{"id":22116,"date":"2013-09-02T22:26:52","date_gmt":"2013-09-03T02:26:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=22116"},"modified":"2013-09-02T22:27:03","modified_gmt":"2013-09-03T02:27:03","slug":"the-daily-gouge-tuesday-september-3rd-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=22116","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge, Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>It&#8217;s Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013&#8230;but before we begin, two sterling examples of the tortured logic which doesn&#8217;t begin to plumb the depths to which modern Progressives will sink in defending the indefensible.\u00a0 First, from Iowa, words we guarantee the good Lord won&#8217;t view as a prayer, but as self-incrimination:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CwJu_DkXgwg\" height=\"235\" width=\"420\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Second, nothing other than patent prevarication in the purposeful pursuit of protecting this President can explain <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>this<\/em><\/span> bit of twisted reasoning from Andrea Mitchell:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"MRC TV video player\" src=\"http:\/\/www.mrctv.org\/embed\/122566\" height=\"235\" width=\"420\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>In all seriousness, if Der Obafuhrer were captured on video ordering the break-in of the RNC&#8217;s offices, Andrea Mitchell, along with most of the rest of the MSM, would be happy to explain why, unlike Nixon, Obama&#8217;s intentions or character somehow mitigated his guilt.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Which is why you can&#8217;t spell &#8220;Liberal&#8221; without an &#8220;L-I-E&#8221;!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Now, here&#8217;s The Gouge!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Leading off the first edition of September, courtesy of\u00a0<em>Breitbart.com<\/em>&#8216;s Mike Flynn, what would <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>you<\/em><\/span> do as the Leader of the Free World after detailing a threat grave enough to essentially ask Congress to declare war and put Americans in harm&#8217;s way?<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"content_0_headlineimage_0_h1Headline\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Obama Hits Golf Course After Announcing National Emergency<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/obama_golf_AFP.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-22144\" alt=\"obama_golf_AFP\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/obama_golf_AFP-300x224.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/obama_golf_AFP-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/obama_golf_AFP.jpg 475w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">President Obama and Vice-President Biden held a rare press event Saturday in the Rose Garden to address the escalating tensions with Syria. President Obama said he was convinced Syrian President Bashir Assad had ordered a chemical weapon attack on his citizens and that the US, and the world community, must act in response. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Obama called on Congress to authorize a military attack against Syria.<\/strong><\/span> A new foreign policy crisis now faces the US. <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>After the press event, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Obama and Biden went golfing<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>I&#8217;m not an expert in foreign policy, but I can think of a few things a President ought to do after requesting authority for a military strike on a sovereign nation.<\/strong><\/span> There are probably some Congressional leaders who ought to be briefed. <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>There are likely one or two world leaders who would appreciate a chat about the US plans.<\/strong><\/span> No doubt generals in the military would have a thought or two about how things should proceed.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>An hour after announcing a potential new military venture in the Middle East, with unknown consequences, &#8220;5 Wood or 2 Iron&#8221; is the last thing I want on a President&#8217;s mind<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>As Victor Davis Hanson notes in today&#8217;s <span style=\"color: #008000;\">Money Quote<\/span>&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 1em; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #008000;\">He seems as bored by Syria as he was on the night of the bin Laden raid when he stepped out to play cards with Reggie Love or during the Benghazi\u00a0 debacle when he retired early given the next day\u2019s Las Vegas urgencies. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #003300;\"><em>Why doesn\u2019t it all just go away<\/em><\/span>?<\/span>&#8220;<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>A number of Conservative writers and pundits, including Pete Dupont at that <em>WSJ<\/em>, continue to give The Obamao the benefit of the doubt as to his intentions in this self-imposed crisis.\u00a0 We, on the other hand, can only assume the basest of motives: personal political advantage over national security.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And please don&#8217;t anyone waste their breath trying to convince us the sickening sycophants in the Pentagon have suddenly seen the light.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Though we believe the real answers somewhat more convoluted and complex, what follows are two likely explanations for The Dear Misleader&#8217;s latest high crime and misdemeanor.\u00a0 First, writing at the\u00a0<em>Washington Times<\/em>, Joe Curl suggests&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"mb min entry-title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Obama\u2019s 2014 calculation: Let\u2019s have a war<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/biden-c20bda2ef9a0b4ddf813c6d510fc5c73c472772b-s6-c30.