Donald Trump Is Bringing Message of Jobs and Trade to Paul Ryan’s Hometown JANESVILLE, Wis. — Donald J. Trump, who has risen to front-runner status in part by channeling anti-establishment rage against Republicans, is kicking off his quest for the support of Wisconsin voters at a rally on Tuesday afternoon in Janesville, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan’s hometown.Here's what I know about Janesville, Wisconsin:
Trump Will Become President, Says Extremely Accurate Statistician His statistical model has only ever been wrong once in 104 years. Helmut Norpoth, a professor of political science at Stony Brook University, has developed a statistical model that predicts a 97 percent to 99 percent chance that Trump will win the 2016 presidential election if he wins the Republican nomination... Norpoth's model has correctly predicted the outcome of every single presidential election since 1912 – save one, the election of 1960, which some believe was rigged. It uses a candidate’s performance in their party’s primary coupled with electoral cycle patterns to determine the likely outcome of the general election.I doubt that the model takes into account just how loathsome Trump is, and hope that this loathsomeness will upset purely statistical considerations.
Pentagon: Senior ISIS Leaders Likely Killed In U.S. Operation Ash Carter said on Friday that the group’s top finance officer and several other top figures were likely killed. WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) - Islamic State’s second in command and other senior leaders were likely killed this week in a major offensive targeting financial operations, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Friday, the latest in a series of setbacks for the militant group.We keep killing senior bad guys. More senior bad guys replace 'em. This "strategy" is NOT WORKING!
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in Manhattan, New York City on March 25, 1911 was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city, and one of the deadliest in US history. The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers – 123 women and 23 men – who died from the fire, smoke inhalation, or falling or jumping to their deaths. Most of the victims were recent Jewish and Italian immigrant women aged 16 to 23; of the victims whose ages are known, the oldest victim was Providenza Panno at 43, and the youngest were 14-year-olds Kate Leone and "Sara" Rosaria Maltese. ... Because the owners had locked the doors to the stairwells and exits – a then-common practice to prevent workers from taking unauthorized breaks and to reduce theft – many of the workers could not escape and jumped from the high windows. The fire led to legislation requiring improved factory safety standards and helped spur the growth of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), which fought for better working conditions for sweatshop workers.Whenever the current GOP rails against intrusive government regulation of the "free market", this is the example I cite. I WANT my government to protect me from rapacious, predatory capitalism!
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” [The Art of War]We ought know ourselves! Who WE are is well-documented:
We the people of the United States, in order toSeems to me many of the GOP candidates are ignorant of this simple creed.form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity,do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. [Preamble to the United States Constitution]
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” [The Art of War]We do NOT know our enemy! I assume that ISIS has a strategic purpose for seemingly random bombings in European capitals. What is it? Simply asserting that ISIS is nihilistic, anarchical, jihadist... well, pick your favorite adjective - this isn't meaningful. What is it that ISIS is looking to accomplish? I don't know the answer to this question, but unless someone figures it out we are unlikely to succeed in this war.
A Pyrrhic victory is a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat.... then there's
The Rumsfeld Doctrine Thomas L. Friedman of the New York Times has referred to the Rumsfeld Doctrine as one of "just enough troops to lose".[The Rumsfeld Doctrine]... and I'm a fan of
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” [The Art of War]We "won" in Afghanistan. We "won" in Iraq. Both these "victories" now look hollow. In both cases we adhered to the "Rumsfeld Doctrine", which comes down to using high-tech weapons systems to avoid the use of "boots on the ground". It doesn't really work to win the peace. Are we, as a nation, willing to commit hundreds of thousands of troops to the Mideast to win the peace? Does anyone have any better suggestions?
Brussels attack: ISIS says it's behind terror that killed 30... to which Ted Cruz responds:
Ted Cruz Wants Police To ‘Patrol And Secure’ U.S. Muslim Communities After Brussels... also stating that,
“We should use overwhelming force, kill the enemy and then we should get the heck out,” he said.... and The Donald:
Trump on Brussels: Told you so... and advocating for torture. Disclaimer: I don't have a clue how to attack/defeat ISIS. ("Defeat" is the better verb.) BUT: using overwhelming force (what Cruz has previously called "carpet bombing") to "destroy the enemy" and then get out is almost certainly NOT the way to go. A reminder of what it takes:
On V-E Day, Eisenhower had sixty-one U.S. divisions, 1,622,000 men, in Germany, and a total force in Europe numbering 3,077,000.1 When the shooting ended, the divisions in the field became the occupation troops, charged with maintaining law and order and establishing the Allied military presence in the defeated nation. This was the army-type occupation. A counterpart of the military government carpet, its object was to control the population and stifle resistance by putting troops into every nook and cranny. [THE U.S. ARMY IN THE OCCUPATION OF GERMANY 1944-1946, by Earl F. Ziemke, CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY UNITED STATES ARMY, WASHINGTON, D. C., 1990]1.6 MILLION troops in the country, to maintain law and order. As I've said repeatedly, the object of war is to win the peace. Winning the peace means holding territory and controlling populations. Simply getting the heck out after demolishing every building, road, rail-line, power-plant, and oil well in sight will NOT win the peace! Again: I don't know what we ought do, but the GOP candidates's proposals don't sound all that great to me. An aside: I'm also not too fond of the idea to "Patrol and Secure" U.S. Muslim communities. ... sounds like a first step to rounding up all the Muslims and shipping them to camps. We've seen where that leads.
winnow Simple Definition of winnowHere's a brief reminder: THESE were the great GOP candidates a few months ago. The primaries have "winnowed" these down to the best-of-the-best: Trump, Cruz, and Kasich! Sigh.: to remove (people or things that are less important, desirable, etc.) from a larger group or list : to make (a list of possible choices) smaller by removing the less desirable choices
