Welcome to the Watcher’s Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the ‘sphere, and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council.Then we vote on the best two posts, with the results appearing on Friday.

Historically, this is the time, between mid May and Memorial Day, when most Americans begin to perk up their eyes and ears, do a gut check and start to focus on presidential elections.

It’s early days, but I don’t think it’s any accident that a CBS/NY Times poll, no less, shows Mitt Romney slightly ahead of President Obama and ahead among women, a sign that the Democrat’s ‘War against Women’ campaign may have fallen flat.Considering how much polls from the alphabet network and the dinosaur media routinely oversample Democrats, this is an encouraging sign. Especially since Scott Rasmussen, a far more reliable pollster shows a similar result.

Again, the margin’s narrow, it’s very early days and this could very well be a temporary reaction to President Obama’s cynical endorsement of same sex marriage. Or it could be that Governor Romney is starting to pull ahead.Certainly confidence in the Obama economy remains low, and that still appears as though it’s going to be the main issue in this election.

Keep in mind that the polls in question might very well have been rigged the other way for an important reason – to scare and energize President Obama’s base with the idea he might not be re-elected.

We’ll see how things develop.

Council News:

This week, Right Truth, The Pirate’s cove, crime Victim’s Media Report and Mental Recession took advantage of my generous offer of link whorage and earned honorable mention status with some excellent articles that I recommend to your attention.

You can, too! Want to see your work appear on the Watcher’s Council homepage in our weekly contest listing? Didn’t get nominated by a Council member? No worries.

Simply head over to Joshuapundit and post the title a link to the piece you want considered along with an e-mail address ( which won’t be published) in the comments section no later than Monday 6PM PST in order to be considered for our honorable mention category, and return the favor by creating a post on your site linking to the Watcher’s Council contest for the week.

It’s a great way of exposing your best work to Watcher’s Council readers and Council members. while grabbing the increased traffic and notoriety. And how good is that, eh?

So, let’s see what we have this week….

Council Submissions

• The Colossus of Rhodey – “Distress”
• The Noisy Room – The Fascist Boogie Fever
• Simply Jews – Fahd al Quso’s demise, blame the previous manager, Obama’s campaign claims, etc
• Joshuapundit-The New Egypt’s Politics: Who Can Demonize Jews And Israel The Most??
• The Razor – The Myth of an Unbiased Media
• New Zeal – Communists in Congress? (1) Hansen Clarke (D) Michigan
• The Political Commentator – Syosset, New York: Political smear campaign or just a big old coincidence?
• GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – Syrian Unsafe Zone
• Rhymes With Right – Shocking — Mitt Romney And Barack Obama BOTH Were Bullies In School
• Bookworm Room – Presidential Election 2012: Eddie Haskell versus Ward Cleaver
• VA Right! - A Million Souls Up In Heaven
• The Right Planet – Syria
• The Glittering Eye -It’s a Floor Wax and a Dessert Topping
• The Mellow Jihadi – Breastfeeding, By Any Weans Necessary
• Gay Patriot – Marriage to Ann seems to have ended Mitt’s adolescent unruliness
• The Independent Sentinel – Obama’s Bad “Investments” Keep Piling On the Taxpayers – the Auto Bailout Boondoggle

Honorable Mentions

• Right Truth – Romney’s Big Chance
• The Pirate’s Cove – Most Transparent President Evah! Initiates Cellphone Ban At Fundraisers
• Crime Victim’s Media Report – While the Experts Fiddle, George Soros Buys the Criminology Profession
• Mental Recession – Report: Team Obama Tried to Pay Jeremiah Wright to Shut Up

Non-Council Submissions

• Grantland – The Inquisition of Mr. Marvel submitted by The Colossus of Rhodey
• JC.Com/Melanie Phillips –A French-Greek wake-up call submitted by The Noisy Room
• Barry Rubin – What Do Egyptians Want? A Democratically Elected Islamist Dictatorship submitted by Simply Jews
• Mark Steyn – The Spirit of Geert Wilders submitted by Joshuapundit
• Via Meadia –BBC And The Jews submitted by The Razor
• Tablet -My Mother’s Loving Silence submitted by The Political Commentator
• The Compass – Magic Democracy submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• The Daily – Big Hearted Mitt submitted by Rhymes with Right
• National Review/Victor Davis Hanson -The Doggy Wars submitted by Bookworm Room
• All American Blogger – How to Assert Copyright Over Your Work When It’s Been Plagiarized (Video) submitted by VA Right!
• FrontPage – The Rise Of The Saudi SuperState submitted by The Right Planet
• Ambiance – I, Weed submitted by The Glittering Eye
• 6079 Smith, W–U.S. lagging Rwanda in Healthcare? submitted by The Mellow Jihadi
• Commentary Contentions -Obama Drops His Name Into the Other Presidential Biographies submitted by Gay Patriot
• The Daily Caller – Heath Calls for Investigation into Labor Department propaganda posters featuring Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson submitted by The The Independent Sentinel
• Thomas Sowell – A Censored Race War submitted by The Watcher
• Gates of Vienna – The Three Cs submitted by The Watcher

Enjoy! And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that!

As you know, the Watcher’s Council represents the cutting edge of political thought in the blogosphere. You already read their weekly offerings on the issues and if you’re really on the ball, read their incisive and stimulating sites.

With that in mind, as a regular item we’re going to feature Council members ( and some very interesting non-Council guests) presenting short takes on the day’s important issues as they come up.

Today, the Watcher’s Council weigh in on whether the U.S. should pull out of Afghanistan, and if so, how and when.

Bookworm Room: The response to that question depends on the goal. If America wants to trounce the Taliban, destroying a dangerous enemy and sending a strong message to other Islamists around the world (including those sitting on the nuclear bomb in Pakistan) it should stay in Afghanistan until it achieves a decisive victory there. Of course, that would require a complete change in the rules of engagement, one that doesn’t make our troops sitting ducks but instead allows them to fight a war to a victorious conclusion. Alternatively, if the goal is just to leave with our heads held high, it’s too late for that, and we may as well leave ASAP, before any more American lives are lost. I would not, however, give the enemy the courtesy of knowing our withdrawal schedule. I’m pretty sure though, that in true Groucho tradition, whatever Obama is for, I’m against it — because it does seem that whatever he’s for is also against America’s best interests.

The Noisy Room: Yes, the US should pull out of Afghanistan as soon as possible. Our current government will not allow our bravest to do what they do best, which is win. Since they cannot ‘break things’ and just win the war, the conflict becomes never ending and a death trap for our soldiers and a massive drain on our defense resources. Bring them home – they are being literally surrounded by the enemy and Obama could very well leave them in the lurch at some point and that would be a death sentence for most of them. Don’t give notice – just leave and let the barbarians kill each other off. They are really good at that.

Joshuapundit: There was never anything to ‘win’ in Afghanistan. One needs merely to look at how this war was approached from the beginning to see that. In the future, it will be seen as a strategic folly of historic proportions, and one unworthy of the brave men and women who fought there. There were two presidents responsible for it; one out of the need to need to appear to be retaliating for 9/11 by attacking some of the subcontractors while avoiding the inconvenience of confronting the real financiers, directors and perpetrators of jihad, the other to cover for his ignorance, hubris and rhetoric on the campaign trail. Both have wasted American blood and treasure in a criminally negligent fashion, and I only hope that one day both of these presidents will be subject to harsh judgment by history.

