D-Day; Omaha Beach then and now photographs (Updated, 12/3/2011)

Dec, 2011 Update: Normandy, 1944; then and now photos   "Our previous emphases (below) on Omaha Beach gave short shrift to the other landing sites. This should do a bit to fill in some of those gaps with photos. Click on some of the WW2 photos of the site, "Men of D-Day" and you will also see that location as it is today. Don't you love stuff like that?"  TD


Omaha Beach  "Of the invasion beaches, Utah,Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword, the issue was in doubt only on Omaha Beach.  Bad Allied decisions could only do so much harm on other beaches, but they nearly resulted in a disastrous defeat on Omaha Beach.  Many lives were needlessly lost, and the whole invasion was threatened with failure by the difficulties there.  In "Omaha Beach - A Flawed Victory", Adrian Lewis convincingly shows this."

jewishvirtuallibrary.org

1. Omaha Beach - Vierville Draw  D-1 Beach exit. The beach featured in the movie, "Saving Private Ryan". It was also the beach that saw the annihilation of 95% of the men in 'A' Company of the 116th RCT of the 29th Infantry Division, including a score of young men from the tiny town of Bedford, Virginia.

Some raw film of the landings..

2. Les Moulins and St Laurent Draws
3. Colleville Draw

4. Cabourg Draw
The above draws pictured on the map below, including the landing zone designations and the
German resistance nests: 
In depth details here.


Much more on this topic in the Tunnel Wall posts for June 5th and 6th.

Our emphasis has been primarily on the struggle for Omaha Beach. This in no way disregards the valiant efforts of the British and Canadians who took Sword, Juno, and Gold Beaches nor the men of the 4th US Infantry Division and the Paratroopers who took Utah Beach.

Many more conservative posts about American history, politics and culture here at the Tunnel Wall

Higher Education and its state

Victor Davis Hanson: Now That’s a Higher Education Bubble  "The point is not to bash the students or the faculty, but to ask the university to reexamine the way it does business.

"Maybe raising admission standards would improve the quality of student, end the trend toward watered-down classes, and encourage those who do not belong at CSU to invest their time more productively in the work place. As it is now, over 50 percent of incoming freshmen in CSU must take remedial classes to qualify for university courses; why are they there in the first place?"

We can't reverse the spiral unless we strike at the causes of decline.
"The situation is rather dire: the products of our education system administer, teach, vote, and otherwise direct the course the country is to take. The social harm inherent in that process is set to continue at an accelerating pace."....
"There are other concerns, too, lest we forget. While they lie at the root, we bemoan their consequences and say little about causes. Truly better education for all who are capable of benefiting from it provides the only realistic path out of the morass." Dan Miller

UC Santa Barbara Student Government Tries to Derail David Horowitz Event, Lies About It "The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) student government has unconstitutionally discriminated against the UCSB College Republicans by twice denying funding for a lecture tonight by David Horowitz because of his conservative views."  Foundation for Individual Rights in Education

David Brooks: It’s Not About You  "...many graduates are told to: Follow your passion, chart your own course, march to the beat of your own drummer, follow your dreams and find yourself. This is the litany of expressive individualism, which is still the dominant note in American culture.
"But, of course, this mantra misleads on nearly every front. "

D-Day Monday UPDATED with more links

Watch the Tunnel Wall on Monday for some historical photos of the landings at Normandy on 6 June, 1944. The photos were released in 1949, but I just found them last month.
The aerial photos of the landings and their aftermath that will show you the magnitude of the operation known as Overlord and what great things were accomplished by the industrial might of the allies.  The Tunnel Dweller  
Some D-Day links added below and if you search the words "D-Day" in our search box, you will find more.


http://tunnelwall.blogspot.com/2011/06/omaha-beach-d-day-landings-from-above.html
http://tunnelwall.blogspot.com/2011/05/d-day-and-beyond-airborne-site-one-of.html
http://tunnelwall.blogspot.com/2011/08/25-photos-of-d-day-from-robert-capa.html
http://tunnelwall.blogspot.com/2011/06/d-day-omaha-beach-then-and-now.html

The liberal mindset hits reality again

American Thinker  "There are two constants in dealing with the liberal or socialist mindset: 1) they can never admit a mistake, always blaming it on others; and 2) regardless of the situation, they can ignore historical facts or the tenets of economics and achieve what others have not."

Companion article to the above: Telegraph View: a Budget windfall tax spectacularly backfires. "...this is an object lesson in the way tax rises can prove economically harmful. While South Morecambe is not producing, it is delivering no tax revenues; meanwhile, the shortfall will be filled by imported gas. So the tax take goes down and the cost to the consumer goes up: not a happy combination."

How much empirical evidence does it take for the left to realize their economic policies are ill-informed, envious and bankrupt?

