Innocent or obese civilians can frustrate an agenda. Not if the commander has anything to say. Bombs Away: On March 20, 2018 the Senate narrowly voted to defeat a resolution to block sales of laser guided bomb systems to Saudi Arabia presented by Rand Paul (R-KY) and Chris Murphy (D-CT). The CEO of Raytheon (maker of the armaments) met with US officials prior to the vote to encourage the continued sales and was delighted by the vote outcome (a big . . .
Category: Politics
Commander of Fear
Fear of: Competition Russian Dictator Mockery Adulation Lost Others There is a pattern! The commander thinks that the rest of the world is kicking our trade butt with their cruel competition. How are they getting away with this perfidy: Hard work? Sacrifice? Survival instinct? The message that we are taking a beating and the “playing field needs to be leveled” is coming from fear stirred up by the commander telling us we are losers. What about the unconscionable shelling of . . .
Trade War Diary
According to the Commerce Secretarypaying $175 more for a car is “trivial”. Does having $700 million salted away help? At the whim of the “commander” and without a rational strategy , significant tariffs are planned for imported raw materials, steel and aluminum. For the rest of us these are new taxes. Normally buying cheaper is a good thing. But, in this case it is bad? The Chinese have dug themselves a hole with over capacity, producing half of the worlds . . .
Guns and The Money
Safety versus Gun Sales We are not winning The National Rifle Association was founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, motivated by the poor shooting skills demonstrated by the Union army during the Civil War. Since 1975 the organization has directly lobbied for favorable legislation by spending $millions donating to “A” rated candidates. Favorable to whom? Follow the money:Total revenue in 2016 was $436 million. In 2015 CEO Wayne Lapierre took home $5.1 million for a job well done selling . . .
One State?
Time For A One State Solution? Israel West Bank & Gaza Population 8.8 million 5 million Median Age 29.9 19 Birth Rate/1000 1.81 2.456 GDP Per Capita $44,019 $1,997 Life Expectancy 82.01 77.17 Literacy 97.8 95.3 Growth Rate 2 2.6 As demonstrated by the 1947 Partition of India, spawning Pakistan and Bangladesh in 1971 this approach can be fraught with internecine trouble with a nasty tendency to linger forever. I think it is time for a democratic solution to the . . .
Nuclear First Use?
2018 Nuclear Posture Review Moving Closer to Earthly Annihilation? The preliminary NPR document is available and the final version is scheduled to be released in February. The tone is obvious and in line with the iron triangle’s major ingestion of blood and treasure – follow the money! Now we want to expand the “first use” of nuclear attack and the trigger finger gets a little itchier. One idea is to develop less potent nuclear bombs that presumably could be used . . .
Button Finger FaceOff
Government Purpose?
What is the role of government? We may believe the government should provide protection from fire, floods, crime and foreign incursions. What about help for poor parents, health problems, job loss, polluted air, unsafe water or even bad decisions? According to the current Speaker of the House, Medicare, Medicaid and Obamacare violate the liberty of the taxpayers whose earnings are transferred to the less fortunate but also squash the spiritual needs of the recipients. He believes that federal programs . . .
Mendacity in the Air
At this point there is an unsurmountable barrier to acceptance of any of the “commander’s” executive orders, appointments or strategies. I doubt there was any willing collusion with the Russians simply because of demonstrated incompetence. Obviously if the “commander” was offered the opportunity to collude, it would have been taken. Benefit of the doubt is gone, erased by mendacity, venality and pettiness. Any accidental good idea stumbled on will not pass the test of time and eventually will . . .
Freedom School – Strategy or Ignorance
The “commander” has been fed the philosophies of Robert LeFevre’s Freedom School – spooned out by his erstwhile chief strategist. Did he actually understand what he consumed? Are the bizarre tweets, attacks on journalists, and outrageous feuds part of a deliberate strategy to distract while institutions are destroyed? Freedom School Philosophy:All government consists of customs and institutions that control our lives by stealing our property, restricting our freedom, and endangering our lives with the rationale of protecting us from ourselves. Deconstructing the administrative state – sabotaged . . .