Old Jarhead's Political SitRep for February 27, 2013

Old Jarhead's Political SitRep for February 27, 2013

Robert A. Hall

Your one-stop-shop for political news and opinion. Please forward to friends who need to be informed. This SitRep (Military for “Situation Report”) is created by many readers who send me items for inclusion, which I would have likely missed or skipped. And I can only spend at most three hours a night pulling stuff, plus the healthcare or economic stuff that crosses my desk at work. As always, I—and you—owe them thanks and appreciation. I post articles because I think they are of interest and will stimulate thought and discussion. Doing so doesn’t mean that I necessarily agree (or disagree) with every—or any—opinion in the posted article, or that I was able to verify the information presented, which is the responsibility of the author. I try not to post things that are false, or too far a stretch, regardless of the view point, but I don’t always succeed. As always on the Net, or in the legacy media, you must read critically and with skepticism.

Advice for my Granddaughter: For When I'm Gone

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

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

Worth Watching: Teaching a kid about gun safety

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By_u5kmvq9o&feature=youtu.be

This girl is good! ~Bob

Worth Reading: Shepherds and Sheep. By Thomas Sowell

http://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2013/02/26/shepherds-and-sheep-n1519909/page/full/

Excerpt: Professor Sunstein is undoubtedly correct that "people make a lot of mistakes." Most of us can look back over our own lives and see many mistakes, including some that were very damaging. What Cass Sunstein does not tell us is what sort of creatures, other than people, are going to override our mistaken decisions for us. That is the key flaw in the theory and agenda of the left.

Worth Reading: Explaining the Inexplicable. By Victor Davis Hanson

http://pjmedia.com/victordavishanson/explaining-the-inexplicable/?singlepage=true

Excerpt: Almost daily we witness things that make no sense. A few examples, from the profound to the trivial.

Boehner tells Senate to 'get off their asses'
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/284903-boehner-tells-senate-to-get-off-their-asses

Excerpt: A salty Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Tuesday told members of the Senate to “get off their ass” and pass a bill to replace the $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts that will kick in on March 1. “We have moved a bill in the House twice. We should not have to move a third bill before the Senate gets off their ass and begins to do something,” Boehner told reporters in a press conference, repeating a message he had just delivered in a closed-door meeting of the House Republican conference.

"The Marine Corps is clearly punching above its weight," says one expert. By Jim Michaels

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/24/marine-generals/1934129/

Excerpt: When U.S. and NATO top brass gathered in Kabul to mark a change in the top leadership this month, all three American generals lined up on stage were Marines.

Afghanistan is a landlocked country, but for the second consecutive time President Obama nominated a Marine to lead the war there.

Former San Diego mayor admits misusing charity to fund $1 billion gambling habit

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/15/justice/california-ex-mayor-gambling

Excerpt: The first woman mayor of San Diego has acknowledged in court she misappropriated more than $2 million from her late husband's foundation to fund a casino gambling habit with which she allegedly won and lost $1 billion over nine years. (She's a Democrat. I figured that, because none of the MSM stories mentioned her party. ~Bob.) 

The Week That Was: 2013-02-23 (February 23, 2013)

http://www.sepp.org/twtwfiles/2013/TWTW%202-23-13.pdf

Excerpt: Now the green future has arrived and German voters are in revolt over rising power prices. "Fuel poverty" has become a buzz term as thousands have been shut off for nonpayment of bills. Politicians have begun trying to claw back subsidies from companies that say the subsidies are the only reason they're in business. (As always, there are many good articles cited. Especially read the three numbered articles at the end and the “executive summary” at the beginning by Ken Haapala. The excerpt is taken from Article #3, A Spectator's Stake in the Tesla Test-Drive Spat, appearing at the end of TWTW. Ron P.)

Hollywood's Pious Hypocrisy. By Ed Lasky

http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/02/hollywoods_pious_hypocrisy.html#ixzz2LxHP82KW 

Excerpt: Hypocrisy is endemic in Hollywood. That is one reason Barack Obama and other Democrats feel so welcome there. Hypocrisy is a wide spectrum disorder in Hollywood. Similar to a virus, it has many types and mutates as time goes by. There are the obvious displays. However, one form of hypocrisy mostly escapes notice, and it cuts to the heart of the Democrats' phony posturing. President Obama slammed Mitt Romney for the same thing during the campaign but, of course, is silent when it comes to celebrities. Its practice may also be responsible for the sheer mediocrity of movies.

Sans majorité au Sénat, l'Italie risque d'être ingouvernable

http://www.lemonde.fr/europe/article/2013/02/25/legislatives-italiennes-la-percee-d-un-vote-protestataire-fait-craindre-l-instabilite_1838014_3214.html

Excerpt: L'Italie semblait se diriger, à l'issue de ses élections législatives lundi soir, vers une impasse, avec une Chambre des députés à gauche et un Sénat sans majorité claire. Ces incertitudes alimentent les craintes d'une impossibilité de gouverner la troisième économie de la zone euro. "Vote choc qui nous donne un Parlement bloqué", titrait sur son site le Corriere della Sera. (Thought I’d practice my French…Actually, you can figure it out. Without a majority in the Senate, Italy risks becoming ungovernable … issues of these legislative elections Thursday evening are near an impasse with one Chamber of the deputies to the Left and a Senate without a clear majority. Blocked legislature? Left and right at an impasse? Is it the position of the stars or does this sound vaguely familiar in the US as well? --Barb)

Uncertainty for Italy as election exit polls show split vote

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9892698/Uncertainty-for-Italy-as-election-exit-polls-show-split-vote.html

Excerpt: The centre-right coalition led by Silvio Berlusconi is leading in the race for the Italian upper house, while Pier Luigi Bersani's centre-left group is ahead in the lower house. The main Democratic Party led by Mr Bersani and its smaller leftist allies were ahead with between 34.5 and 37 per cent, beating the 29 to 31 per cent for a coalition led by the scandal-tainted former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. Complicating efforts however were the results in the upper house Senate, showing the centre-Right bloc in the lead with 31.7 per cent, ahead of the centre left on 29 per cent. (My translation on the French wasn’t half bad….Barb)

Teenage highway deaths jumped in 2012

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/teenage-highway-deaths-jumped-in-2012/2013/02/25/50ea2f1e-7ea1-11e2-a350-49866afab584_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines

Excerpt: Teenagers are dying in car crashes at a much higher rate, particularly 16- and 17-year-olds. Their death rate jumped 19 percent nationwide, with 240 killed in the first six months of last year, according to a report by the Governors Highway Safety Association. (Texting and alcohol, I’d guess. ~Bob.)

