Bracing For The State of the Union

Peter Baker of the Times does a fair job of presenting Obama's seeming diffidence towards ISIS.

Balancing Terror and Reality in State of the Union Address

By PETER BAKER   JAN. 11, 2016

WASHINGTON — When President Obama speaks to the nation in his final State of the Union address on Tuesday night, he will offer a familiar reassurance that the country is expending enormous effort to protect Americans against international terrorism.

Here is what he probably will not say, at least not this bluntly: Americans are more likely to die in a car crash, drown in a bathtub or be struck by lightning than be killed by a terrorist. The news media is complicit in inflating the sense of danger. The Islamic State does not pose an existential threat to the United States.

 Yeah, yeah, he says that after the San Bernardino terrorists shot up co-workers at an office party. People with jobs getting shot? So what? if ISIS wants to provoke a response from this President they need to shoot up an abortion clinic or a gay bar.

Comments

[squaredance]

Hey!

(Just in time for the State of the Union speech--honestly you cannot make this stuff up.)

[daddy]

Just awoke to see 10 US Navy Sailors are now being held by the Iranians.

Obama will probably tell us tonight they are "sightseeing."

Geez.

[squaredance]

What a clear signal of absolute contempt for us. Thanks, Obama.

[Dave (in MA)]

Bracing, as in girding your loins...

[Gentlejim]

From the previous thread

New Trier high school jumps the pc shark:http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/01/12/racial-identity-mlk-new-trier/

Posted by: clarice | January 12, 2016 at 04:58 PM

What a surprise that this crap comes from the Chicago area. My kids would definitely not be going to school that day. I can hear rse now.

[Jack is Back (but On Alert)!]

May I ask an elementary question?

Who the F**K cares what he will say?

If you do, even if you are a JOM friend, you need to get out more, enjoy the weather, whatever it is, feel good about your inner self, read a book, listen to music, watch a movie, go for a drive, walk your dogs, kiss your cat, find a gym somewhere and work out, look at the moon, take a prostate exam, run a marathon, travel to Afghanistan or Syria for the sights. but do not listen to this creep tonight.

I am not. But look forward to the masochistic members here who will blog it.

[Gentlejim]

JiB,
I would definitely vote for the prostate exam over the speech. At least it is short in duration and serves a purpose.

[jimmyk]

"Americans are more likely to die in a car crash, drown in a bathtub or be struck by lightning than be killed by a terrorist."

It's so tiresome when politicians talk down to us with abuse of statistics. The policy importance doesn't relate so much to the relative likelihood of the incident as to the efficacy of policy to reduce the likelihood. There may not be much (more) to do about bathtub drownings or lightning strikes at reasonable cost, but there could be lots of actions that would be worth taking against ISIS.

[Rick Ballard]

SD,

Obama wants to announce Implementation Day tonight and Iran decided to pee in his Cheerios before demanding release of their money. Why shouldn't they perform an act displaying their complete contempt for Obama?

He has worked so very hard to earn it.

[Eric in Boise]

Welp, if the Mullahs decide not to let this latest little crisis go to waste, I've got a feeling Combover Croesus won't, either. Especially if we're treated to more mush from the wimp(s).

Long Redenbacher calls.

[Cecil Turner]

I really wonder how two riverine boats ended up in Iran. I'm having a very hard time coming up with a likely scenario.

[henry]

Bracing, as in drinking heavily. That I understand. Like JiB I will not pay any attention to the man with the pen and phone. I will do laundry and pack for Florida. As I stand here in WI, alligators are unharassed by me in Florida. Not for long.

[Miss Marple]

Jack, I always watch for 2 reasons:

1. In case he decides to go full dictator and announce arrests or something, so that my dog and I can get out of Daodge.

2. I want to see it live if he goes completely crackers and is carted off to Bethesda in a straight jacket.

I will report until I can't take it any more.

[lyle]

Short puts as well, EiB! I told you months ago you need to hit the big one soon so you can renounce your US citizenship. :)

But here's a summary of Barry's "guests" tonight (from here, http://news.investors.com/politics-andrew-malcolm/011216-789344-obama-sotu-surprise.htm):

Obama's other 23 politically-correct guests include an ex-con prison reformer, a middle-aged community college student, a soldier, a mayor, a global-warming activist, a recovering substance abuser, an ObamaCare navigator, an Alaskan native tribal member, a homeless advocate and, of course, a Syrian refugee.

[Jack is Back (but On Alert)!]

CT,

By being captured in International waters? Best scenario I can come up with even if one is disabled. They do have radios, right? And air support close by.

[Miss Marple]

Reuters U.S. News Verified account
‏@ReutersUS

U.S. military preparing transfer of 10 Guantanamo detainees: Fox News http://reut.rs/1RAYNMF

Coincidence? You be the judge.

