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On this date in 1862, the first naval battle between two ironclad ships took place as the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia fought to a draw over the course of three hours in the Battle of Hampton Roads near Chesapeake Bay. The battle changed naval warfare practices around the world almost immediately, as naval powers started constructing ironclad ships and incorporating other advances seen in the battle into the new ships in their navies.

I had a dream last night in which Barack Obama was wearing a helmet and carrying a lance like the fictional character Don Quixote who had a reputation for attacking make believe foes. The only other clothing Obama had on was swimming trunks. He was riding a horse that had a remarkable resemblance to John Kerry As he moved his lance up and down he was chanting: "we must stop global warming." He continued to chant as the reading on the thermometer dropped below freezing and he began turning blue. He continued chanting "we must stop global warming" as the...

President Obama just ordered yet another delay of ObamaCare, to hide its damage till after the 2016 election. Clearly, Democrats don’t want it, Republicans hate it, and the American people despise it – yet it remains the law. So I have a simple suggestion. Congress should unanimously vote to delay ObamaCare till after the 3016 election. The logic is impeccable. A thousand years should be enough time for the Republicans to get their act together (if we get lucky). And by 3016, even Nancy Pelosi will have retired, assuming she ran out of bat blood transfusions. Democrats can still boast...

Is Muslim Child Marriage coming to the entire world? Muslims say that Sharia Law will be implemented very soon in all countries, as soon as their populations grow...No one can stop this... I've already seen a similar message defending Muhammad's taking of a Jewish 9 year old girl as bride as that of being customary of his day. This image here below of what purportedly seems to be a legitimate public service announcement in England in the promotion of Muslim men taking underage girls as wives is difficult to interpret. At first sight it seems to be a straight forward...

Little new information escapes from Venezuela, beyond that protests and repression by the Chavista/Cuban regime continue.As Daniel reported today (Saturday), the Organization of American States (OAS) produced a resolution about the situation in Venezuela. The regime scores because not only the OAS will not send any mission or observation, not only the OAS will not go beyond an exhortation but the OAS also writes "Its appreciation, full support, and encouragement for the initiatives and the efforts of the democratically-elected Government of Venezuela ...". there is an "and" after that to include other sectors but the first part is the one...

Looking to buy a book or books that accurately and honestly cover the life of George Washington. Something I can find on Amazon. Any comments why you liked the book would be appreciated. Thanks

The true extent of Barack Hussein Obama’s stupidity and bluster is on full display as he and Vladimir Putin face off over the Ukraine. For Russia is there and Obama is not. And the community organizer’s talk is cheap to a man of action. This Administration is failing to dissuade the Russian incursion to the Crimean region because they are Ivy League educated and therefore ignorant of the history and the relationship between Russia and Ukraine Russia and the Ukraine have been linked for centuries. Their histories and culture are tightly intertwined, beginning in the late 9th to the mid-13th...

On this day in 1788, Federalist Paper No. 65 is published. Publius discusses the Senate’s role in impeachment/conviction of executive officers. Why do I suspect just a few of you are interested in this paper?! Publius notes the inherent difficulties in prosecuting the “misconduct of public men” or the “abuse or violation of some public trust.” Finding a “well-constituted court for the trial of impeachments” is difficult, to say the least! The “passions of the whole community” are stirred. People take sides, and these sides may align with pre-existing political parties. “[I]n such cases,” Publius concludes, “there will always be...

"Roads to Moscow" World War II history in the song Song on You Tube: Roads to Moscow by Al Stewart Lyric: They crossed over the border, the hour before dawn Moving in lines through the day Most of our planes were destroyed on the ground where they lay Waiting for orders we held in the wood Word from the front never came By evening the sound of the gunfire was miles away Ah, softly we move through the shadows, slip away through the trees Crossing their lines in the mists in the fields on our hands and on our knees...

I just wrote an article which is a companion piece to one I did last year on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the role of gun ownership in the civil rights movement. I found more archival material that was fascinating, along with a couple of excellent video clips - one from the National Black Chamber of Commerce and another one with Otis McDonald, the McDonald of the landmark recent SCOTUS ruling McDonald vs Chicago speaking to a sympathetic Black member of the Illinois State Legislature. I'm providing a link to the full article. I know the usual marginal complainers...

