With my
FEV numbers falling into the cellar, they have moved my next surgical
bronchoscopy to this Thursday from next Monday. I'm concerned they are reaching
the point of diminishing returns, but will continue to March. Will keep you
posted.
I've
been working on an essay on Racism in America, and feeling a certain pressure
to get it finished, in case the stick me back inside he VA. But I'm already over
16,000 words--big topic--so I console myself that most people won't read
anything over 140 characters anyway. ~Bob
Worth Reading
Excerpt:
A Marine friend, whom I've written about a few times, died. Battle injuries suffered long ago, and
complications there from, had the final say. I spoke to him on the phone a few
weeks ago - we were coordinating a visit when I returned from fishing. His
voice I remember. (When you become sick of bureaucrats, and grubbing
bottom-feeders in Washington , it's worth
remembering that America
produced men like this. God willing, she will produce a few more. ~Bob)
Excerpt: I’m a retired infantry officer, lieutenant colonel,
a recovering attorney, and a science fiction and military fiction writer for
Baen Publishing and Castalia House. I’m also a political refugee and defector
from the People’s Republic of Massachusetts .
... Oh, yes. The M16 was no great shakes, but the current Army version, the M4,
while lighter and more compact than the M16 rifle I first carried — hence, just
ever so cool, indeed, too cool for words, and what a fashion statement! — is
also even less capable than the full sized rifle. Some reports from Afghanistan
suggest it is inherently less reliable, in sustained combat, as well. (Wanat,
depending on whose story you read.) I’d call that ” de-evolution.” That said,
even the full length M16, firing the 5.56mm, is hardly adequate to combat at
some of the ranges experienced both in Afghanistan
and Iraq .
And that is the big reason why we must have a new rifle firing a better, longer
ranged round than the 5.56. (Kratman is a GREAT writer. I highly recommend his
Military Science Fiction novels. I'm looking forward to publication in July of
the next in the Carrera series, The Rods
and the Axe. http://www.amazon.com/Rods-Axe-Carerra-Tom-Kratman/dp/1476736561/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1399398160&sr=1-1&keywords=the+rods+and+the+axe
But if you haven't read them, start with number one, A Desert Called Peace. http://www.amazon.com/Desert-Called-Peace-Science-Fiction/dp/1416555927/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1399398337&sr=1-1&keywords=desert+called+peace
~Bob)
Worth Reading from
FactCheck.Org: Benghazi
Excerpt: White House Press Secretary Jay Carney repeatedly
has said that the White House and State Department changed only one word of the
talking points. Carney, Nov. 28, 2012: "The White House and the State Department
have made clear that the single adjustment that was made to those talking
points by either of those two — of these two institutions were changing the
word “consulate” to “diplomatic facility,” because “consulate” was inaccurate.
Those talking points originated from the intelligence community. They reflect
the IC’s best assessments of what they thought had happened." That has
been proven demonstrably false — first by a May
3 report in the Weekly Standard and later by a more detailed May
10 report by ABC News. Both news reports show the CIA made many deletions
and alterations in response to State Department comments, including removing references to other recent attacks on “foreign interests”
in Benghazi and
a reference to the al Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia group as possibly being
involved. ... As we said in our timeline, the
Obama administration displayed an abundance of caution when publicly discussing
the possibility of a premeditated terrorist attack — but did not show that same
level of caution when saying without any evidence that the attack in Benghazi
started as a spontaneous demonstration of an anti-Muslim video.
Excerpt: On September 13, 2012, — one and a half
days before Obama aide Ben Rhodes sent an email advising UN
Ambassador Susan Rice to blame the Benghazi attacks on a protest over an
anti-Muslim Internet video — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used the
identical language embedded in a statement about the attacks. The congruence of
the two word-for-word statements suggests, at the very least, a close
coordination between and White House and Hillary Clinton to deceive the
American people about the true nature of the attack in Benghazi . (So they lied. Only idiots
didn't know that already. What difference does it make if the media ignores it?
