Air Force Finally Gives Up On Trying To Kill The A-10

January 16th, 2016

Remember last year’s story about how the Air Force was trying to kill the A-10 Warthog, with one now-cashiered general saying airmen talking to congress about saving the venerable plane was “treason?”

Well it appears that the Air Force has finally given up on attempts to kill America’s most effective tank-killing aircraft:

The U.S. Air Force is reportedly scrapping what has become an annual attempt to retire the A-10 Thunderbolts from the fiscal 2017 budget request being drawn up.

Maj. Melissa J. Milner, an Air Force spokeswoman on budget matters, said Wednesday she could not comment on the Defense One report that the Cold War-era attack aircraft had been spared indefinitely, but boosters of the plane affectionately known to ground troops as the “Warthog” hailed the move to keep them in the inventory.

“It appears the administration is finally coming to its senses and recognizing the importance of A-10s to our troops’ lives and national security,” said Rep. Martha McSally, a Republican from Arizona and a retired Air Force colonel who flew the A-10.

“With A-10s deployed in the Middle East to fight ISIS, in Europe to deter Russian aggression, and along the Korean peninsula, administration officials can no longer deny how invaluable these planes are to our arsenal and military capabilities,” said McSally, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, referring to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, also known as ISIL.

For the past three years, the Air Force has sought to begin mothballing the A-10s in favor of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to take over the close air support mission. Each year, the House and Senate have blocked the cuts.

In a statement, Sen. John McCain, a Republican from Arizona and the chairman of the defense panel, said, “I welcome reports that the Air Force has decided to keep the A-10 aircraft flying through Fiscal Year 2017, ensuring our troops have the vital close-air support they need for missions around the world.”

The debate over the A-10s appears to have been shelved as commanders in the Iraq and Syria air war increasingly call upon the Thunderbolts flying out of Incirlik air base in Turkey and other bases in the Mideast for attack missions.

Score a point for the restoration of sanity over institutional antipathy.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Military | 1 Comment »

LinkSwarm for January 15, 2016

January 15th, 2016

We’ll start with a couple by Mark Steyn:

  • “Hillary Clinton is now telling lies about her lies.”
  • Steyn also went to a Trump rally, and discovered how Trump is wowing crowds as an un-politician. “He moved the meter on the ‘war on women’, too. Mrs Clinton pulled out the card, and Trump flung it right back in her face with her sleazy sociopath of a husband’s four decades of abuse against vulnerable women.”
  • “These mostly disgruntled voters are turning away from their Democrat roots.”
  • The puzzling thing about the democrats’ push on gun control: Why gun control, and why now? “Unpopular as it is, gun control may be as good as they’ve got.”
  • Luntz focus group overwhelmingly says that Ted Cruz won last night’s debate.
  • Cruz also won the coveted Duck Dynasty primary.
  • Really, Jeb Bush’s path to victory requires Lindsay Graham’s endorsement? I’m sure in much the same way the Houston Texan’s plans involved Brian Hoyer leading them to the Superbowl…
  • Why Marco Rubio’s campaign is like trying to defend Europe in Risk. Points for geekiness and truth…
  • “The participation of Muslim migrants in the rape jihad is, of course, the fact most desperately suppressed by German officials.”
  • Obama (and Polifact) are lying about guns.
  • Even the New York Times notices that Obama is the best salesman the firearms industry ever had.
  • Now this is an opening paragraph:

    The annual State of the Union pageant is a hideous, dispiriting, ugly, monotonous, un-American, un-republican, anti-democratic, dreary, backward, monarchical, retch-inducing, depressing, shameful, crypto-imperial display of official self-aggrandizement and piteous toadying, a black Mass during which every unholy order of teacup totalitarian and cringing courtier gathers under the towering dome of a faux-Roman temple to listen to a speech with no content given by a man with no content, to rise and to be seated as is called for by the order of worship — it is a wonder they have not started genuflecting — with one wretched representative of their number squirreled away in some well-upholstered Washington hidey-hole in order to preserve the illusion that those gathered constitute a special class of humanity without whom we could not live.

