“a hands off, leading from behind approach”

The U.S. has made the case as strongly as they can to regional countries, including Kuwait. But ultimately when you take a hands off, leading from behind approach to things, people don’t take you seriously and they take matters into their own hands.
— America’s Allies Are Funding ISIS, Josh Rogin, The Daily Beast.com

“The elephant in the room, unmentioned by Obama, is what happens if Iraq’s leaders — or the rebels — turn out to be uninterested in compromise. In particular, the president never said anything approaching this: “We will under no circumstances permit the terrorists to take control of Iraq.”

Barack Obama is a man who knows how to use words. It’s possible, then, that this omission was intended to prepare us for the worst.”
— What Obama Didn’t Say About Iraq, Stephen L. Carter, Bloombergview.com

America didn’t lose Iraq, it was given away by a party and an Administration bound and determined to “get out of Bush’s War.” The left cares not for foreign affairs, it distracts from the domestic agenda of taxing and spending*. When they do show interest, it’s to kiss the ass of oil sucking dictators or to kow-tow to any foreign tyrant. Or simply parrot the current thinking of Europe’s intellectual class.

Iraq could have used American troops. ISIS is an Al-Qaeda spin-off. A failed Iraq spells trouble for the US. Sadly, we American’s don’t care about foreign wars, but foreign wars do care about us.

The left likes to say that they ended Vietnam and now Iraq. That somehow the Democrats brought us troops home. Lies. George Bush signed the agreement to withdraw from Iraq when their coalition government didn’t want a Status Of Forces Agreement.

But if you see Tumblr, Reddit or other hives of lefty scum and villainy, the Democrats are treated like royalty for “bringing the troops home” (not really, we’re still gonna be in Afghanistan until 2017). Don’t forget the drone strikes. Clinton has his cruise missiles, this Whitehouse has kill lists and drones. Hands off and leading from behind.

So as the media has sown, so shall the American public be forced to reap the bitter harvest.

*: I’m not kidding about that. See TheOtherMcCain for our “reality based community’s” take on Iraq:

Yes, the most urgent business facing the United States Senate is a newspaper columnist’s thoughts about sex on college campuses.
— R.S. McCain

ailment

Ah the sound of liberal hurt feelings:

This is just the crisis to make themselves seem relevant again within the GOP—even if they’re undermining the commander in chief at a pivotal moment.
— Why Neocons Love the StrongmanMichael Tomasky, The Daily Beast

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It’s likely, then, that the J-20 no more represents the end of US air superiority than did Cope India or the T-50’s debut. What it does represent is the world’s second economy finally joining a club of nations long-accustomed to designing, building and operating advanced fighter aircraft.
— China’s Over-Hyped Stealth Jet, David Axe, The Diplomat.

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Meanwhile, it remains to be seen how much the J-20’s design changes matter and indeed how effective an aircraft it is. But it is evident that the plane’s flight testing, at least, is far more than just a publicity stunt.
—Stealth Changes for China’s Stealth FighterGERRY DOYLE, NEW YORK TIMES. Gobssmacks David Axe.

It must hurt when reality overtakes liberal fantasy.

For decades the left’s orthodoxy was that the West was to make peace with Russia/The USSR, China and that “the tide of war was receding”.

Russia is INVADING the Ukraine. They used TBM’s on Georgia. China is building a modern networked force.

And yet, Michael Tomasky makes current events be all about the left and how those meanie Neo-cons runied everything.

Lest we forget, the media and the left (I repeat myself) went easy on Putin, Hugo Chavez and China. David Axe seems to think that the US military sucks and we have nothing to fear.

So when real life starts to hurt them, they either face reality (and start crying) or escape to fantasy.

President Obama’s foreign policy is based on fantasy.
— Washington Post, Editorial Board

And so it begins.

The ATF’s new building

There is a plan to name the new ATF headquarters after Elliot Ness:

Moreover, Eig writes that Ness played around on his wife, tried to cover up an accident in which he was involved while driving drunk, he drank too much, and ended up selling frozen hamburger patties in the last years of his life because he was strapped for cash.

To summarize, Ness didn’t get his man, he had questionable morals, he probably was an alcoholic, he covered up a crime, he couldn’t manage his money, and he was prone to wild exaggeration about his accomplishments.
–“Naming ATF Headquarters After Eliot Ness Might Actually Be Appropriate ” No Lawyers, Only Guns and Money.

Given that the ATF gave guns to Mexican cartels in exchange for some info, I agree.

“Good Year for a Great War”

“Will 2014 bring another Great War? My bet is almost certainly not, but with a note of caution. Claims that war is “inconceivable” are not statements about what is possible in the world, but rather, about what our limited minds can conceive. The fact that Presidents Obama and Xi understand that war would be folly for both China and the US is relevant but not dispositive. None of the leaders in Europe of 1914 would have chosen the war they got and that in the end they all lost. By 1918, the Kaiser was gone, the Austro-Hungarian Empire dissolved, the Tsar overthrown by the Bolsheviks, France bled for a generation, and England shorn of the flower of its youth and treasure. Given a chance for a do-over, none of the leaders would have made the choices he did.”
— 2014: Good Year for a Great War?, Graham Allison, The National Interest.

