December 24, 2008

More Guns, More Jobs

Martin Feldstein, a Harvard economics professor and chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Reagan, opines in the Wall Street Journal that an increase in defense spending would provide much-needed economic stimulus:

A temporary rise in DOD spending on supplies, equipment and manpower should be a significant part of that increase in overall government outlays. The same applies to the Department of Homeland Security, to the FBI, and to other parts of the national intelligence community.

The increase in government spending needs to be a short-term surge with greater outlays in 2009 and 2010 but then tailing off sharply in 2011 when the economy should be almost back to its prerecession level of activity. Buying military supplies and equipment, including a variety of off-the-shelf dual use items, can easily fit this surge pattern.

For the military, the increased spending will require an expanded supplemental budget for 2009 and an increased budget for 2010. A 10% increase in defense outlays for procurement and for research would contribute about $20 billion a year to the overall stimulus budget. A 5% rise in spending on operations and maintenance would add an additional $10 billion. That spending could create about 300,000 additional jobs. And raising the military's annual recruitment goal by 15% would provide jobs for an additional 30,000 young men and women in the first year.

Feldstein isn't pushing for the creation of radical complex new weapons systems with such a short-term spending increase, and so I'd encourage the incoming Obama Administration to use the proposal to stock up on upgrades in the small arms our frontline soldiers and Marines are using in the war against terrorism.

I'm not expert enough to try to sell any particular improvement as being any more important than another, but there are certainly several ideas worth considering one can come across without very much research at all.

In no particular order:

• Upgrading rifle and carbine magazines. A common reason our existing M16/M4 rifles experience jams is because of of magazine-related failures. Perhaps purchasing existing "off the shelf" magazines will work, or perhaps funding new R&D in this area is needed, but this seems like a good short-term project in-line with Feldstein's proposal.


• Upgrade the rifle and carbine operating systems. The M16/M4 has been knocked since it's inception for reliability issues due to its operating system, and multiple vendors have off-the-shelf upper receivers that are at least theoretically far more reliable, run cleaner, and cooler. While a program that is slated to end in 2011 won't (probably) give us enough time to make a revolutionary leap in small arms technology, such an evolutionary step seems warranted, could upgrade many front-line rifles, and be a good fit for the stimulus timeframe.


• Upgrade small arms ammunition. Advancements in small arms ammunition design means that we can field ammunition with bullets far more effective that that presently fielded as general issue. Special forces are using this ammunition and seem to be very impressed with its performance, so retooling and expanding production lines to take advantage of more effective cartridges seems a very wise use of stimulus money.


• R&D in news small arms systems. The M16/M4 design is older than the soldiers using it, and in this instance, older is not always better. Their is significant room for improvement creating a more compact, reliable, more accurate weapon with modular components that allow soldiers in the field to readily modify them for mission-specific requirements. The current 9mm M9 pistol simply bites, doing nothing well, so a more effective pistol is certainly needed. Non-frontline troops can become frontline troops in asymmetrical warfare in moments, so perhaps personal defensive weapon (PDW) systems with a rifle's range and armor-piercing capability and a submachinegun's compactness are certainly worthy looking at, and I can't believe existing first-generation MP7 and P90s are the only solution.

There are plenty of short-term small arms projects that can fit the proposal offered by Feldstein and serve as job-creating economic stimulus. Let's hope that incoming powers that be see the good-sense in his proposal.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 08:35 AM | Comments (40) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

December 23, 2008

What's the Difference Between Bill Ayers and Timothy McVeigh?

Competence.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 07:41 PM | Comments (33) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

December 22, 2008

Cowed by Sheep

Yes, we've read this elsewhere, but seeing it on the Fox News front page only makes it seem all that much more pathetic:

President-elect Barack Obama has shown almost perfect pitch in crafting his new administration, aptly choosing old hands instead of fresh faces and bringing in the experience he lacks.

But there is one glaring void. Obama has yet to name key intelligence officials to manage the war against terrorism.

And one of the central reasons he hasn't come forward with a pick for one of the top jobs is because he's running into pressure from an unexpected source -- left-wing bloggers.

John Brennan, Obama's chief intelligence adviser and anticipated CIA chief, was recently forced to withdraw his name. There was no drumbeat of opposition to Brennan from the front pages or on cable. Rather, the pick was torpedoed by the blogosphere.

"Apparently there is a lot of pressure on the Obama team from a blog saying that Brennan couldn't be made the director of the CIA because he was involved in torture and renditions, which he wasn't," said Mark Lowenthal, former assistant CIA director.

The turn of events only emphasizes the influence of the Internet on the operation of a president-elect whose campaign was powered in large part by the Web.

It makes sense for politicians to hire staff that understand modern communications, but quite another to let themselves be cowed by the conventional wisdom of Ignorati who typically base their worldview upon carefully self-selected news and partisan half-truths that often shape the blogosphere.

As this report makes clear, Brennan had little or nothing to do with the interrogation methods that the far left has worked themselves into a hissing frenzy over. Nevertheless, the incoming Obama Administration cowered in the face of unreasoning mob rule and allowed fictional offenses to derail a candidates that actual experts felt was well-qualified and perhaps just the person needed at this specific position.

Our real enemies must certainly be licking their lips at the gift they were given by the American electorate.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 10:38 PM | Comments (36) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

December 21, 2008

Good News: BB Guns Now Classified By Journalist as Assault Rifles

I sincerely hope than any journalist ignorant enough to write "BB-gun" and "snipers" in the same sentence doesn't have firearms of his own, or else he'll likely end up as another subject of my research at the Media Violence Project (or a Darwin Awards candidate).

Savor the idiocy:

Two alleged BB-gun snipers facing felony charges, including assault with a deadly weapon, used a laser scope and a BB gun that looks like a fully automatic AR-15 assault rifle, according to deputies with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station.

The arrests Tuesday night capped a two-month shooting spree with more than two-dozen shootings investigated since Nov. 1.

Victims include a 53-year-old man shot in the head and a 13-year-old girl waiting for a bus, both shot with a BB.

Christian Morfin, 18, of Saugus, and a 17-year-old Canyon Country male were booked at the Sheriff's Station on felony charges of vandalism and assault with a deadly weapon in connection with several shootings.

BB guns are not toys and some air rifles can fire BBs or pellets with more velocity than common handgun calibers. They can indeed kill under certain circumstances. That said, BB guns are not assault rifles even under the already incorrect definition widely used by journalists; do we really need them to re-dumb it downward again?

Update: More evidence that many journalists are simply too incompetent to write about firearms.

In April, officials announced that the police force's 13,500 officers would be armed with the M4s. Chicago Police SWAT teams are already equipped with M4 carbines, but officials say pistol-carrying rank-and-file officers are out-gunned.

Used by the U.S. Marine Corps, the M4 is an assault rifle that fires more shots in less time than a conventional handgun.

The obvious problems with Donovan's story:

1. M4 carbines are not commonly used by the U.S. Marine Corps. With the exception of Special Operations forces, the general issue selective combat rifle of the Marine Corps is the M16, a weapon with a barrel almost six inches longer that generates far more bullet velocity and killing power and has a far more effective practical range. The much shorter M4 is prevalent among mounted infantry in the U.S. Army.
2. The M4 does not "fires more shots in less time than a conventional handgun." Both police pistols and the M4s used by the CPD are semi-automatic, meaning they have the exact same rate of fire, one shot per trigger pull, as fast as the shooter can pull the trigger.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 03:45 PM | Comments (51) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

December 20, 2008

Name That Loon

Oh, I just love the paranoid.