Hezbollah Terrorists Operate in Europe. By Nicholas Kulish

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/21/world/europe/in-cyprus-trial-man-says-hezbollah-scouted-israeli-targets-in-europe.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=1&

Excerpt: In a little-noticed trial in a small courtroom here, Cyprus, on Wednesday a 24-year-old man provided a rare look inside a covert global war between Israel and Iran, admitting that he is an operative of the militant group Hezbollah, for which he acted as a courier in Europe and staked out locations in this port city that Israelis were known to frequent.

Using the Free Market to Expand Access to Electricity

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=22884&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DPD

Excerpt: For the world's 1.4 billion people without access to electricity, the traditional solution to the problem seeks to improve and expand service from an established monopolistic electricity supplier. However, free market solutions to electricity development could be more effective at expanding access to electricity, says Paul Ballonoff, a specialist manager in the emerging markets practice of Deloitte Consulting LLP. In many emerging markets, private free market suppliers of electricity are illegal and the established monopolies are often government owned and operated and frequently unreliable. These monopolies are legal monopolies, not natural monopolies, and as such do not compel consumers to voluntarily purchase the regulated monopoly provider's electricity. Instead, consumers opt to pay higher prices for free market insurgent provider s' electricity or consumer-reliable alternatives like kerosene, which have no natural monopoly attached to them. Worldwide electricity demand is projected to grow by 2.2 annually, driven by developing countries and electric car expansion.

Concealed Carry Permit Reciprocity Maps - USA Carry

http://www.usacarry.com/concealed_carry_permit_reciprocity_maps.html

Tweet from Mike Baker ‏@MBCompanyMan

Sec of State John Kerry announces Iran must negotiate in good faith re their nuke program. Dammit, why didn't we think of that before?

The Politics of Rape

http://blog.chron.com/texassparkle/2013/02/2946/

Excerpt: Worst of all, Feminists use rape to promote a political agenda. Probably the worst example of this is Leslie Marshall, a liberal pundit, who wrote an entire column in U.S. News bashing Todd Akin, claiming that she was raped when she was 19. She writes, “And I should know. I was the victim of rape at 19.” Yet here, on the Sean Hannity Show where she now wants to argue gun control and defend Salazar’s remarks, she claims she wasn’t a victim of rape, as she did her article, but that at 19 she fought off her would be rapist, and didn’t need a gun to do it. 

John Kerry invents country of Kyrzakhstan

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-politics/9892297/John-Kerry-invents-country-of-Kyrzakhstan.html

Excerpt: In an embarrassing slip of the tongue, Mr Kerry last week praised US diplomats working to secure "democratic institutions" in the Central Asian country, which does not exist. (He was probable sent to 'Kyrzakhstan' by “President” Nixon on New Years of 1968. ~Bob.)

Old but funny: Sheila Jackson Lee says there are two Vietnams: North and South

http://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2010/jul/21/sheila-jackson-lee/sheila-jackson-lee-says-there-are-two-vietnams-nor/

Excerpt: "I stand here asking us to do what we did not do in Vietnam, (which) was to recognize the valiant and outstanding service of our men and women, and to understand victory had been achieved," she said during the special order speech, which House members can give on any topic at the end of a day's legislative work. "Today, we have two Vietnams, side by side, North and South, exchanging and working," she said. "We may not agree with all that North Vietnam is doing, but they are living in peace. I would look for a better human rights record for North Vietnam, but they are living side by side." (This is from 2010. I missed this piece then, but apparently she missed the fact that her party pulled support from South Vietnam in 1974-75, condemning them to conquest and perpetual slavery from the Communist North ever since. ~Bob. But Yes, this is the same woman who in 1997 asked a NASA scientist if the Mars Pathfinder had photographed the flag that Neil Armstrong had planted . . . You know, the one on the moon. –Jim Geraghty)

WaPo/Pew sequestration poll question oddly missing an option. By Ed Morrissey

http://hotair.com/archives/2013/02/26/wapopew-sequestration-poll-question-oddly-missing-an-option/

Excerpt: Let’s see if you can figure out what Pew and the Washington Post left out of this poll question about blame for the sequester.

Obama To Change Course On Syria? Officials concerned about number of jihadists joining rebels. By Aaron Klein
http://www.wnd.com/2013/02/obama-to-change-course-on-syria/#TdHsjAGK5Pimjjtq.99 

Excerpt: The Obama administration is leaning toward scaling back its demand for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to resign and instead may encourage reconciliation talks between Assad and the opposition, according to informed Middle Eastern security officials. The security officials said Russia has been instrumental in convincing the U.S. to change its position, largely due to growing concern about the massive number of jihadists participating in the insurgency targeting Assad’s regime. (What? You mean Barack Hussain has stopped supporting terrorists? This must come as a blow to his pals in Al Qaeda. Our thanks to Julio Severo for this. It looks like Russia may be talking sense into Barry. --Don Hank. Maybe the reason Obama seems partial to Muslims is that when they pray to Mecca five times a day, he thinks they are bowing to him? ~Bob.)

Saudis Step Up Help for Rebels in Syria With Croatian Arms

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/world/middleeast/in-shift-saudis-are-said-to-arm-rebels-in-syria.html?hp&_r=1&

Excerpt: Saudi Arabia has financed a large purchase of infantry weapons from Croatia and quietly funneled them to antigovernment fighters in Syria in a drive to break the bloody stalemate that has allowed President Bashar al-Assad to cling to power, according to American and Western officials familiar with the purchases. (I’d guess pretty high odds that some of these weapons will one day kill Americans and other infidels. ~Bob.)

Important: The Syrian War Has Metastasized. Is Obama in It? By Michael Ledeen

http://pjmedia.com/michaelledeen/2013/02/25/the-syrian-war-has-metastasized-is-obama-in-it/

Excerpt: Il Foglio‘s excellent reporter on the scene, Daniele Raineri, makes another important point: by arming the FSA with weapons that can’t be obtained in the neighborhood, whoever is organizing the support gains a great deal of control, since the “whoever” also controls the flow of ammunition. And he notes that these new weapons are coming in to Syria from the south–with a major Jordanian role–rather than from the north, via Iraq and Turkey, which was the traditional route. (I think the Israelis and Jordanians more likely to be involved than the US, and if I was the Israelis or Jordanians doing it, I wouldn’t be telling.  I do wonder if Ledeen is being more optimistic than is justified; time will tell.  Ron P.

Ashley Judd’s biggest problem: Her history of bizarre comments. By Alex Pappas

http://dailycaller.com/2013/02/26/ashley-judds-biggest-problem-her-history-of-bizarre-comments/#ixzz2M1JfMW8J

Excerpt: She has spoken out against having kids, saying it is “unconscionable to breed” while there are so many starving children in the world. She has criticized the tradition of fathers “giving away” their daughters at weddings, calling that practice “a common vestige of male dominion over a woman’s reproductive status.” She has even compared mountaintop removal mining to the Rwandan genocide, and has criticized Christianity as a religion that “legitimizes and seals male power.”

