On Drafting women into the military

The chair of the committee is John McCain, and he had no comment yesterday, as a spokesman said President Obama supports requiring women to register for the draft.

Althouse  . . . "Registering for the draft is a symbolic ritual... until the draft becomes real. Is the symbolism of equality worth it? The government, if it ever reinstates the draft, can opt only to call up the males on the list. So why not go for equality in the symbolism? Perhaps the better question is: Why put young people through this symbolic ritual? Or: Why discriminate against men, subjecting only them to the ritual?

"As for an actual draft, compelling men and women into service, I have never been able to picture Americans accepting forcing their daughters into combat. But if you allow women in combat and you force women into service, would we tolerate a system in which, when it comes to combat, women have a choice and men do not? "

But I have learned from watching Hollywood action movies that women can physically dominate men twice their size. They are in charge of most tactical operations, ordering units about with authority and putting sexist males in their place with devastating remarks and exhibitions of superiority - all while maintaining their hairstyle and plucked eyebrows. 

Recount for low-information candidates

Legal Insurrection here.

On the recount, Dr. Stein is not a serious person  . . . "Either way, the Stein recounts are a colossal waste of money and energy when there is not a shred of credible evidence of fraud or error and when the final vote in these three states likely will not change very much.

"Stein’s quixotic moralizing damages the credibility of the very institution she claims to protect -- the sanctity of the ballot box. It could even put Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes at risk if the recount isn’t completed by the time the Electoral College meets in December to officially confirm Trump’s election. Stein wants a hand count of ballots, and sued on Monday to try to force a reluctant state government to do that.

"Hillary Clinton’s campaign should have stayed far away from this nonsense. Instead, her campaign is participating in the recount."

Michigan Attorney General Attempting To Stop Recount  "This is just coming out via Politico, and it’s an interesting turn of events in the (ridiculous) election recount saga started by Jill Stein and endorsed by many Democrats and liberals." . . .

After a mere 25 years, the triumph of the West is over

"Had we not earned a restful retirement?  At the time, I argued that we had earned it indeed, but a cruel history would not allow us to enjoy it. Repose presupposes a fantasy world in which stability is self-sustaining without the United States. It is not. We would incur not respite but chaos.

 

Charles Krauthammer  "Twenty-five years ago — December 1991 — communism died, the Cold War ended and the Soviet Union disappeared. It was the largest breakup of an empire in modern history and not a shot was fired. It was an event of biblical proportions that my generation thought it would never live to see. As Wordsworth famously rhapsodized (about the French Revolution), “Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive/But to be young was very heaven!”

That dawn marked the ultimate triumph of the liberal democratic idea. It promised an era of Western dominance led by a preeminent America, the world’s last remaining superpower.

And so it was for a decade as the community of democracies expanded, first into Eastern Europe and former Soviet colonies. The U.S. was so dominant that when, on Dec. 31, 1999, it gave up one of the most prized geostrategic assets on the globe — the Panama Canal — no one even noticed.

"That era is over. The autocracies are back and rising; democracy is on the defensive; the U.S. is in retreat. Look no further than Aleppo. A Western-backed resistance to a local tyrant — he backed by a resurgent Russia, an expanding Iran and an array of proxy Shiite militias — is on the brink of annihilation. Russia drops bombs; America issues statements.

Popular TV show features hijabi FBI agents, zero Muslim terrorists

"Just as Quantico creates a fantasy world where absolutely no terrorism is created by Muslims, it glamorizes the sharia lifestyle for young girls, creating an imaginary, fairytale kind of sharia that exists nowhere but on a Hollywood set.  Instead of being ashamed of it, the show's creator is actually proud.  It's disgusting propaganda."

American Thinker  "Joshua Safran, the creator of the ABC TV show Quantico, is proud of the fact that his show, about FBI agents hunting down terrorists, has never featured a Muslim terrorist.

For me, it was important to not ever put a Muslim terrorist on our show. There hasn't been one.

