HALF-FULL REPORT 02/13/15

The brutal execution by ISIS of a Jordanian pilot has lit a fire under Jordan’s King Abdullah, who has stepped up air strikes, moved "thousands" of troops to his border with Iraq. F-16s of the United Arab Emirates, flying from bases in Jordan, have rejoined the aerial campaign.against the Islamist terrorists.

Shortly after ISIS posted video of  Moaz Al-Kasasbeh being burned to death in a cage, King Abdullah met with members of the House Armed Services Committee.

"He said there is going to be retribution like ISIS hasn’t seen," said Rep. Duncan Hunter Jr, R-CA, a former Marine who served two tours in Iraq, one in Afghanistan. The king quoted a part of the Clint Eastwood movie "Unforgiven," he said.

Rep. Hunter didn’t say which part. In one scene, the character Eastwood plays says: "Any man I see out there, I’m gonna kill him. Any son of a bitch takes a shot at me, I’m not only going to kill him, I’m going to kill his wife and all his friends and burn his damn house down."

Abdullah, 53, is a graduate of the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, served in the British Army. A paratrooper and a pilot, King Abdullah was a major general commanding Jordan’s special forces when he ascended to the throne in 1999. I wish our president had his stones.

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He doesn’t, said the former editor of Ashar al-Awsat, an Arabic newspaper published in London, who called in a column Tuesday (2/10) for a coalition of ground troops from Arab countries to launch an offensive against ISIS from Jordan.

What President Obama calls "strategic patience" is "strategic cowardice," said Tariq Alhomayed.

"Everyone knows the international anti-ISIS coalition is just a cover for the Obama administration’s spineless reluctance to make any lasting decisions or take any real action in the Middle East," he said.

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Zero asked Congress this week to pass a resolution authorizing him to use force against ISIS. Congress won’t. The president’s proposal is a trap, contains three poison pills, is "utterly stupid." Democrats don’t like it either, for very different reasons.

 "If the trumpet be uncertain, who shall heed the call to battle? St. Paul asked (1 Corinithians 14:8). Zero has sounded an "uncertain kazoo." Congress should send him this instead, Hugh Hewitt thinks.

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Obama is trying harder to defeat Bibi Netanyahu in the Israeli elections March 17 than to defeat ISIS, but his efforts appear to be backfiring. Netanyahu’s Likud party has surged into the lead despite – or maybe because of – withering criticism from the president and the American and Israeli left.

Zero also is failing to keep Netanyahu from addressing a joint session of Congress March 3^rd. Obama is afraid of what Bibi will say about his efforts to appease Iran, said former UN Ambassador John Bolton.

House Speaker John Boehner issued the invite after Zero threatened to veto a bill imposing  sanctions on Iran. By inviting Netanyahu, Boehner "outgunned and outmaneuvered Obama politically," Bolton said.

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The White House had very specific intelligence about where ISIS was holding Western hostages, including murdered Americans James Foley, Steven Sotloff and Kayla Mueller, but a mission to rescue them failed because Zero dithered for seven weeks before authorizing it, Fox News correspondent Catherine Herridge said she was told by intelligence officials. It may have been closer to four months, said Jaime Detmer and Shane Harris.

The death of Ms. Mueller – who may have been given to an ISIS commander as a "bride" — should be a wakeup call for liberals, because she was one of them, an Israel hating, Palestinian loving leftie. But sympathizing with Islamists is no guarantee they won’t kill you.

Guess what Zero was doing on the day her death was confirmed.

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In remarks which even for him were breathtakingly ignorant, erroneous and offensive, President Barack Obama declared moral equivalence between Islamic extremism and Christianity.

The Crusades were a response to the Muslim conquest of Christian Jerusalem in 638, and the abuse of Christians there by Muslims.

Crusaders committed atrocities against Muslims. Muslims committed atrocities against Christians. Muslims committed more.

 "The Egyptian leader Baybars, for example, captured the Christian city of Antioch in 1268 and massacred its entire population," noted Thomas Madden, a professor of Medieval History at St. Louis University.

Slavery is older than recorded history, was practiced everywhere in the world. What is unique about slavery and Christianity is (Protestant) Christians ended the practice. Slavery was still legal in Saudia Arabia 100 years after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

The Medieval Christian threat is under control, Mr. President," said Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.  "Please deal with the radical Islamic threat today."

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He isn’t, say former Defense Intelligence Agency Director LtGen. Michael Flynn, former Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Jack Keane, and  James "Mad Dog" Mattis, in my opinion the greatest Marine general since, well, ever. CBS News anchor Bob Schieffer doubts his dedication to defeating ISIS. Anyone paying attention knows he has no strategy against ISIS, said Bob Woodward.

Zero’s riff at the Prayer Breakfast "was part of the softening up of the outrage that will follow an announcement of capitulation to Iran’s dream of a nuclear capability," Hugh Hewitt thinks. Michael Doran, a senior director of the National Security Council during the Bush administration, has a must read essay on "Obama’s Secret Iran Strategy.

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Must see tv this week is watching White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest and State Department flack Jen Psaki get eaten alive as they try to defend President Obama’s claim the murder of four Jews in a kosher deli in Paris the day after the Charlie Hebdo massacre was "random."

They must feel like the guy at the circus who has to clean up after the elephant.

