COLLECTIVE MADNESS
“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."
In tribute to Ron Paul, who wants us to stay out of things -
ReplyDeleteOp-Ed Columnist
Obama’s Nightmare
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: November 13, 2012
The scandal engulfing two of our top military and intelligence officers could not be coming at a worse time: the Middle East has never been more unstable and closer to multiple, interconnected explosions. Virtually every American president since Dwight Eisenhower has had a Middle Eastern country that brought him grief. For Ike, it was Lebanon’s civil war and Israel’s Sinai invasion. For Lyndon Johnson, it was the 1967 Six-Day War. For Nixon, it was the 1973 war. For Carter, it was the Iranian Revolution. For Ronald Reagan, it was Lebanon. For George H.W. Bush, it was Iraq. For Bill Clinton, it was Al Qaeda and Afghanistan. For George W. Bush, it was Iraq and Afghanistan. For Barack Obama’s first term, it was Iran and Afghanistan, again. And for Obama’s second term, I fear that it could be the full nightmare — all of them at once. The whole Middle East erupts in one giant sound and light show of civil wars, states collapsing and refugee dislocations, as the keystone of the entire region — Syria — gets pulled asunder and the disorder spills across the neighborhood.
Josh Haner/The New York Times
Thomas L. Friedman
And you were worried about the “fiscal cliff.”
Ever since the start of the Syrian uprising/civil war, I’ve cautioned that while Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain and Tunisia implode, Syria would explode if a political resolution was not found quickly. That is exactly what’s happening.
The reason Syria explodes is because its borders are particularly artificial, and all its communities — Sunnis, Shiites, Alawites, Kurds, Druze and Christians — are linked to brethren in nearby countries and are trying to draw them in for help. Also, Sunni-led Saudi Arabia is fighting a proxy war against Shiite-led Iran in Syria and in Bahrain, which is the base of the United States Navy’s Fifth Fleet. Bahrain witnessed a host of bombings last week as the Sunni-led Bahraini regime stripped 31 Bahraini Shiite political activists of their citizenship. Meanwhile, someone in Syria decided to start lobbing mortars at Israel. And, Tuesday night, violent anti-government protests broke out across Jordan over gas price increases.
What to do? I continue to believe that the best way to understand the real options — and they are grim — is by studying Iraq, which, like Syria, is made up largely of Sunnis, Shiites, Christians and Kurds. Why didn’t Iraq explode outward like Syria after Saddam was removed? The answer: America.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/opinion/friedman-obamas-nightmare.html?hp
The comments are better than the article in many cases. Lively discussion.
The American majority will soon be getting what it deserves: Less freedom, less security and a lessor claim on real wealth as we move further into an age of redistribution. No pun intended, Rob Peter to pay Paul and you will always get Paul’s vote. (not Ron Paul)
ReplyDeleteThe average American has, without protest, surrendered to mediocrity and acceptance of a political system that goes to the highest bidder.
The concept of patriotism has been successfully degraded to support power hungry politicians rather than the constitutional ideals that used to define who we are.
Eventually, this will end, probably not well. However, a determined significant minority that resists the surrender of ethics and rights can defeat the statists.
During part one of his farewell speech to Congress, Rep. Ron Paul insisted that the internet remain free, as it is an important alternative to the “government media complex.”
ReplyDelete“The internet will provide the alternative to the government media complex that controls the news and most political propaganda,” Paul stated. “This is why it’s essential that the Internet remains free of government regulation.”
Hear, hear
Maybe we as a society are just low on oxytocin. See your pharmacist to enlarge your personal bubble.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.livescience.com/24753-men-oxytocin-love-hormone-fidelity.html
A chemical fix to the Jenny Syndrome?
Bubble, the only bubble I have is a not too bad remnant of a bubble ass that still turns heads.
DeleteOT: On the previous post regarding the high level military sexual scandals, a remarkable fact surfaces.
A woman in the US military is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by an insurgent.
