Monthly Archives: February 2009

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Ready, Aim, Fire!

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In the blogosphere, there is writing device called “fisking”…a detailed critical analytic reaction, on an almost point-by-point basis, to something that is found to be so full of distortions, half-truths, and lies inaccuracies, that it is worthy of making a special effort to refute it.

Dave Newquist, blogging as the Northern Valley Beacon, delivered such a piece this week. Textual selections (NOT out of context!) and the Chief’s commentary follows:

O, give me a home where the AK-47’s roam

The Mexican drug cartels have modeled themselves after the U.S. Constitution Second Amendment and have established a well-regulated militia that killed 6,000 fellow-Mexicans last year.

This comment is stupid incorrect is so many ways on hardly knows where to start on it. Mexican drug cartels have modeled themselves on their predecessors – the Columbian drug cartels….complete with organized attacks on the local (and national) governments, kidnappings, murders, etc. Use of the phrase “well regulated militia” in this context is inappropriate to an extent that renders this statement surreal in its lack of realityl

Perhaps they might have been acting as sportsmen just out bagging their favorite trophies.

Nice gratuitous slam on hunters/hunting in the interests no doubt of establishing a form of guilt by association, since both hunters and narcoterrorists are “civilians” who use guns.

But they found weapons that do a really great job, and they had to avail themselves of U.S. freedoms in order to obtain them.

Not at all true, as will be addressed down the page.  They have a MUCH better source.

The Mexican government regulates assault weapons, but there are 6,600 dealers along the border who are more than willing to sell the cartels arms and help them smuggle them across the border.

Breathtaking! The Mexican government regulates LOTS of stuff on paper along with arms, including various illegal drugs, border crossings, bribes to police, activities of military units, currency transfers, and even (although it boggles the mind) passage of illegal (non-Mexican) aliens into and through Mexican sovereign territory. Of course finding evidence of these regulations outside of the pieces of paper they are written on is often problematical…but why quibble, eh Dave?

As a gun owner and user, I have never found the need for an assault rifle.

Two reactions: from what’s written further down in the piece the gun owner and user bit MAY be true…but then again, maybe not. Owning an “assault rifle” or not, OK. “Different strokes for different folks” to quote an old song.

By the way, one common aspect of REAL military assault rifles is that they are AUTOMATIC weapons…you know, like machine guns! Not available without going through extraordinary and costly procedures with the ATF.

The guns usually called “assault rifles” are semi-automatic…a BIG difference in firepower.  No modern military has used semi-automatic rifles since the 50’s, except for some 3rd world outfits too broke to even afford the pittance charged for REAL (auto) AK-47’s from the Soviets of ChiComs. The whole ban situation is illogical anyway. For example, a Ruger Mini-14, is a semi-automatic rifle. So is a ComBloc designed SKS. Neither one has significantly more or less actual firepower than the other. But if you placed a bipod mount, folding stock, and muzzle brake on the SKS, voila! It is banned! Note: 2 out of three of the accessories is legal. All three – and you have a “banned” weapon – apparently because some ATF bureaucrat decided that that combination of COSMETIC features looked too militaristic and scary or something.

After a number of experiences involving sportsmen who wielded their armor (sic) with all the competence of Dick Cheney, I have greatly reduced my hunting excursions. Although I am a bit of a folklorist, I have never believed the stories that sportsmen are good clean cut competent gun handlers. I won’t quibble with that description except for the competent part. When it comes to handling firearms, all men are not created equal–physically or mentally. I have spent too many hours hunkering in improvised bunkers trying to avoid their fire and ire. One of the wisest quips ever uttered was by comedian Red Blanchard when he said that the old International Livestock Show was invented so that farmers had a safe place to bring their cattle during hunting season.

Phew! First of all Dave, sounds to the Chief like you need to find some different hunting partners.  While occasional rare accidents do happen involving hunting (like the former V.P. can testify to), their occurrance is a heck of a lot less than problems with people who operate 2000 lb. powered vehicles (you know, cars) at high enough speeds  to cause serious damage to the environment, others, and themselves when they fail to focus on their situational awareness while causing them to move.

The Chief frankly finds it hard to grant credibility to this bit about spending “hours hunkering in improvised bunkers”?  I mean, give me a break!  Actually visualize this description!  It beggars the imagination  to regard that as being literally true…just to imagine, under fire for HOURS?  Where was this hunting being done, Viet-Nam in 1968?

The other bit about the Red Blanchard gag is yet another cheap shot at hunters.  Somehow in the Chief’s (rural) area we manage to get our deer tags filled without collecting beef along the way, unless a neighbor shares some jerky with you.  Again, you need to find a better class of hunting companions.

And so I have thought that limiting assault rifles had more than a smidgen of good reasoning behind it.

Yeah, right. We already reviewed the “reason” above…they LOOK scarier! (A clear case of liberal “symbolism over substance”.)

I am fully aware of the constant danger that bunny rabbits might form unions and launch a jihad against all the upstanding Christians, and if they have assault rifles an equivalent firepower is needed to combat them.

Wow! What a summary of liberal nightmares included in this one sentence: (pseudo)assault rifle owners, Christians, and non-union members, all associated and tarred with the same verbal brush, in one fell swoop. Creative and efficient use of invective.

