May 28 2010
Fly By 05_28_10
Folks, work is kicking my butt! Again my apologies for not posting, though you can probably learn more from the comments than the posts!
So here is a quick Fly By of articles I wanted to post about but never found the time (I may do so this weekend, so don’t be surprised to see these again):
There have been some very disturbing discoveries made in the records of who has been caught entering the US. Specifically, a large number of ‘immigrants’ have been caught cross the border who hale from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, etc:
In the Arizona border town of Douglas, border patrol agents say it’s a 24/7 game of cat and mouse. They use cameras, night vision and underground sensors to track and catch illegal immigrants who jump the fence between Mexico and the United States.
…
The area is the busiest spot in the nation for border patrol. Records show last year, agents caught a quarter of million people trying to enter the U.S. in the Tucson sector alone. According to those documents, a lot are from Mexico or South America, but hundreds of them aren’t and are from nations like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran. Since January, border patrol agents say they have been on the lookout for 23 Somalis with ties to al-Qaida. Jailers released them from a Mexican prison and some law enforcement officials said they think they are headed for the U.S. border.
…
The U.S. government no longer releases a list of what they call “captured O.T.M.s”, which stands for “other than Mexicans”. Channel 2 Action News obtained it from a congressional staffer.
You can see the listings here:
Afghan has 12, Egypt 40, Jordan 52, Iran 42, Iraq 42, Pakistan 110. Â That is a lot of questionable people to have caught. What is also disturbing is the numbers from the EU, such as 87 from the UK. Why would anyone from the UK have to sneak into the US?
Another disturbing article is this one, where someone inside the Obama administration is just broadcasting ‘so called’ clandestine operations to the news media, for all to see:
Last summer, the White House authorized a massive expansion of clandestine military and intelligence operations worldwide, sanctioning activities in more than a dozen countries and giving the military’s combatant commanders significant new authority to conduct unconventional warfare.
The New York Times reported on one major operational plan, which authorizes intelligence gathering and reconnaissance activities in the Middle East, the Horn of Africa and Central Asia. A Joint Unconventional Warfare Task Force Execute Order, was signed on September 30, 2009, by CENTCOM commander in chief David Petraeus. It was marked “LIMDIS” — as in “limited distribution,” and hard copies were delivered to about 30 people.
The Times did not report its original classified codename, “Avocado.” The name has since been changed.
How secret is that???
Next up, mega-kudos to Kevin Costner. He is a bit liberal, but he put his green money where is green mouth is and backed an excellent oil clean up machine.
Costner has invested 15 years and about $24 million in a novel way of sifting oil spills that he began working on while making his own maritime film, “Waterworld,” released in 1995.
Two decades later, BP and the U.S. Coast Guard plan to test six of his massive, stainless steel centrifugal oil separators next week. Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser welcomed the effort, even as he and Louisiana officials blasted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for delays in approving an emergency plan to build sand “islands” to protect the bayous of his parish.
It is a very cool and simple idea. The heavier water oil,when spun up with the oil water, will flow to the outside and can just be shunted off to the ocean holding tank while the oil goes into a holding tank water goes back into the ocean.
The only problem is so far it has only been built on a small scale, tens of these machines could not keep up with Obama’s Natural Disaster gushing in the Gulf of Mexico (fair game lefties, if Bush gets blamed for Katrina Obama gets nailed for this). And all these concerns it won’t clean up the water 100% are idiotic. I don’t think anyone would argue with 95% clean at this stage. Get those machines out on the coastline.
Finally, two polls are out that show serious warning signs to the far right when it comes to the voters this year. The far right likes to think their evil enemies are centrists, and if they just yell at them a lot they will stop voting for Democrat proposals and candidates. It is a truly bizarre form of ‘logic’. But as I have said, this is the year of the centrists, and a new libertarian view spreading across the center. They realize the only way to keep the left and right fringe from doing any more damage is to massively shrink the powers of the federal government. Without federal money and power, the fringes would be left to debate endlessly (and harmlessly) amongst themselves – leaving the rest of us out of it.
First is this poll from Pew, which notes once again that compromise is preferred over rigid ideology.
Compromise is not evil to the majority of voters. And then there is this stunner from CBS News:
As pathetic and corrupt and incompetent as the liberal democrats have been in DC this year, all they have done is sink to the level of contempt of the GOP. And let’s be clear here, most people think of Hannity, Levin, Gingrich etc as the GOP. McCain is a Maverick, a RINO. Â As are the senators from Maine. It is not just a Pox on both parties, it is outright distrust of the hyper partisans in both parties. They have mud-slung each other into the sewers of public opinion. The GOP will make gains this year, but only because the liberals have proven to by worse than them.