Retreating from a landlocked country surrounded by hostile territory is not going to be merely a matter of just leaving, especially with our relations with Pakistan at the point they’re now at. I doubt that the Karzai government will hold on until 2014, and it’s a good bet that the Afghan Army will be firing at our troops with the weapons we gave them as we leave..they’re already doing it. It may very well be a fighting retreat for the last units out, with horrendous scenes reminiscent of Saigon, especially as President Obama’s ‘vision’ becomes reality, most of our troops are pulled out and the Afghans take over and revert back to their preferred 7th century way of life. All the Taliban need to do is wait.

Simply Jews:Not an easy question for me, seeing as Israeli troops will be never allowed to participate in the war against the Taliban. But still: I am more than sure that the moment the coalition forces leave Afghanistan, the Afghani Taliban, aided by their Pakistan brethren, will be back, more violent and fanatic as before. And that Al Qaeda will get their favorite training and preparation grounds back. I am certain that leaving without a decisive victory, where Taliban both in Afghanistan and in Pakistan tribal areas is destroyed, will get us back to pre-9/11 situation. Oh well, maybe with a bit more awareness and alertness – but awareness and alertness don’t last, while terrorism does.

The Colossus of Rhodey: My view is that we never should have engaged in “nation-building.” We should have gone in in late 2001, blasted the living sh** out of al Qaeda and any associated Taliban (pronounced “tah-lee-bahn” remember!), and then maintained a *minimal* presence to monitor and disrupt any further radical Islamic happenings in the country. Whenever they popped up, we’d blast the living sh** out of them again. Rinse, repeat. The sooner we get out of that G-d forsaken country, the better

Rhymes With Right :Unfortunately, the time has come for us to leave Afghanistan. Why? Because of a policy failure that dates back to the Bush years and upon which the Obama Administration has doubled-down. We should have crushed the Taliban as quickly as possible, and not accommodated conservative Islam. Instead, we adopted a policy that involved simply pushing back the Taliban and working with their opponents, even if they were corrupt and supported the same sort of regressive social and religious policies that have returned Afghanistan to the category of backwards Third World Islamist cesspool. Instead we have installed and supported a kleptocrat regime that plays both sides of the fence and which cannot survive, while placing our troops in harms way to no good purpose. I wish i could say that failure was all on Bush — after all, he started it — but the Obama policy has been to risk more lives with less clear objectives and less strong rules of engagement.

The Independent Sentinel: I want them to stay until November in the event that we have a new President who might be able to salvage a victory that would leave the Afghans safer. We should not be leaving without establishing a base though the President is planning on doing exactly that. If Obama is voted back in, I want my military back home and out of harm’s way.

When the Taliban return, the day after our soldiers withdraw, the women and children will once again be relegated to a life of abuse. The US government is pretending they are negotiating with good Taliban as they attempt talks with a terrorist who was a friend of Osama’s and is a friend of al Zawahiri’s.. Afghan soldiers they train cannot be trusted and, we don’t hear about it in the news, but they still are killing our soldiers. That’s no way to fight a war. It’s not reality- based.

The Glittering Eye: Afghanistan does not have the social or economic capacity to support a military of the size and capability that would be required to prevent a return to the conditions that prevailed there in 2001 and will not have for the foreseeable future. It will require substantial U. S. financial, logistical, and air support on an indefinite basis to maintain an Afghan force with the capabilities required and, due to the failures of both the Bush and Obama administrations to cultivate support for such an indefinite commitment, there is little political support for it.

The workable alternatives for Afghanistan continue to be what they have been for the last decade: either we maintain a military presence in and financial support for Afghanistan for the foreseeable future or we leave Afghanistan to its own devices, prepared to uproot any resurgence of its former terrorist camps periodically in robust, brief, largely air campaigns. Without support for the former it must be the latter and we should implement our departure with all due speed.

I also believe that we should work with allies to isolate AfPak really and truly. IMO Al Qaeda’s ability to turn Afghanistan into Disneyland for terrorists was not because Afghanistan and Pakistan were isolated but because they were insufficiently isolated. If the Chinese want it, they can have it. But that’s a discussion for another time.

The Right Planet: To put one more life in harm’s way, without any clear objective, is criminal. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. lost some 60,000, and countless Vietnamese, in a long, bloody, drawn-out struggle that lasted for fifteen years–which bled our nations’ youth, drained our treasuries, demoralized the people–which made the ground fertile for social upheaval. There was no clear strategy throughout the war–only nebulous concepts of “winning hearts and minds”–like we see now in Afghanistan.

This is not the fault of our military. This is the fault of our civilian leadership–namely, the Executive Branch–for giving our military–specifically, the Joint Chiefs of Staff–no clear definition of the enemy or what victory would entail. We went into Afghanistan to depose the Taliban; now they’re poised to come back stronger and emboldened once we withdraw. Additionally, we have adopted the “fortress mentality” at the strategic level and allow the enemy–the Taliban and others–to control the countryside, i.e. the country, period; and we’ve been there for ten years! We are breaking the backs of our military by not allowing them to achieve victory over the enemy. Besides, if the U.S. is not willing to deal with Pakistan and Iran for their role in supporting the Taliban, then we’re just pissin’ in the wind.

Alea iacta est! The Council has spoken, the votes are in, and we have the results for this week’s Watcher’s Council match up.

But before we get to that,I want to wish the mothers amongst you an absolutely wonderful Mother’s Day.

Is there any bond like that of a child and their mother? If you’re fortunate enough to still have yours around, ignore the hype, the obligatory greeting card frenzy.Take her out for a leisurely lunch, talk to her, write her a long letter or take time out for a phone call if you’re not living in the same city, but most of all just spend time with her and let her know how important she is to you.

And if she’s made the passage, spend some time remembering how special she was and let the friendly ghost of memory envelop you.

OK,OK…to business.

In a radio broadcast in 1939, Winston Churchill once famously said, “I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key. That key is Russian national interest.”

This week’s winner, Joshuapundit’s Inside Vladimir Putin takes a look at unwrapping that enigma by analyzing a surprisingly candid editorial by Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin and examining what he had to say in light of Russia’s history and national psychology. Here’s a slice:

Russian leader and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin has an interesting op-ed in RIA Novosti ( hat tip,long time Joshua’s Army member Louie Louie) that illuminates a great deal of his thinking about foreign affairs and reveals a lot about how Russia sees America and the West. Entitled ‘Russia and the Changing World’, it’s well worth looking at in some detail. I’ve emphasized some areas:

Russia is part of the greater world whether we are talking about the economy, the spread of information or the development of culture. We do not wish to and cannot isolate ourselves. We hope that our openness will lead to economic and cultural development in Russia while increasing levels of mutual trust, a resource that is in increasingly short supply today.

However, we intend to be consistent in proceeding from our own interests and goals rather than decisions dictated by someone else. Russia is only respected and has its interests considered when the country is strong and stands firmly on its own feet. Russia has generally enjoyed the privilege of conducting an independent foreign policy and this is what it will continue to do. In addition, I am convinced that global security can only be achieved through cooperation with Russia rather than by attempts to push it into the background, weaken its geopolitical position or compromise its defenses.

A constant theme in Russian history is the fear of isolation and encirclement by its enemies. This has been true since the time of the Mongol invasion of the 13th century, a catastrophic event that saw the early state of Rus lose most of its territory to the Mongols and to the Polish/Lithuanian kingdom. Subsequently, what was left of Russia had to pay tribute in slaves and treasure to the Tatars, the Muslim successors to the Mongols and fight off attempted invasions by the Swedes and the Teutonic Knights. The Russians were unable to evict the Mongols from their territory until the 15th century, and Russia’s historic payment of tribute and later conflict with Muslim states is something that should be kept in mind.

