Big offering today. I’ll start with the non-Syrian items. ~Bob
Book Recommendation: The Amazon Legion. By Tom Kratman
Kratman’s major flaw as a writer of military science fiction
is that, prolific and hard-working as he is, he cannot seem to write novels as
fast as I can read them. I cope with that by saving them until I need a break
from my usual fare of history, politics and economics. Feeling drained after
finishing the recent excellent but bitter history of Dien Bien Phu, “Valley of Death,” I pulled The “Amazon Legion” off the shelf where it
had been waiting for a year or two.
“The Amazon Legion”
is the fifth in the Patrick Carrera series, and while it can stand alone, like
any good novel, you’ll do yourself a favor if you start at the beginning with “A Desert called Peace.” In this
offering, Carrera, faced with a shortage of trigger pullers, raises an infantry
regiment of women. (Also one of gays, though they are tangential to the story.)
Kratman’s writings are not mindless escapism—he always makes you think about
the philosophy of war and the horrors of close combat. He has obviously thought
long and hard about this subject, and both military leaders and progressive
politicians supporting women in combat units would do well to read this book. I
suspect folks like Nancy Pelosi think that it will all be sanitized, either the
woman soldier dead quickly and cleanly or returning home to honors with a flesh
wound.
The reality is more likely to be her crawling around the field, begging
for water, dragging her entrails behind her after being disemboweled by a
shell. Kratman’s solution to the gender differences and the challenge of
inter-unit romantic relationships is to segregate the women in their own unit,
and to prepare them for combat through the kind of rigorous, brutal training
that has not been politically possible in our country even for men since WWI—if
it ever was. As always, Kratman has an excellent ability to bring alive to
readers the terror of battle. And he can make you hate or care about his
characters—I’m still grieving two good guys he killed off in another series. If
you like adventure, military science fiction or want to know what it will be
like for women in combat, read this book.
The Lost Freedom of Association. By Walter Williams
Excerpt: I’m sure that might be a considerable dispute about
freedom of association compared with the one over freedom of expression. To be
for freedom in either case requires that one be brave enough to accept the fact
that some people will make offensive expressions and associate in offensive
ways. Let’s explore this with an example from the past.
Book: Clinton's State told Benghazi was a 'terrorist
attack' minutes after it began. By Paul Bedard
What difference does it make? ~Bob
How to Not Outlive
Your Money
Excerpt: Without a plan for retirement, many people say they
just plan to "wing it." Surveys show many workers feel overwhelmed by
day-to-day financial pressures, worried about paying monthly expenses and job
security. … A new analysis released by Fidelity found the average 401(k)
balance was $80,600 at the end of June, up nearly 11 percent from the same
quarter a year ago. For steady savers who were continuously employed in a
workplace plan for the past decade, the average balance rose to $211,800,
nearly 19 percent higher than a year ago.
Using Dynamic
Analysis Makes Tax Reform 30 Percent Less Challenging
http://taxfoundation.org/article/using-dynamic-analysis-makes-tax-reform-30-percent-less-challenging
Excerpt: Cutting individual and corporate tax rates together
would boost GDP by 4.74 percent, increase the capital stock by 11.5 percent,
and could increase the number of full-time equivalent jobs by 5.2 million. The
average increase in aftertax income across all AGI ranges is 7.57 percent.
Gun company aiming
for relocation to Pennsylvania
after NY restricts sales
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/09/03/gun-company-aiming-for-relocation-to-pennsylvania-after-ny-restricts-sales/
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/09/03/gun-company-aiming-for-relocation-to-pennsylvania-after-ny-restricts-sales/
Excerpt: Kahr Firearms Group, a gun manufacturer, is moving
its corporate headquarters from downstate New York
to a 620-acre plot in Pike County, in the northeast corner of Pennsylvania. The move comes after New York earlier this
year passed the SAFE Act, banning sales of assault weapons and high-capacity
magazines.
