To You and Yours

Happy Hanukkah

... proclaimed President Obama as he simultaneously reversed a policy of long standing and had the U.S. abstain from a vote at the UN condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank  and calling for them to end. I doubt that any photo ops were allowed to avoid recording the smirk on his face. It took a lot of chutzpah to be quite so brazen in knifing a friend.

www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/12/23/hanukkah-obama-wishes-jews-happy-chanukah-stabs-israel-un/

Situational Awareness

Situational awareness is critical for fighter and attack pilots - where are the threats, what are they, where am I, etc. I have been a critic of the new Lockheed F-35 program as too expensive, too long-delayed, and not capable enough. The final judgment, however, belongs to the guys who have to fly them into combat and a number of them are saying some pretty good things about this airplane:

"My first “aha” moment was a seemingly simple thing. I was executing a familiarization flight near MCAS Yuma. I was coming back to the airfield and I basically just turned the jet and pointed its nose at Yuma. Immediately the jet is providing me the information of all the traffic that is out there in the airspace. When I talk to approach for the first time they are telling me about the traffic that is out there that I already know about and I see it. I can tell who everybody is that he is talking about and the jet also saw traffic that ATC hadn’t seen yet and I asked about it." 

"I was leading a four ship of F-35s on a strike against 4th Gen adversaries, F-16s and F/A-18s. We fought our way in, we mapped the target, found the target, dropped JDAMs on the target and turned around and fought our way out. All the targets got hit, nobody got detected, and all the adversaries died. I thought, yes, this works, very, very, very well. Never detected, nobody had any idea we were out there."

"I am coming in to perform the simulated weapons release, and Red Air is coming the other direction. I have enough situational awareness to assess whether Red Air is going to be a factor to me by the time I release the weapon. I can make the decision, I’m going to go to the target, I’m going to release this weapon. Simultaneously I pre-target the threat, and as soon as I release the A2G weapon, I can flip a switch with my thumb and shoot the Red Air. This is difficult to do in a 4thGen fighter, because there is so much manipulation of systems in the cockpit. All while paying attention to the basic mechanics of flying the airplane and interpreting threat warnings that are often very vague, or only directional. In the F-35 I know where the threats are, what they are and I can thread the needle. I can tell that the adversary is out in front of me and I can make a very, very smart decision about whether to continue or get out of there. All that, and I can very easily switch between mission sets."

These are Marine pilots who get down in the weeds with their fellow Marines and they are notoriously no-nonsense and these are good reports. Time will tell but maybe I and a lot of others were wrong and we have a winner here. I hope so for the sake of the folks who fly them and the security of our country.

theaviationist.com/2016/12/08/four-of-the-most-experienced-usmc-f-35b-pilots-speak-about-their-aircraft-and-they-say-its-exceptional/

Huh?

National Review reports that our neighbor to the north is considering legislation to allow people to carry pepper spray for self-protection, guns already having been banned, Of course there is dissent. Always. For example: 

"Canada’s minister of status of women, Patty Hajdu, has denounced a proposal that would allow Canadians to carry pepper spray, saying it’s “offensive” to women because it focuses on women protecting themselves rather than on stopping men from attacking."

Well, ah, okay Patty, so we shouldn't arm cops - excuse me, Mounties - because we're not focusing on stopping criminals? What's in your tea up there?

www.nationalreview.com/article/442899/canadian-politician-pepper-spray-offensive-women-men-rape

Silent Night

Snow that sticks is a rarity in Western Oregon but today it did and I like it. Everything has slowed down, which is entirely appropriate 11 days before Christmas. The traffic sounds are muffled to non-existent, hurried shopping trips have ceased. It's nice, this respite. Friends in snowier climes laugh but that's alright. There's peace on earth here tonight and that is a good thing anywhere. May the peace of the Lord be with you wherever you may be, snow or not. 

Holiday Travel Fun

Airlines are starting to bring back some amenities to the coach section but Delta clearly has outdone itself. The airline now offers free assistance to deboard on its flights! Take a look at the video in the link and see how the new service works. Awesome! Kidding. 