A computer professional by the name of Mike Connell with close ties to the President died when the single-engine airplane he was piloting went down on final approach three miles short of the Akron-Canton Airport Friday. Connell played a key role in several conspiracy theories cherished by the far left, and his death immediately led to not-so-subtle claims that his death might not have been an accident.

Folks, there is nothing quite as amusing as the stone-crazy BDS-afflicted attempting to temper their psychosis with just enough deference towards sanity to avoid completely marginalizing themselves. And then there are those who see the line between sanity and insanity and charge leap over it with a hearty, "tally-ho!"

You can feast on all the frothing you want via Memeorandum, and it certainly is fun to watch the contortions. Ringleader of the Circus of Crazy is once again Larisa Alexandrovna, the same the same Raw Story "journalist" that insisted President Bush was plotting an imminent coup.

I feel sorry for these people. When January 20 rolls around and no one is left to oppress them, what will they have to live for?

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 10:46 PM | Comments (51) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

December 19, 2008

Destroying the Village in Order to Save It

I'd suggest changing his name to FDR, Jr, but I'm saving that insult (and yes, it is an insult) for the next guy.

So thanks for nothing, President Bailout:

The White House announced a $17.4 billion rescue package for the troubled Detroit auto makers that allows them to avoid bankruptcy and leaves many of the big decisions for the incoming Obama administration.

Speaking from the White House, President George W. Bush said the administration decided against forcing a bankruptcy to compel cost-cutting, in order to avoid the risk that consumers would desert one or more of the companies and touch off an industry collapse, deepening the current economic downturn.

"In the midst of a financial crisis...allowing the U.S. auto industry to collapse is not a responsible course of action," Mr. Bush said.

"Under ordinary economic circumstances, I would say 'this is the price that failed companies must pay' and I would not favor intervening to prevent the auto makers from going out of business," the president said. "But these are not ordinary circumstances."

And so the government is going to steal $17.4 billion more from taxpayers to prolong the inevitable death of unions companies that don't deserve to live.

For that matter, much of the manufacturing in this country doesn't deserve to live, particularly that created with non-competitive union labor so prevalent in the Northeast and upper Midwest.

The simple fact of the matter is that the U.S. auto industry is not just Ford, Chrysler, and GM, but Honda, Toyota, and other "foreign" manufacturers that build cars here on the mainland United States. What separates the successful companies that aren't asking for a bailout from the leaches grubbing for tax dollars from your already empty wallet? Greedy, bloated, self-serving and uncompetitive union labor, particularly the United Auto Workers (UAW).

Non-union car factories are cranking out the smaller, higher-quality, more fuel efficient fleets that America wants to buy, while the unionized Big Three are cranking out bloated beasts that carry and estimated $2,000 of overhead per vehicle because of concessions the automakers have made the unions over the years in noncompetitive benefits and pensions.

As a result of this bloat, to make their cars competitive on the price point, unionized companies have to remove $2,000 from some other part of that vehicle, affecting the overall quality, durability, fit, finish, and reliability. Detroit is in trouble because they're cranking out cars that are worth less than their competitors, and buyers know it.

President Bailout's latest concession to the damned (and I'll let you choose who the damned are; the companies that are still doomed to failure, or the rest of us who are doomed to ante up for their pointless life support) is just the latest bit of government interference that will make this recession last longer and perhaps dive steeper than simply letting the business cycle naturally remove the weak from the marketplace.

So why are Bush and Congress willing to frantically continue trying to pump water from a dry well? It's all about demographics.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 11:39 AM | Comments (72) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

December 16, 2008

Closure? Adam Walsh Murder Case Closed After 27 Years

Ottis Toole, always a suspect, has officially been named as the murderer of Adam Walsh. Walsh was killed and decapitated in 1981, and Toole signed a confession in 1983 that he later recanted. Toole, a convicted serial killer, died in prison in 1996. The case is now finally closed after all these years.

If you're much younger than I am—say under 30—you may not know much about his disappearance and murder, but you still live in a world profoundly touched by the Adam's kidnapping and murder, in ways big and small.

Adam's death spurred his parents to help create the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

In addition, President Bush signed the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act in 2006 to help track sex offenders.

John Walsh has helped put over a thousand fugitive behind bars as the host of America's Most Wanted. Copycat programs by local news media and law enforcement agencies have netted thousands of fugitives more.

Walmart named the nearly ubiquitous "Code Adam" missing child alert they created after him. If you've ever had a child wander away in a store, it is this procedure that locks the store down and hopefully keeps predators from being able to escape with them. Pictures of missing kids on milk cartons. Dedicated missing persons units in large police departments. Increased security in schools, malls, and elsewhere. All have their roots in the agony of the Walsh family, and their tireless advocacy to try to make sure that other families don't have to experience what they did.

I'm certain there is never real closure with the death of a child, but perhaps knowing that Adam's case is finally closed can bring some peace to a family that has done so much to keep others from feeling a similar loss.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 10:14 PM | Comments (40) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

December 15, 2008

Proofers Dismissed Again

As they did last week, the U.S. Supreme Court today dismissed without comment a case challenging Barack Obama's citizenship based upon a claim that he was not born a U.S. citizen.

A blogger who knows a bit more about the Court than I explains why:

In his appeal, Wrotnowski claimed that because Obama's father was a Kenyan-born British subject, the president-elect does meet the Constitution's requirement that the president be a "natural born citizen" of the United States. Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961. His mother was a U.S. citizen, born in the United States.

Many legal analysts questioned Wrotnowski's argument.

"The law has always been understood to be, if you are born here, you're a natural born citizen," said Thomas Goldstein, founder of the Scotusblog.com Web site and a lawyer who has argued numerous cases before the high court. "And that is particularly true in this case, when you have a U.S. citizen parent like Barack Obama's mother."

This dismissal is unlikely to dampen the hostility of those who oppose Obama based upon various citizenship conspiracies, some of which are represented in still active cases.

I'm sticking with the same position that I've held: I think Obama is a citizen, but that he could diffuse a lot of the Proofers if he worked with the State of Hawaii to release of his long-form vault copy birth certificate to a review by independent documentation experts. I'm also just as certain that Obama won't take that step for a multitude of reasons, most of which have to do with his arrogance, and not being somehow unqualified due to the circumstances of his birth.

For someone who cultivated a myth of being a post-partisan candidate, he sure seems intent on antagonizing the frazzled of fringe of both ends of the political spectrum.

Considering how slowly the Secret Service responded to events in Baghdad, that might not be such a wise idea.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 08:56 PM | Comments (35) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

December 14, 2008

Iraqi Journalist Throws Shoes At Bush in Baghdad

The Secret Service was apparently taking a nap:

Bush got a size-10 reminder of the fervent opposition to his policies when a man threw two shoes at him -- one after another -- during a news conference with Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

"This is the end!" shouted the man, later identified as Muntadar al-Zeidi, a correspondent for Al-Baghdadiya television, an Iraqi-owned station based in Cairo, Egypt.

Bush ducked both throws. Neither leader was hit. In Iraqi culture, throwing shoes at someone is a sign of contempt; Iraqis whacked a statue of Saddam Hussein with their shoes after U.S. Marines toppled it to the ground in 2003.

