Wednesday, September 17, 2014

For both Tehran and Riyadh, securing – or reversing – the post-2003 balance of power in the region is the deeper interest guiding their responses to ISIL





INTERNATIONAL
NABIL AL-JURANI / AP

Iran warns US against using ISIL threat to push a hostile agenda

Analysis: Tehran has played a key role against ISIL in Iraq, but fears a Saudi effort to isolate and pressure Iran
Despite already having demonstrated its centrality to the campaign to push the Islamic State (ISIL) out of Iraq, Iran was pointedly excluded from Monday’s conference in Paris to forge a military coalition against the extremist group. And Tehran was far from happy, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lashing out against the Obama administration’s new war plans.
Khamenei decried the Paris conclave as a dangerous effort by the United States and Arab countries hostile to Iran to use the challenge of ISIL as an opportunity to promote an anti-Tehran agenda in Syria and throughout the region. “Iran sees this as an effort by Saudi Arabia and its allies, and the United States, to exert leverage and pressure on Iranian interests, to degrade or weaken Iranian influence in Syria,” said Reza Marashi, research director at the National Iranian American Council.
Khamenei called Secretary of State John Kerry a liar for saying in Paris that Iran had not been invited to join the coalition, listing numerous moments at which the U.S. had solicited Iranian involvement. “The West assembled a coalition of 40-50 countries against Syria and couldn’t do a damn thing,” Khamenei said, referring to Washington’s previous efforts to rally allies to oust Syria’s Assad regime, which remains a key ally of Iran.
While Kerry stressed that the U.S. would remain open to discussion with Iran, the administration faces an awkward challenge in balancing its awareness that Iranian cooperation is key to any prospect of successfully fighting ISIL in Iraq against the eagerness of Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies to roll back Tehran’s regional influence.
“Kerry’s remarks seemed to have irritated Khamenei greatly,” said Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi, a senior academic research fellow at the Riyadh-based King Faisal Institute for Research and Islamic Studies. “It was like Iran was being singled out and deprived of the right to participate because the U.S. deemed it such. He probably wants to counter the notion that the U.S. even possesses such a prerogative in Iran's own backyard.”
Khamenei recently played a key role in achieving a major U.S. goal in Iraq – easing out Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and securing his replacement by the more widely accepted Haydar al-Abadi, according to Sadeghi-Boroujerdi. Tehran certainly wields far more influence than Washington over Maliki and Abadi’s Dawa Party, and Khamenei has demonstrated pragmatism in encouraging a more inclusive approach by Abadi, who has with Iran’s approval – and also Washington’s and Riyadh’s – reined in Shia militias and reduced tensions with former Baathists and leading Sunnis.
“Abadi represents a ray of hope that demonstrates that all three sides [Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States] can engage in some tactical cooperating when their interests overlap,” says Marashi.
Even if the guest list in Paris suggested Iran had been excluded from the coalition against ISIL, the reality on the ground is more nuanced, according to several analysts and journalists in touch with U.S. and Iranian officials involved in bilateral discussions on the subject. “I think there is intelligence sharing between Iran and the U.S., there are deep contacts with key political players, there is coordination on the capture of ISIS fighters,” says Marashi, using another acronym for ISIL.
Iran is already involved in fighting ISIL inside Iraq, coordinating closely with the key Iraqi players on whom the U.S. will rely to fight the ground war – the Kurdistan regional government and the Baghdad government. Ghasem Soleimani, the commander of the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force, stepped into Iraq as soon as ISIL began its dramatic late-summer advance and helped repel the group’s fighters from the town of Amerli — a battle in which U.S. air strikes played an important role. 
But even if Soleimani and the Revolutionary Guards may share U.S. and even Saudi goals in combating ISIL in Iraq, even any such tacit accord ends at the border with Syria, where Tehran and Riyadh back opposite sites in the three-year civil war — in keeping with their wider regional strategic rivalry. “Iran wants to ensure that key areas and towns that provide key logistical support to Hezbollah are guaranteed,” says Sadeghi-Boroujerdi. “There’s such a deep Saudi-Iranian divide over key regional stakes, but Iraq could be a venue where they could achieve some mutually beneficial small gains.”
Saudi Arabia, Kerry said in Paris, had threatened to pull out of the talks should Iran be invited, and rejects diplomatic rapprochement between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear problem. Iran’s leaders have taken political risks at home to seek nuclear compromise with the U.S., and for them the prospect of another U.S. military foray into the region falls at an unwelcome time. Hence, Iran is flexing its muscles, not only with Khamenei’s rhetoric but also in demonstrating its willingness to fight ISIL on the ground.
Still, should the Paris coalition take steps that diminish the ISIL threat in Iraq, that would ultimately be welcomed by Iran, said Dina Esfandiary of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. “Iran has been bearing the burden largely alone so far, and whatever they do in Iraq means they can do less in Syria.”
For both Tehran and Riyadh, securing – or reversing – the post-2003 balance of power in the region is the deeper interest guiding their responses to ISIL. The U.S. invasion of Iraq toppled Iran’s most dangerous enemy and turned Baghdad into a capital friendly to Tehran. “Iran wants to preserve its strategic depth following the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq,” said Sadeghi-Boroujerdi. “But Saudi and the Arab Gulf states would no doubt like a return to pre-2003 or at least ensure that Iran does not cast such a significant shadow over Baghdad.”
Thus, Khamenei’s belligerent language on Monday. He had checked into a hospital for prostate surgery a week ago, assured that Soleimani was handling Iraq and that nuclear talks would soon resume in New York. He re-emerged into a world in which the Obama administration is initiating a new Middle East fight from the skies, abetted by Saudi Arabia, and excluding Iran from a place at the table. The U.S., Khamenei warned, was taking the ISIL crisis as an opportunity to push its way back into the region. “They should know,” he said, “that if they pursue such a course, they will face the same problems in Iraq that they faced ten years ago.”

Will Iran get involved in the Isis fight?

126 comments:

  1. I watched the BBC video at the bottom of the post three times. ISIS is nothing more than the stench on the corpse. There is no perfume that will cover this chaotic disaster.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bush left Obama an intractable mess. The damage done by Bush and the Neocons to Iraq, Syria and spreading through the region and ultimately to the US is impossible to exaggerate.

