I know Reid Smith is playing devil’s advocate but there is no room for civil disobedience (whether it be from the shoreline of Walden Pond or not) when it comes to Pvc. Bradley Manning or any other member of the U.S. military. It’s not like Manning was drafted against his will. He enlisted into the Army of his own accord, took an oath to obey the Constitution and the orders of the President of the United States and of officers above him, underwent basic training and waited to be deployed to Iraq. He knew what he was getting into. So I don’t buy the argument that Manning suddenly “believed that he was part of an unjust war, waged by an unjust government.” Apparently, Manning had a problem functioning in military life. It happens. But Manning took it a step further and chose to leak classified information knowing full well that it would compromise the safety and security of his fellow soldiers, our allies and the Iraqis and Afghans
The American, the online magazine of the American Enterprise Institute, has an article that’s an absolute must read on the Keystone XL oil pipeline . Obama’s decision to postpone a decision on building it until after the next election has been in the news a lot lately, but precious little of that ink has been spent explaining what the pipeline is about and the consequences of not building it.
Link:
The Consequences of Obama’s Punt on the Keystone Oil Pipeline
Europe has hashed out the basics of a plan to rescue the Euro ( New York Times ) President Obama is having dinner with campaign donors who won the opportunity to eat with him ( Poltico ) Democratic supercommitte members present their opening bid: $3 trillion of deficit reduction, with $1 trillion on tax hikes ( The Hill ) Hillary Clinton will testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Iraq and Afghanistan ( New York Times ) Romney is ahead of the Republican pack in four early primary states, according to a new poll ( CNN ) Rep. Paul Ryan’s speech on Obama’s divisive politics yesterday: On the main site: Cautious, Clever, and Stumbling , by
Nice job, Barack. (JPost) — The Palestinian Authority on Saturday warned the US against using its Security Council veto to thwart its plan to seek UN membership for a Palestinian state this week. A US veto would “destroy” the two-state solution, the PA said. The warning came after PA President Mahmoud Abbas announced in a speech in Ramallah that he would ask the UN Security Council to accept membership of a Palestinian state Erekat hinted that the Palestinians would consider dismantling the PA if the US thwarted their statehood bid. Zakariya al-Agha, the PLO’s top representative in the Gaza Strip, also warned against the consequences of a US veto. The PA was going to the UN because US President Barack Obama, in his speech to the UN in September 2010, talked about the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state within one year, Agha said . Keep reading…
Read more here:
Palestinians Say 2010 Obama Speech Inspired Their U.N. Statehood Bid…
Welcome to multicultural hell. (Daily Mail) — Left-wing politicians have cynically sought to make political capital out of the riots, blaming government cuts for the orgy of violence. Labour MPs and activists lined up to make excuses for the thugs, spouting claims that disadvantaged youth had no option but to smash up high streets. Chris Williamson, Labour MP for Derby North, suggested the Government’s austerity drive was to blame. On Twitter, he said: ‘The Tories are back alright. Why is it the Tories never take responsibility for the consequences of their party’s disastrous policies. #tottenham’ Minutes earlier he had endorsed the comment of another Twitter user who said: ‘Riots. Protests. Cuts. Unemployment. Disaffected Youth. Strikes. Recession. Police Brutality.’ Swift to jump on the bandwagon was Lee Jasper, a former adviser on policing to Ken Livingstone when he was Mayor of London. He blamed the ‘economic violence’ of the government for the riots and expressed no sympathy for businesses that were smashed up. He claimed some were attacked because they do not help create projects for under-privileged youths and was quoted as asking: ‘When did Curry’s build a school?’
See the rest here:
British Leftists Blame Government Cuts for Riots…
