For example....???? :D

My problem is with your is with your obvious bias. Like how you wrote paragraphs and paragraphs on the poor Christian bakers and gay wedding cakes, but only a one word response "that sucks" on the pro Gay marriage minister who was jailed.

You said it eloquently enough.. I simply agreed with you.. :D

You do the same thing with any criticism of the Obama Admin. In my opinion and observance, you gleefully go overboard on any and all faults of Liberals that you can find, no matter how small or trivial, and yet gloss over or act as an apologist for any faults committed by Conservatives. At least that is the way it seems.

It only seems that way because my condemnation of conservatives is simply drowned out by everyone else's condemnation of conservatives...

Michale

"1.. If it had been a GOP administration that had done this ya'all would be screaming to the high heavens..

2.. You won't accept ANY facts that put Obama or the Democrats in a bad light.. So, any facts I can show you is pointless..."

Not true Michale. I can find plenty wrong with the Obama Admin. myself and even agree with some of your criticisms.

My problem is with your is with your obvious bias. Like how you wrote paragraphs and paragraphs on the poor Christian bakers and gay wedding cakes, but only a one word response "that sucks" on the pro Gay marriage minister who was jailed.

You do the same thing with any criticism of the Obama Admin. In my opinion and observance, you gleefully go overboard on any and all faults of Liberals that you can find, no matter how small or trivial, and yet gloss over or act as an apologist for any faults committed by Conservatives. At least that is the way it seems.

"You don't think that a Liberal group could have the word Patriot as part of their organization's name too???

Find me one.. :D"

Ok Michale. I'll bite. How about this? :

Patriot Majority USA is a liberal, labor union-backed nonprofit.

Either Obama and the Republicans are doing great things for this country..

OR...

Obama and the Republicans are boneheads and morons for pushing and supporting this.. what did you call it..?? Gigantism. Poorly understood ramifications. Hucksterism. Only the rich can afford to visit. People will be eaten. Madness. Shut it down.....

Why is it so hard to answer the question???

So, you agree that TPP, TPA and TiSA is bad for this country...

And Obama is a bonehead for pursuing it...

Right??

Michale

Sorry, I was in a rush to get to the lumber yard with a borrowed truck and in my haste
I snagged the wrong permalink. Here's a simple copy and paste of what I meant to post:

The scope of the agreement is breathtaking. So is the level of secrecy. The socioeconomic ramifications are open to dispute. Congress gets 90 days to guesstimate how it's going to all pan out in the coming decades. The public won't know who to trust.

This is the Jurassic Park Lost World of International Trade Agreements. Given the plot outcome of the prequel Jurassic Park, what can possibly go wrong?

Heed the plot line perils of the prequel.

Gigantism. Poorly understood ramifications. Hucksterism. Only the rich can afford to visit. People will be eaten. Madness. Shut it down.

I would add one more thing. These agreements are likely to do to professionals what was done earlier to workers in manufacturing. Fewer jobs, lower pay.

So, you think Obama is a moron to pursue this agreement or has an ulterior agenda that is not in keeping with the best interests of the country...

Is that a fair assessment??

Michale

You don't think that a Liberal group could have the word Patriot as part of their organization's name too???

Find me one.. :D

Your own link PROVES my contention that it was by one field office, Cincinnati, not the entire IRS headquartered in D.C. as part of a national policy.

No.. That's what the IRS *CLAIMED*...

But they also claimed that no one outside the Cincy office knew anything.

THAT proved to be false..

And up and up the chain it went..

It makes little difference because two things are inarguable fact..

1.. If it had been a GOP administration that had done this ya'all would be screaming to the high heavens..

2.. You won't accept ANY facts that put Obama or the Democrats in a bad light.. So, any facts I can show you is pointless...

Michale

A few things need to be pulled out of the "link" you provided.

1.) The Internal Revenue Service on Friday apologized for targeting groups with “tea party” or “patriot” in their names

2.) ...absolutely inappropriate” actions by “front-line people” were not driven by partisan motives.
Rather, Lerner said, they were a misguided effort to come up with an efficient means of dealing with a flood of applications from organizations seeking ­tax-exempt status between 2010 and 2012.
During that period, about 75 groups were selected for extra inquiry — including burdensome questionnaires and, in some cases, improper requests for the names of their donors — simply because of the words in their names...

3.)They constituted about one-quarter of the 300 groups who were flagged for additional analysis by employees of the IRS tax-exempt unit’s main office in Cincinnati.

Your own link PROVES my contention that it was by one field office, Cincinnati, not the entire IRS headquartered in D.C. as part of a national policy.

Also it targeted groups because of their name, not because they were Conservative. You don't think that a Liberal group could have the word Patriot as part of their organization's name too???

I would add one more thing. These agreements are likely to do to professionals what was done earlier to workers in manufacturing. Fewer jobs, lower pay.

http://www.chrisweigant.com/2015/05/11/slowing-the-fast-track-down/#comment-59350

What's yer thoughts on the TPP, the TPA and the TiSA???

:D

Michale

Libya was a cluster-frak of the highest order, culminating in our ambassador getting brutally murdered, something that hasn't happened in my lifetime...