Krauthammer: ‘The cynicism of the campaign of this administration is astonishing’ [VIDEO]
http://dailycaller.com/2013/02/25/krauthammer-the-cynicism-of-the-campaign-of-this-administration-is-astonishing-video/#ixzz2M1KE49tn

Infantile Conservatism [Washington Post's 'conservative' blogger Jennifer Rubin says Iran is America's 'greatest national security threat']. By Pat Buchanan

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/02/26/infantile_conservatism__117165.html

Excerpt: Iran has no missile that can reach us, no air force or navy that would survive the first days of war, no nuclear weapons, no bomb-grade uranium from which to build one. All of her nuclear facilities are under constant United Nations surveillance and inspection. And if this Iran is the "greatest national security threat" faced by the world's last superpower, why do Iran's nearest neighbors -- Turkey, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Pakistan -- seem so unafraid of her? (I disagree with Buchanan, not for the first time. An Iranian nuke given to terrorists, put in a cargo container, could take out new York City. That’s a real threat to me. ~Bob.)

A Sea Change in the Muslim World [Fertility Rates Plunging]. By David Ignatius

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/02/10/a_sea_change_in_the_muslim_world_116970.html

Excerpt: Eberstadt's first paper was expressively titled "Fertility Decline in the Muslim World: A Veritable Sea-Change, Still Curiously Unnoticed." Using data for 49 Muslim-majority countries and territories, he found that fertility rates declined an average of 41 percent between 1975-80 and 2005-10, compared with a 33 percent decline for the world as a whole. Twenty-two Muslim countries and territories had fertility declines of 50 percent or more.

America's Red State Growth Corridors: Low-tax, energy-rich regions in the heartland charge ahead as economies on both coasts sing the blues. By Joel Kotkin

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323549204578315714070017932.html

Excerpt: In the wake of the 2012 presidential election, some political commentators have written political obituaries of the "red" or conservative-leaning states, envisioning a brave new world dominated by fashionably blue bastions in the Northeast or California. But political fortunes are notoriously fickle, while economic trends tend to be more enduring. These trends point to a U.S. economic future dominated by four growth corridors that are generally less dense, more affordable, and markedly more conservative and pro-business: the Great Plains, the Intermountain West, the Third Coast (spanning the Gulf states from Texas to Florida), and the Southeastern industrial belt.

Where Could We POSSIBLY Cut the Federal Budget?

http://blog.heritage.org/2013/02/26/sequestration-where-could-we-possibly-cut-the-federal-budget/?roi=echo3-14688129423-11584651-bf7ce58bf561ee36563177b6f1043c99&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell

Excerpt: If you had to cut your family’s budget, where would you cut? Would you immediately start starving your children and stop wearing shoes? Of course not. You would look at the extras in your life—whether they were coffee shop lattes, movie tickets, or restaurant meals. It’s a good thing the President wouldn’t be handling your budget. 

Radiation Leaking from Iran's Nuke Plant. By Reza Kahlili

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/radiation-leaking-from-irans-nuke-plant?f=must_reads#ixzz2M0LIKara 

Excerpt: Radiation is leaking from Iran's nuclear facility at Fordow, which suffered devastating explosions on Jan. 21, WND has learned, and the regime has ordered millions of antidote iodine pills from Russia and Ukraine amid fears the radioactivity will spread. (Rate unverified without confirmation. ~Bob.)

There Once Was A Place Called America. By Susan Stamper Brown 

http://townhall.com/columnists/susanstamperbrown/2013/02/25/there-once-was-a-place-called-america-n1520348?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl

Excerpt: "There once was a place called America," our children's children will one day write, "a bright and shining city on a hill, divinely placed by God to serve as a beacon of hope to the entire world. A land filled with generous-hearted souls who showered the needy the world over with their abundant blessings."

Paper Tiger Chinese instability looms despite economic gains. By Ryan Willard

http://freebeacon.com/paper-tiger/

Exzcerpt: China’s growing nationalism has left it unstable despite becoming the second largest economy in the world, a strategic analyst said during a book event Monday.

Edward Luttwak, a senior associate at Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), discussed the rise of Chinese influence while talking about his new book, The Rise of China vs. the Logic of Strategy.

Europe: A Continent in Flight. By Bruce Bawer 

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/bruce-bawer/europe-a-continent-in-flight/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=3714dc0d7d-Mailchimp_FrontPageMag

Excerpt: When you’re discussing such large-scale phenomena such as this one – hundreds of thousands of Muslims occupying this or that part of this or that city, hundreds of thousands of native Londoners relocating hither and thither in consequence it can be hard to grasp it all, to reduce the big picture to a comprehensible, human scale. 

Muslims Behead Another Christian Pastor. By Raymond Ibrahim 

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/raymond-ibrahim/muslims-behead-another-christian-pastor/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=3714dc0d7d-Mailchimp_FrontPageMag

Excerpt: A Christian pastor was recently slaughtered in the Muslim-majority African nation of Tanzania. While butchering Christian minorities is becoming increasingly common in that part of the Muslim world, the context for this latest slaughter is somewhat different than the usual forms of Christian persecution under Islam—such as allegations of “blaspheming” the name of Muslim prophet Muhammad. And yet, as in most forms of modern-day Muslim attacks on Christians, it too fits patterns and precedents.

Nigeria Christians Mourn Their Dead After Massacre, Attacks

http://www.bosnewslife.com/26669-nigeria-christians-mourn-their-dead-after-massacre-attacks

Didn’t get the “Islam is a Religion of Peace” memo. ~Bob. Excerpt: In one the worst incidents since Thursday, February 21, suspected Muslim attackers used machetes and guns to murder 10 members of the same Christian family in Plateau state, with half the victims under the age of six, the military and government confirmed.

Secretary Kerry's Maiden Speech. By Shoshana Bryen

http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/3974/secretary-kerry-maiden-speech

Excerpt: Stipulating that foreign aid can be an important part of American foreign policy, and further that trade is an important component of U.S. foreign policy; Secretary of State John Kerry made two really important mistakes in his maiden speech, delivered to a fawning audience of American university students. (He’s been wrong about everything in his career since he launched it falsely slandering his fellow vets. Why expect different now? ~Bob.)

Access to White House, President Obama for sale

http://washingtonexaminer.com/examiner-editorial-access-to-white-house-president-obama-for-sale/article/2522517?utm_source=Washington%20Examiner:%20Opinion%20Digest%20-%2002/26/2013&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Washington%20Examiner:%20Opinion%20Digest

Excerpt: Fast-forward to this past Saturday, when the New York Times reported that the re-elected President Obama's top political advisers are all fanning out across the country with a simple message for those same lobbyists and special interests: Obama is for sale. (Show me your shocked face. ~Bob.)

