[Task & Purpose] Retired Marine Gen. John F. Kelly’s decision to not wear an American flag pin on his lapel raises a good question: Why do politicians wear them?
An excellent message which speaks volumes about the man.
[LI] Members of the House of Commons voted by 498 to 114 to advance the bill that would give Prime Minister Theresa May the authority to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty -- the formal process of leaving the EU.
The size of majority in favor of triggering Article 50 on Wednesday means the bill is almost certain to become law. But a battle is expected next week when the bill returns to the House of Commons for detailed scrutiny in the committee stage. Opposition parties will then try to push through a series of amendments.
The House of Lords, the UK’s upper house, will also need to approve the Article 50 legislation before it can become law. Triggering Article 50 gives the UK two years to negotiate a separation deal with the 27 other members of the EU. May has said she wants to fire the Brexit starting gun by the end of March.
The Prime Minister told the House of Commons that she would publish her detailed plan for Brexit in the form of a "white paper" on Thursday.
#3
Same trajectory as DJT's inauguration. Each step of the way, the lefties will be sure sone institution will stop what they are against. When that does not happen, they will punch people and burn stuff. But life will go on...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/02/2017 7:45 Comments ||
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#4
A preference cascade or pols realizing that the people are getting restive?
From all I read prior to the vote the MPs were not at all in favor, so something changed.
[Free Beacon] A manufacturing CEO told lawmakers on Wednesday that costs imposed by the Affordable Care Act had negatively impacted his company's ability to hire new workers, make capital investments, and develop new products.
Joe Eddy, president and CEO of Eagle Manufacturing Company, testified before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on behalf of the National Association of Manufacturers, a trade association that represents more than 12 million Americans.
"Manufacturers appreciate your attention to the burdens of the Affordable Care Act that are impacting the competitiveness and growth of manufacturers around the nation," Eddy said.
Eddy said it had always been his priority as the president of a family-owned business to provide health insurance for his employees. His business traditionally covered 100 percent of medical costs, but Obamacare made that more difficult.
In 2009, the company paid about $13,500 per year per employee for health insurance, Eddy said, but today it pays more than $22,800 per year per employee--an increase of $9,300. Taxes, paperwork, fees, and mandates cost the business $1,000 per year per employee.
"Rising health care costs impact all facets of any company--hiring new workers, maintaining competitive pay rates, and making capital investments as well as researching and developing new products," he said. "I know that my struggle is not unique and that other manufacturers around the country are facing the same challenges."
[LI] On MSNBC this evening, Chris Matthews cautioned Democratic Senators that if they vote to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, they will have to answer for it for the rest of their political career.
His reasoning was a supremely political one: that at age 49, Gorsuch is likely to be on the Court for 30 years. And that any Dem voting to confirm him would have to answer, over all those years, for his decisions on controversial issues such as abortion and gun rights: "it will be on you," warned Matthews.
[National Review] The famous Columbia professor repeatedly used a Nazi-era metaphor to depict Jews as vermin.
Rashid Khalidi is unapologetic. The longtime Columbia University professor last month said repeatedly that supporters of Israel would "infest" the Trump administration -- language that evokes the imagery and metaphors of the Nazis. But for all the on-campus sensitivity seminars and trigger warnings that dominate our age, don’t expect an apology in this case.
Apparently, no language, even if it is dehumanizing and deeply rooted in historic anti-Semitism, is out of line in condemning Israel. Professor Khalidi is well known as Columbia University’s professor of modern Arab studies. January 17, in a lengthy radio interview on WBEZ Chicago’s "Worldview," Khalidi warned that this infestation would begin under the new president. Describing Israel supporters in terms that evoke vermin was not a momentary lapse or slip of the tongue.
