Some Friday evening Pithy comments...

I have some pithy comments on some headlines I pulled off "Drudge"   I will post a snippet about an article then my response.  

The former "almost coronated one" on Thursday decried the spread of fake news online, calling it an “epidemic” that Congress should take action against.
“The epidemic of malicious fake news and false propaganda that flooded social media over the past year — it’s now clear the so-called fake news can have real-world consequences,” Clinton said during a speech on Capitol Hill.
Some Democrats have argued the spread of anti-Clinton fake news online contributed to her electoral loss to Donald Trump.
The issue has received renewed attention this week after a gunman entered a pizzeria in Washington that was at the center of a false viral conspiracy theory that alleged it was home to a pedophilia ring operated by Clinton and her inner circle.
“This isn’t about politics or partisanship,” Clinton continued during her speech Thursday at a ceremony honoring retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
“Lives are at risk — lives of ordinary people just trying to go about their days, to do their jobs, contribute to their communities.”
“It’s a danger that must be addressed and addressed quickly,” she said.(HUFFPOST)
   You mean the news that wasn't pumped out by your sycophantic media allies who's bias was so apparent and they didn't care.  The hubris exhibited by the DNC and the mainstream media was appalling for organizations that are supposed to be the bulwark for a free society to be shameless bootlickers and toadies for the establishment, they need to find their ethics again and it will take many years to repair the damage to their reputation.



Pope Francis joined the chorus of condemnation of media organizations that spread disinformation and compared their focus on "ugly things" to one of the more unsavory fetishes.
Francis said, although positive "in themselves," communications media can be harmful and used to slander people, "especially in the world of politics," during an interview Wednesday with the Belgian Catholic weeklyTertio. He added that anyone who uses means of communication to defame someone is committing a sin.
His comments came amid growing controversy over "fake news" — including one involving him: a false report online that he had endorsed Donald Trump.(Yahoo News)
  The "fake news" news whistle parroted by the leftist now that the bias in the media is so apparent.  If it doesn't fit their agenda it must be silenced because it can't be controlled or run through a filter of political correctness.

The business world was caught flat-footed when Trump won.

Still grappling with Donald Trump’s surprise election, the nation’s business community has begun to pressure the president-elect to abandon campaign-trail pledges of mass deportation and other hardline immigration policies that some large employers fear would hurt the economy.
The push, led by an advocacy group backed by New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg and media mogul Rupert Murdoch, is still in its infancy as the business world struggles to understand the tough-talking Trump’s true intentions on an issue that defined his outsider campaign. Some groups, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are holding off, doubtful that Trump will actually create a deportation force, as he suggested before his election, to expel those estimated 11 million immigrants in the country illegally.(Bloomburg)
   Now the deep pocket donors that supported unfettered immigration because of the really cheap labor that it provides.  It doesn't matter that these people are not affected by the same immigrants that the middle class has to deal with.  They live in their bubble communities insulated by the crime and rampant poverty that follows these immigrants, whereas the middle class have to deal with the crime foisted on them.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign tried to remove an MSNBC personality from the air after she aired criticisms of the Democratic presidential candidate, the host revealed Friday.
Mika Brzezinski, a co-host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” said NBC was pressured to get her pulled during the campaign.(NYPOST)
“I was concerned the campaign was not understanding that perhaps there was an arrogance. They needed to sort of get off their high horse and understand that this isn’t over,” Brzezinski said on her show Friday, recalling the criticism she expressed frequently during the campaign.
“I’ll just say it: NBC got a call from the [Clinton] campaign. Like I had done something that was journalistic inappropriate or something and needed to be pulled off the air,” she added.

   The Clinton machine and the media were in cahoots the entire time to the panels even sending questions to the Clinton campaign for approval and so she can prepare for the right questions.  if anybody deviated from the group hivething they have to be punished for heresy. 

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Hillary Clinton’s campaign had basic assumptions about key battleground states that turned out painfully wrong.

WASHINGTON ― In the closing weeks of the presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton’s staff in key Midwest states sent out alarms to their headquarters in Brooklyn. They were facing a problematic shortage of paid canvassers to help turn out the vote.
For months, the Clinton campaign had banked on a wide army of volunteer organizers to help corral independents and Democratic leaners and re-energize a base not particularly enthused about the election. But they were volunteers. And as anecdotal data came back to offices in key battlegrounds, concern mounted that leadership had skimped on a critical campaign function.
“It was arrogance, arrogance that they were going to win. That this was all wrapped up,” a senior battleground state operative told The Huffington Post.
      The arrogance and hubris of the Clinton campaign, they really thought they had it in the bag and this was the coronation of the queen herself.  So the Democrats totally blew off the middle class mostly voters as being inconsequential to the campaign,  they figured that the identity and gender politics and victim groups  would push her to victory.  they forgot it was Bill Clinton that commented "Its the economy...." in the 1992 election and won on account of it.  But the Democrats forgot their roots and their original base for the new and trendy blocks of voters and paid the price.

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl--held captive for five years after being captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan--has requested a pardon from President Obama, Fox News has learned from two senior US officials.
According to a well-placed source, Bergdahl thanked the president for rescuing him in May 2014 in a controversial exchange for five Taliban prisoners from Gitmo, in addition to asking for a pardon in the letter.
The Secretary of the Army was copied on the letter to the president, but the pardon was not formally requested through the military chain of command.
A Justice Department official confirms that it received a pardon petition from Bergdahl. Pentagon and White House officials would not immediately respond for comment.(Yahoo News)

 

Nuff Said

China and the Washington foreign policy establishment thought they could tell President-elect Donald Trump whom he can and cannot speak with on the phone.  They thought wrong.

On Friday, Trump received a congratulatory call from Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, in which the leaders briefly touched upon economic, political, and security-related ties between our two democracies.  Trump congratulated Tsai on her own victory in Taiwanese elections earlier in the year—a watershed since Tsai is the first woman leader in Asia who isn’t the daughter or wife of a previous leader

Nick Burns, a longtime member of Foreign Service guild that dominates the State Department, tweeted, “Taking a call from Taiwan’s leader a significant mistake by Trump.  Is he listening to the State Department?” 

   I guess the State dept forgets that they work for the American people, the state dept and many others forget that they are supposed to represent the American people, not the globalist agenda that they espouse.  Trump isn't beholding to any special interest group, that is the greatness of that situation.  China has no respect for the Americans and they play us for fools and suckers.  Trump was reminding them that there is a new player in town.

