Add hypocrisy to the list

Barack Obama is currently on his world tour running for... it's not clear what. One would be forgiven for concluding that he is hoping to be elected Emperor of the Secular Western World. In any event, Obama made a campaign stop at the Western Wall in Jerusalem yesterday morning, complete with campaign posters written in Hebrew. Predictably, some in attendance heckled, others chanted their support.

Rather than accept responsibility for turning a holy site into the host of a political convention, Obama had this to say: "It was rowdier than the last time I was there, you know? I mean, people were sort of, like, holerin'. You know I was expecting more reverence."

Obama has demonstrated an increasing number of unattractive vices in the last several months. Add hypocrisy.

A one-of-a-kind sucker

Powerline has a great summary of the interview Wolf Blitzer conducted yesterday with our Elder National Disgrace, Jimmy Carter. Incredibly, Carter admitted that Hamas double-crossed him, promising to him in private one thing then declaiming the opposite in public. Yet somehow Carter still managed to blame it all on Israel.

The first line in the post is the best line in the post. "There's a sucker born every minute... but a sucker like Jimmy Carter comes along only once or twice in a century."

Earmarks for Israel?

What complete and utter nonsense:

John McCain will make an exception for at least one category of spending in his pledge to "veto every bill with earmarks": aid to Israel.

ThinkProgress pointed out earlier that military and other assistance to Israel is included in definition McCain's aides say they're using of the term, to the tune of about $2.9 billion, about 5% of the total, depending on how you count.

"Senator McCain will bring wasteful spending under control, and he will ensure America remains committed to the security of Israel, including maintaining America’s assistance levels," emails spokesman Brian Rogers.

That's one thing about spending cuts: Much harder when you get to the details.

UPDATE: DNC Spokesman Damian LaVera emails, "Once again John McCain is trying to have it both ways. Rather than playing rhetorical games McCain should say which is his priority: maintaining our miliary and economic assistance to Israel, or his promise to veto the earmark that provides that support?"

In no way does this provision meet either the House or Senate definition of an earmark. Democrats are reaching here by combining their increasing hostility to our best ally in the Middle East with their insatiable desire to knock McCain down a peg or two on one of his best issues. Nice try...

Another canard against Israel debunked

For years misguided liberals and fascists asserted that Palestinians were led by violent, despondent, blood-thirsty men only because of Israeli occupation. Then Israel voluntarily withdrew from Gaza and violent Palestinian men continued to send their children, social outcasts, and even grandmothers to homicidal deaths.

Israel has taken heat for its security wall around Gaza. The wall is supposed to demonstrate how intolerant Israelis are of their Muslim neighbors. But Israel isn't the only country with a realistic understanding of Palestinian aggression. Last night the security wall separating Gaza and Egypt came down, and hundreds of thousands of Gazans have flooded across the border into Egypt.

Yes, Egypt erected a wall against its Muslim, Palestinian neighbors. Yes, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians today demonstrated that Egypt, for all its faults, is an immensely more desirable place to live than the hell hole their oppressors in Hamas and Fatah have built for them in Gaza.

Now, perhaps I missed something, but I don't recall ever having read in the mainstream media about Egyptian intolerance of Palestinian Muslims. Nor have I heard of the overwhelming desire of Palestinians to go any place, even Egypt, that is not Gaza. Why, I wonder?

UPDATE: It appears that most, though not all, of the Gazans have returned to Gaza after buying food and other necessities. Of course, the media attributes the scarcity in Palestine to Israeli policy. However, history teaches that embargoes starve people only when they coincide with tyrannical leadership.