He used "infest" three times, saying "these people infest" the Trump transition team and will soon "infest" the government. Who are "these people?" In his view, they’re a bit crazy but also scheming. Khalidi explains: There are a group of people, a lot of them in Israel and some of them in the United States, who live in a world of their own. That is to say, they think that whatever they want, and whatever cockamamie schemes they can cook up, can be substituted for reality. Free speech is a blessed thing, and hypersensitivity to offensive language is a curse on college campuses.
I have no desire to stifle discussion, but it’s fair to ask: What’s become of "reasonable people can differ"? What’s become of civil discourse? What’s become of the golden rule? One has to suppose that Khalidi would take offense if someone analogized Palestinians, rather than Jews, to rats or cockroaches.
#3
They didn't like the Jews when they were in Germany, in Russia, in France, in Israel and now in America? Where do they want the Jews to go? Ooops. Sorry I asked.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
02/02/2017 11:44 Comments ||
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#4
Prof Khalidi is just doing his part for the jihad.
If what I saw is true, I think this would redound to the credit of the Trump Presidency. We saw photo ops with Secretary Lurch in Afghanistan, where soldiers are giving hand-signals. This, on the return of the President from Dover.
I've searched around for a video clip to show what I saw. Couldn't find one. But I'd love to hear you feedback, if this is the case.
As for dropping or not dropping, the rule is that the lower rank initiates the salute, the higher/officer returns it and then drops it. Only after the higher rank/officer drops his can the initiator drop his. If the Marines are holding their salute past the president dropping theirs, this could be a sign they don't approve, or just the SOP for that guard post as they are saluting everyone going by in the party as there might be people in there that need to be saluted as well.
Either way, I would be the Marines really appreciate a man bringing fighters back into the military and who is willing to fight himself against his foes.
Also, in the links it seems they weren't sure about saluting on a battlefield. You never... EVER... salute on a battlefield. That is how you get officers shot by snipers. In base at times salutes will be allowed/expected, but not on a battlefield.
BLUF: [Geopolitical Futures] There is a somewhat deeper layer. As long as illegal immigration is permitted, the foundations of American culture are at risk. It is not simply immigration, but the illegality that is frightening, because it not only can’t be controlled, but also the law is under attack by those who claim to uphold it. The fear that a person’s livelihood is being undermined and his cultural foundation is being overwhelmed creates deep fear of the intentions of the more powerful.
"If people had doubts about the Mexican government being influenced and controlled by drug cartels, well, they can put that doubt away. In a stunning segment on Fareed Zakaria’s CNN broadcast today Mexico’s former foreign minister, Jorge Castaneda, states the Mexican government is willing to counter U.S. President Donald Trump policy by unleashing drug cartels upon the U.S. border. Helping make the POTUS case for greater border security.
Watch, and more importantly LISTEN, to his words at 02:10 at the link.
This is the most politically explosive admission by the Mexican government in the past decade. Even Fareed Zakaria realized what was being threatened and quickly attempted to redirect the conversation.
Castaneda is openly admitting a willingness to promote drug trafficking. Additionally, Jorge Castaneda is so proud of the threat, he even posted a video of the discussion on his own YouTube page.
However, don’t expect the video to remain in place too long, because the implications here are so politically explosive, and the admission so brutally obvious and threatening, it could undermine the entire argument of the Mexican government and expose an open secret of collusion they would prefer to remain hidden. Proving absolutely that the Mexican Government is in bed with the Cartels. Arm Photon Trumpedoes...
#2
I had better not EVER hear that fucking shit from you again.
Ever.
You want round three?
Fuck with my border - fuck with MY Officers, MY Civilians.
Forbidden.
You have a bad attitude. That goes for many of you other Nations.
This is not about Trump. This is about Correction. This is about making sure the shit your idiot ass does not happen.
#3
So the guy said he'd give the US military the green light to go into Mexico and destroy the cartels. Interesting offer. The real question is would we bother with nation building afterwards or leave them as the semi-failed state they are.