"Important because political correctness requires him to deny the existence of radical Islamic terrorism, one of the prime missions of the FBI to combat.  Most of the storyline revolves around the FBI's attempt to find a person who plants bombs.  The suspect shifts over time but is never a Muslim, because Muslims don't do that.  They never have.

"However, do not worry: Muslims are not unrepresented on Quantico.  Two of the FBI agents are hijabis." . . .

HOW TRUMP COULD RUIN HIS PRESIDENCY

Ann Coulter  "Soon after Trump's announcement speech, I said he would win the nomination and likely the election. It wasn't that hard to predict. For anyone familiar with the Republican Party's repeated betrayals of the American people, it was a 2-foot putt. 

"I issue this warning with the same certitude -- in fact, for the exact same reason I knew anyone running on Trump's platform would have unbreakable support from millions of voters.

"What coalesced Trump's base, what made his support tempered steel, was the fact that voters had been lied to, over and over again -- on many things, but most smugly and repeatedly on immigration.

"How many times did we have to see the GOP choke? There's 30 seconds left in the game, Republicans are down by two, they move the ball up the court, have a man in position -- and, every time, the GOP would do anything to avoid taking the 3-point shot.

"That is the beating heart of the anger that voters felt toward the party. No one trusted Republicans to ever score when they had the ball.

"It's why Trump's supporters stuck with him through thick and thin -- his attack on war hero John McCain (he deserved it), his mocking a disabled reporter (a lie), his lazy first debate performance (totally true), and the "Access Hollywood" tape (oh well).

"After he gave that Mexican rapists speech, and never backed down, Trump's base would have brushed off six more "Access Hollywood" tapes. All because they think Trump will take the shot." . . . 

Here’s How Trump’s HHS Pick Wants to Replace Obamacare

Washington Examiner  (Video) "By tapping House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Tom Price to serve as his Secretary of Health and Human Services, President-elect Trump has added to his team one of the most serious and knowledgeable Republicans on healthcare policy, and in the process pressed his finger on the scales of the internal GOP debate over how specifically to replace Obamacare.

"In contrast to many Republicans, who have talked in terms of repealing Obamacare without offering their own vision for the healthcare system, Price, an orthopedic surgeon, has for years been refining his own detailed plan. In fact, he was one of the few Republicans who introduced an alternative bill in 2009, during the actual debate over Obamacare. You can read that version of the "Empowering Patients First Act" in its entirety here." . . .

Via Galen Institute

The White House and the Trump Carrier deal strategy

Before our main article, remember this: Trump actually has had a bigger triumph than Carrier prior to taking office

. . . Trump appears to be more successful in getting a message across before he is president that Obama did in eight years as President.
We should all remember that Ronald Reagan, the greatest President in my lifetime, caused the Soviet Union to collapse and brought down the Berlin wall, not with starting a war, but with words and strength. It is a shame that Democrats learn so little from history.

Anyway, here is the main point: 
White House gets defensive about Trump’s Carrier win, steps in it BIG TIME…

"Over the last few weeks, we’ve watched liberals try and wrap their minds around how they blew the election, making up every excuse under the sun rather than accept the truth that their policies are out of touch with the majority of Americans in this country. 

"At the same time, we’re watching the Obama administration desperately try to prop up its failed legacy, even as President-elect Trump blows them out of the water even before he sets foot in office.

"The news of Trump’s saving more than 1,000 U.S. jobs from moving to Mexico has put the Obama administration on the defensive on multiple fronts. As if it wasn’t awkward enough that footage of Obama mocking Trump’s plan to save those jobs has resurfaced, Josh Earnest’s efforts to defend the president’s own jobs record only made matters worse." . . . Hat tip to M Fumie Craig

Thomas Lifson: The key to Trump’s Carrier deal: Next generation manufacturing  "In his speech at Carrier yesterday (video embedded below), Donald Trump revealed some information that should comfort those market purists worried about America insulating itself from global markets, and thereby falling behind overseas competitors. He revealed that the reported $16 million is likely to end up much higher figure because the company is committing to next generation manufacturing."

