Posse Incitatus

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

A hat-tip to the great Tom Petty for today's headline...

Before I get into my blog, I'm going to do my best Ben Stein...and by the time I am done with my imitation, you may agree with Mr. Petty that the waiting (for commentary on politics) is truly the hardest part -- that is, IF you don't just skip the small type and move on to the rest of the blog... Here goes...

I woke up feeling depressed this morning, as I often do. And my stomach was bothering me. I walked out onto the deck and was astounded by a stunning vista as the sun rose above the Grand Tetons in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. My wifey called out to the deck, asking if I wanted coffee. No thanks, I told her. I'm going to walk down to the country store and buy some Pepto Bismal and a morning paper. A beautiful young lady -- perhaps 19 -- with strawberry blonde hair and a delightful, bubbly personality waited on me. Her beauty and vivaciousness transformed me to a time 50 years ago when I might have had a chance with a young bombshell like this, but soon my thoughts returned to reality and I tried to stick to business. I purchased my elixir and morning fishwrap, and while the comely cashier chatted me up, I was surprised to hear her mention how worried she was about the state of our nation and how everything hangs in the balance in this next election. She made it clear she does not like Barack Obama. I complimented her for her historical knowledge (she quoted Ayn Rand and complained about Keynesian economics) and headed out the door. I walked with a bounce in my step as I thanked God for this pleasant interlude, the beautiful weather and my good fortune to be in good health and have sufficient means to enjoy a vacation in Wyoming. When I walked inside the condo, my wife was complaining about how hungry she was and why did it take me so long. I prepared our usual scrambled eggs and Thomas English muffins, and we had a scrumptous breakfast with Tropicana (NOT FROM CONCENTRATE) orange juice, pulp and all....

...Now, on to my reflections on this year's election compared to 2000, 2004 and 2008...

Twelve years ago, I was nervous, but not nearly as nervous as this year. I detested Al Gore, whom I believed to be a smug, arrogant leftist. (In the years subsequent to the 2000 election, he has more than confirmed my impression.) The hanging chad follies played out like a slow-motion nightmare, and the U.S. Supreme Court finally put an end to the Democrats' desperate change-the-rules-of-the-game-and-put-up-a-moving-target strategy. Now I am certain there are rigid leftists who believe Barack Obama is the Republicans' Karma for the Supreme Court's decision...

Anyhoo, Algore was put out of his misery, and consigned to speaking engagements in front of tree-hugger loons on the far-left fringes. His gray hair, wide girth and divorce are simply symptoms of his bitter inner rage. But let's move on...

In 2004, George W. Bush faced a stiff challenge from a pompous, New England patrician politician — John Kerry. I was concerned about the need to maintain vigilance against Islamofascists. And even though I was not happy with Bush's profligate spending, steel tariffs, and Medicare prescription drug pander to seniors, I knew he was highly preferable to Kerry.

I was nervous on that Election Day Tuesday in November 2004 when exit polling was predicting a Kerry victory. I should have known better, as pollsters often are sympathetic to the leftist perspective and just can't help themselves in how they compose questions and report results. Bush won, despite predictions he would lose made by the credibility-challenged mainstream news media.

Four years later, in 2008, it was obvious that John McCain didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell. The Bush era ended in tatters, and it was the perfect storm for an unknown, fresh candidate like Barack Obama. Obama's media sycophants greased the skids for him, and before you knew it, we had our first hard-left, statist president.

Still, McCain's defeat did not bother me at all. For one thing, I have never liked his political instincts. He voted against the Bush tax cuts, has cozied up to the global warming crowd, and co-authored one of the most ridiculous, convoluted and destructive pieces of legislation ever, so-called "campaign finance reform." (It is "reform" like a pig is a white stallion.)