#4
The cartels are incenerating hundreds of men, women and children in 55 gallon barrels too close to our borders (Link) and since the story at the link, a location has been confirmed as at a government facility.
Trump now has privy to intelligence that most likely immediately made him think about intervention with this going down too close to our own border population.
#8
Re: drug vs narcotics. Yes, for practical purposes.There's a lot of confusions about 'drugs', 'narcotics, 'medications', 'pharmaceuticals' etc. ... For example, cocaine, and crack and other stimulants are definitely not narcotics from a medical point of view. "Narcotics" are drugs that put you to sleep.
#11
Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster stated that there are only two ways to fight the US...stupidly or asymmetrically. This article outlines a classic asymmetric warfare approach. The warlords in the south have been exploiting us for decades...they weaken us with their poison, strengthen themselves with our money, send waves of poor refugees in to mask their activities and hobble our response. We should not forget the lessons learned in Afghanistan...that warlords can be more powerful than nation states...they exist in Mexico and are a clear and present danger.
#14
Wait a minute. This sounds like a hollow threat to me. I mean, what can they do that they are not already doing?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
02/02/2017 11:58 Comments ||
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#15
But I agree with Tennessee and Shipman: clear and present danger, tar baby on steroids. Just build the wall and make damn sure they stay on their side of it.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
02/02/2017 12:00 Comments ||
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#16
Just start punishing American businesses which employ illegals - make employing illegals more expensive.
[Free Beacon] Europe serves as a "launching pad" for ISIS jihadists to initiate attacks against the United States due to the absence of a cohesive information-sharing strategy among Western nations, former acting CIA director John McLaughlin said Wednesday.
McLaughlin, a 30-year CIA employee who served as acting director under the George W. Bush administration, warned that the absence of effective coordination between European intelligence agencies exposes the United States to greater risk of attack.
Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, McLaughlin said the Trump administration must work with European allies to establish an intelligence-sharing platform that coordinates Europe's extensive network of security services.
Western Europe has come under heightened pressure to establish such a network as ISIS loses ground in Iraq and Syria, raising the possibility that discouraged terrorists will return home to Europe.
"We have to recognize that as [ISIS is] defeated in Iraq and Syria, if they're not killed and if they don't melt into the population in those areas and retire from a life of extremism, they will go home and they will go home to European services," former CIA director David Petraeus said in congressional testimony.
...The breaking news is that the Left are freaking out. But this is an old story. They’ve been doing that for decades, whenever they don’t seem to be getting their way. It is part of the power formula, not only for them but for the average three-year-old. ... "What do we want?" ... "Goo-goos!" ... "When do want them?" ... "Now!"
...For decades the Left have been playing for keeps. The Right have been playing for mercy. With Trump, those Red State types -- "progressively" deprived of elementary freedoms, of their dignity, and even of their livelihoods -- have voted to play for keeps, too. They were used to shrugging and taking their lumps, from politicians they happened to despise. The politicians were used to administering the lumps, to their own fabulous enrichment. Suddenly the simpletons -- or deplorables, as they now prefer -- decide they’ve had enough. (Americans can be like that sometimes.) Elitist and anti-populist that I am, anti-nationalist and anti-tribalist, I kind of understand it.
The media think only the Left can get angry, and that it is their exclusive right. They are making a splash of how angry they can get, on the old assumption that it will intimidate the simpletons. Yet this is the very assumption they have pushed too far. For Middle America is in one of those Clint Eastwood moods. And the cameras are rolling, on frothing and hysteria; versus "make my day."
#1
I've been saying this for years. They are not the loyal opposition. They are not well-meaning people with whom we have a good faith difference of opinion. They are the enemy, and they are playing for keeps.
#2
"They" is a problem word for me. I prefer real names. "They" hide behind masks when attacking. "They" are referred to as leftists. What we need is a public registry of the actual names of each and everyone of these people.
h/t Instapundit
...For all the hysteria over the bluntness of the mercurial Trump, his agenda marks a return to what used to be seen as fairly normal, as the U.S. goes from hard left back to the populist center.
