Monthly Archives: April 2009
‘A Chilling Effect on U.S. Counterterrorism’
Last week, PG stated unequivocally that the release of the so called “torture memos” have “damaged the country.” There is no question that Obama will be walking a tight rope with no net on this issue. PG correctly pointed out that Obama has backpedaled on his commitment to not prosecute over the matter, demoralized the intelligence community, polarized the country, and emboldened our enemies.
Not to be outdone, resident naysayer and thorn-in-the-side of conservatives, Phoenecian (Phooey), challenged PG to come up with evidence that supported PG’s assertion that the intelligence community was “demoralized.” The exchange proceeded as such:
Phooey: Cite your sources, please. (Hint hint: anecdotes are not data)
PG: dude, should I just give a bad link like you do, with demonstrably misleading information, or should I provide real support? Here is one Phooey… *PG then went on to post two more
Phooey: Hint hint: anecdotes are not data. Also hint hint – the directors do not always speak for the workers.
PG: What part of its “my observation of the available comments” do you not understand son. I gave you some of those comments. If you fail grasp that I can not help you. If you disagree with that then that’s fine with me Phooey. If you can find comments contrary to my position then more the better. If you find my argument unsupported that is all cake to me.
Well, unfortunately for the United States, it appears that PG actually knows what he is talking about. Global Intelligence think tank Stratfor writers Fred Burton and Scott Stewart had this to say about the topic:
Politics and moral arguments aside, the end effect of the memos’ release is that people who have put their lives on the line in U.S. counterterrorism efforts are now uncertain of whether they should be making that sacrifice. Many of these people are now questioning whether the administration that happens to be in power at any given time will recognize the fact that they were carrying out lawful orders under a previous administration. It is hard to retain officers and attract quality recruits in this kind of environment. It has become safer to work in programs other than counterterrorism.
The memos’ release will not have a catastrophic effect on U.S. counterterrorism efforts. Indeed, most of the information in the memos was leaked to the press years ago and has long been public knowledge. However, when the release of the memos is examined in a wider context, and combined with a few other dynamics, it appears that the U.S. counterterrorism community is quietly slipping back into an atmosphere of risk-aversion and malaise — an atmosphere not dissimilar to that described by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9/11 Commission) as a contributing factor to the intelligence failures that led to the 9/11 attacks.
If you care about our counterterrorism efforts, you must read the entire link. It is a fascinating, non-partisan look at how legal and political considerations may be trumping our ability to effectively fight terror abroad.
Political Calculations: Meet “The Rich”
Political Calculations: Meet “The Rich”.
President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party majority in the U.S. Congress are committed to allowing the federal income tax relief first passed in 2001 to expire after 2010, which will result in nearly everyone’s tax rates in the U.S. rising when they do. Our question today: Which taxpayers are going to get shafted the most when that happens?
Those that earn between $30,650 and 154.800 are going to be providing the lions share of the new revenue generated by this reset in tax codes. Remember though, this “expiration” will not count as a tax increase.
Thursday Crude Humor
Offended by foul language? Don’t click play. Like to laugh a whole bunch? Enjoy some Onion news!
GOP set to launch rebranding effort
Coming soon to a battleground state near you: a new effort to revive the image of the Republican Party and to counter President Obama’s characterization of Republicans as “the party of ‘no.’”
CNN has learned that the new initiative, called the National Council for a New America, will be announced Thursday.
It will involve an outreach by an interesting mix of GOP officials, ranging from 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain to Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and the younger brother of the man many Republicans blame for the party’s battered brand: former President George W. Bush.
In addition to Sen. McCain and Gov. Bush, GOP sources familiar with the plans tell CNN others involved in the new group’s “National Panel Of Experts” will include:
*Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a former national GOP chairman
*Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal
*Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt RomneyIt will report to GOP congressional leaders, and among those signing the announcement that will be made public Thursday are:
*House GOP Leader John Boehner
*House GOP Whip Eric Cantor
*House GOP Conference Chairman Mike Pence
*Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell
*The No. 2 Senate Republican, Jon Kyl
*And the Senate GOP Conference Chairman, Lamar Alexander
Dave’s Quote of the Day
The Specter of change
“In finally abandoning the Republican Party, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter showed his true colors not just ideologically, but personally. It’s all about the liberal Specter maximizing his own power. The climax Tuesday of Arlen Specter’s long, drawn-out betrayal of his party may seem like it came out of nowhere — especially since it was only last month that he said he’d seek re-election as a Republican. But why be shocked when a hardened Machiavellian does what comes naturally after doing the math? As a Democrat, Sen. Specter will now be Washington’s king power broker, since he is poised to be the 60th vote for Democrats in the U.S. Senate, constituting a filibuster-proof majority at a time when the federal government is undergoing an unprecedented expansion in size and power. No one is falling for Specter’s hand-wringing rationale that “since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right.” He was just as uncomfortable with Reaganism back then as he is now, all along relishing his role as RINO — Republican In Name Only — whose vote was up for sale. … As vote No. 60 in the World’s Greatest Deliberative Body (assuming vote No. 59 belongs to comedian Al Franken of Minnesota), Specter will be owed an incalculable debt by congressional Democrats and President Obama. There will be no threats of party discipline against him on the occasions when he votes with Republicans, no warnings that campaign funds will be kept from him. … Each and every big vote in the Senate will be a bargaining opportunity for Specter. Riches and favors will be showered upon him for the power he prostitutes. … Reserve a space for a new addition to history’s Rogues’ Gallery.”
