The debacle continues.
From WaPo
“More than three weeks after attacks in this city killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans, sensitive documents remained only loosely secured in the wreckage of the U.S. mission on Wednesday, offering visitors easy access to delicate information about American operations in Libya.
Documents detailing weapons collection efforts, emergency evacuation protocols, the full internal itinerary of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens’s trip and the personnel records of Libyans who were contracted to secure the mission were among the items scattered across the floors of the looted compound when a Washington Post reporter and an interpreter visited Wednesday.
The discovery further complicates efforts by the Obama administration to respond to what has rapidly become a major foreign-policy issue just weeks before the election. Republicans have accused Obama of having left U.S. diplomatic compounds in Muslim-majority nations insufficiently protected on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and have questioned the security preparations ahead of assaults on embassies in Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia and Sudan. Capitol Hill critics have also pressed for an explanation for the slow pace of the investigation that has followed the attack in Benghazi.”
Read more here
Eli Lake at the Daily Beast has this
“In the six months leading up to the assault on the United States consulate in Benghazi, the State Department reduced the number of trained Americans guarding U.S. facilities in Libya, according to a leading House Republican investigating the Sept. 11 anniversary attacks. The reduction in U.S. security personnel increased America’s reliance on local Libyan guards for the protection of its diplomats.
This is the latest charge from Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the Utah Republican leading a House investigation on the Benghazi attacks, regarding alleged security defects in Benghazi. Chaffetz said the information comes from whistleblowers who have approached the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.”
Read more here
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This from the WashingtonExaminer could get interesting as well.
I mentioned the story months ago about the security protocols being deactivated by the Obama Campaign.
Now you know why. Again.
“President Obama reelection campaign, rattled by his Wednesday night debate performance, could be in for even worse news. According to knowlegable sources, a national magazine and a national web site are preparing a blockbuster donor scandal story.
Sources told Secrets that the Obama campaign has been trying to block the story. But a key source said it plans to publish the story Friday or, more likely, Monday.
According to the sources, a taxpayer watchdog group conducted a nine-month investigation into presidential and congressional fundraising and has uncovered thousands of cases of credit card solicitations and donations to Obama and Capitol Hill, allegedly from unsecure accounts, and many from overseas. That might be a violation of federal election laws.”
Read more here
Wandering Views 
http://hillbuzz.org/obamas-face-said-it-all-35944
Just for fun I still like to pop over to Hillbuzz and see what Kevin has to say.
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http://www.euronews.com/2012/10/03/landmark-law-set-for-ukraine-to-ban-promotion-of-homosexuality/.
This sort of law has also been passed in Serbia and St. Petersburg over the protests of Western Europeans. We do live in interesting times.
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Meanwhile, Texas teens take on Wisconsin atheist group.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-texas-cheerleaders-20121005,0,7309037.story
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I have never been able to figure out why these groups have a case. They’re basing their argument on a constitutional amendment that precludes Congress from making any law respecting the institution of a mandated religion. Even with their twisted logic about the meaning of that clause, how are 17 year- old cheerleaders or local school boards part of Congress?
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I agree Inbutnotnof.
There was also this.
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/04/14228225-morocco-blocks-dutch-abortion-ship?lite
If you look at these three articles, they show that moral collapse is not worldwide, but is centered in the US and Western Europe. Does anyone think it is a coincidence that Western Europe and the US face economic calamity while other economies around the world grow at a rapid rate?
As my wife puts it, God is now working against us because we are working against Him.
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Even if they don’t have a case, the mere threat of a lawsuit and the money spent to defend against it, are often enough to force the school into giving in whether it’s legit or not. That seems to be the case in Ricky’s link.
“The problems started last month, when someone complained about the banners to the Freedom From Religion Foundation based in Madison, Wis. Representatives from the group notified the Kountze superintendent, who consulted attorneys and the Texas Assn. of School Boards — and banned the banners. The decision was announced over the school intercom at the end of the day Sept. 18.”
Kudos to the cheerleaders for standing up for themselves. The school board and their lawyers will not, as this shows.
“Represented by attorneys from the conservative Liberty Institute in Plano, Texas, the cheerleaders argued that the district was censoring them, violating their freedoms of religion and speech. District lawyers countered that the signs amounted to government endorsement of religion.”
