Update
Weather: High Wednesday and Thursday is 4F. The
report says, " Another round of very cold wind chill temperatures...
.northwest winds continue to bring arctic air to southern Wisconsin tonight into Thursday. The
winds and very cold temperatures will make for wind chill temperatures of 20
below to 30 below zero."
Fun Movie: We saw
Kingsman: The Secret Service this
week. Very entertaining movie. No redeeming social value, but lots of fun. A
lot of violence, but it was so fantastic that it was unreal and didn't upset my
wife. Surprisingly, the villain is a rich, brilliant black guy who is a global
warming fanatic. Not the kind of PC we expect from Hollywood .
General News and Comment
Funny, but I suspect Photoshop.
WaPo Editorial: Russia
marches on uninhibited in eastern Ukraine
Excerpt: VLADIMIR PUTIN’S latest victory in Ukraine is
turning into a rout. Having already induced Western leaders to endorse a peace plan that
virtually guarantees continued Russian control over parts of two provinces, the
Russian ruler ordered a large Ukrainian force holding Debaltseve, a key crossroads in the region, to
surrender. His forces, including regular Russian army troops, then assaulted
the city in brazen violation of a cease-fire. On Wednesday morning, Ukrainian
forces withdrew from Debaltseve under fire, suffering a devastating defeat that
will further destabilize the shaky Kiev
government of Petro Poroshenko. Mr. Putin was so pleased that he indulged
in some taunting of the Ukrainians. (Guess Hillary's "Reset" button
didn't work. Who could have guessed? ~Bob)
Ukraine troops
retreat from key town of Debaltseve
Excerpt: The Ukrainian president says his forces are making
an "organised" withdrawal from the embattled town of Debaltseve . Petro Poroshenko said 80% of Ukraine 's
troops left on Wednesday morning after several days of fierce fighting. Russia said
Ukrainian forces had tried to fight their way out of the town after being
encircled but Mr Poroshenko insisted they were never surrounded.
Foreign donations to foundation raise major ethical
questions for Hillary Clinton. By Jennifer Rubin
Excerpt: In an extraordinary report that has not yet been
fully digested, the Wall
Street Journal tells us that the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton
Foundation has received millions from foreign governments including Qatar, a
prominent backer of Hamas: The Clinton Foundation has
dropped its self-imposed ban on collecting funds from foreign governments and
is winning contributions at an accelerating rate, raising ethical questions
as Hillary Clinton ramps up her expected bid for the presidency. (We were bought and sold for foreign
gold--such a parcel of rogues in a nation. Apologies to Rabbie Burns. ~Bob)
President Obama and
the First Lady Rack Up $2.5 Million Bill in Separate Valentine’s Day Getaways
Excerpt: It seems like the Obamas are not a huge fan of
Valentine’s Day – at least with each other. For the second consecutive
Valentine’s Day in a row, President Obama headed to Palm Springs for some golfing and
diplomacy (and some golfing). Meanwhile, Michelle flew down to Aspen
for a ski trip with Sasha and Malia. (Roses are red, Violets are blue, If
you're broke from taxes, Blame you-know-who." ~Bob)
Excerpt: With that, it’s time for my highly anticipated
ranking of the Republican primary field. Okay, okay—that might be a stretch.
These are probably unanticipated rankings. But with the Iowa caucuses less than a year away
Republicans across the country are already abuzz about the possibilities. The
assessments below are based on dozens of conversations with grassroots
conservatives in early states like Iowa and New Hampshire and South
Carolina ; with Republican officeholders at virtually
every level of government; with national Republican strategists, fund-raisers,
and operatives; with advisers and consultants to the emerging campaigns; and in
several cases with the candidates themselves. So in reverse order—from least
likely to most likely—here’s a look at the prospective GOP nominees.
Scott Walker is a conservative hero, and liberals have
themselves to blame for it. By Nia-Malika
Henderson
Excerpt: Whether it's unions or universities, Wisconsin
Gov. Scott Walker (R) has waged a number of huge fights -- symbolic and
otherwise -- with liberals. So far, the fights have only served to bolster
his credentials among national conservatives who like nothing more than a
Republican willing to poke liberals in the eye. And now New York Times
columnist Gail Collins has thrown Walker
another hanging curveball by which to bash liberals and shine in the eyes of
conservatives.
