Archive for 2017
May 31, 2017
U.S. MISSILE DEFENDERS NEED TO KEEP ON SHOOTING: My latest Creators Syndicate column. Yesterday’s test of the Ground-based Missile Defense system was successful. The interceptor downed an ICBM target missile. That’s good news. However, ugly domestic politics has slowed development and deployment of missile defense systems.
For over two decades, often-hysterical opposition from the American political left stalled deployment of an operational missile shield. Their hysteria was a fossil rite drawing on their Cold War opposition to President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative.
During the Clinton Administration, left-liberal Democrats ritually demonized missile-defense. Testing and development slowed. In 2003, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi opined: “The United States does not need a multi-billion-dollar national missile defense against the possibility of a nuclear-armed ICBM. What we need is a strong nonproliferation policy with other nations to combat the most serious threat to our national security.”
Hey Nancy, do you mean a strong nonproliferation policy, like the Clinton Administration’s 1994 Agreed Framework? That deal gave Kim Jong Un’s grandfather, Kim Il Sung, heavy fuel oil and technical assistance if Pyongyang shutdown its nuclear reactors producing weapons-grade plutonium. That charade failed, Nancy, utterly and completely.
Enjoy the whole thing.
HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Report: Middlebury prof attacked by mob still suffers from concussion. Since the college knows who did this, I’d sue them all personally. You can drag their suffering out for years, damage their credit, and harm their employment prospects, while making the college suffer.
SUB SURFACED AND DELIVERED: The Navy’s newest Virginia-class attack sub, the U.S.S. Washington. It’s named after the state of Washington. The USN took delivery of the sub May 26th. The last Navy ship named after the state of Washington was the battleship U.S.S. Washington (BB-56). It was decommissioned in 1947. The latest U.S.S. George Washington is a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.
There is a deep irony in the fact that Democrats are hysterically demanding investigations of President Trump and his campaign team, and in fact multiple investigations are now in progress, even though there is zero evidence that anyone associated with the president has done anything wrong. On the other hand, we now know for certain that the Obama administration weaponized the intelligence agencies in order to use them against political opponents, in a manner that is unprecedented, highly dangerous to our democracy, and criminal.
This scandal, which dwarfs anything of which the Trump team is even suspected, has been exposed and lies largely in plain sight for all to see. Yet it has generally been greeted with yawns, if acknowledged at all, by politicians and commentators.
I’m beginning to lose faith in the integrity of the system.
Plus: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions needs to ask: What did President Obama know, and when did he know it? Who else in his administration was responsible for the scandal? Where criminal prosecution is warranted, it is up to Justice to bring the cases.” (Bumped).
THE FAKE NEWS EXPLOSION: ‘Washington Post’ Reporter Frustrated Every Space In Parking Garage Taken Up By Anonymous Source.
K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: 6 Baltimore schools, no students proficient in state tests.
None, zero.
PROGRESSIVE DEMENTIA IS SAD: Pelosi struggles to call Trump president: ‘What’s his name?’
Plus: “Pelosi confessed she would ‘do anything’ to have George W. Bush as the GOP president over Trump. ”
It was only a matter of time:
WOW: US Missile Defense Successfully Shoots Down ICBM in First Live-Fire Test of Its Kind.
The Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) is designed to intercept and destroy missiles during the midcourse of their trajectory through space. Tuesday’s test was the first time the system had faced a live-fire ICBM-class test, MDA said in a press release.
The interceptor launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, and its “exo-atmospheric kill vehicle intercepted and destroyed the target in a direct collision,” the release said.
“The intercept of a complex, threat-representative ICBM target is an incredible accomplishment for the GMD system and a critical milestone for this program,” MDA Director Vice Adm. Jim Syring said in a statement. “This system is vitally important to the defense of our homeland, and this test demonstrates that we have a capable, credible deterrent against a very real threat.”
I know a couple of the people involved in this test, and they’ve been working hard for years to make it a success — they must be feeling very proud this morning.
AMERICA FIRST DOESN’T MEAN AMERICA ALONE: H.R. McMaster and Gary Cohn in The Wall Street Journal.
…America First does not mean America alone. It is a commitment to protecting and advancing our vital interests while also fostering cooperation and strengthening relationships with our allies and partners. A determination to stand up for our people and our way of life deepens our friends’ respect for America.
The president is unequivocal in declaring that America’s primary interest is the safety and security of our citizens. In discussions overseas, Mr. Trump encouraged others to join the U.S. in doing more to defeat the terrorist organizations that threaten peaceful nations around the world. He challenged leaders of more than 50 Muslim-majority countries to stand together “against the murder of innocent Muslims, the oppression of women, the persecution of Jews, and the slaughter of Christians.”
A strong stand against terrorism is consistent with values common across all the world’s great religions. After the president’s historic remarks, leader after leader of Muslim-majority nations reaffirmed the president’s message and committed to confronting the terrorism and extremism that plague all civilized societies. To answer the call and address these grave concerns, Saudi Arabia launched a new Global Center for Combatting Extremist Ideology, and several Middle Eastern nations signed a memorandum of understanding to create the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center, with the mission of cutting off funds to terrorist organizations.
More:
This historic trip represented a strategic shift for the United States. America First signals the restoration of American leadership and our government’s traditional role overseas—to use the diplomatic, economic and military resources of the U.S. to enhance American security, promote American prosperity, and extend American influence around the world.
Read the whole thing.
AT AMAZON, 70% off or More on Swimming Goggles.
