Old Jarhead's Political SitRep for December 17, 2012

Old Jarhead's Political SitRep for December 17, 2012

Robert A. Hall

I've been out of town. Just returned, and my Comcast Internet service is still down. I'm using a SLOW AT&T card from the office and having trouble opening links. I bet the Comcast bill will come on time, though. Will post what I can. ~Bob.

The unspeakable horror in Newtown

From the moment I heard about the mass murder of children at Sandy Hook Elementary School, I tried not to think about it, because I could do nothing, and it doesn't bear contemplation. But, like everyone in out grieving nation, I could not help thinking about the horror. Words are useless to capture how sad and sick my heart is, and yours as well, I'm sure. We know those families will never have a Merry Christmas again, and our hearts hurt. That night, every time I woke up, it came to mind like a black cloud, making getting back to sleep difficult.

Conservatives will note that if a teacher or custodian had been armed, many of the deaths could have been prevented. Gleeful liberals will see it as a golden opportunity to create more gun-free zones like Sandy Hook, giving psychopaths a safe shooting gallery to do their evil work. That both sides think first of the political implications is also a mark of the tragedy that is overtaking our divided nation, when we should be thinking of the families, and reaching out to the grieving parents.

Twenty dead children is, of course, only a fraction of the 260 kids who were murdered in Chicago in 2011. But those dead Chicago kids get little notice in the national press. First because they die in ones and twos, not all at once. Second because they die from gun violence in a city with very restrictive gun laws, so their deaths do not provide fodder for more restrictive gun laws. (Last year an elderly black man in Chicago saved his life, and the lives of his wife and grandson by shooting and killing an armed black intruder. Then the debate was over charging him for owning a gun. He was lucky to be black, and got off.) Third, most of the dead kids in Chicago are black kids murdered by black thugs, so to widely report their deaths might be considered racist--the truth often is. But their families grieve as much as the families of Sandy Hook, just far more privately.

We could greatly reduce gun violence, but we do not have the political will. Here's how: Five years in prison, no appeal or parole, for a felon possessing a gun or for anyone selling a gun illegally to a felon. One year in prison for a felon attempting to buy a gun. Ten years in prison for using a gun to commit a crime. The death penalty for using a gun to commit a murder, carried out rapidly and surely. No, this would not have stopped Sandy Hook. Only armed people who could fight back could might have. But it would cut the violence in the cities greatly.

Of course, the "deinstitutionalization" of mental health facilities and the liberalization of mental health commitment policies back in the 1970s means that psychotics like Lanza get to walk the streets until after they harm someone, in most cases. We would rather risk dead kids than violating their rights, or a lawsuit.

This, of course, challenges our faith as well. I pray daily for my granddaughter, but I know these families prayed for their kids as well.

I think if you could look into most people's hearts, they would have been grateful to not have been at the school when Adam Lanza came storming in. And I think if you could look into the hearts of most Marine veterans, in fact of most military veterans and cops, they would wish they had been there. Preferably armed, to have a hope of stopping the psychotic before so many kids died. But even unarmed to at least have died trying. Rushing an active shooter unarmed has a low probability of success. But faced with such evil, death is preferable for a man than living with yourself afterwards if you didn't try.

A Jihad Christmas

http://tartanmarine.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-jihad-christmas.html

Photo of the season.

The Great Progressive Church. By Robert A. Hall

http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/12/m-the_great_progressive_church.html
This piece has produced over 50 requests for PDFs of The Coming Collapse of the American Republic, dozens of folks saying they are buying the book, and a large number of comments on American Thinker. One response from a blog reader: "I loved this article, but didn't at first realize it was you. I don't usually look at the tagline; only the title and header. So I read it and kept saying "yes!" and "ABSOLUTELY". Then I get to the bottom and saw your name and said, of COURSE Mr. Hall wrote it! Your daily sit-reps are one of the very first blogs I read on a daily basis."

Worth Reading: Minding 'Ps' - and a 'Q'. By Andy Weddington

http://acoloneloftruth.blogspot.com/2012/12/minding-ps-and-q.html

Excerpt: The comics are also known as the funnies. But there's nothing funny about what's happening in America these days. Any comedy, though laughable, is mostly tragedy and so flow the tears, and anger.

