Posse Incitatus

A 'Wag the Dog' Moment?

The USS Kearsarge, an amphibious assault ship, is moving closer to North Africa.  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated "all options are on the table" with regard to pressuring Libyan thug dictator Muammar Gaddafi into stepping down.

Meanwhile, back in the United States, unemployment remains stubbornly high, deficits are in the stratosphere, sensible politicians are finally saying "enough is enough" to greedy, bullheaded unions, and gasoline prices are rising fast.  If gasoline rises to 2008 levels of $4 or more per gallon, it will choke off our fragile, nascent recovery.

President Obama's signature legislation, the rube goldberg clunker known as Obamacare, has been struck down by a couple of judges, and a Republican House of Representatives is as eager to take a few swings at it as a kid at a birthday party who steps up to the pinata.

Muslim extremists continue to plot against us, and we're catching them just in the nick of time.  One of these days, they'll strike before we catch them.  The latest, a Texas college student from Saudi Arabia, purchased chemicals over the Internet and planned to blow up dams, nuclear plants and the home of former President George W. Bush.

Clearly, things are not going well for The One. Is it possible he might want to flex his muscles to prove his macho bona fides and topple the hated Gaddafi?  Does he possibly think he could score brownie points with moderates and even a few conservatives if he firmly pushed the despot out the door with some well-placed bombs and predator drones?

Who knows. It's been a crazy couple of months, and with the 2012 election approaching and no signs our economy will robustly recover, one can't help but wonder what kind of hope and change our president has in store for us.

ENOUGH ALREADY — It's high time the professional rabble-rousers camping out inside the Capitol Building in Madison, Wis., be on their way. Hey, folks, WE GOT THE POINT! You're pissed off and think you're being railroaded.  We get it.  Now, can the good people of Wisconsin have their State House back again? The picketers and protesters have trashed the grounds outside the State House, and have been asked to leave the inside because it is badly in need of cleaning.  Come now, children.  This isn't very "green" of you, is it?  What about Mother Earth and the environment?

PAMPERED PRIMA DONNAS — There are many reasons I don't pay much attention to the NBA, but one of the biggest reasons is the arrogant and piss-poor attitudes of so many of the prima donna players.  The Detroit Pistons, who seven years ago won the championship, and in 2005 lost in the NBA Finals, are a disaster these days.  And the players' bad morale and dislike of their head coach caused many of them to skip a mandatory "shoot-around" on Friday, then get scratched from the list of prospective players in the game vs. Philadelphia.  Only six players played for Detroit.  These guys are getting paid millions to play a kids' game.  They don't realize that most people would give their eye teeth to earn one tenth as much as they do.  And our economy still is very much in the dumps.  Yet these spoiled players decide to let their teammates and fans down. Get real, guys.  Do you realize that about three quarters of the NBA teams are losing money, and your salad days may soon be over?  Do you also realize that were it not for your basketball skills, many of you would be pumping gas or washing cars?

Ow! My Foot Hurts!

The headline is just a facetious way of describing the soon-to-come sentiments of Wisconsin's militant, obstinate, immature unionists who are marching indignantly at the State Capitol. 

Because if they insist on ramming their unreasonable beliefs down the taxpayers' throats, massive layoffs will result.  They will have shot themselves in the foot. (Isn't it better to have a job with lower wages and benefits than you would prefer, than to have no job at all?)

This morning I watched NBC TV with amusement as AFL-CIO head honcho Richard Trumka told a  "Meet the Press" panel that the Wisconsin scenario "is not about a budget crisis" but about union busting.

Excuse me, Mr. Union Boss, but doesn't Wisconsin have a $3.6 billion budget deficit?  Aren't public employee union pensions and health care costs piling unsustainable burdens upon budgets and taxpayers?   You and your folk are delusional, if not hopelessly partisan.  You can go ahead and tilt at windmills all day long, but if you keep it up, a lot of your troops will be sitting at home cooling their heels in a few weeks.

