The question was posed: what will El Presidente Big Daddy Obama’s proposed Civilian National Security Force be able to do that the existing National Guard cannot already do?
The answer is, being a “civilian” agency, anything the National Guard and other established military forces are forbidden to do within the borders of our country by the 1876 Posse Comitatus Act.
Well, isn’t THAT a happy little thought now! I shall have to ponder my own expectations of the new president-elect.
First of all, I sincerely thank everyone who participated and bought a book. The surge was hugely successful, as according to Marcher Lord, 172 copies of Summa Elvetica were purchased during those twelve hours. What was especially great about this was that it pushed SE over Marcher Lord’s breakeven point, which significantly increases the possibility that there will be a sequel. In fact, they have already informed me that they would like me to write a second novel in the setting, pending approval of the synopsis.
So thank you, again, for making it possible. I hope you will all enjoy the books when they arrive, and that a few of you will see fit to post your reviews of it on Amazon. Also, if you write a review on your blog, let me know and I’ll be sure to link to it here.
UPDATE – It sounds as if people are beginning to receive their books today.
President-elect Barack Obama is unlikely to radically overhaul controversial Bush administration intelligence policies, advisers say, an approach that is almost certain to create tension within the Democratic Party.
The appointment of Rahm Emmanuel as Chief of Staff wasn’t an actual stab-in-the-back, it only suggested – albeit strongly – that a whole series of betrayals was coming. No libertarian will be the least bit surprised to learn that Obama has no intention of giving up any of the police state powers that President Bush inveigled from the Congress or manufactured ex nihilo by executive order. But there will surely be many civil rights enthusiasts who will be as horrified by this as conservatives were appalled by Bush’s creation of a prescription drug entitlement.
And I look forward to mercilessly reminding conservatives of their idiotic support for the Patriot Acts when Obama begins to find novel uses for them.
113 Black Mouth Curs (3-7-0) 67 Judean Peoples Front (4-6-0)
73 Winston Reverends (3-7-0) 46 Alamo City Spartans (8-2-0)
What a great weekend of football! The NFL in HD, the Vikings beat the Packers, and last but not least, the Meerkats slap around Burns like a red-bearded stepchild.
My grandfather was, in the words of one of the former Marine Corps Commandants, a Marine’s Marine. There’s even an Advanced Squad Leader counter commemorating him in Blood Reef: Tarawa. (It’s only an 8-0, but he was a definite 9-1 in real life.) I’ve never known a man who smiled more easily or more often, and some of the most delightful moments of my life were spent at his home, in his company.
With the exception of his wife, his family, and his God, there was nothing that my grandfather loved more than the Corps, especially his 2nd Marine Division.
So, Happy Birthday, USMC. And may you show yourself faithful and true, even when all others prove false.
The Federal Reserve is refusing to identify the recipients of almost $2 trillion of emergency loans from American taxpayers or the troubled assets the central bank is accepting as collateral. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in September they would comply with congressional demands for transparency in a $700 billion bailout of the banking system. Two months later, as the Fed lends far more than that in separate rescue programs that didn’t require approval by Congress, Americans have no idea where their money is going or what securities the banks are pledging in return.
Keep in mind the amount of data the average American citizen has to turn over just to buy a $50 cell phone or open a bank account. You can’t even withdraw $5,000 of your own money from your savings account without a report being filled out and sent to the FBI, but the Federal Reserve is permitted to not report where $2,000,000,000 is going.
If Obama makes Summers his second pick, after Rahm Emmanuel, that’s basically a message that the neos (neoliberals and neocons) are in the house and they ain’t going anywhere.
One of the main areas that Obama’s supporters are going to get the Bush treatment is with the wars. I see no sign that Obama is going to depart from the Bush administration’s aggressive foreign policy; he may not put it on steroids like McCain would have, but he’s unlikely to withdraw troops from anywhere unless it’s to send them to Pakistan, Kenya, or the Congo.
