A war the Pentagon doesn’t want

Robert H. Scales, a retired Army major general, is a former commandant of the U.S. Army War College.

The tapes tell the tale. Go back and look at images of our nation’s most senior soldier, Gen. Martin Dempsey, and his body language during Tuesday’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings on Syria. It’s pretty obvious that Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, doesn’t want this war. As Secretary of State John Kerry’s thundering voice and arm-waving redounded in rage against Bashar al-Assad’s atrocities, Dempsey was largely (and respectfully) silent.

Dempsey’s unspoken words reflect the opinions of most serving military leaders. By no means do I profess to speak on behalf of all of our men and women in uniform. But I can justifiably share the sentiments of those inside the Pentagon and elsewhere who write the plans and develop strategies for fighting our wars. After personal exchanges with dozens of active and retired soldiers in recent days, I feel confident that what follows represents the overwhelming opinion of serving professionals who have been intimate witnesses to the unfolding events that will lead the United States into its next war.

Via: The Washington Post

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Common Core and more -- why don't parents get to have a say in their kids' education?

The unforgettable moment of parental bonding in the delivery room deceives many parents. After all, in today’s society, mothers and fathers are encouraged to be there for their children from first breath, cutting the umbilical cord, cheering at soccer matches, and helping in the doctor’s office, where many a queasy parent is asked to assist with something that can make a grown man go weak in the knees.

Most parents diligently work to raise up a generation of strong, confident, intelligent people, who know how to use the potty.

Which leaves many of us incredulous when it comes to the 1950s flashback – like expectant fathers in a hospital waiting room from an episode of “Mad Men” – that occurs when we start to engage in our children’s education, as “experts” in our modern day school system block us at the door to keep our parental cooties outside.

Why is it that when we start to engage in our children’s education, “experts” in our modern day school system block us at the door to keep our parental cooties outside?

Suddenly, parents should be seen and not heard, while we keep the checks coming.

My four children attend public schools in one of US News & World Reports top 50 tiers, after living in the Washington, D.C. area with some of the best of private and public school in the nation.  We’ve been exposed to what is said to be the best in the land in terms of schools.

Via: Fox News

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Liberal Group Makes the Case Against Obamacare

Yesterday, the Commonwealth Fund released a report attempting to argue that low-income individuals will benefit if states expand their Medicaid programs under Obamacare. But in reality, the study made a more effective case against Obamacare than it did in favor of the law.

The Commonwealth report’s most revealing evidence comes in Exhibit 2, reproduced below. According to Commonwealth’s own survey data, fewer than one in 10 (9 percent) of Americans were always uninsured during the period 2011-2012. Among adults with incomes above 133 percent of the poverty level (just under $15,000 for a single person), only one in 20 (5 percent) Americans lacked health insurance for all of 2011 and 2012.

It’s a point worth emphasizing again: During a two-year period following the most severe economic downturn in generations, fewer than one in 10 Americans consistently lacked health insurance coverage. And some portion of that 9 percent consists of non-citizens, who are ineligible for most taxpayer-funded assistance programs anyway.

Via: The Foundry

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Kinzinger: First Time Since I’ve Been in Congress That Obama’s Reached Out to Republicans

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R., Ill.) said President Obama’s seeking of Republican support to take military action in Syria marked the first time he’d reached out to the GOP in the two-and-a-half years he’d served in the U.S. Congress.

“I mean, we may have had a big meeting or something but typically he’s never talked to us,” he said. “Now what you’re seeing is a lack of belief that this president has a plan.”

During an interview Friday on MSNBC’s The Daily Rundown, Kinzinger continued to criticize Obama’s leadership on the issue and implored him to sell it to the American people and lay out exactly what he plans to accomplish. Obama said at a press conference Friday morning that he will address Americans directly on Tuesday:

LUKE RUSSERT: Question for you. Some of the latest informal whip counts place support for any type of action in Syria from the Republican side as maybe getting 50 or 70 votes from your conference. Do you think this is a new GOP that’s more libertarian and isolationist in nature, or is this straight-up opposition to President Obama and anything he supports?