The Amethyst Incident or the Yangtse incident and John Glenn

Before I get to this post and how the post came to be,  I just heard that John Glenn just crossed beyond the rim.  he was considered the all-American hero for his exploits on the battlefield and later in space and he was a U.S. Senator for the State of Ohio.

 

1921-2016

I was surfing through youtube and was watching various "tattoo's" and I was watching one involving the changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace and youtube groups video clips and movie clips depending on your interest and this popped up on my feed, so I started googling and yes such a thing did happen in 1949.   This reminded me of the "Sand Pebbles" movie and the running of the gauntlet.

This is very eloquently spoken about Military service and what it means. 

The Amethyst Incident, also known as the Yangtze Incident, in 1949 involved the British Royal Navy ship HMS Amethyst being trapped on the Yangtze River for three months, during the Chinese Civil War.

On 20 April 1949, HMS Amethyst, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Bernard Skinner, was on her way from Shanghai to Nanking to replace Consort, which was standing as guard ship for the British Embassy there during the Chinese Civil War between the nationalist Kuomintang and the Chinese Communists. According to the Royal Navy, at around 08:31, after a burst of small arms fire, a People's Liberation Army (PLA) field gun battery on the north bank of the river fired a salvo of ten shells, which fell well short of the ship, and was assumed to be part of a regular bombardment of Nationalist forces on the south bank. Speed was increased, and large Union flags were unfurled on either side of the ship, after which there was no more firing from this battery.

At 09:30, as the frigate approached Kiangyin (Jiangyin) further up the river, she came under sustained fire from a second PLA battery. The first shell passed over the ship, then the bridge, wheelhouse and low power room were hit in quick succession, Lt Cdr Skinner was mortally wounded, and all the bridge personnel were disabled. The coxswain on the wheel, Leading Seaman Leslie Frank, was seriously injured and as a result the ship slewed to port and grounded on the bank before control of the ship was resumed. Before the ship was hit, the order to open fire had been given, but when the director layer pulled the firing trigger, nothing happened, because the gunfiring circuits were disabled when the low power room was hit. First Lieutenant Geoffrey L. Weston assumed command of the vessel, although also wounded himself. PLA shells exploded in the sick bay, the port engine room, and finally the generator, just after the injured Weston's last transmission: "Under heavy fire. Am aground in approx. position 31.10' North 119.50' East. Large number of casualties".
The order was given to fire in local control with each turret firing independently, but Amethyst had grounded in such a way that neither of the two gun turrets at the front of the ship could be brought to bear on the PLA batteries, leaving the single stern turret to return fire. This turret was soon hit and disabled. None of the close range weapons could be brought to bear on the PLA batteries. The shore batteries continued to fire at Amethyst with their artillery, causing more damage and casualties to the ship.

Some time between 10:00 and 10:30, Weston ordered the immediate evacuation to shore of anyone who could be spared. A boat was manned to take people the short distance to shore and some men swam ashore. The batteries switched their fire to the men being evacuated and further evacuation was stopped. Fifty-nine ratings and four Chinese mess boys made it to the Kuomintang-controlled southern bank, but two men were assumed drowned while swimming ashore. Those who survived were joined by the seriously wounded from Amethyst who had been landed by sampan, with the assistance of the Chinese Nationalists on the following day. Both parties were taken to a missionary hospital in Kiangyin where they were met by a party from the British Embassy in Nanking and put on a train for Shanghai. Remaining on board were about 60 unwounded men. The shelling had stopped, but no one could move without drawing the attention of PLA snipers.

By the time the shelling stopped at about 11:00, 22 men had been killed and 31 wounded in all. Amethyst had received over 50 hits and holes below the waterline were plugged with hammocks and bedding. During this time the destroyer Consort was sighted, flying seven White Ensigns and three Union flags, steaming down from Nanking at 29 knots. Admiral Madden, the Flag Officer, second in command, Far East Station, ordered the destroyer HMS Consort (Commander Robertson) from Nanking to go to the Amethyst's assistance, and the frigate Black Swan (Captain Jay) from Shanghai to Kiang Yin, 40 miles down river from the Amethyst. Consort reached the Amethyst at about three in the afternoon and was immediately heavily engaged. She found the fire too heavy to approach Amethyst and therefore passed her at speed down river. She turned two miles below and again closed Amethyst to take her in tow. But again she came under such heavy fire that she was obliged to abandon the attempt, although she answered the shore batteries with her full armament (including 4.5-inch (114 mm) guns) and signaled that she had silenced most of the opposition. Half an hour later her signals ceased, though she was making a second attempt to take the Amethyst in tow, having turned downstream again. This attempt also failed and she sustained further damage and casualties during which her steering was affected. She therefore had to continue downstream out of the firing area with 10 men killed and 23 wounded.

Amethyst was re-floated just after midnight, on 21 April, after lightening the ship, and she moved up river. The Assistant British Naval Attaché, Lieutenant Commander John Kerans, joined the ship on 22 April after he had dealt with all the wounded and unwounded men who had been sent ashore. He assumed command of the ship that day.
During the next few days Amethyst moved several times, but each time she got under way the batteries opened fire at her and the ship was forced to anchor finally finishing up off Fu Te Wei.

On 21 April a signal was received: "HM ships London and Black Swan are moving up river to escort the Amethyst down stream. Be ready to move." The cruiser London and the frigate (ex-sloop and Amethyst's sister ship) Black Swan were heavily shelled as they attempted to help Amethyst and retreated with 3 killed and 14 wounded.

On 30 April the PLA demanded that Britain, the United States, and France quickly withdraw their armed forces from any parts of China. During the negotiations the Communists insisted that the British ship fired first, but eventually in 1988 the PLA commander Ye Fei admitted that it was his troops that fired first. Amethyst remained under guard by the PLA for ten weeks, with vital supplies being withheld from the ship. Negotiations were stuck because Kerans would not accept the demand from Colonel Kang Yushao (康予召), who was the PLA representative, that the British state had wrongly invaded Chinese national waters and had fired upon the PLA first. Because the communists (and later the People's Republic of China) did not acknowledge any treaties between the previous Chinese government and the British, they insisted that it was illegal for Amethyst to cruise in the Yangtze river.

