Friday, February 26, 2016

Obama Attacks New York City

Were you wondering why America is divided against itself? Were you wondering why the national mood is so foul, why Americans are increasingly at each others’ throats?

The answer is easy and difficult. It is easy to identify the source: it is living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It is more difficult to understand how the awful behavior of the president trickles down through the population at large.

It’s not new that the Obama White House is petty, vindictive and mean-spirited. Didn’t its treatment of Israeli Prime Minister show off Obama’s ugly side… which at the same time giving a green light to anti-Semitism?.

Now, Obama has focused his wrath on New York City. He wants to withhold funds that would be used to fight terrorism. The reason: Senator Chuck Schumer had the audacity to oppose Obama’s Iran deal. Besides, Schumer is Jewish and Jeremiah Wright’s protégé never had good relations with Jewish supporters of Israel.

Mort Zuckerman  makes the case against the Obama administration. Since Zuckerman has long been a severe critic of Obama, he is not late to this game.

Writing in U. S. News and World Report, Zuckerman says:

How dare the senior senator from New York, Charles Schumer, have a mind of his own? How dare the presumed next Democratic leader in the U.S. Senate have the nerve to speak up for the city against a stupid decision by Washington when he has already offended the White House by voting against last year's Iran nuclear deal? They are questioning his "credibility in talking about national security issues," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, which really means it is payback time for Schumer for being the highest profile Democrat to join Republicans in opposing the president's international agreement with Iran. Credibility? His credibility undercut the president's.

The extraordinary broadside of petty politics came just hours after Schumer joined New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton in a triple protest at Washington's folly of reducing the protection against terrorism's No. 1 target. The Homeland Security budget for New York City is threatened to be cut in half, from $180 million to $90 million. That money will surely – must! – be restored. This petty and mean-spirited behavior by the Obama administration plays personal politics with the lives of New Yorkers and, oh just incidentally, could be a blow to the national economy.

This absurd news came with no warning, no consideration, no explanation to anyone with the grave responsibility of protecting a major city. It seems unthinkable that the city is being punished because the senator eloquently and bravely made the case against Obama's treasured deal with Iran, but the unthinkable is about the only explanation anyone can come up with for something so irrational as exposing New York at a time when, at every level of terror intelligence, officials are so concerned that homegrown radicals will stage a Paris-like attack on our soil. 

How dare anyone in Obama’s American think for himself?

As you know, American universities are awash in political correctness. It’s almost as though the thought police are running the asylums. Now, where might the students have gotten the message that such behavior is acceptable? Why do they think that insolence and petulance are acceptable? Where did they learn that they had a right to mount vendettas against professors who dispute the dogmas of the Church of the Liberal Pieties?

Surely, they learned some of it from their radical professors. But, do you think it's a coincidence that this has occurred during the administration of Jeremiah Wright's protégé?

It is very difficult to show exactly how a president’s bad behavior filters down the public at large. When you elect a president you elevate him to the position of national role model. You are telling everyone that they should emulate his behavior. People cue off of his manners. If they are bad manners, his being the president makes them good.

Obviously, Obama sets a very poor example. But he is an especially slick operator. His behavior is all the more influential for appearing to be the model of decorum and good manners. Chuck Schumer—as loyal a Democrat as one could wish—has just seen its true face.

4 comments:

Ignatius Acton Chesterton OCD said...

So Obama threatens to withhold anti-terrorism funds from New York City -- brutally attacked by terrorists on 9/11 -- because Schumer disagrees with him. Yet Obama and his chief diplomat negotiate a "deal" that releases billions to Iran -- our #1 enemy in the world -- to build a nuclear weapon.

That makes sense.

Ares Olympus said...

Zuckerman: This absurd news came with no warning, no consideration, no explanation to anyone with the grave responsibility of protecting a major city....

Perhaps its "absurd news" because people are jumping to wild irrational conclusions? I'd never imagine someone would "punish" a whole city for a "disloyal partisan opinion". That doesn't make any sense, except perhaps to people who thinks that way about their political enemies. Devious people will see deviousness in others, my guess anyway. What could Obama possibly have to gain? There's no upside to such motives. But there may be upside to projecting such motives, but still I think not - Politicians don't play blames games like that because they know political posturing will reduce the likelihood of a reversal, since it would imply guilt. So far Zuckerman seems to be the only ding bat here.

But let's see what else we know.... This was one week ago, sounding like its Congress not President Obama doing anything.

http://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/182-16/transcript-mayor-de-blasio-u-s-senator-schumer-call-white-house-fully-restore-critical
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Transcript: Mayor de Blasio and U.S. Senator Schumer Call on White House to Fully Restore Critical Anti-Terror Funds February 17, 2016

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Our message today is both simple and urgent – we need the Congress to step up and protect the people of New York City against terror and protect the people the United States of America against terror. On behalf of the people of New York City, we call on the Congress to fully fund the Urban Area Security Initiative, as has been done in the past.

Mayor: ... So, my message to the president is – I agree with Senator Schumer, President Obama has done an outstanding job in fighting terrorism but let’s fix this problem right now and make sure New York City has the resources that we need to keep fending off these terror attacks.
...
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Here's another article from this week;
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/why-some-dhs-money-is-best-left-on-the-table-8311321
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A slap-fight erupted last week between New York leaders and the White House after the latter cut the city's share of a controversial type of antiterror funding. True to form, our local representatives promptly dialed up the fearmongering in an attempt to shame D.C. into offering up a bigger slice of the pie. What they failed to mention was that they're currently hoarding similar funds totaling more than half a billion dollars.

Making matters worse, at least to the progressively minded New Yorker, is the fact that the monies at issue — Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grants — are the same funds fueling a nationwide trend toward militarized policing. If your one-stoplight town has an up- armored MRAP and a bunch of grenade launchers, in other words, this is probably how they got there.

It all began at a press conference last Wednesday during which Mayor Bill de Blasio, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, and U.S. Senator Charles Schumer decried cuts to a program known as the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI). The UASI is one of several grant programs administered by Homeland Security to provide certain cities with funds to, ostensibly, help them protect against terrorist attacks on high-value targets.

In arguing for the continued full funding of the program, the mayor and Bratton invoked ISIS, the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, and, of course, 9-11. The cuts, they said, which would reduce proposed funding levels for city agencies from $180 million to about $90 million, would leave us vulnerable. (The New York Daily News's Thursday cover parroted the top cop's criticism with typical nuance, declaring that Obama's cuts must mean he had "forgotten 9-11.")

But the high melodrama leaves out some facts.
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Ah, melodrama it is. Y'all can read more there as you like.

sestamibi said...

But you'll never see this headline in the Daily News:

OBAMA TO CITY: DROP DEAD

Leo G said...

And Mr. Trump is smiling Yugely! Could he now carry New York State?