The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Obama’s Foreign Policy: America Could Lose a War That We’re Not Even Fighting

Posted on | April 1, 2011 | 20 Comments

Ace of Spades describes the situation that St. Hopey has maneuvered us into with the Libyan rebels:

Now, if Obama has in fact arrived far too late and backed a losing cause, he’s going to have to face a serious dilemma.

1. “Americanize” the war and win what the indigenous forces cannot.
2. Allow the rebels to lose in a war in which American prestige has been put into play.

This is the basic problem with war-by-proxy: You back one side in a conflict and if they lose, you lose. That’s essentially how we got bogged down in Vietnam. JFK and LBJ were backing the anti-Communist government in the south and, when it turned out that our allies were corrupt and incompetent, then we had to “escalate” on their behalf. Hanoi and their Vietcong allies then counter-escalated.

Oh, yeah: The assassination of Diem. One golden moment of “Camelot” that never makes the liberal highlight reel. “Cable 243” and all that. Diem was Catholic, and the “Best and Brightest” evidently decided we needed more Buddhist support in Vietnam.

Problem? The Catholics were fiercely anti-Communist whereas the Buddhists . . . Well, good luck stopping the NVA with an army of Buddhists, OK?

Don’t know why that flashed in my mind, except that I sometimes find myself arguing with neocons who defend the heyday of Cold War liberalism as the “good old days” when Democrats were all patriotic and stuff. But it’s a continuum, you see: The same familiar mixture of arrogance and incompetence. Anyway, back in the present day, Allahpundit describes how our “allies” are running the war:

If you thought “protecting civilians” was merely UN-speak for “aiding the rebels” (as many of the rebels did), think again. Not only are NATO leaders refusing to arm them, but the fact that they think violence against defenseless people by their putative ally is so likely that deterring it requires a formal warning backed by a threat of bombardment tells you a lot about how suspicious the coalition is of its new best friends.

So between Hillary’s State Department geniuses and our Euro-weenie “allies,” it’s looking like a total clusterfark. I’ll just switch over to Google News and grab a random headline:

Robert Gates’ goal for Libya:
No American troops on the ground

Great: The Secretary of Defense establishes U.S. non-involvement as a policy goal. Do we want the rebels to win, or not? Do we want to get rid of Qaddafi, or not? If the idea is for the rebels to win and Qaddafi to go, why rule anything out in advance?

Quick question: How many U.S. Marines would it take to kick the living shit out of any force Qaddafi could muster?

I’m guessing “less than 5,000,” and it would be over in a week.

We’ve launched craploads of Tomahawk cruise missiles and flown who-knows-how-many combat air missions over Libya, but no ground troops, see? Because “ground troops” would look too much like an actual war, and President Nobel Peace Prize can’t have that.

So here we are, as Ace says, with America’s international prestige dependent on a bunch of half-assed rebels. Another random story:

Many of the idealistic young men who looted army depots of gun trucks and weapons six weeks ago believed the tyrannical 41-year reign of Col. Moammar Kadafi would quickly collapse under the weight of a mass rebellion.
Now those same volunteer fighters, most of whom had never before fired a gun, have fled a determined onslaught by Kadafi’s forces, which have shown resilience after being bombarded and routed by allied airstrikes a week ago.
Some exhausted rebels capped a 200-plus mile retreat up the Libyan coast by fleeing all the way to Benghazi, the rebels’ de facto capital, to rest and regroup. Others remained at thinly manned positions at the strategic crossroads city of Ajdabiya on Thursday.
Small groups of rebels stood their ground and fought Kadafi militiamen who seemed on the verge late Thursday of recapturing the oil city of Port Brega. . . .

Just go read the whole thing: “Rebels” smoking hashish and shouting “Allahu akbar”? Buddy, I don’t know about you, but that just fills me with all kinds of confidence. It might yet work out — there are “secret” talks in London, so Qaddafi may be looking for a way out — but if so, the success will be despite Obama’s policy, not because of Obama’s policy.

Category: Ace of Spades, Barack Obama, Libya

LIVE AT FIVE – 04.01.11

Posted on | April 1, 2011 | 2 Comments

TOP NEWS
Gates’ Goal For Libya: No US Boots On The Ground

Defense Secretary Robert Gates testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee

“There will be no American troops on the ground in Libya as long as I’m in this job.”

