Bob Hall for President
Here’s my entire platform for 2012. Foreign Policy: I will support our friends and defeat our enemies. Domestic policy: I will slash spending and the bureaucracy so deeply that every single person in the country will hate me, but the Republic will survive. Economy: I will support the free market, free trade and lower taxes and far fewer regulations on private sector job creators. That’s bad politics short term, but it will boom jobs and the economy long term. And I will not seek re-election in 2016, as I expect the above policies will get me assassinated long before that election.
Bladder cancer survivor recounts humiliating TSA screening
In the Corps, we used to say, “Better to be pissed off than pissed on.” Guess this guy is both, thanks to the TSA (The Stupid Authority) who are, indeed, stuck on stupid, because their masters would rather you die than do anything Non-PC, like profile. ~Bob. Excerpt: The pressure on the TSA to change its screening procedures is likely to grow following the story of one bladder cancer survivor who left a screening covered in urine. Thomas D. Sawyer, a 61 year-old man who survived a bout with bladder cancer, had his urostomy bag seal broken during one screening causing urine to spill down on his clothes and body. Sawyer was then told he could leave and was forced to board his plane before he could clean himself up.
The Truth about Entitlements
Excerpt: Most Americans would be happier if the outlook for the budget could be taken care of without having to make major changes to entitlement programs. Certainly, politicians would have it easier if this were the case. Unfortunately, arithmetic and prudence imply a need to tackle entitlements, says Arnold Kling, an adjunct scholar with the Cato Institute.
Sen. Coons: 'I'm nobody's pet'
Guy owes his election to the Tea Party, who preferred losing with O’Donnell to winning with RINO Mike Castle. Harry Reid owes his own re-election to the Tea Party, because either of the other Republican candidates would have beaten him, and he owes them for this vote to keep him and liberals in control of the Senate’s business. A former “Marxist” is now a centrist? We’ll see. ~Bob. Excerpt: Conventional political wisdom may call Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) “lucky.” He simply calls himself a centrist. In an interview with The Hill at the end of his first week in the Senate, Delaware
With bailout near, Irish PM's coalition cracks
With a collapsing birth rate, steady Islamization from “temporary guest workers,” and entrenched entitlement babies, Europe staggers closer to the Socialist precipice—over which we will be pulled with them. ~Bob. Excerpt: One day after Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen requested a financial bailout for his country from the International Monetary Fund and European Union, he faced a deepening political crisis as the junior partner in his ruling coalition called for a new general election in January. Monday's move by the Green Party deepens the political turmoil that is unfolding in Ireland
Homeless hero finds $3,300 cash in lost backpack... and gives it BACK
An example for Congress. ~Bob. Excerpt: A homeless man in Arizona Tempe
Obama's Power-Mad Cell Phone Czar
Excerpt: America
Liberty-Loving Latinos Outshine Loud-Mouthed Leftist Latinos
Excerpt: I’ve long held that Hispanics owe a debt of gratitude to African Americans. They, more than any group, have shown us what allegiance to the Democratic Party can bring: the disintegration of the African American family, the targeting of black mothers for abortions by left-wing groups like Planned Parenthood, the lowering of the bar for African American students in state-sponsored schools. These are just the tip of the iceberg. Oddly enough, I have the Reverend Al Sharpton to thank for my current view. Back in 2003, when the good reverend was seeking the Democratic nomination for president, he said this: “We must no longer be the political mistresses of the Democratic Party.” It was a rare moment of honesty and admission that he and compatriot Jesse Jackson may have made a mistake in taking the African American community down the road of victimhood, represented by the Democrats, instead of the road of empowerment, represented by the conservative wing of the GOP. Sharpton’s words changed my life. I was bound and determined that my family, any Hispanics that would listen, and I would never become victims and reliant on an all-powerful government for our existence. But I knew I had powerful forces aligned against me. I saw many leftist Latinos seeking to take the Hispanic community down Sharpton’s road of victimhood. Take your pick of any Latino hate group. La Raza, Nation of Aztlan, the Brown Berets — these are the anti-American groups that have sullied the reputations of all Latinos. They get a lot of press. But they’re not alone. Groups like LULAC, Border Angels, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, and countless others have made it their mission to portray Latinos as a bunch of victims who need to be compensated for some slight perpetrated by white America
Aircraft carrier plan shows China
Excerpt: The new generation of combat aircraft China Beijing has become increasingly assertive in its ambitions on the high seas -- as demonstrated by recent tensions with old rival Japan China Dalian in northeast China
Excerpt: I promised to return to this question in an earlier post. Loyal readers know we have rejected the extreme and silly claim that 44,400 people die every year (one person every 12 minutes) because they were uninsured. Still, there are serious questions left unanswered. I propose to address them by breaking down the titular question into three component parts: 1. Does being insured in general versus being uninsured add to life expectancy? 2. Does being on Medicaid as opposed to be uninsured add to life expectancy? 3. Is there something about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that will add to life expectancy?