From now until eternity, the term “Specter Republican” will be dirty word. And considered a great insult. What a legacy.
The Extortion Economy
Troy Senik, formerly of the Center for Individual Freedom has written a terrific column detailing the true extent of the government takeover of the economy and of private businesses, and how they are extorting those they can’t seize.
Last fall, as the U.S. economy seemed to be issuing its death rattle, a representative from Credit Suisse received a call from the Federal Reserve. The Fed, the voice on the other end chirped, was calling to congratulate the international financial giant on its prudence, Credit Suisse having admirably avoided becoming enmeshed in the subprime mortgage debacle. Bureaucracies not typically being in the business of issuing gold stars, the call was out of character.
The Fed’s representative continued, “Now we’ll need you to buy up some of the toxic assets”. But why would Credit Suisse do that, their employee asked, when they were one of the few major financial firms wise enough to avoid the investments in the first place? The Fed’s response was chilling: “Because someday you’ll need us”.
Welcome to the extortion economy.
Card check personified
For better or worse, one of the results of living in the digital age today is that there is no political speech, no event, and no rally that is attended solely by “your kind.” There are always going to be political operatives lurking at political events with a camera attempting to capture that ‘gotcha’ moment. Matt Milner is one of those operatives for the Colorado Republican party.
At an AFL-CIO townhall event here in Denver, Senator Michael Bennet was the guest speaker. He was being “tracked” by Milner. Then the goons came out:
The 5-foot-6-inch Milner found himself surrounded as the event wound down, he said.
“This hulking guy comes flying at me, and he’s yelling ‘Who are you with?’ There’s a flurry of F-words,” Milner said. “They circled around me. I’d try to move, and they’d move to block my path.”
Cerbo, one of the five men who spoke to Milner after Bennet’s speech, disputed that version of events Sunday. He said the young interloper was aggressive and tried to provoke a confrontation, though he declined to say how.
“He came in uninvited. . . . I’d call him a trespasser,” Cerbo said. “He didn’t get the incident he wanted, so he’s clearly lying about what happened.”
By Cerbo’s recollection, Milner offered to erase his tape because he hadn’t been invited to the event. Milner says he was barred from leaving until he agreed to erase the recording and that one of the men briefly took his camera to make sure it was.
So at a public union gathering, thugs surround a guy and make him erase his video of our own Senator. What do you suppose will happen when these same goons hand someone a card to sign?
Employee free choice my ass!
Dude she played the Reagan card!
There is no plausible scenario under which Republicans can grow into a majority while shrinking our ideological confines and continuing to retract into a regional party. Ideological purity is not the ticket back to the promised land of governing majorities — indeed, it was when we began to emphasize social issues to the detriment of some of our basic tenets as a party that we encountered an electoral backlash.
It is for this reason that we should heed the words of President Ronald Reagan, who urged, “We should emphasize the things that unite us and make these the only ‘litmus test’ of what constitutes a Republican: our belief in restraining government spending, pro-growth policies, tax reduction, sound national defense, and maximum individual liberty.” He continued, “As to the other issues that draw on the deep springs of morality and emotion, let us decide that we can disagree among ourselves as Republicans and tolerate the disagreement.”
Senator Olympia Snowe, Republican, Maine
She and Ronald are right.
It’s like ‘Mission Accomplished’ only more pathetic and self serving
- I think I might have cle
ared a skyscraper too
What would the reaction be if this had happened last July during Bush’s final months? I don’t suppose Huffpo and Kos threads would light up, right?
On Monday morning, one of the 747s used to ferry around the U.S. president was dispatched to the Statue of Liberty, escorted by a fighter jet. Assignment: Get some fresh glamour shots of the plane.
The Air Force said the flight needed to remain confidential. So while New York police knew about it, as did at least one person in the mayor’s office, regular New Yorkers remained in the dark.
As a result, to onlookers Monday all across downtown Manhattan — where the World Trade Center once stood — the photo shoot looked like a terrorist attack. People watched in horror as a massive aircraft, trailed closely by an F-16 fighter jet, banked and roared low near the city, in a frightening echo of the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
Fearing the worst, thousands of people streamed out of the skyscrapers and into the streets. Some buildings ordered evacuations. “Oh God, it was mayhem in here, just mayhem,” says Rubin Shimon, manager of Styling Haircutters, a barbershop near Ground Zero. Many people took shelter in the shop to call loved ones on their cellphones.
It should be noted that when Bush landed on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, he never set off mass panic. But it may demonstate just how trivial the Obama Administration takes the threat of terrorism today. In light of the Obama repudiation of Bush’s anti-terrorism policies, look for the American public to quickly grow tired of Obama should, God forbid, terror reach our shores once again.
No shock here: Specter switches parties
From MSNBC:Veteran Republican Sen. Arlen Specter announced Tuesday that he is switching parties, a move would give Democrats a filibuster-proof 60 seats if Al Franken is seated in the Minnesota race.