The public employee unions in Wisconsin are like the pathetic hard-core alcoholics and drug addicts regularly portrayed on the depressing Arts & Entertainments series "Intervention."  They are in utter, absolute, total, all-consuming denial.  They are hallucinating as much as if they had ingested LSD.

Earth to Wisconsin union robots: Wisconsin is broke!  Your demands are absurd and preposterous.  WAKE UP!

 

 

Government Shutdown — Big Deal!

I had forgotten, but the other day Rush mentioned there were government shutdowns under President Ronald Reagan and President Jimmy Carter.  Doesn't seem like such a big deal was made of them in those days.  But the press went ape-shit about the shutdowns occurring in late 1995 and early 1996 when Bill Clinton was in the White House and Newt Gingrich was House Speaker. 

The worthless media bought into the Democrats' narrative: Republicans wanted to make savage cuts to Medicare and put grandma out on the street.  Never mind that the Republicans only proposed a reduction in the rate of increase for Medicare, "Mediscare" reigned supreme.

Now, 15 years later, we face the likelihood of another government shutdown as Republicans attempt to halt the Obama administration's insane spending binge and the Democrats dig in their heels to continue growing government.  The conventional wisdom among Washington pundits and the mainstream media is that the Republican Party will suffer tremendously if there is a government shutdown next week, as in 1995-96.

However, as Byron York covers in this column, 2011 is a COMPLETELY different world from 1995-96. He  raised some convincing arguments as to why a government shutdown in the next few days will not be devastating for Republicans. For starters, the economy then was healthy, and spending/deficits were not outrageous as they are today, so voters were more likely to be angry about the government shutdown. Republicans also managed to retain control of the House for a decade after the 1995-96 shutdowns, so voters' anger perhaps was overstated.

Perhaps most important, we no longer live in a world in which liberal media types control a distorted, one-sided message.  Today we have the Internet, which makes access to conservative publications much easier, and a plethora of good conservative blogs. Fox News serves as an alternative to the left-leaning dinosaur media, and there are far more conservative talk radio programs.

Frankly, I don't think it will hurt the Republicans much at all if there is a government shutdown.  It may even help them. And as far as how it will affect us, that is likely to be negligible.  I've long said you could eliminate both the Department of Energy and Department of Education and most of us wouldn't miss them a bit.

So bring on the shutdown.  If it enhances the discussion about getting our fiscal house in order, and instills a greater sense of urgency and awareness in the hearts and minds of the public, that would be great.

 

A Bit of Devil's Advocate

It's late, and I don't have the time, energy or inclination for a long post tonight.  But I just wanted to run something by our Posse readers for consideration.

First, a little preaching to the choir: When the Tea Party demonstrators gathered to protest out-of-control spending and high taxes, the media focused on the few racist or hateful pickets and tried to paint the crowd with a broad brush.  The talking heads also commented on how "white" the crowd was.

Some conservatives claimed the liberals were using plants to wave about bigoted and extremist pickets so as to tarnish the Tea Party.  Such a tactic would not surprise me in the least.

Fast forward a year or so to the teachers and other unionists demonstrating at the Capitol in Madison, Wis.  There seem to be more of the hateful, vulgar and bigoted pickets among these leftists than among the typical Tea Party gathering.  Yet where is the commentary from the likes of Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer, Wolf Blitzer and Rachel Maddow?  And why no observations about how overwhelmingly caucasian the Wisconsin crowds are?

But here's my devil's advocate suggestion: Is it at all possible that some independent conservative groups have infiltrated the teachers with the obscene pickets containing the "F" word, the references to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker as a fascist, Hitler, or Mubarak?  Could some of the photos posted on various blog sites have been doctored with Photoshop? It's not hard to do. I am not sure how easy or difficult it is to determine whether a photo has been altered, but I'd say there's a lot of that going around these days.

The point is, sometimes it is difficult to know what the truth really is when you are hundreds of miles away, relying on television, blogs and Tweets.