This gal walked on the plane without checking in or showing a boarding pass. That's a no-no and Detroit's finest provided deboarding assistance to her. Passengers flying with her said she had a huge case of attitude. Well, no altitude because of attitude for this senorita. Holiday flying - ain't it great!

www.foxnews.com/travel/2016/12/13/woman-dragged-off-delta-flight-by-police-after-reportedly-failing-to-check-in-at-gate.html

Color Me Skeptical

The Polar Vortex is caused by Global Warming, right? That's at least the current line. But wait - notice the date on the photo above. That's right, 1974 and it says the earth was in for a disastrous period of Global Cooling. Say what? As Delingpole notes in the the article linked below, perhaps warming and cooling cycles are just normal variations and we're in a cooling cycle now. Honest, I really think we can quit hyperventilating and spending kazillions of dollars on this, money that can be put to much better uses. 

www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/12/10/polar-vortex-next-big-thing-climate-scaremongering/

One Who Was Saved

China has a one-child policy that is sexist in operation in that many parents abort girls in favor of boys whom they see as better able to support them in their dotage. This is a nice story about Anni Zhang, a young lady whose parents refused to abort her and who ultimately left China with them for the United States. Ms. Zhang is now getting ready for her debut at Carnegie Hall after she won an international piano competition. Think about her the next time someone blithely talks about a "woman's right to choose" and think instead about all the world class musicians, scientists, athletes, etc. who have been lost to the world. And enjoy the talent of one who was not.

www.wnd.com/2016/12/girl-who-was-not-supposed-to-be-born-heading-to-carnegie/

Methuselah Lives!

Mick Jagger just had baby #8 at age 73. You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din. Good luck dude. 

www.breitbart.com/news/mick-jagger-welcomes-baby-no-8-at-age-73/

Elections Have Consequences

And good ones, apparently. U.S. Steel CEO Mario Longhi said that his company and the steel industry as a whole may rehire as many as 10,000 workers because of anticipated improvements in the tax laws and a reduction in excessive environmental regulations. On top of Carrier and Ford, Trump is producing an upswing in American jobs before he even takes office. May it continue and expand after January 20.

townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2016/12/09/us-steel-wants-to-bring-back-10000-jobs-n2257013

Small Victories

Macy's announced that it has ceased contributions to Planned Parenthood. Good for Macy's not wanting to be associated with a baby body parts supplier! Several other major corporations dropped PP last year after the body parts scandal broke, including AT&T, Coca Cola, Ford and Xerox. Good for them too! Step-by-step the pro-life side is winning the battle against this monstrous evil. 

www.lifenews.com/2016/12/07/macys-we-no-longer-donate-to-planned-parenthood-abortion-business/?

A Modest Proposal for College Reform

Victor Davis Hanson (who is in residence at the Hoover Institute at Stanford) makes a modest proosal to reform colleges that are charging students a bazillion dollars for an education that all too often doesn't even qualify them to handle the counter at Starbuck's:

"... how bizarre that colleges audit high-school diplomas by giving college-entrance tests (their theory being that straight A’s from Selma High school in California’s Central Valley are not comparable to straight A’s at the Menlo School in the Silicon Valley), but the schools themselves are not audited. Surely higher education would not object to a national college-exit exam as a requirement for receiving a bachelor’s degree. Call it a smaller version of the bar exam, or perhaps a reverse SAT or ACT test."

I like it. Everyone else is regulated, as Hanson notes, why not colleges? Why not indeed!
www.nationalreview.com/article/442777/biased-media-left-wing-colleges-ripe-reform-trump

Why Abolishing the Electoral College is a Colossally Bad Idea

Michael Barone, the election technician par excellence, tells us in Townhall why abolishing the electoral college would lead to California (and a few other big cities) imposing its political values on the rest of us poor schlubs. If you have seen the voting maps of the recent Presidential election, it was a solid sea of red washing against the shores of a few blue islands scattered across the country, mostly on the two coasts. These are the major cities like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. If the U.S. were to shift to a popular election for President, it wouldn't matter how closely divided the country was, the major cities could impose their collective will on the country. And they have been run so well. 

