America pulled out of a group negotiating a "voluntary" migration pact. If the people for the migration pact can't even agree among themselves whether the trend is a "positive story" or "hugely destabilizing" why would America want to voluntarily participate when cooperation will surely mean accepting some of those people--on top of what we already do--on the move? People seem confused by thinking that we have to accept as many people as want to come here.
A rally to help ensure the Alabama election of Roy Moore to the United States Senate was held in Detroit, Michigan earlier in the week.
When racist rally members in Charlottesville were confronted by communist/anarchist antifa thugs, the local police actively decided to let them fight, leading to the death of a young woman minding her own business at the protest. Not that this is a defense of the man accused of driving the car into the crowd and killing the woman. But the police should have been trying to prevent violence rather than planning to exploit violence.
She is a meat head, ironically enough. From the Journal of Feminist Geography, which refuses to study Florida.
The Saudis might have missed a missile launched in November from Yemen by Iran-backed forces. Which isn't a shock. No weapon is perfect (and some very far from it) and so a Patriot missing is hardly impossible. And let's not forget that the Yemen faction was aiming at a civilian target. But that's not a story, apparently.
In an effort to build on the buzz of Bitcoin, Maduro plans a crypto-currency to be called the
Flynn copped a plea for lying to the FBI notwithstanding no underlying crime. Give the man a break, lying to the FBI is apparently a very new law.
I have little respect for Foreign Policy magazine. Regularly getting their email links doesn't help. This does not improve my view of their judgment. They aren't good enough to be in the echelon above reality. They're in the echelon in defiance of reality.
Russia says they are ready to exert their influence on North Korea over the nuclear issue. Given Russia's "help" to preserve Syria's chemical arsenal with a chemical weapons deal and given their "help" to enable Iran's drive to get nuclear weapons with the farcical nuclear deal, I'm thinking we should keep Russia out of this nuclear crisis to prevent more "help."
Egypt may allow Russian planes use Egyptian air space and air bases. Not that this is a one-way proposed deal! If Egypt ever wants to bomb Finland, Russia is granting Egypt the right to use Russian air space and air bases. We have a way to go in restoring our reputation in the Middle East if long-time ally Egypt is willing to work with Russia just in case. Unless Egypt is just negotiating with America by using the Russians to get a better deal.
Yemen's Iran-backed rebels have fractured and the Saudi coalition may have gained a vital advantage to press forward. I never bought the notion that the Saudis were losing this war. Yes, it was stalemated because Saudi Arabia was unable to get enough locals on the ground for their air power to support. This may change that ground problem. I'm sure eventually talks will rearrange the name plates around the big table in the Yemen capital and this clusterfuck of a state, as this story about Saleh's history shows, will resume its usual programming of poverty, corruption, and the production of Islamists.
Will Democrats stop turning the dial to 11? This time people will die with festering boils because of the Republican tax cut bill. In the past when taxes went up the deficit went up; and when taxes went down, the deficit went up. While I'd like the deficit reduced, that isn't going to happen in the current political environment. So I'd rather have the deficit go up with the taxes lower, at this point.
Bike lanes are killing the planet. Who knew reserving disproportionate road space for a little-used vehicle would be environmentally counter-productive? Tip to Instapundit.
How is it possible that Britain is having more problems leaving the European Union than Eastern Europe had in escaping Soviet control in 1989??!!
The Fulani tribe are a problem in Nigeria as well as other places in the region. That's quite the rap sheet they have there. How Nigeria survives as a state with their problems is kind of amazing.
The FBI has pretty much wrecked the trust they built up by their wildly different treatment of Hillary Clinton and Trump. I realize most agents are honorable and this problem is based on the politics of relatively few. All the more reason the many should be the most outraged. The reaction to Trump is proving far more destructive to our country than Trump could ever be. Solid trusted institutions can check excesses. But if the institutions are corrupted in their partisan zeal, the ability to check anything truly dangerous in the future is crippled. This trend pre-dates the Trump-Clinton race, of course, as the whole IRS politicization makes clear. A lot of federal employees need to lose their jobs and face the criminal justice system as a warning to the rest that this is unacceptable. I have never been big into the "deep state" view (as opposed to bureaucratic interests and inertia) but the opposition is tipping into territory that makes that view more plausible to argue, I think. Our pride used to be peaceful transfer of power. Do we still have that fully?
As I've long said, the federal government has grown too big a prize because of its increasing power over so many areas of our lives to be healthy for our country. It is clearly the center of gravity for our entire nation. It obviously draws too much political attention. In regard to the chart in the article above showing the extreme tilt in favor of Democrats as demonstrated by federal employees by department, is it really that bad? Is this the top level of civil servants only? That's bad enough but wouldn't reflect the bulk of people in the organizations. Although I don't know why civil servants are allowed to make political donations or have political opinions in public. Or are the donations from the top levels that are appointed and so in 2016 obviously Obama appointed? I just don't know what the significance of this is. But for me, given I was diligently nonpartisan in my career in the state legislative branch, the possibility of bias as extreme as that chart shows is extremely disturbing. The civil service system may have failed completely and been corrupted by the political competition that has grown so extreme to control the federal government.
So you want to know why I have long (for decades) mistrusted our press corps? As the media constantly looks for Republican scandals--real or imagined--it has downplayed Democratic scandals (opting instead to focus on Republican "overreach" in response). And worse, the media ignored the sexual abuse scandal that they all knew about in their own industry. They all knew. And they said--and published--nothing. In what way have they earned my trust? Yes, I rely on them. And they often do good work. And practically speaking, they're the only game in town for news. But treat them as suspect until proven otherwise is always a safe approach.
Nancy Pelosi promotes ethnic cleansing. She really is a deplorable character.
