Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Old Jarhead's Political SitRep for April 17, 2013

Old Jarhead's Political SitRep for April 17, 2013
Click on the link to see the full SitRep
Robert A. Hall

Lots of items about Boston today that are worth reading. ~Bob

Worth Reading: Prayers and Boston. By Erick Erickson
Excerpt: As partisan sides go, both sides will try to find some ground on which to score political points. That is what partisans do these days. It does not matter whether it is right or wrong. It happens. Some on the left rushed out of the gate to blame supposed right wing extremists. It was, after all, tax day. The right went straight to muslim extremists. But we do not know who did it yet or why. (Have to admit, my first thought is Jihadists, but we have to wait for facts. Speculation doesn’t help. ~Bob.)

Excerpt: Within hours of the bombings in Boston that left at least three dead and more than 100 injured, left-leaning analysts in the media started the speculation that the bomber was “right-wing.” It follows years of warnings already from the Obama administration that those who oppose abortion are potential terrorists and the military needs to beware of evangelical Christians. (Far left wing-nuts are still claiming that Bush and Chaney were behind 911, will they claim Obama was behind Boston? And since the administration is watching Christians for terrorism, and Obama said he was praying for the victims, does that make him a suspect? ~Bob.)

Chris Matthews On Boston Bombings: ‘Domestic Terrorists…Tend To Be On The Far Right’
Excerpt: I was just thinking, again, it’s early; it’s an early situation, but going after the Kennedy Library, not something at Bunker Hill, not something from the freedom trail or anything that kind of historic, but a modern political figure of the Democratic Party,” he said “Does that tell you anything?”(Tells me he's still has his head where the sun don't shine. Just as was done following the Gifford shooting in Tucson, the typical liberal first response is to make it political and blame the Right. ~JB . Like that arch conservative, Nidal Hasan. ~Bob.)

Excerpt: CNN’s Peter Bergen, their “national security analyst,” wasted no time speculating on-air that "right-wing extremists" were behind the Boston explosions.

Person of interest's apartment searched
Excerpt: The New York Post reported that the apartment was in the hometown of the 20-year-old Saudi national man hospitalized at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The Post reported that the man has not been asked directly by authorities whether he was responsible for the bombs. (We should not jump to the conclusion that this Saudi national is involved any more than the left can justify jumping to the conclusion that a right wing nut was to blame. We have to wait for the facts. ~Bob.)

Important: Rep. Stockman: Pray for Saudi 'victim' wounded in Boston attack
Excerpt: Americans should “pray” for the Saudi man wounded in Boston now that he's been ruled out as a suspect, conservative firebrand Steve Stockman (R-Texas) said Tuesday. “The 20-year old hospitalized Saudi has been 'ruled out' as a suspect,” Stockman tweeted. “He is a victim like the others. Pray for him.”

Flashback: Obama Admin: The War On Terror Is 'Over'
Excerpt: Today, the National Journal reported that a senior State Department official has announced, “The war on terror is over.” “Now that we have killed most of al Qaida,” the source said, “now that people have come to see legitimate means of expression, people who once might have gone into al Qaida see an opportunity for a legitimate Islamism.” The article itself describes the Obama administration’s new vision of foreign policy, which admits no enemies. (They forgot to tell someone. ~Bob.)

Person Briefed On Probe: Bombs In Pressure Cookers
Excerpt: The explosives used in the deadly Boston Marathon bombing were contained in 6-liter pressure cookers and hidden in black duffel bags on the ground, a person briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press on Tuesday. One of the explosives contained shards of metal and ball bearings, and another contained nails, the person said.

