Yes, Rejection Likely Will Lead to War

No, not right away.

"Let's not mince words. The choice we face is ultimately between diplomacy or some form of war," he said during a foreign policy address at American University in Washington Wednesday. "Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not three months from now, but soon."

I'm a traditionalist and a sucker for that old-time diplomacy ( a Conservative, if you will).

In his American University speech Wednesday, Obama likened today’s situation regarding Iran – in particular the promise he sees in the nuclear agreement hammered out over two years of tough multilateral negotiations – to the lessening of nuclear arsenals and tensions between the US and the former Soviet Union.

“Under Democratic and Republican presidents, new agreements were forged: A nonproliferation treaty that prohibited nations from acquiring nuclear weapons, while allowing them to access peaceful nuclear energy, the SALT and START treaties, which bound the United States and the Soviet Union to cooperation on arms control,” he said. “Not every conflict was averted, but the world avoided nuclear catastrophe, and we created the time and the space to win the cold war without firing a shot at the Soviets.”

And, I shit you not, this is what the Right has to say:

Opponents of the Iran nuclear deal were quick to react to Obama’s speech, which did not mince words in its criticism of congressional critics – accusing them of “magnifying threats” and “playing on people’s fears.”

Yes, the party of " the smoking gun coming in the form of a mushroom cloud" along with other outrageous propaganda is accusing Obama of hyperbole. Fuckwits, as we say  at Hometown. BTW, the suggestion I got for fuckwits is kiwifruit. Maybe I should use that instead. 

 “As Congress and the American people review this deal, President Obama’s rhetoric is raising far more questions than answers,” Cory Fritz, spokesman for Republican House Speaker John Boehner, said in a statement. “Instead of offering facts and proving this deal will make America safer, the president is relying on partisan attacks, false claims, and fear.”

Open your eyes and ears, Mr. Fritz. The president has absolutely answered your questions. The fact that the opponents don't want to hear the answers is irrelevant. 

Stupid GOP Tricks:Tuesday Edition

What's the frequency Kenneth? We'll just use that question as a catch-all for what the fuck is your alternative to the Obama action you're nay-saying?

Here’s Roll Call’s Rachel Oswald:

GOP lawmakers who have declared their opposition to the nuclear deal with Iran have so far failed to articulate a detailed strategy for what would come next if they secure enough votes to derail the agreement.

Republicans interviewed by CQ acknowledged it would be incredibly difficult to reconstitute the international sanctions regime on Tehran if lawmakers vote in veto-proof margins to override President Barack Obama’s promised veto of any resolution of disapproval.

“I’m afraid it’s a lost cause,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said last week. “I think once you lift these [international] sanctions, once everything starts flowing in, once investments start coming in from the West, you’ll never be able to stand up that coalition [again].”

If you know you're going to lose, it doesn't matter, though. That's the value of losing. And here's Jeb Bush courting the women's vote. 

Jeb Bush asserted Tuesday that the U.S. government spends too much on “women’s health issues,” quickly backtracking following a political firestorm and claiming he “misspoke.”

Speaking before the Southern Baptist Convention today in Nashville, Tennessee, the Republican presidential candidate boasted that as governor of Florida, he defunded Planned Parenthood. Bush vowed to defund the women’s health organization federally as president.

When asked about the Republicans’ most recent efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, Bush dismissed the notion of a “war on women,” to argue, “I’m not sure we need half a billion dollars for women’s health issues”

And in what won't be news to anyone that's not a right-wing conspiracy nut:

If you’ve been keeping score at home, you’ll have noticed that not one but two states, including a red state with a paleoconservative governor, have in the past several days exonerated Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing in the so-called secret-video sting that has conservatives calling on Congress to defund the non-profit organization. The appropriate response to this news is, “Of course! Because Planned Parenthood is absolutely not selling fetus parts via some sort of grisly underground marketplace.”

It's so nice to be here at my blog where the f-bombs and Yuenglings flow freely. Not sure if my comment is going up or not since I gave directions to Jim Jefferies' hilariously f-bomb filled clip on you tube. 

One More Instance of Dems Not Being the Same as Reps

It just keeps happening over and over.

The doubling down on climate reflects an administration emboldened by recent high-profile victories on other key issues. Having solidified significant gains on health care, gay rights, Iran nuclear talks, and relations with Cuba, President Obama appears determined to do the same for another key item of his agenda: climate change.

I think he's just doing stuff like that to fuck with Funiciello. 

"Power plants are the single biggest source of the harmful carbon pollution that contributes to climate change," Mr. Obama said in a video posted to Facebook over the weekend. "But until now, there have been no federal limits to the amount of that pollution those plants can dump into the air."

Or it could be he actually cares about the future of the planet. In any case, not the actions of a corporate puppet.

Syrian Scorecard

Despite Turkey continuing to target the Kurds, there is some good news.

The agreement between the United States and Turkey to establish some form of protected zone in northern Syria that is free of the extremist Islamic State heralds a potentially significant shift in Syria’s grueling civil war.

Jordan is considering a buffer zone in the south of Syria as well.

Jordan also has been considering the benefits and costs of establishing a similar zone in southern Syria. But Jordan, which still has diplomatic ties with Syria, is adopting a more cautious approach. 

Jordanian officials say the motivation for creating a buffer would be to confront a proximate threat, such as the deployment of IS along the border.

Under plans drawn up some months ago, the proposed zone would extend some 20 miles into Syria. It would be policed by moderate rebels and militias formed of the minority Druze sect, with the Jordanian army providing artillery and air support.

“We believe we have partners on the ground who know the terrain and will be better equipped to enforce the zone,” says a Jordanian military official with knowledge of the plans.

In theory, a buffer zone could would allow for the return of 65 percent of the 1.4 million Syrian refugees living in Jordan who come from the city of Deraa and surrounding villages.