~Bob)
Gary Becker (1930-2014). By Thomas
Sowell
Excerpt: More than half a century after Professor Becker's
landmark work on the economics of discrimination, most controversies on that
subject, both in the media and in politics, go on in utter ignorance of his
penetrating insights. So do laws and policies that make discrimination worse. As
someone who has written about racial discrimination within the framework of
analysis that Becker created, I am especially indebted to him, and wish only
that more people were aware of that framework, which could spare us much
rhetoric and offer some useful understanding instead. ((I have not read Becker's
book, The Economics of Discrimination
(Economic Research Studies). It is linked here: http://www.amazon.com/Economics-Discrimination-Economic-Research-Studies/dp/0226041166/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399378396&sr=8-1&keywords=Economics+of+Discrimination+Becker
~Bob)
Daughter of Jeremiah
Wright Convicted in Fraud Scheme
Show me your shocked face. ~Bob. Excerpt: The daughter of
President Barack Obama's former pastor was convicted on Friday of laundering
thousands of dollars from a state grant for a Chicago-area job-training
program, federal prosecutors said. A federal jury took less than two hours to
find Jeri Wright, 48, the daughter of Jeremiah Wright, guilty on all counts for
her part in a fraud scheme led by a former suburban police chief and the
chief's husband, according to the U.S. Attorney's office for the Central
District of Illinois in Springfield .
The Other Buffett
Rule. From The Patriot Post
Buffett Rule No. 1: The rich should pay their "fair
share" of taxes, which happens to be no less than 30%. That's what Barack
Obama has been telling us for years, naming his "rule" after
billionaire Warren Buffett. But the rich guy has his own rule: "I will not
pay a dime more of individual taxes than I owe, and I won't pay a dime more of
corporate taxes than we owe." In fact, Buffett added, "I will do
anything that is basically covered by the law to reduce Berkshire 's
tax rate. For example, on wind energy, we get a tax credit if we build a lot of
wind farms. That's the only reason to build them. They don't make sense without
the tax credit." So not only will he not put his money where his mouth is
by paying 30%, but he's also taking advantage of tax credits to do things that
otherwise make no economic sense. No wonder he's the face of leftist tax
policy.
Excerpt: There is something odd about the global-warming
debate — or the climate-change debate, as we are now expected to call it, since
global warming has for the time being come to a halt. I have never shied away
from controversy, nor — for example, as chancellor of the exchequer — worried
about being unpopular if I believed that what I was saying and doing was in the
public interest. But I have never in my life experienced the extremes of
personal hostility, vituperation, and vilification that I — along with other
dissenters, of course — have received for my views on global warming and
global-warming policies.
Poll: For the
midterms, a tilt to the GOP
Excerpt: A nationwide USA TODAY/Pew Research Center Poll
shows the strongest tilt to Republican candidates at this point in a midterm
year in at least two decades, including before partisan "waves" in
1994 and 2010 that swept the GOP into power. Though Election Day is six months
away — a lifetime in politics — at the moment, Democrats are saddled by angst
over the economy, skepticism about the health care law and tepid approval of
the president.
Who Pays The
Corporate Income Tax?
Excerpt: Who ultimately shoulders the burden of the
corporate income tax? While the corporation technically "pays" the
tax, those costs are passed on to others. Southwood reviewed 45 of the most
major studies on the matter, all of which come to different conclusions on the
precise breakdown of the tax burden. Ultimately, the report concludes that the
tax burden is split between workers and capital. Workers' wages are reduced to
pay for the tax, and on average, research indicates that workers hold 57.6
percent of the tax burden. Significantly, most workers are entirely unaware
that their wages are lowered by the tax on businesses. If workers realized just
how much the corporate income tax actually impacts them, Southwood writes,
lawmakers might be able to round up significant support for tax reform.
Ukraine’s Reins
Weaken as Chaos Spreads
Excerpt: ODESSA, Ukraine — Russian-speaking regions of
Ukraine spun further out of the central government’s control on Sunday as a mob
stormed a police station in this Black Sea port and freed from detention 67
pro-Russian militants, on the same day that Ukraine’s prime minister was
visiting the city.