Trump promises not just to reverse almost immediately all of Obama's policies, but to do so in a pragmatic fashion that does not seem to be guided by any orthodox or consistently conservative ideology.
Trade deals and jobs are Trump's obsessions -- mostly for the benefit of blue-collar America.
He calls for full-bore gas and oil development, a common culture in lieu of identity politics, secure borders, deregulation, tax reform, a Jacksonian foreign policy, nationalist trade deals in places of globalization, and traditionalist values.
In normal times, Trumpism -- again, the agenda as opposed to Trump the person -- might be old hat. But after the last eight years, his correction has enraged millions.
Yet securing national borders seems pretty orthodox. In an age of anti-Western terrorism, placing temporary holds on would-be immigrants from war-torn zones until they can be vetted is hardly radical. Expecting "sanctuary cities" to follow federal laws rather than embrace the nullification strategies of the secessionist Old Confederacy is a return to the laws of the Constitution.
Using the term "radical Islamic terror" in place of "workplace violence" or "man-caused disasters" is sensible, not subversive.
Insisting that NATO members meet their long-ignored defense-spending obligations is not provocative but overdue. Assuming that both the European Union and the United Nations are imploding is empirical, not unhinged.
Questioning the secret side agreements of the Iran deal or failed Russian reset is facing reality. Making the Environmental Protection Agency follow laws rather than make laws is the way it always was supposed to be.
Unapologetically siding with Israel, the only free and democratic country in the Middle East, used to be standard U.S. policy until Obama was elected.
Issuing executive orders has not been seen as revolutionary for the past few years -- until now.
Expecting the media to report the news rather than massage it to fit progressive agendas makes sense. In the past, proclaiming the Obama a "sort of god" or the smartest man ever to enter the presidency was not normal journalistic practice.
Freezing federal hiring, clamping down on lobbyists and auditing big bureaucracies -- after the Obama-era IRS, VA, GSA, EPA, State Department and Secret Service scandals -- are overdue.
Half the country is having a hard time adjusting to Trumpism, confusing Trump's often unorthodox and grating style with his otherwise practical and mostly centrist agenda.
In sum, Trump seems a revolutionary, but that is only because he is loudly undoing a revolution.
FTFA:
In a time when satire and Shitposting are on the rise, one satirical Shitposter stands tall from the herd: Godfrey Elfwick.
The “Godfrey Elfwick” (Not his real name) Twitter account surfaced online a few years ago, and has since rose high to become one of the Internet’s most prolific and iconic satirists.
Godfrey satirizes Social Justice warriors and Feminist so well that most genuine Feminists end up agreeing with the things he says before realizing that he was mocking them.
Like that time he starting a debate on Twitter by launching the “Wrong Skin” movement.
In the mid of 2015, Rachel Dolezal, the president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People chapter in Spokane, Washington, was exposed as having been born white. Rachel had pretended to be black her whole life to advance her career in civil right groups. Amid criticism of Rachel appropriating black culture/skin, Godfrey came out to show support. He claimed that he too, like Rachel, was “Wrong Skin”:
The hashtag #wrongskin trended on Twitter for a whole day, with thousands of people debating whether a person could change his race or not; few of them realizing that Godfrey was trolling. More at the link
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[LI] Members of the House of Commons voted by 498 to 114 to advance the bill that would give Prime Minister Theresa May the authority to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty -- the formal process of leaving the EU.
[Free Beacon] A manufacturing CEO told lawmakers on Wednesday that costs imposed by the Affordable Care Act had negatively impacted his company's ability to hire new workers, make capital investments, and develop new products.
[Free Beacon] Europe serves as a "launching pad" for ISIS jihadists to initiate attacks against the United States due to the absence of a cohesive information-sharing strategy among Western nations, former acting CIA director John McLaughlin said Wednesday.
