So…Who is the True Interventionist

So….Who is the true interventionist?

“Obama’s regime-change policy, like Bush’s, showed that the United States has the “reverse Midas Touch” — whatever it touches turns to chaos.”—–CNN, December 2016.

The full quote of my teaser is this…. “More significant is the fact that even many of his (Obama) supporters believe, as Nobel committee secretary Geir Lundestad has written in his memoir, that the Nobel prize to him was “a mistake.” The Nobel committee awarded Obama the prize less than nine months after he assumed office in the hope that he would be fundamentally different from President George W. Bush, whose invasion and occupation of Iraq created a failed state.”

Has Atlas Finally Shrugged?

Some time ago…..like a real long time ago, I read a book by Ayn Rand entitled “Atlas Shrugged”. The Cliff Notes version of it was about the economic carnage caused by big government run amok. It was/is a work of fiction that should be required reading. But is it fiction any longer? Several things make me question whether or not the author was actually insightful and sent a warning. The Wall Street Journal said “with each successive bailout plan and economic-stimulus scheme out of Washington, our current politicians are committing the very acts of economic lunacy that “Atlas Shrugged” parodied in 1957, when this 1,000-page novel was first published and became an instant hit.”

The Wall Street Journal went on to say, “For the uninitiated, the moral of the story is simply this: Politicians invariably respond to crises — that in most cases they themselves created — by spawning new government programs, laws and regulations. These, in turn, generate more havoc and poverty, which inspires the politicians to create more programs . . . and the downward spiral repeats itself until the productive sectors of the economy collapse under the collective weight of taxes and other burdens imposed in the name of fairness, equality and do-goodism.”

“Americans are from Mars and Europeans are from Venus……live with it”

Let’s face it…Bill Murray could not have said it better in the movie Stripes. He says, “We are Americans. We are the wretched refuse. Our forefathers were kicked out of every decent country in the world.” I wonder just how true is that statement. Innovators, workers, independent thinkers, freedom of expression, and distrust of governments led to the great exile to the Americas. What happened is in history….we are the power. We have proven it. Nothing else needs to be said…..except now, we seem to be catching the Progressive Disease from Europe.

Electoral College Process-Good, Bad, Or Ugly.

When I got into writing this article, it became so cumbersome and long that it would not be appropriate for this venue…..far too lengthy and confusing….so, I went onto several sites, both right and left, to see what the main arguments were and I have reduced it down to four bullet points each. However, with everyone’s permission, I think it appropriate to tackle the four MAIN issues one at a time for debate purposes and to keep individual responses focused. So here goes.

Sometime back, or, back yonder a ways, Buck and I had some discussions on the electoral college process. I had actually come down on the side of “perhaps we need a change but I am against the popular vote”. Since then, I have thought about it a lot (too much actually) and have changed my position to the electoral college is still the best way to go. Consequently, I went through over 50 different sites and basically “boiled ‘er down” to the following four bullet points.

Egypt Redux

By D13

One cannot explain the happenings in Egypt without delving into history because it is indelibly linked. To fully understand Egypt and its issues, you must also understand the Ottoman Empire and understand it from post World War One. At its peak the Ottoman Empire included the areas of Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Hungary, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and parts of the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa. It must be also understood that Turkish rule was predominant over this area.

Benghazi…..the truth.

By D13 !

The first thing that I need to say is that I am not going to “link” to anything. To link to any of the supposition that is flying around the internet would be the incorrect thing to do because I can guarantee you that none of the world news organizations has the faintest idea of what is going on. This entire article is going to be based on experience, first hand knowledge, and reality…..so, if you want links as to my source, do not waste your time. The internet is NOT the purveyor of truth.
Instead, this article will relate to what is and how it happens. So let us first start with geography. Benghazi is in Libya….on the coast. ( The Med…..and no, I have not been there ). So, in the scheme of things with all the action around Tripoli, what is the big deal of Benghazi? It is important for several reasons. First, it is the second largest regional city in Libya. It is a major business center and has one of the three branches of the central bank of Libya (in other words, money). The headquarters of the Arabian Gulf Oil is also located in Benghazi. This makes Benghazi a major economic center. This is important in the larger scheme of things. Secondly, and maybe the most important thing, is the population in Benghazi is mainly Arab descent compared to the Berber domination in Tripoli. The uprising originally started in Benghazi against Tripoli. The Arab population is supported by the Muslim Brotherhood, while the Berbers are almost uniquely supported by the Iranians. The survival of Assad’s Syria is singularly important because Assad is the main ally of Iran in supporting the Palestinian movement and the arming of Hezbollah. In addition, the loss of Tripoli and the Syrian support puts another enemy of Iran in the region….. The Muslim Brotherhood.