    Obama could not have managed this with less than the number of US troops that Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld committed to the calamity of the Clusterfuck including all the paid US mercenaries. There was no possible surge that could have held this together. It is an historic forensic nightmare caused by incomprehensible stupidity, ignorance, recklessness and institutional malfeasance on a scale only Washington could create. We now have an even worse choice, to pick a side or don’t. To get involved or not. Each choice is worse than the other with an unpredictable outcome that at its best will be horrific and that in itself is probably overly optimistic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nah.

      Bush gave 'em a shot at a new way of life.

      Obama, Maliki and ancient animosities blew it.

      A few troops and air power and ISIS would still be in Syria.

      We must look on the bright side. The Egyptian Army is back in the saddle. Libya is dysfunctional. So is Syria. So is Iraq. Kurdistan may come into formal being.

      The guiding star: do that which weakens Islam as a whole or any Islamic nation.

      Looked at from this point of view, hell, it almost seems if we ought to be having a drink.



      Delete
    2. If O'Zero had given word one of support to those who wished to overthrow the Mullahs in Iran, even Iran might be a bright spot today !

      Delete
    3. Bush began the implementation of the Israeli "Yinon Plan".
      Even if HE did not know it. The people advising him certainly did.

      Da ho Bob is celebrating the destruction of Iraq, Syria and Libya. Calls it the 'Bright Side", just as the Zionists like Lester Crown do.

      Delete
    4. Funny that da ho Bob does not give credit for those successes, that "Bright Side" reality, to the US.

      The only solace to reading da ho Bob's missives, he admits he is always wrong about politics.

      Delete
  3. It's a "Lutheran moment".

    Luther's advice:

    Sin Bravely
    (sin = error, missing the mark, not molesting the neighbors daughter)

    Error Bravely

    There is a 'situation' but we are not certain what to do, which course to choose. Even doing nothing is a choice, like not voting.

    Giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, we all wish to do 'the right thing', the 'best thing'. But what is that?

    It is too complex. Too many players. Too shifting. We don't know enough. There are those unknown unknowns.

    Luther's advice:

    Think deeply, try to choose wisely, and then....try not to worry about it too much.

    Sin Bravely

    And if it all goes to hell?

    Take consolation in the fact that you gave it your honest best shot.

    That is sinning bravely.

    ReplyDelete
  4. “ How dreadful are the curses that Mohammedanism lays on its votaries.”

    Winston Churchill

    The River War 1899


    ReplyDelete
  5. I don’t think Neocon Light is going to be able to fix the damage done by Mission Accomplished .

    How could we have spent so much money, time, talent, political capital and lives on a country and a military that has almost unlimited access to foreign capital and foreign exchange yet cannot launch its own attack helicopters and fighter planes against a force with no aircraft or air defense in its own country?

    Where will be the difference this time?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Only if US ground forces, troops deployed in combat formations, stay out of the fray.
      If it is local proxies doing the fighting, there will be a major difference.

      The US military will not like it, but they are not needed in Iraq, never were.

      Delete
  6. A couple of Hundred $Billion / Yr in Ground Troops.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just think of it as a Strategic enlargement / upgrade of White Sands.

      Delete
  7. Vice President Joe Biden drew fire from a prominent Jewish group on Tuesday after he described unscrupulous bankers who prey on servicemen and servicewomen deployed overseas as “Shylocks” — a term frequently condemned as an anti-Semitic caricature.

    “Shylock represents the medieval stereotype about Jews and remains an offensive characterization to this day. The Vice President should have been more careful,” Anti-Defamation League National Director Abraham Foxman said.

    Shylock, the villain in Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice,” is a Jewish moneylender who mercilessly demands a “pound of flesh” from the merchant who defaults on a loan. Whether the 16th-century play is anti-Semitic or reflects the anti-Semitism of the time is a subject of frequent, bitter debate, but the term Shylock is offensive enough that Florida stripped it from state law back in 2009. (Not everyone has gotten that memo).

    “When someone as friendly to the Jewish community and open and tolerant an individual as is Vice President Joe Biden, uses the term 'Shylocked’ to describe unscrupulous moneylenders dealing with service men and women, we see once again how deeply embedded this stereotype about Jews is in society,” Foxman said.

    I know that Jews are oversensitive about certain phrases and words...

    Shylock, Shyster, Kike, Israelfirster, 5thColumn, Occupier, Christkiller and a dozen others...

    What can we say?

    After all Jews have never had any discrimination, pogroms, mass murder, terror aimed at them, it's just a figment of our imagination...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In the US have Jews have never had discrimination, pogroms, mass murder, terror aimed at them.
      As far as the United States is concerned it's just a figment of Jewish imagination ...

      Professional victims and looters, those banker Shylocks.

      Delete
    2. If the looter Shylock happens to be a Jew, so what?

      They do not get a pass, because they are.

      Delete
    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    4. If anyone in the US has foreign loyalties, if they put a foreign nation first ...
      Well, it makes absolutely no difference what foreign nation it is.

      "The man who calls himself an American citizen and who yet shows by his actions that he is primarily the citizen of a foreign land, plays a thoroughly mischievous part in the life of our body politic.

      He has no place here; and the sooner he returns to the land to which he feels his real heart-allegiance, the better it will be for every good American.”

      Theodore Roosevelt

      Delete
    5. Looks as if "O"rdure wants his little group to be judged by a "Special Standard".
      Held to a different set of values than the rest of the people in the US.

      Given a pass, because ....

      Delete
    6. Jack HawkinsWed Sep 17, 08:17:00 AM EDT
      In the US have Jews have never had discrimination, pogroms, mass murder, terror aimed at them.
      As far as the United States is concerned it's just a figment of Jewish imagination ...

      Professional victims and looters, those banker Shylocks.


      The way you speak allows no honest discussion.

      You are the Johnny Cochran of the blog.

      Notice how you set up an argument to have to include the entire list of slights to be valid.

      You state: "In the US have Jews have never had discrimination, pogroms, mass murder, terror aimed at them. "

      Like ALL of the examples must be demonstrated to prove a point...

      To which my response is?

      FUCK YOU ASSHOLE.

      Delete
    7. "O"rdure is losing it ...