The VA Can't Win: New rules on narcotic painkillers
cause grief for veterans and VA
Excerpt: New
federal rules that make it harder to get narcotic painkillers are taking an
unexpected toll on thousands of veterans who depend on these prescription drugs
to treat everything from missing limbs to post-traumatic stress. The
restrictions, adopted last summer by the Drug Enforcement Administration to
curb a national epidemic of opioid abuse, are for the first time, in effect,
forcing veterans to return to the doctor every month to renew their medication,
although many were already struggling to get appointments at overburdened VA
health facilities. (The Tomah, WI VA has been slammed in the media lately
for handing out so many opiates that vets called it "Candy Land. See:
"Opiates handed out like candy to 'doped-up' veterans at Wisconsin
VA." http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/opiates-handed-out-like-candy-to-doped-up-veterans-at-wisconsin-va-b99423091z1-288223591.html
Excerpt: Doctors at the U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs medical center in Tomah hand out so
many narcotic painkillers that some veterans have taken to calling the place
"Candy Land." They call the hospital's chief of staff, psychiatrist
David Houlihan, the "Candy Man." ~Bob)
No, the VA has not fired 60 people for manipulating
wait-time data. By Michelle Ye Hee
Lee
Excerpt: It was notoriously difficult to fire senior
executives at the VA — at a one-fourth rate than the firing rate for all federal agencies, according to CNN –
and the goal was to allow the VA chief to replace bad actors quickly,
especially ones connected to the scandal. In his “Meet the Press” interview,
McDonald also said 100 senior leaders are under investigation by the inspector
general and the Department of Justice. Yet McDonald is incorrect saying 60
employees who manipulated wait times were fired.
American Sniper and
the Michael Moore Critique. By Dr. Carol Swain
Our Marines Would
Slaughter Isis If Unleashed: Lone Survivor’s Marcus Lutrell Weighs In On
Pathetic ISIS
Excerpt: Release, the Marines! Marcus Lutrell appears on Fox
& Friends and talks about how it would only take 300 Marines to take on ISIS . Please forward to our Muslim Appeaser-in-Chief,
Obama. (Well, he's a combat vet, but much as I love my brother Marines, ISIS has tens of thousands of armed fanatics and heavy
weapons. Might take a tad more than 300. ~Bob)
The big-city boss behind Philly's winning bid. The
low-profile, rank-and-file congressman is regarded as a kingmaker back home.
By Katie Glueck
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/the-big-city-boss-behind-phillys-winning-bid-115267.html
Excerpt: If you want something done in this town — something like, say, landing a national political convention — you ask Bob Brady. That’s the word among union workers, ward leaders and Democratic Party power brokers who regard Brady — a low-profile, rank-and-file congressman in the minority in Washington — as a kingmaker back home, one of the last of the big-city bosses. Brady, the chairman ofPhiladelphia ’s Democratic Party
since 1986, played an instrumental — if less nationally prominent — role in Philadelphia ’s winning
campaign to host the 2016 Democratic convention.
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/the-big-city-boss-behind-phillys-winning-bid-115267.html
Excerpt: If you want something done in this town — something like, say, landing a national political convention — you ask Bob Brady. That’s the word among union workers, ward leaders and Democratic Party power brokers who regard Brady — a low-profile, rank-and-file congressman in the minority in Washington — as a kingmaker back home, one of the last of the big-city bosses. Brady, the chairman of
Interesting: Grand Strategy in the Age of Mass
Destruction: The Dark Side of the Moon
Excerpt: During the Munich Security Conference on
Friday, British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon told Reuters of a three-fold
concern. First, he said, the Russians “may have lowered the threshold” for
using nuclear weapons. Second, he said, the Russians are “integrating nuclear
with conventional forces in a rather threatening way….” Third, he said, “at a
time of fiscal pressure they are keeping up their expenditure on modernizing
their nuclear forces.” (See the Reuters story: UK concerned over ‘threatening’
Russian nuclear strategy.) The Guardian headline on Friday showed a
picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin with German Chancellor Angela
Merkel and President Francois Hollande of France . The headline was, Fear of
Vladimir Putin grows in EU capitals amid spectre of ‘total war’ – which
included a disturbing comment from an EU diplomat in Brussels that arming
Ukraine would trigger a war with Russia, and Russia was bound to win the war.
