GOP Attack Ad: Voting For Rand Paul Is Voting To Nuke American Families

Via Mediaite:

A new ad from former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton‘s Foundation for American Security and Freedom warns that if you vote for Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul, a cute suburban American family will be annihilated by a nuclear explosion. The ad is totally not a ripoff of a 1964 Lyndon B. Johnson campaign ad claiming that if Americans voted for Barry Goldwater, a little girl would be annihilated in a nuclear explosion.

LIVE VIDEO: Obama Defends Iran Deal

"President Obama delivers remarks on Wednesday about the Iran nuclear deal at American University, where President John F. Kennedy delivered a speech in 1963 on nuclear diplomacy."

UPDATE: I've replaced the live-stream with a recap.

Celebs Shill For Obama's Iran Deal

Cameo by Queen Noor of Jordan. Teabaggers are pouring into the comments at YouTube.

(Tipped by JMG reader David)

Obama Slams Huckabee And Trump

Jewish Groups Denounce Huckabee

Jewish groups have denounced Mike Huckabee after he made the above comment in an interview with Breitbart. MSNBC reports:

“Whatever one’s views of the nuclear agreement with Iran – and we have been critical of it, noting that there are serious unanswered questions that need to be addressed – comments such as those by Mike Huckabee suggesting the president is leading Israel to another Holocaust are completely out of line and unacceptable,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, in a statement.“To hear Mr. Huckabee invoke the Holocaust when America is Israel’s greatest ally and when Israel is a strong nation capable of defending itself is disheartening,” Greenblatt added. The National Jewish Democratic Council called on others in the Party to denounce Huckabee’s remarks, saying they “may be the most inexcusable we’ve encountered in recent memory.” “To state that President Obama is leading Israelis ‘to the door of the oven’ is not only disgustingly offensive to the President and the White House, but shows utter, callous disregard for the millions of lives lost in the Shoah and to the pain still felt by their descendants today,” the organization stated.

Huckabee has doubled-down on his comments in several follow-up tweets.

NEW YORK CITY: Thousands Rally In Times Square Against Iran Nuclear Deal

The Jerusalem Post reports:

An estimated 10,000 people turned out at New York's landmark Times Square on Wednesday in protest over the Iran nuclear deal signed last week. They urged the US Congress to reject the agreement brokered in Vienna to rein in Tehran's atomic program. Speakers at Wednesday's rally included New York's former governor George Pataki, Jerusalem Post senior contributing editor Caroline Glick, former Manhattan district attorney Robert M. Morgenthau, former congressman Allen West and Steven Emerson, founder of the Investigative Project on Terrorism. Pataki addressed the crowd, saying that "this isn't a bad deal, it's a God-awful deal, it must be rejected. Congress must do its job and stand up for the American people, stand up for our safety and say 'no' to this Iranian deal." Claiming that "we know what the outcome of this deal will be," Glick said that "our responsibility as free men and women is to stand up and ensure the security and continuity and strength and morality of the United States of America."

Cruz: Iran Is Getting Everything It Wants

Reality Show Star Slams Iran Deal

"Don’t say it’s unbelievable. Of course it’s believable. This is the world we live in today under American leadership that would surrender Israel’s security and our own. Don’t say it’s unbelievable. When Barack Obama warned voters he would “fundamentally transform America” and they voted for him anyway – twice – what was once the most powerful office in the world crumbled under perverted political ambition. I’ve always said, 'We can survive this President, but can we survive the people who voted for him a SECOND time?'  But after today, do you believe there is assurance we will survive this President? His wink and a nod to an evil regime hell-bent on destroying us just made his 'fundamental transformation' job a whole lot easier. We must build up the foundation again; rebuild the wall protecting our – and Israel’s – sovereignty. There are 554 days until we do that, by fundamentally restoring America. In the meantime, Congress, stop the madness. Do your job. Veto Obama’s act of capitulation. Take the white flag of surrender out of this President’s hand." - Foreign policy expert, nuclear physicist, and failed reality show cast member Sarah Palin, writing for Breitbart.