townhall.com/columnists/michaelbarone/2016/12/06/ditching-electoral-college-would-allow-california-to-impose-imperial-rule-on-a-colonial-america-n2255270

Stephen Moore, also in Townhall, documents how middle class voters are fleeing these states because the quality of life and their business environments are atrocious with high taxes, high regulations, and sclerotic environmental regulations. Those fleeing understand that, as Moore points out:

"Even when it comes to income inequality, blue states fare worse than red states. According to a 2016 report by the Economic Policy Institute, three of the states with the largest gaps between rich and poor are those progressive icons New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Sure, Boston, Manhattan and Silicon Valley are booming as the rich prosper. But outside these areas are deep pockets of poverty and wage stagnation."

Even though they are consistently losing population, the big Blue states open the immigration floodgates to replace the middle class that is getting out of Dodge with low skill, government aid-dependent immigrants to keep their voting margins. The rich get richer and the poor poorer. Oh well, ya gotta do what ya gotta do. 
townhall.com/columnists/stephenmoore/2016/12/06/the-progressivestate-depression-n2255643

One last interesting tidbit. Would it be a surprise that a map of the high crime areas across the United States corresponds closely to the voting map above? The answer is "no" if you have been paying attention but the politicians always wager that you are not. Unfortunately for many of them, in 2016 the voters woke up and did a thorough house-cleaning. We'll see what it yields but at least at the moment there is hope of a change for the better. Fall for the popular election baloney, however, and all is lost. The Founders knew what they were doing. 

www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/crime-rates-by-county/

The Big Bad Wolf

The Russian aircraft carrier Kuznetzov is a fearsome looking weapon. Ineffective, but fearsome looking. Once it paraded past Britain on its way to the Med and set up station off Lebanon, it then quickly offloaded its jets to a land base in Syria after several operational accidents. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again and they have. Same result. Spash one Su-33 that recently attempted a landing and proceeded to roll off the deck into the drink. Tell you what Mr. P - we'll put up the Teddy Roosevelt against your Kuznetzov and see which comes out on top. No? Spoil sport. 

www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/2016/12/05/second-russian-jet-crashes-failed-carrier-landing-near-syria/

God Has the Last Laugh

Castro's jeep and trailer bearing his casket broke down on the way to his final resting place and had to be pushed by his honor guard. Who says God doesn't have a sense of humor?

www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/12/04/castro-ashes-breaks-down-viva-la-revolucion/

Never Forget

This is what happen when we forget and don't pay attention. Never forget.

Real World

Check out the video directed to Hampshire College kids who convinced their Brave New World college administrators to remove the American flag from campus because it offended them, or made them nervous, or mess their pants or something. It's time to grow up. 

www.facebook.com/KyleReyesCEO/ 

Sic Transit Gloria

Fidel Castro died as he lived: to the sound of useful idiots making allowances for his crimes.

                 

                                                                                                                                 Jonah Goldberg

Oh the pathos! Oh the sorrow! Oh I'm so glad this guy is finally gone. The sorrowful cacophony on the Left masks the fact that Fidel and his brother Raul are ( er were in Fidel's case) monsters to the Cuban people. Free healthcare, public education - Potemkin village decorations that would only fool a willing dupe while masking the desperate reality for most Cubans. 

Jonah Goldberg recites a number of the horrendous things that the Castro brothers foisted on Cuba. The best way to remember Castro's legacy is by thinking of the thousands that fled his People's "Paradise" over the years by boat, raft, inner tubes, whatever it took to get out and reach the United States:

townhall.com/columnists/jonahgoldberg/2016/11/30/even-in-death-castro-still-has-useful-idiots-n2252339

The Bankruptcy of the Democratic Party

Trump won. But he wasn't the only one. The Republicans handily held the House and Senate and wait - that's not all! They also collected a vast majority of state governorships and legislatures. The question is "Why?" and the answer is not that the rest of America is a bunch of racists, homophobes, or whatever. Victor Davis Hanson gives his thoughts on an answer and it's a pretty good one.

