Why are Improved Relations With Russia a Bad Thing?

There will be many discussions about the 2016 presidential election when time passes and we look at it less emotionally. Among them will be the horrible campaign run by Hillary, the cheating on the part of the DNC and the complete upheaval of the electorate and pre-conceived notions of how they would vote.

But the biggest discussion has got to be about Russia. The very same Russia that the Obama administration attempted to "reset" relations with and then botched it big time.




Or this memorable moment when Obama sounded like a lapdog to Medvedev:

Obama wanted nothing in the world more than to have good relations with Putin and Russia. He pulled missile defense out from Poland--a NATO ally--simply to placate the Russians and essentially turned a blind eye when Russia invaded the Crimea.

His own lack of negotiating skills and his chief foreign policy advisor, Hillary, made a mess of the situation.

And then things went south when Putin realized that Obama was a feckless leader who believed his very presence was enough to make the world bend to his ideas. The final straw was his inaction in Syria after drawing a red line (and then blamed our top ally for it). When Putin saw that he saw an advantage to go into assist Bashar Assad and also, and more importantly, give his military real-life experiences.

He also said the infamous words to Mitt Romney who saw exactly what Putin was doing. Oh how the media laughed over that pithy comment:



So here we are. The Democrats got smoked in the last election, they now have the least amount of power in decades nationally and they need to blame someone because liberals can never blame themselves or their ideology. So they blamed Russia and the media made them the new bad guy. They alleged that Trump colluded with the Russians and the highly politicized intelligence apparatus assisted as well.

Trump said he wants to work with Russia for the greater good and if the roles were reversed we'd see endless front page stories about what a good thing this is. But since it's Trump, they are using it to delegitimize him and his yet-to-begin presidency.

We need to work with Russia and we need to check their intentions, trump knows this since he's a deal maker. The U.S. having Russia as an enemy is a bad idea since they will be needed to maintain peace in the western Pacific and Asia. China is the real threat and the last thing we want is the outgoing president driving Russia to become friendlier toward their southern neighbor.

I don't trust Putin at all and never have but we need to work with him to solve the problems that exist between two super powers.

The actions of Obama recently with regard to Russia are as damaging as any lame duck president has ever left for his successor. By muddying the waters he has hurt our chances of finding a diplomatic settlement to the problems we face with Putin. These are real-world problems and the simple fact that Russia did not effect a single vote does not change anything. The problems exist and will continue to if we treat the as an adversary.

If Obama wants to hand Trump an impending NATO war in Europe, he's doing exactly that. It's important to note that Putin was actually the adult the last few weeks when he opted to not expel diplomats like Obama did. Putin is a businessman as well and he knows that Trump will do what he has to to protect his nation but also do what he needs to make the world (and Europe) safer. We have a common enemy in global jihadism and I for one would rather have the Russians fighting it with us versus against us.

This Is What a Lack of American Leadership Looks Like

There's been a few times over the last half century that America has failed in her role of leadership. Every time it happened it was with a Democrat. Think of the leadership they once believed in; FDR defeating Naziism and imperial Japan, Truman dropping the bomb to save the lives of a million and JFK going eyeball to eyeball with Kruschev over Cuba. but then we were, unfortunately stuck with Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

Carter meant well but was way out of his league. He was an old school Democrat but lacked the steely spine of Truman or FDR. He wasn't the liberals we see today but a paleo-liberal who fully believed in the cause. He was the first American president to not believe America was a force for good in the world and believed we should make amends for all the perceived wrongs we had perpetrated. The Russians sensed weakness and they made huge gains during his (thankfully) only term. The Mideast also sensed his weakness as was made extremely evident when they took Americans hostage in Tehran. His response was feckless in a part of the world where the only thing understood was power. We paid for it in his ineffective and damaging leadership of the military that resulted in death, destruction and embarrassment in the Iranian desert. then we got Reagan and the end of the Soviet Union...

Along came Bill Clinton who faced a different enemy but one in which Carter would understand; militant Islam. They attacked the USS Cole and the embassies in Tanzania and Kenya and we did nothing. Osama bin-Laden said he was at war with America and we sent a couple missiles into an empty tent. We had him dead to rights and he and Sandy Burger wavered. They got bolder with every single attack and it resulted in 9-11.

