Crazy Dems

`Peace in Our Time` ~ Iran and the American Left

Published by Papa Giorgio

Below is an interview of Michael Rubin by Hugh Hewitt. Some frank discussion about the Iran deal occurs by a historian on such negotiations. I believe we have our own Chamberlain moment… brought to you by the kind people on the American Left.

Michael Rubin's Input

…It appears Iran has not made any deal that would curtail its nuclear ambition. As described, the framework upon which U.S. and Iranian negotiators appear to agree fails to resolve those issues of most concern to regional states. Obama has unilaterally waived Security Council resolutions demanding a complete enrichment cessation. There may be some enrichment suspension at key sites but, as Rouhani bragged in 2009, he used an early suspension to install new and better centrifuges. And while Iran might convert some more highly enriched uranium to less usable fuel rods, it has backtracked its own earlier proposals to ship fissile material abroad.

Of even more strategic concern, the deal does not address Arak. On Thursday, a German court sentenced four businessmen who sold components to Iran for that plutonium-producing plant. When Arak becomes operational within a year, it can produce enough plutonium for two bombs per year. Nor has Iran made any concession on Parchin, where Iran conducted weapons research. In short, Kerry can arrive back from Geneva and declare triumphantly, “I have in my hand a paper signed by Mohammad Javad Zarif,” but the agreement does not stop Iran from assembling the material or know-how needed to make a bomb. There is no truth and reconciliation component to the deal: Iran needs not come clean on its previous activities. If the regime had truly has a change of heart, such transparency should not be an issue.

Diplomats may celebrate a deal, but a bad deal can be worse than no deal. Sometimes, the hangover is not worth the celebration.

~Rubin

Besides Debka calling these secret meetings to the public’s attention back in 2012, they also note some glaring loop-holes in the deal:

Debkafile’s intelligence and military sources list seven of the most glaring loopholes in the first-step accord:

1. Parchin: This long-suspected facility remains out of UN oversight. President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry boasted after the signing that daily IAEA inspections will take place at Fordo and Natanz. However, cameras are already fixed at both those facilities without an agreement, whereas Tehran’s consistent denial of IAEA access to Parchin is not addressed.

2. Secret nuclear locations: Under the heading “Possible Military Dimensions,” the last IAEA report noted: “Since 2002, the Agency has become increasingly concerned about the possible existence in Iran of undisclosed nuclear related organizations, including activities related to the development of a payload for a missile.”

The watchdog has received information indicating activities “relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device.” This was further corroborated by new information obtained since November 2011.

Tehran’s non-cooperation for investigating these findings is not mentioned in the Geneva interim accord, nor was it addressed in the negotiations.

3. Dirty bombs: Iran doesn’t need a full-scale nuclear bomb or missile warhead for attacking Israel. For decades, Tehran has been working on perfecting hundreds of dirty bombs as part of its nuclear program, by adding plutonium or enriched uranium to conventional bombs. These weapons are easy to make and easy to use. In the hands of Hizballah or other Shiite terrorist organizations in Syria or Iraq, for instance, they could be used to strike Israel without leaving a trail to Tehran.

This peril too was ignored by the six powers in Geneva.

4. Rollback. While President Obama has presented the deal as a first step toward freezing or even rolling back “key aspects” of Iran’s nuclear program. The fact remains that, so long as Iran is permitted to enrich uranium, even though this is restricted to a low 5 percent grade, it is free to produce as much fissile material as it wants, whenever it wants. This seems more like roll forward than roll back.

5. Enrichment. Obama and Kerry said the new deal does not recognize Iran’s right to enrich uranium. They were contradicted by the Iranian president and senior negotiator as well as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. So what is the truth? If Iran won recognition for this right, it blows the bottom out of the Non-Proliferating Treaty because, in no time, all the signatories may start enriching uranium with permission from the big powers. Neither is there any point in making Iran join the NPT’s Additional Protocol for snap inspections.

6. Centrifuges. Iran has undertaken not to add new centrifuges to its enrichment facilities, according to President Obama, but there is nothing to stop it from keeping up their production. In the six-month interregnum for negotiating a comprehensive nuclear deal, Tehran wins time to turn out enough centrifuges to substantially expand its production of enriched uranium.

