Our Weasel Of The Week Nominations!

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A Sermon At Al-Aqsa "We Will Slaughter The Jews"

A typical Friday sermon on the Al-Aqsa mosque in Israel. This one was given November 28th and is a perfect example of what goes out every day in 'Palestine's' mosques, media and schools.

This is why 'two states for two people living side by side in peace' was and has always been a con game. Arafat's former commissar in Jerusalem, the late and unlamented Faisal al-Husseni put it very well when he called Oslo "just a Trojan Horse", designed to "cheat and ambush the Jews."

It's also worth keeping in mind that every imam and other religious 'Palestinian' figure is vetted by the Palestinian Authority (or by Hamas if they're in Gaza) so this is not some rogue imam. He's preaching the message that Abbas and his friends want put out there.

That Israel allows this to go on in their capitol is outrageous.

Obama's Hotel Bill For One Night In Australia: $1.7M

"Can You Believe Those Suckahs Voted For Me Twice!"

No, that headline isn't a typo...$1.7 million for one night the president spent at the G-20 summit in Brisbane, Australia for our Dear Leader and his entourage. And that doesn't count food, vehicles, security costs, transpo on Air Force One and the back up plane.

Over 4,000 hotel rooms were booked on our dime for this one night. Is anyone going to seriously try to tell us that this one night stand was anything more than a taxpayer paid junket, and that it couldn't have been done for far less with a much smaller delegation?

At least this time it wasn't one of his many vacations.

Did DOJ Help Spark Riots By Agitating Ferguson Residents Over 'White Privilege?'

 

Apparently officials from the Obama Justice Department had a dual mission when they arrived in Ferguson, Missouri after the death of Michael Brown. Aside from investigating the incident, a separate group of Justice Department officials were there to amp up the outrage and sense of grievance of the inhabitants with meetings on topics like “white privilege.”

The DOJ’s Community Relations Service arrived in Ferguson purportedly to lessen the tension between protesters and city officials. But sources who attended the DOJ’s private gatherings with Ferguson residents tell NRO that the Justice Department also sought to educate and question the community about the issues of white privilege and racism. The political nature of the Justice Department’s intervention in Ferguson may not be exclusive to its interactions with residents; it also might have affected its ongoing investigations into the Ferguson Police Department and officer Darren Wilson. {...}

'Political nature?' That couldn't have anything to do with this, could it?

In an e-mail to NRO, a Justice Department spokeswoman said the meetings were designed to ease tension. The spokeswoman requested that NRO not quote her e-mails and added that it’s not the role of Community Relations Service officials to take a position on issues of race. Robert Driscoll, who from 2001 to 2003 was the DOJ Civil Rights Division’s chief of staff, says it’s not standard for these officials to educate the community about white privilege, and he called such action unfortunate. “Their function is supposed to be on the ground . . . and to talk to people and let them know what the processes are at the Department of Justice,” he says. “The hope is that it’s a way to channel public sentiment to avoid civil unrest.” Rioters still managed to burn down much of the town in the aftermath of the grand jury’s decision not to indict Wilson, but Knowles says he thinks the Community Relations Service’s involvement has been constructive nonetheless.

However, the mayor says he thinks the DOJ’s investigators misled him from their very first encounter, and he has concerns about DOJ’s ability to conduct a fair investigation. He says the investigators, including Jonathan Smith, the Civil Rights Division’s special litigation chief, told him that the purpose of their first meeting was to determine whether an investigation was necessary. But by the time Knowles got home from the meeting, Attorney General Eric Holder was on television announcing the investigation. “Clearly the decision was already made before they even met with me,” he says.

In other words, officials in the Department of Justice weren't trying to cool down what was already an inflamed situation...they were trying to turn up the heat.After which, of course, rioters and looter burned down a fair amount of the city. And why not? They had a license..it was payback for 'white privilege!'

 

Just imagine how much anguish is behind those words, 'rioters and looter burned down a fair amount of the city.' People had businesses and property they had scrimped and saved for years to build and establish destroyed because of an attempt to gin up black turnout to keep Democrats in control of the senate.

And the mayor's statements about these meeting being constructive seem odd in view of his other statements that the meetings usually ended with a number of people 'angry and screaming.'

In another interesting remark, Mayor Knowles said that he thinks that Attorney General Eric Holder's public statements have built up expectations of legal payback against police officers like Darren Wilson. Which, when they fail to do so, will unleash another wave of violent riots that are of course justified..no 'justice' no peace, remember?

But apparently the Department of Justice is using Ferguson as a template in other 'investigations', even when there's no evidence any civil rights violations have been committed:

The Civil Rights Division’s pattern of behavior elsewhere indicates that Ferguson is not the only community receiving special attention from the Justice Department. During the past five fiscal years, the Civil Rights Division has opened more than 20 “pattern or practice” investigations into police departments throughout the country — such as the one involving the Ferguson Police Department — which is more than twice as many as were opened in the previous five years, according to a statement from Holder on Thursday. These investigations are conducted to determine whether local law-enforcement officers have engaged in a pattern or practice that deprives people of rights protected by U.S. law or the Constitution.

While a grand jury decided not to indict Wilson in November, the Department of Justice seems to be hunkering down for the long haul. Holder pledged in a Post-Dispatch op-ed published earlier this summer that, “long after the events of Aug. 9 [Brown’s death] have receded from the headlines, the Justice Department will continue to stand with this community.” He did not say what it would take for DOJ to walk away from Ferguson, and that remains to be seen.

The force behind the Justice Department’s lasting presence in Ferguson may be Vanita Gupta, who was selected to lead the Civil Rights Division in October after heading up the American Civil Liberties Union’s efforts on Ferguson. Before beginning her new job, Gupta advocated for the Justice Department to take a more proactive role in its independent federal investigations and called for racial-bias training for forces that receive federal grants. A week ago, Holder announced his intention to “institute rigorous new standards — and robust safeguards — to help end racial profiling once and for all,” which were specifically directed at police. He said the Justice Department is preparing to implement these changes in the coming days. After announcing the changes, Holder went on to say, “In recent weeks, there have arisen great sparks of humanity, and hope, that illuminate the way forward.”

'Sparks' was perhaps a poor choice of words in view of what the DOJ helped ignite in Ferguson, but it could be that's exactly what our attorney general means to encourage.

 

Israel's Syria Strike Wipes Out Russian Weapons Designed To Prevent US 'No Fly' Zone

The Israeli Air Force conducted a decisive raid over the weekend on Syrian arms stocks warehoused near Damascus and at an airfield in the Dimas area, northwest of the Syrian capital and near the Lebanese border.

The arms targeted were newly-arrived Russian anti-air weaponry, radar and hardware, including advanced, Russian-made S-300 missiles.