And yet, Obama did everything right. He made absolutely NO MISTAKES.. He has absolutely NO RESPONSIBILITY for the debacle..

Now compare and contrast that to Bush being held PERSONALLY responsible for Abu Ghraib, an incident that barely rises to the level of college hazing...

Again.. You can understand why I am so jaded....

Michale

What are the probabilities that Obama is ALWAYS right in everything he does, NEVER at fault for ANYTHING that goes wrong and that everything bad and wrong in the world is Bush's fault and the fault of Republicans in general..

Because, honestly.. When one looks back over all our debates and discussions, I can't recall one instance where you blamed Obama and gave Obama responsibility for anything that's gone wrong..

From Benghazi to the IRS Scandal and on thru all the lies that Obama has told, Obama is NEVER responsible..

You can understand why I am somewhat jaded.. :D

Michale

Somehow, I just don't think that would happen.. :D

I do agree with you on one point..

Things ARE foggy enough to paint Obama the hero and have some evidence to back it up...

However, I'll go with the non-ideological facts coupled with my own experiences..

Michale

The SecDefs were making specific claims which you then generalize to a specific action: close air support. Which is not the same as strategic bombing. Which is not the same as disrupting/destroying command and control nodes, which is not the same as air interdiction. All these are likely to have rather different rules of engagement.

There is a heavy fog of war regarding the current air campaigns over Iraq and Syria. The same was true about Libya.

There are least 9 nations involved in the bombing campaign. They don't appear to be all that closely coordinated. In Libya, the different national air forces had distinct styles, France's being the most distinct. It still not entirely clear how targets were acquired, tracked and designated in the air war against Libya. There were AWACS and JSTARS assets present in Libya, and these can track targets hundreds of miles away. A tactical jet at high altitude can self designate if the the standoff platform provides coordinates, at least in theory. Was this actually done? How often? There are accounts that NATO member special forces designated targets for the rebels. Sounds plausible, but again, few details have emerged.

There are very few reliable (verifiable)facts about the current air campaigns directed at Iraq and Syria. For the 9 nations that own up to making a contribution, we know where some of their aircraft are based, but what is the role of NATO member Turkey? Does does Turkey allow the US to work out of their airbases? An AWACS or JSTARS loitering in Turkish airspace could see and in some sense direct the battle 200 miles or more into Iraq. Interestingly, almost US strikes take place well within this distance from Turkey, but that might just reflect where the high value targets are.

I think the Obama administration and the US military are very happy with the fog. They want as little attribution as possible. War is disturbing. The public gets a sanitized view. In all fairness and reasonableness, you don't want to give the details of your game plan to the enemy.

In the absence of hard facts, rampant speculation, innuendo and active misinformation are passed as facts. This true of every war I can think of. It's especially true of this war.

CNN says 10,000 Islamic fighters have been killed so far. Rrrright. I remember Vietnam body counts. Over claiming is a universal attribute of war. Saber jets did not kill 8 migs for every loss. But, the fragrant myth is still passed off for fact.

What to do? In the absence of hard facts about the battle, you look to well established prewar fundamentals and apply historical precedents. This is unashamedly lukewarm and ragged fuzzy, but it's about the only game in town. Fundamentals and history suggest this is not going to be a short conflict. Fundamentals and extremely recent history suggest an invasion and occupation is going to end badly. Hey, we could get lucky, but I say probably not. The upside risk doesn't cover the downside risk. I think most Americans will take that view.

When in doubt, consult a map.

I have plenty of facts and evidence to support my claim..

Do you have any facts, any evidence that disputes my claim??

Other than the well-known animosity towards Fox News?? :D

Michale

If we have 2 former SecDefs, Obama loyalists, who make the EXACT same claim of micromanaging from the White House, it supports the claim from the fighter pilots of not being able to drop ordinance and hit targets because of the same micromanaging..

I know you don't WANT to believe it...

But the evidence clearly shows the viability of the accusation...

Michale

The micromanaging by the White House has ALSO been confirmed by the last two SecDefs that have served this White House..

Now, I understand your devotion and loyalty to Obama...

But, come on!! Facts are facts...

Michale

So, FoxNews links are immediately discounted, but HuffPoop and DailyKos links are proof positive?? :D

Yer bias is showing.. :D

The MicroManaging info has been around since October of 2014 and has come from too many varied sources NOT to be accurate..

Your plan is to kill scads of ISSL fighters, using both air and Marine assets. Fine, lovely, have at it. No one hr restriction, see it kill, it. ISSL fighters deserve about as much sympathy as Waffen SS. Use all conventional means necessary. The problem is, when things go bad enough for ISSL, they'll just go underground. The foreign fighters would stand out, and they might be relatively easy to round up. But the locals no, they'll blend and hide. You'll have to have an occupation force to keep them suppressed, because many years of considerable effort show the Iraqi rump government isn't up to the task.

This is where actual wartime experience comes into play...

When ISIS goes underground, when they blend and hide, then they no longer pose a threat...

They no longer can take ground and hold ground... All the mean and nasty stuff they are known for disappears...

They are no longer a major threat..

THEN ground forces can move in (US or others) and, while still facing an armed force, they are facing a vastly degraded force..

You have just confirmed that my plan WILL work..