7. A leap to breakout: Far from being static or in freeze, as the Americans claim, Iran is free to step up centrifuge production and boost its stock of 3.5 percent enriched uranium, thereby accumulating enough material to enhance its capacity for producing enough weapons-grade uranium to break through to a nuclear bomb rapidly enough to defy detection by the IAEA or Western intelligence until it is too late.

The first loophole appeared hours after the new accord was signed:

Iran’s lead negotiator, Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, announced that his country’s enrichment rights had been recognized in the negotiations, after which Iranian President Hassan Rouhani praised the supreme leader’s guidelines for achieving world power recognition of Tehran’s “nuclear rights.”

However, Secretary of State John Kerry in his first appearance after the signing denied this concession had been made. He said: “The first step, let me be clear, does not say that Iran has a right to enrich uranium.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov lined up solidly behind the Iranian version of the accord, confirming world recognition had been extended for Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy, including the right for enrichment.

…read more…

`How Cold Was It?` ~ Politics and Lies

Published by Papa Giorgio

(H/T to Dave Neal ~ see referenced list HERE)

My favorite from the referenced list linked above is this one, which I have spent some time on and one can see it weaved into conversation HERE as well (I also made a video pre-2008 election):

My Church Is Like Any Other Christian Church ~ ABC News

Here is the list via FaceBook:

1. I will have the most transparent administration.

2. I have Shovel ready jobs.

3. The IRS is not targeting anyone.

4. If four Americans get killed, it is not optimal.

5. There are going to be bumps in the road. (referring to Libya and Egypt protests/attacks).

6. ObamaCare will be good for America.

7. You can keep your family doctor.

8. Premiums will be lowered by $2500

9. You can keep your current healthcare plan

10. Just shop around, for that healthcare I claimed you wouldn’t lose.

11. I am sorry you lost your healthcare, (you know the health care you have to shop around for, ya the same health care I said you could keep, yup, that’s the one).

12. I did not say you could keep your health care. (Regardless that 29 recorded videos show I did)

13. ObamaCare will not be offered to illegal immigrants.

14. ObamaCare will not be used to fund abortions.

15. ObamaCare will cost less than 1 Trillion Dollars.

16. No one making under $250,000 will see their taxes raised one dime.

17. It is Bushes fault. (this can be inserted in between every statement).

18. It was about a movie.

19. I will fundamentally transform America.

20. If I had a son.

21. I am not a dictator.

22. I will put an end to the type of politics that “breeds division, conflict and cynicism”.

23. You didn’t build that.

24. I will restore trust in Government.

25. The Cambridge police acted stupidly.

26. I am not after your guns.

27. The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. The BHO of (2006).

28. I have been practicing…I bowled a 129. It’s like — it was like Special Olympics.

29. “If I don’t have this done in three years, then this is going to be a one-term proposition.

30. I do think at a certain point you’ve made enough money.

31. I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.

32. The Public Will Have 5 Days To Look At Every Bill That Lands On My Desk

33. It’s not my red line it is the worlds red line.

34. Whistle blowers will be protected.

35. We got back Every Dime we Used to Rescue the Banks, with interest.

36. I am good at killing people.

37. I will close Gitmo. (but instead built them a $750,000 soccer field).

38. The point I was making was not that Grandmother harbors any racial animosity. She doesn’t, but she is a typical white person

39. I am not spying on American citizens.

40. By, on, on, by, Friday uh afternoon things get a little uh, uh challenged uh, uh ( when left to think for himself without a Teleprompter).

41. I am a Christian.

42. John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith.

43. It’s not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy.

44. UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, right? It’s the Post Office that’s always having problems. (Attempting to make the case for government-run healthcare).

45. What’s good for illegal immigrants is also good for people who are losing their health insurance because of Obamacare.

 And the biggest lie of all…

✂ I Barrack Hussain Obama pledge to preserve protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.