[rse]

Gentlejim-I posted two links this morning that came out today in the comments on my blog. It relates to what a tipped henry off to, but the definition of Deep Learning that is a prerequisite now under what the federally required Higher Order Thinking and Understanding that must be assessed annually relates to Identity and all the various groups a student allies his or herself with.

Everything about K-12 now, except in those few places where veteran principals or supers are holding the line until they retire is about manipulating what each student has internalized. The whole point is to get at what guides and motivates behavior as well as what experiences get interpreted through.

This requires that race, class, and sexuality among other things be front and center. This is not an aberration. It is simply an affluent school district where parents have begun to wake up that it can happen to them despite their lovely homes, education of the parents, and amount paid in property taxes. All those just raise the level of targeting of the kids.

[Cecil Turner]

By being captured in International waters?

Hard to feature, and why come up with the "mechanical trouble" and "lost contact" stories? There's something dang suspicious going on here.

[NK]

here's a map. It's a spec of an island in the middle of the upper Gulf. It's a cozy and unfriendly neigb about 40 miles from the 5th Fleet in Bahrain. The Rev Guardsmen deliberately grabbed these boats is my guess. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Farsi+Island/@27.5127004,50.2602069,8.47z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x3fb55aa7712145cd:0xfeed546d4f808f45

[Barry Dauphin]

Americans are more likely to die in a car crash, drown in a bathtub or be struck by lightning than be killed by a terrorist

And his point is that we shouldn't do anything to avoid them either? Or is his point that terrorist acts are accidents?

[Jane]

It was cold today Henry - in the 40's this morning. But I am confident you will bring the sun!

[lyle]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/brooks-borks-cruz-1452628864?tesla=y

Worth the Google work-around if you don't have WSJ net subscription. For my part, I lament Taranto's stylistic lack of invective and generous use of swear words given the subject matter (Brooks not Cruz, of course). But that clearly would be more my style and since he actually has the paying gig one may draw one's own conclusion as to which has the wider audience appeal.

[henry]

Jane, double digits would be an improvement.

[Jane]

Yeah Henry, I do get that. Amy says it's snowing hard in Sturbridge.

[lyle]

http://ace.mu.nu/archives/361010.php#361010

Always worth a click for the comments.

[Janet]

Americans are more likely to die in a car crash, drown in a bathtub or be struck by lightning than be killed by a terrorist. The news media is complicit in inflating the sense of danger. The Islamic State does not pose an existential threat to the United States.

THe other thing about that bit is that it is the federal government's JOB to protect America & Americans from foreign enemies. That is their JOB.

They are mired in nonsense & thousands of things that are not their business, while refusing to do their core, legitimate functions.
Why even have a Federal level government?

[lyle]

http://www.showbiz411.com/2016/01/12/white-house-hosting-first-ever-live-pre-show-for-state-of-the-union-address-hosted-by-actor

And why not?

[Jeff Dobbs]

I see the State of the Union starts 30 minutes later than the Alabama-Clemson game.

I'm pretty sure they scheduled it as late as they did just for Cecil to better avoid it.

[clarice]

The news keeps getting worse--both Brennan and Clapper's personal email accts were hacked:http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_INTELLIGENCE_HACK?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-01-12-17-30-16
Obama's ridiculous nuclear "deal" with Iran on the rocks:http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2580269/

[lyle]

Why even have a Federal level government?

Aha! Now we know Janet's last name: Bundy. j/k

[Eric in Boise]

so you can renounce your citizenship

Now, why would a red blooded アメリカン want to do something like that, lyle? ;)

[McCloud]

Obama doesn't want us to become "numb" to mass shootings.. unless there's an Islamic terror connection.

[lyle]

No reason...

[henry]

McCloud, there's never an Islamic terror connection. Just guns that escape gun shows through ill defined loopholes.

[Miss Marple]

Posted Today, 05:39 PM

#Aljazeera: #Iran IRGC says #USA sailors are 'prisoners'..

[GUS]

Just passed a caravan of VANS filled with guns, heading east from Crown Point, heading toward Chicago.

Wtf?

[Jack is Back (but On Alert)!]

jane,

Sorry I didnt't warn you about January and February in Florida. So many northeasterners are disappointed when they come down and feel the cool, sunny, windy nature of Florida that time of the year. It will get better around April and then everyone driving you nuts on the roads and at Publix will leave and go back north.

Enjoy the Sunshine State. Not the Warmest State.

[GUS]

I wonder if one of those Navy vessels was John Effin Kerry on his SWIFT BOAT.
Maybe he'll get another Purple Heart!!!

[clarice]

Should be in the 60's and 70's during the daytime--77 on Fri. Not bad.

[Marlene]

Yeah,I'm cuddled under a nice warm blanket, lurking. But I'm not complaining! Fourteen inches of snow at home!

[henry]

OK, pack shorts cause Clarice says it will be warm. Check.