Israel's main strategic interest was the planned delivery of these item to Hezbollah in Lebanon, but it also affected an interesting back and forth between Russia and the Obama Administration.

Israel had a tacit agreement with Russia's Vladimir Putin that he would avoid introducing this kind of weaponry into the region, and Israel would avoid strikes on Assad's forces. That fell apart just as the last one did because of the actions of the Obama Administration.


The Obama Administration has decided to establish a 'no fly' zone in Syria to aid the Islamist rebels in their war against Bashir Assad.

Contrary to what's in the linked article, the deal has already been drafted with Turkey according to my sources. The draft agreement allows American warplanes to take off from the U.S. leased Turkish airbase of Incirlik for operations against Syrian planes, assault helicopters or drones entering the no-fly zone. Formerly, only non-combat recon aircraft like unarmed drones were allowed to use Incirlik to fly over Syria. The Turks originally wanted the no-fly zone extended to Aleppo, where the Syrian Army is on the verge of defeating the rebels. Instead, the U.S. insisted on a much narrower area, between one half and three quarters of a mile.That makes little strategic sense unless the primary object is to provide a safe haven for the Islamist rebels close to the Turkish border to train,rearm and regroup.

The Russians have repeatedly told the Obama Administration that any attempt to establish a no-fly zone would be regarded as a direct intervention against their ally Assad and would lead to use of the Russian military to defend the Assad regime in response.When Putin found out about the draft agreement between Turkey and the U.S., he told Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman that all bets were off and responded immediately with a huge Russian shipment of anti-air missiles, radar systems and computer hardware.

The Israelis were left with no choice but to take them out...which also leaves Putin little choice but to bring in the Russian military directly when and if U.S. planes start intervening on behalf of Syria's Islamist rebels.

Russia reacted promptly to the Israeli raid with a formal protest to the UN demanding “that such attacks should not happen again… Moscow is deeply worried by this dangerous development, the circumstances of which demand an explanation.”

Stay tuned.

Landrieu Destroyed In Louisiana; GOP Wins 54th Senate Seat + 2 House Seats

 

The Louisiana primaries are over, and as expected, Bill Cassidy will be the 54th Republican senator in the new congress.The spread was astonishing...almost 15 points. Even the Clintons couldn't help her. And they're about the only ones in the Democrat establishment that tried.

Aside from the fact that she was a serially corrupt public official who didn't even live in her home state, a big reason for such a decisive victory was that the Republicans united after the primary. When Tea Party favorite Rob Maness fell short in the primary, he was quick to mend fences with Cassidy and endorse him to make a united front, exercising Ronald Reagan's political dictum of getting behind the most conservative candidate who can get elected.

The GOP also retained two seats in the run offs, bringing their total to 246 seats, and increase of 12 from the last congress.

Republican physician Ralph Abraham won in Louisiana’s 5th District congressional seat, defeating Monroe's Democratic Mayor Jamie Mayo, probably the most prominent and well known of Louisiana's remaining Democrats. That actually counts as a pickup, since the seat had been lost by Republican Rep. Vance McAllister who lost his seat after a video showed him infected by the Bill Clinton disease when it came to his marriage vows.

In the Pelican State's 6th District congressional race, Republican Garret Graves, who was GOP Gov. Bobby Jindal's coastal restoration chief, defeated former Democratic Gov. Edwin Edwards, who decided to run for congress after spending over eight years in prison. Only in Louisiana!

While Landrieu was a travesty of a senator, it's worth noting that her demise represents the continuing extinction of a long tradition of Southern Democrats. Aside from Tim Kaine and Mark Warner in Virginia and Bill Nelson in Florida, there are none in the Senate, and representation in the house is mainly confined to black Democrats whom mostly survive in racially gerrymandered districts.

When one considers how solidly Democrat the South used to be, it's an interesting change that reflects how far the Democrats have shifted to the far Left.

Forum: What Is The Chief Problem With Race Relations In America ? What Would It Take To Improve Them?

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 Is The Chief Problem With  Race Relations In America ? What Would It Take To Improve Them?

 The Right Planet: To try to boil down "race relations" to one chief problem is a tough question. But I certainly have my opinions on the matter. There are plenty of people in this country of various and mixed races who get along just fine. We never seem to hear much about that. You know, things like racial harmony and goodwill toward men, and the like. I get along just fine with my neighbors "of color," and vice versa.

The question reminds me of a symposium on race I attended years ago in college. I remember one of the speakers was a young white female student who said she believed that the focus shouldn't be on race, but the fact that we're all Americans. I agreed with her. But there was a follow-up with questions and comments from the audience. Two black female students responded to the white student's comments by saying they agreed with her, too. But, for them, the problem was there wasn't a day when they weren't reminded of their "blackness." I thought that was a compelling point. I specifically recall reading in the local morning paper on the day of the symposium several headlines mentioning "blacks"--specifically, in reference to crime and education. I thought to myself, if everyday I was reminded of my "whiteness" in reference to negative headlines, how would I feel? But now I am reading headlines reminding me of my "whiteness" in a negative sense. And I don't like it.

The "chief problem" with race relations, in my opinion, lies with the government, main-stream media and public education, et al. The agitators (a.k.a. "change agents") who use race as a means to an end that are at the heart of the problem. It has become advantageous for some to constantly stoke the fires of racial discord and open up old wounds that had begun to heal. One must always ask, to whose benefit? It seems to me what consistently arises from all this racial chaos--often times self-manufactured racial chaos--are calls for ever more "comprehensive legislation" and government control. For someone who has literally done nothing but study the strategy and tactics of Marxists for the past seven years, it all smacks of Marxist-Leninist strategy to me--take an honest grievance and wrap it in a lie ... "rub raw the resentments of the people," as Saul Alinsky taught ... create the problem, foment the reaction, and provide the solution.

I'll be the last person to deny that bigotry exists. But no one group has a monopoly on hate. Well, I take that back ... the Marxist-Leninists, perhaps. Just saying.


Laura Rambeau Lee, Right Reason:The problem with race relations in America today is twofold. Our public education system, beginning with our elementary schools and continuing through our colleges and universities, presents a myopic narrative of America’s early history with slavery and teaches that blacks today are still being held back by the privileged white class. They seek to destroy the myth of the American Dream and present it as something wholly unattainable, especially if you are not white.

Yes, we should teach about the existence of slavery in the Colonies and in America along with the rest of American history. The years of slavery were a horrific time for many people, not only African Americans. The truth is slavery has existed since the beginning of humankind on many continents and among all races and still exists today.

The second problem with race relations builds on the issue of education and the psychological indoctrination of our youth. It is the progressives and leftists in academia who choose the curriculum and continue to scratch at the scabs of a wound they will not permit to heal. They and their disciples insert themselves into minority communities, incite resentfulness and divisiveness, and perpetuate the narrative of victimhood for African Americans. They have created a generation of children who have no hope for their future.