'They don't live here': Arkansas lawmaker wants to rename Little Rock's 'Bill and Hillary Clinton' airport

UK Daily Mail

"Arkansas State Sen. Jason Rapert doesn't believe his state's largest airport should be named after Bill and Hillary Clinton any more. 

"Rapert told the Hill newspaper that the election, and the former secretary of state's puny percentage in her husband's home state, proved that Arkansans were done with the Clintons, whose names appear on the airport in Little Rock. 

" 'The Clinton left Arkansas and do not reside here,' the lawmaker told the Hill. 'Many in our state do not want the first thing people see and last thing they remember about Arkansas being two of the most scandal-ridden politicians in American history.' " . . .

Things will be bouncing off the walls wherever Hillary is tonight.

Reports: Trump’s Pick for Secretary of Defense is Retired Marine General James Mattis

Trump picks retired General ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis for secretary of defense  "Donald Trump intends to nominate Gen. James Mattis, one of the most respected military men of his generation, to run the sprawling Department of Defense, it was reported Thursday.

"Citing people familiar with the decision, the Washington Post said the announcement from the president-elect is expected next week.

"But since a law prevents those on active duty within the last seven years from serving in a civilian post, Congress will not only have to confirm Mattis but also pass a law making an exception.

"Congress has done that just once, when Gen. George C. Marshall was appointed to the post in 1950.

"Mattis left the Marines in 2013 and has since been a think-tank scholar at Stanford’s prestigious Hoover Institution and a board member of several private companies." . . .

Legal Insurrection

. . . Mattis, 66, retired as the chief of U.S. Central Command in spring 2013 after serving more than four decades in the Marine Corps. He is known as one of the most influential military leaders of his generation, serving as a strategic thinker while occasionally drawing rebukes for his aggressive talk. Since retiring, he has served as a consultant and as a visiting fellow with the Hoover Institution, a think tank at Stanford University.

Like Trump, Mattis favors a tougher stance against U.S. adversaries abroad, especially Iran. The general, speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in April, said that while security discussions often focus on terrorist groups like the Islamic State or al-Qaeda, the Iranian regime is “the single most enduring threat to stability and peace in the Middle East.”

Mattis said the next president “is going to inherit a mess,” and argued that the nuclear deal signed by the Obama administration last year may slow Iran’s ambitions to get a nuclear weapon, but won’t stop them.

“In terms of strengthening America’s global standing among European and Mid-Eastern nations alike, the sense is that the America has become somewhat irrelevant in the Middle East, and we certainly have the least influence in 40 years,” Mattis said.

"As for Israel, Mattis sees, “West Bank settlements turning Israel into an apartheid state” reports Haaretz:" . . .

Expect push-back from the left because of thoughts such as this.

When they do, keep this in mind:
. . . "While serving in Afghanistan as a brigadier general, he was known as an officer who engaged his men with "real leadership". A young Marine officer named Nathaniel Fick cited an example of that leadership when he witnessed Mattis in a fighting holetalking with a sergeant and a lance corporal: "No one would have questioned Mattis if he'd slept eight hours each night in a private room, to be woken each morning by an aide who ironed his uniforms and heated his MREs. But there he was, in the middle of a freezing night, out on the lines with his Marines." . . .

On Israel: "Mattis supports a two-state solution model for Israel-Palestinian peace. He says the current situation in Israel is “unsustainable” and argues that the settlements harm prospects for peace and could theoretically lead to an apartheid-like situation in the West Bank. In particular, he believes the lack of a two-state solution is upsetting to the Arab allies of America, which weakens US esteem amongst its Arab allies. Mattis strongly supports John Kerry on the Middle East peace process, praising Kerry for being "wisely focused like a laser-beam" towards a two-state solution."

Mattis' medals and ribbons are listed in this article as well.

Obama Fired This Top General Without Even a Phone Call

Gen. James Mattis criticizes Obama defense, security policies  . . . "Retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, former commander of the U.S. Central Command, delivered a harsh critique of the Obama administration’s defense and national security policies this week — without ever mentioning the president or his security team by name.

