{"id":29911,"date":"2015-03-03T17:53:58","date_gmt":"2015-03-03T22:53:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=29911"},"modified":"2015-03-03T17:55:33","modified_gmt":"2015-03-03T22:55:33","slug":"the-daily-gouge-archive-monday-march-2nd-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=29911","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge Archive, Monday, March 2nd, 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s Monday, March 2nd, 2015…but before we begin, two quick thoughts. \u00a0First, and this will come as a shocker to most of you, for once we agree wholeheartedly with a sentiment often expressed by advocates of unlimited, uncontrolled immigration:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"RdghtA_20150228_141629\"<\/a><\/p>\n

No problemo; provided the rendezvous are all<\/em>\u00a0well<\/em>\u00a0south<\/em><\/span> of America’s border with Mexico!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Second, Verizon’s news release on Barry’s latest power grab demonstrates why Progressives are anything but<\/em><\/span>:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"BN-HE379_edp030_P_20150301153533\"<\/a><\/p>\n

FDR would be proud<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, here’s The Gouge!<\/b><\/p>\n

We lead off the initial edition of March with Charles Krauthammer’s accurate identification of…<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Fatal Flaw in the Iran Deal<\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n

The addition of a sunset clause has made an already bad deal much, much worse.<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"obama_n_kerry_dumb_n_dumber\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We’d<\/span> suggest there are actually\u00a0two<\/span> fatal flaws in the Iran deal!<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

“…The deal now on offer to the ayatollah would confer legitimacy on the nuclearization of the most rogue of rogue regimes: radically anti-American, deeply jihadist, purveyor of terrorism from Argentina to Bulgaria, puppeteer of a Syrian regime that specializes in dropping barrel bombs on civilians.<\/strong><\/span> In fact, the Iranian regime just this week, at the apex of these nuclear talks, staged a spectacular attack on a replica U.S. carrier near the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

Well, say the administration apologists, what\u2019s your alternative? Do you want war? It\u2019s Obama\u2019s usual, subtle false-choice maneuver: It\u2019s either appeasement or war.<\/span> It\u2019s not<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

True, there are no good choices, but Obama\u2019s prospective deal is the worst possible. Not only does Iran get a clear path to the bomb but it gets sanctions lifted, all pressure removed, and international legitimacy.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

There is<\/em><\/span> a third choice<\/span><\/em>.<\/span> If you are not stopping Iran\u2019s program, don\u2019t give away the store<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span> Keep the pressure, keep the sanctions. Indeed, increase them. After all, previous sanctions brought Iran to its knees and to the negotiating table in the first place. And that was before the collapse of oil prices, which would now vastly magnify the economic effect of heightened sanctions…”<\/p>\n

Here’s the juice: the same hypocritical fools bending over backwards to allow the Mad Mullahs of oil-rich Iran a manifestly unnecessary nuclear power potential (along with an associated weapons capability) have, for the last 50 years, adamantly opposed, and indeed prevented, development of \u00a0significantly safer, more advanced domestic nuclear power generation plants, while simultaneously seeking to dismantle America’s nuclear arsenal.<\/b><\/p>\n

Yeah…makes about as much sense as…<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Baracks-Buddies\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Unless of course, the players in question…<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Obama\u2019s-ties-to-Muslim-Brotherhood-610x400\"<\/a><\/p>\n

…are actually on the…<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"oshooting_uncle_sam-500x367\"<\/a><\/p>\n

…other<\/em><\/span> side!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Which is why we’d not be the least<\/em><\/span> bit surprised if the following story were true:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Report: Obama Threatened to Shoot Down IAF Iran Strike<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

Though, given the source is a Kuwaiti newspaper, we strongly doubt it. \u00a0Then again, we’d doubt the story were the source any<\/em><\/span> newspaper…or for that matter any network news broadcast.<\/b><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, coming soon to a country near you:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meltdown in Venezuela<\/span><\/h1>\n