OH OH! Watch Out
Illinois Liberals, New State Rep is Black Constitutional Republican Who Cares
About Teens
Excerpt: Anthony, 37, grew up in a Chicago housing project and unlike many
others from that background, he grew up to be a conservative and a Republican. He
went on to serve as a police officer and a Kendall County
sheriff’s deputy since 2008. He is known as a constitutional conservative which
is the last thing Illinois Democrats want to see. (Writer doesn’t know the
difference between congressional and state rep districts. ~Bob)
Excerpt: Ariel Castro, the Cleveland man who held three women captive in
his home for nearly a decade, was found hanging in his prison cell, officials
say. (I’m Bob, and I approve of this message. ~Bob.)
Vietnam
vets shut down Fonda movie showing in Wellsville
Excerpt:
Moviegoers in Wellsville had a choice of two movies on Friday night, once they walked past a group
of Vietnam
veterans 20 strong.
The veterans, who were right around the corner from their American Legion post at the Grand Theater on North Main Street, were upset Jane Fonda was portraying former First Lady Nancy Reagan in the movie, "The Butler." (Fonda said vets protesting her should “get a life.” I have a life—her Communist friends missed. ~Bob.)
Saudi Arabia donating $200 million for Palestinian cities to prevent Judaization
The veterans, who were right around the corner from their American Legion post at the Grand Theater on North Main Street, were upset Jane Fonda was portraying former First Lady Nancy Reagan in the movie, "The Butler." (Fonda said vets protesting her should “get a life.” I have a life—her Communist friends missed. ~Bob.)
Saudi Arabia donating $200 million for Palestinian cities to prevent Judaization
Excerpt: Saudi
Arabia’s King Abdullah has decided to grant
$200 million for the development of Palestinian cities, and for protecting
their Arab and Islamic character against “Judaization.” (Your gas money at
work. Support energy independence—drill in ANWR, off the coasts and on federal
lands, build the Keystone pipeline, support fracking. ~Bob.)
South Africa BDS leader defends call to 'kill the Jew'
South Africa BDS leader defends call to 'kill the Jew'
Excerpt: A leader of the South African Boycott, Divestment
and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel justified calls to "shoot the
Jew" during a protest last Wednesday against a concert by an Israeli
musician. (Meanwhile, the hunt for the mythical Islamophobia and backlash
against Muslims goes on. ~Bob.)
Measure Would Declare
Hasan a 'Terrorist'
Excerpt: Victims of Nidal Hasan's rampage at Ft. Hood are
praising Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) and two central Texas Republican
Congressmen, John Carter and Roger Williams, for introducing the 'Honoring the
Ft. Hood Heroes Act' which would declare that those who were shot in November
of 2009 were 'casualties of war in the face of an armed enemy,' and were not
victims of 'workplace violence' as the Pentagon has claimed, 1200 WOAI news
reports.
Excerpt: Well, we're learning this week that Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac will be breathing their last in the next year or so. Debt ridden,
dazed, and without direction, Fannie and Freddie shows what can happen when big
government is allowed to step in and corrupt something.
Lessons From the
Anti-Petraeus. By Kelley Vlahos
Excerpt: Gentile was a scrappy contrarian presence on the
then-sizzling military blogosphere and a bugle of reason in a virtual hothouse
of sycophancy. He risked daily rebuke from a phalanx of military academics and
pundits who cast objectivity aside to support Petraeus’s narrative of success:
that local populations could be protected and “won over” in support of the
Iraqi government to win the war.
Excerpt: Tucker, the Deputy Commissioner of Operations
Support, is a 29-year IRS veteran and in her current position reports directly
to the agency’s commissioner. She came under fire for her failure to act when
she learned that the IRS had awarded hundreds of millions or dollars in
contracts, fraudulently, to the information technology provider Strong Castle,
Inc.
Gunmen kill 16 members of Shi'ite family in Iraq
Gunmen kill 16 members of Shi'ite family in Iraq
Hope the neighbors don’t become Islamophobia—that would be a
tragedy. ~Bob
Tamarod Targets Hamas
Rule in Gaza.