I will say this, though: If the Wisconsin lawmakers' roles were reversed; if the Democrats wanted to pass some liberal legislation such as benefits for domestic partners, and the Republican caucus took off out of state for days on end, it would be high dudgeon time for the press.  We wouldn't hear the end of it.  Yet in the current scenario, they don't seem to mind at all.  Again, an utter void of credibility and fairness has cast the mainstream media's ratings and circulation figures into absolute freefall.  Is it any wonder why?

 

Around the Bend

Thought I'd take a break today from the usual fare of politics, economics and sports, and delve into miscellany. The other day my wife and I watched an excellent, albeit quirky, movie called "Around the Bend."  It came out in 2004, and I honestly don't remember hearing about it at the time. Christopher Walken, Michael Caine and Josh Lucas are the stars.

WIthout giving away the plot, it's a story about four generations in a dysfunctional family, and their coming to grips with a painful past through foregiveness and understanding.  It had its humorous moments, but in fact it was dark humor, the kind that evokes poignance for someone's pathetic state.  If you've seen "Little Miss Sunshine," I believe this flick is of the same genre.  The beat up, old Volkswagen bus Walken's grandfather owned reminded me of the VW bus in which the "Sunshine" family traveled.  A nice diversion on a snowy February Sunday.

SPEAKING OF WINTER — Those of us who grew up in areas with four distinct seasons, including a long, cold and snowy winter, have learned to love and loathe winter.  We love it when we're young because playing in the snow (sledding, building snowmen, having snowball fights) is fun, and because occasionally a large snowfall means no school. It can also offer an opportunity to make some money, or at least it did back in the day when my brothers and I used to go door-to-door offering to shovel people's walks.

As we we get older, we come to appreciate winter's beauty — bare branches coated with ice or freshly fallen snow, the awesome beauty of stars on clear and bitter cold nights, and deep blue skies when a high pressure system banishes clouds and humidity.  Additionally, I suspect we northerners enjoy and savor spring and summer so much more after making it through winter — especially here in Michigan, where winters are cloudy and gloomy owing to the large bodies of water surrounding our fair peninsula.

Winter certainly has its drawbacks, including the fact it lasts longer than most of us would like, and the heating bills are brutal.  It can be inconvenient getting bundled up every time you go out and having to shovel following a storm. (Just this morning I spent about 1 1/2 hours shoveling the walks and driveway following about 8 inches of snow.) Driving on treacherous roads is dangerous, too, and taking a walk can be hazardous as deadly ice often is covered up by freshly fallen snow.  One bad fall can have serious and permanent consequences.

As Wall Street Journal writer Mark Helprin describes in this enjoyable piece, winter not only features incredible beauty and deadly harshness; it also has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives over the years, including the vast majority of Napolean's troops in 1812 near the Russian-Polish border.

ANOTHER GREAT COVER — A few months ago I wrote about some of my favorite song cover versions.  I may follow that up with a second installment, and maybe a blog about horrible covers.  But I realized a couple days after writing that blog that I definitely should have included Jimi Hendrix' cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower." Hendrix substitutes his scorching guitar licks for Dylan's harmonica.  His voice is far better, too.  Dylan is a genius when it comes to writing lyrics and improvising with a diversity of musical influences.  But let's face it: His voice is lousy.

THE BIG BLUE BULL — In Greek mythology, Taurus was actually a white bull.  But my 2001 Ford Taurus, which just passed 190,000 miles, is navy blue.  I bought it used (72K on the odometer) through an Internet auction in July 2005. It was a former state of Michigan fleet vehicle. 

In the first year or two, I wondered if I had made a mistake, as some major repairs needed to be done. (A new serpintine belt and water pump; new suspension parts; and one power window glass and mechanical parts had to be replaced.)  There have been a few other big repairs along the way, including a new fuel pump, oxygen sensor and a couple of new fuel injectors.  In November the original equipment starter needed to be replaced. Plus the usual oil changes, tires, brake jobs, anti-freeze flush-outs, and occasional new transmission fluid and filters.  But many of these things are inevitable and just a normal part of vehicle ownership.