Study: Obama’s Carbon
Rules Could Cost Thousands of Manufacturing Jobs in Your State. By Kelsey Harkness
Excerpt: A new study predicts that more than a half
million manufacturing jobs
will be eliminated from the U.S. economy as a result of the Obama
administration’s proposed regulations to curb carbon dioxide emissions. “Every
state would experience overwhelming negative impacts as a result of these
regulations, but especially those with higher-than-average employment in
manufacturing and mining,” said Nick Loris, a co-author of the study,
which was completed by
energy experts at The Heritage Foundation—the parent organization of The Daily
Signal. (This isn't a bug, it's a feature. If you lose your job, you have too
go on welfare. Then you have to vote Democrat to keep the benefits flowing.
~Bob)
Census Bureau: 30.3%
Millennials Still Living With Their Parents
Where they are drinking coco, wearing PJs and talking about
Obamacare. ~Bob
Tanzanian albino boy
found mutilated
Excerpt: An albino toddler missing since Sunday has been
found dead in northern Tanzania
with all his limbs hacked off. Yohana Bahati, aged one, was snatched from the
house of his mother, who was cut with a machete. ... At least 74 albino
children have been killed this century in Tanzania , where some witchdoctors use albino body parts to make their charms.
Learning from Obama: French PM skips parliament vote
to push through reforms
Excerpt: French Prime Minister Manuel Valls defied critics
from left and right on Tuesday by declaring he would ram a flagship economic
reform bill through parliament by decree, bypassing backbench rebels but
exposing his government to a no-confidence vote.
Outspoken Sheila Jackson Lee refuses to speak about
Grammys. By Martin Barillas
Excerpt: Questions still swirl around congresswoman Sheila
Jackson Lee and her attendance at the 2015 Grammy Awards on February 8.
Democrat Jackson Lee represents the 18thCongressional District of Texas in the House of
Representatives and is a frequent advocate of income equality and social
justice. A reporter from KPRC-TV asked the legislator “Did you pay
for the trip to L.A?” In response, Jackson Lee deferred to her staffers, saying
“I let my staff have all my information and I let my staff handle it. And I
will address the question…” as she stepped away.
The Campus Cult of
Victimhood: At the University
of Michigan
Excerpt: I visited my father’s alma mater for the first time
last week. The University
of Michigan
Just Biden Being
Biden? VP's Odd Moves Give Pause
Excerpt: Hosting a White House summit on violent extremism,
Biden sought to draw a parallel between Minneapolis ,
where local leaders are working to prevent radicalization of Somali youth, and
his hometown of Wilmington ,
Delaware
Worth Reading
Excerpt: He was extremely attentive. Particularly to
underage girls. And, well, it’s not that big of a deal, I guess, but it got
kind of creepy. To wit (and I might actually mean this Trigger Warning for
once: lecherous elderly man creeping on underage girl): ... None of us can
fully imagine what holy hell would be brought down on a conservative elected
official who engaged in behavior like this by more or less everyone in the
feminist-media-industrial complex. We wouldn’t be seeing jokey headlines. We
wouldn’t see praise for the White House putting out a video on Biden being
Biden. As if.
Excerpt: Massachusetts
has more outstanding debt per capita than any other state government. The state
is $76 billion in the red, or $11,379 per person, or $2,000 more than the next
highest state, Rhode Island .