So I didn't shed any tears when McCain was routed. But then, I didn't realize what we were in for. Now, four years later, I am stunned by what has transpired, and appalled at the damage inflicted on our land. As many have observed, Obama is really the symptom of a deeper problem: leftist rot has infected and influenced the thinking of tens of millions of Americans. Thirty years ago, it would have been unthinkable that a left-wing, ivory tower elitist would be elected president. To think that there could be enough voters who want four more years of this is frightening, indeed.

Numerous times I have stated on this blog that I am supremely confident Romney will win, because Obama has been such a disaster that even those who are not crazy about Romney or Republicans in general will vote GOP to avoid four more years of economic misery.

But in recent days I have become discouraged and alarmed at swing state polls showing Obama widening his lead. Still, I have to take solace in a few things: the state of Ohio was a GOP sweep in the 2010 election, and normally blue Wisconsin voted to retain Gov. Scott Walker by a wide margin despite the left going at him with both barrels blazing. 

But I think Wednesday's debate may well be a turning point. President Obama is seldom challenged, but when he is, his petulant nature comes through in a heartbeat. He is thin-skinned and likely to react in an unfavorable way if Romney keeps jabbing at him in the first debate. Such a reaction would show his true colors and hurt Obama in the polls. This is what I believe may be the biggest factor -- even above Romney's focus on the miserable economy that Obama owns -- in giving a shot-in-the-arm to the Romney campaign. 

But getting irritated and losing control can work both ways: If Obama manages to get under Romney's skin, the governor had better be sure he's disciplined and does not react too strongly, or that will come back to bite him big-time.

I don't believe the Romney campaign is in as serious a state as the mainstream media would have it, but the campaign does need to proceed deliberately and wisely in the remaining five weeks or so. With a biased media carrying Obama's water and the always-present threat of election fraud, there is a razor-thin margin for error.

 

 

 

Spartans host Buckeyes, Blogger Recovers from Hangover

I've been busy for the past couple of weeks on various assignments and this has cut into my time available to blog.

Of course, given the intense pain of both the Notre Dame loss and the far-from-inspiring victory over the Fighting EMUs, much of what I would have posted was unfit for public consumption anyway.

Today seems to be a hinge point of the season.  Obviously the conference opener is critical, but given the frustrations of the past month, a slow start here could doom MSU to second-tier status for the rest of the season.

Given the stakes, the Posse offers this advice to MSU:

Catch.  The.  Ball.

It really is that simple.  While we often speak of cascade failures, there are also cascade successes, where the completion of one task opens up new avenues for advancement, culiminating in overall victory.

The Spartans need some cascade successes - a completion that enables a first down, which enables a run, which inables another completion and finally a touchdown.  This is the key to success, both in football and elsewhere.

IS NOTRE DAME FOR REAL?:  It's difficult for me to say anything good about the Fighting Irish, and I won't start now.  MSU's loss was basically self-inflicted:  We almost duplicated the result against Eastern Michigan.

The weakness of the Skunk Bears has been an ongoing thing and I'm tempted to ascribe it more to everyone in the NCAA now being aware of the fact that the sum total of the Wolverine offense is Denard Robinson, a quarterback with no arm.  Box him in, and you win.  I fully expect more teams to do this over the course of the season.

POLITICAL NOTE:  While I am loathe to mix politics and football in one post, I will simply note that nothing I wrote two weeks ago is out of date. 

Farcical Absurdities Continue

It seems the whole world's gone crazy...

- Useless U.N. diplomats sit respectfully and listen to an insane, genocidal lunatic, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, spout his bombast before a long-discredited forum -- on Yom Kippur, no less...

- The Middle East is burning, Iran is close to developing nuclear weapons, and the American economy is sickly. Yet President Obama, in all his arrogance, appears on Letterman and with the ditzes of "The View." He cracks an inane joke about being "eye candy" for the show's mostly female viewers. Even so, he's locked up the votes of about 50 percent of the electorate. If this isn't an indication our nation is in serious trouble, I don't know what is.