Russia’s northern latitude and climate has also been a source of isolation, with many of Russia’s early ports freezing over for part of the year.

We had a tie this week in the non-Council category between two excellent pieces that which I, as Watcher had to break.

Daniel Greenfield aka Sultan Knish had a great piece in Frontpage Magazine entitled Forward with Obama, Mao and Lenin , submitted by The Noisy Room. It’s an excellent examination of the Obama campaign’s troubling new motto ‘Forward’ and a look at how it’s been used before.

We also had Bill Jacobsen over at Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion with Cruel irony in Elizabeth Warren’s Cherokee saga submitted by The Glittering Eye. It seems that not only did Fake-a-hontas use her supposed 1/32 Cherokee background to aid her in getting affirmative actions points in her academic and professorial career, but irony of ironies, one of her ancestors was actually one of the men who forcibly ‘escorted’ the Cherokees off their ancestral lands to reservations in Oklahoma, something aptly referred to in history as ‘The Trail of Tears.’

I thought about this one for awhile, but Bill’s piece, showing up the bigotry of the left’s racial bean counting and the shameful dishonesty of a woman who was billed not so long ago as the new class warfare poster girl of the Left ultimately won out with me.

Here are this week’s full results. Only New Zeal was unable to vote this week, but was not affected by the 2/3 vote penalty:

Council Winners

• *First place with 5 votes! Joshuapundit – Inside Vladimir Putin
• Second place with 2 1/3 votes – The Noisy Room All the Little Communist Occupiers in a Row
• Third place with 1 1/3 votes – The Mellow Jihadi-Gimme a Break: Occupy Marines, Really?
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote – Bookworm Room-Marin County: What it’s like to live in one of the most affluent and liberal outposts in America
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote – VA Right!- Republicans Adopt ‘Rules for Radicals’ Tactics – Right Back at ‘Cha Dems!
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote – The Glittering Eye-Looting
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote – The Political Commentator- Must see video: Obama’s “Julia”, Julia’s alter-ego Julia/Julian and campaign incompetence!
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote – The Right Planet – An Immigration Nightmare: The Story of Sunny and Mark
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote – Simply Jews –Johan Galtung – Another Cause For Celebration At The Elders’ Place
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote – The Razor –Of Goats And Politics
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote – The Colossus of Rhodey – Ah, “diversity”
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote – The Independent Sentinel – The Life of Svetlana, Julia’s’ Friend
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote – Gay Patriot – Time after time since he took office, Obama has failed to show the fortitude to stand up to hateful and over-the-line rhetoric

Non-Council Winners

• First place with 4 votes! – Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion- Cruel irony in Elizabeth Warren’s Cherokee saga submitted by The Glittering Eye
• Second place *t* with 3 votes – FrontPage Magazine/Daniel Greenfield – Forward with Obama, Mao and Lenin submitted by The Noisy Room
• Third place *t* with 1 2/3 votes – PJ Media/David P.Goldman–Labor Force Disappears in Obama’s Depression submitted by Joshuapundit
• Third place *t* with 1 2/3 votes -Fresno Zionism Three Irrational US Mideast Policies submitted by Simply Jews
• Fourth place with 1 1/3 vote –Small Wars Journal Future of the force: Where do we go from here? submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 votes - The Hill –Dick Morris: Obama’s sneaky treaties submitted by The Independent Sentinel
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote - Yid With Lid – al Qaeda Releases Video of My Political Science Mentor Held Since Augustsubmitted by VA Right!
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -Michael Barrone –Warren ancestry claim puts light on corrupt system submitted by Gay Patriot
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -Breitbart.Com –Who Is The Real Sarah Palin? submitted by The Watcher
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -George Will –Jon Will’s Gift submitted by The Watcher
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote -Nile Gardiner –Francois Hollande’s election victory is a symbol of the EU’s decline submitted by The Political Commentator
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote -Alt-Market –Economic Alert: If You’re Not Worried Yet … You Should Be submitted by The Right Planet
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote -XKCD –Every Major’s Terrible submitted by The Razor

See you next week! And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that!

As you know, the Watcher’s Council represents the cutting edge of political thought in the blogosphere. You already read their weekly offerings on the issues and if you’re really on the ball, read their incisive and stimulating sites.

With that in mind, as a regular item we’re going to feature Council members ( and some very interesting non-Council guests) presenting short takes on the day’s important issues as they come up.

Today, the Watcher’s Council weigh in on what advice they’d give to GOP nominee Mitt Romney if he wants to win in November.

Bookworm Room: “It’s easier to say what Romney should not do. He should not try to out cool Obama. Trying to be ‘hip’ will not work, both because it’s not part of his natural persona and because the media will savage him. Romney should cultivate a pater familias demeanor. We already know Obama is Eddie Haskell, the cool hustler who invariably gets you into trouble. Romney needs to project himself as Ward Cleaver, the wise parent who comes to the rescue after Eddie has done his dirty work.It’s a role that Romney is well suited to play, as long as he avoids condescension.

The Noisy Room: My suggestions to Mitt Romney; come up with a solid. decisive economic plan that includes massive sending cuts, deficit reduction and a flat tax plan;a proposal for ending illegal immigration and guarding our borders; an energy plan that includes, oil, coal, fracking and a revamping of our power grid;a plan for a military buildup and a strong stance against Iran; a return to constitutional principles and a mandate for smaller government, including the repeal of ObamaCare; and confront radical Islam head on.

Joshuapundit: I’m going to keep my advice very general.Aside from hiring me to write speeches for him, first of all, Mitt Romney needs to excite and motivate the base, something he’s already shown he’s capable of doing.They’re already motivated by the prospect of an Obama second term,now he needs to motivate them for a Romney presidency.A good start would be scheduling an interview on Rush Limbaugh’s show, and courting Sarah Palin’s support,even if it’s covert. Second, he needs to devote a great deal of thought as to his running mate. With the right choice, there are some significant goodies obtainable in the electoral market.Third, he needs to keep asking Reagan’s question, “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” And finally, use ridicule and humor to attack President Obama’s abysmal tenure..not only will it play well, but this president is perhaps the most thin-skinned in living memory, won’t handle it well, and will remind the American people about everything they dislike about him.

The Political Commentator: The job for Romney is really quite simple as I see it. It is to try and force Obama to do what he wants to avoid at all costs. Make him face his actual record for the years in the White House and not allow Obama to make the election a referendum on the haves versus the have nots in the country or any other topic that pits one group against the other. To get into that type of debate is a losing strategy as this would help to mobilize the constituencies that helped Obama win in 2008 and who have become disenchanted with this President over time. This needs to be an election based on hard facts and actual ideas for how we take the country to where it needs to be. If it turns into a campaign of slogans, class warfare and the blame game Romney will most likely lose.At all costs he must not let the Obama campaign dictate the conversation but he needs to steer the conversation to where it needs to be. The quantifiable failure of the Obama presidency and how a Romney presidency will lead the country forward!

