US Strategic Nuclear Polcy – A History

Having been born in the year of our Lord 1977, I can proudly say that I was more or less a child of the Cold War. I recall growing up with terms like SIOP, Nuclear Triad, START, SALT, INF and many many others. Even today, I’m amazed that I can walk into the National Air and Space Museum and see a Soviet SS-20 missile alongside a Pershing missile. Growing up I can recall thinking those things impossible.

Sandia National Laboratories recently produced an interesting documentary detailing the history of US Strategic Nuclear Policy. Although I disagree with some of the finer political points (including the unfortunately necessary Robert S. MacNamara) it’s nonetheless interesting to how US Policy evolved. Some of those evolutions in were a result of technical achievements in the development of the weapons themselves (MIRVs and ABMs being 2 examples and Soviet political and technological changes.  Most importantly the evolution of US Nuclear Policy continues to this day.

Anyway there are 4 parts, each about an hour long:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

OK, Just So We’re Clear About This…

There’s quite a bit of what passes for “conversation” about the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States going on right now.  Here’s what it says, verbatim:

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Of course, being ostensibly a nation of laws, there’s been a lot of parsing of its meaning over the years.

Of late, as emotions and overblown rhetoric have ramped up, and sadly been exploited by those who disagree on What Is To Be Done about these things, we have now resorted to what I consider the Corollary to Godwin’s Law: When all else fails, and you have already implied, either directly or indirectly, that your opponent in the “discussion” is a “Nazi,” play the trump card and imply or say directly, that their point of view is “racist.” Game over, you win.

See: Here.  And: Here.

So, there you have it: If you support the Second Amendment of the Constitution, you’re a racist.  If you support gun controls, you’re a racist. Unless, of course, you’re a person of color, in which case, you’re a racist.

 

You Should Read This

If you read nothing else today, go to http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2012/11/what-we-lost-in-this-election.html and read the post. (Sorry I couldn’t get the link right, doggone WordPress!)

I don’t always agree with Sultan Knish on everything he writes. But much of what he says rings true, most of the time.

Check it out, well worth your time.

Forward (heh)

I spent most of the day yesterday licking my emotional wounds over the injustice done to this country by the uninformed electorate who have consigned us to another 4 years of … goodness I don’t even know what to call it.  There just aren’t adequate words.

I am stunned that people wanted 4 more years of lies, rising unemployment, rising gas prices, reduced income and the promise of yet more failed leadership and cover-ups (Fast and Furious, Benghazi – just to name 2); they want 4 more years of appointments by executive fiat, of posturing and negativity.

One of my Facebook friends said yesterday that she really has high hopes that women will make as much as men during this administration.

Ha!

I laughed out loud on that one.  Obama and his minions have had 4 years already to do that and here is how they handled it from the inside:

When all White House employees are considered, the Obama administration’s record dims a bit further. Female employees earn a median salary of $60,000, roughly 18 percent less than men, whose median salary is $71,000. [source]

And when presented with this inconvenient truth, her response was … predictable.  She just ignored it.  Because if she ignores it, surely it will go away – right?

It all made me wonder about the motivations for people to re-elect Obama despite the overwhelming evidence of his incompetence.  I know one friend who voted for him because of Obamacare.  Yet another so she woudn’t be seen as a racist.  Another because he’s a hippy-at-heart and while he is very sweet and not fashionable, I believe he wants to be “seen” as being ahead of the crowd.  And I have to believe the illustration above shows yet another because she believes Obama will level the “paying field” for women.

All of which brought me to a conclusion for myself: for the next 4 years I will no longer censor myself in conversations with friends about Obama’s record.  I will no longer just simply leave a conversation rather than get into the dicussion that may need to be had – for my own sake.

This past August I had a terrible confrontation with a now-former friend over the issue of gay marriage and the first amendment right to free speech exercised by Dan Cathy of Chick-fil-A.  I was accused of being a particular kind of heinous person and ugly things were said to me that don’t bear repeating and it all, ultimately, caused me to become very – quiet – on Facebook and even on my own blog.