      Poor little "O"rdure, without his "special semite" status, he is just another short, fat European.

      Delete
    8. Who said I was short?

      And I am an American. The Europeans never considered me one of them, only considered me good enough for the gas chambers.

      I have no "special" status except the right to carry a weapon… :)

      Delete
    9. But when JackShit is presented with his lies and distortions?

      Does he answer the charge?

      NOPE, he changes the subject…

      COWARD...

      Delete

  8. Russia: ‘Free Syrian Army No Longer Exists’; Rebels Are Coordinating With Terrorists

    Russia’s ambassador in Geneva Alexey Borodavkin during a session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, ... used his intervention in Geneva to chide countries – especially Western countries opposed to Syrian President Bashar Assad – for their approach to the three-and-a-half-year civil war.

    “It’s clearer than ever that the real threat to Syrian statehood and the whole region is the activity of terrorist groups,” he said.

    “I’d like to remind you that Russia right from the beginning suggested that we unite the efforts of the international community, the Syrian authorities and the moderate opposition to combat jihadists.

    “If we had been heard at the time, the spread of this cancerous tumor could have been stopped,” Borodavkin said.

    “Now, regrettably, we must admit that our worst scenarios have materialized: the Islamic State [ISIS] has seized a third of the country’s territory, have proclaimed the Syrian city of Raqqa as a capital of their ‘caliphate’ and is committing heinous crimes. This is supplemented by violent raging of other terrorist groups.”

    The Russian envoy said the new international focus on countering ISIS was to be welcomed, citing a meeting convened by France on Monday at which 26 countries, Russia and the U.S. among them, expressed support for a broad campaign against the jihadist group.

    Russia was willing to contribute to the effort, he said.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Islamic State fighter Abu Atheer also told Al-Jazeera, “We are buying weapons from the FSA. we bought 200 anti-aircraft missiles and Koncourse anti tank weapons. We have good relations with our brothers in the FSA. For us, the infidels are those who cooperate with the West to fight Islam.”

    In addition, a recent study by Conflict Armament Research revealed that Islamic State militants obtained U.S. supplied weapons, including M16 assault rifles, which were originally smuggled out of Jordan and provided to so-called “moderate” FSA rebels.

    ISIS terrorists also acquired M79 rockets which were initially given to FSA rebels by Saudi Arabia. The rockets, “were part of the arms shipments from Croatia that were meant for the Free Syrian Army. The weapons were either captured, or acquired by former FSA fighters as they joined ISIS,” reports LJR Review.

    Arab allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Jordan have all provided funding, weapons and training for Islamic State militants.

    As the Daily Beast’s Josh Rogin documents, “The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), now threatening Baghdad, was funded for years by wealthy donors in Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, three U.S. allies that have dual agendas in the war on terror.”

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OH, NOES, de ISIS has de M79 Rockets!!!

      The M79 is a shoulder-fired grenade launcher.

      Delete
  10. Russia has plenty of oil. WE need that giant filling station called "the Middle East."

    It's to our benefit that it doesn't spiral completely out of control.

    ReplyDelete

  11. U.S. consumer prices post first decline in 16 months

    http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/17/us-usa-economy-inflation-idUSKBN0HC18620140917?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=71&google_editors_picks=true

    ReplyDelete
  12. The thing that makes me the most optimistic about the President's strategy is that all the right people are against it (Russians, Iranian Mullahs, Liberal Dems, Right Wing Republicans, etc.)

    Also, of course, the fact that it's killing headcutters on a daily basis.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :):):)

      This is called 'clutching at straws'

      "Liberal Dems, Right Wing Republicans, etc.........."

      Yup, everyone is against it, we must be on the right track.

      Ho Ho Hohoho

      Bwaha

      Delete
  13. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_DEMPSEY_ISLAMIC_STATE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-09-17-01-30-17
    DEMPSEY: HALF OF IRAQI ARMY NOT OK AS US PARTNERS

    Given a couple years of serious training of Syrians and Iraqis and "Operation Overlord" will be ready for launch.

    After nearly a decade of training Iraqi troops, we now discover that about 1/2 cannot be trusted in battle. Who was in charge of all that expensive training and equipping of the fearsome Iraqi Army? Why, none other than General Dempsey. This time, however, he will make sure it gets done right.

    While the US plays soldier with duplicitous Syrians and Iraqis for the next "x" years, ISIS will be doing nothing? Right

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It may be "liberating" the Levant, allen.

      It'll be good, though, because ...

      Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren told the Jerusalem Post that Israel so wanted Assad out and his Iranian backers weakened, that Israel would accept al-Qaeda operatives taking power in Syria.

      “We always wanted Bashar Assad to go, we always preferred the bad guys who weren’t backed by Iran to the bad guys who were backed by Iran.”

      Even if the other “bad guys” were affiliated with al-Qaeda.
      “We understand that they are pretty bad guys,” Oren said in the interview.


      http://www.jpost.com/Syria-Crisis/Oren-Jerusalem-has-wanted-Assad-ousted-since-the-outbreak-of-the-Syrian-civil-war-326328

      Delete
    2. Bad guys backed by Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are preferred over bad guys backed by Iran, at least preferred by Israel.

      The "Yinon Plan" is being implemented, Israeli wishes are being fulfilled.
      There is an old line ...
      "Be careful what you wish for."

      But more on that, later.

      Delete
    3. Jack HawkinsWed Sep 17, 11:40:00 AM EDT
      It may be "liberating" the Levant, allen.

      It'll be good, though, because ...

      Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren told the Jerusalem Post that Israel so wanted Assad out and his Iranian backers weakened, that Israel would accept al-Qaeda operatives taking power in Syria.



      Always living in the snip and paste past…

      Oren is no longer part of the Israeli government.

      When JackShit is presented with anything?

      He pastes out of date, out of context quotes or changes the subject.

      This is why there is no discussion of any issue with the "johnnie cochran" of the blog…

      Ever the narcissist, not capable of reasonable discussion or exchange of ideas or thoughts

      Delete
  14. I imagine that, Today, some more ISIS fighters will be busy joining up with their "72 Virgins."

    And, others will be pulling back from their present positions (ie. bugging out.)

    None will be "advancing."