Hanson basically posits that the crap-o-meters of a large majority of Americans have gone off and are buzzing loudly because of the rank hypocrisy of the liberal grandees of the Left. Some examples you say? Fair enough. Let's start at the top, shall we?

Exhibit #1 - President Obama, Mr. Reconciliation Between the Races:

"When Barack Obama invites rapper Kendrick Lamar into the White House and announces that his “To Pimp a Butterfly” is the president’s favorite song of the year — whose album cover shows the corpse of a murdered white judge, with Xs in place of eyes, on the White House lawn, as African-American youth toast his demise with drinks and cash — do we really assume that progressives like Obama believe in stopping hate speech and imagery, or perhaps even believe in anything at all?"

That would be a "Negatory good buddy."

Exhibit #2 - Then there's Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Uber-Liberal Supreme Court Justice commenting about abortion that:

“Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of.”

Er Ruth, who might you be referring to? 

Exhibit #3 - And Hillary - how could we forget Hillary? Let's not:

"Without an ideology that even remotely matched the life she led, Hillary Clinton could only run a campaign without consistent positions. She flipped on the Keystone pipeline and trade agreements. She refuted the entire 1990s Clinton economic and social agenda. Indeed, her positions of 2008 — anti–gay marriage, border enforcement, and rural populism — were the very positions that she smeared others for embracing in 2016. In 2008, Clinton damned Obama for his “clingers” speech; in 2016, she trumped him with her deplorables and irredeemables."

My, my, my - such a shame when you are done in by your own words. Consistency is grossly overrated!

Hanson gives many more examples from Congress, the media, and Big Business types. He acidly observes:

"The Democratic party leadership is no longer an alternative to corporate wealthy America, but is corporate wealthy America, albeit in a new garb of jeans and flip-flops, Silicon Valley–style. The small-business person, assembly-line worker, and non-government wage earner mostly now vote Republican. Progressivism is a pyramidal capstone of wealthy elites who have the influence and money to embrace boutique positions and the cunning to profess egalitarianism, all while they lead private lives that would otherwise be condemned as illiberal and apartheid-like."

So true. And after 8 years of a force-fed diet of this stuff the American public regurgitated the whole mess and decided to go in a different direction. Trump may not be any great prize but they grew tired of the annoying buzz and flashing lights from their crap-o-meters that have been going off for way too long. 

www.nationalreview.com/article/442535/democratic-party-hypocrisy-racism-sexism-homophobia

The End is Near

Well at least nearish. It has to be - the Cubs win the World Series and the Beavers win the Civil War game all in the same year? It can't be just a coincidence - but what a rush!

A New Mission for an Ugly Duckling?

The Airbus A380 is an enormous airplane. Capable of carrying up to 700 passengers in a dense seating configuration, 500 is a more typical number. And they are going begging. Boeing bet that airlines wanted smaller planes to fly nonstop between multiple international destinations rather than aggregating passengers at a few world hubs like London, Paris, Tokyo or New York. The 787 was the result and it's a home run. The A380 was Airbus's bet on the aggregation strategy and they lost. What to do now with all the big ugly duckling A380s that are collecting dust?

How about military transports and freighters? The U.S. is always short of lift capacity and there are times that troops and supplies absolutely, positively have to be there overnight. A fleet of A380s could help solve that problem. C-17s and C-5s could move the freight and the A380s the people. They are going for a song right now because no airlines want them - even the ones that have them are looking to dump them. It is definitely a buyer's market and getting a needed aircraft at bargain basement prices would be a refreshing change from the Pentagon's usual procurement practices. A win for the military and for the taxpayers - what a novel idea!

crankyflier.com/2016/11/29/nobody-wants-the-a380-and-thats-breeding-creativity/

Denver's Global Sheriff's Department

Say what? Yup, the U.S. Department of Justice just fined the Denver Sheriff's office for having the temerity to ask if applicants for deputy sheriff positions were American citizens. I mean why does that make any difference? It's not like any foreign power would want to insert sleeper agents to pave the way for a hit on an important political figure to Denver or anything. 

townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2016/11/22/obamas-doj-fines-denver-sheriff-department-for-not-hiring-noncitizens-n2249138

We Salute You!

