WHAT WE NEED IS A SUPER COLOSSAL COMMITTEE

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November 30, 2012 5:00 P.M.

Kindly Note the Impending Bankruptcy
You can’t have American-sized taxes and European-sized government.

By Mark Steyn

Mark Steyn 

Previously on The Perils of Pauline:

Last year, our plucky heroine, the wholesome apple-cheeked American republic, was trapped in an express elevator hurtling out of control toward the debt ceiling. Would she crash into it? Or would she make some miraculous escape?



On her thrill ride to her rendezvous with destiny, she was rescued by Congress’s decision to set up . . . a Super Committee! Those who can, do. Those who can’t, form a committee. Those who really can’t, form a Super Committee — and then put John Kerry on it for good measure.

The bipartisan Super Committee of Super Friends was supposed to find $1.2 trillion dollars of deficit reduction by last Thanksgiving, or plucky little America would wind up trussed like a turkey and carved up by “automatic sequestration.”


Sequestration sounds like castration, only more so: It would chop off everything in sight. It would be so savage in its dismemberment of poor helpless America that the Congressional Budget Office estimates that over the course of a decade the sequestration cuts would reduce the federal debt by $153 billion. Sorry, I meant to put on my Dr. Evil voice for that: ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THREE BILLION DOLLARS!!! Which is about what the United States government currently borrows every month. No sane person could willingly countenance brutally saving a month’s worth of debt over the course of a decade.


So now we have the latest cliffhanger: the Fiscal Cliff, below which lies a bottomless abyss of sequestration, tax-cut-extension expiries, Alternative Minimum Tax adjustments, new Obamacare taxes, the expiry of the deferment of the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate, as well as the expiry of the deferment of the implementation of the adjustment of the correction of the extension of the reduction to the proposed increase of the Alternative Minimum Growth Sustainability Reduction Rate. They don’t call it a yawning chasm for nothing.


As America hangs by its fingernails wiggling its toesies over the vertiginous plummet to oblivion, what can save her now? An Even More Super Committee? A bipartisan agreement in which Republicans agree to cave and Democrats agree not to laugh at them too much? That could be just the kind of farsighted reach-across-the-aisle compromise that rescues the nation until next week’s thrill-packed episode when America’s strapped into the driver’s seat of a runaway Chevy Volt careering round the hairpin bends on full charge, or trapped in an abandoned subdivision overrun by foreclosure zombies.


I suppose it’s possible to take this recurring melodrama seriously, but there’s no reason to. The problem facing the United States government is that it spends over a trillion dollars a year that it doesn’t have. If you want to make that number go away, you need either to reduce spending or to increase revenue. With the best will in the world, you can’t interpret the election result as a spectacular victory for less spending. Indeed, if nothing else, the unfortunate events of November 6 should have performed the useful task of disabusing us poor conservatives that America is any kind of “center-right nation.” A few months ago, I dined with a (pardon my English) French intellectual who, apropos Mitt Romney’s stump-speech warnings that we were on a one-way ticket to Continental-sized dependency, chortled to me, “Americans love Big Government as much as Europeans. The only difference is that Americans refuse to admit it.”


My Gallic charmer is on to something. According to the most recent (2009) OECD statistics: government expenditures per person in France, $18,866.00; in the United States, $19,266.00. That’s adjusted for purchasing-power parity, and yes, no comparison is perfect, but did you ever think the difference between America and the cheese-eating surrender monkeys would come down to quibbling over the fine print? In that sense, the federal debt might be better understood as an American Self-Delusion Index, measuring the ever widening gap between the national mythology (a republic of limited government and self-reliant citizens) and the reality (a 21st-century cradle-to-grave nanny state in which, as the Democrats’ convention boasted, “government is the only thing we do together”).


Generally speaking, functioning societies make good-faith efforts to raise what they spend, subject to fluctuations in economic fortune: Government spending in Australia is 33.1 percent of GDP, and tax revenues are 27.1 percent. Likewise, government spending in Norway is 46.4 percent and revenues are 41 percent — a shortfall but in the ballpark. Government spending in the United States is 42.2 percent, but revenues are 24 percent — the widest spending/taxing gulf in any major economy.
So all the agonizing over our annual trillion-plus deficits overlooks the obvious solution: Given that we’re spending like Norwegians, why don’t we just pay Norwegian tax rates?


No danger of that. If (in Milton Himmelfarb’s famous formulation) Jews earn like Episcopalians but vote like Puerto Ricans, Americans are taxed like Puerto Ricans but vote like Scandinavians. We already have a more severely redistributive taxation system than Europe in which the wealthiest 20 percent of Americans pay 70 percent of income tax while the poorest 20 percent shoulder just three-fifths of one percent. By comparison, the Norwegian tax burden is relatively equitably distributed. Yet Obama now wishes “the rich” to pay their “fair share” — presumably 80 or 90 percent. After all, as Warren Buffett pointed out in the New York Times this week, the Forbes 400 richest Americans have a combined wealth of $1.7 trillion. That sounds a lot, and once upon a time it was. But today, if you confiscated every penny the Forbes 400 have, it would be enough to cover just over one year’s federal deficit. And after that you’re back to square one. It’s not that “the rich” aren’t paying their “fair share,” it’s that America isn’t. A majority of the electorate has voted itself a size of government it’s not willing to pay for.


A couple of years back, Andrew Biggs of the American Enterprise Institute calculated that, if Washington were to increase every single tax by 30 percent, it would be enough to balance the books — in 25 years. If you were to raise taxes by 50 percent, it would be enough to fund our entitlement liabilities — just our current ones, not our future liabilities, which would require further increases.

This is the scale of course correction needed.


If you don’t want that, you need to cut spending — like Harry Reid’s been doing. “Now remember, we’ve already done more than a billion dollars’ worth of cuts,” he bragged the other day. “So we need to get some credit for that.”


Wow! A billion dollars’ worth of cuts! Washington borrows $188 million every hour. So, if Reid took over five hours to negotiate those “cuts,” it was a complete waste of time. So are most of the “plans.” Any “debt-reduction plan” that doesn’t address at least $1.3 trillion a year is, in fact, a debt-increase plan.


So given that the ruling party will not permit spending cuts, what should Republicans do? If I were John Boehner, I’d say: “Clearly there’s no mandate for small government in the election results. So, if you milquetoast pantywaist sad-sack excuses for the sorriest bunch of so-called Americans who ever lived want to vote for Swede-sized statism, it’s time to pony up.”


Okay, he might want to focus-group it first. But that fundamental dishonesty is the heart of the crisis. You cannot simultaneously enjoy American-sized taxes and European-sized government. One or the other has to go.



— Mark Steyn, a National Review columnist, is the author of After America: Get Ready for Armageddon. © 2012 Mark Steyn

JILL KELLEY FOR SECRETARY OF STATE

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Jill Kelley leaves her home in Tampa, Fla., Nov. 13.

 

 

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

 Jill Kelley for secretary of state


She is the woman Hillary Clinton can only dream of being – poised at the confluence of all the great geostrategic currents of the age.

Let us turn from the post-Thanksgiving scenes of inflamed mobs clubbing each other to the ground for a discounted television set to the comparatively placid boulevards of the Middle East. In Cairo, no sooner had Hillary Clinton's plane cleared Egyptian air space then Mohammed Morsi issued one-man constitutional amendments declaring himself and his Muslim Brotherhood buddies free from judicial oversight and announced that his predecessor, Hosni Mubarak, would be retried for all the stuff he was acquitted of in the previous trial. Morsi now wields total control over Parliament, the Judiciary, and the military to a degree Mubarak in his jail cell can only marvel at. Old CIA wisdom: He may be an SOB but he's our SOB. New post-Arab Spring CIA wisdom: He may be an SOB but at least he's not our SOB.


But don't worry. As America's Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, assured the House Intelligence Committee at the time of Mubarak's fall, the Muslim Brotherhood is a "largely secular" organization. The name's just for show, same as the Episcopal Church.