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-22167\" alt=\"biden-c20bda2ef9a0b4ddf813c6d510fc5c73c472772b-s6-c30\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/biden-c20bda2ef9a0b4ddf813c6d510fc5c73c472772b-s6-c30-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/biden-c20bda2ef9a0b4ddf813c6d510fc5c73c472772b-s6-c30-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/biden-c20bda2ef9a0b4ddf813c6d510fc5c73c472772b-s6-c30-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/biden-c20bda2ef9a0b4ddf813c6d510fc5c73c472772b-s6-c30.jpg 948w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">&#8220;Yo, BO!\u00a0 Make it quick; we got a 1230 tee time.&#8221;<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Make no mistake: The president <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>couldn\u2019t care less<\/em><\/span> about the plight of Syrians, the 1,500 gassed to death \u2014 including nearly 500 children.<\/span> <span style=\"color: #800080;\">It\u2019s <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>all<\/em><\/span> about 2014.<\/span> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Win the House, reign supreme<\/span>.<\/span> Consider this: Mr. Obama made his dramatic Rose Garden statement Saturday \u2014 then headed to the golf course. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Congress has <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>no<\/em><\/span> plans to cut short its 30-day vacation, and the president <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>did not call lawmakers back<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>So much for urgency<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The conventional wisdom is, as usual, wrong. Losing the congressional vote won\u2019t be an embarrassment for the president, as all the talking heads are still parroting. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>A loss would be a double win. <span style=\"color: #800080;\">First, because a \u201cNo\u201d vote would allow the foreign policy neophyte to walk away from his blundering \u201cred line\u201d declaration on chemical weapons (\u201cI wanted to go in, but Congress said no\u201d).<\/span> And second, should Republicans who voted for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars now oppose Syria, the president would be armed with clear \u201cevidence\u201d that their opposition is purely political.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Keep in mind: <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>This president knows no way to campaign other than to blame others<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span> He\u2019ll batter Republicans for all of 2014 as obstructionists should they be the reason the effort fails.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Not-My-Fault1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22171\" alt=\"Not-My-Fault1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Not-My-Fault1.jpg\" width=\"242\" height=\"208\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">But the bloviating politicos are also wrong that the \u201cRepublican-controlled House\u201d could reject the plan for partisan reasons. It is Democrats who seem most squeamish \u2014 and they were the most vocal in demanding their say before intervention in Syria. <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Remember, two years ago, as the president prepared to bomb Libya, 70 Democrats joined Republicans in voting against military operations.<\/span> Mr. Obama bombed anyway.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Still, the entire fiasco has been hard to watch, \u201cAmateur Hour\u201d indeed. The president declares a \u201cred line,\u201d then sees the Syrian dictator cross it again and again. The Nobel Peace Prize winner declares he\u2019ll take America to war \u2014 but only then does he seek partners and only to find a \u201cCoalition of the Unwilling.\u201d The United Nations says no, the Arab League says no, China and Russia say no \u2014 even the United Kingdom says no (mainly because Brits did not want to have another U.S.-led war jammed down their throats).<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Back home, polls find 80 percent of Americans want Congress to decide, and nearly half oppose intervention. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>So the president \u2014 hoping to appear magnanimous \u2014 declares he\u2019ll seek authorization (read: <em>share the blame<\/em>).\u00a0<span style=\"color: #008000;\">(Or, more correctly, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>shift<\/em><\/span> it!)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/index1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22173\" alt=\"index\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/index1.jpg\" width=\"325\" height=\"242\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/index1.jpg 325w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/index1-300x223.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 325px) 100vw, 325px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Still, the president and his secretary of state are absolutely right. \u201cThe indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity,\u201d John F. Kerry said. Mr. Obama, in his most powerful passage, said: \u201cHere\u2019s my question for every member of Congress and every member of the global community: What message will we send if a dictator can gas hundreds of children to death in plain sight and pay no price?\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Of course a firm response is the correct action. <strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">(A position with which we respectfully disagree.)<\/span><\/strong> And Mr. Obama doesn\u2019t need authority to do so in Syria, just as he didn\u2019t in Libya. While Republican support on the Hill now would help Mr. Obama save face after his \u201cred line\u201d throw-down, striking Syria with a few cruise missiles \u2014 however fleeting and ineffectual that would be to the course of its 2-year-old civil war \u2014 also would send a signal to the real target: Iran. That\u2019s why, most likely, Republicans will support the president after rewriting the White House\u2019s draft resolution.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Now, it is up to Mr. Obama\u2019s own party: Does he still hold sway over Democrats?