"All I can report," Bush joked of the incident, "is a size 10."

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, however, was hit in the eye with a microphone as security guards scrambled to restrain al-Zeidi.

I saw the video of the event in NBC in a breaking news report, and was stunned that the Secret Service was so slow in responding, allowing the journalist to hurl first one shoe, and then another, at least a full second and perhaps several seconds later.

Granted, shoes aren't know to be lethal projectiles, but my point is that from the angle shown, he seems like he would have had time to hurl a grenade before anyone intervened.

I'm sure progressives are having a good chuckle over this, but rather doubt they'll find similar security breaches amusing when Obama takes over in January.

Update: linked added to 2005 grenade attack on Bush, thanks to a reminder by Jeremy in the comments.

Hot Air now has the video.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 02:19 PM | Comments (33) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

December 12, 2008

Granholm Calls Senate Refusal of Auto Bailout "un-American"

I don't think that word means what she thinks it means:

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) said it was "un-American" for senators to have voted against approving a bailout of troubled automakers last night, saying their vote may cause a recession to become a depression.

"It is unacceptable for this un-American, frankly, behavior of these U.S. senators to cause this country to go from a recession into a depression," Granholm said during a radio interview Friday morning.

"Un-American" is forcing taxpayers to foot the bill for the failures of corporations and unions to achieve a balance that allows them to compete on a level playing field, without asking the referee to cheat for them.

These companies will go bankrupt. This is not a bad thing.

A former President once said that "the business of America is business." Rewarding good business practices and allowing bad businesses to fail instead of leeching of the public teat is why the United States economy is—and remains— the most powerful economic engine in history of the human race.

Forcing American taxpayers to prop-up bad businesses is not an American value, and it is rather sad Gov. Granholm isn't aware of that.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 04:56 PM | Comments (36) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

1 I do so wish she would go back to Canada.

Posted by: Jeremy at December 12, 2008 05:00 PM (PXq+l)

2 Buy a Hyundai, Jennifer.

Posted by: zhombre at December 12, 2008 05:14 PM (f34tO)

3 Isn't she holding a single state depression?

Posted by: tarpon at December 12, 2008 07:13 PM (7evkT)

4 I'm an American, and I don't approve of the government taking money extorted from me to give to companies flailing because of their own mismanagement coupled with uncontrolled union rapaciousness.

The banks I can see, as much as it stuck in my craw, since we have to keep credit liquid. The auto companies... well, where they are right now is precisely what Chapter 11 was designed for. They need to restructure, renegotiate labor contracts, jettison bad practices, and dump incompetent management. They don't need my money to do that.

The sad thing is, I'm about ready to buy a new car, which is what the automakers need to have happen a lot more times. GM and Ford are way down on the list for me.

Posted by: Steve Skubinna at December 12, 2008 07:57 PM (mfdQL)

5 Funny how it is that the states in the worst shape, are all run by democrats...

Posted by: Conservative CBU at December 12, 2008 08:13 PM (M+Vfm)

6 Chapter 11 is the only long term salvation.

Posted by: PA at December 12, 2008 09:12 PM (Z0HFQ)

7 Gov. have you ever read THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UINITED STATES? These bailouts are totally unconstitutional. But what the H___ that doesn't matter to Democrats!

Posted by: Fearless at December 12, 2008 09:51 PM (iBQbQ)

8 As a resident of Michigan Jenny Granholm is the worst governor. She takes all the tax money from those of us on the west side of the state and sends it to Detroit. She singlehandly along with democrats in the state house are digging the recession deeper. The Democrats in this state have raised business taxes to the point buisinesses are leaving or closing in droves. One of her latest plans is to raise the state gas tax higher than what it is.
Those of us in Michigan keep hoping the Obamamessiah would take her to DC.
When she railed against the senate for not bailing out the big 3 it just shows how far in the pocket of the UAW she is. Someone please take her away before she totally destroys Michigan.

Posted by: Swede at December 13, 2008 09:17 AM (zP04/)

9 Granholm really believes what she is saying and, like most liberals, does not believe in the Laffer curve. Here's what I blogged about her back in May (based on a Wall Street Journal article) in a post that was actually devoted to slamming Mike Huckabee:

"Mike’s solution, massive tax hikes and greater government control of the economy, is being tried out right now in Michigan, where Democrat governor Jennifer Granholm shut down the state government last year until the Legislature approved Michigan’s biggest tax hike in a generation.

What are the results? Six months later one-third of the expected revenues have vanished as the state’s economy continues to struggle. Income tax collections are falling behind estimates, as are property tax receipts and those from the state’s transaction tax on home sales. Michigan is now in the 18th month of a state-wide recession, and the unemployment rate of 6.9% remains far above the national rate of 5%."

Posted by: Robert www.neolibertarian.com at December 13, 2008 12:06 PM (KF4ju)

10 I agree 100%.

At the same time I wish the government would stop trying to tell the automotive industry what it should make. Safety is one thing, but requiring a fleet mpg rating? The saying: "Too many cooks spoil the broth," has real meaning here.

I also wish the Big 3 had had a little larger cajones when they negotiated with the UAW. Having workers paid full salary to sit around and do nothing or work rules so strict that a worker can't be moved from one area of a plant ot another where he is needed more is beyond ridiculous. But then is 2200 pages of labor rules.

Posted by: joated at December 13, 2008 08:16 PM (I4yBD)

11 My sister worked in a non-union position (the Medical Dept.) of a GM plant which closed 2 years ago.

All you need to know is that the "right" to smoke on the assembly line and free tampons in the ladies' rooms were among the things included in the contract. If a worker came in with a scratch and demanded paid time off, my sister learned not to raise a fuss. If she did, the union rep would be in her office screaming in her face 10 minutes later. When the workers had to start paying a $5 co-pay for doctor's visits, they complained bitterly. People turned up to work drunk and stoned and weren't fired - because they couldn't be fired. These were high school graduates making $70,000 a year when you factored in the benes. My sister said they seemed to not have the slightest idea of how the rest of the country operated.

Fat-cat Wall Streeters running Ponzi schemes and corrupt pols are coming in for a well-deserved drubbing these days. But they're not the only ones with king-sized senses of entitlement. The members of the UAW were just as insulated from the realities of free-market economics.

Posted by: Donna V. at December 13, 2008 08:41 PM (o5sBi)

12 "As a resident of Michigan Jenny Granholm is the worst governor."

I'm in Illinois. Sorry, we have a lock on that position.

I'm a conservative but I say bail 'em out. Everybody whines about the union, and they have done their part, and supposedly poor decisions by management, and they have done their part too, but the government itself is partly to blame.

I don't think our government is smart enough to help them, temporarily, without creating another mess, but the fallout from a failed domestic auto industry would be FAR worse than whatever the government can cook up.

Sure, chapter 11 is designed to help a failing company restructure, so, where are all the successful companies that have gone through chapter 11? There are far less of those than companies that became irrelevant or eventually closed. Chapter 11 may keep you going for a little while longer, but for something as massive as the automobile industry the consequences would be dire.

The government eventually made a profit off of Chrysler's bailout a decade ago, there's hope (how's that for a buzzword?) that they can do something we won't regret this time.