- Has-been singer Madonna, who craves attention like an insecure 13-year-old, found that showing her breast or bringing a firearm on stage were not shocking enough. So the other night during one of her concerts, she blurted out that we have "a black Muslim" in the White House. She also promised to strip on stage if Obama wins re-election. It's probably safe to say that about 99 percent of her fans are big Obama supporters.

- Obama's wretched hatchet man, Sen. Harry Reid, one of the most despicable humans to ever walk the earth, stated that GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney has "sullied" the Mormon religion. Oh yeah? Kind of like Reid has sullied the U.S. Senate, state of Nevada and politics in general? Hmmmm. I again reiterate: Perhaps Scary Harry just isn't playing with a full deck.

- The NFL's lousy replacement refs have been screwing up left and right, making costly errors that are affecting the outcome of games. Monday night was the epitome of it all, as the zebras called a game-winning pass by Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson to receiver Golden Tate complete. In fact, Green Bay Packer defender M.D. Jennings obviously intercepted the pass and Tate tried to yank it out of Jennings' hands. It's possible the refs were intimidated by how the huge Seattle crowd would react if they ruled in favor of Green Bay.

- Belatedly, I have to mock the legions of U-M slappies, most notably beat reporter Angelique Chengelis of The Detroit News, who touted Wolverines quarterback Denard Robinson for the Heisman Trophy. Robinson has always been an erratic passer, and this past Saturday he threw four interceptions and fumbled once in a loss to Notre Dame. And he's a senior, no less. Yeah, Denard's a Heisman candidate like John L. Smith is the next Vince Lombardi.

- Can't let my Spartans off the hook either. They were supposed to have one of the Big Ten's best offensive lines and a stable of reliable receivers. Instead, quarterback Andrew Maxwell has been hounded by intense pressure, and when he does have time to throw, his receivers keep dropping passes. they dropped about eight passes in a Sept. 15 loss to Notre Dame, and about six more in an uninspiring win vs. Eastern Michigan on Sept. 22. The MSU defense is respectable, but the offense looks to be about as feeble as the Obama economy.

Strange days, indeed. Reminds me of some funny lyrics by the Electric Light Orchestra in the song "Do Ya." Their 1976 recording was a harder-rock version of the original 1971 tune written by ELO frontman Jeff Lynne when he was with The Move:

In this life Ive seen everything I can see woman
Ive seen lovers flying through the air hand in hand
Ive seen babies dancing in the midnight sun
And Ive seen dreams that came from the heavenly skies above
Ive seen old men crying at their own grave sides
And Ive seen pigs all sitting watching picture slides
But I never seen nothing like you

Kinda sums it up...

 

I, Me, Mine

"I, Me, Mine" was a George Harrison-penned Beatles song off of "Let it Be," with lyrics inspired by Harrison's Hindu leanings. An okay tune, but nothing to write home about.

There. I've frontloaded my digression. Now on to the good stuff. You'll soon see why I chose that headline.

Been involved in job-related training of late, and it has really forced me to focus (and do homework). Haven't had much time to post on the Posse, although there's lots to talk about. Something popped into my cranium during the Democrat Convention that the mainstream commentators seem to have overlooked or not even realized: Democrats and their supporters are the selfish ones.

We've been fed a steady diet of nonsense about greedy rich people and heartless Republicans. Study after study has shown that conservatives tend to give much more money to charities than do liberals. Cynics may say this is simply to get the tax deductions, and in some cases they are right. But there is also a correlation between being conservative and believing in a higher power. Belief in a higher power, if it is sincere, is a strong motivator to give to those less fortunate and try to help them out as best you can.

Conservatives believe that compassion does not have to come from government. It often comes from individuals, churches and nonprofit charitable groups. And in fact, too often when government programs are established in the name of compassion, they cause perverse effects. (See Detroit.)

Here's an excerpt from a news story that ran Friday:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, gave about 30 percent of their $13.7 million in 2011 income to charity, but did not take the full write-off, making their effective tax rate higher.