To improve race relations in America, we must take back our education from the radical left, teach the values of independence, liberty and freedom that helped frame our nation, and expose these progressives and their intent to destroy our country.

Above all, every child in America must once again believe there is hope for their future.


 The Glittering Eye :It's complicated. That racism continues to play a part in American life and adversely affects the lives of black Americans is, I think, indisputable. However, not all African Americans are affected equally.

The sociologist Charles Moskas distinguishes between "African Americans" (Americans of African descent) and "Afro-Americans" (Americans of sub-Saharan African descent, the descendants of slaves) and I think that's a valuable distinction. I think it's pretty obvious that the children of African immigrants, e.g. Barack Obama, or Caribbeans, e.g. Colin Powell, have not experienced racism in quite the same way as Afro-Americans have or, at least, have benefited more by the various remediations we've put into place over the last half century. The recent Somali immigrants seem to be doing pretty well. Clearly, there's more involved in our racial problems than just skin color.

Part of the problem is unquestionably the collapse of the Afro-American family, noted nearly a half century ago by Pat Moynihan but which has only continued since then. I attribute a considerable amount of the gang violence experienced by urban Afro-Americans as due to the lack of normal familial support systems for young black men in inner city Afro-American communities.

As to what should be done I honestly have no idea.


JoshuaPundit: Well, in order to answer this question, we have to define what the problem is. Frankly, I'm rather tired of seeing it defined simply as 'problems blacks experience at the hands of whites.'

 However, since the dominant meme in the media, in certain politicians and their supporters and the tacit acceptance and empowerment by these people of what amounts to a 'race' industry concerns relations between blacks and whites, let's examine that first.

I think it's important to recognize, first of all, that there are powerful forces that don't want better racial relations between blacks and whites. For the Al Sharptons, the NAACP, the Jesse Jacksons, the Ta-Hanisi Coates's and other members of what I can only call the race industry, it's power and  it's a paycheck. And for the Democrat party, better race relations would mean a total erosion of the urban fortresses they depend on for power. These were the sort of people in Georgia, Mississippi and elsewhere in the last election  who took pictures of lynchings that happened over a century ago and put fliers out telling blacks that if they didn't turn out and vote Democrat, this was going to happen all over again. Considering the party affiliation of the men whom actually did the lynching, the irony is monstrous, but it is what it is. And it isn't going to change unless enough blacks themselves wake up to how they're being suckered.

There's an old movie from 1978 called 'Blue Collar' about three close friends on a Detroit assembly line,(Harvey Keitel, Yaphet Kotto and Richard Pryor) who inadvertently stumble on information concerning their union's ties with organized crime and an illegal loan operation. In subsequent events, Kotto's character is murdered and Keitel and Pryor are manipulated by the union to become bitter enemies. A money quote from the movie I've always remembered, uttered by an older white assembly worker; "They take the whites and the blacks and turn them against each other to make slaves out of both of them."

Another problem has nothing to do with race,but with culture. And again, this is not something that can be changed from the outside.

 Blacks whom were raised or had parents whom came from African cultures and especially from Caribbean cultures tend to do far better in America than many American-born blacks. The percentage of two parent families is much higher, and many times the work ethic and the attitude towards education is very different. For instance, black school children in many of these countries are taught to respect their teachers, stand when the teacher enters the room and address them as 'sir' or 'Miss' or 'Mrs'____. Unless they come to America quite young and are affected by the dysfunctional parts of black American culture, you won't usually find people from these cultures being affected by taunts that studying and working hard at education is 'acting white.'

School children in those cultures causing the kind of disturbance routine in America's public school urban classrooms would certainly be punished, perhaps even caned if they're males...and in many cases, their parents would be even tougher on them. Black children in countries like Barbados and Belize take American SATs,  many end up studying in America and are found in many technical and medical fields. There's a respect for education there that simply doesn't exist in too much of black America.

 And that lack of  respect for education isn't limited to school children. I remember being involved in a project at an inner city school with several teachers and clients in a neighborhood I did business in. It was to set up a computer lab at the school through donations and fundraising. Three weeks after it was up and running, it was burglarized and cleaned out by the local gangstas. Seeing that was like attending a funeral.

When children are trained by the media to admire thugs and thug-like behavior and there is often no positive make role model in the home, the results speak for themselves. Again, there's a significant amount of entrenched money and patronage invested in keeping things just like they are. It's exactly like that fictional auto worker in "Blue Collar" said.


  Well, there you have it.

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.

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Obama Picks Carter Ash As His New Choice For SecDef

President Obama has chosen former deputy defense secretary Carter Ash as his pick to replace the ousted Chuck Hagel as his fourth Secretary of Defense.

Unlike his predecessors Hagel, Leon Panetta and Robert Gates, Ash has never served in the military. He's an academic and bureaucrat, a former Harvard professor who has worked in and out of Washington for almost forty years. His top job was serving as as deputy defense secretary under Leon Panetta from October 2011 to December 2013.

Ash was bypassed for the top job at defense by Obama twice before and only got picked for it this time because all of the other candidates the White House approached initially declined because, among other things, this president's dysfunctional relationship with the Pentagon and the U.S. military in general common knowledge, as is his serial micromanaging. Carter Ash was simply the last one standing.

One reason he might have been turned down before was a number of public statements, papers and reports that reflect a moderately hard line view on Iran and its rogue nuclear weapons program, as well as some favorable statements he made after a 2013 trip to Israel,his first.

Among other things, in a 2004 article for Foreign Affairs, he called for the complete and verifiable elimination of Iran’s and North Korea’s nuclear programs and accused a “distracted” Bush administration of having “left the initiative for curbing Iran’s evident nuclear ambitions to two groups that failed to support the Iraq invasion: the Europeans and the UN.”

Well and good, but rest assured that whatever Carter Ash's previous position might be, if he becomes SecDef he will toe the Obama line of appeasement on Iran and disapproval of Israel and has undoubtedly given assurances of that to the president. If he hadn't, he wouldn't have been nominated.

If anyone needs any further assurance of this, you need only know that his mentor and teacher in matters of defense policy was William Perry, Bill Clinton’s SecDef during the 1990s.

He will likely be confirmed. I don't expect much in the way of change in defense policy as long as Barack Obama is president.

The Council Has Spoken!! 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 felt that another one of those punches in my face could knock me out or worse. I mean it was, he’s obviously bigger than I was and stronger and the, I’ve already taken two to the face and I didn’t think I would, the third one could be fatal if he hit me right.” - From Officer Darren Wilson's Testimony

“Before you think this is over, remember what happened in Rodney King,” - Al Sharpton, after the Grand Jury decision

"You can`t sell this sh*t" - Lesley McFadden, Michael Brown's mother to other family members shortly before she and others in her party allegedly assaulted and robbed them over a dispute over whom had rights to the selling of Michael Brown tee shirts and other merchandise .

