Clark Griswold

God bless Charles Krauthammer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWTbRS0N-gk Full video here

Not surprised that they are moving ahead with their own project, but surprised they (Japan), Australia or Canada has not warmed up to the Advanced Super Hornet. Fair;y LO when you need it, 4.5+ gen and helluva lot less risk. Japan is developing the ATD-X only because there was no way they could get an export version of the Raptor, the Aussies were/are in the same boat, I would not be surprised if they approached by them for a joint program.

ATD-X makes its first appearance as Tokyo's warplane plans advance A little bit more on Japan's home brew fighter. Timeline for IOC is a ways off but I am sure Japan could speed that up if things got even more tense in their neighborhood.

True dat A delivery of 50 or so would be a good piece of a security assistance package to prevent collapse but you would have to dangle that carrot with some significant conditions for political reconciliation (if that is possible now) As to the aircraft and the ability of the USAF to talk about a LAAR for umpteen and not do anything - standard Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/iraq-issues-rfp-for-coin-aircraft-03281/ Iraqis want the AT-6 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Mexican Military Helicopter Fires on Border Patrol Agents After Crossing Into U.S. During Drug Operation US, WORLD | Today at 9:46 | By Dave Urbanski Mexican Military Helicopter Fires on Border Patrol Agents After Crossing Into U.S. During Drug Operation A Mexican military helicopter crossed the U.S. border into Arizona and fired on U.S. Border Patrol agents during a drug operation Tuesday before flying back into Mexico, Border Patrol No injuries to agents or damage to U.S. property were reported, a Border Patrol spokesman said, according to KVOA-TV. The helicopter fired two shots at the agents early Tuesday morning as part of a "drug interdiction operation," Border Patrol spokesman Andy Adame told KVOA. "[A] Mexican law enforcement helicopter crossed approximately 100 yards north into Arizona nearly 8 miles southwest of the village of San Miguel on the Tohono O'odham Indian Nation while on a drug interdiction operation near the border," Adame said in a statement. "Two shots were fired from the helicopter but no injuries or damage to U.S. property were reported. The incident is currently under investigation." Mexican officials contacted U.S. authorities soon after and apologized for the incident, Tucson sector Border Patrol union president Art del Cueto told KVOA. The incident took place on the Tohono O'odham Nation, which resides in southern-central Arizona and parts of northern Mexico. From The Blaze Not good - another reason to formally control (with coordination with the Mexican gov) the border http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/06/27/mexican-military-helicopter-fires-on-border-patrol-agents-after-crossing-into-u-s-during-drug-operation/

Decent article on why we should not intervene in Iraq. The Case for Doing Nothing in Iraq. I am trying to see the other side of the argument. I still think that a limited campaign is probably the way to go, just enough to keep the al-Maliki government from falling but not enough to do anything other than that. Bailing him out will change nothing on the ground and keep the Sunnis / Kurds ostracized and pissed, thus kicking the can for a later date.

Not sure if I agree with this but it is an idea... OP-ED: Let the Islamists Have Their Caliphate - Then Bomb Them The idea of a new caliphate may seem crazy but if I told you in 1918 that a severely wounded corporal of a defeated army whose highest educational attainment was being a drop out of an art college would in less than 20 years become the absolute ruler of the most powerful fascist state on earth, that would have seemed crazy too.

Hey, we had a proper funeral when we got to Phoenix.

A bit flippant yes but his parting shot as to our sieve-like border was perfect. His article (Dexter Filkins) was good but just a rehash of what has happened. With the gang that can't shoot straight running the White House, the fourth estate is going to have to prompt him to take decisive action to forestall disaster. A smart air campaign with surgical strikes & persistent ISR will shore up the Iraqi government. But if they won't launch at least a cruise missile strike on Al-Assad after declaring a "red-line" don't hold your breath for anything. I don't mean to beat the war drum too loudly especially as I am comfortable in 'Merica and not currently over in the sandbox but if we want to influence events and shape the outcome over there (not even saying we should) then we should do it and not just look like a bunch of big talkers and then no action when the time comes.

Taking a stand in the north against ISIS... Maybe Crazy Joe was right when he wanted to split Iraq into 3 parts based on Sunni-Shiite-Kurd Seems to be working towards that anyway.

