Independent Capability Assessment of U.S. Air Force Reveals Readiness Level Below Carter Administration Hollow Force

"The U.S. Air Force experienced a decline in readiness shortly after the successful invasion of Iraq in 2003 as a result of a reduction in aircraft inventory (part of the peace dividend cuts) and an increase in unit deployments to the Middle East. Budget sequestration, initiated in 2012, accelerated that slide by forcing the Air Force to ground 50 percent (18 of 36) of its active duty, combat-coded squadrons temporarily in fiscal year (FY) 2013 and reduce overall flying hours for the year by 18 percent."

Heritage  

Summary:  

"After 26 years of continuous combat deployments, major combat operations, and surges, the United States Air Force’s level of readiness is below the hollow force levels of the late 1970s. The effect has been to reduce an Air Force once capable of two simultaneous major regional conflicts to one that could effectively muster a win in one region at the cost of its remaining global combat capability. High-end, fourth-generation fighters, coupled with healthy sortie rates, flying time, and realistic training scenarios, made the latter half of the 1980s a model for readiness. An assessment of today’s Air Force in each of those three areas reveals a marked decline in capability. Senior Air Force leaders need to convey the real level of readiness to Congress and the Trump Administration in a way that will get this service the funding and support that it needs to regain absolute air dominance." . . .

Read the entire report here.

John “JV” Venable, a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force is a senior research fellow for defense policy at Heritage.

Tillerson: Trump Might Scrap The Iran Deal Over Terrorism

Weasel Zippers

"The problem is you can’t verify that they are actually complying. Not to mention ‘compliance’ with such lax requirements doesn’t mean much, especially based on their history.

"Via Washington Examiner:

President Trump might pull the United States out of Iran nuclear deal over the rogue regime’s support for terrorism, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told Congress.

Tillerson certified that Iran is in compliance with the nuclear deal negotiated by former President Barack Obama’s team in a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan that was released late Tuesday night. But he hastened to add that Iran’s role as “a leading state sponsor of terror through many platforms and methods” has the Trump team debating whether to stick with the agreement.

“President Donald J. Trump has directed a National Security Council-led interagency review of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that will evaluate whether suspension of sanctions related to Iran pursuant to the JCPOA is vital to the national security interests of the United States,” Tillerson wrote, using the formal name for the nuclear deal.

Keep reading..

Trump signs bill allowing veterans to seek care outside broken VA system

President Trump is doing his job effectively, something we have not seen in eight years. Who could possibly want Obama to be president again?

Washington Examiner  

Conceived when Obama was president, but obviously not implemented to any degree.

"President Trump signed legislation Wednesday that will dramatically expand a program at the Department of Veterans Affairs that lets patients seek care from private doctors if they want to bypass the troubled VA system.

"The Veterans Choice Improvement Act removes barriers that Congress placed around the original "choice" initiative and eliminates an expiration date that would have shuttered the program in August.

"Lawmakers created the choice program in 2014 after a massive scandal involving wait time cover-ups at more than 100 VA facilities around the country. It was initially structured as a two-year pilot program that limited when and where veterans could choose to see private doctors. Patients could only use the choice program if they lived more than 40 miles from the nearest VA hospital or if they could not get an appointment from their local VA facility within 30 days." . . .

Wife-beater's delight: Authorities shield abuser from justice to keep him from being deported

The beater

Monica Showalter  "Have the sanctuary cities' quest to shield everyone from deportation superseded every other claim on justice?  That's certainly the case in San Jose.

"In a story with a buried lede, the Daily Beast reported the story of an Indian immigrant with a Silicon Valley startup who abused his high-profile executive wife and finally got caught when she recorded his thuggery on her cell phone.  As in the case of most abusers, it was a string of abuse events.  The Beast focused on the wife's fancy executive job and her gumption to record the beatings on her cell phone to preserve evidence, as if that were the news of the story.  What the publication should have focused on is the justice crowd's willingness to let the wife-beater escape justice on the grounds that he might get deported."

. . . 

Neha Rastogi, his victim

"Apparently, anyone who does something that could expose him to deportation is now entitled to escape all justice for his crimes because local authorities just can't bear the thought of anyone ever getting deported.  Never mind the beaten wife or the danger the thug's freedom poses for her and her children.  And never mind that what happens to the wife-beater after he is held to account for his crimes is none of their business.  

"Apparently, no one, no matter what he does, in the eyes of San Jose authorities, should ever be deported.  Beat your wife?  Not a problem.  This sounds like the sort of eurotrash logic you find in Europe whenever some "refugee" or "asylum seeker" kills a local girl or rapes a ten-year-old boy." . . .

The chilling testimony and evidence can be found here
And here:  She Taped Silicon Valley CEO Abusing Her   . . . "He appears to be telling her that she is to blame for whatever happens to her.

“ 'You don’t want to get beaten up?” he asks. “Then control yourself.” 

"He appears also to be telling her to rein in the very fear and hurt he is instilling in her; she better not cry or he will give her all the more reason to do so." . . .

