VIDEO: ISIS Takes Ramadi and it's a catastrophe

Lt Col North explains why the gain of Ramadi by ISIS was more than just a "set back" as the White House was trying to...
Posted by Johnny2k's America on Monday, May 18, 2015

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ONE NATION UNDER GOD

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VIDEO: Can ISIS be stopped? Is Obama even trying to stop ISIS?

Post by Johnny2k's America.

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As an additional feature here on Blogging In Our Time 2 Escape, this blog will be including videos that have been posted on the johnny2k's America Facebook page! Videos can sometimes say more than what can be expressed in text.  Be sure to visit the archive with hundreds of videos to peruse!

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Don't be afraid!

WE the PEOPLE

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ONE NATION UNDER GOD

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
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VIDEO: Rare criticism of President from Top Marine is deserved

Post by Johnny2k's America.

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As an additional feature here on Blogging In Our Time 2 Escape, this blog will be including videos that have been posted on the johnny2k's America Facebook page! Videos can sometimes say more than what can be expressed in text.  Be sure to visit the archive with hundreds of videos to peruse!

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Don't be afraid!

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YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
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VIDEO: Islamic State leader calls for Jihad on July 4 from Mosul

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Post by Johnny2k's America.

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As an additional feature here on Blogging In Our Time 2 Escape, this blog will be including videos that have been posted on the johnny2k's America Facebook page! Videos can sometimes say more than what can be expressed in text.  Be sure to visit the archive with hundreds of videos to peruse!

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Don't be afraid!

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VIDEO: How can the Veterans possibly trust Obama now?

It is shocking that Obama comes up with a line, in the first time he's spoken to the American people about the VA Hospitals scandal, that he had just heard about the problem! That wasn't all. It's like the WH staff has a form where they just check the boxes that apply, and bingo, Barry has the talking points coming right up on his teleprompter! Just stuff like, "There will be an investigation," "somebody will be held accountable," and, "golly, this is news to me!" Just the normal rhetoric! Rhetoric is far from actually taking action. Just sayin'...


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• 19-MAY-2014 ~ Jay Carney: Obama First Learned About VA Scandal in the Media

• 19-MAY-2014 ~ Obama, 2007: Time to End ‘Deplorable Conditions at Some VA Hospitals’

• 15-MAY-2014 ~ Cascade of scandals has Veterans Secretary Eric Shinseki fighting for his job

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Post by Johnny2k's America.

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VIDEO: America's Move to War Through Weakness - Part 1

As an additional feature here on Blogging In Our Time 2 Escape, this blog will be including videos that have been posted on the johnny2k's America Facebook page! Videos can sometimes say more than what can be expressed in text.  Be sure to visit the archive with hundreds of videos to peruse!

Post by Johnny2k's America.

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ONE NATION UNDER GOD

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Bankrupting the Taliban ~ By Oliver North

From WorldNewsDaily

By Oliver North Posted: September 04, 2009 ~ 1:00 am Eastern © 2009 KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – Last month, our Fox News' "War Stories" team was in Colombia, covering the tough fight against a narco-insurgency, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. This month, we're in Afghanistan, covering another narco-insurgency, the Taliban. In Colombia, cocaine fuels and funds the terror. Here in Afghanistan, it's opium. Despite extraordinary differences in culture, climate and terrain, there are dramatic parallels in the two campaigns. More importantly, lessons learned in the Andean basin are being applied here in the shadows of the Hindu Kush. Both countries have isolated agricultural populations vulnerable to coercion by insurgents financed by narcotics trafficking. In Colombia, the world's largest producer of cocaine, the FARC turned to drug funding when support from fellow communists dried up with the collapse of the Soviet empire. Here in Afghanistan, the global leader in opium production, the radical-Islamist Taliban became drug-dependent after being driven from power in 2001 during the opening days of Operation Enduring Freedom. Despite international efforts to cut foreign financial support for the Taliban and a crackdown on the movement's activities in Pakistan, the Taliban have derived newfound wealth from the heroin trade. A new U.N. report estimates that the Taliban reap as much as $70 million a year from the sale of precursor chemicals, taxes levied on opium farmers, "protection fees" for heroin processing laboratories and "product deliveries." Some U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials here believe Taliban drug revenues are more than twice that amount. They point out that the lucrative drug trade also has resulted in corruption on a massive scale within Afghanistan's national and provincial governments. This nexus of narcotics, crime and terror has prompted a dramatic change in allied strategy that provides new opportunities for success in Afghanistan. Coalition commanders, cognizant of growing public discontent about the course of the war, are focusing on how opium is funding the Taliban and adversely affecting prospects for a successful counterinsurgency campaign. Gen. Stanley McChrystal has all but abandoned efforts to eradicate opium poppy cultivation because it was raising resentment against his troops and the Afghan government. Now coalition efforts have shifted to targeting drug kingpins – and their connections to the Taliban. [CLICK HERE TO READ ENTIRE COLUMN]

