What Is NATO Good For?

Instapundit Blog Archive ASKING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS (1991 EDITION): What Is NATO Good For? 

"It isn’t that NATO is entirely useless, it’s that NATO expansion has fed Russian paranoia while increasing NATO’s responsibilities — but without increasing NATO’s military capabilities. 
That’s a recipe for failure, or at the very least for ongoing frustration and resentment.
My feeling about NATO when the Soviet Union dissolved was that the alliance should have thrown itself one hell of a victory party, and then dissolved itself, too. 
That’s not to say we’d have abandoned Europe. 
Almost certainly some sort of unwritten entente cordiale would have continued between us and our former allies, but the discontinuation of NATO may have forced leaders in Berlin et al. to take more seriously their own defense.
But that’s all water under the bridge now, and faced with renewed Russian aggression I suppose we have to wage peace with the alliance we have.--Posted by Stephen Green"

Leadership!

UK Backs Trump’s Actions in Iran, Deploys Royal Navy to Persian Gulf

UK Backs Trump’s Actions in Iran, Deploys Royal Navy to Persian Gulf:

The United Kingdom defended the actions of the Trump administration in Iran, saying the United States is “entitled to defend itself” against Iranian aggression and deploying the Royal Navy to the Persian Gulf to protect shipping vessels flying the British flag.
The Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace, expressed support for America’s decision to take out Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Qasem Soleimani, citing the violence committed in Iraq by Iran-backed militias.

Neuroscientist: Gender-neutral Parenting is ‘Futile’ | Intellectual Takeout

Neuroscientist: Gender-neutral Parenting is ‘Futile’ | Intellectual Takeout
"In case you haven’t noticed, there’s been a recent trend amongst younger parents to keep their children away from toys and clothes which cater specifically to boys or girls. 
Parents who practice this trend do so believing that they will free their child from the gender norms which society has inflicted upon us.
...Soh goes on to explain that society has embraced the concept of “gender-neutral” all while ignoring scientific fact.
...We live in a society which embraces diversity and celebrates difference in everything, except, it seems, in the two creatures – male and female – which science tells us are naturally different..."
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AM Fruitcake

History for January 7

History for January 7 - On-This-Day.com
Millard S. Fillmore 1800 - 13th President of the United States, William Blatty 1928, Jann Wenner 1946 - Magazine publisher ("Rolling Stone")


Rand Paul 1963 - Politician, Nicholas Cage 1964 - Actor ("National Treasure" movies, "The Rock"), Rhianna (Robin Hannah Louise Kenny) 1983 - Singer


1998 - Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky signed an affidavit denying that she had an affair with U.S. President Clinton.


2009 - Russia shut off all gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin publicly endorsed the move and urged greater international involvement in the energy dispute.

GOP Sen. Hawley: ‘Nancy Pelosi Is Attempting to Obstruct a Senate Trial’ by Withholding Impeachment Articles | Breitbart

GOP Sen. Hawley: ‘Nancy Pelosi Is Attempting to Obstruct a Senate Trial’ by Withholding Impeachment Articles | Breitbart:

Monday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) decision to withhold articles of impeachment from the Senate.
Hawley accused Pelosi on “Fox & Friends” of “attempting to obstruct a Senate trial” and called for a change in the Senate rules to allow for the case to be dismissed if she continues her refusal to send over the articles.

Tucker Cites Former Boeing CEO’s Massive Golden Parachute As A Reason Why ‘Americans Are Warming Up To Socialism’ | The Daily Caller

Tucker Cites Former Boeing CEO’s Massive Golden Parachute As A Reason Why ‘Americans Are Warming Up To Socialism’ | The Daily Caller:

Fox News host Tucker Carlson cited fired Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg’s multi-million dollar golden parachute as an example of why many Americans “are warming” to socialism.
Despite the fact that under Muilenburg’s leadership the company’s newest 737 airplanes were grounded “following several horrifying crashes” and “production is being suspended,” the former CEO will walk away with over $26 million and up to $50 million “depending on the final terms of the settlement,” Carlson said on Friday night’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” before noting that the average Boeing employee “might make $60,000 a year.”

The way we were-----cat stevens - wild world (sottotitoli in italiano)

Boob-tube-----Your Hit Parade - Christmas Eve Show 1955

UC-Berkeley threatened with lawsuit for mandatory diversity statements in hiring | The College Fix

UC-Berkeley threatened with lawsuit for mandatory diversity statements in hiring | The College Fix

"...The six-page document analyzes the taxpayer-funded institution’s new focus on hiring job candidates based on “knowledge, past contributions, and/or future plans for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion.” 

If candidates didn’t meet UC-Berkeley’s standards in this area, they weren’t hired.

...When applicants are required to submit a diversity statement on their own experience, university reviewers would likely be able to tell the applicants’ race and gender, “allowing those factors to be taken into account,” Ortner said...

