Forum: Trump's Boycott Of The FOX Debate; Huge Error Or Smart Move?

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: Trump's Boycott Of The FOX Debate; Huge Error Or Smart Move?


GrEaT sAtAn"S gIrLfRiEnD : Well, reckon we'll find out very soon. On it's face, it shows Trump doesn't need to dance to the media's tune. Yet it actually helped and hurt. The other candidates at the debate answered the same jazz we've heard before, and nothing new was set up. In that regards, hanging out with vets was better optics.

On the other hand retail politics - selling people on you - could be a detriment by not showing up.

Bookworm Room :Had Trump gone to the debate, he would have been one among many. By boycotting the debate, he created another story about himself. Trump understands the old Hollywood adage that all publicity is good publicity. He's aiming for product recognition, and the media is providing it.

My hope, with Trump out of the debate, was that it would be a substantive debate, rather than a gladiator's fight aimed at ratings rather than informing the public. I was really saddened that Fox decided to go the gladiator route anyway, using out-of-context videos as "gotchas" against Rubio and Cruz, without giving them adequate time to respond. It was ugly TV and I turned it off because I wasn't learning anything.

JoshuaPundit : I pretty much said what I had to say about this here. I think this actually helped Donald Trump no matter who wins in Iowa. We'll see what happens on caucus day.

 Iowa has a very unique setup, a new blizzard is forecast for tomorrow and in the end it just amounts to whose supporters brave the weather and show up.

Laura Rambeau Lee,Right Reason : Trump’s boycotting of the Fox debate neither hurt nor helped his campaign. Those who support him will continue to support him and those who oppose him still do. It will be interesting to see how he does in the Iowa caucus this week.

 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?

Trump Skipping The FOX Debate - Bad Mistake Or Good Move?

By now,the results of the Trumpless debate are pretty much in, and of course, the pundits are having a wonderful time with it.

To summarize briefly, Donald Trump had a major problem in FOX including Megyn Kelly as a moderator in the upcoming debate because he felt, with some justification she didn't treat him fairly the last time. So he simply said he was bailing unless FOX replaced her as moderator, and when they refused, he followed through and simply didn't appear.

This sort of thing is unheard of, although it shouldn't be. If after the first debate, Mitt Romney had simply said that he felt the country had gotten a good look at the differences between he and President Obama and he felt no need to further embarrass the president, he might be in the White House right now. Ditto if he had insisted on a more neutral moderator instead of the obviously partisan Candy Crowley for the second one.

What we saw here, as Rush Limbaugh cleverly noted is a glimpse of how Donald Trump negotiates, something that is normally not on public view. Right up to the end, he had Roger Aisles and FOX doing their best to get him to reconsider, because they knew what a Trump absence would do to ratings. But ultimately, they refused his final offer of $5 million donated to charity, which he probably knew they would anyway.

So was it a shrewd move on Donald Trump's part or a big mistake?

We'll see for sure Monday night, but personally I think it was a win-win for Trump.

I saw both the FOX debates and Donald Trump's charity event. The difference was extraordinary.

Fox chose to make their debate a slug fest between the candidates rather than an informative debate. Megyn Kelly in particular, along with Democrat Chris Wallace went out of their way to make the thing a circus, posing questions to the candidates designed to make them fight with each other. With Trump gone, the focus was on the other candidates. That emphasized the difference between Donald Trump and the other front runners, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. They didn't come out well as all.

When the Fox News moderators showed Marco Rubio on video repeatedly saying he wouldn’t support amnesty, and then Megyn Kelly pointed out that he went on to be a major part of the Gang of Eight GOP amnesty group, Rubio, smarmy as he is had a real deer in the headlights moment. It got especially bad when Jeb Bush pointed out that not only did Rubio support the amnesty bill, but went on to say on national TV that Rubio asked him to support it, and that Bush did so because he agreed with the Gang of Eight bill. Governor Bush also called Senator Rubio a coward at least twice for attempting to retreat from his support of amnesty for illegal migrants.

Video of Senator Ted Cruz supposedly supporting the Gang of Eight bill also was played. Cruz did his best to squirm out of that, but it involved a complex explanation of amendments that I'm not sure many viewers were fully able to follow. The attacks from Rubio and the others seeking to get into the top tier definite didn't help Cruz. As a whole, the debates were boring and barely watchable.

Donald Trump's event for disabled veterans and those suffering from PTSD and other problems was a whole different item.

For one thing, the contrast in the energy level was amazing. While the FOX debate was sour and fairly negative, the Trump event was a live wire, even before the candidate came onstage. In contrast to the collection of elites on FOX, Trump's event, put together on 24 hour notice featured real people, the sort of folks the average Iowan could identify with.

Held at the auditorium of Drake University, the event attracted hundreds of people whom waited on line in the bitter cold. Even Donald Trump seemed surprised the turnout on such short notice. "Look at all the cameras," he said. "This is like the Academy Awards."

And of course, there were the veterans. Trump did something I thought was an extremely astute move, making the event all about them. When he first hit the stage, he dropped his usual speech and talked all about the disabled veterans this event was designed to help, something that resonates in a lot of hearts given the recent VA scandals. when he read off the names of his wealthy friends who had pledged contributions, topped by a $1 million check of his own, the place simply erupted.

After that he yielded the stage to Staff Sgt. John Wayne Walding, who lost a leg to sniper fire in Afghanistan and had the crowd's total attention as he spoke movingly about his own struggles to cope and the fact that an estimated 22 veterans per day commit suicide. Walding tells his story in a book I recommend,  No Way Out: A Story of Valor in the Mountains of Afghanistan. Walding also shared several stories of Trump’s kindness toward himself and other veterans.Two other Marine vets came on stage after Walding finished and spoke on the same theme..after which they presented Donald Trump with an honor ring from their veterans group representing the number of veterans who commit suicide after returning home.

Also speaking at the event were two other candidates running for the nomination, Mike Huckabee.  and Rick Santorum.They weren't there to endorse Trump so much as they were there to endorse what he was doing that night.



Trump ended the event not so much with his usual campaign speech but with a speech mostly focused on the problems veterans have faced when returning from Iraq and Afghanistan -- inadequate healthcare, problems finding housing, drug abuse, and mental health issues.

"Our vets are being mistreated. Illegal immigrants are treated better in many cases than our vets and it's not going to happen any more. It's not going to happen any more," he said.

Of course, there was another message being sent as well.

Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump

An unbelievable night in Iowa with our great Veterans! We raised $6,000,000.00 while the politicians talked! #GOPDebate

7:54 PM - 28 Jan 2016

• 10,170 10,170 Retweets
• 23,999

Exactly. And I think a lot of people got the same message.

