Defence Review: The Services have a fight on their hands – but who is the biggest enemy? - Telegraph
The article asks "who is the biggest enemy?" but then fails to deliver a threat analysis.
The first question is if there is a realistic potential threat of a conventional war within the next ten years? That question demands looking at the capabilities and intentions of all potential threats. The UK does not have to build armed forces to defend itself from the US and I will grant that the UK does not have to build forces to defend itself from other members of the EU. Can the UK simply assume that other military forces will not become a potential threat?
Who will have the capability to threaten the UK over the next 10 years? Will Russia, China, Iran, Argentina and several other countries? The answers are yes they will and those potential threats have to be prepared for. In several cases is it reasonable to consider that either open hostile intent of the regime or the conditions for instability that could lead to a threat growing over time need to be considered?
Defense choices cannot be made unilaterally by the budget office. They have to be driven by considering the capabilities and intentions of others. The worst thing to do is to disarm preemptively so as to not threaten a potential aggressor. That in fact is likely to stimulate aggressive action and could be considered an immoral inducement to hostility. For example if instead of disarming in the Pacific following the Washington Naval treaties Britain and America had maintained strong forces in East Asia then democratic elements in Japan might have been better able to resist the rise of expansionist Shintoists.
Britain can and should retain robust military forces. The drain on the UK's society and budget comes from social welfare.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Comment on Facebook | John Podhoretz
"It's like Stalin winning the Lenin Prize"
Facebook | John Podhoretz It's like Stalin winning the Lenin Prize: Rashid Khalidi to Deliver Edward Said Memorial Lecture
When Khalidi and you and me were all at Chicago I knocked on his door because I was doing something for of all people John Mearsheimer on the Arab-Israeli wars. My opening was "I need to have this explained from someone on your side of the fence. How could they set themselves up for failure like this?" We spent a fine half hour together and he was clear courteous and logical in going over the social and cultural impediments to success in the Arab world, without conceding anything of a political or policy nature. The dominant campus culture then stressed collegiality and old fashioned professorial courtesy. My impression is that things have changed.
John Mearsheimer is right now teaching a course on Zionism.
In the best suppressed "The ought to be a law" file we can consider stating that all persons granted a contract with over 5 years of tenure protection should be banned from voting or engaging in political activity outside of their academic workplace.
When Khalidi and you and me were all at Chicago I knocked on his door because I was doing something for of all people John Mearsheimer on the Arab-Israeli wars. My opening was "I need to have this explained from someone on your side of the fence. How could they set themselves up for failure like this?" We spent a fine half hour together and he was clear courteous and logical in going over the social and cultural impediments to success in the Arab world, without conceding anything of a political or policy nature. The dominant campus culture then stressed collegiality and old fashioned professorial courtesy. My impression is that things have changed.
John Mearsheimer is right now teaching a course on Zionism.
In the best suppressed "The ought to be a law" file we can consider stating that all persons granted a contract with over 5 years of tenure protection should be banned from voting or engaging in political activity outside of their academic workplace.
Comment on Theo Spark:
David Horowitz in Beverly Hills:
'Crush the Arabs Militarily'
Theo Spark: David Horowitz in Beverly Hills: 'Crush the Arabs Militarily'
Israel made four crucial mistakes in 1967.
1. They did not annex Bethlehem and assume the mantle of protector of Christians and other minorities in the Middle East.
2. Israel did not expel the UNRWA from any territory under Israeli control and place the Palestinians (stateless Gazans or Jordanians) under the same legal regime as all other civilians in disputed territories around the world.
3. Israel did not take control of the education system in all territories under their control and ensure that all textbooks and curricula met acceptable international standards for both accuracy and promoting tolerance.
4. Israel did not take control of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, restricting Muslim religious authorities to the operation of the mosques and appointing a Mufti, as was their right under Islamic practice, who would not permit abuse of the position.
If those four things had been done by the end of June 1967 then peace would have rapidly followed. By Israel failing to do so the Arabs became convinced that time was on their side and that there was no downside to refusing to make peace.
By the logic of Islamic Arab culture and experience the losses of 1948 and 1967 are merely a trading of Space for Time. Their model is the expulsion of the Crusades after 200 years. Their more recent experience is that of their patrons in the Soviet Union, who trained much of their current civil and military elite for two generations, who successfully repelled the Germans and then killed or deported millions of civilians.
Israel made four crucial mistakes in 1967.
1. They did not annex Bethlehem and assume the mantle of protector of Christians and other minorities in the Middle East.
2. Israel did not expel the UNRWA from any territory under Israeli control and place the Palestinians (stateless Gazans or Jordanians) under the same legal regime as all other civilians in disputed territories around the world.
3. Israel did not take control of the education system in all territories under their control and ensure that all textbooks and curricula met acceptable international standards for both accuracy and promoting tolerance.
4. Israel did not take control of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, restricting Muslim religious authorities to the operation of the mosques and appointing a Mufti, as was their right under Islamic practice, who would not permit abuse of the position.
If those four things had been done by the end of June 1967 then peace would have rapidly followed. By Israel failing to do so the Arabs became convinced that time was on their side and that there was no downside to refusing to make peace.
By the logic of Islamic Arab culture and experience the losses of 1948 and 1967 are merely a trading of Space for Time. Their model is the expulsion of the Crusades after 200 years. Their more recent experience is that of their patrons in the Soviet Union, who trained much of their current civil and military elite for two generations, who successfully repelled the Germans and then killed or deported millions of civilians.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Comment on Urban Infidel:
Muslim Day Parade 2010
Urban Infidel: Muslim Day Parade 2010
The original post was a fair and well presented example of citizen journalism by someone who did not merely repeat a press release but placed what was observed in the context of having reported on prior parades and absorbed over the last 10-20 years the painful lessons on how members of the Islamic community interact with the outside world. The hate and abuse here is not from the host or their post but from the Anonymous commentator who throws around words like whore idiot and bitch. Reading you makes me think that you have gender issues and suspect that your intent is to provoke an intemperate response that can be used to attack the blog.
The inflammatory signs and chants of prior years were gone and if that indicates that intolerance and the glorification of violence are being marginalized within the Islamic community then that is good news. If it indicates a tactical effort on the part of organizers caught by the controversy over the mosque near Ground Zero then there is less reason for relaxation. It is not wrong for inquiring minds to inquire.