And now we have Obama. He's a liberal of a completely different ilk. His upbringing was anti-American, anti-war propaganda and he wants nothing less than a complete obliteration of America as it was. He pulled the troops from Iraq without even a thought of the consequences--no soldiers remained to train, execute missions in the best interest of the fledgling democracy and more importantly no deterrent to what group rose out of the ashes. Worse than that, he became completely disinterested in what his actions led to. He ran around touting the fact that bin-Laden was dead and al-Qaeda was on the run. But he didn't listen when his intel folks said that something even worse than al-Qaeda split off from the mother organization. What he labeled the JV team was actually growing into the worst terror organization in the world in the void he left. He threatened Assad but had zero plans on acting if the lines were crossed and emboldened ISIS to not only move into Iraq but take territory numerous Americans died to win.

Obama tried to act tough by ordering an air war that took no risks. He used drones to take out leadership that were quickly replaced but allowed him to say he was "doing something". He left a leadership opening that was essentially an invitation to Russia to join the fight and prop up the guy we pledged to take out. Amazingly, while ISIS was beheading journalists, selling children into sexual slavery and murdering homosexuals and Christians Obama opted to sit on the sidelines and do nothing. Putin knew as soon as Obama didn't act against Assad the first, second and eighth time he crossed the red line, he didn't have the heart to act at all. So he moved in and now is not only protecting the man we threatened but taking out his opposition.

Which leads us to today. Putin has been entering sovereign airspace throughout the world and testing our resolve. From Sweden and Norway to England and the US, he's probed and pricked at us and we did nothing. He started doing it into Turkey and was warned by the Turks but not by us. And now, we have a Russian jet shot down and the pilots shot while parachuting to land. The helo sent to rescue them was then shot down by insurgent groups. Putting myself in Mad Vlad's shoes, I'd be pissed. Not only would I be pissed but I'd be pissed at Turkey--a NATO ally of the US and one we are required by treaty to defend. And as an American, an ally who has been anything but. They would not allow us to attack Iraq from the north during the invasion of Iraq in 1993 and have been flying sorties that are aimed at their enemies not NATO's enemies. Their endgame is to take out the Kurds who are their enemy eternal and our ally.

So now they've attacked Russia in what may or not be a Russian provocation. The Russians can't not respond and we are in the middle. So now we have the Russians fighting the Free Syrian Army, al-Qaeda (Nusra), ISIS, the Chechens, and the myriad other enemies of Assad, whom they are protecting. We have the US fighting ISIS and the Syrian Army whom are loyal to Assad. The Turks are fighting the Russians and the Kurds while pledging they are helping against ISIS and finally we have ISIS fighting the US, Russia, Turks, Iraqi's, Assad and now al-Qaeda while establishing an enormous base of operations.

And all of this is because the US ceded our role as leaders. Did we have to continue fighting in Iraq? No, but we did have to continue to make those in Iraq believe that we would. When we allowed Assad to use chemical weapons and give us the finger while not responding, we opened up the door to what we have today.

The damage done by Obama will take decades to fix.

Who Would Win a Pacific Naval Engagement?

Naval warfare seems a thing of the past. When one thinks of great naval battles, one thinks WWII and the genius of Chester Nimitz and Raymond Spruance. They think of the battles at Midway and Leyte Gulf.

But since then, what major battles have occurred? Some skirmishes during the Korean War and the war in the Falklands maybe but nothing of any major consequence. The US became the baddest mofo's on the water and our supremacy has never been challenged except for attempts by Russia to keep up, which ultimately and spectacularly failed (although they are spending more money to get some of their past glory back with mixed results).

So naval warfare now has become the projection of power by the US as a means to prevent war. If China and Japan start getting antsy, we send a carrier battle group to the region to keep an eye on things and settle it down before they come to blows. If Iran threatens the straits of Hormuz, we station an LHD in the area to make them think twice. And if a natural disaster occurs anywhere in the world we can send help.

Until recently, the US was the only game in town.

But now China has joined the game and they expect to be admired as more than just a "brown water" navy, they want to be known as a "blue water" navy, capable of projecting power farther from their shores. They've built up their capabilities steadily over the years by buying older equipment with the jewel being the carrier Liaoning (formerly the Soviet carrier Riga). The capabilities of the carrier will be at least 20 years behind the newer US Nimitz Class (and more behind the forthcoming Ford Class)  models with less than 25 pilots actually qualified to land on her deck. 

Japan has built up their naval forces as well in recent years--doubtless because of the direct threat from China. China has some scores to settle with her eastern neighbor and memories last a long time in that region. Japan has a sizable submarine fleet but only can deploy helicopter carriers versus fixed wing on the surface.