KINZINGER: I don’t think it’s either of that. We obviously have a group in the Republicans — you see them on the news all the time that are talking about the United States needing to disengage from the rest of the world. But the vast majority of Republicans still understand the need for a strong United States. What’s happened here though, this is actually the first time, literally in five years, at least the 2 1/2 years I’ve been in Congress, when the president’s actually reached out to the Republicans on anything. I mean, we may have had a big meeting or something but typically he’s never talked to us. Now what you’re seeing is a lack of belief that this president has a plan. Look, I’m supportive of action in Syria. I think it has to be done. I think for decades America’s put down a red line saying no chemical weapons. But I will put a lot of the struggle right now in Washington on the President of the United States. He needs to be all over television selling this to the American people. Any beginning of any military action has never been popular in the United States of America, until its leaders come forward and talk about what exactly they want to accomplish there. Secretary Kerry’s done a great job. President Obama really hasn’t.

Kinzinger laid out his case for taking action in Syria at Wednesday’s House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Via: WFB

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RNC Launches Obamacare Impact Website

The Republican National Committee has launched a website showing Obamacare’s impact on individual states, the party announced Wednesday.

The website, ObamacareCosts.org, allows visitors to search by zip code for Obamacare’s impact across the United States.

“Each week the RNC will release a video of real news stories highlighting the costs of ObamaCare to Americans around the country. This week’s video, ‘ObamaCare Costs: Colorado,’ shows the difficult choice facing Coloradans: going into debt or paying a fine in order to comply with ObamaCare,” the RNC’s announcement said.

The website also has a place for visitors to sign a petition asking for a repeal of the law.

“With less than a month to go before this disastrous law begins to take full effect, Democrats bear sole responsibility for ObamaCare’s costs,” said RNC chair Reince Priebus in the announcement. “The RNC will ensure voters hold them accountable in 2014 by providing the facts and highlighting real stories from real people from now until Election Day.”

The health insurance exchanges mandated by Obamacare are scheduled to open Oct. 1, although some Republicans are calling for a delay of the law over security concerns.

The Obama administration has delayed several parts of the law, including the mandate that all employers with over 50 full-time employees provide health insurance and that states verify the eligibility of those applying for subsidies.

Via: WFB

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CO SHERIFF: 'SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIRE REPRESENTATIVES WHO IGNORE CONSTITUENTS'

When El Paso County, Colorado Sheriff Terry Maketa spoke to Breitbart News on September 4, he said "constituents should be able to fire representatives who ignore constituents."

Just hours before, Maketa attended a rally where he lent his voice "to citizens fighting for their constitutional rights through the recall process." 

Speaking to Breitbart News, Maketa made it clear that he understands Coloradans' frustration with the new gun control laws: "If you look at it from the macro-level, these laws did not deliver what was promised." 

"Number one--they were passed under the promise that they would prevent another Aurora or Sandy Hook but there is no validity to that statement," he explained. 

"Number two--these laws were not born in Colorado. Rather, they are just a copy of what NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others are trying to do all around the country," Maketa said. "Number three--the laws are unenforceable. They ban 'high capacity' magazines purchased after the laws went into effect on July 1, but provide no mechanism for knowing which magazines were in fact owned or transferred prior to that date."

"Also, the rules of possession at a length of 72 hours mean that if your firearm is out of your possession for more than 72 hours you have to do a background check to get it back," Maketa revealed. "I have a friend in Special Forces, and what this rule means for him is that each time he's deployed and leaves his gun with this fiance, she has to have an initial background check and then another background check every 30 until he returns in order to keep possession of the firearms."

"This is just one more burden on a man who is fighting for our country," Maketa said.

Via: Breitbart

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The Most Embarrassing President of My Lifetime

Obama is a symbol of much of today’s generation, which accepts no responsibility for anything

“Speak softly and carry a big stick.” — Teddy Roosevelt
“The buck stops here.” — Harry Truman
“I didn’t set a red line.” — Barack Obama

Barack Obama is, without question, the most embarrassing president of my lifetime — and that is saying something, since my life so far has encompassed 12 presidencies, some of which have brought a lot of embarrassment to the nation. Even Richard Nixon, with his Watergate scandal, Jimmy Carter, with his malaise, and Bill Clinton, with his lewd behavior in the Oval Office, could not top this president for pure, unadulterated disgrace.