Worth Reading: America’s Exceptionalism: We cannot be reminded of it enough. By Ben Stein 

http://spectator.org/archives/2013/02/26/americas-exceptionalism

Excerpt: I had always planned to be a historian and I still spend much of my time reading history. When I do, I am struck by a few dramatic truths. The first is that life in America, at least right now, at least for most of us, is simply great. 

It's Hard to Gross Out a Libertarian: Jonathan Haidt on Sex, Politics, and Disgust

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmz10uQsTYE&feature=youtu.be

Jonathan Haidt is a leftie, but I highly recommend his book, The Righteous Mind. ~Bob.

New York: Penalty for 11 rounds in a magazine more severe than being repeat child molester 

http://radioviceonline.com/new-york-penalty-8-round-in-magazine-more-severe-repeat-child-molester/

Scratch a liberal, find a ‘racist.’ By Kathy Shaidle

http://www.fivefeetoffury.com/2013/02/26/scratch-a-liberal-find-a-racist/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FiveFeetOfFury+%28five+feet+of+fury%29

Excerpt: Orthodox Jewish Brooklyn Democrat dresses in blackface for Purim.

My response to "Shotgun" Joe Biden

I listened to Joe Biden claim all we needed for self defense was a double-barrel shotgun with two shells. He said nobody needed an AR-15 with a thirty round clip (I believe he meant magazine, but I'll give him a pass). He told his wife to just step out onto the balcony and fire both barrels. Okay, that might work for the Biden's since, in addition to that shotgun, they are also protected around the clock by well armed Secret Service agents. For the rest of us though, an AR-15 might be just the ticket. I learned a long time ago, in a far away place with a strange sounding name, that you can never have too much ammunition. You can, however, have too little ammunition. --LLW

Jimmy Carter Unloads On Obama

http://www.wnd.com/2013/02/jimmy-carter-unloads-on-obama/

Excerpt: Carter also faulted Obama for being too tough on American enemies that are pursuing nuclear capabilities. Carter thinks the U.S would have more influence if it promised to drop sanctions against Iran and North Korea. (Racist peanut farmer. ~Bob.)

Wisc. University Stands By Campaign To Teach Diversity By Writing ‘Unfair’ On White Students’ Faces

http://politichicks.tv/2013/02/wisc-university-stands-by-campaign-to-teach-diversity-by-writing-unfair-on-white-students-faces/

Excerpt: The University of Wisconsin Duluth-Superior is standing by a controversial campaign launched in 2012 to increase public awareness about racial favoritism by writing “unfair” on students’ faces along with a variety of grievances supposedly shared by minorities against Caucasians. The university released a statement last week defending the project and saying that the campaign is prepare to enter its second phase.(S. Garofolo would say, "racism, straight up." –Jer)

Chicago Kids Say They're Assigned To Gangs

http://www.npr.org/2013/02/21/172593743/chicago-kids-say-theyre-assigned-to-gangs?ft=1&f=1128&sc=tw

Excerpt: Last school year, 29 current and recent students at Harper High School in Chicago were shot. Eight of them died. (A culture that glorifies drugs and violence, and that makes it easy to raise fatherless children. The fruits of big government, the nanny state and multiculturalism that says inner city culture is equally valid. No amount of gun control will fix this. ~Bob.)

Old Jarhead's Political SitRep for February 21, 2013

Old Jarhead's Political SitRep for February 21, 2013

Robert A. Hall

The Philosophy of the Old Jarhead Blog

www.tartanmarine.blogspot.com

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

Book Recommendation. The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor. By Jake Tapper

http://www.amazon.com/Outpost-Untold-Story-American-Valor/dp/0316185396/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361317156&sr=1-1&keywords=outpost+jake+tapper

I received "The Outpost" for Christmas and put it near the top of my reading pile. While it was long, it was not disappointing. Tapper gives an excellent, well-researched account of brave and good men put in a difficult, if not impossible situation by bad decisions--some going as high at theater command and the White House. Given the details and the outcomes, it is hard to disagree with his conclusions. Tapper is a journalist, with all the negative connotations of "agenda driven-propagandist" that today attach to that word, so I was pleased that he presented the story in a very straight-forward manner and had an obvious respect, perhaps affection, for the troops he was writing about. That sat well with this old Jarhead. It's been 30 years since I last wore the uniform, so I'm out of date, but as far as I could tell he got the military details and nomenclature right. (Though he reported one man promoted to "Private Second Class." I had never heard that term used for an Army E-2.) That the combat outpost that is the subject of the book was poorly sited should have been obvious to anyone, as it was to an Army E-4 involved in planning at the start of the book. The old infantry maxim is, "Take the high ground, or they will bury you in the valley." And "valley" hardly describes their situation. I spent August and a few days in September of 1967 with a Marine Combined Action Company heading a Radio Relay Team at Khe Sanh. But we were very close to and well supported by the main Khe Sanh Combat Base. It was pretty quiet, and I had the good fortune to rotate home about four months before Tet (They was scared to attack while I was there!) CAC-O got hit hard at the start of the siege, but because the location was far better, the troops first class and well-trained and the defenses good, they inflicted a lot of casualties on the NVA for almost none in return, and evacuated to the main base by foot. Even so, it was a hairy situation that I'm both sorry and glad to have missed. No Marine infantry fire team leader would have located an outpost in the situation described by Tapper. The terrain photos alone show it was a disaster scheduled to happen. When the bad guys can shoot down at you, you know you are in a bad place. That they steadily lost control of the surrounding area should have alerted someone that trouble was guaranteed. And I would trust the local Vietnam troops with us at Khe Sanh far more than the ANA described in the book. After reading it, I doubt that any hearts and minds can be won in that culture, only rented temporarily. I highly recommend this fine account of combat action.

New comment on "I'm Tired"

As a 47 year old who served for 17 years in the Navy before breaking my back. I think back since I was 9 years old and able to put milkers on cows I have worked all but 6 months. I now get up everyday and attend college and work. I think to vote one should have to pay taxes, have a job. You either produce and support the country or you suck it dry.

Worth Reading: The Tangled Web of Race:  The racial binaries of the civil-rights era no longer apply in America. By Victor Davis Hanson

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/340945/tangled-web-race-victor-davis-hanson

Excerpt: A number of commentators have openly sympathized with multi-murderer Christopher Dorner, who shot seven innocent people, killing four of them. Apparently the late Dorner was a voice in the wilderness crying out against the racist injustice of the “system.” His brief killing career, in the reprehensible words of Fox News commentator Marc Lamont Hill, was “exciting” for many people – almost like “watching Django Unchained in real life.” That movie’s star, Jamie Foxx, had joked of his stint as a Quentin Tarantino big-screen hero gunman, “I kill all the white people in the movie. How great is that?”