Friday, March 07, 2014 Friday Afternoon Roundup - Weakness is the New Strength Posted by Daniel Greenfield @ the Sultan Knish blog WEAKNESS IS THE NEW STRENGTH The progressive spin is that Putin’s invasion, as the Center for American Progress put it, is “an act of weakness, not strength — an act, as Kerry aptly characterized it, anachronistic in both moral and strategic terms… fundamentally mismatched to 21st century realities.” In the upside down world of progressive soft power, invading another country is an act of weakness while being unable to do anything about it is an act of strength....

On March 7, 1945, the first soldiers of the United States Army captured and crossed the Ludendorff Bridge, one of the few remaining bridges over the Rhine, entering Germany for the first time during World War II. The bridge withstood numerous attempts by German forces to destroy it until March 17, when it collapsed suddenly into the Rhine. By then, American forces were moving over other pontoon bridges steadily into their established bridgehead in Germany.

Thursday, March 06, 2014 It Takes a Rogue Nation to Stop a Rogue State Posted by Daniel Greenfield @ the Sultan Knish blog The international community looked into Putin's eyes and blinked. Multilateralism has failed as badly as it did in the days of the League of Nations, but then again it never actually worked. The international order that everyone pretends is a real force in world affairs is really the United States and a few partners doing all the work and letting the diplomats and bureaucrats of the world pretend that they matter. Without America, the United Nations would...

You Tube:An Inspirational Speech by Ronald Reagan; His First Inaugural Address on January 20, 1981

The Battle Of The Alamo took place on March 6, 1836, following a siege which began on February 23rd. In the battle, which lasted less than an hour, 189 Texas defenders inflicted more than 600 casualties (dead and wounded) on General Santa Anna's army before finally being overrun and eventually killed. "Remember the Alamo" was the battle cry as Texas avenged the defeat later in the year and eventually gained their independence. Today we honor the memories of the brave men who defended the Alamo and inspired a nation.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said Wednesday's rejection of a nominee for the Justice Department revealed a racial "double standard." Harkin said the Republican opposition to Debo Adegbile, President Obama's choice to lead Justice's Civil Rights division, was hypocritical, given their support for Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, who had defended convicted criminals before joining the bench. “Here is the message we sent today: if you’re a young white person and you go to work for a law firm, you’re a lawyer sworn into the bar … and a law firm assigns you to defend a person who killed eight people...

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. . . And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem, Connecticut to be born? (1) -- William Butler Yeats' "The Second Coming," (2) edited for the 21st Century by Mike Vanderboegh. Lt. J. Paul Vance Public Information Officer Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection & the Connecticut State Police 1111 Country Club Road Middletown,...

Buried in the LA Times Entertainment section is some interesting news about the Maersk Alabama, the ship that was attacked by Somali pirates early in the Obama Presidency.  In the last paragraph of the article, it is casually mentioned that the ship was attacked three more times in the next two years!  From the LA Times: But while Phillips' story -- and by extension, "Captain Phillips" -- had a happy ending, the Maersk Alabama has not been so fortunate, facing further pirate assaults in recent years. The ship was attacked a second time in 2009, again in 2010 and...

Life in a world of fantasy can often be pleasant for small children. For adults, it is far more dangerous.On March 2nd, the Editorial Board of the often left-leaning Washington Post published an editorial titled President Obama’s foreign policy is based on fantasy. It was not written by a "right wing nut." According to a sidebar, Editorials represent the views of The Washington Post as an institution, as determined through debate among members of the editorial board. News reporters and editors never contribute to editorial board discussions, and editorial board members don’t have any role in news coverage. [Emphasis added.] The editorial...

I'm not exactly sure how Vladimir Putin intends to retain what credibility he ever had by lying to our faces when we know better, i.e. that the Kremlin didn't send troops into the Crimean peninsula- but another thing we can see with our own two eyes is that the Russians likely intended to move into as much Ukrainian territory as possible, and likely take the whole country.   They probably counted on the Ukrainians providing them an excuse to get violent, but due to incredible discipline and restraint they've yet to fire a shot at the Russians... the easy gains are done......

