BLUF:
[NYT] California is already one of the most expensive states in the country because of a housing shortage, and restricting growth in fire-prone areas ‐ which includes most of the state ‐ will only exacerbate that shortage, raise prices and further marginalize the most vulnerable populations. Many residents of Paradise, the town at the center of the Camp Fire, lived there specifically because they had been priced out of nearby cities.
Instead, we should take a cue from the Dutch. Much of the Netherlands sits below sea level and is therefore prone to flooding, but the Dutch can’t exactly move en masse next door to Germany. So they have learned over the centuries that the solution is to stop fighting the sea, and build their cities and towns to maximize saving lives through smarter planning and infrastructure. We could do the same with wildfire.
#2
Logging out of dead and diseased trees is effective but opposed by 'huggers. Controlled burns as well
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/17/2018 9:32 Comments ||
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#3
smarter planning and infrastructure
My dog interprets that 'whistle' as "more government planning and control".
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/17/2018 9:32 Comments ||
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#4
A few years ago when there were fires rampant around the Tahoe and Plumas County area, a guy who worked for the U.S. Forest Service said basically the same thing as Trump has recently said, i.e. the fires are a forest management problem. The problem has gone on because of the environmentalists railing against forest management (controlled burns, etc.).
#6
My dog interprets that 'whistle' as "more government planning and control".
Talk about a dog whistle. The above statement is a dog whistle of a dog whistle.
#7
New York Times telling California we don't have enough housing? They want the whole state to look like the Bronx? They can go to hell.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
11/17/2018 12:55 Comments ||
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#8
California should be burying the power lines through these heavily wooded areas (everywhere actually but...) as they do in the wealthy areas. Should have done this sort of thing back in the 90s when the state was overflowing with cash.
Ummm yeah, WTF? I guess they grow no tulips either.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
11/17/2018 14:09 Comments ||
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#11
"A Capitol notion, to whelp,
For Nature herself needs our help!"
And the poor and the rich:
"Run, pups, scratch their itch!"
More pressure. A whistle. A yelp.
[InSight Crime] Mexico is home to some of the hemisphere’s largest, most sophisticated and violent organized criminal groups. These organizations have drawn from Mexico’s long history of smuggling and its close proximity to the United States, the world’s largest economy, to grow into a regional threat. Their networks stretch from Argentina to Canada and even into Europe. They traffic in illegal drugs, contraband, arms and humans, and launder their proceeds through regional moneychangers, banks and local economic projects. Their armament, training and tactics have become increasingly sophisticated as the Mexican government has ramped up efforts to combat them. This increased security pressure has caused a dramatic change in Mexico's underworld, as the fall of numerous drug bosses has precipitated the fragmentation of monolithic cartels into a vast number of splinter groups. These groups are more local in scope than their predecessors and rely on a more diverse criminal portfolio to generate illicit revenue.
[Townhall] Don’t get me wrong, amigos. The Fake News Media does not term the recent UN vote in the same manner as does this column. Instead they reported (gloated) that: "UN voted overwhelmingly to condemn US embargo of Cuba....In a slap to the United States, the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution Thursday condemning the American economic embargo of Cuba and rejected proposed U.S. amendments strongly criticizing the lack of human rights in the island country."
The occasion was the annual and ritual UN vote against the U.S. "embargo" of mass-murdering, mass-torturing, terror-sponsoring and kleptocratic Cuba, which sits prominently on the UN Human Rights Council! (For genuinely judicious people, this should reveal all they need to know about the UN.)
This mild incongruity (shall we say) did not go unnoticed by Ambassador Nikki Haley who promptly fired back at that assembly of frauds and hypocrites, essentially by quoting the late Tom Petty: "The United Nations does not have the ability or the authority to end the United States’ embargo of Cuba....Our reason for the embargo is and has always been Cuba’s denial of freedom and the denial of the most basic human rights for the Cuban people. The United States will continue to stand with the Cuban people until their rights and their freedoms are restored. Period...We won’t back down.)
In addition to this straight talking of the talk, the Trump team also walked the walk‐and just this week, by tightening the sanctions against Cuba’s military and secret police robber-barons.
#1
IMO, it not so much Communist thieves that are stealing money from the taxpayers as it is the globalists. The UN is the tool of the globalist bankers. They are ticked-off because Trump pulled back some of the US money going to the UN. Why support a group that is trying to tear down your country? Many of the people who are in or were in the Deep State are just thieves. It doesn't have much to do with ideology.
[BellingCat] One of the unanswered questions lingering after Bellingcat’s unmasking of the identities of suspects in the botched-up poisoning of Sergey and Yulia Skripal, is how two (or, likely, more) undercover GRU officers were able to obtain visas to travel to the UK. Securing a visa to the UK – as to most of EU destinations – is not a trivial procedure. A single-entry visitor visa is relatively straightforward to procure – it requires either an invitation from a UK resident or business, or a pre-arranged tourist trip.