I am also aware of what an aggressive menace road signs pose to our democracy, and I am always heartened to see them lying limply in the ditches filled with bullet holes.

The Chief would be remiss not to give credit where credit is due: shooting at road signs IS truly idiotic by ANY rational standard. In this at least, we find agreement!

It is probably a real mistake not to put a gun on the hip of every college student. Pulling out a gun and taking target practice at flies on the wall or ventilating dorm rooms and each other can divert their attention from binge drinking, and that’s a healthy thing. They need assault rifles to really capture the moment.

The Chief begins to see the circle from which you drew your hunting companions. No wonder there were problems. Avoid the drinkers, it’s MUCH safer. Hey, that applies to be above reference to automobile driving, too! Now we seem to have stumbled into a REAL problem: ASSAULT DRINKING!  (Seriously, in conversation with a former chaplain at the SD Penitentiary, he related that +90% of the inmates could be elsewhere except for drug and alcohol problems – mostly alcohol.)

The Second Amendment has even established an official grammar for the U.S. When the Supreme Court took on a gun control law in Washington, D.C., it parsed the Second Amendment, which prefaces the edict against infringing the right to bear arms with the clause “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state.” Justice Scalia has officially declared that the clause is a dangling modifier. It is not a conditional clause, as many grammarians have insisted, that states a condition under which the granting of the right to bear arms is extended. So, strike the bad grammar and the right to bear arms is unlimited.

BASIC U.S. HISTORY (like it or not!): For one thing, the 18th Century legalese was tuned to a different wavelength than modern ears are attuned to. More fundamentally, from their own writings, the drafters were NOT providing gun rights for settlers, fighting Indians, hunting, etc. THEY WERE GIVING THE CITIZENRY THE MEANS TO RE-STAGE THE REVOLUTION IF (WHEN) THE GOVERNMENT BECAME TOO OPPRESSIVE! Their intent was that the citizenry could own weapons capable of doing this…by defeating, as needed, the organized forces of the state. This meant MILITARY grade weapons, which if we were REALLY consistent with the original intent of the founders WOULD include automatic weapons, and more.

Through the colonial period, and well into the 19th century it wasn’t unknown for individuals to own and use state-of-the art weapons up to and including CANNONS!  For example, merchant marine ships regularly carried cannon if they sailed in pirate waters. (Hmmmm. Maybe that idea’s time has come again…but I digress.)

As The New York Times reports, Mexican laws stand in the way of the drug cartels carrying out their predations, so they come to the U.S. to enjoy true liberty and then spread it to 6,000 people in their homeland. Those 6,000 are really enjoying the benefits of a well-regulated militia tending to the security of a free state.

Ah yes – The New York (“All the news that fits, we print”) Times. This is just crazy. THE NARCOS ARE ON THE VERGE OF TOTALLY TAKING DOMINANT CONTROL IN MEXICO!  IT’S VIRTUALLY A CIVIL WAR.  Today, (26 Feb 2008) Mexico is deploying 5000 Army troops to TRY to regain control of Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso.

The biggest problem is that Mexican law is being noted more in the breach than in it’s observance. If those 6000 victims of the narcoterrs had had weapons to defend themselves, maybe the problem would be on the way to being solved…instead of metastasizing as a social and criminal tumor spreading across the border into the United States.

One final thought about that situation…if the narcos are capable of moving TONS of drugs through Mexico into the US from Columbia, how hard would  it be for them to get their fully automatic AK-47’s from their “Gunz-r-Us” buddies in Venezuela and Colombia, with more where those came from on the slow-boat from China.  Given THAT supply, why would they even care about the semi-auto stuff from us Norteamericanos anyway?

SD Politics

Legislative Notes du Jour

First – the quick thumb-nail snap reactions to some of the recent events up at Pierre:

Lawmaker says seat belt change means federal money

South Dakota could collect more than $5 million in federal money by passing a primary seat belt law, a state lawmaker says. Rep. Rich Engels, D-Hartford, testified on Wednesday for SB79. The House Judiciary Committee will take more testimony on the measure Monday.

“One of the primary reasons for making the change now is there is a federal law allowing us to receive $5.2 million, and that federal law expires July 1,” Engels told the committee. “When there’s federal money available, it always seems to prompt us to do something.”

Congress has that old Pavlov thing down pat…rustle some dollar bills, and the compliant legislators salivate, wag their tails, and roll over on command. Engles as much as admits that the only reason for doing this now is the federal bribery contribution.

The Chief knows that seatbelts are the smart thing to do…but hey, it’s not the role of the federal government to save everyone from their own unsafe behavior. If it was, then skiing, sky-diving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, motorcycle riding, or for that matter working on an Alaskan crab-fishing boat to name just a few examples, should all be banned as being criminally dangerous acts, as Engels wants to do for having the defiant and rebellious attitude of not wearing a seat belt.

House resurrects, passes license plate tax increase

On the final day that legislative bills could pass their house of origin, the South Dakota House resurrected, amended and passed a bill that would raise the cost of vehicle license plates. The bill, HB1007, needed a two-thirds majority. It failed by three votes on Monday but was reconsidered Tuesday night and passed 57-12 after an amendment raised license plate fees even more than the levels that emerged from the House Transportation Committee.