“I have decided to run for re-election in 2010 in the Democratic primary,” the Pennsylvania senator said in a statement.
“I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans,” Specter said, adding that the “change in party affiliation does not mean that I will be a party-line voter any more for the Democrats that I have been for the Republicans.”
Actually, Specter has been a consistent party line voter for the Dems for quite some time.
The bottom line is that Specter has been a disgrace to the GOP for some time and belongs with his cohorts on the left.
E-mail me when it is over
After watching “24″, re-watching I Am Legend, and listening to news reports about the rapidly spreading Swine flu I am putting iron shutters on all the windows, fortifying the bunker, and taking potshots at all the neighbors. Somebody e-mail me when it is safe to come out. And so this post is not a completely useless I give you:
Newt to Waxman: The Government should not be punishing the American People
YouTube – Newt Battles Rep Waxman (D) On Global Warming.
Senator Waxman: ”Mr. Gingrich, I am sure glad you’re not in charge of foreign policy. Do you think the only way to incentivize the country is by offering them more and more carrots. You have got to have some threat and sometimes you have to say incentivize you, we are going to give you some assistance, but there are going to be consequences.”
Mr. Gingrich: ” Mr. Chairman, I don’t think of American citizens the way I think of foreign dictators. And I don’t think this Congress should punish the American people. I think this Congress has every right to reward the American people, but I don’t think Lincoln’s government of the people, by the people, for the people should be turned into a government punishing the people..”
What a farce this whole Waxman-Markey Global Warming Bill/Earth Day party testimony turned out to be. It seems as if the old “If you’re not with us you are against us” policy is being recycled by the liberal democrats for use on “climate change” policy. But getting the bill through the House in it’s current form will never happen. Dems are already hedging their bets.
To Texas Republicans: You Guys Are Freakin’ Nuts
QUESTION: Do you think Texas would be better off as an independent nation or as part of the United States of America?
US IND NOT SURE
DEMOCRATS 82 15 3
REPUBLICANS 48 48 4
INDEPENDENTS 55 40 5
Hate to cite Kos here, but he’s right, and saner than some:
Ft. Hood, and it’s $6 billion impact in central Texas, would be an economic boon to Detroit or any number of other economically depressed American regions. What, do the secessionists think they could keep those American military bases on their newly sovereign soil?
How about the $2.5 billion that NASA pumps directly into salaries of employees and contractors in the Houston area, not to mention anciliary economic benefits and the prestige of having one of the premier space facilities in the world? The American patriots in New Mexico would be more than happy to take that off Texas’ hands!
More than that, I presume the plan would be to create a tax-free shelter for Americans to keep their money. Unfortunately, I foresee much tougher restrictions going through the newly filibuster-free Congress. And seeing as Texas would not be part of any NAFTA style agreement, I don’t think Texas’s good fortune with jobs would last much longer as a soveeign state. But I hope that I’m creating a strawman here and that I find some support in at least stating that Texas should NOT secede from the union to protest one American president they don’t like.
The Perils of the Reply Button
Don’t remember if I posted this here before or not, but it’s worth reposting. Whenever I get into a heated discussion with someone about something, I think back to this cartoon from XKCD and generally try to calm downn. I’m sure at least a couple of people here can relate.
Earth day: so the self-important can feel good
An Infidel babe of the day?
I despise being told what I should care about and I hate the notion that someone elses alarmist rhetoric is my problem. That is why I hold earth day and global warming nutjobs in rational contempt. Perhaps the greatest marketing coup over the past decade has come from the Al Gores of the world convincing us all that we are in immenent danger from environmental catastrophe. Somehow they have managed to convince the self-loathing western democracies that their behavior needs to change. In reality, they are convincing the west to commit political, social and economic suicide. They are impolitely asking the west to step aside so the third world can assume the role of polluters, population boomers, and economic leaders. And why? Because we should have some guilt complex associated with our polluting habits.
But the reality is often quite different from the truth. I would say that the environmental stewardship of our own ‘Farmer Dave’ or fisherman Hairy Beast is equal to that of the self-annointed nannies. And despite the notion that only aggressive economic engineering at the hands of the social democracies of the world can save mother earth, I believe that capitalism has done quite well. Consider the following editorial in IBD:
Buried beneath all the badgering and fear-mongering about lavish Western lifestyles is a reality that the stuck-on-green left won’t talk about and the average American isn’t aware of: The world, especially in developed nations, is a cleaner — and greener — place than it was when the environmental movement began.
Every year Steven Hayward, a scholar at the Pacific Research Institute and the American Enterprise Institute, compiles his Index of Leading Environmental Indicators. And every year, his findings contradict the alarmists’ warnings that the world is on the edge of environmental cataclysm.
From evidence “that tropical rain forests may now be expanding faster than they are being cut down” to the improving health of U.S. ocean fisheries to better outdoor air quality in American cities with the worst air pollution, Hayward shows there’s more to be optimistic about than there is to be troubled about.
The Environmental Protection Agency has also published its own Report on the environment. Last year’s report, the most recent, indicates outdoor air quality has improved, there’s been a net gain in wetland acreage, public-source drinking-water problems are uncommon and forest land is expanding after declining for a century.