Regarding the obscenity laced post with the story "I witnessed a former catholic-Muslim convert speaking peacefully and respecting a former Muslim-Christian convert Pakistani man" in my mailbox, was it deleted or blocked here? Given the history of how apostates are treated and the real cases we know of of people in hiding or being killed for "insulting the Prophet" it was probably a poor decision to hit the Publish button on that story when you are otherwise busy discrediting the argument for Islamic tolerance.
It is you choice everyday as to how you portray your community. If you seek to prove that the advocates of violence and intolerance in al-Qaeda and affiliated groups do not represent the values of Islam then it is your responsibility to demonstrate that. It was your choice as to whether you respectfully acknowledged the skepticism of observers when arguing for the sincerity of the new message or attacked the audience. Today Anonymous you have done a poor job of making that argument. You choose a tone that indicates hostility condescension arrogance and a desire to denigrate and control the opinions of others. That reinforces all the worst expectations that the less confrontational tone of the parade was presumably designed to allay.
The original post was a fair and well presented example of citizen journalism by someone who did not merely repeat a press release but placed what was observed in the context of having reported on prior parades and absorbed over the last 10-20 years the painful lessons on how members of the Islamic community interact with the outside world. The hate and abuse here is not from the host or their post but from the Anonymous commentator who throws around words like whore idiot and bitch. Reading you makes me think that you have gender issues and suspect that your intent is to provoke an intemperate response that can be used to attack the blog.
The inflammatory signs and chants of prior years were gone and if that indicates that intolerance and the glorification of violence are being marginalized within the Islamic community then that is good news. If it indicates a tactical effort on the part of organizers caught by the controversy over the mosque near Ground Zero then there is less reason for relaxation. It is not wrong for inquiring minds to inquire.
Regarding the obscenity laced post with the story "I witnessed a former catholic-Muslim convert speaking peacefully and respecting a former Muslim-Christian convert Pakistani man" in my mailbox, was it deleted or blocked here? Given the history of how apostates are treated and the real cases we know of of people in hiding or being killed for "insulting the Prophet" it was probably a poor decision to hit the Publish button on that story when you are otherwise busy discrediting the argument for Islamic tolerance.
It is you choice everyday as to how you portray your community. If you seek to prove that the advocates of violence and intolerance in al-Qaeda and affiliated groups do not represent the values of Islam then it is your responsibility to demonstrate that. It was your choice as to whether you respectfully acknowledged the skepticism of observers when arguing for the sincerity of the new message or attacked the audience. Today Anonymous you have done a poor job of making that argument. You choose a tone that indicates hostility condescension arrogance and a desire to denigrate and control the opinions of others. That reinforces all the worst expectations that the less confrontational tone of the parade was presumably designed to allay.
Small Modular Reactors
This Topsider, I was never a Snipe, is impressed by Hyperion Power. If they can cut prices fm $50 million to $20 million per unit they will move 10,000 and that would break the oil tyrants. Russia would revert to being an annoyance in Europe's back yard. Japan and India would be much stronger and more stable in the face of Chinese pressure. Oil would revert to being one commodity among many transiting sea lanes kept safe by the USN. The Arabs would sink back into the obscurity they had earned a hundred years ago. Within three generations in most places Islam would probably decay to a rural sect.
Personally I look forward to the day when the cost of safe secure sealed Small Modular Reactor (SMR) plants is low enough that an American Merchant marine fleet can again be built and operated competitively to carry the flag across the seas.
Personally I look forward to the day when the cost of safe secure sealed Small Modular Reactor (SMR) plants is low enough that an American Merchant marine fleet can again be built and operated competitively to carry the flag across the seas.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Comment on Theo Spark: Democrats Unleash Ads Focusing on Rivals' Pasts
Theo Spark: Democrats Unleash Ads Focusing on Rivals' Pasts
John Kerry says that voters who back the Republicans are stupid. I'll let him insult the voters, no reason for us to muddy those waters.
The Democrats now have a policy of advancing candidates for elective and appointive office with no track records. They do nothing not only as policy, preferring the safety of NGOs Government or teaching, all unproductive bureaucracies, but because by avoiding the market they avoid creating a paper trail. That is aided by the media deliberately suppressing information that would harm the Democrats. In fairness the Republicans opened the can of worms when Bush 41 nominated Souter for the SCOTUS. That turned out badly.
Barack Obama only became a Senator after his opponents divorce records were improperly unsealed. Poor Jack Ryan lost his campaign after losing his marriage to a very beautiful woman. A man destroyed by not having sex with his own wife in a private club.
John Kerry says that voters who back the Republicans are stupid. I'll let him insult the voters, no reason for us to muddy those waters.
The Democrats now have a policy of advancing candidates for elective and appointive office with no track records. They do nothing not only as policy, preferring the safety of NGOs Government or teaching, all unproductive bureaucracies, but because by avoiding the market they avoid creating a paper trail. That is aided by the media deliberately suppressing information that would harm the Democrats. In fairness the Republicans opened the can of worms when Bush 41 nominated Souter for the SCOTUS. That turned out badly.
Barack Obama only became a Senator after his opponents divorce records were improperly unsealed. Poor Jack Ryan lost his campaign after losing his marriage to a very beautiful woman. A man destroyed by not having sex with his own wife in a private club.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Comment on PJM, Roger L. Simon »
"Poetic Justice — Will a ‘Worm’ Destroy A-jad?"
Roger L. Simon » Poetic Justice — Will a ‘Worm’ Destroy A-jad?
One problem is that America and Israel being modern complex networked societies are more vulnerable to electronic warfare, including worm attacks, than are more technically primitive places. It is good that Israel has the talent to develop cyber weapons. It is bad that we lack adequate defenses and may well suffer more than our enemies in the ensuing conflict.
Thousands of moslems study information systems and networking in the Gulf States, Europe or America. Some of them seek to do us harm. Many thousands of skilled but underemployed computer engineers in the former Soviet Union engage in malicious practices, even if it isn't their government's policy to encourage them as it well may be. In essence Russia is a society that was stripped of its moral foundations by communism and is now a Hacker's paradise. Large numbers of Americans have been similarly damaged by the ideology controlled organs of education and media but given the technical tools to do harm. They drift into Socialism, Nihilism, Anarchism or Islam. China has entire PLA Divisions devoted to mapping the western grid and testing it in preparation for offensive operations.
One problem is that America and Israel being modern complex networked societies are more vulnerable to electronic warfare, including worm attacks, than are more technically primitive places. It is good that Israel has the talent to develop cyber weapons. It is bad that we lack adequate defenses and may well suffer more than our enemies in the ensuing conflict.