Thanx. Yer a peach.. :D

Michale

Yeah, I'd be too embarrassed to post a link to that too! Like I said, there's a lot of bullshit circulating. Even more after the internet replicators pass this little gem on.

First, let me start by noting there is a lot of bullshit circulating about the Air Campaign against ISSL, Iraq and Syria branches. Jordan recently claimed it killed 7000 fighters and degraded 20% of ISSL military capacity in 3 days of air ops. I don't believe that.

I also think the Obama micromanagement-one-hr-delay meme is an I Hate Obama and His Little Dog TOO fantasy. Prove me wrong on this.

I'm not saying that certain targets don't require high, even highest level approval, Truman had to OK using The Bomb, and Churchill had to OK area bombing of German Cities. But let's get away these rhetorical tangents.

Your plan is to kill scads of ISSL fighters, using both air and Marine assets. Fine, lovely, have at it. No one hr restriction, see it kill, it. ISSL fighters deserve about as much sympathy as Waffen SS. Use all conventional means necessary. The problem is, when things go bad enough for ISSL, they'll just go underground. The foreign fighters would stand out, and they might be relatively easy to round up. But the locals no, they'll blend and hide. You'll have to have an occupation force to keep them suppressed, because many years of considerable effort show the Iraqi rump government isn't up to the task.

The occupation forces will be targeted by the locals. The casualties and monetary costs will eventually erode political support, and the occupation force will be withdrawn. You have reinvented the failed 2003 invasion. You are trying to market an Edsel.

Not quite.. Probably half that if not less...

That said, the basic problem is that Air Support doesn't work if your troops won't stay put to fight.

I believe I have stated the same thing but was argued against by Weigantians...

But in my plan, the goal is not to hold ground but rather to kill the enemy...

Are you telling me Obama micromanages the controllers imbedded with Iraqi Gov troop and tells the imbedded controllers with the Kurds to "go nuts?

There ARE no "controllers" embedded with ANY troops..

*THAT* is the problem..

No, what I am telling you is that pilots are sent out on sorties with a full load of ordinance.. The acquire a target and radio a request for prosecute authority.. The request is sent up the chain of command and then on to the White House. Once authority has been given as much as 60 minutes has passed and the target is now back at base booinkin' the goats...

And another plane RTBs with a full load of ordinance..

Modern air to ground weapons work on the principal of high accuracy, small bang. It is only a very tiny exaggeration to say that if a pilot can designate a target and he will kill it. Smart weapons often have a very small warhead. Or no warhead, you just fill a 500 lb bomb with concrete and let kinetic energy do the rest.

But you don't get ANY accuracy or ANY bang if you are NOT ALLOWED TO LAUNCH..

THAT is my point..

How many times must we watch this movie in slo-mo?

So, the better alternative, albeit compassion-less alternative, is to let thousands, tens of thousands, HUNDREDS of thousands of innocent people die??

Ya'all want the US to be the world's welfare agency....

"With great power comes great responsibility."
-Spiderman

Michale

I'm guessing your experience is about 20 or more years past freshness date. Fundamental changes in those two decades.

That said, the basic problem is that Air Support doesn't work if your troops won't stay put to fight. That has always been true. Air support + Kurds has been quite successful. Air support + "Iraqi Gov" troops has failed, at least in regions of the Ol' Iraq that are ethnically Sunni.

Are you telling me Obama micromanages the controllers imbedded with Iraqi Gov troop and tells the imbedded controllers with the Kurds to "go nuts?" No, the Kurds have a competent, well trained army that stays put and fights. Air support makes up for a lack of heavy weapons.

Modern air to ground weapons work on the principal of high accuracy, small bang. It is only a very tiny exaggeration to say that if a pilot can designate a target and he will kill it. Smart weapons often have a very small warhead. Or no warhead, you just fill a 500 lb bomb with concrete and let kinetic energy do the rest.

Smart weapons are expensive, so they aren't used on low value targets or just fired into the brown. That's why most sorties don't drop anything. It's not like you have to drop them in the ocean on your way back, modern aircraft can land with their unused war loads, unless there are extenuating circumstances (low fuel, damage, malfunction). So, you don't use a JDAMS when a mortar will do. Of course, there has to be somebody around to fire the mortar, and that seems to a problem with the Iraqi rump army, especially if it's garrisoning cities or towns in the Sunni regions of the Ol' Iraq.

What you are advocating is just Shock and Awe II. The outcome would be the same, except there are no high value air fields or command and control centers to take out in the exciting first 96 hr. The Sunni army is operating as an irregular army. The Marines will route it, the Sunnis will go to ground. The Sunnis will build IEDs and use them effectively. Nation building a new unified Iraq will prove ineffective. That's because it's three nations in one, and they hate each other. Our occupation troops will not be loved either. The US population will grow weary and we will leave.

How many times must we watch this movie in slo-mo?

And a leader more concerned about this country and less concerned about his legacy....

Michale

Because the White House is micro-managing the war from the Oval Office.. By the time the aircraft get prosecute authority, the target is back under cover boffing the local goat...

In many real world situations, FACs are not viable or useful if you are talking about mitigating massive civilian casualties.

FACs are the ONLY thing that mitigates massive civilian casualties...