Shit keeps getting real... Ukraine crisis: Military plane shot down in Luhansk

Need an army to do some work in a place you don't want yours to go? Send the FFL...

Just finished this book, very informative and balanced view of the entire V-22 program and a good example of how the sausage gets made and eventually greatly improved.

Just watched the video from the link, that is quite a stretch to believe the Canadian film company had nothing to do with it. When I first saw it, I decided to repost for the discussion but it reminded me of an article I read a while ago, the author made the case the Cartels will keep the mayhem in El Norte to an acceptable level and in Mexico to just below a threshold that would trigger a US response (military or direct LE involvement). I agree with that idea and it surprised me that they would start to invite a massive US security and LE response in the border areas. Still think a physical barrier and surveillance system with a NG mission on the border is what we need but glad that it appears to be a hoax.

Yes, I think raising the minimum wage would be a good idea but I also think MASSIVELY simplifying our Orwellian tax code (both corporate & individual) while lowering the corporate tax and lowering the marginal rates for individuals are a good ideas also. Not exactly related, but could be politically possible to both labor and business oriented political actors but we can't get anything done anymore so put that in the snowball's chance in hell column... National policy can not be solely on what is beneficial to certain business interests, we had a war about this around the 1860's or so... there was a labor system that made a lot of people very rich directly by producing a commodity very cheaply and indirectly by supplying that commodity cheaply for production but we decided as a nation that it was not right and we weren't going to allow it anymore. Your right money talks and people flock to the cheaper option but does that mean we should allow: Goods produced by slave/child labor and/or sweatshop labor? Counterfeit or stolen goods produced and supplied illicitly? Goods produced from enemy nations to be freely traded in our economy? Should we allow Iran to directly supply the US energy market? Why do we control commerce and business on the national, state & local level? Should we let toxic waste dumps be put in the middle of low income neighborhoods because the land is cheaper? I also have to take issue with your idea that a genocide is required to secure the border and that it would be unbelievably expensive. Israel built a 143 mile fence system in two years for a cost of $377 million, it works and has dropped illegal crossing from 14,715 in 2010 to 36 in 2013 for the same stretch of the Sinai. We don't have to fence nor should be fence the entire border, we need only fence the adjoining urban areas, road crossings, and patrol with a combination of Federal & State LE in areas adjoining those areas, let the National Guard patrol the remote and wilderness area. The cost is not so great we can not afford it and it DIRECTLY adds to the security and sovereignty of the United States of America by keeping people out that are attempting to cross into it illegally. The combined cost of the CBP & ICE is $18 billion, that is equal to 2% of the entire DoD budget. It cost about $400K for every soldier to support & pay on average each soldier during the Iraq War, this is just a WAG but even at $200K per year to support & pay a soldier on the border, you could have 10,000 National Guardsmen for $2 billion or 0.2% of the DoD budget. That would average 5 soldiers for every mile of the 2,000 mile border but coordinating them with CBP, you have for a small cost in the overall scheme of things, actual boots on the ground in sufficient numbers to be in control. The ground and air support could average to $200K per soldier and you would still be spending only 0.4% of the entire DoD. Just to take another WAG at a part of the possible air support piece, you could have 25 MC-12s deployed to the border patrol mission, flying a 6 hour mission per day at a cost of $1,500 per flight hour (WAG) and cost $82 million per year for good ISR support, that is chump change in terms of the DoD budget and it would saturate high traffic areas with ISR to enhance your ground forces. Again, this is affordable, it is possible and it is what we should be doing. A border security system that is designed and funded to be effective does nothing more than stop illegal activity, if you have a problem with our labor & immigration laws then try to change them legally. Do not advocate for allowing illegal alien criminals, because they are criminals, to be allowed to keep committing their crime(s) by confusing the argument (whether or not we should defend our nation, enforce our laws and assert our sovereignty) by raising the red herring and emotional argument of it is cheap labor that benefits some businesses and individuals as being in some ways economically efficient so therefore, screw it let's allow it. The almighty dollar is not the end all be all of our decision making, it is a balance of what is right, prudent and in our long-term interest.