Bag Scam
ReplyDeleteTeacher:
ReplyDeleteLittle Johnny, can you tell me the name of 3 great kings who have brought happiness and peace into people's lives?
Little Johnny answered:
Drin-king, smo-king, and bon-king.
When our lawn mower broke and wouldn't run, my wife kept hinting to me that I should get it fixed. But, somehow I always had something else to take care of first, the shed, the boat, making beer.. Always something more important to me. Finally she thought of a clever way to make her point.
ReplyDeleteWhen I arrived home one day, I found her seated in the tall grass, busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing scissors. I watched silently for a short time and then went into the house.. I was gone only a minute, and when I came out again I handed her a toothbrush. I said, "When you finish cutting the grass, you might as well sweep the driveway.."
The doctors say I will walk again, but I will always have a limp.
Video of the American People playing basketball -
ReplyDeletehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/video/2012/nov/14/the-worst-basketball-player-ever-video
Halloween Costume
ReplyDeleteDang, I'm not old enough for that one.
Delete“Our Constitution, which was intended to limit government power and abuse, has failed,” Paul said. “The Founders warned that a free society depends on a virtuous and moral people. The current crisis reflects that their concerns were justified.”
ReplyDeleteObama's campaign was the dirtiest, most dishonest, filthiest campaign in our history, even done to suggesting voting first time as sex with himself.
I certainly hope he goes down and it is Benghazi that gets him.
He left those people to die, and there would have been others had it not been for the bravery of a few people there.
Use the freedom of the internet while we have it!
ReplyDeletePlease keep up the posts on the Benghazi affair. I want to add that while I sharply criticized Petraeus, deservedly so, we should not allow his problems to distract us.
We must keep eyes on the administration for they will now move mountains to bury Petraeus and the CIA in blame and extricate itself from any Benghazi culpability.
Do not let that happen, keep all focus, pressure, intensity on the White House and the administration until every detail of this growing disgrace of government is fully exposed.
If pursued there is enough to bring down the administration, even impeachment if the congress has any backbone.
Ron Paul’s warning about US government sponsored violence is the most difficult for people to accept, but here is a current story on what is happening in Iraq today:
ReplyDeleteA series of car bombings and a roadside explosion have killed at least 26 people and injured more than 100 others across Iraq.
In Baghdad, a car bomb targeting an army general's convoy blew up near the Palestine hotel in an area frequented by foreigners, killing a guard in the convoy. General Qassim Nouri, in charge of security at the Baghdad municipality, was unhurt, according to police sources.
The explosion was in Firdos Square, famed for scenes of the toppling of the huge statue of Saddam Hussein shortly after the 2003 US-led invasion.
The deadliest blasts occurred in Kirkuk, a disputed ethnically mixed oil-rich governorate in northern Iraq that is frequently targeted by militants seeking to sow communal violence, where at least nine people were killed and 39 wounded.
South of Baghdad, in the village of Methatiya, near Hilla, a car bomb exploded in a marketplace, killing at least ten and injuring nine.
Al Jazeera's Jane Arraf, reporting from Baghdad, said the bombings were "a snapshot of the violence" still plaguing Iraq.
"In Kirkuk, a city disputed between Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen, there were at least three car bombs: one against the offices of a major Kurdish pary, one targeted a Turkmen party office, and another that hit a major road. That was in addition to car bombs in the city of Hilla, a Shia town. And one here in Baghdad that targeted an army general," she said.
"All in all, these same to be the major targets that have been frequent targets of violence: security forces, Shia and, increasingly, political parties in Kirkuk."
Another car bomb has detonated in the town of al-Hufriyah, in Wasit province, roughly 70km south of Baghdad.
Hospital sources there say two people were killed and eight injured in the explosion near a restaurant. Al-Hufriyah is a mainly Shia town, surrounded by a Sunni area which had reportedly been a stronghold of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
A car bomb also exploded in Baji, north of Baghdad, known for a major refinery, and yet another in Balad Rhuz, in Diyala province. A dozen people were wounded, but no fatalities have yet been reported.