US Wants Others To Arm, Train Libyan Rebels

Opposition Hopes To Gain Information From Former Foreign Minister

Heavy Fighting In Abidjan Near Gbagbo Residence
Endgame approaches for stubborn ex-president; most of Ivorian army, gendarmerie has defected to northern rebels. Army commander seeks refuge with family in South African embassy
UN Forces Secure Abidjan Airport



POLITICS
Congressional Leaders To Compromise On Budget?

Speaker Boehner: Not abandoning Tea Party for Blue Dogs

Senate Democrats ready to accept “extreme” GOP cuts?

Poll: Most NYC Voters Unhappy With Bloomberg’s Budget Job





SD Rookie Congresswoman Co-Sponsors Offshore Drilling Bill

NH Protest Doesn’t Stop Budget Vote; Granite State May Follow Ohio, Wisconsin In Repealing State Workers’ Collective Bargaining

Mourners Remember Geraldine Ferraro (Video)



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Setbacks In Portugal, Ireland Renew EU Debt Crisis
Concerns
Microsoft Sues Google; Claims They Block Competition In Europe’s Search Market
Documents Shed Light On Fed Lending Practices
Oil, Back At $100, Casts A Long Shadow
Corn Is King As Farmers Chase Prices
Time Warner Cable Just Threw Its Customers Under The Bus
Do Not Anger The Alpha Android



SPORTS
Kershaw Dazzles As Dodgers Top Giants In Opener

Clayton Kershaw goes seven, racks up 9 K's in shutout of Giants

Dodgers’ Mattingly first rookie manager to beat defending champs since Lou Piniella in 1986

Short-handed Spurs See West Lead Dwindle

At Final Four, They’re The First Options For The Last Shot


Former Aide Testifies She Saw Bonds Injected

Capitals Win In OT To Go Over 100 Points

A’s Games Now On The Wolf In San Francisco

Braves Shut Out Nats On Dank Opening Day



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
A “Bones” Baby Is On The Way

David Hornsby and Emily Deschanel are expecting!

Baby due later this year

Is Victoria’s Secret Model Candice Swanepoel Too Thin?
sweet bleeding Jesus, get this girl a bacon cheeseburger STAT

Pete And Ashlee Calling Off Their Divorce?

Katie Holmes Horrified By Suri’s X-Rated Gummi Incident

Michael Buble Weds In Argentina

Cranky Cattrall Shows No Respect For NY Post



Charlie Sheen, Snoop Dogg Working On Single Together

Dan Scanlon To Direct Pixar’s Monsters University

Franco, Letterman Swap Oscar Horror Stories

Post-“Office”, Steve Carell Ponders Doomsday With Keira Knightley



FOREIGNERS
Ouattara’s Forces Attack Gbagbo Residence, Take Control Of Radio & TV Station
TEPCO Not Aware Of Nationalization Rumors
Ragtag Libyan Rebels Struggle In Battle;
NATO Rules Out Arming Rebels
India’s Population Reaches 1.21 Billion
Thailand Mounts Rescue Efforts After Storms Strike Southern Provinces
Zambian Leader Calls For Democratic Reforms In Southern Africa To Head Off Egypt-Style Revolts



BLOGS & STUFF
Maggie’s Notebook: Tea Party And Farm Subsidies – ABC Cries “Hypocrisy!”
Cubachi: Mike Pence – “If Congress can’t cut $61 billion from the budget, the government should be shut down.”
Allahpundit: Libyan Foreign Minister Just The First To Defect?
Babalu: The World’s Police? The Obama Administration Has Turned Us Into The Keystone Kops
Don Surber: USAID Official Claims Budget Cuts Will Kill 70,000 Kids
POWIP: Joanne Kloppenburg – Liberal Self-Awareness On Display
Legal Insurrection: Judge Sumi Rules Budget Repair Bill Not In Effect
The blaze: Pentagon Spends $600K On Gurgling Frog Statue
Uncoverage: Colorado Wakeup Call – 12,000 Illegals Registered To Vote; 5,000 Actually Cast Ballots
Weasel Zippers: Sebelius Compares US Healthcare To That Of A Developing Country
Jawa Report: Israeli Map Shows Nearly 1000 Hezbollah Weapons Sites
Yuval Levin: The Real Budget Debate


— compiled by Wombat-socho

Category: Live at Five

March Goes Out Like a Lion

Posted on | April 1, 2011 | 4 Comments

The March End-of-the-Month Bonus Fundraiser was a huge success. Thanks to tip-jar hitters Charlie in Oregon, Sissy in Massachusetts, Stephen in Texas, Brendan in New Jersey, Jeff in Walla Walla, Will in Texas, Mike in Ardmore, Larry in North Carolina, James in Texas, Victor in Virginia, and Dana in Ohio. My wife is impressed with you guys.

