Apparently the left-wing Seattle Moonbats did not pause in their march for social justice to ask or evaluate SeaTac, a suburb of Seattle, where their $15 wage began earlier this year.    Here’s a brief snippet of some conversation with a SeaTac employee:

SURPRISE !  15 minutes south of Seattle, near the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, employees are already seeing the negative effects of such a hike. A February report from the Seattle Times revealed:

At the Clarion Hotel off International Boulevard, a sit-down restaurant has been shuttered, though it might soon be replaced by a less-labor-intensive cafe…

Other businesses have adjusted in ways that run the gamut from putting more work in the hands of managers, to instituting a small “living-wage surcharge” for a daily parking space near the airport.

That’s not all. According to Assunta Ng, publisher of the Northwest Asian Weekly, some employees are feeling the pinch as employers cut benefits. She recalls a conversation she had with two hotel employees who have been affected by the wage hike: (more…)

*Update Below Fold* – Many are noting the inherent issues of the Bowe Bergdahl prisoner swap, and there are indeed many issues:  The non-consultation with congress; The ideology behind Robert Bergdahl;  The desertion from duty of then PFC Bowe Bergdahl;  The probability of the terrorists returning to attack Americans;   The various contradictions stemming from the White House, State Dept and Military; and perhaps more concerning the precedent now established for the U.S. actually negotiating with terrorists etc.

However, not withstanding -nor diminishing- all of those issues, another hits a deeper resonance.   If you give the benefit of all considerations and doubt to the administration, there’s one question they are neither being asked, nor have they reasonably stated.

Why make everything about the release, swap, exchange, so public ?

What was gained by such publicity in a weekend Rose Garden speech?  What policy was improved?  What military or foreign policy benefitted from telling the entire world what was happening, when it was happening, and how we did it?

It is entirely possible for the release to have assured and delivered without all of the publicity surrounding it.   Bowe Bergdahl’s release could have been done quietly, with press release and WH communication after the event.   Why was it considered a better course to put on such a public display?   What exactly was the benefit?

Some brave journalist should put those simple questions to the administration, and keep asking why ?   Then find out who made the decision. (more…)

(Via Right Scoop) The first and most obvious comment from Bowe Bergdahl’s father, Bob Bergdahl, was at the White House presser on Saturday. Walid Shoebat and company put this video together that shows us a couple of things.

First, what’s been said to be an Islamic greeting is in fact the most famous war cry of Islam called the “Bismillah” or the “Basmallah”. It sounds like this: “bismillah al-rahman al-rahim” which means in Arabic “in the name of Allah the most gracious, the most merciful.”

Walid Shoebat says this about it:

The “Basmallah” is the Islamic expression for victory and only indicates that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s father is a Muslim. …When one gives the basmallah, trims his mustache and elongates his beard, its the first sign of a convert to Islam.

Now watch the video they put together and notice Obama grins ear to ear when he hears the “Basmallah”:

Continue reading

This is what happens when you have multiple agencies within the administration all working from politically flawed McDonough/Jarrett/Rhodes and communication room “talking points”.

The White House constructs a specific and complex narrative.   The message is then transmitted to State Dept.   The State Dept is then selling that narrative “detained while in combat“, even when the White House (Carney) backs away from it.

WATCH:

We saw the exact same thing happen with the Benghazi story.  As mentioned yesterday this is the exact consequence from using the political outlook of any event to shape your outward messaging.

When you are using politics, or more specifically political risk, as the common consideration to create your message – when the politics of the message turn against you it becomes necessary to shift positions.

The trouble stems with the communication lag between the political shifts toward each accompanying agency. When you shift position the others don’t yet know, that separation creates the double-speak and contradiction.

It only happens when you politicize your position. The more you use politics as the filter to determine your message, the worse, and more frequent, the visible contradiction(s) become.

Ahh, the familiar footprint of “The Fixer”…  You can hear them now:  …‘the first time we found out he was a deserter was when, like you, we read about it in the media’… and the lapdog media will just be OK with that.

