…There is more to learn about Benghazi. Panetta has never told the full story.
Here’s an interesting question. Remember General Ham and what happened the night of the assault on the American embassy? We have reason to believe that things happened that night in the chain of command where people were relieved of their duties because they insisted that there be a military response. We’re working on trying to establish that with some news organizations but there’s very very good evidence that people were actually relieved of command because they refused not to try and dispatch troops and some response.
And by the way, this notion that the administration has put out – it’s this little straw man that military couldn't’t have landed in Libya, Greg Hicks has testified and so have some other military people that if there had only been a flyover, that would have dispersed these crowds because they remembered what the American military did its flyovers and its assaults.
There were planes in Croatia that could have been there by the time of the attack on the annex and no planes were ever sent. That was because the president of the United States refused to issue an order allowing for the dispersal of military into Libya because that was considered an act of war. The president, himself, who went to sleep, refused to issue some order.
You know, Panetta is not a bad man. He knows what went wrong that night. He’s never been properly questioned about this and pressed. And if he were he would admit all of this stuff.
Monday, October 28, 2013
DiGenova: Obama refused to order rescue forces to Benghazi
This is not the first time we've heard that General Carter Ham was relieved of command during the Benghazi raid because he insisted upon attempting a rescue operation.
Benghazi whistleblower attorney Joe DiGenova was on with WMAL radio. According to DiGenova Obama refused to authorize a rescue operation because it would have been an act of war and went to bed.
Jesse Jackson Jr. begins serving time
It's nice that Jesse Jackson Jr. is feeling good about going to prison. I'm sure many of us feel the same way. It will be easier on the country too, knowing where Jesse is and not having to speculate why he is not in Congress and how his drug rehab is going. Jesse will be residing at the Butner, North Carolina federal pen for the next 2 1/2 years and after that it will be 3 years of supervised release.
RIP Lou
Lou Reed: An artist of many facets and perspectives. Reed was the rare artist who is both of his time and place and not of any time or place. We lost a giant.
More On The Virginia Gubernatorial Race
The democratic candidate for governor, Terry McAuliffe, was being funded by the dysfunctional dream team of Bill and Hillary Clinton, among others including NYC soda-banning mayor Michael Bloomberg. A supposedly state-level race became a national race, and began receiving an incredible amount of media attention. A number of almost assumed GOP wins turned into doubts. Could Virginia maintain its Blue-Federal/Red-State election status? The purple color Virginia is often painted on political maps started to grow a darker shade of blue.
After the respective party conventions, Terry McAuliffe and current Attorney General of Virginia Ken Cuccinelli emerged as the nominated candidates. Cuccinelli is the conservative’s conservative, and a great man who had led Virginia to be a tough state for criminals, and a great place to call home. McAuliffe, on the other hand, is a crazy person’s crook. In addition to being bankrolled by liberal heavy hitters like the Clintons and Bloomberg, he has spoken harshly against coal, promised extreme Colorado-style gun control, and is adamantly pro-choice. McAuliffe is egalitarian in his policies, and if he’s elected he will do nothing but take freedoms away from the citizens of this commonwealth, and turn Virginia into a mess of regulations, taxation, unemployment, crime, and corruption.
Read more at http://genfringe.com/2013/10/purple-sliding-blue-virginias-fall-from-freedom/#2Al61LqmM09iAeC6.99
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Repost: Looking Back At Bluegrass
If the quality of the video this old is surprising it's because it was filmed by a professional documentary producer, David Hoffman. It was shot in 1964 just after Lyndon Johnson had declared his war on poverty and very little was known about Appalachia. Hoffman went on to produce 88 prime time documentaries for PBS.
One would think this dance was rehearsed and produced by somebody such as June Taylor but Hoffman explains that this is just a "roll back the rugs" dance in someone's home. He was so awestruck he tried to dance with the camera. The irony of Johnson's war on poverty was it targeted the most self reliant segment of the country"s population. They didn't take the bait and showed their gratitude for Johnson's solicitude by becoming Republican voters and VISTA was forced to shift its attention to impoverishing urban America where it found a ready supply of welfare clients. Looking at the dancers does not conjure up images of poverty. Sure they were wearing the best clothes because they knew they were going to a dance and may have known it would be filmed but these were not poor people. Using criteria such as availability of electricity and running water and per capita income are poor indicators of poverty when the population has spent 200 years learning to get along without them.