  • How the media distorts and suppresses news to avoid mentioning Muslims involved in rape.
  • Al Jazeera turns out to be every bit as popular as Air America.
  • Jihadists murder 15 at that Satanic outpost of Western imperialism, a polio vaccination center.
  • That Iraqi “refugee” arrested in Houston on terrorism charges is every bit as big a winner as you would expect him to be.
  • Obama Administration blocks visa waiver reform to appease Iran. One wonders what this administration wouldn’t do to appease Iran…
  • China’s debt is $28 trillion? Ho boy, we’re boned…
  • Anglicans suspend communion with Episcopalians for three years over same-sex marriage. This is kind of a big deal. (Hat tip: The Corner
  • Damn Millennials won’t show up to work on time. Or get off my lawn…
  • How Star Wars conquered the galaxy. Or, more specifically, how Star Wars action figures did… (Hat tip: The Goldberg File.)
  • You know, if you’re a sitting Texas Supreme Court Justice running for reelection, it’s probably not going to help you win Texas Republican voters if you do robocalling demonizing Michael Quinn Sullivan. Especially when the call goes to Michael Quinn Sullivan. (Hat tip: Push Junction.)
  • So $200 million for the Playboy mansion, the bunnies aren’t included, and I can’t even kick out Hugh Hefner? What’s the point?
  • Mapping the bushy-tailed menace.

    • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
    Posted in Border Control, Communism, Crime, Democrats, Economics, Elections, Foreign Policy, Guns, Jihad, Media Watch, Republicans | No Comments »

    Remember All That “Peak Oil” Bunk?

    January 14th, 2016

    Remember those predictions of “peak oil” certain economists/ environmentalists were pushing last decade? The idea that oil production would soon peak, supplies would soon dwindle, and gas prices would rise into the stratosphere? (And, not so incidentally, this was the reason we had to hand out billions of dollars in green subsidies for renewable energy to companies that just happened to be connected to Democratic Party bigshots.)

    Back in 2008, I remember a senior New York editor telling me that science fiction convention attendance would continue dwindling because “gas prices will never go down again.” Peak oil was treated as an ironclad inevitability second only to global warming.

    Yeah. Not so much.

    “They’ve been talking about a peak in the global production of oil for the last two decades now and it still hasn’t happened, and I think the reality is that they are going to remain wrong going forward.”

    In fact, thanks to improved technology, fracking, shale oil, and declining demand, quite the opposite has occurred, as a worldwide glut has oil down near $30 a barrel.

    Once again the market has proven much better at adaptation than erroneous neo-Malthusian thinking. Anyone telling you they know exactly how things will unfold should be treated with severe skepticism.

    The future’s not ours to see…

    Tags: , , ,
    Posted in Economics | No Comments »

    Berniemania Overtaking Hillary?

    January 13th, 2016

    Could the facade of inevitability that Hillary Clinton built up crack wide open?

    First comes word that Clinton is almost even with Bernie Sanders nationwide, leading a mere 43% to 39%. (Hat tip: Push Junction.)

    Add to that the fact that the most recent polls in Iowa show the race there tied after Hillary being up some 40 points a few points ago.

    In New Hampshire, recent polls have Sanders up anywhere from 3 to 14 points.

    And even though Clinton has raised more money, Sanders has done very well in fundraising, bringing in $33 million in the final quarter and $73 million for all of 2015. That’s not the fundraising total of someone running a token campaign. A huge number of Democrats (more than 2.3 million of them, a number which surpasses Obama’s 2011 reelection efforts) believe in Sanders enough to donate to his campaign.

    Finally, Sanders just got endorsed by MoveOn.org. The irony here, of course, is that MoveOn was created entirely as a medium for attack proponents of Bill Clinton’s impeachment for lying under oath and obstruction of justice. Given their genesis as an extension of the Clintons, it’s a surprise that MoveOn has moved on from them.

    Hillary’s campaign was always predicated on her supposed inevitability, her fundraising prowess, her supposed viability, and voter familiarity with her due to her extremely high profile. But with a myriad array of ongoing scandals dogging her (Benghazi, her email server, the Clinton Foundation “pay for play” donations, etc.), familiarity seems to have bred contempt among a large number of Democratic Party faithful.