Thousands of moslems study information systems and networking in the Gulf States, Europe or America. Some of them seek to do us harm. Many thousands of skilled but underemployed computer engineers in the former Soviet Union engage in malicious practices, even if it isn't their government's policy to encourage them as it well may be. In essence Russia is a society that was stripped of its moral foundations by communism and is now a Hacker's paradise. Large numbers of Americans have been similarly damaged by the ideology controlled organs of education and media but given the technical tools to do harm. They drift into Socialism, Nihilism, Anarchism or Islam. China has entire PLA Divisions devoted to mapping the western grid and testing it in preparation for offensive operations.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Four Japanese citizens detained in China as dispute escalates - Telegraph
Four Japanese citizens detained in China as dispute escalates - Telegraph
China kidnapping Japanese is very dangerous. Japan is a consensus culture and may turn on a dime and remilitarize. It is commonly accepted that Japan could have functioning nuclear weapons within weeks or maybe even hours. They already have the delivery systems.
A strong US has been liked in Australasia for 65 years. This is because of memories of Japan's military. China hoped for a weak US and a weak Japan, leading to a strong China. Do they think that they are now in the same strategic position as as Japan was in 1940? It is unlikely that this conduct will facilitate "bandwaggoning" by smaller powers who will be encouraged to join China. It is more likely that Japan, Australia and India will consult and then work with smaller threatened regional players who will seek to balance China. Within the past few months China has needlessly threatened South Korea (who must assume that North Korea had permission to sink a warship), Taiwan (who face existential threats from thousands of missiles and the threat to the US protector), Vietnam and the Philippines (who have seen the PLAN claim sovereignty for China over the South China Sea and valuable resources, India (who are now surrounded by Chinese naval bases and incensed by PLA soldiers building a road across disputed territory in Kashmir) and finally Japan. If the US had remained a strong presence then these nations would would not naturally divert resources to their defenses or cooperate easily. Most would be very reluctant to cooperate with Japan if they had confidence in the US. By weakening the Americans through commercial diplomatic and military pressures the Chinese have created their own worst case outcome. The Chinese are fools for antagonizing Japan and this may indicate instability in China.
China kidnapping Japanese is very dangerous. Japan is a consensus culture and may turn on a dime and remilitarize. It is commonly accepted that Japan could have functioning nuclear weapons within weeks or maybe even hours. They already have the delivery systems.
A strong US has been liked in Australasia for 65 years. This is because of memories of Japan's military. China hoped for a weak US and a weak Japan, leading to a strong China. Do they think that they are now in the same strategic position as as Japan was in 1940? It is unlikely that this conduct will facilitate "bandwaggoning" by smaller powers who will be encouraged to join China. It is more likely that Japan, Australia and India will consult and then work with smaller threatened regional players who will seek to balance China. Within the past few months China has needlessly threatened South Korea (who must assume that North Korea had permission to sink a warship), Taiwan (who face existential threats from thousands of missiles and the threat to the US protector), Vietnam and the Philippines (who have seen the PLAN claim sovereignty for China over the South China Sea and valuable resources, India (who are now surrounded by Chinese naval bases and incensed by PLA soldiers building a road across disputed territory in Kashmir) and finally Japan. If the US had remained a strong presence then these nations would would not naturally divert resources to their defenses or cooperate easily. Most would be very reluctant to cooperate with Japan if they had confidence in the US. By weakening the Americans through commercial diplomatic and military pressures the Chinese have created their own worst case outcome. The Chinese are fools for antagonizing Japan and this may indicate instability in China.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Comment on Newser:
Ahmadinejad Threatens 'War Without Boundaries'
Discussion of: Ahmadinejad Threatens 'War Without Boundaries' - Iranian president promises retaliation for attacks on nuclear sites
There is a time when strategic ambiguity works. For example it was United States policy for decades, all standing policies that were bipartisan expired when Obama walked into the room, to "neither confirm nor deny" the presence of nuclear weapons on any warship or military installation. Similarly John Foster Dulles assured the world that we would respond "at places and with means of our own choosing" to any Soviet attack on the US or an ally.
There are times when ambiguity does not work or the effort at clarity sends the wrong signal. Dean Acheson at the National Press Club was to ambiguous about America's interests and gave the impression that we would not fight for Korea.
There is a time when clarity is called for. In the cases of the Cuban Missile crisis and the Berlin crisis and the threat to Israel in 1973 the Presidents made sure that there was no doubt where our red lines were and that we would excalate, even to the use of nuclear weapons, if those lines were crossed. Those times certainty saved millions of lives.
In the case of Iran it would probably be best if the President personally laid out exactly what our plans are and how we will irreparably destroy Iran, not just as the seat of their current government, as a nation for the foreseeable future if they use weapons of mass destruction against either the United States or our allies, including Israel. That threat should be clear, it should be credible, and it should not be subject to the restraint or approval of any outside agency.
If the grandees of the United Nations or the Islamic Conference or any other group do not like that then we should tell them that when in our opinion they have earned the level of credibility and civilization and decency that merit our entrusting their opinions with that level of control over our sovereignty then we shall let them know.
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Added to Fred Thompson's Facebook Wall.
There is a time when strategic ambiguity works. For example it was United States policy for decades, all standing policies that were bipartisan expired when Obama walked into the room, to "neither confirm nor deny" the presence of nuclear weapons on any warship or military installation. Similarly John Foster Dulles assured the world that we would respond "at places and with means of our own choosing" to any Soviet attack on the US or an ally.
There are times when ambiguity does not work or the effort at clarity sends the wrong signal. Dean Acheson at the National Press Club was to ambiguous about America's interests and gave the impression that we would not fight for Korea.
There is a time when clarity is called for. In the cases of the Cuban Missile crisis and the Berlin crisis and the threat to Israel in 1973 the Presidents made sure that there was no doubt where our red lines were and that we would excalate, even to the use of nuclear weapons, if those lines were crossed. Those times certainty saved millions of lives.
In the case of Iran it would probably be best if the President personally laid out exactly what our plans are and how we will irreparably destroy Iran, not just as the seat of their current government, as a nation for the foreseeable future if they use weapons of mass destruction against either the United States or our allies, including Israel. That threat should be clear, it should be credible, and it should not be subject to the restraint or approval of any outside agency.
If the grandees of the United Nations or the Islamic Conference or any other group do not like that then we should tell them that when in our opinion they have earned the level of credibility and civilization and decency that merit our entrusting their opinions with that level of control over our sovereignty then we shall let them know.
