Well, another Thanksgiving is about to descend upon us and our Republic survives still. For that I am eternally grateful. Watching the news--a bad habit--one could conclude that we are in the final moments of our existence. The breathless reporting by the mad mainstream media mob (M4) would have you believe that we have placed Hitler--or worse--in the White House but that the "walls are closing in on him" because he is an idiot but extremely smart . . . yeah, right. They have been predicting the imminent demise of the Trump presidency since he took office, and have worked tirelessly to make the prediction come true. Ol' Ironsides Trump, however, has withstood the enemy's broadsides and returned some highly effective fire of his own. May he continue to do so!
I have never before seen such a pitiful collection of candidates for the highest office in the land as the bunch the Dems and their media acolytes seek to push on us. Who are these people? It would be hard to put together a more motley collection of has-beens, never-weres, and never will-bes, especially a collection we are supposed to take seriously as potential leaders of the Republic.
The Dems will lose in 2020: I have no doubt. My concern for the Republic, however, extends to 2024. Not only do the Republicans have nobody who can continue the Trumpian Revolution but the Dems and the Progs in general are quite adept at making their insane ideas of today become the "accepted" wisdom of the day after tomorrow. Look at insanity such as gay marriage, the LGBQT nonsense, the climate hoax, and so on. See what I mean?
If there is a "flaw" to the Trumpian Revolution it is that it has effectively destroyed the Republican party without finding a replacement. At least, not yet. Now, of course, the GOP needed destroying as it had become a sclerotic, "me too," partner of the progs in DC, but what will replace it or recharge it? I don't know.
I worry that, in Simon Bolivar's words, we "have been plowing in the sea". Will it all make a difference in the long run? It certainly won't if we don't completely redo our decrepit system of higher education, which now is neither. We can't keep turning out illiterate morons and expect things to get gooder.
My number two son got married last week in a nice little ceremony in Raleigh. I gave him an AK as a wedding present in the hopes that he would turn his event into an Afghan wedding--you know, wrap a rag around your head, jump onto the bed of a pick-up truck, start babbling some nonsense, and pour a steady stream of hot lead into the heavens above. But, no . . . the kids are wimps nowadays . . . nothing like that happened.
Anyhow, the Diplowife and I are off to Raleigh for Thanksgiving with all the kids and their significant others as we pay tribute to that intrepid band of freedom-seeking Englishmen known as the Pilgrims. I am taking along my new (yes) Wilson EDC X9 (had to replace the one my wife took from me) and a new SIG 1911 Emperor. Hope to get in some range time. All the best to all of you--well, except for that anonymous cowardly idiot and liar who keeps writing libelous crap about me in the comments section (my lawyer is interested)--and will try to keep some embers of optimism glowing.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Impeachment Miracle: The Democrats Make the Blind Walk and the Lame See!
It's been a gruesome handful of days watching the public hearings in the so-called "Impeachment Inquiry." The whole thing has been a disgraceful and irrelevant waste of time and taxpayer money and I hope the voters remember that next November.
So what did we see and hear? Well, we saw and heard our intrepid career Foreign Service Officers in full pompous lecturing glory. I am ashamed to have been in their ranks. They really had absolutely nothing to offer in terms of any "high crimes and misdemeanors" committed by our President. I heard from them a lot of "I assumed" and "I presumed" and "I thought," etc. It all came across as a bunch of low to mid-rank careerists and sloppy political appointees upset that the President had bypassed or ignored them, and angry that he had the temerity to set and conduct foreign policy without necessarily relying on all the talking points and memos prepared for him by the layers upon layers of bureaucrats that, unfortunately, surround that office.
The President is his own man, and that is an unforgivable sin for the herd of swamp creatures in DC.
We got lots of irrelevant lectures on the "importance" of Ukraine and how only the "experts" understood that and the great difficulties they had in getting President Trump to agree. Poor, poor babies.
I found Fiona Hill insufferable and David Holmes unbearable. Both thought a great deal about themselves.
Mr., er, uh, Lt. Col Vindman was a complete boob of a type I have encountered many times in DC: the mid-level bureaucrat who feels ignored by those above him who are clearly his intellectual inferiors. I find it surprising that nobody at the hearings sprang on him when he admitted briefing at least two people who had NOT been in on the July 25 call with the Ukrainian President. Who gave him the authority to do that? He should have had his security clearance yanked immediately. He obviously was the source for the so-called "whistleblower."