As time goes on, I realize I am getting more than my money's worth.  This car just keeps running and running.  Smoothly and quietly.  I do a lot of highway driving, so I am sure that has helped extend its longevity.  The heater is industrial strength; the cruise control and transmission have performed flawlessly. 

However, the air conditioning compressor is broken and a mechanic told me it would cost over $1,000 to fix.  So when the weather warms up again in a few months, I may finally get rid of this vehicle rather than put that kind of money into it.  But then again, maybe I will shell out the $1,000.  I have a feeling this beast might have another 60-100K left in it.  And my philosophy is that a huge repair bill — say, $800 to $1,000 annually — is worth going dozens of months without car payments.  $1,000 is less than $100 per month, while a car payment could easily be $400 per month.  I'll take the reliable old beater any day.  When I was a kid, we'd joke that "FORD" stands for "Found on the Roadside Dead."  Not any more.

There was a time when American car companies produced way too many unreliable vehicles, and many customers who got burned vowed never again to buy American.  Those days are gone, but perception is reality.  For the Big Three, it is a long, uphill climb to re-establish a good reputation, especially when Asian car companies are putting such high quality and affordable products on the market. 

I hope people who thought they'd never buy American again will reconsider.  Because Ford, GM, and Chrysler are producing some excellent, attractive and reliable cars.  It's an extremely competitive market, but isn't competition — and the success stories and innovation it breeds — a large part of what makes our nation great?

AND LASTLY... — There are probably Posse Incitatus readers who didn't see this commercial.  It's one of the better commercials I've ever seen, and it depicts some of the character and fabric of Detroit like nothing you are likely to read in the national press or hear the late night comedians joke about.  As I've said, I am not naive about Detroit's myriad serious problems and dysfunctions.  But having become more familiar with the city and its people since I started working there in 2009, I have come to appreciate some of the incredible architecture, monuments, and rich history of the city.  There are just too many positive points about Detroit to write it off.  I'll blog on that in the near future.

 

 

 

My Big Fat Greek-American Protest

"Everybody, sooner or later, sits down to a banquet of consequences," wrote Robert Louis Stevenson over a century ago. So far, the consequences of excessive government spending and unchecked liberalism have been destructive deficits and raucous protests in the streets, a lot of harsh words and over-the-top pickets being waved about.  Eventually, the consequences could get downright deadly, like no police or fire protection, a severely weakened national defense, and poor people being denied medical care.  Not to mention, thousands of unionized public employees being laid off.

In the past year, we have witnessed massive demonstrations in Greece, France, England and other parts of Europe over necessary government cutbacks in unsustainable entitlements, wages, and benefits.  These outbursts made plain what happens when millions of people become addicted to government largess, are clueless about market and fiscal realities, and become explosively indignant when the government implements austerity measures.  Fortunately, the United States has not sunk to the bloated welfare condition of Europe. Yet.

But the level of indignation demonstrated by the marchers in Madison, Wis., indicates that we're not as far from European style socialism as one might think.  That is a scary thought.

Today I watched an interview on Fox News with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.  Host Chris Wallace asked Walker if he was prepared to stay the course despite days of rambunctious protests rocking the Wisconsin State House.  Walker said yes, definitely, and added that his office has received 19,000 emails supporting his policy on increasing unionized workers' contributions to pension and health care while limiting their collective bargaining rights to wages. 

As the Wall Street Journal so eloquently notes in this editorial, collective bargaining for public employees is not a constitutional right.  They have monopoly power, and the folks who sit on the opposite side of the bargaining table have a blatant conflict of interest: It's in their interest (re-election prospects) to bestow generous wage increases and benefits upon the union members with whom they negotiate, so as to garner the union members' votes.

Let's keep in mind that liberals and Democrats, by their very nature, are expressive and wear their passions on their sleeve.  Angry, caustic and derisive bumper stickers against George W. Bush were far more common during his administration than bumper stickers lashing out against Obama are now.  (This could be because many people who oppose Obama's policies have resolved not to be obsessive or let this administration permanently sour their mood.  Too, they might be fearful that liberals seeing such bumper stickers would vandalize their car or rear-end them.  After all, flaming liberals do tend to boil over with off-the-charts rage.)