Tennessee has only $953 of debt per person, or
8 percent of Massachusetts ’
debt per person. Next at the low-end is Nebraska ,
with only $988 in debt per person. States that had Republican governors in 2013
averaged $2,902 of debt per person, while states led by Democratic governors
averaged $5,131. State government debts have been amassed over time, so it
would be an oversimplification to blame a state’s current administration for
its debt levels. (When Michael Dukakis offered a $500 million bonding plan to
pay for operating expenses [rather than capitol improvements] for the first
time ever, we managed to block the vote with eight Democrats joining the seven
Republicans voting no. The Senate President was unhappy, kept the senate in
recess around the clock, vowing he would pass the bond issue at 2:00 am on a
voice vote with only one Democrat on the floor. I slept in front of the Senate
door for two nights to prevent him from doing so {as if I was there, I could
doubt the presence of a quorum, thus shutting it down until 20 senators turned
up]. Eventually they convinced one of the Democrats to change his vote from
"No" to "Present," which gave them the 2/3rds majority they
needed to pass the bond issue. Dukakis promised to only sell as many bonds as
needed, but found immediately that the whole $500M was needed. And the
taxpayers paid. State debt is one of the factors in my book, The Coming Collapse of the American Republic.
I took a photo of one of the clips in my scrapbooks, below. ~Bob)
Gun News
Excerpt: According to the Marine Times, the Corps is considering a
number of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) upgrades to enhance the combat
accuracy of Marine riflemen. The Marines will also be investigating a continued
shift away from full metal jacket (FMJ) rounds to open-tip (rifle) and
hollowpoint (pistol) ammunition for combat. The rifle upgrades to the existing
Marine Corps M16A4 assault rifle will use many upgrades that civilian AR-15
users have preferred for years for hunting and competition on their
semi-automatic-only rifles. Perhaps the most important single upgrade is the
adoption of a free-floating barrel, so that Marines shooting the rifle using a
sling or bipod doesn’t experience a significant point-of-aim/point-of-impact
(POA/POI) shift. (In my view, we should do away with the whole M-16/M-4
system. Lots of better rifles in the world. The left will go ballistic over
hollow points. But a hollow point not only has better stopping power--the point
of shooting someone--but is much more likely to stay in the body of the
shootee, while FMJ rounds are more likely to pass through him, increasing
collateral damage in places where there are innocent kids and women in the
fighting zone. ~Bob)
Excerpt: The problem with the “microstamping” law, which was
signed into law by then-Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger in 2007 but only took effect in 2013, is that it relies on an
unworkable technology, according to gun manufacturers and attorneys for the
Second Amendment Foundation and Calguns Foundation. If guns without the
technology can't be sold in California ,
and gun manufacturers can't implement the technology, the law is, for practical
purposes, a handgun ban that violates the Second Amendment, goes the argument.
Race Card News
Excerpt: Today's liberals are not racists, but they often
behave that way. They would benefit immensely from considering some of the
arguments in award-winning scholar Dr. Shelby Steele's forthcoming book,
"Shame: How America's Past Sins Have Polarized Our Country."
Steele, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, explains
that in matters of race, there is an ideological vision that completely ignores
truth -- a vision he calls "poetic truth." (Dr. Williams, a leading
economist and former department head at George
Mason University
grew up poor and black in Philadelphia 's
projects. His short book, Race and
Economics is a must read. ~Bob)
How We Can Honor
Edward Brooke, a Great Trailblazer. By Gerren McHam
Excerpt: When people think of history makers, they may first
think of those whose accomplishments rest upon specific moments in their life.
However, there are individuals whose actions over a lifetime create ripple
effects for many years to come. A man of this exact nature, the late Sen.
Edward Brooke, R-Mass., served as the inspiration for the Republican National
Committee’s third annual Black Republican Trailblazer Awards Luncheon held last
week.
Serving as the first African-American elected to the U.S.
Senate in 1966, Brooke paved the way for future men and women of color and
deserves to be remembered during Black History Month. (First since
Reconstruction, when former Rebels couldn't vote. Tim Scott is the first from
the Old South since then. ~Bob)
Obamacare/Government Healthcare News
Another
Cluster-You-Know-What from the World of Government-Run Healthcare. By Daniel J.
