Will It Take Courage to Win the Arizona Senate Primary in 2018?

Congresswoman Martha McSally (R-AZ 2nd) announces her candidacy for the U.S. Senate to replace Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ). 

The Republican field is already populated by Dr. Kelli Ward, a candidate endorsed by Steve Bannon, and Joe Arpaio, the 85 year old long-time ex Maricopa County sheriff renowned for his tough treatment of criminal aliens who was recently pardoned by President Trump.

[L] Dr. Kelli Ward [R] Ex Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Arizona GOP candidates for US Senate

Although Democrats need to defend 25 of 33 Senate seats in the 2018 election cycle, including in 10 states in which President Trump carried in 2016, Republicans are worried about losing their slender control of the Senate.  Senator Jeff Flake's (R-AZ) decision not to stand for re-election puts another "safe" GOP seat up for grabs.

In some respects, the GOP primary might be made up of voters with trollish Trump-eteer tendencies (infamously redubbed by Hillary Clinton as the "Basket of Deplorables") who think that strong immigration stances are the way to win via Arpaio's reputation and rhetoric.  Kelli Ward had positioned herself to be a Bannon disruptor of the GOP Establishment,  but now is backing away from "Sloppy Steve" after his fall from grace in the "Fire and Fury" fiasco.  

Establishment Republicans hoping to avoid a repeat defeat akin to the Alabama special election, seem to favor McSally to keep the seat as she has legislative experience and is not an agitating lightning rod. However, when an ex fighter pilot urged her colleagues to "grow a pair of ovaries and get the job done", such a candidate might not be exactly safe for the go along to get along in the so called Senate country club in the District of Calamity (sic).

[This piece originally was published at DistrictofCalamity.com ]

Loony Toony Interviews With Boston Bombers' Kin

After a tumultuous week of the Boston Marathon Massacre where a terrorist bombing killed three and maimed upwards of 180.  Then there was a manhunt which required the nation’s tenth largest metropolitan area to shelter in place to avoid shootouts with the suspects on the loose who killed Sean Collier, a security officer at M.I.T.  and severely injured Boston Transit Policeman Richard Donahue in the firefight with the men on the run.  In the end, Tamerlan  Tsarnaev was dead and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured and hospitalized after an 18 hour chase. 

Some have tried to offer solace by framing the horrific events as limited.  Five term Boston Mayor Tom Menino (D-Boston) tried to calm the pubic by insisting that the Tsranaev brothers were lone wolves. Menino offered these sweet nothings even though there were reports that “Johar” (the younger suspect who is still alive) had his three roomates taken into custody, the FBI is searching for a cell of twelve  and that ICE is deporting two individuals for expired visas.   Others operate under a more creative conceit of deniability.

Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s Aunt, Maret Tsarnaev, who lives in Ontario, Canada, gave a presser when Boston was on lock-down in pursuit of the fleeing terrorists.  She insists that they are being framed.





Hearing that your kin has killed and crippled scores of innocent people at the Boston Marathon might not compute so it is somewhat understandable the Maret Tsamaev would proclaim her newphews innocence when besieged by the press.   What is not as easily excused is seeking out the media to shill her fantastic viewpoint. 

On Saturday, the Blaze Radio Network’s Buck Sexton Show had an unprompted phone call from Maret Tsarnaev.  



At first, it sounded as is Ms. Tsarnaev was extending an olive branch to those impacted by the atrocity.  But shortly afterwards, she continued to peddle the narrative of “The boys were framed, there is no proof–you do the math.”  While it is possible that this was a crank call, the grief in the woman’s voice along with the consistency of the denial made it less likely that it was a Howard Stern cohort or other crank yankers.

Buck Sexton blazed with stinging impeachment of the Aunt’s proclamation of innocence, which he later seemed to regret, as he assumed that it was family still in denial.  Granted, that is a charitable assessment but it begs the question of why such a person would seek out media and push crackpot conspiracy theories.  It frankly sounds like a foundation is being laid for a “Loose Change” campaign which has persuaded a significant minority of people to believe that 9/11 was an inside job, despite all of the probative facts. 

The call to the Buck Sexton Show also was reminiscent of taqiyya, a long standing Islamic practice where it is acceptable to lie to the infidel in order to allow for a strategic retreat before the next offensive. 

Assymetric warefare is less about resounding battlefield victories as it is about coloring public opinion.  In the dozen years since the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001, it is not politically correct to even talk about the already amorphous term “War on Terror”, as the Obama Administration wanted to refer to events such as the Boston Marathon Bombing as “Man Made Disasters..”  CAIR has persuaded the government and the media to constrain ourselves from referring to jiahd, and then considering the term to simply be a personal struggle for self improvement.  Despite Major Hassan shouting “Allihu Ackbar” (God is great) during the Fort Hood shootings in 2009, the Obama Administration has tried to sell that terrorist attack as just being an example of “workplace violence”.  