Australia, South Korea and Canada can also bring some force to bear if needed. A breakdown of current and proposed carrier forces can be found here.

Here's a breakdown of what each nation has currently available:

Taking the information above and the actual threat we could expect, the US would have to match up against the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN). A conflict that could start over a direct threat to Taiwan, a battle with neighboring countries over disputed islands or a conflict over regional claims of territorial water rights. 

The Chinese have built mobile missiles including the HQ-7 that  could be a major threat to our carriers and have them deployed defensively and offensively all along their coast. Another major concern would be asymmetric warfare including disruption of our Internet and satellite communications, which the US Navy heavily relies on. China has deployed several missiles and possibly lasers with the major targets being command and control satellites in all orbits. For more on this I highly recommend this paper written by the good folks at the Heritage Institute.

Based on available information and using the chart above, the US could bring roughly 24 submarines to bear at any one time within the Pacific theater. Add to that two Canadian, and possibly 15 Japanese subs versus 46 Chinese vessels. I've used roughly 2/3 of the above total availability taking into account maintenance and stand downs. That's about an even number but the US would be forced to work with different partners while China would be working with their own forces using their own doctrine. Add to that that submarine warfare is generally not a team effort. Call it a slight US advantage since the PLAN have been training heavily for years and have made some progress (and haven't been shy about showing it according to some reports). The progress they have made is unknown at present.

But when it comes to actual naval superiority, it comes to aircraft carriers, the aircraft and armament they carry, their defensive capabilities and vessels accompanying them. Here the US has a vast advantage. In any engagement with the Chinese, the first thing they would attack would be our carriers and our first priority would be stopping them. Do we have the capabilities to do so? That is a question that has no answer at this point. The Chinese claim they've had great success with the DF-21D missile that is solely designed to take our carriers out. But in this world of new technology becoming obsolete due to improvements by the other side, we may now have a solution. Call this a major US advantage.

And finally, what about troop landing capabilities? 

The US LHD fleet including the WASP and Tarawa classes are highly-equipped troop transports with their own air wings. The air wing includes Harriers and Osprey's (and hopefully the USMC F-35) while also carrying anti-submarine helo's and additional troop transport aircraft. Tanks and Marine AmTracs can be put ashore quickly to project a large amount of power in a short time. The WASP class can carry and land a complete Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and supply that unit for extended periods while in battle. This is all contingent on the ability of air assets in locating and neutralizing Chinese missile batteries and aircraft that could harass any such landing. 

In conclusion; a large sea battle between the likely belligerents would result in a US win but potentially at heavy cost. The US would move assets from the Persian Gulf, Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic if needed but based on current readiness levels, the US would neutralize and beat any adversaries within a short period. 

How Did We Become Vladimir Putin's Bitch?

Let's look at presidential history through the years, shall we? First we had Harry Truman who understood full-well how evil communism and by extension the Soviet leadership was. He stood up to them where he could including sending our troops to fight a war against their proxies in Korea.

Dwight Eisenhower checked them where he could and the Soviets knew the old warhorse was not one to be trifled with.

Kennedy stared down Kruschev during the Cuban missile crisis and reinforced the standing of America in the world. When their East German proxies built a wall in Berlin, he flew food in.

Johnson fought communism in Vietnam as did Nixon, however Nixon didn't quite have the balls call them out as often as he should have. He settled for some amorphous thing called "detente".

Ford was a lame duck from the beginning and doesn't count.

But Carter does and he was one who believed all the hype about Soviet power. He gutted the intelligence services thus leaving us blind to the fragility of the Soviet scheme. However, when pressed, he stood up to them for the most part.

Reagan? Well we all know that Reagan knew all along they were a house of cards. He tricked them into spending untold billions they didn't have (SDI comes to mind), backed the Mujahideen against them, gave them the finger at Reykjavik, called on Gorbachev to "tear down this wall" and generally made a nuisance of himself whenever it concerned issues Soviet.

George H. W. Bush cheered on Lech Walesa when he rose up in Gdansk, celebrated when the wall came down in Berlin and watched with glee as satellite after satellite broke away and the USSR was reduced to the CIS and then just Russia.

Clinton had it kind of easy trying to usher the new Russia into the democratic and capitalistic world. He didn't back down often.

George W. Bush tried to get friendly with Putin and his butt-buddy Medvedev and generally checked Russians power.

But now we have Nobel Peace Prize winner and the Smartest Guy to Ever Become President in office. He of the mis-translated "reset" button and off the record comments about appeasing Putin when he got in his second term dutifully "transmitted" to Vlad by Medvedev. Obama was the man who was going to change the world just by the force of his sparkling intellect and personality. Except for a few things; he was a community organizer in Chicago (and based on the sad state of that city did a pretty fucking shitty job of it), a state senator who voted present a lot, a senator who took a stand on excatly nothing (or anything he now believes) and has completely fucked up our entire foreign policy (with help from Hillary and Kerry).

His latest foreign policy foray has to do with chemical weapons supposedly dropped by Bashar Assad on his own people but there's no definitive proof. Obama went right to the bomb them from long distance card (learned from the master; Slick Willy). But Congress didn't agree and the world didn;t agree and the American people sure as hell didn;t agree. So Obama joined up with...France. The Bestest President For Ever & Ever couldn't even cobble together a coalition that included Nicaragua and Burkina Faso.

So his great foreign policy led us to the point where bombing were threatened including threats of the genius 'constitutional law professor" plowing ahead without congressional approval. But an off-the-cuff remark by that other liberal genius John Kerry was pounced on by the Russians and now they've not only marginalized Obama but have taken over the role of strong nation in the Middle East. Hell, we are at the point that Putin had an open letter to the American people published in the NY Times (about time a fucking Soviet actually got to put their name on the byline instead of having to use pseudonyms). Putin belittled Obama and called out American exceptionalism. In other words, Putin made Obama and by extension all of the US his bitch.

I don't like being Putin's bitch. I like beating Putin at spycraft and watching as his navy rusts on the shoreline. Instead he's gained back a good amount of power Russia lost when the Soviet Union was swept into the dustbin of history. All because Obama is soft and is hell-bent on making America in the glowing image of 1970's France.

Watch this video of Obama when he thinks he's not on mic. What message do you really think Medvedev "transmitted" to Putin? I'm guessing it's something akin to "damn comrade, if this guy was around in the 80's instead of Reagan, we'd still be the Soviet Union and own half of eastern Europe still.

Romney Doesn't Need Medvedev to Transmit Anything to Vladimir, He'll Tell Him Himself

Awesome.

Remember when Obama was caught on an open mic telling Russian President Dimitry Medvedev that he would have more latitude to make deals with him after the election?



I think my favorite part of that was when Medvedev said "I will transmit that information to Vladimir" with an accent that sounded like Boris and Natasha.

Well, Romney decided that he wasn't going to sneak around about it and he wasn't going to pussy foot it, he put Russia on notice today:

The size of our Navy is at levels not seen since 1916. I will restore our Navy to the size needed to fulfill our missions by building 15 ships per year, including three submarines. I will implement effective missile defenses to protect against threats. And on this, there will be no flexibility with Vladimir Putin. And I will call on our NATO allies to keep the greatest military alliance in history strong by honoring their commitment to each devote 2 percent of their GDP to security spending. Today, only 3 of the 28 NATO nations meet this benchmark.

Emphasis mine.

You may recall, Obama sold out two of our strongest former SSR allies in Poland and the Czech republic by cutting off the missile defense program those great nations spent huge political capital agreeing to. That was a great insight into Obama's governing philosophy as was the above exchange with Medvedev. Obama was showed he was willing to cast aside true allies to placate fake ones and it sent a clear message to all of those who we rely on to take a second look at their relationship with us.

Four years ago, Obama was feted by the media after he gave a weak speech in Berlin. The speech was designed to show that Obama had foreign policy credibility. He's done everything in his power to squander what cred he accumulated there.

Reading the rest of that paragraph block quoted above, i like that he gets that we need to project power and the best way to do that is to have a big, strong navy. I also like that he's serious about making NATO nations honor their commitments. Britain has been strong as have others but the Bear is not happy playing second fiddle and a rejuvenated alliance is good for all concerned.

New Term, Same Old Putin

Mad Vlad Putin stole another election and he's paying those who went against him back in that old KGB way:

Russian riot police beat protesters with batons and hauled away dozens on Sunday after skirmishes broke out at a demonstration in Moscow against Vladimir Putin on the eve of his return to the presidency.

Vlad couldn't even wait until he got back into office, he sent his goons out to settle old scores as soon as he could:

 Opposition leaders Alexei Navalny, Boris Nemtsov and Sergei Udaltsov were among those detained at the rally, at which police tried to push back protesters who advanced towards them holding metal crowd barriers.

Putin still is an avid believer in Soviet-style government and, as the former head of KGB, knows how to deal with internal threats. Medvedev was a Putin puppet but now the chief thug is back and he's establishing his power base right off the bat.

But he's not only returning to the glory days of the USSR internally, he's steering foreign policy back to the bad old days. Putin gave The One the finger and said he's just too damn busy to attend the G-8 summit that Obama moved from Chicago to Camp David to suit Vlad.

Even more importantly, Putin threw down the gauntlet on our missile defense plans:

Whether or not the schedule change marked an intentional snub, the let-down comes less than a week after the nation's military chief of staff warned that Russia would consider preemptive strikes, if a dispute with the United States over a Europe-based missile defense system worsens.

Drew at AoSHQ has more on Obama's ideas of missile defense and here's a piece I wrote awhile back.

Obama Gains Another Crucial Endorsement

We all know the NY Times, Washington post, LA Times and USA Today will endorse Obama. Today we found out the paper that all those media outlets sound like is giving their endorsement as well:

So, in an op-ed today posted on Pravda's website, the infamous former Soviet newspaper writes, "Electing Mitt Romney as the next President of the United States of America would be like appointing a serial paedophile as a kindergarten teacher, a rapist as a janitor at a girls' dormitory or a psychopath with a fixation on knives as a kitchen hand. His comments on Russia are a puerile attempt at making the grand stage and boy, did he blow it..."

Not that it will sway any voters who actually read Pravda because they are all commies who will vote for Obama anyway.

The Soviets are back, if not in name, in ideology with Putin's resumption of leadership. At least Obama won't have to bow while bending over for Mad Vlad since bowing is not a Russian custom.

Mad Vlad Bringing Back Cold War Strategy

There were many features built into the Soviet style of government. Collective farming, purges, famines and anemic productivity to name just a few. But the key to keeping the populace in check was anti-Americanism and the conduit for distributing it was the TASS news agency. The KGB or other agencies would send a report to TASS that would paint the Soviet leadership in a good light and Americans in a bad one.

Unfortunately, many western papers were littered with communist sympathizers and would play the game exactly as the Soviets wanted. Hell, just read what was written by useful idiot Walter Duranty of the NY Times to get an idea how it worked in American papers (and still does in many respects).

It was Soviet policy to blame America for every bad thing in the USSR and it was a winning strategy because the totalitarian regimes could limit information seeping into the republics. A melt-down at Chernobyl could easily have been reported as an American act of sabotage. It was easy to do and they did it with relish.

Unfortunately for the ruling communists, the system that so many sympathizers said would last longer than the American system, it was unsustainable and a coalition of Reagan, Thatcher and to a point Pope John Paul II weakened it to the point of collapse.

So now we pass into the third decade since the Soviet Union imploded and we see not a country led by communism but one led by a hybrid thugocracy made up of former commies and gangsters. The promise of capitalism was never realized due to the inherent paranoid nature of the Russian psyche.

Vladimir Putin had his time in charge of Russia and made things demonstrably worse. He anointed his successor Medvedev while still holding the reins and now wants to make his comeback. So what's his strategy? The same as it was when he was at KGB:

MOSCOW — A nasty spate of anti-Americanism set off by Vladimir V. Putin has grown into waves of attacks aimed at the new American ambassador and Russian opposition leaders, raising questions about the future of U.S.-Russian relations.

The attacks started just before the December parliamentary elections and have intensified as the March 4 presidential vote approaches. Although widely viewed as aimed primarily at a domestic audience, they have grown shriller and more aggressive, provoking debate about whether Russia is deliberately giving a cold shoulder to President Obama’s effort to promote more productive relations.

A main target of the attacks is Michael McFaul, the new ambassador, a longtime democracy advocate and Russia expert who as a top aide to Obama has been an architect of what the White House calls a “reset’’ with Moscow.

The anti-American campaign bears trademark Soviet and KGB thinking, reflecting the mindset of many of the high-level officials appointed by Putin as well as their efforts to protect their power and privileges from the gathering opposition.

Hmm, how's that whole "reset" thing working for you now, Obama?

Putin knows that Russia has lost immense influence and China has made enormous gains because of it. He's knows that a Russia leading the charge against the current superpower and reclaiming the mantle as the nation blunting American imperialism could put Russia in a position it never had before, a strong central government but now one with the ability to exploit newly discovered resources.

Putin doesn't want to "reset" relations, he wants to go back to where they were. With a weakening western Europe coming apart from six-decades of socialism, Putin sees his chance to reclaim the leadership role and reestablish state control over everything. Putin sees McFaul as an enemy as he does every American (except maybe those who still prattle on about how great the Soviet system was) and wants nothing more than to have his old scapegoat back that he can blame everything on. In other wards, he wants Cold War II.

Must-Reads of the Day

Here's what you should be reading:

-A devsastating take-down of those that Lenin supposedly called "useful idiots". Academic apologist's have been whitewashing Soviet oppression for decades led by Katrina vanden Heuvel's rag The Nation.

-Abortion kills more African-American's than 7-leading causes of death for the general population. Margaret Sanger's eugenistic dream has become reality.

-American's feel pretty much like the est of the world about that Obama Nobel prize.

-Hmmmm. British nuke specialist dies in fall at UN building in Vienna. He was working on the Iranian situation.

Obama Sells Out New Europe to Appease Putin

It's official; Obama has destroyed any and all good will we have left in Europe.

First he sold out Gordon Brown over the Lockerbie bomber affair and now has made good on his promise to get rid of the missile shield in the Czech Republic and Poland:

The White House is scrapping a Bush-era plan for an Eastern European missile-defense shield, saying a redesigned defensive system would be cheaper, quicker and more effective against the threat from Iranian missiles.

"After an extensive process, I have approved the unanimous recommendations of my secretary of defense and my joint chiefs of staff to strengthen America's defenses against ballistic-missile attack," President Barack Obama said in an announcement Thursday morning.

Obama's military team has become a crutch when it comes to foreign policy initiatives. He has a nice out by saying it was their idea to sell out two nations whose leaders expended enormous political capital in pushing for the shield in the first place.

So who benefits? Only the reddest son of a bitch in the region: Vlad Putin. His cronies are lining up to praise the president for his lapdog stance:

Russia on Thursday welcomed the news but said it saw no reason to offer concessions in return. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called the plan a "responsible move." He threatened last year to station tactical Iskander missiles on Poland's border if the U.S. system was deployed.

"We appreciate this responsible move by the U.S. president toward realizing our agreement,'' Mr. Medvedev said Thursday. "I am prepared to continue the dialogue."

That's great news you commie prick. Obama sells out two nations that languished under the thumb of Soviet oppression for decades. Bush didn't build the missile shield for protection against Iran as is often claimed, it was to let the Russians know that we are paying attention and their shoddily built weapons systems would be shot out of the sky if they got a little cagey. Obama just Lewinskied Putin in front of the entire world and will push wary nations back into the Russian sphere.

Fitting it happened almost 71 years to the day that Neville Chamberlain brought "peace in our time" by selling out Czechoslovakia to Hitler in what has grown to become the very symbol of cowardly appeasement.

Update: In the bad timing department, Iran has the The Bomb. Thanks Obama.

TelePrompter-less Obama Makes Bush Sound Like Tony Blair

In the latest installment of the What Would the Media Have Said Were It Bush section, we have The One stumbling and mumbling through a day in Moscow:

Mr. Obama has seemed tired here, several times fumbling the pronunciation of Mr. Medvedev’s name and Mr. Putin’s title. Beginning a speech here, he mistakenly said he first met his wife in school instead of at the law firm where they actually met. And he misstated his younger daughter’s age.

He was quick on his feet, however, while addressing graduates of the New Economic School. In praising Russian culture, Mr. Obama cited painters, composers, dancers — and a hockey player, The Associated Press reported.

Got that? He screwed up the name of the Russian leader, obliterated the title of the new-age czar, forgot where he met his wife and got the age of his own daughter wrong. Taken alone each would be a case of misspeaking oneself but put together and we have the continuation of a trend. You take the Most Eloquent President Ever away from prepared text and he's almost as prone to verbal gaffes as his Vice President.

If this were Bush, we'd be subjected to an endless loop of the errors on MSNBC and it would be front-page news in the Washington Post and NY Times instead of a blurb in the middle of a story, which tells us it was because he was tired. I guess Bush wasn't allowed to get tired. Besides, citing painters, composers and dancers is something that Bush never would have done because he was an uncultured redneck from Texas so there.

Not to mention the fact that he's now dissed two leaders of major European nations.

He's now off to Rome where he will get the names of the Japanese and Chinese leaders wrong while the media chalks it up to jetlag. He may want to spell Berlusconi's name out phonetically on the inside of his hand since the electrical outlets in Rome are different and the teleprompter may not work there either.

Monday Evening News and Notes

Posting light over the weekend as I was in Virginia with my son in a baseball tournament. Nothing more American than that. His team didn't do so well but I assistant-coached a 14U team that took the championship over a team from Harrisburg. I was proud of kids who I just met this weekend and bonded with pretty quick.

Anyway, here's the news:

--A good piece on global warming alarmism from AJ Fluerh. This from DC Writeup where you can read opinion on just about anything.

--On a similar note, the green police are coming after you if you reside in merrie olde England.

--Bush library to display the pistol Saddam Hussein's was carrying when we smoked him out of the spider hole. He won't be needing it anymore so I see no problems with it.

--About what I expected; the American public is steering a wide path away from GM and Chrysler--both now essentially owned and operated by the government and unions--and heading to non-government owned Ford.

--Why do I have a sinking feeling that Obama's going to get hoodwinked by Medvedev? Our guy was schooled in the fine art of diplomacy and leadership by the likes of ACORN while theirs was schooled by the former head of the KGB.

--Obama runs for office on the governments dime and no one says anything. Sarah Palin decides to do the right thing and not make the state pay for her political ambition and it's the top story for days. The left hates Palin even more than Bush at this point and sure as hell don't say that lightly.

--Reuters is up to their old tricks again. Why do these MSM idiots still believe they can get away with this kind of bullshit?

China Signals Concern Over Wreckless US Spending (Again)

The signs are appearing on a daily basis that our bankers around the world are seriously concerned with our spending habits.

First, a Chinese scholar scolds us as the ChiComs send a veiled message about their feelings on us accruing massive debt:

"China is implying to the US, more or less, that it should adopt a more pragmatic and responsible attitude to maintain the stability of the dollar," He Maochun, a political scientist at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times.

Yes, we are being schooled on fiscal responsibility by a communist nation. Reagan is spinning like a top in his grave.

Next we have the story of Russia and China signing a pact to sell and buy in the Chinese yuan and the Russian ruble in a not so subtle smack at the US and the US dollar.

Speaking of the dollar, the world is responding to the Obama administrations actions and limitless spending by telling us in no uncertain terms that our currency is second-rate and may be replaced by another such as the Euro or a new world currency.

In five short months, we went from the economic powerhouse of the world to a nation on a par with Burma or Mali. And the second part of the double-dip; inflation is still to come.

Thanks Obama. It appears your world-wide groveling has gotten us no where fast and actually sent us backward.

Saturday Afternoon News & Notes

A rainy day is good for lazing around. I'll think that's what I'll do. Maybe read a book then watch the Phillies.

Here's some quick hits from around the web:

-Hawkins issues a call to arms for conservatives. Maybe he hasn't read alot but a great many of us have been fighting this way for a long time.

-Obamatons are slowly realizing that Obama used them for political expediency and really doesn't give a damn about giving them hope that he will change what bothers them. Update: Jeralyn at TalkLeft--one of the tolerable lefty sites but she's not the Koolaid drinker most on the left are. They'll rationalize it somehow.

-Did Obama send Biden to an undisclosed secret location to get him to shut up?

-It's the 70's all over again. Obama's politics are like Carter but his strong arm tactics are reminiscent of Nixon.

-The Obama administrations mea culpa to the world and the Obama policy of making us appear weak are being welcomed as expected around the world. First the Russians are getting a bit froggy and Australia is building up their navy because of fear of China. we have fallen more dramatically on the military side in the last 103 days then we have in the last 103 years.

Obama Sure Has Changed the Way the World Thinks Of Us

One of The One's talking points during his run to the White House was the inane notion that he could change the way the world thought of the US and that our actions after 9/11 squandered any good will and made us look like bullies. He vowed to change that, and boy has he ever:

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said Moscow will begin a comprehensive military rearmament from 2011.

Mr Medvedev said the primary task would be to "increase the combat readiness of [Russia's] forces, first of all our strategic nuclear forces".

Explaining the move, he cited concerns over Nato expansion near Russia's borders and regional conflicts.

This has been in the works for some time but they wouldn't have dared to announce this plan while Bush was still in office. the response would have been forceful and immediate. Now, less than two months into the BHO administration, we see that they have no fear of not only announcing this but their intent to stage aircraft in Cuba and Venezuela all the while giving us the finger. Our State Sept. seems about as confused as Obama is on this.

The Russians have much greater concerns right on their own border with China yet feel that they will not be rebuked if they park a dozen or so jets 90-miles from our shoreline. They think so little of the current administration that they coerced an ally of ours into giving us the boot from a crucial base that supplies much of our Afghanistan efforts and we didn't even say a word.

Welcome to the new world of Soviet hegemony, US apathy and the return of socialism to eastern Europe and our own hemisphere. The Soviet bear is back and we have a government that is loathe to confront them. Hope and change indeed.

Obama Too "Overwhelmed" To Show Proper Respect to our Greatest Ally

As most of us on the right have been saying for the last two years; Obama is not ready for prime time:

Sources close to the White House say Mr Obama and his staff have been "overwhelmed" by the economic meltdown and have voiced concerns that the new president is not getting enough rest.

British officials, meanwhile, admit that the White House and US State Department staff were utterly bemused by complaints that the Prime Minister should have been granted full-blown press conference and a formal dinner, as has been customary. They concede that Obama aides seemed unfamiliar with the expectations that surround a major visit by a British prime minister.

What a shameful excuse. What's next, serving pork chops when the Saudi ambassador comes for dinner? Er, sorry, he would never slight the Muslims.

What an embarrassment and a slap in the face to our most reliable ally (arguably I'd say Australia is close). The Obama administration folks didn't know that it was customary to allow a formal dinner and a press conference? I suppose Rahm Emanuel was too busy building the Clinton's hit list to pay attention to the minutiae and such. I mean, who would have thought that we should show immense respect to a nation that has stood by us in the best and worst of times over the last century?

So we have the new president admitting he is in way over his head and can't handle the daily rigors of his office. I can't wait for him to meet with Assad. With the foreign policy weeks he has had: groveling to Medvedev while simultaneously making us a laughingstock in Russia and Iran while now this outrage. It's tough to be an American and not be embarrassed at this point. The Brits are laughing at us as is most of Europe. Obama has definitely changed world opinion about us on then Continent...for the worse.

The worst of this is that he threw Poland and the Czech Republic under the bus kissing up to Russia. They also are friends and pretty soon our cherished allies will wonder whether they can trust us or not, I don't blame them, honestly.

Exit thought: Putin is gearing up to regain his hegemony in Eastern Europe and this probably gave him extra incentive to do it before we wake up and elect an adult who will fashion a qualified administration.

Exit question: What would the response have been if George W. Bush had done the same thing?

Michael Yon: How Much is Afghanistan Really Worth to Us?

Great question and one I need to take a bit to consider.

Go read Yon's excellent essay and tell me what you think.

Michael Yon is a true media pioneer and does all his work on donations. Please support him if you can so he can continue with his adventure that truly enlightens all of us.

Wednesday News and Notes

News and notes from all over the place:

Natalie Dylan--the virgin for sale--has made a name for herself. Sex sells for damn sure (pictured at right). Her parents must be so happy.

Russian navy scores first win in decades against pirates. Of course, a cruiseliner also beat them recently so don't get excited, Ivan.

Stan Lee to create first gay superhero. That's not necessarily so, Stan:

The Ambiguously Gay Duo @ Yahoo! Video

The Obama nominees are on a record-setting pace for ethics violations prior to the inauguration.

Hollywood has-been begs shady nominee to jail president who is no longer an issue.

Mumbai Update

15 foreigners are known to be dead at this point including two Americans, two French citizens and an Aussie citizen. 17 Russian nationals (including defense contractors) were let go after a review of their passports, either because the terrorists fear Russian reprisal or perhaps they had another reason that I won't speculate on yet.

This looks as if it may continue for some time and it will take weeks to sort out the details.

Barcepundit is all over this story and is the go-to source for all the info as it becomes available.

You Can Take the Commie Out of the KGB...

Our old buddy Vlad Putin is still the same old Vlad he was when he was a KGB man back when the Russians were still Soviets:

Nicolas Sarkozy saved the President of Georgia from a threat by Vladimir Putin to depose him from power and "hang him by the balls," according to an account that emerged today from the Elysée Palace.

The Russian Prime Minister told Mr Sarkozy of his plans for deposing the Tbilisi government and disposing of President Saakashvili when the French leader was in Moscow last August to broker a cease-fire in Georgia.

Nice. I imagine old Vlad will not be too happy about the wimpy French (but I'm redundant) President revealing the details of a meeting he had with him. Saakashvili grew up under Soviet oppression so he has to have some intestinal fortitude. It makes one wonder what Mr. Putin will propose to do to the future President Obama?

I foresee Russia trying to supplant al-Qaeda as being the biggest thorn in the side of the US over the next five years. Welcome to the big time, President-elect O. Note that Putin has not started to assert himself again until the end of the Bush years.