General Petraeus Takes a Nap

The major news media has reported that General David Petraeus fainted during a Senate conference. Watching the video, it does not appear to be exactly correct. He may have just nodded off. Since Senator McCain was speaking at the time, boredom was the probable cause of the generals sleepiness. Indeed, soldiers from time in memorial have been known to fall asleep in just about any circumstance. Recruits in training, who might be running, marching, or doing calisthenics out in the elements, inevitable fall asleep when they are herded into an auditorium for a class. The drill instructors themselves nod off unless they remain active walking around waking people up.

High ranking officers also fall asleep during briefings and classes. Not getting enough sleep is of course the main reason but also boredom from having hearing the same thing so many times contributes. They usually are left to sleep. Listening to presentations by non-military official is probably the hardest thing for a soldier to take. The main issue to the military mind is what to do next. Civilians briefings are usually highly irrelevant to that immediate practical concern. General von Hindenburg at the Brest-Litovsk negotiations performed the most famous snooze. The doplomats finally had to wake him up to ask why he insisted on occupation of the Baltic countries as part of any cease fire agreement. He stated that Germany needed it for the army's left flank in the next war. He then resumed his nap.

Incidentally, the name Petreaus is somewhat similar to Paulus. Besides starting with 'P', they both have latinized endings. Both generals commanded a large army in the farthest eastern advance of their respective forces. General Paulus of course commanded the 20 division strong 6th German Army in the attack of Stalingrad. After months of heroic efforts, 6th Army succeeded is taking Stalingrad for the most part. However, it became trapped when Russian offensives cut through his flanks and rear. General Paulus' chief failings were thinking like an overly bureaucratic staff officer and trusting Adolph Hitler. General Petraeus commands in Afghanistan. He has not suffered the fate of General Field Marchall Paulus (or of the British in Afghanistan for that matter). It occurs to this writer to ponder how he would escape from Afghanistan if Pakistan fell in an Islamic coupe.

Glenn Beck and Global Elite Greed

Obama and his progressive / socialist / Communist coalition are issuing orders regarding so-called global warming CO2 production. Yes, as has been the view of this blog since post number one, this is potentially, and eventually if they get their way, extremely destructive to this country. It is also of nil value in affecting any climate change, even if we needed climate modification, which we do not. The new orders regarding taxation of energy usage will, at least at first, come from the EPA, not from congress. That is chiefly to avoid any congressional debate that could embarrass congressional supporters. Cap-and-Trade is an unpopular idea, as well it should be. It is a destructive attempt to solve a non-existent problem. (That is the non-cynical explanation.) Unfortunately, the evidence is piling up that their aim is strictly financial. Yes, that's right: greed. At the top of the heap are Gore and his compadres and corporate controllers, such as GE, and, who knows who else? They say it's the global elite's plan for world domination and fantastic profits via government sponsored piracy. That cynical explanation is shaping up to be more and more plausible and Glenn Beck is making more and more sense.

By the way, Mr. Beck's poem, actually Rudyard Kipling's, has AL Gore's poem beat by miles. By the way, the Huffington Post does not think very highly of it. It's not that they don't see the point, but it gets too much to their heart of darkness. How Prophetic:


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Gods of the Copybook Headings


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




AS I PASS through my incarnations in every age and race,
I make my proper prostrations to the Gods of the Market Place.
Peering through reverent fingers I watch them flourish and fall,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings, I notice, outlast them all.

We were living in trees when they met us. They showed us each in turn
That Water would certainly wet us, as Fire would certainly burn:
But we found them lacking in Uplift, Vision and Breadth of Mind,
So we left them to teach the Gorillas while we followed the March of Mankind.

We moved as the Spirit listed. They never altered their pace,
Being neither cloud nor wind-borne like the Gods of the Market Place,
But they always caught up with our progress, and presently word would come
That a tribe had been wiped off its icefield, or the lights had gone out in Rome.

