*Updated Congressional Vote Counts*   You can see how your congressional  House and Senate representatives are planning to vote:
Via ABC News Congressional Whip Polling:
OPPOSE MILITARY ACTION IN SYRIA: 75
LIKELY TO OPPOSE: 150                                        Total Oppose 225
SUPPORT MILITARY ACTION IN SYRIA: 19
LIKELY TO SUPPORT: 25                                       Total Support 44
UNDECIDED: 140
UNKNOWN: 23                                                          Total Undecided 163 (link)
The Huffington Post/Think Progress Polling: (more…)

Toward the end of this brief video Secretary Kerry says:

…. “I guarantee you if we turn our backs today, the picture we all saw in the paper today and the media of those people shot, that will take place more because more extremists will be attracted to this, because they will be funded as the only alternative in order to take on Assad”….

Accurately Rush Limbaugh opines.   Rush Limbaugh makes a great point regarding John Kerry’s insistence that these Syrian rebels are moderates — yet he referred to American military as murderers who terrorize women and children. (more…)

No longer willing to be a codependent enabler to stupid leadership decisions espoused on my behalf, and despite the structure around the pretext that failing to support them makes me unpatriotic, I’m furious with our President on this Syrian fiasco.
This is not a zero sum game, and I do not accept the presentation as such.   I also hold a principle that history holds value.
A failure to support President Obama’s personal opinion is not equivalent to supporting Assad or Iran.   The missing context is the application of freedom principles and history.  It is not unpatriotic to support freedom – It WAS unpatriotic of President Obama to draw a “red line” in our national sand without seeking permission of forethought. (more…)

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Keep a close eye on U.S. Media as to “how” they report on President Obama’s isolation.
(Via AFP)  World leaders arrived Thursday for a dinner hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin where they would discuss the crisis in Syria, with US President Barack Obama showing up alone and well after the main group.

The main group of leaders led by Putin arrived together at the historic Peterhof palace outside Saint Petersburg, with British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande seen talking animatedly at the back of the pack.
But Obama was nowhere to be seen and only arrived at the palace a good half an hour after the rest. (more…)

The vote from the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee to put Obama’s Syrian resolution before the full Senate is essentially meaningless.    The subsequent vote amid the full Senate to support such a resolution is more politically valuable, but not terribly much.
The vote that counts, to authorize President Obama to use our military and attack Syria, will only come from the House of Representatives – The ‘People’s House’.

With that in mind a couple of recent tracking polls, ABC and Think Progress, are in alignment: (more…)

That’s exactly the same thing Chris Stevens said about the Libyan “rebels” before they dragged him out of his safe room, sodomized him, and then murdered him…
Watch and listen to Kerry in this video from today:

…. would have been nice if one of the congress critters could have asked him: “if what Secretary Kerry says is true, then why are you not there in Syria Mr. Ford”?
Better yet, ask him when was the last time he was there?
It appears he’s been out of Syria since October 2011 (2 years ago) – Heck the entire U.S. Diplomatic Corps left Syria 4 months later, Feb 2012.   No-one has been there for well over a year and a half.

So lets put some facts behind what John Kerry is saying here:

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Leading Are Hard…..

*Check out the look on Chuck Hagle’s face in the picture above* – (Politico) House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to fellow House Democrats appealing for their support for military action in Syria in response to alleged chemical weapons use.
“At this critical juncture, it is essential that we make all Americans — the men and women we represent — fully aware of what the intelligence clearly and unequivocally demonstrates: that the Assad regime was responsible for chemical weapons attacks against innocent Syrians, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,400 people, including hundreds of children,” Pelosi wrote to Democrats. […] (more…)

Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with President Obama, and his decision to attack Syria as punishment for chemical weapon use, it is prudent, and we are personally requesting, for all of us, regardless of disposition, to pause and pray for the safety of our nation’s soldiers who will be tasked to carry out the command.

Like many, perhaps most, I do not support the approach – Nor do I think it is in our nations best interests. However, regardless of my disposition I am certain that our military will execute their objectives with unparalleled professionalism and respect for duty.

We should not be quiet; yet we should not bitch and moan without purpose.

We should fight like hell to have OUR voices heard by our representatives; and we should demand those who we have elected to hold the Executive Branch to account…..

…. and then, in the final analysis, if our voice is overruled – regardless of our frustration or angst, we should present ourselves on bended knee and pray for those who ultimately are charged with carrying out the decisions of our national leadership.

It is from the diligence of our brave military we are able to rail, protest, and demand voice.

All About Politics – All About Optics – All The Time

Every single move our President takes is determined by political winds…..
Wow.  Just wow.   The speech by President Obama this afternoon was just staggeringly unreal.   Bizzarro World Type pretzel contortions.    The speech was short, but in a surprising twist Obama announced he will seek congressional authority on attacking Syria even though he believes he has the authority to go ahead with strike. (this really is must watch stuff – even if you find yourself challenged to stick with it through the absurd nature of what you are bearing witness to)

Following the speech Charles Krauthammer accurately captured several optical realities.
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