The only ones I thought came off as serious persons were Ambassador Volker who stuck to what he knew and saw, and Undersecretary Hale who proved very restrained and professional. The rest, blah, forget them. Nonsense.
Trump 2020.
So what did we see and hear? Well, we saw and heard our intrepid career Foreign Service Officers in full pompous lecturing glory. I am ashamed to have been in their ranks. They really had absolutely nothing to offer in terms of any "high crimes and misdemeanors" committed by our President. I heard from them a lot of "I assumed" and "I presumed" and "I thought," etc. It all came across as a bunch of low to mid-rank careerists and sloppy political appointees upset that the President had bypassed or ignored them, and angry that he had the temerity to set and conduct foreign policy without necessarily relying on all the talking points and memos prepared for him by the layers upon layers of bureaucrats that, unfortunately, surround that office.
The President is his own man, and that is an unforgivable sin for the herd of swamp creatures in DC.
We got lots of irrelevant lectures on the "importance" of Ukraine and how only the "experts" understood that and the great difficulties they had in getting President Trump to agree. Poor, poor babies.
I found Fiona Hill insufferable and David Holmes unbearable. Both thought a great deal about themselves.
Mr., er, uh, Lt. Col Vindman was a complete boob of a type I have encountered many times in DC: the mid-level bureaucrat who feels ignored by those above him who are clearly his intellectual inferiors. I find it surprising that nobody at the hearings sprang on him when he admitted briefing at least two people who had NOT been in on the July 25 call with the Ukrainian President. Who gave him the authority to do that? He should have had his security clearance yanked immediately. He obviously was the source for the so-called "whistleblower."
The only ones I thought came off as serious persons were Ambassador Volker who stuck to what he knew and saw, and Undersecretary Hale who proved very restrained and professional. The rest, blah, forget them. Nonsense.
Trump 2020.
Monday, November 18, 2019
Impeachment Hearings: Ego and the Ambassador, and a Mistake by President Trump
I'll keep this short. I don't want to repeat unnecessarily the themes I laid out in my post of November 13 discussing the testimony of Kent and Taylor.
Many of you likely watched the Congressional impeachment testimony by former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. Both the Diplowife and I kept shaking our heads while Yovanovitch spoke; at the end of it all, the Diplowife said to me, "This is why the Foreign Service has such a bad reputation." I agreed with the Diplowife; in sum, I found it an embarrassing spectacle.
Just a few notes.
I hate false bravado. The whole "we are the hostages of Tehran, the martyrs of Tripoli" shtick in defense of the Foreign Service was almost more than I could bear. I have never heard a military man or woman do something similar. Braggadocio is not a trait of the best of our military, and should not be a feature anywhere else in our bureaucracy. It was all rather embarrassing, particularly given that both the hostages in Tehran and the dead in Tripoli were abandoned to their fate by lefty Democrat policies and administrations--something I wish the Republicans had pointed out.
Even worse, however, was the whole "our foreign policy in Ukraine is in disarray" meme. When you hear somebody from State say that, remember what they generally mean is that the President has not done what the "experts" told him to do. It also means, more importantly, that he hasn't filled all the jobs at State that State says it needs to do the wasteful foolishness that State does much if not most of the time.
Yovanovitch, and before her Kent and Taylor, gave totally tone deaf but standard State Department talking point/memo-type speeches laying out the great importance of Ukraine to our national interests. Yawn. You know how many papers of that sort I have written? I am ashamed to tell you. Be it Guatemala, Sri Lanka, Central African Republic, Tuvalu, or San Marino, any career Department sort can turn out a paper in an instant as to why any country, no matter how insignificant in reality, is in the forefront of American interests. We must promote good governance in Togo to defend our vital core interests . . . . yeah, yeah, yeah.
Also please note the unvarnished arrogance of the Ambassador. She was named to the position under Obama about six months before the end of that execrable misadministration. A standard tour, if there is one, for an Ambassador is about two to three years. More important, however, please note that ALL AMBASSADORS, I repeat, ALL AMBASSADORS must submit their resignations when a new President comes in. That includes career Foreign Service Ambassadors, which is why I wrote ALL, a little something that much of the media reporting has "missed." The new President has the right to accept the resignation or not.
In hindsight, it would seem the President made a mistake keeping Yovanovitch at her post. She, for example, was clearly aware of the potential problem of having Hunter Biden on the board of the Ukranian Burisma Holdings company at the same time that Joe Biden served not only as Vice-President but as "point-man"for Obama on Ukraine policy. She said nothing. She was also aware of the involvement of senior Ukrainian officials interfering in our 2016 elections on behalf of Hillary Clinton. She said nothing.