Posted by: DoorHold at December 14, 2008 12:01 PM (DA32L)

13 Doorhold,

Sorry when I wrote that I was so sick of seeing Jenny G on all the local newscasts that I forgot about the Helmet-haired one. My condolences to you. Maybe you can take Jenny for your new governor. We just want her the hell out of office and preferably out of the state.

I have relatives who are yoopers in in da UP and Jenny totally ignores that part of the state. They live in Houghton and identify more with Wisconsin than Jenny and her Detroit only politics.

Posted by: Swede at December 14, 2008 01:57 PM (upace)

14 The bailouts will fail utterly. The only good things they could possibly achieve for the economy at large is to make the economic pain shallower but longer lasting. These things intervention can achieve only with the utmost skill, knowledge and virtuous intent. These necessities do not obtain. DO NOT support the bailouts; NONE of the 23-odd acts of piracy going by that name. They are a monstrosity and nothing else. If you know this now without having to be re-instructed in the facts of economic life you will lose less and earn more. If you must be instructed AGAIN in the poison of socialism you burden the nation at large with your stupidity. Looks like that is the way things are going across the board which is unsurprising given the state of ignorance today but if you think you are a conservative and are pro-bailout you are in total and systemic contradiction and will regret it terribly, the sooner the better.

Posted by: megapotamus at December 15, 2008 11:44 AM (LF+qW)

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Debunking the Proofers

I'd love to see Obama ask the state of Hawaii to produce his long-form birth certificate. While there is no procedural mechanism in place as some have noted before, that is merely a matter of process, not a legal hurdle.

Anyway, I took a stab at debunking the common "Proofer" claims in an article at Pajamas Media.

Do you think it sufficiently makes the case to the rational people who have been misled by the half-truths of the proofers? And is there anything that can ever be done to convince those conspiracy theorists that they are wrong?

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 07:48 AM | Comments (37) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

December 11, 2008

Westside Middle School Massacre Shooter Applies For Concealed Carry Permit

Denied. I'm amazed the idiot even made the attempt, and I hope they investigate whether or not he was in possession of a weapon and the apparent lies on his application and send him back to prison where he belongs.

(h/t Fred R.)

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 10:22 AM | Comments (30) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

manbearpig barada nikto

Keanu Reeves come back from wherever he's been since the Matrix and Speed movies to turn a classic 1951 warning about the perils of nuclear armageddon into a tribute to the climate change cult in tomorrow's release of The Day The Earth Stood Still.

The movie's plot on Wikipedia is less than inspiring:

The film opens in the future San Dimas, California, with Rufus (George Carlin) preparing to use a time machine disguised as a phone booth to travel back to 1988 to make sure that Bill S. Preston, Esq. (Alex Winter) and Theodore "Ted" Logan (Keanu Reeves) remain together as the band "Wyld Stallyns", as their music is the core of the future's Utopian society.

Wait a minute. That's the more realistic plot from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Here is the plot for Keanu's latest turkey:

A representative of an alien race that went through drastic evolution to survive its own climate change, Klaatu (Keanu Reeves) comes to Earth to assess whether humanity can prevent the environmental damage they have inflicted on their own planet. Klaatu himself already has a negative opinion of humans, and when barred from speaking to the United Nations, he decides they shall be exterminated so the planet – with its rare ability to sustain complex life – can survive. It is up to Dr. Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) and her stepson Jacob (Jaden Smith) to convince Klaatu humans are worth saving: but it may already be too late.

Oh, it's too late all right—650 scientists from around the world have slammed the climate change cult, saying that there is no scientific evidence of manmade global warning.

Real science shows that the world gets warmer, and then it gets cooler. Then it gets warmer again, and then—wait for it—it gets cooler again. It's like a cycle or something. And it's been this way for hundreds of millions of years, well before bipeds with opposable thumbs moved to the coast, took up yoga, and decided to declare the world was about to end.

If you'd like to know the real cause of global warming and cooling, stick your head outside sometime during daylight hours and search the sky. See that big, flaming ball of hydrogen? That's the sun, or if you're feeling familiar, Sol.

Sol has weather, too.

Sometimes Sol burns hotter and sends out solar flares. During these periods, it pumps out tremendous, near incomprehensible amounts of energy, and the world warms up. Other times, Sol burns a bit cooler, solar flares die down, and the amount of energy it releases into space dies down a bit, and the world cools down. This we know. This is fact.

Climate change? It happens. In fact, one thing we know for absolute, irrefutable certainty is that climate change is constant, and it is going to happen no matter what we do.

By all means, do your best to practice conservation and protect the environment. But don't be so arrogantly clueless to think you are significant enough to change our climate as the suggest in this inconvenient spoof.

The best you can do is make sure when it gets cooler or warmer that it does so over lands and seas that aren't choked with our garbage and waste.

That's a big enough challenge of it's own, I think, even if it doesn't make as good a movie.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 10:03 AM | Comments (41) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

December 10, 2008

CNN's MRAP Story Feasts on Ignorance in Effort to Demonize Marine Corps

Once again, CNN puts its ignorance and dislike of the military center stage:

The U.S. Marine Corps knew of the threat posed by roadside bombs before the start of the Iraq war, yet did nothing to buy protective vehicles for troops, according to a report to be released by the Pentagon.

Additionally, Marine leaders in 2005 decided to buy up-armored, or reinforced, Humvees instead of Mine Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicles to shield troops in Iraq from mines and other explosives -- a decision that could have cost lives, according to the report obtained Tuesday by CNN.

The report by the Department of Defense inspector general was requested by the Marine Corps in early 2008 after a civilian employee with the service complained that bureaucratic delays undermined the program to develop the armored vehicles.

Inspectors found that the decision not to buy MRAP vehicles in 2005 stopped the Marine Corps Combat Development Command, the agency in charge of finding the best protective vehicle from troops in Iraq, from "developing a course of action ... to attempt to obtain funding for [MRAPs]," according to the report.

The report found that the Department of Defense knew before the war started in 2003 of the threats of mines and roadside bombs in Iraq but did nothing to acquire "MRAP-type" vehicles ahead of the invasion.

What the author of this CNN article fails to explain is that you can have either mobility, or you can have armor; you can't have both.

A vehicle that can withstand IEDs built from artillery shells is going to be too heavy (14 tons in some variations) to leave the main roads or even cross many of the world's bridges. The has two significant and lasting effects. It cedes the majority of territory to the insurgents, and also creates targeting funnels where ambushes can be concentrated, increasing the likelihood of Marines being hit by IEDs.

When insurgents know that they face a vehicle with limited mobility, they can then concentrate on building bigger or more effective types of IEDs to defeat that specific vehicle, while simultaneously using the majority or their forces to dominate the surrounding towns and villages.

Historically, the Marines have always chosen mobility over armor, using speed, tenacity, and tactics to overwhelm opposing forces with weapons systems lighter armed and armored than that of their more heavily armed and armored Army counterparts.

It is true that some Marines who died in HMMWVs because of IED strikes may very well have survived strikes by similar weapons on MRAPs, but at what cost?

Would they have had the mobility to strike al Qaeda and insurgent supply lines running though remote areas of the country, or find weapons caches located on farms and in fields far away from the hardened roads that MRAPs require?

Could Marines have penetrated communities and established relations with friendly Iraqis to develop a counterinsurgency program while hiding inside these metal beasts? The answer to these questions is a resounding "no."

