[guest post by Dana]

Cecile Richards, president of the extremist group, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, is crying foul politics!:

Cecile Richards
✔@CecileRichards

“If you’re concerned about what’s going on, you should release all at once. Leaking one at a time, that’s politics.”

In the tweet, Richards links to a Wall Street Journal article in which the very definition of “ethicist” is rendered null and void by one Arthur Caplan* of the New York University School of Medicine who claims “the latest video doesn’t raise any red flags” and yet is nonetheless very troubled:

“What is bothering me is the leaking of the tapes one at a time,” he said. “If you’re concerned about what’s going on, you should release all at once. Leaking them one at a time, that’s politics. This type of water torture is to maximize political impact.”

Because there is nothing quite as torturous as waiting for yet another shoe of brutal truth to drop and expose you for the lawbreaking, depraved savage you really are, right? Not even that “less crunchy” torture comes close…

Anyway, Caplan is right in that there is very much a purpose behind the slow leak of the videos. It certainly maximizes the impact of Planned Parenthood’s baby harvesting scheme on the public conscience, as well as keeping the organization in the negative spotlight of their own making. Moreover, the slow leak provides no opportunity for Planned Parenthood to brush it all away, ignore it, or whitewash their barbaric butchery. They are kept off balance and unable to be in control and make a preemptive strike before the next video is released. Neatly, control remains beyond their well-financed reach. This is particularly problematic given that they know there are more videos to come and with no idea of what to expect or when to expect it, they will again find themselves at a disadvantage and in frantic damage control mode. The slow leak also maximizes the opportunity to push for defunding. And further, as more videos effectively show laws being violated , the greater the pressure on the DOJ to open an investigation into the extremist group.

Clearly Richards realizes that CMP’s strategy is working. Because that foul odor wafting through the air? It’s the smell of sheer desperation and fear.

*For the record, after watching the first PP video, Caplan expressed concerns that Planned Parenthood could be profiting from selling baby body parts and altering procedures in order to obtain tissue in the best condition possible, both of which are illegal.

–Dana

[guest post by Dana]

While President Obama continues making the rounds to sell his Iran deal to Congress, officials and the American people, Iran has been rather busy cleaning house:

The U.S. intelligence community has informed Congress of evidence that Iran was sanitizing its suspected nuclear military site at Parchin, in broad daylight, days after agreeing to a nuclear deal with world powers.

Reacting to the troubling news – which is not a violation of the agreement, but raises red flags about Iran’s intentions – officials expressed concern:

For senior lawmakers in both parties, the evidence calls into question Iran’s intention to fully account for the possible military dimensions of its current and past nuclear development. The International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran have a side agreement meant to resolve past suspicions about the Parchin site, and lawmakers’ concerns about it has already become a flashpoint because they do not have access to its text.

Intelligence officials and lawmakers who have seen the new evidence, which is still classified, told us that satellite imagery picked up by U.S. government assets in mid- and late July showed that Iran had moved bulldozers and other heavy machinery to the Parchin site and that the U.S. intelligence community concluded with high confidence that the Iranian government was working to clean up the site ahead of planned inspections by the IAEA.

Today found President Obama delivering a lengthy speech about the Iran deal at American University in Washington D.C. I read the full transcript so you wouldn’t have to. Here is a sampling so you can get the flavor of his speech:

I’ve had to make a lot of tough calls as president, but whether or not this deal is good for American security is not one of those calls, it’s not even close. Unfortunately, we’re living through a time in American politics where every foreign policy decision is viewed through a partisan prison, evaluated by headline-grabbing soundbites, and so before the ink was even dry on this deal, before Congress even read it, a majority of Republicans declared their virulent opposition.

…

But the notion that this will be a game-changer with all this money funneled into Iran’s pernicious activities misses the reality of Iran’s current situation.

Partly because of our sanctions, the Iranian government has over half a trillion dollars in urgent requirements, from funding pensions and salaries to paying for crumbling infrastructure.

Iran’s leaders have raised expectations of their people, that sanctions relief will improve their lives. Even a repressive regime like Iran’s cannot completely ignore those expectations, and that’s why our best analysts expect the bulk of this revenue to go into spending that improves the economy and benefits the lives of the Iranian people.

…

So let’s not mince words. The choice we face is ultimately between diplomacy or some form of war. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not three months from now, but soon.

…

In fact, it’s those hardliners who are most comfortable with the status quo. It’s those hardliners chanting “Death to America” who have been most opposed to the deal. They’re making common cause with the Republican Caucus.

The majority of the Iranian people have powerful incentives to urge their government to move in a different, less provocative direction, incentives that are strengthened by this deal. We should offer them that chance. We should give them the opportunity.

…

So to friends of Israel and the Israeli people, I say this. A nuclear armed Iran is far more dangerous to Israel, to America, and to the world than an Iran that benefits from sanctions relief.

I recognize that prime minister Netanyahu disagrees, disagrees strongly. I do not doubt his sincerity, but I believe he is wrong. I believe the facts support this deal. I believe they are in America’s interests and Israel’s interests, and as president of the United States it would be an abrogation of my constitutional duty to act against my best judgment simply because it causes temporary friction with a dear friend and ally.

I do not believe that would be the right thing to do for the United States, I do not believe it would be the right thing to do for Israel.

…

If Congress kills this deal, we will lose more than just constraints on Iran’s nuclear deal or the sanctions we have painstakingly built. We will have lost something more precious: America’s credibility as a leader of diplomacy. America’s credibility is the anchor of the international system.

–Dana