[Skoot]

The state of our ten sailors is?

[Jack is Back (but On Alert)!eac]

It was 59F at Hammock Dunes today. The Tuesday cross-over was in long pants but there are over aged studs who still wear shorts. Idiots.

We started out at 25F and we got up to 43. And at Copper's Beach we watched 3 surfers in full gear ride the waves. Insanity on boarsds.

[Thomas Collins]

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/12/politics/10-u-s-sailors-in-iranian-custody/index.html

The above link is to an article reporting that the sailors are spending the night in Iran, Skoot.

[Janet]

from lyle's 6:02 - "Tonight on the White House website there will be a first ever Station of the Union address pre-show. It begins at 8pm and is hosted by Terrence Jenkins on the White House website. There may be an audience since it’s coming “straight from the theater at the Executive Office Building.”....Musical guests include rapper Wale, from Washington DC, and the semi-rock duo EL VY..."

I had to make sure this wasn't a joke.
It's true. :(

Think of the time, effort & $$$ that went into doing this nonsense.

Let our people be slaughtered in Benghazi & try to blame Republicans for not enough funding. Tape off outdoor memorials from American citizens that OWN them, while blaming funding...

...but there is plenty of OUR money for this crap.

[clarice]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jan/12/federal-judge-certifies-tea-party-lawsuit-irs/

[Miss Marple]

Apparently there is some discussion about W appearing for Jeb in Iowa. Picked it up on Twitter, but don't have a link.

I don't think this will work, myself.

But it does show how desperate the Jeb campaign is.

[clarice]

http://freebeacon.com/national-security/earnest-navy-iranian-hostilities-obama-nuclear-deal/
these kind of hostilities the moron says is why we made the nuclear deal.

[Jack is Back (but On Alert)!eac]

Talking about jumpint the shark. David Gregory has made his return but to Fox Special Report. First we have Huntsman on Cavuto and now this POS on Baier. Ailes has decided to piss all of us.

[boatbuilder, Esq., Lord of All He Surveys]

Americans are far more likely to be struck by lightning, die in a car crash or drown in a bathtub than to be shot by a police officer or by a crazed gunman with an assault rifle. Who is inflating the sense of danger?

[Frau Haferflocken]

Clarice @ 6:40 - I'm going to beat narciso: "It's just a flesh wound."

DrJ - from the previous thread.
The stain on Bernie's blue suit is from oatmeal.

[DrJ]

Frau, :)

[GUS]

I think you mean AILE$.

[Skoot]

The Ayatollahs have effectively de-pantsed the putz king on his last big tv hurrah. Unbelievable. Imagine them taking US military prisoners on the eve of a Reagan or even Bush address. Unbelievable.

[Jack is Back (but On Alert)!eac]

I loathe Gregory and his smarmy demeanor (I fogot he speaks French, so do I you Jerk). Why the hell Ailes would rescue him from obliviou and foist him on the sane people in the universe is beyond me and he is jusr an obnoxious liberal mouthpiece.

JamesD has my permission to enter him into the "House on Fire Hall of Fame".

[anonamom]

clarice, that is HUGE!

[Captain Hate on the iPad]

When even RINOs attack:

http://www.weaselzippers.us/250452-even-msnbcs-joe-scarborough-thinks-iran-is-pushing-obama-around/

[Cecil Turner]

I'm pretty sure they scheduled it as late as they did just for Cecil to better avoid it.

I guarantee it's going to work for 'em . . . and for me. (Reading the transcripts is a lot easier on the ol' blood pressure, anyway.)

[Jack is Back (but On Alert)!eac]

Okay, if you are looking for a reason to drink.

Everytime he says "That's not who we are", take a swig. You'll be drunk in 20 minutes. Sweet dreams.

[Skoot]

I don't see that Trump has responded to the incident yet. This should be good

[anonamom]

worth repost, from jmh 1:43 this afternoon:

I suggest we adopt the acronym IVR, as a stand-in for "I will vote for the Republican nominee, no matter who it is," so that folks won't feel compelled to protect themselves by spelling it out every time they voice the even the mildest criticism of someone else's favorite candidate.

For example: I don't think Trump can win the general election, and I think he would be a disastrous President if he did, but IVR!

[clarice]

On his own Trump is giving a rebuttal to the SOTU--this should put him over the top I think.

[henry]

He should give it during the SOTU and beat Obama in ratings while he is at it.

[Jeff Dobbs]

Trump should do it MST3K style.

[centralcal]

Ha Henry!

[pagar a bacon, ham and sausage supporter]

http://www.weaselzippers.us/250436-breaking-10-u-s-sailors-being-held-by-iran/

Read it all!and remember you can't make this stuff up.

[henry]

Jeff, it's not too late to let Trump know that... that would be awesome!

