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."

Monday, September 29, 2014

Who are the major fighting forces in Syria who have for years been holding the line against ISIS? Answer: the Syrian army, Hezbollah troops from Lebanon, and Iranians, backed by Putin’s Russia.

A BASKET OF SNAKES

 Patrick J. Buchanan
“Once war is forced upon us, there is no other alternative than to apply every available means to bring it to a swift end.
“War’s very object is victory, not prolonged indecision.”
So said Gen. MacArthur in some of the wisest counsel the old soldier ever gave his countrymen.
Yet, “prolonged indecision” would seem the essence of the war the president has begun to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the Islamic State.
For, following only one night of bombing in Syria, Gen. Bill Mayville, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs, asked to estimate how long this new war would last, replied: “I would think of it in terms of years.”
“Years,” the general said.
Yet, though we are already heavily into bombing, the president has no congressional authorization for this war in Syria.
Even Republicans are leery of voting for a war in Syria before the November elections. A third of the House GOP voted no to arming and training the Syrian rebels. The Democrats are even more wary.
And how are we going to “destroy” ISIS when Obama has ruled out U.S. combat troops and not one NATO or Arab ally has offered to send combat troops?
Consider Turkey. With its 400,000-man army, 1,000 planes, 3,600 tanks, 3,000 artillery pieces and self-propelled guns, the Turks, the largest military power in the Middle East, could make hash of the Islamic State.
Why have they not done so?
Because Turkish President Erdogan detests President Assad of Syria and has looked the other way as volunteers, including Turks, have crossed his border into Syria to join ISIS.
Up until now, this NATO ally has been a silent partner of ISIS. And, even now, Ankara has not volunteered to fight the Islamic State.
For Turkey is predominantly Sunni, and many Sunni see the Islamic State as a ruthless but effective ally against a Shia threat represented by Tehran, Baghdad, Damascus and Hezbollah.
If the Turkish army is not going to intervene in Syria against ISIS, and if Obama has ruled out U.S. boots on the ground in Iraq or Syria, where will the soldiers come from to dislodge the Islamic State from the Indiana-sized territory it has seized?
The Kurds can hold Erbil with U.S. air support. Iraq’s regime, backed by its Shia militias, can hold Baghdad. But can the Iraqi army retake Fallujah, Mosul or Anbar, from which they so recently ran away?
Who are the major fighting forces in Syria who have for years been holding the line against ISIS? Answer: the Syrian army, Hezbollah troops from Lebanon, and Iranians, backed by Putin’s Russia.
Denouncing the Islamic State for its beheadings of the two Americans and one British aid worker, Obama declared at the U.N.:
“There can be no reasoning — no negotiation — with this brand of evil. The only language understood by killers like this is the language of force. So the United States of America will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this network of death.”
Strong words, some of the strongest our Nobel Peace Prize-winning president has used in six years.
Yet, for three years, it has been NATO ally Turkey and Arab allies like Saudi Arabia and Qatar who have been clandestinely aiding this “network of death.” And it has been Assad, Hezbollah, Iran and Russia that have been resisting this “network of death.”
A year ago, the American people rose up to demand that Obama and John Kerry keep us out of Syria’s civil war, specifically, that they not carry out their threats to bomb the army of Bashar Assad.
Had it not been for Assad, Hezbollah, Iran, and Russia, the network of death Obama, rightly excoriated from that U.N. podium, might by now be establishing its caliphate, not in Raqqa but Damascus.
Before we go any deeper into Syria, Congress needs to be called back to debate and vote on whether to authorize this new war.
For this war against the Islamic State seems, for some in that blood-soaked region, not so much to be a war of good against evil, but the first of several wars they want America to fight.
For them, the Islamic State is to be destroyed by the Americans. Then the Assad regime is to be brought down by the Americans. Then Iran is to be smashed by the Americans. Everyone in the Middle East seems to have in mind some new war for the Americans to fight.
How many such wars are in our vital interests?
While, undeniably, the Islamic State has shown itself beyond the pale with its beheading of innocents and its massacres of soldiers who have surrendered, let us not forget that our allies abetted these monsters, while adversaries we have designated as terrorists and state sponsors of terror were fighting them.
Lord Palmerston had a point when he said Great Britain has no permanent friends, no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.
Those interests should determine our policy.
Patrick J. Buchanan is the author of the new book “The Greatest Comeback: How Richard Nixon Rose From Defeat to Create the New Majority.”

137 comments:

  1. Answer: the Syrian army, Hezbollah troops from Lebanon, and Iranians, backed by Putin’s Russia.

    And what do those groups have in common?

    All variations of Shia:

    Save Pooty, a staunch Christian of the old czarist secret police sort.....(heh)

    At any event the main event is turning into another shia sunni shit fest......a religious war.......

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Here is another view:



      Islam in the Rear-View Mirror

      by Salim Mansur • September 29, 2014 at 5:00 am

      Broadly speaking, the struggle within Islam is between Muslims who embrace the
      values of the modern world in terms of freedom, individual rights, gender equality
      and democracy on the one side, and Muslims opposing these values and insisting on a
      Sharia-based legal system on the other. Any Muslim who even questions this version
      of Islam they refer to as a heretic or, worse, an apostate to be killed.

      For Muslims who embrace modernity, Islam is a matter of personal belief, not a
      political system.

      A reformed Islam -- greatly desired and sought after by swelling numbers of Muslims
      -- cannot succeed without the support of non-Muslims.

      Sir Muhammad Iqbal, (left) of British India and Malek Bennabi of Algeria were two
      prominent Muslim reformist philosophers and writers in the 20th century.

      A decade after operatives of al Qaeda attacked the United States, the Arab and
      Muslim world was seized by popular uprisings. The so-called "Arab Spring" erupted in
      Tunisia, swept into Libya and Egypt where dictators of long standing were toppled
      and, as of this writing, the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria appears doomed in a
      bloody stand-off against insurgents who are steadily gaining ground................

      See Gatestone Institute for the full article

      Delete
    2. http://www.danielpipes.org/191/the-alawi-capture-of-power-in-syria

      'Alawis reject Islam's main tenets; by almost any standard they must be considered non-Muslims.

      Some 'Alawi doctrines appear to derive from Phoenician paganism, Mazdakism and Manicheanism. But by far the greatest affinity is with Christianity.