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In other news about random acts of violence by terrorists who think they’re Muslims, but Zero says they aren’t, the U.S. embassy in Yemen was evacuated Wednesday (2/11). ISIS may be top dog in Libya now.

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The IRS plans to pay refunds to illegal immigrants who’ve never paid taxes.

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Illinois’ new Republican governor, Bruce Rauner, has issued an executive order to put an end to the requirement state employees in the Land of Lincoln pay union dues even if they don’t join the union.

About 6,500 of 42,000 state employees (15 percent) don’t belong to public employee unions, which are suing to overturn the executive order.

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The Republican alternative to Obamacare is pretty good, say most conservative health care experts. A credible GOP substitute may make it more likely the Supreme Court will rule against the administration on whether it is legal to pay subsidies to people who buy health insurance on the federal exchange.

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Twenty two retired generals and admirals have demanded a formal apology for NBC Middle East reporter Ayman Mohyeldin’s claim Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, was a "racist" who went on "killing sprees."

Kyle has more confirmed kills than any sniper in U.S. history, though I think Marine sniper Carlos Hathcock was the best ever. After leaving the Navy, Kyle worked with vets who had mental problems.

The trial of Eddie Routh, accused of killing him in 2013, has begun. Routh had PTSD, his family said. That’s highly unlikely, because he never saw combat.

"He was known to be a drug user and a below average performer while in the Marine Corps," the Warfighter Foundation said. "He was an individual with psychological problems that were not associated with his service. He was a piece of shit, end of story."

I saw American Sniper last weekend. Clint Eastwood and Bradley Cooper captured exactly what motivates "sheepdogs" like Chris Kyle. I was deeply moved, because I was a "sheepdog" once.

"The sheepdog disturbs the sheep," said LtCol Dave Grossman, former Army Ranger and West Point psychology professor, who coined the metaphor. "He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land."

If you haven’t seen American Sniper yet, make sure you do. It is one of greatest war movies of all time, and when you buy your ticket, you’ll be annoying a liberal.

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Dave Letterman’s idea of a war hero, Lyin’ Brian Williams, has been suspended without pay for six months, the suits at NBC announced Tuesday (2/10). They’re betting that after six months, "things will cool off…and Williams will be able to return to the chair," said Fox News media critic Howard Kurtz.

I’d take that bet. Williams’ credibility is shot. Since the scandal began, Lyin’ Brian has fallen from the 23^rd most trusted person in America to 835, according to the Marketing Arm. Ratings were down 36 percent for his broadcast the day after it broke. As evidence emerges of embellishments and fabrications in other stories, trust in him will fall further.

Americans uncomfortable with getting news from a serial fabricator are nasty and mean, Lyin’ Brian’s liberal friends say. His resume inflation didn’t hurt anybody. On that we agree. It’s all the other lies that are problematic.

At the start of the Iraq war, Williams said the bombing of Saddam’s command and control facilities was "like Dresden." Ever since, the writer of Inside Cable News has thought of him as the airhead anchor William Hurt played in "Broadcast News.

"My jaw hit the floor," the writer said. "How could he possibly say that? How could he possibly think that? Did he not know what Dresden was? Was he trying to toss out jargon to make himself look smart without understanding the nature of the jargon being tossed?"

If ratings hold up, interim anchor Lester Holt probably will keep the job. If they don’t, some see more than coincidence in Jon Stewart’s announcement Tuesday he’s leaving the Daily Show.

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John Kerry ranks last among 13 secretaries of state in the last half century, according to a survey of 1,615 international relations scholars at 1,375 U.S. colleges and universities by Foreign Policy magazine.

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The Portland Oregonian, which endorsed Gov. John Kitzhaber for re-election despite evidence he is crooked, is calling for his resignation, now that there’s no danger he’d be replaced by a Republican.

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John Judis, co-author of "The Emerging Democratic Majority" in 2002, has recanted. He now sees an "Emerging Republican Advantage," because the sharp shift leftward of Democrats during Barack Obama’s presidency is driving away blue collar whites.

Democrats should be worried, says Jay Cost, my favorite psephologist. Michael Barone agrees. Hillary Clinton will win in 2016, but she’ll be the last Democrat president for a long time, University of Iowa student Clay Rogers thinks.

 "A tectonic shift is occurring in American politics," Rogers wrote in the student newspaper. "The old guard of the Democratic Party will soon be far too ancient to contest an election."

Van Jones, Obamunist turned CNN pundit, thinks Democrats should be sweating 2016 too, because the Republicans have a "Rainbow Coalition of superstars" running for president.

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Much depends on how the GOP’s "Rainbow Coalition of superstars" conduct themselves. If they attack each other, as in 2012, they’ll hurt the prospects of whoever is the nominee. If they treat each other with respect, make thoughtful criticisms of Obama policies, the GOP debates could drive a nail into the Democrats’ coffin.

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It’s instructive to note who liberal journalists fear. AP ran this hit job on Bobby Jindal Wednesday (2/11). They routinely wildly distort what Dr. Ben Carson says. The Southern Poverty Law Center put him on its "extremist" list because Dr. Carson opposes gay marriage. The hits on Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker never stop.

That’s it for this HFR. Heroes of the week are King Abdullah and Gov. Rauner. Schmuck of the week is you know who. Until next week, stay safe, and if you live in the midwest or northeast, stay warm.

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