Despite the gains, the dupes will still feel angry at capitalism because a hurricane strikes some coast. They will still volutarily sit in the dark for an hour just to prove they can. They will still believe that creating stagnation in western economies will keep the poor polar bears alive. And they will still celebrate a ‘Holy day’ that teaches children what they should already be taught at home: throw away your trash, be a good steward of all things, and play nice.
Happy earth day suckers!
The Return of Farmer Dave
Yes, it is nearly that time again. In about a week one can start planting seedlings, and even seeds, directly into the home garden. This year I decided to try something I really haven’t done much of in the past; starting seeds inside weeks before planting season.
As with all my projects, I tend to go a bit overboard at the beginning. I managed to severely underestimate the germination success of my tomato seeds. And that’s putting it mildly. I now more than 60 individual tomato plants growing all over the place in the house. I have three under-the-counter lights in the kitchen and a ten gallon empty aquarium with a plant grow light which are all crowded with loads of seedlings. I also have started multiple types of pumpkins, about 8-10 different types of gourds (all from self-harvested seeds from last years crop), a dozen or so cucumbers as well as zucchini and cantaloupe. I have also managed to successfully grow some Columbine and Habiscus plants from seed we harvested last year and have started other varieties of flowers from seed including Snap Dragons and Morning Glories. I finally had to rig a low-slung, four foot shop light out in the garage to handle the crowding situation. It is now an out of control plant area as well.
I easily have a hundred plants that I dutifully care for and water, transplant etc. as the case is called for. If I cared for my children as well as I do a cherry tomato, they’d all be walking, talking college degree prodigies by now. And my children haven’t helped either. Libby brought home a sprouting lima bean, watermelon seed and pumpkin seed from kindergarten that of course had to be planted and are actually growing nicely and my middle child Rachel (age nine) brought home a cabbage plant from school. It just won’t stop. I even have old potatoes growing sprouts in the kitchen window at the moment which will eventually be chopped up and used as seed potatoes in the not so distant future. I already doubled my strawberry patch much earlier in March by transplanting quite a number of errant runner plants and the like that could easily be moved into the new area. I have lettuce, radishes and carrots in the ground even as we speak.
I might have a problem.
A little community garden (The Grace Fellowship Victory Garden) committee at church has now tapped into my dilemma, drafted me as a garden consultant, and will be utilizing my small forest of tomatoes and other starter vegetables to help get their project going. So it all worked out for the best. I have also received permission from the pastor (I have an “in”, he’s my father) to sell some excess veggie seedlings on Mother’s Day at church. The profits from this I will in turn use as some seed money to help fund my own little offshoot efforts for Operation Christmas Child in the fall.
All in all, my compulsive planting syndrome will not have been in vain. Instead it will have been used to help at least two other efforts designed to help some who are less fortunate than myself. In fact, recent developments have spurred a new round of seed planting by myself as I must now not only have enough cucumbers, zucchinis and pumpkins plants for myself and a community garden, but to sell at a fundraiser as well.
Both my grandfathers loved growing things. One loved to grow crops and one loved to landscape and grow flowers, shrubs and the like. Both were accomplished in their chosen hobbies. My dad blames them for my green thumb, or so he told me two Sundays ago. I like to believe it was not my fault that the house I chose to purchase already had a 14′ by 40′ garden plot included.
Now if I rig TWO shop lights in the garage how many seedlings could I grow next year????
So what is the point?
Cost-benefit analysis more appropriate in light of recent “torture” memos
Looking more smug than correct, Wes made the following observations the other day:
Nobody’s going to mention that we can now verify that the US created very detailed procedures for torturing people? Or that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was waterboarded not once, not thrice, but at least 183 times in one month? Not to say he didn’t deserve it, but still, that not only is unquestionably severe torture, that’s also pretty much proof that torture doesn’t really work to deliver quick, actionable intelligence. Or at least was definitely not part of anywhere near a sort of “ticking time bomb” scenario.
The news of the memos didn’t really shock me for its content nor for its barbarity. In fact, the memos show that we are a nation of laws that struggles in dealing with the lawless. Certainly we would never, and can never, treat our own accused citizens in this way. But while others define torture through the lens of a camcorder with a serated knife sawing someones head off, we continue to be a nation of laws debating reasonable ways to get actionable intel from those who do not abide by laws.
Our “torture” techniques are certainly arguable. But at Gitmo we maintained a standard to ensure that the techniques wouldn’t cause severe mental pain or suffering. For example, only Americans would torture with a physician on duty; in case a waterboarded suspect didn’t regain consciousness. Only Americans would consider “walling” a terrorist by wrapping a towel around his neck to guard against whiplash before slamming him against a “flexible, false wall.” And only Americans would torture using bugs ensuring that they make it clear to the detainee that the bug doesn’t sting.
In some cases, the memos address specific interrogation plans. When the CIA proposed putting an Al Qaeda suspect in a small box with an insect, the Justice Department endorsed the idea but added conditions it said were necessary to keep the agency from violating the international convention against torture.
“If you do so . . . you must inform him that the insects will not have a sting that would produce death or severe pain,” said a 2002 memo sent to the CIA’s acting general counsel. A footnote clarified that the CIA never carried out the insect interrogation plan.
