Finally – a bit of sanity from a Federal court. And out of the that bastion of conservative thought called Massachusetts, no less.
Court denies inmate’s sex-change surgery
Looks like someone we all “know and love” just might to have to wait a while for that “snip and clip” surgery and genderbender drug therapy. And – horror of horrors – maybe even pay for it out of pocket.
Today is the 70th anniversary of the beginning of Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein – or, as it’s more commonly referred to in the US, the Battle of the Bulge. At 0530 (local time) on 16 December 1944, German forces in the Ardennes began a general offensive against American forces in northeastern Europe. The fighting was to last until 25 January 1945 – a total of forty-one days.
The German operational objective was to capture the Belgian port of Antwerp. The strategic objective was to split British and US forces, cutting off the former in Belgium and the Netherlands, in hopes of causing the Western Allies to make a separate peace with Germany.
From the beginning, the German offensive was a desperate gamble – some German commanders gave it only a 10% chance of success. However, at that point in the war the German high command felt they really had no choice. A continued defensive posture was viewed only as a way of prolonging eventual defeat.
Due to a combination of missed indicators and overconfidence on the part of Allied commanders, German forces achieved near-complete operational and strategic surprise. That the offensive failed is due IMO largely to two factors. The first was the generally weakened state of German forces (due to massive prior losses in France and on the Eastern Front) at that point in the war. Had the Germans had stronger forces available, they possibly would have achieved their operational objective of Antwerp. (Whether that would have induced the US and UK to seek a separate peace with Germany is an open question.)
The second reason for the German offensive’s failure was determined early resistance by US forces – at Elsenborn Ridge during the battle’s opening days, and in the much better-known (but probably less decisive) defense of Bastogne beginning somewhat later – prevented a German breakout. These determined defensive stands irreparably disrupted and delayed the German offensive, buying US forces sufficient time to react and contain it. German forces indeed forced a large salient in US lines – famously referred to as a “bulge” – but were unable to achieve a breakout to the English Channel and Antwerp.
By Christmas 1944, the initial German advance in the Ardennes had been stopped. Over the next six weeks, German forces were forced back to their original lines at the beginning of the offensive.
The Germans tried again in early January to continue their offense via operations against the US 7th Army in Alsace, which had sent troops to reinforce US forces farther north. German forces achieved some initial success in this supporting effort. However, it was also contained. By late January, this supporting offensive also had ended.
The Battle of the Bulge was the largest fought by US forces during World War II. It was also the most costly in human terms. Multiple published totals for US casualties exist, ranging from nearly 90,000 (including 19,000 killed and 23,000+ missing) to over 108,000 (including 19,000+ killed and 26,000+ missing). German casualties were on the same order as US casualties; official German casualty figures for the battle totaled 84,834.
The Battle of the Bulge was almost an exclusively American-German battle. British casualties numbered 1,408: 200 killed, 969 wounded, and 239 missing.
The battle’s effect on German forces in the Western theater was near-catastrophic. The battle depleted German theater reserves, and Germany could not adequately replace them. These losses doubtless hastened the end of World War II in Europe.
As you go about your activities today, take time to remember 70 years ago. It’s history worth remembering.
Remember that vaunted “economic stimulus” package from several years ago? You know, that one rammed through Congress by the naive DC clown krewe current Administration that was going to lassez les bontemps rouler again, economy-wise? And which hasn’t exactly worked out all that well?
The 2009 economic stimulus program has been widely derided as ineffective. Many of those “shovel-ready” projects you heard about were anything but. Critics called many of the projects funded by the program “make work”, “pork”, or “crap”. And it looks like they were dead on target.
However, in spite of the ineffectiveness of the program those stimulus funds apparently are still around (and we wonder why we’ve been having budget deficits approaching or over $1 trillion annually). And today we have a new stimulus-funded project that’s truly shovel-ready.
It’s a contract issued by the Bureau of Land Management to haul off horse and burro manure.
The contract has one base year and four option years. It will likely be in effect until 2019.
What a load of horsesh!t. Literally.
And we’re the ones paying for it.
