Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Random Thoughts for October, 2015.

Random Thoughts for October, 2015. By Robert A. Hall
Feel free to post or forward.

Those who benefit financially or politically by preaching violence against the police, or tacitly condoning it, have sown the wind--and will reap the whirlwind.

Planned Parenthood was selling "fresh" body parts of aborted babies, but they missed another prophet center from their spiritual forbearers--selling the babies' skin for lampshades.

The people who are delighted with Speaker Boehner's resignation may not be so happy in a few months. Just saying.

Trumps pandering to conservatives by taking positions opposed to things he said in the past doesn't make him a conservative.

People who like Trump because he "speaks his mind" don't seem to mind how often he has changed his mind. And they lose their minds if you speak your mind about Trump and it doesn't agree with their minds.

People are complaining the Pope is too political, but the Papacy has always been political. In 1215, Pope Innocent III effectively annulled the Magna Carta, the great charter of English liberty that western limited government is based upon, saying it was shameful, abridged the rights of the King and King John and the Barons should not observe it. They barons ignored him, just as progressives will ignore this Pope on gay marriage and abortion, and conservatives will ignore him on global warming and immigration.

According to the polls, Clinton is running well ahead of her Democrat challenger, and thus is likely to be the nominee. Oh, not Bernie Sanders--I'm talking about Barack Obama at this point in the 2008 election cycle: Gallup Election Review: October 2007
Excerpt: Clinton has led the Democratic pack in every Gallup Poll conducted between November 2006 and October 2007. For most of this time, Clinton has led Obama by a double-digit margin. Clinton’s lead over Obama has expanded to nearly 30 points in Gallup’s latest poll, conducted Oct. 12-14: 50% vs. 21%.

I saw Reggie Love, friend and advisor to Obama on TV touting his new book. He said at this point in the 2008 election they were way behind, but saw that Hillary had "some chinks in the armor." Say, isn't that now a racial microaggression against Asians? Or is it okay because he's black?

I understand that the FBI, in checking Hillary's server, found more records from the Rose Law Firm and the Whitewater Development.

New candidate for Congress: "If elected, I will eliminate all the waste in government." Congressman two years in: "Waste is hard to define." Congressman running for reelection: "Look at the wonderful bike paths I brought to our district."

Actually, Waste and Fraud serve a very useful purpose in government. Over the years, countless government programs have been funded by promising to eliminate them. Obamacare is one of the latest.

People who want the government to spend more money on things they want--conservatives on the military, law enforcement and a border fence, liberals on practically everything else--seldom have any idea or concern about how the government will get the money to do so.

I never had a constituent say to me, "Senator, I think the state should be spending more in this area, but I realize we can't afford it unless other programs are cut and the economy improves."

You'll notice that none of the Muslim refugees or illegal immigrants the progressive elites want to take in are going to be domiciled in walking distance of the elites' estates.

Carly Fiorina must be doing well. The left is starting to smear her just in case.

I notice that the folks praising the pope's knowledge of science for his position on global warming don't think much of his knowledge of science about when human life begins. And vice versa.

Before the Civil War (and long after it) Slave Owners said that it should be illegal to educate blacks, as they were not fit for it, nor were they fit to live in freedom and assume the responsibility of citizenship. After the war, through years of backbreaking labor, blacks proved them wrong, and steadily rose in employment, respectability and civic involvement. But today black ghetto culture is working to undo all the effort by these hard-working, descent blacks, undermine the black middle class and dismisses black education as "acting white." But their behavior seem determined to prove the Slave Owners right. It is sad that their feelings of victimhood and incompetence to live without being dependent on the government are fed by unscrupulous politicians to gain power.

I notice that those who roundly condemn that Kentucky clerk for not carrying out the law, as established by the SCOTUS, and issuing marriage licenses to gay couples are roundly cheering Obama and the officials of sanctuary cities for not caring out immigration law as established by congress. Apparently it's okay to not carry out the law if it's a law you don't like. And you are a liberal.

I believe in voting for the lesser of two evils, when that's all there is. Not to do so condemns one to be governed by the greater of two evils. But I cannot vote for Trump. I see nothing to choose between the disaster he will bring on the country and the one that Clinton, Biden, Sanders, Chafee or O'Malley will bring on it. They will be different types of disasters, to be sure.

Liberals think that their opinions of the moment and cause-de-jure are natural laws; only the stupid or willfully ignorant can't see that. And when they change their opinion or adopt a new cause, they think the same about that.

I heard Obama intends to issue an Executive Order making pi exactly 3.0 instead of 3.1416 to make it easier for disadvantaged students to understand.

Guy on Facebook wrote: "Charracter Matters!" I answered, "So does spelling..."

Free speech is often offensive, but lack of free speech is always disastrous.

Pro tip: If you are in a medical waiting room, try to find an interesting article to read. They are sure to call you by the time you are half way through.

There is a tipping point in the ratio between sheep and sheepdogs in a nation. Once it is reached, the wolves and jackals are going to bring you down and devour you. I fear that we are past the tipping point, and the predators are circling.

Recently I saw a sign: "100 years ago, we taught Latin and Greek in high school. Now we teach remedial English in college. What happened?" Teachers' unions and progressive educational theories happened.

A real "unbiased observer" is a very rare thing, though "journalists" claiming to be such are as common as preachers who know the "one true faith."

Progressives always rename things to try to force politically correct thinking on the masses: Leningrad, Stalingrad, Ho Chi Minh City, Mount Denali. But Leningrad and Stalingrad are gone, and Vietnamese still call it Saigon. We shall see about the mountain.

If you are planning to send your kids to one of the modern American universities or colleges (with a few exceptions), and they don't have firm convictions and principles, they will send you back progressive Marxists. Most universities today teach kids what to think, not how to think.

