Curry Favor

Steph Curry, the sensational 3-point shooting point guard for the NBA's Golden State Warriors, doesn't believe that the U.S. put men on the moon almost 50 years ago ... see: NBC News Story. Now, NASA has offered to prove to Curry that he is mistaken ... but, given his mistrust of these original claims, I doubt if he will be convinced.

This hoax, if true, would be the mother of all fake news ... in which lefties like Steph, we are told,  don't believe. Huh?

It seems that every sea-change event -- Pearl Harbor, flying saucers, 9/11, WMDs in Iraq -- brings doubters out of the woodwork ... in some cases justifiably ... like the reaction against global warming alarmists. So we must live with and ignore such doubters  ... and get on with our lives. Or maybe we can claim that Steph Curry has never made a 3-point basket?

Fake News

Conservative news organizations are being castigated by many traditional media organizations for promoting "fake news" stories for political advantage ... one such example being the recent pizza parlor child-trafficking conspiracy theory ... see: New York Times Story ... which caused a mentally-ill man to fire an AR-15 rifle into the ceiling there in protest. However such fake news stories pale in comparison to some whoppers that the main stream media have propagated over the years. Here is a story on this twisted meme ... see: The Hill Story.

Besides these The Hill references to the Iran nuclear deal and Obamacare fake news stories, there are literally hundreds more memes that those mainstream news outlets, which we used to rely on, spoon fed us over the years ... all of which turned out to be phony. Here are just a sampling: Al Sharpton/Tawanda Brawley, vanishing polar bears,  Benghazi attack based on an Internet video, the Religion of Peace, Rathergate, no WMDs in Iraq, "hands up don't shoot", Ted Kennedy's 1965 immigration amnesty "fix", carbon dioxide as a pollutant, etc., etc., etc.

Do I make my point?

Pulling the Tiger’s Tail

The United States government (FBI) rapidly concluded that it was North Korea that had hacked into Sony’s computers in retaliation for producing the picture, “The Interview,” which spoofs the leader of that country, Kim Jong-un. Now many cyber-security firms have expressed reservations about that conclusion … saying that it more likely was a combination of a disgruntled ex-employee colluding with a hacking group … see: Politico Analysis. This conclusion seems supported by additional hacks into Sony’s Playstation servers on Christmas day by a group self-labeled the “Lizard Squad.”

If it eventually turns out that the original hack was NOT performed by the North Koreans, the United States intelligence community has egg on its face (again) … which then spawns three possibly serious consequences:

1)     President Obama, in his very public rush to judgment in this case, may end up being made to look as foolish as George W. Bush. (Remember how many years the media drumbeat went on … accusing Bush 43 of lying to the world about Iraq’s WMDs?)

2)     It is fairly obvious that the United States, in retaliation, has crippled the North Korean Internet … twice. This is a serious piece of cyber-aggression against an unstable government that likely possesses atomic weapons. Talk about pulling the tiger’s tail.

3)     In taking down North Korea’s Internet, I am certain that the U.S. cyber counter forces have revealed to the Chinese and Russians technical capabilities that might have been left for more serious cyber-attacks against this country’s infrastructure. To me, it is questionable whether such counter-measures might now work when they are more critically needed.

Will the American media now excoriate luau-boy for his too-quick accusation of North Korea in this matter? Hmmm?

A New Chant

Now we find that George Bush and Colin Powell were right. The New York Times reveals today (apparently without a hint of embarrassment) that at least five thousand chemical warheads were discovered in Iraq during the years after the United States invasion … see: NY Times Story. This combined with the obvious relocation on truck convoys of many more of Saddam Hussein’s WMDs from Iraq into Syria in the months before our coalition’s invasion … see: PJ Media Story … and the discovery in Iraq of 550 metric tons of yellow-cake uranium in 2008 and its subsequent shipment to Canada … see: WMDs  … all suggest that the rationale for Bush's Iraqi war did indeed have some real underpinnings.

So, how about a new chant?  BUSH NEVER LIED ... SADDAM DIED!!

Poo Poo

I’ve had my full share of poo-poo-ers in life. 

“I don’t think that it’s safe to travel to Egypt at this time.” “Poo Poo.” 

 “I think that George W. Bush is wrong about Putin.” “Poo Poo.” 

 “Wind and solar energy will never supply our needs.” “Poo Poo.” 

 “I don't think many Muslims reject violence.” “Poo Poo.” 

 “Obamacare is a travesty.” “Poo Poo.” 

 “Mexico may not be the best place to retire to just now.” “Poo Poo.” 

 “There seems to be widespread voter fraud.” “Poo Poo.” 

 “Illegal immigrants are drawn here because of easy welfare.” “Poo Poo.” 

 "There really were WMDs in Iraq before the invasion.” “Poo Poo.” 

 “Carbon dioxide is fundamentally a good gas.” “Poo Poo. 

 “Hillary Clinton has animus toward Israel.” “Poo Poo. 

“President Obama often shows disdain for capitalism.” “Poo Poo.” 

 “Late-term abortions are clearly infanticide.” “Poo Poo.” 

 “Our welfare system has destroyed the American family.” “Poo Poo.”

 Actually, I think my batting average is at least as high as Derek Jeeter's

Hot Potato

I have previously referenced a posting in the Diplomad which was a first-hand account of how Saddam Hussein’s chemical weapons were transported into Syria during the many months run-up to Bush 43’s invasion of Iraq … see: The Diplomad Blog.  Now it seems that Bashar al-Assad of Syria is returning the favor and shipping his WMDs and WMD-making capabilities back to Iraq … see: Jerusalem Post Article.

I think this is called tossing around the hot potato.

I would love to believe that the current Putin/Obama alliance has forever solved the chemical weapons use issue in Syria.  But I didn’t just fall off of the potato … er, turnip truck.

Where were the WMDs?

Victims of Chemical Attack in Syria

Now we know what Saddam Hussein did with his weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in the multi-month run-up to the United States's war in Iraq ...

Afterward: Here is some verification about the fate of Saddam Hussein's chemical weaponry prior to the U.S. invasion: The Diplomad's Firsthand Account.

WMDs

Yesterday was the tenth anniversary of George W. Bush’s inspired invasion of Iraq in order to secure its weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).  Even though the U.S. was successful in this military operation, the popular narrative is that there were no WMDs in Iraq … and thus “Bush lied, people died.” 

Now, the civil war in Syria is again raising the specter of WMDs which most concede that President Assad of Syria has at his disposal … see: The Atlantic Wire Story.  Many analysts believe that, in the months that it took George Bush to muster the U.N. support and the coalition forces to invade Iraq, Saddam Hussein merely transported these weapons into Syria where they now still reside.  If Bashar Assad has WMDs, surely Saddam Hussein did also.

Another incident in this on-going saga of  Iraqi WMDs was when ex-diplomat, Joe Wilson, said that his trip to Niger in 2002 produced no evidence that Iraq was trying to purchase yellowcake uranium from that country.  This was the trigger to the infamous Valarie Plame CIA-operative outing and huge investigation in a New York Times’attempt to defame many in the Bush administration.  Isn’t it funny that in 2008 the United State secretly transported 550 metric tons of yellowcake uranium out of Iraq and into Canada … see: NBC News Story

So, even though the popular narrative is that there were no WMDs in Iraq ten years ago, I think the evidence is not so conclusive.  However, going against the popular narrative is not the brightest thing to do if one wants to establish one's street creds.  But then truth has, for me, an insatiable appeal.  The popular narrative be damned.