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."

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Nancy Pelosi, Pussy Galore, really, is GOP a frat-boy institution?



Pelosi Galore

A new ad released by the Republican National Committee has reignited charges the party is acting in a sexist manner to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Prompting the latest round of criticism is a new RNC Web video that compares the speaker to "Bond girl" Pussy Galore, portraying Mrs. Pelosi as a crafty villainess and pitting her against the CIA by using clips from a news conference that accuses the CIA of misleading Congress over its interrogation policies.

Mrs. Pelosi is shown on a split screen with the "Goldfinger" villainess, while the tagline says "Starring Nancy Pelosi, the speaker." The ad closes with an image of a woman's barely clothed back and the tagline "Democrats Galore."

This ad was created in the midst of a barrage of criticism from the left that conservative pundits and talk-radio hosts were unfairly making fun of Mrs. Pelosi's purported Botox use and describing her as a "hag."


The RNC's comparison provided yet more grounds for liberals to chastise the Republicans, flying around the liberal blogosphere and prompting a great deal of both eye-rolling and delight as the Republicans have appeared to step into trouble again with women.

Liberal blogger Taylor Marsh wrote, "if the RNC doesn't have women in their leadership ranks or men who get this stuff and know bad taste when they see it, the Rush, Newt and Cheney Party (as they were aptly called on 'Hardball' yesterday) is truly nothing more than a frat boy institution. No offense to fraternities meant."
- Washington Times blog.

143 comments:

  1. Of course the world is getting scarier by the day, and if there was ever a time when we need the CIA to be in top form, it is now. Never mind the distractions of a few missiles or nuclear weapons in pakistan, North Korea or Iran, let's get down to the real issue, sexism.

    ReplyDelete
  2. "Pooosey"

    I remember Pussy Galore

    Pelosi is no pussy galore.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Pure politics, played by both sides. Funny actually. The GOP side shows a sense of humor, the reaction a lack of one.

    I think the video entertaining. Pelosi is really, really hurting the Dems. The only problem is, the Republicans are sooooooooooo down right now.

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  4. BTW, that's Pelosi Galore.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Gosh, guess nobody reads my priceless comments:
    ---
    Posted this on the 23rd from Gateway Pundit:

    Bang! Bang! GOP Fires on Pelosi in New Spy AdLiar Pelosi takes on the CIA with the theme song from 1964's Goldfinger playing in the background in the latest GOP ad.
    As Darleen Click says,
    "Hillarious!"No wonder the Far Left is hyperventilating.
    They say it's sexist:

    ReplyDelete
  6. Controversial Movie O.B.A.M.Nude Tells Story Of Coke-Snorting College Kid Who Makes Deal With the Devil & Later Socializes AmericaHope & Change Makes It to the Big Screen
    --
    O.B.A.M.Nude about a drug-snorting college kid who sells his soul to the devil and later socilizes America opens at the Hoboken International Film Festival this week.Here's the trailer:

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  7. Missed it Doug. I was planting trees.

    ReplyDelete
  8. ...offsetting my carbon footprint with oaks, hollies, elms, pines, cypress and sugar maples.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wish I was still planting trees:
    I can see some I planted on Google Maps, pretty weak cheese.
    ---
    "Inside 9-11" on National Geographic Channel

    ReplyDelete
  10. You planting Oaks on your property?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ms Pelosi, such a temper in a teapot.

    So far, the only politico damaged by the truth about waterboarding, is Ms Pelosi.

    Bring on the Truth Commission, then we'll all see the light1

    That's right... Bring it on!!

    It could be a crusade!!!

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  12. It is still the politics of personalities, rather than issues. As long as the GOP stays on that course, they'll continue to get bitch slapped, at the polls.

    To campaign against Ms Pelosit, will not help them win back a single District, here in AZ. Not a one.

    As whit says, their video is entertaining, but not providing much of a rallying point.

    A feel good moment, that'll energize their opponents, while leaving their supporters no where to go.
    Well, that's entertainment!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Same with the Powell v Cheney and Limbaugh kerfuffle:
    Perfect Grist for MSM Mill.
    (Rush removed himself from "GOP Head")
    but that won't get reported.
    ---
    Argument should be based on conservative values, not personalities, but on that, the GOP "Leadership" has no spine, or core beliefs.
    ...even as Blue State California votes for smaller Govt.
    (Again)

    ReplyDelete
  14. I was not aware that Jerry Brown carried out the will of the people re: Proposition 13.
    Running for Gov again (leading) he says running against 13 is still a loser.
    ---
    Schwarzenegger follows Brown's route "There's only one thing he can do and if he does it his legacy will be restored," says Steve Merksamer, who runs a big political law firm and was Gov. George Deukmejian's chief of staff. "He needs to follow through with what he said he'd do. There will be a lot of screaming and demonstrations, but he has to show bold, tough leadership. And, frankly, that is what the public expects."

    I asked Davis.

    "This is the closest we have come to a Prop. 13 revolt," the former governor said. "This was a smack-down. Now is the time you take to heart what the public is saying. What it's saying is, 'Look, you've already taxed us. We don't have any more money budgeted for Sacramento.' "

    Schwarzenegger must become a born-again slasher.

    ReplyDelete
  15. The GOP Lady ( ex E-Bay CEO Billionaire) running for Guv is pure conservative DyNoMite, so we shall see.

    ReplyDelete
  16. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  17. The Case Against Sotomayor-

    The New Republic - Jeffrey Rosen
    Indictments of Obama's front-runner to replace Souter.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Sonia who?

    President Obama to nominate Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court, sources tell CNN.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Gallegher has a sound byte of Sotomayor laughing about courts "making policy" and the audience cheering loudly.
    She claimed to be speaking off the record in public.
    ha ha
    ---
    (upshot: "all us realists KNOW courts write law by re-writing the Constitution.")

    ReplyDelete
  20. I know you are driven to distraction by my "relationship" to Sonia, Linear, but please put some effort into staying in the cognitive, the better to ward off your lustful desires to share in my earthy, earthly pleasures.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Obama on Judicial Proprieties:
    -

    "Can I relate to the accused?"
    If yes, add 1 point,
    No, subract 1.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Looked @my driver's license:
    Expired, March '06.
    Penance Time.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Did anyone notice Obama saying the other day, yes, I'd pay for the hip replacement surgery for my 83 year old aunt, because I"m rich now, but it's at the end of the scale, not really worth it, in a medical program?

    -----

    ReplyDelete
  24. You got insurance?

    Mine was expired by an hour the other day, when I was pulled over just for the heck of it, by a fellow with nothing to do, by the post office, after mailing a late midnight letter.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Soto originally a Bush 41 nomination.
    To replace another Brain Dead Bush 41 nomination - Souter.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I try and plant as many native species as possible.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Watch for moles.
    ----

    Today California's Great Court is to rule on the People's Vote on the marriage amendment.

    Can the people run their own affairs?

    ReplyDelete
  28. Bronx, NY--(HISPANIC PR WIRE)--September 17, 2007--

    “When exactly is this hanging of the judge?” the Honorable Sonia Sotomayor innocently questioned the founder of Urban Health Plan. While her portrait will bear the brunt of the hanging, the occasion to which the first Puerto Rican woman federal court judge refers will take place on September 21, 2007 at 11:00 a.m. when she is inducted into the Wall of Fame at Urban Health Plan, Inc.


    A fitting start to Hispanic Heritage Month, Judge Sotomayor will be honored for her years of service to the US judicial system and the American people. As only the second woman and second Puerto Rican to be appointed to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Judge Sotomayor has been a mentor and inspiration to the Latino community throughout her entire career. She will enjoy good company in Urban Health Plan’s Wall of Fame where her portrait will hang next to that of the 17th Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. Richard Carmona. Both are former patients of Urban Health Plan’s founder, Dr. Richard Izquierdo.

    Judge Sotomayor will be honored for her years of service to the US judicial system and the American people

    “Judge Sotomayor and Urban Health Plan really grew up together,” explains Paloma Hernandez, president and CEO of UHP. “We’re very proud of all she has accomplished, and we’re honored to induct her into our Wall of Fame.”

    Sonia Sotomayor spent her childhood in the Bronx. She was raised by a strong mother who emphasized the importance of hard work and education, two values that came to shape Sonia’s future successes. After graduating as valedictorian of her high school class, Sotomayor went on to earn degrees from Princeton in 1976 and Yale Law School in 1979. She then joined the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and later the prestigious private law firm of Pavia and Harcourt, where she spent four and a half years as a partner. In 1992 Sotomayor received a seat on the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

    Sotomayor became the center of controversy in 1997 when President Clinton announced her nomination for the Court of Appeals. Labeling her a “liberal” and “activist judge,” Republican Party forces tried to block her candidacy amid speculation she was in line to be the first Hispanic nominated to the Supreme Court. (Her name was in fact raised again by Senate Democrats in 2005 as a possible replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.) The Hispanic community rallied behind her nomination, and in 1998 the Honorable Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

    Urban Health Plan, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(3), federally qualified community health center licensed by New York State as an Article 28 Diagnostic and Treatment Center and certified by
    the Joint Commission. UHP has more than 30 years of experience delivering quality primary and specialty health care services to the residents of the South Bronx communities of Hunts Point, Morrisania and Mott Haven. In 2006, UHP delivered care to over 27,000 patients who accounted for 145,000 visits.

    ReplyDelete
  29. My tree planting (USDA/Fish and Game) actually went better than I had thought, before. Survival rate quite a bit higher. They stuck some little plastic circle tubes down in the ground around some of them this spring.

    ReplyDelete
  30. and certified by
    the Joint Commission.
    --
    -/

    Does that mean grandma gets her hip replacement?

    Or we all sit around and smoke a joint?

    Or what?

    Their self advertising write up sure hits all the feel good points, anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Bobal wrote:

    "Today California's Great Court is to rule on the People's Vote on the marriage amendment.

    Can the people run their own affairs?"


    What side of the issue are you on Bobal? Do you support the Constitution or do you believe that a simply majority can override the Constitution?

    ReplyDelete
  32. Do you think the RNC got permission to use those Bond elements in that ad? Doesn't look good pilfering copyrighted material when you pretend to be a party in favor of law and order!

    ReplyDelete
  33. About the prior post: I think someone mentioned, earlier, that there's a lot of difference between "passing a bill," and "spending money."

    ReplyDelete
  34. Proposition 8 amended the Constitution of California, at least until later today, when the court may annoucnce it's overruled it. Trouble I have is there's no end to it. How do you exclude polygamy, me marrying my sister, NAMBLA etc. We've argued all this before, many a time.

    The original Bond film that had Pussy in it was around 1965 or so, with Sean Connery

    ReplyDelete
  35. Prop 8 did not amend the US Constitution. You are begging the question Bobal - do you support 'the peoples will' (as in 50% plus 1) trumping the Constitution? Or do you stand up for the courts ability to uphold the Constitution of the US?

    ReplyDelete
  36. I suppose you're trying to refer to equal protection.

    Prop 8 equally denies me, you, and every other male the 'right' to marry another male.

    Let's see what the Cal. court does, Should be announced any time.

    ReplyDelete
  37. What a lot of people have against this legalizing gay marriage is *having listened to some of the arguments on the radio) soon it would taught in the California schools. And thus their kids being indoctrinated. And soon their religious institutions might well be attacked, as preaching 'hate', 'exclusion' or some such. You want to get poked in the ass, nobody else much cares, but they don't really want to support it with their tax money, or have their kids exposed to it by being taught about it in the schools.

    ReplyDelete
  38. All true, bob...but you should have used the past tense in your comment.

    Anyhow, check Drudge. Verdict's in.

    ReplyDelete
  39. The announcement of the decision caused outcry among a sea of demonstrators who had gathered in front of the San Francisco courthouse awaiting the ruling.

    Channeling Zena:

    Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

    ReplyDelete
  40. Sotomayor: Gun Ownership "Unconstitutional"

    Obama's Supreme Pick
    Nathan Figler
    American News Inc.
    May 26, 2009

    President Obama has made a bold choice to replace Supreme Court Justice David Souter with Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Ms. Sotomayor, if confirmed, would be the first Hispanic Justice and would be only the third woman on the Court.

    Sotomayor's resume is impressive, including a 1993 ruling in favor of a homeless man beaten by NYPD officers and her landmark decision in 2002 regarding terrorism suspects. In that case, she determined that suspects captured on the battlefield must receive all rights afforded to American citizens under the Constitution. Her controversial decision was later overturned by an Appellate Court, but still influenced current policy.

    Sotomayor is a graduate from Princeton University, where her legal theses included Race in the American Classroom, and Undying Injustice: American "Exceptionalism" and Permanent Bigotry, and Deadly Obsession: American Gun Culture. In this text, the student Sotomayor explained that the Second Amendment to the Constitution did not actually afford individual citizens the right to bear arms, but only duly conferred organizations, like the military. Instead of making guns illegal, she argues that they have been illegal for individuals to own since the passing of the Bill of Rights.

    Ms. Sotomayor's story is certainly one of success over adversity. Despite growing up in the projects, she has risen to become one of the most well-respected legal minds by the American left. Before joining the appeals court, Sotomayor was a legal consultant for the NYCLU.

    Even with her meteoric rise, the nominee still believes there is work to do. In a 1999 interview with a local author, Sotomayor stated that she believed that the United States, "...may never truly be fixed. Racism and economic warfare still crush the dreams of countless second-class citizens. The unfair dimensions of our culture are staggering. You cannot succeed if you are born poor; you simply cannot."

    The nomination is expected to go before the United States Senate where Republicans may give a strong fight against what may be considered "judicial activism."

    ReplyDelete
  41. I don't think, doug, that the vote in CA can be spun as a vote for smaller government.

    It was a vote against increasing taxes.

    As Mr Bush proved, and Mr Obama is aping, it is possible to grow the government and lower taxes, just explode the debt. Nothing to it, if your majority is big enough or enough of the "other side" wants part of that growth package, too.

    The majority of the electorate will approve. They have approved.

    Few will vote against the candidate or incumbent office holder that provides a free lunch.

    It is only when asked to sacrifice for the National or State government's interest in growth, financially, that there is a ground swell of opposition.

    Then, the vote is never to roll back specific programs, or to institute a specific set of reforms, but to cut or to not allow an increase in the tax rates.

    The Government always cutting the most popular programs, first. They being the most expendable in the battle for government growth. Cutting the investigators for Child Protective Services well before the budget for game wardens or livestock inspectors is impacted.

    Close the public pools, in August.
    But not reduce the size of the legislative staff.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Netanyahu defies Obama on Israeli settlement freeze.

    By Adam Entous

    JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rebuffed U.S. calls for a full settlement freeze in the occupied West Bank and vowed not to accept limits on building of Jewish enclaves within Jerusalem.

    Netanyahu's defiant stance set the stage for a possible showdown with President Barack Obama, who, in talks with the new Israeli prime minister in Washington last week, pressed for a halt to all settlement activity, including natural growth, as called for under a long-stalled peace "road map
    ."

    Does the SOP have an annex for dealing with obstinate locals?

    ReplyDelete
  43. Blogger bobal said...

    "I suppose you're trying to refer to equal protection"

    What I am trying to get your opinion on is whether you think the "peoples will", simple majority, trumps the Constitution or not? Your post above suggests that is indeed what you believe and that the courts should not overturn that which the people choose.

    ReplyDelete
  44. If the Republicans cannot hold EVERY member, she'll be confirmed.

    Doubt that the Republicans can, hold every member. Especially with Larry Craig and Mark Foley out of Congress

    So, it won't be much of a fight, in the end. Just give the "Left" their version of Clarence Thomas, as a ravaged minority that was always deserving of the postion.

    The idea that "suspects" can be arrested, on the "battlefield" is oximoronic.

    But that everyone captured on the battlefield has to be held to the Constitutional standard is not oximoronic. But is in keeping with the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the UCMJ.

    That rights endowed by the creator cannot be rightfully abused by any man.

    Those captured are either prisoners of war, or criminals.
    Just how, when and where that determination is made in regards to each captured individual is always going to be in flux.
    And at the heart of the argument.

    But even before that determination is made, as to status, the behaviour of the Government is constrained by the law, as applied.

    The law will have to be changed, as Mr Obama said in his speech the other day. Little commented upon, but the Congress will be charged with changing the Law, as regards some of the detainees against whom there is no criminal charge or case possible, but the Government considers to dangerous to release.

    Just like some of the commentators on C2C will come to be considered, or Rush, perhaps. Someone that cannot be charged with a crime, but is a danger to the State, regardless.

    Better we just send those fellows back to their country of origin, then send James Bond and Octopussy in and kill 'em.

    Maybe contract it out, hire Smirsh to do it, or Kaos, even the Mafia.
    Anyone but Blackwater

    Or have special class of criminal created, one that can be held incommunicado, indefinately.

    Better to release them, then have such a precedent set.
    Let 'em go, then hunt 'em down and kill 'em, if they are truly deserving.

    ReplyDelete
  45. What side of the issue are you on Bobal? Do you support the Constitution or do you believe that a simply majority can override the Constitution?

    and,

    What I am trying to get your opinion on is whether you think the "peoples will", simple majority, trumps the Constitution or not?

    Those are interesting questions, Ash. The problem with them is that the will of the people was a legal and constitutional measure modifying the constitution. So in this case the court, if it overturned the people's will, would be violating the constitution.

    Nice try, though. Have another cup of coffee.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Well, Linear, no, you cannot through a simple majority pass a law that is unconstitutional. The constitution would require amending first. For example, a State cannot outlaw the possession of guns without running afoul of the US Constitution and it is the courts which interpret whether the law conforms to the constitution or not.

    ReplyDelete
  47. You arrest them, Lineman.

    On either side of the dispute.

    If they do not put down their weapons, you capture and arrest or you kill 'em.
    On both sides.

    Massive intervention will be called for, Bibi is playing as predicted. Almost demanding external intervention.

    But that is not how he'll see it.

    He is proving, to President Obama, that he is "nuts", by not taking the 'Deal'. Just as Mr Obama made clear the Israeli would have to be, to let this 'chance" slide on by, last October or so, as I recall.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Well, I'm wrong in that a simple majority, especially in California can pass a law, but for it to survive it must pass constitutional muster.

    ReplyDelete
  49. New Haven Firefighters Case--
    -/

    Sotomeyor was on this case, which is being appealed to the US Supreme Court, whose decision is due out next month I think the radio said.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Sotomeyor seems to a a kind of liberal thug, endearing her to some, no doubt. She has one of the highest reversal rates around.

    Her story is a little like Obama's except she does seem to have done well schlastically.

    California Supreme Court rules Prop 8 ok, but the marriages entered into before it was passed will stand, if I just heard correctly.

    Those justices are elected :)

    ReplyDelete
  51. The decision Tuesday rejected an argument by gay rights activists that the ban revised the California constitution's equal protection clause to such a dramatic degree that it first needed the Legislature's approval.

    ...

    Proposition 8 superseded the Supreme Court's May 2008 ruling that legalized same-sex unions by changing the state constitution to outlaw them. In that 4-3 decision, the court majority invalidated California's marriage statutes, holding that denying same-sex couples the right to wed amounted to state-sanctioned discrimination.

    But based on the skeptical questions raised during oral arguments, legal experts have doubted the same four justices would undermine California's powerful citizen initiative process by invalidating the new ban
    .

    Barkeep! A cup of coffee for Ash. Put a little Bushmills in it.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Her story is a little like Obama's except she does seem to have done well schlastically.

    Didn't cover her tracks as well as our annointed One.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Sotomeyor was recommended by Bush the Elder, I think, but really was put in by Sen. Moynihan, that being the protocol followed for most district judges in the system.

    Just passing on what I'm hearing on the Laura Ingram Show.

    ReplyDelete
  54. ...on the Laura Ingram Show.

    I always pronounce it the way it's spelled after I heard her emphasize it for Doug one day long ago.

    in-gra-ham

    ReplyDelete
  55. Laura Ingram had John Bolton on earlier. He had predicted the blast.

    Says the Chinese could change the regime if they wanted to, and that what is really going on is Kim and Company are trying to hold on to their criminal family business.

    Our possible influence on the situation: pressure China.

    China suppling about 80% of their fuel, half their food, etc.

    Something too about the Chinese kinda sticking with him, thinking maybe a regime change might lead to a reunified Korea, which they may not want.

    Need to get the wax out of my ears, take notes.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Laura In gra ham


    We had an up and coming Laura type around here for a while, out of Spokane, born or raised in Walla Walla, spent a little time in Moscow.

    She bought a motorcycle, had a collision with a deer, there was hope she might come back, but haven't heard of her since.

    It was sad, she was really banged up.

    One of those spunky ladies.

    ReplyDelete
  57. Gay rights activists immediately promised to resume their fight, saying they would go back to voters as early as next year in a bid to repeal Proposition 8.

    The split decision provided some relief for the 18,000 gay couples who married in the brief time same-sex marriage was legal last year but that wasn't enough to dull the anger over the ruling that banned gay marriage.

    "It's not about whether we get to stay married. Our fight is far from over," said Jeannie Rizzo, 62, who was one of the lead plaintiffs along with her wife, Polly Cooper. "I have about 20 years left on this earth, and I'm going to continue to fight for equality every day."
    --
    -/

    The fight goes on. They may well win next time, who knows, the margin has narrowed.

    But the illegal immigrant vote might work against them, being mostly Catholic, as they are.

    ReplyDelete
  58. Turning Point 3

    When SOP's collide...

    May 25, 2009 16:42 | Updated May 26, 2009 9:04

    'Home front drill scenario not fiction'.

    ...That is why the Home Front Command is conducting a five-day drill next week, dubbed Turning Point 3, which will send Israelis running for their bomb shelters on June 2.

    "This isn't an imaginary situation. This isn't detached from reality and if there is a war, it's very likely that this is what will happen," Vilnai said, during the committee hearing
    .

    Seems the Jews have their own SOP. One tested by history. Whose do you chose?

    ReplyDelete
  59. Just thinking about Pussy, Propositions and stuff, anyone remember a movie called

    BUtterfield 8

    ReplyDelete
  60. Just thinking about Pussy, Propositions and stuff, anyone remember a movie called

    BUtterfield 8
    ?

    No. But I remember Bernadine like it was yesterday.

    ReplyDelete
  61. Marijuana Country...


    The tax-free produce of this fertile region probably produces the only section of California that isn't bankrupt.

    ReplyDelete
  62. Missed it Doug. I was planting trees.

    As were others.


    Can't remember if this is a repeat link.

    That's as bad as laughin' at yer own jokes.

    ReplyDelete
  63. I had a friend from my high school class that disappeared into the hills of northeren California, in the dope growing district. Had been a good athelete, played on the U of Idaho baseball team. Hoped to go pro, didn't make it. Headed to the free enterprise zone, in search of that mountain high. No one could ever trace him, ever again, Never Seen Steve.

    ReplyDelete
  64. There's a little hamlet up there on the Shasta-Trinity NF where an unusual alliance was formed years ago. Can't remember the town's name.

    The miners and the growers were drawn together by a common foe. The US Forest Service embarked on their own counter-insurgency campaign, burning out squatters. Legend has it they became a law unto themselves. Armed to the teeth.

    That would have been mid-70s, so they'd likely all be driving Beemers and Hummers and bitching about the cost of living in Mendocino County about now.

    ReplyDelete
  65. Can't recommend
    "Humbolt County"
    (Where the Grass is Greener)
    too highly for conveying exactly how things looked there in the 70's, although I don't think the drug wars had heated up yet to the degree portrayed in the movie.
    Not many reports out, far as I can tell, about what the scene is like now with the Drug Cartels said to be moving in.

    ReplyDelete
  66. Denny, California.

    Now seems taken over by yuppies. Google yields only what seem to be B&B listings, and guides to the walking paths and hiking trails.

    Pacification was successful, by outward appearances.

    ReplyDelete
  67. Heard anything about the Cartels moving in?

    ReplyDelete
  68. Oscar Mayor Weiner
    59, Fat, and diagnosed w/diabetes at age 8.
    Probly won't be around as long as some of the ancient Geezers.
    Maybe she'll have a midnight Nacho Snack Attack right after Palin is sworn in.
    Sugar Dreams.

    ReplyDelete
  69. 4th of July Planning Guides for tea party fans:

    http://www.teapartyday.com/

    http://www.reteaparty.com/

    http://www.surgeusa.org/actions/july4.htm

    ReplyDelete
  70. Nothing, Doug.

    I did have an exciting outing once just before retiring. I stopped off at a remote guard station to check the water system enroute to a project area further up the canyon. The normally quiet station was overrun with law enforcement guys wearing their team colors to know who was who. Seems they had a plantation and some growers under surveillance up ahead of me. I talked my way through the check point and the rest of the day was uneventful. Turns out they did apprehend a couple of Mexican visitors with brand new unloaded long rifes in their pickup and a bunch of camping gear. It being hunting season it was claimed there was no grounds for arrest, even though they had no hunting licenses, couldn't operate the rifles when asked to open the bolts, and couldn't speak English. A couple of other "campers" took leg bail out of the plantation site, but were never heard of again. It was tough country to catch 'em in, and I doubt they had trackers, being well equipped with aviation assets.

    ReplyDelete
  71. If you go down in the woods today,

    You'd better not go alone.

    It's lovely down in the woods today,

    but safer to stay at home...

    ReplyDelete
  72. In the movie, they'd all hightail it down to the beach where they'd congregate and wait til the cops completed their raids.
    Guess it probly happened in real life.

    ReplyDelete
  73. In any confrontation of SOPs, I bet on the United States, or would not bet, at all.

    How long would a conventional Israeli defensive operation last, without US logistical support?
    How long would the conventional Israeli military last, without air supremecy?

    The F22 is ready and able to splash any threat in the skies, with minimal risk to US pilots.

    The Israeli would have no answer to the F22.

    The modernhistorical precedent of the Ottoman ruling the Levant even handedly is legend.

    ReplyDelete
  74. The Israeli would have no answer to the F22.

    It's the Persian Tomcats they'd likely be encountering. They do have some old F-14s, don't they? And old F-4s, left over from the Shah?

    The modernhistorical precedent of the Ottoman ruling the Levant even handedly is legend.

    While they turned it into a desert that the Jews reclaimed.

    You ever consider working for Mullen? You seem to have the knack.

    ReplyDelete
  75. As Ms Glick said, if the Israeli attack Iran, the blame falls to the Israeli, in so far as the US government is concerned.

    If the Israeli drag the whirled into an oil shock depression, wi"o" sees a "Crystal Night" scenario here in the US, which I think is a bit extreme. But that the US would force the Israeli into a situation that today would seem extreme and beyond incredulous, but are easy to anticipate.

    With the current Administration.

    The wrath of the Great Satan can be worse than the love recieved.

    Ask President Diem, or the Shah of Iran.

    ReplyDelete
  76. Current composition

    The IRIAF composition has changed very little since 1979. The first, very limited re-location of several units - including disbandment of some, and establishing of new squadrons - occurred in autumn 1980, when the F-4D-fleet was concentrated at Shiraz, two squadrons of F-4Es moved from Shiraz to Hamedan, and a squadron of F-14 Tomcats deployed to Mehrabad. Other deployments during the war with Iraq were mainly of temporary character, even if a major re-organisation of existing air-defence assets - foremost SAM- and AAA-units - was undertaken in 1985. There has been no major re-organisation during all of the 1990s either.

    Equipment, capabilities and combat performance of the IRIAF strongly influenced the development of the Iraqi Air Force (IrAF), during the 1980s, but also that of the United Arab Emirates Air Force, in the 1990s and the most recent times
    .

    wiki

    ReplyDelete
  77. As Ms Glick said, if the Israeli attack Iran, the blame falls to the Israeli, in so far as the US government is concerned.

    In so far as the whirled turns, they're blamed for everything as it is.

    We'll see soon enough who blinks.

    The MIT graduate? Or the slick Harvard Law alum who's hiding his academic records and birth cert?

    ReplyDelete
  78. You miss the whole point, lineman, the US will not fight the Iranians, we will defend them, in the end.

    The F22s will fly, offensively, over the Med, not the Persian Gulf. There they'll be playing defense, stopping the Israeli Air Force over Iraq, or Turkey.

    Yes, I do understand Admiral Mullen, I think I understand President Obama, too.

    Thre is an agenda, it is not Israeli interest-centric.
    Anything but.

    The 1948 experiment has failed to bring peace to the region, time for a reset. A hard boot.

    The Israeli will have an option to give the ground, through mediation and negotiation, if they do not attack Iran. If there is no Israeli induced oil shock.

    But if there is, all "special relationship" promises are off.

    The state of agriculture in the deserts of the Levant of no interest to the folk at Oyster Bay or on PA Ave.

    ReplyDelete
  79. What the whole area needs are absentee Turkish landlords. Right.

    Can Mrs. (?) Sotomeyor be beat? Maybe.

    If the Republicans work their ass off, the thing goes into August, the Tea Parties are huge, some of the democrats from Montana, other states, get really cold feet, looking at her record, looking at the 2nd Amendment.

    She'll be anti-everything but brown, pro-illegal alien, pro-woman, anti-man, anti-gun, pro-labor etc. etc.

    But, unlikely.

    ReplyDelete
  80. Meanwhile, when polled only 26% believed that the US’s efforts to use diplomacy would be effective in keeping nuclear weapons from Iran.

    The study seems to support information released early this year, that showed that Israel had requested that the US assist in a strike against Iran, a move that former President Bush refused.

    President Obama has said that he will ’sit at the table’ with Ahmadinejad, to hopefully further US/Iran relations, and come to a peaceful agreement before a war breaks out.
    Iran Strike Study

    ReplyDelete
  81. The Northrop F-5A/B Freedom Fighter and F-5E/F Tiger II are part of a family of widely used light supersonic fighter aircraft, designed and built by Northrop in the United States, beginning in 1960s. Hundreds remain in service in air forces around the world in the early 21st Century, and the type has also been the basis for a number of other aircraft.

    No discussion of Iran's military might would be complete without mention of the venerable F-5. It seems like only yesterday the Persians rolled out their own homegrown fighter plane that bore striking resemblance to an F-5 reworked by a SoCal auto customizer.

    ReplyDelete
  82. The President of the United States, or the chief of a Maricopa County sized piece of real estate.

    Don't bet against the US.
    Whom ever happens to be in charge at the time. We'll blunder through, to a redeined version of success, most of the time.

    We all know the power that the CiC can wield, without Congressional Authorization. Ask Mr Cheney, he worked tirelessly expanding it.

    To Mr Obama's advantage.

    The scenario is contingent upon the Israeli staging a major attack on Iran, if that does not transpire, US diplomatic soft power won the day. If soft power does not convince the Israeli, rest assured that the President would use hard power to protect the interests of the US.

    The free flow of oil being of the paramount interest to the United States.

    All else is secondary, especially now, after just a slight taste of an oil shock recession.

    ReplyDelete
  83. The base, agreed in January last year and built in 17 months, will have naval, air and training sections. No permanent French military base abroad has been built since France began to withdraw from its colonial empire in the late 1950s.

    The presence in Abu Dhabi is seen by President Sarkozy as part of a radical shift of French foreign and security policy away from the independent or "multi-polar" approach taken by the former President, Jacques Chirac. Together with the decision to rejoin the military structures of Nato, the Gulf base is intended as a move towards the "Anglo-Saxon" way of looking at the world.

    At the same time, both moves are intended to give France a greater stake in Western decision-making.
    Round of Gulf

    ReplyDelete
  84. ...reworked by a SoCal auto customizer.

    So's not to offend the worthy body shops in SoCal, I'll amend that to "an apprentice SoCal auto customizer.

    ReplyDelete
  85. desert rat said...
    You miss the whole point, lineman, the US will not fight the Iranians, we will defend them, in the end.

    Rat may be right...

    America may side with nazi's against the jews living on 1/650th of the middle east...

    But in the end?

    Israel will do what it needs to do regardless of impact to Americans standard of living...

    America has given up on "american exceptionism"

    America has lost it's special relationships if it sides with modern day mass murdering nazi wannabe's......

    But somehow I doubt America has lost it's soul...

    Obama is a temporary case of the shits... it will pass....

    ReplyDelete
  86. The U.S. is not the only one to go Frankenfighter on the F-5. Three years ago, Iran showed off a modified American F-5 fighter and proclaimed this new "Saegheh" as similar to the American F-18 jet fighter.

    This is not the first time Iran has run a stunt like this. But even with a redesigned tail and better electronics, the 1960s era F-5 is still a low cost, and low performance, aircraft.

    The F-5E, which the Iranians had when the Islamic revolution took over in 1979, is an 11 ton aircraft, with a max speed of 1,700 kilometers an hour, and a range of some 1,400 kilometers. It was armed with two 20mm cannon, and could carry about three tons of missiles and bombs.
    USN Aircraft

    ReplyDelete
  87. Nato, bob, not solely Turkish.

    That international peace keeping organization you wanted Israel to join. They not being capable, though, as they operate outside the Geneva Accords, in Jerusalem.

    So Nato will join Israel, but Israel will not be a member, but a host. As will Palistine.

    Both de-militarized.
    Lebanon, too, if all goes well.

    But it most likely will not, go well.

    ReplyDelete
  88. DR: The free flow of oil being of the paramount interest to the United States.

    All else is secondary, especially now, after just a slight taste of an oil shock recession.


    The quick and total destruction of the military / industrial complex of Iran and coupled with the humanitarian crisis with 15 million Iranians without power, water, food, fuel & hope will not disrupt the world's oil supply...

    Current excess capacity of oil productions of the world more than exceeds that of Iran's contribution to oil...

    At this Moment, Obama has removed AL carrier groups from the middle east as a "good will" gesture to Iran...

    Those same carriers now cannot strike Iran or stop Israel from striking Iran...

    ReplyDelete
  89. desert rat said...
    The President of the United States, or the chief of a Maricopa County sized piece of real estate.

    Don't bet against the US.



    Dont bet against Israel...

    One community organizer verses BiBi..

    NOT even close...

    ReplyDelete
  90. Turkish authorities estimate the clearance of mines on the border with Syria to cost between $400 million and $1.6 billion if carried out by private foreign contractors, while NATO is likely to assume the task of demining at a cost that would be closer to the sum of $252,000.

    ...

    The clearance of the mines is expected through the build-operate-transfer model and if the law passes, the tender will be open to global actors. The bidding process would begin once the relevant law is passed by Parliament.

    ...

    The military earlier said an area of that size could not be cleared with the Turkish Armed Forces, or TSK’s, existing equipment alone, proposing the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency, or NAMSA, be considered for mine clearance in the region. Amid this climate of debate and the government’s insistence to go ahead with the tender process following the adoption of the relevant law, daily Cumhuriyet reported yesterday that NAMSA could assume the task at a lower cost compared to the foreign companies.
    More Economical

    ReplyDelete
  91. ... Israel will do what it needs to ...

    Which is what the Obama Administration is counting upon.

    Option 1, negotiation and moderation leaves Israel reasonably whole and sovereign.

    Option 2, attacking Iran leaves Israel an occupied protectorate of Nato and it's representitive member nations.

    The Israeli can do what they need to do, in their own best interest.

    But the threat to Israel is not limited to the Iranians, indeed, the Israeli are as great a threat to their own future as anyone.
    To misjudge the President of the US, that can be a grave error for anyone to make.

    Everyone that has misjudged or under estimated the capabilities of Barack Obama, so far, has lost.

    ReplyDelete
  92. desert rat said...
    You arrest them, Lineman.

    On either side of the dispute.

    If they do not put down their weapons, you capture and arrest or you kill 'em.
    On both sides........................................................................


    Nonsense...

    the USA aint INVADING Israel and is NOT going to "OCCUPY" either Israel much less the arab controlled squatting zones...

    America UNDER Obama, has no steel...

    I wont, it cannot do anything about anything...

    Obama is in charge and that means nothing is his fault...

    so do nothing...

    ReplyDelete
  93. The 1948 experiment has failed to bring peace to the region, time for a reset. A hard boot.

    Can't let that one slip by unchallenged.

    Show us where the creation of Israel is defined in terms of an experiment to bring peace to the region. Which if it fails, deserves a hard boot to the Jews and more koombyaa to the arab goat fuckers. The arabs are the undisputed masters of wrecking every attempt to achieve peace in the region.

    If that escapes you, and I doubt it does, you're naive. If it doesn't escape you, you're just a master bullshitter like Mullen.

    ReplyDelete
  94. The US being a communitiy 50 times larger and immeasuarably stonger, militarily.

    The ultimate community to organize.

    Your rejection of the new American realiy, interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  95. DR:
    How long would a conventional Israeli defensive operation last, without US logistical support?
    How long would the conventional Israeli military last, without air supremecy?


    It's BECAUSE Israel has AMERICAN support for it's conventional that the discussion is based in conventional wisdom...

    If AMerica CUT off Israel from ammo, arms and systems Israel would by default go to UNCONVENTIONAL means...

    and the length that has to last?

    3 nanoseconds...

    ReplyDelete
  96. desert rat said...
    ... Israel will do what it needs to ...
    Which is what the Obama Administration is counting upon.

    Option 1, negotiation and moderation leaves Israel reasonably whole and sovereign.


    ME ------------- What is reasonable to YOU squatting on someone else's lands in America holds no water to Jews living on lands that have been theirs since before the western world had a being.....

    Option 2, attacking Iran leaves Israel an occupied protectorate of Nato and it's representitive member nations.


    ME ------------- Nonsense.... Nato cant come up with the promised troops for Lebanon, Sudan or Afghanistan, let alone Israel and the arab squatting lands of the west bank and gaza...


    DR: The Israeli can do what they need to do, in their own best interest.

    But the threat to Israel is not limited to the Iranians, indeed, the Israeli are as great a threat to their own future as anyone.

    ME ------------- what does that really mean? really.... the world is sticking it's collective head in the sand, and thus give up any right to comment...........


    DR: To misjudge the President of the US, that can be a grave error for anyone to make.

    Everyone that has misjudged or under estimated the capabilities of Barack Obama, so far, has lost.



    Yep the Liar has dont well so far... but his clothes are beginning to wear thin and he's looking a tad bit nekked.....

    the Emperor has no clothes.........

    Good ole Sal taught the only thing to fear is being ridiculed, and good ole Obama is being ridiculed by NKor, Iran, Hugo, Russia, China....

    Obama is worthless, he's a Jimmy the Dhimmi Carter....

    He's going to fail like a fat man in a rope climbing contest...

    ReplyDelete
  97. Go back to the original Zionist, lineman, in England and France.
    The Rothchilds of London, who first obtained the mandate that began the process that culminated in 1948.

    " We cannot be oblivious to the many interests which Britain has in the Mediterranean. Fortunately for us British world interests are essentially the preservation of peace, and therefore in the strengthening of the British Empire it is not we alone who see an important guarantee for the strengthening of international peace . England will have bases of defense on sea and on land in the Jewish State and in the British corridor. For many years the Jewish State will stand in need of British military protection and protection entails a measure of dependence. "

    Thus speaks the Labor-Zionist, Ben-Gurion, member of the Executive of the World Zionist Organization, a leading member of the Palestine Labor Federation, the Histadruth, and the head of the Jewish Agency’s Jerusalem Executive. Zionism dependent upon England
    !

    It being the reasonable conclusion that as the US took over other whirled security operations and responsibilities, we obtained the Israeli protectorate, as well.

    Which is really undeniable.
    Which we did in the interest of whirled peace.

    To be sure, Truman’s recognition of Israel – issued a mere 11 minutes after David Ben-Gurion’s historic declaration of independence made in Tel Aviv 57 years ago today – has had enormous implications for our nation and our foreign policy. Being the student of history that he was, I still maintain President Truman believed that somehow – someday – peace between Arab and Jew could be realized. He often reminded visitors and supporters from both sides that they were cousins – all descendants from Father Abraham – and that they should try and live together peaceably. He believed – many contend naively – that economics would bring the two sides together and that a Tennessee Valley Authority-type project in the Middle East would force the two sides into a co-dependent arrangement, resulting in a long-term peace.

    This of course, has never happened. What has happened finally, however, is recognition by many that a two-state situation is the only viable and workable solution in the region. Truman and the United States embraced this fact in 1947 in their support of the U.N. Partition Plan, even though the borders of the plan were highly controversial and probably unworkable. The principle, nonetheless, remains the same: Truman supported a free and democratic Israel and advocated a similar state-like entity for the Palestinians as well
    .


    Truman and the Recognition of Israel
    By Michael T. Benson

    Delivered at Truman Conference in Key Biscayne, FL
    .

    So both in the initial presentation, by Mr Ben-Gurion, and a reasonable analysis of Mr Truman's decision and position in can be seen that peace was part of the plan, then.

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  98. Then, wi"o", after 4 nanoseconds there is no Israel, either.

    That's the point, the Israeli do not have a preponderance of power, when dealing with US. And Mr Obama is US, personified.

    Like it, or not.
    He's got the guns.

    He and the likes of Admiral Mullen.

    ReplyDelete
  99. Start with the proposition that Islam is not the enemy. Not in Iran, Iraq nor even Afpakistan.

    That is the US position, under Team43 and even more so now with Team Obama.

    Whomever is the next President, whenever that is, that aspect of policy will not change.

    To build an argument on the proposition that Islam IS the enemy, will fail, within the United States government.

    The religous argument will not win the day. Only an economic one will.

    ReplyDelete
  100. Calling Mr Bush names did not cause the belated change of course in Iraq. Reality did.

    Mr Obama did not change course in Iraq, because reality dictated that staying the new course now provides the best way out.

    Because there had been many advocating for just such a course, both within and outside the government. Not a radical change of course, but a substantal one, to a course with historical precedents of success.

    One that utilized the Arab culture, instead of trying to change it.

    Find a new course forward, for Israel, one where by bending the least, they avoid the most breakage.

    It will be their choice, their responsibility and their loss, unless they come to moderation.

    ReplyDelete
  101. The Great Satan starting with the proposition that islam isn't an enemy is a grave mistake. The Great Satan should try to be more nuanced.

    ReplyDelete
  102. Then, wi"o", after 4 nanoseconds there is no Israel, either.

    Sounds like puff and bluster from the AZ desert to me.

    Not to say it's implausible. Just like a good Clancy novel. Merely highly unlikely. More unlikely than a lightning strike by the IDF with no foreplay.

    We'll see who blinks, if there's even a chance for that confrontation, before Israel presents the whirled a revision to your SOP.

    I don't discount the rumors that the Saudis and others quietly pray that the Israelis wipe out their Persian menace.

    ReplyDelete
  103. Israel should 'moderate' by not patroling around Gaza, giving up the west bank and a part of Jerusalem, while Iran goes nuclear, with it's terrorist henchmen running Gaza, having a seaport and airport open to uninspected international trade?

    ReplyDelete
  104. The US has made many a mistake, bob. Some we've even apologized for.

    Some not.

    We're going to make a lot more, as we move forward.

    But mistakes can be limited, if there is a plan, a goal to the project. An agenda with a purpose.

    The United States has both an agenda and a purpose in the Middle East. We'll blunder through and declare defeat a victory, simply by changing the judgemental matrix. A Leviathan on the march.

    The CiC, the one that the boys at the BC and your friend habu said could destroy Iran on a whim. His power has not been diminished, since 20JAN09. Indeed, it has been enhanced by greater public popularity and support.

    If the CiC can act in Iran, he can act anywhere, to protect US interests as he percieve them. And as the boys used to point out, the President is the decider, no one else.

    As Mr Truman made clear, in recongnizing the State of Israel.

    The ebb and flow of politics and the concentration of power in the President, the US has always been a fickle friend, because of it.

    ReplyDelete
  105. It is not my SOP, lineman, it is the US's SOP, to conflict resolution.

    There is no argument that there is a conflict in the Levant. Only that the standard procedure should not be followed.

    No, bob, not that Gaza and the West Bank are left unpoliced, but that the Israeli are not the best policemen.
    They are not impartial, indeed they are participants in the conflict. Which means they must begin to disarm, as must the Palistinians. Security for both sides guarenteed by Nato, which is US and Turkey.

    Taking the religous persecution argument from the Palis. But the Israeli will be held to the Geneva Standards in Jerusalem, too.

    It'll be a hard change for the Israeli to swallow, to be sure.

    Lineman, there are others that might not take kindly to the Israeli using a pre-emptive nuclear strikes, and the precedent that it would set.

    It may not be the Arabs that retaliate, in the name or whirled peace and justice. Or the further future threat that the Israeli could present to whirled oil production.

    It'd open a Pandora's box of opportunities that might never present themselves again. Some national leader might just take their chance at being the ultimate Peacemaker.

    Not limited to the Islamic nations, either.

    ReplyDelete
  106. If the Rev. Wright's religous training of Mr Obama had any impact at all, then what better way to ensure his prophesy than through organized and planned human actions, to assure that that "God Damns America"?

    You all made the point about Rev Wright and his 20 years of theological influence, time and again, but now want to reject the logical conclusions and the incremental steps already taken. Steps that would seem be leading to your previous fears.

    ReplyDelete
  107. In the battle against terrorists, there’s “no middle ground,” says Cheney. But, of course, there is.

    Obama’s standing on it and, like a tortoise in the middle of a two-lane highway, he’s getting spun around by the traffic on both sides. Bush’s burden is now Obama’s: How do we preserve our constitutional principles while keeping our country safe?

    As with the flap over Rev. Wright, Obama’s Gitmo speech does not end the conversation. It’s only a beginning.
    Obama vs. Cheney

    ReplyDelete
  108. The United States has raised the idea of sending Yemeni terrorism detainees held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, which Obama has said he will close by next January, to Saudi Arabia, as Riyadh has a program to rehabilitate militants.heh

    King of Saudi Arabia To Host Obama--
    -/

    ---

    Fellow named Jack on the Savage Nation says the reason China doesn't give up on Kim and Sons is because of their Confucian heritage of balance and form. Says they gave up on an invasion of Taiwan to help the Koreans with a million man army and feel the sacrifice would be dishonored by dumping their client, their cousins.

    Well....it's an outlook not often heard before.

    ReplyDelete
  109. Lineman, there are others that might not take kindly to the Israeli using a pre-emptive nuclear strikes, and the precedent that it would set.

    The longer the west kicks the can down the road, the more assurance there is that Israel's nuclear option comes into play, preemptively or in retaliation. Whether others like it or not. As time passes fewer Israelis seem to give a fig who likes their policies or what imagined boogy man they might confront after Armani-dinnerjacket.

    ...Or the further future threat that the Israeli could present to whirled oil production.

    The Israelis pose no future threat to whirled oil production except in the minds of propagandists. As to the temporary threat of an interruption of oil while the smoke clears over Iran, I imagine the Israelis would assume that's someone else's problem and let them deal with it to the extent it was beyond Israeli tactical capabilities. Caroline and you probably differ with me on that point, but there's only so much David can do against Goliath. QED.

    ReplyDelete
  110. The oil in the ground will not be effected by a nuclear strike.

    The cities in Japan inhabitable within months after the nuclear detonations.

    The Chinese and the Indians will still be in the market for that oil and Iranians will still be in control, of Iran. Rest assured that if the US government is going to hold Israel responsible, as Ms Glick reports, than the Iranians certainly will.

    As wobbly noted, the Chinese are totally pragmatic, and they would require that the Zionist-Muslim war come to a quick finish.
    Their economic survival would depend upon quick and secure reopening of the Iranian resources.

    ReplyDelete
  111. The Iranian oil fields are a rust bucket. The best and quickest way China could secure their oil needs from Iran would be for Israel demolish the wreck, and to pitch into a cooperative venture with Halliburton to rebuild the infrastructure.

    ReplyDelete
  112. There are always costs and benefits, to any form of activity.

    The Iran-Israeli War would not end with the Israeli first strike. It would only be the beginning, even if the Mullahs took it ont he chin, the nest government would not sue for peace, it'd be completely out of Persian cultural precedent.
    Like I said, a Pandora's box.

    There are lots of players with an interest in the Game.

    Almost any set of scenarios provides a series of bad options, none leading to the Israeli maintaining a preponderance of power in that Region.

    Just read what Admiral Mullen or the President have to say. Then interpret between the lines, a bit.
    Follow the trends, read Ms Powers and understand that her charts are at the navigation station.

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  113. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  114. "Everyone that has misjudged or under estimated the capabilities of Barack Obama, so far, has lost."

    There is a mistype in that quote. You clearly meant to write, "... has [been] lost".

    But even that is not quite right. They have not been lost, merely been thrown under the bus. They know where they are, and so does Obama.

    There is a world of difference between dealing with domestic leftie whackos, spineless guilty white liberals, & racial pimps in the domestic arena, and dealing with smart, determined, occasionally insane opponents in the international arena.

    As Slo Joe Biden said, Obama will be tested. And when he fails, as he will, it is going to hurt us all.

    ReplyDelete
  115. But the Chinese would want the Iranians on their side, with no need for Haliburton.
    They'd just scale up their production teams, like they have in Venezuela.

    The Chinese would be grateful for the opportunity the Israeli provided them, but that would not ensure Israel's security. As the rage of the Iranians would have to be doused, before reconstruction could begin.
    A tit for the tat, which Charlie Chi-com could supply.

    At a low cost.
    Then there'd only be two whirled superpowers, ones that had used nukes and lived to tell the tale.

    Which would be a lesson that the US would want the rest of the nuclear mini-powers of the whirled to come to learn, too.
    Nukes are not a hole card, they do not provide security against "Death from Above".

    A big Pandora's box of unintended consequences.

    ReplyDelete
  116. Not really, Kinuachdrach.

    I was thinking of Billery, first and foremost.

    Then the Maverick, but I do not think much of him, as an effective politico.

    That Obama has got a penchant for tossing fellow travelers under the bus, undeniable, why think that those he holds in derision could possibly fare better?

    ReplyDelete
  117. Jews Must Defend Themselves Against Iran==
    =/
    Although some of the historical narrative may be a little off, the basic point remains.

    ReplyDelete
  118. The situation is full of unknowns, for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  119. Charlie ready to invest any amount, upwards of $11 trillion USD, to ensure its' energy needs.

    Which would not be an outcome that would please the US government's Saudi allies, either.

    ReplyDelete
  120. Overwhelmed by nukes going off, Supreme Court appointments, and gay marriage decisions was this exchange----


    Questioner: "When are we going to run out of money?"

    Barry Obumble: (almost optimistically) "Well, we're out of money now."

    ReplyDelete
  121. And as for Senator McCain, he did recieve some 60 million votes, across the United States.

    So my opinion of his capacity as a politico may not be completely accurate. As very few men or women have ever accumulated 60 million votes, he is part of an elite set of losers.

    ReplyDelete
  122. I was thinking of the previous thread, which was ahead of this, then bumped, early on.

    A direct payment of the type proposed was attempted by Mr Bush, in 2008.

    Tax rebates created by the law will be paid to individual U.S. taxpayers during 2008. Most taxpayers below the income limit will receive a rebate of at least $300 per person ($600 for married couples filing jointly). Eligible taxpayers will receive, along with their individual payment, $300 per dependent child under the age of 17. The payment will be equal to the payer's net income tax liability, but will not exceed $600 (for a single person) or $1200 (married couple filing jointly).

    This stimulous created a blip in retail sales, as I recall, but was like spittin' into a dust devil, as far as jump startin' the economic engine went.

    I think the columnist wanted to rebate $3,000 per resident, rather than $300. A sizable difference, but to what real effect?
    Beyond increased sales at Walmart.

    The legislative budget process is more a statement of a long term political agenda build out, rather than a jump start.
    That was TARP I, the jump start.

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  123. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  124. Remember back when folks thought $168 Billion was sizable money?

    Itwas not thatlong ago.
    Standards change, first millions, then billions and now, trillions, batted about like a whiffle ball.

    Feb 14, 2008
    Administration officials say the $168 billion plan will provide cash for people to spend and tax relief for businesses to make new investments which will boost an economy battered by a housing downturn and a credit crunch
    .

    ReplyDelete
  125. Samantha Power: the Salon Interview
    Noah Pollak - 02.19.2008 - 12:27 PM
    --

    It might be time that I downgraded my opinion of Samantha Power from someone who I believe holds naive and mischievous opinions on the Middle East to someone who for the most part simply doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She gave a must-read interview yesterday to Salon.com.

    What is the biggest foreign policy challenge for the next president?

    The next president is really going to have to walk and chew gum at the same time, because no long-term peace in the Middle East is possible until we get some kind of modus vivendi in the Arab-Israeli situation.

    Remarkable. Neither the Iraq war, nor the Iranian nuclear program, nor North Korean nuclear proliferation, nor the situation in Pakistan, nor the ascendant Iran-Syria-Hezbollah-Hamas axis, in Power’s assessment, is comparable to “the Arab-Israeli situation.” This is, of course, the view of the world one gets from watching too many Christiane Amanpour specials on CNN; but it is also one that has virtually no currency among serious people
    .

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  126. It may be that the "serious" people do not hold Ms Powers in high esteem, as one of their peers.

    But she does have the President's ear, has for a long time. Though not as long as Rev Wright. She is not alone in her views, in the Obama Administration, just one of the better known. She's got name recongnition.

    But that Obama keeps her around, telling.
    He may not be serious, but he is President, regardless.

    ReplyDelete
  127. Uhh,,

    I think NORK has just abandoned the armistice..(!?)

    ReplyDelete
  128. And if we did admit it, what could we do?

    Seoul could be burning by moonlight.
    The NorKs targeting the installation that was the 8th Army HQ, when I was there.

    Right smack in the middle of the metro area, on prime riverfront propery.

    The collateral damage would be extensive and intentional.

    ReplyDelete
  129. Seoul is the capital and largest city of South Korea. With a population of over 10 million, it is one of the world's largest cities.

    Which is why the NorKs have ...

    .... approximately 1,100 long-range artillery systems, it is estimated that 710 are 170mm SPGs and 390 are 240mm MRLs. Of these, approximately 80% (876) are deployed south of a line running east-west through Pyongyang and Wonsan.

    The use of chemical warfare (CW) rounds - which the KPA possesses for all artillery systems greater than 107mm in diameter - would present a significant increase in the threat posed by these systems - especially to civilians. A single 240mm MRL battalion firing CW rounds could quickly saturate a large area with lethal concentrations of CW agents and then maintain that level of concentration for a prolonged period of time. The panic that would likely ensue among the civilian population would undoubtedly be momentous. Based upon known KPA tactics, operations, procedures and defector interviews an estimated 5-20% of the rounds initially available to DMZ corps level and 620th Artillery Corps artillery units are likely to be CW projectiles.

    As noted previously, the figures presented here represent the optimal KPA long-range artillery threat to Seoul alone. If all the KPA's artillery of 100mm or more, capable of firing across the entire DMZ, were calculated together they could achieve an initial rate of fire of approximately 300,000-500,000 rounds per hour
    .

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  130. On the ridge lines over looking the Han river, the US had built an extensive series of ready fighting positions.

    I was up there with the Captain and happened upon a piece of NorK propaganda. A small postcard size piece of glossy prining, in Korean.

    My KATUSA roommate would not translate it, but told me it was a crime to even have it.

    But all those fighting positions, they were well registered, by the NorK artillery. Which, regardless of the untranslatable writing, was the message they wanted sent.

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  131. But that Obama keeps her around, telling.
    He may not be serious, but he is President, regardless
    .


    Obama will keep her around because they think alike on the ME. A few innings into this game, her pali pals will prove to be as treacherous to her as they are to themselves and everyone else who's tried to deal with them.

    Ms Power will wind up under the bus. Shouldn't take more than 18 months, 2 years at the outside. Team 44 will just turn recruiting over to Soros and hire a new cartographer.

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  132. That could be, lineman, but by then the course will be laid in.

    Damn the torpedos!
    Full speed ahead!!

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  133. There doesn't seem to be much solution to that Korean situation, unless it's a Chinese solution. Like Rat says, they got Seoul well targeted. Kind of a peninsular suicide, unless the Chinese get rid of the criminal madman.

    Hillary's 'serious consequences' doesn't seem to be having much effect. But, 'smart diplomacy' takes time, so you never know.

    According to Madame Sotomayor, a latina woman can make better choices than a white man, so maybe we need a latina woman as Secretary of State, or President.

    By the way, I think there are only two WASPs on the Supreme Court.

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  134. This is some pretty funny shit, really.

    NORK nuke test.

    SORK non-proliferation agreement with US.

    NORK says board our ships and it's game-on.

    All within a day of each other. Or thereabouts.

    They're messin' with '0', alright.

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  135. If it's got to be a woman

    JUDGE JUDY FOR THE SPREME COURT!

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