    ReplyDelete
  15. There are three basic options available, concerning ISIS

    1. Do nothing
    2. Do as little as possible
    3. Do a lot.

    Option 1, does not seem to be on the table.
    Option 3, well, allen describes how a decade of that did not work out well.
    Leaving US Option 2. "Do as little as possible".

    Hopefully that is the course the US will follow. Air support for our allies should be enough.
    US funding of the FSA would be a bad move. We should leave that to the Saudi.

    ReplyDelete
  16. President Obama does not want US to commit ground forces and the Iraqi do not want US ground troops in their country.

    :Iraq PM Says Foreign Ground Troops Not Necessary In Fight Against ISIS - Huffington Post

    Easy Peasy Deal. Supplying what the Iraqi government asks for.

    ReplyDelete
  17. "We don't want them. We won't allow them"

    Iraq neither wants nor needs foreign ground troops in its battle against Islamist militants who have strongholds in the norther part of the country, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Wednesday.

    “Not only is it not necessary,” Abadi told the Associated Press. “We don’t want them. We won’t allow them. Full stop.”


    Iraqi Leader Says No to Foreign Ground Troops
    http://time.com/3393318/isil-isis-iraq-barack-obama/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Some would have US invade Iraq, to save it.

      Been there, done that.
      Instead of a replay of GW Bush failures it is time for the ...

      "Rat Doctrine"

      Delete

  18. AP Interview: Iraq premier says no foreign troops

    ReplyDelete
  19. That Ted Roosevelt......

    Had the gangrene in his leg cut out with a knife without anaesthesia down there in the Amazon.....

    This is truly Quirkian......

    ReplyDelete
  20. I see General Rat -o - Rooter is passing an unusually large amount of gas this fine morning.

    ReplyDelete



  21. Jack HawkinsWed Sep 17, 11:53:00 AM EDT

    There are three basic options available, concerning ISIS

    1. Do nothing
    2. Do as little as possible
    3. Do a lot.


    Now here is a breathtaking breakthrough in thought.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. a full% has been plagiarized by Jack.

      Hardly Working: The Overachieving Underperformer's Guide to Doing as Little as Possible in the Office

      Hardly Working is for anyone lucky enough to have a job, smart enough to want to keep it, and savvy enough to know there's a better way than giving in to the daily grind.
      Author Chris Morran, soon to be hailed as an idol of idleness, has penned the definitive guide to doing as little as possible in the office. His do nothing know how has been honed by years of dodging supervisors, avoiding responsibility, and crafting elaborate schemes to squeeze some "me" time into a workday dominated by corporate concerns.

      Everyone could use a little more time to browse the Web, play Solitaire, or sleep off a big lunch. Hardly Working teaches you how to do it consequence-free, with strategies for arriving late without being noticed; techniques for stretching your lunch break to three hours or more; advice on arranging office clutter to appear hopelessly busy; and much, much more!

      Delete
    2. All Jackrat has to do is sit, type, pass gas.

      What a life, what a fate.

      Delete
  22. Iowa’s Joni Ernst isn’t out yet: New poll shows her with a majority support


    posted at 10:41 am on September 17, 2014 by Noah Rothman

    Iowa state Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Red Oak), the GOP’s senatorial nominee this cycle in the race to replace retiring Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), is a capable candidate with a strong biography. She faces a gaffe-prone Democratic opponent who is running against the 2014’s natural headwinds in his effort to keep Harkin’s seat for his party. Still, the polls show that this purple state continues to look more blue than red.

    It has been a long time since a poll emerged showing Ernst with a lead over her opponent, Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA), much less a solid one. A CBS News/New York Times/YouGov poll taken over the course of most of July with an undisclosed sample showed the race statistically tied with Ernst in the lead, but the GOP standard-bearer has not enjoyed even a modest lead in any poll released since then. Until today.

    According to the latest Quinnipiac survey, Ernst leads Braley with the support of a majority of Iowa voters at 50 to 44 percent. She has shrunk the gender gap among women to a practically imperceptible 6 points. Ernst as the support of 50 percent of independent voters to 43 percent who back Braley. What’s more, Quinnipiac found Ernst is just more likable than Braley.

    “By a 45 – 39 percent margin, Iowa likely voters have a favorable opinion of Ernst.” Quinnipiac noted. “Braley gets a 38 percent favorability rating, while 41 percent have an unfavorable opinion of him.”

    The good news in this poll for the GOP candidate just keeps coming.................

    http://hotair.com/archives/2014/09/17/iowas-joni-ernst-isnt-out-yet-new-poll-shows-her-with-a-majority-support/



    If Iowa is going to turn red, now is the time.

    ReplyDelete
  23. And..............

    September 17, 2014

    Great poll numbers today for GOP

    By Richard Baehr

    The Real Clear Politics summary of the latest polls has good news for the GOP today.
    Quinnipiac is a decent pollster with a large sample, and they have Republican Senate candidate Jodi Ernst up 6 in Iowa today. Democrat incumbent Braley has led in all recent polls.



    iIn Colorado, the GOP governor candidate, Beuaprez is up 10. That seems unlikely to me, but if it is even a few point lead, that means that the Colorado Senate race is still a tossup.

    Rick Scott is up 5 over Charlie Crist in the Florida governor’s race.

    The CBS/New York Times poll has the GOP up 7 in the generic vote. This is consistent with Quinnipiac polls.

    The congressional races are interesting, too. Mike Grimm, the Staten Island congressman who might go to jail was considered a goner, yet he is up 4. In Democrat-held California 52, considered a toss-up, the race is basically tied.

    This cycle Rasmussen polls have been very unfavorable for Republicans, and give Obama his highest approval scores by far. I think he made adjustments to his model after criticism from Nate Silver and others, and probably tweaked it too far the other way. Every pollster has a raw sample response, and then usually adjusts results for the presumed appropriate partisan split.


    The Real Clear Politics summary of the latest polls has good news for the GOP today.

    Quinnipiac is a decent pollster with a large sample, and they have Republican Senate candidate Jodi Ernst up 6 in Iowa today. Democrat incumbent Braley has led in all recent polls.

    iIn Colorado, the GOP governor candidate, Beuaprez is up 10. That seems unlikely to me, but if it is even a few point lead, that means that the Colorado Senate race is still a tossup.