Rhymes With Right :There’s a really simple answer to the question — keep your eye on the ball . Mitt Romney needs to remember that this is an election about the economy. When Obama and his surrogates try to make the issue about something else, he needs to bring it back to the economy. When the attacks begin on his religion, he needs to swat them down as a distraction and ask why the president and his supporters don’t want to talk about the economy. When they point to the cost of Ann Romney’s clothes or the size/number of his homes, he needs to point out that he earned his money creating jobs for Americans — and point out that Obama hasn’t worked in the private sector since he was a high school kid scooping ice cream at Baskin Robbins. Indeed, mitt Romney must conduct a campaign that revolves around a single theme that he hit in his victory speech a couple weeks back — “It’s still about the economy …and we’re not stupid.” That should be on every bumper sticker and campaign button — and in every ad.

The Independent Sentinel: I think Romney has to stay in the middle with the independents – the right will vote for him. He needs to tell us the specific policies and ideas that would turn around the Obama economy and get us jobs. Obama’s phony unemployment numbers might go below 8% so the economy won’t be enough. He should brag about how he made things happen, not the firings :), but the mechanics. He is very generous and sent his entire company to save a missing colleagues daughter’s life and succeeded – he should get those things out there. I’d like to see the Dept of Energy and the EPA Greatly downsized, the dept of Ed eliminated, all czars fired and have him actually listen to his dept secretaries and a small number of advisors so he has his hand on the pulse. I want him to sound very confident, strong, unwavering, funny

The Razor :Leave social issues out of it. Romney needs to imagine what Rick Santorum would do or say on a particular social issue, then forget that and focus on the economy. Any social conservative who sits out this election because Romney doesn’t promise to make the kids pray in school or bring back the ban on gays in the military isn’t a conservative at all. He or she is simply a moron.

I might also add that Obama is going negative, and the best thing Romney can do is to go positive. Remind Americans about what unites us as a people, not what divides us. That doesn’t mean he should ignore the attacks: he personally shouldn’t respond to them but the campaign should have a war room that has a talking head rebutting any particular charge in minutes and firing back. That’s what the GOP party is for. In summary, Romney needs to be like Reagan. He needs to inspire and be above the fray while his campaign and the GOP do his dirty work for him.

The Right Planet: Don’t apologize because you are financially successful–embrace it! Be proud of your accomplishments. Don’t ever back down from it. Of course, the Left will hate it. Pour it on thicker. The Progressive Left is waging a War on Prosperity–free market itself. Point it out forcefully.Additionally, I hate it when I see a Republican take a strong stance on an issue and then turn around and apologize for it because the MSM came after them tooth, fang and nail. Of course the MSM will come after you tooth, fang and nail! Go after them tooth, fang and nail.

Finally, Obama loves to marginalize and isolate his opponents per Saul Alinsky. Turn the tables on him. Don’ be afraid of attacking Obama. If any president ever needed to be attacked for his disastrous policies that are destroying our economic future and national sovereignty, it’s Barack Hussein Obama.

GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD : Advice for gov romney? hammer 44 w/out modesty or restraint. Hammer 44 for short changing COIN in the afpak surge. Hammer 44 for his bystander in chief mode in persia”s protest n syria”s killing fields. Hammer 44 for losing iraq. Hammer 44 for attacking arizonia”s immigration laws, south cackalackey”s right to work law via boeing. Hammer 44 for financing the strip in palestine. Hammer 44 for not blowing the lid off horrific gender aparthied in egypt. Hammer 44 for fat n furious. Hammer, hammer, hammer.

Gay Patriot: To win, he needs to do one thing he started to do during the campaign for the GOP nomination, talk about his business success. And put that in the context of the numerous opportunities available to entrepreneurs — and aspiring entrepreneurs. He needs a quick response team, similar to that of Bill Clinton’s 1992 “War Room,” ready to deflect attacks and fire back when necessary.

He, however, must keep his focus on the policies he wishes to put into place to replace the failed ones of the past 3 1/2 years and avoid getting in a tit-for-tat with Obama on the bright shiny object of the day. In short, he should focus on the issues, never attack Obama personally, maybe even acknowledge some of the Democrat’s good qualities, appreciating his appeal (he’s going to need to win a whole bunch of voters who backed the Democrat in ’08; insulting them won’t win them over). As much as possible, he should leave the attacks to his surrogates and focus himself on promoting an optimistic vision of America’s future and a list of policies that will make that future possible for an increasing number of Americans.

Welcome to the Watcher’s Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the ‘sphere, and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council.Then we vote on the best two posts, with the results appearing on Friday.

The above is a photo of Harvard professor, self-styled ‘consumer activist’ and Massachusetts Democrat Senate Candidate Elizabeth Warren in her secret minority Identity as Chief Spreading Bull.True to form, she’s dressed in the war bonnet of a Lakota rather than the tribe she *cough* claims to belong to, but then that’s part of the fun.

By now, most of you know that Princess Dances-With-Marxism has claimed to be a Native American throughout her career, taking advantage of ‘diversity’ to get affirmative action bennies at the University of Houston, Rutgers, and of course, Harvard University where she was eagerly hired as a professor..(‘Quick,let’s hire her…we don’t have one of those.’)

Oddly enough, no one ever asked Warren for proof until recently, and the best that our friend Minni-blah-blah was able to provide was an 1884 genealogical document that might prove that her great, great great grandmother was Cherokee. As the genealogist who found it said ‘This needs more research’.

If this document is accurate, that would make Elizabeth Warren all of 1/32nd Cherokee Indian. Based on that criteria, President Obama is an Arab Muslim and I’m the lost heir to the throne of Lithuania.

Odd that many Democrats are seem unwilling to disavow racial ‘classifications’ that have more than an aroma of the Nazi’s old Racial Purity Laws. But then, oddly enough, President Obama’s new campaign slogan has a odor redolent of the same place and time. Just a coincidence, I’m sure.

Council News:

This week, RightTruth and The Pirate’s Cove took advantage of my generous offer of link whorage and earned honorable mention status with some killer pieces.

You can, too! Want to see your work appear on the Watcher’s Council homepage in our weekly contest listing? Didn’t get nominated by a Council member? No worries.

Simply head over to Joshuapundit and post the title a link to the piece you want considered along with an e-mail address ( which won’t be published) in the comments section no later than Monday 6PM PST in order to be considered for our honorable mention category, and return the favor by creating a post on your site linking to the Watcher’s Council contest for the week.

It’s a great way of exposing your best work to Watcher’s Council readers and Council members. while grabbing the increased traffic and notoriety. And how good is that, eh?

So, let’s see what we have this week….

Council Submissions

• The Noisy Room – All the Little Communist Occupiers in a Row
• The Political Commentator – Must see video: Obama’s “Julia”, Julia’s alter-ego Julia/Julian and campaign incompetence!
• The Independent Sentinel – The Life of Svetlana, Julia’s’ Friend
• The Mellow Jihadi – Gimme a Break: Occupy Marines, Really?
• Joshuapundit-Inside Vladimir Putin
• Simply Jews – Johan Galtung – Another Cause For Celebration At The Elders’ Place
• The Colossus of Rhodey – Ah, “diversity”
• GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – Happy VE Day!!
• Bookworm Room – Marin County: What it’s like to live in one of the most affluent and liberal outposts in America
• VA Right! - Republicans Adopt ‘Rules for Radicals’ Tactics – Right Back at ‘Cha
  Dems!
• Rhymes With Right White House Condemns Romney For Not Rebuking Treason Accusation
• The Glittering Eye -Looting
• The Right Planet – An Immigration Nightmare: The Story of Sunny and Mark
• Gay Patriot – Time after time since he took office, Obama has failed to show the fortitude to stand up to hateful and over-the-line rhetoric
• The Razor – Of Goats And Politics