Ultimately, if we are going to release memos that are political and designed to provide fodder for the perpetually outraged, then Dick Cheney is absolutely correct in saying that we need to release the positive intelligence we were able to gain from these methods. Rather than listening to President Obama engaging in the knee-jerk, “this is horrible and someone must be prosecuted” reaction, the public has a right to know if these interrogation techniques were valuable and what type of domestic terror activity was averted because of them.
Instead of being treated to a valuable debate on the future of rough interrogation on lawless terrorists, we will be subjected our own form of intellectual torture. That torture will come in the form of grandstanding by those who trip over themselves to condemn rough interrogations of people who want to destroy the west.
“Barack, I know Abe Lincoln, and you’re no Abe Lincoln.”
So I said to him, "Barack, I know Abe Lincoln, and you're no Abe Lincoln."
So…
Nobody’s going to mention that we can now verify that the US created very detailed procedures for torturing people? Or that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was waterboarded not once, not thrice, but at least 183 times in one month? Not to say he didn’t deserve it, but still, that not only is unquestionably severe torture, that’s also pretty much proof that torture doesn’t really work to deliver quick, actionable intelligence. Or at least was definitely not part of anywhere near a sort of “ticking time bomb” scenario. Even Jack Bauer wouldn’t be a party to this.
P.S., does this mean that every person who has willingly subjected themselves to waterboarding and given in after a minute or so is profoundly weaker than a man like KSM, or is this just further proof of exactly how cold and barbaric this system was? If this caused unbearable agony in people after one occasion, one can’t even imagine what 183 times would be like. Well, maybe John McCain could.
I hope you had a great Patriot’s Day…
“You and I know and do not believe that life is so dear and peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery. If nothing is worth dying for, when did this begin? Should Moses have told the children of Israel to live in slavery under the pharaohs? Should Christ have refused the cross? Should the patriots of Concord Bridge have thrown down their guns and refused to fire the shot heard round the world?”
—Ronald Reagan (1964)
Turning Tables…
…U.S. Troops Ambush Taliban With Swift and Lethal Results
From The New York Times:
By C. J. CHIVERS
KORANGAL OUTPOST, Afghanistan — Only the lead insurgents were disciplined as they walked along the ridge. They moved carefully, with weapons ready and at least five yards between each man, the soldiers who surprised them said.
Behind them, a knot of Taliban fighters walked in a denser group, some with rifles slung on their shoulders — “pretty much exactly the way we tell soldiers not to do it,” said Specialist Robert Soto, the radio operator for the American patrol.
If these insurgents came close enough, the soldiers knew, the patrol could kill them in a batch.
Fight by fight, the infantryman’s war in Afghanistan is often waged on the Taliban’s terms. Insurgents ambush convoys and patrols from high ridges or long ranges and slip away as the Americans, weighed down by equipment, return fire and call for air and artillery support. Last week a patrol from the First Infantry Division reversed the routine.
An American platoon surprised an armed Taliban column on a forested ridgeline at night, and killed at least 13 insurgents, and perhaps many more, with rifles, machine guns, Claymore mines, hand grenades and a knife.
The one-sided fight, fought on the slopes of the same mountain where a Navy Seal patrol was surrounded in 2005 and a helicopter with reinforcements was shot down, does not change the war. It was one of hundreds of firefights that have occurred in the Korangal Valley, an isolated region where local insurgents and the Americans have been locked in a bitter stalemate for more than three years.
But as accounts of the fight have spread, the ambush, on Good Friday, has become an emotional rallying point for soldiers in Kunar Province, who have seen it as a both a validation of their equipment and training and a welcome bit of score-settling in an area that in recent years has claimed more American lives than any other.
The patrol, 30 soldiers from the First Battalion, 26th Infantry, had left this outpost before noon on April 10, and spent much of the day climbing a ridge on the opposite side of the Korangal River, according to interviews with more than half the participants.
Once the soldiers reached the ridge’s crest, almost 6,000 feet above sea level on the side of a peak called Sautalu Sar, they found fresh footprints on the trails, and parapets of rock from where Taliban fighters often fire rifles and rocket-propelled grenades down onto this outpost.
The platoon leader, Second Lt. Justin Smith, selected a spot where trails intersected, and the platoon dug shallow fighting holes before dark. Claymore antipersonnel mines were set among the trees nearby.
At sunset, Lieutenant Smith called for a period of absolute silence, which lasted into darkness. Then he ordered three scouts to sit in a listening post about 100 yards away, 10 feet off the trail.
The scouts set in. Less than a half-minute later, a column of Taliban fighters appeared, walking briskly their way.
Sgt. Zachary R. Reese, a sniper, whispered into his radio. “We have eight enemy personnel coming down on our position really fast,” he said. He could say no more; the Taliban fighters were a few feet away.
Saturday Night Rock: NIN-Sunspots
Cool visualization of the NASA Mars Exploration Rover set to an NIN song.