Muslims cheer terror bombings in Boston
Excerpt: Lovers of blood and death. "Allah hu akbar." "Great news." "Diz newz is superb." (We could use Jack Bauer right about now. –GS)

Boston
I was watching coverage of the bombings in Boston yesterday, when Obama ran out of the White House, where he had been bunkered up, and announced what everyone on the planet already knew - that it was an act of terrorism. He was right, of course, but how could he have figured that out so quickly? After all, at Ft. Hood, when a Muslim murdered 12 soldiers, and wounded 31 others, while shouting "Allah Akbar!", he figured that wasn't an act of terrorism, but a case of "workplace violence". I suspect that if they find out a Muslim was behind these bombings, it will no longer be considered terrorism, but simply a mentally unstable person committing an act of mass murder. Sort of like his pal Bill Ayers used to do back in the day. By the way, has Ayers got an alibi for yesterday? –LLW

This Is Krystle Campbell, The Second Victim In The Boston Marathon Bombings
Looking at her smiling face doesn’t put me in a forgiving mood. Marines aren’t good at that turn-the-other-cheek thing. ~Bob.

Worth Reading: 1984 + 29: As Orwell knew, taking over the culture starts with corrupting the language. By Victor Davis Hanson
Excerpt: First were the necessary changes in language. In the Obama age, as in Orwell’s1984, the natural meanings of words had to change. See the third book of Thucydides’ history for the details. Running up serial trillion-dollar deficits was not profligacy, but rather making “investments” for “the children.” Irresponsible borrowing became “stimulus.” Indeed, “trillion” — not a frequently used part of most people’s vocabulary before 2009 — suddenly replaced “billion” as a familiar fiscal numerical adjective.

Worth Reading: The Fact-Free Gun-Control Crusade: Stricter gun-control laws don’t reduce murder rates, but who’s counting? By Thomas Sowell
Excerpt: Think about all the states and communities within states, as well as foreign countries, that either have tight gun-control laws or loose or nonexistent ones. With so many variations and so many sources of evidence available, surely there would be some compelling evidence somewhere if tighter gun-control laws actually reduced the murder rate. (If I understand the liberal position on guns, we can prevent tragedies like the one in Newtown, Connecticut by passing a national ban on assault rifles like the state ban already in effect in Connecticut. ~Bob.)

Guest Post: Learning about guns the right way. By Melanie Garlock
Excerpt: I’m currently a sophomore in high school and, as long as I can remember, I have been taught about firearm safety. Over the years I have learned to respect the power a gun holds, gun owner responsibility and my 2nd amendment right. Looking forward to college, I was glad to see the recent push for concealed carry on Georgia college campuses defeated. I know there is a self defense issue, but on campus student maturity is still developing, weapons training and experience are limited and alcohol use is frequent, lousy ingredients for gun safety.

Joe Arpaio Bomb: Arizona Authorities Say Package To Sheriff Could Have Injured, Killed If Opened
Excerpt: Arizona authorities say a package addressed to Sheriff Joe Arpaio discovered in a northern Arizona mailbox would have exploded if opened, leading to serious injuries or death. Maricopa County Chief Deputy Jerry Sheridan made the comment Friday at a news conference in Phoenix. He said investigators are trying to locate one person who may have been involved in mailing the package addressed to his boss. (DOI did not seem too concerned about this one…Barb)

Bombs kill more than 30 across Iraq before local poll
Excerpt: Car bombs and blasts in cities across Iraq, including two explosions at a checkpoint outside Baghdad's international airport, killed at least 33 people on Monday days before provincial elections. (In the lands of the Religion of Peace, it’s Boston every day. ~Bob.)

As Israelis Mourn, Jordanians Glorify a Terrorist
Excerpt: As Israelis mourn the 25,000 soldiers—young men and women—who have been killed in the course of defending the Jewish state against aggression and terrorism, Jordanian leaders (not including the King, at least thus far) are making a hero out of a Jordanian soldier who murdered 7 Israeli school girls and wounded 6 others during a peace program in 1997. 

Abortion debate inflamed by horrific details in trial of Philadelphia doctor
Excerpt: “It’s come to my attention that media coverage of this case has increased,” Minehart told the jurors, who could see for themselves how right he was. (The lid comes off in the knee pad media. ~Bob.)