<\/strong><\/span> Will they bend to his will? Many already seem to be running for the hills. And if they don\u2019t, will the president have the temerity to order strikes anyway?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/obamawarmonger12.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22174\" alt=\"obamawarmonger12\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/obamawarmonger12.jpg\" width=\"230\" height=\"368\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/obamawarmonger12.jpg 230w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/obamawarmonger12-187x300.jpg 187w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 230px) 100vw, 230px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><em>Whatever happens, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">this much is clear<\/span>: <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">We\u2019re no longer talking about the IRS targeting tea party groups, the Justice Department tapping reporters\u2019 phone lines, the NSA\u2019s surveillance programs, Benghazi<\/span>. <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The president has smartly changed the subject to the most important decision a commander in chief makes: war<\/span>.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">And the most presidential. That, he knows, will play better in the midterm elections, whichever way Congress votes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>As Fred Thompson so famously observed&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Rb0QLxcvowk\" height=\"235\" width=\"420\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Neither does this Administration; <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>depend<\/em><\/span> on it.\u00a0 And the <em>WSJ<\/em>&#8216;s Kimberly Strassel knows what it is:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">The Politics of the Obama Delay on Syria <\/span><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"subhead\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Betting that the focus on a GOP rift will divert attention from how many Democrats won&#8217;t support the president.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Never-Mind-51613077285.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22179\" alt=\"Never-Mind-51613077285\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Never-Mind-51613077285.jpeg\" width=\"400\" height=\"277\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Never-Mind-51613077285.jpeg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Never-Mind-51613077285-300x207.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The most telling line in President Obama&#8217;s Saturday Syria address came near the end, when he (once again) lectured Congress about its duty to rise above &#8220;partisan differences or the politics of the moment.&#8221; <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Having put America&#8217;s global credibility at risk, Mr. Obama defaulted to the same political cynicism that has defined his presidency.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The commander in chief is in a box. His desperation to avoid military entanglement in Syria last year\u2014in the run-up to the presidential election\u2014inspired Mr. Obama to fumble out his &#8220;red line&#8221; warning to Bashar Assad on chemical-weapons use. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>The statement was a green light to the dictator to commit every atrocity up to that line <em>and\u2014when he received no pushback\u2014<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">to cross it<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Now trapped by his own declaration, Mr. Obama is reverting to the same strategy he has used in countless domestic brawls\u2014that is, to lay responsibility for any action, or failure of action, on Congress.<\/strong><\/span> <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>The decision was made easier by the fact that Congress itself was demanding a say.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"targetCaption\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>That proved too tempting for a president whose crude calculus is that Congress can now rescue him however it votes.<\/strong><\/span> Should Congress oppose authorizing action against Syria, he can lay America&#8217;s failure to honor his promises on the legislative branch. Obama aides insist that even if Congress votes no, the president may still act\u2014though they would say that. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>The idea that Mr. Obama, having lacked the will to act on his own, would proceed in the face of congressional opposition is near-fantasy.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/BagleyObamaCartoon1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22187\" alt=\"BagleyObamaCartoon\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/BagleyObamaCartoon1.jpg\" width=\"350\" height=\"241\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/BagleyObamaCartoon1.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/BagleyObamaCartoon1-300x206.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Mr. Obama must figure that if he gets authorization, he nets two political wins. He provides himself cover for taking action, while simultaneously presenting Congress&#8217;s vote as affirmation of his flawed plan to lob a few missiles and call it a day. When that pinprick bombing has no discernible effect on Assad&#8217;s murderous campaign, Mr. Obama will note that this was Congress&#8217;s will. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>As he said in his Saturday speech, &#8220;all of us should be accountable&#8221; for Mr. Obama&#8217;s actions.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">A congressional vote is all the more tantalizing to a president who lives and breathes rough politics, and who knows that this Syria debate will be particularly punishing for Republicans. <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>The coming weeks will highlight the growing rift in the GOP between the traditional defenders of national security and the party&#8217;s libertarian-isolationist wing.<\/strong> <strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">(Though what, given the nature of the two sides, the Syrian civil war has to do with national security remains unclear, at least to us.)