No, they keep the poor and working class of a first world nation from ever having anything by keeping wages artificially low by allowing corporations and wealthier individuals to employ people who work off the books, for less than legal wages in shitty conditions and who either bring with them problems, require gov assistance and keep our supposedly free market from balancing itself The free market only works if there is rule of law, turning a blind or apathetic eye to illegal immigration / unsecure borders is suicidal and knowingly employing illegals is no different than buying stolen goods. BTW, our highly specialized skill set is under attack. When aircraft that are flagged in other nations start flying domestic routes with aircrew and support who work for less money that 'Mericans, the end is nigh for having a protected occupation, even for pilots. How to Revive Airline Competition

"The Last Days of Europe" and "State of Emergency" are also good primers on how the West is doing immigration all wrong for the last oh 50+ years or so. Too many immigrants, virtually no screening for immigrants that will assimilate and have something to offer and no strong effort at assimilation when here. The elites of the West just can't get it that immigration is not necessarily always enriching to a nation, that you may actually be letting in people that will not fit into your society, that Western values are not necessarily triumphant just by exposure to them. Many immigrants anyway are encouraged not to integrate as a faction of the Left of virtually the entire Western world has decided that anything like assimilation or adapting to their new country is wrong, bigoted and these people have a right to be pissed off at the society that allows them in and helps them, the counter culture morphed into some kind of deranged suicidal movement hell bent on destroying any backbone in the West and won't stop until all of it is dragged into the morass. Ok, rant complete. Not against immigrants or immigration, just the way we practice it now, which pretty much is mixture of naive-stupid-crazy-suicidal. Back to topic though, at some point something has got to give to get the US Military on the border in force, deploying State Defense Forces might do it, just by poaching on what has been traditionally the Federal Gov. territory and shaming them into doing it.

Not a good sign... ‘We Have Never Experienced This’: Chilling Drug Cartel-Style Threats Hit Texas Billboards Another reason for Operation Secure the Damn Border to go into high gear.

They are taking advantage of my country, I am advocating for protecting / defending rule of law and sovereignty. I would argue that some of it has already been lost and the secure border I am arguing for is integral to further erosion of our national sovereignty. Not a conspiracy theorist but powerful entities like trans-national corporations, ethno-centric advocacy groups, factions of major political parties view a open border as beneficial to their interests which are not always in line with those of the United States. Are they plotting Aztlan or the North American Union? I doubt it but "they" would rather see a free trade / open borders / easy residency & citizenship / demographic & political shift reality develop. That may be good for business but it is not good for a free & stable democratic republic. I see that as a race to the bottom: low wages & poor working conditions in a hyper-competitive labor market, high crime from weak states with narco gangs, divisive politics from large unassimilated minorities that are encouraged to agitate the majority to adapt to them and a dismissive attitude to the majority population of the nation.

Fair enough and I will take you at your word for it, I have read Rand (Fountainhead, Shrugged, We the Living) and the objectivist philosophy/viewpoint just seems to believe that they can set up an almost perfect world where we act in our own logical self-interest to the benefit of others and ourselves but they don't seem to factor in that people are inherently illogical and emotional. How does this relate to our discussion of border security and related immigration policy? By the fact that people let their emotions get the better of them and see only the plight of some of the illegal aliens and let that blind them to a sizeable minority of them that deserve no pity or consideration. Whatever sympathy we have for those less fortunate than us can not outweigh our right and duty for self-protection, self-defense and sovereignty .

Top 10 Reasons Ayn Rand was Dead Wrong Off topic but I just had to. My favorite reason: Reading Rand creates instant jackasses. Anyone who's been subjected to a friend who suddenly "discovers" Rand knows that reading her works causes people to act like selfish idiots. They combine a patina of "reason" over a self-righteous justification of whatever their "id" happens to want at the time and then insist that they're just pursuing their own self-interest. They also become incredibly boring, about on the level of a newly converted Scientologist.

Objectivism is not even remotely possible in the real world, there is a reason people read Ayn Rand when they are 20 and realize it is bullshit when they are 30.

Keeping it civil, nothing I said was racist and you just read into it what fulfills the fantasy of oppression you have constructed.

Why do you try to confuse legal and illegal immigration? You keep trying to equate the two. There is a process, I am sure it could be improved but there is a way to do it legally and it may not always allow everyone in (which in my opinion is good) but not everyone is guaranteed everything they want in life either.