Bluegrass, like jazz, still demands instrumental virtuosity. It is it the folk music of the Scotch-Irish who populate Appalachia. The term Bluegrass is recent and was popularized by Bill Monroe who never lived in Appalachia but learned the music from his uncle. Monroe was born and raised in Western Kentucky, in Rosine, not far from Owensboro where they actually have blue grass but few Scotch-Irish. He was first to discover this young man in the video below. Monroe owned a minor league baseball team and hired a pitcher from Eastern Kentucky, Dave Akeman. Later he learned the pitcher could also play a banjo so he nicknamed him Stringbean and moved him to the band. As luck would have it, Monroe also happened upon Earl Scruggs who popularized his technique of banjo picking as opposed to flailing or strumming.
Before the Hoffman documentary a few examples of bluegrass had begun to appear on local television in towns such as Wheeling, West Virginia and Roanoke, Virginia. Don Reno and Red Smiley even had a well known sponsor, Kroger. Prior to that it existed on the AM radio band. The Carter Family, although never billed as bluegrass was one of its best acts. Wildwood Flower was an old song long before Maybelle Carter discovered it. Notice the "claw hammer" guitar technique the family uses.
I would guess that there is a zero percent probability that Bluegrass will ever become as popular as country music for the simple reason that the performers are not interested in modifying their music to conform to popular tastes. They play by their own rules. No amplifiers, no drums, everything is acoustical and vocals are okay but merely an embellishment. I suppose it parallels with jazz in that the idea is to make music not money. Yes, a few do become wealthy but scores of little known groups travel from festival to festival in fifth wheel campers, performing and selling their cd's. I have been assured by someone who plays country music that very few country musicians could make it in Bluegrass. Vince Gill and Marty Stuart could but the list ends about there. I'll close with a video of Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, a group so demanding you apparently have to marry into it. Two of Vincent's musicians are son-in-laws.
One would think this dance was rehearsed and produced by somebody such as June Taylor but Hoffman explains that this is just a "roll back the rugs" dance in someone's home. He was so awestruck he tried to dance with the camera. The irony of Johnson's war on poverty was it targeted the most self reliant segment of the country"s population. They didn't take the bait and showed their gratitude for Johnson's solicitude by becoming Republican voters and VISTA was forced to shift its attention to impoverishing urban America where it found a ready supply of welfare clients. Looking at the dancers does not conjure up images of poverty. Sure they were wearing the best clothes because they knew they were going to a dance and may have known it would be filmed but these were not poor people. Using criteria such as availability of electricity and running water and per capita income are poor indicators of poverty when the population has spent 200 years learning to get along without them.
Bluegrass, like jazz, still demands instrumental virtuosity. It is it the folk music of the Scotch-Irish who populate Appalachia. The term Bluegrass is recent and was popularized by Bill Monroe who never lived in Appalachia but learned the music from his uncle. Monroe was born and raised in Western Kentucky, in Rosine, not far from Owensboro where they actually have blue grass but few Scotch-Irish. He was first to discover this young man in the video below. Monroe owned a minor league baseball team and hired a pitcher from Eastern Kentucky, Dave Akeman. Later he learned the pitcher could also play a banjo so he nicknamed him Stringbean and moved him to the band. As luck would have it, Monroe also happened upon Earl Scruggs who popularized his technique of banjo picking as opposed to flailing or strumming.
Before the Hoffman documentary a few examples of bluegrass had begun to appear on local television in towns such as Wheeling, West Virginia and Roanoke, Virginia. Don Reno and Red Smiley even had a well known sponsor, Kroger. Prior to that it existed on the AM radio band. The Carter Family, although never billed as bluegrass was one of its best acts. Wildwood Flower was an old song long before Maybelle Carter discovered it. Notice the "claw hammer" guitar technique the family uses.
I would guess that there is a zero percent probability that Bluegrass will ever become as popular as country music for the simple reason that the performers are not interested in modifying their music to conform to popular tastes. They play by their own rules. No amplifiers, no drums, everything is acoustical and vocals are okay but merely an embellishment. I suppose it parallels with jazz in that the idea is to make music not money. Yes, a few do become wealthy but scores of little known groups travel from festival to festival in fifth wheel campers, performing and selling their cd's. I have been assured by someone who plays country music that very few country musicians could make it in Bluegrass. Vince Gill and Marty Stuart could but the list ends about there. I'll close with a video of Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, a group so demanding you apparently have to marry into it. Two of Vincent's musicians are son-in-laws.