Bill Maher`s Common Sense vs. Michael Moore, Al Sharpton, and Valerie Plame ~ Dennis Prager Dissects

Published by Papa Giorgio

Video Description;

In this great dissection of the above named people by Dennis Prager, you get to hear how the left thinks. (Posted by: https://religiopoliticaltalk.com/)

———————–
(Fox News) Bill Maher, Michael Moore, Reverend Al Sharpton, and Richard Dawkins all got together to debate religion and… well, need I say more? Sharpton argued every religion has “zealots,” but Maher insisted it’s not the same and called the comparison “bullshit.” Valerie Plame and Moore also pushed back against Maher, making the point that there are plenty of Christian radicals all over the world. But both Maher and Dawkins argued that unlike Islamic extremists, Christian extremists don’t casually throw out fatwas and death threats when their faith is attacked.
———————–

For the readers information on what I noticed in uploading this to YouTube:

  • YouTube would not let me save my above description with the word I-S-L-A-M-I-C extremists. So I put the word “Muslim” in the text instead. But YouTube is fine with the phrase “Christian extremist.” YouTube is making the point Prager is making.

A current example of this thinking in the Department of Homeland Security, via Gateway Pundit:

World Net Daily reported, via Religion of Peace:

Department of Homeland Security adviser Mohamed Elibiary has penned yet another controversial tweet, this time likening the Muslim Brotherhood to evangelical Christians and comparing the Brotherhood’s indoctrination to Bible study groups.

WND found that Elibiary tweeted: “Ignorant #Islamophobes (redundant I know) protested my saying #MB like #Evangelicals. Usra like Bible study grp.”

The “MB,” or Muslim Brotherhood, seeks a worldwide Islamic caliphate ruled by Shariah, or Islamic law, and teaches followers to help establish an Islamic state wherever they live.

Awesome Story ~ WWII Vets Let Into Memorial by Repubs! (UPDATED: `Barricade` ~ Louie Gohmert)

Published by Papa Giorgio

Democratic Animosity

“Barry-cades confirmed: Park Service says Obama admin ordered closure of World WarII Memorial” (Twitchy)

(Weekly Standard) After further reading, it is of note that this is an open access memorial. There are no barriers around it… except the ones miraculously erected over night. When news and cameras showed up… the Park Service guys “ran”

Some updates from HotAir:

Update: Louie Gohmert: “What are they going to do next — hang a drapery over Mt. Rushmore?”

Update: Are other barricaded memorials next? According to what some vets told BuzzFeed yesterday, maybe.

Update: Visiting the Memorial is a “First Amendment activity”? Doesn’t that mean all parks and memorials are now basically required to open for visits?

Breitbart adds:

The Obama Administration has decided to block access to public memorials on the National Mall as a result of the government shutdown. Like its decision to end White House tours when the sequester cuts took effect, there is no rational reason for this. The Park Police, nominally in charge of monitoring these spaces, isn’t even effected by the shutdown. Shutting off access to these sites is gratuitous and petulant. 

On Monday, the first day of the government shutdown, a number of WWII veterans showed up at a memorial to their service to find that access had been blocked. The memorial is in a public space and is open 24/7, with almost no oversight from Park Police personnel. (Who, by the way, are exempt from the government shutdown.) The White House was, according to reports, informed of the veterans’ visit and chose to block access.

Having lived in DC for 18 years, I can tell you, the WWII Memorial is simply an architectural structure in an open public space. There is no official “access” to it. There are no guards. It’s a building in a park. Yet, the Obama Administration tried to block veterans from viewing the public memorial, even after hearing about the planned visit. 

Fortunately, the “greatest generation” was having nothing of this and easily overcame the government barricades. (Do we yet again have to rely on this generation to show the promise of America?) 

On Wednesday, the veterans’ group is planning to visit the Lincoln Memorial, which the Obama Administration has also vowed to close to visitors. I have regularly visited this memorial at 1 or 2 in the morning. At those hours, it is a peaceful and reflective place. It is an open space. There is no access that needs to be blocked. It is only by a conscious decision, and a great deal of work, that access would be blocked.

…read more…

Concepts: “Let Allah Sort It Out” ~ Sarah Palin

Published by Papa Giorgio

Firstly, I must applaud John for saying something not too many on the left say, and that is when he slighted the U.N. properly, “The mere fact that it is not even on the United Nations agenda shows how impotent that organization is in enforcing its own Charter due to the Security Council’s veto power.” Awesome. For those reading this, I recommend a great documentary entitled, “U.N.Me.” A great and actually funny look at the uselessness of that body.

Now, to discuss quickly John’s ending sentence.