Which brings us to Intelligence Director Clapper's fellow Intelligence Director, Gen. David Petraeus. Don't ask me why there's a Director of National Intelligence and a Director of Central Intelligence. Something to do with 9/11, after which the government decided it could use more intelligence. Instead, it wound up with more Directors of Intelligence, which is the way it usually goes in Washington. Anyway, I blow hot and cold on the Petraeus sex scandal. Initially, it seemed the best shot at getting a largely uninterested public to take notice of the national humiliation and subsequent cover-up over the deaths of American diplomats and the sacking of our consulate in Benghazi. On the other hand, everyone involved in this sorry excuse for a sex scandal seems to have been too busy emailing each other to have had any sex. The FBI was initially reported to have printed out 20,000 to 30,000 pages of emails and other communications between Gen. John Allen, U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and Jill Kelley of Tampa, one-half of a pair of identical twins dressed like understudies for the CENTCOM mess hall production of "Keeping Up With The Kardashians." Thirty thousand pages! The complete works of Shakespeare come to about three-and-a-half-thousand pages, but American officials can't even have a sex scandal without getting bogged down in the paperwork.
For the cost of running those FBI documents off the photocopier, you could fly some broad to the Bahamas and have a real sex scandal. Instead, we'll "investigate" it for a year or three, as we're doing with Benghazi itself. At her press conference the other day, soon-to-be Secretary of State Susan Rice explained that she would be misspeaking if she were to explain why she misspoke about Benghazi until something called the Accountability Review Board has finished "conducting investigations" into "all aspects" of the investigations being conducted, which should be completed by roughly midway through Joe Biden's second term.


Pending that "definitive accounting," one or two aspects stand out. Paula Broadwell had access to Gen. Petraeus because she was supposedly writing his biography. As it turns out, she can't write, so her publisher was obliged to hire a ghostwriter from The Washington Post. Some years ago, at a low point in my career, I was asked to ghostwrite a book for a supermodel. That's usually the type of "writer" who requires a ghost: models, singers, athletes, celebrities. When a first-time biographer requires a ghostwriter, that person is not a biographer but something else. Yet she had classified documents at her home – and yes, as the president suggested, they're probably not that classified, not the real top-secret stuff. But in a speech at the University of Denver, Mrs. Broadwell appeared to reveal accidentally that she is privy to operational knowledge of illegal CIA interrogation chambers in Benghazi.


Now let us move from Gen. Petraeus' mistress to Gen. Allen's non-mistress, Tampa socialite and identical twin Jill Kelley. Mrs. Kelley had clearance for all parts of MacDill Air Force Base, near Tampa, Fla., and was given some kind of commemorative certificate as "honorary ambassador" to CENTCOM, on the basis of which, in a recent 911 call, she claimed the right to "diplomatic protection." Yeah, that's what Chris Stevens thought in Benghazi. As appears to be well known, the Kelleys have financial problems, and their luxury home faces foreclosure. For awhile they ran a charity, the Doctor Kelley Cancer Foundation, which makes terminal cancer patients' final wishes come true. In 2007, they took in $157,284 in donations, and ran up expenses of $81,927 on dining, entertainment and travel. So, if you've got cancer, and your dying wish is for Jill Kelley to party, this is the charity for you.


In other words, neither of these women passes the smell test. Which is a problem insofar as Petraeus, as CIA Director, is supposed to be head of the national smell test, and Gen. Allen, as Petraeus' successor in Kabul, is supposed to be head of the smell test in Afghanistan. In the Gaza "peace agreement" signed last week, they flew in Hillary Clinton to give the impression that she had something to do with it, where as, in reality, she was entirely peripheral to the deal. But Jill Kelley is apparently essential to anything that matters in CENTCOM: When Pastor Terry Jones was threatening to burn a Koran, Gen. Allen asked Mrs. Kelley to mediate. When radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge was threatening to "deep-fat fry" a Koran, Gen. Allen recommended the mayor of Tampa ask Mrs. Kelley to intervene. The U.S. government is responsible for 43 percent of the planet's military spending, and apparently all that gets you is that, when the feces hits the fan, the four-star brass start emailing Jill Kelley of Tampa. If only she'd been hosting a champagne reception at the Sigonella air base in southern Italy, maybe we could have parachuted her into Benghazi to defuse the situation. Jill is the woman Hillary can only dream of being – at the confluence of all the great geostrategic currents of the age. Why didn't we fly Jill Kelley to broker the Gaza deal? Instead of a patsy peddling risible talking-points like Susan Rice, why can't we have Jill Kelley as Secretary of State?


As far as I can tell, our enemies in Afghanistan don't go in for Soviet-style honey traps. Which is just as well, considering the ease with which, say, a pretend biographer can wind up sitting next to the U.S. commander on his personal Gulfstream. In different ways, Director Petraeus' judgment and Director Clapper's obtuseness testify to the problems of America's vast, sprawling, over-bureaucratized intelligence community. If Director Petraeus can't see the obvious under his nose in his interventions in the Kelley twins' various difficulties, why would you expect Director Clapper to have any greater grasp of what's happening in Cairo or Damascus?


Having consolidated his grip in Egypt, Morsi is now looking beyond. His "peace deal" legitimizes the Muslim Brotherhood's affiliate in Gaza, and increases the likelihood of the Brothers advancing to power in Syria and elsewhere. As on that night in Benghazi, when the most lavishly funded military/intelligence operation on the planet watched for eight hours as a mob devoured America's emissaries, America in a broader sense is a spectator in its own fate. As for Afghanistan, it seems a fitting comment on America's longest unwon war that the last two U.S. commanders exit in a Benny Hill finale, trousers round their ankles, pursued to speeded-up chase music by bunny-boiling mistresses, stalker socialites, identical twins and Bubba the Love Sponge.










©MARK STEYN - Published: Nov. 23, 2012

A FISH RIDING ON GLORIA STEINEM'S BICYCLE COULD TAKE CARE OF A COUPLE OF SENATORS IN SHORT ORDER

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November 16, 2012

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The little lady is back in town

By Wes Pruden

The helpless little lady, who depends on a man to defend her honor, her ego and her perks, was thought to have been driven out of town by the feminists. But she’s back.

President Obama, who demonstrated in the election just past that he’s still the tall, dark and handsome prince of feminine fantasy, stepped up manfully to defend the honor of Susan Rice, the ambassador to the United Nations who eagerly joined the spinning of the enormous fib that the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi was about a home-made video.
He didn’t say much about the specifics of the lie she told, but warned skeptics of the administration’s cockamamie excuse for the Libyan calamity to stay away from her. If certain U.S. senators want to go after somebody, he told a press conference (his first in eight months), “they should go after me, and I’m happy to have that discussion with them. But for them to go after the U.N. ambassador, who had nothing to do with Benghazi and was simply making a presentation based on intelligence that she had received, and to besmirch her reputation, is outrageous.”
A gentleman playing dragon-slayer would have sent his seconds to call on John McCain and Lindsey Graham to offer them their choice of pistol or sword, but that’s not the way a lady’s honor is avenged in Chicago. So he growled, in the way of a Bugsy or an Al, to “come get me.” And don’t wait until St. Valentine’s Day.
Such a patronizing defense of Miss Rice would, back in the day, elicit only snorts of scorn and resentment from the likes of Bella Abzug or Gloria Steinem. A fish riding to the rescue on Miss Steinem’s bicycle could take care of a couple of senators in short order. But that was then, and we’ve got a new now.
At the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, Nancy Pelosi, just in from San Francisco, the bastion of the manly arts, sounded like a little lady herself. Miss Pelosi has yet to come to terms with the fact that she is merely a former Speaker of the House, and she had convened the Democratic women’s caucus to lift their spirits. Two more years of life in the chorus was not quite what Miss Pelosi promised them. She was not stepping down as the leader of the Democratic minority, as many of her colleagues had expected.
She first wanted to correct something she had said earlier: “I said we did not have the majority but we have the gavel. Excuse me, we don’t have the gavel. We have our own gavel. We have something more important. We have unity. We do not have the gavel, we do not have the majority. But we have unity.”
Having cleared that up, she took questions. When Luke Russert of NBC News asked how she would respond to certain of her colleagues who say that at 72 she should step aside because she’s too old, the little ladies of the caucus, flanking her on stage, hissed and booed. “Let’s for a moment honor [that] as a legitimate question,” she told the inquiring reporter, “although it’s quite offensive that you don’t realize that, I guess.”
Poor piggish clod, he got it backwards. He doesn’t know that 72 is the new 27, as any offended feminist could have told him, and all women are young and they’re all smart, clever, and beautiful besides. The ex-speaker, summoning her inner cougar, argued that “everything I have done in my almost decade now of leadership is to elect younger and newer people to the Congress.”
But this was smokescreen and subterfuge, all to distract attention from the scandal at hand, the administration’s bungling of the tragedy in Libya. John McCain got it right, that Mr. Obama is guilty of either cover-up or incompetence. Instead of offering to punch John McCain and Lindsey Graham in the nose on behalf of Susan Rice, the president could explain why he sent her to the U.N. armed only with a lie or with “intelligence” he knew was bogus.

