Category Archives: Society

Marxism Colonizing Pentagon

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This is bad.

POLICY BOARD SHIFT

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta this week moved to replace key members of the Defense Policy Board, the advisory group of former officials that serves as a brain trust.

“He made it more ‘Democratic,’” one board member quipped about the changes.

Liberals added to the board include former Clinton administration Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, former Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick, retired Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright and Jane Harman, a former Democratic congresswoman from California. Also added: former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead.

Most notable among the new members is Ms. Gorelick, who was notorious for erecting the so-called bureaucratic “wall” blocking law enforcement and intelligence agencies from cooperating closely before the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The … Continue reading →

Uncomfortably Numb

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In our dark moments, we wonder: If this is freedom, what’s the big deal?

China

China is undergoing its most significant upheaval since becoming a communist state.  Any communist revolution is by definition an attempt to deny and suppress the spirit of man.  The current transition will be both more important and more successful than the revolution there, because this move has been anticipated for thousands of years–it is led by reality, rather than the other way around.  China, long famous for deprecating any knowledge or influence from barbarian realms, is becoming oriented beyond its own borders.

While we dither and kowtow by re-forming NASA into the North African Space Administration (with a mission to make Muslim countries feel proud of their accomplishments, no less), the Chinese are … Continue reading →

Anti-American Hikers

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Boy, no sooner do you extend a bit of patience than you realize how late it really is.  I hadn’t done any reading on the three hikers who have now all been released by Iran, so when I saw some comments on FaceBook which I thought were harsh and critical, I responded that I thought they were just granola hippies caught up in the Iranian propaganda.  I figured their criticism of America was just reflexive parroting of the Iranian line they had had no choice but to hear for a couple of years.

I wrote, in closing:

“They are hippie hikers who never understood the danger they were in, and I would not expect them to have a moral core to rely on to resist having their thoughts … Continue reading →

Amy vs TSA

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Amy Alkon is taking on the TSA.  After her unreasonable search (or sexual assault) at the hands of the TSA and the TSA agent’s subsequent attempt to shake a cool half-million dollars out of Alkon, she’s is lawyering up.  Except that the lawyers refuse payment, and have leapt at the opportunity to do this stuff pro bono.

I have written that we should abolish the DHS, releasing its constituent agencies back into the wild, and amputating many duties from the TSA.  Amy’s experience  is not only a prime example of why: it is a valuable lesson in how:

TSA Searches: “Obedience Training For The American Public”

That’s how Zahir Ebrahim, of Project Humanbeingsfirst.com, rightly termed the TSA searches — in … Continue reading →

Dump Truck in Space to Impact God Knows Where

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Some comments on this:

The debris is expected to fall over a swath of Earth about 500 miles (804 kilometers) long, NASA officials said. [Video: Where Could UARS Satellite Debris Fall?]

There is a 1-in-3,200 chance of satellite debris hitting a person on the ground, odds that NASA says are extremely remote. Outside experts agree.

“Look at how much of Earth is covered with water,” Victoria Samson, the Washington Office Director of the Secure World Foundation, an organization dedicated to the peaceful use of outer space, told SPACE.com this week. “There’s a really good chance it’s going to go straight into the ocean.”

via Huge Defunct Satellite Falling to Earth Faster Than Expected, NASA Says | Falling NASA Satellite, Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite | Space Junk & … Continue reading →

Thought Experiment: Grant-Milking Business Plan

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One of the ways that the Federal government could be defrauded is by applications for grants or loan guarantees in support of companies or projects which are designed to fail, but which extract large quantities of money from the government in the process.

What would such a business plan look like?  Features of such a business plan would probably include a mechanism for allowing those who would receive the greatest benefit to avoid personal (or corporate) liability in the event of a failure.  Other features might be a lack of meaningful oversight or accountability.  This sort of thing would be easier to pull off in an environment where there are indicators of regulatory agency capture.

It would be helpful to have a few examples to discuss.  At first … Continue reading →

Teachers union president says Mayor Emanuel ‘exploded’ at her – Chicago Sun-Times

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I kept trying to organize my thoughts on this, but I’ll summarize:  If Rahm Emanuel is gunning for the Teacher’s Union, I support Rahm.  A stopped clock is right twice a day, and arguing against it just makes you wrong.

The behind-the-curtain intensity of the battle was evident Friday, as Lewis described her meeting with Emanuel in the mayor’s office a few weeks ago. Sitting next to her in a chair in front of his desk, the mayor talked about adding 90 minutes to the school day, saying “I can’t have kids on the street at 2:15,” Lewis recalled.

“I called out what he was doing had nothing to do with education,’’ Lewis said. She said she told him, “So this is not about education. This is about … Continue reading →

Chicken Soup for the 9/11 Soul

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The inestimable Charles Krauthammer nails another one.  No we did not go crazy after 9/11 and create our own self-perpetuating climate of fear.

There was a terrorist threat before Al Qaeda, and there will still be one after it, but make no mistake — AQ is dying, and we killed it.

Al-Qaeda, uninvited, came out to fight us in Iraq, and it was not just defeated but humiliated. The local population — Arab, Muslim, Sunni, under the supposed heel of the invader — joined the infidel and rose up against the jihadi in its midst. It was a singular defeat from which al-Qaeda never recovered.

We have achieved successes that are more impressive the more you know about the problem.  And that in itself is a huge problem–to … Continue reading →

Force Protection

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Something that has always bothered me is “force protection” measures which have active duty military hiding among US civilians. “You don’t want to stand out in a hijacking–keep your military ID in a hidden pocket. No uniforms allowed. You may be targeted just for being in the military.” That sort of thing.
How dare the military hide among civilians?

I understand the desire to not have another Robert Stethem situation, but when the rubber hits the road, isn’t that why we’re here? At the last resort, to take the hit so that our civilians don’t have to?

We have lost a lot in the desire to understand and control situations which are better met with simple brutal action. The guiding principle I trust the most is “They … Continue reading →