Random links of interest, concern or curiosity from the past week or so, that deserve at least a SHORT mention:

 
No, it’s not just our imagination. All told – In 2014, Obama has been late by more than 35 hours ~ Detailed study on the president’s tardiness. On average, he’s kept others waiting 11 minutes. Yes, it’s good to be king.
 
US is Bankrupt: $89.5 Trillion in US Liabilities vs. $82 Trillion in Household Net Worth & The Gap is Growing ~
If you add it all up…

Liabilities include: Treasury debt held by the public or more broadly total Treasury debt outstanding. There’s unfunded liabilities like Medicare and Social Security.
And then the assets: all the real estate, all the equities, all the bonds, all the deposits…all at today’s valuations…

… it ain’t pretty.
 
‘Unending stream of mindless bile’: James Woods retweets liberal followers ~ The actor shared a slew of venomous tweets he recently received from angry anti-Semites. Illustrative of the ignorant profanity fostered by radical Leftist indoctrination.
 
Hamas’ disturbing ‘human shields’ manual ~

The Israeli military said it has captured a Hamas manual on urban warfare — called “Introduction to the City War” — that extols the benefits of civilian deaths and openly admits that Israel tries to avoid them […]
 
“The destruction of civilian homes: This increases the hatred of the citizens toward the attackers and increases their gathering around [to support] the city defenders,” the manual said, according to the IDF.

 
And yet, there are many voices of sanity among the terror-state (unfortunately, not the loudest ones) who recognize true evil when they see it ~ ‘Allah Curse Them!’ Gazans’ Harsh Words for Hamas ~

A poll taken days before the conflict started found that 70 percent of Gazans supported better relations with the Jewish state […]
 
“The government in Gaza doesn’t do anything. Even on the radio, they don’t talk about how we are suffering. May Allah curse them!”
 
“We need peace with the Jewish people, good relations, not war.”

 
The Truth about Gaza ~ Charles Krauthammer provides a refreshing dose of Middle East reality.

 
Vietnam Communists call for democracy, shift away from China ~ At first I thought this was an Onion (satirical) article – but no – it’s legit ~

Sixty-one prominent members of Vietnam’s Communist Party, including a former ambassador to Beijing, urged Vietnam’s leadership in an open letter to change its political system, “develop a truly democratic, law-abiding state,” allow for greater freedom of political speech and “escape” from its reliance on China.

Wow. If only they had figured this out decades ago. The American blood and treasure we could have saved…
 
Libertarian Folly: Why Everybody is a Social-issues Voter ~ Still think it’s possible to exist intellectually with two separate sets of values? Excellent article by Selwyn Duke at American Thinker succinctly explains the fallacies behind that concept ~

…the way to determine if one’s principles are sound is by seeing if they can be consistently applied. For instance, if someone claims he never judges others, it’s legitimate to ask whether he remains uncritical even of Nazis and KKK members; that puts the lie to his self-image. And any thinking person lives an examined life and tries to hone his principles […]
 
After all, what are “social issues”? What are we actually talking about? We’re speaking of moral issues, which, again, thoroughly modern millie would say should be kept out of politics. But this is impossible. For the truth is that every just law is an imposition of morality or a corollary thereof — every one.