"Gen. Mattis, in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, pulled no punches in criticizing policies and strategies ranging from confronting Chinese bullying in Asia and pulling U.S. troops out of Afghanistan to sharp defense cuts and putting women into combat roles." . . .

An ObamaCare Agenda For President-Elect Trump

Galen Institute  "Although it came late as a campaign issue, ObamaCare was on the ballot again on Tuesday.  And it lost big.

"According to exit polls, 45% said they thought the law had gone too far.  Only 18% said it was about right. That follows years of public opinion polls consistently showing approval of the law under water.

"Voters have opposed the law since before it passed.  Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other determined liberals ignored the hundreds of thousands of people who marched on the Washington Mall on September 12, 2009, to protest their agenda. After that, deep-blue Massachusetts elected Republican Scott Brown to the Senate in early 2010 in an effort to build a firewall against final passage of the law.

"That failed when the White House devised a tortured and narrow path to final passage in March, but Democrats paid a high price when 63 House Democrats who voted for the law lost their seats in the 2010 mid-term elections.

"In 2012, Mitt Romney was an imperfect opponent of the health overhaul law, having shepherded passage of a version of it when he was governor of Massachusetts.  In 2015, after Republicans won control of the Senate, both houses of Congress did pass a repeal bill, only to see it vetoed by President Obama.

"In 2016, voters had another, maybe last, chance, but for much of the campaign, ObamaCare took a back seat to immigration, trade, veterans, jobs, and an endless well of scandals.  But then former President Clinton criticized the law (“…the craziest thing!”), and Hillary Clinton and even President Obama acknowledged changes were needed to ObamaCare." . . .    By Grace-Marie Turner and Doug Badger

From HopeNChangeCartoons is this by Stilton Jarlsberg, who writes below:

All Rights Reserved  HopeNChangeCartoons.com © 2009-2013

. . . "Currently, we are receiving multiple email and telephone messages daily warning that our access to health insurance will be cut off soon unless we provide a host of documents to prove what our income will be in 2017. Documents which are pretty freaking hard to come by for self-employed cartoonists and gadabout authors.

"Adding to the fun, we have to change policies because Mrs. Jarlsberg has just started Medicare. Interestingly, taking one person off a two-person policy costs you 75% of your subsidy. Because, according to Healthcare.gov, "screw you."

"And speaking of Medicare, we just got a letter that Mrs. Jarlsberg's rates are being doubled before her first day of coverage because the same government which says they lack enough information about our income has simultaneously decided that we have an income of several hundred thousand dollars a year. A number which is only off by several hundred thousand dollars. And not in a good way." . . .

Donald Trump’s New World Order; What a Kissinger-inspired strategy might look like.

LESSONS FROM HISTORY

"Donald Trump therefore enters the Oval Office with an underestimated advantage. Obama’s foreign policy has been a failure, most obviously in the Middle East, where the smoldering ruin that is Syria—not to mention Iraq and Libya—attests to the fundamental naivety of his approach, dating all the way back to the 2009 Cairo speech.

Niall Ferguson   "Ten days after the election of Donald J. Trump to be the 45thPresident of the United States, there is a more or less complete lack of certainty as to which direction his foreign policy will take, but a great deal of speculation—much of it alarmist—based on things Mr. Trump has said in speeches and interviews. Yet few if any Presidents base their foreign policy strictly on campaign rhetoric. Few if any break entirely with the policies of their predecessors. And, indeed, few if any can be said, in practice, to have anything so coherent as a foreign policy doctrine, much less a grand strategy. Experience also suggests that the foreign policy of the Trump Administration will depend a good deal on who gets the key jobs—Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense, as well as National Security Advisor—and on who wins the interdepartmental struggle that will inevitably ensue: the battle for bureaucratic priority, the fight for regular access to the President, the war of leaks to the media." . . .

Good guy with a gun stops bad guy with a car and a wicked blade

On the OSU attack: Another knee-jerk response from the left over guns