I AGREE. WHY, JUST A FEW YEARS AGO THE NEW YORK TIMES WAS TELLING US THAT THE FILIBUSTER IS RACIST. Trump calls for end to filibuster.
President Trump on Tuesday called for the Senate to end the filibuster and allow legislation to pass with a simple majority, saying it would help his agenda to pass “fast and easy.”
“The U.S. Senate should switch to 51 votes, immediately, and get Healthcare and TAX CUTS approved, fast and easy. Dems would do it, no doubt!” Trump tweeted. In fact, the GOP can pass healthcare bills and tax reform with a 51-vote majority if Republicans can reach agreements among themselves.
Trump called earlier this month for the end of the filibuster, which essentially requires 60 votes for a bill to pass the Senate.
I agree.
USAF WANTS MORE C-5 TRANSPORTS ON THE FLIGHTLINE:
The Air Force plans to activate more C-5M Super Galaxies after removing a number of the cargo planes from active service due to budget constraints…A few years ago, the size of the fleet was more than 100 aircraft; today, it’s half of that, according to Gen. Carlton Everhart, the head of Air Mobility Command.
Indeed. If I recall correctly, someone wrote about the airlifter shortage just about three weeks ago…
CHANGE: Trump is pulling U.S. out of Paris climate deal.
President Trump has made his decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the decision. Details on how the withdrawal will be executed are being worked out by a small team including EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. They’re deciding on whether to initiate a full, formal withdrawal — which could take 3 years — or exit the underlying United Nations climate change treaty, which would be faster but more extreme.
Why this matters: Pulling out of Paris is the biggest thing Trump could do to unravel Obama’s climate legacy.
Live by the pen and phone, die by the pen and phone.
GOOD MORNING: Make it better with Liz Sheld’s morning brief.
HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: UC-Berkeley Adjunct Calls For Renaming Boalt Hall Due To John Boalt’s 1870s Anti-Chinese Racism.
DETERRENCE: Is it time to quit the ICBM race?
The Minuteman III was developed in the 1960s and first deployed in 1970. The nearly 50-year-old hardware is still working fine, but not without extensive maintenance.
“I look at the Minuteman III like a classic car,” said Col. Craig Ramsey, commander of the fleet’s flight test squadron at Vandenberg. “I love my 1966 Mustang, but it requires a lot of tender loving care and maintenance whether you drive it or leave it in the garage.”
At its peak in about 1990, the Air Force fielded 450 Minuteman IIs, 500 Minuteman IIIs and 50 Peacekeeper missiles, a total of 1,000 ICBMs that had more than 2,000 warheads on them. Today’s 400 Minuteman missiles each field a single warhead.
Pentagon officials want to replace almost the entire nuclear arsenal, at a cost of up to $1 trillion. But no component has raised more questions than the replacement of the ICBM fleet, which critics have said is no longer crucial to preventing a nuclear war.
The argument for eliminating ICBMs is stronger than at any time in the past. Advocates of that strategy say submarine-based missiles and strategic bombers have improved their capability and are now more than potent enough to deter an enemy attack.
Whether or not we still require a land-based missile force, that Russia and China can afford to modernize their forces while we apparently cannot, is a testament to just how broken our procurement system is.
SPENGLER: Merkel throws Trump in the briar patch.
Donald Trump and Angela Merkel now agree about the main issues in US-German relations. “The times in which we could rely fully on others — they are a way past us,” Merkel told a beer-tent rally of her political party. “We Europeans really have to take our fate into our own hands.” That is just what President Trump has been telling the Europeans since the beginning of last year’s US election campaign, demanding in particular that Europe pay more for its own defense. Both Trump and Merkel, moreover, say they want the Euro to strengthen against the U.S. dollar. That buries the two bones of contention between Berlin and Washington. Everything else is political posturing and fake news.
The German Chancellor in effect threatens to throw President Trump into the proverbial briar patch, giving him what he wants while appearing to denounce him.
Read the whole thing.
THE SEX IN SPAIN IS MAINLY ON THE . . . Will more sex save Spain? “The denial here is astounding. Spaniards are having plenty of sex. What they aren’t doing (at least enough) is having children. Part of the problem is a vicious cycle. Population decline and less marriage weakens the economy, and a weak economy in turn leads to population decline and even lower marriage rates. But some of the solutions are painfully obvious. The most obvious is the insane rule that adult children can sue their parents for alimony. Repealing that nonsense would be an easy win, and help reverse the current message that people who have children are chumps, too stupid to use birth control.”
WHY ARE DEMOCRATIC ADMINISTRATIONS SUCH CESSPITS OF MISOGYNY? Women abandon jobs with Mayor de Blasio because of his condescending tone. “A New York Times story published over the weekend says that 31 people hired for top positions by Mayor Bill de Blasio have left since 2014. Of those 31 people, 22 were women. The Times interviewed “a dozen women” to find out why so many of them were abandoning de Blasio. One reason given for the exodus was the mayor’s condescending tone and penchant for belittling people who work for him.”
Like Hillary, he can’t stand the little people, even though he purports to stand for them.
THE FOSSILIZED FEATHERS WERE A CLUE: Scientists may have discovered how dinosaurs evolved into birds.
VOX, AS CLASSY AND SMART AS PAJAMAS BOY: Vox.com Blasts Marines’ ‘Toxic Masculinity’ … on Memorial Day.
IN GOVERNMENT, IN TAXES, IN COST OF SOME BENEFIT: How Much is Enough?