Next time you come up with a plan of action, try to factor in the real world, okay?

I've lived the "real world". And while my experience may be dated, things haven't changed THAT much..

My plan WOULD work...

All it takes is political will...

Michale

In many real world situations, FACs are not viable or useful if you are talking about mitigating massive civilian casualties.

Next time you come up with a plan of action, try to factor in the real world, okay?

That's why we use FACs (Forward Air Controllers)... Units that have been COMPLETELY ignored by the Obama Administration..

But, what you really ignore is that the US and its allies live in the real world and they need to implement real world solutions.

How is this not a "real world" solution??

Did you know that only 25% of the aircraft launched in the fight against ISIS actually DROP their ordinance??

That means 3 out of 4 aircraft return fully loaded...

And THAT is why the US is losing and ISIS is winning...

Michale

Actually, your "plan" ignores quite a lot more than just the politics of the situation. Not least of all, it ignores where the enemy is and the massive number of civilians your plan would eliminate.

But, what you really ignore is that the US and its allies live in the real world and they need to implement real world solutions. You live in a virtual bubble and are free to promote any plan you wish, ignoring all of the real world facts on the ground.

And so, you haven't come up with a plan at all. If you are going to continue criticizing everything this administration does, then you should also tell us how they should proceed, given where we are today, in the real world. Otherwise, your criticism is really not worth the bandwidth it is using up.

This is what good and lively debate is all about, after all.

Writing it all off as tabloid crap, I haven't paid much attention to the Duggar's saga...

I finally read about it and I am like, "Is that it!??"

How is what Josh Duggar did any different that what Lena what-ser-name did to HER kid sister???

Michale

That's easy....

A massive bombing campaign utilizing FACs that saturate enemy positions with ordinance...

If the enemy still has the will to fight after that, pinpoint targeting with cruise missiles to take out leadership..

If they STILL want to fight, the Marines would be happy to convince them of the error of their ways...

The idea that the US cannot project overwhelming power anywhere in the world is a myth... Even with Obama's decimation of the US Military and it's personnel, the US Armed Forces are still the best equipped and best trained force on the planet...

Of course, my plan ignore the politics of the situation.

You asked for a military response and that's what I gave you...

Michale

It's time for you to lead from the front. What's your grand strategy for dealing with ISSL? What is the role of the US military? What does Iraq look like if your objectives are met? Syria? Libya?

The Kurds have been doing quite well against ISSL. They've been winning most of their battles and regaining territory lost early in the conflict. It's the Iraqi rump that's been under performing.

So, you are saying Obama lied when he said, "ALL options, including the military option, are on the table"??

NO!!! Say it ain't so!!!

[/sarcasm]

:D

One shouldn't, by the way, always equate leadership with the use of military action.

True... But discounting military action at all costs and TELLING your enemy that you are discounting military action is the mark of a poor poor leader...

Michale

In the real world, a US military option in Iran has NEVER BEEN ON the table.

One shouldn't, by the way, always equate leadership with the use of military action. Similarly, One should avoid using simple analogies and analyses when writing about the Middle East and North Africa as doing so contributes nothing towards understanding what is happening there and why.

http://nypost.com/2015/06/02/obama-just-tossed-away-his-last-card-on-irans-nukes/

After stating unequivocally that Iran will not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon for so long, now Obama proves that they will be allowed...

Because Obama just took a military option off the table..

PROFILES IN COWARDICE
President Barack Obama

Michale

I like that.. :D Have ta remember that one. :D

Michale

Is that so shocking?? That one part of a religious order would not come to the defense of another part of a religious order that the first part condemns??

Being shocked at that is like being shocked that a protestant wouldn't come to the defense of a catholic or versie vicie...

Religious fanatics are like activist fanatics...

Frak'ed in the head... :D

Michale

The ideologies may be different..

But war is war..

Regime change is regime change..

Michale

And how are the people of the Middle East and North Africa supposed to figure it out when they are being brutalized and raped and beaten by their leaders??

Asking the US to just turn a blind eye is akin to asking the beat cop to ignore rapes and assaults on his beat...

In the meantime, I am curious to know why you are so quick to put the blame for the mess in the Middle East and North Africa solely on the Obama administration while ignoring the nature of what passes for political leadership in that part of the world ...

Oh, the leaders of that region DO share the blame.. Of that there is no doubt...

But the region looks to the US for leadership... But our leader wants to cower in the back...

Michale

If what you say is true, if it was actually her religious beliefs and not any form of gay activism, then I would agree with you.

It sucks..

Michale

Sorry, I won't let you rewrite recent history to slant towards your particular ideology..

IRS admits targeting conservatives for tax scrutiny in 2012 election
washingtonpost.com/business/economy/irs-admits-targeting-conservatives-for-tax-scrutiny-in-2012-election/2013/05/10/3b6a0ada-b987-11e2-92f3-f291801936b8_story.html

And NOT ONE SINGLE Liberal group received extra scrutiny.. ALL Liberal groups that were processed received their tax-exempt status within a few months..

Conservative groups targeted had to wait years and some were refused the tax-exempt status..

Anne DePrizio, a Unitarian minister in Alabama was sentenced to 30 days in jail last month. Her crime? Anne conducted a marriage for two women at a probate office. A local judge ordered her not to, but she defied him and obeyed the federal court ruling which legalized same sex marriage in the state.