MRAPs are great vehicles for their intended purpose of protecting their occupants against IEDS, but their mobility is horrific, and cedes the majority of the battlefield to the enemy, leaving the enemy to pick the time and place of engagement with American forces.

In short, an early deployment of MRAPs into the Iraqi theater of operations may have saved some lives in the short run, but it would have crippled the Marines ability to take the fight to the enemy and put the insurgency on the defensive.

MRAPS and similar vehicles have a time and a place, as does every weapons system, but they are not nearly mobile enough to be as useful in an offensive war against a lightly armed and mobile enemy as are the lighter and less armored HMMWV.

Of course, you don't have to take my word for it. Even Army soldiers used to more heavily armored equipment find the MRAPtoo heavy and slow:

And so we rolled out of FOB Falcon in those giant MRAPs. It seems that most of the seriously experienced combat soldiers do not like MRAPs. Yes, MRAPs are great for the main roads and convoys, but they are too big and too cumbersome, and they get stuck in mud that you could peddle a bicycle through. MRAPs are not offensive vehicles. There is no doubt MRAPs can save lives – they’re like giant vaults on wheels, though I did see the wreckage of one in Afghanistan that had been nearly obliterated. When we’re on the main roads, I love MRAPs, but we will never win wars or major battles with those things, or by staying on main roads. MRAPs need good roads. Good roads are bomb magnets. In Afghanistan, many of the Taliban scoot around on motorcycles, and there is no doubt that mobility is a weapon. We should melt most of the MRAPs down and forge that metal into killing machines like Strykers. The combat vets from 10th Mountain that day were also not fans of MRAPs. And though it’s easy to find MRAP-lovers, the hardcore fighters seem to want more mobility than steel.

Marines encumbered by MRAPs cannot take the battle to the enemy, and Marines that can't take the battle to the enemy will not win wars.

CNN's article is a poorly-researched hit piece designed to attack the credibility and judgement of the Marine Corps.

Perhaps before questioning the judgment of others, they should start by looking at their motivations and biases first.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 12:30 PM | Comments (35) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

1 You can't argue with physics. I learned these elementary facts in high school. Even if you didn't learn them, it's intuitive to figure out that a panther can move more quickly than an elephant and get into tight places the elephant can't get into.

I am appalled by how ignorant journalists are. Instead of inquiring into the Marine Corps' reasoning about these vehicles, they just wanted to take a cheap shot.

Posted by: miriam at December 10, 2008 02:24 PM (QEaZv)

2 "A civilian whistle-blower working with the Marine Corps on the MRAP program wrote a scathing report about delays in the procurement process in early 2008."

Hmmm... how exactly does one get to be a "whistle-blower?" What's the 401K plan like? Since they're not clear on this, can I guess that it's just a schmuck that works for the manufacturer and is passed that the USMC simply didn't buy his friggin' product?

Posted by: tsmonk at December 10, 2008 03:57 PM (E8R20)

3 It doesn't surprise me at all that journalists don't know what they're talking about. That's normal. What is aggrevating though, is the necessity for long and complicated explanations they generate. Of course, these explanations are to people who are only marginally interested in listening to them and have no background on which to base an even small understanding on. The stupidity just goes on and on.

Posted by: Tonto at December 10, 2008 05:18 PM (Qv1xF)

4 Marines and soldiers = reel stupid.

Journalists = reel smirt.

There, I think that covers the basics. Too bad we can't all be as intelligent and well educated as your typical J-school grad, but somebody's got to do the work these parasites feed off of.

Posted by: Steve Skubinna at December 10, 2008 07:16 PM (mfdQL)

5 My position is "Don't DIS the Marines". Also, if the Marines need funding to have the best armored equipment, GET THE FUNDING TO THEM!!! Then let commanders decide what is the best in each given situation.

I am 100% thankful for those who serve in our armed forces, and I want them to have the best of the best in each given situation to achieve goals and protect and defend their lives.

The ins and outs of this sitch, I don't completely understand. But I support what it takes to keep our troops safe and achieve their objectives and want funding for it. That's REALLY the reason why we pay federal taxes: for our troops to be kept safe, etc., and to have the best of equipment, etc. Give it to them!! (And don't dis them... whoever would criticize our troops.)

Posted by: l at December 10, 2008 09:25 PM (tdrxf)

6 I know from my days as a grunt that I would trade speed over flac jackets everytime and none of us wore the damn things.

Posted by: tjbbpgob at December 11, 2008 01:22 AM (I4yBD)

7 I remember Wolf Blitzer interviewing a Marine approximately two years ago. It was just after the incident where an AAAVP7 was hit by a huge IED. Blew it clear off the ground and it landed upside down. This is a fully armored vehicle almost thirty feet long that weighs 22 tons. Wolf's first question to the Marine information officer was, "Would these Marine's be alive today if they had been in an uparmored HUMVEE?"

Posted by: Have Blue at December 11, 2008 03:53 AM (WuPk/)

8 "The U.S. Marine Corps knew of the threat posed by roadside bombs before the start of the Iraq war..."

Not to be nit-picky, but we've known about the threat and dangers of road-side bombs since the advent of gunpowder! As CY noted, its a trade off between mobility and armor.

The real reason journalists create the demand for up-armored HMMWVs is a direct coorelation to the risk adverse society modern humans have become. In today's society, no one can be injured, no one can die and if someone does, someone else must take the blame. It is utter bull!

Quite frankly, we can make our soldier's completely impervious to all attacks, the problem is, they wouldn't be able to move more than a few yards a day because of the weight and mobility limitations.

I agree the loss of life is tragic, but it is war, and I expect that people will get hurt and die, we just need to stop trying to find someone to blame for it. Accept the risk or don't do it, but quit trying to make the world into a risk free society, it's a losing battle.

Posted by: David M at December 11, 2008 10:03 AM (gIAM9)

9 OK... reality Check... Most of the guys I've talked to here would rather be in HMMWVs (1114 or 1151 variants) than the MRAP. Granted, the MRAP is impressive as far as being able to take a hit, buh the fact remains that most MRAPs, (what I call the "Uparmorded PT Cruiser") only carrys 4 to 6 people... in and when the 'shytte' hits, these things don't have a hell of a lot of manpower.... granted, they keep the guys alive, but what good is it if they get on site, and they only have 4 guys (besides crew) to deal with businesss? Thats my question...

Posted by: Big Country at December 11, 2008 05:58 PM (vuy4X)

10 The mainstream media should stop sitting around getting drunk and trying to solve the world's problems and just report the f'n news.

Posted by: DoorHold at December 14, 2008 12:27 PM (DA32L)

11 From what son's told me, they often used a mix of the vehicles on patrols. Except for the times, mainly in winter, when the roads were soft and couldn't support the weight of the MRAPs. And when they were going to areas where the roads were too narrow or in terrain that was too tight for them. Then they used the Humvees.

The MRAPs are armored out the wazoo; from what he told me of two vehicles that hit mines, the vehicle took serious damage but nobody was injured. But, as you said, big, heavy and not too maneuverable.

Posted by: Firehand at December 14, 2008 08:12 PM (3hXO1)

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20 Terrorists Trained For Mumbai Still At Large

Bad news in the Sydney Morning Herald:

POLICE in Mumbai said the 10 men who carried out the terrorist attacks in November were among 30 recruits selected for suicide missions.