According to the latest polls, Trump has increased his lead over the second place Ted Cruz to six points. It wasn't so long ago that Cruz had the lead by a decent amount. 

The Iowa caucus is a unique event, where turnout is everything. The weather forecast for tomorrow shows there's a chance of a blizzard, which could definitely effect turnout.

The usual turnout for these things is between 133,000 and 137,000. A smaller turnout favors Ted Cruz, whose campaign claims they have a guaranteed 7,000 votes. A larger one, say over 150,000 or so favors Donald Trump, many of whose supporters are said to be first time caucus goers.

No matter how Iowa turns out, Trump did himself no harm by skipping the FOX debate, and may very well have done himself some good. Simply based on what I saw, I think quite a few Trump supporters are going to caucus and vote whatever the weather does.

President Obama's Choice Of Which U.S. Mosque To Visit Is No Mystery

President Obama is making a highly publicized visit to the Islamic Society of Baltimore , his first to a mosque located in the U.S.

The purpose of the trip, according to the White House, is to “celebrate the contributions Muslim Americans make to our nation and reaffirm the importance of religious freedom to our way of life.”

Odd words, considering how the White House is facing court challenges over alleged violations of First Amendment freedom of religion rights for Christians, and Catholics in particular. But even more interesting is that few people are attempting to answer the question, why this particular mosque?

It's quite simple, really.

If one looks at President Obama's policies, there's one major common thread - the empowerment and support for Islamists, whether it is in Egypt, Libya, Gaza, Tunisia or at home in the U.S.

The ISB mosque is one of a large number of mosques controlled by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), a Muslim brotherhood front group named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2008 Holy Land Foundation terror case. Several executives with that organization were convicted of illegally laundering money to aid Hamas, and the only reason the group wasn't formally indicted along with CAIR and a number of other Muslim Brotherhood front groups was because President Obama had his attorney general, Eric Holder file 'disinclination to prosecute' motions to protect them and terminate what would have been certain convictions and jail terms for most of the leaders of these groups for money laundering, perjury and material aid to terrorism.

The ISB itself has a long history of radicalism. Its imam for fifteen years, Mohammad Adam el-Sheikh came to the ISB mosque and served as imam from 1983 to 1989 and from 1994 to 2003 after long membership in the Muslim Brotherhood in the Sudan in the 1970s. He left in 2003 to co-found the Muslim American Society, a group based in Virginia that is another front group controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood. It's mosque, where el-Sheikh served as imam is the Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church.

Dar al-Hijrah's previous imam was none other than Anwar al-Awlaki . He was a notorious American al-Qaeda operative who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2011 and helped radicalize, among others, U.S. Army major Nidal Hasan, who murdered 13 people at Fort Hood Texas in November of 2009.

El-Sheikh also has had nothing but praise and excuses for Palestinians who commit terrorist atrocities against Israelis.

And even more interesting is the fact that a president who claims to be outspokenly in favor of gay rights would visit a mosque where the resident scholar, Yaseen Shaikh is openly against any tolerance for homosexuality according to a YouTube video he published.

There are any number of mosques without this baggage available, and the White House certainly had the ability to find one. But the fact remains that President Obama chose the Islamic Society Of Baltimore, and there's no real mystery here as to the message he's sending by picking that particular one.

Crossposted at The Times of Israel

The Council Has Spoken!! Our Watcher's Council Results

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

“I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.” - President James Madison

"A republic, if you can keep it" - Benjamin Franklin

“Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.” - Reinhold Neibuhr



This week we had tie in the Council category between Bookworm Room's The single most important election issue in 2016: The Constitution!
and Joshuapundit's -The Clinton E-Mail Scandal And How It Will End .

As Watcher, I get paid the big bucks to break ties like this.

My piece detailed exactly how Mrs. Clinton broke the law, endangered national security and discussed where the current FBI investigation is as well as my prediction for how this all will end, which may startle some people!

Andrea's articulate and well written article explored in great detail her belief that the real issue in the coming election is strengthening our Constitution. Not only did I vote for it myself, but she definitely wins the honors this week as far as I'm concerned! Here's a slice:

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
— Presidential Oath of Office

In 1992, James Carville famously hung a sign in Bill Clinton’s Little Rock campaign headquarters pointing campaign workers to Clinton’s most powerful campaign message: “The economy, stupid!” Today, in the run-up to the 2016 election, conservatives need to keep hammering their most powerful campaign message: “The Constitution!” After eight years of Obama’s savage disregard for the Constitution, the 2016 election is America’s last chance to return our Constitution to its rightful, and central, place in American politics.

In this essay, I hope to establish three things:

I. That the Constitution is a unique document that empowers individuals over government, making it the bedrock of American exceptionalism;

II. That Barack Obama has significantly damaged the Constitution’s preeminent position in American government, creating a dangerous imbalance in favor of an unlimited executive backed by a powerful, all-encompassing bureaucracy; and

III. That we must choose our next president very carefully in order to redress this imbalance lest we wake up one morning to find ourselves living under a permanent de facto dictatorship.

Part I

After winning the Revolution, America’s Founding Fathers had the unique opportunity to build a government from the ground up. Being educated men, they had several models from which to choose. They could replicate the British model, with its monarch, hereditary aristocracy, and House of Commons. They could attempt a commune of the type that the Pilgrims tried in 1620. Although that attempt almost killed the Pilgrims, the utopian impulse towards communism has continued to tempt revolutionaries ever since. They could try to put Plato’s Republic into effect and appoint themselves as the ideal Platonic ruling elite. They could even try the Judges approach from the Old Testament. They rejected all of those models.

The Founders’ genius lay in recognizing that all previous government models had a pyramidal structure, with power held only at the very top of the pyramid. This was certainly true of Britain which, beginning in 1066, had vested complete power in a hereditary monarchy. It took centuries for the aristocracy and landed gentry to chip away at the monarch’s authority, starting with the Magna Carta (1215) and finishing with the Glorious Revolution’s Bill of Rights (1689).

Ironically, thanks to the American Revolution, Parliament concluded that the British Bill of Rights, many parts of which the Founders incorporated wholesale into our Constitution, limited only the monarchy, but had no controlling effect on Parliament. In other words, Britain emerged from the American Revolution as pyramidal as before, only with Parliament at the top of the pyramid, not the King.

This same pyramidal pattern held true for all other governments the Founder’s studied. No matter the outcome of history’s wars and revolutions, government’s fundamental structure remained unchanged: Power resided at the top, with those citizens excluded from power enjoying limited freedoms and privileges — and those only at the whim of the ruling class. The Founders would therefore have been unsurprised to see that the 20th century’s communist revolutions, despite destroying the old ruling classes entirely, created governments no different from the ones they replaced – power was at the top, with the apparatchiks, and the people groaned in bloody servitude under what was just another self-appointed elite.