AJ,
The following is from the real clear politics blog.
The BLUF is Americans expect we are going to get hit at home by foreign terrorism while Obama is President.
The only question is whether people will blame Obama for poor performance or excuse him by adopting a “it is inevitable” mind set.
IMO, the former mindset is Republican/Independent and the latter is hardcore Democrat.
May 28th, 2010
Dissonance – Part II
Posted by Tom Bevan | Email This | Permalink | Email Author
A new CNN poll shows that while only 4% of Americans think “terrorism” is the biggest issue facing the country, the number of people who think a terrorist attack is “somewhat” or “very” likely to occur in the United States “over the next several weeks” is at its highest level (55%) in five years. This is a big jump from the last time CNN asked this question in August, 2009, when just 34% said the same.
This suggests
1) A public lack of confidence in the ability of the Obama administration to keep America safe from terrorists, or
2) A general resignation on the part of the public, given the three terrorist attacks in the past year (with disaster narrowly averted on Christmas Day and in Times Square but not at Fort Hood), that we we are bound to be hit again no matter what we do, or
3) some combination of one and two.
On the centrifuge idea, oil is lighter than water, not heavier. That’s why it floats on the surface of water.
In a centrifuge, the fluid mix is spun at high speed, which causes the differing densities of fluid to separator out. Water will go to the outside.
Centrifuges for the separation of oil from water have been around for a long time. The first time I saw one in operation was about 37 years ago. It was very similar to a dairy centrifuge I had seen several years earlier.
The idea seems reasonable to me, although a couple of the ones I was around seemed to be a bit temperamental when it operation. As I recall, though, that generally occurred when excessive dirt accumulated on the centrifuge disks.
Mike,
Is my face red! Thanks – AJStrata
Shrinking government is a Conservative ideal, not leftist or centrist.
If that’s the new middle, then things are getting better,
the middle is moving right.
Politics is a rough and tumble battle, victory goes to the smartest most persistant. It is so in every corner of the globe form federal governments right down to local town halls.
Fighting for what you believe in, fighting for the soul of the Republic, the Constitution and our Traditions is not a “bizarre form of logic.”
Confronting threats, in this case, harmful legislation and policy from any corner is not a “bizarre form of logic”
Had not pressure been applied from the “right”, the “center”would have given Obama a quicker, bigger victory in the Healthcare debate. The “center” ultimately gave it to him anyway.
The “center” never leads, the “center” follows the strongest political wind. Leftism is like Hurricane Katrina, Conservatism is the levee, and the center is wherever the levee fails.
Oneal, that is so much crap. Like I am not an independent who promotes smaller government? You, my friend, are quite familiar with bizarre ‘logic’. You think the uber right leads (other than off cliffs).
LOL! What a joke. And I guess you think your ‘leading’ here?
Take the weekend off and try and remember why all the people fought and died for this country. Hint: it had nothing to do with proving you right.
By this logic, if I disagree on a gas tax to limit global warming I should compromise at $2.50 when you propose $5 (so we can all get along and be centrists not partisans). Anyone who compromises their principles does not really have any! Weather we are tallking global warming or immigration.
Newt,
Like so many, you don’t get the ‘logic’ at all. Too funny. It’s called democracy, and for some it is a tough concept, I admit.
AJ
I did not claim to be leading. I did not claim the right leads. I did not claim you were against smaller government but your statement:
“They (centrists) realize the only way to keep the left and right fringe from doing any more damage is to massively shrink the powers of the federal government. Without federal money and power, the fringes would be left to debate endlessly (and harmlessly) amongst themselves – leaving the rest of us out of it,”
makes it sound like people “right of center” are empowered by government spending. I have never heard this argument before.
One of the main griefs conservatives have with the Republican Party is that it has become “big government oriented.” and that is why you will find a huge number of disaffected conservatives in going to Tea Parties.
You preach understanding, civility and consensus. Yet your comments to persons here who see things different than you are quite the opposite.
If this is a site for “high flying debate’ then debate. I have never attacked you personally or otherwise. I agree with your articles 95% of the time. when I disagree, its usually about the value value of centrism. I may disagree , and make my claim, but I have never attacked or impuned you personally.
oneal – peace!
OK, Yes!