<\/span><\/strong> <\/span>While the latter does not yet occupy a large space in the GOP, its members are loud and wield much influence among the cranky conservative grass roots.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Those Republicans who might be expected to vote for a military strike will be pressured by the threat of primary challengers using that vote against them. They will likely be accused of helping Mr. Obama extract himself from his box. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>The president is going to enjoy this show, all the more so if it results in upheaval for Republicans in next year&#8217;s midterms.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Likewise, he will enjoy putting on the spot the GOP&#8217;s hawks, like Sen. John McCain, who have been merciless in their criticism of an Obama military strategy that will do nothing to end Syria&#8217;s civil war or depose Assad.<\/strong><\/span> With the authorization Mr. Obama has sent to Congress, he is forcing Republicans to choose between an inconstant strategy and a &#8220;no&#8221; vote that harms American interests. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>When did a U.S. commander in chief last so cynically play politics with American credibility<\/em><\/span>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/mccain-vs-cruz.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22188\" alt=\"mccain-vs-cruz\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/mccain-vs-cruz.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/mccain-vs-cruz.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/mccain-vs-cruz-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>Finally, Mr. Obama is betting that the GOP rift will divert attention from the most pertinent aspect of this debate: the extent to which his own party abandons him.<\/strong><\/span> The president&#8217;s withdrawal from the world stage\u2014his exit from Afghanistan and Iraq, in particular\u2014has nurtured the Democratic Party&#8217;s worst instincts and left it even more resistant to a call for military action. Mr. Obama is counting on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to corral votes for him, but the liberal Democratic wing is not a sure bet.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Americans do not want to think that the president is making grave decisions about military action and U.S. standing on the basis of political calculation.<\/strong> <\/span>Yet Mr. Obama has treated Syria as a political problem from the start, viewing it almost solely as a liability to the administration&#8217;s public-opinion polling, its presidential electioneering and its rival domestic priorities. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>Viewing Mr. Obama&#8217;s punt to Congress as anything but political is almost impossible. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">And yet the president again lectures Congress to rise above the &#8220;partisan&#8221; politics that he has, with great calculation, dumped on them.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>The challenge for Republicans is to do just that, to remember (no matter how painful) that this is not a vote about the president or his machinations.<\/strong><\/span> The only question before Republicans is this: Will they send a message to the world&#8217;s despots that America will not tolerate the use of weapons of mass destruction? If they will not send that message, they risk complicity in this president&#8217;s failed foreign policy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>We know how the majority of Americans view intervention in Syria; what about the folks who&#8217;ll be putting their lives behind Barry&#8217;s feckless foreign policy?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/020913join1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22175\" alt=\"020913join1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/020913join1.jpg\" width=\"250\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/020913join1.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/020913join1-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/U.S.-Naval-Officer-Does-Not-Want-to-Fight-For-Al-Qaeda-In-Syria-300x300.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22176\" alt=\"U.S.-Naval-Officer-Does-Not-Want-to-Fight-For-Al-Qaeda-In-Syria-300x300\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/U.S.-Naval-Officer-Does-Not-Want-to-Fight-For-Al-Qaeda-In-Syria-300x300.jpg\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/U.S.-Naval-Officer-Does-Not-Want-to-Fight-For-Al-Qaeda-In-Syria-300x300.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/U.S.-Naval-Officer-Does-Not-Want-to-Fight-For-Al-Qaeda-In-Syria-300x300-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><\/a><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>If it comes to that, Dimocrats will have absolutely no one to blame but themselves!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>For an alternative theory of The Obamao&#8217;s duplicitous diplomacy, we turn to this headline from\u00a0<em>The Hill<\/em> via <em>Drudge<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a title=\"Obama May Use Syria to Justify Tax Increases\" href=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/blogs\/on-the-money\/budget\/319751-syria-strikes-could-help-obama-in-debt-talks#ixzz2dYbwjsee \" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Some see Syria as edge for Obama in fiscal showdown<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">U.S. military action in Syria could give the White House an advantage in the looming fiscal showdown with congressional Republicans, according to defense and budget experts. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>They said the Syria crisis could boost calls by President Obama and defense hawks to reverse the automatic spending cuts to the Pentagon known as sequestration.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Steve Bell, a budget expert at the Bipartisan Policy Center, said if the U.S. moves forward with military action, it will underline the arguments of those who say keeping the sequester in place impairs U.S. military readiness. \u201cI think it has the possibility of advancing fiscal talks, I really do,\u201d he said. <span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>He argued that if strikes against Syria are launched, it will be \u201cvery, very difficult to insist\u201d on the defense sequester.