The president’s native eloquence has gotten him out of jams with ladies all his life, and he has not yet learned that the buck (and the bunk) stops with him. He has been encouraged to think he is immune from reality by his Chicago pals, his rich Hollywood friends and donors, party hacks, and by the scribbler class, which wants only to caress and coddle -- and shut up anyone with a question. But reality is not a lady, unimpressed by election returns, and ultimately demands a full accounting of swindle and deceit.
Wesley Pruden is editor emeritus of The Washington Times.

AMERICA, I HARDLY RECOGNIZE YOU!

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By Rabbi Steven Pruzansky

 

 

THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE

Posted on November 7, 2012

The most charitable way of explaining the election results of 2012 is that Americans voted for the status quo – for the incumbent President and for a divided Congress. They must enjoy gridlock, partisanship, incompetence, economic stagnation and avoidance of responsibility. And fewer people voted. As I write, with almost all the votes counted, President Obama has won fewer votes than John McCain won in 2008, and more than ten million off his own 2008 total.

But as we awake from the nightmare, it is important to eschew the facile explanations for the Romney defeat that will prevail among the chattering classes. Romney did not lose because of the effects of Hurricane Sandy that devastated this area, nor did he lose because he ran a poor campaign, nor did he lose because the Republicans could have chosen better candidates, nor did he lose because Obama benefited from a slight uptick in the economy due to the business cycle.

Romney lost because he didn’t get enough votes to win.

That might seem obvious, but not for the obvious reasons. Romney lost because the conservative virtues – the traditional American virtues – of liberty, hard work, free enterprise, private initiative and aspirations to moral greatness – no longer inspire or animate a majority of the electorate. The notion of the “Reagan Democrat” is one cliché that should be permanently retired.

Ronald Reagan himself could not win an election in today’s America.

The simplest reason why Romney lost was because it is impossible to compete against free stuff. Every businessman knows this; that is why the “loss leader” or the giveaway is such a powerful marketing tool. Obama’s America is one in which free stuff is given away: the adults among the 47,000,000 on food stamps clearly recognized for whom they should vote, and so they did, by the tens of millions; those who – courtesy of Obama – receive two full years of unemployment benefits (which, of course, both disincentivizes looking for work and also motivates people to work off the books while collecting their windfall) surely know for whom to vote; so too those who anticipate “free” health care, who expect the government to pay their mortgages, who look for the government to give them jobs. The lure of free stuff is irresistible.

Imagine two restaurants side by side. One sells its customers fine cuisine at a reasonable price, and the other offers a free buffet, all-you-can-eat as long as supplies last. Few – including me – could resist the attraction of the free food. Now imagine that the second restaurant stays in business because the first restaurant is forced to provide it with the food for the free buffet, and we have the current economy, until, at least, the first restaurant decides to go out of business. (Then, the government takes over the provision of free food to its patrons.)

The defining moment of the whole campaign was the revelation (by the amoral Obama team) of the secretly-recorded video in which Romney acknowledged the difficulty of winning an election in which “47% of the people” start off against him because they pay no taxes and just receive money – “free stuff” – from the government. Almost half of the population has no skin in the game – they don’t care about high taxes, promoting business, or creating jobs, nor do they care that the money for their free stuff is being borrowed from their children and from the Chinese. They just want the free stuff that comes their way at someone else’s expense. In the end, that 47% leaves very little margin for error for any Republican, and does not bode well for the future.

It is impossible to imagine a conservative candidate winning against such overwhelming odds. People do vote their pocketbooks. In essence, the people vote for a Congress who will not raise their taxes, and for a President who will give them free stuff, never mind who has to pay for it.

That engenders the second reason why Romney lost: the inescapable conclusion that the electorate is dumb – ignorant, and uninformed. Indeed, it does not pay to be an informed voter, because most other voters – the clear majority – are unintelligent and easily swayed by emotion and raw populism. That is the indelicate way of saying that too many people vote with their hearts and not their heads. That is why Obama did not have to produce a second term agenda, or even defend his first-term record. He needed only to portray Mitt Romney as a rapacious capitalist who throws elderly women over a cliff, when he is not just snatching away their cancer medication, while starving the poor and cutting taxes for the rich. Obama could get away with saying that “Romney wants the rich to play by a different set of rules” – without ever defining what those different rules were; with saying that the “rich should pay their fair share” – without ever defining what a “fair share” is; with saying that Romney wants the poor, elderly and sick to “fend for themselves” – without even acknowledging that all these government programs are going bankrupt, their current insolvency only papered over by deficit spending. Obama could get away with it because he knew he was talking to dunces waving signs and squealing at any sight of him.

During his 1956 presidential campaign, a woman called out to Adlai Stevenson: “Senator, you have the vote of every thinking person!” Stevenson called back: “That’s not enough, madam, we need a majority!” Truer words were never spoken.

Similarly, Obama (or his surrogates) could hint to blacks that a Romney victory would lead them back into chains and proclaim to women that their abortions and birth control would be taken away. He could appeal to Hispanics that Romney would have them all arrested and shipped to Mexico (even if they came from Cuba or Honduras), and unabashedly state that he will not enforce the current immigration laws. He could espouse the furtherance of the incestuous relationship between governments and unions – in which politicians ply the unions with public money, in exchange for which the unions provide the politicians with votes, in exchange for which the politicians provide more money and the unions provide more votes, etc., even though the money is gone. He could do and say all these things because he knew his voters were dolts.

One might reasonably object that not every Obama supporter could be unintelligent. But they must then rationally explain how the Obama agenda can be paid for, aside from racking up multi-trillion dollar deficits. “Taxing the rich” does not yield even 10% of what is required – so what is the answer, i.e., an intelligent answer?

Obama also knows that the electorate has changed – that whites will soon be a minority in America (they’re already a minority in California) and that the new immigrants to the US are primarily from the Third World and do not share the traditional American values that attracted immigrants in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. It is a different world, and a different America. Obama is part of that different America, knows it, and knows how to tap into it. That is why he won.

Obama also proved again that negative advertising works, invective sells, and harsh personal attacks succeed. That Romney never engaged in such diatribes points to his essential goodness as a person; his “negative ads” were simple facts, never personal abuse – facts about high unemployment, lower take-home pay, a loss of American power and prestige abroad, a lack of leadership, etc. As a politician, though, Romney failed because he did not embrace the devil’s bargain of making unsustainable promises, and by talking as the adult and not the adolescent. Obama has spent the last six years campaigning; even his governance has been focused on payoffs to his favored interest groups. The permanent campaign also won again, to the detriment of American life.