To prevent the tyranny of the elite – any elite – the Founders created an entirely new government structure, one never before tried: They broke governing authority into its constituent parts (legislative, executive, and judicial) and divvied that power amongst three different, but equal, branches of government. No government branch could act alone. The theory was that each branch would guard its power jealously, thereby keeping either of the other two branches from becoming dominant. These “checks and balances,” integral to our Founder’s design, were an elegant example of the old idea that it takes two thieves (or, in this case, three) to keep an honest bargain.

The Founders also went beyond creating a radically new government structure that diffused power throughout government to prevent the inevitable tyranny that flows from vesting all government power in one person or collective. In 1791, they enacted the Bill of Rights.

The philosophy underlying our Bill of Rights is not found in the Constitution itself, but in the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Throughout history, many have called themselves revolutionaries, but they are invariably just as power-hungry as the governments they’ve overthrown. The Founders, however, were true revolutionaries. Their new paradigm holds that a majority of citizens can voluntarily elect a legislature and abide by its laws; accept the executive’s enforcement of the laws (including punishments); and allow the judiciary to interpret the laws, if they have concluded that a particular set of political figures will best protect their life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. If, however, the majority of the people conclude that this same government no longer serves them well, they may reconstitute the government to make it more to their liking.

Being cautious men, and with Parliament’s gutting of the British Bill of Rights as a grim example of government overreach, the Founders did not feel that just a Declaration and Constitution were adequate protections for individuals. In 1791, the Founders enacted the Bill of Rights, explicitly spelling out the inviolate sphere of rights that each person possesses independent of government. Ironically, many of the rights are verbatim restatements of the same British Bill of Rights that Parliament had only recently nullified.

America’s Bill of Rights represents a complete inversion of the traditional power pyramid. In America, the governing power rests, not at the highest point of the pyramid, with kings and politicians, but in its base, which is comprised of individuals who possess inherent, unalienable rights. Because these individual rights are so important, they bear repeating here:

Amendment 1 – Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment 2 – Right to Bear Arms.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment 3 – Quartering of Soldiers.

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment 4 – Search and Seizure.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment 5 – Trial and Punishment, Compensation for Takings.

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment 6 – Right to Speedy Trial, Confrontation of Witnesses.

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Amendment 7 – Trial by Jury in Civil Cases.

In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment 8 – Cruel and Unusual Punishment.

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment 9 – Construction of Constitution.

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment 10 – Powers of the States and People.

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Much more at the link.

In our non-Council category, the winner was Doug Ibendahl at Republican News Watch withNational Review just handed Donald Trump the Election submitted by Puma By Design.

Mr. Ibendahl, a Chicago attorney was former General Counsel of the Illinois Republican Party. His contention is the the National Review,Weekly Standard and various movement conservatives HQ'd in New York City and Washington who just gratuitously attacked Donald Trump did him a huge favor by emphasizing his bona fides as an independent outsider unconnected to the GOP establishment. Based on the polls, he may very well be right.



Here are this week’s full results. The Noisy Room was unable to vote this week, but was not subject to the usual 2/3 vote penalty for not voting:

Council Winners

• *First place with 3 1/3 votes!-Bookworm Room – The single most important election issue in 2016: The Constitution!


• Second place with 2 1/3 votes –Joshuapundit-The Clinton E-Mail Scandal And How It Will End


• Third place with 1 2/3 votes –Puma By Design – FDNY Comm Despatches Two Crews to Shovel His Walkway as the Rest of NYC Waits (Revised)to Get Plowed Out


• Fourth place *t* with 1 1/3 votes –Fausta's Blog – Colombia: Good luck with the U.N. monitors


• Fourth place *t* with 1 1/3 votes –The Daley Gator – Why YES, some cultures ARE better than others


• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote –VA Right! - Analysis: GOP Nominations 2008, 2012 and 2016 – Polls vs Actual Outcome + My Prediction


• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote –The Razor – The Detectorists – An Unearthed Gem of British Comedy
  


• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote – Nice Deb – El Chapo Found With ‘Fast and Furious’ Rifle Capable of Taking Down Helicopter

li>Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote – The Independent Sentinel – White House Pushes for Tyranny in 2016

Non-Council Winners

• First place with 2 votes! –Doug Ibendahl/Republican News Watch –National Review just handed Donald Trump the Election submitted by Puma By Design


• Second place *t* with 1 2/3 votes –Angelo Codevilla/ American Spectator – America's Ruling Class - And The Perils of Revolution submitted by Joshuapundit


• Second place *t* with 1 2/3 votes – Sultan Knish–Conservatism Isn't Dead submitted by The Independent Sentinel


• Third place with 1 1/3 votes –National Review -Conservatives Against Trump submitted by Nice Deb


• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote –Bruce Kessler/Maggie's Farm-Ted Cruzsubmitted by Bookworm Room


• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote –Twitchy.Com – Latest IG report on Hillary Clinton’s emails is DEVASTATING submitted by The Watcher


• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 votes -David Nye/Real Clear Defense – 5 Legendary Battleships from U.S. History submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD


• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 votes -Kausfiles – 8 Theories in Search of an Establishment submitted by The Glittering Eye


• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 votes -Nate Silver/Five Thirty Eight.Com – One Big Reason To Be Less Skeptical Of Trump submitted by The Watcher



• Sixth place with 1/3 vote -Mexidata – Argentina's Ambitious New Security Plan shows Real Promise submitted by Fausta's Blog

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?

Our Weasel Of The Week!!

Yes,it's time to present this week's Statuette of Shame, The Golden Weasel!!

Every Tuesday, the Council nominates some of the slimiest, most despicable characters in public life for some deed of evil, cowardice or corruption they’ve performed. Then we vote to single out one particular Weasel for special mention, to whom we award the statuette of shame, our special, 100% plastic Golden Weasel. This week's nominees were all slimy and despicable, but the votes are in and we have our winner...the envelope please...


Morally Deficient Harris County, Texas DA Devon Anderson!

Nice Deb : I nominate the Houston Grand Jury for indicting the messengers instead of the actual offenders, in the Planned Parenthood investigation.

A Harris County grand jury investigating allegations that a Planned Parenthood clinic in Houston illegally sold the tissue of aborted fetuses has cleared the organization of wrongdoing and instead indicted two anti-abortion activists behind the undercover videos that sparked the probe.