Leftists love to grab pickets and bullhorns, and march with self-righteous fury.  "I love a cause" seems to be their mantra.  And the Democrat Party gladly stokes the fires, knowing full well where its bread is buttered.  Stir the pot, and fire up the troops, and pretty soon those union dollars will be flowing generously into Democrat coffers.  Unethical tactics, such as ACORN's massive voter fraud, and fake doctor's notes to justify teachers calling in sick so as to partake in the demonstrations, are some of their typical M.O.

Protests seem to be breaking out all over the place in Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. The news media will hype it to the max, just as they try to portray Tea Party members as extremists.  But I remain steadfast in my faith and confidence in the American people.  Most of us are not so dim-witted as to be bamboozled by the media's biases.

What's going on in Madison is like a rich gastronomical experience.  It may feel good at the moment, but those who partake may regret it deeply later on.  Most of us recognize that it's long past time since we've had enough.  Push back from the table, as they say.

 

MSU Spartans: There is Still Hope!

This has been a hugely disappointing season for fans of the Michigan State Spartans basketball team.  The squad that made it to the Final Four two straight years (2009 and 2010) was rated the preseason No. 2 team in the land.  But as soon as November and December unfolded, it was apparent the Spartans were not nearly as good as advertised (at least at that point in the season).

MSU got drilled at home by a solid Texas Longhorns team, and also was drubbed by Syracuse on a neutral court.  Then, when the Big Ten season began, Michigan State began routinely losing to teams they would normally beat, including bottom feeders Iowa and Penn State, and struggled to beat another second-tier team, the Indiana Hoosiers, by one point at home. Adding insult to injury, the Michigan Wolverines defeated Michigan State in East Lansing for the first time since 1997.

The Spartans' 20-point drubbing at Iowa, and a 82-56 beatdown at Wisconsin, made many Spartan fans, myself included, think that this year's team was totally hopeless. The loss of versatile Raymar Morgan through graduation, defensive stalwart Chris Allen, and backup point guard Korie Lucious (the latter two were booted off the team), seemed to harm team chemistry. 

A part of me believed MSU had the talent and ability to "turn it on" by February and get hot in the final 4 weeks of the season to secure their 14th straight NCAA Tournament bid.  But another part of me suspected some of the players must be enduring some behind-the-scenes difficulties (family issues, tension with the coach, infighting, alcohol, girlfriend problems, academic struggles, etc.)  I was ready to throw in the towel for the 2010-11 season.

But then came the Tuesday, Feb. 15 game at Ohio State, which had been No. 1 in the land for several weeks until losing its first game at Wisconsin a few days earlier.  Michigan State played toe-to-toe with the Buckeyes for the first half and part of the second half, but turned the ball over a few times in the second half and lost by 10.  Ohio State went to the free throw line 29 times, making 23.  By contrast, the Spartans only went to the charity stripe six times.  The officiating was that one-sided.  I saw bad calls going both ways, but clearly the Buckeyes benefited more from some home cooking.

What impressed me greatly was the fact that for the first time all season, Michigan State had an inside, low-post game.  Two much heralded big men, sophomore Derrick Nix and freshman Adreian Payne, displayed aggressiveness and beautiful moves to the hoop.  Where has this been all season, I wondered?  Both of these two were much hyped coming out of high school, but neither has lived up to expectations so far.  Maybe the light bulb has turned on at last.  Meanwhile, at the point, Kalin Lucas, finally showed signs of returning to his old quickness and explosiveness following last season's surgery on his achilles tendon.  Even backup guard Mike Kebler, a local hero from Okemos High School, scored eight points, hitting some key jump shots at crucial times.

But alas, shooting guard Durell Summers, who some thought was a sure-fire NBA prospect a year ago, continues to struggle, and some wonder if he is enduring psychological problems, based on his lackluster effort, body language, and facial expressions.  He was the only down side to the Spartans' peformance.