    Rick Scott is up 5 over Charlie Crist in the Florida governor’s race.

    The CBS/New York Times poll has the GOP up 7 in the generic vote. This is consistent with Quinnipiac polls.

    The congressional races are interesting, too. Mike Grimm, the Staten Island congressman who might go to jail was considered a goner, yet he is up 4. In Democrat-held California 52, considered a toss-up, the race is basically tied.

    This cycle Rasmussen polls have been very unfavorable for Republicans, and give Obama his highest approval scores by far. I think he made adjustments to his model after criticism from Nate Silver and others, and probably tweaked it too far the other way. Every pollster has a raw sample response, and then usually adjusts results for the presumed appropriate partisan split.


    Read more: http://americanthinker.com/blog/2014/09/great_poll_numbers_today_for_gop.html#ixzz3DauHWjWC
    Follow us: @AmericanThinker on Twitter | AmericanThinker on Facebook

    ReplyDelete
  24. And.........

    Scandalabra

    The Scandals Are Catching Up With Mary Landrieu

    Looks like the last straw, Mary.

    By Scott McKay – 9.16.14

    http://spectator.org/articles/60431/scandals-are-catching-mary-landrieu

    ReplyDelete
  25. Polls from RCP - Iowa Senate - Ernst v Braley

    http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/senate/ia/iowa_senate_ernst_vs_braley-3990.html


    Braley up +0.2

    ReplyDelete
  26. Jack HawkinsWed Sep 17, 08:17:00 AM EDT

    In the US have Jews have never had discrimination, pogroms, mass murder, terror aimed at them.

    .....

    Pogroms, mass murder no.

    Terror yes, occasionally, discrimination yes.

    In earlier days in the USA Jews were regularly discriminated against in social clubs and denied entry into certain colleges and universities as well........

    Thankfully we are not Europe, and, the earlier discriminations have now vanished.




    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. first Jews to North America 1654, New Amsterdam...discrimination followed immediately...

      Delete
    2. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history/2012/03/ulysses_s_grant_and_general_orders_no_11_how_the_infamous_order_changed_the_lives_of_jews_in_america_.html
      When Gen. Grant Expelled the Jews

      General Orders No. 11

      Delete
    3. New Amsterdam, never part of the United States


      Expelled, what a phoney word, fired would be more appropriate.
      “The Jews, as a class violating every regulation of trade established by the Treasury Department and also department orders, are hereby expelled from the department within twenty-four hours from the receipt of this order.”

      Comparing firing a set of bureaucrat to pogroms, mass murder, terror ...
      No death camps, no "expulsion" from the US.

      If that is the 'best' you can do, allen.
      You got nothing.

      Delete
  27. Stanford Prof Who Claimed Police Brutality Caused by Subliminal Monkeys Wins MacArthur “Genius” Grant

    September 17, 2014 by Daniel Greenfield 5 Comments

    Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is a New York writer focusing on radical Islam. He is completing a book on the international challenges America faces in the 21st century.


    JESSE JACKSON tin-foil-hat photo

    Genius doesn’t mean what it used to. The only genius in the MacArthur “Genius” Grant is in its branding and promotion. It usually goes to boring liberal hacks pushing the same boring predictable agenda.



    Or in some cases it goes to groundbreaking geniuses like Stanford Social psychologist Jennifer Eberhardt whose work is so ridiculous that it’s a sitcom punch line.

    You already know that things are going to be bad because of the “social psychologist” part of the title. Social psychology is one of those fields that serves as a spawning ground for demented leftist ideas while producing nothing useful.

    Jennifer Eberhardt’s work is a case in point.


    In one study, for example, we exposed some participants to words such as “chimp,” “gorilla” and “orangutan,” flashed on a computer screen at such a rapid rate that they could not be consciously detected. Next, we asked all the participants to watch a two-minute videotape of police officers who had surrounded a suspect and were violently subduing him. Some participants were led to believe that the suspect was white; others were led to believe he was black.

    What did we find?

    When the participants were led to believe that the suspect was white, exposing them to the ape words beforehand made no difference in their judgments about the use of force displayed in the video. However, when participants believed the suspect was black, those who were exposed to the words thought the police officers were more justified in the amount of force they used. They thought that the black suspect deserved the violence that was directed at him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let’s assume that the results here weren’t manipulated, which they probably were, what exactly does it establish? That white people hate monkeys? That white people support police brutality because they think black people are chimpanzees?

      The entire idea that people pick up subconsciously on words that they can’t see and that their behavior is then shaped by it is considered scientifically dubious.



      This goes back to James Vicary who promoted himself with claims that he could get people to drink coca cola in theaters by flashing subliminal messages.


      “In 1957 Vicary conducted his research in to subliminal messaging. He used a movie theater in Fort Lee, New Jersey, and over a 6 week period he tested subliminal messaging on over 45,000 movie goers.

      While the patrons watched a movie, Vicary displayed 2 subliminal messages – on stating “Eat Popcorn” and another stating “Drink Coca-Cola”. The messages were text based subliminal messages and were displayed much faster than the human eye can see – they flashed on the screen for 3/1000s of 1 second – and they were displayed once every 5 seconds.

      Results were taken by comparing the current 6 weeks sales of Coca Cola and popcorn to sales figures from the previous 6 weeks. The difference was phenomenal:

      Popcorn sales had risen by 57%
      Coca Cola sales rose by 18.1%

      Except it was all a lie. Vicary was a fraud. So is Eberhardt.

      The difference is that Eberhardt probably knows a lot more ways to manipulate the outcome. It works better with people who are tired and people who have been set up to provide a particular response.

      You can get people to more readily pick a word if they’ve been subliminally prompted for it and even that is debatable. But that hasn’t stopped a proliferation of “If you show people X and they process it subconsciously, they’ll be more likely to Y” studies out of the soft sciences.

      Delete
    2. But here’s more Eberthardt


      We read every article published about these cases in the Philadelphia Inquirer, from the time the crime was first reported to the sentencing of those arrested, and we tallied the number of ape-related metaphors that appeared in print — things such as “an urban jungle” and “aping a victim’s screams.” Not only were black men and their crimes much more likely to be described in apelike terms, but the number of ape-related metaphors predicted the likelihood that a defendant would be sentenced to death.