      'Alawi religious ceremonies involve bread and wine; indeed, wine drinking has a sacred role in 'Alawism, for it represents God. The religion holds 'Ali, the fourth caliph, to be the (Jesus-like) incarnation of divinity. It has a holy trinity, consisting of Muhammad, 'Ali, and Salman al-Farisi, a freed slave of Muhammad's.

      'Alawis celebrate many Christian festivals, including Christmas, New Year's, Epiphany, Easter, Pentecost, and Palm Sunday. They honor many Christian saints: St. Catherine, St. Barbara, St. George, St. John the Baptist, St. John Chrysostom, and St. Mary Magdalene. The Arabic equivalents of such Christian personal names as Gabriel, John, Matthew, Catherine, and Helen, are in common use. And 'Alawis tend to show more friendliness to Christians than to Muslims.

      For these reasons, many observers - missionaries especially - have suspected the 'Alawis of a secret Christian proclivity. Even T. E. Lawrence described them as "those disciples of a cult of fertility, sheer pagan, antiforeign, distrustful of Islam, drawn at moments to Christianity by common persecution." The Jesuit scholar Henri Lammens unequivocally but gullibly concluded from his research that "the Nusayris were Christians"

      Delete
  2. But, but, Rufus had a feeling and those are daid men walking and besides Obama would have been impeached if he didn't go in.

    Who cares about whom we are fighting for as long as we are bombing them?

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I see you are coming to my point of view, Ash.

      We should support the Kurds, the heart of reform Islam.....

      But I never heard Ruf say Obozo would be impeached if he didn't go in........

      But the I sleep to wake, and wake to nap.....taking my waking slowly.....as a dead poet once said, or something like that.

      Delete
    2. But then......

      and now I nap again

      Delete
    3. I just woke up to the fact Deuce has an anti-dote to the American Thinker blog up there on his list.

      This will endear him to Quirk, and to you.

      Delete
    4. There always was the challenge that the ONLY "Active Partners" in Syria were allied against both the Daesh and Israel, Ash.

      Israel prefers Daesh (al-Qeada) in Syria, over the Alawites, Christians and their Kurdish allies

      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.

      Delete
    5. Lovely comments that are distorting and not accurate.

      But if we are honest? Assad is a butcher that makes even ISIS look like babies.

      Since you live on your stolen lands in AZ far from any jihadists? I don't really think your opinion is needed, welcome or informed.

      But one can "hope". "pray" . "wish" that the jihadists coming from the southern border DO FIND YOU…

      That would be funny…

      Killers coming after the self confessed killer….

      Delete
  3. Hezbollah has the most competent army in the Middle East. Just ask the IDF. Hezbollah, in partnership with Lebanese security forces, can stop DAASH or ISIS. Of course, that conflicts with the Israeli narrative for the Conga Line.

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    1. LOL you so funny!

      "Hezbollah, in partnership with Lebanese security forces"

      LOL

      Asking the major Shiite KILLERS to cooperate with their Lebanese VICTIMS to fight ISIS..

      Getting funnier by the day.

      AND all the while Hezbollah/IRan/Syria (with Russian help) continues to slaughter a hundred civilians a day…

      LOL

      Delete
  4. If the US is serious about getting rid of DAASH or ISIS it simply should tell their supporters in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Israel to stay out and let the indigenous forces get rid of them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ISIS is the reaction to the Shiia INVASION of Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

      The Shiites are not indigenous to Syria, Iraq, Lebanon but rather are occupation ground troops of the Iranian mullahs.

      Delete

  5. Israel Is Put on Trial for War Crimes

    AlterNet writer Max Blumenthal describes what he saw in Gaza following a humanitarian ceasefire from last month.




    http://www.alternet.org/world/israel-put-trial-war-crimes?src=newsletter1021048&paging=off&current_page=1#bookmark

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anybody with any sense would get the hell out of there, like that Kurd MP of Parliament in England.

    And Mrs. Arafat in Paris, IMHO.

    If I were Assad I'd buy a ranch in eastern Oregon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just proves, once again, you are a coward that would not fight for your nation, your culture or your family.
      Your draft dodging roots are evidenced, again, Robert Peterson.

      Delete
    2. Robert advises running from the Islamic threat that Daesh represents, rather than standing up to it.
      But wants to end US troops to fight and die, while he advises the natives to run.

      What an oxymoron.

      He shows his disrespect for the lives of US soldiers sailors, airmen and Marines.
      Advocating ending them into harms way, while he would, and did, run the other way.

      Delete
    3. But wants to send US troops to fight and die, while he advises the natives to run.

      Delete
    4. Advocating sending them into harms way, while he would, and did, run the other way.

      Delete
    5. Jack HawkinsMon Sep 29, 06:09:00 AM EDT
      Just proves, once again, you are a coward that would not fight for your nation, your culture or your family.
      Your draft dodging roots are evidenced, again, Robert Peterson.



      Ad hominem LOL

      Delete
  7. If Robert Peterson was the "Leader", why, you could expect him to desert as soon as going got tough.
    He says he would. Should we believe him?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Fuck off.

    By the way I knew you would say that.
    ...............
    Kurds declared themselves a state back after WWII.

    It lasted about two or three years, before it was crushed.

    .............

    Since Jack Crapper has arisen I'm napping.....it ain't worth it........

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Robert Peterson now has the power of prophesy.
      He keeps it internalized, though.

      Delete
    2. Robert Peterson's grasp of history, well, it is feeble.

      He believes that WWII occurred sometime prior to 1922.

      The Kingdom of Kurdistan[2][3] refers to a short-lived unrecognized state proclaimed in the city of Sulaymaniyah following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Officially, the territory involved was under the jurisdiction of the British Mandate of Mesopotamia.

      During the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Kurds in Iraq attempted to establish a semi-independent state. On at least one occasion they succeeded and formed the Kingdom of Kurdistan, which lasted from September 1922 until July 1924.


      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Kurdistan

      Robert, WWII, went from 1939 to 1945, just so you know.
      1922, that was prior to 1939.

      WAKE UP !

      “If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”
      ― Stephen King

      “Think before you speak.
      Read before you think.”

      ― Fran Lebowitz,

      Take heed of the advice, Robert Peterson.

      Delete
  9. Isis fighters are reportedly just one mile away from Baghdad as reports emerge of al-Qaeda militants bolstering their ranks in Syria.

    According to the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East, Isis was approaching the Iraqi capital on Monday morning.