Hmmmm. This sort of makes it sound like it was initially rejected at a lower level, and later passed at a higher level. This increase may be justifiable on rational grounds…but just once, the Chief would like to see the legislooture cutback instead of instinctively going for more money to solve every situation. That’s what I have to do at home when money is tight. Why not the state?

Senate passes preschool planning bill

South Dakota should develop eligibility guidelines for preschool and find out how many children might participate in a program, the state Senate says. The Senate voted 20-15 on Tuesday to pass SB191, which would authorize the state Board of Education to develop eligibility guidelines for a state-supported pre-kindergarten. It would also give interested communities a way to develop a local plan that eventually might be funded by the Legislature.

Supporters of the bill say preschool is essential to help children from lower-income families reach kindergarten with age-appropriate learning skills. The bill would target 4-year-olds from families whose income is no more than 130 percent of the federal poverty level.

Opponents say the community planning process and the state eligibility guidelines would put South Dakota on a path toward mandatory preschool for all youngsters.

You just HAVE to know that in the future it will go mandatory! Government knows no other way.

Culture Wars

Investing in the Future

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A couple of interesting reactions to the onslaught of the Abomination Obamanation:

Obama Driving Surge in Gun Sales, Firearms Groups Say

President-elect Barack Obama’s election has spurred a surge in gun sales, firearms retailers and enthusiasts say, as gun owners brace for what they believe will be a new era of gun control in Washington.

An electronic news service that covers outdoor news has even named Obama its “Gun Salesman of the Year.”

Firearms associations began to suspect that political considerations were driving gun sales late last year as the number of background checks increased. But end-of-year figures showed a big spike in background checks for the last three months of 2008, and in November, the month Obama was elected, the number of background checks was 42 percent greater than in November 2007.

“It’s not a hard tea leaf to read,” said Jim Shepherd, publisher of the news service Outdoor Wire, which claims Obama’s election has “frightened consumers into action.”

’nuff said. Go read the article.

Sales of “Atlas Shrugged” Soar in the Face of Economic Crisis

Sales of Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” have almost tripled over the first seven weeks of this year compared with sales for the same period in 2008. This continues a strong trend after bookstore sales reached an all-time annual high in 2008 of about 200,000 copies sold.

“Americans are flocking to buy and read ‘Atlas Shrugged’ because there are uncanny similarities between the plot-line of the book and the events of our day” said Yaron Brook, Executive Director at the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights. “Americans are rightfully concerned about the economic crisis and government’s increasing intervention and attempts to control the economy. Ayn Rand understood and identified the deeper causes of the crisis we’re facing, and she offered, in ‘Atlas Shrugged,’ a principled and practical solution consistent with American values.”

Although the Chief is not a totally 100% “Randian”, this book is well worth the read…if you read it and REALLY think about it…it will change your understanding of where we are, and where we seem to be going.

Constitution Watch

Democrat Senator: B.O. Power Grab Underway

Byrd: Obama in power grab

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), the longest-serving Democratic senator, is criticizing President Obama’s appointment of White House “czars” to oversee federal policy, saying these executive positions amount to a power grab by the executive branch.

In a letter to Obama on Wednesday, Byrd complained about Obama’s decision to create White House offices on health reform, urban affairs policy, and energy and climate change. Byrd said such positions “can threaten the Constitutional system of checks and balances. At the worst, White House staff have taken direction and control of programmatic areas that are the statutory responsibility of Senate-confirmed officials.”

While it’s rare for Byrd to criticize a president in his own party, Byrd is a stern constitutional scholar who has always stood up for the legislative branch in its role in checking the power of the White House.

This is interesting in several respects. It proves that at least SOMEBODY still knows how to read, and understand the Constitution.

It’s also different finding a leading Democrat warning about ANYTHING that B.O. does.

Also, not only is the Constitutional issue noted, there is the issue of the much-promised “transparency” taking it in the neck again:

“As presidential assistants and advisers, these White House staffers are not accountable for their actions to the Congress, to cabinet officials, and to virtually anyone but the president,” Byrd wrote. “They rarely testify before congressional committees, and often shield the information and decision-making process behind the assertion of executive privilege. In too many instances, White House staff have been allowed to inhibit openness and transparency, and reduce accountability.”

Hear, hear!

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Speaking of Transparency…

Fish has transparent head

Scientists in California have filmed a fish with a transparent head. And the encounter has helped researchers solve the 50-year-old mystery of how the fish uses its extraordinary eyes to see in the gloomy ocean depths.

After studying biology for most of a lifetime it’s still amazing to see variety in life that is not only stranger than we imagine, but is stranger than we CAN imagine – until we see it – speaking of which, video with the original article. Check it out…it’s kind of neat!

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ChiCom Econ Blues with Blowback to U.S.

China nears deflation trap as rail freight collapses

Economic travails are not just an American phenomenon.

Railway freight in China’s Shanghai region plunged 31pc in January and industrial production fell 12pc, dashing hopes that Beijing’s stimulus policies will soon begin to fuel recovery.