So, she was jailed for contempt of court, not because she married two women...

She also wasn't following her religious beliefs, she put federal law over state law..

Has absolutely nothing to do with the issue we are discussing..

Michale

"What are the specifics of the case?"

I'll repeat them again:

Anne DePrizio, a Unitarian minister in Alabama was sentenced to 30 days in jail last month. Her crime? Anne conducted a marriage for two women at a probate office. A local judge ordered her not to, but she defied him and obeyed the federal court ruling which legalized same sex marriage in the state.

Just to be clear: This is an actual example of a religious official who has been sent to jail for exercising her religious beliefs. The Unitarian brand of Christian belief supports gay marriage. Yet none of the anti-gay marriage crowd, who raise the fear of ministers being jailed for not performing gay marriages, has come to her defense. They same to think it is just fine to jail a minister for being in favor of gay marriage.

"The IRS totally and completely AND ADMITTEDLY discriminated against Republican groups..."

Actually, NO IT DID NOT. It was a field office, not the entire IRS. And the whole story was that not only did they give extra scrutiny to TEA party groups, Liberal groups were ALSO included as well.

Japan.. Germany... Korea...

Well, we're talking about Iraq, Libya and Syria, now. We can contrast and compare the situation today in the Middle East with WWII and Korea but, you need to remember that we'd be comparing apples and orangutans.

The lessons of the recent misadventures in the Middle East and North Africa are clear and they revolve around the notion that military interventions involving regime change must be accompanied by a comprehensive political strategy that has adequate buy-in by the local parties.

Today in the Middle East, this is no simple proposition and, indeed, I would submit that such a mission is impossible at this time.

The people of the Middle East and North Africa have a lot to figure out about how they wish to live in the future and the US and its allies have no military role to play there until that is sorted out.

In the meantime, I am curious to know why you are so quick to put the blame for the mess in the Middle East and North Africa solely on the Obama administration while ignoring the nature of what passes for political leadership in that part of the world ...

I disagree...

Leading from behind doesn't get us a seat at the table in the aftermath.

THAT is why Libya is the cesspool it is today...

We DID have a seat at the Iraq table and that left, according to Obama himself, a stable Iraq...

Obama threw away that stability by leaving too early...

Sadly, these are fundamental lessons that the West seemingly must re-learn every single time it intervenes militarily in this part of the world. Why is that?

Japan.. Germany... Korea...

All perfect examples of US military intervention that went very VERY well for all parties concerned..

And WHY did it go so well??

Because the US maintained a presence long after the war was won...

THAT is why Iraq is a mess...

Because Obama bowed to pressure from his base and left too early...

Michale

Libya is a perfect example.."Lead From Behind" is NOT a viable military strategy... It's cowardice, pure and simple..

Actually, I think you've been reading the Libya situation all wrong. The "leading from behind" part wasn't the problem. In fact, that the US was not visibly out in front leading this operation was the best part of the multi-national effort there and an absolutely viable military strategy.

The problem with Libya is the same problem we see in Iraq - there was no viable political strategy attached to the military achievement. And, frankly, there is little or no inherent liberal democratic inclination in Libya (or Iraq) that could have helped to fill the inevitable political vacuum after the fall of Gaddafi.

Sadly, these are fundamental lessons that the West seemingly must re-learn every single time it intervenes militarily in this part of the world. Why is that?

Both sides win some battles, some ground - and lose some of both.

But that's my point..

ISIS has been winning the battles.. Coalition forces have been losing the battles..

To deny this is to deny reality..

End game is what counts.

Of course it's the end game that counts...

But, how can we expect a favorable end game when we're not willing to put the effort into MAKING a favorable end game..

Libya is a perfect example..

"Lead From Behind" is NOT a viable military strategy... It's cowardice, pure and simple..

As any military person will tell you...

Michale

How do you presume to know the psychology of somebody who loses a family member in combat? I'm pretty sure it varies. I only know one person who has lost a family member (cousin)in Ramadi. He couldn't tell you where Ramadi is on a map. His psychology is pretty simple: he hates "Arabs" and now thinks it was a mistake gotten involved in Iraq in the first place. I suspect this is a fairly common element of a wide spectrum, but honestly, I have no objective information to back that up.

Military don't get to choose where they die in combat, or whether that battle was lost or won. We honor soldiers for dying in service to their country, period. Ramadi is not a war grave, at least for our side.

ISSL IS winning at this point, but it's a tactical victory where most of the gains came in the fluid "opening phase(s)." This is typical. Mid game is looking like a stalemate. Both sides win some battles, some ground - and lose some of both. Once ISSL has popped up, the battle lines haven't shifted much, because the battle lines represent the ethnic lines of an ethnic conflict.

End game is what counts. It seems far away, especially if we want to a strategic win at end game. We are going to have to be creative in our strategic thinking to achieve a strategic victory. If we let sentimentality (emotions) drive our military thinking, we are in a world of hurt. I can't imagine serving military would want that. Military discipline requires keeping emotions in check.

You do???

Since when...

The IRS totally and completely AND ADMITTEDLY discriminated against Republican groups...