The whereabouts of the other 20 were unknown.

Police released the identities and home addresses in Pakistan of the nine gunmen who died during the attack on India's financial centre - a move designed to increase pressure on the Pakistani Government.

It was the first time Indian police had disclosed the larger number of recruits, all of whom it says belonged to the Pakistani militant organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba. Police said there was no reason to believe the other 20 were in India but expressed concern about that possibility.

"Another 20 were ready to die," Deven Bharti, a Mumbai police deputy commissioner, said. "This is the very disturbing part of it."

Considering the effectiveness of the first batch of terrorists in Mumbai. it would be surprising to see them used anywhere else other than another Indian city, though they may take time to scout out any adjustments in India's defenses that resulted from Mumbai's attacks. They also may also chose to hold off on launching additional attacks if they don't want to provoke a war between Pakistan and India that would likely end their ability to use Pakistan as a sanctuary.

Whether they desire a stable base in Pakistan more than success in India seems to be the key question.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 10:44 AM | Comments (22) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

December 08, 2008

Just When You Thought It Was Over...

...Scalia adds another Obama citizenship case to the Supreme Court's Dec. 12 docket, Wrotnowski Vs. Bysiewicz.

Let the fun and games begin continue!

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 09:54 PM | Comments (42) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

1 I keep thinking of the old Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times.

Posted by: NevadaDailySteve at December 08, 2008 10:17 PM (CmDSP)

2 So.... do we have a Constitution in the USA?? Has someone decided the Constitution matters?? What are they going to do when we all look at our Government and no longer believe it's "our Government" because they refuse to follow the Constitution??

They cannot sweep this matter under the carpet without it creating a backlash.

Posted by: l at December 09, 2008 12:06 AM (tdrxf)

3 Think of it as a bailout for unemployed lawyers...

Posted by: Adriane at December 09, 2008 01:26 AM (wJlIy)

4 I would really like to see The One be forced to produce a real birth certificate. I have little doubt that he is constitutionally qualified, but it would serve two purposes. First, it would silence all but the most dedicated kooks on the issue. Having regularly skewered my liberal friends for the past 8 years over their fever swamp ravings, it is annoying to constantly hear from them about this from conservatives. Second, The One has a long history of disinformation and secrecy, and it would be good for him to start his administration with a reminder that even The One must comply with minimal levels of openness.

Posted by: Tregonsee at December 09, 2008 06:06 AM (W9t2q)

5 There is a certain symmetry about asking Obama to provide a birth certificate. The democrats asked if McCain's birth in the Canal Zone disqualified him. McCain published the document - game over.

Why isn't Obama willing to do the same?

Posted by: arch at December 09, 2008 08:10 AM (bF4kP)

6 My final two cents (even though I don't have much sense!) on this topic, the matter of his citizenship: He is a US citizen, without question. US citizens are either natural born or naturalized. Those are the only two statuses of US citizenship. There is no gray area.

If he is not a natural born citizen there would be a public record of his having gone through the naturalization process. For those of you who doubt his status as a natural born citizen, find the public record showing when and where he became a naturalized US citizen. Any journalist, citizen of average intelligence, attorney or private investigator should be able to locate that record without too much effort or expense, if it indeed exists. Produce that public record and those of you who question his citizenship status will have made your point. And, you will have convinced me, a person who voted for him, that he is not Constitutionally qualified to be our nation's President.

I rest my case.

Dude

Posted by: Dude at December 09, 2008 10:48 AM (byA+E)

7 Dude:

It's a lot more complicated than "your case."

If, as the former democrat AG of Pennsylvania suit claims, Obama's mother remarried and his Indonesian stepfather adopted him while they were in Indonesia, then he became an Indonesian citizen in order to attend school there, he would have lost his US citizenship, if he was actually born here.

This scenario would also explain the questionable documents about Barack draft registration. Had he not been a US citizen, he would not be required to sign up with selective service.

If, as Obama's Kenyan grandmother claims, he was born in Kenya, he would not be a US citizen unless he was naturalized.

The smart move would be to do what McCain did and provide his birth certificate.

Posted by: arch at December 09, 2008 11:20 AM (bF4kP)

8 Posting this again, because I can see from of the comments that other people are not getting this information. And it's important that they do.

Obama HAS PRODUCED AND SHOWN his official short-form birth certificate, which has been seen and touched in physical reality by factcheck.org and politifact.com, and which has been fully vouched for by the State of Hawaii.

Obama IS NOT ABLE TO "produce" his long-form birth certificate, because it CAN NOT be viewed OR copied for Obama. The State of Hawaii does not make copies of the long-form birth certificates FOR ANYONE, FOR ANY REASON. They do not even have a process in place for it.

This is all in the public record.

Posted by: jim at December 09, 2008 03:38 PM (QAh+h)

9 And as for Obama's grandmother's "Claims", if you actually listen to the full audio of this 85-year-old woman being interviewed by a translator with a hidden agenda, they starts correcting the interviewer as soon as they realize the incorrect statements he's attributing to her.

And separately, being a citizen of another nation does not somehow "cancel out" your US citizenship. There are plenty of fully legal US-born citizens, who have dual citizenship in other countries due to their parents.

So even IF there was some sort of massive conspiracy involving hiding Obama's birthplace, he would STILL be a US citizen because his mother is.

Believe whatever you want - just be aware that, in this case, your belief is utterly contradicted by facts.

Posted by: jim at December 09, 2008 03:44 PM (QAh+h)

10 Well, we should have impeached and imprisoned the five Supreme Court justices that committed the greatest act of judicial corruption in our country's history by making George Bush president.

If we had done that, chances are that these two criminals would not be using their position to undermine the first legitimately elected President in eight years.

Posted by: Green Eagle at December 09, 2008 03:45 PM (PHHOs)

11 uh... green eagle ur incorrect
the greatest act of judicial corruption in our nations history is roe v. wade
this decision is in direct opposition to the 10th amendment of our Constitution which gives the states the right to make laws concerning rights not enumerated in the Bill of Rights
And i say this as a Pro Choice Social Liberal

Posted by: MAModerate at December 09, 2008 04:04 PM (1XwXF)

12 MAModerate, so you're saying Roe v. Wade is a violation of State's rights - but the SCOTUS decision to overturn the Florida recount and select GWB was not?

Posted by: jim at December 09, 2008 06:33 PM (QAh+h)

13 Hey, Jim... you might look at history and see who went to the courts first in that fight.

Hint: It wasn't Booooooooooosh.

Posted by: ConservativeWanderer (formerly C-C-G) at December 09, 2008 07:50 PM (oGgom)

14 Obama HAS PRODUCED AND SHOWN his official short-form birth certificate, which has been seen and touched in physical reality by factcheck.org and politifact.com, and which has been fully vouched for by the State of Hawaii.


Uhhhhh, no.

Not that I really think The Proclaimed One is not "natural born"; it's just the arrogance of the one who ran against for President against his opponant's vice running mate's new born child; that if the one wanted it could have asked the State of Hawaii to release his actual birth certs and put them into public records (like most States 'BCs are) rather than having his HI hitmen pull a mirror image of the Joe Plumber hit.

In other words, rather than publish an invalidated BC on the net, and having his Hawaii hitmen claim they know the one was born their, The Proclaimed could have just asked the State drone break out the official seal, stamp an unaltered BC, make it uh, "official", and published it.

