Old Jarhead's Political SitRep for April 23, 2013

Old Jarhead's Political SitRep for April 23, 2013

Robert A. Hall

The Philosophy of the Old Jarhead Blog

www.tartanmarine.blogspot.com

The Old Jarhead SitRep is a blog of political news and conservative opinion, that has had about 700,000 page views since founded in 2008, is read in many counties (Iran? Indonesia? Russia? Go figure.), and was up to 30,000 page views a month recently. Plus I throw in some humor and human interest pieces that catch my attention for seasoning. I try to include foreign sources and info you won’t get in the MSM, but I often use links to pieces in the Washington Post, New York Times, Politico, Reuters and other liberal leaning sources. No one is required to read it, or any of the links. A majority of the pieces are sent to me by readers, for which I’m grateful, others come from newsfeeds I subscribe to. I get some from Twitter, but often don’t have time to look at my feeds there. I stop sending the link to people who become nasty or too angry. I used to forward political items, but was sending too many e-mails to my list, so a few years ago, I started collecting them on the blog to access in one place. I use maybe 50% of the conservative pieces sent me, probably less than 5% of the liberal opinion sent, usually to illustrate their views. Readers who don’t like that are welcome to start their own blogs. Blogs are free and so is speech in America right now, despite leftist efforts to outlaw “hate speech” they disagree with and Islamist efforts to outlaw criticism of Islam, while retaining the right to describe other religions in vile terms. I try to avoid items that will turn off thoughtful centrists and leftists or low-information independents, including “red meat” pieces with intemperate language or wild speculation, conspiracy theories with no supporting facts and silly distractions like the so-called “birther” issue (but I don’t always succeed). I predicted correctly four years ago the “birther” thing was going nowhere, was a huge waste of time and resources, and played into the hands of the left, much as the impeachment of Bill Clinton did in the 1990s. (I said so at the time.) I do sometimes include things I don’t agree with that I think readers might find of interest. Readers are requested to read all items critically and with skepticism—just like a newspaper! Readers who send formatted pieces (title, link, and a fair use excerpt of three sentences unless the piece is very short, than fewer) to tartanmarine(at)gmail.com have a higher chance of my using them than people who just send a link. I often include thoughtful comments from contributors. (Tell me if you want you full name used.) A piece without a link has a much lower chance of being used—it depends on how interesting it is and how much time I have right then to search for it. I understand if you don’t have the time to format or even to find a link—please understand my time is pretty limited too. There are no ads on my blog, no fees and I receive no income from it. When I retire, that might need to change, but for now, that’s how it is. I do promote my books, with the royalties going to charity. Thanks for reading and contributing. ~Bob.

Advice for my Granddaughter: For When I'm Gone

http://www.amazon.com/Advice-Granddaughter-When-Im-Gone/dp/147004238X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1329662198&sr=8-2

https://www.createspace.com/3792897All royalties go to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (which gets a larger royalty if you order directly through Create Space.).

I expect to have a new book out soon. Watch this space. ~Bob.

Response to yesterday’s SitRep

Great group of posts. Keep it up. However, do you have a backup? I bet you are on many hit lists. –Ed K. I’m a Marine, Ed. I AM the backup. Besides, I have pulmonary fibrosis, considered a terminal illness, so all they have to do is wait for Allah to take me. ~Bob.

Worth Reading: Hunt for the elusive Tea Party murderer continues. By John Hayward

http://www.redstate.com/2013/04/20/hunt-for-the-elusive-tea-party-murderer-continues/

Excerpt: Liberal hopes were dashed with the revelation that the Boston Marathon bombers were a couple of Chechen Muslim immigrants. The Left was so sure they had finally bagged the elusive Tea Party murderer! The bombings occurred in Boston on Tax Day. Surely, at long last, the opportunity to smear libertarians, small-government conservatives, anti-tax crusaders, and the whole hellish tri-corner hat crowd was at hand! ”Two plus two equals…?” Michael Moore burbled happily, retreating back into his copious shell of sub-human idiocy when the answer turned out to be “Islam.” 