It turned out that it was not possible for Romney and Ryan – people of substance, depth and ideas – to compete with the shallow populism and platitudes of their opponents. Obama mastered the politics of envy – of class warfare – never reaching out to Americans as such but to individual groups, and cobbling together a winning majority from these minority groups. Conservative ideas failed to take root and states that seemed winnable, and amenable to traditional American values, have simply disappeared from the map. If an Obama could not be defeated – with his record and his vision of America, in which free stuff seduces voters – it is hard to envision any change in the future. The road to Hillary Clinton in 2016 and to a European-socialist economy – those very economies that are collapsing today in Europe – is paved.

A second cliché that should be retired is that America is a center-right country. It clearly is not. It is a divided country with peculiar voting patterns, and an appetite for free stuff. Studies will invariably show that Republicans in Congress received more total votes than Democrats in Congress, but that means little. The House of Representatives is not truly representative of the country. That people would vote for a Republican Congressmen or Senator and then Obama for President would tend to reinforce point two above: the empty-headedness of the electorate. Americans revile Congress but love their individual Congressmen. Go figure.

The mass media’s complicity in Obama’s re-election cannot be denied. One example suffices. In 2004, CBS News forged a letter in order to imply that President Bush did not fulfill his Air National Guard service during the Vietnam War, all to impugn Bush and impair his re-election prospects. In 2012, President Obama insisted – famously – during the second debate that he had stated all along that the Arab attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi was “terror” (a lie that Romney fumbled and failed to exploit). Yet, CBS News sat on a tape of an interview with Obama in which Obama specifically avoided and rejected the claim of terrorism – on the day after the attack – clinging to the canard about the video. (This snippet of a “60 Minutes” interview was not revealed - until two days ago!) In effect, CBS News fabricated evidence in order to harm a Republican president, and suppressed evidence in order to help a Democratic president. Simply shameful, as was the media’s disregard of any scandal or story that could have jeopardized the Obama re-election.

One of the more irritating aspects of this campaign was its limited focus, odd in light of the billions of dollars spent. Only a few states were contested, a strategy that Romney adopted, and that clearly failed. The Democrat begins any race with a substantial advantage. The liberal states – like the bankrupt California and Illinois – and other states with large concentrations of minority voters as well as an extensive welfare apparatus, like New York, New Jersey and others – give any Democratic candidate an almost insurmountable edge in electoral votes. In New Jersey, for example, it literally does not pay for a conservative to vote. It is not worth the fuel expended driving to the polls. As some economists have pointed generally, and it resonates here even more, the odds are greater that a voter will be killed in a traffic accident on his way to the polls than that his vote will make a difference in the election. It is an irrational act. That most states are uncompetitive means that people are not amenable to new ideas, or new thinking, or even having an open mind. If that does not change, and it is hard to see how it can change, then the die is cast. America is not what it was, and will never be again.

For Jews, mostly assimilated anyway and staunch Democrats, the results demonstrate again that liberalism is their Torah. Almost 70% voted for a president widely perceived by Israelis and most committed Jews as hostile to Israel. They voted to secure Obama’s future at America’s expense and at Israel’s expense – in effect, preferring Obama to Netanyahu by a wide margin. A dangerous time is ahead. Under present circumstances, it is inconceivable that the US will take any aggressive action against Iran and will more likely thwart any Israeli initiative. That Obama’s top aide Valerie Jarrett (i.e., Iranian-born Valerie Jarrett) spent last week in Teheran is not a good sign. The US will preach the importance of negotiations up until the production of the first Iranian nuclear weapon – and then state that the world must learn to live with this new reality. As Obama has committed himself to abolishing America’s nuclear arsenal, it is more likely that that unfortunate circumstance will occur than that he will succeed in obstructing Iran’s plans.

Obama’s victory could weaken Netanyahu’s re-election prospects, because Israelis live with an unreasonable – and somewhat pathetic – fear of American opinion and realize that Obama despises Netanyahu. A Likud defeat – or a diminution of its margin of victory – is more probable now than yesterday. That would not be the worst thing. Netanyahu, in fact, has never distinguished himself by having a strong political or moral backbone, and would be the first to cave to the American pressure to surrender more territory to the enemy and acquiesce to a second (or third, if you count Jordan) Palestinian state. A new US Secretary of State named John Kerry, for example would not augur well. Netanyahu remains the best of markedly poor alternatives. Thus, the likeliest outcome of the upcoming Israeli elections is a center-left government that will force itself to make more concessions and weaken Israel – an Oslo III.

. The most powerful empires in history all crumbled – from the Greeks and the Romans to the British and the Soviets. None of the collapses were easily foreseen, and yet they were predictable in retrospect.

The American empire began to decline in 2007, and the deterioration has been exacerbated in the last five years. This election only hastens that decline. Society is permeated with sloth, greed, envy and materialistic excess. It has lost its moorings and its moral foundations. The takers outnumber the givers, and that will only increase in years to come. Across the world, America under Bush was feared but not respected. Under Obama, America is neither feared nor respected. Radical Islam has had a banner four years under Obama, and its prospects for future growth look excellent. The “Occupy” riots across this country in the last two years were mere dress rehearsals for what lies ahead – years of unrest sparked by the increasing discontent of the unsuccessful who want to seize the fruits and the bounty of the successful, and do not appreciate the slow pace of redistribution.

If this election proves one thing, it is that the Old America is gone. And, sad for the world, it is not coming back.

500 FORMER GENERALS AND ADMIRALS VOTED FOR MITT ROMNEY TODAY

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MONDAY,NOVEMBER5,2012 ☆R NATION | A3

“We, the undersigned, proudly support Governor Mitt Romney as our nation’s next President and Commander-in-Chief.”