Metropolitan State University is in Denver, CO. It promotes itself as “a top choice for active-duty military and veterans to pursue higher education”.
It also has one each Charles Angeletti as a professor. He teaches at least one class – American Civilization.
Angeletti seems somewhat opinionated. Here are some of Angeletti’s thoughts on the USA: “We’re very racist, we’re very repressive, we’re very Christian oriented, we don’t tolerate other kinds of thinking in this country.”
As you might have guessed, Angeletti isn’t exactly conservative in his political leanings. That’s reportedly apparent in the way he teaches his classes, too.
Here’s a sample of how Angeletti teaches his American Civilization class. It’s something he reportedly has his students memorize and recite – his modified version of the Pledge of Allegiance.
“I pledge allegiance to and wrap myself in the flag of the United States Against Anything Un-American. And to the Republicans for which it stands, two nations, under Jesus, rich against poor, with curtailed liberty and justice for all except blacks, homosexuals, women who want abortions, Communists, welfare queens, treehuggers, feminazis, illegal immigrants, children of illegal immigrants, and you, if you don’t watch your step.”
(Apparently Angeletti also isn’t particularly bright either, notwithstanding the fact that he’s a college professor. In particular, Angeletti apparently isn’t bright enough to figure out that if America really was as intolerant as he claims he’d not be allowed to spew his brand of idiocy in publicl.)
I’m thinking that Angeletti’s moronic screed above – which is so poorly written that it isn’t even internally consistent regarding the point Angeletti’s attempting, abysmally badly, to make – is going to resonate with those active duty personnel and veterans that Metropolitan State University claims to want as students. But I’m also thinking it won’t resonate in precisely the way that Dr. Ivory Tower Numbnuts here wants.
Look, I’m all for academic freedom. But I do have a problem seeing public taxes pay someone to advocate blatantly false political propaganda as truth, and for teaching monumental idiocy. And make no mistake about it: if Metropolitan State students are getting any Pell grants or Federally guaranteed student loans – or are using VA benefits to attend the school – you and I are helping pay for this idiocy.
Per the linked Fox News story, “Officials at Metropolitan State University of Denver did not immediately return requests for comment.”
I trust everyone reading this saw Jonn’s article about SFC Alwyne Cashe the other day. If not, you need follow the link and read it – now – along with the LA Times article to which Jonn links.
While I trust that the Army will eventually do the right thing, that’s not a lock. Even then, doing the right thing may take a long time unless there’s significant external interest in the matter.
With that latter, maybe there is something we can do to help.
One thing that the Five Sided Asylum seems to notice is inquiries from Congress. And one thing that Congress seems to notice is stuff that makes the mainstream press. Hell, most Members of Congress appear to pray daily at the Altar of the Media Gods.
Well, SFC Cashe’s story has now hit one of the larger media outlets. So, tell me: what do you suppose would happen if a large number of Congressional Representatives and Senators started receiving mail from their constituents consisting of a polite letter asking them to look into SFC Cashe’s case – with a copy of that article attached? (I’ve archived a copy in the event it ages off the LA Times’ website.)
I can’t say for sure whether that would make a difference. But I’d guess that if the Pentagon gets forty or fifty inquiries from different Representatives and Senators, they just might decide to move out smartly – if for no other reason than to “stop the pain”.
This link seems to be a good source of contact information for Members of Congress. (E-mail contact is found by clicking the state; you have to click individual names next to get “snail mail” addresses.) I’ve also taken the liberty of drafting a sample letter to Congress as a starting point. You can download the draft text for a letter here. You’ll need to format/alter it to suit your own ‘druthers and situation.
The above link for Congressional contact info has both electronic and USPS contact information. However, if you decide to send your Senators and/or Representative correspondence and can afford to do so, I’d suggest going the hardcopy route – or maybe doing both. I understand hardcopy still gets more “weight” in Congressional offices these days.
Again, this might or might not do any good. But IMO, it’s certainly worth a shot.
I can’t say I’m a huge fan of the Military Times family of publications. But on occasion, they manage to provide worthwhile military-related news.