With the Hopes that our World is built on they were utterly out of touch,
They denied that the Moon was Stilton; they denied she was even Dutch;
They denied that Wishes were Horses; they denied that a Pig had Wings;
So we worshipped the Gods of the Market Who promised these beautiful things.

When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace.
They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.
But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "Stick to the Devil you know."

On the first Feminian Sandstones we were promised the Fuller Life
(Which started by loving our neighbour and ended by loving his wife)
Till our women had no more children and the men lost reason and faith,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "The Wages of Sin is Death."

In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."

Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew
And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true
That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.

As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man
There are only four things certain since Social Progress began.
That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,
And the burnt Fool's bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire;

And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!

Obama Kicks Arse

President Obama says he wants to kick some ass regarding the Gulf oil leak. He has certainly been kicking arse regarding foreign policy. The Obama doctrine is ARSA.

A: Appease
R: Retreat
S: Surrender
A: Apologise

Will War Save the Obama Presidency?

The nations of the world are disingenuously venting their indignation toward Israel just as our press is wrongly characterizing the Arizona matter. The negativity directed toward both is unfounded when the facts are actually considered. The Arizona law is no more stringent that the US Code. It calls for enforcement by state police of illegally present foreign nationals, which is nothing that is not already being done. Moreover, the law itself, by its own terms, several times states that racial profiling is not allowed. Anyway, the opponents admit to not even knowing what the law actually says. Neither do the opponents of Israel seem to know what actually happened regarding the boarding of the Turkish ship by Israeli commandos. Israel has been stopping all shipping to the Gaza strip for three years. "Humanitarian aid," which means almost anything short of weapons or terrorists is allowed in.

The captains of these Turkish flagged ships knew that there was a blockade. They were either trying to get contraband in or trying to create an incident. It appears that both motives may have been involved. The worse result would be for Israel to cave to international pressure and stop the blockade, thus allowing their enemies in Gaza to rearm. They may be forced to do just that if the Turkish or some other power's navy protects the next convoy and no power supports Israel.

A strong US foreign policy response is called for. Such as: inform Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, maybe a few others, that the US requests their moral support for Israel in the UN. If not, we should advise them that we intend to withdraw from the UN. We should indeed withdraw if we do not receive some support for the US and Israel.

A great speech opportunity for a senior US diplomat would then arise. He or she could recount, before the UN, the various failings of that organisation over the years and its refusal to support the US at critical junctures. (Our diplomat should attempt to sound like an offended Frenchman as much as possible.) The speech would then briefly touch on the relevant details of the current Israeli incident and the frankly disingenuous response of most of the world. Our diplomat should then gather his notes into his attache case and walk out. Of course the current administration is joining in the unfounded attack on Israel so there is little chance of the proper response. On the other hand, even Obama may see a strong response as the best chance to avoid war. War of course probably saved the FDR presidency but that would not happen for Obama. The nation's voters would recognise that he is the last person, along with his cohorts, to be in office during a serious war.

Wall Street Takeover

My message to the LA Times Editorial blog today regarding the passage by the Senate of the Wall Street Takeover: "Correct, this is not reform in that it does not make things better. It limits competition and creates further barriers to entry. It makes the few favoured firms of Big Finance virtual partners with Big Government (along with Big Pharma, Big Auto, Big Agra, Big Ed, Big Labor, Big Energy, Big Media...). It adds ups to Big Brother. My opinion. - Jean-Baptiste of blogspot"

The bill cannot be stopped by fillibuster now because some loathsome Republican Senator(s) voted for it.

Tea Party vs. Big Government Big Business Progressives

After the latest Senate vote failed to pass the Financial "Reform" bill, one of the Democrat senators stated that big money had won out over the little guy. She and other Democrats were for the "little guy." Nothing could be further from the truth. The progressive plans of those who currently wield povernment power, that is BHO and the Democrat Party, are and always have been very close to big business of all kinds. They need one another. Politicians need the donations, which they can obtain by promises, trickery, bribes, extortion, and black mail. Industries need government to give them favorable treatment over their competitors. Big spenders in government are also some of their best customers.