Jihad, USA ~ By Oliver North

By Oliver North Posted: July 31, 2009 1:00 am Eastern © 2009 GEORGETOWN, S.C. – They don't look like al-Qaida terrorists. Their photos in the local newspaper look menacing enough – but more like a crew that might knock over a convenience store or an ATM at a gas station. Their apprehension this week by FBI agents in Raleigh, N.C., has their neighbors here talking about "homegrown jihadis" and has prompted the O-Team Department of Homeland Security to warn about "American extremists" once again. The seven men were arrested Monday, the same day President Barack Obama tendered his much-acclaimed invitation to Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates and Cambridge, Mass., police Sgt. James Crowley to sit down over a beer and talk about the serious problem of racism in America. The president, who claimed that the police behaved "stupidly" in detaining the professor, apparently considers "racism" to be a more serious problem than Americans being recruited to commit acts of terror. Our nation's chief executive, consumed with preparations for his "beer summit," was as mute about the "North Carolina Seven" – all charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists overseas – as he was about the fraudulent elections in Iran. Perhaps that's because he doesn't want to alarm the public about a real and present danger – or because he was involved so personally in choosing just the right brews for himself and his guests. For those who care, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs says that POTUS prefers Bud Light; professor Gates is a fan of Jamaican Red Stripe; and Sgt. Crowley tips back with Blue Moon. One can only ponder what this revelation will mean for sales of these suds. What is certain is that Daniel Patrick Boyd – the alleged ringleader of the Raleigh terror cell – and his fellow "jihadis" are unlikely to be tippling anytime soon, even if they want to. In the 14-page federal indictment unsealed Monday, Boyd and his six "colleagues" are charged with plotting to murder, kidnap and maim individuals overseas. Prosecutors maintain that Boyd – who goes by the name "Saifullah," meaning "sword of Allah" – is a "veteran of terrorist training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan" and that he recruited his sons and other U.S. citizens to travel overseas for waging "violent jihad." An eighth conspirator is being sought in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The seven-count indictment details a conspiracy that commenced in 2006 and continued until just before the arrests. It alleges that the defendants trained for battle in the U.S., planned to die as "martyrs," and raised funds to support their training and recruit others to their cause overseas. It also accuses Boyd of taking one of his sons to Gaza in March 2006 to introduce the young man to individuals who "believed that violent jihad was a religious obligation." A year later, Boyd and several of the other defendants apparently went to Israel in an unsuccessful effort to wage jihad. [CONTINUE READING]

For more reflection on the War on Terror, whether from foreign or homegrown terrorists, here is a video where DHS Secretary Janet Napotaliano discusses the threats and how to prepare for and counter them:

Obama: Wrong again ~ By Oliver North

By Oliver North Posted: July 03, 2009 1:00 am Eastern © 2009 WASHINGTON – It took the Obama administration eight days to figure out whether Iranians being gunned down for protesting a fraudulent election and demanding basic civil liberties deserved to be acknowledged by the president of the United States. It took the O-Team less than eight hours to side with Cuba's Fidel Castro, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega over the ouster of Manuel Zelaya in Honduras. As we now have come to expect, Mr. Obama got it wrong again, but this time, nobody noticed. The U.S. news media, preoccupied with the sudden demise of Michael Jackson, ignored the event in Central America. For those who care about things more important than the passing of a "pop music legend," here's the rest of the story: Manuel Zelaya, a wealthy rancher and agribusiness executive and a self-described "poor farmer," won a four-year term as Honduran president in November 2005, with 49.8 percent of the vote. Article 374 of the Honduran Constitution bars the nation's chief executive from serving consecutive terms. Apparently, one term wasn't enough for Zelaya, a protégé of Venezuela's strongman, Hugo Chavez and Nicaragua's phobic anti-American leader, Daniel Ortega. Late last year, as the Honduran economy tanked and unemployment grew to nearly 28 percent, Zelaya forced Elvin Santos, the country's elected vice president, to resign and began holding conversations with Chavez and Ortega on how to hold on to power. In lengthy Chavez-like populist speeches, he denounced the U.S. and wealthy landowners and linked himself with leftists in the Honduran labor movement. On March 23, he issued an executive decree directing a national referendum on a Venezuela-style constituent assembly to rewrite the country's constitution in time for presidential and legislative elections in November. The Obama-Clinton State Department was mute about all of this. Unfortunately for Zelaya's aspirations, the Honduran Constitution requires that amendments be passed by a two-thirds vote of the country's unicameral Congress during two consecutive sessions. By late May, the Honduran Congress, the Honduran Supreme Court, the commissioner for human rights and the Honduran electoral tribunal all had overwhelmingly declared the referendum unconstitutional. Zelaya ignored the people's representatives, had ballots printed in Venezuela, and announced that the vote would take place June 28. Again, the O-Team was silent. In keeping with the rule of law, Honduran Attorney General Luis Alberto Rubi took the case to court. The Honduran Supreme Court ruled the referendum to be illegal and ordered the ballots to be confiscated. Late on June 23, Zelaya countermanded the court order and directed the army to distribute the ballots. Gen. Romeo Vasquez, the chief of staff of the Honduran military, sought legal opinions and decided not to distribute them. The following day, Zelaya accepted the resignation of the minister of defense, Edmundo Orellana, and fired Vasquez. The Honduran Supreme Court unanimously ruled the Vasquez firing illegal and reinstated him June 25. That prompted Zelaya and a group of supporters to seize the ballots and issue another executive decree, which directed government officials to set up 15,000 polling stations at schools and community buildings across the country. In response to a request from Attorney General Rubi, the Honduran Congress – controlled by Zelaya's own Liberal Party – opened an investigation into the president's mental stability and fitness to govern. Zelaya replied with a two-hour broadcast harangue, in which he claimed: "Congress cannot investigate me, much less remove me or stage a technical coup against me, because I am honest. I'm a free president, and nobody scares me." [CONTINUE READING]

What a concept: Lawmakers supporting sovereignty ~ By Oliver North

By Oliver North Posted: June 26, 2009 1:00 am Eastern © 2009 WASHINGTON – My old American Heritage Dictionary defines "sovereignty" as "complete independence and self-government." Our Declaration of Independence affirms, "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." In January 2000, Jesse Helms, the legendary U.S. senator from North Carolina, succinctly summed up the meaning of these words for the United Nations Security Council by explaining that "nations derive their sovereignty – their legitimacy – from the consent of the governed." The ayatollahs brutally crushing dissent in Iran consider this linkage – sovereignty, legitimacy and the consent of the governed – to be as repugnant as a ham sandwich. Regrettably, these concepts do not appear to be grasped at the Obama White House, either. Thankfully, there are some in Washington who do understand. Nearly a year ago, Freedom Alliance, the Center for Security Policy and The Heritage Foundation began urging members of Congress to convene a body to focus on issues of American sovereignty. On Wednesday, Reps. Doug Lamborn, Thad McCotter and Scott Garrett announced the formation of the Congressional Sovereignty Caucus – an entity dedicated to preserving U.S. sovereignty. More than 30 other members of the House of Representatives already have enrolled. U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint became the first member of the "world's greatest deliberative body" to join. They have their work cut out for them. Yesterday, less than 24 hours after members of the Congressional Sovereignty Caucus met with supporters at the Capitol Visitor Center, the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment of Harold Koh, formerly the dean of Yale Law School, as the legal adviser for the State Department. The 62-35 vote means that Koh is now in a position to negotiate treaties, affect international law and influence U.S. foreign policy. That's not good news. Koh is a self-described "transnationalist," who "believes in and promotes the blending of international and domestic law." According to Koh, "U.S. courts can and should use their interpretive powers to promote the development of a global legal system." In short, he is a proponent of ensuring that citizens of the United States are in "obedience with international law." Unfortunately, the legal adviser's appointment is just the tip of the iceberg in the Obama administration. Mr. Obama's nominee to become associate justice of the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor, has spoken favorably about foreign law influencing U.S. legal decisions. In April, she argued, "To the extent that we have freedom of ideas, international law and foreign law will be very important in the discussion of how to think about the unsettled issues in our legal system." This kind of "thinking" is now endemic among Washington's political elite. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has asserted that the U.S. must "modernize and revitalize" international organizations and create new global governing institutions. Sen. John Kerry, now chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged that U.S. defense policy should pass a "global test" before being implemented. And while campaigning for president, our apologizer in chief declared in Berlin that he is a "citizen of the world."[CONTINUE READING]

