This Day in the Civil War/ Uniforms of the North and South

Civil War Interactive 
April 18th, 1861:DAUNTLESS DEFENDERS DARE DISPLEASURE
1862: NEW ORLEANS NAVAL NASTINESS NOTED
1863: COMMODORE CONFISCATES CONFEDERATE CARGO
1864: RED RIVER RENDEZVOUS RUINED

Union Army Uniforms and Insignia of the Civil War

Confederate Uniforms for Officers, NCOs and Enlisted

How Not to “Lose” Iraq

Max Boot  "...a continuing American military presence in Iraq post-2011 would very much be in our interest—because it would enable us to influence not only Iraq’s future course but also the future course of the entire region. Yet time is running out to renegotiate the Status of Forces agreement which President Bush signed in 2008 and which mandates the departure of all 50,000 U.S. troops by the end of this year."

Libya Is Not Iraq

Victor Davis Hanson  "Now, in exasperation, many on the left have suggested that they are no more hypocritical than those on the right, who supported the removal of the dictator Saddam Hussein, but now oppose bombing the dictator Qaddafi, supposedly because a liberal Obama, not a conservative Bush, is commander-in-chief. But here are some reasons why Iraq in 2003 made sense, and Libya in 2011 makes no sense."....
"To be fair, in Obama’s defense, it perhaps soon may be said that we suffered greatly in victory in Iraq and, by comparison, far less in defeat in Libya."

Truth Behind Obama's Indecision In Egypt - Episode 2   Video and sound

Vigil for Peace seeks end to wars in the Middle East

Tillamook, Oregon Headlight-Herald   Exerpt: "On March 18, 15 people stood together on all four corners of First and Main streets in Tillamook in a vigil for peace. This vigil was part of a national effort sponsored largely by Veterans For Peace.
"We would like to personally thank each of you who showed up to mark this anniversary. Many others showed support by honking, cheering, waving and giving a thumbs up. If the response we got from passing motorists is any indicator, the majority of people in our community are sick and tired of the fighting, and of watching their taxes support war, rather than better roads, education and safety services."

My response today, which will hopefully be published this week in the Headlight-Herald:

I wonder how those at the peace vigil would have handled al Qaeda after 9/11, with their bases in Afghanistan. Al Qaeda had a nation of their own where they trained forces to kill non-Muslims by the thousands. They still seek to do this and Afghanistan is still their prime choice for bases. President Bush and our armed forces have kept these people on the run and in fear of their lives for attacking us.
Terrorists are happy to have these "lone wolf"attacks on us, but having an army of murderers would be far better for them. As usual, pacifists stand as shields protecting them. Hitler's conquest of Europe could have been easily prevented if he was opposed at the start. But anti-war people prevented free countries from resisting the Nazi evil and millions died because of it.

Pacifists have caused the death of innocents throughout the past century and they may yet aid in our deaths.

Al-Jazeera's fans in the White House

Rick Moran  "Apparently, the president and half the state department are just tickled about a network that excuses terrorism against the Jews, and spreads the most ridiculous rumors about what is happening in the Middle East. It reveals far more about them that the White House looks upon these shills for the Qatar royal family than it does the network that so laughably skews its news against the US."

Classic anti-Semitism from Al Jazeera Cartoon .











What A Surprise! Obama Loves Al-Jazeera "In the halls of American power, the Arab Spring has brought Al-Jazeera in from the cold.
"Seven years after then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called the broadcaster’s reporting “vicious, inaccurate and inexcusable” and President George W. Bush joked about bombing it, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised it as “real news” in her recent Senate testimony.
"And, in fact, she in effect said we needed to emulate it.
"Not only that, her staffers, as well as those of the CIA and the Obama White House, were attending the Congressional Correspondents’ Dinner as Al-Jazeera’s guests."

WikiLeaks Gives Bashar al-Assad A Gift

Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion "Why release these cables at this moment, when Bashar al-Assad is trying to suppress protests by blaiming foreign conspirators?
"Was it just coincidence that the cables were released as violence mounted in Syria? Either this was a cynical ploy by WikiLeaks to take advantage of the violence in Syria to generate publicity, or WikiLeaks recklessly disregarded the dangers such a release presents to the protesters.
"The support given to opposition groups in years past may have no connection to the people in the streets, but the WikiLeaks disclosure surely will be used by al-Assad as an excuse for even more brutal repression.
"WikiLeaks has given al-Assad a major gift, and the people of Syria will pay the price."

Don't our jobs come from that top one percent?

Neal Boortz  "It seems that no matter what statistics are presented -- some people just can’t give up the idea that raising taxes on the rich is really the only way to solve our current spending problems. Obama says it, they believe it, and that By God settles it. These people, it seems, simply aren’t going to let facts get in the way of some good old fashioned jealousy.

"There are four things that I wish people would try to keep in mind when they are considering their favorite left-wing politicians demands for higher taxes on the disgusting rich." And those four things are...

Media Research Center on tax cuts for the evil rich

Befuddled Bob Schieffer: 'Why Do These Rich People Need Another Tax Cut? They're Already Rich' "Conveying his no-so-profound economic reasoning, Schieffer saw a pot of money to be absconded: “I mean, they're already rich. They seem to be doing pretty well as it is now. Why cut their taxes some more?” After Ryan explained his proposal would maintain current tax revenue levels while eliminating deductions and loopholes used by the wealthy, a baffled Schiefier ruminated."

CBS Rues Unfairness of Rich Not Paying Enough Without Noting More Than a Third of Americans Pay Nothing "After allowing a Cato expert to note the economic damage caused by too-high tax burdens on the most productive, Doane countered him by touting “Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength,” a bunch of left-wing millionaires who want tax rates to be hiked for the rich..."

Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength"... when Lehman brothers went bankrupt, NYC suddenly faced a huge drop in income tax revenue.
"People seem to think that high-income earners are “stealing from grandma”. They aren’t. They get a paycheck – often from the company that they started and own. And they employ many people.
"How about an income tax cut for any person or business who hires a new employee this year (with rules against simply firing and then re-hiring people) ?
"Governments don’t create jobs. Only people create jobs."  From the comments to this blog.

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/mikelester

Keep in mind that the Tunnel Dweller is a retired union tradesman who has always been an hourly-paid employee. I'm a tool-bag-carrying mechanic who understands a bit about economics and the drag the left is on free enterprise and creativity.

DOJ Source: Gov’t Muslim ‘Outreach’ Jeopardized Active Terror Investigations

Pajamas Media  "An explosive, must-read interview brings sunlight to our counterproductive "outreach" programs. The case of the missing Somali men from Minneapolis highlights the failure and the absurdity."....

"But another troubling claim came out during our interview: “Muslim outreach” programs by U.S. government agencies to terror-tied Islamic groups have directly interfered with ongoing terrorism investigations."....
"But at the same time that FBI agents were testifying in the [Holy Land Foundation] trial that CAIR is a Hamas front there was serious disagreement inside DOJ and the FBI about whether we should continue to work with CAIR or cut them loose. So now we do both."

Anti-CAIR  "We believe that the Council on American-Islamic Relations, (CAIR), is a clear and present danger to our Constitution and our way of life. We will continue to expose CAIR's involvement in supporting Islamist terrorists, terrorist-sponsoring organizations and groups in the United States."