<\/strong> <\/span>\u201cUnder those circumstances, I can see a [2014 continuing resolution] that would contain full funding for defense,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/mccain-obama.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22178\" alt=\"mccain-obama\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/mccain-obama.jpg\" width=\"339\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/mccain-obama.jpg 339w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/mccain-obama-300x210.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 339px) 100vw, 339px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The White House has been banking on defense hawks within the GOP breaking ranks with Tea Party conservatives and embracing a debt deal that includes some higher taxes and reverses cuts to domestic programs. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Their hope is that the cuts to the Pentagon will grow so painful, some defense-minded lawmakers will accept more tax revenue as part of a deal to end the defense cuts.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">That effort needs a shot in the arm.<\/p>\n<p><strong>And McCain and his ambiguously-sexed sidekick<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/McCain-and-Grahamdumb-dumber-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-22146\" alt=\"McCain-and-Grahamdumb-dumber-2\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/McCain-and-Grahamdumb-dumber-2-202x300.jpg\" width=\"202\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/McCain-and-Grahamdumb-dumber-2-202x300.jpg 202w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/McCain-and-Grahamdumb-dumber-2.jpg 288w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;are just stupid enough to aid the effort.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Regardless, as Joe Curl so knowingly noted&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><em>Whatever happens, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">this much is clear<\/span>: <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">We\u2019re no longer talking about the IRS targeting tea party groups, the Justice Department tapping reporters\u2019 phone lines, the NSA\u2019s surveillance programs, Benghazi<\/span>. <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The president has smartly changed the subject to the most important decision a commander in chief makes: war<\/span>.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Moving on to the 2nd Amendment segment, check out the Constitutionally-questionable positions posited by the mindless myrmidon featured in this video shot at a Texas Starbuck&#8217;s; the best part comes around about the 4:30 point:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vN0GcahEvIc\" height=\"235\" width=\"420\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>We must admit our admiration for the way these three patriots handled themselves&#8230;along with utter contempt to the craven cowardice displayed by John Q. Law.<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Then there&#8217;s this bit of commentary from James Taranto on\u00a0what was, by any rational definition, a dismal failure for organized labor:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong>Fast Food, Slow Death<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/original.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-22190\" alt=\"original\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/original-225x300.jpg\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/original-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/original-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/original-600x800.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Then might we suggest you find alternative employment&#8230;and <\/span><\/strong><\/em><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">prove<\/span><\/span><\/strong><em><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> it?!?<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">It&#8217;s like &#8220;Lysistrata&#8221; with the sexes reversed: Fast-food workers staged a nationwide &#8220;strike&#8221; yesterday. Here&#8217;s a report from a Chicago radio station:<\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><p><em>WBBM Newsradio&#8217;s Mike Krauser reports a couple hundred fast food and retail workers chanted &#8220;we can&#8217;t survive on $8.25&#8221; as they rallied outside and inside the Rock N Roll McDonald&#8217;s in the River North neighborhood. <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong>The workers said they&#8217;re fighting for a raise to at least $15 an hour.<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><p><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Tyree Johnson said <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">he&#8217;s worked at McDonald&#8217;s for 21 years<\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">but is still earning minimum wage<\/span>&#8211;$8.25 an hour in Illinois for workers 18 and older<\/strong><\/span>; and $7.75 for those under the age of 18, or older employees on the job less than 90 days.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><p><em>&#8220;Every time I ask for a raise, they tell me &#8216;You shouldn&#8217;t have joined that union, we&#8217;re not giving you no raise,&#8217;\u00a0&#8221; he said.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><p><em>Why stay at a job for 21 years at minimum wage? &#8220;With the help of this union, I&#8217;m going to overcome this,&#8221; he said.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong>And here&#8217;s a first-person story from Willietta Dukes in London&#8217;s Guardian, titled &#8220;Why I&#8217;m on Strike Today: I Can&#8217;t Support Myself on $7.85 at Burger King&#8221;:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><p><em>I&#8217;ve worked at fast-food restaurants in North Carolina for the past 15 years. I&#8217;ve spent more hours at Church&#8217;s Chicken, McDonald&#8217;s and now Burger King than I can remember. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>I work hard&#8211;I never miss a shift and always arrive on time.<\/strong><\/span><\/em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">(Unlike, we must assume, those employed in any other industry or business!)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><em>But today, I&#8217;m going on strike.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><p><em>I make $7.85 at Burger King as a guest ambassador and team leader, where I train new employees on restaurant regulations and perform the manager&#8217;s duties in their absence. Before Burger King, I worked at Church&#8217;s for 12 years, starting at $6.30 and ending at just a little more than $8 an hour.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><p><em>I&#8217;ve never walked off a job before. I don&#8217;t consider myself an activist, and I&#8217;ve never been involved with politics. I&#8217;m a mother with two sons, and like any mom knows, raising two teenage boys is tough. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Raising them as a single mother, on less than $8 an hour, is nearly impossible, though<\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong>So here we have two people who have worked at or near minimum wage for 36 years between them and are claiming, as the slogan has it: &#8220;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>We can&#8217;t survive<\/em><\/span>\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0.&#8221;<\/strong><\/span> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>That is true only in the sense that, as Paul Newman observed in &#8220;Hud&#8221;:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/hud-1963-9.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22189\" alt=\"hud 1963 9\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/hud-1963-9.jpg\" width=\"223\" height=\"226\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>&#8220;Happens to everybody. Nobody gets out of life alive.&#8221;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>And who ever intended, let alone envisioned, anyone would be content to spend their life working at minimum wage?!?\u00a0 Mickey D&#8217;s has created more success stories than Horatio Alger; yet you&#8217;d think from what&#8217;s &#8220;reported&#8221; in the MSM they were the second coming of Simon Legree!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>On the Lighter Side&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/cb083013dAPR20130830124535.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22130\" alt=\"cb083013dAPR20130830124535\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/cb083013dAPR20130830124535.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/cb083013dAPR20130830124535.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/cb083013dAPR20130830124535-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/130830antiwarRGB20130830092214.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22128\" alt=\"130830antiwarRGB20130830092214\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/130830antiwarRGB20130830092214.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/130830antiwarRGB20130830092214.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/130830antiwarRGB20130830092214-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/mrz083013dAPR20130830034536.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22127\" alt=\"mrz083013dAPR20130830034536\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/mrz083013dAPR20130830034536.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/mrz083013dAPR20130830034536.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/mrz083013dAPR20130830034536-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/hCE477AAB.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22131\" alt=\"gv083013dAPR20130830054618\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/gv083013dAPR20130830054618.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/gv083013dAPR20130830054618.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/gv083013dAPR20130830054618-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22118\" alt=\"lb0830cd20130828093253\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/lb0830cd20130828093253.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/lb0830cd20130828093253.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/lb0830cd20130828093253-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22159\" alt=\"lb0831cd20130829104132\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/lb0831cd20130829104132.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/lb0831cd20130829104132.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/lb0831cd20130829104132-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22132\" alt=\"hCE477AAB\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/hCE477AAB.jpg\" width=\"492\" height=\"378\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/hCE477AAB.jpg 492w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/hCE477AAB-300x230.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/hE314733D.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22133\" alt=\"hE314733D\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/hE314733D.jpg\" width=\"492\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/hE314733D.jpg 492w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/hE314733D-300x273.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Then there&#8217;s this perfect portrayal of Progressive Paradise, courtesy of Balls Cotton:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/ballscotton2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22129\" alt=\"ballscotton\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/ballscotton2.jpg\" width=\"479\" height=\"454\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/ballscotton2.jpg 479w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/ballscotton2-300x284.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 479px) 100vw, 479px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>And since we&#8217;re on the subject of Crime &amp; Punishment, here&#8217;s another sordid story ripped from the pages of the Crime Blotter&#8230; <\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"article-title\" itemprop=\"headline\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Mich. minister who allegedly killed fianc\u00e9e&#8217;s daughter to have sex with dead body kills self<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/L169_CIFRf252c5e921aa18e14db3741727c7ffdb.