 

This week's winning essay,The Right Planet's – #Ferguson: If You Like Your Facts, You Can Keep Your Facts is a superb roundup of the incident and a reminder to us that no one is entitled to their own facts. Here's a slice:

If you visit the blog on a regular basis, you might’ve noticed I haven’t posted much lately about the riots and mayhem going on in Ferguson, Missouri. The reason is simple: I’m not giving the agitators what they want. What do the Ferguson agitators and rioters want? They want to be seen and heard; and the more they are seen and heard, the better, as far as they’re concerned.

Like moths attracted to the proverbial flame, the major networks and countless other  media outlets have descended upon Ferguson, Missouri, like a plague of locusts. Recently, I watched Fox News’ reporter Mike Tobin claim there were more cameramen at his location than there were protestors a few days ago. (Apparently the cold weather was keeping the rioters at bay.) That image really stuck with me. It’s like a bunch of people grabbed their lawn chairs and ran off to go watch the riots in Ferguson. One must wonder whether the media would’ve been disappointed had there been no riots and looting.

Ever since this whole debacle in Ferguson started, I just wanted the facts. If Darren Wilson was in the wrong, then he should be brought to justice. But there were a number of initial eyewitness accounts that reported Michael Brown attacked police officer Darren Wilson and attempted to take his gun. Well, the Grand Jury report appears to substantiate the initial reports. Furthermore, the whole “hands up, don’t shoot” meme is based upon a fallacy. The forensics report, three autopsies, the medical examiner, the coroner, and eyewitness reports appear to show that Michael Brown did not have his hands up when he was fatally shot by Officer Wilson. But rest assured, facts do not matter to the people busily trying to stoke the flames of crisis and chaos in Ferguson.



Ladies and Gentlemen, this is what mobocracy looks like. The facts do not matter. As a matter of fact, they really just get in the way of some good ole fashioned “radical social change.” There is no such thing as due process or being considered innocent until proven guilty in a mobocracy; it is a lynch mob—pure and simple. Whether you’re guilty or not does not matter. Once the mob has labeled you the enemy, it’s over. There is no justice in a mobocracy. The rule of law is replaced with the law of force—chaos and violence that never ends. Our Founders warned us over and over again about the capricious will of the mob; they coined the term “mobocracy.”

From the very beginning, the whole meme has been a “racist, white pig” mercilessly gunned down an “unarmed, innocent black child.” Just forget the fact Michael Brown was 18-years-old—old enough to get married, old enough to join the military, old enough to be considered an adult by law—and stood 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighed 292 pounds. Oh, and just forget the fact Michael Brown (a.k.a. “The Gentle Giant”) had just committed a strong-arm robbery (a felony) at a local convenience store prior to his death.

 

I realize, as I believe most do, that the death of such a young man is truly a tragic thing indeed. But one must accept responsibility for one’s own actions, and their subsequent consequences. Crime and violence often ends badly for all involved. What we’re really talking about is bad behavior, not racism. Bad behavior is no respecter of race or ethnicity. 

Much more at the link.


In our non-Council category, the winner was an eye openng piece in the Atlantic by former AP reporterMatti Friedman – What The Media Gets Wrong About Israel submitted by The Glittering Eye.

In it, he reveals the innate bias of many news outlets including the AP in favor of the 'narrative' that casts the Arabs whom call themselves Palestinians as the Good Guys and the Israelis as villains...and exactly how it is promulgated and shaped by them. It's a must read piece, written by an insider.

Here are this week’s full results:

Council Winners

• *First place with 2 2/3 votes!-The Right Planet – #Ferguson: If You Like Your Facts, You Can Keep Your Facts


• Second place with 2 1/3 votes –Joshuapundit-The Rams 'Hands Up' Protest Doesn't Bother Me..But Congress's Is Obscene


• Third place with 2 votes –The Noisy Room – The New Axis of Evil Waging Unconventional Warfare


• Fourth place with 1 1/3 votes –Rhymes With Right – Some Thoughts On Ferguson


• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote –Simply Jews – Assisting Lisa Goldman in her balancing act


• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote –VA Right! - Article V Convention – Solution or Pandora’s Box?


• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote –GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – World Police


• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote –Bookworm Room – Bringing common sense to climate science (and life)


• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote –Nice Deb – Megyn Kelly Asks Judge Napolitano: ‘Does Obama Have an Adult Relationship with the Truth?’


• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote –The Razor – So Where's The Inflation?


• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote –The Independent Sentinel – Obama Feels 'Incredibly Strongly' About Illegal Aliens Getting Obamacare

Non-Council Winners

• First place with 2 1/3 votes! –Matti Friedman/The Atlantic – What The Media Gets Wrong About Israel submitted by The Glittering Eye


• Second place with 2 votes –Don Surber -Do Not Rebuild In Ferguson submitted by Nice Deb


• Third place with 1 2/3 votes –Fred Maroun/Times Of Israel – If I Were Israeli.. submitted by Simply Jews


• Fourth place with 1 1/3 vote –Sultan Knish –Being Thankful For The Left submitted by The Noisy Room


• Fifth place *t* with 1 vote –Joseph Sarkisian/Cicero Magazine – American Grand Strategy or Grand Illusion? submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD


• Fifth place *t* with 1 vote – Benjamin Weingarten/The Blaze – 10 major takeaways from the House Benghazi report that the media is completely ignoring submitted by The Watcher (h/t, The Noisy Room)


• Seventh place *t* with 2/3 votes -Robert Avrech/Jewish Action -Warning: Hollywood’s Coming for Your Home and Children submitted by Bookworm Room


• Seventh place *t* with 2/3 votes -Rebel Pundit – The Ferguson Disaster: The Wreckage of Obama & Marx submitted by The Right Planet


• Seventh place *t* with 2/3 votes -Thomas Lifeson/American Thinker – The Left's War On Civil Society' submitted by The Watcher


• Eighth place *t* with 1/3 vote -Right On The Left Coast – Obama: "Teachers Suck" submitted by Rhymes with Right


• Eighth place *t* with 1/3 vote -Daily Caller – Eric Cantor’s Son Is A Member Of The UVA Fraternity Accused Of Gang Rape submitted by VA Right!

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?

Weasel Of The Week!

Once again, 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 slime-worthy,but in the end the winner by a nose was..the envelope please...

 

Obama Consigliere And Puppet Master Valerie Jarrett!!