      Once the jury is sequestered, they aren’t supposed to read the Inquirer. And cities have been called an urban jungle in numerous contexts. That’s a more likely description of a more brutal crime.

      Jennifer Eberhardt has set up the outcome of her “research” by selecting the criteria. It’s a common problem in the soft sciences, which use ridiculous criteria to reach their premeditated conclusions.

      She isn’t even particularly original. The left has been banging away at this for some time. I recall one survey which asked people if gorillas had black or white skin underneath their fur. If people answered black skin, it was assumed that they were racist.

      I hope whoever came up with that one got a genius grant too.

      http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/stanford-prof-who-claimed-police-brutality-caused-by-subliminal-monkeys-wins-macarthur-genius-grant/

      Delete
    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    4. Surely this study is worthy of our Noble Ash.


      Perhaps Ash can apply the protocol to a study of Rat -O - Rooter and determine if he is being influenced by subliminal monkeys, or, perhaps, rats.

      Delete
  28. Back when Michigan legislators were debating whether to expand Medicaid in our state through the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”), Rick Snyder expressed his concern that our state didn’t “have enough capacity to put essentially 400,000 more people into a medical home model with a primary care environment, as opposed to having them simply go to an ER”.

    That’s the sort of “leadership” provided by Rick Snyder on this issue.

    Once Republican legislators finally figured out what a great deal this is for our state, they passed the legislation without giving it “immediate effect”, something they do for nearly every bill passed. This delayed the implementation of the program for several months, costing our state upwards of a half billion dollars in lost federal funding.

    Today, apparently, is a new day. Rick Snyder is now pivoting his campaign to run on Obamacare:


    Gov. Rick Snyder on Tuesday touted Michigan’s successful Medicaid expansion as part of his re-election bid, saying 63,000 more low-income adults have signed up than projected this year, with 3 ½ months left.

    The Republican governor said about 385,000 enrolled between April, when the Healthy Michigan program launched, and Monday. His administration had expected 322,000 signups by year’s end.

    “At that level, we’re adding over 9,000 patients a week,” Snyder said at an endorsement event at the Michigan State Medical Society, an East Lansing-based professional association of physicians. “It’s outstanding progress.”


    His embrace of a key component of the federal health care law roiled conservative activists. But Snyder’s campaign is hoping expanded Medicaid’s appeal among the broader electorate helps him in November.

    Good luck with that, Governor. For every person . . . . .

    Eclectablog

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      What bullshit. If it wasn't for Snyder the GOP legislature wouldn't have passed the Medicaid expansion. He was pushing it and trying to form a consensus for it from.

      Electa Blog

      Progressive News and Commentary



      Riiiight.

      .

      Delete
  29. The USAF decides to use some common sense

    Air Force officials say they're changing their policy on enlistment oaths and will allow airmen to omit the words "so help me God" if they choose.

    The decision comes after an airman at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada struck out the words on his Department of Defense reenlistment paperwork and ran up against a policy that prohibits omissions.

    The case went up to the Department of Defense General Counsel, which issued an opinion Wednesday saying the language could be left out if the airman preferred.

    Attorney Monica Miller of the American Humanist Association is representing the airman, who she says has requested anonymity for fear of retaliation.

    Miller says the airman was told by his commanders Aug. 25 that he must swear to God or leave the Air Force.

    ReplyDelete
  30. President Barack Obama today decisively silenced speculation by America’s generals that US ground troops could return to Iraq in a rare example of the White House publicly overruling the military.

    A day after US generals suggested that American troops may be needed to liberate jihadist-occupied cities in Iraq, Mr Obama promised soldiers: “I will not commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in Iraq."

    His emphatic statement at a Florida military base highlights the tensions between a president determined to avoid American casualties and commanders skeptical that Isil can be defeated with air power alone.

    Mr Obama was forced to repeat his pledge of “no boots on the ground" after General Martin Dempsey told a Senate hearing there may be situations where Iraqi forces need American advisers during combat.

    The suggestion angered and alarmed Mr Obama's liberal supporters and prompted the White House to hastily rule out the possibility of Americans on the front line.

    ReplyDelete
  31. So help me god, no boots on the ground

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wait just a goddam minute.

      You said some posts ago we have to do something. This cannot stand.

      Do you recall that?

      Your opinions flutter around like a butterfly.

      Do you remem

      Delete
    2. You really are challenged at comprehension. I’m noty going to take your hand and walk you through the thread. If you don’t understand something, don’t comment on it.

      Delete
  32. When I was a kid, I caddied on an all Jewish golf course, “No non-Jews allowed.” No one cared. I always got early loops, good tips and a free lunch. My only discrimination was left handed golfers and any golf bag that had tubes in it. They were good guys and good days. Different times. Move along.

    ReplyDelete
  33. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  34. I have mentioned all this stuff to my Niece.

    She is of the opinion it is all insane.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Just to interject an highly educated third world opinion..

    ReplyDelete
  36. She speaks five languages and her new boyfriend is a German citizen, a Hindu, who use to go to the same high school as her. He is PhD.

    Everyone should adopt an Hindu Niece, just to get away from the Tellie.

    I am elated over these recent developments in the life of my young beloved Niece.

    I am elated.

    She haS ZERO against the Jews.

    She is a WOMAN OF THE WORLD.







    ReplyDelete
  37. in this truly wonderful context, may we remind ourselves of Robert Frost's wonderful lines about:

    eyes meeting eyes

    He said once, "The high of excitement is seeing two village cultures meld into one another'

    I feel blessed to partake in this process with by beloved Niece.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Deuce, Bob's 0:38 PM post Has to come down.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Bob, you write of "culture," and "intelligence," and you post stupid, racist, juvenile stuff like that. If Deuce doesn't take it down, I'm through here.

    ReplyDelete
  40. I see above that "O"rdure does not want to talk about Israel policy in 2013, but has never had a problem talking about what happened in 1948.

    What a fraud he is.

    ISRAEL PREFERS al-QAEDA

    Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren told the Jerusalem Post that Israel so wanted Assad out and his Iranian backers weakened, that Israel would accept al-Qaeda operatives taking power in Syria.