Worth Reading: What if One Day We Get a Bad President? By Frank Fleming

http://pjmedia.com/blog/what-if-one-day-we-get-a-bad-president/?singlepage=true

Excerpt: The obvious solution is to have Obama be president forever, but that’s not practical. Eventually Obama will get bored and want to be president of a country he likes better than this one. Another idea would be to pass a law that if the president is an enlightened progressive, he shall have dictator-like powers and not have anything he does questioned by Congress or the Supreme Court, but if he’s a right-winger, he’ll need a supermajority in Congress to do anything. The only problem is that the Republicans in Congress love to block all commonsense legislation like that.

Brothers from Aarhus accused of terror

http://cphpost.dk/news/international/brothers-aarhus-accused-terror

Excerpt: The state's prosecuting authority, Anklagemyndigheden, has commenced criminal proceedings against the two men after the justice minister, Morten Bødskov (Socialdemokraterne), concurred with the public prosecuting authority, Rigsadvokaten, that the two brothers, aged 24 and 19, violated the nation's terror laws.

Voters, 2-1, put jobs ahead of global warming

http://washingtonexaminer.com/article/2521913#.USO4H95erKE.twitter

Excerpt: Americans are voting with their increasingly lighter pocketbook and wallets when it comes to whether President Obama should focus on creating jobs or ending global warming. By a two-to-one margin, 66 percent to 23 percent, likely voters polled by Rasmussen Reports said creating jobs was "more important" than "taking steps to stop global warming."

The Faux Empiricist: The president declares the pre-K science is settled. It is no such thing. By Rich Lowry

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/340972/faux-empiricist-rich-lowry

Excerpt: The least-plausible sentence in the English language is “We know this works,” when those words are spoken by President Barack Obama. … He cited “study after study” showing that investment in pre-K pays for itself several times over by creating better outcomes for children. He said this about two months after the release of a devastating report on the ineffectiveness of the federal government’s already existing $8 billion-a-year pre-K program, Head Start. (Teachers’ unions want it, so who cares about kids or taxpayers? ~Bob.)

President Narcissism Celebrates President’s Day with a Picture of… Himself!!

http://www.soopermexican.com/2013/02/18/president-narcissism-celebrates-presidents-day-with-a-picture-of-himself/

Tweet from jimgeraghty ‏@jimgeraghty

Man, when Obama finds the guy who signed the sequester into law, he's really going to give him a piece of his mind.

John Stossel Links Gun Control to Higher Crime Rates

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyoLuTjguJA

MSNBC Panel Sits Around and Tells Race Jokes On the Air

http://www.mrc.org/biasalerts/msnbc-panel-sits-around-and-tells-race-jokes-air

Excerpt: After discussing if the best way to give a "social critique" on race was through humor, Harris-Perry told her panel, "Okay, so give me your favorite race joke or your best punch line on it." If a Fox News panel sat around and told race jokes on the set, there would be an uproar and accusations of racism would be directed at the network.

New paper from NOAA demonstrates that El Niño has more impacts than climate on winter weather in the USA

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/02/19/noaa-demonstrates-that-el-nino-has-more-impacts-than-climate-on-winter-weather-in-the-usa/

Excerpt: While AP’s Seth Borenstein cites opinions of activist scientists in erroneously claiming that ‘climate change’ increasing atmospheric moisture is the main driver for winter weather events, it turns out that El Niño patterns are strongly associated with winter weather impacts.

Newtown Shooter Picked School As It Was The “Easiest Target”

http://www.rightwingnews.com/democrats/newtown-shooter-picked-school-as-it-was-the-easiest-target/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rightwingnews%2FhGmL+%28Right+Wing+News%29

Excerpt: Who would have thought an area in which no one was left with the ability to defend themselves and others, known as a “gun free zone”, would make an easy target?

How Much Should We Subsidize Retirement? By John Goodman

http://healthblog.ncpa.org/how-much-should-we-subsidize-retirement/

Excerpt: Our federal deficit problem is an entitlement problem. And our entitlement problem is mainly about income and health care for the elderly. As I pointed out in a previous post, entitlements for the elderly mainly subsidize retirement. If we cut back on spending, seniors will have less retirement income unless they work more and save more to replace those retrenchments. How much should we cut back and how should we do it?

The Job Market: Is College Overrated?

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=22864&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DPD

Excerpt: During the most recent economic downturn, college graduates have had a hard time finding work after they earn their degree. Predominant public policies and a mismatch between college graduate supply and job demand are the two primary reasons that half of all college graduates under the age of 25 are unemployed or underemployed, says Pamela Villarreal, a senior fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis. Though many jobs do not require four-year degrees, the U.S. Department of Education made $166 billion dollars in loans in 2012. With an outpouring of federal funding, college costs have risen 130 percent more than inflation since 1988. The mismatch between the number of graduates produced and the jobs available is evident in the teaching profession, where colleges have turned out more than a quarter of a million bachelor's or master's degrees annually since 2000, despite the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimating that only 539,100 teaching positions will be available between 2010 and 2020.

DEMOCIDE: Socialism, Tyranny, Guns And Freedom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rmfs_QM0OIA

Documents: Hagel staffers met with ‘front group’ for Iranian regime
http://dailycaller.com/2013/02/20/documents-hagel-staffers-met-with-front-group-for-iranian-regime/#ixzz2LSCn2EFR

Excerpt: Documents obtained by The Daily Caller show that staffers for then-Sen. Chuck Hagel met repeatedly with a controversial pro-Iran lobby group, and some met with the organization’s president.

Report: Hagel Said Israel Headed Toward Apartheid, Netanyahu a ‘Radical.’ By Alana Goodman

http://freebeacon.com/report-hagel-said-israel-headed-toward-apartheid-netanyahu-a-radical/

Secretary of defense nominee Chuck Hagel said Israel is on its way to becoming an apartheid state during an April 9, 2010, appearance at Rutgers University, according to a contemporaneous account by an attendee. Hagel also accused Israel of violating U.N. resolutions, called for U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hamas to be included in any peace negotiations, and described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “radical,” according to the source.

How Republican resistance has hurt Chuck Hagel (and why it probably doesn’t matter). By Sean Sullivan 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/02/20/how-republican-resistance-has-hurt-chuck-hagel-and-why-it-probably-doesnt-matter/

Excerpt: A new Pew Research Center poll released Wednesday shows that while half of Americans still don’t have an opinion of the former Republican senator from Nebraska, among those who do, Hagel’s favorability is now under water, and the the percentage holding a very unfavorable opinion of Hagel has nearly doubled in the past month:

California police search for motive in morning shooting rampage that left 4 dead

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/02/20/20-year-old-man-goes-on-shooting-rampage-on-busy-calif-freeway-3-killed-2/?test=latestnews#ixzz2LRvivfKF

Excerpt: The shooter, 20-year-old Ali Syed, killed a woman in the home he shared with his parents, killed two drivers during carjackings, injured two others and shot up cars on a busy freeway interchange before committing suicide as police closed in, authorities said. Syed, an unemployed part-time community college student, had no known motive and acted alone, said Tustin police Chief Scott Jordan. … A shotgun was recovered at the scene and is believed to be the only weapon used. (Could the motive be Jihad? Nah, Islam’s a Religion of Peace. Notice he took Biden’s advice and used a shotgun. This will be called more evidence we must ban rifles and magazines holding more than ten rounds. ~Bob.)