Kudos to Reuters for even publishing that (I guess since it was dropped right in their lap, they couldn't try to cover it up knowing that thousands of other news organizations would report it). Sometimes even the mainstream media has to print good news about Republicans and unflattering stuff about Democrats (see Anthony Weiner).

Who could forget Al Gore's $353 donation to charity one tax year (1997?), or that Vice President Joe Biden and his wife only gave 1 percent of their income to charity in 2011? There are plenty of examples of "Do as I say, not as I do" Democrats when it comes to being compassionate. Hey, it's really easy to be compassionate with other people's money! I'd love to try it myself sometime.

It's been frequently observed that President Obama often uses the pronouns in today's headline in his speeches. I did this, my administration achieved such-and-such, etc. It's downright embarrassing, but maybe not to an uber-egomaniac.

How fitting that self-centeredness is a key trait of the leader of a selfish party. Yes, that's right, liberals are the self-centered and selfish ones. For all of their empty accusations about Republicans being greedy and favoring a dog-eat-dog, Darwinian nightmare, it is leftists and their entitlement-minded legions who are selfish at the expense of our constitution and our nation's future.

Sandra Fluke is the poster girl for selfish, me-centered behavior. We are $16 trillion in debt (a number that promises to get much worse in a hurry); we have unsustainable entitlements, record foreclosures, families forced to live in seedy motels or even tents, 23 million unemployed, college graduates earning minimum wage, and budget cuts that may decimate our military families and communities if sequestration goes into effect. We also have possible massive tax increases coming in 2013.

Yet this shallow woman expects taxpayers to pay for her birth control pills. Are you freakin' KIDDING me? It's obvious, but I'll say it anyway: Honey, if you can't afford the pill, perhaps you ought not to attend a university that charges $40K per year in tuition! Or better yet, why doesn't your boyfriend kick in on this? Rumor has it he's the son of very wealthy parents.

The selfish tendencies extend into programs existing (welfare for those who don't need it); in the works (Obamacare -- "free" healthcare for all!); and proposed (subsidized child care and subsidies for Internet access).

Hate to gore a golden goose, but literally tens of millions of seniors (some of them Republicans, admittedly) do not need Medicare OR social security. They could easily pay their own way. When these programs were established, seniors often were borderline destitute, but today they are generally far better off than the young and middle-aged people whose paychecks are shrunken by the FICA and Medicare withholdings that help feather seniors' nests.

Yet whenever conservatives propose partial privatization of social security and/or means testing for Medicare, they are demonized by the AARP (a subsidiary of the Democrat Party) and its fellow travelers.

Voter ID laws also represent a "woe-is-me," helpless form of selfishness, e.g., I'm too much of an imbecile, have zero gumption, and/or no one in my family gives a rat's patooey to help me out to obtain a picture ID. Therefore I needn't show a photo ID when I go to vote. Oh and by the way, could you extend election day to three weeks or so? I don't have a car and it might take me a while to get to the polls.

Our Founding Fathers would be utterly appalled if they could see the entitlement bloat and its corrosive effects on our populace. This next election really concerns me, because if the cool, rock star statist is kept in office, and is able to appoint a couple more U.S. Supreme Court justices, it's all over for our great republic.

 

 

The Arab Winter

The Middle East has become such a cauldron of rage, violence and chaos that it's like an out-of-control vehicle with a driver bombed on drugs and alcohol. How much carnage will result? How much damage will be done?

But more importantly, will President Barack Obama's administration acknowledge that what's transpired in the Middle East and northern Africa in recent days has been largely coordinated and planned by extremist Islamists, as opposed to spontaneous? Don't hold your breath.

As of this morning, the administration's spokespeople, including U.N. ambassador Susan Rice on "Meet the Press" and "Fox News Sunday," were still positing that the trailer for an Internet video mocking the Prophet Muhammad was responsible for the Benghazi consulate invasion and four American deaths, plus violence in Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon and other countries.