No Joke: Liberals Say
Not Liking Mexican Food is Racist
Excerpt: Not liking to eat Mexican food is racist according
to these presumed democrats. Mark Dice talks with beach goers in San Diego who think
congressmen who don’t like Mexican food should be removed from office. Happy
Cinco de Mayo!
Republicans have an 82 percent chance of winning back the
Senate. By Chris
Cillizza
Excerpt: Republicans are strong favorites to retake the
Senate majority this fall, according to The Post's new Election Lab model.
WaPo Election Lab
Analysis: That 2014 Pew Poll is Even Worse Than it Looks
for Democrats. By Guy Benson
Excerpt: As we saw in last week's Washington Post/ABC
News poll, President Obama is a
millstone around his party's collective necks. Questions that invoked
the president's name didn't end well from Democrats generally. That trend is
fortified in the Pew numbers. The fresh survey included some interesting
nuggets lurking in the internals:
Excerpt: Lacking the funds himself, Forsyth approached a
couple of rich brothers who had started making snack crackers under the company
banner "Nabisco". He cajoled the brothers into donating the land and
kicking in enough to build a 75 x 50 foot school house for school hungry
country kids who hoped to learn more, to quench their thirst for knowledge. ...
In the 1950's, as more and more public schools were made available to the
country populace, the school became a community college...still maintaining the
requirement that students pay for their tuition and books by working on campus.
The little private college continued to flourish so that in 1965 it became a
full fledged university and remained tuition free. Their agricultural majors
run the dairy and cattle operations that supply the milk stations and the
hamburgers on the grill being served by the Culinary majors in the college
cafeteria. The Librarian majors run the library, the Accounting majors help
keep the books and the Pre-Med students work in the student clinics. In 1973, a
Wall Street Journal writer, enamored by the philosophy of "the little
university that could" nicknamed the school "Hard Knocks U" and
the students liked the name so much they made it their school motto.
I’m Gonna Go Trey
Gowdy On You: GOP Unleashes TG To Lead Benghazi Investigation
Excerpt: USA Today –
Colleagues of the House Republican who will head an expansive committee into Benghazi say he has a
reputation as an attack-dog questioner and a prosecutor’s talent for getting to
the bottom of complex matters.
Obama's wage
increase, other demands are killing business on federal bases. By Byron York
Excerpt: Obama's order does not take effect until January 1,
2015. But there are signs it is already having an effect -- and it is not what
the president and his party said it would be. In late March, the publication
Military Times reported that three McDonald's fast-food restaurants, plus one
other lesser-known food outlet, will soon close at Navy bases, while other
national-name chains have "asked to be released from their Army and Air
Force Exchange Service contracts to operate fast-food restaurants at two other
installations." Military Times quoted sources saying the closures are
related to the coming mandatory wage increases, with one source saying they are
"the tip of the iceberg."
Half in Illinois and Connecticut
Excerpt: Every state has at least some residents who are
looking for greener pastures, but nowhere is the desire to move more prevalent
than in Illinois and Connecticut . In both of these states, about
half of residents say that if given the chance to move to a different state,
they would like to do so. Maryland
is a close third, at 47%. By contrast, in Montana ,
Hawaii , and Maine , just 23% say they would like to
relocate. (Montana and Maine ? Can't be the weather driving folks
out. What could it be? ~Bob)
Liberals: Exempt from Scrutiny: It doesn’t
matter if you belong to the 0.1 percent as long as you say the right
things. By Victor Davis Hanson
Excerpt: Al Gore is said to be our leading green activist,
and the Steyer brothers the most preeminent green political donors. But do
they really believe in reducing carbon emissions to cool down the planet? Not
really. The latter made much of their fortune in the sort of high-stakes
speculations that the Left supposedly despises. Many of their financial payoffs
derived from promoting coal burning abroad, of the sort most liberals wish to
stop. As for Gore, he cannot really believe in big green government or he would
not have tried to beat the capital-gains tax hike when he peddled his failed
cable network to a petrodollar-rich Al Jazeera, whose cash comes from the very
sources of energy that Gore claims he hates.
