Category Archives: Foreign
Ben Rhodes Benghazi Memo
The White House was forced to cough up another Benghazi memo this week because of a FOIA request by Judicial Watch. The memo written by Ben Rhodes urged staffers to emphasize the line that the 9/11/2012 Benghazi attack was caused by an anti-Muslim movie and not a failure of policy. The attack killed a US ambassador and 3 others. At the time the president was bragging that he had decimated al Qaeda. The White House feared news of a planned terror attack would tarnish the president’s campaign theme. Rhodes and others prepped Susan Rice for 5 Sunday talk shows with the message that a demonstration against the video got out of hand, causing the violence in the Benghazi compound.
This Catherine Herridge report shows General Robert Lovell testifying that there were no ant-video demonstrations preceding the Benghazi attack.
Benghazi Memo
Charles Krauthammer says the release of the Rhodes e-mail is up there with the discovery of the Nixon tapes.
Last night Bret Baier asked National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor if he changed Susan Rice’s talking points from terror “attack” to “demonstrations” protesting a video. Spokesman Vietor replied, “Dude, this was like two years ago.”
Tale of Two Pulitzers
ABC News president Ben Sherwood had the bad form to complain about being denied a Pulitzer Prize. Television isn’t even eligible for the prizes. They’re awarded to newspapers and digital outlets. Is a TV network’s digital site eligible? Beats me.
Anyway, Sherwood sent a 4 page letter to the Center For Public integrity demanding that ABC reporter Brian Ross be cut in for a share of CPI‘s prize. The reporting was about a doctor/lawyer conspiracy to deprive black lung victims of medical benefits.
Last I heard from Brian Ross he was busy mis-identifying James Holmes, the Denver theater psycho killer, as a Tea Party member.
Two Pulitzers
Meanwhile, Ed Snowden and Vlad Putin were overlooked by the Pulitzer Committee for an award shared by The Washington Post and The Guardian. The two papers were honored for stories detailing NSA spying. The snubbed Snowden, hero or traitor, depending on your point of view, did the basic reporting by stealing information from the NSA. Putin, a renowned New York Times columnist and famous Russian hockey player, is Snowden’s patron.
Irresponsible Behavior
When it comes to irresponsible behavior in the 21st century Obama and Putin don’t see eye to eye.
President Obama says no country can dominate another country. Dr. Krauthammer says Obama seems to think countries no longer have interests beyond those of the “international community”.
Pope and President
The president met the pope last week. Obama came bearing a gift box of seeds from Michelle’s garden. He hoped that some of Francis’s popularity, if not infallibility, might grow on him.
The pope gave the president a copy of Evangelii Gaudium (Joy of the Gospel). The 223 page document is Francis’s first papal publication. The pope comes down hard on trickle-down economics in one part of his writing.
President’s Favorite Pope Parts
That part might be Obama’s favorite. This other part, maybe not so much (No, I haven’t read it. I got this from David Weigle in Slate):
Among the vulnerable for whom the Church wishes to care with particular love and concern are unborn children, the most defenceless and innocent among us. Nowadays efforts are made to deny them their human dignity and to do with them whatever one pleases, taking their lives and passing laws preventing anyone from standing in the way of this. Frequently, as a way of ridiculing the Church’s effort to defend their lives, attempts are made to present her position as ideological, obscurantist and conservative. Yet this defence of unborn life is closely linked to the defence of each and every other human right. It involves the conviction that a human being is always sacred and inviolable, in any situation and at every stage of development. Human beings are ends in themselves and never a means of resolving other problems. Once this conviction disappears, so do solid and lasting foundations for the defence of human rights, which would always be subject to the passing whims of the powers that be. Reason alone is sufficient to recognize the inviolable value of each single human life, but if we also look at the issue from the standpoint of faith, “every violation of the personal dignity of the human being cries out in vengeance to God and is an offence against the creator of the individual.”
Precisely because this involves the internal consistency of our message about the value of the human person, the Church cannot be expected to change her position on this question. I want to be completely honest in this regard. This is not something subject to alleged reforms or “modernizations”. It is not “progressive” to try to resolve problems by eliminating a human life. On the other hand, it is also true that we have done little to adequately accompany women in very difficult situations, where abortion appears as a quick solution to their profound anguish, especially when the life developing within them is the result of rape or a situation of extreme poverty. Who can remain unmoved before such painful situations?
Club G 8
G-8 gentlemen are asked kindly not to invade other members of the World Community. If they do they will be asked to leave Club G 8.