This is stunningly simplistic and silly. What kind of imbeciles do these folks think we are? I am far from a military expert, but it doesn't take one to know that a well-orchestrated, sustained attack on a consulate that involves rocket propelled grenades and precise execution is NOT spontaneous.

And why would a video that has been out for many weeks suddenly —on September 11, no less — cause combustion across many nations? There are many things on the Internet that insult Muslims (ever seen "Achmad the Dead Terrorist"?) It is beyond believability that one low budget video insulting Islam and the Prophet Muhammad would spark the mayhem of recent days. But give this administration and its news media lackeys credit: Once they start spouting a lie, they stubbornly stick with it for the long run.

Recall the oft-repeated claim that Obama assumed the presidency during the worst economic crisis in 70 years, and the stimulus program saved us from plunging into another Great Depression. Without doing any research, I can recall off the top of my head that when Jimmy Carter was president, interest rates were 21 percent, inflation was 13 percent, and unemployment was 7-to-8 percent. Home buyers could not get a conventional mortgage; homeowners who sold served as the financier in what were known as "land contracts." Gold peaked at $850 an ounce in 1980 (about $2,400 in today's dollars).

I can say unequivocally that the economy of 1980 was worse than the economy of 2009. I am also highly skeptical of the "too big to fail" nonsense and how if we hadn't shoveled trillions of dollars to inept and crooked banks, the whole world economy would have collapsed. Chalk that up as Chicken Little balderdash equivalent to the Paul Ehrlich School of Pessimism and False Predictions.

But I digress. We know the administration lies boldly and regularly. It would not surprise me in the least if the Benghazi fiasco was an inside job, and if the evidence clearly shows the administration was too distracted, too lackadaisical, to heed warnings about the vulnerability of U.S. outposts in Libya and Egypt. The FBI is investigating, and it will be interesting to see how the administration spins the Bureau's findings (or whether efforts are made to suppress the findings).

Make no mistake, al Qaeda and other Islamofascist groups were behind this week's protests and attacks, and Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood is just one of many leaders who are loving every minute of it. It is entirely reasonable for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to criticize Obama's Middle Eastern policies despite indignant cries from the administration. Obama did the same thing with American military deaths in Iraq during 2007 and 2008. "Do as I say, not as I do" is one of the most consistent things about Barack Obama.

Our president is typically proving to be aloof and thinking he's oh, so above it all. News flash: This is not a video game or a movie. Not to make light of a serious situation, but I can't help but think of the Talking Heads' "Life During Wartime" lyrics:

This ain't no party, this ain't no disco,
this ain't no fooling around
This ain't no Mudd Club, or C. B. G. B.'s,
I ain't got time for that now...

Why inject rock-n-roll lyrics into this discussion? Just because I felt like it, that's why. But also, because the lyrics drive home a point: When President Obama spends time golfing, hob-nobbing with celebrities and campaigning in Las Vegas during a cruel recession and with continued unrest in the Middle East, one can't help but wonder if the gravity of the office of the Presidency has even registered inside his cranium. Does he just love the attention, luxurious trappings, five-star vacations and fawning media/celebrities/rappers/athletes, but detest the grunt-work of reading lengthy policy briefs, attending meetings and making executive decisions? Quite possibly. But actions have consequences.

Yes, hindsight is always 20-20, but those who questioned the wisdom of quickly throwing Hosni Mubarak and Muammar Gaddafi under the bus may have been right. The naivete and idealism surrounding the so-called "Arab Spring" ought to have been brought to a screeching halt by the rape and pummeling of CBS correspondent Lara Logan in spring 2011. Mubarak and Gaddafi, like other Middle Eastern strongmen, probably needed to go, and perhaps a more stable transition to democracy and liberty could have taken place.