Increasing the minimum wage helps unions--contracts are tied to it. It was racist unions that pushed it in the first place to keep poor blacks from competing with white union members on wages. So if it helps unions, and they contribute to Democrats, who cares if an increase in the minimum wage also increases unemployment among minorities by pricing them out of the workforce, where they might learn basic job skills. There's always welfare and they will have to vote right to keep it flowing.

Waitresses often ask if I want them to take the bill and my credit card up. I want to say, "No, I want you to say, "It's on the house today!'"

My next selfie will be my first.

Good intentions are nice. But without the economic knowledge and skills to get good results they are worthless--and often harmful.

Of some people you can say, "Two of him would be three too many!"

It was higher tariffs that started the trade war that locked in the great depression. Those who don't know economics are condemned to repeat the disasters of the past.

If people have to preface a jokes with, "Now this is funny, I don't care who you are," it's probably not very funny.

Self respect is fine. But it's more important that your character and actions lead other folks to respect you.

Everyone is above average in his or her own mind.

Just because you call someone a reformer or something a reform doesn't make it good. See: Hillary Clinton’s uncredible statement on Syria

Power hidden is power multiplied.

In my long experience, you can usually get better results dealing with people--even bureaucrats--in person than by phone, letter or email.

When someone tells you that you have a "moral duty" to do something, it is always something they want done. Often it is to your disadvantage, and often they are not doing it themselves.

Ike warned of the Military-Industrial Complex. Today the threat to our vales and freedom is the Progressive-Media-Government Complex.

There is a big push in Wisconsin by progressives and the media for redistricting to be reformed to make it non-partisan. I'd be for it if it was nationwide. But I notice they are making no effort to reform redistricting in solid blue states like IL, NY or CA.

The good news is that they are putting prayer back in the public schools. The bad news is that it is prayer to Allah.

It's little wonder that Obama would want to take McKinley's name off a mountain. McKinley was a successful war president. Mt. Washington is probably in BO's crosshairs.

If the press was neutral, compared to Obama, Nixon would be a poster boy for following the laws and the constitution.

Advocacy Journalism is propaganda, not journalism.

Progressivism, having seized the media and academia, is slowly instituting it's fantasies. The low-info public believes in pie in the sky and free stuff from the government. I now think the pendulum will only swing when they bring on the inevitable fiscal collapse and very hard times. Violence, death, privation and chaos will thin out the believers and harden the survivors to reality. But it is going to be very painful, especially for the young and old who cannot earn their way or fight.

My friend Bill says he wishes everyone realized that Attila the Hun was an immigrant.

My friend Tom says I can see no benefit to taking in refugees who abjure one of our basic tenets, the rule of law.

On the Net: “Bill tried to cheer up Hillary this morning by reminding her that Nelson Mandela wasn't elected president until after he had served 27 years in prison.” --Frank

Of the nominating process, someone said, "Cream rises to the top." But my dad used to say, "So do the big chunks in a cesspool."

We are developing a feudal system in this country. The progressive elites are the small nobility, who live in splendor, supported in their noble offices by thousands of welfare surfs and government retainers.

Thy are making a movie satirizing the Iran Surrender. I expect Michael Moore will make a counter movie about how wonderful Obama, Kerry and the deal are. Working title: "Triumph of the Will."

Conservatives are fond of saying that Obama is a Socialist. But really, his economic system is much closer to Fascism. "An inherent aspect of fascist economies was economic dirigisme, meaning an economy where the government exerts strong directive influence over investment, as opposed to having a merely regulatory role. In general, apart from the nationalizations of some industries, fascist economies were based on private individuals being allowed property and private initiative, but these were contingent upon service to the state." --James A Gregor, The Search for Neo Fascism: The uses and abuses of social science, Page 7, Cambridge University Press, 2006. This explains all the government subsidies to green energy, even failing ones like Solyndra, as long as they do what the government wants and contribute to the political campaigns of the fascist leaders.

1936: "Everything will be fine--only a tiny minority of Germans are Nazis."

Do you know why we don’t get conservative policies enacted? Because a good chunk of self-identified conservatives don’t actually want them, and fight them when they’re proposed. --Jim Geraghty, Morning Jolt.

I've decided tests are bad for you. Every time I have one, next thing I know something else is wrong with me. Had a bone density test and sure enough, now I have osteoporosis.

As I get older, I've started to find holidays and special occasions disruptive instead of energizing. Bah, humbug!

It looks like Obama's victory speech on election night 2008 was the high point of his presidency.

Druggies say, "It wasn't my fault, it was the drugs." Like taking recreational drugs wasn't voluntary, so it's a get-out-of-jail-free card. Refusal to take responsibility for one's actions is the hallmark of modern life.

If only Iran had given their terror armies an Indian name, like "Redskins," Obama would have refused to deal with them.

A book I just read referred to lobbyists as "Professional Parasites." Wish I'd said that.

I was telling my brother about getting cold sales calls that pretended to be returning a call from you, like a call saying we are responding to your request for information on back braces. Within hours my wife received such a call--selling back braces!

We used to say that people who were naive and vulnerable, "Wore their hearts on their sleeve." Now you can say they, "Wore their hearts on Facebook."

Notice how the liberal press overreacts to anyone suggesting Obama is a Muslim? Must be they think it's an insult to be a Muslim.

I'm surprised Sanders doesn't send young brunettes with "Bernie" signs to Hillary rallies, wearing blue dresses.

I don't ask God to smite my enemies....but if he wanted to give me a clear field of fire, I would not take it amiss.