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Added to Fred Thompson's Facebook Wall.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Comment on PJM, Roger L. Simon »
All the President’s Creeps
Roger L. Simon » All the President’s Creeps
Before he moved to the US Senate did Barack Obama ever even nominally supervise more than three people? Did he really even supervise his Senate office? He was constantly late and accomplished nothing. This man has less management experience than any 23 year old Ensign or 2nd Lieutenant. For two hundred years, if we survive, people will look back on the 2008 election and ask "What in hell were they thinking?" Of course the courses will largely be taught by people like Obama. There will be one difference, the books will be written by some academics, even if minor league Assistant Professors, who did have to actually do some research and write something to get their jobs. Grant Bill Ayers this much; he at least has the paper credentials for the job he held.
Before he moved to the US Senate did Barack Obama ever even nominally supervise more than three people? Did he really even supervise his Senate office? He was constantly late and accomplished nothing. This man has less management experience than any 23 year old Ensign or 2nd Lieutenant. For two hundred years, if we survive, people will look back on the 2008 election and ask "What in hell were they thinking?" Of course the courses will largely be taught by people like Obama. There will be one difference, the books will be written by some academics, even if minor league Assistant Professors, who did have to actually do some research and write something to get their jobs. Grant Bill Ayers this much; he at least has the paper credentials for the job he held.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Comment on PJM, Ed Driscoll »
The Recursive Michael Moore
Ed Driscoll » The Recursive Michael Moore
It surprises me that some enterprising trial lawyer hasn't found some widow or orphan whose loved one died at the hands of the insurgency that Michael Moore emboldened and sued his ample ass for every nickle he has squirreled away. It would make a great civil suit where First Amendment restrictions on government don't apply. It might even then lead to some State District Attorney charging him criminally for war profiteering or trading with the enemy or even providing aid and comfort, i.e. treason. Under the jug headed Arizona ruling the Federal government could move to shut down any such State action but historically the States have always had the power to enforce their own laws when their own citizens are injured.
It surprises me that some enterprising trial lawyer hasn't found some widow or orphan whose loved one died at the hands of the insurgency that Michael Moore emboldened and sued his ample ass for every nickle he has squirreled away. It would make a great civil suit where First Amendment restrictions on government don't apply. It might even then lead to some State District Attorney charging him criminally for war profiteering or trading with the enemy or even providing aid and comfort, i.e. treason. Under the jug headed Arizona ruling the Federal government could move to shut down any such State action but historically the States have always had the power to enforce their own laws when their own citizens are injured.
Comment On Facebook | John Tammes:
Sermon today was on "loving ones enemies".
"Hard to do - I've been reflecting on the Battle of Basrah"
Facebook (6) | John Tammes Sermon today was on "loving ones enemies". Hard to do - I've been reflecting on the Battle of Basrah - when I was urging the Chief of Staff of the IA 14th Divison to take a very aggressive course of action - they did not and I became a bit upset... I keep thinking if I was urging something necessary or not. Following His commands can be really freakin' hard sometimes.
War is not just technical but, as the arm chair amateurs point out after reading 2 pages of Clausewitz, political. That is to say what Napoleon called "moral." The point is to make the enemy internalize the knowledge of defeat so that they stop resisting and we don't have to kill in the future. If letting a broken army escape because they present no tactical threat results in their respecting us and a basis for peace then it is good. If it results in them believing that further resistance will pay and a long bleeding insurgency then the thing to do is to cut off their escape and ensure that they either surrender or die.
In 1918 the German army was defeated but unfortunately to many Germans were allowed the fantasy that they hadn't really lost because the Allies settled humanely for an Armistice and then a very limited occupation. The result was round two and 20 million Europeans dead plus the American casualties. In 1991 we prudently stopped after destroying Saddam's army between Basrah and Kuwait and the result was almost 12 years of of OIL for Food corruption and an avoidable resonance of mutually reinforcing threats for which we still are paying.
We should make clear to the Iranians that while we do not seek war if they make war inevitable then we will not fight to restore the status quo ante. War will mean the end of the Iranian regime and in fact the end of the entire state supported religious establishment.
War is not just technical but, as the arm chair amateurs point out after reading 2 pages of Clausewitz, political. That is to say what Napoleon called "moral." The point is to make the enemy internalize the knowledge of defeat so that they stop resisting and we don't have to kill in the future. If letting a broken army escape because they present no tactical threat results in their respecting us and a basis for peace then it is good. If it results in them believing that further resistance will pay and a long bleeding insurgency then the thing to do is to cut off their escape and ensure that they either surrender or die.
In 1918 the German army was defeated but unfortunately to many Germans were allowed the fantasy that they hadn't really lost because the Allies settled humanely for an Armistice and then a very limited occupation. The result was round two and 20 million Europeans dead plus the American casualties. In 1991 we prudently stopped after destroying Saddam's army between Basrah and Kuwait and the result was almost 12 years of of OIL for Food corruption and an avoidable resonance of mutually reinforcing threats for which we still are paying.
We should make clear to the Iranians that while we do not seek war if they make war inevitable then we will not fight to restore the status quo ante. War will mean the end of the Iranian regime and in fact the end of the entire state supported religious establishment.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
On "The Swiftboating of Christine O’Donnell"
(Reply to Barrett Brown) : The Other McCain
The Swiftboating of Christine O’Donnell (Reply to Barrett Brown) : The Other McCain
On this one I am with Mr Stacy McCain. The attack on O'Donnell by Bill Maher and company should make people more sympathetic to the woman. Is she the best possible candidate? No, and I think that people like Rove who suggested that Castle was more electable had a point and should not be attacked for having offered their professional opinion. Once the primary was over they should not have descended to personal abuse of the candidate.
Over the long haul we need to think about the role of political parties in America and how we choose our candidates. The caucus packing by Axelrod in Texas and Iowa in 2008 that gave the nomination to Obama and the primary jumping by David Duke in Louisiana in 1990 and '91 show how vulnerable the system is. Strong local organizations with members committed to principles that know their candidates should have more control. The trick would be to keep the local clubs from becoming dominated by corrupt machines.
On this one I am with Mr Stacy McCain. The attack on O'Donnell by Bill Maher and company should make people more sympathetic to the woman. Is she the best possible candidate? No, and I think that people like Rove who suggested that Castle was more electable had a point and should not be attacked for having offered their professional opinion. Once the primary was over they should not have descended to personal abuse of the candidate.