The Iran Deal Explained With Legos

"The 109-page Iran deal is filled with complicated details about how the Persian nation must limit its stockpiles of uranium and plutonium in order to secure sanction relief from the west. We explain it in 60 seconds, using Legos."

Iran Bans "Homosexual Hairstyles"

Via the Guardian:

“Homosexual” and “devil worshipping” hairstyles have been banned in Iran, alongside tattoos, sunbed treatments and plucked eyebrows for men, which are all deemed un-Islamic. The move – aimed at spiky cuts – follows a trend where, each summer, Iranian authorities get tough on men and women sporting clothing or hairdos seen as imitations of western lifestyles. In 2010, Iran banned ponytails, mullets and long, gelled hair for men, but allowed 1980s-style floppy fringes or quiffs. Iran’s moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, has spoken against such crackdowns, stating that the police’s duty is to implement the law and not enforce Islam. But hardliners have remained defiant.

Mostafa Govahi, the head of Iran’s barbers’ union, told the semi-official Isna news agency on Monday that fancifully spiked hairstyles were banned and those who styled them risked having their shops closed. He said: “Devil-worshipping hairstyles are forbidden. Any shop that cuts hair in the devil worshipping style will be harshly dealt with and their licence revoked. Tattoos, solarium treatments and plucking eyebrows [for men] are also forbidden.” Govahi said shops who imitate such “western hairstyles” or violate “the Islamic establishment’s regulations” would be shut down if they failed to take an initial warning seriously. “Usually the barber shops who do this do not have a licence. They have been identified and will be dealt with,” he said.

Iran is one of ten countries where homosexual acts are punishable by death.

Activist "Punks" Iranian Officials: "What's Your Favorite Way To Hang Gays?"

David Keyes, executive director of Advancing Human Rights, attempted to "punk" the New York City visit of Iran's foreign minister last week by staging a giveaway of ice cream and balloons to "celebrate" the 1000th hanging by the Iranian government. Via The Blaze:

Keyes said he uses comedy and satire to highlight human rights abuses, because “dictators fear humor.” Though Keyes didn’t get up close to the foreign minister, he did approach – armed with festive helium balloons in the red, green and white colors of the Iranian flag – Iran’s deputy foreign ministers Abbas Araghchi and Majid Takht Ravanchi. “Guys, how are you going to celebrate 2,000 hangings,” he asked as he walked alongside them. “What’s a favorite way to hang gay people, you think?” The Iranian officials appeared momentarily flustered by the display and apparently walked around the block in a circle, Keyes said. Keyes extended his hand for handshakes, but the Iranians didn’t take him up on the offer. As they entered their SUV, Keyes saw someone inside taking his picture. “Snapping pictures of me, that’s a little terrifying,” Keyes said.

(Tipped by JMG reader Gene)

Joe Biden & Blondie - Naked Men

From Brooklyn's Gregory Brothers. You'll like this. I'd really love to see Blondie turn this into a proper single.

LCR Slams Kerry On Iran Deal

The Log Cabin Republicans today published the above message in a full-page ad in Roll Call. Via press release:

“It is absolutely appalling that the negotiations taking place right now between the United States and the Iranian government have avoided any serious discussion of the horrendous human rights abuses taking place in Iran,” Log Cabin Republicans National Executive Gregory T. Angelo stated. “Given the reluctance of Democratic gay rights activists to ever level any criticism whatsoever against the Obama administration, and the absence of the brutal treatment of gays as well as women and Jews from United States diplomacy in this matter, it was incumbent upon Log Cabin Republicans to draw attention to this important issue. The deadline for a deal is looming, but it is not too late; Secretary Kerry can still make human rights an important part of these highly consequential negotiations. Anything that does not is a bad deal.”

Ted Cruz Defends Letter To Iran

Via Talking Points Memo:

"I guess the question I have first is, was the intention of the letter to get in the way of a negotiations as it is proved to?" Brzezinski asked Cruz. "Look, the intention of the letter was two things. Number one, to defend our national security. I think this deal that is being negotiated by the Obama administration is profoundly dangerous," he said. Brzezinski interrupted: "So it was intended to get in the way of the deal?" "It was intended to stop a bad deal," he shot back. "Absolutely." The two went back and forth as Brzezinski repeatedly brought Cruz back to the results the letter was having on the nuclear talks. "To interfere with a negotiation with Iran and to actually possibly even undermine a deal in the making? Basically the next step to that is to just get right down the road to war," she said.