The so called Progressives are the masters of the big government big business game. Progressives need a lot of power to implement their schemes because they have the biggest schemes, so they need big money support. Usually they will dump their supporters after they serve their purpose. For example, communists use the big unions to obtain power. After communists gain power, workers essentially become slaves.

Now there are dozens of progressive plans gaining support in Congress or waiting on the sidelines. Big Government is pushing bills to support Big Pharma: regulate their natural supplement competitors. Big Agriculture: remove limits and stigma attached to genetic modified food. Big Labor: dozens of ideas, such as the Card Check bill. Big Media: Propaganda directed against competitors ("Net Neutrality"), and maybe eventual bailouts for failing liberal news outlets. Big Medicine: Government Health Care. Big Energy: Cap-and-Trade. Big Finance: "Reform" proposals (which will destroy competition and make the big remaining companies virtual government partners.) Big Education: Bailouts and grants for state education (with plenty of strings attached) to support high teacher unionized salaries and benefits.

The business government bandito business goes on with Democrats and Republicans both. However, the Demos, being bigger spenders, have the most to offer. This is exactly what the Tea Party is about, ending the government business spoil system that is bankrupting the country. Luckily we still have a semi-free press for the most part which is exposing their schemes as quick as they pop up. For example, from what little I know about the recent book, "The Manchurian President," many of the progressive, communist, money, power connections are explored vis-a-vis the Obama phenomenon.

One of Washington State's congressional members seems to be a poster child for a lot of these progressive schemes. Jay Inslee's web site:

http://jayinslee.com/index.php?page=display&id=83

Coast to Coast Does not Quite Get It

I usually spend the weekend working outside, visiting friends, or running around dong the things that I do not have time for all week. By 9:00 or so I usually am home trying to get caught up on indoor chores. Inevitably, I turn the radio on. I do not watch television because it requires your complete attention. You can't do anything else. Usually I listen to to Coast to Coast AM with George Noori, who took over for Art Bell. As much as I disagree with the politics and economics of most guests, another guest always comes along to balance it out.

What they do not have, which is a shortcoming common to most news and commentary forums, is a true free market, libertarian, Austrian economic outlook. They do take cognizance of their existence but only long enough to mischaracterize and thereby dismiss their ideas. For instance tonight, Mr. Noori and the guest, author of "The Looting of America," talk about Ayan Rand. They decide that she and her like believe in "enlightened self interest." They define this as the belief that by seeking what is best for ourselves, we will serve society as a whole. Unfortunately, they say, this has not worked. They of course are ignoring for the most part the place for charity but this is only the trivial case. The more important issue they do not understand is the importance of distortions by government involvement.

This is exactly the error of progressives. Progressives create a vast regulatory structure in order to steer business in such a way that they will have an incentive to help society in general, as a by-product or directly by their profit seeking activity. This is doomed to failure. Finance, the most regulated business, follows the rules that government regulators set up. Within the framework, they find a way to make more money that the progressive like so the progressives say they are gaming the system. This is also a trivial aspects of what happens. More at the core is the implied government guarantee when they business follow the rules, against their better judgment. For example, when banks made government encouraged, sponsored, or even mandated risky loans, they were expecting some type of government bailout and playbacks. Financial engineers figured out how to make money on risky loans that government had encouraged them to do.

When things go wrong, as the schemes of the progressives eventually do, business is blamed and more regulations are enacted. There is always a new recipe to fix things. Very often, as now, capitalism itself is blamed. Mr. Noori favors a "moral capitalism." He has good instincts but is no match against the progressive plans. Progressives will never acknowledge that it is the regulation itself that leads to the problem. Business can never make a big mess on it own. The cooperation of or forcible intervention by government is needed to really screw things up.

Unfortunately, the guest on Coast to Coast tonight is essentially a progressive soldier. He is attacking banks and Wall Street, not to have a discussion on developing a theory of government and finance interface. His mission is to help get a regulatory bill past by this congress. In this he joins virtually all of the press. With BHO and his operatives pulling the strings, any bill passed now will be a virtual take over of the financial functions by the government.