Over the long haul we need to think about the role of political parties in America and how we choose our candidates. The caucus packing by Axelrod in Texas and Iowa in 2008 that gave the nomination to Obama and the primary jumping by David Duke in Louisiana in 1990 and '91 show how vulnerable the system is. Strong local organizations with members committed to principles that know their candidates should have more control. The trick would be to keep the local clubs from becoming dominated by corrupt machines.
Comment on Todd Henderson:
"We are the Super Rich" « Truth on the Market
We are the Super Rich « Truth on the Market
The really "super rich" are largely the Democratic Party or trans-national socialist plutocracy. They are protected by a web of lawyers and special connections. The point is and always was to rip wealth from the productive middle class.
This has always been the policy of aristocrats, they ally with the peasantry against the merchants and the monarchy. When the sovereign allies with the aristocracy against the middle it always results in disaster. See especially the English Civil War but also Rome, China and France.
Unfortunately in America with Obama the would be aristos captured the throne, and they are making a complete pig's breakfast of it.
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BTW, As someone who lived for 10 years on and off in Hyde Park/ Kenwood, with time off for bad behavior, it is interesting that we have another neighbor and putative colleague of Barack Obama who does not know him. I took classes at the Law School, though I was not a law student, and I never heard of him. I was interested in local politics and never heard of him. Everyone on campus who cared in the least about the turmoil of the 1960s, which was most people, knew all about Bernadine Dohrn. On occasion I have had pleasant conversations with both John Boyer, who hired Michelle Obama, and Geoffrey Stone, who hired Barack without going through the normal faculty review process. They are both men of the Left secure in their positions.
This is not wingnuttery, I have spoken to people who had Obama's class at the Law School, so I know that he really existed. They spoke of his class as a painful and even embarrassing unintellectual experience. All this effort was exerted to promote and secure this undistinguished couple and prostitute the University at the behest of the Trustee Penny Pritzker.
The really "super rich" are largely the Democratic Party or trans-national socialist plutocracy. They are protected by a web of lawyers and special connections. The point is and always was to rip wealth from the productive middle class.
This has always been the policy of aristocrats, they ally with the peasantry against the merchants and the monarchy. When the sovereign allies with the aristocracy against the middle it always results in disaster. See especially the English Civil War but also Rome, China and France.
Unfortunately in America with Obama the would be aristos captured the throne, and they are making a complete pig's breakfast of it.
-----
BTW, As someone who lived for 10 years on and off in Hyde Park/ Kenwood, with time off for bad behavior, it is interesting that we have another neighbor and putative colleague of Barack Obama who does not know him. I took classes at the Law School, though I was not a law student, and I never heard of him. I was interested in local politics and never heard of him. Everyone on campus who cared in the least about the turmoil of the 1960s, which was most people, knew all about Bernadine Dohrn. On occasion I have had pleasant conversations with both John Boyer, who hired Michelle Obama, and Geoffrey Stone, who hired Barack without going through the normal faculty review process. They are both men of the Left secure in their positions.
This is not wingnuttery, I have spoken to people who had Obama's class at the Law School, so I know that he really existed. They spoke of his class as a painful and even embarrassing unintellectual experience. All this effort was exerted to promote and secure this undistinguished couple and prostitute the University at the behest of the Trustee Penny Pritzker.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Comment on PJM: Ed Driscoll »
No One Can Argue That Delaware Voters Don’t Have a Choice
Ed Driscoll » No One Can Argue That Delaware Voters Don’t Have a Choice
A prediction of a tactic that I suspect some Dem operative can see. They will try to get a proxy debate going by having Michelle Obama or Hillary Clinton ridicule O'Donnell, to draw her out into a personal squabble. Their biggest payoff would be if some "right wing" outfit prints a headline "The Witch or the B*tch?" The MSM could then report on the controversy they generated and ignore the facts or issues involved. Pre-scripted stories on the horrible right wing press slandering a Democrat would be run. If necessary and the hoped for Fox refuses to eat the bait then they might have to run the initial fake story in some sock puppet rag. The press will offer O'Donnell interviews to explain her sins and offer her a chance to apologize. They are possibly practicing pulling their glasses down their noses Charlie Gibson style.
A prediction of a tactic that I suspect some Dem operative can see. They will try to get a proxy debate going by having Michelle Obama or Hillary Clinton ridicule O'Donnell, to draw her out into a personal squabble. Their biggest payoff would be if some "right wing" outfit prints a headline "The Witch or the B*tch?" The MSM could then report on the controversy they generated and ignore the facts or issues involved. Pre-scripted stories on the horrible right wing press slandering a Democrat would be run. If necessary and the hoped for Fox refuses to eat the bait then they might have to run the initial fake story in some sock puppet rag. The press will offer O'Donnell interviews to explain her sins and offer her a chance to apologize. They are possibly practicing pulling their glasses down their noses Charlie Gibson style.
Comment on Ed Driscoll »
Nice Magazine You’ve Got There, Mr. Forbes…
Ed Driscoll » Nice Magazine You’ve Got There, Mr. Forbes…
When we get back Congress we should pass a law that no taxpayer money should be spent to subsidize lobbyists and then see to it that not one dime is spent to purchase the NY Times or Washington Post and that no government owned receiver, except for those used solely for technical purposes, be tuned to the products of CNN, ABC, NBC or CBS, and zero out the PBS from the budget.
We should also announce that when we get back the White House we shall honor the memory of the school children whose dimes paid for the swimming pool built for the polio afflicted FDR by kicking out the Press and restoring the facility. Throw it open for 4 hours a week to the children of the area and use it for another 8 hours per week for therapy for wounded warriors.
When we get back Congress we should pass a law that no taxpayer money should be spent to subsidize lobbyists and then see to it that not one dime is spent to purchase the NY Times or Washington Post and that no government owned receiver, except for those used solely for technical purposes, be tuned to the products of CNN, ABC, NBC or CBS, and zero out the PBS from the budget.
We should also announce that when we get back the White House we shall honor the memory of the school children whose dimes paid for the swimming pool built for the polio afflicted FDR by kicking out the Press and restoring the facility. Throw it open for 4 hours a week to the children of the area and use it for another 8 hours per week for therapy for wounded warriors.
Comment on Jay Townsend for U.S. Senate:
On Energy - Jay Townsend for New York
Jay Townsend for U.S. Senate: On Energy - Jay Townsend for New York
We need to drill for oil. We need to dig for coal. We need to extract from shale. We need to continue to develop the technologies that enable us to safely and cleanly produce more energy. We need to build nuclear plants, both large and secure and also the promising new small sealed and secure plants.