By Paul Alster
Excerpt: While the world's media rightly focuses on
high-profile crises in Syria
and Egypt, another potential
hotspot is bubbling up somewhat under the radar: the rising opposition to the
Hamas regime in Gaza.
Where’s The Climate Warming? Nowhere To Be Found In Germany.
By Josef Kowatsch
Excerpt: The following chart shows Germany’s August temperatures for the last 20
years using the data from Germany’s Deutsche
Wetterdienst (DWD) in Offenbach.
Nowhere is a steady warming trend to be found.
Obama's Affordable
Care Act Looking a Bit Unaffordable: Independent National Journal analysis finds
premiums higher under Obamacare as employers weigh dropping coverage.
Excerpt: Republicans have long blamed President Obama's
signature health care initiative for increasing insurance costs, dubbing it the
"Unaffordable Care Act." Turns out, they might be right.
Obama Says He’d be Considered ‘Maybe Center-Right’ in Parts
Of Europe. By Fred
Lucas
Excerpt: President Barack Obama said he’d be considered a
moderate – possibly even center-right — in Europe,
even if that’s not the case in his own country. (Which is why Europe
is ahead of us swirling around the drain. ~Bob.)
Health Care Premiums
to Increase Up to 125% in Wisconsin
Due to Obamacare
Tweet from Ken Gardner @kesgardner
Wisconsin,
which voted for Obama twice, will see their insurance premiums rise 125%
because of Obamacare. Thanks, Wisconsin!
Excerpt: Given the importance of understanding how Obamacare
impacts the cost of health insurance — especially for the people who struggle
to afford it today — I and two Manhattan Institute colleagues, Yevgeniy Feyman
and Paul Howard, have produced an interactive
map where you can look up information on Obamacare premiums and
subsidies on a state-by-state basis.
Obama's Economy Hits
His Voters Hardest: Young people, single women and minorities have fared the
worst during the past four years. By Stephen Moore
For better or worse, a truism
of American politics is that voters vote their pocketbooks. Yet according to a
new report on median household incomes by Sentier Research, in 2012 millions of
American voters apparently cast ballots contrary to their economic
self-interest. (They wer just too dumb to know. ~Bob.)
Fracking Boom Seen
Raising Household Incomes by $1,200
Excerpt: Surging oil and natural gas production brought on
by hydraulic fracturing is lifting the U.S. economy by lowering energy
costs for consumers and manufacturers, according an industry-funded report.
Tweet from Cory BookerVerified account@CoryBooker
Shootings in Nwk are not caused by law abiding gun owners
but by criminals with illegal guns.
How climate change
could prevent another Hurricane
Sandy
Excerpt: A new study, however, suggests that rising
temperatures might shield people on the East Coastfrom another rare, west-bound
superstorm like last fall's Hurricane Sandy, by causing a shift in atmospheric
conditions that would push a similarly massive system out to sea.
I’m shocked that Obama’s only third. ~Bob
Tweet from Secular African @SecularAfrican
In the entire history of mankind, when has a Muslim country
ever sought to manumit abducted infidel slaves?
Valhalla for the Inarticulate. By Taki
Excerpt: The Oxford
philosopher John Gray, a man I used to get drunk with until he gave up the
sauce, insists that the pursuit of distraction has now been embraced as the
meaning of life. Gray knows what he’s talking about. In his latest book, The
Silence of Animals, he portrays man as a desperate creature who twists and
turns to avoid acknowledging that he, too, is an animal.
Black Homeownership
Hits 18 Year Low
Thank you Barack Obama, Fannie, Freddie and 50 years of
Progressive interference in markets. ~Bob.
Chicago Police: If You Carry a Gun, We're Trained
to Shoot You
http://lastresistance.com/3142/chicago-police-carry-gun-trained-shoot/#GF8WI2qRQ54ht2vL.99
http://lastresistance.com/3142/chicago-police-carry-gun-trained-shoot/#GF8WI2qRQ54ht2vL.99
Off duty & retired cops in civilian clothes carry guns.
Do they shoot them?
The Blasphemy Police.