The chaotic overthrow of dictators and the deadly ramifications can remind us of the idiom, "Better the devil you know..." The problem in Iraq, Egypt, Libya and other countries ruled by dictators for many decades is tantamount to what Russia and some eastern European nations have endured after their yokes were removed: People accustomed to being taken care of, told what to do, and prohibited from taking ownership and initiative with their lives, are pretty darned helpless once given liberty.

Meanwhile, genocide continues in Syria, and American relations with Israel remain chilly as Iran races toward achievement of nuclear arms. Obama's apparent disdain for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is so senseless, I just have to chalk it up to the Orwellian thinking his administration exhibits time and time again. A day of reckoning is coming — in about seven weeks.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave when we promise to deceive. (Sir Walter Scott) 

 

 

Spartans obliterate Mt. Pleasant, Air Force strafes Ann Arbor

In more pleasant news...

The mushroom cloud created by MSU’s impact on the Chippewas was not quite visible in East Lansing, but I’m told it could be seen from as far away as Alma, and a stiff breeze carried it into Midland.

I was a student during the tail-end of the Perles era, when George managed to lose to CMU twice (and post a near-record 3-8 season in the process), but I bear no ill will to the Chips.  They seem like decent folks and there is a common affinity between Spartan fans and the other “directional” universities – they all despite U-M’s arrogance.

The big news was that quarterback Andrew Maxwell continues to develop and refine his skills, demonstrating some of the potential Kirk Cousins and other observers have been claiming he posses.

This weekend we will see how he stacks up against the Fighting Irish.  I watched a little of the Notre Dame-Purdue game and neither team looked particularly sharp.  Notre Dame has had our number for the last few years, but MSU has a good chance of taking home the megaphone.

IT DIDN’T SNOW IN ANN ARBOR, BUT THERE WERE CONTRAILS:  Congratulations to the Air Force Academy for one of the most exciting and dedicated examples of college football in a long time.  I was sure the cadets would pull it out, but the Skunk Bears were just too much for them.

This was not at all surprising – the Zoomies were outweighed along the line about by about 50 pounds per player:  Their lead running back is only 5’7” and 170 pounds!

And yet these scrappy airmen drove up and down the field, racking up 400 yards of total offense.  Spare me your hackneyed clichés about how hard it is to stop the option – if the option was that great, everyone would be doing it.  RichRod would have run it instead of that oddball spread thing.

No, the key takeaway is that the Wolverines’ defense is as bad as we thought, perhaps worse.  Other than running the quarterback, they have no rushing attack.  It is all Denard, all the time.  Take him out of the equation, and there’s no offense left.

BADGER DOWN!  BADGER DOWN!  What the heck happened to Wisconsin?  I didn’t even know there was an Oregon State until it snuffed out their vaunted running game and forced Bret Bielema to rely on his latest mercenary quarterback.  At least some of our other teams held up…WHAT THE HECK?!

Nebraska lost to UCLA, Iowa lost to Iowa State, this thing is looking ugly.  It appears the strength of our conference this season will be Northwestern, Minnesota and…Indiana.

Wait, Ohio State won.  Okay, there is some hope.

Penn State lost, though…and I’m good with that.  I never bought into the creepy hero worship surrounding Joe Paterno and I wouldn’t mind if they racked up four more 0-12 seasons.

How's that reset working out, Mr. President?

The elitists who supported the election of President Barack Obama four years ago, in their unmitigated arrogance and gall, thought they were so much smarter than the rest of us.

In their distorted take on reality, it was solely the fault of the United States that the Arab-Muslim world hated America. But an all-encompassing mantle of hatred for the United States across the Arab world never was really true; it was just a convenient cudgel for the left to use against George Bush, their eternal bogeyman.

In fact, the common people of the Middle East often feel quite the opposite toward our nation (see Iran), but it's their oppressive dictators as well as extremist elements in their societies who hate and demonize the U.S.A.

