Odds and Ends

* John Kerry said it was a "mistake" for Israel to insist on the Palestinians recognizing Israel as the Jewish state. Kerry obviously still believes that the conflict is over land. It's not. It's a religious war, with the Muslims not being able to tolerate the existence of the Jews. After all, if a new state of "Palestine" comes into existence, that makes 58 Muslim countries. But it's a "mistake" to ask for Muslim acknowledgement of just one Jewish state?

* Christians do not fair any better with the Muslims, however. Over 100 Christians were just murdered by the Muslims in Nigeria; in yet another of multiple attacks of late.

* Obama has some new definitions of "freedom." "Freedom is signing for that new home and knowing it can't be taken from you because you actually understand what you're signing." And this: "Freedom is getting that new credit card and knowing the stakes and understanding how you're going to manage it."

* Whereas I thought freedom meant my ability to keep more of the money I earned without the government deciding that someone else should have that money. Or being able to enter into a contract for the type of health insurance that meets my needs; instead of having to buy a policy for $600. per month more - for the privilege of getting pediatric coverage, which I do not need.

* Back to John Kerry. He has instructed US diplomats around the world to make "climate change" their top priority. Good to know nothing else of importance is happening anywhere. But why should this come as a surprise to anyone. Kerry's boss previously told the head of NASA to make outreach to the Muslim world one of NASA's top priorities. And, having downsized NASA, the US now has no way to get astronauts into space except by relying on...Russia. How could that possibly be a problem?

* Harry Reid, the Senate Majority leader willing to do anything for Obama, with no consideration for honesty or integrity (not his values) was at it again. This is the guy who, from the floor of the US Senate in 2012, accused Mitt Romney of not paying taxes. A total lie, of course. And if he did know what Romney actually paid, then he violated numerous federal laws given the confidentiality of tax returns.

* Again from the Senate floor, this time Reid said every horror story about Obamacare (either denial of care or raised premiums) is a lie. All lies! So then can I ignore the letter from Anthem Blue Cross raising my premium $600. a month - and tell Anthem it's a lie? Reid also complained about the Koch brothers, claiming they were two unpatriotic billionaires trying to buy America. I get it; the patriotic billionaires are the ones who support Democrat causes - Gates, Buffett, the Hollywood crowd, George Soros. Not to mention all the millions that flood into Democrat coffers from unions.

* The country will be better served when John Kerry is no longer the Secretary of State. But his moronic comments certainly provide fodder for this blog. Here's a good one. Referring to Russia's invasion of Crimea, Kerry said: "It's a 19th century act in the 21st century." I guess it's possible that Kerry failed to take any history class in high school or college. Otherwise, he might have some basic familiarity with the 20th century. You know, people and events like WWI and WWII, Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Rwanda, the killing fields of Cambodia. From Obama to Biden to Reid to Pelosi to Clinton to Kerry, our leaders are either liars or morons - or both. (I trust no one is going to argue on behalf of Nancy "we have to pass the bill to see what's in it" Pelosi.)

* In a breath of fresh air, a federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit brought by various Islamic agencies against the NYPD. These groups claimed civil rights violations because the NYPD was keeping an eye on local mosques. As the IBD noted: "Police can't monitor the country for Muslim terrorist activities without monitoring the Muslim community itself - including its places of worship, where too many terrorists are radicalized." (2/25/14 Editorial.) Given that "political correctness" has infiltrated most federal agencies, the FBI refused to participate in the monitoring. As a result of their monitoring, the NYPD thwarted many attacks, undoubtedly saving many lives. Something the Boston PD might have given some thought to.

* Well, the Obama crowd is glowing with praise for the ACA, claiming that over 4 million people have signed up. Somehow, they avoid mentioning that over 6 million had their policies cancelled. They also neglect one other minor detail. According to a McKinsey & Company study (cited in a 3/12/14 editorial in the WSJ) only 27% of those signing up in the exchanges through February were uninsured previously. What? Obamacare only really signed up a little over 1 million uninsured? Let me repeat, the ACA was never about healthcare; it was and is all about income redistribution.

* "The facts of life do not penetrate to the sphere in which our beliefs are cherished; as it was not they that engendered those beliefs, so they are powerless to destroy them; they can aim at them continual blows of contradiction and disproof without weakening them; and an avalanche of miseries and maladies coming, one after another..." will not make people lose their faith. While Proust may have had religion in mind, the same applies to the "religion" of "liberalism." This writer frequently notes that "liberals let their beliefs dictate their reality, whereas conservatives let reality dictate their beliefs."

* Case in point: Texas. Since 2000, Texas had a net migration of 2 million people. In 5 years "$14.4 billion worth of income shifted from other states to Texas." (Per the 3/7/14 IBD, citing a Tax Foundation study.) "Over the same years, liberal bastions such as California lost $15.8 billion, New York $21 billion and Massachusetts $4 billion." (IBD citing the same study.) So, the Texas Republican governor Rick Perry used policies that actually work - allowing reality to dictate his beliefs. Democrat states? High unemployment, high taxes, businesses leaving. What was that about "an avalanche of miseries and maladies?" Never affects Democrats' faith in their policies.

* Jonathan Turley, a liberal law professor at George Washington University, recently testified before Congress. Turley also penned an opinion piece in the 3/9/14 LA Times. Turley actually agrees with many of Obama's policies. However, he still believes in the Constitution - and the process of how government should work. Turley wrote: "The system of separation of powers was not created to protect the authority of each branch for its own sake. Rather, it is the primary protection of individual rights because it prevents the concentration of power in any one branch. In this sense, Obama is not simply posing a danger to the constitutional system; he has become the very danger that separation of powers was designed to avoid."

* Turley: "Our system is changing in a fundamental way without even a whimper of regret." But during the 2008 campaign, Obama did say say he wanted to bring "fundamental change" to our country. The media had no interest in questioning what that might be. Wasn't there a time when the media were "watchdogs" and not "lapdogs?"