 The Noisy Room : I nominate Valerie Jarrett this week, for once again taking the roll of President and controlling and manipulating events in Ferguson.

Jarrett was in contact with Missouri’s Governor Nixon in the run-up to the announcement of the Grand Jury’s decision. Nixon vehemently denied that he was being pressured to have the National Guard and police stand down in Ferguson. Meanwhile, the riots the first night were allowed to rage unhampered by any police or military presence. People's businesses burned to the ground, looting was everywhere and police cars were toppled and burned, all while Nixon watched. The White House has now admitted that Jarrett was in close contact with Nixon during the first 24 hours of unrest. Jarrett, most assuredly, instructed the Governor to stand down and let the violence ensue.

For that and oh, so much more... Jarrett is an enemies within weasel who deserves more than the plastic golden weasel - she deserves jail time.

Well, you have to give Ms. Jarrett credit. She's really put herself in a position in the Obama White House where's she's simply invincible and untouchable, as people like Rahm Emmanuel and Chuck Hagel  can tell you. What Valerie Jarrett says goes, and that includes who goes as well!

She has the president's ear on everything. And what energy! Appointments. nominations and 'resignations,' determining access and what it costs... even secret negotiations with Iran  the mere underlings in congress need not know about that involved non-enforcement of the sanctions and winking at Iran's nukes.

She does it all as America's Richelieu, with all of his appetite for palace intrigue and none of his strategic flair  for foreign affairs or domestic policy. And if that isn't worth a Weasel,what is? Apres Valerie, le deluge!

Now, Ms.Jarrett doesn't actually attend gatherings such as this, especially if there's no wine list and a horrid lack of expensive h'orderves. But we were able to get her to send an underling to collect the Weasel...which I thought was quite magnanimous of her.

 

Who says vice presidents never do anything?


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?

A Death In New York

Today a New York grand jury refused to indict an NYPD officer in the death of Eric Gardner, 43 in Staten Island New York.

A cellphone video is posted above,part of a news report.

Here are the facts I know so far.

Unlike the recent Michael Brown affair, Eric Gardner did not assault a police officer,although it's obvious he did resist arrest.This appears to be a real tragedy that will obviously be exploited by the usual suspects.

The police,among them officer Daniel Pantaleo, an 8 year veteran on the force were attempting to arrest Gardner for selling 'loosies', loose single cigarettes. New York (and especially New York City) are some of the greediest places in America when it comes to fines, fees and taxes that prey on its inhabitants. So it's a common crime to buy cigarettes in places like North Carolina where prices and taxes are much lower, sell them on the streets of New York where they have been taxed to the stratosphere and pocket the difference. If this was Wall Street, they'd call it arbitrage. Unlike arbitrage, selling untaxed cigarettes is illegal, but you have to wonder whether a non-violent crime like this would really merit this kind of police presence if it weren't for the Big Apple's revenue from taxes that's involved.

At any event, when the police attempted to arrest Gardner, he reacted violently and began struggling when the police attempted to place him in handcuffs. At that point, Officer Pantaleo grabbed Gardner in some kind of hold from behind, a standard operating procedure to get him on the ground where he could be handcuffed. I use the term 'hold' advisedly and you'll see why shortly.

Gardner, who weighed between 300 and 400 pounds still continued struggling on the ground. At one point, one of the cops can be heard urging Gardner to give him his hand so he can be cuffed.Gardner can also be heard saying repeatedly, "I can't breathe."

Gardner died at the scene.

Here's what information I've been able to gather so far, and it is subject to change as more facts come out. The Grand Jury heard Officer Pantaleo voice his regret for what happened.

“I feel very bad about the death of Mr. Garner,” he said in a statement released by the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association. “My family and I include him and his family in our prayers and I hope that they will accept my personal condolences for their loss.”

During his testimony, Pantaleo also explained that he used a standard takedown that he was taught to him at the NYPD Academy.

The Grand Jury also reportedly determined that the term 'choke hold' that's being tossed around so loosely by the media is likely inaccurate. Choke hold has a clearly defined legal meaning. These holds, which cut off the air and the blood supply from the carotid artery to make someone resisting arrest pass out used to be common in police work, but were outlawed in most jurisdictions long ago because they could lead to a fatality.Choke holds are banned for police use in New York City. Had it been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that Officer Pantaleo used one, I'm certain he would have been indicted.

Instead, 'take downs' usually involving a headlock or a hold on the neck and/or under lower jaw area that does not cut off the air supply from the carotid artery are taught at the Academy instead,and that's what Pantaleo claims he used. Truthfully we have no way of knowing for sure, although there's some evidence he's telling the truth.

Fatal choke holds when used also normally leave evidence such as damage to the trachea, a broken hyoid bone and damage to the windpipe.The Grand Jury reportedly looked at the autopsy and saw none of these.Since Gardner was able to talk, that's also evidence he wasn't in a choke hold. The medical expert ruled the death a homicide, but in legal terms that doesn't necessarily mean murder. It merely means someone caused death to someone else. The medical examiner also stated that Gardner's acute and chronic bronchial asthma, obesity and hypertensive cardiovascular disease were contributing factors.

Was it necessary to use such a take down? I'm not certain. Could he have been tasered? Again, I'm not certain. Was his physical condition such that any means of restraining him so he could be handcuffed might have led to his death? We don't know.

What we do know is that the prosecutor was unable to present enough evidence to a mixed race jury to get them to vote for an indictment...not for murder, which the politically correct far Left DiBlasio Administration was pushing for, and not for any of the lesser versions such as manslaughter.

One thing we also know is that had he put his hands behind his back and not resisted arrest, Eric Gardner would probably be alive right now, and you have to admit that in fairness to the police, who were there to enforce a law, even if it was admittedly a stupid one. Unlike our president, cops normally don't have a choice about which laws they enforce.A crime's reported, they go to the scene, make their determination and proceed accordingly.

This seems to me to be a culmination of tragic decisions. The cops could have decided to let this particular arrest, which did not involve a violent crime slide and gone on to more important work. Eric Gardner, who was no stranger to being arrested could have decided to go along with the procedure one more time. And Officer Pantaleo could have thought about using something else besides that particular take down,perhaps.

In any event, this isn't over yet. Eric Holder has promised a civil rights investigation ( a tough one to pull off given you have to show intent based on someone's race, but they'll try) and Gardner's family will almost certainly file a civil suit which the DiBlasio administration will almost certainly settle for large money without much of a fight,being whom they are....

As I said, a real tragedy.

Watcher's Council Nominations - Post Thanksgiving Edition

This particular turkey isn't quite cooked yet, but the heat's turned up high and we're working on it.