Honorable Mentions

• Right Truth – Intelligence Operative Burned
• Pirates Cove – North Carolina’s Amendment 1 Passes

Non-Council Submissions

• FrontPage Magazine/Daniel Greenfield –Forward with Obama, Mao and Lenin submitted by The Noisy Room
• Nile Gardiner -Francois Hollande’s election victory is a symbol of the EU’s decline submitted by The Political Commentator
• The Hill – Dick Morris: Obama’s sneaky treaties submitted by The The Independent Sentinel
• A Trainwreck in Maxwell –Balance submitted by The Mellow Jihadi
• PJ Media/David P.Goldman – Labor Force Disappears in Obama’s Depression submitted by Joshuapundit
• Fresno Zionism – Three Irrational US Mideast Policies submitted by Simply Jews
• The Chronicle of Higher Education – Don’t Pick Up submitted by The Colossus of Rhodey
• Small Wars Journal – Future of the force: Where do we go from here? submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• National Review/Jonah Goldberg-Big &#%!ing Joker submitted by Bookworm Room
• Yid With Lid – al Qaeda Releases Video of My Political Science Mentor Held Since August submitted by VA Right!
• Zero Hedge – People Not In Labor Force Soar By 522,000, Labor Force Participation Rate Lowest Since 1981 submitted by Rhymes with Right
• Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion – Cruel irony in Elizabeth Warren’s Cherokee saga submitted by The Glittering Eye
• Alt-Market – Economic Alert: If You’re Not Worried Yet … You Should Be submitted by The Right Planet
• Michael Barone -Warren ancestry claim puts light on corrupt system submitted by Gay Patriot
• XKCD –Every Major’s Terrible submitted by The Razor
• Breitbart.Com – Who Is The Real Sarah Palin? submitted by The Watcher
• George Will – Jon Will’s Gift submitted by The Watcher

Enjoy! And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that!

Badda bam, badda bing!The Council has spoken, the votes have been cast, and the results are in for this week’s Watcher’s Council match up.

We had a tie this week in the Council category. On the one hand, we had Joshuapundit’s Obama Campaign’s Latest Claim – ‘Romney Wouldn’t Have Ordered Bin-Laden Hit’ , a look at the Obama campaign’s new ad and how fraudulent this president’s touchdown dance over the bin-Laden assassination actually is.

One the other hand, we had a superb post from The Noisy Room, Pathological Politics – Predatory Partners and Persecuting Patriots a round up of exactly how crazy things are getting as the Obama Administration’s ‘enemies list’ grows and he keeps using federal regulatory agencies to wage war on them in ways that have never been seen in this country before.

One of the things I do here to earn the big bucks is break ties, which always go to my fellow Council members when I’m involved. But I would have broken the tie in favor of The Noisy Room’s Pathological Politics – Predatory Partners and Persecuting Patriots anyway. Here’s a slice:

In the notorious tradition of Nixon’s Enemies List, Obama is now openly persecuting patriots at every opportunity. He tries to shame them, taint them, marginalize them and if all that doesn’t work, he sends goons after them and either imprisons them or threatens them with imprisonment. He’s using every agency at his disposal, with a special emphasis on the EPA, FDA, IRS, SEC, ATF and Fish and Wildlife authorities. And he has hired a whole governmental ‘army’ to enforce his dictates and go after his enemies. Welcome to the American Stasi.

We have watched how Obama smears those who would dare to donate to Mitt Romney’s campaign. That should make us want to donate even more, not back down and cower in fear. We all know that Obama is determined to be reelected legally or illegally – he doesn’t care. He just wants to hold on to his power, so he can finish what he started – destroying America with his pathological politics of corruption, greed and evil. If the elections don’t suffice, he’ll invent an emergency to ensure his death grip on the throat of America.

Look at how Gibson Guitars has been treated. They have been raided multiple times, but they can’t defend themselves because in the last three years, this administration won’t say what crime they are charging them with. They are destroying a good and honest company that creates jobs and does business production here in America. Their crime – successful capitalism. Something Obama will not tolerate.

Then there are farmers. The EPA is clamping down on the Amish and others who don’t follow every regulation in an effort to put them out of business and it is working. I hear the stealthy, sly footsteps of Cass Sunstein. Soon, very soon, the government will control all our farmland and food. Then if you step out of line, they’ll just starve you to death. Farming on your own property will be illegal. It’s coming – bet on it. Right now they are seizing farmer’s bank accounts. The FDA is now using the terrorist based “Bank Secrecy Act” as justification to invade, investigate and even confiscate the bank accounts of Americans in the agricultural business.

In our non-Council category, the winner was Joel Kotkin’s piece in the City Journal, The New Class Warfare submitted by The Watcher. It’s a superb look at how the Left is systematically destroying the very Middle Class it claims to be ‘defending’.

Here are this week’s full results. Only New Zeal was unable to vote this week, but was not affected by the 2/3 vote penalty:

Council Winners

• *First place with 3 2/3 votes! The Noisy Room – Pathological Politics – Predatory Partners and Persecuting Patriots
• Second place with 2 2/3 votes – Joshuapundit Obama Campaign’s Latest Claim – ‘Romney Wouldn’t Have Ordered Bin-Laden Hit’
• Third place with 2 votes – Bookworm Room-President Obama’s church is the Chapel of (Progressive) Democracy
• Third place *t* with 1 1/3 votes – The Independent Sentinel-Bishops Issue Call To Action To Defend Religious Liberty
• Third place *t* with 1 1/3 vote – The Right Planet-Re:Islam
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote – The Razor- Marriage and the State: It’s Time For a Divorce
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote – Rhymes With Right-Why Are We Dealing With This Again?
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote – Simply Jews – On Zionist Cruelty To Minors
• Fifth place with 2/3 vote – The Mellow Jihadi –The Black And White Mohawk
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote – The Glittering Eye – Common Theme/Common Solution
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote – The Colossus of Rhodey – “Progressivism” = Insanity
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote – Gay Patriot – Spiking the Osama ball, Obama forgets what team he’s on
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote – VA Right! – Thanks Obama:The Car Is STILL in the Ditch and Now We Are FLAT BROKE and Out of Gas!

Non-Council Winners

• First place with 2 1/3 votes! –City Journal/Joel Kotkin - The New Class Warfare submitted by The Watcher
• Second place with 2 votes – OpenMarket.org – Diversity Training Doesn’t Work, But It Persists Anyway, Due to Compulsion submitted by The Colossus of Rhodey
• Third place *t* with 1 1/3 votes – American Digest –Abortion in America: A Personal Journey submitted by Joshuapundit
• Third place with 1 1/3 votes -Powerline More Blowback Against Our Whiney, Immodest, And Shamelessly Self-Promoting President submitted by Gay Patriot
• Third place with 1 1/3 votes –Zombie ‘Unite Against the War on Women’ march, Los Angeles submitted by The Razor
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote - The Duck Of Minerva –“Seriously, Guys!”: How (Not) to Write About Gender and Foreign Affairs submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote - Confessions of a Closet Republican – Obama’s Bin Laden Ad “Despicable” Says HuffPo’s Arianna Huffington submitted by Simply Jews
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote -Afterburner with Bill Whittle –The Train Set submitted by Bookworm Room
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -Marooned In Marin –“Breitbart Is Here” DC Chapter of FreeRepublic “Freeps” The White House Correspondent’s Dinner submitted by VA Right!
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -PJ Media/J. Christian Adams – DOJ Employee Contempt for Mississippi Citizens on Facebook submitted by Rhymes With Right
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -National Review Online/Daniel Pipes And Steve Emerson –Chris Christie’s Islam Problem submitted by The Independent Sentinel
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote -Boston Maggie –Name A Navy Ship After MOH Recipient Tom Hudner submitted by The Mellow Jihadi
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote -World Net Daily –‘Civilization Jihad’ And Obama’s Connections submitted by The Political Commentator
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote -Barry Rubin –Needed: A Marxist-Style Analysis to Understand and Combat the Extreme Left’s Hegemony submitted by The Right Planet
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote -Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion –Obama got Osama, but lost the Middle East submitted by The Watcher

See you next week! And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that!

