Like to laugh? Like to be informed? Then sign up for TheDC Morning email here.
1.) Meet America’s children — Some of them are vile. TheDC’s Robbie Soave reports:
“Ex-CIA director David Petraeus — now an adjunct professor at the City University of New York — had a rough first day of class: a student mob stalked him, hurling insults like ‘scumbag’ and ‘murderer.’ A video of the incident shows students verbally harassing Petraeus for one and a half minutes as he walked to class. They repeated ‘Petraeus out of CUNY’ over and over again. They also accused him of ignoring sexual assault in the military and having blood on his hands. ‘He is just nothing but a war criminal,’ said one protester. ‘Disgusting. He should be ashamed of himself, goddamn it.'”
Watch the video. It’s revolting. In a just America, David Petraeus would be in his legal right to kick the snot out of each and every one of those kids, which TheDC Morning suspects he could do with great ease. But this is yet another example in TheDC Morning’s long running series: Why the voting age needs to be raised.
2.) Moderate shmoderate — Those moderate Syrian rebels that the Obama administration and some Republicans keep telling you exist in Syria? Yea. Not so much. TheDC’s Jamie Weinstein reports:
“Jonathan Spyer says the moderate rebels in Syria the Obama administration has been touting are really Muslim Brotherhood-types who adhere to an Islamist ideology. Spyer should know. An academic who lives in Israel and studies the Middle East, he has traveled to and through Syrian rebel-controlled territory, reporting on what he saw for various publications. Asked by The Daily Caller to respond to a much-cited Wall Street Journal article by Elizabeth O’Bagy, which claimed ‘[m]oderate opposition forces … continue to lead the fight against the Syrian regime,’ Spyer said, ‘I can only speak regarding my own experiences and my own knowledge.’ ‘Undoubtedly outside of Syria, and in the Syrian opposition structures, there are civilian political activists and leaders who are opposed to al-Qaida and opposed to Islamism,’ Spyer explained to TheDC in an email interview. ‘There are also civilian activists and structures within the country which are opposed to al-Qaida and Islamism. But when one looks at the armed rebel groups, one finds an obvious vast majority there who are adherents of Islamism of one kind or another — stretching from Muslim Brotherhood-type formations all the way across to groups openly aligned with al-Qaida central and with al-Zawahiri.”
In the same way the Muslim Brotherhood is moderate in comparison to al-Qaida, Fidel Castro is moderate in comparison Stalin. That’s not particularly heartening.
3.) Cruzin’ the world — Ted Cruz gave a foreign policy address. You think he might be thinking of running for president? Jake Harris reports for TheDC:
“Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz condemned military action in Syria Wednesday while outlining his idea of a different U.S. foreign policy during his Jesse Helms lecture at the Heritage Foundation. Cruz outlined his three pillars of foreign policy: direct focus on protecting America’s national security and American interests, speaking with moral clarity, and always fighting to win. ‘Those are principles that when the United States has followed, [they] have protected the United States of America, and when we have deviated. … Things haven’t worked out well,’ Cruz said.”
4.) Jonestown for Korans — Terry “one trick pony” Jones is at it again. TheDC’s Patrick Howley reports:
“Florida pastor Terry Jones was arrested Wednesday evening while transporting materials to hold a Koran-burning ceremony. Jones was arrested on an unspecified felony charge, which has been reported as ‘transporting hazardous materials,’ after he was pulled over in Polk County with nearly 3,000 kerosene-soaked copies of the Koran in the bed of his pickup truck, which was towing a barbecue grill. … Jones announced plans on his website to burn 2,998 Korans on September 11, to commemorate the twelfth anniversary of terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.”
It’s not quite clear what Jones was arrested for. But what is clear is he ought to get a bit more original. We get it. You want attention. Get a life.
5.) Tweet of Yesterday — David Burge: Just a reminder: 9/11 wasn’t a “tragedy,” it was an atrocity.
6.) Today in North Korean News — BREAKING: “Art Performance Given by Kindergarteners”
VIDEO: Hysterical video wants you to help ‘kickstart’ World War III