She had the nerve to claim that Trump was undermining HER position as Ambassador, and, thus, of course, he was undermining US foreign policy! She breathlessly informed us that after about two-plus years at her post, Ukrainians were asking her if she was going to be replaced. Horrors! Ukrainians can do math. They knew that her usual tour likely would be coming to an end. The President does not need to undermine her; he can yank her out any time for any reason or even for no reason. Ambassadors, as well as FBI and CIA Directors, etc., serve at the pleasure of the President. Period. She must have thought she was King Louis XIV, you know, 'L'état, c'est moi'. But to be kind, let's just agree that she is just another in a long line of State officials who seem to have forgotten that the President sets and directs foreign policy, not State.
Ambassadors work for and represent the President not the State Department, a little fact that many career FSOs seem to forget.
Off to play with my dogs: they know who sets policy around here . . . I think . . .
Many of you likely watched the Congressional impeachment testimony by former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. Both the Diplowife and I kept shaking our heads while Yovanovitch spoke; at the end of it all, the Diplowife said to me, "This is why the Foreign Service has such a bad reputation." I agreed with the Diplowife; in sum, I found it an embarrassing spectacle.
Just a few notes.
I hate false bravado. The whole "we are the hostages of Tehran, the martyrs of Tripoli" shtick in defense of the Foreign Service was almost more than I could bear. I have never heard a military man or woman do something similar. Braggadocio is not a trait of the best of our military, and should not be a feature anywhere else in our bureaucracy. It was all rather embarrassing, particularly given that both the hostages in Tehran and the dead in Tripoli were abandoned to their fate by lefty Democrat policies and administrations--something I wish the Republicans had pointed out.
Even worse, however, was the whole "our foreign policy in Ukraine is in disarray" meme. When you hear somebody from State say that, remember what they generally mean is that the President has not done what the "experts" told him to do. It also means, more importantly, that he hasn't filled all the jobs at State that State says it needs to do the wasteful foolishness that State does much if not most of the time.
Yovanovitch, and before her Kent and Taylor, gave totally tone deaf but standard State Department talking point/memo-type speeches laying out the great importance of Ukraine to our national interests. Yawn. You know how many papers of that sort I have written? I am ashamed to tell you. Be it Guatemala, Sri Lanka, Central African Republic, Tuvalu, or San Marino, any career Department sort can turn out a paper in an instant as to why any country, no matter how insignificant in reality, is in the forefront of American interests. We must promote good governance in Togo to defend our vital core interests . . . . yeah, yeah, yeah.
Also please note the unvarnished arrogance of the Ambassador. She was named to the position under Obama about six months before the end of that execrable misadministration. A standard tour, if there is one, for an Ambassador is about two to three years. More important, however, please note that ALL AMBASSADORS, I repeat, ALL AMBASSADORS must submit their resignations when a new President comes in. That includes career Foreign Service Ambassadors, which is why I wrote ALL, a little something that much of the media reporting has "missed." The new President has the right to accept the resignation or not.
In hindsight, it would seem the President made a mistake keeping Yovanovitch at her post. She, for example, was clearly aware of the potential problem of having Hunter Biden on the board of the Ukranian Burisma Holdings company at the same time that Joe Biden served not only as Vice-President but as "point-man"for Obama on Ukraine policy. She said nothing. She was also aware of the involvement of senior Ukrainian officials interfering in our 2016 elections on behalf of Hillary Clinton. She said nothing.
She had the nerve to claim that Trump was undermining HER position as Ambassador, and, thus, of course, he was undermining US foreign policy! She breathlessly informed us that after about two-plus years at her post, Ukrainians were asking her if she was going to be replaced. Horrors! Ukrainians can do math. They knew that her usual tour likely would be coming to an end. The President does not need to undermine her; he can yank her out any time for any reason or even for no reason. Ambassadors, as well as FBI and CIA Directors, etc., serve at the pleasure of the President. Period. She must have thought she was King Louis XIV, you know, 'L'état, c'est moi'. But to be kind, let's just agree that she is just another in a long line of State officials who seem to have forgotten that the President sets and directs foreign policy, not State.
Ambassadors work for and represent the President not the State Department, a little fact that many career FSOs seem to forget.