By Mark Steyn
Excerpt: You can coast for a while on the accumulated
inheritance of a pre-Muslim past — as, indeed, much of the Dar al-Islam did in
those Middle Ages Dawkins so admires — but it's not unreasonable to posit that
the more Muslim a society becomes the smaller a role Nobel prizes and
translated books will play in its future. According to a new report from the
Office of National Statistics, "Mohammed," in its various spellings,
is now the second most popular baby boy's name in England
and Wales,
and Number One in the capital. It seems likely that an ever more Islamic London
will, for a while, still have a West End
theater scene for tourists, but it will have ever less need not just for Oscar
Wilde and Noël Coward and eventually Shakespeare but for drama of any kind.
The Joy of American
Unexceptionalism. By Steve Sailor
http://takimag.com/article/the_joy_of_american_unexceptionalism_steve_sailer/print#ixzz2dxRMWmnq
http://takimag.com/article/the_joy_of_american_unexceptionalism_steve_sailer/print#ixzz2dxRMWmnq
Excerpt: In response, Murray notes that his survey of the
first century of US history demonstrates: "American exceptionalism is a
concept that was shared by observers throughout the Western world, not just Americans.…[It]
is a fact of America’s past, not something you can choose to “believe in” any
more than you can choose to “believe in” the battle of Gettysburg."
Clearing Croatia
of Commies. By Frano Budimlic
Excerpt: The 1990s saw the violent dissolution of
communist Yugoslavia, but
they did not see the defeat of the communist ruling class that thrives in the
small nation of Croatia
to this day. While Syria
awaits its obliteration and Miley Cyrus captivates the minds of countless
Americans, the newest EU member, Croatia, finds itself in a historic
struggle with Aunt Angela Merkel—now dubbed by Croatian dissidents and patriots
as the heroine of our time.
Syria
Excerpt: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a
resolution authorizing U.S.
military force in Syria
Wednesday. The committee voted 10-7, with one senator, Edward J. Markey
(D-Mass.), voting present.
Tweet from Charles C. W.
Cooke @charlescwcooke
Ed Markey can rail for almost two decades about the federal
regulation of rollercoasters, but he can't vote on a question of war.
Tweet from Guy Benson @guypbenson
Markey votes "present" as homage to Obama's State
Senate career & Syria
policy.
Senate-crafted Syria
resolution riddled with loopholes for Obama
Excerpt: Senators on Wednesday
tried to write a tight resolution authorizing President Obama to strike Syria under
very specific circumstances, but analysts and lawmakers said the language still
has plenty of holes the White House could use to expand military
action well beyond what Congress appears
to intend.
Resolution. By Rich
Galen
Excerpt: Now, the Congressional nose-counting begins: Who's
for the resolution to attack Syria,
who's against, who's undecided, and who is calling their chief of staff asking,
"What's all this about Syria?
Where the hell is Syria? Those
are mostly U.S.
Senators.
Serious About Syria? By Thomas
Sowell
Excerpt: When the President of the United States
issues an ultimatum to another sovereign nation, he should know in advance what
he is going to do if that ultimatum is rejected.
But that is not the way Barack Obama operates. Like so many
people who are masters of lofty words, he does not pay nearly as much attention
to mundane realities. (The attack will be “just robust enough not to be
mocked” as one Obot said. ~Bob)
The Road to Damascus. By Daniel
Greenfield
Excerpt: Imagine the Crips and the Bloods, armed to the
teeth by every country from Mexico to China, fighting over the ruins of
California cities, and you get some idea of the glorious Syrian civil war being
fought by the Brave Syrian People, most of whom at this point are about as
Syrian as the Palestinians are from Palestine, in a conflict that will
determine once and for all who will be ethnically cleansing whom next year. The
Syrian rebels are Sunni. The Syrian regime is Alawite, which is close enough to
Shiite for government work. This isn't some heroic battle between the people
and the dictator; it's a religious war.