On Sunday, Secretary of State John Kerry appeared on CBS's "Face the Nation" to respond to Russia's invasion of the Crimea region of Ukraine. "You just don't in the 21st century behave in 19th century fashion by invading another country on completely trumped up pretext," Kerry stated. He added, "It's an incredible act of aggression. It is really a stunning, willful choice by President (Vladimir) Putin to invade another country." So, what would the United States do about Russian aggression? America would consider dropping its scheduled attendance at the G8 meeting in Sochi, Kerry said: "He is not going to...

Tuesday, March 04, 2014 A Maddow in MSNBCland Posted by Daniel Greenfield @ the Sultan Knish blog Liberal media succeeds best when it isn’t identified as such. The reason for that can be seen in numerous polls where Americans of both parties identify themselves with conservative values. The left is adept at selling its agenda through biased mainstream media coverage, but when it discards the disguise of objectivity on radio or television the end result is shrill, irritating and off-putting. The playwright and director David Mamet achieved an epiphany while listening to NPR. Unfortunately for NPR the epiphany was that...

North Korea has nukes and Iran either has them or is working diligently to get them. That's easier now that sanctions have been diminished and Iran is "open for business." China is becoming more aggressive and so is Russia. Yet Climate Change is said to be the greatest threat we face. Should we care about places, people and what they do closer to home? An article by Michael Ledeen at PJ Media titled It’s the War, You Dolt observes, For those who actually want to see the world plain, the global network is luminously clear, from North Korea and China to...

When the UAW failed miserably in Chattanooga and was not able to unionize the Volkswagen plant, even with a staked deck, it started a chain reaction and the next domino has fallen. The news that the AFL-CIO has decided to keep its money and not even try to save three Southern Democrat Senators comes as no real shock. The powerful union reviewed the polls and the political climate in North Carolina, Louisiana and Arkansas and decided backing the Democrats in these states would be throwing good money after bad. The decision left Democrat Senators Mark Pryor in Arkansas, Mary Landrieu...

 I guess that was easy to say when Moscow's toady Viktor Yanukovych was doing just as the Kremlin told him to- she made this hollow promise to him -and all other Ukrainians- at a press conference in Kiev just 3-1/2 years ago...   Other BS laid on them by Lil Ms Whatdifferencedoesitmake:   "We support European Union integration"   "...we... support a relationship with Russia that is in Ukraine’s interest that helps to further what President Obama has called the resetting of relations with Russia."   "Some have tried to force Ukrainians into a choice between aligning your country with Russia or with the...

    More at Reaganite Republican...     (Photo Kyiv Post)    

March 3, 2013 LINCOLN SIGNS THE FEDERAL CONSCRIPTION ACT March 3, 1863 (Tuesday)Though the Confederacy has been heralded as the bastion for states rights pretty much since the war ended, they had been the first “federal� government to impose a nationwide draft. By this point in the war, the Southern draft had been in effect for nearly a year, undergoing many changes, mostly involving wealthy people being excepted from it. For a time, the North seemed not to need one. Enrollment had been great for much of the early war, but over the summer of 1862, when Lincoln called for...

This post is about the rank hypocrisy we see in the West. And self-destructive hypocrisy. We don't criticize our enemies. Instead, we try to force the surrender of our allies. Thus the title, Chicken Kiev. The immediate setting is of course the Ukraine but this has happened before. During the 1970's through 1990's college campuses and other fashionable places were full of anti-apartheid movements. Since 2005 this has been replaced by anti-Israel "BDS" movement. At various times similar groups have championed more obscure causes such as rights of American Indians. The facts in these various situations are confusing and somewhat...

Otherwise, rump Ukraine will simply shut the taps...         h/t FReeper Meatloaf

On this day, March 3, 1931, the Star-Spangled Banner was officially adopted as the national anthem of the United States, more than 100 years after it was first written by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812. Today, we raise the 15-star flag used in the Battle of Fort McHenry which was the inspiration for Key's poem and eventual anthem. We also honor Florida, which became the 27th state in the Union in 1845, after being purchased from Spain in 1819.

 Quickly out-numbered and out-gunned, other military checkpoints and border crossings/bases in the Ukrainian-since-1954 Crimea were disarmed by unmarked Russian troops that came pouring over the border this weekend, with all significant facilities are encircled. The newly-appointed head of the Ukranian Navy (his Crimean office surrounded/electricity cut-off) felt obliged to defect to the newly-formed, pro-Russian "Independent Republic of the Crimea" as well. But that is not at all the case for an Ukrainian Marine base at Feodosia, where yesterday the commander of the elite troops -upon being handed an ultimatum- "politely but firmly" told the Russians to "get lost"... "We gave an oath to the state of Ukraine,...