The synergies between our energy and national security issues are almost a cliche. Our other economic and social problems are also closely tied together. For over 50 years now, and especially since the oil embargo of 1973, we have allowed trillions of dollars to flow through the coffers of our enemies. This has proven to be a cancer that has corrupted our financial markets, and corrupted our politics and academics and intellectual professions. It has weakened not only our security but even more set our European and potentially Japanese allies on a spiral of self destructive compromise to blackmail. It has created conditions for a conflict with China that competes for the capital and physical resources we have ceded control over. It has even spread death and poverty through the Developing World in Africa and elsewhere due to the failure of the Green Revolution of the 1950s and '60s that depended on cheap fertilizers.
If we reject the path of failure that the Democrats have lead us down for over 40 years then we can restore the engine of the most productive and tolerant civilization in human history. We can triple the size of our armed forces. That will deter aggression and keep the peace. We can produce abundant energy that will undercut the power of the tyrants and bigots who profit from our dependence on foreign oil. We can restore our industrial sector while also providing meaningful trade that binds others to us and reduces poverty.
What we cannot do is restore our strength while deliberately undercutting the sources of innovation and liberty and pouring our treasure into wasteful vanity projects and self flagellation for hostile self appointed elites. The functions of the Federal government must be confined to those few enumerated areas granted it under the Constitution. All other regulatory and social activities must be eliminated.
We need to drill for oil. We need to dig for coal. We need to extract from shale. We need to continue to develop the technologies that enable us to safely and cleanly produce more energy. We need to build nuclear plants, both large and secure and also the promising new small sealed and secure plants.
The synergies between our energy and national security issues are almost a cliche. Our other economic and social problems are also closely tied together. For over 50 years now, and especially since the oil embargo of 1973, we have allowed trillions of dollars to flow through the coffers of our enemies. This has proven to be a cancer that has corrupted our financial markets, and corrupted our politics and academics and intellectual professions. It has weakened not only our security but even more set our European and potentially Japanese allies on a spiral of self destructive compromise to blackmail. It has created conditions for a conflict with China that competes for the capital and physical resources we have ceded control over. It has even spread death and poverty through the Developing World in Africa and elsewhere due to the failure of the Green Revolution of the 1950s and '60s that depended on cheap fertilizers.
If we reject the path of failure that the Democrats have lead us down for over 40 years then we can restore the engine of the most productive and tolerant civilization in human history. We can triple the size of our armed forces. That will deter aggression and keep the peace. We can produce abundant energy that will undercut the power of the tyrants and bigots who profit from our dependence on foreign oil. We can restore our industrial sector while also providing meaningful trade that binds others to us and reduces poverty.
What we cannot do is restore our strength while deliberately undercutting the sources of innovation and liberty and pouring our treasure into wasteful vanity projects and self flagellation for hostile self appointed elites. The functions of the Federal government must be confined to those few enumerated areas granted it under the Constitution. All other regulatory and social activities must be eliminated.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Comment on Youtube:
Wellesley, Massachusetts Public School Students Learn to Pray to Allah
This is very serious. People need to lose their jobs over this and possibly be charged with Child Endangerment. When I taught I would never have done anything like this. If I did do a trip to a religious institution I would have been extremely careful to insist that the people at the institution being visited were clear on the rules to ensure that no proselytizing was directed at the students. At one time I did draw up a list of religious institutions that students could visit and then write a paper on with guiding questions on what the architecture was and how it related to theological concepts that we had discussed in class. That was when we were studying the Reformation and the physical setting of services related to changing perceptions of the roles of clergy and laity with impact on the evolving concepts of sacred and secular authority and the rise of Democracy in Western Civilization. Even at a school for the Talented and Gifted that was a pretty sophisticated subject and had to be approached carefully and offered for outside study with parental participation, after informing the Department Head.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Comment on PJM: Ed Driscoll »
Well, So Much For Fixing Our Souls
Ed Driscoll » Well, So Much For Fixing Our Souls
My wildest conjecture is that one day we will discover that Michelle LaVaughn Robinson was the real player behind this political drama the whole time. Twenty years ago she hitched herself to Barack Obama just as the young and ambitious Hillary Rodham had hitched herself to Bill Clinton, each believing she had chosen an articulate mannequin. In Michelle's case the suit really is empty but in Hillary's life her stand in proved to be smarter and tougher than she is. This is of course a profoundly unfeminist and indeed reactionary way for an educated, in Michele's case an expensively but badly educated, and ambitious woman to deal with the world. The resulting tensions and contradictions from such a deceptive and humiliating charade must become intolerable. Perhaps when it all ends in tears the children will turn out to be actors in a Truman Show fantasy who go back to their real families.
My wildest conjecture is that one day we will discover that Michelle LaVaughn Robinson was the real player behind this political drama the whole time. Twenty years ago she hitched herself to Barack Obama just as the young and ambitious Hillary Rodham had hitched herself to Bill Clinton, each believing she had chosen an articulate mannequin. In Michelle's case the suit really is empty but in Hillary's life her stand in proved to be smarter and tougher than she is. This is of course a profoundly unfeminist and indeed reactionary way for an educated, in Michele's case an expensively but badly educated, and ambitious woman to deal with the world. The resulting tensions and contradictions from such a deceptive and humiliating charade must become intolerable. Perhaps when it all ends in tears the children will turn out to be actors in a Truman Show fantasy who go back to their real families.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Comment on PJM: Ed Driscoll »
I’m Prepared to Grade on a Curve
Ed Driscoll » I’m Prepared to Grade on a Curve
Spode’s Black Shorts will assemble under their new logo. Their motto “As stylish as Michelle Obama, or else.” Can vary with “As modest as Nancy Pelosi” or “As innocent as Barney Frank” or “As fresh as Charlie Rangel” or “As smart as Barbara Boxer” or “As honest as Cold Cash Jefferson” or “As stable as Rahm Emanuel” or “As tolerant as Robert Byrd” or “As attractive as Michael Moore” or “As loyal as Medea Benjamin, or else.”
Spode’s Black Shorts will assemble under their new logo. Their motto “As stylish as Michelle Obama, or else.” Can vary with “As modest as Nancy Pelosi” or “As innocent as Barney Frank” or “As fresh as Charlie Rangel” or “As smart as Barbara Boxer” or “As honest as Cold Cash Jefferson” or “As stable as Rahm Emanuel” or “As tolerant as Robert Byrd” or “As attractive as Michael Moore” or “As loyal as Medea Benjamin, or else.”