    "The Islamic State are now less than 2km away from entering Baghdad," a spokesperson said.

    "They said it could never happen and now it almost has. Obama says he overestimated what the Iraqi Army could do. Well you only need to be here a very short while to know they can do very very little."

    The news comes amid reports of an emerging alliance between Isis forces in Syria and Jabhat al-Nusra, also known as the Nusra Front.

    The group is the Syrian offshoot of al-Qaeda and has been fighting against the Assad regime in the civil war.

    Despite months of clashes between its forces and Isis (also known as Islamic State) militants, the two groups appear to be forming a loose coalition in parts of the country to fight increasing attacks by the US and its allies.

    {...}

    ReplyDelete
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    1. {...}

      Al-Nusra’s official spokesperson, Abu Firas al-Suri, threatened the coalition nations with retaliation on Saturday.

      “These states have committed a horrible act that is going to put them on the list of jihadist targets throughout the world,” he said.

      “This is not a war against al-Nusra, but a war against Islam.”

      Al-Nusra and Isis leaders are now holding war planning meetings together, a source told the Guardian, although no formal alliance has been confirmed.

      The reports follow growing defections from other Islamist groups to Isis, which is seen as better organised and equipped to create an “Islamic State” straddling Iraq and Syria.

      A loyalty pledge was reportedly made by al-Nusra in June in the town of Al-Bukamal near the Iraqi border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, and the two groups have fought together against Government forces.


      {...}

      Delete
  10. The report appeared to be confirmed on Twitter by a photograph showing an Egyptian al-Nusra Front commander shaking hands with an Isis leader of Chechen origin.

    Although both Isis and al-Nusra are rooted in al-Qaeda, the two have been rivals since Isis started its involvement in Syria’s civil war in spring last year and have engaged in bloody battles killing more than 3,000 militants from both sides.

    A merger had been declared by Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2013, when Isis was known as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), but the alliance was rejected by al-Nusra and overruled by al-Qaeda leader al-Zawahiri.

    But the international response to Isis’ bloody rampage through Iraq and Syria, and the beheadings of British and American hostages, is pushing the groups towards an alliance.

    An al-Nusra source told Reuters: “There are hardline voices inside Nusra who are pushing for reconciliation with Islamic State.”

    A formal alliance is believed to only be possible on the orders of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

    A deal between the militant groups would strengthen the Islamist force in Syria as air strikes cripple Isis funding sources, equipment stores and slow its advances.

    The US has not said al-Nusra is being targeted but its planes have attacked a new group called Khorasan, which some analysts suspect is part of al-Nusra.

    The two groups have been known to co-operate and Khorasan is believed to be made up of veteran al-Qaeda fighters with battlefield experience mostly in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

    Britain, the US and the United Nations are among those who have classed al-Nusra as a terrorist group, citing its use of suicide bombing, terrorist attacks and attempts to impose Islamic law.

    A small number of anti-Government groups, including some members for the secular Free Syrian Army, opposed the label after al-Nusra gained respect fighting the Assad regime.

    INDEPENDENT

    ReplyDelete
  11. I don't buy that story about ISIS being one mile from Baghdad. I would have to see a link from a reputable source on that.

    ReplyDelete
  12. So. What are our "Interests?"

    The Middle East Oil Fields

    Our Immediate, Primary Interest?

    The Iraqi Oil Fields

    ReplyDelete
  13. Found couple of stories about the Daesh closing on Baghdad all have the same source ...

    Canon Andrew White of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East, a British-based charity that supports Iraq’s only Anglican church in Baghdad, said on his Facebook page early Monday morning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think we'd be seeing confirmation by now, don't you?

      We've seen stories of bombings in Baghdad that were attributed to ISIS; does that mean ISIS has taken Baghdad?

      I'll wait for the video. :)

      Delete
    2. That being said, Obama admits that we've "overestimated" the Iraqi Army.

      I'm about ready to go one step further, and say, "What Iraqi Army?"

      Delete
    3. That clusterf**k we've been referring to as "The Iraqi Army" would have a hard time qualifying for the title "mess."

      Delete
    4. The one the US military spent a decade and hundreds of billions of dollars training and equipping.

      Obviously the US military did a poor job.
      Either by design, or because of incompetence.
      Dismantling the US Army's Special Forces, turning them into a SWAT Team can now be seen as a strategic mistake.

      The Iraqi soldier, fought bravely and stood their ground, against human wave attacks of Iranians and then against the high tech onslaught of the US. Now, after being indoctrinated in the current US doctrines, the abandoned their positions and ran like rabbits, when a dozen Toyota trucks were seen on the horizon.

      So it was not the raw material that was faulty, it was their preparation and training, which the US provided, that failed to perform to any reasonable standard.

      A lesson that should be learned, but will be ignored by the politicians with stars on their collars in the Pentagon.

      Delete
    5. I absolutely agree. Humans, by their very nature, are brave fighters - If they have something to fight "for," and If they have strong leadership.

      Between the horrid Iraqi government, and a military leadership that qualifies only for the term "dysfunctional steaming pile of sh*t," the poor Iraqi soldier is lost.

      Delete
    6. And, from the "somebody has to say it" file: It is possible that Sunni Officers just will not fight for a Shia Government.

      Delete
    7. And, conversely, it is possible that a Shia government just will not treat the Sunni troops properly.

      It's just ;possible that that oil found a very challenging place to call home.

      Delete
    8. The fighting, yesterday, was at Almariya al Fallujah, about 25 miles West of Baghdad.

      Iraqi ground forces, backed by air strikes, appear to have halted advancing Islamic State (IS) militants in a town west of Baghdad.

      The BBC's Lyse Doucet in the Iraqi capital says the air strikes followed clashes with IS militants, who have been making gains towards the capital.

      Amariya al-Falluja, 40km (25 miles) from Baghdad, is a key strategic town.

      It comes as a US-led coalition continues to carry out air strikes on IS targets in Syria and Iraq.

      The area around Amariya al-Falluja is now said to be calm, but there is a standoff along the main road to Falluja to the north, which is controlled by IS, our correspondent says


      BBC News

      Delete
    9. Those maps of "who controls what" show solid red West of Baghdad, and, yet, in the last two days we have found out that ISIS not only does not control all of Fallujah, but that it also does not control the key town to the South of Fallujah.

      There be more than a little hybolatin' bullshit goin' on.

      Delete
    10. It's all about the hype, Rufus.