Just a matter of time
“Blessed be the LORD my strength which
teacheth my hands to war,
and my fingers to fight.”-Psalm 144:1
The Ice Sheet is Breaking…The Sky is Falling…The Roof is on Fire
News that the Wilkins Ice Sheet in Antarctica was shattering bounced around the news and the blogosphere during the past few weeks. This earth ice shattering announcement led U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to pronounce
With the collapse of an ice bridge that holds in place the Wilkins Ice Shelf we are reminded that global warming has already had enormous affects on our planet and we have no time to lose in tackling this crisis
Expect the MSM to continue to bang this drum during the build up to the Climate Conference in Copenhagen scheduled for December. The EPA announcement today brings us one step closer to climate change legislation. You can count on some new regulations being slammed through Congress before December to “prove” to the world that we have seen the light (and plan to turn it off!)
But take another look at that Wilkins news. It seems as if the shocking photo posted by The Guardian is the exact same photo used in an article by MSNBC
almost one year earlier.
One might think so what, even if the photos are the same, they still show the ice shelf breaking away. True, but maybe the cause is not the warming of air…
In the media reports shown at the start of this document, the recycled picture shows shear failure of the ice slabs indicating that it is not caused by melting due to warming in the air – the weakness of the ice shelf structure is from thinning ice due to warmer local sea temperatures below.
This is an annual event caused by the warmer sea water flow in this part of the Antarctic peninsula. Check out the Wilkins link and draw your own conclusions. Who is running the con game??
Friday Night Punk – Pixies – “Isla de Encanta”
Spanish-language punk edition since our government is on a Central American holiday. Great song.
A PSA from TDS
Call it a friendly reminder, call it a warning, call it tough love, whatever. But step back and look at what is actually happening here. I know most of the time, you don’t actually watch these. Which is fine, I often don’t watch yours. But take a few minutes. It makes an important point and it even gets in a good dig at MSNBC at the end.
More reaction on the DHS smearing of “the Right”
Pro-Life Advocates Blast Obama Admin Document Saying Pro-Lifers May Engage in Extremism
“This is an outrageous characterization that raises serious questions about the leadership and direction of the agency charged with protecting Americans in the ongoing battle against terrorism,” Jay Seulow, the president and chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, told LifeNews.com on Wednesday.
Sekulow said the document sparks questions about whether the Obama administration is turning the work of some key government agencies into political witch hunts.
Republicans criticize report on right-wing groups
“To characterize men and women returning home after defending our country as potential terrorists is offensive and unacceptable,” said Boehner, R-Ohio.
The commander of the veterans group the American Legion, David Rehbein, wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano expressing concern with the assessment, which made its way into the mainstream press after conservative bloggers got wind of the analysis.
Wednesday is TEA Day
Wednesday is tax day, and TEA (taxed enough already) day. Stand up and be counted. Voice your anger and displeasure at the corrupt culture that dominates big business and big government. Liberty is hard to gain and easy to lose. Let’s attempt to not lose ours.
Are you on “the list”?
Homeland Security document targets most conservatives and libertarians in the country
Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.
Report warns of rise of right-wing extremists
Further, it says that any possible new restrictions on gun ownership, combined with vets’ trouble reintegrating into their communities during a bad economy, “could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks.”
“The high volume of purchases and stockpiling of weapons and ammunition by right-wing extremists in anticipation of restrictions and bans in some parts of the country continue to be a primary concern to law enforcement,” the report states.
I would like to take this opportunity to encourage everyone to remember the 2nd and 10th amendments, continue to dare to speak out against Obama, illegal immigration and abortion-on-demand, and stockpile ammunition.
There, if that didn’t put me on a list nothing will.
Saving history, one book at a time
Today I took two of my three girls to the local library. We were in search of a book for use in a project by my sixth grader. As we were leaving I noticed a side room which had tables of books for sale. Like a moth to a flame, I herded my little brood into the relatively small room with tables literally overflowing with books no longer wanted by the library. After a little browsing and a “hurry on home” phone call from my five-year old, I noticed a couple of far older books among the lines of the usual riff raff and kindling that you often find at such sales. I discovered a book titled The World War in Photographs Uncensored published in 1934 by the International Newspaper Syndicate. A visually gripping representation of the “Great War”, it is the best of some ten thousand WWI photos gathered by the publishers. I also discovered next to it the book Pictorial History of the Korean War Memorial Edition: the MacArthur Reports published by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (published 1954 and 394 pages). I purchased each for $2.00 a piece.
When I got home I actually was a little peeved. I told my wife that I thought libraries were supposed to be the repositories of knowledge and the preservers of the past. Apparently not. Instead it is sold for a pittance on a bargain table in a side room. And only the rare fool like myself attempts to truly preserve it.
I think I might be losing it…
Resurrection Sunday
The recognition and celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave is one of the most important aspects of Christianity. It is the acknowledgment that through the birth, death and resurrection of Christ sin and death were defeated. Because we have a Lord and Savior we are not condemned without hope, but instead those who believe in Him will not perish but instead be forgiven and have everlasting life. Despite our own weaknesses, failings and sin we have the hope of glory. Our debt was paid on the cross and each and every one of us only has to accept the forgiveness that has been offered to each and every person. May God bless you and your family this Resurrection Sunday.
Friday Night Ska – The Beat – “Stand Down Margaret”
Couldn’t find the more punkish Elvis Costello version, but still. Great song.
Even if you hate the sentiment and long for Thatcherism, you gotta wish that they still made protest music like this.