EPA official resigns
over 'crucify' remark
Excerpt: The controversy erupted last week when a video
surfaced showing Armendariz saying in 2010 that his methods for dealing with
non-compliant oil and gas companies were "like when the Romans conquered
the villages in the Mediterranean . They'd go
into little villages in Turkish towns and they'd find the first five guys they
saw and crucify them." Sen. James Inhofe's office told CNN it uncovered
the video while preparing for a blistering half-hour Senate floor speech that
Inhofe delivered Wednesday. In the speech, the Republican from Oklahoma criticized the
Obama administration's energy policies and cited Armendariz in particular. "His
comments give us a rare glimpse into the Obama administration's true
agenda," Inofe said. (Gee, you wonder why some people refer to government
regulations-enforcers as "thugs"? ~Bob)
Common Core: Students
in California School District Asked to Write Essay Offering Their Opinion as to
Whether the Holocaust Really Happened, or If It Was "Merely a Political
Scheme Created to Influence Public Emotion and Amass Wealth"
Excerpt: I do not support the lofty and ambitious goal of
having teachers teach children "how to think" because I do not believe that low-ranking civil servants, as a
group, are particularly good at it themselves. Let this be my Exhibits A
through Z.
Is Disability
Contributing to Women's Declining Employment?
excerpt: Record numbers of women are receiving Social
Security disability benefits, according to a new report from Pamela Villarreal,
senior fellow at the National
Center
Sector Switchers: Why Catholic Schools Convert to Charters and What
Happens Next. Authors: Michael Q. McShane, Andrew P. Kelly
Excerpt: For decades, Catholic schools, particularly
inner-city Catholic schools, have seen declines in enrollment and an increasing
need for subsidies from their dioceses. Many dioceses, however, have been
unable to shoulder that burden, forcing schools to close. In response to difficult
financial circumstances, the archdioceses of Indianapolis ,
Miami , and Washington ,
D.C.
Excerpt: President Obama chose Good Friday to announce
another delay in the Keystone XL pipeline, which would bring crude oil from Canada to our
refineries near the Gulf. If the pipeline is not approved, Alberta 's
oil will go to Asia-and the United
States will be the big loser.
Coming End to Racial Preferences. By Walter
E. Williams
Excerpt: She went on to make the incredible argument that
the amendment, which explicitly forbids racial discrimination, itself amounts
to racial discrimination. Her argument was that permissible
"race-sensitive admissions policies," the new name for racial
preferences, both serve the compelling interest of obtaining the educational
benefits that flow from a diverse student body and inure people to the benefit
of racial minorities. By the way, no one has come up with hard evidence of the
supposed "educational benefits" that come from a racially mixed
student body, and there's mounting evidence of harm done to minorities through
academic mismatching.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/vatican-continues-crack-down-on-us-nuns-under-pope-francis/
Excerpt: The reform order was issued in 2012 under now-retired Pope Benedict XVI, after an investigation concluded the nuns' group had taken positions that undermined Roman Catholic teaching on the priesthood and homosexuality while promoting "radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith." Investigators praised the nuns' humanitarian work, but accused them of focusing too much on social justice and ignoring critical issues, such as fighting abortion.
http://www.archbishop-cranmer.blogspot.com/2014/05/canada-bars-christian-lawyers.html
Excerpt: His Grace thought this was a spoof: the Muppetesque presentation style of this Sun News reporter takes a little getting used to you, but if you can get around the Kermit-the-Frog intonation and manage to ignore the Fozzie-Bear gesticulations, the content of the report is alarming and sinister.