Mitchell
Excerpt: In the grand scheme of things, the most important
development in health policy is the pending
Supreme Court case revolving around whether subsidies can be
provided to people obtaining health
insurance from the federal exchange, even though the law
explicitly says handouts are only available to people getting
policies via state exchanges. If the Court rules correctly (unlike, ahem,
the last time the
Justices dealt with Obamacare),
it will then be very important that congressional reformers use the resulting
mess to unwind as much of the law as possible. (Thinking of signing up for
Obamacare? You might want to use some "Strategic Patience." ~Bob)
Excerpt: Dec. 26, 2014, was strike three for Pamela Weldin. The
day after Christmas, Weldin, of Minatare ,
Neb. Nebraska
and Iowa , had
been taken over by state regulators. The insurer, one of 23 Consumer Operated
and Oriented Plans, or co-ops, started with the backing of the federal government
and received $145 million in loans from the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services. But, CoOportunity’s expenses and medical claims would far
exceed its revenue for 2014.
"You're Greener than Gore" News
Excerpt: At the recent inauguration of the Desert Sunlight
solar farm, Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell stated, “This is the beginnings
of a renewable energy future.”
Let’s hope she is wrong, because the Desert Sunlight project
is cronyism at its worst. This project involves $1.5 billion of
subsidized loans.
It also mandated purchases of overpriced power, all to benefit the project’s
owners. And don’t think those owners are struggling mom-and-pop operations.
Instead, they’re three of the world’s largest corporations—GE (market
capitalization of $247
billion), NextEra Energy (market capitalization of $47 billion) and Sumitomo
Corporation (market capitalization of $13 billion). Here’s how the scam works.
It begins with proposing to build a solar plant. But solar plants take up a lot
of land. Gosh, that can be expensive. So, the government rents
them the land at bargain prices.
Religion of Peace News
Consistently Worth Hearing: Islam, The One Way Street
Check out Pat Condell’s rant on Islam. It’s nothing but
awesome.
Excerpt: But the President touting a victory about core Al
Qaeda isn't the most bizarre part of the piece. Further down, Obama claims
those engaging in violent extremism have "legitimate grievances" that
must be addressed. (There grievances include the existence of gays,
apostates, Jews and other infidels who refuse to submit to Islam and Shari'a
law and must be killed, democracy, freedom of speech, women not dressing
modestly, women driving, working or going to school, people who oppose child
marriage as practiced by the "perfect example" of conduct for Muslims
(Mohammad), people who oppose sex slavery, and people who oppose many other
Seventh Century traditions enshrined in the Qur'an, Hadith and Shari'a Law.
~Bob)
Next they'll suggest Midnight basketball. You laugh, but look
how it eliminated crime and violence in our cities! ~Bob
Excerpt: In the history of all the world, there has never
been a war that could not be won by killing more bad guys than they kill of the
good guys. But Marie Harf, the State Department spokeswoman making
international headlines for being a damn naive fool, claims we cannot win this
war by killing the bad guys. According to Harf, we need to root out “underlying
causes” and create jobs. So a Presidency that rejects nation building thinks we
must, essentially, nation build to win the war. I realize the Obama
Administration is composed of a bunch of secular, atheist God haters, but this
is just naive dumbassery. As has now been well established, the Islamic State
is, in fact Islamic, and intends to expand a Caliphate and bring about the Apocalypse. (I
think she's a fool too, but must point out that in Vietnam , we killed maybe ten times
as many Communists as they killed of us. but the American people led by media
and leftists, turned against the war, and the sacrifice of our troops was made
vain. They were then free to impose their tyranny on SE
Asia , which continues to this day. ~Bob)
Excerpt: When a survivor of Saturday’s terrorist attacks in Copenhagen told a
television interviewer she would not be silenced by Shariah law, the news
anchor interrupted her, saying, “We don’t know details about the gunman yet.” Agnieszka
Kolek, a Polish artist and free-speech activist who was a panelist at the
freedom of speech discussion attacked by a terrorist gunman, told Britain’s
Channel 4 Sunday that she personally heard the attacker shouting “Allahu Akbar.”
“Texas
Excerpt: An arrest was
announced at 6 p.m. Monday night at the Houston Fire Department Arson
Headquarters in connection with the February 13th Quba Islamic Institute
fire. Darryl Ferguson, age 55 of Houston ,
has been charged with arson. It appears the fire is not a hate crime. Ferguson
told reporters at the police station that he was just trying to keep
warm and the fire was an accident. Ferguson
approached detectives who were investigating in the area around the Islamic
Institute and asked to talk to them, according
to ABC13 News in Houston .