    “We always wanted Bashar Assad to go, we always preferred the bad guys who weren’t backed by Iran to the bad guys who were backed by Iran.”

    Even if the other “bad guys” were affiliated with al-Qaeda.
    “We understand that they are pretty bad guys,” Oren said in the interview.


    http://www.jpost.com/Syria-Crisis/Oren-Jerusalem-has-wanted-Assad-ousted-since-the-outbreak-of-the-Syrian-civil-war-326328


    Israel - Founded by Terrorists and Sustained by Terrorism and now ... Allied with Islamic Terrorists


    In broad daylight, a Saudi-Israeli alliance


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Until one of the Israeli contingent can post a rebutal statememt from the current US Ambassador, Bibi or the Foreign Secretary of Israel, then Ambassador Oren's statement stands, and will be repeated.
      Because it bears repeating, it is important that as many US citizens as possible know where Israel stands, with regards to al-Qeada

      Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren told the Jerusalem Post that Israel so wanted Assad out and his Iranian backers weakened, that Israel would accept al-Qaeda operatives taking power in Syria.

      “We always wanted Bashar Assad to go, we always preferred the bad guys who weren’t backed by Iran to the bad guys who were backed by Iran.”

      Even if the other “bad guys” were affiliated with al-Qaeda.
      “We understand that they are pretty bad guys,” Oren said in the interview.


      http://www.jpost.com/Syria-Crisis/Oren-Jerusalem-has-wanted-Assad-ousted-since-the-outbreak-of-the-Syrian-civil-war-326328

      Delete
    2. Because ISIS is al-Qeada.

      The Israeli keep telling us that ISIS is Hamas, too.
      There is no genealogy that would lead us to believe them, as there is linking ISIS to al-Qeada.

      Israel would accept al-Qaeda operatives taking power in Syria.

      http://www.jpost.com/Syria-Crisis/Oren-Jerusalem-has-wanted-Assad-ousted-since-the-outbreak-of-the-Syrian-civil-war-326328

      Delete
    3. Just as Israeli government has accepted Hamas taking power in Gaza, Israel.

      Delete
    4. "The so-called “Palestinian autonomous areas” are Bantustans.
      These are restricted entities within the power structure of the Israeli Apartheid system."

      - N. Mandela

      The Bantustans of Gaza and the West Bank are part and parcel of Israel, which is a portion of Palestine.
      The circle of sovereignty, in Arabia ...
      ;-)

      Delete
    5. Then all Hamas members should be put to death as mass murdering criminals.

      :)

      Delete
  41. Guess I'll be riding with Rufus, in reference to Bob's comments.
    Now that I have read his hate filled trash.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sure that when Deuce sees it, he'll take care of it.

      Unlike some of us, he seems to have some sort of life. :)

      Delete
    2. Remember when Bob was obsessed with his “Jewish lawyer”. I am sure the real version was his “jew Lawyer”. An “ish” cleans it up, but he was called on it by Allen, who saw right through it. Bob has a problem in the he is racially obsessed. He can’t discuss anything without bringing up the J word. It must be some bizarre penance but it extends to bizarre relationships with his Indian niece, or Hindu niece, or brown niece. There is no escaping it with him.

      Now I have seen his prejudice against Polish, Italians, Jews, Mexicans, Arabs, Shiite, Persians and especially blacks. If I do a post that his hard on Israel,it is in his mind about the Jews. If i criticize black criminals, he results to the most vile racial epithets.

      He also has a woman problem and has called them every possible pejorative and personally harassed Melody and others.

      There is something wrong with Bob and about Bob.

      Delete
  42. Washington hospitals provided nearly $154 million less in charity care in the first half of this year than in the first half of 2013, in many cases boosting the hospitals’ bottom lines.

    Hospitals attributed the plunge in charity care — about 30 percent — to the Affordable Care Act’s focus on reducing the number of uninsured patients.

    This year, for the first time, low-income and uninsured patients whose care was previously covered under hospitals’ charity-care programs were able under the ACA to qualify for Medicaid coverage or subsidized private insurance.

    About 600,000 Washington residents signed up for health insurance through Medicaid under expanded eligibility guidelines or through private plans.

    Dividends

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Together, hospitals reported a 66 percent gain in total margin — the figure nonprofit hospitals report instead of profit — over the first half of 2013. For the first half of 2014, the aggregate margin for all hospitals reporting was nearly $720 million, compared with $435 million for the same period in 2013.

      The unaudited charity-care numbers, provided by the Washington State Hospital Association and publicly available at the state Department of Health, show wide variation, and not all hospitals have provided second-quarter figures for 2014. In addition, the numbers are likely to be adjusted later as hospitals reconcile their books after collecting on charges — or not — from patients and insurers.

      While the majority of the state’s hospitals experienced a drop in charity care in both the first and second quarters of this year, some

      Delete
  43. Deuce ☂Wed Sep 17, 06:27:00 PM EDT
    When I was a kid, I caddied on an all Jewish golf course, “No non-Jews allowed.” No one cared. I always got early loops, good tips and a free lunch. My only discrimination was left handed golfers and any golf bag that had tubes in it. They were good guys and good days. Different times. Move along.


    Baloney!

    ReplyDelete
  44. Rufus IIWed Sep 17, 07:30:00 PM EDT
    Bob, you write of "culture," and "intelligence," and you post stupid, racist, juvenile stuff like that. If Deuce doesn't take it down, I'm through here.

    ...poor baby... Hey, join Ms. T.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You Superior "Culturalists" hang together pretty close, don'tcha bud?

      Take your racism, and choke, asshole.

      Delete
    2. Why is it that it's always the high and mighty religious pricks that can't keep away from racial hatred, and obnoxiousness?

      Phony-assed racial "superiority," and the necessity of denigrating others for the color of their skin, or the origin of their grandparents?

      Delete
    3. Your are so delightful when you are angry. Aren't you glad I saved you from yourself?


      http://www.jta.org/1959/07/14/archive/numerous-sport-clubs-in-new-york-are-closed-to-jews-and-negroes
      Numerous Sport Clubs in New York Are Closed to Jews and Negroes

      Delete
    4. Freedom of association, a hallmark of liberty.

      Delete
  45. SORRY !