From my friend Tom: Got a dose of "white privilege" the other day. Had an attack of vertigo in a store and grabbed wildly for the nearest support.  Which proved to be a large, and rather surprised black man in full outlaw biker regalia.  He went from a menacing "What the fu--" to a concerned "Are you OK, man?" in one breath, while holding me up like I was a doll. World needs more people like him.

People who despise lying in others often seem able to justify it in themselves with no trouble to their conscience.

Recently read: Google Motto 2004: "Don't be evil." Google Motto 2010: "Evil is tricky to define." Google Motto 2013: "We build military robots."

If Bernie Sanders had an eye on history, his slogan would be, "Every man a king!"

When I saw on TV that the Pope was flying in Marine One, I figure he was going golfing.

Discount stores aren't always. Recently I bought bananas for $.38 a pound at a convenience store when they were $.49 a pound at Walmart. Sugar free candy was cheaper at the VA gift shop than Walmart as well. Let the buyer beware.

The inability to delay gratification for something better in the future is, in my view, highly correlated with poverty and dismal lives.

No matter how brave you are, if you love, you fear.

They say that first-rate people choose first-rate subordinates and that second-rate people choose third-rate subordinates. My corollary: And assholes choose asshole subordinates. Sorry for the language, but no other word fits so exactly.

Women on average live about seven years longer than men. This blatant inequality must be the result of discrimination. We need a massive government effort to end the Death Gap!

Assad saw what happened to Gadhafi when he gave in to US/European pressure in Libya. Why should he want that? In fact, considering that post-Obama Libya is a terror hellhole, why should we?

Much of the comment, left and right, on sites like Facebook and Twitter, calls for other folks to take actions that the poster is too busy, lazy, poor, or frightened to take.

Churchill said, "Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities... because it is the quality which guarantees all others." I suspect that courage is strong self-discipline, controlling your natural fear to do what needs to be done.

People often console themselves at a death by saying the person died "doing what he loved." Heard that locally about a teen girl killed in a car wreck bombing around drunk after a party. Next it will be drivers killed while texting who died "doing what they loved"!

Dennis Miller: You say you're a creationist, liberals cite Darwin. You then cite survival of the fittest, liberals tell you to be more Christ-like.

Read on line: "Don't anyone call Obama a ‘world class strategist’; he truly is almost as talented as he appears – almost."

Get the collection! My “Random Thoughts” from 2008 through July, 2013 are collected in this book: The Old Jarhead's Journal: Random Thoughts on Life, Liberty, and Leadership by Robert A. Hall
The Old Jarhead’s Journal is a collection of Random Thoughts on politics and life and Conservative Political Essays, mostly published on the author’s blog, including the essay “I’m Tired” which went viral on the Internet in 2009, “The Hall Platform,” “This I Believe,” and “Why I’m a Republican.” While they will be of interest to conservative thinkers, they are collected here in book form as a service to readers who wish to give a copy to favorite liberals and watch their heads explode. All royalties are donated to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.

*****


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.

Fifteen Habits of Highly Effective Marines

Fifteen Habits of Highly Effective Marines
By Anthony F. “Andy” Weddington and Robert A. Hal
Published in the October, 2015 Leatherneck Magazine
The Editor mentioned it in her monthly update:

Steven Covey's excellent bestseller, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, has become a cottage industry and rightly a must-read for people-managing. Marines also have habits, and a few more than seven (captured in principles and traits of leadership), that make them effective. Management Guru Peter Drucker said, "Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things." Marines, as our illustrious history on and off battlefields about the globe shows, are both efficient and effective.

Following are fifteen habits (we have identified) that make Marines, well, Marines. As you read and ponder, what habits would you add that make Marines the most effective (and efficient) fighters in the world?

Highly Effective Marines do the "Must Dos" first: Marines know that in life there are "must-dos," "should-dos" and "like-to-dos." Marines do them in that order. People who procrastinate on the things that must be done, preferring the fun like-to-dos, rarely get around to them in a timely manner. Thus they are never effective.

Highly Effective Marines look out for the welfare of subordinates: Two time-tested Marine Principles of Leadership are "Know your subordinates and look after their welfare" and "Develop your subordinates." They are among the most violated principles in the civilian worlds of politics and business, and why Marine veterans are effective in those arenas as well – because they build strong, productive and committed teams. Too often the civilian leader is the "big hog at the trough," first in line for pay raises, bonuses, perks and other benefits. This leaves the followers, who do the work, feeling resentful and of marginal value hence they offer a low commitment to the organization's mission which suffers as a result.

Highly Effective Marines take care of their gear: It starts with the rifle, of course, but effective Marines take care – through preventative maintenance and continuous care – of everything from personal 782 gear to tanks and planes. All else being equal, the unit with gear in good shape is going to out-perform one that is negligent or sloppy in this area. And this translates to winning and losing on the battlefield; to survival. The same is true in civilian life. Employees who take the, "Hey, it's not MY stuff" attitude quickly find their organization is out-performed by organizations where the employees treat their equipment as if they had paid for it themselves. The former can't figure out why they are unemployed. Ownership is pride and a workforce multiplier.

Highly Effective Marines stay calm under pressure: Calmness under pressure, even in the face of life-threatening danger, is a learned behavior and a vital survival tool. Nothing makes a leader more effective than staying calm, responding appropriately to the situation, and doing what needs to be done amidst chaos. This habit makes Marines – in the military and civilian world – the go-to guys.

Highly Effective Marines stay organized: Being organized is key to being effective. A couple of decades back, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo featured a Scots Territorial (reserve) Army engineering team versus a US Army team from Germany building a bridge. Every move of the Scots was precise, every man knew his role and where every part he was responsible for was, where it went--and when. The American team scurried about as if scrambling to pick up change from a spilled collection plate at church, hardly knowing who was doing what or with what. Embarrassing it was that the Scots beat the Americans night after night. But they were organized, thus far more effective.

Highly Effective Marines keep themselves in fighting trim: Yes, our society being what it is, even some Marine veterans carry too many pounds. Though an obese Marine is not as frequent a sight, we think, as seen in the rest of the population. Regardless of status (Active; Reserve; Retired; Not in a duty status; Dead – there are no “ex” nor “former” Marines) Marines know fitness – physiological and psychological – go hand-in-hand. Discipline is a critical habit to effective fitness.

Highly Effective Marines help fellow Marines every chance they get: It's part of teamwork and team building – Marines taking care of their own. As the saying goes, “Once a Marine, always a Marine,” so it carries on after the Marine hangs up the uniform, and extends to helping non-Marines, too. Hardly a week goes by that we don't read of Marines going out of their way to help – from roadside aid to stopping a crime – someone. This habit, a trait called initiative, makes the team much stronger than whatever it faces.

Highly Effective Marines lead from the front (except in the chow line and akin times) and by example: This doesn't mean the OIC or NCOIC is first through the door clearing a building instead of providing overall control and command. It does mean leaders are with the troops, setting the example, sharing the hardships and dangers – not micro-managing from far away in relative safety. Again, it carries over to the civilian world where Marines never say, "Not my job," but pitch in with everybody to accomplish the mission.

Highly Effective Marines always exercise the moral courage to do what is right for the right reasons: Mark Twain wrote, “It is curious that physical courage should be so

common in the world and moral courage so rare.” An astute observer of human nature, it’s no surprise that Twain’s insight is just as true today, and it is sadly often true among the top leaders, who too often think of careers and benefits over the good of the nation or the organization. There may not be a decoration, per se, for moral courage but moral courage is represented by every decoration a Marine wears. Moral courage is as essential to military (and civilian) success as physical courage – or administration or logistics. Any organization where moral courage is not demonstrated, encouraged and recognized rots from the inside out and is always ineffective.

Highly Effective Marines are not spectators, but make things happen: Several people are credited with versions of the proverb, “Some people make things happen. Some people watch things happen. And then there are those who wonder, “What the hell just happened?” Effective Marines always fall into the first category – they don't sit around grumbling, "Someone should do something!" Marines know another proverb is also true, "Not taking action is also a decision, often the worst decision." You cannot be effective if you don't get things done. And you don't get things done unless you make things happen. And, more often than not, forgiveness is easier than permission; especially if acting for the right reason(s) to do the right thing(s).

Highly Effective Marines keep themselves physically and morally squared away: Marines keep their gear, uniforms and consciences uncluttered and in serviceable condition. This makes them good-to-go in any situation, and able to command respect from other Marines, allies, onlookers and even the opposition.

Highly Effective Marines constantly seek self-improvement: Marines, through training and formal as well as off-duty education, strive for perfection. They know self-improvement makes for a more effective individual and, in turn, a more effective organization. Fail to improve then expect to fail.

Highly Effective Marines always have a plan, a backup plan, and a communications plan – then attack: Marines, by ethos and nature, take charge and always have a plan. They have already formulated that plan and in the back of their minds are shaping Plan B in case Plan A doesn't work – and it often doesn't. Marines adapt and keep moving forward. Meanwhile, they want to, must, communicate the plan to everyone who needs to know it. Yes there’s the old joke, but reality, about the "10% who don't get the word," but if people don't know the plan or why it is, effectiveness suffers.

Highly Effective Marines never accept mediocrity: Recruits and officer candidates have the acceptance of mediocrity knocked out of them at Parris Island, San Diego and Quantico. “Mediocrity” is a synonym for "ineffective" and is neither in the Marine lexicon nor psyche. The mediocre military organization, business or sports team will always lose to the superior one--the more effective one.

Highly Effective Marines leave no doubt in the minds of others that they are Marines: Time after time, we have heard superior performance – in war, in politics, in sports or in business explained with, "Well, they’re a Marine, you know." Co-author Bob Hall was at Fort Drum in 1978 for two weeks of active duty, his unit engaging an Army one for training. In the PX, a Marine he didn't know came up to him and said, "Hey, Marine, where'd you get that tee shirt?" Since it wasn't a USMC shirt, Hall asked, "How'd you know I was a Marine?" "By your bearing," the other Marine replied. Effective Marines project, through appearance and bearing and pride and confidence, they are Marines.

We know Marines, duty status notwithstanding, reading this article already practice most, if not all, of these habits. But thinking about them may help (you and other Marines) strengthen the habits of highly effective Marines. And, it may also help you think of other effective habits we’ve not cited.

Leatherneck welcomes letters to the editor (R.Keene@mca-marines.org), and we welcome comment, if you want to add to this discussion.

Colonel Andy Weddington, U.S. Marines (Retired) served as an infantry officer, 0302. He earned a BA in Psychology and an MA in Business Administration and Management. An accomplished well-known artist, he paints, teaches "seeing" and painting, writes, and occasionally stalks trout with his fly rod. In 2007 he published two books: On 'Seeing' & Painting--An Interdisciplinary Perspective (a primer for artists and non-artists alike) and Making Marines (a sketchbook – line and word – about recruit training). Gallery (art and books): http://weddingtonartgallery.com He blogs at http://acoloneloftruth.blogspot.com


Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam Veteran who served four years on active duty (64-68). He was elected to the Massachusetts Senate in 1972 immediately after graduating from college with a BA in Government. While a senator, he served six years in the USMCR and earned an MEd in history at night. He retired undefeated in 1982 to become a successful association executive. Pulmonary fibrosis forced his retirement in October of 2013, and he had a lung transplant that December. He has published eleven books with royalties going to charity, including the Semper Fi Fund and the MCHF. http://tartanmarine.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-book-published.html He blogs at www.tartanmarine.blogspot.com