No, Mass Shootings are Not on the Increase
http://MinuteMenNews.com/2012/12/no-mass-shootings-are-not-on-the-increase/

Excerpt: Demands for bans on assault weapons in a shooting that did not involve an assault weapon, or for greater gun control laws in response to a shooting in a state with gun control laws which were complied with, are based on emotion, not analysis.

Dem Lawmaker: Obama ‘Must Exploit’ School Shooting To Get Gun Control

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/12/15/Dem-Lawmaker-Obama-Must-Exploit-School-Shooting

Excerpt: In his statement to the country yesterday, while he wasn't specific about what action he intended to take, President Obama did make clear that action would be forthcoming. Obama also hinted that this action would be politically divisive when he warned that "meaningful action" would need to be taken "regardless of the politics." As we all know this is a "never let a crisis go to waste" president and party. (Why not examine mental health care provisions? Or stop brainwashing children to kill with video games where the winner kills the most. Duh! Sorry, that wouldn’t go along with Agenda 21.--Barb.)

Evil Is to Blame

http://pjmedia.com/jchristianadams/2012/12/14/evil-is-to-blame/

Excerpt: We’ll hear lots of bluster about how to prevent more school house murders. Nearly all of it is meaningless. The only way to prevent such horror is to choose to love your neighbor as yourself, to respect the dignity of human life, and to follow familiar laws thousands of years old.

 

Obama’s Use of Gangster Tactics in Politics

http://stop-obama-now.net/obama-and-the-mob/

Excerpt: Saul Alinsky based his methods on the doctrine of Al Capon’s mob. Barack and Michelle Obama both said that he intended to use these methods in politics. We have probably never had a politician in the United States, who uses such tactics of a criminal mob of murderers to advance his personal power.

 

Report: Ahmadinejad to Cancel Turkey Trip After 'WWIII Threat'

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/163210#.UM4R4-T7L0c

Excerpt: After threatening that Ankara could set off “World War III” if it allows the U.S. to deploy Patriot missiles on its border with Syria, a report Sunday said that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would not be visiting Turkey, as had been scheduled. Turkey's Hurriyet daily newspaper said that the cancellation of Ahmadinejad's visit had raised Turkish-Iranian tensions to new heights.

Obamacare and My Daughter “In two years, the surgery will cease to be available for the insured due to Obamacare.”

http://pjmedia.com/blog/obamacare-and-my-daughter/

Excerpt: Knowing the risk and the history of government healthcare in places such as wartime Germany and peacetime United Kingdom, I was opposed to the implementation of a similar system in the United States. While our government mocked the concept of death panels, we read of "death pathways” for sick children and seniors in England today. I worked with conservatives across the country to battle the health bill prior to passage.

Jordan’s King Abdullah Threatens to Shut Down Egypt’s Economy

http://pjmedia.com/spengler/2012/12/13/jordans-king-abdullah-threatens-to-shut-down-egypts-economy/

Excerpt: Speaking at a private meeting this week, Jordan’s King Abdullah warned that he had “bargaining chips” to use against the Muslim Brotherhood, which he denounced as a “new extremist alliance” in the Arab world. … “The Jordanian monarch was full of reproach for Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood,” al-Hayat wrote. “The king added that the Egyptian leadership had ‘marginalized the Jordanian role during the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations to stop the recent aggression on the Gaza Strip.’” The Muslim Brotherhood has targeted Jordan’s monarchy as the next domino to fall after Egypt.

Hillary Clinton Concussed; Not Expected To Testify At Benghazi Hearings

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2012/12/15/Hillary-Clinton-Faints-Concussed-Not-Expected-To-Testify-At-Benghazi-Hearings-Next-Week

Excerpt: As a result, Clinton is not expected to testify next Thursday at the congressional hearings on the terrorist attack in Benghazi that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens. State Department spokesperson Phillipe Reines said Clinton "became dehydrated and fainted, sustaining a concussion" while suffering from a stomach virus that caused her to also miss a scheduled trip to Mexico last week. "She has been recovering at home and will continue to be monitored regularly by her doctors," Reines said. (Americans soon will wait months for doctors but the elite in the Party get house calls. USSR here we come! Best comment on site: RURALDELIVERY: Well, faking it worked for Jesse Jackson Jr. Catching a Clinton is like catching a greased pig. Aren't these Democrats real pieces of work?? --Barb.)