  • “I do feel sorry for Sarah though: she still thinks there is a difference between God and Allah.”

I know John is illiterate in his theology, comparative-religious studies, historical depth, and the like. Because there are huge differences between Allah and the God of the Bible. And they express themselves in their founders, Jesus, and Muhammad:

MUHAMMAD ordered his followers (and participated in) the cutting of throats of between 600-to-900 persons. Not all men, but women and children. He was a military tactician that lied and told others to use deception that ultimately led to the death of many people (taqiyya). We never see any depictions of Muhammad with children, we just know that he most likely acquired a gal at age 6 and consummated the “marriage” when she was 9. He was a pedophile in other words. While the Qu’ran states that a follower of this book should have no more than 4 wives, we know of course that he had many more. Many more.

JESUS, when Peter struck off the ear of the soldier, healed it. Christ said if his followers were of any other kingdom, they would fight to get him off the cross. Christ invited and used children as examples of how Jewish adults should view their faith… something culturally radical – inviting children into an inner-circle of a group of status oriented men as the Pharisees were and using them as examples to learn from. Jesus, and thusly us, can access true love because the Triune God has eternally loved (The Father loves the Son, etc. ~ unlike the unitarian God of Islam). Love between us then, my wife and I, the love in community/Body of Christ, has foundations in God. Even the most ardent Muslim still leaves his or her entrance into “heaven” as an arbitrary choice of “god.” The love of Christ and the relationship he offers is bar-none the center piece of our faith… something the Muslim does not have. Which is why the Church evolved because they have a point of reference in Christ to come back to. We would not want the Muslim to fall back to his point of reference but to look to Jesus as a referent.

Remember, in Christian theology, Jesus IS God. This is lost on an old-progressive soul like John however… so to my real reason for posting on this recent “Concepts.” And it is surely John’s, like most liberal Democrats, BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome) that is driving this painting of history the wrong way.

  • “George W told us he obeyed a higher father than his earthly father, but we see what that accomplished: nothing.”

If you [the reader] are not familiar with this mantra John is referencing, deals with “Dubya” supposedly praying to God and getting confirmation to go into Iraq (the key back-and-forth begins at 1:35… listen to it all after that):

This mantra and myth is still alive in the likes of “Concepts,” where history and reasonable thought are something akin to the abundance of the Blackfin Cisco. The left leaning (really it fell over) Guardian Newspaper sums up the myth well:

George Bush has claimed he was on a mission from God when he launched the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, according to a senior Palestinian politician in an interview to be broadcast by the BBC later this month.

Mr Bush revealed the extent of his religious fervour when he met a Palestinian delegation during the Israeli-Palestinian summit at the Egpytian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, four months after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

One of the delegates, Nabil Shaath, who was Palestinian foreign minister at the time, said: “President Bush said to all of us: ‘I am driven with a mission from God’. God would tell me, ‘George go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan’. And I did. And then God would tell me ‘George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq’. And I did.”

Mr Bush went on: “And now, again, I feel God’s words coming to me, ‘Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East’. And, by God, I’m gonna do it.”

And another headline from a progressive site should sum it up, “Bush: God Told Me to Invade Iraq — President ‘revealed reasons for war in private meeting‘” This is the junk John is spreading, and people take him serious? Seriously?

I bet John is also confused on some other mantras, like “nation building.” I will let Larry Elder take us out of the Looney Tunes known as “Concepts.”

A Refutation of a Liberal Mantra About Dubya and Nation Building from Papa Giorgio

Concepts: `The Old But Better GOP` (Glass Ceilings)

Published by Papa Giorgio

Besides John van Huizum undermining his entire case to show that any of the supposed (granting him the idea that his positions are true) disparities he lists have any value in being “unfair,” or “wrongs” — see the last post on John’s thoughts — let us cherry pick just one example from his many above “bumper sticker” platitudes and dissect is a bit. (You may mouse over the pic to see the section.) In picking one seemingly true position and shedding some factual challenge to it should call into question John’s understanding of the rest.

“Assure equal pay for equal work, regardless of sex.”