I just hope West “works the district” so he gets re-elected in 2012. ~Bob. Excerpt: When you're asked an awkward question, you can either distract and deflect as the politician does; you can ruminate and reflect as the philosopher does; you can equivocate and obfuscate as the diplomat does. Or you can answer the question explicitly and directly, as the soldier does. When asked about the Islamist terrorists’ 'perversion of the religion of Islam', Lt Col Allen West replies: Let me say this. I don’t care about being popular – whatever. The first thing you’ve got to do is you’ve got to study and understand who you’re up against. And you must realise that this is not a religion that you’re fighting against: you’re fighting against a theo-political belief system and construct; you’re fighting against something that has been doing this thing since AD 622 – since the seventh century, 1388 years. You want to dig up Charles Martel and ask him why he was fighting the Muslim army at the Battle of Tours in 732; you want to ask the Venetian fleet at Lepanto why they were fighting a Muslim fleet in 1571; you want to ask the Christian – I mean the Germanic and Austrian knights why they were fighting at the Gates of Vienna in 1683; you want to ask people why they fought at Constantinople and why today it’s called Istanbul because they lost that fight in 1453. You need to get into the Qur’an: you need to understand their precepts; you need to read the Sira; you need to read the Hadith, and then you can really understand that this is not a perversion: they are doing exactly what this book says.
View from Middle East : President Obama is a problem
That touchy-feely, hope & change, community organizer stuff doesn’t seem to work that well in foreign policy. ~Bob. Excerpt: Vowing to change a region that has resisted the best efforts of presidents and prime ministers past, Barack Obama dove head first into the Middle East peace process on his second day in office. He was supposed to be different. His personal identity, his momentum, his charisma and his promise of a fresh start would fundamentally alter America Israel Mideast landscape.
I would have voted for her, but Harry Reid isn’t the only Democrat senator who has the Tea Party to thank for his seat. If we nominate poor candidates just because they pander to the most conservative views, liberals will continue to control the government. ~Bob. Excerpt: It’s widely recognized that in the marquee 2010 Senate race, Majority Leader Harry Reid ran a nearly flawless, textbook campaign, an operation so extraordinary that it enabled him to defy an almost certain political death. It turns out he got some inadvertent inside help. Interviews with Nevada
British pupils taught how to carry out Sharia punishments at Islamic schools
Excerpt: PUPILS at Islamic schools across Britain
U.S. District Court Judge found "ample evidence to establish the association" between CAIR, ISNA, NAIT and Hamas
Excerpt: Recently an erroneous story circulated to the effect that ISNA and CAIR had been removed from the unindicted co-conspirator list -- see here. The story turns out to be even worse for Hamas-linked CAIR, ISNA, and NAIT, three of the most important Islamic supremacist organizations in the U.S.
Excerpt: An Afghan Christian, detained for months for allegedly converting to Christianity from Islam, could face trial as early as next week - and could face a potential death penalty, officials said Sunday. Said Musa was arrested by Afghan Interior Ministry intelligence authorities near the German Embassy in Kabul because of the allegations, said Qamaruddin Shenwari, director of the Kabul
Excerpt: The chief liberal critique of the War on Terror has been that George W. Bush wrongly treated 9/11 as an act of war, rather than a criminal act. Instead of passing the Patriot Act, invading Afghanistan
Hail to the Chiefs
Excerpt: In 1936 Franklin Roosevelt felt overwhelmed. The New Deal had begun to spawn dozens of new agencies, and Roosevelt , fearful of the fragmentation of the executive branch, asked for help. The Brownlow Committee, an independent panel tasked with finding a new model of White House management, proposed offering the president some personal staff. “They would remain in the background, issue no orders, make no decisions, emit no public statements,” the committee explained in a report responding to public skepticism about growing the size of government. Over the next two years, Roosevelt recruited six trusted aides. Nowadays, six aides is roughly the number Barack Obama has to handle incoming mail—a small fraction of the 469 employees who work in the White House Office and councils for domestic and economic policy, the core staff of the presidency.
Consensus is forming on what steps to take in cutting the deficit
Excerpt: "I'm open to everything if it gets us where we need to go," said Sen. Tom Coburn (Okla.