Excerpt: Then Assistant District Attorney Edward Cameron flipped around McMahon's question: "Can you think of any reason why the neck was severed if that baby was not born alive?" Again, Gulino agreed. McMahon tried to salvage his first answer, only to be interrupted by Cameron. McMahon exploded in anger, but was topped by Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey P. Minehart. (If you take anything away from this report, let it be this: This happened under the watch of pro-abortion Republican Governor Tom Ridge, who later was appointed by GW Bush as the first head of DHS. Ridge had the responsibility to order that these clinics be inspected and overseen by the state of PA. He was blinded by his pro-abortion ideology. NEVER forget that. --Don Hank)

All Child Killers Are Not Equal. By Arnold Ahlert
Excerpt: Everyone in America not living under a rock has heard of Adam Lanza. Kermit Gosnell? Not so much.

Excerpt: Millions of immigrants living illegally in the United States could earn a chance at citizenship under a sweeping Senate proposal to be released Tuesday that would represent the most ambitious overhaul of the nation’s immigration system in three decades.
Judicial Watch: Illegal immigrant gangs commit most US crime
Excerpt: Criminal street gangs—mostly comprised of illegal immigrants—are responsible for the majority of violent crimes in the United States and are the primary distributors of most illicit drugs. The alarming, but not surprising, information is revealed in a new report published by the Justice Department’s National Gang Intelligence Center (NGIC), an FBI task force created in 2005 to curb the growing threat of violent gangs in the U.S. The NGIC teams up with state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the nation to enforce, study and intercept gangs and has published several reports documenting their activities. 

Criminal Illegal Immigrant Gangs Infest U.S.
Excerpt: Hispanic gangs are now the most powerful criminal operatives in the United States and in much of the world. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) National Gang Intelligence Center (NGIC) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) estimate that 80 percent of U.S. crime is committed by gangs, including murder, rape, kidnapping, violent assaults, torture, robbery, and identity theft.

Gun owner stops home invaders dead
Excerpt: They chose the wrong home. The residents of the targeted house were home at the time and armed. After what local authorities report as a “gun battle,” two of alleged robbers died. 

The ACA Medical Device Tax: Bad Policy in Need of Repeal
Excerpt: On March 21, the Senate voted 79 to 20 to pass a nonbinding budget amendment encouraging the repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s medical device excise tax. This is a 2.3 percent tax on total sales of taxable medical devices by medical device manufacturers that went into effect on January 1, 2013. Like other excise taxes, this tax is harmful and will create distortions in the medical device industry, likely leading to higher health care prices for consumer, lower employment, and less innovation. Additionally, the tax is complex and creates additional compliance costs for firms. These consequences argue for the permanent repeal of the tax.

Young Adults on Parents’ Health Plans Cost More
Excerpt: Young adults who stayed on their parents’ insurance plans under a popular provision in the federal health law incurred slightly higher health costs than young adults who had their own coverage, largely because they used more care for mental health, substance abuse and pregnancy, new research suggests. (Bending the cost curve…up. You mean if a good or service is cheap, people use more of it? Who know? Besides everyone who ever took san economics course, of course. ~Bob.)

Airline bomber convicted in 1982 Pan Am attack set to be released from federal prison
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/airline-bomber-set-released-prison-article-1.1290609#ixzz2QbawY7kY
Excerpt: The release does more than spring loose a convicted terrorist. It also could deprive the government of a star witness in the event that Ibrahim, a Palestinian master bomb-maker who authorities say orchestrated the Pan Am attack and similar strikes around the world, is ever captured. A former top lieutenant, Rashed would be able to implicate Ibrahim as the architect of the attack and help establish his identity in case prosecutors ever had a chance to bring him to the U.S. to face justice. 

Hagel scraps medal for drone pilots
http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-and-strategy/293971-hagel-scraps-drone-medal#ixzz2QbH5E7sE
Excerpt: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has cancelled a new medal for drone pilots that had been panned by lawmakers and veterans groups for being ranked above medals that were awarded to troops who saw combat.….Hagel’s decision to abandon the drone medal, which was created in February by former secretary Leon Panetta, comes after widespread criticism from lawmakers and veterans groups. The groups were angry that the Distinguished Warfare Medal was being ranked above traditional valor medals like the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

The Pyongyang-Tehran Proliferation Playbook. By Claudia Rosett
Excerpt: Clearly the dangers posed by North Korea reside not only in its arsenal, but in the precedents Pyongyang keeps setting for just how much a rogue regime can get away with in this era of receding American power. As North Korea hones its missile reach and nuclear abilities — while threatening to incinerate SeoulWashington and U.S. bases in the Pacific — it appears the limits of such behavior have yet to be discovered. That spectacularly dangerous message is surely being read with interest by other anti-American regimes, especially by North Korea’s chief partner in proliferation, Iran.