    I had the TEMERITY mention an old Fraternity Slogan--





    Idaho BobWed Sep 17, 06:38:00 PM EDT

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
    Reply






    Idaho BobWed Sep 17, 06:39:00 PM EDT

    I have mentioned all this stuff to my Niece.

    She is of the opinion it is all insane.
    ReplyDelete






    Idaho BobWed Sep 17, 06:42:00 PM EDT

    Just to interject an highly educated third world opinion..
    ReplyDelete






    Idaho BobWed Sep 17, 06:52:00 PM EDT

    She speaks five languages and her new boyfriend is a German citizen, a Hindu, who use to go to the same high school as her. He is PhD.

    Everyone should adopt an Hindu Niece, just to get away from the Tellie.

    I am elated over these recent developments in the life of my young beloved Niece.

    I am elated.

    She haS ZERO against the Jews.

    She is a WOMAN OF THE WORLD.








    ReplyDelete






    Idaho BobWed Sep 17, 07:00:00 PM EDT

    in this truly wonderful context, may we remind ourselves of Robert Frost's wonderful lines about:

    eyes meeting eyes

    He said once, "The high of excitement is seeing two village cultures meld into one another'

    I feel blessed to partake in this process with by beloved Niece.


    ReplyDelete






    Rufus IIWed Sep 17, 07:15:00 PM EDT

    Deuce, Bob's 0:38 PM post Has to come down.
    Reply

    Replies






    Rufus IIWed Sep 17, 07:16:00 PM EDT

    06:38







    Deuce ☂Wed Sep 17, 08:28:00 PM EDT

    I came , I saw, I deleted.







    Rufus IIWed Sep 17, 08:42:00 PM EDT

    Good job. :)







    Idaho BobWed Sep 17, 09:03:00 PM EDT

    #2 is the racist.

    Think of his ideas of Lincoln.

    Grow up Ruf.


    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

    I should have said:

    Long Live Southern Slavery

    Long Live Cherokee Slavery

    ...I guess.

    Sorry !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

    ReplyDelete
  46. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And just why not?

      You call me all sorts of stuff.

      And others do too

      You let it all pass

      Delete
    2. What is this shit with The Miller?

      Delete
  47. Fuck You Rufus.

    You drunken shit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Though I love you.

      You are so filled with (changing) convictions.

      (Like Quart)

      Delete
  48. As for the 'fact' that someone -- Crapper I think - affirmed not long ago, that the Hindus tend to marry light.....I have no idea.

    I will ask my Niece.

    I can affirm for my own self, I must have no tendencies that 'way' cause I have told her I want her in the next life, and she says she got me 'reserved'.

    :):):)

    And she ain't white and has the darkest hair ever.

    FUCK YOU RUFUS

    What I find disgusting about you IS YOUR LACK OF A BRAIN.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Deuce is working overtime vanishing my comments.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He is, he says, for Freedom of Speech.

      Delete
    2. I remove your most foolish scribblings and anything that has a scintilla of sense no matter how dull remains.

      Delete
    3. I leave some up as an example of why it is necessary to monitor and delete some of your comments.

      Delete
    4. You have lost your mind, and have not made any sense for months.

      Delete
    5. By the way, when is that threatened thread on religious thought going to come to pass?

      Chicken shit.

      I will rip you a new asshole, you illiterate lapser.

      Delete
    6. I deleted that comment but will paste it here to remind everyone what a fool you really are :

      Idaho BobWed Sep 17, 09:44:00 PM EDT
      Fuck the niggers.

      Delete

      Delete
    7. Spare us your religious thoughts.

      Delete
  50. I hate Lincoln because he was a political failure that unlike every other political leader in the Americas that ended slavery without a war, Lincoln drove the country into a 25 year depression after getting 600,000 Americans killed, hundreds of thousands wounded and disabled. Turned federal troops lose on American civilians to rape and pillage as well as doing more proportional damage to Southern cities than 911 did to NYC. He ordered the largest mass execution in US history and all in all was a disgusting human being that got shot instead of what he deserved, a public hanging.

    He was one of the greatest killers in US history.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
    2. You're a despicable old fool.

      Delete
    3. I deleted that comment but will paste it here to remind everyone what a fool you really are :

      Idaho BobWed Sep 17, 09:44:00 PM EDT
      Fuck the niggers.

      Delete

      Delete
  51. You hate Lincoln.

    Not a word about the sufferings of the slaves.

    Your ideas about Lincoln's sexuality are worthy of Rat - O- Rooter.

    Tell us true......you lost the place in Virginia, did you not?

    We all seek the truth here.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Full disclosure:

    On mom's side they had a family of slaves in Tennessee. They all got along well.

    They got wiped out in the Civil War.

    Tried to farm in Kansas.

    Failed.

    Moved west.

    It doesn't matter to me one way or the other.

    I remember how shocked I was when she told me....you had slaves?

    The situation was they actually got along well enough and worked the land together.

    They did not starve.

    It was the way it was.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Starvation is, by the way, a bummer.

    It was a plague to all the hunter/gathers/fishers everywhere.

    That is why anyone with any sense celebrates the coming of an agricultural society, that provides food.......and the idea of a University for...for the advance of us all.

    ReplyDelete
  54. Lincoln in the Lincoln-Douglas debates stated that negroes were in fact an inferior race. You want to know about the real Lincoln read about the real atrocities under Sherman, Ewing, Pope and Butler. Atlanta, after its surrender, was burned to the ground approximately 92% of the city. The Union army forcibly deported women and children. Sexual assaults on the women were so bad that even the Northern papers objected.Lincoln was aware of all of this.

    General John Pope ravaged the Virginia countryside stealing anything that they could lay their hands on. Lincoln was only too happy to use Irish and German mercenaries against Americans. General Benjamin Butler openly encouraged the raping of women in New Orleans. Palmerston, the British Prime Minister, wrote to Charles Francis Adams, the U.S. Minister in London the following concerning Butler's orders

    I will venture to say that no example can be found in the history of civilized nations till the publication of this order of a General guilty in cold blood of so infamous an act as deliberately to hand over the female inhabitants of a conquered city to the unbridled license of an unrestrained soldiery.


    There is plenty more about the real Lincoln, not the bullshit fed by government schools to make Lincoln out to be some icon of virtue.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete