The Front Page Cover
The Events of the Week -- Featuring:
In praise of American militarism
by Niall Ferguson
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California Rains on 'Settled Science'
Californians are scratching their heads at a seemingly relentless deluge of rain — something that amounted to little more than wishful thinking this time last year. A multi-year drought hit the state's agriculture system hard, but this winter, to everyone's surprise, rainfall came. And came. And then came some more. According to this week's U.S. Drought Monitor report, "As of February 21, the daily Sierra Nevada snowpack was 186% of average for the date and 151% of the April 1 climatological peak." Precipitation there is anywhere from 223% to 230% of average.
Do problems continue? Sure. Particularly in southern California, low water levels persist, as noted by the Drought Monitor: "Even though the reservoirs were responding quite favorably, they still have a long way to go before we can classify this area as drought-free." Nevertheless, the report continues, "With the removal of ... D3 [extreme drought], D2 [severe drought] is now the worst drought condition in the state; August 6, 2013 was the last time California had no D3." Contrast this to last February, when NOAA reports that 61% of the state fell under extreme conditions. Californians waited a long time for this. And depending on who their source was for news, they thought it would never come.
For example, in June 2016, BuzzFeed ran this alarming headline: "El Niño Is Dead And California Could Be 'In A Drought Forever.'" After underwhelming rains during last winter's El Niño and the expectation of drier than average conditions typically experienced during La Niña (this season's episode), the article dramatically foreshadowed what alarmists wrongly predicted was a perma-drought, not unlike what they prophesied for Texas. NASA climatologist Bill Patzert defeatedly stated, "We are in a drought forever. I can't think of any scenario where we would have six wet El Niño years in a row, which would top out all the reservoirs and the ground water supply." Apparently, we don't need to. This year shattered expectations, once again demonstrating how much we still don't know about the climate.
Of course, California could fall back into another expansive drought. Or maybe this summer's predicted El Niño will behave like normal and keep the bounty coming for months and years to come. Only time will tell. But recent developments should teach us to expect the unexpected and not fall victim to ridiculous predictions that serve only to advance partisan interests. ~The Patriot Post
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Memo to Trump on
Soros-linked State Department
by Bob Unruh
{wnd.com} ~ A prominent watchdog on U.S. government has issued a report outlining how the feds have colluded with left-wing, billionaire activist George Soros to use taxpayer money to “destabilize” the democratic government... of the Balkan nation of Macedonia, north of Greece. "The cash flows through the State Department and the famously corrupt U.S. Agency of International Development (USAID), which is charged with providing global economic, development and humanitarian assistance,” the report from Judicial Watch says. USAID has allocated about $5 million to left-wing Soros groups in Macedonia since 2012, according to documents cited in the report... http://www.wnd.com/2017/03/memo-to-trump-on-soros-linked-state-department/
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Russian Foreign Ministry Spox Advises CNN:
‘Stop Spreading Lies and False News’
by Trey Sanchez
{truthrevolt.org} ~ Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was interviewed by CNN and she quickly called the network out for spreading fake news... CNN Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance was questioning Zakharova about the Trump administration’s ties with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. The spokeswoman defended Kislyak as a “world-class diplomat who was a deputy minister of foreign affairs in Russia, who has communicated with his American colleagues for decades on different fields” and recoiled at the suggestion that he is a Russian spy. CNN said U.S. officials are the ones making those accusations, but Zakharova had other feelings on the matter: “CNN accused him of being a Russian spy, recruiting… My god, come on, stop spreading lie and false news. This is a good advice for CNN.” She walked away, saying, “Thank you,” and repeated, “Please, stop spreading lies and false news.”...
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Leftist hate group gets access to school kids
by Bob Unruh
{wnd.com} ~ The nonprofit started out fighting the KKK. But now, it’s advocating homosexuality and transgenderism, and going even further to condemn and label as “haters” those who don’t support that agenda because of their faith... It’s the group that put Dr. Ben Carson, one of the most respected men in America, on a list of “haters.” It’s the group formally linked in a federal court case to domestic terror after describing an ordinary Christian organization, the Family Research Council, as a “hate” group, inspiring a man who intended mass murder to launch an attack. Now SPLC is being used as an online resource for school teachers and children across America by Newsela...Why is this happening Mr. President?
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Iran Developing Sub Launched Missiles
to Combat Ships in Strait of Hormuz
by Sam LaGrone
An Iranian built mockup of a US Nimitz-class carrier is destroyed
{news.usni.org} ~ Iran is developing a submarine that could launch an anti-ship cruise missile designed to quickly sink an American warship operating in the Strait of Hormuz... according to a new assessment of Iranian naval capabilities published Wednesday by the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence. Citing Iranian press reports, the new ONI study – Iranian Naval Forces: A Tale of Two Navies – said development of Tehran’s new Besat-class of diesel-electric attack submarine will include an anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) capability. “In terms of armament, the Besat will likely have six torpedo tubes, capable of employing torpedoes and mines, as well as submarine-launched ASCMs,” reads the report... https://news.usni.org/2017/03/02/iran-developing-sub-launched-missiles?utm_source=USNI+News&utm_campaign=4b541a20ea-USNI_NEWS_DAILY&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0dd4a1450b-4b541a20ea-231491269&mc_cid=4b541a20ea&mc_eid=3999f18767
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Conservative Leaders Call on Trump
to Protect Religious Freedom
by Fred Lucas
{dailysignal.com} ~ Conservative leaders are calling for President Donald Trump to move forward on an executive order to protect the exercise of religious beliefs by rolling back liar-nObama-era regulations that targeted Catholic Charities, the Salvation Army, a military chaplain, Christian business owners, and others... “The above individuals and groups, and many others like them, have either been punished by the government for their religious beliefs or are about to suffer under liar-nObama-era anti-religious regulations,” wrote more than 150 conservative movement leaders to Trump in a letter on Wednesday. “They need protections that you can grant through an executive order to prevent federal discrimination against them for acting in accordance with their beliefs,” the letter continues. “We urge you to take action to ensure their freedom to believe and live out those beliefs is protected from government punishment.”...
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In praise of American militarism
by Niall Ferguson
{jewishworldreview.com} ~ It was nearly 52 years ago, on March 8, 1965, that the first American combat battalions came ashore at Da Nang, South Vietnam. In the subsequent six months, the US government took the worst strategic decision of modern times: the decision to escalate that military commitment just enough to entangle the United States in the war between North and South Vietnam, but not enough to win it.
Half a century later, American society still bears the scars of Vietnam. Visit any major American campus and you will encounter a new generation of student revolutionaries, self-consciously imitating the mannerisms of the antiwar movement of the late '60s: denouncing the president as a fascist and the police as pigs, desperately hoping their next sit-in or riot will make the evening news.
For both generations - the baby boomers, who long ago cut their hair and became management consultants, and the social justice warriors of today - there are few things more petrifying than the spectacle of generals in the government. They despise Donald J. Trump, who they insist is "not our president." But they fear the men in uniform.
Should the rest of us be worried that three key posts in the Trump administration are now held by military men? General James Mattis is secretary of defense, despite having retired only recently as the general in charge of Central Command. General John F. Kelly is secretary of Homeland Security, having previously run Southern Command. Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster was, until his appointment as national security adviser last Monday, number two at the Army Training and Doctrine Command. It has been a very long time indeed since career soldiers as opposed to civilians who had served their country in time of war held this many top-level government jobs.
Certainly, my former colleagues at Harvard - who essentially believe that the executive branch should be staffed exclusively by professors - look askance at the Trump administration. Some mutter the word "junta" under their breath. Others draw parallels with the fall of the Roman republic.
Almost exactly a year ago, when a Trump presidency still seemed like a joke, this newspaper ran a spoof front page - dated April 17, 2017 - with the lead "Deportations To Begin." Now the deportations have begun, and President Trump seemed to relish the thought, saying last week that they would be a "military" operation. Harvard Yard echoes with the sound of heads exploding.
Yet the civilians need to be reminded of what really happened back in 1965. For the disastrous decisions to escalate in Vietnam were taken against the advice of the generals. The biggest blunder in modern American history was the work of Lyndon Johnson, arguably the most politically experienced president of them all; Robert McNamara, the "whiz kid" former president of the Ford Motor Company; Dean Rusk, a career diplomat before he ran the Rockefeller Foundation; and Walt Rostow, an economist from MIT.
Indeed, an outstanding book entitled "Dereliction of Duty' condemns the joint chiefs of staff for failing effectively to oppose the civilians' strategy, which they knew to be fatally flawed. The author of that book? Step forward, H.R. McMaster, the new national security adviser.
The biggest difference between American soldiers and American civilians is that the former learned the right lessons from Vietnam. Men like Mattis, Kelly, and McMaster belong to the generation that rethought the American way of war in the wake of that great debacle. Mattis and Kelly enlisted in the Marines in, respectively, 1969 and 1970. In common with their younger Army comrade McMaster, they are warrior-scholars, deeply committed to learning from history.
I do not say this lightly: Never in the history of the English-speaking peoples has there been an officer class this good. It is not just that they are smart and knowledgeable. Seared by the memory of Vietnam, they have an ethos of selfless public service that is unlike anything I have ever encountered.
Whenever I am succumbing to gloom about America's political future, I remind myself of the unexpected legacy of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Though the liar-nObama administration frittered away the hard-won gains of the later Bush years, the generation that fought those wars has come back home imbued with a new spirit. Incorruptible, indefatigable servants of their country, they have learned the hard way the weaknesses, as well as the strengths, of a political system that subordinates the military to civilian authority.
Those who fear rule by generals fail to grasp that the US Constitution today has no more dependable defenders than these men. Much else about the Trump administration makes me worry. The former businessmen, including the president himself, are struggling to find their feet. There are conflicts of interest, contradictory statements, cocked-up executive orders, and countless empty offices. It is the soldiers who exude competence, just as it is the veterans in Congress who show backbone.
So stand to attention, Harvard. Half a century after the civilians stumbled into the quagmire of Vietnam, it's time give American militarism the salute it deserves.
Half a century later, American society still bears the scars of Vietnam. Visit any major American campus and you will encounter a new generation of student revolutionaries, self-consciously imitating the mannerisms of the antiwar movement of the late '60s: denouncing the president as a fascist and the police as pigs, desperately hoping their next sit-in or riot will make the evening news.
For both generations - the baby boomers, who long ago cut their hair and became management consultants, and the social justice warriors of today - there are few things more petrifying than the spectacle of generals in the government. They despise Donald J. Trump, who they insist is "not our president." But they fear the men in uniform.
Should the rest of us be worried that three key posts in the Trump administration are now held by military men? General James Mattis is secretary of defense, despite having retired only recently as the general in charge of Central Command. General John F. Kelly is secretary of Homeland Security, having previously run Southern Command. Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster was, until his appointment as national security adviser last Monday, number two at the Army Training and Doctrine Command. It has been a very long time indeed since career soldiers as opposed to civilians who had served their country in time of war held this many top-level government jobs.
Certainly, my former colleagues at Harvard - who essentially believe that the executive branch should be staffed exclusively by professors - look askance at the Trump administration. Some mutter the word "junta" under their breath. Others draw parallels with the fall of the Roman republic.
Almost exactly a year ago, when a Trump presidency still seemed like a joke, this newspaper ran a spoof front page - dated April 17, 2017 - with the lead "Deportations To Begin." Now the deportations have begun, and President Trump seemed to relish the thought, saying last week that they would be a "military" operation. Harvard Yard echoes with the sound of heads exploding.
Yet the civilians need to be reminded of what really happened back in 1965. For the disastrous decisions to escalate in Vietnam were taken against the advice of the generals. The biggest blunder in modern American history was the work of Lyndon Johnson, arguably the most politically experienced president of them all; Robert McNamara, the "whiz kid" former president of the Ford Motor Company; Dean Rusk, a career diplomat before he ran the Rockefeller Foundation; and Walt Rostow, an economist from MIT.
Indeed, an outstanding book entitled "Dereliction of Duty' condemns the joint chiefs of staff for failing effectively to oppose the civilians' strategy, which they knew to be fatally flawed. The author of that book? Step forward, H.R. McMaster, the new national security adviser.
The biggest difference between American soldiers and American civilians is that the former learned the right lessons from Vietnam. Men like Mattis, Kelly, and McMaster belong to the generation that rethought the American way of war in the wake of that great debacle. Mattis and Kelly enlisted in the Marines in, respectively, 1969 and 1970. In common with their younger Army comrade McMaster, they are warrior-scholars, deeply committed to learning from history.
I do not say this lightly: Never in the history of the English-speaking peoples has there been an officer class this good. It is not just that they are smart and knowledgeable. Seared by the memory of Vietnam, they have an ethos of selfless public service that is unlike anything I have ever encountered.
Whenever I am succumbing to gloom about America's political future, I remind myself of the unexpected legacy of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Though the liar-nObama administration frittered away the hard-won gains of the later Bush years, the generation that fought those wars has come back home imbued with a new spirit. Incorruptible, indefatigable servants of their country, they have learned the hard way the weaknesses, as well as the strengths, of a political system that subordinates the military to civilian authority.
Those who fear rule by generals fail to grasp that the US Constitution today has no more dependable defenders than these men. Much else about the Trump administration makes me worry. The former businessmen, including the president himself, are struggling to find their feet. There are conflicts of interest, contradictory statements, cocked-up executive orders, and countless empty offices. It is the soldiers who exude competence, just as it is the veterans in Congress who show backbone.
So stand to attention, Harvard. Half a century after the civilians stumbled into the quagmire of Vietnam, it's time give American militarism the salute it deserves.
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