Winston S Churchill: We Shall Fight on the Beaches
No one disputes Churchill was probably one of the greatest minds, and leaders, of the last century. Lately, I have become more of a Winston Churchill fanatic which of course has led me to purchase some historic Churchill related memorabilia off of ebay and purchase several books relating to his life. The more you read about him the more interesting he becomes.
Bonus material below: “Finest Hour”
I actually find this speech more stirring, but the previous is more famous and well known.
Thatcher’s last stand against socialism
The Iron Lady at her best. One of the underrated, but greatest leaders of the last century.
“The Dirty Dozen: 12 New Policies That Undermine Civil Society”
The Dirty Dozen: 12 New Policies That Undermine Civil Society
by Jennifer A. Marshall and Katherine BradleyWithin the first quarter of 2009, the Obama Administration and the 111th Congress have advanced a number of policies that will undermine family and religious freedom in America. Together they show a serious disregard for parental rights, human dignity, freedom of conscience, and civil society in American life.
In these difficult economic times, policymakers should recognize and empower the vast resources of family, religious institutions, and civil society. Instead, Congress and the Administration have systematically promoted policies that debilitate the protective and problem-solving capacity of these fundamental institutions.
Undermining Family, Faith, and Freedom
Click the link above for the 12 policies and Heritage’s commentaries on each.
And here’s Political Derby’s “concise” version, with which I don’t disagree.
George Washington’s Prayer
George Washington’s Inaugural Prayer:
“Almighty God; We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States at large.
And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Obama has been making nice with the Muslims and proclaiming we are not a Christian nation (he can speak for himself). I prefer the first president and his view by far over the latest…
Dave’s Quote of the Day
Treasury Secretary Geithner wants power
“Didn’t Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner say that it was not the administration’s intent to control private companies? Then why is it reportedly reluctant to accept TARP repayments from some banks? If it has indeed declined to accept $340 million in payments from banks in Louisiana, New York, Indiana and California, the administration is tacitly admitting that it wants to control those banks as well as others that will try to pay back the taxpayers’ money they took in the Troubled Asset Relief Program. By refusing repayment, the government can keep the leverage it bought with the bailouts. Banks that still ‘owe’ would not be in position to reject the administration as a ‘partner.’ This reminds us of mobsters making a small ‘investment’ in a family-owned shop, which is not always wanted by the owners, and then using it to justify taking over the business. … Before his trip to Europe, President Obama, according to Politico, told a group of financial institution CEOs who were unhappy with the federal war on executive salaries and bonuses, ‘My administration is the only thing between you and the pitchforks.’ At the time, that sounded like nothing more than exaggeration. … Looking back, these are small signs that reveal the administration’s desire to seize command of the nation’s financial system. The bigger, unmistakable sign is the reluctance — or is it outright refusal? — to take $340 million from four banks trying to be responsible and operate on their own. This shouldn’t be happening in this country. The private sector and the state are not to be mixed. The American financial system is best directed by markets, not politics. Prosperity and liberty suffer when the latter excludes the former.”
Glenn Beck Is Not Very Bright
From Huffington Post:
BECK: Blaming TV or radio hosts for the nutjob who killed three Pittsburgh police officers over the weekend is like blaming a flight attendant after a terrorist takes down a plane. In other words: Giving passengers a safety talk to prepare them for a worst-case scenario doesn’t mean you are responsible should a terrorist make that worst-case scenario happen. One person is providing important information. The other is a nutjob who would’ve acted no matter what.
Not even going to talk about the substance of this, because I’ve already done that. But he has no freaking idea what he’s talking about, because this analogy makes no sense whatsoever. It’s nothing like a flight attendant giving instructions and then having a terrorist take over. The only way it makes sense is if the flight attendant stood up and said, “You know, one of these days, someone might have to take over for the captain and fly this plane. I mean, God forbid anythign should happen to him, but I don’t know if our pilot is really sure where he’s going, and if he gets us lost, we’re all screwed and someone will have to take over.”
But even that is a flawed analogy, because it’s a terrible analogy to begin with, he just wanted to reference September 11th. Which is its own kind of gross.
“A Message To The Rich”
Speaking of promoting bloggers/essayists, here is the latest entry by Bill Whittle. It’s not as long as some of his previous essays (which are always worth grabbing a cup of coffee or favorite beverage, and reading over a lunch hour) but is brilliant, as usual.
I’m quoting probably around half of it (almost exclusively the latter half) but read the whole thing, for full exposition.
The Washington Post ran a column a few days ago, in which a Mr. Joel Berg applauds the Obama Administration for reducing the amount of charitable deduction that The Rich are allowed to take when they write a check to charity…
Rhetorical Questions About the Minnesota Senate Race
Why would ballots considered to be invalid after a full recount, a round specifically designed to determine the eligibility of each ballot and a court case examining multiple ballots possibly be thought to be grounds for a challenge for further legal challenges?
Why would any court consider the case valid when the results of Coleman’s last lawsuit meant he is now losing by a 50% higher margin than he was before?
Why would the Supreme Court set a precedent where it had jurisdiction over a local election when each state is in charge of its own elections? Would the judges concerned with Federalism actually agree to hear such a case?
Even if you were using the precedent of Bush v Gore to take the case nationally, wouldn’t that precedent mean that the court should just stop the challenges immediately and declare Franken the winner?