Sunday, March 02, 2014 The Coming Collapse of the Welfare State Posted by Daniel Greenfield @ the Sultan Knish blog In 1935, the year that FDR signed the Social Security Act into law, the birth rate was 18.7 per 1,000. In 1940, when the first monthly check was issued, it had gone up to 19.4. By 1954, when Disability had been added, the birth rate at the heart of the Baby Boom stood at 25.3. In a nation of 163 million people, 4 million babies were being born each year. By 1965, when Medicare was plugged in, the birth rate...

Born on this date in 1793, Sam Houston was governor of Tennessee, president of the Republic of Texas twice, and later senator and governor of the state of Texas, and a leader in the war of independence between Texas and Mexico. Today we raise the flag of Texas in his honor.

Join our young campaign volunteer as he learns about the latest cause célèbre of the hard Left: the restoration of voting rights for felons... Pavel Syerov Jr. had been away at college, so he hadn’t stopped by the 51st Ward Party Headquarters in quite awhile. But he was home for the weekend, doing errands for his folks, when he found himself driving past Headquarters, and noticed that he had time to kill. He had a daunting essay to write for his Comparative Political Science class the next week, and writer’s block had hit; perhaps stopping by to see Pockets and...

In World War II, the U.S. and the U.K. aligned with the Soviet Union and Josef Stalin against a much greater threat – the Nazis, who were allies with the Muslim Brotherhood. Imagine a threat so grave that the U.S. had to form an alliance with a nation headed by one of the world’s most notorious mass murderers. The decision of the Obama administration to ally with that Nazi partner notwithstanding, the U.S. may one day have to revive an old alliance of necessity.

Condoleezza Rice specialized in US-Russia relations. Kerry specialized in bad mouthing his country and military and is now mired in Israeli-Palistianian issues -- trying to force Obama's way. Condi should be asked to become a special Envoy and sent to Russia to help slow things down.

I have heard for years that we are now living in a post Christian America, and after looking at our culture, I would have to agree. Since nature abhors a vacuum, U.S. citizens have been seeking other forms of worship as opposed to the faith of our fathers. I can think of no other object of devotion that attracts greater adoration today than sodomy, as the Bible calls it. Judge Robert Bork, who wrote Slouching Toward Gomorrah, must have had an idea that the United States would soon be Reclining In Gomorrah, hence his objections to the obvious decline...

Saturday, March 01, 2014 The Price of Progress - The Poor Will Always Be With Us Posted by Daniel Greenfield @ the Sultan Knish blog "If the poor didn't exist, we would have to invent them," Pogue said, spooning kneaded balls of raw spinach into his mouth. Pogue was Anson's superior though the term no longer existed in the workplaces of the Community. Pogue was the Coordinator and Anson was the Organizer which amounted to the same thing. In its drive for income equality, the Community had set the same base pay for everyone with added bonuses determined by a...

The Hidden USSR Commentary of 24 February 2014 Last week Tennent “Pete” Bagley passed away. He was an important person in CIA history, especially in terms of the unraveling of American intelligence which began in the 1960s – an unraveling that brings us to the present crisis which is playing itself out in Kiev and Washington. As of today, a war has broken out in Eastern Europe between “the hidden Soviet Union,” as Boris Chykulay calls it, and the Ukrainian people. It is a war that has reached critical mass, with far-reaching ramifications.

Remember When Ronald Reagan Was in Congress?… Yeah, You’re Not Alone Posted by Jim Hoft on Saturday, March 1, 2014, 1:10 PM The Democrat Party tweeted this out yesterday. They want to raise the minimum wage like when Reagan was in Congress. Except that Ronald Reagan never was in Congress.

Exactly 70 years ago – on February 24, 1942 – 19-year-old David Stoliar terrifyingly clung to bobbing debris in the Black Sea. At first he heard screams in the frigid waters but the voices died down. It eventually emerged that Stoliar was the sole survivor of the Struma, an un-seaworthy vessel chuck-full of frantic Jewish refugees. World War II was already in fever pitch. Against the enormity of the then-unfolding Holocaust, the loss at sea of 768 Jewish lives (103 of them babies and children) was at most blithely overlooked as a marginal annotation. Moreover, although these Jews fled the...