As this decade seems to mirror the last century I’m not surprised that someone is making a comparison to the “guns of August”. I am miffed that it took’em long enough.

With the fall of Saddam and the death of Bin Laden, too many think that we’re “at peace”. Americans want out of Afghanistan. The left drools over “Obamacare” and more domestic spending.

Meanwhile the world is slowly burning, Asia is full of disputes over territory. The Middle East is in revolution and Europe is broke.

August 1916 or Spring 1938? Either way the next few years could bring a nasty surprise.

14th amendment means nothing to these people

Via Gun Free Zone:

The Brady Campaign, on behalf of Mr. Vesely, asked the court to abandon traditional rules of tort liability and find that Armslist could be liable for the criminal actions of the man who killed Ms. Vesely. In essence, the Brady Campaign argued that a special rule should apply to Armslist because the advertisements on its website were for firearms, and it should therefore be treated differently than other online classifieds sites

via NRA-ILA | Federal Court in Illinois Throws Out Brady Campaign Supported Lawsuit.

This is bad. If not for a judge, the Brady Campaign would have the rules bent in it’s favor. This is gun control. It was never about guns, it’s about control.

The demonization of George Zimmerman was but one tentacle of the beast, this is the other.

Love and Truth in 2013

In the book 1984, the Ministry of Truth was the propaganda arm of the evil regime, the Ministry of Love was the KGB analog.

Social Class in 1984

“Colorado Democrats are prepared to launch an all-out war on guns with legislation that includes bans on “high capacity” magazines, requirements for universal background checks, fees for existing background checks, and allowing victims of gun violence to sue firearm manufacturers for the misuse of weapons.”–Breitbart.com

“DONALD SENSING: Why is DHS buying billions of rounds of ammunition?”
—Insty.

Keep this in mind, SWAT teams are growing across the country. the Department of Education has one. SWAT officers who nearly killed a man over his wife’s student loan fraud.

And now in California, a fired cop and “military” vet (really a reservist) is on a killing spree. The man is a leftist nutjob. But you won’t hear it from the media.

The left, the oh-so “we hate guns” left loves, loves, loves this guy.

“Apparently, when the suspected mass-murderer is a Piers Morgan fan, his crimes win a Piers Morgan exemption.

You know, the idea of bringing politics into a tragedy used to sicken me. But ever since Arizona, Obama’s mercenary media have helped me to see the light. ”
—Piers Morgan: L.A. Murder Spree Has ‘Nothing To Do With Politics’ :Breitbart

“So far, though, it’s just the Obama administration pursuing the rather laughable claim that S&P’s ratings would have made any difference to Citi and BofA on their own products. Combine that up with the fact that this is the only ratings agency that the DoJ has pursued after the financial collapse in 2008, and it’s the most significant one that downgraded US credit while Obama has been President, and the actual raison d’être seems pretty clear.”
—DoJ lawsuit against S&P even sillier than first thought by Ed Morrissey, HotAir.COm

This worries me. We’ve seen the left call their opponents “UN-american”, “insurrectionists”, “violent”, “racist” and use vulgar slang and mockery to lesser us and silence dissent.

Now it seems that they want to use real violence. R.S. McCain points out that terrorists do get to be heroes given the passage of time. The left loves underdogs and views all the world through that Marxist Lens(tm). If, somehow, you can claim some “-ism” and pin it on your victims, you are not a domestic terrorist, you’re a hero.

Down the media memory hole went the Tea Part links to Gabby Giffords shooter. So too went the history of Bill Ayers. Vietnam is a repressive police state, but don’t tell the hippies that. The USSR has fan as well.

The mask is off, the fangs are out. The left hates everyone who is not like them. If you’re the 1% who profited from the bailouts, make Hollywood movies, part of the media or a government worker you are a saint. Even if you’re done vile deeds. We’ve seen that you don’t even have to have done anything real, just conform to the lefty narrative.

Go against the grain, make waves, speak truth to power or just step out of line?

There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always — do not forget this, Winston — always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever.
–O’Brian, 1984

Sandy Hook Part 2: the conversation

SO IF WE’RE GOING TO HAVE A “NATIONAL CONVERSATION ON GUNS,” HERE ARE SOME OPENERS:

Why do people who favor gun-control call people who disagree with them murderers or accomplices to murder? Is that constructive?

Would any of the various proposals have actually prevented the tragedy that is the supposed reason for them?

When you say you hope that this event will finally change the debate, do you really mean that you hope you can use emotionalism and blood-libel-bullying to get your way on political issues that were losers in the past?
— Instapundit

My thoughts:

Can we have a conversation without bulling? Without name calling?
Am I presumed innocent because I want a gun but haven’t done anything illegal?
Can I talk about the 2nd Amendment without being called an “insurrectionist?”