Second Salmon of The Year – April 5, 2009.
This was the one the Beast nailed on Sunday. The video is a little better – the Beast is getting the hang of it. This Salmon was a bit smaller than the other but much feistier – as you will see.
We had sun this day but a horrid, frigid wind whipping right off the ice.
To watch in highest quality, start the video and click on the red “HQ” button down on the player next to the volume lever.
The book “Ideological Bigotry” is now available for sale
Our friend and fellow blogger eric at Tygrrrr Express has now released his new book Ideological Bigotry. In the interest of promoting a fine fellow blogger I am reprinting the following from his website. If this book is as good as his blog and his essays we definitely have a winner.
We The People
I’ve watched several of this fellow’s videos over the past months, and this one would have made sense over the past decades, as well, in that the same principles apply.
Creepy
Living in the DC Metro area, this has been in the local news, and the subject of talk radio over the past few days.
“We thought this would be something fun for the students to do, especially since we’re getting close to the end of the semester,” Lisa Cunningham, the program coordinator for the Hoff Theater, told the paper. “We’re a college movie theater and we thought it would bring out the students.”
First reports were initially thought to be an April Fool’s joke. And then a couple days later it looked like university officials had canceled the screening under the threat of withholding of state funding.
Apparently, the fight is not over yet.
Neither side is prepared to lay down its sword.
University of Maryland students — protesting what they see as an intrusion by Big Brother — are planning to defy authority and screen a hard-core porn movie in the name of free speech and academic freedom.
“What we’re upset about is somebody is trying to control what goes on on campus. This is symbolic,” said Liz Ciavolino, a sophomore who is active in the group Feminism Without Borders.
In response, one conservative state legislator revived his threat: If the porn flick is shown on campus, the university might just kiss some state dollars goodbye…
The rest of WaPo article is here.
Arguments aside, it’s just creepy to show a hardcore porn movie at a venue such as a college student union building. I mean, who’s gonna really want to be seen watching it? My first thought without seeing any of the students who are pushing for it was, “Gawd, they must be nerds, and besides, why wouldn’t they just want to access whatever they can over the Internet?”
Just a few minutes ago on our 6:00 news they interviewed one of the spokespeople for the students. I didn’t catch his name, but not surprisingly he looked like the Anthony Michael Hall types in “Sixteen Candles” with the stereotypical thick-rimmed black plastic eyeglass frames.
You better make sure the theater is kept REAL dark and that there’re plenty of seats between you, who I’m guessing aren’t necessarily all really close friends, so to speak.
I mean, dudes (and dudettes).
Just… eww.
DONT TREAD ON ME- Patriotic Americans are NOT Terrorists!!
This is why the Internet, and even sites like Facebook, are so fun. Take what you want from the following which originated from one of the hundreds of facebook groups. Interesting read, especially on a fairly boring Sunday afternoon.
Read the rest of this entry
Pride (In the Name of Love): Life Magazine’s Newly Released Pictures from April 4, 1968
41 years after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Life Magazine posts these never before published photos from the scene taken just hours following the killing. In them, you can sense the misery and sadness that were in the air on that night, and I can only imagine the sense of racial tension in the country at that moment.
Dave’s Quote of the Day
“We believe that the preservation and enhancement of the values that strengthen and protect individual freedom, family life, communities and neighborhoods and the liberty of our beloved nation should be at the heart of any legislative or political program presented to the American people.”
—Ronald Wilson Reagan
First Salmon Of The Year – Lake Winnipesaukee, April 04, 2009.
The Beast ran over to the lake today. His son was supposed to come with me but he wimped out. Conditions were horrid – sleet and a cold front moving in. Put the fish down, but The Beast managed to get one.
The Beast fished a cabelas spey and managed to nail this bad boy upriver. Current is stiff thanks to all the rain. He hit it hard on the drift as the fly zoomed past him – pretty much on the surface. Fat fish and very silver. They have been feeding well all winter, obviously – this didn’t look like a post-spawn atlantic.
The Beast rigged up a little tripod that fits into his fly vest – shot the video with my chest as he worked the fish in. The video is admittedly a bit jerky, but you have to consider he hooked him, landed him and released him all the time shooting video. That’s why the release sucked.
Davy Crockett, Charity and Congress
I was one day in the lobby of the House of Representatives when a bill was taken up appropriating money for the benefit of a widow of a distinguished naval officer. Several beautiful speeches had been made in its support, rather, as I thought, because it afforded the speakers a fine opportunity for display than from the necessity of convincing anybody, for it seemed to me that everybody favored it. The Speaker was just about to put the question, when Crockett arose. Everybody expected, of course, that he was going to make one of his characteristic speeches in support of the bill. He commenced:
The Sage
Steve
E the Wise
DFV the Scribe
hairybeast
Mo K.
Sting the Away
Rudy
Voice of Reason
Anthony Rogers
Vérité
Isaiah's Cry
danagall
Hal Jordan
The Rat
Aquinas Shrugged
jackcurtis
a west texas view
pino
Cultural Limits
Regalo Di Spine
Tokyo Tengu
Short Little Rebel
AWOL Civilization
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rogueoperator
provider4many
jimmullen1
thomaspaine2nd
badoracle
ljponders
weeicemon
Daniella Nicole