Eric Holder’s wife co-owns abortion clinic building run by indicted abortionist. By Jill Stanek
Excerpt: While they were digging through online records of Georgia abortion clinics, they stumbled on the fact that Attorney General Eric Holder’s wife Sharon Malone Holder (both pictured right) co-owns with her sister an Atlanta area abortion clinic building.

Ah, Wilderness! Mountain Man vs. the Building Inspector
Excerpt: He traps, shoots and grows much of his own food, makes pants out of buckskin and stitches his own wounds. He bathes in the cold creek that rolls through his 1,000-acre Turtle Island preserve in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. … He traps, shoots and grows much of his own food, makes pants out of buckskin and stitches his own wounds. He bathes in the cold creek that rolls through his 1,000-acre Turtle Island preserve in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

Fonda & Kerry remembered so clearly
For everyone who has questions about Jane Fonda. A friend found this on
You-tube. Watch and each of us can decide what is wrong or right in our
own heart and mind. http://youtu.be/QOnG71EgAm4
And here is a second super well done video about who said what about our
involvement in Viet Nam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGLxr7gDO3w&feature=player_embedded
Del

Committee: Labor nominee engaged in quid pro quo, cover-up
Excerpt: President Barack Obama’s nominee to head the Department of Labor engaged in a quid pro quo that could have cost taxpayers $200 million and covered up the activity, according to a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform report released late Sunday. (This stuff is no longer shocking, just par for the course. ~Bob.)

Progressive MSNBC host doubles down, admits they’re against individual liberty
Excerpt: Well, Melissa Harris-Perry decided to double down on her comments claiming that American’s needed to break away from the idea that kids belong to the family and need to embrace a collective attitude towards children. …Harris-Perry said, “I can see that some people are generally upset about what I actually said, especially this phrase: We have to break through our private idea that kids belong to their parents or kids belong to their families. So let me just say that this, I stand by that statement.” 

Excerpt: The question is: Is geoengineering currently being advertised as a ‘proposed solution’ when in reality geoengineering is already taking place? If geoengineering is occurring, is it a reasonable strategy to combat global warming, or is it a potentially catastrophic measure that has lethal consequences? Lastly, is the intent of geoengineering being advertised to the general public as a way to stop the problems associated with global warming, when in actuality there are other agendas taking place?

Geoengineering Research Needs Better Guidelines, Climate Change Experts Say
Excerpt: “Geoengineering may be needed to limit severe future risks, so informed policy judgments require research on its efficacy and risks." Without that research, the world could face “unrefined, untested and excessively risky approaches” if climate change intensifies to the point that governments consider fighting it with geoengineering approaches, Parson and Keith said. The researchers, who say the global debate over geoengineering is increasingly polarized, recommend that governments begin coordinating small-scale geoengineering research and block, at least for now, large-scale experiments. (”Block large-scale experiments”….suggests they already exist. The cow is out of the barn already on this. Feel like a lab rat yet? –Barb)

Excerpt: So it should not be surprising that a market has evolved for “weather derivatives,” effectively allowing large financial institutions to make money gambling on the weather. And it should also come as no surprise that this market was largely pioneered by that infamous globalist-connected insider corporation, Enron. …. But in the end, it may not be the manmade CO2 they are worried about that is the real culprit of this coming catastrophe, but the geoengineering technologies that are being proposed as the “solution” to this problem. (Strongly suggest soil and well/pond testing, specifically for aluminum, boron and strontium, as well as alkalinity of soil versus acidity and testing for aluminum in distressed/dying trees. –Barb)