Uhhhhh, no.


In fact, as a state drone, I can assure you if YOU do the same to your State ID as what the one did and presented it to a cop in a traffic stop you may have some 'splainin to do.

Posted by: Druid at December 09, 2008 08:55 PM (o/N4X)

15 Druid: Uhhhh, yes.

Wanting things to be different from the facts, doesn't change the facts.

Here's factcheck.org, looking at Obama's short-form birth certificate in real, live physical form.

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html

Here's politifact.com, doing the same.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/jun/27/obamas-birth-certificate-part-ii/

Here's factcheck regarding the long form:

"The Hawaii Department of Health's birth record request form does not give the option to request a photocopy of your long-form birth certificate, but their short form has enough information to be acceptable to the State Department."

So, to sum up:

1) Obama's birth certificate has been independently verified in person by two nonpartisan fact-checking websites, in addition to being validated by the State of Hawaii.

2) This birth certificate has all the information needed for the State Department, which includes for passports and security clearances.

3) The State of Hawaii does not make long-form birth certificates available to anyone.

4) As a side note, the Governor of Hawaii is Republican and campaigned for McCain. Do you really think that if there was a chance in heaven that Obama wasn't a citizen, the Governor wouldn't have pushed this to Hell and back?

Obama is now showing you the best documentation that the State of Hawaii will give to ANY citizen.

I hope that you will now adjust your worldview to correspond with these facts.

Posted by: another jim at December 09, 2008 09:27 PM (QAh+h)

16 another jim -

The only concern of the State Department is that you are legally eligible to leave the country and return to it.

Obama is not asking the State Department's permission to travel. He has declared that he is eligible to become President.

There is a difference.

Posted by: Adriane at December 10, 2008 01:01 AM (14u2A)

17 I'll give you two words to explain why I don't buy any of these birth certificate conspiracy theories floating around: Hillary Clinton.

I may disagree with her politically--and I do, but even her opponents must admit that she is one of the best connected and ruthless politicians on the scene today. The Clintons have contacts at every level of government, and they've never shied away from the politics of personal destruction.

If concrete evidence exists that would legally disqualify Obama from holding the Oval Office, the Clintons and their minions almost certainly would have been able to find it. And given the cutthroat nature of the Democratic primaries this year, there's no doubt that if she'd had it, Hillary would have used this evidence against Obama.

The simple fact that one of the most vicious politicians of the age didn't use this attack against Obama shows me that there simply is nothing to this charge, and those who keep bringing it up--on both sides--remind me quite a lot of those dimwits who still think that Bush had something to do with planning and/or executing the 9/11 attacks.

Let's not go down that road, fellow conservatives. Leave the wacko conspiracy theories for the lefties who put mirrors on their shoes to watch for Black Helicopters.

Posted by: ConservativeWanderer (formerly C-C-G) at December 10, 2008 08:23 AM (oGgom)

18 Well said CY. My sentiments exactly. How about that?! A conservative and a liberal have found common ground.

I have to remind some of my fellow Democrat friends (those who are conspiracy theorists) from time to time that Michael Moore is NOT a journalist.

Unfortunately, there will always be people who are oblivious to facts that get in the way of their bias. That's not a Democrat or Republican issue. It's a human nature issue.

Posted by: Dude at December 10, 2008 11:00 AM (byA+E)

19 That would be "CW", Dude. I really don't think CY (Bob Owens) is impersonating my friend CW

Posted by: PhyCon (formerly Mark) at December 10, 2008 03:02 PM (4od5C)

20 Actually, Adriane, the State Department doesn't only issue passports. It also handles some security clearances.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A52768-2003Feb10?language=printer

Other Federal entities which grant security clearances include the NSA, CIA, FBI - all consider a short-form birth certificate that has been validated by the state that issued it, as sufficient for identifying the person.

And in all of this, the State Department must determine that the person's citizenship information is correct, before they will issue a passport or a security clearance.

And State Department considers a short-form birth certificate perfectly adequate for this, as long as they can validate it with the individual state which issued it - as *also* do the NSA, CIA, FBI, DIA, etc. etc.

That's just how it is.

Posted by: jim at December 10, 2008 04:32 PM (QAh+h)

21 "That would be "CW", Dude. I really don't think CY (Bob Owens) is impersonating my friend CW "

Oops! Sorry about that!

Dude

Posted by: Dude at December 10, 2008 05:20 PM (byA+E)

22 No problem, Dude... I guess I should have thought of the possible confusion of initials when I picked my new nom-de-blog (to go with my new blog). Ahh, well, live and learn.

And I imagine that there are quite a lot of things we could agree on... such as, for example, that the sound of fingernails down a blackboard is a Bad Thing.

Posted by: ConservativeWanderer (formerly C-C-G) at December 10, 2008 07:08 PM (oGgom)

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Obama Should Respect the Secret Service Enough to Release His Vault Copy Birth Certificate

The Supreme Court will decide today whether or not to hear two cases arguing that President Elect Barack Obama is not a "natural born citizen" and is therefore ineligible to become President.

Odds are overwhelming that the Court will decline to hear these cases that Obama has fought in lower courts and which have previously been dismissed, and those conspiracy theorists who believe Barack Obama is illegally and unconstitutionally usurping the office of the Presidency will only become more inflamed and agitated.

I'm not sure why Barack Obama has fought releasing the vault copy of his birth certificate, and frankly do not care what his motivations have been. I would argue, however, that Obama should release his vault copy birth certificate even if he wins these legal challenges, simply out of respect for the Secret Service officers that will be charged with guarding his life during the course of his Presidency, and for those White House staff members that could be also be threatened by any attempt against the President.

We've already seen people arrested for threatening Obama the candidate, ranging from meth-addled white supremacists, sober bout stupid white supremacists with a flair for fashion, a "slow" bail bondsman wannabe, and a man whose behavior changed after a recent traumatic brain injury. None of these potential threats has been viewed as a significant threat, but there are no doubt individuals and groups that are at least marginally more capable that would like to see President Elect Obama's term cut tragically short. As a result, we can probably expect the Secret Service to have a busy Presidency even without concerned "patriots" adding to the chatter of threats against our duly elected President.

By simply releasing the vault copy of his birth certificate—which is all most of the dozens of lawsuits against Obama are asking— Obama will satisfy the overwhelming majority of people who have questions about Obama's citizenship and his constitutional right to be President.

By holding out on what should be a trivial matter, Obama is going to create a situation where conspiracy theories regarding his citizenship will not only continue, they may increase, and ratchet up in intensity.

As a result of his unnecessary obstinance, the number of disillusioned citizens will grow, leading to an increase in "chatter" which will make it more difficult for the Secret Service to discern legitimate threats against the President from the rantings of mere blowhards. When the chatter obscures true threats, then the opportunity of an incident occurring rises.

The last thing any of us should want as Americans is a situation where an individual or group has an opportunity to attempt an attack on our President, especially if that attack could have been thwarted far in advance without any risk to the President, his family members, staff, nearby citizens, or members of the Secret Service tasked with putting the President's Security about their own.

Some people hate Barack Obama merely because he is ethically half African, and there is little we can do to erase their bigotry.

Any birth certificate conspiracy theorist threat (real or merely resource-diverting clutter), however, can easily be diffused by the President Elect himself. It requires only a simple signature on a form releasing the vault copy of his birth certificate to the media.