Biden: ‘You Don’t Need 30 Rounds. Buy a Shotgun’

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/02/19/biden-you-dont-need-30-rounds-buy-a-shotgun/

Excerpt: “You don’t need an AR-15,” Mr. Biden said, referring to an assault-style rifle. “It’s harder to aim, it’s harder to use, and in fact, you don’t need 30 rounds to protect yourself. Buy a shotgun. Buy a shotgun.” (And if the home invasion team consists of three critters, you club the last one. ~Bob.)

Self-Defense Tips from Joe Biden

http://freebeacon.com/self-defense-tips-from-joe-biden/

New Police Advice To Schools: Confront Active Shooters…Unarmed
http://politicaloutcast.com/2013/02/new-police-advice-to-schools-confront-active-shootersunarmed/#ixzz2LSHL3Est

Excerpt: Law enforcement agencies are changing their tune about how to deal with an active shooter situation at a school or other public building. They used to emphasize running and/or hiding from the shooter. In more recent training videos and seminars, they’ve added the confrontation element, but only as a last resort. In an instruction manual written by the U.S. Capitol Police, they advocate taking out the shooter with “whatever means you can”: (A low probably of success, but sometimes you have to fight when it’s hopeless rather than live with yourself afterwards. If you find a “means” as effective as a gun, let me know. Just don’t tell the Democrats, as they will ban it. ~Bob.)

Greeks in fresh general strike against austerity

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21515012

The government’s broke and the economy sucks. Let’s go on strike and make things worse! This is our future. ~Bob.

Bulgarian government resigns amid growing protests

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/20/us-bulgaria-government-idUSBRE91J09J20130220

Excerpt: Bulgaria's government resigned on Wednesday after mass protests against high power prices and falling living standards, joining a long list of European administrations felled by austerity during four years of debt crisis. (The good ship SS Socialist Dreams is going hard aground on the rocks of reality. ~Bob.)

Militants kidnap French family in north Cameroon

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/19/us-cameroon-kidnapping-idUSBRE91I0MA20130219

Excerpt: Islamist militants from neighboring Nigeria abducted a French family of seven, including four children, in northern Cameroon on Tuesday, French President Francois Hollande said. (Good thing Islam’s a Religion of Peace, or these kids might be in danger. ~Bob.)

Obama's scare talk on spending cuts

http://washingtonexaminer.com/examiner-editorial-obamas-scare-talk-on-spending-cuts/article/2521958

Excerpt: During the summer 2011 debt ceiling battle, President Obama's White House came up with the idea of sequestration. It is a mechanism designed to trigger automatic spending cuts in the event that a congressional "super committee" couldn't agree to at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction. Congress passed the White House proposal, and Obama signed it into law. And in November 2011, Obama vowed, "I will veto any effort to get rid of those automatic spending cuts to domestic and defense spending. There will be no easy off-ramps on this one."

Pentagon informs Congress of plans to furlough 800k civilians
http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/operations/283981-pentagon-tells-congress-it-will-furlough-800k-civilian-workforce

Excerpt: The Pentagon notified Congress Wednesday it will be furloughing its civilian workforce of 800,000 employees if sequestration goes into effect March 1.

Quotes from The Patriot Post

www.patriotpost.us/subscribe/ 

"The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those that speak it." --English novelist and journalist George Orwell (1903-1950). "The more rules and regulations, the more thieves and robbers there will be." --Father of Taoism Lao-Tzu (570-490 BC). "If Dems introduce a bill to keep women from being able to use a gun [to] defend against rapists, they should call it the Kennedy Protection Act." --humorist Frank J. Fleming.

Obama: Energy Is Going to Be More Expensive

http://conservativebyte.com/2013/02/obama-energy-is-going-to-be-more-expensive/#ixzz2LSaV5L5R

Excerpt: During a Friday Google+ hangout session, President Barack Obama conceded that his policies to address climate change will raise energy costs, a fact that could prove uncomfortable for Democrats in areas reliant on fossil fuel power plants: I have to tell you that there are some Democrats, for example, who represent states or districts that are heavily reliant on old power plants and are more heavily manufacturing based. (Grinding the poor for Greenie dreams. ~Bob.)

‘Financial Emergency’ Declared in Detroit

http://conservativebyte.com/2013/02/financial-emergency-declared-in-detroit/#ixzz2LSatCy1B

Excerpt: The fiscal crisis plaguing Detroit is now in the hands of Michigan’s governor after a state-appointed review team determined the city was in a financial emergency with “no satisfactory plan” to resolve it. Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has 30 days to decide if Detroit needs an emergency manager to take charge of its finances and spending, and come up with a new plan to get the city out of its financial mess. (My plan would involve a lot of bulldozers and a lot of one-way bus tickets to California. ~Bob.)

Forget the big comeback; Detroit focuses on what can be saved

http://news.yahoo.com/forget-big-comeback-detroit-focuses-saved-001321843--sector.html

Excerpt: Imagine a city with open space larger than the size of Paris, where people are planting hardwood trees and vegetable gardens, and neighbors have plenty of room to spread out. It would sound so idyllic, if only it weren't Detroit. The open space is largely abandoned land, the lack of neighbors the result of an inexorable exodus, the planting the work of residents striving to stop the blight from spreading. (The last Republican mayor of Detroit was defeated for reelection in 191, by African American support for his opponent. This is the fate of all cities under big government, tax and spend leftists. ~Bob.)

The Next Scott Brown? By William Kristol

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/next-scott-brown_701387.html

Excerpt: Can lightning strike twice? With Gabriel Gomez, a new voice in Massachusetts politics, I think it just might. Similar circumstances seem to be at work as in 2010. We have another candidate who can lay out a path to a winning coalition.

Police use ethnic profiling to surveil communities most likely to harbor terrorists

http://www.barenakedislam.com/2013/02/15/imagine-that-police-use-ethnic-profiling-to-surveil-communities-most-likely-to-harbor-terrorists/

Excerpt: The ACLU, along with their Islamist pals at CAIR want to stop a very effective FBI effort known as ‘geo-mapping’ which has evolved into something more expansive — a method to track Muslim communities, where the vast majority of potential terrorists (Muslims) are most likely to be.