Still, the internationalists, those who naively put faith in the United Nations, Arab League and U.S. Department of State, thought that if Obama toured the Middle East in an obsequious manner, toadying up to Arab-Muslim countries and criticizing his own nation, he would win the love and respect of these people. Obviously this leftist, idealistic contingent is ignorant not just of history, but of Arab culture. Put simply, Arabs respect strength and disdain weakness. Changing the moniker "War on Terror" to "Overseas Contingency Operations" won't win the affections of Islamists. Nor will sucking up to Egyptian president-elect Muhamed Morsi, an extremist from the Muslim Brotherhood.

Over the weekend, Iraq endured a horrendous series of terrorist attacks that killed nearly 100 people. Al Qaeda is suspected as the prime perpetrator. Just today, we got word that Islamist radicals have stormed the consulate in Benghazi, Libya and the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, killing at least one American, setting fires, shredding Old Glory and flying an Islamist flag.

Ostensibly, these actions were taken by fundamentalist Muslims in protest of the movie "Muhummad's Trial," produced by a U.S.-based Coptic Christian group and the infamous, ubiquitous Rev. Terry Jones of Koran-burning notoriety. But it's certainly no coincidence these attacks took place on the 11th anniversery of 9/11.

And meanwhile, as the deadly pariah Iran gets closer to developing nuclear weapons, representating a menacing threat to Israel, Obama continues to give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the cold shoulder. Things are seriously amiss, and not just economically.

It Obama is re-elected two months from now, we will know that Americans are hopelessly apathetic, hedonistic and vitiated by the inane bread-and-circuses fare of "American Idol," "Dancing with the Stars" and "Jersey Shore." What else could explain such a sad state of affairs?

 

The Black Flag returns

Long-time readers of this blog know that I predicted the 9/11 attacks long before they happened.  I saw the growth of radical Islam and how the U.S. government simply ignored the repeated provocations.  Retaliation was “beneath us,” or so the refrain went.  We could afford to shrug off embassy bombings in Africa and attacks on our warships.

So the attacks escalated until we could not ignore them any more.

For a few months, it looked like things had changed – and I believed our nation had awoken to the existential threat posed by radical Islam – an ideology of conquest rather than a faith.

Today we have the definitive proof that I was wrong.

Today our embassy in Egypt was attacked, the American flag torn down and the Black Flag waved over its compound.

The Black Flag has a lot of history.  It was raised more than a century ago in the Sudan during the Mahdist rebellion.  Winston Churchill’s excellent account of the campaign is still available and an invaluable source of information on the roots of the modern jihadi.

This history is well known to the local inhabitants:  How in 1884 an obscure preacher incited the people of the Sudan to holy war against the British-backed Egyptian garrison.  Let by the Mahdi, the hordes of fanatics swept across the country, capturing everything south of roughly the modern frontier save for the capital, Khartoum.  It was here that the legendary General Charles “Chinese” Gordon held out for over a year against impossible odds, waiting in vain for relief.  The city fell and Gordon was beheaded two days before the relief force arrived.  It then withdrew back to Egypt.

Nearly a decade later, the British resolved to restore their honor – and forestall possible French influence along the Nile - by launching a massive punitive expedition under General Sir Herbert Kitchener (he of the “I Want You” poster fame) that culminated in the archetypal clash of civilizations:  The Battle of Omdurman.

It was here in 1898 that the “whirling dervishes” of the Mahdist army, swords flashing and banners streaming, were cut down in droves by modern artillery and machineguns. 

What a difference a century makes.  Then, the Black Flag was cut down by Maxim guns and quick-firing 6-pounders.  Now, we bow to it.

Think I exaggerate?  Here is the official U.S. response to the violation of American sovereign territory:

 The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims – as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions. Today, the 11th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Americans are honoring our patriots and those who serve our nation as the fitting response to the enemies of democracy. Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy. We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others

Yeah!  Take that!

Oh wait, another apology.

I was born for a different age - an age when honor meant something, and when America stood for something other than buying off victims.