(Graphic courtesy of I Own The World)


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:

This week, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion , I Own The World, The Pirate's Cove and Seraphic Secret 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 – The New Axis of Evil Waging Unconventional Warfare


• The Independent Sentinel – Obama Feels 'Incredibly Strongly' About Illegal Aliens Getting Obamacare


• Simply Jews – Assisting Lisa Goldman in her balancing act


• The Right Planet – #Ferguson: If You Like Your Facts, You Can Keep Your Facts


• Rhymes With Right – Some Thoughts On Ferguson


• VA Right! - Article V Convention – Solution or Pandora’s Box?


• Nice Deb – Megyn Kelly Asks Judge Napolitano: ‘Does Obama Have an Adult Relationship with the Truth?’


• Joshuapundit-The Rams 'Hands Up' Protest Doesn't Bother Me..But Congress's Is Obscene


• GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – World Police


• The Glittering Eye -Farewell To Jenny's Car


• The Razor – So Where's The Inflation?


• Bookworm Room – Bringing common sense to climate science (and life)

Honorable Mentions

• David Gerstman/Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion - How The Media Aids Hamas


• I Own The World - Why Was Wilson Not Indicted? Because the Grand Jury Dismissed Incoherent, Nearly Retarded Testimony


• The Pirate's Cove - NY Times: Know What’s Awesome? Hydrogen Cars


• Seraphic Secret - The Ferguson/Palestinian Narrative

Non-Council Submissions

• Sultan Knish –Being Thankful For The Left submitted by The Noisy Room


• Kevin D. Williamson/NRO–Who Boycotts WalMart? submitted by The Independent Sentinel


• Fred Maroun/Times Of Israel – If I Were Israeli.. submitted by Simply Jews


• Rebel Pundit – The Ferguson Disaster: The Wreckage of Obama & Marx submitted by The Right Planet


• Right On The Left Coast – Obama: "Teachers Suck" submitted by Rhymes with Right


• Daily Caller – Eric Cantor’s Son Is A Member Of The UVA Fraternity Accused Of Gang Rape submitted by VA Right!


• Don Surber -Do Not Rebuild In Ferguson submitted by Nice Deb


• American Digest – Presence of Malice: Against the Conservative Portrait of the President submitted by Joshuapundit


• Joseph Sarkisian/Cicero Magazine – American Grand Strategy or Grand Illusion? submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD


• Matti Friedman/The Atlantic – What The Media Gets Wrong About Israel submitted by The Glittering Eye


• Reason –Whatever Happened To Inflation? submitted by The Razor


• Robert Avrech/Jewish Action -Warning: Hollywood’s Coming for Your Home and Children submitted by Bookworm Room


• Benjamin Weingarten/The Blaze – 10 major takeaways from the House Benghazi report that the media is completely ignoring submitted by The Watcher (h/t, The Noisy Room)


• Thomas Lifeson/American Thinker – The Left's War On Civil Society' 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!

The Rams 'Hands Up' Protest Doesn't Bother Me..But Congress's Is Obscene

There has been a great deal of anger expressed over an incident that happened at a St.Louis Rams football game. Jared Cook, Kenny Britt, Chris Givens, Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin, all of whom are black and play for the Rams decided to express a blatant political view and use the 'Hands Up,Don't Shoot' gesture before their last game with Oakland to express their solidarity with the Ferguson protesters/rioters.

Leaving aside for a moment how bogus the gesture itself is (there is, after all,plenty of evidence that Michael Brown was not standing still with his hands up when policemen Darren Wilson shot him)it's obvious that this was a political statement and an expression of being down with racialist solidarity. It wasn't some kind of of plea for justice,peace and amity, although it's quite possible the five NFL players didn't see that. They simply did it anyway.

When the calls came for the players to be disciplined, both the St. Louis Rams and the NFL refused,citing the players 'First Amendment rights.'

Here's what Rams coach Jeff Fisher saidto rationalize this, saying it was the player's "choice to exercise their free speech."

"It's my personal opinion, I firmly believe, that it's important that I keep sports and politics separate," Fisher said. "I'm a head coach. I'm not a politician, an activist or an expert on societal issues, so I'm going to answer questions about the game."

Except of course, by allowing this,the team and the NFL are clearly taking a political stand as well.

Imagine five white players had done the same thing, holding up signs saying 'We support Officer Wilson.' Is anyone naive enough to believe that they wouldn't have been fined and disciplined for exercising their First Amendment Rights? And speaking of which, does anyone remember what the NFL did to Rush Limbaugh when he wanted to use money he earned honestly to buy into an NFL franchise as part of a group of investors? The NFL blackballed him and he was forced to leave the investor group..for exercising his First Amendment rights.

So this nonsense about 'First Amendment Rights' obviously just goes one way.

The way the team and the NFL saw it these five players using the 'Hands Up' gesture was a form of insurance that a significant number of their highly paid hired hands were mollified. And that a significant number people who happen to be of a certain racial background got the message that the NFL was 'down for the struggle', thus insuring that their expensive facilities were spared the sort of damage visited on Ferguson's small business owners.

If a few cops in St. Louis got angry about it, if some fans felt uncomfortable over the display of solidarity for the lawlessness went down in Ferguson, well, who cares? They're not going to riot or cause us grief. So that's the decision they made.

Let's move on to another sort of arena, the U.S. House of Representative. There, several members of congress decided to make the “Hands up, don’t shoot,” gesture on the floor of the House.

 

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) made a ranting speech, saying “In community, after community, after community, fed up with police violence in Ferguson, in Brooklyn, in Cleveland, in Oakland, in cities and counties and rural communities all across America.”

Jeffries added that people are fed up with injustice, a broken criminal justice system and “continuing to see young, unarmed African-American men killed as a result of a gunshot fired by a law enforcement officer.”

"Now this is a problem that Congress can’t run away from and the [Congressional Black Caucus] stands here today to make sure that Congress runs toward the problem,” Jeffries said. “That we come up with constructive solutions to breaking this cycle, this epidemic, this scourge of police violence all across America.”

He was joined by Reps. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) and Al Green (D-Texas), all of whom had their own fuel for the fire as they made the “Hands up, don’t shoot,” gesture.

That little display is very, very different. It makes me catch-a-fire.Can you see why?

The Rams and the NFL are private businesses. And as such, they are allowed to choose what they support as business decisions, however cynical, amoral and wrong headed.

For those of you whom find that kind of racism(there really is no other word for it) and disrespect for the rule of law abhorrent, you too can make choices. Organize. Don't attend the games and don't watch them on TV. Don't buy their paraphernalia and above all, make sure the team and the NFL know why. A few weeks worth of sharply lowered attendance, TV ratings and sales sends a message that can sometimes encourage businesses to make different choices.

Congress, however is a very different animal.

The salaries of the members of congress who made these racially charged, outlandish statements are paid for by the taxpayers. So are their offices, their staffs, even the very building they meet in to do the people's business that they just soiled.And none of us have a choice about paying for it.