Flashback: It's Time to Talk to Syria. By John Kerry and Chuck
Hagel
If you hit a paywall, Goofgle the title. ~Bob. Excerpt: The
recent announcement of peace negotiations between Israel
and Syria through Turkey, and the agreement between the Lebanese
factions in Qatar – both
apparently without meaningful U.S.
involvement – should serve as a wake-up call that our policy of nonengagement
has isolated us more than the Syrians. These developments also help create new
opportunities and increased leverage that we can only exploit through
substantive dialogue with Syria.
(Now Kerry is going to send the troops to sand like Genghis Khan. ~Bob)
Pictures emerge
showing US Secretary John Kerry and President Assad dining in Syria together
Excerpt: Mr Kerry was visiting the region when he was
Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He met with Mr Assad at
least six times, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Pelosi, The Democrats
And Assad: The Enemy Within
Good pic of her with her pal assad. ~Bob
No One Understands Syria, But Everyone Is Choosing
Sides. By Michael Moynihan
Excerpt: This current conflict better resembles the Spanish
Civil War: the great powers arming and manipulating a bloody internal conflict;
the celebrity and pundit classes—now with the added earnestness of high school
friends ruminating on social media—taking sides, regardless of how ill-equipped
they are to offer informed judgment. With fresh memories of Iraq, we’re all being deeply
skeptical while staking our territory, but our arguments are often as confused,
naive, misinformed, and conspiratorial as they were in 2003. (Not me—a pox on
both their houses. ~Bob.)
From Jim Geraghty, Morning Jolt
Yesterday Senator Ron Johnson (R., Wis.), asked a
devastating question: "You say this is the world's red line, not ours, and
I agree. So how many partners will we have with us?"
Matthews: Dems Must
Support War to 'Save President's Hide'
Excerpt: “I think the Democrats are going to be forced to
sacrifice men and women who really, really don’t want to vote for this. They’re
going to have to vote for it to save the president’s hide. That’s a bad
position to put your party in.” (Good reason to bomb the snot out of people. I
bet the Syrians have bodies of dead kids already stored to claim they were
killed by us, which the Muslim world will believe. ~Bob.)
McCain opposes Syria
strike resolution
Excerpt: Sen. John McCain, President Obama's biggest
cheerleader on Capitol Hill for a strike in Syria, said Wednesday that he would
not support a Senate panel's draft resolution authorizing the use of
force. (But he voted yes. ~Bob.)
On Syria, Obama faces a skeptical
public
Excerpt: President Obama has turned the question of whether
to strike Syria
into an extraordinary national sales job — seeking to convince skeptics in
Congress and among the public that military action would be worth the risk. It
does not seem to be selling well. That’s the takeaway from the most recent
national polling and the response from voters nationwide. (If he told them he
wanted to bomb Obamacare, there would be a surge of support. ~Bob.)
Tweet from Dan McLaughlin
@baseballcrank
How about we just mandate the Syrians buy health insurance?
Excerpt: I will admit it’s unclear to me–and I suspect
fairly unclear to almost everyone else–what would happen if Assad left the
scene. Which makes knowing what to do, and what to counsel, difficult.
Who Made the Sarin
Used in Syria?
Two articles on the use
of Gas in WWI
Some background. ~Bob
No Syrian War to Save
Obama's Face! By Patrick J. Buchanan
Excerpt: Are we really, as a nation, required to go to war
to make good the simple-minded statements of an untutored president who had no
constitutional authority to issue his impulsive ultimata? Are we really
required to go to war to get the egg off Obama's face? (“We regret to inform
you that your daughter’s F-16 was shot down and she burned to death, but her
sacrifice will not only help women’s equality, but preserve the President’s
credibility. Her death was a small price to pay for that, we are sure you’ll
agree.” If we are bombing Syria
to save Obama’s credibility, shouldn’t we have bombed Benghazi, Mexico
and the IRS as well? ~Bob)
The Syria
Confidence Trick. By Daniel Greenfield
Excerpt: There isn’t much enthusiasm for Obama’s plan for Syria
and even the experts have trouble explaining why the attacks will do any good.