Of course, in Obama’s case, it is not a matter of personal scandal like it was for Clinton. By telling the world a year ago that he was drawing a red line in the hot desert sands of Syria — that red line being the use of chemical weapons — he created the debacle that currently threatens to engulf the Middle East. He blustered at the time that if the regime of Bashar al-Assad crossed that red line, there will be a price to pay. No one yet knows what that price will be, but from the current discussion, it appears that it will involve the destruction of at least three camels, four sheep, a half-dozen goats and an abandoned aspirin factory.

That oughta show ‘em!

What it will do, in all likelihood, is unify the Islamic crazies in the Middle East and turn Assad into a regional hero, emboldening him to attack Israel, secure in the knowledge that the United States has no stomach for a wider war.

Congressional offices on Capitol Hill are reporting phone calls coming in at a rate of more than 200 to 1 against approving Obama’s plan to attack Syria. Republican and Democrats alike are being bombarded with negative responses from their constituents. Still, there are those among the insulated legislative class — John McCain, Lindsay Graham, John Boehner, etc. — who have not gotten the message that the American people are about as enthusiastic about Obama’s proposed war plans as they are about undergoing a quadruple root canal. In fact the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to approve a resolution to allow Obama to use force.

Via: Canada Free Press

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169,000 net jobs created in August; June, July numbers drastically lowered

The "official" unemployment rate dropped to 7.3% from 7.4% last month. But, as usual, the number went down because more American workers simply gave up trying to find a job.

Labor force participation dropped to 63.2% - the lowest since 1978.

Wall Street Journal:

Employers added 169,000 jobs in August and July's figure was revised sharply lower to 104,000, suggesting the labor-market recovery isn't gaining strength and potentially complicating the Federal Reserve's plans to start dialing back its support for the economy.

In its monthly employment report released Friday, the Labor Department lowered the combined tally for job gains in June and July by 74,000. The nation's unemployment rate stood at 7.3% in August, down slightly from 7.4% in July.

The August jobs gain was slightly lower than the average monthly gain of 184,000 over the prior 12 months and the 175,000 new jobs forecast by economists. The private sector added 152,000 jobs in August and government increased employment by 17,000.

The new estimate of 104,000 jobs added in July, down from an initial estimate of 162,000, was the lowest increase in over a year, a sign of easing momentum in the labor market recovery.

Via: American Thinker

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90,473,000: Record Number Not in Labor Force--Up Almost 10M Under Obama

(CNSNews.com) - The number of Americans who are 16 years or older and who have decided not to participate in the nation's labor force has pushed past 90,000,000 for the first time, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The BLS counts a person as participating in the labor force if they are 16 years or older and either have a job or have actively sought a job in the last four weeks. A person is not participating in the labor force if they are 16 or older and have not sought a job in the last four weeks.

In July, according to BLS, 89,957,000 Americans did not participate in the labor force. In August, that climbed to 90,473,000--a one month increase of 516,000.

In January 2009, when President Barack Obama took office, there were 80,507,000 Americans not in the labor force. Thus, the number of Americans not in the labor force has increased by 9,966,000 during Obama's presidency.

Part of the increase in the number Americans not participating in the labor force can be explained by Baby Boomers reaching retirement age and deciding to stop working--and not be replaced by an equal number of younger people reaching age 16 and thus becoming part of the BLS labor force population.

Via: CNS News

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These 11 universities are awful and should be demolished down right now

The Great Recession has put a lot of people out of work and has taken a huge bite out of the value of pretty much everybody’s real property values. It bankrupted some historic companies, too, including Lehman Brothers and General Motors.

Education is a sector of the economy — a pretty large sector — that has managed to survive the malaise mostly unscathed. American colleges have been able to hang on, virtually en masse, with the tenacity of cockroaches — thanks in no small part to federal largesse in the form of Pell Grants and subsidized student loans.

That’s sad, really, because many public and private colleges and universities are delivering a sloppy, unfinished product. The 2011 “Pathway to Prosperity” study conducted by Harvard University found that only 56 percent of students complete four-year programs in fewer than six years.

Graduation rates don’t always accurately reflect the dropout rate. Some students don’t graduate because they leave at the first opportunity for better schools, for example. Also, students who obtain two-year degrees get missed in any four-year graduation count.

Still, way too many public and private nonprofit schools produce deplorable results — leaving dropouts on the hook for student loans and with little else, and leaving the government out billions in wasted grant money.

