Month: December 2015

“……Keep Your Enemies Closer”

It may be that insanity has struck our foreign policy mavens yet again…..if you recall back in the 80’s the US teamed up with the mujaheddin in Afghanistan to defeat the Russians and their invasion…..within the ranks of the mujaheddin was a little known group called Al-Qaeda…..and we know how that worked out for the country….don’t we?

The reason I bring up this bit of recent history is that “stupidity” is about to strike again……..

The United States is teaming up with Al Qaeda, again……….I have been seeing hints that there could be a major move in our policies in the Middle East….especially Syria and Iraq….is it possible that we could be making a deadly mistake yet again?

Source: [Letter from Washington] | A Special Relationship, by Andrew Cockburn | Harper’s Magazine

What was it that Einstein said about insanity?

 Corporate Media’s Bullsh*t

The MSM has its hands full keeping Trump and Clinton on the front page……it is so bad that even a person like Bernie cannot get any love…..no matter how many people his events pull…

It is sad that it has come to this……the media is telling the people who they want to be president…..then they set about forcing these clowns on the population…..

Makes a 20th radical very prophetic….Antonio Gransci predicted that as the mass media grows it will become the the controlling force of society….especially politics (this is a paraphrase)…….

“The [corporate]-owned media may not like Bernie’s anti-establishment views, but for the sake of American democracy they must allow for a fair debate in this presidential campaign.”

Source: As Trump Surges, New Polls Underscore Corporate Media’s ‘Bernie Blackout’ – Truthdig

I am a Bernie supporter and I refuse to let the media change my mind…..plus I am appalled at the treatment he gets from the media….they may not appreciate his politics but he is a viable candidate and as such deserves the same treatment that all others are getting….

How about you?

On another note……I am not a fan of Hillary Clinton nor of her hubby…..and after living through Bubba’s policies …I cannot understand the support that Clinton has in the black community…..but the media seems committed in Clinton as the next prez and that means she gets a free ride whenever possible…..

I read a good op-ed on this very subject…….

Source: Hillary Clinton Is Not Entitled to Black Votes | Al Jazeera America

Will Syria in 2016 be like the Balkans in 1914?

My readers know that I have a certain sense of history…..I also look at international situations that could potentially turn into a major world conflict…….I keep my eyes on the doing especially armed conflicts that have all the appearance of turning ugly and extremely deadly…..

Most people take the news they get from the worthless MSM with a grain of salt…..most cannot see post their personal prejudices….there is a problem there with that type of mental process…….the most famous example as I can give is the Balkans of 1914….

Is it possible that Syria is just such an event?

Source: Syria in 2016 will be like the Balkans in 1914 – The Unz Review

Only calmer heads will prevail…..all you need is to study World War 1 to see what happens when a calmer head was not available…..

Congress Drops All Pretense: CISA

Remember a couple of years ago when everyone and I do mean everyone was up in arms about the NSA spying thing……all political sides were on the same side….and then a couple of terrorist attacks and now……the topic is barely a hiccup on the blogosphere…..it amazes me what Americans will tolerate when the are put in a constant state of panic or fear.

Well, while you were concerned about the babbling of political candidates it seems that Congress has done what it does best….work in secret….maybe we should be paying attention……

Americans have the attention span of an oversexed rabbit……they only get aroused when it is too late and the damage is done…..take CISA for instance…………

Source: Congress Drops All Pretense: Quietly Turns CISA Into A Full On Surveillance Bill | Techdirt

A shame that Americans care so little about their privacy….by the way  that is one of those things that is in the Constitution…..you see there is more to the document than some 2nd amendment thing…..

So whatcha think?

They Said Whaaaaaaat?

Okay I will take a break from my books and admit that yes I did watch the last debate of 2015…..only because I thought that it may be more about foreign policy than anything else……

We Americans love winners and frown on losers…..there has always got to be a winner…..but today I do not care about who won or loss…..what was great were the one liners…….here are some of the better ones……

Here are some of the more memorable lines emerging from Tuesday night’s debate, culled from CNN and the Washington Post transcript:

  • Jeb Bush: “Donald, you’re not going to be able to insult your way to the presidency.” (Bush has gone after Trump repeatedly, labeling him a “chaos candidate.”)
  • Donald Trump: “They can kill us, but we can’t kill them?” In response to criticism from Rand Paul over his proposal to go after ISIS militants’ families. (The New York Times‘ Nicholas Confessore says the line is “a perfect distillation of why he is leading this primary.”) Later, Trump to Bush, sarcastically: “You’re a tough guy Jeb. I’m at 42 and you’re at 3.”
  • Chris Christie: “If your eyes are glazing over like mine, this is what it’s like to be on the floor of the United States Senate,” referring to a back-and-forth between Marco Rubio and Paul over votes on security and immigration. “I mean, endless debate about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.” (Later, he called President Obama a “feckless weakling.”)
  • Marco Rubio: “I don’t think national television in front of 15 million people is the place to discuss classified information,” he said while sparring with Cruz over his support of domestic surveillance. “The next time there is an attack on this country the first thing we’re going to want to know is why didn’t we know about it and why didn’t we stop it?”
  • Ted Cruz: “I’m reminded of what FDR’s grandfather said; he said all horse thieves are Democrats, but not all Democrats are horse thieves. In this instance there are millions of peaceful Muslims across the world,” he said in criticizing Trump’s plan to ban Muslims as too broad. Later, referring to Cruz: “He was fighting to grant amnesty. … I was fighting to secure the border.”
  • Carly Fiorina: “Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are responsible for the growth of ISIS because they precipitously withdrew from Iraq in 2011.” Earlier, quoting Margaret Thatcher: “If you want something talked about, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.”
  • Ben Carson: “I don’t do a lot of talking. I do a lot of doing. … That speaks volumes about strength.”
  • Rand Paul: “If you’re going to close the Internet, realize, America, what that entails. It means getting rid of the First Amendment,” he said, in a swipe at comments by Trump. Later, after Christie talked about shooting down Russian planes in a no-fly zone: “I think if you’re in favor of World War III, you have your candidate.”
  • John Kasich: “Frankly, it’s time that we punched the Russians in the nose. They’ve gotten away with too much in this world.

There you have the highlights of the night……were you impressed?

I was not.

But if you are a typical American and you just need winners and losers…..then I have a read for you……

There were no big flubs, but only a few candidates stood out.

Source: GOP debate winners and losers | TheHill

But if that analysis is not to your liking ….then there are others…….

There were a few winners and a whole lot of losers at the CNN Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas.

Source: Here Are The Winners And Losers From The CNN Republican Presidential Debate

And that is the name of that tune!

The Second Cold War?

Because of the US response to Russia in the Ukraine renewed talks have come up about the possibility of a second Cold War…..both countries are flexing their muscle around the world…..how soon before it is a more direct confrontation?

In the light of the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, there has been much talk about the clouding of US-Russian relations. Some voices in the Internet’s alternative media sections have conjured the possibility that these conflicts might lead to a new major war, while social networks like Twitter saw the usage of the hashtags #WorldWarIII […]

Source: The Second Cold War – The Unz Review

How do you, my reader, see this playing out in the future?

It’s That Time Again! #5

Just when you thought things could not get any sillier…….Tonight is the big night…..the 5th in the series of GOP debates….So if you have nothing better to do than waste a couple of hours of your life stop by and join the fun……… I expect that since the front runner Trump made his Muslim statement that this debate will be more about that and terrorism than anything else….after all this subject has sucked all the oxygen out of every other issue…..

But the biggest question is…..who or how many go for the cajones of Trump?

Tuesday night brings the last debate of the year for Republicans, and one common theme in previews is that in a year of relatively lively debates, this one might be the liveliest yet. Some things to watch:

  • Will anyone hit Trump?: “Easily the biggest question” of the night is who, if anyone, will go after Donald Trump in “a long-awaited have-you-no-decency-sir moment,” says Politico. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio will likely pass, but keep an eye on Chris Christie or perhaps Jeb Bush or Carly Fiorina.
  • But which Trump?CNN notes that Trump has been content in some debates to “fade into the background,” but he also knows that millions will be tuning in to watch him defend his plan to keep Muslims out of the country. Does he “play it safe and lock in his front-runner status?”
  • Cruz vs. Rubio: Now that he’s near the top of the polls, Cruz is “likely to come under sharp attack,” says the New York Times. Look for Rubio in particular to go after him on immigration and national security, particularly over Cruz’s support of guest-worker visas and and curbing domestic surveillance. Rubio himself, though, is vulnerable over his 2013 work on providing immigrants a path to citizenship, a topic that has yet to surface in the debates.
  • Christie emerging: One of Slate’s key questions is “What Will Chris Christie Do?” He’s rising in the polls, especially in New Hampshire, and given Bush’s lackluster debate performances, the New Jersey governor is the “establishment man best suited to try to shake things up.”
  • Scary times: A big topic is expected to be foreign policy and the fight against ISIS because of the attacks on Paris and San Bernardino, notes Time. “The more serious tone will likely reward candidates who adapt their messages to fit the new dynamic of the race, and may pose a problem for those who struggle on the substance.”
  • Details: The main debate airs at 8:30 Eastern on CNN. The undercard (Mike Huckabee, Lindsey Graham, George Pataki, and Rick Santorum) begins at 6.