On 30 July 1949 Amethyst slipped her chain and headed downriver in the dark, beginning a 104-mile (167 km) dash for freedom running the gauntlet of guns on both banks of the river. She followed the passenger ship Kiang Ling Liberation in the hope that the observers ashore would be confused and not see Amethyst in the dark. When the battery opened fire, the fire was directed at the Kiang Lin Liberation which was sunk by the gun fire, with heavy civilian casualties. At 0500 hours on 31 July, Amethyst approached the PLA forts at Par Shan (Baoshan) and Woosung (Wusong) with their searchlights sweeping the river. At 0525 a pre-planned meeting with the destroyer Concord took place, at which point Amethyst sent the famous signal "Have rejoined the fleet south of Woosung. No damage. No casualties. God save the King". Concord had been ordered to prepare to provide gun support to Amethyst if she came under fire from the shore batteries at Woosung. To achieve this she had moved up the Yangtze during the night, at action stations. Fortunately, Amethyst was not spotted by the shore batteries and the two ships then proceeded down river until at 0715 they stood down from action stations and after clearing the river mouth arrived at the Saddle Islands at 1200 hrs to anchor and transfer much needed oil and stores. After a short stay at anchor, Concord lent Amethyst sailors to fill gaps in her ship's company and the two ships set sail for Hong Kong.

 Next day the cruiser Jamaica (flying the flag of the Flag Officer Second in Command Far East Fleet) and destroyer Cossack took over as escort and proceeded to Hong Kong. Concord was sent to Japan after being sworn to secrecy. Amethyst subsequently received a message of congratulations from King George VI:

Please convey to the commanding officer and ship’s company of HMS AMETHYST my hearty congratulations on their daring exploit to rejoin the Fleet. The courage, skill and determination shown by all on board have my highest commendation. Splice the mainbrace.

Future Governor of Hong Kong Edward Youde was on the British Embassy Staff at Nanking. At great personal risk he penetrated the Chinese Communist lines in an attempt to negotiate the release of Amethyst with the PLA. His negotiations came to naught. Youde later was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his actions.

Swiss Neutrality.....why do they have it and the possible reasons for it.

Well, the answer can be found in one major battle between the French and the Swiss, fought at Marignano during the last stage of the War of the Holy League from 1508-1516.
The Swiss had enjoyed a long string of victories plundering and capturing much of Northern Italy, including Milan, a key access point for the rival French armies.
The French army, under their new and young King Francis, decided to surprise the Swiss by undertaking a dangerous march over a previously unused pass of the Alps and into the plains around Milan.

The Swiss were amazing infantry troops, mostly fighting with pikes, but able to switch to other weapons when things got too close. They are depicted here in a fierce struggle with some Landsknecht.

The outnumbered Swiss began to offer terms to the French royal army; that is until Swiss reinforcements showed up. The bolstered Swiss abandoned attempts to negotiate and prepared for battle.
The Swiss had about 22,000 men and faced a French army of close to 40,000 men with fearsome German Landsknechts, Lancers, and artillery. The Swiss weren’t too concerned about the lopsided numbers as they had won against similar odds only a few years ago at the battle of Novara.

On the eve of battle, Francis decided to arrange his dozens of field guns along the front lines in the center of his formation, with cavalry out wide on the flanks.
The Swiss massed into a large infantry formation as they had no cavalry or artillery to speak of. Their strategy was to charge straight at the cannons, take the position and turn the artillery around to fire back on the French. As bold as the move seems, such tactics had worked for them in the past.
The Swiss charge occurred just before sunset and was so rapid that the French artillery had trouble landing hits on the charging infantry. The Swiss captured some artillery and ran into fierce fights with the Landsknechts.
The two fighting units had been rivals competing for the title of the best combat unit in Europe, and they fought fiercely through the twilight. Charges by the French cavalry led by King Francis helped to finally push the Swiss back.
Many officers and nobles fought and died during the last frantic nighttime exchanges before both sides withdrew for the night.

The Battle of Marignano was a very difficult fight, though the Swiss suffered horrendous losses, they came close to winning the day.

The next day the order of battle was the same, and the Swiss tactics remained the same. The Swiss launched a massive charge at the cannons, but this time, the artillery crews were prepared.
The French shots ripped through the tight formations of the Swiss. Undaunted, the Swiss continued to charge and pushed right up to the line of cannons.

A fierce fight ensued with the Landsknechts, cavalry charges and point-blank cannon fire against the nearly unmovable mass of disciplined Swiss.
The battle was a gridlock until French-allied Venetian forces scrambled onto the battlefield. Their extra flanking attacks and manpower finally turned the tide and forced a Swiss retreat.
The sustained cannon fire, cavalry charges, and grueling fight cost the Swiss dearly. They likely lost more than half their men, compared to about 5,000 French casualties.
This resulted in an immediate peace with the French with long-term implications. The treaty had an “Eternal Peace” clause saying that neither France nor Switzerland would ever fight the other, and they would never ally with the others enemies.

The Dying Swiss by Swiss painter Ferdinand Hodler in 1900. The battle was well remembered throughout the history of Switzerland all the way to modern day.

This clause persisted for France until their revolution and was only impinged upon in Switzerland by the invading French. Swiss mercenaries still fought on occasion, but these occasions were few.
Over the centuries the stance on neutrality only became stronger, with laws eventually put in place to prevent Swiss citizens from fighting in foreign wars

Their basic tactics was a pike square: a tight formation of 100 men in 10x10 square, pikes pointed outwards. First row braced their pikes against the ground to impale charging cavalry and the second row holding their pikes horizontally, ready to stab anyone that came into the range. As horses charged into formation, they would naturally stop before the pikes. Then, the middle ranks armed with halberds, guisarmes or Lucerne hammers would step forward to pull riders off the horses and finish them on the ground. Swiss were drilled to hold formation in any circumstances and to replace any man that died in front of them. They were also able to march in the formation, even swiftly changing directions or reorganizing the square. (pikes are 5m-16'4'' long spears)

Morale

Swiss mercenaries were famous for their fearlessness and ruthlessness. In almost 300 years of service, Swiss mercenaries have never been routed or surrendered. This was achieved by strict discipline, hard training and perhaps also by a habit of hanging the first man to panic. They were also known to take no prisoners. Swiss spared no-one. They killed prisoners even if they could offer ransom, pillaged, looted and violated terms of surrender. Only loyalty of Swiss was home and money: if employer didn't pay them, they revolted or simply marched off. Also, Swiss would refuse to fight against other Swiss and demanded to be discharged of service if their home canton (equivalent of county) would be threatened. There was even a French saying that said "Point d'argent, point de Suisse" (No money, no Swiss)

Push of pike ("Bad war")

What made Swiss mercenaries popular was their aggressiveness: Where others employed pike squares mostly defensively, Swiss always advanced no matter the circumstances. Often they would charge into much larger forces and come out on top. Where Swiss had advantage was the Push of pike: Situation where two pike formations clashed, resulting in terrible slaughter in matter of minutes. The first few rows almost never survived as the soldiers didn't have anything to defend themselves with. Here, Swiss superior discipline offered a great advantage, as they would fight to the last man standing, whereas enemy ranks could be broken and routed. First occurring in Italian Wars, the Italian onlookers nicknamed push of pike "bad war" because of gruesome combat and great number of causalities.