Georgia election: will Republicans never learn?

Is Republican leadership stupid, incompetent or slap crazy?  Todd Starnes says yes.

"I’d like to know who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to run eleven Republicans in Georgia’s sixth congressional district race.

"Instead of a decisive victory, Republican Karen Handel is now faced with a summer runoff against Democrat Jon Ossoff.

"It’s as if Republican leadership fell out of the stupid tree and hit every branch on the way down.

"When a political novice gets the most votes in a historically Republican district – there’s a big problem."

Handel on 6th District runoff: "Let's kick a little Ossoff"

. . . "Ossoff received 48 percent of the vote, which is higher than previously predicted. Republican Karen Handel got nearly 20 percent. 
"Karen Handel arrived to a hero's welcome at her election party in Roswell. She was all smiles, but admitted to being a little nervous about the outcome of what she says has been a very competitive race." . . . More.

Georgia Special Election Goes Pretty Much as Predicted

In an overhyped congressional race, the Democrat falls short of a majority, so there will be a runoff.

. . . "Because no candidate reached 50 percent, 30-year-old Jon Ossoff, a former Democratic staffer on Capitol Hill, will face off in June against Karen Handel, a Republican who has served as Georgia’s secretary of state and on several local commissions. Though Ossoff dominated early voting, election-day votes pulled his total down over the course of the evening and kept him shy of an outright win. The headlines will have to wait.

"For months, this race has been cast by activists and pundits as indicative of the road ahead for the current presidential administration, perhaps illustrating whether Donald Trump’s abrasive personality and controversial agenda have already turned off voters. But as the results rolled in on Tuesday evening, it became clear that the GA-06 special election has been perhaps the best example of the national media making nothing into something." . . .

‘Homeland’ Has Become Anti-American And Pro-Terrorist

The Federalist

"Showtime’s ‘Homeland’ has gone from a natural concern for protecting Americans’ safety to making apologies for America’s enemies."

“ 'Homeland” has lost its way and become intensely anti-American, anti-Israel, pro-terrorist. Is this surprising? No. Disappointing? Yes.

"The new season opens during the transition period between the presidential election and the inauguration. The writers and producers clearly expected a Hillary Clinton win: the president-elect is a female with liberal views about Islam, Israel, U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, and the inner-workings of the intelligence community. While this alone caused me to flinch, it also brought a smile to my face with a moment of silent gloating.

That smile had turned into a scowl by episode five, as the show devolved into something the most ardent leftist would be proud of. In the span of five episodes, Carrie Mathison has become a dedicated First Amendment mouthpiece for those who spread the hateful, murderous message of jihad throughout social media. She has also taken on the role as strategist for Hillary—er, Elizabeth Keane, working behind the scenes to subvert the efforts of the CIA.

Saul Berenson Is a Shell of His Former Self

"Sadly yet similarly, Saul Berenson has become a shell of his former self. He is now disillusioned with the CIA, Israel, and the war on terror. His focus instead seems to be on this idea that if we give Iran nuclear capabilities they will become our ally in the Middle East, refrain from building nuclear weapons, leave Israel in peace, and use the technology and money instead to better the lives of their people." . . .

Mandy Patinkin, pictured above at left and below, discusses "Muslim 'Fear': White Men in Gov't, Military Are the Problem".

MSNBC contributor deletes horrifying tweet

Thomas Lifson

. . . "I am trying to figure out how a rational grown-up could tweet such a thing and not expect it to be seen for what it obviously is: targeting a Trump building for bombing. Is he so self-righteously convinced of his own virtue that he thought it was clear that he was being ironic?

"People on the Left are always congratulating each other on their superior virtue. (This is why they need conservatives to be evil.) So they end up thinking of themselves as above reproach."

"This really could be the end for Bill O'Reilly at Fox News"

Baltimore Sun  . . . "I have long admired Bill O'Reilly as a TV performer. I once wrote that he was to the cable news genre what Johnny Carson was to late night — so at ease and skilled in the format that he looked as if he invented it. He's still the ratings king.

"But when it comes to O'Reilly, the man, questions raised about his reporting career and the millions he and Fox have paid in settlements with women who have accused him of sexual harassment have reached a tipping point and then some for me.

"Now when I come across him on screen, the only thing that comes to mind is the sick, sexist and predatory culture that is eating like a cancer at Fox News. The 67-year-old O'Reilly, who once told me how much he hated hypocrisy during an appearance on his show, has become one of the media's most disgusting hypocrites in my eyes. It would be sad if this is how he ended his groundbreaking career." . . .   David Zurawik

Much more on the columns of Mr. Zurawik here.

How late-night comics helped pave the way for President Trump

Volokh Conspiracy  "Late-night comedy is more political than ever. It both reflects and influences our politics, but not always in the ways its hosts and producers intend. 

"In the Atlantic, Caitlin Flanagan has an exceptionally perceptive (if also dispiriting) essay on how the increasingly shrill, partisan and cruel smugness of late-night comedy helped fuel the cultural resentments that facilitated Donald Trump’s victory last fall." . . .