Marine Double Amputee ‘Humiliated’ to Point of Tears on Delta Flight Gets Helping Hand From Fellow Vets

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/marine-double-amputee-humiliated-to-point-of-tears-on-delta-flight-gets-helping-hand-from-fellow-vets/

Excerpt: “I have been flying with Delta for a gazillion years and this crew treated Chris worse than you’d treat any thing, not even any body.” That was the opening line of retired Army Lt. Col. Keith Gafford, during a phone interview about the egregious treatment on Delta Airlines of fellow veteran, Marine Lance Cpl. Christian Brown, who is now a double amputee following severe injuries acquired while serving in Afghanistan. (This is one of those things you read and think "No, it can't be true. No one is that STUPID, not to mention that heartless". But here it is. Time for a call or card to Delta mentioning you're unhappy with this horrible event, and won't be booking on them any more. --Del)

FBI Figures: Still No ‘Wave of Islamophobia’

http://blog.camera.org/archives/2012/12/fbi_figures_still_no_wave_of_i_1.html

Excerpt: Hate crimes reported to U.S. law enforcement agencies declined six percent from 2010 to 2011, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s annual statistics. The 6,222 reported hate crimes were the fewest since 1994. (You have to feel bad for CAIR and the Muslims. They want so badly to be victims. They should convert to Judaism--most hate crimes are against Jews. ~Bob.)

Critics savage Depardieu's new role as tax exile

http://www.france24.com/en/20121210-critics-savage-depardieus-new-role-tax-exile

Excerpt: French politicians reacted with dismay on Monday after it emerged the country's leading actor, Gerard Depardieu, has taken up the role of tax exile in neighbouring Belgium. (The rich find ways to avoid taxes. Duh. ~Bob. Depardieu is the first celebrity of his calibre to leave France and the Left wants him punished. After all, why wouldn't a rich guy like him be delighted to fork over 75% of his earnings to the French government under François Hollande's socialist tax regime? Pourquoi, Monsieur Depardieu? Anyway, the suggested punishment, stripping the actor of his citizenship, is lenient in comparison with what the first leftists under Robespierre wanted to do to their expats: guillotine them. The panther (pink, that is) never changes its stripes. --Don Hank)

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad ObamaCare: The law's implementation is turning into one pratfall after another.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324478304578173753228248438.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read

Excerpt: For sheer political farce, not much can compete with ObamaCare's passage, which included slipping the bill through the Senate before dawn three Christmas eves ago. But the madcap dash to get ready for the entitlement's October 2013 start-up date is a pretty close second. The size and complexity of the Affordable Care Act meant that its implementation was never going to easy. (Remember, we had to pass the Bill to find out what's in it? Well, every week another shoe drops and the complexities and problems of actual implementation reveal themselves. This is not going to go well. (And some of us predicted that quite a while back.) --Del)

Hollywood's Cuban Connection

http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=19920

Excerpt: Many are part of the Hollywood crowd that espouse far-left, socialist and communist causes, like Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, Danny Glover, Jack Nicholson, Gene Hackman, Ed Asner, Peter Weller, the late Jack Lemon, Woody Harrelson, Leonardo di Caprio, Frances McDormand, Naomi Campbell, Francis Ford Coppola, Oliver Stone, Steven Spielberg, Joel Coen, etc.