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Comment on Theo Spark:
HMCS Fredericton
Theo Spark: HMCS Fredericton
Needs a proper gun. For shore bombardment/ naval gunfire support you needs at least a medium size gun with a 155mm bore or larger. A 3"/76,, gun is useless in every role and a 4.5" (UK) or 5" gun (US) if targeted at a modern main battle tank will give the crew a nasty headache and make them miss liberty when they repaint. Not a very cost effective weapons system. For war fighting and power projection more real big guns are needed.
Needs a proper gun. For shore bombardment/ naval gunfire support you needs at least a medium size gun with a 155mm bore or larger. A 3"/76,, gun is useless in every role and a 4.5" (UK) or 5" gun (US) if targeted at a modern main battle tank will give the crew a nasty headache and make them miss liberty when they repaint. Not a very cost effective weapons system. For war fighting and power projection more real big guns are needed.
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Comment on Eurasia Review
"China Declares Open Season On India?"
China Declares Open Season On India?
Just look at a map and find the string of naval bases China has constructed that surround India. Japan is now effectively cut off from Mid-East oil while the American Democrats persist in refusing Japan access to Alaskan oil and refuse to permit the construction of nuclear plants and the development of North Slope fields that would allow alternative sources to flow to Japan in a crisis. Australia now faces a worse strategic threat, with less reliable allies and a less reliable government, than they did 70 years ago.
Just look at a map and find the string of naval bases China has constructed that surround India. Japan is now effectively cut off from Mid-East oil while the American Democrats persist in refusing Japan access to Alaskan oil and refuse to permit the construction of nuclear plants and the development of North Slope fields that would allow alternative sources to flow to Japan in a crisis. Australia now faces a worse strategic threat, with less reliable allies and a less reliable government, than they did 70 years ago.
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Comment on NY Daily News
Attorney General Eric Holder calls Rev. Terry Jones' 'International Burn-a-Koran Day' 'idiotic'
Attorney General Eric Holder calls Rev. Terry Jones' 'International Burn-a-Koran Day' 'idiotic'
Eric Holder has proven to be an incompetent sustained by the very momentum of his accumulated failures. Surprised only that Obama and the Dems have not tried to find some safe place offstage to retire him to. The World Court comes to mind but they may be saving that for Obama himself to parachute into.
This minor Florida preacher has struck a nerve because he exposed the hypocrisy of Islam's apologists. Given that the core of Islam is Mohammed's slanderous charge that Jews are "Hypocrites," and therefor subject to any form of violence, humiliation and deceit to achieve their subjugation to the Ummah, anything that exposes the real hypocrisy of the Islamists and their apologists strikes a nerve that resonates with the public.
The same process applies to the Ground Zero Mosque debate. The hypocrisy of the Islamists in demanding this project at this location to open on 09-11-11 when no churches or synagogues are even allowed in Saudi Arabia and the Greek Orthodox church destroyed on 09-11 is yet to be rebuilt is instantly obvious to the public.
The subtle issues involved in competing Free Speech positions are hard to establish. The public marketplace will over time allow the wisdom of the crowd to validate who is a selfish crank and who is bringing a real message. Mayor Bloomberg is on the one issue of the FL Koran burning correct. The public would be more sympathetic to his position if public money was not used to support actions that are meant to denigrate symbols important to majority. There is not an equivalence between the FL preacher burning a Koran and "Piss Christ" or the Ground Zero mosque because the latter are not in fact purely private efforts. They rely on the support and complicity of public agencies and in the case of the mosque foreign governments.
Eric Holder has proven to be an incompetent sustained by the very momentum of his accumulated failures. Surprised only that Obama and the Dems have not tried to find some safe place offstage to retire him to. The World Court comes to mind but they may be saving that for Obama himself to parachute into.
This minor Florida preacher has struck a nerve because he exposed the hypocrisy of Islam's apologists. Given that the core of Islam is Mohammed's slanderous charge that Jews are "Hypocrites," and therefor subject to any form of violence, humiliation and deceit to achieve their subjugation to the Ummah, anything that exposes the real hypocrisy of the Islamists and their apologists strikes a nerve that resonates with the public.
The same process applies to the Ground Zero Mosque debate. The hypocrisy of the Islamists in demanding this project at this location to open on 09-11-11 when no churches or synagogues are even allowed in Saudi Arabia and the Greek Orthodox church destroyed on 09-11 is yet to be rebuilt is instantly obvious to the public.
The subtle issues involved in competing Free Speech positions are hard to establish. The public marketplace will over time allow the wisdom of the crowd to validate who is a selfish crank and who is bringing a real message. Mayor Bloomberg is on the one issue of the FL Koran burning correct. The public would be more sympathetic to his position if public money was not used to support actions that are meant to denigrate symbols important to majority. There is not an equivalence between the FL preacher burning a Koran and "Piss Christ" or the Ground Zero mosque because the latter are not in fact purely private efforts. They rely on the support and complicity of public agencies and in the case of the mosque foreign governments.
Monday, September 06, 2010
Comment on CDR Salamander:
"Tailhook - 19 years on"
CDR Salamander: Tailhook - 19 years on
The year before Tailhook ate the Navy I did my ACDUTRA at Suitland during Desert Storm. The next year I was lucky enough to pull an ACDUTRA at NAVFAC Munich. The visiting JOs, maybe three of us, were pulled into a meeting on a patio where one of the rising LTs on staff read the script on Maoist Self Criticism. He took off his rank insignia, as if that meant anything in the kabuki that followed, and recited the formula urging us to look within and confess our sins. We remained silent, being an idiot I briefly tried to respond and was quickly kicked, as we were really expected to and he harangued us to speak as he was really expected to. It reminded me of General Dreedle in Catch-22 urging the men to speak up as Yossarian's friends assure him that the General is really saying "Shut up." Then having completed his duty he let us escape. The deep sense of shame I felt at watching that performance remains with me.
-----
Before Tailhook back in 1982 at SWOS we received a Standards of Conduct lecture that was not to be confused with the Code of Conduct lecture we got at OCS from CAPT Dick Stratton. For the Standards lecture a wise old Chief Warrant came in who had been at Pearl Harbor to run a weather eye over the new JOs. He looked at us and said "Now boys we had a saying on the farm. You don't work the breeding stock and you don't breed the working stock. Any questions?" We all said "No Sir No questions Chief Warrant Officer" after which he said "Then you all have fun out there and be careful." No more needed to be said and when you get down to it no more does any good.