The country’s central bank said the economic outlook was going to bad to worse was still gathering pace, rains the risk that China could tip into a Japan-style deflation trap.

“External demand is shrinking, some sectors have overcapacity, and urban unemployment is rising. Downward pressure on economic growth is increasing. There exists a big risk of deflation,” said the bank. Factory gate inflation has dropped to minus 3.3pc. Emphasis added.

…uh…NEGATIVE inflation…that sure looks like deflation to me.

And Hilary was just there begging them to keep on buying U.S. bonds?  Yeah. Right.

We’d be better to “batten down the hatches and rig for heavy seas”, to apply an appropriate bit of naval terminology…the Chief is guessing that under the circumstances the ChiComs just might have other things on their mind than propping up our deficit spending.

Constitution Watch

D.C. Congresscritter to be Created?

Although the Chief realizes that in our enlightened age of the Abomination Obamanation worrying about what the Constitution actually says is far out of fashion, he still offers the following:

Read the Constitution: D.C. is not a state

Which part of Article I, Section 2 do proponents of the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2009 not comprehend? The Constitution of the United States clearly states that “the House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states.” The Constitution created D.C. as the federal “seat of government” – not as a state. Therefore, D.C. cannot have a voting Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Proponents are correct that the Constitution gives Congress the right to make all laws for the District. But that clearly does not permit Congress to substitute its will for that of the whole people to rewrite the Constitution. So, until the Constitution is amended to make D.C. a state, creating a voting representative for it as if it were a state would be “the most premeditatedly unconstitutional act by Congress in decades,” in the words of George Washington Law School professor Jonathan Turley.

There’s some further extension of this in the cited OpEd…it’s worth the read IMHO.

Sounds clear enough, at least to someone who can read, and properly attach actual meanings to words. Ooops. Apparently that leaves out much of the current Donk dominated People’s Congress….

Few roadblocks expected for D.C. voting rights bill

Congress is poised to grant the District of Columbia a legislator with full voting rights in the House of Representatives.

After failed attempts in previous years, a wide Democratic majority in Congress and a Democrat in the White House have paved the way for the possible success of the bill, but there is still a chance Senate Republicans could block it.

The legislation would add two members to the House roster — one from the District, the other from Utah — increasing its ranks to 437.

This is designed to throw a political bone to the Republicans, and all too sadly, a number of them are willing to roll over on command and accede to the Donks’ latest assault on the Constitutional order, which isn’t made any better by the application of this “bipartisan” fig-leaf.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a hint in all this of actually respecting the Constitution enough to do it the right way, with a constitutional amendment.

As a historical note, this sort of swapping of Congressional seats to maintain a superficial balance has happened before; most notably in the Missouri Compromise, allowing the admission of Missouri as a slave-holding state, along with Maine as a non-slave state.

It’s telling that the current state of the body politic is such that this kind of juggling of representation is the only thing that apparently allows the (illusory) continuation of political agreement.

UPDATE:

The Senate passed a key preliminary vote Tuesday morning for the District to get full voting rights in Congress. Senators voted 62-34 to take up the legislation. A final Senate vote to approve the legislation could come as early as Tuesday afternoon.

Sadness.

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Change – You better believe it!

Consumer confidence plummets to new low in Feb.

A private research group says consumer confidence sank to new lows in February as Americans grow more fearful over massive job cuts and shrinking retirement accounts.

The New York-based Conference Board says its Consumer Confidence Index, which had decreased slightly in January, plummeted in February to 25, down from a revised reading of 37.4 last month.

That was well below the 35.5 level economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected. The reading is again at its lowest point since the index began in 1967.

A year ago, the index stood at 76.4.

“Every picture tells a story, don’t it?” ’nuff said.

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EU = USSR?

Czech president compares EU to Soviet Union

The European Union has turned into an undemocratic and elitist project comparable to the Communist dictatorships of eastern Europe that forbade alternative thinking, Czech President Vaclav Klaus told the European Parliament on Thursday.

Klaus, whose country now holds the rotating EU presidency, set out a scathing attack on the EU project and its institutions, provoking boos from many lawmakers, some of whom walked out, but applause from nationalists and other anti-EU legislators.

Klaus is known for deep skepticism of the EU and has refused to fly the EU flag over his official seat in Prague during the Czech presidency, saying the country is not an EU province.

He said current EU practices smacked of communist times when the Soviet Union controlled much of eastern Europe, including the Czech Republic and when dissent or even discussions were not tolerated.

“Not so long ago, in our part of Europe we lived in a political system that permitted no alternatives and therefore also no parliamentary opposition,” said Klaus. “We learned the bitter lesson that with no opposition, there is no freedom.”

Klaus has nailed it solid on this, and given the history of his country, he should be in a position to make this comparison.

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Believe it or Don’t – Your Call!

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Picture of 100ft-long ‘snake’ sparks fears of mythical monster in Borneo

supersnake.jpg

According to legend, the Nabau was a terrifying snake more than 100ft in length and with a dragon’s head and seven nostrils.

But now local villagers living along the Baleh river in Borneo believe the mythical creature has returned after this photo of a gigantic snake swimming along the remote waterways has emerged.