Though aimed at blue-state sophisticates, these shows are an unintended but powerful form of propaganda for conservatives. When

Republicans see these harsh jokes—which echo down through the morning news shows and the chattering day’s worth of viral clips, along with those of Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, and Seth Meyers—they don’t just see a handful of comics mocking them. They see HBO, Comedy Central, TBS, ABC, CBS, and NBC. In other words, they see exactly what Donald Trump has taught them: that the entire media landscape loathes them, their values, their family, and their religion. It is hardly a reach for them to further imagine that the legitimate news shows on these channels are run by similarly partisan players—nor is it at all illogical.

Full article

Honeymoon from Hell: The Liberal Media vs. President Trump

Media Research Center

"As President Trump approaches the end of his first 100 days in office, he has received by far the most hostile press treatment of any incoming American president, with the broadcast networks punishing him with coverage that has been 89% negative. The networks largely ignored important national priorities such as jobs and the fight against ISIS, in favor of a news agenda that has been dominated by anti-Trump controversies and which closely matches what would be expected from an opposition party.

"For example, President Trump’s push to invigorate the economy and bring back American jobs received a mere 18 minutes of coverage (less than one percent of all airtime devoted to the administration), while his moves to renegotiate various international trade deals resulted in less than 10 minutes of TV news airtime.

Much, much more ObaLove at Pinterest

As many of us saw Obama:

"Eight years ago, in contrast, the broadcast networks rewarded new President Barack Obama with mainly positive spin, and spent hundreds of stories discussing the economic agenda of the incoming liberal administration." . . .

Pentagon Considers Shooting Down North Korea Missile Tests

Zero Hedge

. . . "Both sources said the military was not looking to use the high-profile missile-defense system the US is providing to South Korea, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad). Thaad’s 200km range and sophisticated radar have unnerved China, whose president, Xi Jinping, has been coaxed by Trump into pressuring North Korea. 

"In the past, several US administrations have considered shooting down North Korean missile tests, only to turn away from the option when considering the consequences of escalation against an unpredictable and bellicose adversary. Rumors have circulated since Trump took office that he has been mulling a shoot-down. A US official said the military was discussing a potential shoot-down ahead of Trump’s meeting with Xi on 6 April at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The discussion also preceded Friday’s North Korean military parade, during which Pyongyang displayed advancements in its intercontinental ballistic missile program and anti-ship missiles, as well as a test-launch failure on Saturday. Senior Pentagon officials pondering the shoot-down option are said to have conceded they are unsure how North Korea would respond, especially considering North Korea's comments...

"If the U.S. is reckless enough to use military means, from that very day, there will be all out war. Our nuclear weapons protect us from that threat," Vice Foreign Minister Han Song-Ryol told the BBC's John Sudworth. "We'll be conducting more missile tests on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis," he threatened. He said that an "all-out war" would result if the US took military action.

"Neither Pentagon nor US Pacific Command representatives responded to a request for comment. Another factor complicating a shoot-down would be the risk of embarrassment should Aegis interceptors miss a North Korean target, which might embolden Pyongyang and unnerve US regional allies.

"Ken Gause, director of the international-affairs group at the CNA thinktank influential with the Pentagon, said US planners have grown frustrated with coercive diplomacy amid North Korea’s maturing nuclear and missile capability. But Gause said that while Washington might spin a shoot-down as a step below an attack on North Korea or an attempt to overthrow its government, it risked validating Kim’s position that North Korea needs nuclear weapons and long-range missiles to respond to American aggression." . . .

Hollywood Boldly Takes on Trump Era...And it looks as terrible as you’d imagine

If the trailer is any indication of the film as a whole, it’s perfectly illustrative of the Hollywood bubble and their perception of somewhat right-leaning Americans. The evil, white businessman, ignorant to the ways of the little people, feelings, and everything else humane, must be taught a lesson via public humiliation so as to correct his wrong thinking.

Legal Insurrection

. . . "The plotline of the dramatic comedy has been described thusly:

Beatriz (Salma Hayek), an immigrant from a poor town in Mexico, has drawn on her innate kindness to build a career as a health practitioner in Los Angeles. Doug Strutt (John Lithgow) is a cutthroat, self-satisfied billionaire. When these two opposites meet at a dinner party, their worlds collide and neither will ever be the same.

"Sounds riveting, doesn’t it?

"In the official trailer, Lithgow’s character (who owns hotels) first meets Hayek at a dinner party where mistaking her for the help, he asks her for another bourbon. During the dinner toast, Lithgow interrupts Hayek to ask her if she came to the U.S. legally. Later, Lithgow boldly proclaims what America really needs is more jobs, drawing a direct parallel to Trump’s campaign messaging. Several cuts praise Hayek’s character, calling her a “saint.”

"If that’s not ridiculous enough for you, there’s more! Bragging about shooting a rhino, Lithgow passes around his phone, on which is pulled up a photo of himself behind his dead trophy. Hayek throws the phone at him saying, “you think it’s funny?! I think it’s sick!” as she storms off."