Two bombs have also rocked Mosul, one at a police station and a second near an army patrol. At least five soldiers and two civilians were injured in the blast. Explosives experts also carried out controlled detonations of two further bombs found inside Mosul University.
The early morning violence comes a day before Muharram, which marks the Islamic new year on the lunar calendar.
“When they go after the UN ambassador … then they’ve got a problem with me.”
ReplyDeleteB-HO at propaganda presser
But when they go after the Libyan Ambassador, hell, they've got no problem at all, security having been told to stand down.
......
“Do not blame Caesar, blame the people of Rome who have so enthusiastically acclaimed and adored him and rejoiced in their loss of freedom and danced in his path and gave him triumphal processions. Blame the people who hail him when he speaks in the Forum of the ‘new, wonderful, good society’ which shall now be Rome’s, interpreted to mean: more money, more ease, more security, more living fatly at the expense of the industrious.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero
.
DeleteCry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war, That this foul deed shall smell above the earth. With carrion men, groaning for burial.
Marc Antony
(Well actually, Will Shakespeare)
.
Howl, howl, howl we are two legged dogs baying at the moon -
DeleteTomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring.
DeleteLeo, a stray, hath from the cold retreated, and upon my bed and upon my chest doth lay. Licketh his paws, and curleth his claws, he will not away.
DeleteWith a purr and a rub
DeleteI tamed the old bub
And trained him to fetch
And open the door for me
And warm milk
And tuna fish
Is next on the list for me
He WENT to bed not knowing what had happened to Ambassador Stevens and the next day went to Vegas for a fundraiser.
ReplyDeleteSo, Ambassador Rice, do you really think Obama will protect you if the chips are down? Don’t fool yourself, that “Obama thinks only of Obama bus” has bumped over quite a few folks who thought they were special in his eyes.
journeyintothewhirlwind on November 14, 2012 at 10:54 PM
....
For different reasons, these kids have it in for Obama, but I love their picture -
http://predicthistunpredictpast.blogspot.com/2012/04/picture-of-day-obama-weak-as.html
Requests from military voters for absentee ballots have dropped significantly since 2008, according to newly released statistics, prompting claims that the Department of Defense is dragging its feet in enacting a law meant to boost military voting.
ReplyDeleteThe drop in the battleground states of Virginia and Ohio is among the most pronounced. According to statistics released Monday by The Military Voter Protection Project, the number of absentee ballot requests by both military members and other overseas voters in the two states has dropped 70 percent since 2008.
Virginia had nearly 42,000 total requests in 2008, compared with a little more than 12,000 this year, according to the MVP Project. Ohio had more than 32,000 in 2008, compared with 9,700 this year. The number of military voters specifically -- as opposed to military and overseas voters -- was not broken down in the latest set of statistics, but military-only numbers released by the MVP Project in August documented a similar drop-off in applications.
At the time, military ballot requests in Virginia were down 92 percent. Several other states showed a precipitous drop since 2008, including Alabama, North Carolina and Florida.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/01/military-ballot-requests-down-in-key-battleground-states/#ixzz2CHbIr9ya
Can anyone, if this is true, say why this might be?
Aiding Obama's win was a devious suppression of the conservative vote. The conservative-leaning military vote has decreased drastically since 2010 due to the so-called Military Voter Protection Act that was enacted into law the year before. It has made it so difficult for overseas military personnel to obtain absentee ballots that in Virginia and Ohio there has been a 70% decrease in requests for ballots since 2008. In Virginia, almost 30,000 fewer overseas military voters requested ballots than in 2008. In Ohio, more than 20,000 fewer overseas military voters requested ballots. This is significant considering Obama won in both states by a little over 100,000 votes.
ReplyDeletehttp://townhall.com/columnists/rachelalexander/2012/11/11/obama_likely_won_reelection_through_election_fraud/page/2
It should be an easy matter to track the military votes.
I wonder if this is so, that their numbers were down so much, and if so, why.