Maduro arrests the opposition as the economy worsens.<\/span><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"11_Venezuela_Regime_Change-300x231\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When Venezuelan intelligence agents carted off Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma to jail last week, they fired shots into the air to terrorize a gathering crowd. It was nothing unusual for the Venezuelan police state, which has studied under Cuba\u2019s dictatorship. But it did underscore the magnitude of the economic and political crisis now gripping a country with one of the largest oil reserves in the world.<\/p>\n

Mr. Ledezma is accused of plotting to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro with U.S. help. The government has provided no evidence.<\/span> The mayor\u2019s real offense is signing a letter this month calling Mr. Maduro\u2019s government \u201cterminal\u201d and proposing a transition back to democracy.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Opposition leaders Leopoldo L\u00f3pez, jailed a year ago, and Maria Corina Machado, who faces charges of plotting to kill Mr. Maduro, also signed the letter. On Tuesday the Maduro-controlled national assembly stripped opposition congressman Julio Borges of his seat and thus his legal immunity. He is also said to be part of the anti-Maduro conspiracy.<\/p>\n

Mr. Ledezma\u2019s arrest came one week after Venezuela let the official value of the local currency sink to 170 per U.S. dollar from 50. The central bank says it will still supply dollars to some importers at preferential rates, including 6.3 for food and medicine and 12 for others. But the 70% devaluation is an acknowledgment that the only way to cure widespread shortages is to let prices adjust, even at the cost of higher inflation.<\/p>\n

A government that has run out of money will find it more difficult than it has in the past to contain popular unrest<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span> Mr. Ledezma has appealed to Venezuelans from prison to \u201ccontinue the struggle in the streets,\u201d and the increasing economic desperation raises the odds of a bloody confrontation. It\u2019s past time for the U.S. and its allies to start calling tyranny by its name in Venezuela.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Coupled with Putin’s calculated execution Friday of a leading member of his<\/em><\/span> Opposition, you have an accurate depiction of The Left’s vision for their future Amerika.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unless of course, the answer to the question Jonah Goldberg poses at\u00a0NRO<\/em>\u00a0is an emphatic “YES!!!”:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Is Liberalism Exhausted?<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n

It may not be dead, but it looks mighty worn out.<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"liberal-idiots\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“…As Josh Kraushaar of National Journal recently observed, Barack Obama has successfully moved his party to the left but has failed utterly to bring the rest of the country with him<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span> In 2012, James Stimson, arguably America\u2019s leading expert on U.S. public opinion, found that the country was more conservative than at any time since 1952.<\/p>\n

This might seem counterintuitive, given that Obama was reelected that year, but there\u2019s an obvious explanation. Barack Obama has a singular skill: getting Barack Obama elected<\/em><\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0(Which truly has nothing to do with any particular skill, but rather only his skin color.)<\/span>\u00a0In all the elections since 2008, he has shown a remarkable inability to get anyone else elected, or to move public opinion in his favor.<\/strong> <\/span>(Obamacare, for instance, remains stubbornly unpopular.) Measured in terms of statehouses, state legislatures, and House and Senate seats, the GOP is stronger today than any point since the 1920s. If you still think Obama has generous coattails, ask Rahm Emanuel for a second opinion.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The president is unbowed, of course. He\u2019s unilaterally using \u2014 and abusing \u2014 the powers of his office to legalize illegal immigration, throw a wet blanket on cheap energy, and turn the Internet into a government-regulated utility. He has the support of his dwindling party and the equally dwindling mainstream media. But even here his policy agenda is as threadbare as his cultural legacy.<\/span> A majority of Americans believe race relations have gotten worse since he was elected.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the cultural Left has disengaged from mainstream political arguments, preferring instead the comforts of identity-politics argy-bargy. You judge political movements not by their manifestos but by where they put their passion. And on the left these days, the only things that arouse passion are arguments about race and gender.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

…Of course liberalism isn\u2019t dead; it\u2019s just resting. But it certainly could use an exciting, charismatic savior to breathe new life and fresh thinking into its ranks.<\/span> Thank goodness Hillary Clinton is waiting in the wings<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span>“<\/p>\n

Since we’re on the subject of the mendacity prerequisite in every<\/em><\/span> Progressive policy, it’s a proven fact…<\/b><\/p>\n