Today's New York Daily News

Via Talking Point Memo:

The New York Daily News on Tuesday used its front page to condemn Republican senators for signing an open letter to Iran warning that a potential nuclear deal could be null once President Barack Obama is out of office. The tabloid's front page prominently featured Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Rand Paul (R-KY). It also branded the 47 senators who signed the letter as "traitors" who tried to "sabotage" the President's nuclear negotiations.

Twitchy is very upset about this.

UPDATE: JMG reader Chris sends us an interesting post from The Week:

The next time Republicans in the Senate try to explain treaties and the U.S. Constitution to Iranian officials, they may want to pick someone other than a foreign minister with a masters and PhD in international relations from the University of Denver, plus two degrees from San Francisco State University. Javad Zarif, who is also Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, responded to a letter from Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and 46 other GOP senators with an explainer of his own. Not only are the senators shaky on their own Constitution's separation of powers, Zarif wrote, according to Iran's Tasnim News Agency, but "the authors may not fully understand that in international law, governments represent the entirety of their respective states, are responsible for the conduct of foreign affairs, are required to fulfill the obligations they undertake with other states, and may not invoke their internal law as justification for failure to perform their international obligations." That's important, Zarif added, because "the conduct of inter-state relations is governed by international law, and not by U.S. domestic law."

Protesters Demonstrate Outside Capitol As Netanyahu Addresses Congress

Crazy Eyes To Obama: Bomb Iran

"I turned to the president and I said, something to the effect of, ‘Mr. President, you need to bomb the Iranian nuclear facilities, because if you don’t, Iran will have a nuclear weapon on your watch and the course of world history will change.' And he got his condescending smile on his face and laughed at me and said, 'Well Michele, it’s just not that easy.' And I said to him, 'No, Mr. President, you’re the president, it will happen on your watch, and you’ll have to answer to the world for this.' And that was it and then I left. Merry Christmas." - Soon to be former Rep. Michele Bachmann, speaking to the president at the White House holiday party.

Today In Crazy People

"President Palling Around With Terrorists: Good God, Mr. President. To partner with Iran is to trust the enemy, which is insane. Iran has complicity in the rise of ISIS as it supports radical militias and arms Islamic terrorists. You've been the luckiest man in the world, in an un-American Democracy sort of way, to have had the liberal media in your lap allowing you to execute the least transparent presidency in history while they mock and destroy your critics for you. Until now. Even they must see that without accountability you are leading us into very, very dangerous territory.

"In the 2008 campaign Sen. McCain and I warned, on behalf of every reasonable person, that your willingness to negotiate with terrorists would get Americans killed; that pulling an anti-Reagan move by taking our Big Stick of strength and putting it in the hands of any foe could be insurmountably devastating for our allies. Iran is one of Israel's staunchest enemies. Mr. President, who is advising you to come against Israel? What is wrong with you, Barack Obama? You can not pal around with terrorists and expect us to survive." - Sarah Palin, who clearly wasn't reading newspapers in the 80s either.

Iranian Leader Uses Ferguson To Denounce Race Relations In United States

IRAN: 17% Of Students Identify As Gay In Survey Conducted By Government

From the Economist:

An 82-page document recently issued by Iran’s parliamentary research department is stark in its findings. Not only are young adults sexually active, with 80% of unmarried females having boyfriends, but secondary-school pupils are, too. Illicit unions are not just between girls and boys; 17% of the 142,000 students who were surveyed said that they were homosexual. In Tehran, the capital, long known for its underground sex scene, chastity is plainly becoming less common. The scope and pace of change are challenging the government and posing a headache for the clerics who dispense guidance at Friday prayers. The report is also a rare official admission of the unspoken accord in Iran: people can do what they want so long as it takes place behind closed doors. Parliament’s researchers, on this occasion, were allowed to say the unsayable.