Off to play with my dogs: they know who sets policy around here . . . I think . . .
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Impeachment Hearings: New Whine in an Old Battle
Despite having just bought a new Sig P226 Legion and a Sig P365 (both excellent), I spent much of the day listening to the so-called impeachment hearings . . . sigh . . . gotta get a life.
I don't know what was more depressing, the hearings themselves or the comments afterwards by the so-called punditry class. These pundits, left and right, were chattering on and on about "take-aways" from the testimony. Yes, Bill, there was this and there was that, and, of course, that there . . . PLEASE STOP!
Let me give you the one take-away y'all need, and remember this comes from a former denizen of the Foggy Bottom Swamp, one who used to swim and crawl with all them swamp creatures.
What you saw were a couple of career dips--neither of whom I know personally--whining a familiar whine that one can hear echoing in the halls of Foggy Bottom and just about anywhere else where "PROFESSIONAL" civil servants congregate. What is it? Simple: THEY are not paying attention to us!
You saw Ambassador Taylor and Deputy Assistant Secretary Kent all in a knot because the President had an "irregular" channel he used to conduct foreign policy in Ukraine. Wow! I didn't realize that we had elected Taylor and Kent!
Let me put it in nice simple terms so that the Swamp Beings will understand: The President sets and conducts foreign policy, not State, not the NSC, not the DOD, not any other alphabet agency. He does not have to go through State or NSC to conduct said policy; he does not have to consult with Kent or Taylor or anybody else on Ukraine or any other aspect of foreign policy.
All Presidents have used "irregular" channels going back at least to Woodrow Wilson and Colonel House. All have used messengers and negotiators outside the established bureaucracy for different diplomatic missions. There is nothing unusual or illegal or impeachable for doing this. The bureaucracy doesn't like it, so what?
More of this "impeachment" nonsense to come.
I don't know what was more depressing, the hearings themselves or the comments afterwards by the so-called punditry class. These pundits, left and right, were chattering on and on about "take-aways" from the testimony. Yes, Bill, there was this and there was that, and, of course, that there . . . PLEASE STOP!
Let me give you the one take-away y'all need, and remember this comes from a former denizen of the Foggy Bottom Swamp, one who used to swim and crawl with all them swamp creatures.
What you saw were a couple of career dips--neither of whom I know personally--whining a familiar whine that one can hear echoing in the halls of Foggy Bottom and just about anywhere else where "PROFESSIONAL" civil servants congregate. What is it? Simple: THEY are not paying attention to us!
You saw Ambassador Taylor and Deputy Assistant Secretary Kent all in a knot because the President had an "irregular" channel he used to conduct foreign policy in Ukraine. Wow! I didn't realize that we had elected Taylor and Kent!
Let me put it in nice simple terms so that the Swamp Beings will understand: The President sets and conducts foreign policy, not State, not the NSC, not the DOD, not any other alphabet agency. He does not have to go through State or NSC to conduct said policy; he does not have to consult with Kent or Taylor or anybody else on Ukraine or any other aspect of foreign policy.
All Presidents have used "irregular" channels going back at least to Woodrow Wilson and Colonel House. All have used messengers and negotiators outside the established bureaucracy for different diplomatic missions. There is nothing unusual or illegal or impeachable for doing this. The bureaucracy doesn't like it, so what?
More of this "impeachment" nonsense to come.
Saturday, November 2, 2019
Developments in Crazy World and Some Fun Stuff
Let me start with the fun stuff, and gradually move into Crazy World.
Sitting at home somewhat bored with the news, I went on a rearmament binge not seen since 1940. Several bright new toys have joined the Diploarmory in past few weeks. I might have mentioned some, but not others. I now have a VERY nice Nighthawk Custom Falcon .45 which shoots much better than I do. It competes with my Wilson Combat .45. I also added another Wilson EDC 9 to my collection as the Diplowife fell in love with the first EDC 9 and declared it HERS! She obviously was inspired by Beto. I also have purchased a Colt Delta Elie in 10mm which shoots extremely well; it had some feeding problems but those have gone away as I have broken in the weapon. Very accurate with a recoil not unlike that of a .45, except when I use some hot self-defense rounds. Wow! Also, as I might have mentioned, got two Ruger single action "cowboy" guns one in .45 and the other in .22 Mag. Both are a lot of fun. They pal around with my new Ruger SP-101 Performance Center 8-shot in .357. I was going to provide photos, but I am terrible at that sort of high-tech stuff. Just for kicks I am looking at buying a Remington RP9, as I want to see what's available for under $400. Anyhow, lots of ammo being blasted and fun being employed to cancel out the fake news noise.
