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The pursuit of Constitutionally grounded governance, freedom and individual liberty

"There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily." --George Washington                                       

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Kerry Portrait of Syria Rebels at Odds with Intelligence Reports

Secretary of State John Kerry's public assertions that moderate Syrian opposition groups are growing in influence appear to be at odds with estimates by U.S. and European intelligence sources and nongovernmental experts, who say Islamic extremists remain by far the fiercest and best-organized rebel elements.  At congressional hearings this week, while making the case for President Barack Obama's plan for limited military action in Syria, Kerry asserted that the armed opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "has increasingly become more defined by its moderation, more defined by the breadth of its membership, and more defined by its adherence to some, you know, democratic process and to an all-inclusive, minority-protecting constitution. "And the opposition is getting stronger by the day," Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.

U.S. and allied intelligence sources and private experts on the Syrian conflict suggest that assessment is optimistic. While the radical Islamists among the rebels may not be numerically superior to more moderate fighters, they say, Islamist groups like the al Qaeda-aligned Nusra Front are better organized, armed and trained. Kerry's remarks represented a change in tone by the Obama administration, which for more than two years has been wary of sending U.S. arms to the rebels, citing fears they could fall into radical Islamists' hands. As recently as late July, at a security conference in Aspen, Colorado, the deputy director of the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency, David Shedd, estimated that there were at least 1,200 different Syrian rebel groups and that Islamic extremists, notably the Nusra Front, were well-placed to expand their influence. "Left unchecked, I'm very concerned that the most radical elements will take over larger segments" of the opposition groups, Shedd said. He added that the conflict could drag on anywhere "from many, many months to multiple years" and that a prolonged stalemate could leave open parts of Syria to potential control by radical fighters. U.S. and allied intelligence sources said that such assessments have not changed. A spokeswoman at the State Department said Kerry's remarks reflect the department's position, adding that the opposition had "taken steps over the past months to coalesce, including electing leaders."

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Judge Napolitano: US Strike on Syria Would Be War Crime By Greg Richter

A U.S. strike against Syria would be a war crime says former Judge Andrew Napolitano. Appearing on Fox News Channel on Thursday, Napolitano said that even a limited strike is illegal under international law and violates the U.S. Constitution.

"You can use military force to attack somebody that's attacked you, or you can use military force to attack somebody that's about to attack you," Napolitano said. "You can use military force to come to the aid of an ally that has been attacked when the ally asks for your assistance."

The United States also could use the military to enforce international norms if the United Nations authorizes it. None of those conditions apply in Syria, Napolitano said, making it a war crime if the United States acts. He said the 1973 War Powers Act is unconstitutional because it takes away Congress' authority to wage war and gives it to the president in certain circumstances. He said he expects the House to vote down President Barack Obama's request for authorization by about 20 votes. Public sentiment is against action as well, with polls showing more than 80 percent opposed. "Who wants this to happen besides John Kerry and the president?" Napolitano asked. "Sometimes the president can get lawless – any president – when he has military equipment at his disposal."

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Liberals reject Obama's case for Syria strikes; believe Obama and Kerry are lying - Washington Times

President Obama’s liberal activist base is adamantly opposed to military strikes in Syria, according to a new survey the Progressive Change Campaign Committee released Wednesday.  PCCC says more than 57,000 of its activists weighed in, and 73 percent of them opposed the U.S. taking action in Syria. Just 18 percent supported strikes, and just 14 percent said the U.S. should go ahead unilaterally if it can’t find any allies. Indeed, a majority of the activists don’t believe Mr. Obama and Secretary of State John F. Kerry are being honest when they lay out their justifications for taking military action. Four out of five activists also said they believe U.S. action will lead to deeper involvement in the civil war. PCCC detailed the findings, which came from a three-day survey of its activists, in a memo to congressional Democrats.

“In the last 72 hours, we surveyed PCCC members across the nation – in every state and congressional district. We’ve received over 57,000 responses so far, and a clear result: Your progressive base stands firmly against bombing Syria,” said Adam Green and Stephanie Taylor, co-founders of PCCC.

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Recovery Bummer

At first blush, today's jobs report once again seems to contain good news: 169,000 jobs added and unemployment dropping a tenth of a point to 7.3%, the lowest since December 2008. But beware what we call the "headline" numbers. The Leftmedia employs them to bolster the sorry record of their man in the White House. Digging deeper, we find trouble quickly. July numbers were revised down from 162,000 to just 104,000, and June was revised down for the second time. The unemployment rate fell once again only because so many people are giving up looking for work -- 312,000, or nearly twice the number who found work -- and they aren't counted in the report. The labor participation rate fell to 63.2%, the lowest since Jimmy Carter's malaise days of August 1978. If labor participation remained at the same level it was in January 2009, the headline unemployment rate would be 10.8%. It would be 7.7% if participation was the same as just one year ago. As for the U-6 fuller measure, Hot Air's Ed Morrissey observes that it "dropped from 14.0% to 13.7%, its lowest level in five years." But, he warns, "[T]hat has to do with the shrinking workforce, too. In order to be counted in U-6, workers have to be at least marginally attached to the labor force. That's defined as 'those who currently are neither working nor looking for work but indicate that they want and are available for a job and have looked for work sometime in the past 12 months.'" Meanwhile, Barack Obama and his crack shot economic team promised that if we just passed the "stimulus" unemployment would be 5% by now.

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Putin Calls Kerry a Liar on Syria

How pathetic is it when Putin sounds more trustworthy than our own leaders? Just before Russian President Vladimir Putin opened the G20 summit in St. Petersburg, he blasted the Obama administration on Wednesday for what he termed its propaganda on military action against Syria. “We talk with these people,” he said about Secretary of State John Kerry, the administration’s chief political spokesperson making the case for war. “We assume that they are decent. But he lies. And he knows that he lies. That’s pathetic.” Putin has always been a bare-knuckles political brawler with a penchant for saying politically incorrect things about enemies — he once said of Islamist terrorists in Chechnya, for example, “If you are willing to become a radical Islamist and be circumcised, I invite you to Moscow. I will recommend that they perform the operation so that nothing can sprout there again.” Now, however, he’s directly challenging the authority of the United States – and he’s winning. President Obama has always wanted to be perceived as a global leader. Instead, it’s his chief international rival, quasi-dictator Putin, who has seized the reins. Obama has been left to complain. “Do I hold out hope that Mr. Putin may change his position on some of these issues?” Obama asked in Sweden on Wednesday. “I’m always hopeful, and I will continue to engage him.” Just a few weeks ago, Obama mocked Putin’s posture during their meetings, likening it to a “bored kid in the back of the classroom.”  Stupid is what stupid does!

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"To render the justice of the war on our part the more conspicuous, the reluctance to commence it was followed by the earliest and strongest manifestations of a disposition to arrest its progress. The sword was scarcely out of the scabbard before the enemy was apprised of the reasonable terms on which it would be resheathed."

–James Madison, Second Inaugural Address, 1813