Secret videographers David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt were both indicted on charges of tampering with a governmental record, a second-degree felony that carries a punishment of up to 20 years in prison. Daleiden received an additional misdemeanor indictment under the law prohibiting the purchase and sale of human organs.

Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson announced the surprising indictments Monday after a two-month investigation.

Shocking, but maybe not too surprising considering Harris County's reputation for political shenanigans. Former Texas Governor Rick Perry was also indicted by a Harris County grand jury, it so happens.

Talk about shooting the messengers! And as we all know from the videos, the whistle blowers didn't actually buy baby parts, but merely made and filmed Planned Parenthood's willingness to sell to them. And how exactly does that clear the local Planned Parenthood of wrongdoing?

The tampering with records charge is based on false IDs David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt presented to the Planned Parenthood officials.

Harris County consists of Houston and the surrounding areas. A fair potion of the city itself is Democrat, while the rest of it and the outlying areas are strongly Republican. If this Grand Jury was assembled in Houston, that could explain a great deal.

Another thing that explains a lot is the presence of one Lauren Reeder as a prominent prosecutor in the Harris County District Attorney’s criminal family law division. Reeder is listed as a non-compensated “Director” on the 990 Tax Form for 2014 filed by Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast and has been an active fundraiser for Planned Parenthood for years. She is also very close personally to DA Anderson.

Because of the appearance of a conflict of of interest, the Center for Medical Progress, the organization that took and released the videos has asked for a special prosecutor. Operation Rescue President Troy Newman, who also serves on the Board of the Center for Medical Progress is calling for a new investigation by an independent prosecutor, and others have pointed out the First Amendment implications.And they might just get what they want.

The State of Texas is still conducting active, additional investigations into Planned Parenthood's baby parts trafficking. To quote Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, “The fact remains that the videos exposed the horrific nature of abortion and the shameful disregard for human life of the abortion industry.”

 Well, there it is.

Check back next Tuesday to see who next week's nominees for Weasel of the Week are!

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?

Our Watcher's Council Nominations - Hitting The Jackpot Edition

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:

We regret to announce the departure of our friend Brent of The Right Planet, who resigned his seat on the Council and is taking a hiatus from writing to concentrate on other matters. We all wish him well and will miss him, although we look forward to him continuing to be a valued part of the Council community.

That also means that there is now a vacant seat on the Watcher's Council. Interested parties should leave their site names and contact info (which of course won't be published) in the comments section.


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

• Joshuapundit-The Clinton E-Mail Scandal And How It Will End


• Bookworm Room – The single most important election issue in 2016: The Constitution!


• Fausta's Blog – Colombia: Good luck with the U.N. monitors


• Puma By Design – FDNY Comm Despatches Two Crews to Shovel His Walkway as the Rest of NYC Waits (Revised)to Get Plowed Out


• GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – Audie Murphy Day


• The Daley Gator – Why YES, some cultures ARE better than others


• The Noisy Room – Ted Cruz: “We Have Got The Drudge Report,” The Mainstream Media “Stranglehold” Is Over


• VA Right! - Analysis: GOP Nominations 2008, 2012 and 2016 – Polls vs Actual Outcome + My Prediction


• The Independent Sentinel – White House Pushes for Tyranny in 2016


• The Razor – The Detectorists – An Unearthed Gem of British Comedy
  


• The Glittering Eye -Taking Sides


• Nice Deb – El Chapo Found With ‘Fast and Furious’ Rifle Capable of Taking Down Helicopter

Non-Council Submissions

• Angelo Codevilla/ American Spectator – America's Ruling Class - And The Perils of Revolution submitted by Joshuapundit


• Bruce Kessler/Maggie's Farm-Ted Cruzsubmitted by Bookworm Room


• Mexidata – Argentina's Ambitious New Security Plan shows Real Promise submitted by Fausta's Blog


• Doug Ibendahl/Republican News Watch –National Review just handed Donald Trump the Election submitted by Puma By Design


• David Nye/Real Clear Defense – 5 Legendary Battleships from U.S. History submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD


• Moonbattery –Trump Emphasizes His Ability to Work With Democrats submitted by The Daley Gator


• Tech Times – AI Politics: How An Artificial Intelligence Algorithm Can Write Political Speechessubmitted by VA Right!


• Sultan Knish–Conservatism Isn't Dead submitted by The Independent Sentinel


• Shikha Dalmia/Reason.Com –Did ISIS Make A Bad Move By Attacking Istanbul? submitted by The Razor


• Kausfiles – 8 Theories in Search of an Establishment submitted by The Glittering Eye


• National Review -Conservatives Against Trump submitted by Nice Deb


• Nate Silver/Five Thirty Eight.Com – One Big Reason To Be Less Skeptical Of Trump submitted by The Watcher


• Twitchy.Com – Latest IG report on Hillary Clinton’s emails is DEVASTATING submitted by The Watcher

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!

Our Weasel Of The Week Nominees!!

It's time once again for the Watcher's Council's 'Weasel Of The Week' nominations, where we pick our choices to compete for the award of 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....

 
 The Goons Who Work For Venezuela's Fascist Regime


Fausta's Blog: The Venezuelan prison guards who stripped-searched and molested the wife, and the mother, of political prisoner Leopoldo Lopez

Lopez's mother was molested and searched in the presence of her two young grandchildren.

She was ordered to remove her clothes in front of her grandchildren, six-year-old Manuela and Leopoldo Santiago, aged two.


Words fail.



Left Wing Wack Job Adam H. Johnson!

 The Independent Sentinel: I have to say Adam H Johnson who writes for the gutter crawling rag, Alternet, is one of the worst weasels I've come across.

Check out this tweet, one of many along the same lines and tell me he's not a weasel of the lowest order.


 
 Trump Campaign Spokeswoman Katrina Pierson!

 The Daley Gator : My Nominee is Katrina Pierson, Trump Campaign spokesperson. I knew that when presidential nominee shyster Donald Trump hired campaign spokes-shyster Katrina Pierson that she would be trouble for him.



Morally Deficient Harris County, Texas DA Devon Anderson!

Nice Deb : I nominate the Houston Grand Jury for indicting the messengers instead of the actual offenders, in the Planned Parenthood investigation.

A Harris County grand jury investigating allegations that a Planned Parenthood clinic in Houston illegally sold the tissue of aborted fetuses has cleared the organization of wrongdoing and instead indicted two anti-abortion activists behind the undercover videos that sparked the probe.

Secret videographers David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt were both indicted on charges of tampering with a governmental record, a second-degree felony that carries a punishment of up to 20 years in prison. Daleiden received an additional misdemeanor indictment under the law prohibiting the purchase and sale of human organs.

Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson announced the surprising indictments Monday after a two-month investigation.

Shocking, but maybe not too surprising considering Harris County's reputation for political shenanigans. Former Texas Governor Rick Perry was also indicted by a Harris County grand jury, it so happens.

  Well, there it is. What a despicable group of  Weasels...ANY OF THEM COULD WIN! 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?

Forum: Is The Movement Conservative's Attack On Donald Trump Justified?

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: Is The Movement Conservative's Attack On Donald Trump Justified?


The Independent Sentinel: It's justified because they have a right to their opinion and they back it up. I am not saying I agree or disagree, but these attacks on people for expressing their opinions is the same kind of intolerance we see from the leftists.

The problem is National Review Online gave up all semblance of neutrality.

The Daley Gator : Hell yes it is justified. We want to nominate, then elect the most principled person running. And every candidate should understand, as should their supporters, that their candidates record will be looked at. The very reason I do not support, or trust Trump is his lack of any Conservative record, as well as his lack of consistent, principled positions. Throw in his penchant for being about himself, and his nasty habit of attacking anyone who dares disagree with him, and there you go. And do not even get me started on this birther crap!


GrEaT sAtAn"S gIrLfRiEnD:Justified? Well, it is politics. And cats have a right to be heard with their caveats and concerns. National Review's issue on Trump featuring tons of real live conservatives from way back is an interesting example. Nearly 2 dozen bits about how Trump is at best semi conservative - at worst a full blown progressive liberal in sheep's clothing.

The effect of that issue may have been blunted by GOV Palin. The commentary on these articles online is all over the place. Besotted paleo cons, grass roots conservatives, new time conservatives some neoconservatives, plenty of Paul Bots etc.

It's justified, sure. The real quiz is - will it be effective? Will people switch over to the half Canadian guy instead? Or go all the way the Rubio way? Or will people gird their loins, stick with the cat that brought them to the hoopla so to speak?

We are all fixing to find out!

JoshuaPundit : Allowable? Certainly. Justified? That's a different question entirely.

This jihad against Donald Trump wasn't sparked by honest disagreement. It was sparked by supposedly irrelevant Sarah Palin endorsing Trump. Yeah, she's irrelevant all right.  Governor Palin is so irrelevant that the panicked phone calls and e-mails went out the same night to muster the  troops to put this together. And so Donald Trump is now referred to by the so-called GOP intelligentsia  as 'Mussolini, ' a 'nativist,'  'a two-bit  Caesar, ' America's 'Moqtada al-Sadr' and of course, 'not a conservative.'

And make no mistake, Ted Cruz is a target as well. They're just more subtle about it so far, mainly focused on rumors on how many Republican figures would refuse to support him and would even vote for Mrs. Clinton if he were the nominee. But expect those to get even more pronounced, especially if Senator Cruz should squeak out a win in Iowa. Both Cruz and Trump are not part of the elitist establishment, and they need to be removed so a reliable product can be substituted.

This makes even more sense if you do a little research and find out that the majority of the GOP intelligentsia writing this tripe support - wait for it - Marco Rubio, who strongly favors amnesty and increased H1b visas to put more Americans out of work and please the donor class. Magazines like the National Review and the Weekly Standard as well as a lot of the foundations and think tanks many of these people draw a paycheck from depend heavily on contributions from the elitist donor class, you see. Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina have the same views, which is why they also had major support from these people going in until they realized neither could cut it on the national stage...which is when they began touting Marco Rubio, who they now have decided to deem a 'conservative.'

And weren't these the same people who told us how 'conservative' Bob Dole, the Bushes, John McCain and Mitt Romney were?   You bet it was.

I trust Governor Palin's instincts a lot more than I trust the willing galley slaves at NRO and elsewhere,thanks. Unlike these so-called arbiters of 'conservatism' she understands that what we're seeing here is a total remaking of what was the GOP, one that will actually represent the interests and concerns of the people who vote for them.

Do I have reservations about Donald Trump? Of course I do, just as I have reservations about Ted Cruz, the only other candidate I'd consider voting for. His insulting the people of New York and attempting to mine an 18-year old interview of Trump's for ammo is one of the silliest unforced errors I've seen in politics for a long time. But that's just the usual campaign fracas. I wouldn't be surprised to see them running together if Trump gets the nomination.

The real battle is between the elite of the GOP  establishment and the revolution emerging from what Angelo Cordavilla presciently called 'the Country Class'  which cuts across all the lines of party, gender, economic class, race and locale. Their agenda involves saving  the country and their liberty from what they see as a death spiral, and they could care less about what some think tank inhabitant labels it as.I couldn't agree with them more.

After being cynically lied to in 2014 ('Oh, just give us the senate and we'll stop Obama's agenda') they're not buying the merchandise anymore, having found out that the so-called lesser of two evils is cut from the same cloth. Donald Trump might be lying, but they know anyone backed by the GOP establishment definitely is. And keep in mind that if either Ted Cruz or Donald Trump gets the Republican nomination, the GOP elite will do everything they can to undermine them, even if it means putting Mrs. Clinton in the White House.

And after this, we obviously know where the Weekly Standard and NRO stand, don't we? They certainly have the right to pick sides to feather their own nests, but I based on what I'm hearing and seeing, that's going to come with some unpleasant and very well deserved consequences.


 Greg @ Rhymes With Right : Of course it is. It was accurate and based upon principle.

What's more, it is essential that we who are conservatives act now to begin the work of preserving conservatism in some form or fashion in the face of the impending catastrophe that a Trump nomination would be.

If Trump gets the nomination, America will have a new political alignment -- the nationalist progressive GOP and the internationalist progressive Democrats. There will be no conservative alternative that supports, protects, and defends the Constitution at the ballot box.

If conservatism is to survive -- either in temporary exile from electoral politics or in the form of a new conservative party to replace the formerly conservative GOP -- we must lay the groundwork now. National Review's effort should therefore be seen as akin to Noah building the Ark.

Laura Rambeau Lee,Right Reason : Yes, the attacks are justified. Donald Trump is not a conservative. He is a populist capitalizing on the anger in the country over what the current and previous administrations have done to weaken America. Trump rambles when he speaks and says nothing of real substance. His use of vulgarity proves he is not a person qualified to be president. Just this week he stated he could go out and shoot someone on Fifth Avenue in New York and he would not lose a supporter. That is a scary statement; looking both at the man who voiced it and at the people who are captivated by this cult of personality. I am hoping at the next debate the moderators ask good questions drilling down the details of all of the candidates’ proposals and platforms. Some pointed questions about the constitutional role of the president and the rule of law should be asked of all of the candidates. At this critical time in our nation’s history we need someone who fully comprehends the real challenges of the position to which they aspire and their understanding of the constitutional limitations on the office of the President of the United States of America.

