It’s almost—almost!—fun to watch the Obama Administration stare like a deer into the headlights of the onrushing Mideast crisis. As Libya descends into chaos amid scenes that suggest the start of an all-out civil war, the US State Department’s spokesman found it impossible to say whether the repulsive Muammar Qaddafi is a dictator. And as reports of a death toll in the hundreds trickle in, you can hear the crickets chirping around the White House.

Yes, it would be fun to watch all this—except for the fact that it makes a spectacle of the absolute shambles to which Barack Obama and his dim-witted associates have reduced US foreign policy.

Posted by tmg110 at 9:26 AM EST

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The term “labor movement” summons up a composite image of horny-handed, poorly paid sons of toil, slaving away in some dark and smoky Victorian mill. That, no doubt, is what the soft-handed lefties of the Nation want you to see in your mind’s eye when they use the phrase “Labor’s Last Stand” to describe what’s going on in Wisconsin. But of course, the sons of toil in this case are a bunch of lavishly compensated public employees, engaged in a last-ditch defense of their unjustifiable privileges. But the Nation doesn’t see it that way. Oh, no, according to “union and community organizer,” i.e. left-wing activist, Jane McAlevey, unions are not the problem. They deserve everything they can possibly squeeze out of government—and the taxpayer be damned.

McAlevey’s article breathes the panic of a political faction that is watching helplessly while one of its chief supporters, the public-sector labor movement, circles the bowl. I greatly enjoyed reading it.

Posted by tmg110 at 8:21 AM EST

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I rummaged around for different, perhaps softer, words with which to title this blog post. But really, there are no other words that accurately describe what’s going on in Wisconsin right now. At a time when taxpayers in the state and around the country are hard-pressed to make ends meet, Wisconsin’s public employees are up in arms because the new Republican governor has dared to question the sanctity of their gold-plated benefits package.

To be specific: Governor Scott Walker is proposing that public employees contribute 12% percent of the cost of their health insurance plans and contribute 5.8% of their salaries to their pension plans. They currently pay about 4-6% of the cost of their health insurance, and most contribute nothing to their pension plans. Looked at one way, this amounts to an 8% pay cut for state employees. Looked at another way, it brings their benefits package more into line with those of taxpayers who work in the private sector. Additionally, Walker is proposing a ban on most collective bargaining for most state union employees—essential to ensure that any reforms of the benefits package that are enacted today are not bargained away tomorrow.

All too predictably, these modest proposals have ignited a firestorm of union protests. Though banned by law from striking, the teachers of Madison have been calling in “sick” in such numbers that public schools have shut down. This, of course, not only shows them up as a bunch of greedy bastards, but proves them liars in more ways than one. Besides the obvious lie—no one’s really sick—this performance shows that all teacher union “for the children” rhetoric is so much eyewash. What is certain is that teachers in Madison who are calling in “sick” don’t give a hoot about the children of their city, however they may rationalize their behavior.

This column by Patrick McIlheran in the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal-Sentinel argues that the public-employee unions are attempting to overturn the results of the 2010 election, which brought in a governor and legislative majority committed to fiscal conservatism. It looks that way to me also—and it isn’t a pretty sight. I suspect, however, that the union thugs in Wisconsin have gone too far. Suppose you were sitting at home in Wisconsin, with your mortgage under water and a layoff notice on the kitchen table—what would you think of all this?

Posted by tmg110 at 7:59 AM EST

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PFC Gregg sent this to me today: a reminder that even in the midst of war's travail, the world can be a beautiful place. Lexi is doing fine, incidentally, and reminded me that she has only 17 days to go before her mid-deployment leave.

Posted by tmg110 at 8:28 AM EST

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Here are two facts about the vicious attack on CBS News correspondent Lara Logan that should surprise no one who has the slightest familiarity with contemporary Arab society. The first is that the mob that assaulted and raped her screamed “Jew! Jew!” as they went about their business. The second is that Logan’s ordeal was by no means an isolated incident. Harassment of women, frequently rising to the level of outright sexual assault, is a common occurrence in Egypt. 

Violent anti-Semitism and systemic misogyny: fine foundations on which to build a new, democratic order!

Posted by tmg110 at 8:17 AM EST

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What does this tell you about the quality of life in Chicago, supposedly "the city that works"?

Chicago Population Sinks to 1920 Level

The U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday that during the decade ended in 2010, Chicago's population fell 6.9% to 2,695,598 people, fewer than the 2.7 million reported back in 1920.