We notice many pundits are beginning to wonder if the White House was “caught off guard” about the details surrounding Bowie Bergdahl’s desertion from his post.   Obviously, one would think, the White House would have a full understanding of the back-story surrounding PFC Bergdahl before letting Susan Rice say:

“He served his country with honor and distinction”…

The White House had to know Bergdahl deserted his post, did they not anticipate this would come up? Because the way they are handling it suggests they are being caught off-guard.  (link)

(more…)

James Rosen – A senior official confirms to Fox News that the conduct of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl — both in his final stretch of active duty in Afghanistan and then, too, during his time when he lived among the Taliban — has been thoroughly investigated by the U.S. intelligence community and is the subject of “a major classified file.”

In conveying as much, the Defense Department source confirmed to Fox News that many within the intelligence community harbor serious outstanding concerns not only that Bergdahl may have been a deserter but that he may have been an active collaborator with the enemy.

The Pentagon official added pointedly that no relevant congressional committee has sought access to the classified file, but that if such a request were made, key committee chairs would, under previous precedent, likely be granted access to it. Separately, the Pentagon confirmed Monday that it is looking into claims Americans died during the search for Bergdahl.  (more…)

New Video of assault along with eye witness statements:

Reverse the races and this would be playing on a continuous CNN loop 24/7.   Reverse the races and Anderson Cooper, Don Lemon and Sonny Hostin would be sharing 4 hour panel discussions with Mark O’Mara talking about how racist Cincinnati has become.

Print Media Story HERE

Perhaps, just perhaps, through the Bergdahl release, people will begin to see the intentional deception the Obama Administration brought not only to the body politic, but also to the military.

•  2012 Benghazi survivors forced to sign confidentiality/non-disclosure agreements to protect the administration from sunlight – while President Obama and Hillary Clinton lie to the families of rescue victims about what took place…..

•  2009 Berghdahl’s unit forced to sign confidentiality/non-disclosure agreements to protect the administration from sunlight – while President Obama Inc. lie to families of rescue victims about what took place….

Noticing a pattern ?

•  2011 President Obama going to War in Libya, then staying there beyond the legally authorized (War Powers Act 30 days), defying his own office of legal counsel by not notifying congress or requesting authorization.

•  2014 President Obama entering a prisoner exchange agreement, without notifying congress, the intelligence committee, or House/Senate Leadership, within the legally mandated 30 days, or requesting authorization.

Noticing a pattern ?

(more…)

A pro-Taliban website has published a video that claims to show Taliban detainees arriving in Qatar after being released from Guantanamo Bay as part of a prisoner exchange.

In the footage, released by nunn.asia, a group of men wearing traditional Muslim dress gather on a roadside in what is said to be Qatar. The five men, who were switched for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, were to be sent to Qatar where they will remain for at least a year.

When the former prisoners – it’s not clear if all of them are present or just a few – pull up in a convoy of black SUVs, they receive a warm reception, with lots of hugs from the awaiting, clearly jubilant, supporters.

There is no American presence in sight. (read more)

(more…)

Strongly suggest everyone to read the entire article written by Jake Tapper.

[…] …”Many of Bergdahl’s fellow troops — from the seven or so who knew him best in his squad, to the larger group that comprised the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division — told CNN that they signed nondisclosure agreements agreeing to never share any information about Bergdahl’s disappearance and the efforts to recapture him. Some were willing to dismiss that document in hopes that the truth would come out about a soldier who they now fear is being hailed as a hero, while the men who lost their lives looking for him are ignored”…..

(Jake Tapper @CNN) — The sense of pride expressed by officials of the Obama administration at the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is not shared by many of those who served with him — veterans and soldiers who call him a deserter whose “selfish act” ended up costing the lives of better men.

“I was pissed off then and I am even more so now with everything going on,” said former Sergeant Matt Vierkant, a member of Bergdahl’s platoon when he went missing on June 30, 2009. “Bowe Bergdahl deserted during a time of war and his fellow Americans lost their lives searching for him.” (more…)