This will be the last debate……of 2015….but never fear there will be more…..

May your evening be as joyous as you like…..see ya!

“The Force Awakens”!

NO!  This is not a review of the new Star Wars movie (sorry I could not resist)…..I wrote a piece yesterday about the question of just who will be the force to take on ISIS head to head…..(in case you missed it)…..

Source: Who Will Fight the Islamic State? | In Saner Thought

Since I posted that my question has been answered……(sort of)…….

Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that 34 nations have agreed to form a new “Islamic military alliance” to fight terrorism with a joint operations center based in the kingdom’s capital, Riyadh. The announcement published by the state-run Saudi Press Agency said the alliance will be Saudi-led and is being established because terrorism “should be fought by all means and collaboration should be made to eliminate it.” The statement said Islam forbids “corruption and destruction in the world” and that terrorism constitutes “a serious violation of human dignity and rights, especially the right to life and the right to security.”

At a news conference, Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman said the new Islamic military coalition will develop mechanisms for working with other countries and international bodies to support counterterrorism efforts. He said their efforts would not be limited to countering ISIS alone. “Currently, every Muslim country is fighting terrorism individually … so coordinating efforts is very important,” he said. The new counterterrorism coalition includes nations with large and established armies such as Pakistan, Turkey, and Egypt, as well as war-torn countries with embattled militaries such as Libya and Yemen. Saudi Arabia’s Shiite regional rival, Iran, and its allies Iraq and Syria are not part of the new coalition.

Okay….we all can relax…..we force a commitment for a fighting force from the conflicted region…..right?

Then why am I not more excited about the news?

Is this the answer the world has been looking for……or is it a gimmick?  We have been fooled in the past by these same groups….could they possibly be serious this time?

Open The (Overton) Window….We Need Fresh Air

By now the whole world is reeling at the comments of GOP front runner Donald Trump……although he has made many similar comments his newest has everyone (those that worship at the feet of the messiah) having to either justify the comment or condemn…..

About 5 years ago here on IST I offered up some philosophical techniques used in politics…..nowadays politics is full of innuendo and in some cases out right lies…….but this does have a practical side…..

Source: Argumentum ad populum–Revisited | In Saner Thought

Source: Argumentum Ad Hominem | In Saner Thought

It is nothing new….Trump likes to drive the conversation and will say whatever it takes from him to be the center of media attention…..just remember the statements he has made in the past 6 months or so…..since the beginning of his candidacy he has been the dominant voice in the coverage and the conversation……just read about his technique…….

Source: How does Trump do it? Understanding the psychology of a demagogue’s rally

Are there any PoliSci majors out there?  If there are then the traditional ideas of an election are flying in the face of everything you have been thought up to this point…..especially on the Right side of the spectrum.

The reason I ask is there is a theory in PoliSci first proposed by Joseph Overton…..it is called the Overton Window.

 A political theory invented by arch-conservative Joseph Overton, VP of the anti-tax Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Midland, Michigan.
In theory, the Overton Window represents the boundaries of “acceptable” public policy and discourse — what a politician can support without seeming too “extreme.” Opposing forces try to broaden this window (or shift it to one side) to make formerly “radical” ideas seem more “mainstream.”
Overton’s theory has a decidedly pro-business, anti-regulation slant. Something is either “more free” or “less free” in his view. He never mentions “more just” or “more fair” or “more practical.” In fact, the entire theory tailor made for paranoid people and right-wing lunatics who think Obama is a totalitarian Marxist dictator bent on world domination.
Trump is showing the classic signs of the Overton Window and his rival is doing exactly what was predicted…..He, Cruz, is not saying Trump is wrong but he is positioning himself as an ally so if Trump crashes then he can step in to the candidate’s donors and supporters.  Cruz will wait for an opening before he makes his move….that weakness will be first in poll numbers….

The Decline and Fall of the ‘Mainstream’ Media

Let’s be truthful…..I think the MSM is a bunch of overpaid hacks.  I dislike any group that keeps real information from the public ….instead they give us sensationalism and crap.

But as much as I dislike the media the hype they GOP candidates try to pass off is worse lies and misinformation than the people they pretend to hate.

But I do believe that the MSM has about run its course and Mr. Raimondo has written a pretty good piece on the subject……

The “mainstream” media is a potent issue this election year, and Donald Trump has surely turned the public’s distrust of the Fourth Estate into electoral gold. Regardless of what one thinks of Trump himself, his ability to turn a media pile-on into an asset has got to make one wonder what is it about the […]

Source: The Decline and Fall of the ‘Mainstream’ Media – Antiwar.com Original by — Antiwar.com