The picture, taken by a member of a disaster team monitoring flood regions by helicopter, has sparked a huge debate about whether the photos are genuine or merely the work of photo-editing software.

VERY interesting, if true.  It it IS real, it’s kind of cool that something that big could be around and not be accounted for, thus far.

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Fed I.G.’s Now Subjected to Political Review

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The RAT hiding deep inside the stimulus bill

…you probably haven’t heard about a provision in the bill that threatens to politicize the way allegations of fraud and corruption are investigated — or not investigated — throughout the federal government.

The provision, which attracted virtually no attention in the debate over the 1,073-page stimulus bill, creates something called the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board — the RAT Board, as it’s known by the few insiders who are aware of it. The board would oversee the in-house watchdogs, known as inspectors general, whose job is to independently investigate allegations of wrongdoing at various federal agencies, without fear of interference by political appointees or the White House.

In the name of accountability and transparency, Congress has given the RAT Board the authority to ask “that an inspector general conduct or refrain from conducting an audit or investigation.” If the inspector general doesn’t want to follow the wishes of the RAT Board, he’ll have to write a report explaining his decision to the board, as well as to the head of his agency (from whom he is supposedly independent) and to Congress. In the end, a determined inspector general can probably get his way, but only after jumping through bureaucratic hoops that will inevitably make him hesitate to go forward.

If the Chief were a gambling man, he would bet that the Donks who were SO fast to weep and wail about the possible political abuse of the Patriot Act will be only noticeable by their silence about this. Hmmmmm. Come to think of it, maybe it WOULDN’T be a gamble at all to bet on it!

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Human Rights? What’s That?

Activists ‘shocked’ at Clinton stance on China rights

Amnesty International and a pro-Tibet group voiced shock Friday after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed not to let human rights concerns hinder cooperation with China.

Paying her first visit to Asia as the top US diplomat, Clinton said the United States would continue to press China on long-standing US concerns over human rights such as its rule over Tibet.

“But our pressing on those issues can’t interfere on the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crisis,” Clinton told reporters in Seoul just before leaving for Beijing.

An old American tradition: money trumps blood.

For a notable previous example of this kind of economic realpolitik, Google “Loral” and “Clinton Administration”.

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Change – Can You Believe It?

The Day the Muzak Died

Not really political – except that almost anything economic can be political at some level – but surely this deserves some recognition as being a sort of cultural watershed of some kind.

There were mixed feelings when Muzak Holdings LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this month. Most reactions ranged from surprise (does Muzak still exist?) to snobbish relief (they should have driven a stake through its canned heart long ago). But some of us felt a real pang, as memories flooded in on the wave of news about the possible disappearance of yet another pipeline to the past.

Not to fear…the probable reason for the demise is the massive inundation of background noise, far in excess and variety compared to Muzak. This is NOT necessarily an improvement…a thought that is noted in the cited article also.

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BOHICA!

Another massive spending bill on the agenda

After a week off taking a victory lap for passing an economic stimulus, Congress’ Democratic leaders return to Washington on Monday for a second race against the clock to pass another massive spending package.

This time it is a roughly $410 billion omnibus appropriations bill that would fund most of the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year, replacing stopgap funding that expires March 6.

KEEP THE PRESSES ROLLING! That’s the only way they’ll ever come up with the money to even come close to meeting their stated goals.

Of course B.O. says we’ll raise taxes on…you know who…the job creating class, known to the Donks as the “filthy rich”, who already pay an excruciatingly high percentage of the entire income tax loot total.

(If you’re curious about the acronymic header on this post, refer to the “Site Jargonology” link – warning: it ain’t that pretty at all, but IMHO it DOES fit right in!)

National Insecurity

B.O.: Foriegn Policy? What’s That?

Obama Flunks First Tests On Foreign Policy

The Biden prophecy has come to pass. Our wacky veep, momentarily inspired, had predicted last October that “it will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama.” Biden probably had in mind an eve-of-the-apocalypse drama like the Cuban Missile Crisis. Instead, Obama’s challenges have come in smaller bites. Some are deliberate threats to U.S. interests, others mere probes to ascertain whether the new president has any spine.

Preliminary X-rays aren’t encouraging. Consider the long list of brazen Russian provocations:

(a) Pressuring Kyrgyzstan to shut down the U.S. air base in Manas, an absolutely crucial NATO conduit into Afghanistan.

(b) Announcing the formation of a “rapid reaction force” with six former Soviet republics, a regional Russian-led strike force meant to reassert Russian hegemony in the Muslim belt north of Afghanistan.

(c) Planning to establish a Black Sea naval base in Georgia’s breakaway province of Abkhazia, conquered by Moscow last summer.

(d) Declaring Russia’s intention to deploy offensive Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad if Poland and the Czech Republic go ahead with plans to station an American (anti-Iranian) missile defense system.

There are more gory details concerning the consequences of these situations: it ain’t that pretty at all!

But wait! There’s more!

New U.S. Diplomacy Getting No Respect

President Barack Obama’s first TV interview was with the Dubai-based, partly Saudi-funded Al Arabiya satellite channel. In passing, he faulted past American policy for too readily “dictating” in the Middle East. He had better things to say about Saudi King Abdullah’s “courage” in trying to solve the Middle East crisis.

