Summit Of Fools
President Obama's White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism contributed nothing to winning the war against radical Islam. Instead, Obama and the other speakers employed rhetoric and arguments more likely to prevent us from understanding our enemy and making the hard decisions to counter it.
Even worse, Obama's insistence that the jihadists have "legitimate grievances" is likely to provide fuel for the Islamic fire burning throughout the world. His repeated narrative that American Muslims are being unfairly treated and that they are the victims of hate is likely to inspire more radicalization here at home.
In short, the conference actually weakened us and strengthened our foes.
Obama asserts that "violent extremism" is "not unique to one group or to one geography or one period of time." But there is one group -- radical Islamists -- who at this period of time is threatening, killing and enslaving more people than any other expansive ideology.
When he claims that groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda have nothing to do with Islam, he defies the evidence plainly in front of our eyes. He makes it less likely for Muslim leaders to confront the spreading cancer. Why should they? The president says it has nothing to do with them.
The March issue of The Atlantic, a prominent mainstream magazine, features an article by Graeme Wood entitled, "What ISIS Really Wants." Wood's piece is the result of months of research and personal interviews with ISIS leaders and sympathizers around the world. Here's an excerpt of what he found about the centrality of Islam to the Islamic State:
"The reality is that the Islamic State is Islamic. Very Islamic. Yes, it has attracted psychopaths and adventure seekers, drawn largely from the disaffected populations of the Middle East and Europe. But the religion preached by its most ardent followers derives from coherent and even learned interpretations of Islam.
"Virtually every major decision and law promulgated by the Islamic State adheres to what it calls, in its press and pronouncements, and on its billboards, license plates, stationery, and coins, 'the Prophetic methodology,' which means following the prophecy and example of Muhammad, in punctilious detail. Muslims can reject the Islamic State; nearly all do. But pretending that it isn't actually a religious, millenarian group, with theology that must be understood to be combatted, has already led the United States to underestimate it and back foolish schemes to counter it."
Wood interviewed Princeton scholar Bernard Haykel, the leading expert on ISIS theology. Wood writes, "In Haykel's estimation, the fighters of the Islamic State are authentic throwbacks to early Islam and are faithfully reproducing its norms of war," which Haykel says includes, "Slavery, crucifixion, and beheadings."
Needless to say, neither Wood nor Haykel were at the White House conference. If they had been, they could have dispersed the fog that kept the truth hidden. Instead, the far-left that currently controls our government spent the day talking to American Muslim leaders who want to play the victim card. Everyone agreed to continue the charade while the world burns.
Obama's Losing The Debate
If Obama's politically correct nonsense sounds idiotic to you, take heart. He is starting to lose folks on the left, too. We've told you about Bill Maher's recent comments on radical Islam. Now even some talking heads in the media are breaking ranks.
MSNBC's Chris Matthews says that we are being "morally humiliated" by Obama's weak response to ISIS.
Left-wing loud mouth Ed Schultz understands that "it's a religious war."
NBC's Chuck Todd said, "Look, it comes across as if they are trying to be so politically correct that they're losing focus on what the problem is."
And MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell dismissed the president's summit on violent extremism as "more of a dog and pony show."
Virginia Liberals Diss Israel
Once upon a time -- oh, say about ten years ago -- support for Israel in America was bi-partisan. But something has changed. Left-wing hostility toward Israel can be measured in polling and through actions.
Two weeks ago, a resolution of support for the state of Israel was offered on the floor of the Virginia House of Delegates. The resolution passed 70-to-2.
A near unanimous vote sounds good, right? But there are 100 members in the House of Delegates. What happened to the missing 28 votes?
Only four Democrats supported the resolution, while most of them literally walked off the floor to avoid the vote. The resolution was brought up a second time and they walked out again. You can watch this display of liberal disrespect for Israel here.
Thank Goodness For Global Warming
Wind chills in Washington, D.C., today are well below zero. It is so cold here, I saw a liberal congressman with his hands in his own pockets! With records falling all across the country and the Great Lakes covered in ice, I'm thankful for global warming. It might be REALLY cold without it!
Seriously, folks, I'm not disputing the notion of climate change. The earth's climate does change. In fact, there is evidence (beyond the current conditions outside) that we may be entering another cooling period.
But for the left even the climate is politicized. The big government crowd is pushing government income redistribution schemes in the name of stopping climate change.
Christiana Figueres, the U.N.'s top climate change official, recently said: ". . .we are setting ourselves the task of intentionally, within a defined period of time, [changing] the economic development model that has been reigning for at least 150 years. . ."
As the editors of Investor's Business Daily noted, "The only economic model in the 150 years that has ever worked at all is capitalism."
Meanwhile, the Obama Administration is pursuing environmental policies that could cost hundreds of thousands of jobs and cause gas prices to triple.
Socialism won't put bread on the table and it won't change the climate.