    And one additional scandal not her own, rape and sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby, have brought renewed scrutiny to Bill Clinton’s serial sexual assault and rape allegations, bringing up Hillary’s complicity in smearing Bill’s accusers, as well as turning one of Hillary’s biggest potential assets (having the once-popular 42nd President campaign for her) into a potential liability.

    Finally, 2016 is shaping up to be The Year of the Outsider, when voters on both sides of the political spectrum said “Enough!”, embracing the unscripted bluntness of Donald Trump over the poll-focused banalities so beloved by consultants and the chattering classes. Hillary proved less than overwhelmingly popular with Democratic Party voters in 2008, and there’s precious little reason to believe she’s gotten more popular since then. She’s not a bright fresh face, and she lacks both Obama’s personal magnetism and his unique appeal to both black voters and white liberal guilt.

    If Democratic Party voters decide that Bernie Sanders is a viable candidate, then he’s a viable candidate for the nomination. It may simply come down to the fact that Democrats wish to cast their votes for a candidate without feeling they need to take a shower afterwards.

    Tags: , , , , , , , ,
    Posted in Democrats, Elections, Obama Scandals | No Comments »

    Obama’s Israeli Ambassador Encouraged Palestinian Uprising

    January 12th, 2016

    Hey, what’s encouraging a few dead Palestinians and Israelis when Thomas Pickering has a peace process to pursue?

    Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton considered a secret plan created by her then-advisers to foment unrest among Palestinian citizens and spark protests in order to push the Israeli government back to the negotiating table, according to emails released as part of the investigation into the Democratic presidential frontrunner’s private email server.

    In a Dec, 18, 2011, email, former U.S. ambassador to Israel Thomas Pickering suggested that Clinton consider a plan to restart then-stalled peace negotiations by kickstarting Palestinian demonstrations against Israel.

    Pickering described the effort as a potential “game changer in the region,” recommending that the United States undertake a clandestine campaign to generate unrest. Clinton requested that his email be printed.

    “What will change the situation is a major effort to use non-violent protests and demonstrations to put peace back in the center of people’s aspirations as well as their thoughts, and use that to influence the political leadership,” Pickering wrote.

    Right. Because “Palestinian” and “peaceful protest” so frequently walk hand-in-hand together along the boulevard, enjoying the sun. Remember all that jolly fun in those peaceful protests of the Second Intifada, when some 3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis died?

    And nothing says “trustworthy ally” quite like trying to foment unrest in your ally’s country for political advantage. And not political advantage to the United States, since treaties signed by Palestinians are demonstrably worthless, and the “Middle East Peace Process” is all process and no peace. No, the only entities to benefit from such a treaty would the egos of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Thomas Pickering and other delusional leftists to whom any Middle East treaty is a good treaty, no matter how quickly broken or how disadvantageous to ourselves or our allies.

    It’s still another example of how the Obama Administration prioritizes vainglorious fantasy over the harsh realities of the Middle East, and the self interest of the Democratic Party over the self interest of both Israel and the United States. And of how Obama has turned the respect of our allies and fear from our enemies into contempt from both.

    Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
    Posted in Democrats, Foreign Policy, Jihad | No Comments »

    After $20 Million Down The New Republic Rathole, Chris Hughes Throws In the Towel

    January 11th, 2016

    No one could have possibly seen this coming, except, you know, every single observer who saw it coming:

    The New Republic, the century-old magazine that was rocked a year ago by the mass exodus of its staff following an effort by its owner to make it more digitally focused, is being put up for sale.

    Chris Hughes, a co-founder of Facebook who purchased a majority stake in the struggling title in 2012, said in a staff memo Monday that he had underestimated “the difficulty of transitioning an old and traditional institution into a digital media company in today’s quickly evolving climate,” and would seek to find a new owner.

    “After investing a great deal of time, energy, and over $20 million, I have come to the conclusion that it is time for new leadership and vision at The New Republic,” the memo read.

    Translation: I took a still-important liberal opinion magazine and managed to turn it into a Salon-clone that managed to lose even more money than Salon.

    Also this:

    “Immediately following the tumult, the magazine’s Web traffic declined by more than 50%, according to comScore Inc., and hasn’t risen much in the last year. In November, the site attracted 2.3 million unique visitors, down 38% from the same month a year earlier.”