Snowe, Collins back lawsuit challenging health-care law
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/11/snowe-collins-question-constit.html?wpisrc=nl_pmpolitics
Excerpt: The Portland (Maine ) Press-Herald reports that both of Maine
Republicans' 2012 dark horse still has no name
Excerpt: So recent history then suggests that the 2012 Republican presidential field - one devoid of a clear front-runner - will produce a dark horse of its own. But who will it be? Here are four candidates who could fill the role: (Of these four, I like Pence best, Santorum least. I was in PA during his rise and he is conservative and bright, but earned his reputation for arrogance, not good in a candidate. I don’t think Brown will play well in GOP Primaries in conservative states. I like Rubio, but he’s too untried. ~Bob.
Why are the Marines the military's biggest backers of 'don't ask, don't tell'?
This will draw some fire! ~Bob. Excerpt: I have studied, taught and interviewed Marines for 15 years and have gained great appreciation for the history and culture of the Corps, so much so, in fact, that I began teaching at the Marine Corps War College in Quantico Quantico Helmand province. In the Corps, the creed that "every Marine is a rifleman" means that no matter the Marine's specialty, he or she is ready to fight. Marines do battle where the stakes are high and the quarters close. Although they have individual specialties, they all have infantry in their blood. As a rule, ground pounders are more conservative, resistant to change and likely to uphold tradition. This equates to a fear of the unknown - in this case, serving in combat with an openly gay Marine. Every Marine sees himself or herself as on the front lines, if not at the moment, then ready to deploy at any time. The Marine Corps is a smaller service than the other branches, with a greater singularity of purpose. That attitude is part of Marine Corps exceptionalism broadly, as well as when it comes to the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." Anything that could dilute the warrior ethos will face a challenge. I am an openly gay woman, equally comfortable at Quantico
Dupont Circle
. Each of these worlds holds negative stereotypes about the other, and like all stereotypes, they tend to break down on an individual level. Yet for some in both cultures, the notion of a gay Marine seems almost impossible, as though this most masculine and punishing service simply isn't for gay people.
Worth reading: Lies, Censorship, and Power
Excerpt: Muslims who for one reason or another fall foul of the law in a Western society almost invariably claim to have been tortured. It’s standard procedure. I first came across it in Israeli military courts, where healthy PLO prisoners with broad smiles tried to explain why there wasn’t a mark on them when they’d just been hung by the wrists for twenty-four hours, or something equally physical. The British government has fallen for it. It is paying out a million or more pounds to each of a dozen Islamists who say they were tortured in Guantanamo
Ground Zero Mosque Developers Apply for $5M in U.S.
Excerpt: From the Daily Beast today, we learn that the Ground Zero mosque developers, who still owe more than $200,000 in back taxes, have jumped the funding shark. Evidently, those Saudi millions have failed to come through as planned and the mosque developers have applied for a federal grant to get their “cultural bridge” out of the water. The mosque developers, having at last report only about $20,000 in their bank account, have applied for — stop the presses — five million taxpayer dollars. The grant money, if approved, will come from a special fund set aside for rebuilding the area around the Islamist attacks on the World Trade Center
Politicized Science vs. Anti-Science Republicans
Ron’s comment is long, but a good summary of the skeptics view. ~Bob. Excerpt: It is an article of faith among many conservatives that climate change is sham science. Even worse, it is the nexus of a vast conspiracy involving governments, the UN, and climate scientists that is seeking to destroy the industrial economies of the West, create a one world government, and enrich people like Al Gore who have bet a bundle on a reduced carbon emissions future. They believe that either the earth is not warming at all, or that rising temperatures are the result of other phenomena like water vapor or the dearth of sunspot activity. (The climate argument really turns on just a few questions: 1. Is the "known" temperature data complete and accurate? In fact, it is neither complete nor accurate. As an example, last year was claimed (again) to be "the warmist year on record," but most of the warming is supposed to have taken place in the Arctic area. Yet, there are no instruments there to detect and record the temperature from much less than 1000Km from the pole. That's about the same as saying "If I know the temperature of Washington , DC , I also know the temperatures in Boston and Chicago Greenland was essentially ice-free because Vikings grew wine-grapes there. Between about 900AD and 1300AD, temperatures were known to be much warmer than today, and most historical geology suggests this was a worldwide occurrence, not just localized in Greenland or just the Northern Hemisphere. Fact, not opinion. 3. If warming is occurring, is it necessarily bad? Historically, humanity has done very well in periods of extended warmth. Food is easier to grow, less effort is needed to keep from freezing. Do Eskimos have an easier or harder lifestyle than Polynesians? This is mostly opinion, but under even the warmist scenarios envisioned, there will still be places with lots of ice and cold for those who like it. Why should the rest of us freeze with them? 4. Is climate something humans can influence? One single volcano puts out as much in "greenhouse" gases in a few weeks as most human activity will in a year. Volcanoes are always erupting somewhere. The largest single influence on Earth's climate seems to be the Sun. Ocean
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