There Ain't Room in This Town for Both of Us

Yeah, whatever. Whatever happens tonight with the election results, we as a nation are in deep trouble. The United States is becoming tribal and is increasingly ungovernable. Tom Brokaw has commented on this, as have Michael Barone and Victor Davis Hanson. Neither candidate is going to do anything but accelerate the process because politics is downstream of culture and they both represent different strains of what the U.S. has become and it is ugly.

My wife wore black to her job today in mourning for what has happened to this country. I agree. A passage from the Old Testament book of Lamentations gives some idea of where we are and where this once-great country is about to go:

How deserted lies the city,
    once so full of people!
How like a widow is she,
    who once was great among the nations!
She who was queen among the provinces
    has now become a slave.

 Bitterly she weeps at night,
    tears are on her cheeks.
Among all her lovers
    there is no one to comfort her.
All her friends have betrayed her;
    they have become her enemies.

                                                 Lamentations 1:1-2

Sack cloth and ashes are appropriate to "celebrate" whoever is the victor. But then there is tomorrow. 

Tomorrow should be a Romans 8:28 day for Christ-followers:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose.

God is still sovereign and we know that at the end of the story there is good, all good. It's the in-between part that's so very difficult, but be of good cheer because, despite all the mess, He has overcome the world. And that is the Rock that we hold on to. 

Seismic Shocker

A Federal jury in Portland - Portland - yesterday acquitted all the defendants of all charges in the Malheur Wildlife Refuge occupation case. From a legal standpoint it was a shocker. I certainly cannot explain it and neiher could the U.S. Attorney from the accounts that I have read. But I cannot help but wonder if this portends a much greater shock on November 8. 

Most Presidential election polls show the candidates anywhere from neck-and-neck to Hillary mopping the floor with Trump. A professor at SUNY - Stony Brook, however, has said that Trump has an 87% probablitly of winning the race and he has accurately predicted the winner of the last 5 Presidential elections. 

It's hard not to interpret the Portland jury's verdict as anything else but giving the Italian salute to the whole "Establishment" and recognizing that government is way, way out of touch. If that can happen in Portland, it can happen anywhere - sort of a precursor smaller earthquake to the Big One. Perhaps the professor's prediction is not nearly as far-fetched as it might seem. Could be an interesting election night. 

www.infowars.com/professor-who-predicted-last-five-elections-says-trump-has-87-chance-of-winning/

A New Protected Minority?

When dealing with controversial subjects like transgenderism it is sometimes helpful to use analogies, like this one:

“I want you to imagine the struggles of a fellow student. They feel they don’t belong in their body. They were born the wrong shape, and when they look into a mirror, they see something alien, it isn’t them. This fellow student will go to any lengths to become the person they KNOW they are on the inside. It may involve drug usage, mutilation, or starvation.” said MILO.

“You may think I am describing a transexual, but I’m not- I’m describing a young person with Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia Nervosa is a mental disorder. When detected, the sufferer will receive counselling and other mental health treatment to stop their destructive behaviors and learn to recover both mentally and physically. Many sufferers of Anorexia end up leading normal and productive lives, and even maintain a healthy weight.”

Milo paused before, saying “Now imagine if Anorexia was on the LGBT spectrum.”