Vice President Joe Biden likewise has promised the world a sharp break from the prior Bush administration that, from his references, was apparently to blame for bouts of anti-Americanism abroad. He assured the Europeans at the Munich Security Conference that it was time to press the reset button in foreign policy, and pledged a new chapter in America’s overseas relations.

On her initial tour abroad, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton re-emphasized the Obama and Biden message, announcing that she would follow an approach that “values what others have to say.” And then Clinton elaborated on this now well-worn “blame Bush” theme: “Too often in the recent past, our government has acted reflexively before considering available facts and evidence or hearing the perspectives of others.” America, Clinton promised, from now on would be “neither impulsive nor ideological.”

Contrast such admirable talk with events:

North Korea has just announced that it plans to launch a new Taepodong-2 missile capable of reaching the United States.

China, which holds hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. Treasury bonds and will be asked to loan us billions more, advised the Obama administration to drop the “buy American” talk in the new Democratic stimulus program.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently bragged that his country would soon go nuclear, and that President Obama’s offer to talk without preconditions revealed a new passivity in the West.

Russia just announced it had developed new strategic ties with Iran, and warned that American-sponsored missile defense for Eastern Europe was unpalatable.

About the same time, the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan, on Russian advice, disclosed that it may no longer allow Americans to use a base in the country to supply the war effort in Afghanistan.

Pakistan just released from house arrest A.Q. Khan, the father of the Pakistani nuclear bomb, who had sold nuclear technologies to the likes of Libya and North Korea.

All of which points to what can only be described as a lack of situational awareness.

In simpler terms, B.O. and company are clueless in foreign affairs.

Uncategorized

Enjoying preparedness:

Shamelessly borrowed from GeekWithA.45

$25.00      50 lbs of rice
$11.00      10 lbs of peanuts
$12.00      25 lbs of sugar
$27.00      60 lbs of flour
$34.00      50 lbs of dry beans
$14.00      05 lbs of dried milk
$18.00      6 #10 cans of misc veggies
========================================================
$141.00      An additional 3 +/- months of grim eats emergency rations

The look on checkout girl’s face when she figures out what’s up….

Priceless.

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Schumer Hoist on Own Petard!

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Schumer’s Second Thoughts (Or: This Is Why Reading Legislation Before Voting Is a Good Idea)

Sen. Schumer has pledged to undo a provision included in the stimulus package that will make it nearly impossible for New York’s banks to hire foreign workers through the H-1B visa program….

According to a report released last year by the Partnership for New York City, roughly 13,000 workers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are here on H-1B visas. The top visa sponsors in the area are the very same banks that have received TARP money. Those banks also have significant overseas operations, says Kathy Wylde, and this provision will hurt most when the economy turns around and the banks look to hire talent to tap new markets.

“When they require someone with a language or other skill who they feel is the best person for the job, if they can’t bring them to New York, they will move the function,” says Wylde. “That’s what’s happened in the past when we’ve had a shortage of the H-1B visas.”

Too bad. Schumer outsmartassed himself this time! His karma ran over his dogma.

National Insecurity

B.O. Lifts Syria Sanctions

Obama approves aerospace system for Syria

Not only does this represent a de facto lifting of sanctions on Syria, a terrorist supporting state, but the business is going to the Saudis.

You might say, “Hey, it’s only for airliners, no big deal?

Two comments on that:
•  Remember 9-11?  Didn;;t that have something to do with airliners?
•  How many rockets per plane load can you fly from Iran to Lebanon in a 747?  Quite a few one would (correctly) guess.

Hezbollah gives its thanks!

It’s just nuts to support these guys.

SD Politics, Uncategorized

Salary Salvage in the Dump, etc.

A few observations on the proceedings of our legislature:

Some Lawmakers Want ‘Salary Salvage’ Scrapped

Salary salvage: don’t fill job positions so the money can be spent elsewhere.

Sort of a way of doing an end run around what the legislature has actually voted to spend money on.

Not a good practice. This deserves to be dumped.

Senate approves change in school aid

Under this scheme, when state revenues are down, school aid will be down. When revenues are up, the aid will likewise go up. A big problem is that when state revenues are down, school expenses stay the same, regardless, something’s got to go.

As happened recently with Gettysburg, Rutland, and elsewhere, sometimes it’s teachers…who leave behind the same number of students to be taught, with a smaller faculty to carry on and do the job as best they can.

Another very real possibility is that later on, legislators may change the formula again if someone starts squawking that schools will get too much of an increase when the economy DOES finally start improving again.

No solution is perfect…maybe this one will ultimately help. Time will tell.

Misc. Ed. Bill Hearings Postponed

Hearings were scheduled for Wednesday on HB1234, the latest iteration of a Small Schools Kill Bill, HB1293 requiring school administrative consolidation (a defacto educational bureaucracy implementation act, and HB1198 allowing schools to charge activity fees for extracurriculars.

The Chief knows of a number of groups of concerned South Dakotans who had arranged their lives to be able to attend and offer comments to their Solons at work, but it seems said Solons decided not to cover those issues at that time…so those concerned could either rearrange their situation to go to Pierre on Friday, or forget the whole idea.