By the way Michale, You have not addressed the case of the Alabama minister being jailed for performing a gay wedding according to her religious beliefs. Why is that???

Another one I missed..

What are the specifics of the case?

Michale

"Let's postulate a scenario where it is universally accepted that being gay is 1000% choice. There is proof positive, scientifically ironclad proof that being gay is a choice..

Under those conditions, in your opinion, would the gay community have a legal case for discrimination??

Of course they wouldn't.. If they make the conscious choice to be gay, they would not have a legal leg to stand on as far as discrimination goes.."

Wrong again Michale!!! Of course they would still have just as strong a case for discrimination! We protect people from discrimination because of their religious or political affiliations, don't we? Those are completely a matter of choice! How would it be any different???

"Missed that one...

How exactly can one be gay and a virgin???"

Mmmm, perhaps the same way that one can be a straight, heterosexual teenager and still be a virgin also? How is that so hard to understand?

There is no doubt..

ISIS is growing.. ISIS is winning.

Obama is losing the Middle East..

Michale

You can attend A CONVERSATION WITH HILLARY!!

https://prod01-cdn01.cdn.firstlook.org/wp-uploads/sites/1/2015/06/hrcemail.png

And it only costs ya $1000!!!

Yea... Hillary is the "Champion" of the 99%..... :^/

I'll ask again..

THIS is the Dem Candidate for POTUS???

Michale

Missed that one...

How exactly can one be gay and a virgin???

Or are you referring to the idea that one can be happy he or she is a virgin??

Michale

Ramadi is NOT a strategic asset to the Iraqi Rump Government at this time.

Ramadi is a psychological asset to Americans who lost loved ones fighting there..

Apparently, Obama doesn't give a rip about those Americans, as they are not Obama Bots...

Remember when Obama said, "There are no Red States, there are no Blue States, there are only a UNITED States..."

I actually thought he MEANT that...

Boy was I an idjut....

Michale

I am not Spock...

But I play him in Weigantia.... :D

Michale

"We've made too many compromises already; too many retreats. They invade our space and we fall back. They assimilate entire worlds and we fall back. Not again. The line must be drawn here! This far, no further!"
-Captain Jean Luc Picard

Trekker though I am, I still prefer the Harrison Ford version...

"Never again will I allow our political self-interest to deter us from doing what we know to be morally right. Atrocity and terror are not political weapons. And to those who would use them, your day is over. We will never negotiate. We will no longer tolerate and we will no longer be afraid. It's your turn to be afraid."
-Harrison Ford, AIR FORCE ONE

Michale

Michale

Calculated risk is our business.

And the problem is, Obama is calculating politics rather than what's morally right..

Michale

Kind of a mixed metaphor in that post, I should have said the The Black Jack game of war. Grandma always said roulette was for suckers.

"Risk is our business"

Calculated risk is our business. If I'm going to stake somebody at the roulette wheel of war, I'm going to want them to know how to card count. Like my grandmother could. It was easier in her day, and she wasn't greedy, so she never got banned.

I'm not sure what your point is about Normandy. I do know the Allied bombing of French towns and cities in Normandy killed upwards of 50,000 French civilians.
It also liberated France from Nazi occupation and liberated at least some of the more than 1 million French civilians transported to Germany as forced slave labor (often death by labor). This is the calculus of war and it is never pretty. You pay a bill if you do something, you pay a bill if you do nothing.

CW, would ya mind....

Here's an interesting question for you..

Becoming disabled by choice, not chance: ‘Transabled’ people feel like impostors in their fully working bodies
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/becoming-disabled-by-choice-not-chance-transabled-people-feel-like-impostors-in-their-fully-working-bodies

Michale

The more Americans see Hillary, the less they like here..

2016 is going to be a rout by the GOP....

Michale

Let me ask you something..

Let's postulate a scenario where it is universally accepted that being gay is 1000% choice. There is proof positive, scientifically ironclad proof that being gay is a choice..

Under those conditions, in your opinion, would the gay community have a legal case for discrimination??

Of course they wouldn't.. If they make the conscious choice to be gay, they would not have a legal leg to stand on as far as discrimination goes..

That's why, in your mind and in the mind of those who think like you, it **HAS** to be genetic...

Because, if it's not, then you don't have a case... The gay bullies/activists don't have a case..

Once again, agenda-driven evidence instead of an evidence-driven agenda...

Michale

I addressed the issue of Ramadi's strategic importance in Turning Straw into Gold.

http://www.chrisweigant.com/2015/05/22/ftp347/#comment-59748

Ramadi is NOT a strategic asset to the Iraqi Rump Government at this time. The city is depopulated and the road leads nowhere Shiite forces need go in the near future. Ramadi is just a small district capital with no district under its control. It's a strategic liability. Keeping an isolated garrison there was just leaving a target for ISSL attrition. As the old saying goes, he who tries to defend everything defends nothing. The predictable happened.

If ISSL attempts to garrison Ramadi, the troops, and the supply columns needed to support them, can be whittled at from the air. Turn Ramadi into an ISSL liability, should ISSL be dumb enough to accept the opportunity.

"I'll believe it's not a choice once there is CONCLUSIVE scientific evidence that PROVES it's not a choice.."