I denied myself my own right to freedom of speech by simply silencing myself.  Lest I offend anyone else with my own beliefs; beliefs to which I am as entitled as everyone else is to theirs.  Beliefs I should be able to hold without fear of persecution, condemnation or recriminations.

Now that we are consigned to 4 more years of socialism masquerading as American politics, I will not be silent.  Every gaffe, every constitutional violation, every action on the part of Obama that causes the death of more innocent Americans … will be commented on by me.  I will read even more than I do now; I will seek out information and clarification before I utter one syllable.

I will do the same for any positive actions by this administration, though I suspect I know where most of my energy will be spent.

I will no longer muzzle myself because someone might object to my opinion.  I resolve to never resort to the favorite tool of the liberal – the ad-hominem attack.  I will deal with facts alone.

And it won’t be just on Facebook and on my blog.  It’s time to take it to the politicians.

It’s time for the populace to start speaking out for true political reform. Here are just 2 examples of what I’m talking about:

• Term limits for Congress – if the president can’t serve more than 2 terms then why do members of Congress get to treat their jobs like lifetime appointments.
• If Congress votes in a law then they should be subject to it as well (hello Obamacare).

It is time to hold their feet to the fire and remind them that all of them – Work. For. Us. It is long past time for us, their employers, to get them to do their fucking jobs.

I Have Not Yet Begun to Fight!

John Paul Jones
United States Navy

Okay. The election is over. Some of us feel like we lost. And we did. We feel it in our heart of hearts. But to quote Sir Winston Churchill:

Now, this is not the end. It is not even the beginning to the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.

Or as Rumbear put it:

Mount Up……
The battle for liberty begins anew this morning.

Let’s do this people! This is no time to be quitting and yielding the field to those who would tear America down. Remember:

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

FIGHT’S ON!

Lest We Forget

Say What?

The current occupant of the White House was rather flippant, I thought, when Governor Romney mentioned the shrinking size of the Navy. I was somewhat flabbergasted. Especially as I see that Progressive Elements are somehow seeing this as a brilliant dig at Romney. I certainly was left with a very distinct image of the Obummer. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Here are three.

Horse

Bayonet

The Incumbent

Q.E.D.

Commodifying the Force

Originally published August 22nd, 2011.

Comparison

Executive Order 13449

Signed October 20, 2007 this order protected Striped Bass and Red Drum fish populations as directed by then President George W. Bush.

Executive Order (#TBD)

Issued by President Obama to provide coverage to Attorney General Eric Holder, and presumably himself, regarding sharing documents related to the now-notorious Operation Fast and Furious Gunwalking program.

One was signed by a man to protect fish.

The other was signed by a man-child to protect his own ass.

cross-posted at Noodling on It

100

Some people have very short memories, especially when it fits their narrative:

Video from 1994 has surfaced of David Axelrod, President Obama’s chief campaign strategist, calling former President George H.W. Bush “out of touch” for “tastelessly” playing golf while trying to convince voters that the economy is improving.

“Bush tastelessly did it, often from the ninth hole, and from the cigar boat and other places,” Axelrod said.

Added the adviser: “The impression you got was that he was out of touch.”

Mr. Axelrod seems to have forgotten that the Internet is forever, even from 1994.

Fast forward to this past weekend and we see that Obama has reached his own unique milestone – he played his 100th game of golf in less than 4 years.

By early 2003 – barely 3 years into his 8-year presidency – former President George W. Bush had stopped golfing completely.  He said it was unseemly for the president to be seen out on the links while he was sending our precious treasure – our warriors – to the battlefield.  His total number of golf games in 8 years?

24.

The current economy is heading into recession again.  Unemployment – true unemployment – is over 10%.  And Obama just gave the OK to unleash approximately 1.2 million illegal residents onto the job market.

Just who is out of touch with the country???

100 games of golf.

100.

sigh

cross-posted at Noodling on It