He is reported to have voluntarily admitted to setting the fire.
The Muslim Brotherhood-ISIS Connection. By Arnold Ahlert
Excerpt: President Obama’s ongoing antipathy towards Egypt is
no accident. Our feckless president has long had a soft spot in his heart for
the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), and Egypt ’s removal of the terror group
from the corridors of power has rankled the administration. So what is it
the Egyptians understand and our president denies? The Egyptian Minister of
Religious Endowments insists that ISIS
was birthed by the MB.
There Is No Modern Islam. By Daniel Greenfield
Excerpt: Like math and
the Midwest, ISIS confuses progressives. It’s
not hard to confuse a group of people who never figured out that if you borrow
18 trillion dollars, you’re going to have to pay it back. But ISIS
is especially confusing to a demographic whose entire ideology is being on the
right side of history.
Raised to believe that history inevitably trended toward diversity in catalog
models, fusion restaurants and gay marriage, the Arab Spring led them on by
promising that the Middle East would be just like Europe and then ISIS tore up
their Lonely Planet guidebook to Syria and chopped off their heads. But
ISIS also believes that it’s on the right side
of history.
Obama’s Anti-Netanyahu Boycott Is Collapsing. By Moshe Phillips and Benyamin Korn
Excerpt: The final numbers are not yet in, but it
seems clear
that the White House-orchestrated campaign to boycott Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu’s speech to Congress is collapsing.
Despite two weeks of intense anti-Netanyahu leaks, insults,
and pressure, the White House has so far succeeded in persuading only a handful
of Democratic members of Congress to stay away from the speech. (Obama still
has a trick up his sleeve. He's going to promise them that if they boycott the
speech, they can keep their health plan and doctor. ~Bob)
Excerpt: Graeme Wood's lengthy
piece on the roots, goals and motivations of ISIS
in The Atlantic has gone viral this week, and deservedly so. It
offers an insightful, frightening and illuminating analysis of the
hardcore Islamist army whose merciless and bloody rise
has horrified and
confounded the civilized world. Wood's story truly earns the overused
"must read" moniker. An important snippet:
WaPo Falsely Implies Detroit
Excerpt: But while the Post’s story does contain
the alleged non-Muslim targeting which is key to the story, it has not
been reflected in the article’s headline or lead paragraph—even after the paper
updated the headline to address outrage on social media. It now reads, “Police:
Man stabs two after asking about religious beliefs.”
Excerpt: If Maiduguri , a city
in northeastern Nigeria ,
falls to the Boko Haram Islamist sect, all of Africa
is threatened, say observers. The terrorists would then have access to an
airport in an area they have now surrounded.
Broad disagreement with Obama on Islamic terror. By Martin Barillas
Excerpt: Comment has come from various sectors about Islam
that is at odds with President Barack Obama’s continued insistence whether the
deadly attacks in France ,
beheadings of Christians in Libya ,
or the abduction and rape of girls in Nigeria amount to Islamic
extremism. For example, Fox TV host Bill O'Reilly expressed outrage
over the Obama’s failure to identify the religious identity of 21 Egyptian
Christians in Libya
by Islamic State terrorists. Declaring “The Holy War is
here,” O’Reilly asked the public to contact the White House to
express their anger over the killings. The host called on religious leaders in
the U.S.
to address their congregations this weekend to “tell our leaders to get in
gear. I'd like to see every cleric in this country to do that! I want every
pastor, every priest, every imam, and every rabbi to email me personally and
tell me you're going to do that.”
*****
Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam Veteran who served five
terms in the Massachusetts State Senate. He is the author of The Coming Collapse of the American Republic.
http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Collapse-American-Republic-prevent/dp/1461122538/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1304815980&sr=1-5
For a free PDF of Collapse, e-mail him at tartanmarine(at)gmail.com. Hall’s eleven
books are listed here:
http://tartanmarine.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-book-published.html.
His blog of political news and conservative comment is www.tartanmarine.blogspot.com.
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