They’re RELIABLY wrong. Always keep that in mind when Republican squishes like David Brooks offer advice as to how Republicans should go about reclaiming the political power they’ve squandered for the last eight years:
I’m dreaming of the successful presidency this country needs. I’m dreaming of an administration led by Barack Obama, but which stretches beyond the normal Democratic base. It makes time for moderate voters, suburban voters, rural voters and even people who voted for the other guy….
They’ll do things conservatives disagree with, but they’ll also show that they’re not toadies of the liberal interest groups. They’ll insist on merit pay and preserving No Child Left Behind’s accountability standards, no matter what the teachers’ unions say. They’ll postpone contentious fights on things like card check legislation. Most of all, they’ll take significant action on the problems facing the country without causing a mass freak-out among voters to the right of Nancy Pelosi.
On the same weekend Brooks wrote this, Obama’s transition team announced that they’re considering a series of executive orders in order to quickly flush out the influence of the previous administration while bypassing that unnecessary and annoying procedure otherwise known as “the legislative process”. Needless to say, this will almost certainly upset those “conservative” members of the commentariat who waxed enthusiastic about the Bush administration’s expansive view of the unitary executive theory.
UPDATE – Obama’s Chief of Staff confirms the next administration’s intent to push left and push hard: “US President-elect Barack Obama intends to push a comprehensive programme of social and economic reform beyond an immediate emergency stimulus package, Rahm Emanuel, the next White House chief of staff, indicated on Sunday. Mr Emanuel brushed aside concerns that an Obama administration would risk taking on too much when it takes office in January. He said Mr Obama saw the financial meltdown as an historic opportunity to deliver the large-scale investments that Democrats had promised for years.”
A socialist seeing historic opportunity in financial crisis? That would certainly be new. At least Americans can console themselves that Obama appears to be more of an international socialist than a national one.
48 Judean Peoples Front (4-5-0) 46 Masonville Marauders (3-5-1)
Big trade this week between the Meerkats and the Reverends. I traded two of my keepers, Peyton Manning and Colston, plus Frank Gore, for Kurt Warner, Clinton Portis, and DeSean Jackson. It looks like a dumb trade for me on paper, but Gore is the only one who has done anything for me this year, I didn’t need Portis this week, and having two pairs of WRs from Green Bay and New Orleans was a bit much. I may regret Colston, but I’m confident that I don’t need Manning, who I suspect is more seriously injured than is commonly understood. With a bad line, an aging Marvin Harrison and a departing Tony Dungy, I’m not confident that he’ll continue to be the superlative fantasy QB he’s been for the last three years, whereas I think Aaron Rodgers/Greg Jennings/Ryan Grant show real promise of becoming the Manning/Harrison/James of the future.
In the meantime, I’ll start Warner this week against a bad SF defense and either trade him before the deadline for a top WR to a team that’s interested or start him when I don’t like Rodger’s matchups.
UPDATE – Holy cats! We didn’t have the Vikes-Packers this week, so I finally broke down and got the NFL Game Pass. I went for the HD version, which is remarkably better than last year’s streamed video. It’s really an excellent solution for NFL fans outside the USA; I know more than one friend who would actually prefer this to the much-beloved Ticket. Here’s an unretouched screen cap from last week’s game against the Texans that shows how unbelievable the quality really is:
UPDATE – No matter how this game ends, you absolutely have to love Adrian Peterson. Forget his superlative talent, the man simply will not quit!
As if most American 401ks hadn’t already taken a serious blow:
Democrats in the U.S. House have been conducting hearings on proposals to confiscate workers’ personal retirement accounts — including 401(k)s and IRAs — and convert them to accounts managed by the Social Security Administration. Triggered by the financial crisis the past two months, the hearings reportedly were meant to stem losses incurred by many workers and retirees whose 401(k) and IRA balances have been shrinking rapidly.
I’m sort of curious. Should this be taken as an indication that these Democrats never previously consider the possibility that the stock markets – or even the stocks held in any specific 401k plan – might go down? I doubt it. Most likely, they’re merely being opportunistic. Although, as pessimistic as I am about stocks, one of the few things I’d actually value less is the vague promise of a future stipend from the federal government.