Racism – The Dichotomy

BY:  D13

The very first thing one has to do is to define racism. So let us start there. Webster defines racism as a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial difference produces an inherent superiority of a particular race. Like the era of Hitler where he wanted a master race of blond haired, blue eyed behemoths. Pure blood, so to speak, and that any other race or ethnicity was not acceptable and, consequently, inferior. Many times racism and slavery are linked but history has shown that slavery and racism only share a small link. Slavery has existed since 800 BC and it was COLOR BLIND. Slavery usually was a by-product of war. History also shows that Caucasian and Asian slavery was more prevalent than black slavery prior to the 18th Century. It was not until the Europeans needed cheaper labor, that African slavery became prominent and this is when the racism began to appear. It was commonly thought among ALL PROGRESSIVE nations of the world in the 18th and 19th and 20th centuries that the native African population was considered not equal or substandard. Why? Simply because they lacked behind the rest of the world in development. Nothing more….nothing less…as it was cheap and easy labor sold into the slave trade by their own black brothers. It is often thought that the North American continent was the forerunner of slavery and racism when it was not. Over 90 percent of the slaves from Africa went to South and Central America, long before their introduction into the United States. Therefore, for the purposes of this article, slavery is only a small part of the issue of racism.

Medicare: A comparison

Medicare proposals analyzed by D13.

I tried to be as unbiased as I could in comparing the two programs and this is what I came up with in my research and my own pencil and calculator, to which I say that I can and will be more accurate than the supposedly independent (cough cough) CBO.

The Atomic Bomb…..Was it Necessary in 1945

There is no secret that the Atomic Bomb was used on two Japanese cities in WWII. Some say it was the end of the war and some say it was not necessary. Some say that without the United States “forcing” Japan to war, it would not have been necessary. There are theories on both sides of the isle making the claim that they are correct. But the more important question is how has the nuclear age changed the world and is it a necessary deterrent. But since it was used on Japan first and last (so far), why was it used and what effect did it have? Did Japan deserve such? Could it have been avoided? It has been widely believed that the United States forced Japan into the war. I do not subscribe to that theory but let us delve into some facts.

Fair Share….What Is It and Who Determines

“FAIR SHARE!”, shouts the POTUS from the pulpit of politics. Standing behind a podium with a Presidential Seal that allows this mantra to spew forth, the POTUS fixes his glance…it is not about Class Warfare (as he stifles the ever present snicker), it is math. This from the lips of a man that cannot add numbers to reach two much less understand the concepts of math. It is clear that he took the same math class that Warren Buffet has taken. BUT, class warfare is a subject of another time. So, what is exactly “fair share”?

The Making of a Raid-The Hunt for UBL

Much has been said about the raid that takes out UBL. Forget UBL and who he is for a little while and focus on the making of a raid. There are those that say Obama deserves the credit. There are some that say it only took 2.5 years to get him since Obama took office. There are some that ask, why did it take so long? Why could he not be found? Why does it take so many? A man on dialysis cannot be that hard to find and that makes Bush incompetent, some pontificate. UBL is dead and Obama did it, yell the lemmings. Nobody focuses on the raid, the preparation of the raid, the support involved in the raid, the exit strategy for the raid, and the people involved in the raid.

The 12th Imam – Fact or Fiction Part Two of Three

The first question that I would ask is….Does it matter? Many people claim that religion is not the reasons for the tension in the Middle East. I claim that religion is the ONLY reason for tension in the Middle East. It is not American Imperialism or mercantilism as I previously mentioned. It goes back a whole lot further than that. So, let’s take a journey into the world of Islam and its definitions and why I make my claim that the ME tension is strictly religious.

The Jekyll and Hyde Game of Iran – Part One of Three

Make NO mistake about it, Iran is the new threat and has been since the debacle of the elections last. Yes….make no mistake. Iran is more dangerous than China, Russia, Europe, and the United States. NOTE: More dangerous…not more powerful…YET!!! But that time is closing unless we, the United States, get off our collective ass and throw political correctness in the trash can and not give a rat’s ass what China or Russia or Europe thinks. The following is an opinion of D13 based upon his knowledge, research, and tactics….and it is what I would do in the place of A-jad.

Multiculturalism – Political correctness gone awry ?

First, it is important to look up the definition of multiculturalism. Try it. There are dozens of definitions and suggestions as to what it is or thought to be. It is ironic, but I don’t think anyone knows what it is much less what it means.

Wikipedia states : Multiculturalism has a number of different meanings. At one level the term means the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g. schools, businesses, neighborhoods, cities or nations. In this sense multiculturalism approximates to respect for diversity. The term may also describe people who have more than one culture in them (people who grew up with more than one cultural identity, also sometimes called bicultural).