Young
blood is the key to eternal youth. By Archbishop Cranmer
http://archbishop-cranmer.blogspot.com/2014/05/infusion-of-young-blood-is-key-to.html
Excerpt: It seems that what humanity needs is an injection of new blood – quite literally. For scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered that by infusing the brains of old mice with the blood of young mice, the aging mind is rejuvenated and mental decline halted. No doubt this experimentation will now be swiftly extended to bunnies, beagles and primates, and thence to human dementia patients. (huh. My problem is physical decline. If the brain is declining, it isn't keeping up. ~Bob)
http://archbishop-cranmer.blogspot.com/2014/05/infusion-of-young-blood-is-key-to.html
Excerpt: It seems that what humanity needs is an injection of new blood – quite literally. For scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered that by infusing the brains of old mice with the blood of young mice, the aging mind is rejuvenated and mental decline halted. No doubt this experimentation will now be swiftly extended to bunnies, beagles and primates, and thence to human dementia patients. (huh. My problem is physical decline. If the brain is declining, it isn't keeping up. ~Bob)
Obamacare News
Worth Reading
Excerpt: Americans most dependent on public insurance will
have less and less access to medical care under ObamaCare, writes Scott Atlas,
a physician and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. Reimbursement rates
for Medicare and Medicaid are already low, a fact that has led doctors to
refuse to treat those patients. With reimbursements falling even further, more
doctors will begin to refuse those with government insurance plans. President
Obama has touted the Affordable Care Act as increasing insurance choices, but this
is not what those in the exchange are seeing. ... Patients who can afford it
are signing up at concierge practices. Today, there are an estimated 4,400
concierge physicians -- 30 percent more than just last year. And according to a
survey from Merritt Hawkins, 7 to 10 percent of doctors plan to move to
concierge or cash-only practices within the next three years.
9 Obamacare
Predictions That Have Come True. By Robert Moffit
Excerpt: It directly affects the personal life of every
American, and it controls or regulates a complex sector of the American economy
that is slightly larger than the entire economy of France . If you guessed Obamacare,
you’ve been paying attention for the past four years.
Four years ago, many health policy analysts, including those
at The Heritage Foundation, predicted some of the effects this law would have
on Americans. These are all coming true. Here
are nine of our predictions that have come to pass—and it’s not over yet.
Delay It One More
Time. From The Patriot Post
In another Friday afternoon regulations news dump,
the Obama administration delayed the individual mandate of ObamaCare again.
First, the deadline to purchase insurance or face a fine was Feb. 15. That
was pushed to March 31 via a "hardship exemption." Then HHS
said anybody who had even begun to enroll by March 31 would have
indefinite time to complete that enrollment. Friday, HHS announced that
anyone who had enrolled by May 1 would avoid the penalty, and they
created three more "special enrollment" periods to let people in the
gate. The administration isn't even trying to hide the fact that ObamaCare is a
huge election liability, and they'll do anything to help their team win in
November.
Excerpt: It seems as though Massachusetts has gone the way of Oregon -- that is, shelled
out large amounts of taxpayer dollars building a state exchange that never
worked properly and never will. Nice work, guys. The dream of
delivering affordable health insurance to consumers as promised, via an
easy-to-use website, is untenable in at least two states now.
Religion of Peace News
Excerpt: While the opposition Syrian National Coalition,
headed by Ahmad Jarba, has been meeting with US officials this week in
Washington in an effort to secure further support, including more funding and
additional antitank and antiaircraft weapons, news from Syria indicates that
some advanced US-made weapons are already being used in various Syrian
provinces by rebel fighters. Over the past few weeks, media reports have
stressed that US officials have begun a "pilot program" of providing
small quantities of advanced weapons, including TOW missiles, to vetted
"moderate" groups, and specifically the Harakat Hazm, which fights in
a newly formed coalition called the Southern Front.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/nigeria/10810784/Nigeria-militants-kidnap-more-girls-from-village.html
Excerpt: A police source said the girls were taken away in the early hours of Tuesday on trucks, along with looted livestock and food. The Islamist rebels are still holding 276 girls they abducted from a secondary school on April 14. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said in a video released on Mondaythat Allah had told him to sell the girls taken by his fighters from a secondary school in the
The schoolgirls
stolen as sex slaves by Nigeria
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/boko-haram-329-schoolgirls-stolen-3489356
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/boko-haram-329-schoolgirls-stolen-3489356
Excerpt: One girl who recently escaped following an earlier
kidnapping said she was prized as a terror leader’s wife because she had been a
virgin. She said young female captives were raped up to 15 times a day, forced
to convert to Islam and had their throats cut if they refused. (The Qur’an
allows for the owning of sex slaves: "If you fear that you will not act
justly towards the orphans, marry such women as seem good to you, two, three,
four; but if you fear you will not be equitable, then only one, or what your right hands own; so it is
likelier you will not be partial."(Qur’an 4:3) --Robert Spencer. http://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/05/nigeria-329-schoolgirls-abducted-by-jihadis-raped-15-times-daily-forced-to-convert-to-islam?utm_source=Jihad+Watch+Daily+Digest&utm_campaign=1e9a16d638-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ffcbf57bbb-1e9a16d638-97564174)
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/05/06/us-preparing-team-to-help-nigeria-locate-kidnapped-girls/
Excerpt: The White House said Tuesday the U.S. is preparing to send a team to Nigeria
to help the government search for nearly 300 schoolgirls abducted more than
three weeks ago. The team would likely include military personnel, law
enforcement personnel and others with experience in intelligence,
investigations, hostage negotiation and victims' assistance, White House
spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.
