War on Terrorism

LA Times Editorial Opposes 'No Fly List' Gun Purchase Ban As ACLU Waffles
By Tom Blumer | December 8, 2015 | 3:53 PM EST

In the debate over whether persons whose names are on the "no-fly list" should be denied their constitutional right to purchase a gun, one quite predictable thing has happened. Now that President Barack Obama has come out in favor of such a move in a nationally televised speech — to the point of wondering "What could possibly be the argument?" for opposing him — The ACLU, which 5 years ago strongly opposed it in official congressional testimony, is now trying to appear noncommittal while paying lip service to due-process rights.

That was to be expected, as the ACLU is largely funded by wealthy leftist donors who strongly support curtailing Second Amendment rights, due process be damned. What has literally come out of far-left field as a pigs-must-be-flying surprise is an editorial in the Los Angeles Times which opposes Obama on this issue.

Bernie Goldberg Sees ‘Tipping Point’ in Liberal Media Defense of Obama
By Kyle Drennen | December 8, 2015 | 12:48 PM EST

Appearing on Fox News’s O’Reilly Factor Monday night, media analyst Bernie Goldberg ripped President Obama’s address to nation on terrorism and argued that even members of the liberal media would start to abandon the commander-in-chief: “There are people in the media who have a lot invested in Barack Obama and they're not gonna throw him under the bus. But when Barack Obama makes you look foolish by defending him, that's another story.”

New York Times vs. New York Times on the Terror Watch List
By Michael McKinney | December 8, 2015 | 10:29 AM EST

On Monday on Twitter, National Review writer Charles C. W. Cooke called out the hypocrisy of the New York Times, as he posted a contrast, a Times flip-flop: a 2014 Editorial Board write-up on how the “Terror Watch Lists Run Amok” and a 2015 Editorial Board write-up on why Republicans are showing “Tough Talk and a Cowardly Vote on Terrorism” by refusing to let the terror watch lists run amok.

Mika On Trump Muslim Plan: I Blame George W. Bush
By Mark Finkelstein | December 8, 2015 | 8:08 AM EST

One of James Taranto's tongue-in-cheek tropes at his Best of the Web Today column is "We Blame George Bush." As Wikipedia describes it, the trope "is a play on the perceived tendency for many of his detractors to lay the blame for pretty much anything" on Bush. In a recent example, "We Blame George W. Bush" was placed over a headline reading “Slipping Into a Food Coma? Blame Your Gut Microbes.” 

And lo and behold, from today's Morning Joe comes a real-life example of the phenomenon. Mika Brzezinski blamed Donald Trump's proposal to ban all Muslims from the US, on in part—you guessed it—George W. Bush. In fairness, Mika did also blame the Obama admin. She argued that foreign policy blunders not just by the Obama administration but "by the George W. Bush administration"  created feelings that Trump is tapping into. For Mika to reach back to blame Bush for Trump's proposal, when even liberals praise him for going out of his way, for example, six days after 9-11, to declare "Islam is peace," etc. is something between outrageous and hilarious.

Zakaria Oozes: ‘Cool’ ‘Fireman’ Obama Used Speech ‘to Douse’ Donald Trump’s ‘Flames’
By Curtis Houck | December 8, 2015 | 2:41 AM EST

In the latest analogy put forth by a member of the liberal media to praise President Obama, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria opined on Monday’s CNN Tonight that the President used his speech to the nation on Sunday to come across as the “cool” “fireman” who will “douse” the “flames” started by Donald Trump. Additionally, Zakaria hailed the speech as “vintage Obama” as he conducted “an adult conversation” with the American people about ISIS and forced them to accept his ISIS strategy since “not a lot of people have come up with an alternative.”

Kelly, Kurtz Unload on Media for ‘Ludicrous’ Complaints Over Terrorist Photo; ‘No One Gives a Crap’
By Curtis Houck | December 8, 2015 | 12:49 AM EST

Ripping members of the liberal media who’ve criticized press outlets for publishing photos of San Bernardino terrorist Tashfeen Malik wearing a hijab, Fox News host Megyn Kelly teamed with guest Howard Kurtz on Monday night to excoriate the “ludicrous” line of thinking by Melissa Harris-Perry and an Al Jazeera producer (among others) that even led Kelly to exclaim that “[n]o one gives a crap about that.”

CBS Runs CAIR-Heavy Piece on Islamophobia Fears Post-San Bernardino
By Curtis Houck | December 7, 2015 | 10:06 PM EST

On Monday, the CBS Evening News ran a full story about fears of continued Islamophobia in America following the terror attack in San Bernardino and turned to none other than the Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) for help, but neglected to mention CAIR’s extremist tendencies and how an official recently blamed the United States and the West for the spread of terrorism.

Heilemann: Some Say Trump Muslim Plan 'Fascist,' I Say 'Reactionary'
By Mark Finkelstein | December 7, 2015 | 6:57 PM EST

For a moment there, it looked like John Heilemann might go Absolut Olbermann and call Donald Trump a "fascist" for his proposal which would for the time being bar the entry of all Muslims into the United States.

But Heilemann backed off that f-word. While noting "some will say fascist" about Trump or his policy, Heilemann declared "I'm not saying that." Instead, he settled for asserting that there are "many voters in the country who are in fact reactionary" and that there is no way to describe Trump's policy "other than reactionary." 

CBS Recites White House Talking Points Defending Obama Speech; ABC Calls it ‘Historic’
By Kyle Drennen | December 7, 2015 | 3:49 PM EST

Covering President Obama’s Sunday night address on Monday’s CBS This Morning, co-host Norah O’Donnell turned to White House correspondent Major Garrett for “new insight on why the President spoke last night.” After briefly noting “lukewarm” reviews of the speech, Garrett proceeded to parrot administration talking points excusing the President’s poor performance. ABC’s Good Morning America labeled the President’s speech as “rare” and “historic.”

CNN's Camerota Lobbies Rand Paul on Obama's Gun Control Proposal
By Matthew Balan | December 7, 2015 | 1:49 PM EST

On Monday's New Day, CNN's Alisyn Camerota badgered Senator Rand Paul over President Obama's call for Congress to ban terror suspects from buying firearms: "That's one that seems as though it should be easy to fix. Why not close the loophole that allows suspects on the FBI's no-fly list to buy guns?" When Senator Paul cited how Ted Kennedy was on the no-fly list, Camerota shot back, "Look, I mean, I hear you, but fix the watch list. That's an issue of fixing the watch list...not to, somehow, let terrorists get their hands on guns."

NBC Rips Obama Speech: ‘He Didn’t Offer Anything New’
By Kyle Drennen | December 7, 2015 | 1:30 PM EST

Moments before President Obama’s Sunday night address to the nation about the San Bernardino terrorist attack, NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt hoped the speech might be “a defining moment for his presidency.” By Monday morning, reaction from hosts and analysts on the Today show made it clear the presidential remarks were not impressive.

Notable Quotables: Prayer = 'Meaningless Platitudes' from 'Cowards'
By Rich Noyes | and By Scott Whitlock | December 7, 2015 | 9:04 AM EST

This week, the media double down on Obama's anti-gun agenda and mock those who offer prayers as "cowards" hiding behind "meaningless platitudes." Also: NBC's Chuck Todd fears that, after San Bernardino, "our politics could be very ugly and very negative" thanks to Americans' "Islamophobia," while CNN can't figure out if the attack was because of radical Islam or "postpartum psychosis."