White House says surviving Boston suspect will not be treated as an enemy combatant

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/alleged-bombers-aunt-tamerlan-tsarnaev-was-religious-but-not-radical/2013/04/22/ca8f3214-ab5c-11e2-a198-99893f10d6dd_story.html

Excerpt: Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will not be treated as an enemy combatant, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday. 9no surprise. Like Nidal Hasan, an American citizen. And don’t want to offend CAIR. Who knows what they might do? ~Bob.)

Boston suspect was under FBI surveillance, mother says

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/20/us-usa-explosions-boston-mother-idUSBRE93J0AE20130420

Excerpt: One of the two ethnic Chechens suspected by U.S. officials of being behind the Boston Marathon bombings had been under FBI surveillance for at least three years, his mother said.

FBI: Boston suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev followed 'radical Islam'

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-boston-bombing-suspect-radical-fbi-20130420,0,4341067.story

Excerpt: Deceased Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was identified by a foreign government as a "follower of radical Islam and a strong believer" whose personality had changed drastically in just a year, according to the FBI.

F.B.I. Interview Led Homeland Security to Hold Up Citizenship for One Brother

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/h/homeland_security_department/index.html?inline=nyt-org

Excerpt: Department of Homeland Security officials had decided not to grant an application for American citizenship by Tamerlan Tsarnaev after a routine background check revealed that he had been interviewed by the F.B.I.

The Mystery of the (Alleged) Bombers' Voter Registration. By Jim Geraghty

http://www.nationalreview.com/campaign-spot/346087/mystery-alleged-bombers-voter-registry

Excerpt: This morning, people are responding in shock at a Buzzfeed report that Djohan and Tamerlan Tsarnaev are registered to vote (complete with screenshots of theirvoter registration records). People are wondering how the Tsarnaevs could be registered to vote if they were not U.S. citizens.

Jake Tapper hearing ‘crickets’ from FBI over Tamerlan Tsarnaev inquiry; House committee to seek answers

http://twitchy.com/2013/04/20/jake-tapper-hearing-crickets-from-fbi-over-tamerlan-tsarnaev-inquiry-house-committee-to-seek-answers/

Excerpt: We don’t know who Tapper’s source is, but we have no problem believing it would be rare for Russia to enlist the help of the FBI unless there were a clear security threat to either nation. In the meantime, CNN is reporting that the House Homeland Security Committee is going to press the Obama administration for answers.

How doctor's daughter became the Muslim convert widow of Boston bomber: Terrorist husband 'brainwashed' her and she gave up her dreams of college to have his baby at 21

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2312588/Tamerlan-Tsarnaevs-wife-How-Katherine-Russell-Muslim-convert-widow-Boston-bomber.html

Excerpt: Katherine Russell, the widow of Boston bomb suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was 'an all-American girl who was brainwashed' by her extremist husband according to one school friend. (They have now found and traced the poor widow girl, of the one who was shot! A doctor's daughter. What they don't say is....that if she now gives up Islam, she will be killed, as is their way with ALL who leave the cult (it's not a religion!). If she leaves, there will automatically be a fatwa on her, for someone, anyone, to kill her - joining Islam is a one-way ticket! --Stan. Harvard University reflects the radical moral and religious transformation of the region. It was founded in 1650 by ministers to train clergy for the colonies. But by 1805 it had become secularized and was based on Unitarianism. While Unitarianism could once have been described as a revealed religion, it quickly evolved into a nebulous humanist feel-good ideology based on the notion that man is basically good and can be perfected by education to achieve a moral utopia. New England was one of the first regions in America to accept 'gay' marriage and adoption and a 'woman's right to choose' as moral absolutes. Dissent is squelched. Orthodox Christians live in a repressive atmosphere of socially imposed censorship. Obviously, this is as far removed from the Puritan ideals as anything can be, and the fruits are obvious. Katherine Russel's story shows that when you believe in nothing, you will fall for anything. --Don Hank)

CNN's Erin Burnett Surprised Bombing Suspects Aren't 'Stereotypical' Americans

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2013/04/20/CNN-s-Erin-Burnett-Assumed-Terrorism-Suspects-Were-Stereotypically-White-Americans

Excerpt: McCaul said there, "may be some sort of foreign connection here." "Wait," Burnett interrupted. "Let me make sure I understand. Sorry, I want to make you understand. So they're still looking into the possibility that even though these two kids look very, very stereotypically like they're from here that this may be linked to a foreign terror group?"