Can you on the left respect my rights to own a gun as I respect your right to scream at me?

RESIGN HOLDER

Eric Holder’s bright idea bears fruit (via Instapundit):

“Washington D.C. – According to credible ATF sources, officials heavily involved in Operation Fast and Furious and named as partially responsible for the program’s failure by Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz and the House Oversight Committee have been stripped of their government security clearances while some have been fired, demoted, and transferred. Criminal charges are also reportedly pending.”
…
“former ATF Special Agent in Charge of Operations in the West Bill McMahon and former Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Division George Gillett have been fired…McMahon and ATF came under heavy fire just a few months ago after it was revealed McMahon had been receiving ATF paid leave while pulling a six figure salary from J.P. Morgan, the same bank that owns the bureau’s credit cards”
—
“Report: Security Clearances Revoked, Criminal Charges Pending For ATF Fast and Furious Officials” Katie Pavlich, Townhall.com.

What the hell? Conflicts of intrest, dead federal agents, many, many dead Mexicans and a country on the brink. Has the media and the administration no shame?

RESIGN HOLDER

Hot Crew! : Carrie Fisher

Carrie Frances Fisher (born October 21, 1956) is an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and performance artist. She is best known for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy and for voicing Angela in Family Guy. She is also known for her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge and screenplay for a film of the same name, and her autobiographical one-woman play, Wishful Drinking, and the non-fiction book she based on it.

Ah every geek remembers his first big nerd crush…

Doubling down on stupid: the “cost” of defense part II

Oh Time magazine, you show how stuck in the 1960’s old media is:

The accumulating damage wrought by the permanent war economy started to accelerate in the 1970s, and by 1980, the cancer metastasized: militarization and managerialization began to openly thrive at the expense of the traditional high-wage manufacturing sector, in effect, siphoning off money flows via a combination of government handouts and favorable tax treatment that in effect rewarded both the looting of the tax base and the draining of competitiveness and ingenuity from the civilian manufacturing sector (via the increased defense subsidy, leveraged buyouts, offshoring of jobs, emphasizing short-term focus to pump stock prices, etc.)
…
If you want to learn more about the important but little examined subject of defense dependency, and by extension, learn more about why America is becoming a third world nation, the best introduction is Melman’s* elegantly argued 11-page prologue to Profits Without Production, aptly titled ”How the Yankees Lost Their Know-how.”

Chuck Spinney uses Time’s battleland blog to give cover for the failure of the Democrat’s current wet dream welfare state. The truth as provided by Robert J. Samuelson of the Washington Post (?):

The welfare state’s great contradiction — the reason its politics are so messy — is that what seems good for the individual is not, when multiplied by thousands or millions of cases, always good for society. Politicians appeal to individuals who vote, but in doing so may shortchange the nation. Most obviously: The welfare state’s costs may depress economic growth.

The need is not to dismantle the welfare state but to modernize it gradually, preserving its virtues, minimizing its vices and not doing it abruptly so as to derail the recovery. But first we need to admit it exists.

I take back some of my vitriol I had for WaPo.

It wasn’t the Regan buildup that somewho screwed the US economy. It was guys like Mike Milken, the short sighted labor unions and bad decisions by rock star CEO’s that put American industry on it’s rocky course. Between labor unions asking for the moon, a finance sector looking for a quick buck and CEO’s more concerned about their golden parachute it’s a wonder that Japan didn’t take over the world:

Actually, the Japanese hypergrowth of the ’80s was built on a system of buddy-buddy relationships between various corporations and the government. At the time, this system appeared to be a triumph of modern corporatism and state-directed capitalism, but nowadays, we just call it “crony capitalism”. Predictably, this created an unsustainable economy based on *ahem* loose credit, selling below profit, and toxic loans. At its peak, property values became massively overinflated, to the point where prime real-estate in Tokyo could sell for more than the entire GDP of smaller countries. Once the bubble popped, the economy stagnated, and Japan entered a “lost decade” (or two). Banks became zombie banks, the central bank got its hands stuck in a liquidity trap, and Japanese twenty-somethings faced a fate worse than death: while their fathers had enjoyed lifetime employment at one company, they moved from temp job to temp job, failing to build much in the way of careers. In short, they weren’t half as inhuman as the mythos.

Wow, TvTropes beats liberal bullshit again!

Here is the take away via John Nolte at Breitbart.com:

Naturally, this won’t end with Obama leaving office in 2016. For the media will then write the first draft of history with a flood of books proclaiming Obama’s greatness — regardless of the actual results. And if this first draft of history is based on what we’ve seen throughout his presidency, Obama will be graded on a curve so steep it will require a guard rail.

So, no, Libya will never be properly investigated. Furthermore, no matter how bad the economy gets, Obama will always be credited for saving us from “Bush’s Depression.”

Yeah so the DoD will be gutted, America won’t be able to save South Korea, Taiwan, Israel or the next country old media wants us to save (*cough like Bosnia cough*).

But people will be able to buy Iphones with their EBT. That’s…um…yeah…