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Sunday, December 08, 2019

Weekend Data Dump

Should Poland buy American Abrams tanks? Sure. But then, I think our infantry should get the Abrams, as I argued for in Army magazine.

Lisa Page says Trump's tweets about her are "like being punched in the gut"? Doesn't her insurance policy cover that ailment? Maybe if we lived in an actual dictatorship, Page would be in real danger of disappearing. In the real world those tweets give her a post-FBI career on the resistance speaking circuit.

We should want to save Turkey and keep them in NATO. But Erdogan is the problem. Which is why I want to cauterize the wound that Erdogan has inflicted on NATO until Turkey recovers from his rule. Although as that second link says, we may have the Erdogan problems even after Erdogan is gone. And there is a problem that an anti-NATO Turkey friendly to Russia will find its presence within the alliance too useful to walk away from. So I don't rule out the need to eject Turkey from NATO. But that's a last option, given the advantage Russia could have with free passage through the Turkish Straits in time of war.

Let's see. Five weeks ago the post office told me I was getting a particular piece of mail that day (they photographed it). I did not receive it. Their email said not to report missing mail for a week to give it a chance to make it. I waited a week. It did not arrive. I could not report the missing mail with a simple click on the link to the picture of the mail because their record of it expired. I had to find another area of the web site to type in a description of the piece and the circumstances. I sent it off. Three weeks after I made the request the piece of mail made it back to the sender. Thanks guys! Wait. What? A few days ago the post office let me know that they received my request to find the missing mail and they would get back to me. I could not reply to that email to let them know the mail is safe and sound. Normally I have great respect for the post office and do not complain. Stuff happens and problems have been rare for me. But this was ridiculous all the way around.

Nigeria battles corruption in order to fight jihadis.

"Democrats and the media have covered every development of the many investigations into Trump, tending into histrionics. That has, in many ways, obscured legitimate criticism of the president. By constantly overpromising and underdelivering, Democrats have guaranteed not only skepticism but apathy from voters." Pretty much. Although for me they've guaranteed suspicion and contempt for anything they say. But then again, Democrats pushed me to that point very early. Tip to Instapundit.

The idea of President Biden is terrifying. I always thought of him as Obama's assassination insurance policy. And what is really terrifying is who will Biden think of as his assassination insurance? One shudders. If you are horrified at Trump's tweets, imagine Biden on Instagram.

Algeria could be another front in Arab Spring 2.0 or just a continuing autocracy. Hard to say.

No! Way! Although the media and impeachment tactics landscapes are very different two decades later. That may make a direct comparison difficult.

A comedian, Mike Ward, has been heavily fined in Canada for a tasteless joke. Well, good! The Dignified Rant has film of exactly how dangerous that most un-woke joke in the world is!


The Chinese Communist Party spends a lot of effort to keep their heavily tracked population from getting information from the outside world that would contradict the communist version of a glorious China that the CCP is building. Did they spend so much time on that problem that they forgot to control what can leak out about their rotten, cruel, and dangerous system?

When Democratic primary voters and liberal college campuses are purportedly hotbeds of racists, what hope do the woke have of curing the actual "deplorables" in the rest of the country? Tips to Instapundit.

The international religious revival meeting that is COP25 will try to convince us that the climate end is nigh--this time for sure. So let me direct you to my climate change poem. Now go and emit no more.

Democrat privilege: when hate is okay.

Mexico is really descending into spreading drug cartel violence. I'm so old that I remember when--decades ago--the Mexican government deflected American calls to do something about drug trafficking because the drug issue was an American demand problem and the money coming to Mexico was kind of a good thing for Mexico. Times change.

California has a virtual wall that prevents you from taking your money with you when you leave. For a while anyway. But with their rates we're talking real money. Tip to Instapundit.

Just a comment on Trump and Turkey's Erdogan. Democrats like to attack Trump for admiring strongmen. But Obama was happy to prop up Erdogan in the hope that Erdogan would be an example to the Moslem world of a "tame" Islamist in power. Not that I'm blaming Obama for Erdogan, mind you. That problem is on the Turks. We could see the problem coming when Turkey's parliament narrowly declined to give us permission to launch a northern front against Saddam in 2003 with the 4th Infantry Division (which was our new high-tech division, at the time).

I think my call to work the problem in the Middle East during the last year of the Obama administration is a good call to make today.

Joe Biden is a living example of a college friend's observation that you can only be young once, but you can be immature forever. I don't think it is a matter of senility. It's a matter of Biden not developing socially beyond a seventh grade boy.

If a partisan conclusion of "abuse of power" is impeachable, nobody will be safe. "Pen and phone" Obama would have been impeached if Republicans had adopted this standard. Democrats have gone insane. And do Democrats really want to go with their Trump-era definition of "obstruction?"

Another look at China's espionage efforts from that defector in Australia.

This is the one infrastructure project that I'd support federal money to fund.

If the Horowitz report excuses the FBI for the start of the Trump-Russia collusion investigation as stemming from credible concerns, then how is Trump's inquiry into Ukrainian ties to American politicians not similarly justified? Still, even if the investigation into the Trump campaign could be excused at the start, doesn't the duration and extent of the investigation despite no actual evidence call for worry about the continuation of the investigation?

America's campaign against Iran is helping fight the battle for Iraq by making it more difficult for Iran to recruit a pro-Iran candidate for prime minister.