Worth Reading: Islam’s World War Came to Boston. By Daniel Greenfield 

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/islams-world-war-came-to-boston/

Excerpt: As the words of a Jihadist song in Dzhokhar’s playlist go, “Be in this temporary world a stranger/Infidels rule the earth/for the faithful life is torture.” Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were strangers. Tamerlan had an American wife and Dzhokhar had plenty of American friends but they chose to treat a city and a nation that had taken them in as targets in a terrorist war. As infidels who deserved nothing more than to be lied to and killed.

Friends of accused Boston bomber taken into custody in New Bedford, Mass.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/2-pals-accused-boston-bomber-custody-article-1.1323004#ixzz2RCurOmuC

Excerpt: Two foreign nationals — who are believed to be associates of the alleged Boston Marathon bombers — were arrested Saturday on immigration violations, authorities said. The men, identified by neighbors as 19-year-olds from Kazakhstan, drove around in a black BMW with the mock license plate, “TERRORISTA #1.” (If you want a license plate that’s a bit sexy, no way. But blocking this one would have been Islamophobic, the highest PC crime. ~Bob.)

And How Many Bullets Do You Need? By Jim Yardley
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/04/and_how_many_bullets_do_you_need.html#ixzz2RCpcRLzS 

Excerpt: Think about that for just a moment. It took a dozen or more cops, who are trained professionals, who practice on at least a weekly basis with their firearms, to fire 200 rounds before he finally died. Yet our politicians (at least here in New York, and some in Washington -- as well as other places, I'm sure) are saying that the most anyone needs to have to protect himself from armed intruders is seven rounds in the magazine. (See, having more than seven rounds is Islamophobic, because it gives you an equal shot with the terrorists. If you’ll pardon the pun. ~Bob.)

Obama’s former DHS Nominee: Boston Bombers Are “Not Terrorists”
http://cowboybyte.com/20987/former-obama-dhs-intel-chief-nominee-boston-bombers-are-not-terrorists/

Excerpt: He said the Boston attack reminded him more of the 1999 attack on Columbine than a terror event orchestrated by a foreign network. “I would charge these guys as murders not terrorists,” Mudd said of the suspects in the attack on the Boston Marathon. (You could get the left excited if you figured out how much carbon the bombs released. ~Bob.)

Boston and America … Where the Fish Rots from the Top

http://pjmedia.com/rogerlsimon/2013/04/21/boston-and-america-where-the-fish-rots-from-the-top/

Excerpt: The Obama administration and most of those working for it have taken Islamic terrorism about as seriously as I am taking the Memphis Grizzlies/L.A. Clippers game currently on my TV — in other words, at best mildly interested. …And when Islamic terrorism does rear its head, as in Benghazi, the administration evinces something worse than disinterest — dishonesty, lies, coverup and prevarication (sometimes aided by Tapper’s CNN cohort Candy Crowley)

Report: Dzhokhar Unable To Speak Due To Throat Wound From Possible Suicide Attempt

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/04/21/Report-Dzhokhar-Unable-to-Speak-Due-to-Throat-Wound-from-Possible-Suicide-Attempt

Excerpt: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the 19-year-old suspected Boston Marathon bomber who was captured alive on Friday, reportedly is unable to speak as he is recovering at a Boston hospital because of a throat wound he may have sustained while trying to kill himself. According to intelligence sources, "Tsarnaev suffered at least two bullet wounds — including one to his neck — before he was arrested in Watertown," and the wound to the neck “is very possibly a suicide attempt" because the exit wound is in the back of the neck.