Monday, September 28, 2015

More worth-reading political news and opinion

Book Recommendation: 1215: The Year of Magna Carta. By Danny Danziger and John Gillingham 
This small volume is both entertaining and informative. A concise history of the Magna Carta and its times, the history and political situation that led to it being adopted, the civil war that followed, and it's impact as both myth and reality of western history. the book deals with religion, the universities, the economy of the times and many other details of the life of both nobles and us "lower orders." One of the authors was also a co-author of the excellent The Year 1000. I highly recommend it. ~Bob

Must Read: Becoming America the Not-So-Beautiful. By Joel Kotkin
Excerpt: Today we are going through, at both the college and high school levels, a major, largely negative, reassessment of the American past. In some ways, this suggests parallels to the strategy of the Bolsheviks about whom Serge wrote. Under the communists, particularly in the Stalinist epoch, the past was twisted into a tale suited to the needs of the state and socialist ideology. This extended even to Bolshevik history, as Josef Stalin literally airbrushed his most hated rivals – notably Leon Trotsky, founder and people’s commissar of the Red Army – into historical oblivion. In the modern reformulation, America – long celebrated as a beacon of enlightenment and justice – now is often presented as just another tyrannical racist and sexist state. The founding fathers, far from being constitutional geniuses, are dismissed as racist thugs and suitable targets of general opprobrium. (Kotkin is the author of the provocative, thoughtful book, The New Class Divide. ~Bob)

Worth Reading: The Sleeping Dogs of Europe. By Victor Davis Hanson
Excerpt: Given the triad of history, geography and culture, it is no accident that Europe on the Mediterranean is being hit first by Third World immigration heading northward. Southern Europe always seems to owe money to the north.

Worth Reading: Rebuilding a Conservative Movement
Excerpt: The trouble with the donor class, by and large, is that it is resistant to change because it doesn't want to change. The Democratic and Republican donor classes donate for their business interests, but the Democratic donor class has a radical edge. Groups like the Democracy Alliance want a fundamental transformation of the country. And they understand how they can make money off that. There are too many Republican single issue donors who are fairly liberal on everything outside that issue. And there are too many big business interests and financial folks who live in major cities and only differ from liberals in their economic policy. (This is really a very thoughtful and distressing article.  Greenfield points out that the Liberal/Left side has more control of its supporters, more focus from its leaders, and of course we know the media and academia really are bulwarks for them.  Conservatives are actually a more diverse crowd, with much less effective leadership, and thus naturally at a serious disadvantage on the political battlefield.  And he's right, it's not enough to fight a holding action against the Left, we need to fight an aggressive battle to really retake the minds and hearts of a lot of people whose interests will actually be better served by conservative policies. --Del)

Worth Reading: AMERICA - COUNTRY ROADS AND COUNTRY WALLS. By Col. Andy Weddington, USMC (Ret)

WaPo Fact Checker: Hillary Clinton’s incomplete timeline on her personal e-mail account. By Glenn Kessler
Excerpt: As part of Clinton’s effort to clear up questions about her e-mail set-up, Clinton should begin using a more complete timeline regarding her staff member’s dealings with the State Department on this matter. The current timeline is incomplete. Three Pinocchios.

CENTCOM: Syrian Rebel Unit Gave Quarter of Its U.S.-Coalition Equipment to al-Nusra
But Sen. McCain vetted these dudes and posed for pix and selfies and all....Barb

And these refugees are thirsty and hungry???
Comments from the forwarded email: Please help these refugees with food and water!!! Should we? Look at the thanks the "good Samaritans" are getting! Hmmm another video not on mainstream media why? The food and water were provided by the Red Cross and was not acceptable because the Cross is a Christian symbol. Perhaps also the water was not certified Halal!! Why was it not on TV? They discard food and water and there is predominance of young men? The food and water were provided by the Red Cross and was not acceptable because the Cross is a “Christian” symbol.

Worth Reading: The bobblehead race for the presidency. By George F. Will
Excerpt: America’s loopy left is enamored of someone who becomes cranky about bobblehead figurines. Sober Democrats are queasy about nominating Hillary Clinton, who has much to apologize for but no aptitude for apologies. Those Republicans who hope she is denied the nomination are perhaps imprudent. And even Republicans who recoil from Donald Trump’s repulsiveness might want to defer the delicious pleasure of witnessing his apoplexy when he joins, as surely he will, the ranks of those he most despises — “losers.” ... Trump believes he should be president because of his business savvy. But he has, in effect, shrunk the large inheritance he received from his father. In 1982, Forbes reported Trump’s net worth at $200 million. Vox calculates that if he had put that in an index fund “at a 0.15 percent fee, he’d have $6.3 billion today after dividend taxes, almost certainly more than he actually does.” And an Associated Press analysis showed that if in 1988 he had put his money in an index fund he would have $13 billion. (He has not really revealed his net worth, but any Trump reticence is as welcome as it is rare.)

Pat Condell again

Why Can’t the Next Secretary of the Army be a Veteran?
Some very sad numbers, but totally understandable. --Del

Worth Reading: Capitalism, Socialism and the Pope. By John C. Goodman
Excerpt: At the beginning of the century you could at least understand why there was a debate. Intelligent people believed that enlightened government could outperform the marketplace. All over the world they tried to put that belief into practice. The result was carnage on a scale never seen before. An estimated people were killed by their own governments in the last century! That is six times the number who died in combat, fighting wars. Here is another stunning fact. The great majority of those deaths were at the hands of true believers -- people who were ideologically driven and were at least nominally committed to making the world a better place.