Okay, I have written on this topic quite extensively, and this is just a portion from this larger writing:

(Alex Castellanos ended up writing a response to his above “tiff” with Maddow) This is partly an import from a previous post dealing with this topic via my old blog, and partly an update. In my original post entitle, Glass Ceilings, Veteran benefits, and Other Liberal Mantras, I chronicled the following:

The Glass Ceiling

President Clinton said that women make .73 cents on every man’s dollar. He used this as a campaign issue to try and smear Republicans. Kerry said that women make .76 cents on every man’s dollar, and likewise used this stat as a political smear. The question then is this, are these two persons correct?

YES! If you compare all men to all women, then yes, there is a disparage. This stat doesn’t take into account a few things. It doesn’t consider the fact that women tend to choose the humanities when entering college and men seem to choose the hard sciences. So by choice women tend to choose professions that pay less. Not only that, when you compare Oranges to Oranges, you get something much different than expected, or that we would expect from the liberal side of things. If a woman and a man have had the same level of education and have been on the same job for an equal amount of time, the woman makes $1,005 while a man makes $1,000, a difference of $5 dollars every thousand dollars a man earns.

So, the bottom line is that this platitude that John listed is a stat misused by the Left to portray [incorrectly] some disparaged class of people to rally around for political gain, not for gain of presenting truth. Sad.

Firemen Raising Flag At Ground Zero Too `Rah-Rah` ~ Dennis Prager

Published by Papa Giorgio

Dennis Prager discusses how liberalism distorts clear thinking on many issues… this one being even the patriotic act in a photo being included in the 9/11 museum. Below is another example by Prager in music.

Further poisoning musical judgment is the Left-wing value of diversity. In 2011, Anthony Tommasini, music critic of the New York Times, published his list of the ten greatest composers who ever lived. Absent from the list was Haydn, who Tommasini acknowledged was the father of the symphony, father of the string quartet, and father of the piano sonata. Indeed, one of the avant-garde’s most celebrated modern composers (and a justly celebrated conductor), Pierre Boulez, “thinks Haydn a greater composer than Mozart,” and one of the greatest pianists who ever lived, Glenn Gould, thought Haydn’s piano sonatas were superior to Mozart’s. So, why did the New York Times music critic omit Haydn? Because, he wrote, “If such a list is to be at all diverse and comprehensive, how could 4 of the 10 slots go to composers—Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert—who worked in Vienna during, say, the 75 years from 1750 to 1825?” Diversity, not greatness, helped determine the New York Times list of the greatest ten composers. That is why Bartok, Debussy, and Stravinsky made the list but Haydn (and Handel) didn’t.

Dennis Prager, Still the Best Hope: Why the World Needs American Values to Triumph (New York, NY: Broadside Books, 2012), 52-53

Chicago Files: 4-Dead and 6-year-old girl Shot ~ But Hey, Let`s March for Trayvon

Published by Papa Giorgio

Via Gateway Pundit:

  • Hundreds attended the ‘Justice for Trayvon Martin’ rally yesterday in Chicago.
  • Meanwhile, a six year-old girl was shot Friday while at a memorial for a loved one gunned down five years ago.
  • And at least four people were killed and nine wounded in Chicago shootings on Saturday night.

 

Chet McDoniel, born without arms, speaks about his testimony against the `Fetal Abnormalities Exemption` in the abortion bill during a Texas State Affairs Committee hearing

Published by Papa Giorgio

From Video Description:

Recently, Chet McDoniel, an inspirational speaker who was born without arms, spoke to MRCTV about his testimony against the “Fetal Abnormalities Exemption” in the abortion bill during a Texas State Affairs Committee hearing. He also addressed the state of the pro-life movement in TX, and gave his predictions about the future of this ground-breaking bill.

Chet’s entire testimony can be found here: http://www.mrctv.org/videos/i-know-my…

A Politically Correct Intel Gathering

Published by Papa Giorgio
What Do You Expect When Carter & Moore Are DNC VIP's

When the Democratic Party views Tea Party events as racist, violent gatherings (when they are neither), and invites dweebs like Carter and plunks Michael Moore right next to him (mouse over above pic)… you get chaos like this!