I wonder if John Lennon did, Imagine that is. This short article is worth reading because Milo, flamboyant though he is, makes a telling point that is actually a very sane one. He discusses how with a transgender person we now encourage their "identity" and provide surgery to help them achieve their "real self" etc., etc. Why you can be anything you want to be! Only deep down we know that's not true but we pretend until that person is lost. Oh well. Pontius Pilate has become the new American Idol for a large part of our citizenry - What is Truth? And up becomes down, male becomes female becomes...

www.breitbart.com/milo/2016/10/24/milo-imagine-anorexia-lgbt-spectrum/

The Good Samaritan Redux

Today's local paper had a very interesting letter to the editor. The letter writer was recently in a local Salem eatery and saw a homeless woman outside. His sense of pathos was sparked and he went outside and saw a city meter reader and asked what he and the city could do for this poor unfortunate. The city employee "... was sympathetic but seemed hardened to the situation...: and alas could do nothing. The writer continued, "Frankly, I couldn't hold back the tears but just returned to a meal that I could not finish." He continued to watch the public's reaction as they walked by and ignored the homeless woman in all her wretchedness and finally could hold it in no longer - "Is this what our country has come to? It broke my heart!"

Oh the angst! Oh the pathos! Oh the moral preening! Oh why didn't you get off your butt and do something if you were really moved?! Which of course is the point of the original story of the Good Samaritan. It wasn't the religious leaders of the day who were proclaiming their love for their neighbor as directed by Scripture that did the will of God, but rather the heathen Samaritan who actually hauled the injured individual to an inn and paid for it out of his own pocket.  Luke 10:25-37. Moral of the story: You can't save the world but you can do something about the person in front of you if you get off your patoot and take action. 

Decay and Corruption

Trump's comments that were revealed this week bring into sharp focus the monumental amount of corruption in our whole society. His comments were despicable and he richly deserves all the condemnation that he is getting. But if we look solely at Trump's corruption we fall for the magician's sleight of hand that directs the audience's attention one way to divert it from what is happening with the other hand. 

Trump is not unique. Hillary is just as corrupt as Trump but her corruption manifests itself in a love of money and power. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, is every bit the sexual predator that Trump is. And many, many of the other politicians, corporate executives, entertainers,athletes, etc. who form the "elite" of U.S. society are as corrupt. An honest and ethical public man or woman is a great rarity now and we are reaping the fruit of decay that has sunk into the marrow of our nation. 

So what does this mean for the November election? Probably nothing. But I will literally be praying that Trump for once in his life does the honorable thing and withdraws in favor of Mike Pence. I don't expect it; I don't foresee it, but I will pray for it. This is a God-level action with our nation's future at stake that would require a God-induced change of heart on Trump's part. I don't expect it of the Democrats as they are way too far gone and proud of it. We have become Rome and unless someone is willing to sacrifice and do what is right, whether it is Trump or Hillary in the White House, it will not matter - we will suffer Rome's fate at the hands of the ever-present barbarians. 

Is This Heaven?

The Cubs and the Beavs winning on the same day? Ahhh...

Hugging the Russian Bear and Chinese Dragon

Continuing the march of foreign policy disasters by the Obama Administration, President Duterte of the Philippines announced that he is about to snuggle up with Russia and China. Granted that Duterte is a loose cannon, Obama lecturing him about how to run his country (smashing drug rings) was not helpful and Duterte reacted in a predictable manner. I guess it's a good thing that we dumped our former key Pacific base at Subic Bay in the Philippines because if we hadn't, I suspect we would be getting ready to do so now. Note to Duterte - your new friends are both meat eaters. 

www.breitbart.com/national-security/2016/09/27/duterte-cozies-china/

Let's Think This Through

Apparently billionaires are giving to Hillary rather than Trump at a rate of about 20:1. Hillary has consistently said that she is going to fund all her new spending by making the rich pay "their fair share." Hmmm... And how likely do you think it is that she is going to bite the hands that feed her? Well, okay maybe the Big Money folks are going to feed her with the other hand, witness the Clinton "Foundation." Quoth PT Barnum, "There's a sucker born every minute." 45% at last count of the American electorate it would seem - capiche? Maybe Bernie was on to something. 

www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/09/27/clinton-cash-billionaires-donate-hillary-20-1-trump/

Russia Continues Re-set

Yes indeedy, by merging the FSB with its foreign intelligence agency into the "new" - and no doubt improved - Ministry of State Security, whose intials in Russian are, what else -"KGB." Perfect! The same article mentions that Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Congressman Adam Schiff, vice-chairs of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees, formally charged Russia with meddling in the U.S. Presidential election. Hillary's much-touted re-set button with Russia has worked like a charm. 

townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2016/09/28/oh-good-the-kgb-is-back-n2224478

Portland Landmark Closes

Der Rheinlander, a fixture for German food in Portland, has announced that it is closing after 53 years. We have had some very fun meals there over the years with family and friends and while I can only eat German food about twice a year, a nice time was typically had by all when we did. Gustav's and Gustav's Biergarten restaurants will remain open. An era passes.

www.oregonlive.com/dining/index.ssf/2016/09/der_rheinlander_to_close.html#incart_river_home_pop

Cat Got Your Tongue?

One of my favorite comedy scenes of recent vintage is in Bruce Almighty with Steve Carrell trying to deliver a newscast while Jim Carey twists his tongue and changes the teleprompter feed to produce on-air gibberish. The scene was howlingly funny and has now been repeated in real life by Libertarian Presidential candidate Gary Johnson. He was doing an interview with MSNBC's Kasie Hunt when Johnson got tongue-tied - lietrally. Take a look at the video in the link and see what you think. It got my morning started with a laugh! And now the President of the United States ...

townhall.com/tipsheet/townhallcomstaff/2016/09/24/gary-johnson-is-losing-itor-maybe-he-never-had-it-n2223112

Point; Counterpoint

A week ago I put up a post lauding the University of Chicago for taking a stand for freedom of speech and against "safe spaces" and "trigger warnings" for snowflakes on campus. As we know from physics, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Witness Northwestern University, also in the Chicago area.

Northwestern President Morton Schapiro called critics of snowflake protective measures "lunatics" and said:

"... microaggressions, or 'commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults,' are a serious threat to the mental well-being of Northwestern students. Microaggressions “cut you to the core” and aren’t easily forgotten..."

President Schapiro also announced a new program that the university will be tucking its students into bed every night and reading them bedtime stories in a move to reduce the anxiety level on campus. 

www.breitbart.com/tech/2016/09/21/northwestern-president-critics-of-safe-spaces-are-lunatics/

Diogenes Lives

Diogenes was a Greek philosopher who wandered the streets during the day with a lamp looking for an honest man. It would appear that in Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi we have found one. 

In a CNN interview President el-Sisi said that yes indeed we should use the term "Islamic terrorist" because, “It is really important that we state the truth, so that we could correct it.”
Amen! And unlike fawning U.S. and European politicians who can't say their own names without fear of offending someone, el-Sisi has a lot to lose as a Muslim in a very unstable region of the world due to Islamic terror. Ask Anwar Sadat. 

www.breitbart.com/video/2016/09/21/egypts-president-we-should-use-islamic-extremism-as-a-term-we-must-correct-the-islamic-rhetoric/

In Other News

Russia has been slowly digesting Ukraine in bits and pieces. Now it looks like it may like the taste and is just going to wolf the rest down. Russian tanks and troops are massing in the Crimea (formerly part of the Ukraine) pointed toward Kiev. Just thinking out loud, if you were the Russians, would you rather make a move before or after Donald Trump possibly moves into the White House? There's something to be said for predicability and Obama is nothing if not predicatble when it comes to foreign affairs. 

www.wsj.com/articles/russia-builds-up-army-near-ukraine-border-1471537008

Merger Announced Between CIA and KGB

CIA Director John Brennan has admitted that he voted for Communist Party head Gus Hall in 1976 instead of Gerald Ford or Jimmy Carter. He brushed it off by saying that we all have our "past indiscretions." Really? Mine was voting for Jimmy Carter that same year. Is this country totally nuts? Objection: leading question. 

www.infowars.com/cia-director-brennan-admits-voting-for-communist-party-in-1976/

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Here is the opening part of an article in today's Oregon Live about the massive crisis in the Oregon PERS retirement system:

"Just how bad is Oregon's public pension funding crisis?

Bad enough that Rukaiyah Adams, the normally polished investment professional who is vice chair of the Oregon Investment Council, broke down in tears last week as she spoke of passing a record $22 billion in unfunded promises to future taxpayers.