So that’s 11 readers who showed their appreciation in one day — a day in which we had more than 10,000 visitors to the blog. So that’s 0.011% of readers who are paying the freight for the other 99.989%, I guess. C’mon, freeloaders: Hit the tip jar for $10 or $20 to help me get a head start on impressing my wife in April.

UPDATE: Belated thank to Susan in Jacksonville, Steven in El Cerrito and Michael in Haymarket, whose generous contributions have increased to 0.014% the proportion of readers with whom my wife is impressed. (I’m kidding. She loves all the readers. But she just loves the tip-jar hitters a little extra. You know how wives are.)

Category: Shoe Leather Fund

New Motherf–g Tone: Wisconsin Woman Arrested for Death Threats to Republicans

Posted on | March 31, 2011 | 17 Comments

Who knew “civility” was a felony in Wisconsin?

A 26-year-old woman was charged Thursday with two felony counts and two misdemeanor counts for allegedly making email threats against Wisconsin lawmakers during the height of the battle over Gov. Scott Walker’s budget-repair bill.
Katherine R. Windels of Cross Plains was named in a criminal complaint filed in Dane County Criminal Court.
According to the criminal complaint, Windels allegedly sent an email threat to State Sen. Robert Cowles (R-Green Bay) March 9. Later that evening, she allegedly sent another email to 15 Republican legislators, including Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau).
The subject line of the second email was: “Atten: Death Threat!!!! Bomb!!!” In that email, she purportedly wrote, “Please put your things in order because you will be killed and your families will also be killed due to your actions in the last 8 weeks.”
“I hope you have a good time in hell,” she allegedly wrote in the lengthy email in which she purportedly listed scenarios in which the legislators and their families would die, including bombings and by “putting a nice little bullet in your head.”

The Underground Conservative reports that Windels is — wait for it — a pre-school teacher. Charlie Sykes at Milwaukee talk radio station WTMJ had complained that the district attorney’s office was dragging its feet in investigating death threats against Wisconsin Republicans. (Via Memeorandum.)

In other “civility” news, The Underground Conservative reports on a Milwaukee County employee (and AFSCME activist) who apparently used his work computer to call the blogger a “f–ing a–hole.”

UPDATE: Ann Althouse reports that AFSCME is resorting to protection-racket tactics, demanding that businesses put up pro-union signs.

Organized labor and organized crime: There’s a difference?

UPDATE II: Underground Conservative now has his own Memeorandum thread, with commentary by  Another Black Conservative, American Glob, Pat Dollard, Weasel Zippers, and Sister Toldjah

 PREVIOUSLY:


Category: Crime, Terrorism, Unions, Wisconsin

Another Refutation Of The Heretical ‘Statism Is Christianity’ Notion

Posted on | March 31, 2011 | 48 Comments

by Smitty (via Digg)

PoliticsUSA cranks up the wretching soundtrack with “Christian Conservatives Turn Political Judas On Christ’s Teachings”, followed by an image of a button featuring “Jesus for Congress” by someone named Rmuse.

No.

Whoever you are, put everything down and go read any of the four Gospels, and rate the political content of Jesus’ ministry on a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being highest. I’ll give you a 1, for the fact that Jesus did meet Pontius Pilate at the end, but even then, dare you read His words, He’s disavowing temporal political ambition.
And then re-read the Gospels. It’s good for you. Tell me how they, or anything in the rest of the New Testament, constitutes Political Science. What are the main objects under discussion? The Church, and the individual. “Christian Nation” is an oxymoron. With the exception of the odd Samaritan or Roman, Jesus dealt predominately with Jews, at a level below the nation of Israel. Oh, yeah, he weeps over Jerusalem: woo hoo, a city!
At no point does Jesus ever seem to view

governance. . . the rule of law as an instrument of human redemption.