    Publishing an opinion magazine is an expensive, generally money-losing proposition. William F. Buckley, Jr. kept National Review afloat thanks to regular reader fundraising solicitations and money from his own pocket. This is why we’re willing to give NRO a lot of slack when they keep pushing their wine club and yearly cruises. (This path is of course open to The New Republic, except who on earth would want to be trapped on a boat for two weeks with current TNR writers?)

    The New Republic used to fill an important role as a voice of liberal hetrodoxy, despite the magazine’s general decline over the years. After the shakeup, it no longer fulfilled any important role whatsoever except as a cautionary example of what not to do and a method of sucking money from Chris Hughes’ pockets.

    Now let’s see if Hughes can find another clueless liberal millionaire to keep pouring money down the rathole…

    Tags: , , , , ,
    Posted in Democrats, Media Watch | 1 Comment »

    State Rep. Jason Villalba (R-ino) Garners a Primary Challenger

    January 11th, 2016

    Remember Rep. Jason Villalba, the ostensible Republican responsible for such hits as let’s make it illegal for bloggers and gun owners to photograph the police and I’m going to block my critics on Twitter?

    Well, he’s attracted a Republican primary challenger in Dan Morenoff.

    From his bio:

    Dan Morenoff is an unhyphenated, full-spectrum Conservative who grew up in the suburbs, went to the only public high school in America named for a baseball player, and married a girl who sat next to him in a 7th grade history class.

    He studied economics and political science at Columbia, while running the school’s Conservative newspaper (he believes it was the only one in Manhattan at the time) and working with a think tank on entitlement policy.

    After college, Dan worked again on entitlement reform with Senator Phil Gramm for a number of years,before leaving for law school at the University of Chicago. There, too, Dan led the institution’s leading Conservative organization.

    Since 2001, Dan’s lived in Dallas, where he’s worked as a lawyer and raised three girls with his wife Erica. In that time, Dan has led the local chapters of both the Federalist Society and the Republican Jewish Coalition, while serving on the boards of various local charities (including his kids’ Jewish day school and his synagogue).

    Dan, you had me at “Federalist Society.”

    (Hat tip: Push Junction.)

    Tags: , , , , ,
    Posted in Elections, Republicans, Texas | 2 Comments »

    John Daub Covers The Day That Changed His Life

    January 9th, 2016

    One year after it occurred, John Daub goes over the day that changed his life, when he was forced to shoot and kill a large man breaking down his family’s front door.

    From my perspective, the main thing I remember is hearing my wife screaming for me. Her words were saying there was someone at the door. But the way she said it — the sheer mortal terror in her voice — was something I had never heard out of her in the almost 20 years of our marriage.

    If you’ve been following this blog, then you probably know that the home invader turned out to be an autistic man, and that Daub was eventually no-billed by a grand jury over the well-justified shooting. Daub’s writeup on the incident is well worth reading for it’s insight of real-life self defense scenario unfolds under pressure.

    Tags: , , ,
    Posted in Austin, Crime, Guns | No Comments »

    Astros Hacker Pleads Guilty

    January 8th, 2016

    And as long as we’re doing some crime blotter updates, former St. Louis Cardinals scouting director Christopher Correa pleaded guilty to five counts of hacking into the Houston Astros computers.

    No word on how Major League Baseball will sanction the Cardinals. (I think giving all their 2016 draft picks to the Astros might be sufficient discouragement…)

    And let this be a lesson to you: Don’t reuse your old computer passwords at a new company…

    Tags: , , , , ,
    Posted in Crime | No Comments »

    Shrimp Boy Chow Cooked

    January 8th, 2016

    Via Dwight comes word that Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow has been convicted of all 162 counts against him.

    After all his co-defendents (including California State Democratic Senator Leland Yee) had plead guilty to lesser charges, Chow is the one taking the fall for “arranging the murders of two gang rivals and overseeing crimes ranging from money laundering to drug trafficking.” I’m not able to find a list of all of those 162 charges against him, but presumably that includes the gun-running charge as well.

    Tags: , , , , ,
    Posted in Crime, Democrats | No Comments »

    « Older Entries
    Newer Entries »