Is nationalism a good thing or a bad thing? Some people say that nationalism is bad, whereas patriotism is good. In the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, "patriotism" is defined as love for one's country or devotion for it, even to the point of sacrifice. It seems that there is no excess of patriotism in this sense, as it's always positive. The Merriam-Webster gives this example of use of the term: "You may not agree with him politically, but no one can question his patriotism." The two examples offered by the same source for "nationalism", on the other hand, are: "The war...

March 1, 2014 National Pig Day – 2014 PORKOPOLIS On an internet known for plenty of spam and pale ink, Porkopolis.org remains a noble mainstay and faithful guardian of the appreciation of this Republic’s, and indeed the world’s, pandemonius plethora of pigs. Porkopolis.org stands as part of a brother and sisterhood of swineherds and scholars; pig pundits and porktologists; bourgeois pigs, breeders and bacon laureates; pigmatists and pigamists who all refute the sentiment “of any pork in a storm.� Instead, we hail the great intelligence, amenable disposition, self-reliance and down right savoriness of the pig. Swinedom is to be admired...

The shooting occurred on October 19, 2012, at about 2:44 am and was a classic case of self defense and castle doctrine.   The deceased was a violent convict that had a long history of crime and fighting, and had alcohol, cocaine, and Oxycodone in his system when he was shot. His relatives complained vigorously when they found out that he was shot, claiming that "they did not have to shoot him". On June 27, 2013, it was reported that Jack Dillon would not be charged.   A grand jury had determined that his decision to shoot Jeffrey Carson fell within...

Friday, February 28, 2014 Friday Afternoon Roundup - Help Educate a Liberal Posted by Daniel Greenfield @ the Sultan Knish blog THE HEARTLAND OF ISLAM Kafa’ah, equality in marriage, is used to establish that both sides are free from the “taint” of slave blood. The blood of Takruni, West African slaves, or Mawalid, slaves who gained their freedom by converting to Islam, is kept out of the Saudi master race through genealogical records that can be presented at need. Challenges to the Kafa’ah of a marriage occur when tribal members uncover African descent in the husband or the wife after...

RUSH: Salon.com. This is a huge piece here. This prints out to six pages. "Why You're Wrong About Communism: 7 Huge Misconceptions About It (and Capitalism) -- Most of what Americans think they know about capitalism and communism is total nonsense," and as I read through this... I'm not gonna read the whole thing to you, but we will link to it at RushLimbaugh.com. As you read through this, if you take the time to do it, this could very easily be the kind of gobbledygook that's being taught in college. "As the commentary around the recent deaths of Nelson...

Wednesday, February 26, 2014 The End of the World Powers Posted by Daniel Greenfield @ the Sultan Knish blog 60 years ago an uprising in the Ukraine would have been met with machine guns fired from behind the armor of Communist ideology. With the fall of the USSR, Russia didn’t have much of an ideology to deploy against Ukrainian nationalism. It accused the protesters of being fascists, an accusation with some truth to it, but not one that anyone will take seriously coming from another fascist regime. Putin tried to replace Communism’s international agents of influence by cobbling together a...

Fear not, Christian wedding service providers. As many of you are concerned that your faith may soon be tested at your front door when you are presented with an offer you dare not refuse. The legal fees and public pressure soon to follow may put you out of business. As a person experienced in this field (wedding photography), there is a strategy to deal with this.

 Travis County, Texas, the home of the State Capitol, Austin, is one of the most "progressive" areas of the state.  The county commissioners have shown that they have no respect for constitutional rights, and would like to ban gun shows in the county if they could.   They attempted to use contract law to weasel around the limitations placed on them by federal and state law.  But, they have been a bit conflicted, because to do so would significantly reduce revenues to the County.   Their politically correct pandering has had a result, whether they desire it or not.  It has...

Use of Silencers is encouraged in Europe Photo Courtesy Gun World Gun mufflers, also known as suppressors or silencers, have been approved for hunting in Georgia by the Senate. The bill passed the senate 43-10.  SB 93 will be considered by the house next.  A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Part 1 of Article 1 of Chapter 3 of Title 27 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions regarding hunting, so as to authorize the use of suppressors on hunting firearms under certain circumstances; to provide for suspension of hunting privileges for...