I can't help but notice that you still NEVER address the fact that you can be both gay and a virgin. Why is that Michale?

:D

Michale

Too bad you are NOT Spock. :-D

John

"No honorable mention to the Canadian jeweler who as threatend and boycotted by the 1% BECAUSE he provided service to a lesbian couple??"

Well, what about Anne DePrizio, a Unitarian minister in Alabama who was sentenced to 30 days in jail last month Michale? Her crime? Anne conducted a marriage for two women at a probate office. A local judge ordered her to not to, but she defied him and obeyed the federal ruling.

Just to be clear: This is an actual example of a religious official who has been sent to jail for exercising her religious beliefs. It is the very thing that the opposition has been claiming will happen to them. And yet none of them are coming to Anne's defense. Where is the outrage about that Michale???

"Yea??

So what happened in 2014?? :D"

Democratic voters taking things for granted, low voter turnout, and a very successful get out the vote effort among very conservative Republicans, along with considerable Republican congressional district gerrymandering. If not for the gerrymandering, Democrats would have picked up additional House seats. The total vote for all the Democratic congressional candidates has been concentrated into fewer, mostly urban, Congressional districts. Republicans only got 52 percent of the total vote, but picked up 57 percent of the total Congressional seats, mostly from more rural or suburban districts that are more spread out, where they won with say 52 percent of the vote, as opposed to the Democrats concentrated in big city districts winning with 60 percent of the vote or more.

I'll believe it's not a choice once there is CONCLUSIVE scientific evidence that PROVES it's not a choice..

You are alone in your belief that it's completely and unequivocally NOT a choice here in Weigantia... It's been conceded that there IS an element of choice in the issue...

The only point of contention is how MUCH of a choice is it.

But it IS a choice... THAT has been agreed upon..

Is being black or female a "lifestyle" choice too???

If you have enough science to support the gay issue as there is to support differing race or gender, then you would have a point..

But you don't so you don't..

Not nearly enough said Michale! There is a world of difference between someone who has an affair with another adult (Clinton) and someone who molests a child (Hastert).

Yer right.

There IS a big difference..

The difference is that Clinton was PROVEN to be a creep...

Hastert has only been accused..

I guess in your world, INNOCENT TIL PROVEN GUILTY only applies to Democrats...

Again, there is a big difference between an off year election with low voter turnout and a Presidential election year. I hardly think the Republicans can really crow too much about winning a majority of a minority of the electorate! That hardly makes for either a realistically credible mandate or landslide.

Choosing not to vote is a de-facto vote...

"If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice."
-RUSH

"Failure to make a decision is a decision in itself."
-Captain James T Kirk

Take yer pick...

"You don't know!!?? Or you don't care!??"
"PICK one!!!"
X-MEN

:D

Michale

"Don't set that bar too high, Mitch

Something that Democrats did prior to the 2014.."

Again, there is a big difference between an off year election with low voter turnout and a Presidential election year. I hardly think the Republicans can really crow too much about winning a majority of a minority of the electorate! That hardly makes for either a realistically credible mandate or landslide.

"Bill Clinton...

'nuff said.."

Not nearly enough said Michale! There is a world of difference between someone who has an affair with another adult (Clinton) and someone who molests a child (Hastert). Unless you want to make light of it and defend Duggar too while you are it, like Huckabee did?

"So, the 1% has forced the other 99% to their lifestyle choices..

woo hoo..."

How many times Michale do you need to be told that it is NOT a lifestyle choice? If it were a lifestyle, you could not be both gay and a virgin, which you most certainly can be. Is being black or female a "lifestyle" choice too???

No it didn't. :D

hehehehehehehe :D

Michale

No it didn't. :D

Actually, there is a very similar line from Captain America: the Winter Soldier ...

I LOVE that character ... Cap, I mean. Heh.

And what if there are people and people's home in between the raging fire and your fire breaks??

"Eh.. Collateral damage... War is hell... "

???

Michale

Well, it'll probably take more than two years to manifest itself but, the point is that America is on the right track, at the very least.

Of course, it's good!

I learned it from Senator Joe Biden, no less, and I've been repeating variations of it for years, indeed decades.

As the only remaining Superpower on the planet.....

Risk is our business...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiFEzc_gsuw

Michale

I mean to say "DAMN" Queen, but it came out wrong. :D

Michale

Coronate the Dem Queen already!!

Michale

I still have great confidence in the promise of America ... in the example of its power and in the power of its example.

"That's actually quite good.. Did you come in here planning to say that? Or was it off the top of your head?"
-Baal, STARGATE SG1: CONTINUUM

:D

Seriously, I like that...

That balance may finally be on the way to being realized.

Yep... Probably in 2017.. :D

Michale

I once read that many thought the same thing about Normandy...

But you are right about one thing.

It's not about the numbers.. Whether it thousands, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands, my point is still valid..

The US is standing on the sidelines allowing innocent people to die when we have the power to stop it. Or at least mitigate it considerably..

Once again, ya'all's isolationist policies are right aligned with Rand Paul...

Funny, eh??

I am not soft on ISSL. My position was put forth in an earlier post, it has not changed, you know where it is, re-read it. It's about as soft as Gen. Sherman's attitude on his March to the Sea.