How Not to Choose a Presidential Candidate

Adam Graham  "Pundits and politicians make false assumptions like: a conservative can’t win the election. Also, “bird in the bush” theories propose that if the party jettisons social conservatives, then a large pool of voters would embrace the Republican Party. No proof is ever offered that this large pool of voters exists anywhere but in the minds of pundits. In the case of the abortion issue, the actual evidence suggests Republicans enjoy a large advantage because of their position on the issue.
"Voters are far more concerned about the condition of the country than the factors “electability” experts trumpet. Republicans should nominate a candidate who will put their best foot forward in representing the party. Unsubstantiated electability claims should be dismissed."
....
On identity politics, the author has this: Those who advocate a Cain candidacy on racial grounds are right that the GOP needs to increase its share of the black vote. However, they’re trying to take a shortcut. The Democrats dominate the black vote because they’ve politically organized in the black community. "Republicans must do the same. It will take time, money, and effort to reach out. There is no easy way to victory.

"Similarly, nominating a female candidate will not give the GOP any edge among women. To the contrary, women rate Sarah Palin more unfavorably than men.
"The GOP should nominate the best candidate regardless of race or gender. Basing nominations on identity politics thinking it will gain brownie points has been proven to be baseless." (Emphasis added)
Adam Graham is a contributor at Race42012.com and host of the Truth and Hope Report podcast. His personal site is Adam's Blog. He is author of novel, "Tales of the Dim Knight," from Splashdown Books

politicalhumor.about.com

Also by Mr. Graham:  How to Create Your Own Political Scorecard  He says if it worked for his state's elections, it can work for us. 

Best and brightest in the world call for redistribution of wealth

Iran calls for equal wealth distribution  "The president said that the wealth amassed in the US and European countries is “not the fruit of their hard work,” IRNA reported.

"“All of this wealth is the result of imposing poverty upon other countries,” Ahmadinejad said, adding that “the American and European people are too held captive by the cruelty and injustice of their corrupt leaders.” "

[Then-senator] Obama Calls for Redistribution of Our Wealth  "In this segment from NPR radio Obama is debating the best means to Re-Distribute the wealth of America – he prefers legistlative; but only because the courts would not have a way to administer it. So, when you vote for president, and when you vote for your Congresscritters, please take this into account – are you electing a Socialist whose idea of change is to destroy the engine of American productivity?"

Joe Biden on Taxes: You Call It "Redistribution of Wealth," I Call It "Just Being Fair" "It's a simple proposition to us: Everyone is entitled to adequate medical health care," Biden says. "If you call that a 'redistribution of income' -- well, so be it. I don't call it that. I call it just being fair -- giving the middle class taxpayers an even break that the wealthy have been getting."

Communist Party calls for it in the extreme   "I like to say that when workers enter the corporate board rooms to take over and the ruling class says: O.K. you're right, we made a mess of things and now you should run it all. Well then there won't be any trouble. But if the ruling class says: Forget it! And call out the army and the police and the national guard, then that is how revolutions become violent. It starts with the ruling class. Workers and their allies have to defend themselves and to fight for what is rightfully theirs."      Gus Hall,  former Communist Party head.

Gallup: Today’s Democrats Twice as Likely as Depression-Era Americans to Favor Redistributing Wealth "Although public support for taxing the rich to redistribute wealth is higher today than it was in 1939, it is a bit lower than it was at the beginning of the Obama presidency."
Please refer to the quote by Abraham Lincoln under the header at the top of the blog page.

Pres. Obama: With Assad Finished, Don’t Dare Pull a Jimmy Carter on Syria

Farid Ghadry "The Obama administration cannot get this wrong. Syrian liberals and seculars must lead the fight for the soul and future of Syria, not the Muslim Brotherhood or the weak Damascus Declaration. A new younger leadership is rising inside Syria, and once that youth sees through the fog, it will take charge of its own destiny.
"If the Muslim Brotherhood, working so diligently to exclude Syrians, is successful in managing to deceive the U.S. and the EU, I can guarantee millions of Syrians will look to emigrate to Europe and the U.S. in fear of detention, violence, murder, even women being stoned — all the horrors of present-day Iran."

Barack Obama's decision to play golf on Memorial Day was disrespectful and hardly presidential

Nile Gardiner, UK Telegraph. "The least the president can do on Memorial Day is spend the whole day with veterans and servicemen’s families while acknowledging their sacrifice.

" ...President George W. Bush stopped playing golf out of respect for the families of Iraq War dead. This demonstrated not only good judgment but humility and respect for the men and women who keep America safe.

" ...US military personnel and veterans give Barack Obama lower marks for his job performance than members of the general public. The president’s actions smack of poor taste, as well a lack of empathy and support for the US military, hardly the kind of leadership the White House should be projecting at a time of war."