The Spartans' overall record is a mediocre 14-11, and they are 6-7 in the Big Ten with five conference games remaining until the Big Ten Tournament.  If they can win four of those five, plus two games in the tournament, I believe they'll be selected for the Big Dance.

Never have I felt so good after a loss as I did following Tuesday's game.  I suspect the Spartans finally have that burning sense of urgency, coupled with the awareness that they DO have the talent if only they'll put forth sufficient effort, to finish strong and earn a spot in the tournament.

As the great Muhammad Ali famously proclaimed, "You've got to have the will, and you have to have the skill. But the will must be stronger than the skill."

Budget-Mania!!!

All across our great nation, state governments -- and Uncle Sam -- are coming to terms with what most non-comatose people have realized for years:  Explosive growth in entitlements, in conjunction with stubbornly weak tax revenues, have pounded budgets into a deep shade of red. Now is the time to make drastic cuts, because if the cuts are not made, havoc will result.

On the federal level, there seems to be an eerie calm about the whole process.  I believe tens of millions of people don't take President Obama seriously.  He is absolutely disingenuous and two-faced in so many of his pronouncements and actions, that it's not worth getting upset. Heavy metal is loud, the IRS is a m***** f*****, and winters are cold on the North Pole.  Those who are not apathetic realize that the gamesmanship of Congress, the Senate, and the White House make the federal budget process a dog-n-pony show on steroids.

So let's just leave that be. ("Nothing to see here, folks...move along...")

It's in the state capitals where things will really get interesting.  Let's start with Wisconsin, and then we'll get into my home state of Michigan.

If you pay attention to the news at all, you've heard that picketers in Madison, Wis., not only protested outside the state Capitol, they also stormed the Senate chambers and interrupted Senate session.  Their pickets displayed the usual juvenile and over-the-top bunk that's par for the course for the intellectually bankrupt left (Hitler, Mussolini, Mubarak, dictator, blah X 3...).

They are upset because Gov. Scott Walker and the Republicans want to make public workers pay half the costs of their pensions and at least 12.6 percent of their health care coverage, and also want to outlaw collective bargainng.  (I'm all for the latter provision. I have NEVER believed public employees ought to have the right to strike.)

These steps are necessary, given that Wisconsin faces a staggering $3.6 billion budget deficit.  Many Wisconsin Senate Democrats boarded a bus and headed out of town, displaying a shameful cowardice by refusing to vote on the budget proposal.

Meanwhile, here in Michigan, Gov. Rick Snyder has demonstrated he has a thick skin but also is willing to walk the walk while he talks the talk.  Snyder has proposed a budget that reduces aid to public schools, asks state employees to contribute more toward their health insurance, taxes previously untaxed senior pensions, and makes many other tough decisions.  Snyder has agreed to work in 2011 for a $1 salary.  Kudos to him.

I have to admit, Rick Snyder was not my first choice among the Republican candidates for governor of Michigan.  But so far I am highly impressed by his diligence and hard-nosed approach.  And it goes without saying that ANY of the Republican candidates would have been a vast improvement over the inept and feckless Jennifer Granholm.  There is still hope for Michigan after all.

As I've stated in the past, people either have to face up to reality, or their addiction to entitlements will do to our economy and society what chronic alcoholism does to the liver.

A few months ago I blogged about entitlement addicts.  My convictions stand.  And as time goes on, we move ever closer to that ultimate day of reckoning.  It is not outlandish to suggest that just 5 or 10 years from now, Uncle Sam might have to pay so many hundreds of billions of dollars servicing trillions of dollars of debt, that national defense, Medicare, Medicaid and other programs will be savagely cut.  The off-the-charts hysteria that Georgia Congressman John Lewis bellowed about during the 1996 debate about welfare reform might actually come true.

That's IF we don't snap out of our lethargy and denial, and quickly.