The slideshow below presents some of the worst offenders. Hopefully, your alma mater isn’t on the list. It’s probably not, though, because graduation rates are so low.

Via: The Daily Caller

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Is The United States Going To Go To War With Syria Over A Natural Gas Pipeline?

Is The United States Going To Go To War With Syria Over A Natural Gas Pipeline?

 

Why has the little nation of Qatar spent 3 billion dollars to support the rebels in Syria?  Could it be because Qatar is the largest exporter of liquid natural gas in the world and Assad won't let them build a natural gas pipeline through Syria?  Of course.  Qatar wants to install a puppet regime in Syria that will allow them to build a pipeline which will enable them to sell lots and lots of natural gas to Europe.  Why is Saudi Arabia spending huge amounts of money to help the rebels and why has Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan been "jetting from covert command centers near the Syrian front lines to the Élysée Palace in Paris and the Kremlin in Moscow, seeking to undermine the Assad regime"?  Well, it turns out that Saudi Arabia intends to install their own puppet government in Syria which will allow the Saudis to control the flow of energy through the region.  On the other side, Russia very much prefers the Assad regime for a whole bunch of reasons.  One of those reasons is that Assad is helping to block the flow of natural gas out of the Persian Gulf into Europe, thus ensuring higher profits for Gazprom.  Now the United States is getting directly involved in the conflict.  If the U.S. is successful in getting rid of the Assad regime, it will be good for either the Saudis or Qatar (and possibly for both), and it will be really bad for Russia.  This is a strategic geopolitical conflict about natural resources, religion and money, and it really has nothing to do with chemical weapons at all.

 

It has been common knowledge that Qatar has desperately wanted to construct a natural gas pipeline that will enable it to get natural gas to Europe for a very long time...

Via: The Economic Collapse

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WEAK: JUST 169,000 NEW JOBS CREATED IN AUGUST, BAD DOWNWARD REVISIONS, LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE FALLS

There were just 169K new jobs created in August.

Private payrolls came in at 152,000 new jobs vs. expectations of 180,000.

What's worse. Last month was revised SHARPLY down from 162 to 104K. That is quite ominous.

June was also revised down, from 172K to 188.

The unemployment rate did, however, drop to 7.3%, but that's basically just due to continued exodus from the workforce.

The participation rate fell to 63.2% from 63.4%.

Snap reaction: this could delay the Fed's drive to reduce the pace of bond buying. The consensus had been that starting in September, the Fed would begin the so-called "taper" but right now the market is calling that bluff. Gold is surging, the dollar is tumbling, the US 10-year is seeing yields go down. And stocks are actually rising.

You can read the full report from the BLS here.

Via: Business Insider

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WATCH: Arizona Voters Savage John McCain’s Syria Support at Town Hall

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) came face-to-face with his constituents Thursday during a tense town hall event in Phoenix, Arizona. The senator, who has perhaps been the loudest Republican voice supporting military action in Syria met voters who were vehemently opposed to intervention and let their voices be heard.

According to a report by CNN’s Kevin Liptak, one man told McCain, “We didn’t send you to make war for us. We sent you to stop the war,” drawing applause from the crowd. Another man held up a bag on marshmallows, telling him, “This is what I think of Congress. They are a bunch of marshmallows. That’s what they are. That’s what they’ve become. Why are you not listening to the people and staying out of Syria? It’s not our fight.”

Videos captured at the event show McCain contending with the often angry crowd. At one point, a man repeatedly attempted to interrupt McCain mid-speech, causing the senator to stop and address him. “What you’re doing is not just disrespectful to me, but disrespectful to others who want their opinions and views heard.”

Later, a woman who said she had a young cousin living in Syria delivered an emotional plea to McCain. “For me, to listen to you say there is no good option in Syria-–I refuse to believe that,” she told him. “The good option right now is to take Saudi Arabia and Iran and force them to stop supporting the two sides in Syria. And you could do it. You can do it by diplomacy, not bombs, Sen. McCain. We cannot afford to shed more Syrian blood.”

McCain thanked the woman, who got loud support from the crowd, for her “emotional plea,” but disputed what he saw as her support for the Assad regime. “To say that Bashar Assad is anything but a merciless butcher, then we have a strong disagreement.”

Watch the two exchanges in the video below:

Via: Mediaite.com

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