Charles Krauthammer: Our salutary debt-ceiling scare

Washington Post  "Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner warns that failure to raise the limit would be disastrous. In that he is correct. But he is disingenuous when he suggests that we must raise the ceiling by Aug. 2 or the sky falls."
"There is no drop-dead date. There is no overnight default. Debt service amounts to about 6 percent of the federal budget and only about 10 percent of federal revenue. This means that for every $1 of interest payments, there is roughly $9 of revenue the government spends elsewhere."

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

John Edwards charged in felony indictment

Johnny Reid Edwards

Breitbart  "The case of USA v. Johnny Reid Edwards contains six counts, including conspiracy, four counts of illegal campaign contributions and one count of false statements.

"The indictment said the payments were a scheme to protect Edwards' White House ambitions. "A centerpiece of Edwards' candidacy was his public image as a devoted family man," the indictment said.

""Edwards knew that public revelation of the affair and the pregnancy would destroy his candidacy by, among other things, undermining Edwards' presentation of himself as a family man and by forcing his campaign to divert personnel and resources away from other campaign activities to respond to criticism and media scrutiny regarding the affair and pregnancy," the indictment added."

John Edwards indicted (Update: Arrest warrant issued)  "Apparently Edwards was lobbying VP, and told Kerry a story about his son’s death, and gave a teary account of it, and told him that he’d learned so much from it and was ready to be VP, or that kind of thing.

cafepress.com/



And he concluded: And I have never. Told. Anyone. That story before.

"Kerry got a chill when he heard this, but not for the reason you’d think. He’d got the chill because he remembered Edwards telling him this same story, with the same dead son and the same “And I have never — told — anyone” conclusion, to convince him on some other virtue of Edwards’, years earlier. And he got a sense of the man he was thinking about putting on the ticket.

"Put him on the ticket anyway, of course."

The Palin Bus Tour

Palin Bus Tour: Corporate Media Stooges Playing Assigned Roles  "The Sarah Palin “I am the Media” Bus Tour rolls merrily along, with a trail of Corporate Media Stooges–acting all confused and hurt–bringing up the rear…"

http://terrellaftermath.com/

Sarah Palin plays the media like a violin: Her turn now  "And there are few things more sweet to Palin and her fervent supporters cheering their TV sets this week than the image of a hungry know-it-all “lamestream media” caravan of 15 or more vehicles traipsing along behind her red-white-and-blue bus enroute to they-know-not-where to do they-know-not-what.
"To make it worse, each one of the frustrated, confused chasers knows that Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren is….
"…riding along with the not-yet-and-possibly-never Republican presidential candidate, filing exclusive conversations for her audience to gobble up that only enhance Palin’s already million-dollar value to FNC. Can you hear the teeth grinding? While Palin smiles and waves away? "  LA Times Blog 

Hat tip to deathby1000papercuts.com

Neal Boortz: Ignore Her and Maybe She'll Go Away   "A better question would by why the media is paying so much attention to her.  Actually, I think I have an answer to that question. Let’s do this with bullet points:

•The ObamaMedia knows with absolute certitude that if Sarah Palin is on the GOP ticket in 2012 their guy, Barack Obama, will be reelected.


•The more attention given to Sarah Palin the greater the likelihood she ends up on the ticket.

"Wow. Only took two bullet points. Pretty simple scenario there."...

The Tunnel Dweller has so much admiration for Sarah Palin as a person and loves to see her really take it to the left. But researching her as a candidate, I keep finding troubling analyses such as that by Boortz and the following:

The Damage Sarah Palin Could Do  "If Palin were to be the GOP nominee, she would lead the ticket to a crushing loss for Republicans at almost every level in a year (2012) when they should win the presidency and make significant down-ballot gains."

"It’s certainly true that some of the criticisms of Palin have been unfair and driven by an almost irrational animus toward her. She is not a woman without talents, including the ability to generate media attention and excitement among some elements of the GOP base. But it’s also true that she has brought much of the criticisms on herself ... Palin radiates a sense of grievance that is antithetical to the Reagan style and spirit. And in interviews and on matters of policy, she often comes across as shallow. The problem isn’t that she’s not a public intellectual; it’s that she doesn’t seem able to sustain an argument beyond simply reciting talking points."
This has to trouble those of us who wish her well, yet know the overriding goal must be to get the Democrats out of the White House and out of Congress.  TD

Primetime Propaganda’: ‘Daily Show’ Tells Steven Crowder ‘We Never Book Conservative Pundits’

Steven Crowder

Big Hollywood  "You’ve heard about it, now you get to see it first-hand. Here we have a senior producer at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart shutting somebody out specifically for being right-of-center. The person…? Yours truly.

"Listen, I’m not one of those folks who yells “free speech” every time I don’t get my way. Jon Stewart’s program is a private entity and they can do whatever they damn well please. Just know this from here on out; if you have a different point of view than Jon Stewart… you don’t get to work with Jon Stewart."

By Steven Crowder  . However Debbie Schlussel strongly disagrees.