwnTheWorldReport.Com and Blazing Cat Fur earned honorable mention status with some great articles.

You can, too! Want to see your work appear on the Watcher’s Council homepage in our weekly contest listing? Didn’t get nominated by a Council member? No worries.

To bring something to my attention, simply head over to Joshuapundit and post the title and a link to the piece you want considered along with an e-mail address (mandatory, but of course it won’t be published) in the comments section no later than Monday 6PM PST in order to be considered for our honorable mention category. Then return the favor by creating a post on your site linking to the Watcher’s Council contest for the week when it comes out on Wednesday morning

Simple, no?

It’s a great way of exposing your best work to Watcher’s Council readers and Council members while grabbing the increased traffic and notoriety. And how good is that, eh?

So, let’s see what we have for you this week….

Council Submissions
Honorable Mentions
Non-Council Submissions

Enjoy! And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that!And don’t forget to tune in Friday for the results!