Brigadier General Arthur Abercrombie, (USA-ret) Lieutenant General James Abrahmson, (USAF-ret) Major General Chris Adams, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral William V. Alford, Jr., (USN-ret) Brigadier General John R. Allen, (USAF-ret) Lieutenant General Teddy Allen, (USA-ret)
Rear Admiral Henry C. “Cub” Amos, (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General Marcus A. Anderson, (USAF-ret)
Major General Joseph T. Anderson, (USMC-ret)
Lieutenant General Edward G. Anderson III, (USA-ret)
Lieutenant General Edgar Ratcliffe “Andy” Anderson, Jr., (USAF-ret) Major General Joe Arbuckle, (USA-ret)
Brigadier General John C. Arick, (USMC-ret) Major General Nora Alice Astafan, (USAF-ret) Brigadier General Loring R. Astrorino, (USAF-ret) Brigadier General Richard Averitt, (USA-ret)
Vice Admiral Albert Baciocco, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Garry S. Bahling, (USANG-ret)
Major General Bowen Ballard, (USAF-ret)
Major General James D. Bankers, (USAF-ret)
Major General James F. Barnette, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General Donald E. Barnhart, (USAF-ret)
Major General Robert W. Barrow, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral John R. “Jack” Batzler, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral John W. Bayless, (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General Buck Bedard, (USMC-ret)
Vice Admiral A. Bruce Beran, (USCG-ret)
Major General John E. Bianchi, (USA-ret)
Major General David F. Bice, (USMC-ret)
Vice Admiral Lyle Bien, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral David S. Bill III (USN-ret) ADD
Rear Admiral Linda J. Bird, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Charles L. Bishop, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral James H. Black, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General William A. Bloomer, (USMC-ret) Lieutenant General Harold Blot, (USMC-ret)
Lieutenant General Steve Blum, (USA-ret)
General Billy J. Boles, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Peter A. Bondi, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Pete Booth, (USN-ret)
Major General John Borling, (USAF-ret)
Vice Admiral Mike Bowman III, (USN-ret)
Major General Thomas Braaten, (USMC-ret)
Major General Edward R. Bracken, (USAF-ret)
Major General Robert J. Brandt, (USA-ret)
Rear Admiral Jerry C. Breast, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Bruce B. Bremner, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Clayton “Gary” Bridges, (USAF-ret) Vice Admiral Edward S. Briggs, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Jeremiah J. Brophy, (USA-ret) Lieutenant General Richard “Tex” Brown III, (USAF-ret) Rear Admiral Thomas F. Brown III, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General R. Thomas Browning, (USAF-ret) Brigadier General David A. Brubaker, (USAF-ret)
Vice Admiral Mike Bucchi, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Jack Buffington, CEC (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General Walter E. Buchanan III, (USAF-ret) Major General Dave Burford, (USA-ret)
Lieutenant General Richard A. Burpee, (USAF-ret)
Admiral James B. Busey, (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General Kevin P. Byrnes, (USA-ret)
Rear Admiral John F. “Jack” Calvert, (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General William J. Campbell, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Jay A. “Rabbit” Campbell, (USN-ret) Lieutenant General Mike Canavan, (USA-ret)
Major General Henry Canterbury, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral James J. Carey, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Chalmers R. “Hap” Carr, (USAF-ret) Rear Admiral Nevin Carr, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Paul Carroll, (USANG-ret)
Brigadier General Fred Castle, (USAFR-ret)
Rear Admiral Stephen K. Chadwick, (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General James E. “Bear” Chambers, (USAF-ret) Rear Admiral Lawrence C. “Larry” Chambers, (USN-ret) Rear Admiral W. Lewis “Lew” Chatham, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Geof Chesbrough, (USN-ret)
Major General Carroll D. Childers, P.E., (USARNG-ret)
Rear Admiral Ronald L. Christenson, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Clifton C. “Tip” Clark, (USAF-ret) Brigadier General Robert V. Clements, (USAF-ret)
Vice Admiral Edward W. Clexton, Jr., (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Christopher T. Cline, (USAR-ret)
Major General Jeff Cliver, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Casey Coane, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Maralin K. Coffinger, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Ike Cole, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General George Peyton Cole, Jr., (USAF-ret) Brigadier General Richard A. Coleman, (USAF-ret) Brigadier General John W. “Rip” Collins, (USA-ret) Lieutenant General John B. Conaway, (USAF-ret)
Major General Stephen “Pat” Condon, (USAF-ret)
General James T. Conway, (USMC-ret)
Major General Richard M. Cooke, (USMC-ret)
Major General R. Craig Cosgrave, (USANG-ret)
Lieutenant General Marvin Covault, (USA-ret)
Rear Admiral Bob Cowley, (USN-ret)
Major General J.T. “Mike” Coyne, (USMC-ret)
Rear Admiral Robert C. Crates, (USN-ret)
Major General Tommy F. Crawford, (USAF-ret)
Vice Admiral Terry M. Cross, (USCG-ret)
Brigadier General Mike Cushman, (USAF-ret)
Major General John R. D’Araujo, Jr., (USA-ret)
General Terrence R. Dake, (USMC-ret)
Major General Gerald A. Daniel, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Jack Dantone, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral James P. Davidson, (USN-ret)
Major General William J. “Bill” Davies, (USA-ret) Brigadier General Sam DeGeneres, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Kevin F. Delaney, (USN-ret)
Major General James D. Delk, (USA-ret)
Brigadier General George A. Demers, (USAF-ret)
Major General Robert E. Dempsey, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral J. Ronald Denny, (USNR-ret)
Brigadier General Howard G. DeWolf, (USAF-ret) Brigadier General Michael DiBernardo, (USAF-ret)
Major General Robert S. Dickman, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General Arthur F. Diehl, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Jim Doebler, (USN-ret)
Major General Doug Dollar, (USA-ret)
Vice Admiral William H. Dougherty, (USN-ret)
Major General Hunt Downer, (USA-ret)
General Michael Dugan, (USAF-ret)
Lieutenant General Brett Dula, (USAF-ret)
Lieutenant General Leo J. Dulacki, (USMC-ret)
Major General Felix Dupre, (USAF-ret)
Major General Thomas A. “Tommy” Dyches, (USAF-ret)

Vice Admiral Bill Earner, (USN-ret)
Major General Neil L. Eddins, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General David Kimball Edmonds, (USAF-ret) Major General Jay T. Edwards, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General Jeff Ellis, (USAF-ret)
Admiral James O. “Jim” Ellis, (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General John S. Fairfield, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General Anthony J. Farrington, (USAF-ret) Major General John R. Farrington, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Francis Filipiak, (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General Bruce L. Fister, (USAF-ret)
Admiral Mark “Lobster” Fitzgerald, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral James H. Flatley III, (USN-ret)
Major General Charles W. Fletcher, Jr., (USA-ret)
Major General Bobby O. Floyd, (USAF-ret)
General Ron Fogleman, (USAF-ret)
Admiral S. Robert Foley, (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General Gordon E. “Gordie” Fornell, (USAF-ret) Major General Larry D. Fortner, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General Jerome V. Foust, (USA-ret)
General Tommy Franks, (USA-ret)
Rear Admiral Joseph F. Frick, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Ronne Froman, (USN-ret)
Vice Admiral David E. Frost, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Vance H. Fry, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral R. Byron Fuller, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral George M. Furlong, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Norm Gaddis, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Frank Gallo, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Robert Gatliff (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Ben F. Gaumer, DO, MHA, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Harry E Gerhard, Jr., (USN-ret)
Major General Daniel J. Gibson, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General E.J. “Ed” Giering, (USA-ret)
Vice Admiral Henry C. Giffin III, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Andrew A. Giordano, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Fred S. Golove, (USCGR-ret)
Major General Richard N. Goodard, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Robert H. Gormley, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral H.E. Rick Grant, (USN-ret)
Major General Jeff Grime, (USAF-ret)
Major General Robert K. “Ken” Guest, (USA-ret)
Rear Admiral William A. Gureck, (USN-ret)
Major General David R. Gust, (USA-ret)
Major General Tim Haake, (USAR-ret)
Major General Otto K. Habedank, (USAF-ret)
Major General Kenneth Hagemann, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Thomas F. Hall, (USN-ret)
Major General Patrick J. Halloran (USAF-ret)
General Alfred Hansen, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General Robert H. Harkins, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Dave Hart, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Donald P. Harvey, (USN-ret)
Admiral Ronald J. Hays, (USN-ret)
Admiral Thomas B. Hayward, (USN-ret)
Major General Leonard W. Hegland, (USAF-ret)
Vice Admiral Peter M. Hekman, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral John Hekman, (USN-ret)
Major General John A. Hemphill, (USA-ret)
Rear Admiral Ronald H. Henderson, Jr., (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Larry Hereth, (USCG-ret)
Vice Admiral Richard “Dick” Herr, (USCG-ret)
Major General Wilfred Hessert, (USAF-ret)
Lieutenant General Tom Hickey, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Robert P. Hickey, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Don “Smoke” Hickman, (USN-ret)
Major General Geoffrey Higginbotham, (USMC-ret) Brigadier General Mack C. Hill, (USA-ret)
Major General Kent H. Hillhouse, (USA-ret)
Lieutenant General Walter S. Hogle, Jr., (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Grant Hollett, (USN-ret)
Major General Jerry D. Holmes, (USAF-ret)
Major General Weldon Honeycutt, (USA-ret)
Brigadier General Thomas W. Honeywill, (USAF-ret) Brigadier General Stanley V. Hood, (USAF-ret)
General Chuck Horner, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General James J. Hourin, (USAF-ret)
Major General Victor Hugo, (USA-ret)
Major General James P. Hunt (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General Jack C. Ihle, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Steve Israel, (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General Ron Iverson, (USAF-ret)
Major General James T. “Jim” Jackson, (USA-ret)
Major General William K. James, (USAF-ret)
Lieutenant General John E. Jaquish, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral John S. Jenkins, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Tim Jenkins, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Ron Jesberg, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Thomas G. Jeter, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General William Herbert Johnson, (USAF-ret) Admiral Jerome Johnson, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral J. Michael Johnson, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Pierce J. Johnson, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Charles Jones, (USAF-ret)
Lieutenant General Donald W. Jones, (USA-ret)
Rear Admiral Steven B. Kantrowitz, (USN-ret)
Vice Admiral Douglas Katz, (USN-ret)
Vice Admiral Bernard M. Kauderer, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral John T. Kavanaugh, (USN-ret)
Admiral Tim Keating, (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General James M. Keck, (USAF-ret)
Major General George W. Keefe, (USANG-ret)
Rear Admiral Steven Keith, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Ken F. Keller, (USAF-ret)
Lieutenant General Jay W. Kelley, (USAF-ret)
General Paul X. Kelley, (USMC-ret)
Admiral Robert J. “Barney” Kelly, (USN-ret)
Admiral Frank B. Kelso II, (USN-ret)
Major General Dennis M. Kenneally, (USA-ret)
Major General Michael C. Kerby, (USAF-ret)
General Buck Kernan, (USA-ret)
Vice Admiral Tom Kilcline, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Mark T. Kimmitt, (USA-ret)
Lieutenant General Timothy A. Kinnan, (USAF-ret) Admiral George E.R. “Gus” Kinnear II, (USN-ret) Lieutenant General Joseph W. Kinzer, (USA-ret)
General William L. Kirk, (USAF-ret)
Vice Admiral Hal Koenig, M.D., (USN-ret)
Vice Admiral Albert H. Konetzni, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Charles E. Kruse, (USA-ret)
Rear Admiral David Kunkel, (USCG-ret)
Brigadier General Wayne W. Lambert, (USAF-ret)
Major General Geoffrey C. Lambert, (USA-ret)
Rear Admiral Bud Langston, (USN-ret)
Vice Admiral John B. “Bat” Laplante, (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General Buford Derald Lary, (USAF-ret)