No one says you are soft on ISIS... But the claim that ISIS has not made any significant gains is ludicrous. Ramadi ring any bells??

I have not given Clinton a pass, I said nothing about her in my earlier post. This was about a dark horse named Lindsey G, with a brief mention of Seinfeld who is not running for anything. If I mention the whole clown car cavalcade of candidates my posts are going to be several pages long. When Clinton gets somewhat specific, and I'm pretty sure she will, I'll let you and everybody else know what I think.

On the Dem side there isn't a whole clown car of candidates..

There is just one clown...

I just find it somewhat ironic when Weigantians point out all the bad things about a GOP candidate but fails to mention that the EXACT same issue plagues the Dem Candidate...

I can't help but point that out... :D

Michale

Ian Bremmer should worry less about the new-found and fortunate pragmatism of the US and more about the future of Great Britain.

I still have great confidence in the promise of America ... in the example of its power and in the power of its example. That balance may finally be on the way to being realized.

This is that vaunted compassion I hear liberals have???

Amongst ALL Weigantians, I stand alone as the compassionate liberal!! :D

Michale

Your estimates of genocide are grossly inflated, but it's not about the numbers of dead innocents, it's about our capacity to save innocents in that region, which I assess is not great,even at unacceptable cost to our own society. Our prospects are limited given our military structure, where the conflict is taking place, our knowledge of Islamic culture, the nature of our economy and our national will to spill blood and treasure in a region that much of the US electorate regards with minimal knowledge and unrestrained bigotry.

I am not soft on ISSL. My position was put forth in an earlier post, it has not changed, you know where it is, re-read it. It's about as soft as Gen. Sherman's attitude on his March to the Sea.

I have not given Clinton a pass, I said nothing about her in my earlier post. This was about a dark horse named Lindsey G, with a brief mention of Seinfeld who is not running for anything. If I mention the whole clown car cavalcade of candidates my posts are going to be several pages long. When Clinton gets somewhat specific, and I'm pretty sure she will, I'll let you and everybody else know what I think.

For the record, Bernie Sanders is my favorite, but if he can't catch fire quickly and cleanly, I hope he doesn't overstay.

And hundreds of thousands of innocents are being brutally and horrendously slaughtered while the US sits on the sidelines and congratulates itself on being above the fray...

This is that vaunted compassion I hear liberals have???

There haven't been any major losses or gains of territory since ISSL "magically" appeared in all the Sunni dominated regions of Iraq.

Yer kidding, right??

Sometimes you fight the forest fire, sometimes you just cut fire breaks and let it burn itself out.

And who cares how many hundreds of thousands of innocents are brutally slaughtered as it 'burns itself out'??

Graham offers nothing specific, and his rhetoric is nothing new.

And Clinton offers LESS than nothing..

Yet, you give her a pass...

Why fer???

Michale

How is it working out? I translated your version for those whose
Palinese has gotten rusty.

About as well as can be expected. The USA hasn't been sucked into a Sunni/Shiite religious war in the Levant, at least not so far as committing ground forces to combat. Or, if you prefer, we have avoided the sucking sound of committing troops to two civil wars, one in the former Iraq, the other in ex-Syria.

There haven't been any major losses or gains of territory since ISSL "magically" appeared in all the Sunni dominated regions of Iraq. One side gains or loses a strategic town now and then, but loss or gains of this sort do not a decisive victory make. Minorities on the wrong side of the ethnic divde suffer grievously.....and so do some locals of the right religious persuasion with the wrong viewpoint. Cultural heritage sites are pillaged, but hey, it's their treasures to break...or sell on the world market, like so much Elgin Marble. But, ISSL is largely contained. Their oil revenue in Iraq in something like 17 million US$. That will barely buy you a decent sized and furnished property in NYC. Seinfeld probably spends about that per year on vintage cars.

Sometimes you fight the forest fire, sometimes you just cut fire breaks and let it burn itself out.

Graham offers nothing specific, and his rhetoric is nothing new. Reheated Neocon bluster, never forget and never learn. It's foreign policy pout and should play well in the SC primary.

Anyone want to make any SCOTUS predictions for the record??? :D

Michale

And, howz that werkin' out so far, eh??

I'm just sayin'....

Michale

You said Jesus was a liberal..

I said god was a Republican...

And here we are.. :D

Michale

So you want people to ... be more vengeful?

Send locusts at each other?

(?)

"Simply put, radical Islam is running wild -- they are large, they are rich, they're entrenched. As president I will make them small, poor and on the run,"

I think he's talking about ISIS. I also think it's analytical nonsense. ISIS isn't large, they're not rich, but they have operating low costs. The last thing we want is them on the run. Their running around is the problem. We want them isolated and contained by their non-Sunni neighbors, who have every incentive to do this on a long term basis.

If you can't recognize the problem, you're unlikely to fix it....even if you throw resources aimlessly at it. Ask Dubya.

Thank you...NEXT...

:D

Michale

All that feeding the poor and good samaritan stuff ... socialist!

And god was a Republican...

All that vengeful wrath stuff....

Do ya'all REALLY want to go there??? :D

Michale

All that feeding the poor and good samaritan stuff ... socialist!

;)

-David