Their website yesterday published an article titled “America’s Military: A Force Adrift”. The article is long, and I’m not going to try to summarize it here. As is often the case, IMO the Times here perhaps exaggerates things a bit, and accentuates the negatives.
Still, IMO the article seems fairly accurate – and informative.
Suffice it to say that it doesn’t really tell us anything most of here don’t already know. Short version: morale in the military has taken a major hit since 2009, for various reasons. Today, it’s in the toilet. And Soldiers/Sailors/Airmen/Marines expect things to get worse – almost certainly for good reason.
Recommended reading, and IMO definitely worth your time.
(Hat tip to the Drudge Report for pointing me at the linked article.)
Seems that a foreign-born, 35-year-old engineer has been arrested by the FBI. The charge; attempting to provide design and vulnerability information concerning the Navy’s most advanced carrier currently under construction to a foreign government.
It gets even better. The guy apparently immigrated and became a citizen fairly recently – he appears to have begun the process of attaining US citizenship in 2007. But it looks like he must have worked fast; he apparently was granted a security clearance fairly recently.
Luckily, the “foreign agent” to whom the guy provided the info he’d obtained was an FBI undercover agent. So perhaps we dodged a proverbial bullet here.
Unfortunately, the bastard isn’t facing the death penalty. He’s facing two charges, each of which have a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison. That’s . . . unfortunate. IMO, he should be looking at hanging – but I’d have settled for a needle instead.
Both Fox News and the Washington Times have articles giving more details. They’re IMO worth reading.
Interestingly, I’m not finding much else about this in the rest of the media. I wonder if the fact that the guy was born in Saudi Arabia – and was trying to provide the information to the government of Egypt – might have something to do with that?
I guess spying on behalf of an Islamic nation must not be news. And that a recently-naturalized individual from a country with a huge Islamic extremist population applying for a security clearance during a time when we’re at war with Islamic extremists doesn’t merit enhanced scrutiny. Even if he’s from the country that, well, provided almost all of the terrorist bastards that perpetrated the 9/11 attacks.
I swear, at times I think some folks working for the Five Sided Asylum really are crazy. Or perhaps simply have the intellect of a rock with lips.
Seventy-three years ago at the time of this article’s publication – 1248 UCT-5, AKA Eastern Standard Time; or 0748 UTC-10, AKA Hawaii-Aleutian Time – the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor began. That attack (along with Germany and Italy’s declaration of war on the USA four days later) led to the USA’s formal entry into World War II.
In human terms, the cost of the attack was substantial, but perhaps lower than you might first think. A total of 2,535 individuals (2,403 US military, 68 civilians, and 64 Japanese military) were killed during the attack. Wounded totaled 1,218 – 1,178 US military and 35 civilians. One Japanese sailor – ENS Kazuo Sakamaki – was taken POW.
As Jonn’s article earlier today indicated, however, the physical and psychological effects of the attack were massive. The Navy’s Pacific Fleet was severely damaged; only great good luck (all US Pacific carriers were at sea or otherwise away from Pearl on 7 December, and the Japanese inexplicably chose not to target the oil storage facilities at Pearl – plus the incredibly one-sided engagement at Midway six months later) allowed us to contest the Pacific during the first year or so of the war.
The psychological effect of the attack was perhaps even greater. Yamamoto was correct in fearing that the attack on Pearl “awakened a great, sleeping giant”. The “terrible resolve” part of his observation was likewise true – and was manifested in the massive destruction inflicted on the Japanese homeland and civilian fleet during the latter parts of the war.
The passage of time and subsequent events have healed most wounds from that day. Rather than enemies, the US and Japan are today firm allies. Time has also claimed the majority of those who fought at Pearl Harbor on both sides. It has dulled both societies’ memories of that day as well.
Still: as you go about your activities this Sunday, perhaps find time to pause. Take time to remember another Sunday exactly 73 years ago today. If you’re so inclined, say a prayer for those lost that day.
And while you’re at it, maybe add a second prayer – that we never again see such an event. Twice has been two times too often.