Welcome to the Watcher’s Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the ‘sphere, and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council.Then we vote on the best two posts, with the results appearing on Friday.

Ah, the OWS movement..back again like a rancid smell you thought you’d gotten rid of in spring cleaning. Together with pals from the SEIU and other radical groups, they used the old Communist holiday of May Day to exercise their usual tyranny over other people’s rights to travel, work, buy and sell.

There was an old saying..I believe it came from Ben Franklin – that one person’s rights ended at the next man’s nose. Sadly, a lot of people seem to have forgotten that, with the result that everyone’s miserable.

However, after thinking about it, I came up with a solution that ought to make everybody as happy as rats in a cheese factory. It’s amazing what you can accomplish by simply giving people what they want.

Council News:

This week, The Stewart Blog,Right Truth Ask Marion, Modern Sojourners and Pirates Cove took advantage of my generous offer of link whorage. turned in some great stuff and earned honorable mention status.

You can, too! Want to see your work appear on the Watcher’s Council homepage in our weekly contest listing? Didn’t get nominated by a Council member? No worries.

Simply head over to Joshuapundit and post the title a link to the piece you want considered along with an e-mail address ( which won’t be published) in the comments section no later than Monday 6PM PST in order to be considered for our honorable mention category, and return the favor by creating a post on your site linking to the Watcher’s Council contest for the week.

It’s a great way of exposing your best work to Watcher’s Council readers and Council members, while grabbing the increased traffic and notoriety. And how good is that, eh?

So, let’s see what we have this week….

Council Submissions

• The Colossus of Rhodey – “Progressivism” = Insanity
• The Noisy Room – Pathological Politics – Predatory Partners and Persecuting Patriots
• The Political Commentator – Talking Heads say invest, invest, invest but closer inspection may say no, no, no!
• Simply Jews – On Zionist Cruelty To Minors
• Joshuapundit-Obama Campaign’s Latest Claim – ‘Romney Wouldn’t Have Ordered Bin-Laden Hit’
• The Right Planet – Re:Islam
• VA Right! - Thanks Obama:The Car Is STILL in the Ditch and Now We Are FLAT BROKE and Out of Gas!
• Bookworm Room – President Obama’s church is the Chapel of (Progressive) Democracy
• Rhymes With Right – Why Are We Dealing With This Again?
• Gay Patriot – Spiking the Osama ball, Obama forgets what team he’s on
• The Independent Sentinel – Bishops Issue Call To Action To Defend Religious Liberty
• The Glittering Eye -Common Theme/Common Solution
• The Mellow Jihadi – The Black And White Mohawk
• The Razor – Marriage and the State: It’s Time For a Divorce
• GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – Liquidation Day: A Year After OBL’s Death

Honorable Mentions

• Ask Marion – Alinsky Alive and Well in the White House
• The Stewart Blog – Turning from the Heavens
• Right Truth – FDA may let patients buy drugs without prescriptions
• Modern Sojourners – The Easy Road Of Deception
• Pirates Cove – Obama To Spike Osama Football Live From Afghanistan

Non-Council Submissions

• OpenMarket.org – Diversity Training Doesn’t Work, But It Persists Anyway, Due to Compulsion submitted by The Colossus of Rhodey
• Sultan Knish –The Empire of Poverty submitted by The Noisy Room
• World Net Daily -‘Civilization Jihad’ And Obama’s Connections submitted by The Political Commentator
• Confessions of a Closet Republican – Obama’s Bin Laden Ad “Despicable” Says HuffPo’s Arianna Huffington submitted by Simply Jews
• American Digest – Abortion in America: A Personal Journey submitted by Joshuapundit
• Barry Rubin – Needed: A Marxist-Style Analysis to Understand and Combat the Extreme Left’s Hegemony submitted by The Right Planet
• Marooned In Marin – “Breitbart Is Here” DC Chapter of FreeRepublic “Freeps” The White House Correspondent’s Dinner submitted by VA Right!
• Afterburner with Bill Whittle -The Train Set submitted by Bookworm Room
• PJ Media/J. Christian Adams – DOJ Employee Contempt for Mississippi Citizens on Facebook submitted by Rhymes with Right
• Powerline -More Blowback Against Our Whiney, Immodest, And Shamelessly Self-Promoting President submitted by Gay Patriot
• National Review Online/Daniel Pipes And Steve Emerson – Chris Christie’s Islam Problem submitted by The Independent Sentinel
• Patterico’s Pontifications – Let’s just say it: The Democrats are the problem submitted by The Glittering Eye
• BostonMaggie –Name A Navy Ship After MOH Recipient Tom Hudner submitted by The Mellow Jihadi
• Zombie –‘Unite Against the War on Women’ march, Los Angeles submitted by The Razor
• The Duck Of Minerva – “Seriously, Guys!”: How (Not) to Write About Gender and Foreign Affair submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion – Obama got Osama, but lost the Middle East submitted by The Watcher
• City Journal/Joel Kotkin – The New Class Warfare submitted by The Watcher

Enjoy! And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that!

The Council has spoken, the votes have been cast, and the results are in for this week’s Watcher’s Council match up.

A few days ago, Jews around the world memorialized the victims of the Holocaust on a day set aside as Yom Hashoah.

This week’s winner,Joshuapundit’s Yom Hashoah – Reflections On The Holocaust is a look at how those people who came into contact with it tried to process it, what’s been remembered, why many people would like to forget all about it and what that all means in today’s context. Here’s a slice:

Today is Yom HaShoah, the day Israel and the rest of the Jewish world officially mourn the dead of the Holocaust.

As the elderly witnesses gradually die off and it becomes less common to see people with numbers tattooed on their arms and a certain look in their eyes, remembrance is at a premium.

Holocaust denial is a major industry today, and much of it is enthusiastically received ( and bankrolled) from the Islamic world, not only in the Middle East but at hundreds of mosques and madrassahs in the West, to the point where in Britain and elsewhere, educators avoid teaching about it so as not to make any waves or contradict what many Muslim youngsters are being taught at home or as part of their religious studies.

In fact, the first official act of the Muslim Council of Britain after Tony Blair put it together as a voice for the UK’s Muslims was to protest Holocaust Remembrance Day being observed.

This is no accident. There are a lot of people who want what happened to the Jews of Europe forgotten and buried.

In Crusade In Europe, his post-war memoir of WWII, Allied Commander General Dwight Eisenhower over seventy years ago foresaw a time when it would be convenient in certain circles to deny that the Holocaust happened, and he felt he had a moral responsibility to document it for all time:

“I have never felt able to describe my emotional reactions when I first came face to face with indisputable evidence of Nazi brutality and every shred of human decency.Up to that time I had known about it only generally or through secondary sources.I am certain, however that I never at any time experienced an equal sense of shock.