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-22117\" alt=\"L169_CIFRf252c5e921aa18e14db3741727c7ffdb\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/L169_CIFRf252c5e921aa18e14db3741727c7ffdb-300x168.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/L169_CIFRf252c5e921aa18e14db3741727c7ffdb-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/L169_CIFRf252c5e921aa18e14db3741727c7ffdb.jpg 490w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The former minister of a small Michigan church who allegedly told police he killed his fianc\u00e9e&#8217;s 24-year-old daughter because he wanted to have sex with a dead body has killed himself. <span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>Department of Corrections spokesman Russ Marlan told the Morning Sun of Mount Pleasant that 56-year-old John D. White hanged himself in his cell at the Michigan Reformatory in Ionia.<\/strong><\/span> He says White was pronounced dead early Wednesday after efforts to resuscitate him failed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Talk about getting off easy; we only hope his passing was agonizingly and slow&#8230;and they didn&#8217;t really try that hard to revive him.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In a related story courtesy of the Just Desserts segment&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"story_heading\" itemprop=\"name headline\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Papua New Guinea: \u2018Cannibal Cult Leader Black Jesus\u2019 Hacked to Death by Villagers<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/403694.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-22120\" alt=\"403694\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/403694-300x208.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"208\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/403694-300x208.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/403694.jpg 594w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">A Papua New Guinea cult leader known as &#8216;Black Jesus&#8217; has been hacked to death by villagers in the Madang province. <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Steven Tari was found dead after he escaped prison in March during a mass break-out with other convicts. <span style=\"color: #008080;\">He had been serving a 20-year sentence for raping four girls.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">According to AFP, Tari was widely known as a Lutheran pastor and ran a Christian-based sect. At his peak, he had thousands of village followers, including armed warriors who protected him. <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>His followers became known as a &#8216;cargo cult&#8217; in Papua New Guinea and he preached that young girls should be married to him, as it was God&#8217;s prophecy.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>Tari, believed to be 42, was captured in 2007 and as well as the rape charges, he was accused of cannibalism. human sacrifice and blood rituals, but he was never charged with these crimes.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Finally, courtesy of Jim Gleaves, we&#8217;ll call it a wrap with the John Blutarsky Memorial&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/animalhouse1914.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22169\" alt=\"animalhouse1914\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/animalhouse1914.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/animalhouse1914.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/animalhouse1914-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;Peeping Tom Award&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 itemprop=\"headline\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\">Peeper who hid in portable toilet gets 3 year-sentence<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/370791-luke-chrisco-porta-potty-peeper.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22135\" alt=\"370791-luke-chrisco-porta-potty-peeper\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/370791-luke-chrisco-porta-potty-peeper.jpg\" width=\"316\" height=\"237\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/370791-luke-chrisco-porta-potty-peeper.jpg 316w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/370791-luke-chrisco-porta-potty-peeper-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 316px) 100vw, 316px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">A Colorado man who hid in the tank of a portable toilet at a yoga festival to spy on women has been sentenced to three years in prison and 10 years of probation. Luke Chrisco&#8217;s sentence was handed down Friday in Boulder. The 31-year-old pleaded guilty in July to attempted unlawful sexual contact and two burglary counts.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\"><strong>Police arrested Chrisco in 2011 after a woman at a yoga festival in Boulder noticed something moving in the tank of the portable toilet, then saw a feces-stained man emerge and run away. <\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Police say he also was suspected of hiding in other bathrooms around Boulder to watch women use the toilet.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Magoo<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013&#8230;but before we begin, two sterling examples of the tortured logic which doesn&#8217;t begin to plumb the depths to which modern Progressives will sink in defending the indefensible.\u00a0 First, from Iowa, words we guarantee the good Lord won&#8217;t view as a prayer, but as self-incrimination: Second, nothing other than patent prevarication [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1988,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1988"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22116"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22193,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22116\/revisions\/22193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}