...White males, who are supposed to be eliminated by this kind of search, were also significantly whittled away. In contrast, Hispanics and African Americans were considerably enriched, with the proportions on the final shortlist (interviewees) enriched by 4.5-fold and 3.25-fold respectively..."

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John Hayward on Twitter: "How can it be that not a single one of the Democrat presidential nominees understands that attacking a U.S. embassy is an act of war? Did their brains all short-circuit forever when they were carrying water for Obama and Clinton after Benghazi?"

John Hayward on Twitter: 

John Hayward‏ @Doc_0

How can it be that not a single one of the Democrat presidential nominees understands that attacking a U.S. embassy is an act of war? Did their brains all short-circuit forever when they were carrying water for Obama and Clinton after Benghazi?

5:25 AM - 3 Jan 2020

1. New conversation
   
   Ron Coleman‏Verified account @RonColeman Jan 3
   
   Replying to @Doc_0
   They'll say anything. Trump did it, it's pure evil.
   I'm more worried about the people following me who actually think defending a US embassy and personnel with military force is a Jewish plot

Donald Trump's Immigration Judges Boost Deportation Numbers

Donald Trump's Immigration Judges Boost Deportation Numbers:

President Donald Trump’s new immigration judges are far more likely to reject migrants’ requests for asylum than are the judges prior presidents picked.
Four Trump immigration judges in Memphis, Tennessee, denied more than 90 percent of claims from migrants, while the prior judges granted roughly half of the requests, according to a study by immigration lawyer Lily Axelrod.

Aussies Betrayed by their government!---WHAT HAPPENED TO THE 5% ?----Air-Climate-Energy

Air-Climate-Energy--Max Michael 

"WHAT HAPPENED TO THE 5% ?
Every inquiry in our nation’s history after major bushfires has called for increasing hazard reduction burns.
The Royal Commission a decade ago in the ‘Black Saturday’ Bushfires recommended that a minimum of 5% of public lands be burnt annually.
In Victoria, that should have seen 770,000 hectares of hazard reduction burns undertaken over the past two years. Instead just 204,000 hectares was burnt off. That’s more than half a million hectares short.
And it’s actually worse, because it’s not only the failure to undertake the hazard reduction burns, it’s also the closure of the forestry industry, the red & green tape reducing land clearing, and the locking up of the national parks.
And in what’s no surprise, the ‘Hazard Reduction Burn Deniers Club’ are the very same people seeking to blame ‘climate change’ for their failures - for they think bushfires can be reduced by sending billions of dollars off to China to buy solar panels..."

Craig Kelly

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Trump Blamed For Causing Violence In Typically Peaceful Middle East | The Babylon Bee

Trump Blamed For Causing Violence In Typically Peaceful Middle East | The Babylon Bee
"U.S.—After Trump moved some troops from Northern Syria, he was immediately blamed for causing violence in the typically peaceful Middle East.
Syria, which was known around the world as an idyllic paradise until January 20, 2017 at 12:00 PM EST, is now in shambles thanks to some minor troop reassignments.
..."It's sad that the usually serene resort destination of Syria has been transformed into a war-torn hellscape under Trump," said Hillary Clinton.
"Under my watch, the Middle East was basically a big golf resort."...
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Lunch video-----The Glory of Western Civilization: A Christmas Inheritance They Must Not...

Noon-toon

Trump Tells Evangelicals ‘America Not Built By Religion-Hating Socialists’ | The Daily Caller

Trump Tells Evangelicals ‘America Not Built By Religion-Hating Socialists’ | The Daily Caller:

President Donald Trump delivered a fiery speech Friday in Miami to evangelicals, thanking them for their continued support, especially after the editor of a prominent Christian magazine called for Trump’s impeachment.
Trump told the crowd that America “was not built by religion-hating socialists” but on a strong belief in God and family. “We know that families and churches, not Washington and bureaucrats, know best how to create strong and loving communities. Above all else, we know this. In America, we don’t worship government, we worship God.”

Fiscal Analysis of Colorado’s New ‘Red Flag’ Law Assumes Gun Confiscation Orders Will Be Granted 95% of the Time – Reason.com

Fiscal Analysis of Colorado’s New ‘Red Flag’ Law Assumes Gun Confiscation Orders Will Be Granted 95% of the Time – Reason.com:

• Such a high approval rate reflects the threat these laws pose to due process and the Second Amendment.

The Colorado legislature's official fiscal analysis of that state's new "red flag" law, which took effect this week, projects that police and "family or household members" will use it to seek gun confiscation orders against people they portray as threats to themselves or others about 170 times a year.
The analysis also assumes that 95 percent of those petitions will be granted...
Such a high approval rate reflects the due process problems with red flag laws, which take away people's Second Amendment rights for a year or more based on vague standards and dubious evidence that judges are not inclined to question because they worry about the potentially deadly consequences of rejecting petitions..."
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