Brigadier General Jerry Laws, (USA-ret)
Lieutenant General Lloyd R. Leavitt, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General Thomas Lennon, (USAF-ret)
Vice Admiral Tony Less, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Fred Lewis, (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General Frank Libutti, (USMC-ret)
Rear Admiral Thomas G. Lilly, (USN-ret)
General James J. Lindsay, (USA-ret)
Major General James E. Livingston, (USMC-ret)
Vice Admiral Stephen Loftus, (USN-ret)
Major General Al Logan, (USAF-ret)
Major General John D. Logeman, Jr., (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Noah H. Long, Jr., (USNR-ret)
General William R. Looney III, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Don Loren, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General John M. Lotz, (USAF-ret)
Major General Andy Love, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General Larry V. Lunt, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Thomas C. Lynch, (USN-ret)
Admiral James A. “Ace” Lyons, Jr., (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Steven Wells Maas, (USN-ret)
General Robert Magnus, (USMC-ret)
Vice Admiral Michael Malone, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Robert S. Mangum, (USA-ret)
Major General Robert M. Marquette, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Larry Marsh, (USN-ret)
Major General Clark W. Martin, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General Frank Martin, (USAF-ret)
Vice Admiral Edward H. Martin, (USN-ret)
Major General William M. Matz, (USA-ret)
Rear Admiral Gerry Mauer, (USN-ret)
Admiral Hank Mauz, (USN-ret)
Vice Admiral John J. Mazach, (USN-ret)
Vice Admiral Dan McCarthy, (USN-ret)
Vice Admiral William “Scot” McCauley, (USN-ret)
Major General James C. McCombs, (USAF-ret)
Lieutenant General Fred “Assassin” McCorkle, (USMC-ret) Rear Admiral William J. McDaniel, MD, (USN-ret) Brigadier General James A. McDivitt, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral E.S. “Skip” McGinley II, (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General Thomas G. McInerney, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Henry C. McKinney, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Joe Mensching, (USAF-ret)
Major General Robert Messereli, (USAF-ret)
Major General Douglas S. Metcalf, (USAF-ret)
Major General Keith W. Meurlin, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General Richard L. Meyer, (USAF-ret)
Major General John Miller, (USAF-ret)
Admiral Paul David Miller, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral James E. Miller, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Lawrence “Larry” A. Mitchell, (USAF-ret) Vice Admiral Joseph S. Mobley, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Patrick Moneymaker, (USN-ret)
Major General Mario F. Montero, (USA-ret)
Rear Admiral Benjamin F. Montoya, (USN-ret)
Major General Burton R. “Burt” Moore, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Douglas M. Moore, (USN-ret)
Major General Walter Bruce Moore, (USA-ret)
Major General William Moore, (USA-ret)
Rear Admiral James A. Morgart, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral John A. “Jack” Moriarty, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral David R. Morris, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Michael P. Mulqueen, (USMC-ret)
Major General Stanton R. Musser, (USAF-ret)
Lieutenant General Carol Mutter, (USMC-ret)
Rear Admiral George Naccara, (USCG-ret)
Rear Admiral Ron Narmi, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral John T. Natter, Esq, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Mike Neil, (USMCR-ret)
Rear Admiral Edward Nelson, (USCG-ret)
Brigadier General Ben Nelson, Jr., (USAF-ret)
Major General Robert A. Nester, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General William H. Neuens, (USANG-ret) Brigadier General Jack W. Nicholson, (USA-ret)
Brigadier General Robert A. Norman, (USAF-ret)
Major General George W. “Nordie” Norwood, (USAF-ret) General Robert C. Oaks, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Robert C. Olsen, (USCG-ret)
Rear Admiral Phillip R. Olson, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral J.D. Olson, (USN-ret)
Major General Raymund E. O’Mara, (USAF-ret)
Major General Hugh R. Overholt, (USA-ret)
Brigadier General Maria C. Owens, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Robert S. Owens, (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General Ira C. “Chuck” Owens, (USA-ret)
Rear Admiral John F. Paddock, (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General Dave R. Palmer, (USA-ret)
Brigadier General Dave Papak, (USMC-ret)
Brigadier General Gary A. Pappas, (USANG-ret)
Brigadier General John Pappas, (USAR-ret)
Major General Robert W. Paret, (USAF-ret)
Vice Admiral Ted Parker, (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General Garry L. Parks, (USMC-ret)
Brigadier General Robert V. Paschon, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Bob Passmore, (USN-ret)
Major General Earl G. Peck, (USAF-ret)
Major General Richard E. Perraut, Jr., (USAF-ret)
Major General Gerald F. Perryman, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral W.W. “Bear” Pickavance, (USN-ret) Lieutenant General Charles H. Pitman, (USMC-ret)
Rear Admiral David P. Polatty III, (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General Steven R. Polk, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Thomas J. Porter, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral John J. Prendergast, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Fenton F. Priest, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Frank Edward Raab, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Allen K. Rachel, (USAF-ret)
Major General Martha Rainville, (USAF-ret)
Major General David C. Ralston, (USA-ret)
Vice Admiral William E. Ramsey, (USN-ret)
Major General Bentley B. Rayburn, (USAF-ret)
Lieutenant General Joseph J. Redden, (USAF-ret) Lieutenant General Clifford H. “Ted” Rees, Jr., (USAF-ret) General Victor E. Renaurt, Jr., (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General Jon Reynolds, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Harry Rich, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Rollo Rieve, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Tommy F. Rinard, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Edward F. Rodriguez, Jr., (USAFR-ret) Major General Richard H. Roellig, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Michael S. Roesner, (USN-ret)
Major General Davis Rohr, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Peter J. Rots, (USCG-ret)
Brigadier General HW “Rudy” Rudolph, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral William J. Ryan, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Roger W. Scearce, (USA-ret)