The debate has congealed down to credibility. The only real argument in favor
of hitting Syria
is that Obama laid down a red line and Congress is obligated to protect his
credibility when making poorly thought out threats for the sake of national
security. (The United States
has not had any credibility since the Democrat Congress abrogated our pledge to
stand by South Vietnam,
cutting off supplies that led inevitability to the reeducation camps, the Boat
People and the Communist genocide in Cambodia. ~Bob.)
On Syria:
Not At This Time. By Erick Erickson
Excerpt: For two years, President George W. Bush made a
public case for an invasion of Iraq.
He built public support, international support, and congressional support. His
administration documented CIA intelligence on weapons of mass destruction,
Saddam Hussein’s personal cheerleading over 9/11, the dictator attempting to
assassinate President George H. W. Bush after the President had left office, Al
Qaeda’s use of Iraq as a training ground for further attacks on our interests,
and then he explained how this all merged into a real and tangible threat to
our national security interests. … If what George W. Bush did was a rush to war
with a nonexistent coalition, what the hell is this effort to bomb Syria?
CIA Analyst Michael
Scheuer Exposes Syrian War Lobbyists
Excerpt: American and Russian warships are both in the
region. Each nation is supporting opposing sides in the conflict. Russia's last foreign military base outside the
former Soviet Union is located in Syria. Hezbollah and Iran are both threatening to attack Israel if the U.S.
takes military action against Assad's government in Damascus.
Allen West to Obama,
‘Don’t Lecture Us About Obligation After Benghazi
http://clashdaily.com/2013/09/can-whoop-ass-allen-west-obama-dont-lecture-us-obligation-benghazi/
http://clashdaily.com/2013/09/can-whoop-ass-allen-west-obama-dont-lecture-us-obligation-benghazi/
Excerpt: “He is afraid to make a decision so is now
setting up Congress for the blame,” he continued. “We should not commit our
Military because Obama said something stupid and especially since he does not
have a strategic or operational objective.
Obama has only
himself to blame for Britain’s
Syria
snub. By Adam Shaw
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/08/30/obama-has-only-himself-to-blame-for-britains-syria-snub/?intcmp=obnetwork
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/08/30/obama-has-only-himself-to-blame-for-britains-syria-snub/?intcmp=obnetwork
Excerpt: Obama's occasional photo ops with Cameron mask a
horrifying truth underneath, that President Obama has obliterated the
Anglo-American alliance since he took office, and is arguably one of the most
anti-British Presidents of all time.
The fix is in. By
Steve Deace
Excerpt: You know this is all for show, right? Let’s face
it, the fix is in. This isn’t our first rodeo. We’re not falling for the banana
in our tailpipe again. Oh, sure, a lot of Republicans will talk a good game
about holding Obama’s feet to the fire on military intervention in Syria. They’ll
pretend to listen to you, and act like they don’t trust Obama, either.
Tweet from Infidel Justice @InfidelJustice
.@JohnKerry
What's the difference between 100k killed by Assad of the Millions killed by
the North Vietnamese? #LiberalHypocrite
Excerpt: Code Pink, the anti-war group who interrupted
Tuesday’s Senate Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, has adopted a new tactic
today. (Tweet from Kathleen McKinley @KatMcKinley.
Dear WaPo, this is not "a new tactic." How easily you forget the
attack on Condi Rice.
Tweet from Matthew Dowd @matthewjdowd
If bombing targets in another country isn't a war, then
explain to me what Japan did
at Pearl Harbor?
Tweet from Charlene Welch @charlene_welch
Best question of the day from Rep. Salmon; who r the 34
country's supporting this? Kerry: uh, I don't have the list with me!
Jon Stewart, Stephen
Colbert hit Obama administration on military action in Syria
Racists! ~Bob
Tweet from The Daily Caller @DailyCaller
Krauthammer on Syria
strike: ‘If you want to send a message, you call the Western
Union.’
Al-Qaeda Linked Syrian Rebels
Attack Christian Village
Tweet from Senator
Rand Paul @SenRandPaul: This is the side the American people are
being asked to join in the Syrian civil war.
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