Pelosi's claim that "our democracy is what is at stake" is bizarre until you realize that it relies on the precogs Schiff and Nadler reading Trump's mind. What? no "minority report?" The really horrifying thing about Pelosi's statement is that too many people heard that and think Trump and not the unhinged Resistance impeachment is what is threatening democracy. I'm really sorry that Hillary Clinton didn't campaign in her "blue wall" in 2016. But direct your ire at her and not at Trump who won the election fair and square (which is more than can be said for Clinton's win over Sanders in the primary election that year). Any Democrat at any level of government has forfeited any chance of my vote for at least a generation for their behavior the last 3 years.

I'm sorry, but what the heck is a gynecologist supposed to do with a physically make patient except be a very expensive "let's pretend" play date? Tip to Instapundit. We're going to need oxygen masks and lots of sherpas if we are to reach Peak Stupid.

"Rounding up a few academics to complain about any Republican isn’t exactly a daunting task. That’s like wandering around Hyannis Port in the summertime and bumping into a drunk Kennedy."

While I reject the author's "both NATO and Russia share blame for increased tensions" cop out, given NATO's long decline in military power that only belatedly was reversed after years of ignoring Russian bombast and aggression, the status of Belarus is important, as I've noted.

At worse this is fake news (tip to Instapundit) and at best CNN can't tell the difference between an apple and a banana.

Perhaps it depends on what the meaning of "is" is. Not that I care, mind you.

It is amusing that this author says Republicans will use their "slim GOP majority" to monopolize their role in a Senate impeachment to retaliate for the Democrats doing the same. Funny that the author didn't similarly judge the Democratic House majority, which at 54.1% is only a percentage point more majority than the Republicans in the Senate. What a crucial percentage point difference, eh?

Give me ... cell phones? ... or give me death. Interesting hill to die on.

Iran is moving ballistic missiles into Iraq to attack Israel? It seems unlikely that anything Iran could sneak into Iraq would have the range to hit Israel from Iraq locations. Other than targets inside Iraq, Kuwait seems like a more likely target given its role as a staging area for American forces that could operate in Iraq.

Not that this is a defense of Trump, but it is that dreaded "perspective" that the Resistance counts on keeping quiet.

Yes! Large-scale fleet exercises! I'm very happy, as you might expect.

Lather, rinse, repeat. From the unclear on that whole "loyal opposition" concept files.

At the quiet fringe of the Arab world.

Okay, this is funny:


Yes: "Spare us another of these hootenannies of insufferable elitism."

Some democrats--of the woke variety--are complaining that the next Democratic debate will lack "diversity." Wait until the Democrats discover that they have to choose just one candidate to face Trump.

And this is funny, too!


America should continue to support Ukraine. I don't know if we can support "peace" with Russia without also supporting the "defeat" of Russia which continues to occupy Ukrainian territory in the eastern Donbas and Crimea. But that's Ukraine's choice, I guess.

The F-22 is getting new lethality upgrades, including longer-ranged air-to-air missiles. Which could come in handy.

For all that Putin may thump his chest and fling poo for that ego buzz of attention, don't forget he plays second fiddle to the primary threat.

If her district reelects that fluff ball of ignorance, they deserve her.

I was a Native Detroiter, born and raised in Detroit. But I've long given up hope that the latest announcement of the rebirth of Detroit has any legs or basis in fact other than some artificial outside financing that never takes root for real rebirth. I go through Detroit to go to or return from Canada. The latest comeback is a myth. I'm not shocked. One day I hope I'm shocked. There are 650,000 people living in Detroit. How long ago was it when I was working for the state legislature which had to amend all the statutes that applied to Detroit cities with at least one million people to keep them relevant? Tip to Instapundit.

Does Pelosi have the votes to impeach and send the charge to the Senate for trial? Perhaps my "Hitler finds out" video is still good! I wonder if the impeachment inquiry is a way for Pelosi to finally discredit and slap down her extremist coalition by giving them what they want--good and hard.

The Australians continue to debrief the defector from China Liqiang Wang to see if he is too good to be true or a treasure trove of information about Chinese espionage and influence operations. China has penetrated Australia quite a bit, it seems.

Is China's communist regime on the verge of collapse? It sounds too good to be true. But I'd prefer the disruption of the loss of China's economy to the world over the danger of war from a powerful China under communist rule. The professor says our outreach to China under Nixon saved the regime. Perhaps that is true. I don't know. But I know we did need China's help to contain the more dire threat of the Soviet Union at the time. One must make choices. We chose well as the lack of a Soviet Union indicates. And now we have a China problem. That's life. Solving one problem is usually the entry ticket for the next problem.

This old post of mine discusses the different perspectives of the various powers involved in the North Korea nuclear crisis. One major change is that if North Korea gets missiles that can reach America our perspective changes quite a bit. We are close to getting to that change. Another change is that North Korea's military is losing the ability to credibly threaten Seoul for long.

Mass protests continue in Hong Kong. Michael Yon is still videoing the protests.

Duty, honor, country: Joshua Kaleb Watson. Good men die to fight scum of the Earth. Tip to Instapundit.

I don't know if it is more frightening if she is that blinded by hatred or that willing to stoke fear for re-Tweets. I'm not sure there is another option other than using the healing power of "and."

Thanks a bunch Russia! Of course, it is better for the Russians to have to spend money to prop up the Iranian nutballs rather than money coming from the West.