I visited every nook and cranny of that camp because I felt it my duty to be in a position to testify at first hand about these things in case there ever grew up at home the belief or assumption that ‘the stories of Nazi brutality were just propaganda.’ {…}

I not only did so, but as soon as I returned to Patton’s headquarters that evening I sent communications to both Washington and London urging the two governments to send instantly to Germany a random group of newspaper editors and representative groups from the national legislatures. I felt that the evidence should be immediately placed before the American and British publics in a fashion that would leave no room for cynical doubt.”

General Eisenhower also saw to it that the camps were filmed and that a number of witnesses were given tours of the camps..and not only from overseas. Eisenhower and a number of his commanders forced the local townspeople from the adjoining German towns to go through the camps where the populace claimed ignorance. Footage still exists of American soldiers forcing Germans into the camps to look at what had been done..as if those Germans hadn’t been living downwind from the smell of burning flesh for years. As if they hadn’t heard the crying of children at the train stations in the dead of night, or seen their Jewish neighbors dragged away…

In our non-Council category, the winner was Raymond Ibrahim with How the Media Whitewashes Muslim Persecution of Christians submitted by Joshuapundit, an excellent look at a topic the media won’t touch with a ten foot pole.

Here are this week’s full results. Only New Zeal was unable to vote this week, and only New Zeal was affected by the 2/3 vote penalty:

Council Winners

• *First place with 5 2/3 votes! Joshuapundit – Yom Hashoah – Reflections On The Holocaust
• Second place with 2 2/3 votes – The Right Planet Bloody Revolution and Cultural Suicide
• Third place *t* with 1 vote – Bookworm Room-The California Open Primary has the practical effect of stifling Republican political speech in November, when it matters most
• Third place *t* with 1 vote – The Razor No One Wins In the Zimmerman Trial
• Third place *t* with 1 vote – The Noisy Room- Iran + UN: The Incorrectly Included Datum
• Fourth place *t* with 2/3 vote – The Mellow Jihadi- The Military Draft
• Fourth place *t* with 2/3 vote – Gay Patriot-What gay Republicans (should) expect from the state
• Fourth place *t* with 2/3 vote – The Political Commentator – Wall Street 101 For Progressives, Academics and Career Politicians!
• Fourth place *t* with 2/3 vote – Simply Jews –There Are Judges In Jerusalem
• Fifth place *t* with 1/3 vote – The Colossus Of Rhody –“Progressive” liar set to return to comics
• Fifth place *t* with 1/3 vote – The Independent Sentinel – Obama About to Cede Sovereignty of Our Oceans to Marxist UN
• Fifth place *t* with 1/3 vote – VA Right! – Hollywood Balks at Obama’s Financial Genocide!

Non-Council Winners

• First place with 4 votes! – Raymond Ibrahim- How the Media Whitewashes Muslim Persecution of Christians submitted by Joshuapundit
• Second place *t* with 2 1/3 votes – Mark Steyn –Grope And Change submitted by The Watcher
• Second place *t* with 2 1/3 votes – Freemarket America.Org – If I Wanted America to Fail submitted by VA Right!
• Third place with 2 votes -The Sad Red Earth Israeli Ambassador Fears 60 Minutes “Hatchet Job”; Bob Simon Protests, Then Delivers submitted by The Watcher ( hat tip, Simply Jews)
• Fourth place with 1 2/3 votes –The Last Stand Afghanistan III (still circling the bowl) submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• Fifth place *t* with 1 vote -Jim Treacher/The Daily Caller – I don’t know if you guys have heard, but Obama eats dogs submitted by The Glittering Eye
• Sixth place with 2/3 vote - The Passing Parade – Government Spending, Or Why I Am A Republican submitted by Simply Jews
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote -The Politic/Shaun Tan –Dangerous Liaisons submitted by Bookworm Room
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote -The Weekly Standard –Civil Society Reconsidered submitted by The Colossus of Rhodey
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote -House of Erathosthenes –Contradictions submitted by The Mellow Jihadi
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote -The Washington Free Beacon –Paging Allen West:Gorbachev Says ‘I will Support Obama’ submitted by The Independent Sentinel

See you next week! And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that!

Welcome to the Watcher’s Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the ‘sphere, and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council.Then we vote on the best two posts, with the results appearing on Friday.

Holy Gaea! Another Earth Day has come and gone. This cartoon (merci pour le lagniappe, Gerard) makes the salient point that the entire global warming,Gaea worshiping nonsense is merely the Left’s version of the worst excesses of the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages – with the antics of Pope Gore and today’s scams like carbon trading and Solyndra in place of the sale of indulgences, benefices and paid for dispensations for the well heeled making it a perfect parallel.

Talk to any of these True Believers and disagree with what amounts to their religion and many of them would happily burn you at the stake as a heretic in a nanosecond if they weren’t worried about increasing their personal carbon footprints! Besides, it’s a lot more lucrative for them to simply tax you into oblivion and use the money for their much more deserving selves and their personal pet projects.

On another subject, this week’s contest is dedicated to Levon, who just made the passage. Rest in peace, dear soul.

Council News:

This week, Ask Marion, Crime Victim’s Media Report and Pirate’s Cove took advantage of my generous offer of link whorage and earned honorable mention status with some great posts.

You can, too! Want to see your work appear on the Watcher’s Council homepage in our weekly contest listing? Didn’t get nominated by a Council member? No worries.

Simply head over to Joshuapundit and post the title a link to the piece you want considered along with an e-mail address ( which won’t be published) in the comments section no later than Monday 6PM PST in order to be considered for our honorable mention category, and return the favor by creating a post on your site linking to the Watcher’s Council contest for the week.

It’s a great way of exposing your best work to Watcher’s Council readers and Council members. while grabbing the increased traffic and notoriety. And how good is that, eh?

So, let’s see what we have this week….

Council Submissions

• The Colossus of Rhodey – “Progressive” liar set to return to comics
• Joshuapundit-Yom Hashoah – Reflections On The Holocaust
• The Political Commentator – Wall Street 101 For Progressives, Academics and Career Politicians!
• The Noisy Room – Iran + UN: The Incorrectly Included Datum
• The Independent Sentinel – Obama About to Cede Sovereignty of Our Oceans to Marxist UN
• The Mellow Jihadi – The Military Draft
• Simply Jews – There Are Judges In Jerusalem
• GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – PACRIM Airwar
• The Right Planet – Bloody Revolution and Cultural Suicide
• VA Right! - Hollywood Balks at Obama’s Financial Genocide!
• Rhymes With Right – Bishop Takes On Faux Catholic Politicians
• Bookworm Room – The California Open Primary has the practical effect of stifling Republican political speech in November, when it matters most
• The Razor – No One Wins In the Zimmerman Trial
• The Glittering Eye -The Amazing Even Alarming Ease
• Gay Patriot – What gay Republicans (should) expect from the state

Honorable Mentions

• Ask Marion – Earth Day… How Did You Celebrate?
• Crime Victim’s Media Report-Occupiers Demonstrate . . . What’s Wrong With Self-Esteem Education
• Pirate’s Cove – Snap! Climate Change Is A Human Rights Issue Or Something