The more Republican "establishment" types come out against Ted Cruz, the more I believe he threatens their POWER. Because ultimately it is all about power for both parties, and right now the Republicans think they have a chance to have complete power over the presidency, House, and Senate. This leads me to believe Cruz is who we need to nominate and elect to upset the balance of power in DC and restore it to the people.

 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?

The Clinton E-Mail Scandal And How It Will End

The media are doing their best to keep it very much under the wire, but the Clinton e-mail scandal has been heating up to the point it can't be ignored much longer.

Intelligence Community Inspector General I. Charles McCullough III just made an absolutely damning  report to the intelligence committees in the House and Senate to the effect that in addition to 1,340 emails designated “classified” stored on her private home brew server, Mrs. Clinton actually had emails on her server that contained intelligence from “special access programs,” which is “a level of classification beyond even ‘top secret’.”

“To date, I have received two sworn declarations from one [intelligence community] element. These declarations cover several dozen emails containing classified information determined by the IC element to be at the confidential, secret, and top secret/sap levels,” said the IG letter to lawmakers with oversight of the intelligence community and State Department. “According to the declarant, these documents contain information derived from classified IC element sources.”

'Special Access' is highly restricted to 'need to know' high level persons  because exposure of the intelligence could reveal the source. That could derail an entire method of intel collection, or put an important source in mortal danger. Even the very news that Mrs. Clinton was doing this on an unsecured private server  almost certainly damaged U.S. intelligence collection. Would you provide intel to the U.S. if you found out Mrs. Clinton had been risking your life in this fashion just to pad her corrupt foundation with a few more dishonest dollars, or hide some of her more questionable doings? Would you even remotely consider it?

And yes, the information was definitely hacked.

 Mrs. Clinton at this point is probably  guilty of many breeches of State Department policy as well as outright felonies according to the federal laws covering these matters...for instance, to cite  18 US Code 107:

"Concealment, Removal, or Mutilation Generally: Whoever willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, or destroys, or attempts to do so, or, with intent to do so takes and carries away any record, proceeding, map, book, paper, document, or other thing, filed or deposited with any clerk or officer of any court of the United States, or in any public office, or with any judicial or public officer of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both. ... and shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States."

There's also 18 U.S. Code § 793 – Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information and quite possibly 18 U.S. Code § 798 – Disclosure of classified information.

The individual who transmits and the individual who receives and retains TS/SCI information on a private server jointly share the guilt for risking the compromise and exploitation of the information by hostile intelligence services. Maximum sentence is a fine and ten years in prison.

That's especially interesting since (a) it could involve Mrs. Clinton's close associates Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills and (b) it's now come out that Mrs. Clinton had a second private server, not the one in Chappaqua, but another satellite server located at the Clinton Family Foundation. Since whatever was on Hillary's server was thus accessible by Bill Clinton and other people at the Clinton Foundation, and since both contained data and documents top secret and higher in classification, whomever accessed this data could likewise be indicted and prosecuted. We also have to wonder whether this satellite server in the Clinton Foundation was used to traffick intel and classified information to foreign powers or other interested customers for 'donations.' Would that surprise anyone, knowing what we know now?

18 U.S. Code § 1505 – Obstruction of proceedings before departments, agencies, and committees. Given the stonewalling and probable perjury based on Mrs. Clinton's various statements before congressional committees, this could easily apply. Even more damaging, it's now been proven that dozens of senior State Department officials knew about Mrs. Clinton's illegal private server and not only covered up for her but openly lied to groups requesting lawful and legitimate  Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) compliance. 

According to this law if it can be proven that an accused destroyed, withheld, or concealed the existence of official records being sought under subpoena by a committee of Congress, that accused can be convicted of obstruction of justice under 18 U.S. Code § 1505. The prohibited conduct includes destruction, concealment and withholding of documents, thereby impeding or obstructing the committee’s rightful pursuit of information. The all important  mens rea (proof of intent) is knowledge of the committee’s interest in obtaining the official records in the accused’s custody or control. Violation of 18 U.S. Code § 1505 is a felony with a maximum prison term of five years.

There's a lot more, but I think you get the picture. I merely want to point out how deep the investigations have already gone and what's been discovered, since the media would rather you didn't know.

So moving on, where is this likely to end up?

As I said before on these pages,the FBI and the Justice Department work for President Obama. That the Justice department under the president's carefully chosen racialist Attorney General Loretta Lynch would certainly  go along in simply ignoring all this. But the FBI is a different matter. Whatever their flaws, the FBI has a culture of being incorruptible, of having no tolerance for lawbreaking no matter who's involved.

James Comey, the current head of the Bureau has a long history of the same sort of ethics. He helped prosecute the Gambino crime family, was the lead prosecutor in the case concerning the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia and served as assistant attorney general during the Bush administration. He even stood up to President Bush and was willing to resign after he was pressured as acting Attorney General (John Ashcroft had been hospitalized) to "certify" the legality of certain aspects of the NSA surveillance program at that time.

As bad as this scandal is getting, I'm fairly certain that Comey and the FBI will recommend prosecution to Obama's Attorney General. And I  doubt that letting Mrs Clinton slide on this blatant lawbreaking wouldn't be met by resignations from James Comey and a number of other FBI personnel. That would shine a spotlight on all this that would not benefit Mrs. Clinton's political ambitions at all.

While President Barack Hussein Obama has no love for the Clintons and would undoubtedly giggle uncontrollably at the idea of one or both Clintons doing the perp walk, he likewise has problems with the scenario of her being  prosecuted. Can you imagine what could happen if Mrs. Clinton were indicted and decided to trade immunity for everything she knows about Fast and Furious, Benghazi and numerous other scandals she has to have been privy to? Just imagine if she once heard the president bragging about how he was using the IRS as a political weapon! There may even be things the renowned Clinton opposition research uncovered about Barack Obama as long ago as 2008 that this president would rather the American public remains ignorant about. At this point, he's not facing re-election but has his legacy to consider, and Mrs. Clinton could do quite a bit to destroy that were she so inclined.

But if he has the Department of Justice ignore this, President Obama risks spotlighting this in a way that further tarnishes what is already the worst presidency in U.S. history in a way not even some of the True Believers will be able to stomach. And it also risks reminding the electorate at a crucial time who Hillary Clinton is, to the point that she gets beat like a gong come election time.

But if he allows her to be prosecuted, he's playing with dynamite that could explode in his face painfully as she deals for her freedom. Not only that, but he has to deal with Bernie Sanders as the nominee, who isn't under his control at this point and who would likely get slaughtered in the general election.