Good Lord. Moore and Franken look better by contrast every day. They keep saying "icon." I don't think that word means what they think it means.
I see the Remain camp has gained some new recruits to oppose Brexit. I hope May doesn't really believe Trump's tweets are the biggest British problem.
When I heard of Libyan slave markets, it didn't even occur to me to blame President Obama. Yes, I think the Libya War was a mistake. I figured that if the issue was so important to Europe, they could have dealt with it. And if Europe couldn't handle rebellion-wracked Libya, they should be ashamed. France didn't help in Iraq, after all, so have a ball. But we took part. So I wanted America to win. You certainly couldn't claim the war to overthrow a dictator was immoral. And I thought Europe should take the lead for post-war work. Europe didn't. And here we are. But the fact is that the slave trade is the fault of slave sellers and slave buyers--not Obama or America or Europe or the West. The sad fact is that slavery was not invented by America and continues to exist in parts of the sainted Third World.
The persecution of Lindsay Shepherd demonstrates how oppression is perfectly compatible with a reputation for politeness. Here is her recording of her inquisition. Listen to those whiny proto-Red Guards grind her beneath their Birkenstocks. If they could send her into the countryside to toil her way to proper thinking, they would. (Nobody expects the Canadian Inquisition. But you should. Fascism is always descending on America; but it always seems to land elsewhere.) You wonder where the Gestapo or the Soviets got their camp guards? From people like these petty tyrants.
Wealthy liberals can use their wealth to live a carbon-spewing lifestyle and then buy "carbon credits" with their wealth so they can feel ecologically and morally superior to a young working man driving to work in an old car that lost its emission control systems long ago. So Lena Dunham's rage against Republicans is kind of like a feminist carbon credit to "make up" for (in her mind?) her unwillingness to go public with what she knew about the abuse by liberal Weinstein of women in her own industry.
A preview of the newest American anti-ship missile, the LRASM.
Europeans basically despise Israel and--if they believed in God--granted sainthood to whatever terrorist is speaking for the Palestinians, yet still jihadis slaughter them in their cities. So don't expect ritual denunciations of Trump's Jerusalem (sort-of) decision to shield Europe from religious violence.
Perhaps I'm unclear about crypto-currency, but isn't hacking them and stealing them supposed to be impossible, which is the appeal of the concept?
If Iran won the first round over Lebanon in the Hariri crisis, the Saudi-Israel coalition still has a trump card to play to cripple Hezbollah and reduce Iran's influence in Lebanon. And with the U.S. secretary of state meeting with Hariri to encourage him to stand up to Iran, are we sounding him out on his abilities if the balance of forces inside Lebanon suddenly tilts against Hezbollah? And is America taking precautions to make sure Hezbollah survivors from Lebanon don't make it to the Western Hemisphere to seek revenge for Iran?
The first time I taught a class my mouth got so dry that I could barely pronounce words. I'm surprised it happened to Trump but when I watched his Jerusalem announcement I assumed that the high stakes of this move caused unusual nervousness and a resulting dry mouth. But question Hillary's health last year?
Senator Franken announced his intention to resign from the U.S. Senate over sexual harassment-related conduct. The day after the American embassy opens in Jerusalem? Or will that plan be put off if Moore wins? The apology was more "I'm sorry this horrible thing happened to me," but who's perfect? Regarding Moore, I suspect if he is elected he will be ejected for some reason or another to let Alabama have a redo with an actual Republican rather than electing a Democrat by punishing Moore in the special election. Moore is a piece of work without his girl fixation. Don't we have enough Democrats in Congress with views like that without adding Republicans to the ranks?
I generally watch Fox with a large component of CNN thrown in. But MSNBC is never on my TV given that they are so unclear on the concept that their idea of an expert on terrorism is a terror apologist and outright liar. WTF, people. Has MSNBC decided to compete with al Jazeera for market share?
It's kind of funny to see China experiencing the joy of Pakistan as a frenemy: "China on Friday warned its nationals in Pakistan of plans for a series of imminent 'terrorist attacks' on Chinese targets there, an unusual alert as it pours funds into infrastructure projects into a country plagued by militancy." It's so odd. How can any Moslems be mad at China when China didn't invade Iraq or recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital! I thought those were the approved reasons for being a terrorist! Given this Islamist threat, the Chinese are going to be aghast when they find out that terrorists will use the road link China is building between Pakistan to the sea at one end and China's restive Xinjiang province at the other. Also, Pakistan is "plagued by militancy"? That's like saying I'm plagued by beer on game night. Just who did that to me and why can't I stop them?
It's starting to seem like the intensive "obstruction of justice" investigation of Trump's team over an issue of "collusion" that isn't even a crime and doesn't seem to have happened is just an exercise of "the best defense is a good offense." Doesn't it? Tips to Instapundit.
"The Resistance" is just silly in its worry about Trump trying to impose fascism on America. It's not happening. But when Trump leaves office and our checks and balances are intact, I have no doubt that the Left will proudly boast that their tactic of turning everything to 11 to stop fascism worked great!
I still have no idea if the Cuba "sonic attack" issue is even real or who did it. It should go without saying that communist Cuba can't be trusted to provide answers.
You have to admit, if the email actually had been sent 10 days earlier, it might actually have been a story! Not even close to being an apple, CNN. The orange blinded you.
I'm not sure how the candidate who was ahead in the pre-election polls actually winning indicates voter fraud in Honduras. Although running for reelection does seem illegal. But abroad I'm not ashamed if a pro-American candidate wins in a shady manner when foes of America have been winning in a shady manner in the region. I'm not proud of this "hypocrisy." But I'm not happy with the anti-American winners, and those types seem to end up way worse in how they treat their own people.
Go Army! Beat Navy! Two in a row. Never forget that those players are officers going to war.