Yemen: Clad as woman, Islamic State jihadi murders 10 at Shia mosque. By Robert Spencer, JihadWatch.org.
Excerpt: But remember: in the West, if you raise security concerns about the burqa or niqab, you’re a racist, bigoted Islamophobe.

Iran’s Supreme Leader: Muslims must “shatter” the U.S., the “idol of tyranny.” By Robert Spencer, JihadWatch.org.
Excerpt: He seems to delight in making it absolutely clear to the world just how spectacularly he fooled Barack Obama and John Kerry, and got what he wanted out of them without being diverted from his genocidal plans to the slightest degree.

UK: More than 1,000 FGM cases in just three months

State discovers hundreds more Clinton e-mails for release to Benghazi panel
Excerpt: The State Department will provide Congress with 925 additional e-mails from former secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton to assist the investigation of the 2012 attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, a senior agency official said Friday. The new submission comes after the State Department had previously said it turned over all records the House Select Committee on Benghazi had requested and as the agency reviews Clinton’s e-mails for public release.

These places banned booze. Now they’re dealing with something far worse
Excerpt: "Dry counties" that prohibit alcohol sales seem to have a bigger meth problem than other counties.

Worth Seeing: VIDEO: "Moderate" Muslims show their true colours! 

Muslim woman reads Qur’an, leaves Islam
Multi-culturalists should try it. ~Bob

UK: Marxist anti-Semitic “anti-jihad” activist Maryam Namazie banned from university for fear of offending Muslims

Islamist on CBS: “I Want Every Woman in this Country Covered from Head to Toe” (WATCH)
No feminist/leftist response. Too cowardly. ~Bob
SEVEN WAYS POPE FRANCIS SLAPPED CONSERVATIVES IN THE UNITED STATES
The one that gets me right off is the phony setup with the little girl magically making it past security with a nice letter about her illegal family.  But all the rest of it is pretty much on point. I watched some of the Bill Maher show, where he and of course some very fair-minded friends reviewed the Pope's visit, and while they all admitted that Liberals jumped on some of what he said, and Conservatives jumped on others of what he said, in the end they were having a wonderful time ridiculing everything about Catholic dogma, and Maher really got wound up on how idiotic it is that the Pope is against same sex marriage, adoption by same sex couples, transgenders, etc, etc.  And of course the rampant nonsense of not allowing women priests.  The overall scene was one of that fantastic smug righteousness of ultraliberals.  Sickening, but what else is new?  I was waiting for them to get going on just one or two of the practices of Islam, but they didn't seem to get around to that.  Can't blame them, it's just so much safer to ridicule Christianity in any of its forms. I have to agree that the Pope could and in my opinion should have hit a bunch of things a lot harder than he did.  Yeah, he mentioned some things in fairly un-confrontational ways, but maybe the Vicar of Christ is supposed to speak truth to power when the occasion comes. When he goes home again I'll be just as happy. --Del. People are complaining the Pope is too political, but the Papacy has always been political. In 1215, Pope Innocent III effectively annulled the Magna Carta, the great charter of English liberty that western limited government is based upon, saying it was shameful and King John and the Barons should not observe it. They barons ignored him, just as progressives will ignore this Pope on gay marriage and abortion, and conservatives will ignore him on global warming and immigration. ~Bob

Interesting: Why Americans Still Think the Economy Is Terrible. By Neil Irwin
Excerpt: That’s what makes the latest annual data on incomes, released by the Census on Wednesday morning, an important corrective.
The median American household in 2014 had a lower income, in inflation-adjusted terms, than it did in 2013. The $53,657 the household in the middle of the income distribution earned last year was down 1.5 percent from the year before, though the census said that shift was not statistically significant.

Worth Reading: Is Obama a Muslim? By LAWRENCE SELLIN, PHD
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/is-obama-a-muslim
Excerpt: do not believe Barack Obama is a Muslim, nor do I think he is a Christian, nor do I think it matters, because he is not motivated by any religious belief, but by a secular ideology. All of his convictions and actions can be explained by a single supposition.

Antigun "statistics": Figures don't lie, but liars do figure.
Excerpt: On September 21 Americans for Responsible Solutions–the gun control group founded by Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly–tweeted numbers from the Center for American Progress Action Fund (CAP) claiming armed citizens in America have killed more people since 1989 than all wars since 1776 combined. The tweet contains a meme which says, “The number of deaths from gun violence just since Reagan’s presidency is higher than the number of soldiers killed in combat in all of U.S. history.” CAP then claims “gun-related deaths in the United States from 1989 to 2014 [were] 836,290,” and claims the “total U.S. military killed in war from 1776 to 2015 [was] 656,397.” (To condense things, what you need to know is that the reported gun killings of 836,290 Americans includes suicides, which deaths outnumber actual gun murders by about 2 to 1.  So the realistic number of people killed by guns in this country of 300+ million is about 10K per year, certainly not good news, but again, in terms of murder rates across the world, the USA is down about #43 in the UN tables. Meanwhile, since over 600,000 died in the Civil War alone, the military death toll they quote was so far off as to be past ridiculous.  Adding up from the Revolution to Viet Nam gives us a total of somewhere near 1.4 million at least. But details like accuracy mean less than nothing to the antigun nuts.  In a way it's nice to see them being so incredibly stupid. --Del)

This is one hell of a sad situation to see our authorities bringing down on true refugees from oppression and serious threats of death. --Del