Obama and Reagan: Study in contrasts ~ By Oliver North

By Oliver North Posted: June 19, 2009 1:00 am Eastern © 2009 ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – "What are you Americans thinking?" asked the young woman in perfect, if slightly accented, English. She was wearing a name tag with "Marie" in both Cyrillic and Latin print and had greeted us pleasantly when we ducked out of the rain and into her store to buy postcards and mementos for our grandchildren. Her question about American "thinking" came in the midst of a conversation about how dramatically life in Russia had changed during her 27 brief years. "What do you mean?" I replied. "What are you Americans thinking about freedom?" Marie asked. Somewhat perplexed, I answered: "We think individual liberty is wonderful. Why do you ask?" Her response was a reproach: "Why isn't America supporting freedom for the people of Iran?" My meandering rejoinder about "uncertainty" and "unique challenges" was unsatisfying to both of us – a tawdry example of my inability to criticize our government while in a foreign country. A few hours after this encounter, our ship sailed into the Baltic Sea, past the nearly abandoned base at Kronshtadt, once a stronghold of the no-longer-mighty Soviet navy. Seeing its now-dilapidated structures and rusting hulls was a reminder that we have not always had a problem explaining what America stands for. Twenty-two years ago this month, President Ronald Reagan stood at the Brandenburg Gate, in Berlin, boldly pointed to the barrier dividing the city, and declared: "There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe … Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" President Reagan's words were the knockout punch that buckled the knees of the Soviet empire. While some may think it was just a great line in a speech, Marie and tens of millions of other once-captive people know better. The challenge Mr. Reagan issued in the heart of Europe precipitated the end of a tyrannical system that had bullied, enslaved and murdered three generations of human beings for more than six decades. It wasn't just a sound bite. It was a consistent part of what Ronald Reagan said he wanted to achieve as president of the United States. [CONTINUE READING]

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Pay More Attention to Harold Koh ~ By Oliver North

By Oliver North It is said that there are two kinds of lawyers -- those who know the law, and those who know the judge. And then there is Harold Koh, the man who is likely to be the next Legal Adviser to the State Department. Koh most recently served as Dean of the Yale Law School and before that as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Labor and Human Rights in the Clinton administration. He is a prolific author and a legal activist of the Left. Earlier this week, his nomination to be Foggy Bottom’s barrister was voted out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 12-5. His pending appointment has received scant attention from the media or the senators who will decide his fate. It deserves a closer look. The State Department Legal Adviser is unique. The person holding the position helps formulate and implement U.S. foreign policy; advises the Justice Department on cases with international implications; influences U.S. positions on issues considered by international bodies; represents the U.S. at treaty negotiations and international conferences; has input into the drafting of Security Council resolutions and the interpretation of treaties. Koh’s record deserves more scrutiny because he is not just an attorney who knows the law -- he is an activist lawyer who knows what he wants the law to be. From all he has said and written, it is apparent that Koh wants U.S. jurisprudence to be shaped by international law, European courts, foreign governments, and international organizations like the United Nations. Koh puts himself in the “transnationalist” camp of legal practioners, which he describes as those who “believe in and promote the blending of international and domestic law.” He has written that “transnationalists believe that U.S. courts can and should use their interpretive powers to promote the development of a global legal system.” [Continue reading]

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