 

Dumb and Dumber

In the world of politics, loyalty to an ideology and/or excessive cronyism often trump competence and any sense of shame due to embarrassing failure.  Although this is bad enough in positions like Commerce Secretary or EPA Director, it could be downright catastrophic in the realm of national intelligence.

Left wingers used to have a field day making fun of George W. Bush for supposedly being a complete idiot.  They claimed the Bush administration was chock-full of stupidity.  Imagine if the Director of National Security in the Bush administration had been caught with the deer in the headlights look and totally unaware when a network news reporter asked him about a thwarted terrorist attack in Europe  -- one that had received extensive press coverage -- and he had not even heard of it.

Turns out, that scenario did happen, only the Director of National Security, James Clapper, was appointed by President Barack Obama.

Picture a Bush-appointed CIA Director confidently predicting that Hosni Mubarak would step down on a certain night, and then it turns out Mubarak did not step down.  Then, when the press questioned how/why he came to that conclusion, the director lamely admitted it was based on "press accounts."  That really happened.  Only instead of a Bush appointee, it was one of Obama's hacks: Leon Panetta.

This nonsense is happening right before our eyes.  But don't expect much of a hullabaloo from our insipid mainstream media.  They are too busy obsessing over John Boehner's supposed fake suntan, the big, bad Republicans' plans to shut down the government, feed dog food to senior citizens, and kick sick people out into the street.  All the while failing to make the connection as to why their circulation figures (print) and viewership (TV) are dropping like a rock.

Now, it is true that American intelligence agencies have a less than stellar record for being prescient.  The fall of communism in Eastern Europe, the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, the disintigration of the Soviet Union, weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the Fort Hood slaughter, and 9/11 are just a few of the high profile incidents and developments in which our intelligence agencies failed miserably.

But to have people placed in such high positions who are so utterly clueless and embarrassingly incompetent is more than just appalling, it is scary and dangerous.

I hope and pray our nation does not incur devastating consequences because of incompetence and wrongheaded ideology in the intelligence community -- something like former Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick's infamous "wall" separating law enforcement and intelligence operations.

It's a big, bad world out there.  There is no margin for error -- or incompetence.  We're living on borrowed time, and I deeply hope the voters recognize how precarious our status is when the time comes to cast their ballots in November 2012.

Return to the Lansing/Mason Gun and Knife Show

For the first time in a long time, this past Saturday I attended the Lansing area gun show, conveniently located in Mason.  It had been a few years since I was in the market, and while I wasn't planning on buying anything, I did find a deal that was too good to pass up.  More on that in a future post.

My focus today was on the changes since I last frequented the gun show circuit.  Two things stuck out:  The diversity of the crowd, and its size.

There were a lot of young women there.  Not a majority to be sure, but the fact that I saw any at all was noteworthy.

I think this illustrates the fact that despite the best efforts of the gun control lobby, firearms are being normalized.  To own one no longer carries a stigma, indeed many young women in particular find it empowering. 

At my youngest daughter's birthday party some weeks back, we hosted a laser tag game.  Long-time readers will not be surprised that I was not the deadliest participant - a 9-year-old girl took that honor (I came in second.  In my own defense, I was a rather large and conspicuous target).  I remarked on this to one of the other kids' moms and she pulled a pistol target with the center shot out from per pocket and speculated on what she would have been able to accomplish.

Now understand that I've grown up in the Lansing area and take for granted that guns are despised by all respectable folk, yet here was a soccer mom talking about her morning at the range - and she did so with perfect confidence.  Truly, something I was not expecting and a very positive sign.

I haven't verified attendence, but I never recall the county fairgrounds being this crowded before.  It was difficult to move between the tables with all the people there.

I noted with pleasure that the prices for ARs are beginning to fall (I saw a no-frills model for under $800) and that ammunition was plentiful (though still to my mind rather expensive).

I hope to continue this trend of frequenting area shows and if the readers like it, will endeavor to offer photos and other coverage of what is going on.  The Posse used to do a lot more with firearms and based on the quantity of comments, this is an area where we should devote more attention.