It may be finally getting toward time for an exit for Assad. Another thing to talk to our new "friends" in Iran about?

Last week, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad admitted that his weakened army will have to abandon some areas of the country, signaling the anticipated pullback to more defendable regime lines between Damascus and the Mediterranean coast.

He has more lives than a cat, though. 

A Death With Less Coverage Than Cecil the Lion

Not that I'm not sad about the lion...

In a rare case of finding common cause, thousands of Israelis and Palestinians gathered Saturday in rallies and protests. They took to the streets a day after suspected Jewish terrorists set fire to a Palestinian home and burned a toddler to death, presumably to expel more Palestinians from the West Bank and expand Jewish settlements.

The loss of the child was enough for people on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian divide to rise up and affirm a basic tenet of their Abrahamic faiths: That innocence is a blessed right and must be protected.

It was such a dastardly act that even Benjamin Netanyahu was moved to decry it. 

This moment of unity should not be forgotten. It reflects a search by many religious leaders, whether Jewish, Islamic, or Christian, to define the core doctrine of these sibling Abrahamic religions and help them find peace with each other.

We can hope. Jonathan Sacks:

“It is not our task to conquer or convert the world or enforce uniformity of belief. It is our task to be a blessing to the world.” The basis for this blessing, he states, is that the Abrahamic faiths have made the claim “that every human being, regardless of color, culture, class or creed, was [created] in the image and likeness of God.”

“Too often in the history of religion, people have killed in the name of the God of life, waged war in the name of the God of peace, hated in the name of the God of love and practiced cruelty in the name of the God of compassion. When this happens, God speaks, sometimes in a still, small voice almost inaudible beneath the clamor of those claiming to speak on his behalf. What he says at such times is: Not in my name.

Also not getting enough coverage was the last blue moon until 2018. You snoozed, you lost.

MEA CULPA: Upon reflection, I feel I may have been dismissive of the lion story with my post title. It is an important issue. We are certainly not in Teddy's time anymore. 

“Theodore Roosevelt was a passionate hunter. He loved the thrill of tracking and chasing game, the skill in marksmanship, the careful and deliberate recording of his observations about each hunt, the demanding—if smelly—preservation of specimens, and the pleasure of capturing in rich and vibrant language this ephemeral experience so that he could share it with the world,”  

Things are getting better despite the on-going presence of some neanderthals in our society. That's why I have a "look on the bright side" label. 

What has fundamentally altered our view of trophy hunting is the moral shift that comes as the result of an amalgam of factors, including film, celebrities, and even vegan trends pushed by animal rights groups. According to a Harris Interactive poll commissioned by the Vegetarian Resource Group, about 5 percent of Americans – that's about 16 million people – say that they never eat meat, fish, seafood, or poultry. Of these vegetarians, about half say they are vegan. 

Giving Roosevelt some credit:

President Roosevelt himself was likely a major contributor to the anti-trophy sentiment that exists today because of his refusal to kill an old, sick bear that had been tied to a tree by his guide just for the sake of shooting something on an unproductive hunting trip.

As Few Words As Possible About Trump

I'll leave it to Shaw to cover Donald. I had my own Donald problem once upon a time and that one still brings bad memories.

I'll just tack on this sad news for Righties. OK, it's opinion. I don't care. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Trolls Israel

And good for him.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says now that his country has accepted strict curbs on its nuclear program, it’s time for Israel and the world's other nuclear powers to begin their disarmament.

Nukes are useless and the military has long known that. And either Israel or the US could easily destroy Iran with just conventional weapons. 

Bruce Riedel, the director of the Intelligence Project at the Brookings Institution, contends in a column for Al-Monitor that Israel is the country that started the nuclear arms race in the region. “Some have argued the Vienna deal will start a nuclear arms race in the region,” he said. “In fact, a nuclear arms race has been underway in the Middle East for 65 years. Israel won it.”

Mr. Riedel asserts that Israel has a right to develop a nuclear arsenal since it has been at war since its birth. But, he said suggesting that Israel is an impotent defenseless country is not correct, adding that the country has been benefiting from “enormous amounts of American intelligence and military support.”

Since the Hometown blog always believes in giving credit where it's due, in addition to shame where it's due, kudos to Ami Ayalon. 

I spoke recently with Ami Ayalon, a former head of Shin Bet, the Israeli internal security service, and a former chief of the Israeli Navy. Even as he explained that the issue “is not black and white,” he reeled off a list of former defense ministers and chiefs of Shin Bet and Mossad who agree with him that “when it comes to Iran's nuclear capability, this [deal] is the best option.”

“When negotiations began, Iran was two months away from acquiring enough material for a [nuclear] bomb. Now it will be 12 months,” Ayalon says, and the difference is significant to anyone with a background in intelligence. “Israelis are failing to distinguish between reducing Iran’s nuclear capability and Iran being the biggest devil in the Middle East,” he says.

Why has the response been more emotional than logical? “It’s very easy to play with fears in a fearful society,” he says.

Had to include that last line for the bed-wetters in the Grand Old Party which is given a right good thrashing by William Saletan here. There is really too much good stuff to pick and choose, so just go see it in all its glory. Also, got the Daily Beast link from him. Thank you for that. 

Oh fine, here's a soupçon (Hometown Word of the Day): 

If Republicans win the White House next year, they’ll almost certainly control the entire federal government. Many of them, running for president or aspiring to leadership roles in Congress, are trying to block the nuclear deal with Iran. This would be a good time for these leaders to show that they’re ready for the responsibilities of national security and foreign policy. Instead, they’re showing the opposite. Over the past several days, congressional hearings on the deal have become a spectacle of dishonesty, incomprehension, and inability to cope with the challenges of a multilateral world.