      No money for school lunches, not enough for Aid to Dependent Children ...
      but plenty for airstrikes, and money is not an object, if we invade Iraq, again.

      Boehner: US may have 'no choice' on combat troops
      USA TODAY-
      WASHINGTON — The top Republican in the U.S. House said Sunday that the United States may ultimately have to send in troops to combat the ...

      Delete
    11. Yeah, and the media (liberal, as well as conservative) are just as much to blame as the MIC, and politicians.

      Delete
    12. They are all inter-connected, Rufus.
      The "Media" is about a dozen guys.
      Rupert Murdock, ‎Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr., Brian L. Roberts, Leslie Moonves

      The politicians are wholly owned subsidiaries of the MIC ... Obama - Crown illustrate that.

      Delete
    13. Leslie Moonves and Hillary Clinton ... the $8 million dollar advance ...
      Chelsea working for Brian L Roberts ... about $3 million over two years.

      It is a tangled web they weave, as they practice to deceive.

      Delete
    14. BUT, an extremely Profitable web.

      Delete
  14. Median Income fell under Reagan, and the Bushes, and Rose Sharply under Clinton,

    and yet, the Rich have managed to convince the "tea partiers" that their problems are caused by the N*****s, and their liberal sponsors.

    Peepuls are not only inherently brave, they are, also, inherently racist as all hell.

    To the point that, immersed in a crowd, they can do things that stretch the wildest bounds of stupidity.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. .

      all perception
      is projection
      - a nlp-ism


      tara

      .

      Delete
  15. .

    And how are we going to “destroy” ISIS when Obama has ruled out U.S. combat troops and not one NATO or Arab ally has offered to send combat troops?

    Consider Turkey. With its 400,000-man army, 1,000 planes, 3,600 tanks, 3,000 artillery pieces and self-propelled guns, the Turks, the largest military power in the Middle East, could make hash of the Islamic State.


    From this, I can only conclude that Buchanan is suggesting that it would be nice if Turkey invaded Syria with ground troops. To which I would only suggest Buchanan is dipping his toes into batshit crazy territory.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Buchanan dove head-first into that pool a long time ago.

      However, Turkey does want to create a buffer occupied zone a few miles into Syria - Translated: they want to annex the Kurd areas. Those Turks Are a piece of work. They always bear watching.

      Delete
    2. The Turks have been making noise about revitalizing the Ottoman 'Empire'.

      Delete
    3. Sultan Erdogan: Turkey's Rebranding Into the New, Old Ottoman Empire

      http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/04/sultan-erdogan-turkeys-rebranding-into-the-new-old-ottoman-empire/274724/

      Delete
    4. The Turks do have tanks on the border, near the battle of Kobane.
      The Turks have closed the border to anyone ting to enter Syria to assist the Kurds, in Kobane.

      While Turkey's rhetoric against the Islamic State has increased, it continues to keep its territory off-limits to the U.S.-led coalition conducting airstrikes against the militants.

      This is causing friction with both Washington and Turkey's Kurdish minority. Villagers here blame Turkey's earlier open-door policy for jihadists wanting to topple Syria's regime with actually ending up helping the Islamic State rise to power — from a local militia in Iraq to a powerful force threatening the entire region and the West.


      http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/09/28/turkey-syria-kurds-airstrikes/16387335/

      Delete
    5. The Turks have closed the border to anyone trying to enter Syria to assist the Kurds, in Kobane.

      Delete
  16. Prince Turki Al-Faisal, former Saudi Arabian ambassador to the U.S., tells CBS This Morning Anchor Norah O’Donnell, he hopes the airstrikes that include Saudi planes against ISIS are the first step in ultimately removing Syrian leader Bashar Assad.

    He also says that ISIS are not considered Muslims by the Saudi Arabian government.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Eleven air strikes targeted ISIS positions in Syria and Iraq, the U.S. military said Monday - adding that it had no evidence so far of civilian casualties. “In Syria, one air strike near Dayr ar Zawr destroyed one [ISIS] armed vehicle while another destroyed an [ISIS] anti-aircraft artillery transport vehicle,” US Central Command said in a statement. One of the other air strikes carried out on Sunday and early Monday was hit a training camp and a vehicle staging area adjacent to a grain storage facility near Manbij, the statement added.

    "We are aware of media reports alleging civilian casualties, but have no evidence to corroborate these claims," Colonel Patrick Ryder, a spokesman at Central Command told Reuters, adding that the military took such reports seriously and would look into . . . .

    NBC News

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    1. .

      Eleven air strikes targeted ISIS positions in Syria and Iraq, the U.S. military said Monday - adding that it had no evidence so far of civilian casualties.

      We went through eight months of bombing in Libya and the US military indicated they had no evidence of civilian casualties there. Evidently, YouTube videos and eyewitness testimony were insufficient proof.

      You don't see when you don't look.

      .

      Delete
    2. I have no doubt that there will be civilian casualties, or that there probably already has been. However, if the he said/she said is between the DOD and Al Queda . . . . . . . . well, hell . . .

      Delete
    3. .

      That you would take the word of either without big dose of salt...........well, hell...

      .

      Delete
    4. Let's just say that I would be inclined to "split the difference."

      :)

      Delete
  18. Meanwhile, E85 is selling for $1.99 / Gallon in Corbin, Ky.

    Ky. Prices

    ReplyDelete
  19. So, we have a fuel that can get about the same mileage as gasoline,

    being produced from corn cobs, and stalks, wheat straw, sugar cane bagasse, and native grasses,

    and costing a third (or more) less than the petroleum-based fuel,

    and we continue to let the nay-sayers keep us locked into a perpetual war for Middle East oil.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a tangled web they weave, as they practice to deceive.

      Delete
    2. But, if you mention it, you are called a "Fanatic.

      Delete
    3. You are dismissed as one who reads "Cornpone Quarterly."

      Delete
  20. Just read some snippets of Bibi's speech at UN, his lips were moving and the bullshit was flowing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Coming from a Jew hating piece of shit like you?

      That's a compliment.

      Go fuck yourself you slimly Jew hating prick.

      Delete
    2. typical vapid response from "O"rdure

      Delete
  21. Gunfire rang out from across the border and a plume of smoke rose over Kobani as periodic shelling by Islamic State fighters took place. Kurds watching the fighting from the Turkish side of the border said the Syrian Kurdish group, the YPG, was putting up a strong defence.