Also on the fun side, I was delighted to see that ISIS despot Al Baghdadi got his reward, as did his number two. Here the fun, unfortunately, begins to merge with Crazy World. I found hilarious how difficult it is for the fake newsers and the DemProgs to acknowledge that this is a good thing, a very good thing. Instead they are focused on whether or not A.B., in fact, "whimpered" and "died like a dog." He's dead. Good. Wonderful. I wish all those other ISIS "austere religious scholars" go the same way.
As I have said before, however, if we are serious about fighting these killers, we have to start by not letting them into our countries. It seems odd that we are concerned about Jewish settlements in so-called "Palestine," but welcome Islamist settlements in the West.
Impeachment. There I said it. I hate the whole boring topic but can't avoid it. This is merely part 358 of the ongoing effort by the inhabitants of Crazy World to undo the 2016 elections. Crazy World has been trying to "impeach" Trump since before he swore the oath of office. Nobody can tell me what laws or Constitutional provisions Trump has violated; where are the high crimes and misdemeanors? Certainly none is in evidence in the transcript of the phone call--the real one, not the fake one that the execrable Adam Schiff "read" into the record. The one good thing about the fake "impeachment" effort is that it cancels out the DemProg candidates. All the oxygen is being sucked out of the room, and nobody is listening to that panel of crazies seeking the highest office in the land.
Maybe that's the plan? The DNC hopes that nobody will focus on or even hear the craziness emanating from those loons? I guess that's a strategy, or what passes for one in Crazy World.
Back to my dogs, at least they are not crazy.
Sitting at home somewhat bored with the news, I went on a rearmament binge not seen since 1940. Several bright new toys have joined the Diploarmory in past few weeks. I might have mentioned some, but not others. I now have a VERY nice Nighthawk Custom Falcon .45 which shoots much better than I do. It competes with my Wilson Combat .45. I also added another Wilson EDC 9 to my collection as the Diplowife fell in love with the first EDC 9 and declared it HERS! She obviously was inspired by Beto. I also have purchased a Colt Delta Elie in 10mm which shoots extremely well; it had some feeding problems but those have gone away as I have broken in the weapon. Very accurate with a recoil not unlike that of a .45, except when I use some hot self-defense rounds. Wow! Also, as I might have mentioned, got two Ruger single action "cowboy" guns one in .45 and the other in .22 Mag. Both are a lot of fun. They pal around with my new Ruger SP-101 Performance Center 8-shot in .357. I was going to provide photos, but I am terrible at that sort of high-tech stuff. Just for kicks I am looking at buying a Remington RP9, as I want to see what's available for under $400. Anyhow, lots of ammo being blasted and fun being employed to cancel out the fake news noise.
Also on the fun side, I was delighted to see that ISIS despot Al Baghdadi got his reward, as did his number two. Here the fun, unfortunately, begins to merge with Crazy World. I found hilarious how difficult it is for the fake newsers and the DemProgs to acknowledge that this is a good thing, a very good thing. Instead they are focused on whether or not A.B., in fact, "whimpered" and "died like a dog." He's dead. Good. Wonderful. I wish all those other ISIS "austere religious scholars" go the same way.
As I have said before, however, if we are serious about fighting these killers, we have to start by not letting them into our countries. It seems odd that we are concerned about Jewish settlements in so-called "Palestine," but welcome Islamist settlements in the West.
Impeachment. There I said it. I hate the whole boring topic but can't avoid it. This is merely part 358 of the ongoing effort by the inhabitants of Crazy World to undo the 2016 elections. Crazy World has been trying to "impeach" Trump since before he swore the oath of office. Nobody can tell me what laws or Constitutional provisions Trump has violated; where are the high crimes and misdemeanors? Certainly none is in evidence in the transcript of the phone call--the real one, not the fake one that the execrable Adam Schiff "read" into the record. The one good thing about the fake "impeachment" effort is that it cancels out the DemProg candidates. All the oxygen is being sucked out of the room, and nobody is listening to that panel of crazies seeking the highest office in the land.
Maybe that's the plan? The DNC hopes that nobody will focus on or even hear the craziness emanating from those loons? I guess that's a strategy, or what passes for one in Crazy World.
Back to my dogs, at least they are not crazy.
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