Perhaps I’m too cynical any more, but it does seem like a handy way to dodge slings, arrows, and mudballs from pesky constituents concerning these issues.

HB1254 and HB1293 both force centralization, and move things farther away from direct local control. HB1198? A mixed bag at best, which given the direction of things at Pierre, would eventually be used as a bludgeon to push for school aid cuts to districts who were unwilling to charge fees…thereby using other funds to support what the local communities felt was a positive (even if extracurricular) part of their school program.

Committee Sends Smoking Ban To SD House Floor

As a matter of principle relating to property rights, the Chief opposes this sort of thing in general.

If someone wants to have a smoking environment on their property, so be it. If you don’t like the smoke, take your custom elsewhere. This is NOT hard to figure out.

By the way, I do not smoke or use any tobacco products, and I do not especially like 2nd hand smoke, but property rights SHOULD BE property rights, irrespective of the irresistable urge of legislators to play nanny.

SD Politics

HB1278 – Carry Rights Protection On Target

House Wants Uniform Local Gun Laws

The South Dakota House says local governments should be barred from adopting ordinances restricting possession of firearms. The House voted 46-20 on Tuesday to pass HB1278, which prohibits townships, counties and cities from adopting general restrictions on firearms.

Supporters said the goal is to make laws dealing with carrying firearms uniform across the state. They said people with concealed weapons permits should be able to go from one community to another without fear of violating a local law.

On principle, anything that extends protection of one’s right to exercise the 2nd Amendment is a good thing as far as the Chief is concerned. Obviously all won’t agree…but then again, there’s lots of laws that the Chief doesn’t agree with. This isn’t one of them.

National Insecurity

More Financial Follies

1 Comment

Failure to save East Europe will lead to worldwide meltdown

With Americans from President B.O. on down focused on our own fiscal and economic woes, it’s easy tio forget about what might be transpiring in the rest of the world. Unfortunately, dire circumstances across the pond can impinge severely on what can happen here.

Like it or not, the United States has always been involved in global economics, even before the turn of the century – of 1800 no less – with Yankee traders actively involved in trade with China, Europe, the Mediterranean (remember the bit about the North African Barbary pirates?), and Africa. The more things change, the more they stay the same, and U.S. business is still up to its eyeballs in international trade.

As a result, severe problems overseas inevitably will have a kickback to us here, so the possible critical mass chain reaction setting up from Eastern Europe into the heart of the E.U. could do nothing at all beneficial for our own situation. Just what we need…something else to be worried about…not even that we are in a position to DO anything to help the situation.

So what’s it mean to South Dakota?  Anyone ever hear of ag exports?

The unfolding debt drama in Russia, Ukraine, and the EU states of Eastern Europe has reached acute danger point

If mishandled by the world policy establishment, this debacle is big enough to shatter the fragile banking systems of Western Europe and set off round two of our financial Götterdämmerung.

It’s worth noting that there is an alternate way to communicate the concept involved in Götterdämmerung – Armageddon.

SD Politics

“Pay to Play” at Schools?

Bill Would Allow Student Fees For Activities

A bill in the South Dakota Legislature would give schools the option of charging students to participate in sports and other extra-curricular activities. Republican Representative Mark Kirkeby of Rapid City says his bill would give school districts a chance to spend more of their money in the classroom.

This idea may have some merit, but it would depend a lot on what the details were. If for example, football were REALLY that important in a community, then why wouldn’t the community be willing to support it? Or, many other activities.

The bill does not set guidelines for how much the fees would cost.

Ooops. What details? If Kirkeby and the legislature wants to go down this path seriously, they need to do the heavy lifting and really figure our pretty explicitly how it all would work. Of course, then they would have to take the heat if it DIDN’T work out well too. Maybe that’s biting off a bit more than they want to chew. The Chief would contend that community responsibility begins at Pierre, as far as setting up some sort of orderly framework for something like this is concerned.

Mary Stadick Smith in the state Education Department says extra curriculars are an extension of the classroom and should not be subject to extra fees.

This is another whole argument in itself. Certainly putting on a play, debate, declam, science fairs, bads, ag judging, etc are obviously an “extension of the classroom”. It’s less obvious to the Chief that this is the case in the case of team athletics, but the Chief is willing to bet that this is another aspect of the question that Kirkeby and Pierre are reluctant to tackle. It’s easy to throw this stuff into the legislative hopper like a drive-by shooting, but another thing all together to deal with it thoroughly and thoughtfully. For evidence of this, all one needs to do is look at the greatest irresponsible piece of drive-by legislation in history…the B.O. Bail-out Bill just approved by Congress.

Uncategorized

RINO Joins Socialist Caucus

Sen. Graham Open to ‘Nationalizing the Banks’

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina of the Senate Budget Committee said today on “This Week” that he is open to “nationalizing the banks.”

“I think if you put most of our major banks under a ‘stress test,’ they’re going to fail,” Graham told me.

“This idea of nationalizing bank is not comfortable but I think we have got so many toxic assets spread throughout the banking and financial community throughout the world that we’re going to have to do something that no one ever envisioned a year ago, no one likes,” he said.

“To me banking and housing are the root cause of this program,” Graham said. “I would not take off [the table] the idea of nationalizing the banks.”