Al Gore was picking up that un-Constitutional line connecting church and state from the other end, but the Progressive falsehood is bi-directional.
Now, in the name of tolerance, if the Progressives want to call themselves Christians, and attempt some wildly false re-branding of the Gospel to support their State-is-God aims, I can promise you two things:

  • A vigorous dose of ridicule from this blog, and any others who cling joyously to the Word.
  • A tragic and eternally determinant scene along the lines of

    Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
    And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
    —Mat 7:22,23

And what form does this iniquity take?

There is no end to the horrors the deceptive conservative Christians in America have committed. In churches all across America, the clergy preaches that Jesus said love your neighbor, clothe and feed the poor, practice peace, and give your belongings to the destitute. After the sermon though, the clergy tells the congregation which policies to support and who to vote for at election time. It is astonishing that parishioners can quote scripture and verse propounding the virtues of Christ’s teachings about love, peace, and charity, and then proceed to deprive their neighbors of basic human rights.

Use of the word ‘parishoners’ may be a tell that Rmuse is targeting Roman Catholics with this horrible conflation of the Gospel and ‘basic human rights’. Mankind’s existential estrangement from the essential goodness of creation in God’s image* is a theological problem. The interaction of the individual with the State is a political problem. The United States Constitution strives to keep the two problems as de-conflicted as possible. And for good reason: if you want a theocracy, Rmuse, repair to Iran, where such awaits.
Really, Rmuse seems to be using the Alinsky tactic of trying to hold the other side (Christians) to what he understands their standard to be.  In so doing, a sad caricature of the Gospel emerges.  Let us all pray that Rmuse comes to understand both the life-changing love of Christ, and the utter impotence of the State to assume that role.

Update: Little Miss Attila ‘lanche!

*To paraphrase Tillich. Ironically, Tillich was a Religious Socialist, so using his formulation of man’s condition here may not be in keeping with the rest of his thought. But I like the formulation, and prefer Christ to Tillich anyway.

Category: Progressivism, Religion

Question To Trump: Would You Say The President’s Possible Misdirections Are As Egregious As Your Hairstyle?

Posted on | March 31, 2011 | 6 Comments

by Smitty

I dropped the ball on where this came from, but now The Donald is using the M word. Mister Trump, when you’re at an important meeting, and some chicken is distracting from the important issues on the agenda, do you look at the chicken and say “You’re Fried!” or what?
Questions about birth and faith do not advance the ball on the budget or the international questions of note. Your shenanigans are about as important as asking whether a beard, headshave and glasses would have you resembling Andrew Sullivan. Because you’re about as presidential.

Category: Andrew Sullivan

When Dead, Your Emissions Go Down

Posted on | March 31, 2011 | 2 Comments

by Smitty

Bluegrass Pundit has Claire McCaskill sounding about 100% airhead, seemingly promoting the idea that tanking the economy provides a silver lining in the form of diminished CO2 emissions.

As though sensing the Ghost of Blogblast Future in the room, she attempts to qualify her remark as ‘being sarcastic’, before re-iterating the point. So she only scores about 90% airhead.
This clip is offered out of context. It would be helpful to have heard the question, which may have asked what the effect of her selling off her no-tax private plane would have.
It looks like Ed Martin is a potential replacement for Her Clarity.

In other Missouri news, it looks like Russ Carnahan is getting Weiner Schnitzeled. Boo hoo.

Category: Missouri

The 2010 Restraining Order Sets Up The 2012 Cage Match

Posted on | March 31, 2011 | 2 Comments

by Smitty

No good deed goes unpunished. All the time and effort expended on the 2010 elections starts to pay off next week, as Yuval Levin reports at The Corner:

Apparently the House Budget Committee will take up the 2012 budget next week, and if the early leaks and reports are to be believed, the budget Republicans will propose will not only involve dramatic cuts in discretionary spending and reforms of the budget process to cap future spending but also exceptionally ambitious structural reforms of our entitlement system—the kind of reforms that can actually help us avert a debt crisis that otherwise seems nearly inevitable while allowing the economy to grow. House Republicans seem willing to lead where the president chose to punt.

As you love your liberty, you’ll not hesitate to step up and support (and keep on task) your GOP favorites in the effort for reform.
It’s still going to worsen before it improves, to make a very low-risk prediction. Remember: the Left hopes to reduce you to their level of despair.

Update: hopefully this will scratch Ace’s itch.

Category: Uncategorized
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