Major Terrorist Attack On Canada Averted

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/canada/archives/2013/04/20130422-151451.html

Excerpt: A potential bomb plot on a Via passenger train over the Niagara River has been averted, police say. The RCMP said Chiheb Esseghaier and Raed Jaser of Montreal and Toronto were arrested for planning the attack. The men are not Canadian citizens. They supported by al-Qaida "elements" in Iran, police told reporters at a Monday afternoon press conference.

Exclusive – Source: Saudi National’s Deportation Record Altered

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/04/20/Saudi-National-Questioned-Record-Changed

Excerpt: Breitbart News has learned that the Saudi National questioned after the Boston Marathon Bombing had his deportation order records altered, rescinding his deportation order. The alteration occurred the night before Secretary Napolitano vehemently denied the existence of any deportation order in testimony before the House of Representatives. Sources with knowledge of these matters says the change occurred subsequent to Secretary John Kerry's closed door meeting on Tuesday with the Saudi Minister and around the time of the meeting between the Saudi Minister and Obama later on Wednesday evening.

I Saw Something, So I'm Saying Something. By Stella Paul

http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/04/i_saw_something_so_im_saying_something.html

Excerpt: Are you fed up with the antiseptic slogan, "If you see something, say something?" The authorities expect us to report suspicious backpacks, but stay silent as the tomb about the nature of the men who put them there. We're instructed to speak up about a bloodied man's movement under a boat tarp, but to shut up about the ideological movement that drove him to commit his carnage. (They keep saying “If you see something, say something.” Of course, you will likely be vilified by the media as a racist (what race are Muslims?) Islamophobe, lose your job and be shunned by all right thinking people if you do. Which is why those who heard Maj. Nidal Hasan’s inflammatory remarks kept quiet. A charge of Islamophobia from a Muslim in the military is a career ender. So tough, but those 13 people had to die. ~Bob.)

Pay to Play: Obama raised $43M for inauguration

http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/295163-obama-raised-43m-for-inauguration

Excerpt: President Obama raised more than $43 million for his second inauguration, with corporations, unions and other interest groups contributing $18 million, according to a new Federal Election Commission (FEC) report. The 2013 inaugural ceremonies’ fundraising total falls short of the more than $53 million Obama raised for his first inauguration.

Worth Reading: Fear of Fracking

http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/overcoming-objections-to-shale-gas-by-jeffrey-frankel

Excerpt: Against all expectations, US emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, since peaking in 2007, have fallen by 12% as of 2012, back to 1995 levels. The primary reason, in a word, is “fracking.” Or, in 11 words: horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to recover deposits of shale gas. … Natural gas emits only half as much CO2 as coal, and occupies a rapidly increasing share of electricity generation – up 37% since 2007, while coal’s share has plummeted by 25%. (The liberal position is that it’s an outrage that fracking both reduces carbon and give the poor and working classes a change to heat and light their homes at reasonable cost. What will they do for issues? ~Bob.)

Climate scientists struggle to explain warming slowdown

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/16/us-climate-slowdown-idUSBRE93F0AJ20130416

Excerpt: Scientists are struggling to explain a slowdown in climate change that has exposed gaps in their understanding and defies a rise in global greenhouse gas emissions. Often focused on century-long trends, most climate models failed to predict that the temperature rise would slow, starting around 2000. (How about this: If you fudge the data to get grants, become famous and make Al Gore among the wealthiest Americans, you get bad results. Too long? How about: GIGO. ~Bob.)