As Texas appeals to California’s businesses, Golden State boosters can only make flatulence jokes. By Ben Boychuk

http://www.city-journal.org/2013/cjc0219bb.html

Excerpt: Earlier this month, Texas governor Rick Perry came to California to talk about doing business in the Lone Star State. A dismissive Jerry Brown wanted to talk about the weather. … Brown dismissive attitude overlooks the powerful economic appeal of Perry’s home state—but never let the facts get in the way of a good old-fashioned, red-blue political dustup.

Afghanistan And Iraq Head To Hell, Thanks To Obama

http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/021913-644979-obamas-afghanistan-and-iraq-nightmare-beginning.htm#ixzz2LOrSVW8y 

Excerpt: Iranian-backed Shiite terrorists aligning with Iraq's prime minister, and the Taliban's likely return in Afghanistan, are milestone events. President Obama is engineering a double U.S. defeat. (A people unwilling to pay the price of victory should consider the long term costs of defeat. ~Bob)

Will Only Suckers Buy ObamaCare Insurance? By John Merline

http://news.investors.com/021913-644948-only-suckers-will-pay-with-obamacare-plan.aspx#ixzz2LOsOQVj1 

Excerpt: For years, ObamaCare critics focused on its least popular feature — the mandate that everyone buy insurance — taking their fight all the way to the Supreme Court. But as ObamaCare's official launch date approaches, even its backers are beginning to admit that the law could actually create powerful incentives for millions of people and thousands of businesses to drop their coverage, despite the mandate.

ObamaCare vs. children’s health. By Scott Gottlieb

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/obamacare_vs_children_health_xqh7QIAnALyVQeJEvZcBQM

Excerpt: If you’re a poor child, and you like your health plan, you can’t keep it. In fact, it’s now clear that ObamaCare will force tens of millions of Americans to accept inferior health coverage to what they have now. The most-threatened groups include: people who now get their policies from a job at a small business, those who buy individual coverage direct from an insurer, seniors who qualify for Medicaid as well as Medicare and kids enrolled in the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP.

The Top Ten Health-Care Bills for 2013: New tactics are needed to make the case against Obamacare. By James C. Capretta

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/341049/top-ten-health-care-bills-2013-james-c-capretta

Excerpt: Last year, the two best opportunities to stop Obamacare before it got implemented were missed. First, Chief Justice John Roberts bent over backwards to find the law’s individual mandate to be a constitutional tax on the uninsured. Then, the voters decided they preferred another term for President Obama over a Romney administration.

Targeting Tehran’s Euros. By Jonathan Schanzer, Mark Dubowitz
http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/targeting-tehrans-euros/

Excerpt: The United States has blocked Iran from easily accessing greenbacks as a means to slow down the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. But those financial sanctions only go so far. With Iranian nuclear physics still outpacing Western economic pressure, Washington is looking to prevent the mullahs from accessing their second favorite currency: the euro.

Obama’s obedient lap dog By Michael Goodwin

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/obama_obedient_lap_dog_DRQ1tuRbuWEfU5TZjI1hsN/1

Excerpt: Members of the national media are never so unattractive as when they turn the spotlight on themselves, and their weekend hissy fit after President Obama ignored them proves the point. It was the equivalent of a lovers’ quarrel over leaving the cap off the toothpaste tube. It makes for juicy gossip among the neighbors, but ultimately, nobody really cares.

The Wimpification of the American Man. By Dave Horne

http://whostolemycareer.com/posts/91/3283-the-wimpification-of-the-american-man.html

Excerpt: But it appears that for as many as 20% of today's American males, this is no longer the truth. Thanks to our emerging Nanny State, our kids are learning that their economic well being defined by the state -- and if you want more than your neighbor, well, you're just greedy. So where will the innovative drive that built the US economy in the past come from? (The sharp decline of young males in the workforce is among the trends detailed in the excellent but scary book, Coming Apart. ~Bob)

Worth Reading: Who Needs the Family? By Daniel Greenfield 

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/who-needs-the-family/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=6c19d300b9-Mailchimp_FrontPageMag

Excerpt: When their child is old enough to look around for a career, it is the government that they expect to provide the education and the jobs. And when they grow old, the child can keep on working at his government job and paying off his student loans knowing that the government will be there to make all the difficult and expensive decisions about their care. With all that taken care of, who needs parents or children anyway?

Worth Reading: 'Knockout Game' Perp Shot, Killed: During apparent burglary, ran into 'right person' with gun. By Colin Flaherty

http://www.wnd.com/2013/02/knockout-game-perp-shot-killed/#dartBUHuGSAvlhlc.99 

Excerpt: A St. Louis homeowner shot Murphy dead late last week during a burglary. And a whole lot of people in St. Louis feel relieved, if not safer. Murphy was a member of a group that is credited with making the Knockout Game a St. Louis tradition, then a national pasttime.

Company Behind Shooting Targets of Children Received $2 Million From DHS. By Paul Joseph Watson

http://www.infowars.com/company-behind-shooting-targets-of-children-received-2-million-from-dhs/

Excerpt: The company behind controversial shooting targets that include images of children, pregnant women and elderly gun owners received almost $2 million dollars in contracts from the Department of Homeland Security.

EPA Official Resigns Another snared in secret email probe, says GOP senator. By CJ Ciaramella

http://freebeacon.com/epa-official-resigns/

Excerpt: A top Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official under congressional investigation for using a private email address to conduct government business is stepping down.

What If 20 Million Illegal Aliens Vacated America? By Frosty Wooldridge

http://www.newswithviews.com/Wooldridge/frosty306.htm

Excerpt: In California, if 3.5 million illegal aliens moved back to Mexico, it would leave an extra $10.2 billion to spend on overloaded school systems, bankrupted hospitals and overrun prisons. It would leave highways cleaner, safer and less congested. Everyone could understand one another as English became the dominate language again.

Columbine Survivor Pens Bold Open Letter To Obama Rejecting Gun Control: ‘Whose Side Are You On?’

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/02/20/columbine-survivor-pens-bold-open-letter-to-obama-rejecting-gun-control-whose-side-are-you-on/

Excerpt: Columbine survivor Evan Todd released an open letter to President Barack Obama on Wednesday in which he offers a point-by-point analysis of proposed firearms control initiatives, dismissing them as ineffective and dangerous to Americans’ rights.

UAE set to buy predator drones

http://tribune.com.pk/story/509139/uae-set-to-buy-predator-drones/

Excerpt: Controversy over the legality of attacks by missile-firing drones will not dampen the volatile region’s enthusiasm for the technology, in part because export curbs mean most equipment sold will be for use only in reconnaissance, experts say. Sello Ntsihlele, executive manager for UAVs at Denel Dynamics, a division of state-owned Denel, South Africa’s biggest maker of defence equipment, told Reuters this was “the best time” for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sales. “Demand is growing fast in developing countries, in the Middle East, the Far East and Africa. (US selling reportedly $200 million worth but purportedly “unarmed.” Could, of course, be retrofitted otherwise. –Barb. But only to kill bad Muslims…~Bob.)