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That’s my point…that is in no way a government endorsement of religion. Not any more than allowing a Muslim student to wear traditional dress to a football game or a Jewish student with a yarmulke. The school is NOT the Federal Government. I’m not a lawyer, but I could even argue that case…
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Ricky
Industrialization is occurring in Asia and Latin America — it is little wonder that those economies are expanding given the cheap labor costs and lower cost of living overall — there are rational reasons for it that have naught to do with morality — if it was about morality, then China would surely not be doing so well.
Laws that criminalize homosexuality as seen in Ukraine and Serbia are responsive to the influence of the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch. These are laws that will land people in jail – something you guys keep saying you oppose.
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Fair warning, if I stop making any coherent sense in the next 20 minutes or so (aside from the normal 😉 , blame the percoset. 🙂
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CB, I hope you are feeling OK. Keep taking the percoset. Once the pain gets ahead of the medicine, its hard to catch up. You seem as sharp as ever. Many of the economic problems of the US and Western Europe are related to laziness and greed. Those are moral issues. Russia and China are still struggling, in some ways, to come out of communism. The Eastern Orthodox Church is far from perfect. Nevertheless, I see the people in those countries turning to God even as many in the West turn away from Him.
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Thanks Ricky — I feel fabulous! At least right now.
I don’t think America’s economic issues come from laziness — we work pretty hard. I do think there is a greed factor — when maximizing profit is the only real bottom line issue of importance, then relocating plants, jobs, call centers, etc to places that pay low wages, have no protections for workers, have child labor and so forth is the thing to do. Somewhere along the line between 1962 and now corporate culture changed and what used to be in America — where loyalty to the company paid, stopped being. I do also think that average Americans are pretty hard working sorts and that average Americans are a bit keep up with the Jones but no more avaricious (hee, I can still remember the big words, ha ha hahahha — far too many afternoons spent with Reader’s digest and vocabulary enrichment!) than citizens in Russia or China or Brazil or India or South Africa or South Korea … and so on.
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CB, Glad you feel good. My Dad would have agreed with all your points on corporate culture, and I agree with your points on materialism, so I think we are alligned on greed. Here are my arguments for our laziness: 1 Few Americans (especially me) work as long or as hard, as their grandparents did. 2 For me it is lazy to expect someone else to pay for my health care. 3 The average Mexican works much harder than the average American. 4 Look at how many Americans take early retirement. 5 Look at how many Americans fake disability. 6 Americans don’t take as much pride in their work as they did in the past. 7 Failure to discipline children is a form of laziness. Americans drug their children so they don’t have to discipline them. 8 Failing to care for aging parents is a form of laziness. 9 Putting 40% of the cost of the federal government each year on future generations is a form of laziness.
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Hmm. I had not looked at laziness quite that way. I think I agree with you on points 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9.
On health care — I contribute to my insurance but I would not say that is the same as paying for my health care. I do pay 100 percent of the cost of health care for my SO. And on 5, I don’t the facts of the figures regarding how many people are faking it, so can’t say that I agree or disagree.
So, how did we become so lazy — it’s not just about entitlements. There has to be more to it than that. I do think the attitude with which we are raising kids (the boomers are to blame for this, imo) — little Johnny or Susie are super good as good as everybody else (even when they aren’t) and if a teacher dares to say so, it’s the teacher who is in the wrong plays a role. I also think the notion that “job creators” are somehow better than workers has devalued the value of work — not everyone can or should be an entrepreneur and if we all were then there would be no workers.
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Yesterday Donna J made a commet,
“Seems like the country’s sitting almost on a political powder keg right now; a too-narrow win or loss in either direction would not be pretty and could even be a little scary.”
In my partisan view, there are several reasons.
1. Since the Web has taken over news, Republicans are more aware than ever of how Democrats cheat, NJ Senate, ND Senate, MN Senate. How the Democrats are against true and reasonable voter ID reform. Even how Democrats have cheated in Presidential elections, Bush/Gore. Now we see that our overseas military is having trouble getting ballots, again!
2. Democrats are incensed that their votes are being challenged!
3. The MSM! (Aiding and abetting.)
4. Democrats allow any of their politicians to do anything and still get re-elected. (Why is David Vitter, R LA, still in office?)
5. Republicans are stupid, Democrats are evil.
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CB, I think laziness is a moral and a spiritual issue. As we turn away from the Bible, we have more laziness, just as we have more adultery, divorce, child abuse, etc.
Your point regarding workers vs job creators is interesting. My ancestors were almost all workers instead of “job creators”. However, the ones I knew were devout, law abiding and had a strong work ethic, even though as Mother says, “All were white trash.”
Charles Murray’s book Coming Apart describes two white Americas: One that is relatively wealthy, hard-working, moral, law-abiding and religious. The other is increasingly poor, lazy, immoral, law-breaking and irreligious. It confirms my wife’s observation that “the quality of our white trash has really gone down.”
I agree with you that kids should be taught that all honest work is good. This has previously been done through spiritual awakenings. That is where we got the expression, “Protestant work ethic”. Such an awakening with its effect on behavior would blur the lines between the two Americas as described by Murray, Donna and Bob.
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As a public school teacher, I often have made the observation that the number one problem with my students is the complete lack of any work ethic. Sometimes the frustration is just too much…
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CB: Somewhere along the line between 1962 and now corporate culture changed and what used to be in America — where loyalty to the company paid, stopped being.
Actually, the main change you speak of has to do with a a competitive global economy. Both businesses and workers are involved in a painful adjustment to this. A company like Apple generates most of its ideas in America,though of competitive necessity has found that it is best to manufacture its products abroad.
Americans are hard-working folk, though so are the Chinese, Mexicans, and Koreans when properly led.
Actually, most of America’s real wealth is produced by a small number of brilliant and creative entrepreneurs at the national level and many lesser ones at the local level. Think Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Steve Jobs as prime examples. All of these people based their success on useful product, not on some sort of greed. They took great risks and reinvested most of their profit on improving product.
The definition of capital has more to do with creative mind and courageous will, not merely money and land. Anyone seriously interested in this subject should read George Gilder;s recent update of his great book, Wealth and Poverty. For a summary of his views see Peter Robinson’s interview with Gilder.
The country’s biggest problem right now is the notion that greedy capitalists must redistribute their wealth to ordinary people, coupled with rent seeking corporations feeding from the public trough. The other great problem is public and private unions that in effect are heading the nation into bankruptcy due to a quest for excessive wages and benefits.
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There are many big problems, but one of the biggest is the opinion that wealthy people didn’t work for what they have, and that they owe something tangible to those who have less.
I have a friend, in my SS class, who started a construction business here in Hendersonville. It became sucessful and he eventually sold it to his sons and retired.
He worked hard, employed lots of people (some probably Hispanic), paid lots of taxes, and deserves what he has.
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The problem the unions created was driving up production costs so much that companies must go overseas to profitably make their products.
Someone said, “A person can’t live on $7.50 an hour.” Maybe so, but that’s because of wage inflation. I used to live on $0.80 an hour, and was no worse off than the person making #7.50. The difference is union and minimum wage inflation.
The compassionate sounding “minimum wage laws” are the biggest culprits.
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Not sure I totally agree Sails. Yes, globalization has had an impact on the way business is done but I don’t see an inevitable factor in changing the relationship of the worker to the corporation simply from the globalized economy.
I also think your focus on Gates, Bezos, Jobs and so forth, misses guys like the creator of the 3m post its and innumerable other folks who have sold their ideas/patents to companies like Microsoft – a company known for snapping up would be competitive products.
Unions are putting the nation into bankruptcy with their excessive demands? Gimme a break, when was the last time you checked out the ratio between management and the worker with respect to pay — it used to be (back in the 1960s) much closer than the some 400 percent that separates top management from the people who do the work in their companies nowadays.
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In the 50s and 60s, we were the only industrialized nation with raw materials. Russia and China were communist, Germany and Japan had been devastated, England was broke from the two world wars, France and Italy were their bungling selves and the rest of the world was agricultural. This gave us an unbelievable competitive advantage over other nations. When you have that big a competitive advantage, companies can give unions big contracts and still make money. Sails is right when he notes that today our companies face competition from many other countries.
He is also right that much of our wealth is produced by a relatively few people, like Chas’ friend. In the old days it was not uncommon for a lower class youth to rise to greatness by a combination of natural gifts, hard work and divine blessing. This happens less often when our lower class youth are raised to be lazy, immoral, irreligious and criminal.
CB, I do think there is something unusual going on with the extraordinarily high salaries of top corporate management. I can’t explain it, but I don’t believe it is just the free market.
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