Rear Admiral William A. Schachte, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Klaus O. Schafer, MD, MPH, (USAF-ret) Major General Loran C. Schnaidt, (USAF-ret)
Major General Carl Schneider, (USAF-ret)
Major General John P. Schoeppner, Jr., (USAF-ret)
Major General Edison E. Scholes, (USAF-ret)
Vice Admiral Dutch Schoultz, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Dennis Schulstad, (USAFR-ret)
Major General Gregory A. Schumacher, (USA-ret)
Rear Admiral Robert H. Schumaker, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral William S. Schwob, (USCG-ret)
Major General Frank Scoggins, (USAF-ret)
Major General David J. Scott, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Hugh P. Scott, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral John A. “Jack” Scott, (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General Charles J. Searock, Jr., (USAF-ret)
Major General Richard V. Secord, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral James M. Seely, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General John Serur, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General Joseph L. Shaefer, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Wiiliam H. Shawcross, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Doniphan B. Shelton, (USN-ret)
General H. Hugh Shelton, (USA-ret)
Major General Donald W. Shepperd, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General Graham E. Shirley, (USAF-ret)
Lieutenant General E.G. “Buck” Shuler, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General Ray Shulstad, (USAF-ret)
Major General Joseph K. Simeone, (USAF and ANG-ret)
Major General Darwin Simpson, (USANG-ret)
Major General John K. Singlaub, (USA-ret)
Rear Admiral Greg Slavonic, (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General Alexander M. “Rusty” Sloan, (USAF-ret) Rear Admiral D.O. Smart, (USNR-ret)
Brigadier General Stan Smith, (USAF-ret)
General Lance Smith, (USAF-ret)
Major General Donald Bruce Smith, (USAF-ret)
Major General Richard D. Smith, (USAF-ret)
Major General David R. Smith, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General Ralph S. Smith, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral C. Bruce Smith, (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General Hubert G. “Hugh” Smith, (USA-ret) Admiral Leighton “Snuffy” Smith, Jr., (USN-ret)
Major General Henry C. Smyth, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General David M. “Tanker” Snyder, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Paul Soderberg, (USN-ret)
Vice Admiral Robert J. Spane, (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General Glen F. Spears, (USAF-ret)
Major General Stan Spears, (USANG-ret)
Rear Admiral Bob Spiro, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Mike Squire, (USA-ret)
Major General Henry B. Stelling, Jr., (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Dan Stone, (USN-ret)
Vice Admiral Edward M. Straw, (USN-ret)
Major General Joseph S. Stringham, (USA-ret)
Major General A.M. “Buddy” Stroud, (USA-ret)
Major General J.A. Studds, (USMC-ret)
Major General William A. Studer, (USAF-ret)
Vice Admiral William D. Sullivan, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Hamlin Tallent, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Hugh Banks Tant III, (USA-ret)
Brigadier General Michael Joseph Tashjian, (USAF-ret)
Major General Robert C. “Bob” Taylor, (USAF-ret)
Major General Larry Taylor, (USMC-ret)
Rear Admiral Jeremy Dolph Taylor, (USN-ret)
Major General J.B. Taylor, (USA-ret)
Lieutenant General David J. Teal, (USAF-ret)
Major General Thomas R. Tempel, (USA-ret)
Major General Richard L. Testa, (USAF-ret)
Lieutenant General Billy M. Thomas, (USA-ret)
Vice Admiral Donald C. “Deese” Thompson, (USCG-ret)
Rear Admiral Jeret Thompson, (USN-ret)
Vice Admiral Alan S. Thompson, (USN-ret)
Lieutenant General Herman O. “Tommy” Thomson, (USAF-ret) Vice Admiral Howie Thorsen, (USCG-ret)
Major General Robert C. Thrasher, (USA-ret)
Lieutenant General William Thurman, (USAF-ret)
Lieutenant General R.A. Tiebout, (USMC-ret)
Brigadier General W.H.J. Tiernan, (USMC-ret)
Rear Admiral Byron E. “Jake” Tobin, Jr., (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Richard J. Toner, (USAF-ret)
Vice Admiral John Totushek, (USNR-ret)
Lieutenant General George J. Trautman, (USMC-ret) Lieutenant General Garry R. Trexler, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Roger W. Triftshauser, (USN-ret)
Vice Admiral Jerry Tuttle, (USN-ret)
Major General Larry Twitchell, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Jim Underwood, (USCG-ret)
Vice Admiral Jerry Unruh, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Richard Ursone, (USA-ret)
Brigadier General Earl S. Van Inwegen, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Lloyd R. “Joe” Vasey (USN-ret)
Brigadier General Thomas Verbeck, (USAF-ret)
Major General Russell L. Violett, (USAF-ret)
Major General John G. Waggener, Sr., (USA-ret)
Rear Admiral George F.A. Wagner, (USN-ret)
Brigadier General John D. Wakelin, (USA-ret)
Rear Admiral Edward K. “Ted” Walker, (USN-ret)
Major General David E.B. “DEB” Ward, (USAF-ret)
Lieutenant General Claudious “Bud” Watts, (USAF-ret)
Major General Charles J. Wax, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Donald Weatherson, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral John C. Weaver (USN-ret) ADD
Major General Kenneth W. Weir, (USMC-ret)
Major General Jack Welde, (USAF-ret)
Lieutenant General William “Bill” Welser, (USAF-ret)
Major General Gary Whipple, (USA-ret)
Rear Admiral Joel R. Whitehead, (USCG-ret)
Rear Admiral James B. Whittaker, (USN-ret)
Major General Geoffrey P. Wiedeman, (USAF-ret)
Rear Admiral Charles Williams, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral H. Denny Wisely, (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Ray Cowen Witter (USN-ret)
Rear Admiral Theodore J. Wojnar, (USCG-ret)
Lieutenant General Thad A. Wolfe, (USAF-ret)
Lieutenant General C. Norman Wood, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General Terrence P. Woods, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General Robert V. Woods, (USAF-ret)
Lieutenant General John “Jack” Woodward, (USAF-ret) Lieutenant General Michael W. “Mike” Wooley, (USAF-ret) Rear Admiral George K. Worthington, (USN-ret)
General Ronald W. Yates, (USAF-ret)
Brigadier General Mitchell M. “Mick” Zais, (USA-ret) Brigadier General Allan Ralph Zenowitz, (USA-ret)
Lieutenant General Richard “Rick” Zilmer, (USMC-ret) Admiral Ronald J. Zlatoper, (USN-ret)

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LINCOLN FIRED GENERALS FOR NOT ACTING; OBAMA FIRES GENERALS AND ADMIRALS FOR TRY TO RESCUE BENGAZI

!!!!

Top US General and Admiral reported canned over Benghazi actions: both may have moved to rescue trapped troops

• Posted by Israel Insider on October 30, 2012 at 12:00am
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Two senior American military officials -- General Carter Ham of the U.S. Africa Command and Rear Admiral Charles M. Gaouette of Carrier Strike Group Three -- have been summarily relieved of their command duties. Both dismissals appear related to events during the terror attack in Benghazi.

The Washington Times reports that on October 18, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta appeared unexpectedly at an otherwise unrelated briefing on “Efforts to Enhance the Financial Health of the Force." News organizations and CSPAN were told beforehand there was no news value to the event and gave it scant coverage. In his brief remarks Panetta said: "Today I am very pleased to announce that President Obama will nominate General David Rodriguez to succeed General Carter Ham as commander of U.S. Africa Command.”

This came as a surprise to many, since General Ham had only been in the position for a year and a half. The General is a very well regarded officer who made AFRICOM into a true Combatant Command after the ineffective leadership of his predecessor, General William E. "Kip" Ward. Later, word circulated informally that General Ham was scheduled to rotate out in March 2013 anyway, but according to Joint doctrine, "the tour length for combatant commanders and Defense agency directors is three years."

On Saturday, the U.S. Navy announced that it was replacing the admiral in command of the USS John C. Stennis, an aircraft carrier strike group in the Middle East pending the outcome of an internal investigation into undisclosed allegations of inappropriate judgment.

Rear Adm. Charles M. Gaouette is being sent back to the ' home port at Bremerton, Washington, in what the Navy called a temporary reassignment. The Navy said he is not formally relieved of his command of the Stennis strike group but will be replaced by Rear Adm. Troy M. Shoemaker, who will assume command until the investigation is completed. It is highly unusual for the Navy to replace a carrier strike group commander during its deployment. Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Navy's chief spokesman, declined to discuss the investigation.

There are persistent but unconfirmed reports that both men were replaced for making unauthorized orders to help the US security officials at the Benghazi consulate and annex.  The reports, from unnamed sources inside the military, are that General Ham, after receiving reports about the Benghazi attack, ordered a Rapid Response Force to prepare for deployment to the besieged Americans but was immediately relieved of his command and prevented from taking further rescue actions.

Reports from ABC News confirms that the allegations are recent and were made within the last couple of weeks. The Washington Post confirms that the Stennis was centrally involved in the Middle East.
Both Panetta and Chairman of the Joints Chiefs Martin Dempsey have denied that relieving Ham of his command was anything but a routine rotation, but the timing and numerous reports suggest otherwise.

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I just signed the petition "Mr. Speaker of the House: Call Gen Carter Ham and Adm Charles Gaouette to testify to what happened in Benghazi on 9/11/12" on Change.org.

It's important. Will you sign it too? Here's the link:

http://www.change.org/petitions/mr-speaker-of-the-house-call-gen-carter-ham-and-adm-charles-gaouette-to-testify-to-what-happened-in-benghazi-on-9-11-12









 - Leo Rugiens

OBAMA REVEALS HIS MUSLIM SYMPATHIES WHEN HE STARTS FIRING ADMIRALS

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 Obama Fires Top Admiral For Advocating Libyan Rescue?

Monday, October 29, 2012 8:50

According to this report, yesterday (27 October) Obama ordered the immediate removal of Rear Admiral Charles M. Gaouette from his command of the powerful Carrier Strike Group Three (CSG-3) currently located in the Middle East.

CSG-3 is one of five US Navy carrier strike groups currently assigned to the US Pacific Fleet. US Navy carrier strike groups are employed in a variety of roles, which involve gaining and maintaining sea control and projecting power ashore, as well as projecting naval airpower ashore.

The aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) is the strike group’s current flagship, and as of 2012, other units assigned to Carrier Strike Group Three include Carrier Air Wing Nine; the guided-missile cruisers USS Mobile Bay (CG-53) and USS Antietam (CG-54); and the ships of Destroyer Squadron 21, the guided-missile destroyers USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108), USS Dewey (DDG-105), USS Kidd (DDG-100), and USS Milius (DDG-69).

US news reports on Obama’s unprecedented firing of a powerful US Navy Commander during wartime state that Admiral Gaouette’s removal was for   “allegations of inappropriate leadership judgment” that arose during the strike group’s deployment to the Middle East.   

This GRU report, however, states that Admiral Gaouette’s firing by President Obama was due to this strike force commander disobeying orders when he ordered his forces on 11 September to “assist and provide intelligence for” American military forces ordered into action by US Army General Carter Ham, who was then the commander of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), against terrorist forces attacking the American Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. 

General Ham had been in command of the initial 2011 US-NATO military intervention in Libya who, like Admiral Gaouette, was fired by Obama. And as we can, in part, read from US military insider accounts of this growing internal conflict between the White House and US Military leaders:

“The information I heard today was that General [Carter] Ham as head of Africom received the same e-mails the White House received requesting help/support as the attack was taking place. General Ham immediately had a rapid response unit ready and communicated to the Pentagon that he had a unit ready. 

General Ham then received the order to stand down. His response was to screw it, he was going to help anyhow. Within 30 seconds to a minute after making the move to respond, his second in command apprehended General Ham and told him that he was now relieved of his command.”

Read more here: http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message2032156/pg1

OBAMA NEEDS EVERY BLACK VOTE, LESS CERTAIN IS WHETHER BLACKS NEED HIM

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•  AFP/Getty Images
  U.S. President Barack Obama greets supporters after speaking at a campaign event at Eden Park in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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• November 4, 2012, 6:43 p.m. ET

For Blacks, the Pyrrhic Victory of the Obama Era

Minorities do better to focus on economic gains, not political success.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

By JASON L. RILEY

There has been much dispute in recent weeks about the accuracy of the presidential polls, but you don't need a political scientist to tell you that Barack Obama can count on strong black support come Nov. 6.


Four years ago, 95% of black voters went for Mr. Obama, and he is likely to win something approaching that percentage in his re-election bid, notwithstanding economic data showing that blacks have lost ground on his watch. When the president assumed office, unemployment was 12.7% for blacks and 7.1% for whites. Today it is 14.3% for blacks and 7% for whites, which means that the black-white employment gap has not merely persisted under Mr. Obama but widened.


No matter. The president's approval rating among African-Americans is pushing 90%, and a Washington Post/ABC News tracking poll last week found that 97% of blacks plan to double down on him in this election. Racial pride surely plays some part in these attitudes, as does traditional black support of Democratic presidential candidates over the past four decades. But another factor is the abiding belief among civil-rights leaders that political activity is essential for black upward mobility.


Long after the passage of landmark civil-rights legislation, black leaders have continued to focus on integrating political institutions to redress social and economic problems. Demands for black access to the ballot have morphed into demands for "safe" black seats in Congress and "proportionate" representation among elected officials. Mr. Obama's victory in 2008 was the ultimate realization of this thinking. The Rev. C.T. Vivian, a close associate of Martin Luther King Jr., told Obama biographer David Remnick that King was a "prophet," and the "politician of our age, who comes along to follow that prophet, is Barack Obama. Martin laid the moral and spiritual base for the political reality to follow."

But the historical reality for other racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. is that political success has not been necessary for economic advancement. Germans were a third of the population in colonial Pennsylvania yet studiously avoided public office. Only after Germans had risen economically did they begin to distinguish themselves in politics. The impoverished Eastern European Jews who began arriving here in large numbers in the 1880s made little impact politically until well after they had established themselves economically.

Conversely, the Irish enjoyed tremendous political success in the latter part of the 19th century, yet they experienced a slower rise from poverty than Germans, Jews, Italians and other groups. "The Irish were fiercely loyal to each other," notes economist Thomas Sowell, who has spent decades tracing the history of racial and ethnic populations. "This had little effect on the average Irish-American, who began to reach economic prosperity in the 20th century at about the same time when the Irish political machines began to decline."


Today, Asian-Americans are the nation's best-educated and highest-earning racial group. According to a Pew study released earlier this year, 49% of Asians age 25 and older hold bachelor's degrees, compared with 31% of whites and 18% of blacks. The median household income for Asians is $66,000, which is $12,000 more than white households and double that of black households. As with other groups, political clout has not been a precondition of Asian socioeconomic advancement.


There are a handful of prominent Asian-American politicians today, including Govs. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Nikki Haley of South Carolina, but Asians have tended to avoid politics compared with other groups. Between 1990 and 2000, for example, the number of elected officials grew by 23% for blacks but only by 4% for Asians. In 2008, Asians were significantly less likely than both blacks and whites to have voted.


The election of Barack Obama four years ago gave blacks bragging rights, but bragging rights can't close the black-white achievement gap in education or increase black labor-force participation or reduce black incarceration rates. A civil-rights leadership that encourages blacks to look to politicians to solve these problems is doing a disservice to the people they claim to represent.


Asians, for their part, can point to an out-of-wedlock birthrate of just 16%, the lowest of any major group and a significant factor in Asian success. The black illegitimacy rate last year was 72%. Might it be that having a black man in the Oval Office is less important for black advancement than having one in the home?


The political scientists tell us that Mr. Obama will almost certainly need every black vote he can muster on Election Day. Less certain is whether blacks need him.
 


Mr. Riley is a member of the Journal's editorial board.

A version of this article appeared November 5, 2012, on page A15 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: For Blacks, the Pyrrhic Victory of the Obama Era.