To get a long-term, multi-entry visa – the kind the two GRU officers are reported to have used – a Russian applicant must go through many more hoops. The visa-seeker must make a convincing case for their need for multiple trips and present evidence for both their steady links to their home country, and their financial capability to sustain themselves in the UK over an extended period. The UK consular section makes a concerted effort to validate the data provided by applicants, and is known to reject applicants – even such with a prior multi-entry visa – once they discover an inconsistency in the “back story” presented by a would-be visitor. The following rejection letter sent to an applicant who had a prior six-month multiple visa to the UK, exemplifies the “paranoid” attitude applied by the UK consular service, including its focus on provenance of claimed income.
[LinkedIn] RE: Trump's 'lack of decorum, dignity, and statesmanship' By Evan Sayet in his article "He Fights"
My Leftist friends (as well as many ardent #NeverTrumpers) constantly ask me if I’m not bothered by Donald Trump’s lack of decorum. They ask if I don’t think his tweets are "beneath the dignity of the office."
Here’s my answer: We Right-thinking people have tried dignity. There could not have been a man of more quiet dignity than George W. Bush as he suffered the outrageous lies and politically motivated hatreds that undermined his presidency.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/17/2018 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
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#1
One thing the World needs to remember of George W Bush, He suffered the Resurrection and ended up with nothing at all to show for it.
His heart was true. All of theirs were and he should be vindicated in the end.
My Prayer is I do not regret the decision to not become a helicopter dad and let the kids learn on their own.
This would indeed be a better and different world had George W Bush had that extra push.
There was a plan, there always is. But it was too early and everything that needed to be said has been said already.
At least the Leadership knows, and you are all able to see more clearly, the more you seek the Truth.
Maybe Thief in the night is the right answer.
Alert the Remnant so it will not be something that needs a big event.
[IsraelTimes] Avigdor Liberman may have outflanked Bennett on the right, but with new elections in the offing, that puts the prime minister exactly where he wants to be
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman’s resignation from the government on Wednesday, after the cabinet okayed a deeply unpopular ceasefire with Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,, is meant to position him as the true defender of right-wing values, willing to sacrifice his senior ministerial position for a principled stance in defense of the beleaguered residents of southern Israel.
At least, that was how Liberman hoped it would play out. But his calculations may backfire and end up working in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s favor.
Continued on Page 49
[American Greatness] Conservatives are rightly shocked and dismayed by two recent decisions by Fox News, an allegedly Republican-friendly organization.
First, Fox decided to ban President Trump’s anti-illegal immigration campaign ad after CNN decided it was "racist." Note that Fox, NBC, and other media outlets didn’t discover this racism on their own. No, they needed that paragon of journalistic integrity, CNN, abetted by a Twitter mob, to find it for them. Hardly a profile in courage or a sign of sound judgment on the part of Fox News.
Now, Fox News has compounded its sins by filing an amicus brief supporting CNN’s recent lawsuit against the White House. The lawsuit aims to force the Trump administration and the Secret Service to restore the press pass of legendary blowhard Jim Acosta. The White House terminated Acosta’s access to the White House grounds after he refused to surrender the floor during a recent press conference. In fact, he refused to give the microphone back to a White House intern who was attempting to reclaim it. This was the last straw for Sarah Sanders, who decided that some semblance of order had to be restored to the interactions between the administration and the press, and some standard of professionalism, respect, and courtesy had to be enforced on White House journalists.
On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Kelly granted CNN’s request. He temporarily restored Acosta’s press pass, but he also made it clear that no reporter has an absolute right to access the White House or to ask the president questions. He left the door open to the possibility that the White House would be able to draft a formal policy for the revocation of press passes that would pass muster. Sanders and President Trump have made it clear they will soon issue such a policy.
Amazingly, CNN alleged in its lawsuit that Jim Acosta’s constitutional rights had been violated. His rights to free speech, press freedom, and "due process" apparently entitle him to harass the president, at whatever length he deems appropriate, on national television. The audacity of this claim is breathtaking. That Fox News would endorse this specious logic is a bitter blow to those conservatives who thought that Fox, at the very least, could be depended on to give Trump a fair shake. Not so.
Jim Acosta is a free man in a free country. He has been lavish in his criticism of Sanders and Trump, on Twitter and by other means, continuously‐before, during, and after the infamous press conference. No one interfered with his right to free speech in any way, and nor was he at any stage unable to work as a reporter. In fact, more people are listening to the siren song of Acosta-ism now than ever before. One might even say that the volume of his speech has been amplified dramatically, courtesy of the president’s low opinion of him.
#1
Fox has always been "fairly unbalanced" but slightly better than the opposition. Now they have jumped into bed with the MSM. Seems like the change occurred when the Murdock sons took over. Lou Dobbs, Hannity, Bartiromo, T. Carlson and a few of the guests are good.