It would be a savvy PR strategy for sympathizers to muddy the waters by claiming innocence, despite overwhelming proof, as fifth column types, naysayers and nutjobs will latch onto a meme However, it is unclear if Maret Tsarnaev was just speaking for herself or furthering a greater cause.  But if the populace can not even agree upon acceptable terms or act on clear and convincing evidence, how can a people defend itself?

Then again, the nickname from a Canadian dollar coin is a Loonie  and a two dollar coin is called a Toonie.    Wonder how much Maret Tsarnaev’s thoughts were worth?

Boston Bombing Victim Instrumental in Identifying Terrorists

One of the more striking images from the Boston Marathon bombing was a photograph of a ashen hued, gravely  injured victim  being wheeled away from the terror site.

Carlos Arredondo assisting Jeff Bauman, at Boston Marathon Bombing
[photo credit : Charles Crupa/ AP]

Jeff Bauman, Jr.  is a 27 year old was waiting near the finish line to cheer on his girlfriend running in her first Boston Marathon.  After the first explosion, Bauman had lost both legs below the calf and his shirt was on fire. The man in the cowboy hat, Carlos Arredondo, stopped distributing flags, jumped over the fence and ran toward the victims laying on the ground.  Arredondo extinguished Bauman’s burning shirt with his hands, tore off a shirt to act as a tourniquet on a leg stump. Arredondo stayed with Bauman to comfort him until emergency workers reached the blast victim.

Bauman had to be resurrected during surgery as he had almost exsanguinated. Unfortunately, both of Bauman’s legs had to be amputated.  But while Bauman was still in intensive care on Tuesday under heavy sedation, he asked for paper and a writing utensil.  The patient wrote “bag, saw the guy, looked write at me.”  

When Bauman was put in contact with the FBI, he was able to describe the bomber as wearing “cap, sun glasses and a black jacket over a hooded sweatshirt.”  Bauman noted that he locked eyes with the terrorist who placed the backpack at the finish line.   This description was enough for law enforcement to eventually identify  Tamerlan Tsarnaev, suspect number 1.




As news broke out that Bauman was instrumental in identifying one of the terrorists, bloggers began a crowd-funding campaign to cover Bauman's medical costs, which had raised $160,000 by Friday afternoon. 

In addition, Jeff Bauman was visited at Boston Medical Center on Thursday by Silver Lining Playbook star Bradley Cooper and New England Patriots Receiver Julius Edelman.  The football player tweeted a photo with the Twitter message:  'Visited #survivor #stud #hero Jeffrey Bauman Jr. today. He was looking great and is a true inspiration. #strong'. 

Jeff Bauman, Jr. being visited by Bradley Cooper and Julius Edelman [photo credit: @Edelman11/Twitter]

After the hub of strange activity around the Boston Bombing and the the bloody manhunt which shut down Beantown on Friday, it is good to give fanfare for the common men like Bauman and Arrendondo who facilitated the capture of the terrorist bombers.  May there be more stories of heroics to bring ALL of the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon Bombing to justice.

A Hub of Strange Activity Around the Boston Bombing

One of the nicknames for the city of Boston is “The Hub” as Bostonians consider themselves living in “The Hub of the Universe”.   Alas, after the Boston Marathon Bombing, it has become the hub of strange activity.   The race of government investigators to find those responsible for exploding two IED bombs that currently have killed three people and severely injured at least 150 has been conducted over a strange path indeed.

On the one hand, it is wise to remember in breaking news stories that initial reports are often wrong and the fog of war can obscure the truth.  Yet on the other hand, the Fort Hood shootings and the Benghazi bungle has shown how the Obama Administration will consciously publicize false stories, obstruct the truth and deny responsibility when it comes to linking the White House to foreign inspired terrorism during President Obama’s watch. 

Initial reports indicated that along with the two bombs that exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, officials reported that there were five undetonated bombs scattered throughout the marathon route.  Officials later denied that report.  Additionally, Boston Police were tipped off to look for a Yellow Penske Truck with unidentified drivers but dark skinned wearing black clothes which attempted to deliver medical supplies earlier in the day but had been turned back.  Police later dismissed that tip.

In its quest for information about the Boston Bombings, the media focused on one of the two hospitals treating terror victims which had a significant cordon of security.  Reports centered around a young Saudi man as a “person of interest” who was being treated for burns on the hand.  These injuries were different from other blast injuries which involved lacerations to the lower extremities.  

There were reports that the “person of interest” was cooperating with authorities.  The police conducted a search in Revere, Massachusetts (where several of the 9/11 bombers lived) and several bags of evidence were taken.  