Barack Obama should respect those serving in his White House and those charged with guarding his life enough to sign the release form and make the vault copy of his birth certificate public.

Put the conspiracy theorists out of business, Mr. Obama.

It's simply the right thing to do.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 10:23 AM | Comments (82) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

December 05, 2008

The Facebook Friends Murder

Wake County NC authorities have identified the body recovered behind an unoccupied dwelling as 18-year-old Matthew Josiah Silliman, who had been the subject of a Silver Alert for missing adults with certain mental impairments in late November.

Four area high school students that were Sillimans' "friends" on Facebook are now facing murder charges in Silliman's death:

As Silliman's identity was being confirmed, four Wake County high school students who are connected to him through the social networking site Facebook were denied bond when they appeared in court for the first time to face murder charges in his death.

Allegra Rose Dahlquist, 17, of 601 Walcott Way, Cary; Ryan Patrick Hare, 18; of 100 Walnut Hill Court, Apex; Aadil Shahid Khan, 17, of 901 Bristol Blue St., Apex; and Drew Logan Shaw, 16, of 107 Woolard Way, Apex, had been arrested Wednesday.

All four were in the Wake County jail Thursday evening. Their next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 22.

Authorities have not released either a cause of death for Silliman, nor have they provided a motive for his murder. The WRAL reporter, however, hints at a possible angle:

Family members declined to comment after the brief court hearing, but Billy Shenk, a friend of Shaw's, said he and the 16-year-old were part of a "juggalo" crew, which Shenk described as a group of outcasts.

"It's not a gang, not violence," he said. "It's just a group of people who are tired of being picked on and everything, so we just form together and grew strong."

Shenk added that he does not think Shaw is a violent person.

"He's a really good kid after you guys get to know him. All these people are saying Gothic kids are the reason for all this. No, it's not," he said.

On his MySpace page, Shaw, a sophomore at Panther Creek High School in Cary, referred to himself as a "juggalo," which also denotes a fan of the hip-hop group Insane Clown Posse.

A friend of Shaw's, in a posting on his MySpace page Thursday, described it as "a state of mind," and belief in the Dark Carnival, a fictional theme in the group's albums. Numerous other Web sites explain the term in other details.

I said the reporter provided a hint; I didn't say it was necessarily a good one.

Various musical genres have been blamed for playing a role in homicides and suicides for as long as I can remember, and if these suspects shared musical interests it can indicate that they are acculturated similarly, but it does not mean that the music is a trigger for the murder. If it was we'd have emos and goths and juggalos offing people (or more likely, themselves) at an astounding rate, or at least that greater than say, Britney Spears fans.

That said, it is possible that law enforcement beleives the Dark Carnival mythology played a role in Silliman's death. If that is the contention of authorities or this reporter, however, they haven't yet decided to share why they think that was a contributing factor.

It will be interesting to see what, if any role Facebook postings by the deceased or the accused play in this case, and if they are used in the trials by either the prosecution or defense.

Facebook and MySpace pages and similar social media sites will continue to playa greater role in both criminal investigations and the background investigations by journalists of both crime suspects, and victims. As we become more immersed in the technology, the technology is going to strip away our anonymity and provide possible insights into our motivations. Profilers and criminal psychologists are going to have a field day once they start grasping and data-mining the technology. Let's just hope they draw the right decisions from what they discover.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 08:52 AM | Comments (23) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

December 04, 2008

Charges Filed Against Police Chief in Accidental Machine Gun Death of Eight-Year-Old at MA Machine Gun Shoot; Father Amazingly Not Charged

This past October an eight-year-old was killed on the firing line of a machine gun shoot when he lost control of a Micro Uzi submachine gun he was firing and put a single 9mm bullet into his own head.

Charges have now been filed:

A police chief and a Massachusetts gun club have been indicted for involuntary manslaughter in the death of an 8-year-old boy who accidentally shot himself with a Uzi at an October gun expo in Massachusetts.

Pelham Police Chief Edward Fleury owns COP Firearms & Training, which sponsored the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club, where 8-year-old Christopher Bizilj accidentally shot himself in the head in October after losing control of the 9 mm Micro Uzi submachine gun.

In addition to the manslaughter indictments, Fleury and the Westfield Sportsman's Club were also indicted on four counts each of furnishing a gun to a minor.

Two other men, Carl Guiffre of Hartford, Conn., and Domenico Spano, of New Milford, Conn., also face involuntary manslaughter charges.

This story is an exercise in what happens when a series of bad judgement calls compound upon one another with tragic consequences.

As a father of an eight-year-old myself, I know that my child doesn't yet have the responsibility, situational awareness, or strength to handle any firearm responsibly, and I would never consent to letting her handle a submachine gun.

Even if the father did not know enough about the recoil of fully automatic weapons to know that his child should not be handling one, the instructor should have been familiar enough with the firearm to suspect that a child cannot handle one responsibly.

Third, the owner/operator of the shoot, the Police Chief that has been among those charged, should have posted some sort of minimum qualifications to participate in the shoot, and the physical age and capability to handle such firearms should arguably factor into who is allowed to participate; the dead child obviously and tragically did not meet these standards.

I'm not sure if involuntary manslaughter charges are the best way to handle this negligent death, but if charges are to be brought, I'm disappointed that they were not distributed equally to those obviously the most to blame.

The judgement of the father of the child to allow his child to try to fire a machine gun was the largest mistake in a string of mistakes, and he was not charged.

Perhaps the prosecutor agonized over the possible charges and felt that the family suffered enough with the loss of the child, but this father, in my opinion, is the individual most directly to blame for the death of his child, and if others are charged for this tragic death, he should be as well.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 07:00 PM | Comments (41) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

Pointless Cluster Bomb Ban Signed

92 nations signed a ban on cluster bombs yesterday, a move that is more or less meaningless as the largest producers and users of such munitions—including Russia, China, and the United States—refused to sign on.

Cluster bombs are composed of grenade-sized bomblets inside a air-delivered bomb, missile, or artillery shell. Once the larger shell reaches the target area, it disperses the bomblets over a wider area than could be covered by a single conventional bomb. Cluster bombs are particularly effective against concentrations of dismounted infantry, unarmored targets such as supply depots, refueling stations, airfields, and supply convoys, and lightly armored targets, such as armored personnel carriers and self-propelled artillery.

While cluster bombs are effective area weapons, the bomblets have an unacceptably higher failure rate. Typically several grenade-sized bomblets in a cluster bomb fail to detonate, leaving live, fused explosives on the ground that are a significant threat to civilians long after the military conflict is over.

Cluster bombs have a legitimate military use, and I doubt cluster bombs will disappear from inventories in the next few decades, but perhaps technological advances could render them less of a lingering threat. Using explosives that degrade quickly within minutes of deployment would be one possible way to minimize the threat left by unexploded bomblets, and perhaps another avenue would be to go the opposite route, using highly corrosive explosives that disable a bomblet's fuse and "eat" the unexploded bomblet from the inside out, leaving a relatively inert husk.

Small diameter bombs (SDBs) or other weapons systems will eventually make cluster munitions obsolete, but a coalition of the toothless signing bans against munition systems that they cannot effectively manufacture or deploy in combat will not have any meaningful long-term impact.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at 09:13 AM | Comments (48) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)

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