[Thomas Collins]

Re pagar's 7:19 PM link: The White House is reported to have claimed that's because it's 2 am in Iran, it's too late to release the sailors. I guess the WH critters no longer care about even a semblance of credibility.

[Miss Marple]

In case you wonder about Governor Pence's political expertise, he is right now giving the State of the State speech before the legislature.

[GUS]

Was it 2 am when Iran hijacked our vessels.
The 2a.m. call came and Val Jarrett picked up the phone. What language did she speak???

FARSI ISLAND indeeeeeeeeeeeeeed.

[Art in Newport]

.. Trump should do it MST3K style..

I would pay real money to see that.

[Joan]

How dare they grab our sailors?

Even if they are returned forthwith, we have to respond with a symbolic act, i.e., chopping down that tree in the DMZ in Korea.

This just really pisses me off.

[pagar a bacon, ham and sausage supporter]

Wonder if they know that there are actually reports that US ships can operate in the dark?

[squaredance]

I have not been able to sit through a speech of Obama's since his first inauguration. I read them. I cannot bear hearing him speak. I find it degrading and embarrassing,

[Jack is Back (but On Alert)!eac]

Hell, I'd give up my Powerball ticket to watch that.

Big miss by any of the Repubs to not at least blog the damn thing.

[GUS]

Someone broke into my house at 2a.m. , I waited til sun-up to call the cops.

These bastards are in so far over their PIN HEADS, that we are all in danger now.

[Jack is Back (but On Alert)!eac]

GUS,

Are your axes okay? Did you have a NRA warning sticker on your door?

[Rocco]

Americans are more likely to die in a car crash

Ted Kennedy's car? His car's killed more people than my gun!

[GUS]

Hey Jack! I put an ad on Craigs list saying.
GUS'S GUITARS FOR SALE...GUN FREE ZONE.

[Jack is Back (but On Alert)!eac]

rocco,

Or died at TMI.

[GUS]

How did VINCE FOSTER die???

An NRA hit. Just like the 501 homicides in Chicago last year.

501, I believe 423 were committed with guns.

How many NRA members were convicted.

LIBTARDS are DELUDED and DISHONEST.

[Gentlejim]

Assurances from Iran.... Very reassuring.

[Frau Haferflocken]

Five "lucky" people from San Bernardino, CA will be in attendance at the SOTU, including the partner of one of the men murdered. Nothing beats diversity these days.

Pure Fantasy Time: I wish the Mars ambassador could attend.
LUN

[Gentlejim]

GUS,
Chicago 2015 updated numbers

Final 2015 Totals
Shot & Killed: 443
Shot & Wounded: 2552
Total Shot: 2995
Total Homicides: 502

[GUS]

Yes, and the Mars Ambassador could sit right next to Christopher Stevens.

[Jack is Back (but On Alert)!eac]

Frau,

Heraus loud lachen.:)

[James D.]

The White House is reported to have claimed that's because it's 2 am in Iran, it's too late to release the sailors.

And the Republican Congress is going to stand up for this treasonous President, who sits on his funds while American sailors are kidnapped by an enemy nation. They will clap for him.

If they had the slightest regard for their country, for the oaths they took, for simple common decency, impeachment proceedings would begin tomorrow morning.

[squaredance]

This is for those Rubio fans out there.

[GUS]

443 shot and killed. Most by NRA members.

[Miss Marple]

By the way, Pence, against all reason, brought up the LGBT thing again.

[Rocco]

Might be a great time to compare Obama's weakness regarding Iran to Jimmy Carter's failure to stop the overthrow of the Shah, which is really the genesis of it all.

NK's my favorite Originalist, Scalia's my second favorite.

[squaredance]

And then there is this.

[Beasts of England]

It's too late to rescue them? I had no idea that there were standard business hours for captors. Wouldn't wanna wake 'em up, I guess. That would be impolite.

[Threadkiller]

Will Nikki Haley mention the Confederate Flag?

[Jack is Back (but On Alert)!]

SD,

You have WiFi out on OL's ledge? I'm impressed.

[GUS]

President African-America cannot be questioned. He loves America, especially the NAVY. After all he was part of SEAL TEAM 6 and personally shot BIN LADEN, then personally buried him at sea.

He's a dear leader.

[Gentlejim]

GUS,
That is correct. They used machine guns and assault rifles.

MM,
Pence is completely tone deaf.

squaredance,
Rubio's support for that alone is a disqualified for me. If he happens to be the nominee, IVR.

[Miss Marple]

Little Sisters of the Poor arrive at Capitol:

[Rocco]

And Nikki Haley should remind everyone that on the day Ronald Reagan was sworn in, Iran released the hostages.

[Janet]

related to squaredance's 8:11...there was this post at Am. Thinker from NOVEMBER - http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/11/the_refugee_resettlement_tango.html#.Vk76sewgcQw.facebook