The proper response to this infringement of sovreign territory is to recall the ambassador and establish a blockade.  If the insults persist, naval and aerial bombardment of key facilities until the host nation apologizes to us.

This is the way things used to be.  It will be interesting to see if Romney can show more backbone.  Not that it should be difficult...

BONUS QUESTION:  Does this mean the administration will start censoring Catholic critics, or do we have to kill some people first to get their attention?

 

Ugly Election on the Way?

I can say with complete confidence that if there is no election fraud and all eligible ballots are counted, Mitt Romney will defeat President Barack Obama in November. I can also say with confidence that if Michigan winters weren't cold and snowy, my heating bills would be a lot lower, and I wouldn't need to own a snow shovel. One can always engage in wishful thinking, I suppose.

It goes without saying that Obama's supporters will play the race card to the max, claiming he was defeated because of racism. This is an utterly irrational and ludicrous argument, since if racism were as prevalent as these folks claim, Obama never would have been elected in the first place. But then, that's pure logic, something consistently absent from leftist thinking.

What concerns me is that what happened in Florida 12 years ago could rear its ugly head again. Only this time, it might involve more than one state. And rather than just confusing ballots and hanging chads causing the chaos, other elements might play a major role. These include absentee ballots, tainted voters lists, voter IDs, and provisional ballots (for voters claiming to be properly registered, but whose eligibility cannot be veriried at the precinct at the time of the vote).

The Obama gang lusts after power like Johnny Wadd lusted after busty porn stars. Hailing from Chicago, with its long, sordid history of thug politics, they will use every dirty trick in the book to hold onto their power.

I've already mentioned that I plan to take the day off Nov. 7, because I will probably be up late into the night riveted to the TV and computer, watching the results come in and perusing the commentary.

Hopefully I won't have a hangover from excessive indulgence (most likely the day off will be needed due to sleep deprivation). But the hangover from Election Day and the left's devious undertakings could last for months, further tearing apart the fabric of our nation.

If Romney wins, expect the angry left to never accept it. The proof is overwhelming that George W. Bush won fair and square in Florida in 2000, but the delusional leftists will go to their grave believing Al Gore was jobbed. That's the kind of mental instability they exhibit, and they have no intention of ever doing otherwise. So be it. Let's get the country back on track.

Air Force in the Big House, Spartans in a smaller one

Week Two of collge football is upon us, and the week-long orgy of garment-rending and teeth-gnashing in Ann Arbor may finally be coming to an end.

Maybe.

After last week's debacle, it's hard to say if Air Force has a chance against the mighty Skunk Bears.  On the one hand, the Air Force is a service academy - arguably the best of the three - but still at a huge disadvantage against the Winningest Program Ever*.

On the other hand, the Wolverines are also the only ranked team ever to lose to a Division I-AA program.

I cannot help but note that the loss to Appalachian State was when Lloyd Carr was still coach, so the program was allegedly at its peak (he hadn't left the "cupboard bare" yet).

Air Force is a fast and agile team.  The scrappy cadets trounced Army and Navy last year and put up a credible fight against conference powerhouse...Boise State.  Hmmm.

It goes without saying that we wish the zoomies luck and hope the Falcons down the Skunk Bears at home.

IS MSU IDLE?  Whoa, who said that?!  Central Michigan has tormented the Spartans three times in the last 20 years.  I was unfortunate enough to be attending school during the bitter end of the George Perles era, when a loss to a MAC school was the ultimate shame - and MSU did it twice.

The 2009 upset was a closer affair, and the product of increased parity.  Since then, however, the Chips have fallen on hard times.  Former MSU quarterback and coach Dan Enos has striven mightily to restore CMU's fortunes, but the school's patience may be wearing thin.

Still, the dominant performance and hunger of MSU's defense should secure the win.  Hopefully the passing game will pick up because Notre Dame will bein East Lansing a week from tomorrow - and they must be crushed.

*Only if you count 30 years of rugby and several years of teams whose players didn't attend the school.