With RINOs like Sen Lindsey Graham-cracker, who needs Donks?

Uncategorized

Latin Dictatorship Alive and Well

2 Comments

Vote will let Chávez run again

President Hugo Chávez scored a major victory Sunday when Venezuelans lifted term limits so he can run for reelection in 2012 and perhaps beyond.

Chávez’s measure won 54.3 percent of the vote, according to the national election board. Televised images showed Chávez supporters celebrating while fireworks boomed across the Caracas sky.

”Chávez, friend, the people are with you,” the president’s adoring supporters, wearing their trademark red T-shirts, chanted outside the presidential palace. Standing on a balcony, Chávez led the festive crowd in singing Venezuela’s national anthem. ”It is a clear victory for the people!” an exultant Chávez said. “It is a clear victory for the Revolution!”

Poor Venezuela.

Uncategorized

Religion of Peace Doing It’s Thing…

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Prominent Orchard Park man charged with beheading his wife

Orchard Park police are investigating a particularly gruesome killing, the beheading of a woman, after her husband — an influential member of the local Muslim community — reported her death to police Thursday.

Police identified the victim as Aasiya Z. Hassan, 37. Detectives have charged her husband, Muzzammil Hassan, 44, with second-degree murder.

Apparently she had filed for divorce, and had a protective order out against her husband…for all the good it did.

Can you say B-A-R-B-A-R-I-S-M?

And then there is this item from Oz:

Australian fires: Police release suspect photo

Victorian police release composite photo of man wanted for questioning over Australian bush fires.

090213australianfires.jpg

This comes after an earlier report:

Islam group urges forest fire jihad

AUSTRALIA has been singled out as a target for “forest jihad” by a group of Islamic extremists urging Muslims to deliberately light bushfires as a weapon of terror.

US intelligence channels earlier this year identified a website calling on Muslims in Australia, the US, Europe and Russia to “start forest fires”, claiming “scholars have justified chopping down and burning the infidels’ forests when they do the same to our lands”.

The website, posted by a group called the Al-Ikhlas Islamic Network, argues in Arabic that lighting fires is an effective form of terrorism justified in Islamic law under the “eye for an eye” doctrine.

The posting – which instructs jihadis to remember “forest jihad” in summer months – says fires cause economic damage and pollution, tie up security agencies and can take months to extinguish so that “this terror will haunt them for an extended period of time”.

Like Rod Stewart sang: “Every picture tells a story, don’t it?”

…and again, from the Great White North, a mini-kristalnacht staged against the evil Jews (Who else?):

Muslim Mob Attacks Jewish Center At Toronto University. Police Respond By Shutting Down The Center

It’s so weird how a country where multiculturalist tolerance is enforced via elaborate micro-fascism could slip into something that seems very much like a pogrom:

Another anti-Semitic incident took place in a Canadian university Thursday when over 100 anti-Israel activists surrounded a campus building belonging to the Jewish student club ‘Hillel’ at York University, Toronto. The activists pounded on office doors while yelling out racial slurs. Campus security was forced to alert police to restore order and the latter demanded that the offices be shut down. An anti-Israel march is also scheduled for Friday, and ‘Hillel’ leaders have called on Jewish students to arrive with Israeli flags in order to show support for the country. But anti-Semitism also took its toll outside of the campus. A Jewish student reported receiving a phone call during which an unidentified person threatened his life and those of his family members if he were to continue his pro-Israeli activities in the university.

Remember, Mein Kampf in Arabic is al Jihad.

Uncategorized

SD School Formula Change?

This has been an idea under discussion for years…and has even been the subject of the ongoing Davis v. SD lawsuit which is premised on the demonstrable proposition that the SD aid formula for schools has been consistently deficient.

Senate panel approves school aid change

This COULD be an improvement down the line, although it would be tight for the first couple years.  Of course there is no guarantee that subsequent legislootive sessions wouldn’t change things again before any increase actually took place.

The way things run, the outcome is a total crapshoot.  In any event, time will tell.

Uncategorized

A Test – Just for Fun

I’m a Mandarin!

“You’re an intellectual, and you’ve worked hard to get where you are now. You’re a strong believer in education, and you think many of the world’s problems could be solved if people were more informed and more rational. You have no tolerance for sloppy or lazy thinking. It frustrates you when people who are ignorant or dishonest rise to positions of power. You believe that people can make a difference in the world, and you’re determined to try.”

Talent: 49%
Lifer: 36%
Mandarin: 54%

Take the Talent, Lifer, or Mandarin quiz.

Uncategorized

Newsweak Lets Cat Out of the Bag

3 Comments

Joe the Plumber was right. B.O. is a liar, based on campaign-era denials of socialism, and the hidden lumps of totalitarian government intrusiveness packaged up under the veneer of “economic stimulus”.

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AT LAST! MSM honesty! All along we knew what we were up against, and now the LibDonk side has admitted it, and the new name the Chief proposed for the jackass party turns out to be all too true: National Socialist Democratic American Party (N.S.D.A.P.)

P.S. to Newsweak: YOU’RE PREMISE IS WRONG – We are NOT all socialists!

Lock and load!