#3
Leftward drift was a certainty and will be paced by ratings to avoid sudden changes. When they let Shepherd and Mike off the leash and started Harf as a regular you k ew they was a sea change. Until an alternative is available, selective DVRS are all you can get on traditional cable here in the People’s Republic of Caliphornia
[Red State] Yesterday, I went against my general policy and called someone an idiot. On rare occasion, something or someone convinces me that policy is made to be broken. Yesterday was Jim Acosta. Today, I’m biting my tongue; I give you "pop music critic" Chris Richards, courtesy of The Washington Post’s "Perspective" page.
I don’t mean any personal disrespect to Chris, but I’m compelled to make order of the mess.
On Thursday, the Post published Chris’s coverage of the President’s intention to posthumously award Elvis Presley the Medal of Freedom today. According to Chris, "Yes, Trump is sending a message here."
Oh, boy. Here we go.
The first robust paragraph:
"Yes, Presley is among the most pivotal and controversial musicians of the previous century, so yes, this is another needling MAGA maneuver ‐ a little nod to the good old days, back when black visionaries could invent rock-and-roll, but only a white man could become the king."
#1
A very well written observation of the repetitive history and a dissertation on the divides.
"Moving apart. American kinship today is fissuring into two visions of the nation’s future way of life. “Red” virtue imagines a continuity of family and community within a publicly affirmed national community. “Blue” virtue imagines personally chosen communities mediated through the individual’s relationship with the state. This framing extends across the range of creedal litigation. Hence, for example, Blue sees guns as a dangerous and uncivil individual choice, while Red sees them as the source of political equality, a constitutional freedom. Red sees abortion as a threat to family, community, and faith, while Blue sees it as an individual’s right to choose. Blue champions “necessary” controls on political speech to protect the vulnerable freedom of individual choice, while Red opposes state control of thought as a threat to individual rights. Yet both agree that their vision of virtue must be eventually enforced."
#2
"Both sides rush to tear down the constitutional order. Just since the 2016 election, we have witnessed a rolling thunder of Blue and Red elite rhetoric—packing the Supreme Court, abolishing the Electoral College, repealing the Second Amendment, wholesale state nullification of federal law, shackling of voter rights, and Deep State invocation of the 25th Amendment. These are all potential extremities of action that would not only dismantle our constitutional order, but also skew it to one side’s juridical construct of virtue, thus dissolving any semblance of adherence to law by the other. Over time each party becomes emotionally invested in the lust to dismantle the old and make something new."
#3
After thousands of years of human existance only during the past 150 years did mankind have automobiles. What nation accomplish that?
After thousands of years of human existance only during the past 150 years did mankind harness the immense power of the tiny electron, a power called electricity. What nation accomplished that?
After thousands of years of human existance only during the past 150 years did mankind find a way to fly through the heavens, communicate with each other over vast distances in real time, walk around on the moon and explore distant planets up close. What nation did that.
When progressives demonize the system that our nation has lived by since our beginning and demand we adopt the system that other totally un-exceptional barbaric nations suffer under, mankind will enter into the dark ages again.
#5
"Both sides rush to tear down the constitutional order. Just since the 2016 election, we have witnessed a rolling thunder of Blue and Red elite rhetoric—packing the Supreme Court, abolishing the Electoral College, repealing the Second Amendment, wholesale state nullification of federal law, shackling of voter rights, and Deep State invocation of the 25th Amendment
Sounds like what the Blue side is doing, so what's with the "both your houses" bit?
#6
If the left had any brains they'd give up on the all or none federal approach and embrace states rights. They could then construct their perfect utopias on the coasts without a lot of trouble. Instead they push in the red states and get pushed back and it goes up to the Supremes who become far more important on social issues than they should be.
#8
I second charger -- how are conservatives tearing down the Constitutional order? By electing a qualified citizen who isn't a career politician?
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
11/17/2018 17:33 Comments ||
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#9
" I second charger -- how are conservatives tearing down the Constitutional order? By electing a qualified citizen who isn't a career politician?"
It is not the fact that actually protecting the Constitution, OUR Governing Document, is what is amiss here. It is the point that fast or sudden governing changes amps up the OPTEMPO.
It becomes ever more aggressive like a childrens' schoolyard with ever more one-uppance.
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.
[Townhall] Don’t get me wrong, amigos. The Fake News Media does not term the recent UN vote in the same manner as does this column. Instead they reported (gloated) that: "UN voted overwhelmingly to condemn US embargo of Cuba....In a slap to the United States, the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution Thursday condemning the American economic embargo of Cuba and rejected proposed U.S. amendments strongly criticizing the lack of human rights in the island country."
[IsraelTimes] Avigdor Liberman may have outflanked Bennett on the right, but with new elections in the offing, that puts the prime minister exactly where he wants to be
[Red State] Yesterday, I went against my general policy and called someone an idiot. On rare occasion, something or someone convinces me that policy is made to be broken. Yesterday was Jim Acosta. Today, I’m biting my tongue; I give you "pop music critic" Chris Richards, courtesy of The Washington Post’s "Perspective" page.