What to do?

So I'm going to make a prediction here. President Obama will not prosecute her, but will have a Mob-style sit down and  make a deal with the Clintons. If Mrs. Clinton ends her campaign and maintains omerta, he will issue her a full pardon for any wrongdoing she might have done "in recognition of her long record of dedicated public service." She'll keep her ill-gotten gains and stay out of jail provided she ends her campaign and keeps her mouth shut.

Once she ends her campaign, the Bernie Sanders problem will be dealt with by having Joe Biden declare his candidacy with the full backing of the White House, Hillary's endorsement and the support of the Democrat super-delegates.

Watch and see if that's not how things turn out.

The Council Has Spoken! Our Watcher's Council Results

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

“If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without blood shed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.” - Sir Winston Churchill

Peace is purchased from strength. It's not purchased from weakness or unilateral retreats. - Benyamin Netanyahu


“Let’s set the record straight. There is no argument over the choice between peace and war, but there is only one guaranteed way you can have peace–and you can have it in the next second–surrender.

Admittedly there is a risk in any course we follow other than this, but every lesson in history tells us that the greater risk lies in appeasement, and this is the specter our well-meaning liberal friends refuse to face–that their policy of accommodation is appeasement, and it gives no choice between peace and war, only between fight and surrender. If we continue to accommodate, continue to back and retreat, eventually we have to face the final demand–the ultimatum. And what then?" - President Ronald Reagan

"Peace, above all things, is to be desired, but blood must sometimes be spilled to obtain it on equable and lasting terms." - President Andrew Jackson




This week's winning essay,Joshuapundit's Barack Obama's Real Legacy - America, Humiliated is about America's recent interaction with Iran. It reveals why everything the Iranian and our State Department told us about the recent incident with two of our naval vessels are outright lies,and in particular why Iran chose that particular time for this incident. Here's a slice:

When is a world power in serious decline? One indication is when neither its leaders, its military or its citizens begin losing the ability to command respect from foreign powers.

Our recent engagement (if you could call it that) with Iran is one shameful indication of such a decline.

The official story out of Washington is that two of our Riverine gunships manned by U.S. Marines somehow accidentally wandered off course into Iranian territory, where one of them broke down. The Iranian IRG naval forces showed up,impounded the two boats and detained our sailors briefly, repaired the damage and after an apology and confession of wrongdoing from the American commanding officer sent them on their way. Much was made of how kindly the Americans were treated by their captors, and how this was a triumph of diplomacy, exactly why the Iran deal needed to be implemented.

Most of the above paragraph is sheer horse manure. Instead, the capture of the two gunboats was deliberately planned and carried out in international waters and designed to send a sharp message the White House, which shamefully collaborated in this farce.

The gunboats were reported taken near Farsi Islands, which is the official naval base for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. According to the White House, these two boats were en route to Kuwait from our base in Bahrain. Since these boats are shallow draft vessels, they could have sailed fairly close to the Arabian side of the Gulf, hugging the shoreline. These are fast boats, and the trip should have taken just over an hour.There was no reason to go anywhere near Iran.



Somehow, these two gunboats wound up 70 miles off course, near an IRG naval base. And captured by what amounts to a couple of small motor boats with a fraction of their armaments and manpower:



Given the advanced radar, GPS systems and skill of the crew, does it seem logical that these two gunboats would err this much? The answer, of course is that they didn't.

Former SEAL Matt Bracken caused a firestorm online with comments on Twitter and Facebook, and what he had to say was corroborated from one of my regular readers who shared his knowledge of these kinds of missions.

For an open-water transit between nations, the course is studied and planned in advance by the leaders of the Riverine Squadron, with specific attention given to staying wide and clear of any hostile nation's claimed territorial waters. The boats are given a complete mechanical check before departure, and they have sufficient fuel to accomplish their mission plus extra. If, for some unexplainable and rare circumstance one boat broke down, the other would tow it, that's why two boats go on these trips and not one! It's called "self-rescue" and it's SOP.

This entire situation is in my area of expertise. I can state with complete confidence that both Iran and our own State Department are lying. The boats did not enter Iranian waters.

What likely happened is that IRG forces intercepted the two gunboats on the normal route between Bahrain and Kuwait, jammed their communications and ordered them back to Farsi Island. The gunboats likely cooperated because they were ordered not to create an incident. And their ROE prohibit them from firing unless they were fired upon by their superiors. It's quite likely the IRG was aware of these rules of engagement.

The IRG stripped the ships of their GPS units and all communications devices and even took the sim cards from the crew's cellphones, so no real record of where the gunboats were actually seized would exist. Then they forced them to pose on their knees, to take pictures that went all over the world. And of course, there was that confession by the captain of violating Iranian waters:



The Iranians made a huge propaganda coup out of this:

A senior Iranian military commander in charge of the country’s Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that the 10 U.S. sailors who were recently captured and subsequently released by the Islamic Republic “started crying after [their] arrest,” according to Persian language comments made during military celebrations this weekend.

Hossein Salami, deputy commander of the IRGC, which is responsible for boarding the U.S. ships and arresting the sailors, claimed in recent remarks, the “American sailors started crying after arrest, but the kindness of our Guard made them feel calm.”

Hossein went on to brag that the incident provides definitive evidence of the Iranian military’s supremacy in the region.

“Since the end of the Second World War, no country has been able to arrest American military personnel,” the commander said, according to an independent translation of his Persian-language remarks made Friday during a “martyrs’ commemoration ceremony” in Isfahan.

“I saw the weakness, cowardice, and fear of American soldiers myself. Despite having all of the weapons and equipment, they surrendered themselves with the first action of the guardians of Islam,” Ahmad Dolabi, an IRGC commander, said in Persian-language remarks at a prayer service in Iran’s Bushehr providence.

“American forces receive the best training and have the most advanced weapons in the world,” he added. “But they did not have the power to confront the Guard due to weakness of faith and belief.”

Much more at the link, including Iran's motivation for doing this when they did.

In our non-Council category, the winner was Michael Totten with North Africa Exports Rape Culture to Germany submitted by The Razor.

Totten is one of the more knowledgeable commentators on the Middle East, simply because he reports what he sees on the ground in person rather than sitting in an air=conditioned hotel while some stringer he hired tells him what the local powers that be want him to hear. In this article he discusses what's going on in Europe right now and reveals it as an inherent part of the culture these refugees come from. Do read it.