5 Judges: Forcing Contraception Reg on Nuns Like Providing 'Only Non-Kosher Food' to Jewish Prisoner. By Terence P. Jeffrey
So far the Little Sisters of the Poor have lost their case to not have to provide contraception coverage in the health care package for their workers, as being against their core religious beliefs.  This needs to end up in front of the Supreme Court, with a lot of prayers that 5 of the 9 there will see it the way that 5 of the 12 on the appeals court saw it.  The dissenting opinions of the judges on the appeal court are not hard to understand and make perfect sense.  How the other seven figure that forcing the nuns to do something clearly against their beliefs is not denying them the right to observe their religion is one of those questions which is mostly answered by understanding the PC bias so often seen now even among judges. --Del

China’s Planned City Bubble Is About to Pop—and Even You’ll Feel It. By Joel Kotkin
Excerpt: Seven years after the last housing debacle devastated the world economy, we may be on the verge of another, albeit different, bubble. If the last real estate collapse was created due to insanely easy lending policies aimed at the middle and working classes, the current one has its roots largely in a regime of cheap money married to policies of planners who believe that they can shape the urban future from above.

Wave of migrants will give Europe an extreme makeover. By Joel Kotkin
Excerpt: The massive, ongoing surge of migrants and refugees into Europe has brought up horrendous scenes of deprivation, along with heartwarming instances of generosity. It has also engendered cruel remembrances of the continent’s darkest hours. But viewed over the long term, this crisis may well be the prelude to changes that could dissipate, and even overturn, some of the world’s most-storied and productive cultures.
Some may prefer to ignore the long-term impacts of huge migration from the often-chaotic developing world – where 99 percent of the world’s population growth will be taking place – to the more orderly, prosperous and low-fertility richer countries. Separated from the daily drama, the human movement from Syria, the rest of the Middle East and Africa can be seen as potentially changing European society forever by breaking its already-weak Christian foundations and threatening the future of Europe’s elaborate welfare states. In many ways this invokes the vision laid out in the 1973 French novel “Le Camp des Saints,” which envisioned a Europe overwhelmed by a tide of poor refugees.

Muslim Riots in Sydney.
This clip of violence in AU is from 2012, but was just posted on Facebook. After the violence, the Muslims chant, "Obama, Obama, we love Obama." ~Bob

Was It Fixed? Army General Told Subordinates: 'A Woman Will Graduate Ranger School,' Sources Say

FIORINA WAS RIGHT. By Glenn T. Stanton 
I listened to an NPR interview with the woman who is the head of Planned Parenthood.  In it she angrily trashed Carly Fiorina for "the big lie", the totally made up story of a video of a fully formed fetus, still showing signs of life, about to be cut up and harvested for its brain.  The accusations of that story being a total lie have flown thick and fast, but the actual video does exist and there's link to it below. People are so defensive of the right to abortions that even when the evidence is that the practice can be taken far too far, when fetal development really has progressed to where life is quite possible, they don't want to admit it.  It's like admitting anything bad, ever, about actual abortion practice simply cannot be allowed, so it's denial, denial, denial when the examples come up.  Of course the people who can do abortions on well developed fetuses have to be hardened and close their sensibilities to the reality of the tiny life they are ending.  Those babies are no more real to them than naturally aborted fetuses; if they saw it any other way, how could they keep on doing it? We're not going to repeal Roe vs Wade, but having rules that limit abortions to very early in the pregnancy would seem the least that a humane society would tolerate.  The Planned Parenthood people are not going to change how they do things, and I don't want a penny of my tax money going to them.  The present debate is silly, since all the grants for the year have already been awarded, but fighting about this now, with the evidence in front of people about what they do, is still worthwhile. --Del

Fed Refuses To Comment On Yellen's Health

WORLD VIEW: AFTER HAJJ STAMPEDE DISASTER, MUSLIMS DEBATE THE ‘WILL OF ALLAH’
Fate and destiny, per Saudis....rather than God vs. Allah. --Barb

Obamacare Is Back In Court. By Sally Pipes

Clinton’s hands-off policy toward Sanders is a long bet — with risks

'Homeless by Choice' in New York. By Daniel Greenfield
Excerpt: As Mohamed can tell you, being homeless in the city under Bill de Blasio isn’t too bad for the bums. To be homeless in New York City today means three meals a day, a microwave oven, TV, free laundry, free Internet, free health care and a prepaid cell phone with 300 minutes a month. That was a few years ago. Maybe they have free laptops now. If that sounds like a better deal than most New Yorkers or tourists get, you’re right. It’s why bums from across the country and even the world have been flocking to the privileged life of a Big Apple bum. (Very interesting look into "homelessness" in NYC.  While I am well aware there are "real" homeless people, that is, the ones who used to be in sanitariums but got thrown into the public, and the ones who have a sad history of alcoholism/drug use and failed careers, it's clear we now have a range of individuals who are finding it not just survivable but downright comfortable to be on the street and collecting on every benefit a very generous set of social programs and charities will provide. Hey, it must be nice to have zero responsibilities, but always food and a place to sleep, and even a cell phone and wifi and some level of medical care.  There are days when I wouldn't mind spending a week or more just lying around in that kind of situation.  No job, no taxes, forms, fees, no places I have to be or people I have to see, no tasks I have to perform, no worries, just chill out and enjoy the moment. The thing about people is that they are adaptive, and some will look at any kind of free benefit system and figure out how to take advantage of it.  If you are smart, and listen to others who know the ropes, you can play the systems like a piano and make out like a bandit.  Whether it's any of the welfare benefits or Social Security disability or the VA system (for those who can prove or even fake military experience), you can eventually milk it for all its worth and then some.  From our own experience helping very poor people at various times, we know that doing charity means sooner or later someone will take advantage.  You have to accept that as a risk of being compassionate. But you also can try to hold down your vulnerability, and it looks like in some places, maybe NYC, there's a need to tighten up on the giveaway programs. --Del)