The New Old Fascism? By Stephen Green
Excerpt: Now that Europe’s decades-long experiment with socialism is unraveling, what keeps me up at night is when the people will get upset enough that they’ll start demanding (and getting) a little nationalism to go with their socialism.It’s kind of the national sport over there, once they eventually run out of other people’s money. Not that EU governments have given up looking under the sofa cushions, which they apparently also hope to use as floatation devices:

Falling commodities give Dow worst day of the year
Excerpt: The trigger for the sell-off came from China, where the world's second-largest economy expanded 7.7 percent in the first three months of the year, well below forecasts of 8 percent or better. …The decline came after a pile of negative economic reports. In addition to the concerns about China, a separate report showed weak manufacturing in the Northeast, and a home builders' survey indicated housing activity isn't going to be strong, either, said Steven Ricchiuto, chief economist for Mizuho Securities. (Amazing the things MSM ignores….Barb.)

Excerpt: Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said the border-security requirements in legislation drafted by the Senate’s Gang of Eight appear weaker than those included in the 2007 immigration reform legislation that failed. Sessions attended a briefing on the bill Monday evening by the Republican members of the Gang of Eight.

Ahmadinejad: 'We Don't Need Atomic Bomb'
Excerpt: Speaking during a visit to Benin, the first stop on a three-nation tour, Ahmadinejad called nuclear energy a "divine gift" providing affordable electricity. "They accuse Iran, like all nations that seek to rapidly find their way out of the current domination," the Iranian leader said through an interpreter in a speech at a Benin university, according to AFP. . ... “And besides, it is not atomic bombs that threaten the world, but Western morals and culture declining in values."

Syria's Muslim Brotherhood: There's No Extremism in Syria
Excerpt: Speaking in Arabic, Shakfa added, "As far as I know, there is no extremism in Syria." His comments came days after the jihadist Al-Nusra Front, one of the fiercest forces battling the Syrian regime, pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda, sounding alarm bells in the West and triggering concerns among the main opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition (SNC).

Problems in the U.S. Military: Denying Islam's Role in Terror. By David J. Rusin, Middle East Quarterly
Editors' note: This article discusses many public figures in the context of the positions they held in December 2012 when the article was submitted. There has been much turnover in government and military posts since then, but the problems caused by political correctness remain despite the changes in personnel. (This reminds me of an old saying... If you can look around you and have no concerns, then you aren't really paying attention! This is an excellent article, reviewing a great deal of very pertinent past history of problems and how they developed. It tends to make me wish I could get all our "leaders" in a room and scream at them "Look at all that has happened, all the mistakes and their consequences, and for the sake of heaven and our future, WAKE THE **** UP and stop playing the idiotic PC games!!!" --Del)

Excerpt: The public's right to know is but a minor consideration. Our overriding concern should be what unfriendly foreign intelligence adversaries, particularly Russian, may have obtained on our president's background….Therefore, we must assume that since Russian intelligence is particularly skilled and a persistent practitioner of this art, it is possible to the point of certainty that, using all their resources and "black-bag" tactics, they have long had the biographical background data that President Obama and his team of lawyers have been so diligent in concealing from the American public.

Excerpt: As a rule, I avoid the weekly news magazines. They are filled with bad fiction disguised as “reporting,” and if I really feel the need to read mediocre prose I can always rely on the work of America’s growing horde of creative-writing professors. Nonetheless, I recently stumbled across a post in Time’s Swampland blog titled, “Obamacare Incompetence,” and succumbed to morbid curiosity. It seems that Joe Klein, a usually reliable Democrat hack, is deeply unhappy with the slow and clumsy implementation of the “Affordable Care Act.”

Ex-IRS agent gets prison for murder-for-hire plot
Excerpt: But Martinez will not be busy preparing taxes any more. On Friday, the 51-year-old Ramona man was sentenced to 23 years and 10 months in federal prison for two separate, but related, sets of crimes. Initially, Martinez was indicted in April 2011 on tax fraud charges for constructing a scheme in which he defrauded wealthy clients of $11 million over a four-year period.

20,000 U.S. M-16s Stolen From Unguarded Warehouse
Excerpt: As politicians clamor for more gun control 20,000 M-16s have been reported stolen from an unguarded warehouse in Kuwait.