\"growupidiot\"<\/a><\/p>\n

…life is harder when you’re stupid. \u00a0But as\u00a0Best of the Web<\/em>‘s James Taranto details, despite being the “paper of record”, your Liberal ideological blinders means even simple<\/em><\/span>…<\/b><\/p>\n

Math Is Hard<\/strong> <\/span><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"OBAMA-MATH-IS-HARD-HOPE-IS-EASY\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The New York Times has an oddly listless editorial opposing Wisconsin\u2019s pending right-to-work legislation and other proposals designed to combat union waste and abuse. But if the editors\u2019 hearts seem less in it than usual, at least their brains<\/span> are no more present than usual<\/em>.<\/strong><\/span> Get a load of this passage:<\/p>\n

Prevailing wage laws, which are enforced by federal statute on federal projects and by 32 states on state projects, prevent lowball bids from depressing wages. Without them, taxpayer money would be routed away from workers\u2019 paychecks and into corporate coffers.<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If lowball bids<\/span> put more money<\/span> into corporate coffers, shouldn\u2019t lower wages<\/span> translate into higher pay<\/span><\/em>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

By the way, speaking of math, as the WSJ reports, the mathematically-challenged in the Republican party are…<\/strong><\/p>\n

Squandering a GOP Majority<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n

House Republicans walk into Obama\u2019s immigration trap.<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"1367598007559.cached\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It’s our studied opinion the only math Ted Cruz understands in Numero Uno. \u00a0Because no matter how you slice it, whatever<\/em><\/span>\u00a0the House and Senate pass, B. Hussein can VETO<\/em><\/span>!!! \u00a0And this includes any<\/em><\/span> DHS funding extension which adversely impacts his illegal immigration orders.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wake and smell coffee; or more accurately, the odor of a purely pyrrhic victory.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Next up, courtesy of Dick Mayer via John Berry, the latest from The Religion of Pieces…which is of course into what they’d like to blow us all:<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Metric for Muslim Moderation<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"6bdabfc61bbf4621d17496401960d1d9981f27df\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“…Seemingly endless debate concerns itself with identifying and defining the moderate Muslim. There is no consensus on the set of beliefs and practices that would be required.<\/p>\n

I here propose an operational definition: A moderate Muslim, in America, is one who declares first political loyalty to the Constitution and the laws which emanate from it.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It follows that such a moderate Muslim respects the traditional Islamic law known as Sharia to the extent that is consistent with the Constitution. A moderate Muslim neither supports nor encourages the undermining or replacement of the Constitution.<\/span> A moderate Muslim actively opposes attempts to spread Islam by violence, intimidation, or coercion.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

…The Constitution is based on a deep foundation of Enlightenment thought, buttressed by English common law, Greco-Roman philosophy, and Judeo-Christian ethics. But the Constitution is an entirely practical document. It instructs on the proper limits and powers of government.<\/span> It is silent on the great questions of theology. It does not define the totality of human experience.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Islamic law could not be more different<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> It presupposes the identity of religion and state as well as the submission of the individual to this unified and Divinely inspired collective<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>…”<\/p>\n

In other words…<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"mod-mus\"<\/a><\/p>\n

On the Lighter Side…<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"aria_c12816420150226120100\"<\/a>\"sk022615dAPR20150226084516\"<\/a>\"payn_c12819620150227120100\"<\/a>\"gmc12818220150226032400\"<\/a>\"mrz022715dAPR20150227014520\"<\/a>\"Shekel<\/a>\"lo\"<\/a>\"Holding<\/a>\"download<\/a>\"download<\/a>\"download\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Finally, we’ll call it a wrap with another headline so hopelessly overhyped it bears no semblance to reality:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Plane passengers stuck on plane for more than 9 hours in travel nightmare<\/span><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"262F2D0800000578-2973515-image-a-7_1425148906916\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A Texas to Oklahoma flight that was supposed to last one hour turned into a nearly 10-hour nightmare Friday as some passengers sat inside the plane on the tarmac<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0American Airlines flight 382 was scheduled to take off at 2:30 p.m. Friday from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and head to Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers World Airport, but the plane was delayed due to snowy weather<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n