The victory - Battle of Novara (1513)

20 000 French troops were besieging a city of Novara (now in northwest Italy) when 13 000 strong Swiss force arrived. French were able to regroup and defend with pike squares of their own and heavy artillery fire. Despite losing 700 men in only 3 minutes due to artillery fire, Swiss managed to encircle French camp, capture enemy guns, rout the infantry and drive off cavalry. French lost 5 000-10 000 men (sources differ), whereas Swiss lost only 1 500 men.

The last stand of Swiss guard - 1792

As firearms got more advanced and widespread, tight formations that made perfect target were no longer viable. Swiss mercenaries were less and less effective in battle, finally being employed mostly as guards or parade units. Last battle where Swiss guards fought was Assault on the Tuileries (10th August 1792), where Swiss guard refused to surrender to French revolutionaries unless formally discharged from service by the king. Successfully driving off first waves of Revolutionaries' attack, Swiss ran out of ammunition and were forced to retreat and seek sanctuary at Parliament once the king's order to surrender arrived. Only 300 of 900 guards survived. The statue on picture is in Lucerne, Switzerland revealed in 1821 to commemorate this last stand.

Present

From 1506 to present day, Papal State/Vatican employs a body of Swiss guards who now act as Vatican police. They still carry halberd and a sword, though their weaponry has been complemented by modern pistols or sub machine guns.

The Swiss have largely been able to keep their neutrality (outside of the Napoleonic Era) because they have outstanding natural defenses. The mountain passes would be a tough obstacle for even a modern invading army.  Also the policy of limited immigration and all The structure of the Swiss militia system stipulates that the soldiers keep their Army issued equipment, including all personal weapons, at home. Some organizations and political parties find this practice controversial but mainstream Swiss opinion is in favor of the system. Compulsory military service concerns all male Swiss citizens; women can serve voluntarily. Men usually receive military conscription orders for training at the age of 18. About two thirds of the young Swiss are found suited for service; for those found unsuited, various forms of alternative service exist. Annually, approximately 20,000 persons are trained in recruit centers for a duration from 18 to 21 weeks. The reform "Army XXI" was adopted by popular vote in 2003, it replaced the previous model "Army 95", reducing the effectives from 400,000 to about 200,000. Of those, 120,000 are active in periodic Army training and 80,000 are non-training reserves.
The Swiss are a rare example of a profoundly neutral country with the ability to stay that way for centuries.
     I will also include a video of the Swiss Drum corp.  They are not related to the Military but they are highly skilled.

 I did a post of them back in 2014

Hillary's Final Disgrace by Bill Whittle and some other pithy comments

I am a fan of Bill Whittle, I have been listening to his video's since I discovered them I think in the 2012 election cycle.  Bill has the ability to distill the current issues into plain english so there is no doubt on what is going on..

Here is a video that Bill is talking about the latest Hillary attempt to circumvent the election process to capture the "Brass Ring" that she believes that she is entitled to.

 This is the best one Bill has done in a long time.  It explains the essence of what is going on with this recount issue.

Dear Ms. Palmieri:
Reports of your heated exchange with President-Elect Trump’s campaign manager Kellyanne Conway at the Harvard post-election forum have been rampaging through the mainstream and alternate media like a five alarm fire for the last 24 hours.
Apparently, during the forum, you accused Mr. Trump and Ms. Conway of ‘providing a platform for white supremacists’ during the election.
I seriously doubt that the 62.6 million Americans who voted for Mr. Trump were all white supremacists.
But, that’s how liberals operate. Anyone that doesn’t agree with your warped, Eurocrap vision for America is a racist, a sexist, a homophobe, an Islamophobe or whatever term you can conjure up in your twisted minds at the time.
Let me explain to you why Donald Trump is going to be the next President and why your candidate, Hillary Clinton, is already a has been, disappearing in the rear view mirror of the flyover country she so despises.
To begin with, the Russians, the FSB, Vladmir Putin and any ghosts of the KGB, the GRU, the NKVD and Smersh had nothing to do with Hillary’s loss. There was no hacking, there were no electronic counter-measures emanating from the Rodina to put a lance in the hopes of millions of organic liberals. In fact, Ms. Palmieri, President Obama’s press secretary, Josh Earnest stated this fact again during a presser held yesterday.
Hillary Clinton didn’t lose the election because Infowars, Drudge and Breitbart were pumping out fake news 24/7. In fact, the only fake news beaming through the airwaves has and is coming from your allies in liberalism, your Democratic Party operatives at CNN and other leftist media outlets.
You lost the election because your candidate’s message was ‘Vote for me, because I’m entitled to it,’ and who campaigned as if she was the Duchess of Chappaqua, awaiting her crowning ceremony on Pennsylvania Avenue.
You lost the election because your candidate is a mendacious, rotten human being who emanates dishonesty and corruption with all the subtlety of a cornered skunk.
You lost the election because your candidate made it all too clear that she thinks that We the People are deplorable and beneath her worshipness’ dignity.
You lost because the economy is a complete and total disaster under Obama and your party’s solution to 94 million people out of the workforce and 50 million Americans living in poverty was ‘let the good times roll.’
You lost the election because Americans have had it with open borders and the subsequent loss of blue collar jobs and plummeting wages.
You lost the election because Americans aren’t going to let this country be invaded by Muslim hordes whose only goals are to turn the Judeo-Christian world upside down.
You lost the election because Americans weren’t going to surrender their firearms like the good people of Britain and Australia and France.
You lost the election because Americans are sick of your party shoving political correctness down our throats.
You lost the election because Americans were sick and tired of watching the US military being humiliated around the world.
You lost the election because President Obama’s Secretary of Defense and Secretaries of the Navy and Army’s number one priorities are gender neutrality, gender reassignment surgery and distributing breastfeeding memos to Delta Force, while pursuing the lunatic idea of placing women in the combat arms and special operations forces.
You lost because Obamacare cares for no one and is the biggest fiasco in US government history.
You lost because the average American doesn’t want his 8 year old daughter using the bathroom at Target with a 55 year old trannie named Fred.
Congratulations Ms. Palmieri, you’ve got yourself a bi coastal party that has no relation to the Democratic Party of yesteryear, and only to the counter culture antics of Timothy Leary and the political dogma of Lenin. In essence, your party is kaput with a capital K in the minds and pocketbooks of those Americans you detest, those bitter clingers.
You lost because your party’s motto is ‘Promise Everything, Deliver Nothing and Blame Someone Else.’
Get used to saying President Trump.
Ray Starmann
Editor in Chief, US Defense Watch

     And finally this is for the snowflakes that can't handle President Trump.

 

Monday Music "Detroit Rock City" and "Beth" by KISS

 Before I get started with my "Monday Music", I have to pass on Birthday Wished to Old NFO, this is the guy that got me started blogging about 5 years ago...so blame him.  Old NFO besides being a real nice guy and a class act, has been around a while...This was the guy that had the tiller when Admiral Farragut stated "Damm the Torpedo's full speed ahead" and his flagship the USS Hartford as they sailed past the Confederate Batteries protecting Mobile Bay during the American Civil War.

                              You can see Old NFO on the Tiller during the battle.

This Gentleman was by no means ready to hang it up, he continued to serve, He was with Admiral Dewey in the Battle of Manila bay in 1898 when Admiral Dewey broke the Spanish fleet at Manila with superior gunnery and ships.   

As I understand it, he was on the bridge with Admiral Dewey during this battle.

Not content to just sail, he started working with the new arm of the fleet, the air arm.  Old NFO became an accomplished aviator....I had to look for his first plane

 Here is Old NFO earning his wings for the first time...

After many years and many airplanes and many adventures Old NFO finally retired and became an author where he writes several kinds of books and they are an awesome read.  Please go to his website Here and check out what he has written and visit his spot on the web.  I know the article above is a mild exaggeration but the man is really larger than life and a class act and I sincerely wish him a "Happy Birthday."  

I am going with a "2fer" with today's "Monday Music,  The reason for this is that both songs are interrelated.  "Beth" started as the "B" side of the song "Detroit Rock City".  I knew who KISS was in the mid to late 70's, everyone knew who KISS was back then.  I didn't join the craze because they defined the "craze" down to the "KISS Army" that was prevalent at the time.  I was part of the "counter culture" if there was a craze, I was against it.  It is who I was and to a certain extent still am.   Now to the song, I never really heard of the song "Detroit Rock City" until my roommate at North Georgia would set up a boombox with a Christmas light timer to start playing the song he had loaded into the cassette deck...

 Looked like one of these....well anyway this song would come slowly blasting with the gradually increasing base, drumline and volume was a good way to get out of bed in the "barracks" as it were.  It is a good memory as it were.  Well later KISS went "unmasked" and it was a different sound and look, they had to reinvent themselves to keep up with the new metal that was coming out in the 80's.  I saw KISS and a bunch of other groups at a "Monster's of Rock" concert in Germany, and KISS blew all the other bands away on pure energy.  It was an awesome show.  I think better of the band KISS than I used to, I guess it is the nostalgia or something.


"Detroit Rock City" is a song by the American hard rock group Kiss featured on their 1976 album, Destroyer. The song was written by Paul Stanley and Bob Ezrin and is about a real Kiss fan who was killed in a car accident on his way to a Kiss concert.

The song, recorded and released as a single in 1976, was the third single from Kiss's album Destroyer and was planned to be their last in support of the album. As a single, it did poorly in sales and radio play (other than in Detroit), and failed to chart in the U.S. even though it would prove to be a fan favorite. It came as a surprise that the B-side "Beth", a ballad written and sung by drummer Peter Criss, wound up catching on in different markets in the United States, so the single was reissued with "Beth" as the A-side and "Detroit Rock City" as the B-side.
On the Destroyer album, the song segues into "King of the Night Time World", via the sounds of a car crash. The songs were played together on the Destroyer tour.
During the Love Gun/Alive II tour, Stanley changed the lyric, "I know I'm gonna die, why?" to "I know I'm gonna die, and I don't care!" The song was #6 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs and is featured on the album Heavy Metal – The First 20 Years. "Detroit Rock City" was based on an earlier song that Kiss performed only in concert called "Acrobat".

"Beth" is a ballad by Kiss, originally released on their 1976 album, Destroyer. To date, it is their highest-charting single in the US, reaching #7 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. It is one of only two gold selling singles for the band (the other being 1979's "I Was Made for Lovin' You"), and their first of two Top Ten singles (along with 1990's "Forever", #8) in the US. Beth was named #3 in VH1's 25 Greatest Power Ballads

Kiss' drummer Peter Criss sings the song, which was co-written by Criss and guitarist Stan Penridge. The song was written before Criss had joined the band, while he and Penridge were members of Chelsea. A bootleg exists of the song from 1971, but the song was sung "Beck, what can I do?" "Beck" was the nickname of fellow Chelsea member Mike Brand's wife, Becky, who would call often during practices to ask Mike when he was coming home. In an article for Rolling Stone, Paul Stanley questioned Criss' role in co-writing the song, saying, "Peter had nothing to do with it." Changing the song's title to "Beth" for Kiss's recording has been credited to both Bob Ezrin and Gene Simmons , but Lydia Criss (who was married to Peter Criss throughout the 1970s) says that she alone is responsible for the name change.

The song was a last-minute addition to the Destroyer album. According to Bill Aucoin, the manager of Kiss at that time, Simmons and Stanley did not want "Beth" on the album because it was not a typical Kiss song. Aucoin insisted on keeping the song on the record. During the recording sessions for the song, Criss was the only Kiss member in the studio, making it the only Kiss song that features no instrumental performances by any member of the band. Criss is backed by a piano and a string orchestra, a stark departure from the band's usual hard rock-oriented sound.

When released as a single, "Beth" was initially the B-side of "Detroit Rock City". Some of the initial credit for the flip-hit goes to Rosalie Trombley, at the time the music director at "The Big 8" CKLW in Windsor, Ontario. Trombley's daughter had a copy of the 45 and was hooked on "Beth", and began nagging her mother about it. "Beth" wasn't being promoted as the "A" side, but Trombley added it to CKLW's playlist. After "Beth" became a smash, Kiss presented Trombley's daughter with a gold record. Kiss and Casablanca Records reissued "Beth" as an A-side with "Detroit Rock City" as the B-side, and it was far more successful. The single went gold in the US (the first Kiss single to do so) on January 5, 1977 and in Canada on December 1, 1976.

"Beth" is also credited as invigorating sluggish sales of the Destroyer album, which many fans initially saw as a misstep. In 1977, Kiss received a People's Choice Award for "Beth", one of the few industry awards the band ever won.

Live, "Beth" was performed by Criss alone on stage backed by a tape of the instrumental track. The acoustic version featured on Kiss Unplugged is the only recording with members of Kiss solely backing up Criss. The version of "Beth" featured on the group's 2003 Kiss Symphony: Alive IV DVD and subsequent album (less Ace Frehley) would be the only time the song was performed live with an ensemble. In 2010, the song was performed live for the first time with Eric Singer on acoustic guitars during their Sonic Boom Over Europe Tour and again on their The Hottest Show on Earth Tour in 2011. It has since been again removed from setlists, but the band occasionally performs the song at meet and greet sessions.

Light infantry operations with a Star Wars flair

I get emails from "the Angry Staff Officer".  My good friend "Mac" tuned me into this and I have enjoyed the articles.   The author used "Star Wars" because it is such an cultural Icon that every body gets the reference especially when he is teaching soldiers.  This is a quick Bio About the Author: Angry Staff Officer is an Army engineer officer who is adrift in a sea of doctrine and staff operations and uses writing as a means to retain his sanity. He also collaborates on a podcast with Adin Dobkin entitled War Stories, which examines key moments in the history of warfare. "   

 I cut and pasted a couple of stories, I enjoyed the star wars tie in to Modern Military life.


This is an excerpt from First Order Center for Lessons Learned Publication, Light Infantry Operations in Forested Terrain and Treatment of Indigenous Peoples.
Scene: Imperial stormtroopers are seated in rows of benches as a hologram of the Forest Moon of Endor looms over them. Their company commander steps forward to begin the briefing.

Troopers from A/1-503rd Legion (Light), Imperial Archives. (Lucasfilm, Ltd)

Captain: “Listen up, troopers, this is your cultural awareness and intel briefing for your upcoming deployment. Congratulations, we’re going to some place called the Forest Moon of Endor, also known as FME, an acronym I’m sure you’ll all pervert in some profane way. Now listen up: for many of you, this is your first deployment. My first recommendation is this: link up with someone else who’s already been out there and has a couple tours under their helmets. There’s a lot of experience in this room: raise your hand if you’ve been to Tatooine? How about if you froze your conscripted ass off on Hoth? Yeah, that one sucked. We’ve got desert fighters, cold weather experts, space breaching subject matter experts, all sitting right here. So as we ramp up for this deployment, make sure you’re getting with these dudes to pump their brains.
Now that being said, this tour isn’t going to be like the other ones. I don’t wanna hear anything like, ‘Well on my last tour we did it this way.’ That’s the kind of thing that’s going to have you on shield generator duty for weeks on end. It’s a whole new system out there. Let’s start off with some basics on terrain.
So, FME is a, well, forested moon, obviously. It’s characterized by incredibly thick foliage and a nearly impenetrable – stop laughing, trooper, get your mind out of the trash compactor – canopy above it. What does this mean?”
JR-9716: “Uh, sir, it means we don’t have any air cover.”
Captain: “That’s right, trooper. We won’t have any cover from the Navy’s guns. And not only that, the trees are too dense to get heavy armor in there. That’s why they’re sending the light-fighters in. All we’ll be able to fit in there are AT-STs for the heavy weapons platoon and speeders for the scout platoon, although I’ll bet Headquarters Troop takes the only operational speeders.
Okay, so, woods, big-ass trees, rocks, that pretty much does it for terrain. Now let’s move on to – what, LU-2463, you have a question?”
LU-2463: “Yes sir, uh, what’s our mission?”
Captain: “Dammit, didn’t your lieutenant brief you guys the Imperial Operations Order I gave them? LT, where you at? You and I are going to have some words after this briefing, and you bet this will be reflected in your quarterly counseling. I swear, I don’t know what the Imperial Academies are teaching you kids that go through there these days.
Right, take out your recorders and prepare to copy. Here’s our mission. On order, Troop A, 1st Squadron, 503rd Imperial Legion (Light) moves from SSD Executor to the Forest Moon of Endor (FME) in order to provide base security for the Death Star’s shield generator and project forward Imperial power to maintain stability in the region.
At this point I’m going to hand it over to our squadron S-2 intelligence officer.”

Scout trooper from Troop A manning an OP on FME, Imperial Archives. Note the lax security posture. (Retrieved from Reddit)

S-2: Good morning, troopers, sorry I’m late. Lord Vader just landed on board and of course everyone is losing their collective minds, so trying to navigate the hallways was nearly impossible.
Everyone fired up to get out there and make the Empire more secure? I’ve been tasked to give you guys an intel update as well as some additional info from the squadron XO. This is a good time to talk about the local populace. What we know of the moon is that it seems to be devoid of most large life forms. However, Troop C, which is occupying the moon right now, says they’ve seen what appear to be small, furry animals that have some humanoid features. However, they’re experts at cover and concealment and Troop C doesn’t patrol, so we really don’t know their capabilities. For the love of all that is Sith, please patrol; you’re light infantry, that’s your thing. Based on what intel we have, we believe that these things might be what are called ‘Ewoks.’ They seem to be tribal in nature and have little in the way of infrastructure. Their culture seems to be based around shamans and tribal chieftains, but we don’t know anything about their warfighting capabilities. We do know we haven’t received any readings that would indicate that they have blasters or any type of modern weapons platforms. So that’s a plus.
That being said, I’ve been ordered to tell you that we are to treat the local non-human population in accordance with Imperial Army Policy Memo 425, which reads as follows: ‘All non-human life forms are to be treated with the same respect and dignity that we accommodate to all humans on Imperial occupied systems. Observe respect for local customs and norms, remembering always that you are ambassadors for the Emperor and represent the order and security of the Empire.’
Per Imperial Doctrine Publication Conflict Ongoing with Imperial Natives,  or COIN, our goal is to move away from ‘shoot first and ask questions later.’ The Rebellion is pretty much crushed and we’re transitioning into stability operations. Therefore, we need to make friends out there so that we’re not on peacekeeping duty forever. If you’re like me, you’re tired of getting assignments on worthless systems without a decent bar. So let’s do our best to not piss off the locals.
Rules of engagement are as follows: don’t fire unless fired upon, but if you feel like you or one of your fellow troopers are in imminent danger, you may act to neutralize the threat using economy of force. So, if they throw, like, a spear at you, use non-lethal means to subdue them. This will not only preserve your limited combat power, but it will mean you can capture the creature and get it to us for interrogation.
During your time on FME, Imperial Order 1 is in effect: no consumption of controlled substances. If we get word of anyone with contraband, you’ll be on a transport to Tatooine faster than a Bantha turd. Inside the garrison perimeter, weapons status is at amber, per order of the squadron commander. You may go red when you leave the base. Reflective strobes will be worn inside the perimeter when conducting physical training. At no time are you permitted to downgrade your uniform posture – this is the Imperial Army after all, not those wimps in the Navy with their soft caps and weak discipline. I expect you troopers to uphold the honor of the Imperial cavalry corps. Scouts out!”
Troop A: “Scouts out!”
S-2 leaves. 
Captain: “Okay, so now that the squadron spies are gone, here’s what I have to say: I’ve been in this business going on twelve years now. I used to sit where you’re sitting, rose through the ranks and got a commission. I’ve done my time, is what I’m saying. And while squadron thinks they’ve got this war all wrapped up and won, it’s my belief that the only thing these locals ever respect is force. So here’s the deal: we’re going to get on-planet – or moon, whatever – and we’re going to get out there and patrol; hard. And the first contact you make, you make it clear that you’re there to be their worst nightmare. Hit ’em with everything you have. Once we’ve made a few examples of the locals, the rest will quiet down and we won’t have any trouble. Got it? We’re not going there to win hearts and minds, we’re there to kick ass and take names.
Alright, move your happy asses off to the central issuing facility to draw your new equipment issue of scout trooper armor. We’ve got formation for pre-combat checks and inspections in twenty-four. Then it’s go time for OPERATION JUST MOON. I know, I know, I didn’t name the damn thing. Now move out.”

Scout from Troop A preparing to move out on a patrol, Imperial Archives. (Lucasfilm, Ltd)

Aftermath: Due to Troop A’s overly aggressive actions, the population of the FME turned against the Empire, right into the arms of a Rebel SOF group that inserted onto the moon. In the ensuing engagement, Troop A was practically wiped out, with the remainder taken prisoner. Their hubris and reliance on their weapons platforms inhibited their ability to maneuver and assess threats seriously. Stormtrooper Corps has compiled these lessons learned from audio files recovered from the Imperial Security Agency’s internal monitoring section.
Lessons Learned: This vignette highlights the importance of not underestimating the threat, of the vital need to conduct presence patrols partnered with indigenous peoples, and the impact that small unit leaders have on Galactic operations. Had this commander adopted the squadron’s orders, the situation on FME may have ended in an Imperial victory. First Order troopers must be aware of the dangers present in operating in restricted terrain with an unknown host population.

A Day in the Life of an Imperial Staff Officer

Dear Dad,
You mentioned that you would like to know what my days are like now that I have graduated from the Raithal Imperial Academy, and since I’m on staff duty with not a lot to do, I figured I’d tell you. As you know, I did not get my first choice of assignment to the Stormtrooper Corps. I’m sure that makes both you and mom happy that I will be out of combat, but ever since I read the Tarkin Doctrine in school, I have wanted to be at the forefront of the Empire’s forces. Plus, the black uniforms the Stormtrooper Officers get to wear are so much cooler than these gray ones the rest of us wear in the Army.
However, due to my high test scores, I have been given a very “prestigious” assignment for a junior officer: I am assigned to the Plans Section, Operations Division, Orbital Battle Station, Death Star – North Sector. Aka, I’m a very junior staffer on a colossal base. This is the premier battle station in the Imperial Fleet, and we’re told that it is now the supreme power in the universe – although tell that to Lord Vader and he’ll force choke your brains out. Dad, the staff dynamics are way different than when you were in.
We start out the day at 0500 with officer PT. Naturally, it’s only junior officers there. Although one day Captain Piett did jog in while on a visit from the fleet, take a look at the total sausage fest that is our all-male staff, and jog out sadly. We tend to just run laps through the hallways. We once tried to do a full lap around the Death Star. Terrible idea. Most people fell out, Stormtroopers laughed at us, and we puked everywhere. Oh, and because of that, now we have to wear reflective hologram belts that make sure people can see us. It’s embarrassing.
After PT we have first formation, where we are liable to receive an inspection from the senior officers who seem to have little to nothing to do. Colonel Veers (you remember, the guy who gave me crap at school for pointing out that AT-AT’s are too unstable for jungle terrain?) stopped in to hump the Grand Moff’s leg a little, trying to pick up a star. Pretty sad to see those guys who get stuck as instructors trying to get back into the line. Our Chief of Staff, General Molock, occasionally comes by to do a little professional development, aka, pointing out why the Navy is wrong about everything all the time, or gigging us if our code cylinders are askew.

I’m outside the picture to the left, dad. Stupid photographer cut me out.

Following first formation, I report to my work station, where some major usually has a project for me to work on. Last week it was a white paper examining the metrics from the last time the 501st Legion went to the range. I don’t understand why these guys can’t shoot, dad, they’re Lord Vader’s elite Stormtroopers. I’m thinking there’s a problem with the blasters, but when I mentioned that to my Officer in Charge (OIC), he just told me that his PowerPoint holograms for the Battle Update Brief weren’t going to write themselves. I hate field grades, dad, I really do.
We have our staff huddle in the morning as well, where I sit in the back and try not not catch the lieutenant colonel’s eye. He usually dishes out his taskers to us then. Because it’s a joint staff, we answer to a Fleet captain, and he does not like us at all. Keeps talking about the irrelevance of land power in a post-Death Star world. Luckily, Captain Piett thinks he’s kind of a jerk and shuts him up during briefings when he comes around, usually with a pithy one-liner about tooth-to-tail ratios. Guess you had to be there.
I get lunch at the cantina, dodging Stormtrooper Corps officers, who are about as stuck up as you can get. We get it, you’re “shock troops.” You’re still stuck on this big-ass ship, not a lot you’re needed for here. The food’s decent, I guess.
In the afternoons I work on different plans for either Army personnel (not a lot of us on this thing, mainly Navy and Starfighter officers) or joint operations. Since it’s an all-volunteer force now, we tend to be shorthanded, which leaves me writing most of the stuff myself. I spend a lot of time trying to work with our admin and logistics staff. They are the WORST about getting me their annexes to Imperial orders on time. And then when I get them, they’re never formatted correctly. It’s like they’ve never even READ Imperial Publication 6-0. And who wants to read ten pages about the reactor core’s fuel, anyways? Or the protocol for hologram messages? Our intelligence guys go crazy over that stuff; guess there’s not that much for them to do on this thing.

These OPSEC posters are everywhere. They drive me nuts.

Every once in a while I get to sit in on the big briefings to Grand Moff Tarkin or Lord Vader. I feel like those guys are so out of touch with what’s happening on the ground these days. They keep talking about “becoming the supreme power in the universe” and I’m like, “Yeah, but what about regional security so that we can get some jobs back home?” And Vader gives me the creeps. You can never tell where he is looking, so you don’t dare fall asleep or even move around too much. Half the time, General Tagge is quibbling with Admiral Motti about the role of the Death Star in Joint doctrine. Apparently, Tarkin believes it needs to be the core of our doctrine, and Motti has bought that hook, line, and sinker. General Tagge is a good dude, and he’s not convinced.
I guess that’s really about it. It’s not glamorous at all, but I think I’m doing some good here. Being at the operational center of the Imperial Army is pretty cool, I’m picking up on a lot of stuff quickly. Hopefully I can finish this assignment quickly and get out to the line, though. I joined up to lead troops, not write opinion papers on whether non-humans can serve in the Stormtrooper Corps (incidentally, they totally can, but the higher ups don’t want to hear it).
I suppose I’ll wrap this up right now, I’m not supposed to be using my work console for personal matters. Plus I’ve got this threat assessment about the physical security of the Death Star to write up for General Bast. It’s pretty silly, but I’m grasping at straws here – I’ve got some comments about the thermal exhaust ports that might get me off this damn thing and into the line.
Okay, gotta go, Lieutenant Treidum radioed that TK421 isn’t at his post, so now I’ve got to write up a report. Damn Stormturds, all battle armor and no brain.
Staff duty blows.
Love,
Lieutenant [REDACTED]
Imperial Army

I took this shot the other day during a live-fire drill. The Fleet guys get all uppity when that happens. They think they don’t need ground-pounders anymore. I hate these guys.

The Blame Game, "last round"

I normally don't quote articles on my blog, but I ran across this one on Fox News and it was really well written by Greg Gutfield about President Obama and I really liked the part about "trump supporters being "bigot Smeared and he brings the kryptonite."..  The left has been marginalizing people that didn't support their position and the average American was tired of it, but didn't say anything and Trump tapped into this disgust and outrage about being maligned everytime they turned around.

In a recent interview in that reprehensible wad of trash called Rolling Stone, President Obama pinpointed why the Democrats lost the election. He blamed it on Fox News.
He initially blamed his own party for its inability to connect with voters, but then he couldn't help himself. He did what he's done in the past when faced with denial or defeat: He targeted my place of employment.
Yes, his party sucks for losing, he says. But then he adds:
“Part of it is Fox News in every bar and restaurant in big chunks of the country.”
So, where to begin?First, let's call BS on this observation. If Barack Obama actually traveled the United States, he'd laugh at his own words. It's true that "big chunks" watch Fox News, but they don't have it on in their bars and restaurants, because those who are not leftists are usually not outwardly political. They have no desire to enforce their views on you. 
And perhaps they're used to keeping their views to themselves because people like Obama often mock them for having them. Trump's outgoingness may have changed this, but for the most part, the average non-liberal would rather talk pets than politics.

President Obama is a victim of the very disease that he accuses others of having: divisideria. In the Rolling Stone interview, he accuses Fox News and others of lying to foment division. That’s ironic, given that he's saying these things in Rolling Stone, the rag that peddled a massive lie (the UVA rape hoax) that ruined lives, and the same rag that put the Boston Bomber in heroic pose on its cover. You can't get a better mix of deceit and divisiveness than that.

For the left, it's always been the reverse. For them, the personal is always political, and they have no choice but to infect every arena in life with their strident opinions. Whether it's in the work cafeteria, at Thanksgiving dinner or at a play date with assorted brats … if you're a strong, dedicated progressive, every moment in life is simply an opportunity for proclaiming evidence of your heroic, sensitive belief system.

Those of us who aren't liberals have no such reflex. When I'm among friends or strangers and politics comes up, I generally find a way to subvert or deviate from debate. I tell a joke. I say something stupid. I comment on my assorted body aches. It's essentially what I do on The Five.
True, as you enter the political season, this changes. People talked more politics in the back half of 2016, because that's when this subject's Super Bowl hits. People were talking Trump, because it was no different from talking about the next heavyweight champion, or a leading NASCAR driver. It's not political, it's just the season for it. It’s a topic for friendly or pointless conversation to pass time while ordering a sandwich.
But because Obama is a progressive, and because he’s surrounded by progressives, he projects their sense of political urgency and identity onto his political adversaries. He assumes we're all just like him, only in reverse.

But we aren't, and he can't see it, because he is a victim of the very disease that he accuses others of having: divisideria. In the Rolling Stone interview, he accuses Fox News and others of lying to foment division. That’s ironic, given that he's saying these things in Rolling Stone, the rag that peddled a massive lie (the UVA rape hoax) that ruined lives, and the same rag that put the Boston Bomber in heroic pose on its cover. You can't get a better mix of deceit and divisiveness than that.
The bottom line: The division began decades ago, when the left made politics a measure of your morality. (It’s no surprise it sprang up when Rolling Stone did, too.). If you weren't like them, you were immoral. You were not simply wrong, as the saying goes, you were evil — a point made often by Charles Krauthammer and Dennis Prager. This began after World War II, when young Americans had the time to turn politics into an all-consuming hobby of emotional activity.
No one on the right ever pulled this kind of stuff on the left. True, some held on to bad ideas, but some on the left did, too. We just assumed they were wrong. They saw us as damned. Or as Hillary said, irredeemable. That paved the way for her excruciating loss. You can't win over people you just sentenced to a life of being deplorable.
This narrow, highly destructive sensibility exists still, even after Trump's beatdown. Comedians, singers and assorted talking heads continue to crap on Trump voters, reducing them to some braying, mindless, bigoted mob. But the more they do this, the more Trump supporters they create. Their simplistic, single-minded arrogance reveals the debilitating irrelevance they feel when the country no longer listens to their whine.
Oh, yes … in the good old days, it used to be that you could call someone a bigot, a sexist or simply evil — and it mattered. But the left called it all too much, abusing their power, so it's no longer believable. It's as if a superhero had only one single gift (call it "bigot-smearing"), and Trump arrived with the kryptonite.
So you're left with a President Obama — a smart, gifted man — ending his tenure bitterly chatting to a pathetic, marginal magazine about a network he believes gave the country President-elect Trump. He's lost the plot. All Trump did was galvanize and organize a group of people tired of being villain-shamed by the arrogant and the elite. The fact that this group happened to watch Fox News is simply a correlation, not a cause.
But by blaming Fox News, it at least helps the outgoing president achieve one thing: not having to blame himself.