Now it could be that this startling population decline is the result of decades of misgovernment and tax increases, coupled with poor-quality schools, sky-high crime rates and a declining regional economy. On the other hand, maybe people are simply getting fed up with Chicago winters in this era of global warming…

Posted by tmg110 at 9:03 AM EST

Updated: Wednesday, 16 February 2011 9:13 AM EST

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Here's a really disturbing story from the Egyptian street, reminding us that revolutions often have their ugly side, and that the journalism trade can sometimes be dangerous:

CBS News: Lara Logan sexually assaulted, beaten while covering Egypt president Hosni Mubarak's exit for '60 Minutes'

Logan is now hospitalized in the United States, and is said to be recovering from this horrific attack.

Posted by tmg110 at 8:50 AM EST

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Very often, the choices placed before a statesman range from bad to worse. The ability to craft a least-worst policy, and the moral courage to implement it, are the qualities that separate a Bismarck or a Kissinger from, well, an Obama.

Look at the mess that the Obama Administration has made of US foreign policy in the Middle East. Caught by surprise when popular demonstrations began to destabilize the regime of Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak, the President and his people reacted with deer-in-the-headlights paralysis. Instead of acting, they reacted, to the dismay of our allies and the delight of our enemies in the region.

Of course, the Administration faced an excruciating dilemma. Mubarak, though no Saddam Hussein, was nonetheless an iron-fisted dictator. But he was also a key US ally whose maintenance of Anwar Sadat’s peace agreement with Israel was the lynchpin of US policy in the region. So the decision about what to do when he ran into trouble on the home front was a difficult one. Obama and his team seemed incapable of making that tough call. Depending on what day it was, and who you were listening to, the Administration wanted Mubarak gone ASAP, they wanted him to stick around for an “orderly transition,” the Muslim brotherhood was a moderate, secular organization (!), etc, etc. The net effect was to alarm, disappoint or disgust all out allies in the region, while confirming our enemies in their belief that America under Obama is a paper tiger.

Then Obama Administration’s handling of this crisis reminds me of Winston Churchill’s stinging 1936 characterization of the British government of his day: “So they go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent.”

As it happens, the outcome in Egypt was the best that could be expected: a military coup that got rid of Mubarak without bringing the Muslim Brotherhood, which is the only organized opposition party in Egypt, to power. But America’s ability to influence events has been seriously compromised by the Obama Administration’s feckless and irresponsible fumbling. Nothing good will come of this—mark my words.

Posted by tmg110 at 8:48 AM EST

Updated: Wednesday, 16 February 2011 8:43 AM EST

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Ugh. Media pundits and prognosticators across the political spectrum are still giddy over the "revolution" in Egypt. That the despised strongman, Hosni Mubarak, was outsted not by the mob but by a cabal of senior military officers, seems to have escaped everybody’s attention. In short, Mubarak fell victim to a military coup. When it became clear to the generals who run the show behind the scenes in Egypt that he had become a liability, they got rid of him. In so doing, the generals bought the time they need to stabilize the political situation and assure their own continued dominance.

So don’t believe all this hopeful chatter about the birth of Arab democracy. The September elections, if they’re held at all, will surely be rigged in such a way as to keep the Army in charge. The Egyptian generals didn’t retire Hosni Mubarak as a favor to liberal intellectuals or Western media pundits.

Posted by tmg110 at 9:05 AM EST

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Yesterday we heard via the media that a series of  bomb attacks had taken place in Kandahar, the main target being a an Afghanistan National Police station. Today we were able to Skype with PFC Gregg, who gave us the good news than no US troops were injured in the attacks. Sadly, however, some 65 Afghan nationals were killed or wounded. You can read more about it here.

Lexi also told us that the enemy attacked a US military installation that night, while she was on guard duty in one of the towers. This installation is only a couple of miles from Lexi's FOB, and she said that the sounds of the firefight were clearly audible. She added that one of the other tower guards could see muzzle flashes, tracer rounds and explosions. Once again, however, no US troops were killed or wounded.

 Needless to say, Lexi and her comrades are on high alert in anticipation of further attacks. So far during this deployment, no soldier of the 511th Military Police Company has been killed or wounded in action. God willing, and with the help of our prayers, the 511th will maintain that record in the months ahead.

Posted by tmg110 at 2:05 PM EST

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