2014 Senate Elections
Usual disclaimer. I am not a Republican but I usually vote that way because the GOP has established itself as the party of lesser evil. They send us slowly over the real fiscal cliff as they advocate for a slower death spiral and truth is, they are not as evil as the Democrats vintage 2008-2013. Voter fraud is overwhelmingly a Democratic pursuit. So too is using the DOJ or the IRS to shake down donors and to punish the non-compliant.
If Reince Priebus fails to take the Senate in 2014, he needs to be fired. No more General McClellans. I do not hold to the defeatist viewpoint that the Udalls and Shaheens are untouchable. I don't buy it.
The Democrats are vulnerable in seven states and at least seven more are shaky. There are a couple more that are long shots but are by no means done deals.
First, the vulnerable.
Alaska. Mark Begich.
Arkansas. Marl Pryor.
Louisiana. Mary Landrieu.
Montana. Max Baucus's vacating seat.
North Carolina. Kay Hagan.
South Dakota. Tim Johnson's vacating seat.
West Virginia. Jay Rockefeller's vacating seat.
If Priebus loses any of these, chop chop.
The shaky (if not vulnerable) seats.
Colorado
Iowa
Michigan
Minnesota
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
Comments on the seven shaky if not vulnerable states.
Colorado. A state that recalls gun grabbers and dislikes Obamacare could be a happy hunting ground in an off-year election.
Iowa: It would be nice if Steve King stepped up but no matter who runs, this seat is available for the taking.
Michigan: Carl Levin is retiring. Michigan is a purple state that is trending red. They have a GOP governor and the bankruptcy of Detroit after decades of Dem mismanagement should send a chill through this frigid land. Low hanging fruit.
Minnesota: Franken should probably be downgraded to vulnerable. He had to steal the election in 2008 against a weak candidate in a blue state that was going goo goo for their new deity, Barack Obama. If the GOP runs a good candidate who sticks to the issues, Franken will be going back to Hollywood.
New Hampshire. New Hampshire has gone purple due to widespread voter fraud. Fraudsters from Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts and elsewhere pour in on election day where they take advantage of same day registration (after voting in their home states earlier in the day.) As well, students who cast absentee ballots in their home state ate recruited to vote in New Hampshire. I used to like Jeanne Shaheen but the NH Dems are as corrupt as the Chicago machine.
This is an uphill battle but it is well worth waging.
New Jersey. I am not a big Christie fan but I think he could beat Booker. This assumes that Christie wins his gubernatorial election and then decides help his party. More likely, he will want to be Corey's special buddy.
New Mexico. Run Gary Johnson, the two-time governor. He could win but the GOP establishment would rather lose to Dems than embrace a Libertarian.
Outside chances:
Delaware
Hawaii
Massachusetts
Oregon
Delaware. If the GOP runs O'Donnell, Chris Coons will be re-elected. Anyone else has a fighting chance.
Hawaii. If Charles Djou runs, this seat is in play.
Massachusetts. Markey is vulnerable. The problem is the GOP has no bench in this state. Their strongest candidate, Charlie Baker, will be running for governor. Gabriel Gomez was a joke of a candidate in the special election--so much so that Boston talk radio middleweight Michael Graham refused to mention him by name--but he was able to keep it close.
Oregon. Jeff Merkley is not a particularly strong candidate. But like Delaware, Hawaii and Massachusetts, the GOP has no bench.
This is do or die for Priebus. He blew 2012 but now he is given another chance. Let's hope he makes the most of it.
If Reince Priebus fails to take the Senate in 2014, he needs to be fired. No more General McClellans. I do not hold to the defeatist viewpoint that the Udalls and Shaheens are untouchable. I don't buy it.
The Democrats are vulnerable in seven states and at least seven more are shaky. There are a couple more that are long shots but are by no means done deals.
First, the vulnerable.
Alaska. Mark Begich.
Arkansas. Marl Pryor.
Louisiana. Mary Landrieu.
Montana. Max Baucus's vacating seat.
North Carolina. Kay Hagan.