In my “Differences are Important” post, I mention the PC nature of how the Left fights threats to our well-being… which endangers us more-so: “We do not need more surveillance, but tener cojones (“have the balls to”) fight a war on ideas that is not politically correct, as E.T. Williams points out so well!” This story confirms the ineffective nature of being politically correct, or, culturally sensitive (accepting cultural relativism as a reality), in the face of REAL threats. Which the next story points out, via Gateway Pundit:

(Investors Daily) The White House assures that tracking our every phone call and keystroke is to stop terrorists, and yet it won’t snoop in mosques, where the terrorists are.

That’s right, the government’s sweeping surveillance of our most private communications excludes the jihad factories where homegrown terrorists are radicalized.

Since October 2011, mosques have been off-limits to FBI agents. No more surveillance or undercover string operations without high-level approval from a special oversight body at the Justice Department dubbed the Sensitive Operations Review Committee.

Who makes up this body, and how do they decide requests? Nobody knows; the names of the chairman, members and staff are kept secret.

We do know the panel was set up under pressure from Islamist groups who complained about FBI stings at mosques. Just months before the panel’s formation, the Council on American-Islamic Relations teamed up with the ACLU to sue the FBI for allegedly violating the civil rights of Muslims in Los Angeles by hiring an undercover agent to infiltrate and monitor mosques there.

Before mosques were excluded from the otherwise wide domestic spy net the administration has cast, the FBI launched dozens of successful sting operations against homegrown jihadists — inside mosques — and disrupted dozens of plots against the homeland.

If only they were allowed to continue, perhaps the many victims of the Boston Marathon bombings would not have lost their lives and limbs. The FBI never canvassed Boston mosques until four days after the April 15 attacks, and it did not check out the radical Boston mosque where the Muslim bombers worshipped.

The bureau didn’t even contact mosque leaders for help in identifying their images after those images were captured on closed-circuit TV cameras and cellphones.

One of the Muslim bombers made extremist outbursts during worship, yet because the mosque wasn’t monitored, red flags didn’t go off inside the FBI about his increasing radicalization before the attacks.

This is particularly disturbing in light of recent independent surveys of American mosques, which reveal some 80% of them preach violent jihad or distribute violent literature to worshippers.

What other five-alarm jihadists are counterterrorism officials missing right now, thanks to restrictions on monitoring the one area they should be monitoring?

Breitbart speaks to the IBD article:

The piece explains that “Since October 2011, mosques have been off-limits to FBI agents. No more surveillance or undercover string operations without high-level approval from a special oversight body at the Justice Department dubbed the Sensitive Operations Review Committee.” 

(Here is the unclassified version of the FBI Domestic Investigation and Operations Guide, head over to page 171ff )

Who is this review committee? “Nobody knows; the names of the chairman, members and staff are kept secret.”

Apparently, these limitations were set up from pressure by Islamic groups. 

We do know the panel was set up under pressure from Islamist groups who complained about FBI stings at mosques. Just months before the panel’s formation, the Council on American-Islamic Relations teamed up with the ACLU to sue the FBI for allegedly violating the civil rights of Muslims in Los Angeles by hiring an undercover agent to infiltrate and monitor mosques there.

IBD goes on to describe that “the FBI never canvassed Boston mosques until four days after the April 15 attacks, and it did not check out the radical Boston mosque (see below) where the Muslim bombers worshipped. The bureau didn’t even contact mosque leaders for help in identifying their images after those images were captured on closed-circuit TV cameras and cellphones.”…

…read more…

Americans for Peace and Tolerance June 25 2009 Press Conference

On June 26, Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino will be honored guests at the grand opening of the Islamic Society of Boston’s Cultural Center in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Americans for Peace and Tolerance wish the Boston Muslim community well in their new cultural and religious center, and we celebrate the growing religious diversity it represents. We are deeply concerned, however, about the extremist leadership of this new institution. This video is from a press conference held to discuss our concerns.

Moonbattery has some GREAT commentary as well:

In case anyone is naive enough to believe that the outrageously intrusive domestic spying our government has been illicitly engaging in is for the purpose of defending us from the overwhelmingly dominant security threat, Islamic terrorism…

Since October 2011, mosques have been off-limits to FBI agents. No more surveillance or undercover string operations without high-level approval from a special oversight body at the Justice Department dubbed the Sensitive Operations Review Committee.

Who makes up this body, and how do they decide requests? Nobody knows; the names of the chairman, members and staff are kept secret.

…read more…