Big Time Inflation Underway
Excerpt: The privately-constructed EPI (Every Day Price Index) measures inflation better than the government-constructed CPI (Consumer Price Index) because it is limited to measuring the prices of goods and services consumers buy every day and because it does not contain the potential for Obama-Bernanke bias. (Some bias... but, also some very interesting observations here...... BNG)

Apocryphal Now: The psychology, and mythology, of the Vietnam war. By Gary Kulik
Excerpt: Nelson and Turse coauthored a series of Los Angeles Times articles in 2006, and Nelson went on to publish The War Behind Me: Vietnam Veterans Confront the Truth About U.S. War Crimes in 2008, using the same records and including a detailed accounting of them in an appendix. Turse, according to Nelson (in an email exchange on a Vietnam war listserv to which I subscribe), opposed her decision to publish the appendix, fearing that it might be used to minimize Army war crimes. Nelson, a journalist, sought scholarly transparency; Turse, a Columbia Ph.D., sought to prevent independent analysis of the evidence. (I have been waiting and hoping for someone to do a good rebuttal to the recent garbage book about the war, Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam. And thankfully a veteran and historian has given that to us. I did a review of the book on Amazon, as did some other vets, but the rantings of assorted leftist haters of the US military just kept piling up, no matter what facts anyone supplied about the war and the experience of those of us who served in capacities that let us see what really went on in large areas of South Viet Nam. As Mr. Kulik says, yes, nasty events occurred on occasion in the war, as happens in every war. But they were individual acts spread out over many units and a lot of time, and never a general policy. By and large American troops are the least given to casual brutality, and the most given to decent, even kind, treatment of not only civilians but even the enemy prisoners. We were never the "horde of Ghenghis Khan", and I bitterly resent all those who try to make that case.-Del)

Tunisia's topless protester 'escapes family after virginity tests'
http://ahafoundation.sharedby.co/share/lnla5G
Excerpt: The Tunisian woman who posted topless photos of herself as a form of feminist protest is now trying to leave the country, her former lawyer said yesterday, after a video surfaced in which the woman recounted being drugged and given virginity tests by relatives.

Republicans blast Obama proposal to sell Tennessee Valley Authority
Excerpt: In a political role reversal, Republicans are blasting President Obama's plan to consider selling the Tennessee Valley Authority, an icon of the New Deal long targeted by conservatives as an example of government overreach. (All politics is local. Barry Goldwater, call your office. ~Bob.)

Due To Obamacare, Nation's Largest Movie Theater Chain Cuts Employee Hours
Excerpt: Monday, Regal Entertainment Group, the largest movie theatre chain in the country, announced that thousands of employees will have their work hours cut-- as a direct result of the added cost of the new ObamaCare mandates that become effective later this year. In a memo to employees, management was blunt: “To comply with the Affordable Care Act, Regal had to increase our health care budget to cover those newly deemed eligible based on the law's definition of a full-time employee.”

How many times have @TheDemocrats called somebody a "terrorist" for opposing their awful policies? The word was good enough for them then.

FACT: Media doesn't care about working poor losing hours due to OCare, record poor under O's policies, or poor women exploited by Gosnell.

Border Patrol agents praise Barber, criticize Napolitano
Excerpt: Border Patrol agents say that Congressman Ron Barber “has been a terrific ally for rank-and-file Border Patrol agents,” while “Napolitano likes photo ops with uniformed managers (they are forced to stand with her and look official for the cameras – even though 99% of them don’t support her).” (Napolitano is selling a product, Which is Amnesty, and the Border Patrol agents who work for her are disgusted. I sure can't blame them for feeling that way. –Del)

Researchers claim ‘serious errors’ in GDP study cited by deficit hawks
Excerpt: A new economic study claims to have found "serious errors" in a study that fiscal hawks routinely cite when calling for action on the deficit. For years, policymakers and advocates concerned about the deficit have cited a 2010 study by economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff that found modern countries with a debt-to-GDP ratio over 90 percent suffer a significant slowdown in economic growth. 

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