Report: Pakistan 's ISI Targeted US and Israeli
Consulates in India
Excerpt: Pakistan 's
intelligence agency (ISI) has a controversial history of assisting terrorists, including the Taliban and al-Qaida.
Now, the Times of India is reporting that Pakistan's ISI
has plans to conduct terror attacks on two foreign consulates in India,
including the U.S. consulate in Chennai and the Israeli consulate in Bengaluru.
Excerpt: The Yemeni military killed at least 37 al Qaeda in
the Arabian Peninsula fighters during recent operations in the southern province of Shabwa Saudi Arabia , Afghanistan , Russia ,
and Somalia ,
Yemeni officials said
Muslim mob attacks
Hindu housholds, temple in Bangladesh
Excerpt: An around 3,000-strong mob attacked Hindu
households and a temple in Bangladesh 's
Comilla district, media reported on Monday. The attacks took place on Sunday
after rumours were spread over loudspeakers that two youths had defamed Prophet
Muhammad, bdnews24.com reported.
‘I Abducted Your
Girls,’ Nigerian Extremist Leader Admits
Excerpt: Extremist group Boko Haram's leader owned up to the
April kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls in Nigeria and vowed to "sell
them on the market." He also warned that his group plans to attack more
schools and abduct more girls.
Bomb Planted in Gov't
Vehicle Kills 5 in Somalia
Excerpt: Five people died and six others were wounded when a
bomb exploded in Mogadishu ,
Somalia
2 NATO drivers killed
in Pakistan
Excerpt: Two drivers hauling cargo for NATO were killed when
suspected militants attacked their convoy in northern Pakistan on Monday, local
authorities said.
Hamas to kids: Shoot
all Jews
Excerpt: Children were instructed to shoot "all the
Jews," on the weekly Hamas children's program Tomorrow's
Pioneers this week. The young Hamas TV host Rawan talks to a young
girl in the studio named Tulin, who tells her she wants to be a police officer
when she grows up. The child host directs her to the conclusion that
as a police officer she would shoot "all the Jews."
The Last Marines
Leave Sangin
Valley
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/last-marines-leave-sangin-valley_791072.html
Excerpt: Bret Stephens, writing in the Wall Street Journal: Sangin Valley, Afghanistan For days I have been putting the same question to soldiers of the Afghan National Army: How do you feel about the imminent departure of Coalition forces? The answers are always variations on this one: "We are happy and sad," they say. "The Americans are our friends and partners. They helped us tremendously. We are sad to see them go. But we are happy that they can go back to their families. And we are happy that we can now defend our own country and defeat the enemy." It's a heartening reply, accompanied by assurances that they have the military situation well in hand. They had better.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/last-marines-leave-sangin-valley_791072.html
Excerpt: Bret Stephens, writing in the Wall Street Journal: Sangin Valley, Afghanistan For days I have been putting the same question to soldiers of the Afghan National Army: How do you feel about the imminent departure of Coalition forces? The answers are always variations on this one: "We are happy and sad," they say. "The Americans are our friends and partners. They helped us tremendously. We are sad to see them go. But we are happy that they can go back to their families. And we are happy that we can now defend our own country and defeat the enemy." It's a heartening reply, accompanied by assurances that they have the military situation well in hand. They had better.
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