The 'scourge of police violence' Rep. Jeffries? Really? You stand there, in the halls of congress and tell me that a young black man is more likely to be murdered by police than by the sort of thug Michael Brown was well on his way to becoming? You really say that in spite of all the physical evidence showing the Michael Brown was the aggressor and assaulted a police officer, he's still some kind of victim? And that by making that stupid gesture and uttering those inflammatory words, you're in solidarity with the looting and rioting that went on in Ferguson and elsewhere?

Remember this, Congressman Jeffries?

I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

Do you really think the sort of language you and your friends just made jibes remotely with your oath of office?

It won't happen, but every one of these four members on Congress ought to be censured for making political points by stirring the pot in this fashion. They are encouraging violence and actually sanctioning it.

And yes, that is obscene on its face.

Israel To Have New Elections As Netanyahu's Coalition Collapses

Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu announced today that he is dissolving the Israeli Knesset and that Israel will go to new elections, probably in March of next year.

In his speech, he announced the firing of Justice Minister Tzipi Livni of Hatnua and Finance Minister Yair Lapid of Yesh Atid, thus ending what was always a fairly shaky and adversarial coalition government.

At his press conference, Netanyahu accused Livni and Lapid of attempting to mount what he called a 'putsch' by attempting to bribe the ultra-Orthodox parties into backing them in removing Netanyahu. He also mentioned what had become the increasingly adversarial interaction within his governing coalition.

“The finance minister who failed in managing the economy joined the justice minister in the dark in order to topple the government,” Netanyahu charged. “In one word, we call that a putsch. It’s impossible to run a government and a state this way, and therefore I advised the cabinet secretary to fire Livni and Lapid.”

“I will not tolerate opposition from within the cabinet,” he added, officially announcing that he would dissolve the current Knesset and send the country’s citizens back to the polls for the second time in two years. “The people of Israel deserve a better, more stable, more harmonious government,” he said.

Needless to say, both Livni and Lapid denounced Netanyahu in harsh terms, while Labor Party leader Yitzhak Herzog was quick to call for the Left to join together to defeat Netanyahu “under the leadership of the Labor Party and to restore hope.” Naturally Herzog, who wants to be Israel's Prime Minister said that the elections would be Likud against Labor.

Here's what's really behind all this.

The 203 elections resulted in a few surprises,the main one which was Yair Lapid and his new party Yesh Atid. Yesh Atid took 19 seats (Israel has a unicameral government and seats, called 'mandates' are determined by the percentage of popular vote,with 61 seats needed for the majority needed to govern). Lapid in some ways was an Israeli Bill Clinton, a somewhat charismatic media figure with a nice line in platitudes about 'social justice' that played well if you didn't listen closely enough to figure out he really wasn't saying much. And in those calmer days, a larger portion of the Israeli electorate was prepared to vote for it.

Because of his strong showing at the polls,Netanyahu needed him to help him form a governing coalition. That cost Bibi the support of the Religious parties like Shas and United Torah Judaism, but Yesh Atid offset that.

Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman's Israel Beiteinu had 31 mandates, and Lapid brought in another 19. The rest of the governing coalition came from a rising star on the Right, Naftali Bennett and Beit Yahudi (Jewish Home)with 12 mandates and Tzipi Livni and her Hatnua faction, which brought in six.

Livni, who would cheerfully give Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas/Fatah anything they wanted in exchange for a piece of worthless paper is one of the Obama Administration's favorite Israelis. Her 6 mandates weren't needed for a majority, but Netanyahu brought her in and announced that she would be heading negotiations with Abbas and the PLO as a major concession to the Obama Administration...which of course proved futile.

Lapid was made Israel's finance minister, in accordance with the horsetrading of ministries and perks that customarily goes on to form a governing coalition.When I asked an Israeli friend if Lapid knew anything about finance, he replied 'maybe enough to work an ATM.'

Lapid was out of his depth, coming up with half-baked plans that looked good on paper but absolutely did not work out in the real world. And he and Netanyahu, who actually was a former finance minister with a successful track record clashed on that, on Lapid's constant sniping and his unnecessary provocation of Israel's religious constituency.

Tzipi Livni is the kind of negotiator you would send to Starbucks to get coffee for the office who would come back later without any coffee or money and missing her shoes and jacket, talking about what a great deal she'd made. She also had the annoying habit of meeting in secret with the Palestinians without Netanyahu's OK and making public statements without clearing them with Netanyahu and the Knesset security council.

Both of them in their own way were loose cannons. And loud, egotistical ones at that

As the Israeli public moved to the right,both were seen as increasingly dysfunctional and lost support in the polls.

And that's essentially the story right there.

Once President Obama showed that his hostility towards Israel remained unabated and the peace talks ground to a halt ust like they were always going to, there was no further reason to cater to the president by keeping Livni around. She was on her way out anyway.

When it came to Lapid, it was a slightly different story. Netanyahu had a meeting with him in which he reportedly made several demands Lapid was unwilling to comply with. And to be honest about it,Netanyahu probably planned it that way. He was simply tired of him, and Lapid's rapidly declining public support made him a far less desirable dance partner.

Netanyahu sees this as an opportunity to take advantage of the Israeli electorates' Right turn to put together a much more unified coalition.

Here are some polls; if elections were to be held today,Israeli TV channel 10 shows Netanyahu's Likud winning 22 seats, Naftali Bennett's Beit Yahudi taking 17 seats and Israel Beiteinu winning 12 seats. Add in Shas and UTJ ( projected to win 7 and 8 seats respectively) and there a clear majority. By contrast, Lapid's Yesh Atid is projected to win only 9 seats, Livni's Hatnua is reduced to 4 and Labor falls to 13.

Israeli TV channel 2 showed Likud with 22, Jewish Home 17, Labor 13, the new party led by Moshe Kahlon and Yisrael Beytenu with 10 apiece, Yesh Atid with nine, Shas with nine, United Torah Judaism with eight, Meretz with seven, Hatnua with four.

Other polls show similar numbers.

Netanyahu sees two things going on...the fall in support for the Left and the rise in support for his rival on the Right, Naftali Bennett. He sees it as smart politics to strike now, and based on the numbers that's understandable.

Will the numbers change by March? We'll see. One thing you can count on is Barack Obama funneling money and personnel to Yitzhak Herzog and the Labor Party.

Our Weasel Of The Week Nominees!!

Hello and welcome to the Watcher's Council's 'Weasel Of The Week' nominations, where we award the famed golden plastic 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 and check back Thursday to see which Weasel gets the votes and walks off with the statuette of shame!

Here are this weeks' nominees...

 

Obama Consigliere And Puppet Master Valerie Jarrett!!