"My call to the legislature and to the governor is for leadership on this, and I mean right now," Adams said during last Wednesday's joint meeting of the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System board and the citizen panel that oversees its investments. "This is becoming a moral issue. We can't just talk about numbers anymore."

The article quotes Gov. Brown and Senate President Peter Courtney as not being interested in addressing the crisis. As a historian once said of wars, you may not want war but sometimes war wants you. Brace yourselves for impact.

www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/09/this_is_becoming_a_moral_issue.html#incart_river_home_pop

It's Not Just a Job; It's an Adventure!

Following up on the transgender theme du jour, the Navy has decreed that all its sailors will go through transgender "education" by next June. With China rapidly occupying the South China Sea and the Russians buzzing dangerously close to our warships and aircraft, you might think that the Navy would have some other things to worry about, Apparently not. 

On another note, how do you like the Navy's new dress white uniform? 

www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/09/18/navy-requires-sailors-undergo-transgender-education-july-2017/

Scorecard

The Globalists just scored at Mickey D's. Yup, McDonald's fired 70 Americans from its accounting staff and replaced them with foreign nationals here on H-1B visas. Have the Globalists and their political allies figured out that if no Americans are working there will be no one to buy their products? Just a thought. 

www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/09/18/mcdonalds-hires-foreign-h-1bs-fires-70-american-accounting-staff/

State of the Nation

"We live in a country run by people who tell us that if a man puts on a dress and says he’s a woman we are supposed to take him at his word. But, if a man goes on a murderous rampage in the name of Allah, and ISIS claims responsibility, we shouldn’t draw conclusions."  

Sad but true. 

townhall.com/columnists/susanstamperbrown/2016/09/19/12-hours-of-terror-just-another-weekend-in-leftistrun-america-n2220278

Socialist Economics 101

First Hugo Chavez and now his successor, Nicolas Maduro, have pretty much destroyed Venezuela's economy through socialist economics. Margaret Thatcher was right, at some point you do run out of other people's money and then the good times do not roll. Like now in Venezuela where people are literally starving because there is no food in stores. Noting that his subjects were looking a little thin, Maduro said that his diet was making them hard - no longer did they need Viagra. 

Well, Nick - thanks for that little sex ed gem. I'm sure your people appreciate it. I bet, however, that they would like some rice, beans and meat better. 

www.breitbart.com/national-security/2016/09/13/nicolas-maduro-makes-diet-jokes/

Be Careful What You Wish For

Bill Maher says that he would rather vote for a dead Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. The way things are going for Hillary, he may get the chance. 

www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2016/09/13/bill-maher-id-vote-for-dead-hillary-over-trump/

University of Chicago Takes a Stand

Old news but good news - Way too many universities have become zombie-processing factories turning incoming freshman's brains into mush and then sculpting them in the image of Karl Marx and other popular "progressive" and long-dead icons. The University of Chicago has always had the reputation of being an institution of rigorous intellectual inquiry, especially in economics and philosophy, and it has chosen to separate itself from the progressivist herd.

University President Dr. Robert J. Zimmer recently wrote in the Wall Street Journal that:

 "Free speech is at risk at the very institution where it should be assured: the university."

This was not mere talk, as the University of Chicago's dean of students, John Ellison, sent a letter to freshmen students that read, in part: 

"Our commitment to academic freedom means that we do not support so-called 'trigger warnings,' we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual 'safe spaces' where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own."

Well Hallelujah with a capital H! It's about darn time that somebody stood up and took a stand against the lemmings of academia. We'll see if they stick to it but it's a great start.


http://townhall.com/columnists/walterewilliams/2016/09/14/academic-giants-and-dwarfs-n2216348

I, Robot

Hillary said this week that she only seems cold and unemotional because some mean men at law school made her that way. Perhaps, but her recent campaign photo might indicate that there were at least some other factors involved.

www.dailywire.com/news/9014/hillary-i-only-seem-cold-and-unemotional-because-amanda-prestigiacomo