Non-Council Submissions

• The Weekly Standard – Civil Society Reconsidered submitted by The Colossus of Rhodey
• Raymond Ibrahim – How the Media Whitewashes Muslim Persecution of Christians submitted by Joshuapundit
• Mychal Massie -More Obama Fairy Talessubmitted by The Political Commentator
• American Thinker/Kim Zigfeld –Obama Suckering America into Loving Russia submitted by The Noisy Room
• The Washington Free Beacon – Paging Allen West:Gorbachev Says ‘I will Support Obama’ submitted by The The Independent Sentinel
• House of Erathosthenes –Contradictions submitted by The Mellow Jihadi
• The Passing Parade – Government Spending, Or Why I Am A Republican submitted by Simply Jews
• The Last Stand – Afghanistan III (still circling the bowl) submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• The Blaze – Are We Headed Toward the Constitution or the Communist Manifesto? This Breakdown Tells You submitted by The Right Planet
• Freemarket America.org – If I Wanted America to Fail submitted by VA Right!
• The DC Trawler – Obama Bites Dog submitted by Rhymes with Right
• The Politic/Shaun Tan-Dangerous Liaisons submitted by Bookworm Room
• Taki’s Magazine –10 Hatefacts for Those Who Hate Facts submitted by The Razor
• Jim Treacher/The Daily Caller – I don’t know if you guys have heard, but Obama eats dogs submitted by The Glittering Eye
• Commentary Contentions -The Fake Iranian Nuclear Fatwa submitted by Gay Patriot
• The Sad Red Earth – Israeli Ambassador Fears 60 Minutes “Hatchet Job”; Bob Simon Protests, Then Delivers submitted by The Watcher
• Mark Steyn – Grope And Change submitted by The Watcher

Enjoy! And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that!

The Council has spoken, the votes have been cast, and the results are in for this week’s Watcher’s Council match up.

Even taking into consideration the normal high level of quality in both the Council and Non-Council entries, this was a tough call with some exceptional pieces to choose from, and the close vote tally reflects it.

For instance, we had a tie this week in the Council category which I, as Watcher have to break.

A few Council members weighed in this week on the attack by the Obama Campaign on Ann Romney and stay at home moms, but top o’ the stack was Bookworm Room’s The real threat that the Ann Romneys of the world represent to the statist Left. Aside from being an excellent dissertation in its own right, it earned mentions from Instapundit, Hot Air, Powerline and Legal Insurrection.

Then with a completely different type of piece we had our favorite milblogger, The Mellow Jihadi with an account of a conversation with an amazing marine, An Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, Korea, and Vietnam Vet.

How would you like to have to choose between ‘em? Hmmmm? And in the middle of a computer failure? But that, after all , is what I get paid the big bux for.

I loved The Mellow Jihadi’s piece, because it reminded me of conversations I’ve had with some of our warriors that I will never forget. But I ended up coming down on the side of Bookworm’s effort, because she was able to state so clearly and brilliantly exactly why the Left truly hates stay at home moms. Here’s a slice:

For the last many years, I have been the single most important influence on my children. Yes, they go to school (public school, yet); and yes, they both have thriving social lives; and yes, I’ve been unable to insulate them from a Leftist pop culture that is hostile to traditional norms and to conservatives generally, but I’m still the most important person. Of all the influences in their lives, I am the one who is most present, most consistent, and most trusted. I’m sure they’ll pull away as they get older, and they may even rebel, but I’ll still be that little voice in their brain, imparting facts, values, and analyses.

I am the counterweight to the state. Therefore, I am dangerous. I am subversive simply by existing. My love for my children is a dominant force that works its way into their psyches and that trumps the state-run schools and the state complicit media world. Some mothers, of course, are entirely in sync with schools and media. They happily reinforce the statist message. But those of us who don’t are a powerful anti-statist force and we must be challenged.

The Left’s problem with Ann Romney transcends her husband’s wealth, her (and his) Republican identification, and her decision to work for her children, rather than for a paying employer. The Left’s problem with Ann Romney is that she represents the triumph of the individual. No wonder they hate her so much.

In our non-council Category, the winner was Michael Totten for The Lost City submitted by Joshuapundit. It’s an amazing travelogue/reminiscence of Beirut that will make you almost feel like you’re there.

I normally don’t mention second place winners in either the Council or non-Council categories in my intro, but I’m going to make an exception this time.

What do you do if you’re a young Israeli child who comes home and finds your parents and three of your siblings, including a nine-month-old baby butchered on the Sabbath by ‘Palestinian’ murderers without even the dignity given to animals? How do you cope with it and go on with your life? And if you are a religious person, how do you process it and what questions do you ask of G-d? Read Jewish Mom. Com’s Their Second Childhood: A Visit with the Fogel Orphans submitted by yours truly to find the answers. It will move you.

Ok, enough blathering. Here are this week’s full results. Only New Zeal was unable to vote this week, but was not affected by th e2/3 vote penalty:

Council Winners

• *First place with 4 votes! Bookworm Room –The real threat that the Ann Romneys of the world represent to the statist Left
• Second place with 3 votes – The Mellow Jihadi An Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, Korea, and Vietnam Vet
• Third place 2 2/3 votes – Joshuapundit- John Derbyshire And A Talk About Race
• Fourth place with 1 2/3 votes – The Colossus of Rhodey- Obama makes an “uncharacteristic” gaffe — not like G.W. Bush
• Fifth place *t* with 1 vote – The Noisy Room- Hiding Behind Names
• Fifth place *t* with 1 vote – The Political Commentator- North Korea Camp 14: Why rogue nations cannot be negotiated with!
• Sixth place *t* with 2/3 vote – Simply Jews- This is our dog, Peter Beinart!
• Sixth place *t* with 2/3 vote – The Razor – Prescription Abuse and the Legalization of Illicit Drugs
• Sixth place *t* with 2/3 vote – Rhymes With Right –Who Is More in Touch With Average Woman – Ann Or Michelle?
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote – VA Right! –Tax Loopholes? Let’s End the Biggest Loophole of All – the “Earned” Income Tax Credit
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote – GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – Pakistani Spring

Non-Council Winners

• First place with 3 votes! – Michael Totten- The Lost City submitted by Joshuapundit
• Second place with 2 2/3 votes – Jewish Mom.Com – Their Second Childhood: A Visit with the Fogel Orphans submitted by The Watcher
  
• Third place with 2 1/3 votes – Sultan Knish – We Are All George Zimmerman submitted by The Noisy Room
• Fourth place with 2 votes -Harry’s Place Ten Years Since Something That Never Happened: A Learning Moment for the Guardian submitted by Simply Jews
• Fifth place *t* with 1 vote –Dr. Melissa Clouthier – Information Pollination War On Women Wisconsin Edition: Slut Shaming Is Okay When Feminists Do It submitted by Rhymes With Right
• Fifth place *t* with 1 vote - Free Range International – All Clear submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• Sixth place *t* with 2/3 vote - TNR/Eric Trager –The Muslim Brotherhood’s Mendacious Charm Campaign in Washington submitted by The Watcher
• Sixth place *t* with 2/3 vote -The Right Scoop –The History of Political Correctness submitted by The Right Planet
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote -Truth Before Dishonor –Conservatives Understand Liberals submitted by The Colossus of Rhodey
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote -Townhall/John Hawkins –The Seven Most Disturbing Moments So Far in Barack Obama’s Presidency submitted by VA Right!
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote -Against The Grain –Obama, Not Holding the Center An Us-Against-Them Message Won’t Work In A Center-Right Country submitted by Gay Patriot
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote -The Agitator –The Zimmerman Indictment: Reactions submitted by The Razor
• Seventh place *t* with 1/3 vote -Front Page Magazine/Bruce BawerRemembering Mike Wallace submitted by Bookworm Room

See you next week! And don’t forget to follow and like us on Facebook and Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that!