 The Noisy Room : I nominate Valerie Jarrett this week, for once again taking the roll of President and controlling and manipulating events in Ferguson.

Jarrett was in contact with Missouri’s Governor Nixon in the run-up to the announcement of the Grand Jury’s decision. Nixon vehemently denied that he was being pressured to have the National Guard and police stand down in Ferguson. Meanwhile, the riots the first night were allowed to rage unhampered by any police or military presence. People's businesses burned to the ground, looting was everywhere and police cars were toppled and burned, all while Nixon watched. The White House has now admitted that Jarrett was in close contact with Nixon during the first 24 hours of unrest. Jarrett, most assuredly, instructed the Governor to stand down and let the violence ensue.

For that and oh, so much more... Jarrett is an enemies within weasel who deserves more than the plastic golden weasel - she deserves jail time.

 

Five Racialist Members Of The St. Louis Rams!

Virginia Right!: I would like to nominate the 5 members of the St. Louis Ram's that held their hands up in a "don't shoot" statement on Michael Brown's death. Despite the testimony, the forensic evidence and all common sense, these 5 players sent out a message that is completely wrong about the facts in the case. And it is just as shameful that these players will not be fined.

Michael Brown never held up his hands. Rather he attacked the police officer. These guys should have been suspended for endangering the police that were there to provide security at the game. If there was a word that was defined as the opposite of role model, these guys would be it.



Missouri Democrat Governor Jay 'Let 'Em Loot N' Burn' Nixon!

Nice Deb: I nominate Missouri Governor Jay Nixon for calling up the National Guard for the Ferguson Grand Jury decision, but keeping them away after the announcement was made, letting the city burn. It has been speculated that he was under pressure by either the White House or DOJ to keep the Guard away from the embattled town.

His weaselly excuse for the neglect - that lining the streets with National Guardsmen "wasn't the plan," they were being deployed to protect strategic locations like utilities, hospitals, public buildings - doesn't hold water. There was no more strategic location on the night of November 24, than Ferguson, Missouri.

He has actually doubled down on his incompetence, simpering, "obviously, there was more violence than we expected."

 

CNN, The Cable Nuisance Network!

The Razor : I nominate CNN for doing their best to portray the Ferguson protests as peaceful, even going so far, as the New York Post notes, to blame the police for inciting the protesters by closing a road after gunfire. The Left has gotten its collective head so far up its own @ss on this topic that it’s going to take some serious weaseling to get out. And weaseling is what the Left and CNN do best.

Talk about your slimy weasels! 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: How Was Your Thanksgiving? Which Of Your Thanksgiving Favorites Did You Serve This Year?

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:Which Of Your Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes, Food And Drinks Did You Serve This Year?

Laura Rambeau Lee, Right Reason:Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. When my mom passed away in 2011, it felt like there was a giant shift in the cosmos. I took that giant step forward understanding the impact of now being the elder family member. I find it interesting how I have embraced this and have taken the lead in arranging for holiday family events, although I am not the oldest child. It is always difficult to get the entire family together. Most of us have jobs that require us to work on the day after Thanksgiving, so we might not celebrate on the actual day. What we usually do is take turns at whose house we celebrate, and each of us makes a dish so no one has to go crazy and we can all enjoy the day. I don’t remember my family having any special recipes except for a sweet potato casserole that mom made and I make that every year now. A few years ago I found a really easy recipe for roasting a turkey that everyone loves. If anyone is interested, it is called the Michigander turkey. Chicken bouillon, minced onions, parsley flakes and seasoned salt. That’s it! I hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving!

 GrEaT sAtAn"S gIrLfRiEnD : Gruss Gott, i served for 2 different families and didn't get much other than a cold biscuit, a leg from KFC and then got drunk on Lemon Meringue Pie...

The Glittering Eye :
Every year I look forward to Thanksgiving as kids look forward to Christmas. It's probably my favorite holiday of the year and I explained why in my Thanksgiving post for 2004, now ten years old.

I have been cooking Thanksgiving dinner for more years than most of you have been alive. I started when I was fifteen years old and I don't think I've missed a year since then. Some years I've had as many as twenty guests; others as few as one. If you come to my house for Thanksgiving, you are my family. Make no mistake about that.

We have an inviolable custom which I described in my Thanksgiving post for this year:

We followed our usual custom. Before we began to eat, proceeding from youngest to oldest we each said what we were thankful for. I, of course, was most thankful for my dear wife but there were other things for which I’m thankful.

I’m thankful that my new job circumstances have renewed my confidence in my abilities. If you’ve never experience doubt in that, I don’t know that you can appreciate what a difference that has made for me.

I’m also thankful for Tally’s life. I learned so much from her! I miss her dearly but I’m very thankful for her life.

It should go without saying but I’m also thankful for all of you who stop by here to read and even, perhaps, to comment. This blog is an important part of my life and it would be impoverished without the little coterie of commenters here. Thank you.

I've collected most of my usual Thanksgiving recipes in this post. If you've never tried it, I urge you to try the Pumpkin Chiffon Pie. You won't be sorry.

This year I posted a new recipe that I had tried this year for the first time: Folded Rolls. They're probably the best dinner rolls I've ever made.

 JoshuaPundit : Ah, Thanksgiving! My wife and I had a great deal to be thankful for this year, as indeed we always do.

Food? I've always been the turkey chef in our family. This particular year we brined our turkey overnight, seasoned it (I like to rub the spices directly into the bird)  and then  put it into the oven.  Past turkeys have been lubricated with red wine in the cavity,  but this one wasn't.It came out great.

We had one of my faves,  kasha ( whole grain roasted buckwheat) as a side dish. We also had homemade cranberry sauce, stuffing made with a mixture of egg bread, rye bread, celery,onions, homemade broth and a bit of  Merlot for flavor, mushroom n' Merlot turkey gravy, and a nice Zinfandel to go with.

Another thing I always look forward to is the leftovers. Turkey sandwiches are a huge favorite of mine,and in a few days, it'll be time for turkey soup, seasoned with thyme, sage, a touch of coriander, a little pepper and a prayer for peace.


Gerard Vanderleun, American Digest:

Grateful for each hand we hold

Gathered round this table.
From far and near we travel home,
Blessed that we are able.

Grateful for this sheltered place
With light in every window,
Saying welcome, welcome, share this feast
Come in away from sorrow.

Father, mother, daughter, son,
Neighbor, friend and friendless;
All together everyone in the gift of loving-kindness.

Grateful for whats understood,
And all that is forgiven;
We try so hard to be good,
To lead a life worth living.

Father, mother, daughter, son,
Neighbor, friend, and friendless;
All together everyone, let grateful days be endless.

Grateful for each hand we hold
Gathered round this table.


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.

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