South Dakota. Tim Johnson's vacating seat.
West Virginia. Jay Rockefeller's vacating seat.
If Priebus loses any of these, chop chop.
The shaky (if not vulnerable) seats.
Colorado
Iowa
Michigan
Minnesota
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
Comments on the seven shaky if not vulnerable states.
Colorado. A state that recalls gun grabbers and dislikes Obamacare could be a happy hunting ground in an off-year election.
Iowa: It would be nice if Steve King stepped up but no matter who runs, this seat is available for the taking.
Michigan: Carl Levin is retiring. Michigan is a purple state that is trending red. They have a GOP governor and the bankruptcy of Detroit after decades of Dem mismanagement should send a chill through this frigid land. Low hanging fruit.
Minnesota: Franken should probably be downgraded to vulnerable. He had to steal the election in 2008 against a weak candidate in a blue state that was going goo goo for their new deity, Barack Obama. If the GOP runs a good candidate who sticks to the issues, Franken will be going back to Hollywood.
New Hampshire. New Hampshire has gone purple due to widespread voter fraud. Fraudsters from Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts and elsewhere pour in on election day where they take advantage of same day registration (after voting in their home states earlier in the day.) As well, students who cast absentee ballots in their home state ate recruited to vote in New Hampshire. I used to like Jeanne Shaheen but the NH Dems are as corrupt as the Chicago machine.
This is an uphill battle but it is well worth waging.
New Jersey. I am not a big Christie fan but I think he could beat Booker. This assumes that Christie wins his gubernatorial election and then decides help his party. More likely, he will want to be Corey's special buddy.
New Mexico. Run Gary Johnson, the two-time governor. He could win but the GOP establishment would rather lose to Dems than embrace a Libertarian.
Outside chances:
Delaware
Hawaii
Massachusetts
Oregon
Delaware. If the GOP runs O'Donnell, Chris Coons will be re-elected. Anyone else has a fighting chance.
Hawaii. If Charles Djou runs, this seat is in play.
Massachusetts. Markey is vulnerable. The problem is the GOP has no bench in this state. Their strongest candidate, Charlie Baker, will be running for governor. Gabriel Gomez was a joke of a candidate in the special election--so much so that Boston talk radio middleweight Michael Graham refused to mention him by name--but he was able to keep it close.
Oregon. Jeff Merkley is not a particularly strong candidate. But like Delaware, Hawaii and Massachusetts, the GOP has no bench.
This is do or die for Priebus. He blew 2012 but now he is given another chance. Let's hope he makes the most of it.
What IF They Gave An Auction And No One Came?
I'll cut to the chase. Our Federal government has opened up some of its vast holdings to accommodate solar panels. Imagine becoming the next solar baron and jetting around with the rich and famous. Who could afford to thumb their nose at this lucrative and pr-enhancing action?
Everyone, so it seems. The first round of bids brought zero bidders. That is a zero like nothing. Zilch. Nill. Goose egg. Place holder. Empty set. Nada. In other words, the response was less than optimum.
Solar panels follow Moore's Law with one slight variation. Insted of an eighteen month cycle, solar panels are on a thirty year cycle. Every three decades solar panels double their energy output and become half as expensive (in hard to find real dollars) to purchase. One hundred years from now, solar energy will be the energy of the future.
From Foxnews...
Everyone, so it seems. The first round of bids brought zero bidders. That is a zero like nothing. Zilch. Nill. Goose egg. Place holder. Empty set. Nada. In other words, the response was less than optimum.
Solar panels follow Moore's Law with one slight variation. Insted of an eighteen month cycle, solar panels are on a thirty year cycle. Every three decades solar panels double their energy output and become half as expensive (in hard to find real dollars) to purchase. One hundred years from now, solar energy will be the energy of the future.
From Foxnews...
Federal officials are trying to figure out why the Bureau of Land Management's first-ever auction of public land for solar-energy development failed to attract any bids.
According to the Denver Post, no bidders showed up for the first auction for three parcels of land in Colorado's San Luis Valley, even though five solar development companies had expressed interest in the land.
Three parcels covering 3,700 acres in so-called solar-energy zones were offered on Thursday. The bureau has created 19 zones for large solar projects in six Western states, encompassing nearly 300,000 acres, the newspaper reported.
Read entire article here.
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