The year before Tailhook ate the Navy I did my ACDUTRA at Suitland during Desert Storm. The next year I was lucky enough to pull an ACDUTRA at NAVFAC Munich. The visiting JOs, maybe three of us, were pulled into a meeting on a patio where one of the rising LTs on staff read the script on Maoist Self Criticism. He took off his rank insignia, as if that meant anything in the kabuki that followed, and recited the formula urging us to look within and confess our sins. We remained silent, being an idiot I briefly tried to respond and was quickly kicked, as we were really expected to and he harangued us to speak as he was really expected to. It reminded me of General Dreedle in Catch-22 urging the men to speak up as Yossarian's friends assure him that the General is really saying "Shut up." Then having completed his duty he let us escape. The deep sense of shame I felt at watching that performance remains with me.
-----
Before Tailhook back in 1982 at SWOS we received a Standards of Conduct lecture that was not to be confused with the Code of Conduct lecture we got at OCS from CAPT Dick Stratton. For the Standards lecture a wise old Chief Warrant came in who had been at Pearl Harbor to run a weather eye over the new JOs. He looked at us and said "Now boys we had a saying on the farm. You don't work the breeding stock and you don't breed the working stock. Any questions?" We all said "No Sir No questions Chief Warrant Officer" after which he said "Then you all have fun out there and be careful." No more needed to be said and when you get down to it no more does any good.
Memorial Weekend Sunday
Flushing Meadow is NYC at its best. Thousands of happy families from dozens of backgrounds sharing a public space. They play baseball, soccer, volleyball and cricket, are catered to by entrepreneurial vendors, and completely ignore the wealthy manhattanites and suburbanites with their limos or expensive cars who are there for the US Open. The heart of the park is the Unisphere. It was donated to the '64 World's Fair by US Steel. Even then the Gary works were still considered emblematic of American industrial power. In the Godfather Part II the Meyer Lansky character describes the wealth and power of the mafia by saying, "Gentlemen, we are bigger than US Steel." Now who isn't?
It took 50 years of deliberate policy and subversion by foreign agents to deindustrialize America. Maybe this November we will be able to start to climb back.
The Unisphere was just renovated and it shows the promise of a rainbow.
For now it is a reminder of what we can be if only we do what we are capable of.
If we let the memory slip away like a distant prospect then we shall be the poorer.
It took 50 years of deliberate policy and subversion by foreign agents to deindustrialize America. Maybe this November we will be able to start to climb back.
The Unisphere was just renovated and it shows the promise of a rainbow.
For now it is a reminder of what we can be if only we do what we are capable of.
If we let the memory slip away like a distant prospect then we shall be the poorer.
Friday, September 03, 2010
Comment on FB | Michael Van Der Galien:
"After 1.5 Years of Obama, Everybody’s Longing for the Days of Bush"
Facebook (1) | Michael Van Der Galien After 1.5 Years of Obama, Everybody’s Longing for the Days of Bush
George Bush is a gentleman. That is part of what rankles the Left. With all their trashy fake aristocrats, the Kennedy clan, the Clintons, mob daughter Pelosi, even the sad effort to make Michelle Obama seem glamorous, it burns them to run across the real thing. Bush discouraged dragging the country down with talk of "scumbags." That is the kind of talk that belongs in Obamanation and that is why the country remembers Bush with fondness.
Also: PJM, Victor Davis Hanson, Works and Days:
"Bush … Come Back, Bush, Come Back"
George Bush is a gentleman. That is part of what rankles the Left. With all their trashy fake aristocrats, the Kennedy clan, the Clintons, mob daughter Pelosi, even the sad effort to make Michelle Obama seem glamorous, it burns them to run across the real thing. Bush discouraged dragging the country down with talk of "scumbags." That is the kind of talk that belongs in Obamanation and that is why the country remembers Bush with fondness.
Also: PJM, Victor Davis Hanson, Works and Days:
"Bush … Come Back, Bush, Come Back"
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
Comment on NY Daily News:
"How Does The Mosque Play In Forest Hills? Check The Applause-Meter"
How Does The Mosque Play In Forest Hills? Check The Applause-Meter
Bloomberg is simply wrong on this. He is attempting to declare ex cathedra what the real issue is here. That makes the public even angrier. They are right in stating that the people behind this project can be legitimately investigated by the government.
If the KKK attempted to build a headquarters under the cover of a religious institution the government would stop them. If Reverend Phelps attempted to build a temple for his Westboro Baptist Church the government would use every tool available to frustrate him. Simply calling it a religious structure is not sufficient. If it is used to advance financial and political interests then the government can act to both regulate it and protect the people.
The importation of foreign sponsored organizations that engage in support for groups identified as hostile to the US, as the people behind the Cordoba Initiative have by their dealings with The Moslem Brotherhood, Hamas and the government of Iran, is something that can be stopped without intruding on the religious acts of law abiding residents.
Oddly the religious nature of the activity was played down by the supporters such as The Times in their insistence that it was really just a "Community Center." That actually strengthens the argument that this is not a religious but a political project. After all Obama himself was a "Community Organizer" so it is reasonable to consider that building a Center from which to organize a community should be considered a political activity.
The government is not to establish a religion. By supporting and championing this project the government is in effect establishing it.
Bloomberg is simply wrong on this. He is attempting to declare ex cathedra what the real issue is here. That makes the public even angrier. They are right in stating that the people behind this project can be legitimately investigated by the government.
If the KKK attempted to build a headquarters under the cover of a religious institution the government would stop them. If Reverend Phelps attempted to build a temple for his Westboro Baptist Church the government would use every tool available to frustrate him. Simply calling it a religious structure is not sufficient. If it is used to advance financial and political interests then the government can act to both regulate it and protect the people.
The importation of foreign sponsored organizations that engage in support for groups identified as hostile to the US, as the people behind the Cordoba Initiative have by their dealings with The Moslem Brotherhood, Hamas and the government of Iran, is something that can be stopped without intruding on the religious acts of law abiding residents.
Oddly the religious nature of the activity was played down by the supporters such as The Times in their insistence that it was really just a "Community Center." That actually strengthens the argument that this is not a religious but a political project. After all Obama himself was a "Community Organizer" so it is reasonable to consider that building a Center from which to organize a community should be considered a political activity.
The government is not to establish a religion. By supporting and championing this project the government is in effect establishing it.
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