Police arrest student for wearing pro-gun NRA shirt to school

http://dailycaller.com/2013/04/22/police-arrest-student-for-wearing-pro-gun-nra-shirt-to-school/
Excerpt: Police arrested a West Virginia eighth-grader last week after he refused to remove the National Rifle Association t-shirt he wore to school. (Not often that a school and the police get to trash both the Second and the First Amendment in one action. Well, played, fascist scum. ~Bob. OK, here we are again with PC thinking overriding simple common sense. The teacher flipped out over a shirt with NRA on it and the image of a hunting rifle. And escalated his displeasure into a confrontation that got the kid into deep trouble, when the answer was to examine the actual school policy word by word and to with it. Hopefully the kid will come out of this OK. --Del)

Seven Reasons The Economy Could Be Headed Into Recession. By Merrill Matthews

http://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillmatthews/2013/04/17/seven-reasons-the-economy-could-be-headed-into-recession/

Excerpt: The U.S. economy—President Obama’s economy—is sending decidedly mixed signals. While some economic indicators are picking up, many others are headed south—which means there’s a good chance the economy could slip into recession again soon. 

Latest clashes near Syrian capital may have killed hundreds, activists say

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/activist-groups-say-latest-clashes-near-syrian-capital-may-have-killed-hundreds/2013/04/22/0f2fb47c-ab1a-11e2-9493-2ff3bf26c4b4_story.html

Excerpt: Six days of fighting in a Damascus suburb has killed more than a hundred people and possibly many more, activists said Monday, in what the government also acknowledged may be a dramatic spike in the rising death toll in Syria. (Whoever “wins,” there will be more death afterwards than before, as in South Vietnam. ~Bob.)

Hagel: Mideast arms deal ‘a very clear signal’ to Iran

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/hagel-mideast-arms-deal-a-very-clear-signal-to-iran/2013/04/21/888abd64-aa73-11e2-8559-85e32b44d524_story.html

Excerpt: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel arrived in Israel on Sunday to put the finishing touches on a complicated $10 billion arms deal with three Middle Eastern countries, saying the pact sends “a very clear signal” to Iran. Under preliminary terms of the agreement, the United States would sell tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey aircraft — which can take off like a helicopter but cruise at airplane speed — to Israel. It would be the first time that the Pentagon has approved a foreign sale of the Osprey, which can carry combat troops and is prized for its maneuverability.

Civilians Are Killed in Nigerian Battle

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/world/africa/civilians-are-killed-in-nigerian-battle.html?ref=world&_r=0

Excerpt: Fighting between Nigeria’s military and Islamic extremists killed at least 185 people in a fishing community in the nation’s far northeast, officials said Sunday, an attack in which insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades and soldiers sprayed machine-gun fire into neighborhoods filled with civilians. (Gee, I wonder what the extremists’ motives are? Maybe the Boston Bomber will tell us? ~Bob.)

Journalist shot dead in Somalia’s capital, 5th journalist to be killed this year

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/journalist-shot-dead-in-somalias-capital-5th-journalist-to-be-killed-this-year/2013/04/21/d02fe128-aabc-11e2-9493-2ff3bf26c4b4_story.html

Excerpt: Mohamed Abdullahi Haji, a news editor at the state-run radio station, said that gunmen killed Mohamed Ibrahim Rage, who worked for the station, at his home in the capital Sunday. (MSNBC blames conservative, Christian, Tea Party white males. ~Bob.)

Worth Reading: The Tailor Who Sewed the Obama Empty Suit Has Sewn Others. By Bruce Walker
http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/04/the_tailor_who_sewed_the_obama_empty_suit_has_sewn_others.html

Excerpt: The most glaring fact about our president is that he is an empty suit. The people around him are also empty suits. They believe in nothing, really, but unearned luxury, unmerited adulation, and unaccountable power. Those whom we have come to call "leftists" are in fact nothing but nihilists, and we flatter them when we presume that they value anything beyond their vanities, their avarice, and their selfishness. (The Scots in the early 1400s called John Balliol, Edward the First’s puppet Scots king, “Toom Tabard,” meaning “empty coat.” ~Bob.)

Obamacare To Slash Hundreds Of Billions From Medicare Advantage Over Next 10 Years. By Sally Pipes

http://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypipes/2013/04/15/obamacare-to-slash-hundreds-of-billions-from-medicare-advantage-over-next-10-years/?utm_source=followingweekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20130422

Excerpt: But Medicare Advantage is not out of the woods yet. Obamacare is set to slash hundreds of billions from the program over the next 10 years. That’s a mistake. Medicare Advantage delivers better care at lower cost than does conventional Medicare. The program should be expanded — not cut, as the president and his allies advocate.