Here are this week’s full results. The Right Planet was unable to vote this week, and one other member submitted an incomplete vote in the non-Council category. Neither was subject to the usual 2/3 vote penalty for not voting:

Council Winners

• *First place with 3 1/3 votes!-Joshuapundit-Barack Obama's Real Legacy - America, Humiliated


• Second place *t* with 1 2/3 votes –Bookworm Room – Impressions of the Democrat Party debate


• Second place *t* with 1 2/3 votes – VA Right! - Trump Doesn’t Have to be Conservative, Humble or Polite to Fix America


• Second place *t* with 1 2/3 votes – Puma By Design – Extortion Season: Race baiter, Sharpton, Calls for Boycott of the Oscars


• Third place *t* with 1 1/3 votes –The Noisy Room – Cruz Takes High Road — SC Conservatives Boo Trump After He Takes Cheap Shots At Ted Cruz


• Third place *t* with 1 1/3 votes –The Independent Sentinel – Obama Moves to Destroy the Marine Corps Who Are No Longer to Be Called “Men”


• Fourth place *t* with 1/3 votes –GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – Desert Storm @ 25


• Fourth place *t* with 1/3 votes –Nice Deb – Saturday Movie Matinee: Hillary Is A Liar


• Fourth place *t* with 1/3 votes –The Right Planet – New U.S. Army Patch a Dead Ringer for Muslim Brotherhood Logo

Non-Council Winners

• First place with 1 2/3 votes!-Michael Totten –North Africa Exports Rape Culture to Germany submitted by The Razor


• Second place *t* with 1 1/3 votes –Bob Owens/Bearing Arms –One Maryland Sheriff Working To Expand Second Amendment Rights In Maryland submitted by The Daley Gator


• Second place *t* with 1 1/3 votes –Daniel Greenfield –The Democratic Party's Choice: Lenin Or Nurse Ratched submitted by Puma By Design


• Second place *t* with 1 1/3 votes –WeaponsMan -Review: Tough as They Come by Travis Mills & Marcus Brotherton submitted by Nice Deb


• Second place *t* with 1 1/3 votes –Charles CW Cooke/NRO – Of Course Sarah Palin Is Endorsing Donald Trump submitted by Fausta's Blog


• Third place *t* with 1 vote –Mark Steyn –The Humiliation submitted by The Noisy Room


• Third place *t* with 1 vote –Lyle Goldstein/National Interest – China's Plan to Nuke America submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD


• Third place *t* with 1 vote – The People's Cube – An open letter to Fareed Zakaria from The People's Cube submitted by The Watcher


• Fourth place with 2/3 votes -Jonathan Speyer/PJ Media – We've Got It Wrong: ISIS Is Not the Main Problem in the Middle East submitted by Joshuapundit


• Fifth place *t* with 1/3 vote -Rabbi Shmuley Boteach/Observer-Hillary's Israel-Hating Secret Advisor Comes Out Swingingsubmitted by Bookworm Room


• Fifth place *t* with 1/3 vote -Diana West – What Is a Conservative? What Defines the GOP? submitted by The Right Planet


• Fifth place *t* with 1/3 vote -Caroline Glick – The Obama administration’s most covert war submitted by The Watcher

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?

Our Watcher's Council Nominations - The Revolution Starts Here Edition

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:

We note with regret the departure of our dear friend Maggie of Maggie's Notebook, who resigned her seat on the Council to concentrate on other matters. We all wish her well and will miss her, even though she will continue to be a valued part of the Council community.

But we do have some good news. Replacing Maggie in our stellar line up is The Daley Gator, who makes his debut this week.And if you haven't previously had the pleasure of reading him, you're in for a real treat.

This week, The Pirate's Cove, Blazing Cat Fur,and Life News 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

• The Noisy Room – Cruz Takes High Road — SC Conservatives Boo Trump After He Takes Cheap Shots At Ted Cruz


• The Daley Gator – FINALLY, The Obamassiah tackles society's most pressing issue


• Bookworm Room – Impressions of the Democrat Party debate


• Joshuapundit-Barack Obama's Real Legacy - America, Humiliated


• GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – Desert Storm @ 25


• Fausta's Blog – Iran in the news


• The Right Planet – New U.S. Army Patch a Dead Ringer for Muslim Brotherhood Logo


• The Glittering Eye -Broke Down Engine


• The Independent Sentinel – Obama Moves to Destroy the Marine Corps Who Are No Longer to Be Called “Men”


• The Razor – The NFL: Not For Long


• Puma By Design – Extortion Season: Race baiter, Sharpton, Calls for Boycott of the Oscars


• VA Right! - Trump Doesn’t Have to be Conservative, Humble or Polite to Fix America


• Nice Deb – Saturday Movie Matinee: Hillary Is A Liar

Honorable Mentions

• The Pirate's Cove - Surprise: Hillary’s In-secure Server Held US Government’s Most Secretive Programs


• Blazing Cat Fur - Is America Racist?


• Life News - Adult Stem Cells Yield "Miraculous Results" as They Reverse Condition of Patients With MS

Non-Council Submissions

• Mark Steyn –The Humiliation submitted by The Noisy Room


• Bob Owens/Bearing Arms –One Maryland Sheriff Working To Expand Second Amendment Rights In Maryland submitted by The Daley Gator


• Rabbi Shmuley Boteach/Observer-Hillary's Israel-Hating Secret Advisor Comes Out Swingingsubmitted by Bookworm Room


• Jonathan Speyer/PJ Media – We've Got It Wrong: ISIS Is Not the Main Problem in the Middle East submitted by Joshuapundit


• Lyle Goldstein/National Interest – China's Plan to Nuke America submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD


• Charles CW Cooke/NRO – Of Course Sarah Palin Is Endorsing Donald Trump submitted by Fausta's Blog


• Diana West – What Is a Conservative? What Defines the GOP? submitted by The Right Planet


• Cliodynamics – Herbert Gintis: Societies whose business leaders have moral integrity are successful societies (a guest blog) submitted by The Glittering Eye


• Frontpage Mag–Refugees, Terrorists, Illegals And Cop Killers submitted by The Independent Sentinel


• Michael Totten –North Africa Exports Rape Culture to Germany submitted by The Razor


• Daniel Greenfield –The Democratic Party's Choice: Lenin Or Nurse Ratched submitted by Puma By Design


• Erick Erickson/The Resurgent – The Implications of Donald Trump’s Sarah Palin Endorsementsubmitted by VA Right!


• WeaponsMan -Review: Tough as They Come by Travis Mills & Marcus Brotherton submitted by Nice Deb


• The People's Cube – An open letter to Fareed Zakaria from The People's Cube submitted by The Watcher


• Caroline Glick – The Obama administration’s most covert war submitted by The Watcher

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!