Pro-Gay Marriage Muslim MPs Get Threats

http://www.nznewsuk.co.uk/news/?id=37770&story=Pro-Gay-Marriage-Muslim-MPs-Get-Threats

Excerpt: Muslim MPs who voted for same-sex marriage have since received death threats and fatwas from Islamist extremists and clerics in the UK and Pakistan. Five Muslim MPs voted in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, two abstained and one voted against.

Muslim insurgents launch 50 attacks in Thailand's deep south

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/9877429/Muslim-insurgents-launch-50-attacks-in-Thailands-deep-south.html

Excerpt: Muslim insurgents fighting for a separate state in Thailand's deep south launched 50 bomb and arson attacks over the weekend, killing three members of the security forces as violence in the troubled region intensifies.

Suicide bomber lived off Swedish student aid

http://www.thelocal.se/46250/20130218/#.USUWbx2-o0F

Excerpt: Stockholm suicide bomber Taimour Abdulwahab received more money from the Swedish state than from his terrorist financiers, including a 54,000-kronor ($8,550) payout made after he bled to death in his failed terror bid.

Quote

Death is a very dull, dreary affair, and my advice to you is to have nothing whatever to do with it. --W. Somerset Maugham

Exported from Detroit: No Maseratis

http://www.speroforum.com/a/SAQVVZCKGK37/73677-Exported-from-Detroit-No-Maseratis

Excerpt: The Maserati Levante, an Italian sport utility which shares features with the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee, will not be built at Chrysler Group LLC's Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Michigan. Production of the sleek Italian beauty received ballyhoo attention from Michigan’s Republican governor as evidence of a comeback for Detroit and as evidence of Fiat/Chrysler devotion to the Motor City and the state once synonymous with automobiles.

This is big government’: 500 furloughed at GE plant subsidized and lionized by White House

http://washingtonexaminer.com/this-is-big-government-500-furloughed-at-ge-plant-subsidized-and-lionized-by-white-house/article/2521937?utm_source=Washington%20Examiner:%20Opinion%20Digest%20-%2002/20/2013&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Washington%20Examiner:%20Opinion%20Digest

Excerpt: In 2009, the Obama administration gave $24.8 million in stimulus tax credits to GE’s famous “Appliance Park” factory compound. VP Joe Biden toured the plant as a stimulus success declaring: So those who talk about this is big government, this is big government giving a little bit of help to jump start America to lead the world in the 21st century…In 2010, Appliance Park won a $2.5 stimulus grant. (I feel bad for any of the 500 who voted for Romney. They didn’t deserve it. If there were any. ~Bob.)

Total Destruction of the U.S.: An Interview with Larry Grathwohl
http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/02/total_destruction_of_the_us_an_interview_with_larry_grathwohl_part_1.html#ixzz2LSA5QJWk
Excerpt: For a hundred years, the main intellectual force behind America's educational establishment has been John Dewey, a socialist and open critic of the Enlightenment, American individualism, and American constitutional government. What kind of education system should people have expected Dewey and his admirers to promote? Should anyone be surprised that the public school establishment built largely according to his theories has become an anti-American cesspool of collectivism, irrationalism, and immorality?

I met this man in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan. He is fighting Sudan’s President Bashir who is killing his own people. By Greta Van Susteren

http://gretawire.foxnewsinsider.com/video/please-watch-i-met-this-man-in-the-nuba-mountains-of-sudan-he-is-fighting-sudans-president-bashir-who-is-killing-his-own-people/

Excerpt: He and his group of fighters were hiding in the mountains because President Bashir really, really wants to kill him and them.

Tweet from Lynseyjo ‏@Lynseyjo1

To the girl with the nazi swastika avi that just rt'd me...... You just rt'd a Jew!!!! Enjoy your evening shalom

Tweet from Ken Gardner ‏@kesgardner

Today's national debt: $16,552,819,142,207.40. Your share as a citizen: $52,487.91. Your share as a taxpayer: $146,212.

Tweet from Dale Randolph ‏@TCOTvideos

I believe in a woman's right to choose... whether she should carry a gun or not.

Jacksons’ spending spree: Elk heads, flat-screen TVs and much, much more

http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/18353314-522/jesse-jackson-jr-sandi-jackson-arrive-at-federal-courthouse.html

Excerpt: Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife, Sandi, lived the high life by funneling campaign funds to pay for more than 3,000 personal purchases, including flat-screen televisions, pricey memorabilia, appliances for their Chicago home, stuffed toys, mounted elk heads, health club dues and luxury vacations, including a five-day holistic retreat on Martha’s Vineyard. (Jail? I’d think this would get them jobs in the Obama Cabinet. ~Bob.)

Senator Fathers Child With Daughter Of Another Senator
http://www.businessinsider.com/senator-fathers-child-with-daughter-of-another-senator-2013-2#ixzz2LTR6GNg7

Excerpt: Former Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico fathered a son outside of his marriage more than 30 years ago with the then-24-year-old daughter of a Senate colleague, the retired Republican has acknowledged.

DOJ: “Assault Weapons Not Major Contributor to Gun Crime”
http://godfatherpolitics.com/9538/doj-assault-weapons-not-major-contributor-to-gun-crime/#ixzz2LTRZs0q0

Excerpt: But a new study conducted by Holder’s Department of Justice proves Holder and Obama wrong and completely undermines their anti-gun campaign. The National Institute of Justice, a research arm of the DOJ released: ‘Summary of Select Firearm Violence Prevention Strategies.’

Recovery Killer? Gas Prices Barrel Toward $4 a Gallon

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/recovery-killer-gas-prices-barrel-144215109.html

Excerpt: The U.S. economic recovery, already winded by higher payroll taxes and potential budget cuts, has a new challenge - higher prices at the gas pump. (Remember when high gas prices were Bush’s fault, nit the result on international markets beyond the control of the president, like now? Good times. ~Bob.)

Tweet from Bill Moody ‏@WRogersM

Did you know we ran out of fossil fuels in 2001? In 1971, greenies "proved" we only had 30 yr supply remaining.

Obama Golfed With Oil Men As Climate Protesters Descended On White House

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/20/obama-climate-protest_n_2719338.html

Excerpt: On the same weekend that 40,000 people gathered on the Mall in Washington to protest construction of the Keystone Pipeline -- to its critics, a monument to carbon-based folly -- President Obama was golfing in Florida with a pair of Texans who are key oil, gas and pipeline players.