Syrian rebels announce plans to implement Sharia; U.S. gives them $123 million more in aid

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/04/syrian-rebels-announce-plans-to-implement-sharia-us-gives-them-123-million-more-in-aid.html

Excerpt: What is a "moderate form" of Sharia? Wherever Sharia is implemented, it is markedly similar in form, contrary to the dissembling claims of Islamic supremacist spokesmen in the U.S. like Imam Faisal Rauf and Reza Aslan, who claim that it is so amorphous as to defy characterization. Moaz Al Khatib gives a hint of the kinder, gentler Sharia that he has in mind when he says: "Some in Al Nusra have told women they must wear hijab and that is not right, if you want to preach, do it well, you can talk, you cannot command, there is no compulsion in Islam." However, the legal code that is circulating among the Syrian opposition just says that "governing justice will be in accordance with the provisions of Sharia law," apparently with no mitigation or caveat.

Achieving ObamaCare Goals without ObamaCare. By John Goodman

http://healthblog.ncpa.org/achieving-obamacare-goals-without-obamacare/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=HA#more-29952

Excerpt: When 21-year-old Mike Kelly (not his real name) set out on his bicycle one evening in Durango, Colorado, he had no intention of ending up in a hospital. A collision with an automobile changed those plans. Fortunately, Durango is a ski mecca where broken bones are almost a way of life. With all that practice, doctors there have evolved their practice into a sort of natural center of excellence for treating bone injuries. In Mike’s case, however, another set of doctors came into play. Mike and his family are clients of PinnacleCare, a “health advisory” firm in Baltimore, Maryland. Within 30 minutes of Mike’s arrival at the emergency room, the staff of PinnacleCare was on the phone with the ER doctors in Durango — discussing treatment options and transferring Mike’s medical records. Communication is a big problem for everyone in medical emergencies.

Go U-Mass: The Grad Student Who Took Down Reinhart And Rogoff Explains Why They're Fundamentally Wrong
http://www.businessinsider.com/herndon-responds-to-reinhart-rogoff-2013-4

Excerpt: The following is a guest post from University of Massachusetts grad student Thomas Herndon. Herndon shook the economics world last week by debunking an influential paper from Harvard econ professors Carmen Reinhart and Ken Rogoff that claimed countries with debt to GDP above 90% experience much lower growth. Herndon's paper showed an Excel coding flaw was partly to blame for the result.

Flashback: Earth Day co-founder killed, composted girlfriend: Ira Einhorn preached against Vietnam War and violence, but had dark side

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42711922/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/earth-day-co-founder-killed-composted-girlfriend/

Excerpt: Ira Einhorn was on stage hosting the first Earth Day event at the Fairmount Park in Philadelphia on April 22, 1970. Seven years later, police raided his closet and found the "composted" body of his ex-girlfriend inside a trunk. (Where can I get a “Go Green—Compost Your Girlfriend” bumper sticker? ~Bob.)

Important: Where did everyone go? Demography may explain the weakness of America’s recovery

http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21573969-demography-may-explain-weakness-americas-recovery-where-did-everyone-go

Excerpt: Lower potential growth would help answer one puzzle: why has unemployment fallen further than either the Federal Reserve or the White House expected, even though the economy has grown more slowly? Since the end of 2007 the population over 16 has grown by 11.6m people and the labour force (those either working or looking for work) has grown by just 1.6m. As a result, the share of the population actually in the labour force has fallen from 66% to 63.5%, a tie for the lowest level recorded in more than 30 years. If the other 10m want to work but simply are not looking, they should arguably be included among the unemployed. But in fact, only a fifth of them say they want to work.

Tweet from Greg Howard ‏@GregWHoward3h

"Obama's Chechens have come home to roost." I'm claiming credit on this one. Tweeted it several days ago.