    "Many Islamic State fighters have been killed. They're not taking the bodies with them," said Ayhan, a Turkish Kurd who had spoken by phone with one of his friends fighting with the YPG. He said Kurdish forces had picked up eight Islamic State bodies.

    At Mursitpinar, the nearby border crossing, scores of young men were returning to Syria saying they would join the fight. More . . . .

    Not Taking the Bodies?

    ReplyDelete
  22. 27 killed in air strikes against militants in Iraq

    [ 29 September 2014 22:45 ]

    Baku-APA. At least 27 people were killed on Monday in air strikes and clashes between the Iraqi security forces and insurgent militants, including those of the Islamic State (IS) group, security sources said, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

    In Salahudin province, at least 10 IS militants were killed in air strikes believed to be carried out by U.S. warplanes on IS positions at al-Zuwiyah village outside the city of Baiji, some 200 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a provincial security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    In the eastern province of Diyala, Iraqi security forces, backed by Shiite militia, carried out an operation at a village near the town of Maqdadiyah, and killed Abu Baker al-Shishani, a provincial leader of the IS group, and captured four of his aides, a provincial security source told Xinhua.

    Separately, heavy clashes occurred during the day when Kurdish security forces, known as Peshmerga, repelled an attack by IS militants in Kobashi area outside the militant-seized town of Jalawlaa, some 130 km northeast of Baghdad, Mahmoud Sinkawi, a Peshmerga leader, told reporters.

    Also on Monday morning, five IS militants were killed and eight others wounded, including three local leaders, when a bomb was apparently accidentally detonated inside a makeshift hospital in central Jalawlaa, a provincial security source told Xinhua.

    The huge blast destroyed part of . . . .

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    1. sheesh, I lost the freak'n link.

      Delete
    2. Lots and lots of civilians dying, no phone calls warning of the upcoming strikes, no leaflets, not "knock knock bombs" Just good ole fashioned blowing up all in the way…

      LOL

      Delete
    3. No, Not "lots and lots of civilians dying."

      It turns out that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is just a mouthpiece for, basically, Al Queda, known in Syria as The Al Nusra Front.

      Delete
    4. The irony of US meddling is that Al Nursa and IS were duking it out between them but since the US stepped in they allied.

      Delete
    5. So, now we've heard from the Israeli, and the guy that wouldn't help save 40,000 men, women, and children trapped on a mountain.

      Delete
    6. Good thing that they kissed and made up before that $500 million in guns & ammo found its way to them.

      Just another indicator that Daesh is al-Qeada.

      Delete
    7. Rufus, you heard from a REAL American.

      Like it or not…

      But you haven't read my posts or you would know that I proposed "safe zones" WEEKS ago.

      Now what I won't do it by into the bullshit that the Suns are ANY WORSE than the Shits.

      Your "pals" the Syrians, Iranians and Hezbollah have murdered over 200,00 IN THIS CONFLICT alone!!!

      I guess it takes a special kind of coward like you to sit and be a monday morning quarterback.

      Delete
    8. "Real American" my rusty red ass.

      And, I'm a Bohemian Ballerina.

      Delete
  23. It's the "Jack and Rufus Show Comedy Hours"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Such good news, local forces are taking the initative, and with a little close air support from a coalition of allies, are beginning to make headway against the Daesh.
      The Daesh have had their ninety days, and now the Iraqi Army has found some leaders that have not been paid off by the Saudis or have sympathetic relationship with the Daesh.

      Little wonder that "O"rdure and Bibi are getting frantic.
      Their proxy is not doing well.

      Israel prefers Daesh (al-Qeada) in Syria, over the Alawites, Christians and their Kurdish allies

      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.

      Looks like their boys are getting spanked.

      Delete
    2. Comin' their way is an 'Old Fashioned Ass Whupping.'

      :)

      Delete
    3. Hardly…

      According to you we have a plan…. As long as the shit and the suns beat the crap out of each other? As long as they spend treasure fighting each other? As long as they create a shit society for each other?

      Israel wins.

      Here is the scorecard:

      Assad 200,000 killed, 1.2 million wounded, 11 million homeless
      Isis 12,000 killed 50,000 wounded, 400,000 homeless.

      either way?

      It's all good.

      Delete
    4. Now America is killing civilians for Assad…

      Human Rights Group: U.S. Airstrike Killed Civilians in Syria

      The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that American-led airstrikes against targets inside of Syria reportedly hit a grain silo and caused a number of civilian casualties. As the AP reported, Rami Abdurrahman, the group's director, said the civilians were killed in overnight coalitions raids on four different Syrian provinces.

      They killed only civilians there, workers at the site. There was no ISIS inside," he said, using an alternative name for the Islamic State group. The airstrikes "destroyed the food that was stored there."

      Cool….

      America destroying food to starve the moslems. AND killing civilians to boot…

      All good I guess.

      Delete
    5. Now this is cool…

      Syria's Nusra Front 'kills Lebanese soldier'
      Al-Qaeda-linked group says it has killed one of 10 Lebanese soldiers it is holding in hopes of a prisoner exchange.

      Yep gots to love the Shits verses the Suns...

      Delete
    6. Not sure if this is the same as the attack on the grain silo, but what the heck

      REPORT: U.S. AIR STRIKE IN SYRIA KILLS SIX CHILDREN, ZERO ISIS MEMBERS
      "There are no ISIS members here"

      by PAUL JOSEPH WATSON | SEPTEMBER 25, 2014

      Residents of a village in northwestern Syria are in shock after U.S. air strikes demolished two neighborhoods, despite there being no ISIS militants in the area, killing 27 people including six children.

      Delete
    7. Now this is yummy:

      Islamist gunmen kill two soldiers in western Algeria

      AFP, Algiers
      Monday, 29 September 2014
      Islamist gunmen have killed two soldiers in western Algeria less than a week after extremist-linked militants beheaded a French hostage they abducted east of the capital, press reports said Monday.

      The two soldiers were ambushed on Sunday as they inspected a power plant in the town of Telagh, 150 kilometers south of Algeria’s second city Oran, the reports said.

      Islamist militants, some of them loyal to Al-Qaeda, remain active in several areas of Algeria more than a decade after the end of the country’s devastating 1992-2002 civil war.

      World outrage

      On Wednesday, a extremist splinter group sparked world outrage by executing French hostage Herve Gourdel in retaliation for French air strikes on the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in video footage it posted online.

