The Bombings Will Fail, People Will Die, but Obama Will Get through November

I make no claim to military expertise, but this guy can do so, and his position seems plausible.

The top ranking former British military official was head of the UK Defence Staff, and led ISAF forces in Afghanistan during his exceptional career. The Sunday Times reports his comments: "Ultimately you need a land army to achieve the objectives we’ve set ourselves — all air will do is destroy elements of Isis, it won’t achieve our strategic goal. 

“The only way to defeat Isis is to take back land they are occupying which means a conventional military operation. 

“The only way to do it effectively is to use western armies but I understand the political resistance.”

I think everyone pretty much realizes that President Obama's policies are based almost entirely on political calculations – the actions of ISIS had outraged voters to the point that doing nothing was an impossibility; on the other hand, to reintroduce ground troops was equally impossible politically, since it would be an open admission that his previous policies were a failure. Cornered, he chose the 'safe' route of air strikes only (safe for him – not for the pilots).

That this will accomplish little or nothing is less important than that he will be perceived as acting, in the run-up to the election.

Prediction

Within a very few days (probably no more than two or three) there will be no mention in the mainstream media of the beheading in Oklahoma.

The American Elite do not want us thinking about such matters.

Very Late on This

I have been meaning to mention this for a while: I think the New York Mets' uniforms this season are arguably the ugliest in the history of any sport.

Goose Island

I was a little surprised to find Goose Island beer for sale at a convenience store in Show Low, Arizona. (Or maybe it was Pinetop -- anyway, it was somewhere where they read the White Mountain Independent).

I have fond memories of Goose Island (the island, not the beer). My office, for almost ten years, was at the south end of the Halsted Street bridge, with the island at the north end. I would usually cross the bridge for lunch, because there was a greasy spoon diner at a Greyhound maintenance depot just at the end of the bridge. Great cheeseburger/fries and nice folks. Since we were next to the notorious Cabrini Green projects, there weren't a lot of high-end dining choices.

The Goose Island Brewery was very trendy at the time. My daughter tells me it has been bought by Anheuser-Busch, which explains why it has wider distribution; she adds that it has also lost much of its cachet.

Another Glorious Day in the History of the Religion of Peace

I am sure everyone is much comforted and reassured because the beheading in Oklahoma has been classified at 'workplace violence'.

Why Nobody Respects the NCAA -- II

Over and over, the NCAA demonstrates why it is considered such an absurd organization (and why it needs to just go away).

Just two weeks ago, I posted this, and now they give us another example of their priorities.

Here's the sort of thing they get all worked up about:

Little League star Mo'ne Davis says she's "sad" that Connecticut received a secondary NCAA rules violation for coach Geno Auriemma's congratulatory phone call to her during the Little League World Series. 

Davis said they talked last month about her success in the World Series for Philadelphia's Taney Dragons, and there was no recruiting talk. 

Meanwhile, they continue to completely ignore the allegation that last year's Heisman Trophy winner is a rapist.

I'm pleased that Florida State claims to be investigating it, by the way, but I'm not expecting them to do anything real.

Just Like Old Times

I wrote a check just now, to pay a doctor bill. It was the first one I had written in over two years.

It was kind of fun, in a weird way -- it felt so strange and 'old school'.

Death of a Conference

Here is an interesting article from the Las Vegas Review-Journal about how much the Mountain West Conference has declined, and how dim its future is.

The days of the Mountain West being just a step behind the power conferences are over, and they’re not coming back. 

If anyone wanted a sense of just how much the conference has fallen, the first weekend’s results provided clarity. 

Boise State lost 35-13 to Mississippi, Fresno State 52-13 to Southern California, New Mexico 31-24 to Texas-El Paso, UNLV 58-13 to Arizona, and Utah State 38-7 to Tennessee. And there were some unimpressive victories, such as UNR’s 28-19 win over Southern Utah. 

That’s a far cry from the days when Mountain West schools could at least compete at a high level, but with the power grab taking place by the big five conferences, the MW and the four other little sisters are being left behind. 

“To the extent that there was ever any parity in college football between the 65 power conference schools and everybody else, it is now effectively over,” USA Today college football writer Dan Wolken wrote. “In truth, it has been for the last few years.”

A few years back (when Boise State was doing so well and Utah and BYU were still in the MWC), I was arguing (correctly, I still think) that the MWC was more worthy of an automatic BCS slot than the pathetic Big East was. That's not saying much, of course.

But now the Big East is dead and the Mountain West might as well be.

There's much to be said for the new set-up (anything is better than the BCS), but there are always some negative consequences.

The Latest from ISIS

It's terrible to learn that another American journalist has apparently been beheaded by ISIS, and they are threatening a third (a Brit).

I understand that President Obama is so upset that it has completely messed up his putting.

Other Than That, This Guy Is Definitely a Winner

From the LA Times:

As a candidate in the 51st Congressional District, Stephen Meade's politics are a problem. 

He's a conservative Republican in a district where voter registration is more than 2-to-1 Democratic. The district is 70% Latino, but Meade does not speak Spanish. 

He has no money to campaign. And his opponent, Democratic Rep. Juan Vargas, has the power of incumbency. 

There's another thing that may make things difficult for the 88-year-old political novice: He wears women's clothing. 

Unknown Writer Shouts, "Look at Me! Look at Me!"

Somebody named Will Self thinks he's a better writer than George Orwell.

He probably also thinks he's a better writer than Bob Houk. He may well be right on the latter point, but on the George Owell/Bob Houk spectrum, he's probably well over on the Bob Houk side.

Self objects to Orwell's passion for simplicity and clarity. Given that the the starting point of writing is (or should be) to communicate, one suspects that Self has yet to master an understanding of his trade. This lack of understanding, unfortunately, seems to be widespread among current writers. He summarizes his own limitations in what appears to be an attempt to mock Orwell.

I like Orwell's writing as much as the next talented mediocrity.

A bit of attention to clarity might have saved Self from calling himself a mediocrity.

To be fair, this is probably just an attempt to get people to pay him some attention, and it seems to have succeeded.