Drowning Syria to Keep an Iran Deal Afloat
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/09/drowning-syria-to-keep-an-iran-deal-afloat.html?via=mobile&source=twitter&utm_source=jolt&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Jolt09282015&utm_term=Jolt
Excerpt: On September 10, 2013, President Obama gave a stirring speech from the White House in response to the chemical weapon attack on the Damascus suburbs of Ghouta which left over 1,400 Syrians dead—suffocating from sarin gas launched in the middle of the night on a civilian population by the Assad regime. Many of the victims were children. Their images—doll-like and waxy-skinned—haunted the world. Obama asked members of Congress and the American people to watch the videos of  Syrian children dying on hospital floors. He then asked, “What kind of world will we live in if the United States of America sees a dictator brazenly violate international law with poison gas and we choose to look the other way?” It’s been almost two years since that speech. Today, we live in the world that the president described. A world in which people in powerful positions chose to look the other way. And so the daily carnage in Syria, by barrel bomb, by beheading, and yes, by chemical weapons, continued.

Buried deep within today’s Quinnipiac poll. By Jim Geraghty, Morning Jolt
American voters oppose 53 – 41 percent admitting 10,000 Syrian refugees to the U.S. over the next year. Democrats support admitting refugees 60 – 33 percent, with Republicans opposed 71 – 24 percent and independent voters divided with 45 percent supporting the extra refugees and 48 percent opposed. Voters say 58 – 36 percent the refugees would pose a threat to U.S. security.

The Chicago Cloud Tax

UK Muslims pelt soldier in uniform with eggs, excrement

Former Grand Mufti of Lebanon: No way except jihad to liberate “Palestine.” By Robert Spence, JihadWatch.org
Excerpt: What? Jihad? Not “dialogue”? Why doesn’t Pope Francis sit down with Sheikh Muhammad-Rashid al-Qabbani and explain to him how “authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence”? That will clear up the Grand Mufti’s misunderstanding of Islam in a trice.

UK hospital moved RAF sergeant over fears his uniform would offend Muslims

65 Year Anniversary of D-Day - Yogi Berra Feature

SEVEN WAYS POPE FRANCIS SLAPPED CONSERVATIVES IN THE UNITED STATES
The one that gets me right off is the phony setup with the little girl magically making it past security with a nice letter about her illegal family.  But all the rest of it is pretty much on point. I watched some of the Bill Maher show, where he and of course some very fair-minded friends reviewed the Pope's visit, and while they all admitted that Liberals jumped on some of what he said, and Conservatives jumped on others of what he said, in the end they were having a wonderful time ridiculing everything about Catholic dogma, and Maher really got wound up on how idiotic it is that the Pope is against same sex marriage, adoption by same sex couples, transgenders, etc, etc.  And of course the rampant nonsense of not allowing women priests.  The overall scene was one of that fantastic smug righteousness of ultraliberals.  Sickening, but what else is new?  I was waiting for them to get going on just one or two of the practices of Islam, but they didn't seem to get around to that.  Can't blame them, it's just so much safer to ridicule Christianity in any of its forms. I have to agree that the Pope could and in my opinion should have hit a bunch of things a lot harder than he did.  Yeah, he mentioned some things in fairly un-confrontational ways, but maybe the Vicar of Christ is supposed to speak truth to power when the occasion comes. When he goes home again I'll be just as happy. --Del

Hillary Clinton Personally Signed Off On Decision She Said She Was Not Involved In


Yes. Of course, we had the North Korea deal with Clinton to keep N. Korea from getting a nuke, People were promised they could keep their plan and doctor under Obamacare, and that their premiums would go down $2500, which he knew was a lie at the time, (assuming he had read it before he said what it would do.). China will pay no attention to the climate deal when it suits them, but it's a good way to slow the US economy (where carbon has gone down unlike China). The immigration plan, where he went around Congress, will bankrupt our economy and welfare system and we are already $18T in debt, not to mention the unfunded liability for entitlement plans, including Obamacare, which is estimated from $87T to $240T. (See "The West and the Tyranny of Public Debt" http://www.newsweek.com/2010/12/27/the-west-and-the-tyranny-of-public-debt.html from Newsweek in 2010. Cuba got everything it wants for us, but still denies basic freedoms and persecutes political dissidents. Obama attacked George Bush in 2008 for using executive orders to go around Congress and promised to end that! Gay marriage, which I supported back when Obama and Hillary were against it, was passed by the court, not Obama or the Congress, so not part of his legacy. No new wars? O, right, he intervened without Congressional approval in Libya and turned it into a terrorist hell hole at constant war, he drew a red line in Syria was not enforced, but helped turn it into a Russian client state and is overwhelming Europe with "refugees," many believe to be ISIS terrorists. And, of course, he "ended the war in Iraq," creating the rise of ISIS and endless murder and death. He took credit all over the place for ending the war in Iraq, then said it wasn't his decision. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DpBwmN66As A wonderful legacy.

Bundle of marijuana worth $10,000 falls from the sky and crushes doghouse

Science Knowledge Quiz
11/12. ~Not bad for so long out of school. ~Bob

Satire: Campaign Staffers Making Progress Conditioning Hillary Clinton To Replicate Emotions

Satire: Special Forces To Change ‘Free The Oppressed’ Motto After Complaints From Afghans Holding Sex Slaves
Excerpt: “We want to make sure we are not offending our coalition partners and not judging them based on our own biases,” said Col. Dwight S. Barry, a Pentagon spokesperson. “At the end of the day, we just have to respect that raping young boys and mutilating female genitals is just a part of their culture.”