      Gourdel was kidnapped while hiking in the Djurdjura National Park, east of Algiers, once a major tourist attraction but a hideout for Islamist militants since the 1990s.

      The army says it has killed at least 71 suspected militants in operations so far this year.

      Yep islam, a faith to lose your head over.

      Delete
    8. "The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights" is NOT a human rights group.

      It is a mouthpiece for the Al Nusra Front, which is "Al Queda in Syria."

      Your buddies.

      They claim that it was the grain elevator that was hit.

      The DOD Has Video that shows that it was the"ISIS vehicle staging facility" next door - ie. the target.

      Delete
    9. Yep, look at "O"rdure complain about Israel's proxies getting spanked, while the Christians, Kurds and Alawites are beginning to hold their own.

      Israel prefers al-Qeada, but that is a bridge to far, even for the Conga Line in DC.

      Delete
    10. Rufus IIMon Sep 29, 05:18:00 PM EDT
      "The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights" is NOT a human rights group.

      It is a mouthpiece for the Al Nusra Front, which is "Al Queda in Syria."

      Your buddies.


      Nope not MY buddies… I only like the Suns and Shits (that are jihadists) to be dead.

      Delete
    11. Jack HawkinsMon Sep 29, 05:19:00 PM EDT
      Yep, look at "O"rdure complain about Israel's proxies getting spanked, while the Christians, Kurds and Alawites are beginning to hold their own.


      Let's see the Alawites have already murdered 200,000, and wounded 1.2 million and made homeless 11 million..

      Your hĂ©ros…

      Satanic death cult members

      Delete
    12. You want to see who's on what side? It's easy. Who's bitching, and spreading disinformation?

      Delete
    13. Just listen to Michael Oren, Israel's Ambassador to the United States from 2009 through 2013.
      He speaks the truth when he says that ...

      Israel prefers Daesh (al-Qeada) in Syria, over the Alawites, Christians and their Kurdish allies

      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.

      Delete
    14. What did Roosevelt say about ISIS?

      Just as timely

      Delete
    15. I heard that John Wayne hated ISIS

      Just as timely

      Delete
    16. Rufus IIMon Sep 29, 05:23:00 PM EDT
      You want to see who's on what side? It's easy. Who's bitching, and spreading disinformation?

      That would be you...

      Delete
    17. Timely, you're the one that keeps bringing up 1948, and even the League of Nations.


      Israel's Ambassador to the US and what he said just one year ago, is much timelier than the "League of Nations" ...

      Get a grip "O"rdure, you'll be seeing tha quoe of Michael Oren's for years to come.
      Or until Israel joins the coalition of US allies fighting Daesh (al-Qeada).

      Because it is important that all of US know that ...
      Israel prefers Daesh (al-Qeada) in Syria, over the Alawites, Christians and their Kurdish allies

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

      Delete
    18. Israel would accept a Jeffersonian democracy in Syria, however the truth?

      ISIS and Assad are both nazi Jihadists.

      Just like the kind of group our own Jack Hawkins served in when he was a hired gun in Central America.

      Delete
    19. Jack, just how many civilians did you execute?

      Delete
  24. Gillian Tett feels sorry for BIll Gross, who was caught unaware by the sudden shift in bond market behavior. Who could have predicted that interest rates would stay low despite large budget deficits?

    Um, how about Pimco’s own chief economist, Paul McCulley?

    The truth is that the quiescence of interest and inflation rates was predicted by everyone who understood the obvious — that we had entered a liquidity trap — and thought through the implications. I explained it more than five years ago. When central banks have pushed policy rates as low as they can, and the economy is still depressed, what that tells you is that the economy is awash in excess desired savings that have nowhere to go. And as I wrote:


    So what does government borrowing do? It gives some of those excess savings a place to go — and in the process expands overall demand, and hence GDP. It does NOT crowd out private spending, at least not until the excess supply of savings has been sopped up, which is the same thing as saying not until the economy has escaped from the liquidity trap.


    So no crowding out, no reason interest rates should rise.

    And Paul McCulley understood all this really well (pdf):


    [I]n the topsy-turvy world of liquidity traps, these textbook orthodoxies do not apply, and acting irresponsibly relative to orthodoxy by increasing borrowing will do more good than harm.



    Crowding out, overheating and rising interest rates are also not likely to be a problem as there is no competition for funds from the private sector. For evidence, look no further than the impact of government borrowing on long-term interest rates in the U.S. during . . . . . . .

    Nobody could have predicted?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've said, here, many times that I thought McCulley was the true brains in the Pimco barn.

      Delete
    2. Same as the folks that wrote the Supply Side Nightmare Scenario.

      There is so much capital floating about, that interest rates cannot go up, because there is insufficient demand for manufactured products. The 'newly liberated' are not consuming like their counterparts in the US and Europe, they are savers.

      It has thrown a spanner in the works.

      Supply Side Nightmare

      http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/a-supply-side-nightmare-scenar/

      Delete
    3. They'll work for peanuts, and then, save the freakin' peanuts, meanwhile American workers are out of work (or, if they can find work, are working for a wage that requires gov. assistance just to survive.)

      Yeah, "supply side" is a hell of a plan.

      Delete
  25. Seditious Republicans Spend Paid Vacation Instigating Rebellion Among Military Generals

    Tea Party Republican Congressman Doug Lamborn of Colorado is spending his seven week paid vacation “behind the scenes” urging military generals to resign in protest of President Obama’s policies.

    This is very different from Allan West’s attempt to instigate a military rebellion via Facebook, as reported by Justin Baragona on Friday. True, West and Lamborn rely on Tea Party mythology to rally dissent within the military. However, as a former one-term Congressman, West is reduced to making his case on Facebook. Lamborn is a sitting Congressman and a member of the House Armed Services Committee with all the power that comes with those positions. He is also trying to incite rebellion at the highest levels of the military.

    According to Cory Hutchins of Main.com, Lamborn admitted that he and unnamed others are asking Generals to quit the military during a meeting with 50 Tea Party supporters in a bar basement on Tuesday night.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Ayn Rand?

    Wasn't that Deuce's old heroine before he turned left?