The War on Poverty: $15 Trillion and Nothing to Show for It. By Michael Tennant

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/item/11864-the-war-on-poverty-$15-trillion-and-nothing-to-show-for-it

Excerpt: Fifteen trillion dollars: That’s how much American taxpayers have forked over in the name of helping the poor since 1964. And what do we have to show for it? A poverty rate that has barely budged, an entrenched bureaucracy, and a population — like that of Greece and Portugal, two welfare-state basket cases — increasingly dependent on government handouts. (This is six months old, but not really outdated in any significant sense. The Bible says the poor will always be with us, and depending on the definition applied, that seems to be a valid statement. However, in an affluent society, the number of the poor could be expected to be minimized, and how low that number might be would be the base for a lot of discussion and even argument. And how to best provide aid to the poor, and help them improve their lives and move into the Middle Class is certainly a subject that brings on a variety of views and a good deal of argument. --Del)

You’re Going To Do This To Her?’: Wheelchair-Bound Child Sobs As Tsa Detains Her For Nearly 1 Hour — Then Released With No Explanation

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/youre-going-to-do-this-to-her-wheelchair-bound-child-sobs-as-tsa-detains-her-for-nearly-1-hour-then-released-with-no-explanation/

Excerpt: It was frightening. I kinda got mad.” That’s how 12-year-old Shelbi Walser explains her experience going through a TSA checkpoint at the Dallas DFW airport on Sunday. Shelbi, who is wheelchair-bound, was held for nearly an hour after an agent said she tested positive for bomb residue. The young girl was on her way to Florida for a rare medical treatment because she lives with a genetic bone disorder.

The overlooked plight of black males. By Michael Gerson

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/michael-gerson-the-overlooked-plight-of-young-black-men/2012/12/13/3a15cbc0-4555-11e2-8061-253bccfc7532_story.html

Excerpt: A president’s first term is a fresh track in the snow. His second term moves on a set of rutted paths. The shiny cause has become a vast machine, its wheels spinning on internal impulses unrelated to presidential priorities or pressing needs. (A subject that is often mentioned, but not constructively. Gerson brings a constructive view into play. --Del)

The Voodoo Cult among Negro Migrants in Detroit

http://stop-obama-now.net/the-voodoo-cult/

Excerpt: This article provides some original evidence regarding the foundation of the Black Nationalist movement on Gnostic occult principles and other occult influences, which has never changed. Black Nationalism, including all of its branches, remains today an occult movement based on hatred of whites, hatred of America and hatred of traditional Christianity. The goal described in NOI literature is ultimately the destruction of America and the white race. (This was passed to me. I do not vouch for the site. Read critically, as will all posts. ~Bob.

Cellphone Taxes Continue to Rise

http://www.mywireless.org/2012/11/cellphone-taxes-continue-to-rise/

Excerpt: In fact, a recent study by economist Scott Mackey of KSE Partners shows that the average American wireless consumer now pays more than 17% (17.18%, to be exact)in monthly wireless taxes and fees. That’s up from 16.26% since the last time he looked at these numbers in 2010. That means that for your wireless service every month, you’re paying a tax rate nearly two and a half times higher than the average general sales tax rate (7.33%) that you’d pay if you bought another taxable good or service. (Doesn't bother me. Only the rich have cell phones and need to pay their fair share. ~Bob.)

Michigan's Watershed Moment. By George Will

http://patriotpost.us/opinion/15910

Excerpt: Rick Snyder, who is hardly a human cactus, warned Michigan's labor leaders. The state's mild-mannered Republican governor, currently in his first term in his first public office, has rarely been accused of being, or praised for being, a fire-breathing conservative. When unions put on Michigan's November ballot two measures that would have entrenched collective bargaining rights in the state Constitution, Snyder told them they were picking a fight they might regret.

Gov't: Chavez suffered complications in surgery

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-world-latinamerica/20121213/LT.Venezuela.Chavez/

Excerpt: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez suffered bleeding during his cancer surgery in Cuba that required "corrective measures" to stanch the flow, his government said Thursday.

Man-made global warming: even the IPCC admits the jig is up. James Delingpole
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100194166/man-made-global-warming-even-the-ipcc-admits-the-jig-is-up/
Excerpt: Breaking news from the US – h/t Watts Up With That? – where a leaked draft of the IPCC's latest report AR5 admits what some of us have suspected for a very long time: that the case for man-made global warming is looking weaker by the day and that the sun plays a much more significant role in "climate change" than the scientific "consensus" has previously been prepared to concede. Here's the killer admission: