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News/Politics 9-18-12

What’s news to you today?

These 2 stories caught my eye.

Perhaps there’s a legitimate reason for this, but I’m just not seeing it.

From MyFoxDC,

“Two southeast companies that make U.S. military uniforms  are shedding hundreds of jobs, as the government looks to federal inmates for  the fatigues.

American Power Source makes military clothing in Fayette,  Ala., but its government contract expires in October. Federal Prison Industries – which also operates under the name UNICOR will snag the work, and leave the  task to inmates. FPI has the first right of refusal for U.S. Government  contracts, under a 1930 federal law.”

“American Apparel, the Selma, Ala., based military clothing manufacturer closed  one of its plants and continues to downsize others due to the loss of some of  its contracts to FPI. According retired Air Force colonel and spokesman Kurt  Wilson, the company laid off 255 employees and cut the hours of 190 employees  this year alone. So private workers end up losing their jobs to prisoners.”

“American Apparel charges $29.44 per uniform, but the FPI uniform costs $34.18 – a 15 percent difference.”

Read more here

Sadly, this one I can certainly see the reason for.

From CBS News

“The strategy for getting U.S. forces out of Afghanistan depends on training Afghan soldiers and police to protect the country themselves, but on Monday the U.S. military suspended most joint field operations with Afghan forces because so many Americans are being killed by the men they are training.

Afghan government troops — our allies — have turned their guns on NATO forces 36 times this year, killing 51, most of them Americans. That is more attacks than the last two years combined.

The order effectively suspends “until further notice” most of the operations which U.S. and Afghan troops conduct side by side. At higher headquarters, Afghans and Americans will still work together, but in the field small unit operations putting Afghan soldiers alongside Americans — the guts of the U.S. strategy to turn the fighting over to Afghans — will be suspended unless an exception is granted by a commanding general.”

Read more here

 

34 thoughts on “News/Politics 9-18-12”

  1. Looks to me like the FPI contracts law is an anachronism and an old law which needs to be changed. You’d be surprised how often Congress has directed the feds to buy/purchase in particular ways.

    Curious what people think about this:

    “In 1960, government transfers to individuals totaled $24 billion. By 2010, that total was 100 times as large. Even after adjusting for inflation, entitlement transfers to individuals have grown by more than 700 percent over the last 50 years. This spending surge, Eberstadt notes, has increased faster under Republican administrations than Democratic ones.”

    The whole oped by David Brooks is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/18/opinion/brooks-thurston-howell-romney.html?_r=1&hp

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  2. My initial thoughts are that both of these companies are in Alabama. It isn’t the first time a Democratic President has punished Alabama for not voting for him. If you go back and look at the Gulf Oil Spill, Obama visited Alabama ONE time and that was after a couple of months. His golf game was more important. Baldwin County, Alabama suffered the most economically of any other area of the Gulf Coast. He came ONE time. Granted, there wasn’t a large turn out but we knew he was just throwing us a bone to shut us up.

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  6. I understand the concern about the company losing jobs and jobs going to prison inmates. However, some of us hope that when prisoners are released from prison they will get and hold jobs and no longer be criminals. So a little practice at working while in prison would be useful. Is the decision (probably not made by President Obama personally) meant to “punish” the state of Alabama? Really? You really believe this? I am glad no one here is petty or paranoid. [sarcasm].

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  7. The other half of my previous post:

    If Romney gets elected:
    We will have an attempt to get the budget in line. This will be only partly successful
    We will open more areas to oil exploration and allow nuclear plants to be built. There is a chance that EPA ethanol requirements will be revoked. A bad political move, but essentially sane.

    We will have a more business friendly environment. Possibly an economic boom. We could exploit existing gas and oil resources and become energy independent. It could help relieve our debt situation. However, if Congress gets the money. They will spend it. The thing Congress does best is spend money. Both parties.

    We will continue to support Israel. The Islamic terrorism problem isn’t going away. But it will probably be identified. I doubt that anything significant will be done about Iran. We will support Israel and move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. It is a dangerous world. Islam is expanding everywhere in the world. We have been at war with Islamic Jihad since the Beirut bombing in 1983.

    We will still have FBI agents that have been enrolled as Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) operatives.
    We will, as happened to GW Bush, have a cadre of liberals in key positions in civil service, including FBI, CIA and the Pentagon. But more in Education, Homeland Security, Energy, etc.

    Possibly a conservative justice on the Supreme court. However, some of the worst ones were placed there by Republicans. David Souter comes to mind.

    In summary: We will have an improved economy and more sensible foreign policy.
    There will be no permanent answer to our problem until we have another great awakening. That will come with much turmoil and soul searching because so much evil is already etched into our culture.

    Is there still hope? Maybe God has found ten good men in Sodom. There are still good people in America.

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  8. Brooks’ article was interesting and disturbing–until I realized I’m in the 49% owing to a military pension. But military pensions were in force in 1960, just not so many?

    I think the Romney campaign is being run poorly. I don’t even have a TV but all I hear and see is negative. Some of that is the shrilling media which should be ashamed of themselves–but so few are taught journalism ethics these days, perhaps that’s not surprising?

    There’s a difference between communications and journalism. 😦

    I’d also like to say, there are plenty of things in the diplomacy world I, personally, do not need to know. When reporters seek “gotcha” moments instead of doing their homework and respecting there are things that simply should NOT be printed, you have the potential ruin of a nation.

    The SEAL book is a problem for me–he violated all sorts of contracts he signed and by so doing may have made his money and “set the record straight” as he claims, but he also put a lot of people into harm’s way. People who cannot control the message. I find that deplorable and contrary to anything I’ve read about SEALs.

    Some of you may remember the Walker espionage case from some 20 years ago. For a mere million dollars, a three-family member ring sold out submarine technology. That affected my life because of heightened concerns about my husband’s safety, not to mention all the extra hours away from home trying to recover.

    Actions have consequences. Loose lips do hurt other people. I’m all over the map with this post, but I’m bothered by what I see going on in the public eye by both the participants and the “reporters.”

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  9. I’m also hearing that those vile “moviemakers” were pulled out of their homes at midnight by police in brown shirts. They were interrogated and warned not to return home or else.

    What type of people does that remind you of? And there is nothing in the mainstream press? Those are civil liberties being squashed, not to mention potential threats to their neighbors and anyone else tangentally attached to the “film makers.”

    Something is rotten in the US these days–but you all know that.

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  11. CB – The critics of the government were out in full force when the announcement was made, but when the events in Benghazi were reported, they suddenly became silent. I am curious, with your government background, about your opinion on the effectiveness of such a move and whether removing one’s embassy from a country could put one’s citizens who are visiting or working in that country at greater risk.

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  12. Reason I don’t go to Las Vegas: Yesterday, Real Clear Politics had Obama up by 1.5% in Virginia. Last night I bet CB a beer/Mexican Coke that R&R would win Virginia. Today, there is a poll that shows Obama up by 8% in Virginia.

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  13. Ricky,

    Don’t worry. That beer is well within reach when you take into account how lopsided they’re weighting many polls. They’re not interested in accuracy, just milking the headline for Obama’s benefit.

    http://hotair.com/archives/2012/09/13/wsjnbc-poll-obama-now-leads-by-five-in-virginia-and-florida-by-seven-in-ohio/

    “I know your first thought is always of the samples, so here you go: I’m listing the WSJ/NBC poll partisan split first and then the 2008 exit poll split for each state for comparison. And yes, this is likely voters:

    Virginia: 31D/26R/43I (39/33/27)

    Ohio: 38D/28R/32I (39/31/30)

    Florida: 35D/33R/30I (37/34/29)

    The Democratic turnout advantage in this model would be only a point less in Virginia and Florida than it was at the apex of Hopenchange in 2008, and in Ohio it would actually be two points greater. That’s not happening in November, but O’s lead in each state is wide enough here that I think he probably is ahead — narrowly. According to RCP’s averages, in fact, he’s up by just 1.3 points in Florida and 0.4 points in Virginia, and those numbers incorporate his gaudy leads in this WSJ/NBC poll. Even more reason not to panic: This poll was conducted from Sept. 9-11, when Obama still had a bit of a convention bounce. That bounce now appears to be gone; Ramussen’s daily tracker actually has Romney back in the lead today nationally.”

    See also,

    http://www.redstate.com/finrod/2012/08/01/quinnipiac-poll-claims-obama-over-50-percent-in-oh-fl-pa-but-lets-look-at-the-instant-replay/

    “They make a big deal about how this poll isn’t strictly comparable to previous polls, because they’re screening for likely voters, and not just polling registered voters. What they don’t tell you in that url (you have to go all the way to the bottom and open up a Word document for each state linked there) is the demographic breakdown they’re using.”

    “So what can we conclude from this poll? Obama breaks 50 percent in Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania– if you put your thumb on the scale to give Democrats anywhere from 4 to 8 more points off the raw numbers, and maybe even more than that compared to what a proper weighting probably should be.

    In other words: another biased poll, nothing to see here.”

    And the media malpractice continues. Tomorrow I plan on addressing the lapdog media in the News/Politics post because there’s alot of monkey business going on between the Obama campaign and the supposedly unbiased media, and not just in the polling area, but the Middle East, and pushing his policy meme’s for him as well.

    The media has become a joke, and it’s time folks start pointing it out.

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  14. AJ, I’m glad you plan to focus on the media that of late is involved in a full bore nasty campaign against Romney. The Today Show this morning was involved in highly vitriolic rhetoric against Romney.

    Romney was correct to ctriticize the Cairo embassy for its abject apology of the right wing anti Islamic video and the largely lackluster Obama/Clinton response to the horror of Benghazi. The State department position that it won’t answer questions about Benghazi due to the FBI investigation is absurd.

    Romney was, also, correct to remark that most of the 47% of Americans who don’t pay income tax are Obama supporters who have no interest in cutting spending or reducing taxes. The media has this spun around to Romney not caring about veterans or seniors who collect pensions or Social Security. David Brooks that progressive who palms himself off as a conservative is as usual finding a way to pander to the New York Times crowd.

    While the Romney campaign has made its share of mistakes, it is a basically a solid campaign caught up in a vicious liberal media assault that has even conservatives blaming Romney. Sooner or later Romney will need to put the gloves on in this media battle. Anyone who claims the mainstream media is fighting fairly is naive. Gingrich would be a good consultant and ally in this fight.

    Thomas Sowell regards this election as basically a test as to whether America can govern itself. He is convinced that Obama is a very dangerous leader who is in over his head and incapable of seriously addressing both domestic and foreign issues. I quite agree with him. .

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  15. I saw this oringinally in The Washington Times

    BY: Adam Kredo
    September 13, 2012 4:40 pm

    UPDATE: A Marine spokesperson at the Pentagon denied reports that U.S. Marines defending the American embassy in Egypt were not permitted by the State Department to carry live ammunition in a statement to Fox News Thursday.

    Pentagon Lt. Col. Chris Hughes told the outlet: “The ambassador and RSO (Regional Security Officer) have been completely and appropriately engaged with the security situation. No restrictions on weapons or weapons status have been imposed. This information comes from the Det Commander at AMEMB (American Embassy) Cairo.”

    The statement came in response to reports that U.S. Marines defending the American embassy in Egypt were not permitted by the State Department to carry live ammunition.

    Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson “did not permit U.S. Marine guards to carry live ammunition,” according to multiple reports on U.S. Marine Corps blogs spotted by Nightwatch. “She neutralized any U.S. military capability that was dedicated to preserve her life and protect the US Embassy.”

    Time magazine’s Battleland blog also reported Thursday that “senior U.S. officials late Wednesday declined to discuss in detail the security at either Cairo or Benghazi, so answers may be slow in coming.”

    Full Story: http://freebeacon.com/reports-marines-not-permitted-live-ammo/

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  16. A J, I hope you are right about the polling. To be clear, CB gets the beer if she wins. I get a Mexican Coke if I win, and I’m not sure she can find one of those in Maryland.

    Sails, I agree with Sowell that this is a test as to whether the US can govern itself. We may be in a class with Libya, Afghanistan and Detroit – places completely incapable of self-government.

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  17. When I’m President, I will instruct the individual embassies:
    You may choose to have Marine protection, or not have it.
    You will not have Marines without appropriate ammunition.

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  18. Ricky

    The net is a wonder — you’d be surprised at what can be ordered online!

    Phos

    Usually when a country withdraws an Embassy it leaves behind an interest section with a protecting state. The US has an interest section under the auspices of Switzerland that does try to look after U.S. citizens in the country — but it is not like a full embassy presence and is not staffed by American diplomats.

    Chas

    Wow, so there will bre sunshine and light and all of the issues of the US will simply disappear … just like it did when W was Pres, right?

    AJ,

    Brother, the polls aren’t THAT weighted. 🙂 But it is too early for them to be accurate.

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  22. Lol Ricky. Truth of the matter. No matter who is elected we will continue to see an uptick in energy resource exploration in the US. We will continue to stand by Israel. We willnstill have terrorism issues. The economy at its current rate is expected to add about 12 million new jobs. The budget will also have to be cut. The CBO issued a report this week noting that nominal tax increases on the top tier do not historically impact growth, so there will have to be tax increases as well.

    I do find it noteworthy that the Brooks oped troubled some of you. It should have. So to should the comments on the 47 percent make some of you wonder. Have an fha loan? Your kids have a student loan? Your parents use medicare or receive social security? Are you a vet? Do you use highways? IDo you use school vouchers or enroll your kid in public school after school activities? Welcome to the 47 percent.

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  23. CB,

    “Wow, so there will bre sunshine and light and all of the issues of the US will simply disappear … just like it did when W was Pres, right?”

    And lollipops. You forgot the lollipops. It doesn’t work without the lollipops.

    😯

    The poll weighting speaks for itself. They’re basing most on Hope and Change numbers for the electorate when reality says that enthusiam is non-existent. Reality does indeed suck. But at least they have a compliant press, otherwise it would be worse. This will be Carter again, and again they don’t seem to see what’s coming in November.

    But hey, at least if Romney gets elected we’ll once again have a more aggressive and inquisitive press.

    And lollipops.

    🙂

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  24. Oh AJ; why must you take such delight in disappointing me! I was utterly counting on balloons. Now I’m going to pout.

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  26. CB, I agree with much of what you said at 8:12. So far, the oil and gas industry has survived all attempts by the Democrats and tree-huggers to kill it. However, I don’t see 12 million new jobs under this President.

    There are actually two 47%s. There is the 47% who get some govt. benefit. As CB pointed out, many of these are middle class and some pay income tax. Then there are the 47%+ who pay no income tax. There is obviously a huge overlap between the two groups. However, it is also clear that well over 50% either pay no income tax or get some government benefit.

    My son just sent me this article by Congressman West. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-republic-cannot-survive-so-much-dependency-2012-09-18?reflink=MW_GoogleNews

    I am happy to see that after 1+ years in the Texas Tech Law School /MBA program, he is still a conservative and a Baptist.

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  27. Ricky,

    Those 47 percent some of them pay payroll taxes, some are students and some are elderly – they’re not just welfare recepients. That said, the budget does need fixing. Question is how to do it without causing even more damage and while easinf our dependence on the dfence industry.

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  28. CB, As to those who don’t pay income tax, many do pay into the Ponzi schemes of Social Security and Medicare. However, they are paying zero toward funding govt programs other than the two Ponzi schemes. I also understand that a large number of the other 47% are not welfare recipients. The point that De Touqueville made as cited by Congressman West is making is that we now have a majority (who if they simply voted their self-interest) would vote to expand domestic spending and raise income taxes.

    The solution is more spiritual and moral than political. Only God can change a person’s heart so that he will voluntarily go off SSD and get a job, or start filing income tax returns or stop defrauding some govt. program.

    I anticipate: working past age 70, paying more income taxes, paying more payroll taxes, and paying more of our healthcare costs in retirement. All of these I will gladly do if they are part of something like Ryan’s plan or the Deficit Reduction Commission’s plan. Unfortunately, I anticipate doing all of the above and also living through something like the fiscal problems of the Weimar Republic.

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  31. If Obama wins, we buy CB a beer. If my predictions come true, She buys me one back. (Only I don’t drink beer.) But CB has suddenly hit on the way to win, no matter what the facts.
    I just can’t deal with a pouting woman. 🙂

    I think the idea of sending our foreign aid in the form of American flags and matches is great, it meets a local need and it helps the Chinese economy.

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  33. Tychicus, To be honest, the true answer to your question is “the pantry after my wife goes shopping”, but I think she gets them from Central Market.

    CB, No. However, I deal with folks on SSD every week and believe it is the most abused program in our government. Consider: 1. The sharp increase in SSD applications and approvals that followed the recession; 2. The numerous able-bodied distant relatives of my wife who are on SSD; 3. The epidemic of poor in certain ghettos training their children to simulate symptoms and getting “crazy money” for their kids; and 4. Unlike the 1930s, there are many jobs which the physically disabled can do.

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