    ReplyDelete
  27. Eye on the News

    Heather Mac Donald

    Comparing American Cops with Islamic Terrorists

    With his U.N. speech, President Obama sinks to a shameful new low.
    25 September 2014

    'The idea that the Ferguson riots were the result of a predatory police force tantamount to sectarian murderers in the Middle East is a poisonous calumny. The threat to America’s blacks comes almost exclusively from other blacks, not from the police. Every year, thousands of African Americans are gunned down by other African Americans, with no attention from the media and local government officials. The homicide death rate for blacks in Los Angeles, for example, like in most other American cities, is ten times that for whites. It’s not whites or police officers who are gunning down black Angelenos, it’s other blacks, killing in cold blood, also at ten times the rate of white and Hispanic homicide commission combined.'

    http://www.city-journal.org/2014/eon0925hm.html

    Worst President ever.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked each other in speeches before world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly. Here is look at some of their remarks:

    GENOCIDE:

    In his speech on Friday, Abbas accused Israel of conducting a "war of genocide" during this summer's 50-day war in Gaza, saying the Israeli military targeted civilians and committed war crimes.

    Netanyahu said Monday that Hamas committed "the real war crimes" in Gaza by using Palestinian civilians as human shields. He said that those who intend to carry out genocide don't warn people to evacuate targeted areas by dropping flyers, making phone calls, sending text messages and broadcast warnings in Arabic on Palestinian television, as Israel did.

    A CHANCE AT PEACE

    In his address to world leaders, Abbas said the Israeli government had undermined every opportunity for peace. He said that throughout months of peace negotiations, Israel has continued to breach agreements, build settlements, confiscate land, and force the displacement of people in the West Bank.

    Netanyahu said Israel wants peace with the Palestinians. He said the challenge is militant Islam, and a broader rapprochement between Israel and other Arab countries including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

    OCCUPATION

    Abbas said in his address that peace is not possible under the scenario of occupation proposed by the Israelis. "The future proposed by the Israeli government for the Palestinian people is at best isolated ghettos for Palestinians on fragmented lands, without borders and without sovereignty over its airspace, water and natural resources."

    Netanyahu refuted arguments that Israel was occupying lands. "I'm ready to make a historic compromise, not because Israel is occupying a foreign land.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Profound analysis there, Jack.

      Delete
    2. The simple truth, nothing profound about it.
      The Israeli have policies, it kills 12 to 20 Palestinian children every month, on average, have since the turn of the century.

      Nothing profound in recognizing that ...

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

      Birds of a feather, they prefer each other.

      Delete
    3. The only good rat is a lab rat.

      Delete
  29. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-an-hour-away-from-baghdad--with-no-sign-of-iraq-army-being-able-to-make-a-successful-counterattack-9763658.html
    Isis an hour away from Baghdad - with no sign of Iraq army being able to make a successful counter-attack

    A BASKET OF SNAKES

    There are NO good guys, only marginally less dangerous guys.

    ReplyDelete
  30. http://www.france24.com/en/20140929-pillaging-iraqi-artefacts-unesco-warns/
    IS pillaging Iraqi artefacts, UNESCO warns

    "In another incident, "Daesh gathered over 1,500 manuscripts from convents and other holy places and burnt all of them in the middle of the city square," he added."

    We are not allowed to touch the "holy" Quran without gloved hands. "Some folks need killin.'"

    ...savages...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, it is a savage culture that would stoop to book burning.

      A hundred years before the advent of Hitler, the German-Jewish poet, Heinrich Heine, had declared:
      "Wherever books are burned, human beings are destined to be burned too."

      On the night of May 10, 1933, an event unseen in Europe since the Middle Ages occurred as German students from universities once regarded as among the finest in the world, gathered in Berlin to burn books with "unGerman" ideas.
      …. http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/triumph/tr-bookburn.htm

      May 20, 2008 - Orthodox Jews burn hundreds of New Testaments in latest act of violence against Christian missionaries in Israel. ... The Maariv newspaper reported Tuesday that hundreds of students took part in the book-burning. . . .
      https://www.google.com/search?q=israel+book+burning&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb

      Delete
    2. They did not burn ancient irreplaceable manuscripts. They are not destroying the patrimony of humankind in places such as Nineveh.

      Israel's orthodox jews won't be burning anyone; they are cowards.

      For the record, nothing surprises me about the misadventures of ultra-orthodox jews. Today some of the top leaders in the Rabbinate were sentenced to prison for defrauding the government of about 350M shekels. These holy men were selling certificates of ordination to bidders. These certificates guarantee a government monthly stipend running into thousands of shekels per month to each bogus rabbi created thereby. In my opinion, much of the Rabbinate is hopelessly corrupt. I despise them for the damage they do to Jews who won't enter a synagogue because of them.

      Delete

  31. Obama Invites Indian Leader to Dinner While He Is Observing Religious Fast
    Administration under fire for perceived insensitivity to Hindu traditions

    Narendra Modi / AP

    BY: Adam Kredo
    September 29, 2014 3:30 pm

    The Obama administration was grilled on Monday for inviting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a state dinner while he is fasting as part of a Hindu religious observance, a move that has been criticized by some as insensitive.

    Obama will host Modi Monday evening at the White House “for a private dinner” that will also be attended by Vice President Joe Biden, the White House announced Monday morning. The event is closed to the press.

    However, the administration appears to have forgotten that Modi is in the middle of carrying out a religious fast in observance of the Hindu navratri, in which the faithful abstain from food, according to reports............

    http://freebeacon.com/politics/obama-invites-indian-leader-to-dinner-while-he-is-observing-religious-fast/


    Beef steaks are probably on the White House menu.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Curried beef, a favorite of the Gorkhas, will be available. Yes, there will be yogurt and saffron.

      Delete
  32. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-29/iraqi-troops-trapped-by-islamic-state-as-fighting-rages-in-west.html
    Islamic State Overruns Iraq Army to Seize Towns, Official Says

    "The militant group has captured Albu Etha and al-Hamdhiya, Faleh al-Issawi, deputy head of Anbar provincial council, said by phone today. He said some Iraqi troops were killed and others deserted their posts, without giving details."

    ReplyDelete
  33. https://screen.yahoo.com/troops-think-deployment-fight-isis-145113667.html
    What Troops Think About Deployment to Iraq (Military Times)

    70% against U.S. boots on the ground

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seems about right, the only contributor here at the Elephant Bar that favors inserting US combat troops into the battle is Robert Peterson, the man who admitted to being a draft dodger.

      Delete
  34. http://www.businessinsider.com/isis-is-getting-closer-to-baghdad-2014-9
    ISIS Seems To Be Getting Closer And Closer To Baghdad

    “'The Islamic State are now less than 2km (1.2 miles) away from entering Baghdad. They said it could never happen and now it almost has,' Canon Andrew White of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East, a British-based charity that supports Iraq’s only Anglican church in Baghdad, said on his Facebook page early Monday morning. 'Obama says he overestimated what the Iraqi Army could do. Well, you only need to be here a very short while to know they can do very, very little.'”

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is only one source for this story, it is a sham, misinformation.

      Delete
    2. Just like you, a sham, and misinformation.........

      Delete
    3. When were you put on the No Fly List, Jack?

      Delete
    4. Yes, Bob, the story came from a disreputable source, trusted by millions. "He who judges all" has a readership of four?

      Yesterday, Britain's recently retired Army Chief said the mission in Iraq is hopeless. He could be wrong, but those Iraqi Army boots generally seem to be running backward. Iraq cannot be governed without a military. It hasn't one.

      Delete
  35. When the American Indian fought the European conquerors they won a few "battles," but they never had a chance.

    They didn't have the numbers, or the economic power. The Daesh are in the same boat. They'll win an isolated skirmish, here and there (for awhile,) but they are, as the great military strategist from Mississippi put it, Daid Men Walkin'.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "They didn't have the numbers, or the economic power."

      As was said by that handsome S.O.B. Rhett Butler in Gone With The Wind -

      "No cannon, darling."

      Ah, here he is, now playing guitar in another life -

      http://www.rhettbutler.org/

      Delete
  36. The Iraqi Army is a figment of imagination. Native Americans fought bravely against the well armed armies of Europe and later the U.S. The political leadership of the West intended to exterminate them and nearly did. That is a rather large difference.

    If the U.S. put boots on the ground, with all that entails, these savages would be ground into the dust in weeks. Since the U.S. has no such intention, I would hesitate writing IS off. It would not surprise me if an armistice of some sort is reached and temporary boundaries drawn partitioning Iraq.

    The hatreds among the three dominate Islamic sects in Iraq are so great, there will not be peace. Moreover, it is not in the interest of Saudi Arabia, Iran, or Russia that there be peace. Saudi Arabia needs the security of an indefinite American presence as a barrier against Iran. Iran needs an indefinite presence to secure the security of its vassals, the Iraqi government. Russia needs the U.S. diverted to carry out its European adventures. It was reported today that the German Army is not prepared to face a medium level military threat. That must be music to Mr. Putin's ears.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. " It would not surprise me if an armistice of some sort is reached and temporary boundaries drawn partitioning Iraq. "

      I hope that happens. Into three parts.

      If ISIS were being routed their savagery would likely grow, not lessen.

      Delete
    2. IS made great headway, today, against the Kurds at the Turkish border. They continue to grow in numbers.

      Delete

  37. Why the Economy is Still Failing Most Americans

    Sunday, September 28, 2014

    I was in Seattle, Washington, recently, to congratulate union and community organizers who helped Seattle enact the first $15 per hour minimum wage in the country.

    Other cities and states should follow Seattle’s example.

    Contrary to the dire predictions of opponents, the hike won’t cost Seattle jobs. In fact, it will put more money into the hands of low-wage workers who are likely to spend almost all of it in the vicinity. That will create jobs.

    Conservatives believe the economy functions better if the rich have more money and everyone else has less. But they’re wrong. It’s just the opposite.

    The real job creators are not CEOs or corporations or wealthy investors. The job creators are members of America’s vast middle class and the poor, whose purchases cause businesses to expand and invest.

    America’s wealthy are richer than they’ve ever been. Big corporations are sitting on more cash they know what to do with. Corporate profits are at record levels. CEO pay continues to soar.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But the wealthy aren’t investing in new companies. Between 1980 and 2014, the rate of new business formation in the United States dropped by half, according to a Brookings study released in May.

      Corporations aren’t expanding production or investing in research and development. Instead, they’re using their money to buy back their shares of stock.

      There’s no reason for them to expand or invest if customers aren’t buying.

      Consumer spending has grown more slowly in this recovery than in any previous one because consumers don’t have enough money to buy.

      All the economic gains have been going to the top.

      The Commerce Department reported last Friday that the economy grew at a 4.6 percent annual rate in the second quarter of the year.

      So what? The median household’s income continues to drop.

      Median household income is now 8 percent below what it was in 2007, adjusted for inflation. It’s 11 percent below its level in 2000.

      Delete
    2. It used to be that economic expansions improved the incomes of the bottom 90 percent more than the top 10 percent.

      But starting with the “Reagan” recovery of 1982 to 1990, the benefits of economic growth during expansions have gone mostly to the top 10 percent.

      Since the current recovery began in 2009, all economic gains have gone to the top 10 percent. The bottom 90 percent has lost ground.

      We’re in the first economic upturn on record in which 90 percent of Americans have become worse off.

      Why did the playing field start to tilt against the middle class in the Reagan recovery, and why has it tilted further ever since?

      Don’t blame globalization. Other advanced nations facing the same global competition have managed to preserve middle class wages. Germany’s median wage is now higher than America’s.

      One factor here has been a sharp decline in union membership. In the mid 1970s, 25 percent of the private-sector workforce was unionized.

      Then came the Reagan revolution. By the end of the 1980s, only 17 percent of the private workforce was unionized. Today, fewer than 7 percent of the nation’s private-sector workers belong to a union.

      This means most workers no longer have the bargaining power to get a share of the gains from growth.

      Another structural change is the drop in the minimum wage. In 1979, it was $9.67 an hour (in 2013 dollars). By 1990, it had declined to $6.84. Today it’s $7.25, well below where it was in 1979.

      Given that workers are far more productive now – computers have even increased the output of retail and fast food workers — the minimum wage should be even higher.

      By setting a floor on wages, a higher minimum helps push up other wages. It undergirds higher median household incomes.

      Delete
    3. The only way to grow the economy in a way that benefits the bottom 90 percent is to change the structure of the economy. At the least, this requires stronger unions and a higher minimum wage.

      It also requires better schools for the children of the bottom 90 percent, better access to higher education, and a more progressive tax system.

      GDP growth is less and less relevant to the wellbeing of most Americans. We should be paying less attention to growth and more to median household income.

      If the median household’s income is is heading upward, the economy is in good shape. If it’s heading downward, as it’s been for this entire recovery, we’re all in deep trouble.

      Delete