There was some controversy about labeling the individual as a “person of interest”.  Commentators with police background noted that once a person is categorized as a suspect, it tips off others who are involved and begins to institute legal protections for the suspect which can kill cooperation and inhibit a quickly moving investigative dragnet.  Since the Saudi person of interest comes from a prominent Saudi family, the tortured lexicon in not calling him a suspect may be to avoid embarrassment to these international elites, the Saudi government or an embarrassment to the Obama Administration. 

Yesterday was a strange day in the Lamestream Media.  Major news organizations like CNN and Fox News were reporting at 1:30 EDT from tips from high placed police sources that a suspect in the Boston Bombings was going to be arrested.  CNN’s John King reportage revealed that it was a “dark skinned man, but he did lingustical gymnastics so as not to report that he was foreign or a Muslim.  



The media expected a 1 PM FBI briefing on the impending arrest that was delayed five times then cancelled.  It is strange that two prominent media sources were burned with this explosive information. 

But putting these strange events in the Hub can best be understood by breaking the Bostonian conceit that it is the Hub of the Universe.  Events our nation's Capital, the  District of Calamity (sic) may have severely impacted the Boston Bombing investigations.

On Tuesday, Secretary of State John Kerry had a photo op scheduled with a Saudi counterpart.  At the last minute, the meeting became a closed door meeting and the photo op was explained away as a scheduling mistake.  It is strange that Foggy Bottom would have set up a photo op for a scheduling mistake. 

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama had an unscheduled meeting with the Saudi Ambassador.  It was a “walk by” meeting, so as not to have it on the White House schedule.  The procedure is for a lower level Executive Branch official to have a meeting with an open office door and the Chief Executive walks by and notices someone and then has a closed door meeting.

What makes these instances of Executive Branch minutia relevant is how the story changed in Boston.  Sudden, there was no suspect that was going to be arrested.  In fact, the Saudi who had been a person of interest was suddenly slated to be deported.  





This repatriation to the Saudi Arabia for  20-year-old Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi was being framed as being close to his family.  But  Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi comes from a prominent Saudi family which may be supporters of Wahabbism (the sect of Sunni Islam that inspires Al Qaeda).  So the young Saudi with powder mark burns on his hands would be an embarrassment to the Saudi Kingdom and might cause a diplomatic fissure with the United States. Such a white glove treatment for suspicious Saudis is not unprecedented as President Bush let bin Laden family members flee America immediately after the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001 

A hospitalized Abdul Rhaman Ali Albabi [photo: Okaz]

When Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi was considered a person of interest, an event file was created.  According to ICE, the reason is under section 212 3B — “Security and related grounds” — “Terrorist activities”.   Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi ‘s visa had been revoked and he had submitted to voluntary departure.  But before these public papers were classified and he was quietly shuffled off to Saudi, The Blaze exposed the situation and officials are reconsidering their strategy.   But the Saudi newspaper Okaz reports that the Saudi consulate has been assured that all Saudis have been cleared, including Alharabi and Nura Kahlid Saleh al-Ajaji

The Lamestream Media has been openly rooting for the Boston Marathon Bombings to be attributable to a White Male or the Tea Party.  Soon after the dust settled on the terror attacks, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and MSNBC’s Chris Matthews allowed speculation that  the violence is linked to the right wing since it was Tax Day and Patriots Day.  Salon had a headline that “Let’s Hope the Boston Bomber Is a White American” because it would set back the cause of liberalism for amnesty and gun control.   

So if the reports  about the linkage with the Saudis and dark skinned males are accurate, it does not fit the narrative which the Obama Administration would approve.  The Fort Hood shootings in  November, 2009 where 13 people were killed and by US Army Major (and self proclaimed Soldier of Islam) Abdul Malik Hassan who shouted “Allahu Ackbar” (God is Great) during the attack was simply an instance of workplace violence since terror only happens during President George W. Bush’s Administration.  This convenient conceit keeps those killed and injured from being given Purple Hearts or qualifying for combat benefits.   And the attack the US Benghazi Consulate on September 11, 2012 was due to a YouTube video because the Obama Administration had Al Qaeda on the run in the run up to re-electing President Obama.

Although officials are publically poo-pooing leads about the other undetonated bombs and the rogue Yellow truck lead, those do fit into a pattern typical of Palestinian terrorism. Walid Shoebat, a former Palestinian terrorist turned Evangelical Christian, suggests that Boston Bombing had the hallmarks of a knockout terror attack.  It uses IEDs to inflict maximum human suffering. The staggered explosions to stampede, terrorize and injure the innocent when killing first responders.  And the turned away Penske truck with medical supplies mimics  Hamas tactics to target first responders and use ambulances as tactics of terror. 

Before jumping to conclusions, it would be wise for the facts to shake out.  Unfortunately, experience has taught that the Obama Administration and the compliant Lamestream Media are happy to shun inconvenient truths.  And the hub of strange activity around the Boston Bombing has done nothing to dispel this perspective. 

Strange days indeed.