Innocent Bystanders

Russia Does What We Thought It Would Do December 28, 2015

Nine years ago, when I started my own (now defunct) blog, I spent considerable time discussing the machinations of Russia and China to dislodge the US as the world’s sole superpower. I talked about their economic and military collaboration, their global movements, and their efforts to modernize and expand their military forces.

Nearly a decade later, as Instapundit would say, “All is proceeding as I have foreseen.”

For the first time in 24 years, the U.S. Navy’s intelligence branch has published an unclassified report warning against a rapidly rearming and increasingly aggressive Russian fleet.

And while the report—which the Navy intends for public consumption—has been years in the making, recent events have underscored just how serious its findings are. It’s becoming clearer by the day that, with the strong backing of President Vladimir Putin, the Russian navy is making a serious effort to challenge the world’s preeminent maritime power—the United States.

Unfortunately, foreknowledge doesn’t equal effective action, so all my prognostication has been pointless.

Dear White America December 28, 2015

Some professor at Emory University wrote a letter to “White America” at the NYT. His letter is a gift, he says, and his message should be received with love.

It turns out, though, that the “gift” he’s giving is:

…asking for you to tarry, to linger, with the ways in which you perpetuate a racist society, the ways in which you are racist.

I’ll bet there’ll be a big line at the Returns station of your local White Guilt store.

His pitch goes like this:

• If you’re white, you’re racist
• You’re not allowed to discuss the issue, you’re racist
• No matter how integrated you are with people of color, you’re racist
• There’s apparently no distinction between KKKers and you, “You may have never used the N-word in your life, you may hate the K.K.K., but that does not mean that you don’t harbor racism and benefit from racism.“

After that inspirational set of bullet points, you might be forgiven for not leaping to accept the second part of his gift:

White America, are you prepared to be at war with yourself, your white identity, your white power, your white privilege?

Yes, no matter your personal circumstances or history, you have unjustly benefited from your whiteosity, so you’ve got to give all that up. I know you may have come from disadvantaged beginnings, you may be working two jobs, you may suffer from health issues, etc., but you are still “privileged” because nothing matters but your skin color.

So once again, if you’re white you’re given a single choice: admit your racism, which you cannot discuss, cannot perceive, and cannot repair. Then do something(?) to change society to eliminate institutional racism(?). I guess? He doesn’t really elaborate on corrective action.

I’ll just say two more things:

1. I don’t feel comfortable hanging out with people who think that I’m an incorrigible racist no matter what I do or think. So thanks for driving another wedge between the races, Prof. Yancy.
2. People often worry about our technological society leaving the less educated and/or intellectually-endowed behind. I get the sense that the same thing is happening to people of color. Trained by the racism cottage industry to focus solely on race and white privilege, they’re rapidly being left behind by a society that’s making spectacular advances in technology, science, and medicine. I’ve always felt the cure for racism lies in people looking outward rather than inward; striving for society’s progress rather than focusing on social injustice. But Professor Yancy’s “gift” requires us all to focus on his favorite social aches and pains. Not constructive.

Best News Bloopers of 2015 December 24, 2015

My son recommended this:

Yell at him if you hated it.

Schlongiphobia December 22, 2015

I don’t want to seem too much like a Puritan here, but I really don’t think the gravitas of the office of President of the United States can be preserved by someone who uses the word “schlonged.”

Not that the current president has preserved much of it.

Monday Morning Time Killer December 21, 2015

The Telegraph has its “Pictures of the Year” presented in 4 installments here.

No, Hillary, YOU’RE ISIS’ Best Recruiter December 20, 2015

Hillary talking about ISIS recruiting:

All three Democratic presidential candidates went after Republican Donald Trump during Saturday night’s Democratic debate, but one of the starkest claims came from frontrunner Hillary Clinton.

Because of his proposal to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the U.S., Clinton said Trump “is becoming ISIS’ best recruiter,” referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

“They are going to people showing them videos of Donald Trump insulting Islam and Muslims in order to recruit more radical jihadists,” she said.

No, Ms. Clinton, ISIS’s best recruiter is success – as some wag once said, “nothing succeeds like success.” And our president’s tepid efforts to curb ISIS have allowed them to enjoy a level of success that could have easily been denied them. That success, in turn, led to an influx of radical Islamic followers from all over the globe.

Donald Trump could insult Islam and Muslims all day long and it would still pale in comparison to permitting ISIS to declare a caliphate and occupy large sections of Syria and Iraq.

And whose policy let them do that? Let’s see, the leader of the country and the person in charge of US foreign policy certainly come to mind, don’t they?

Progressivism Ain’t All That December 19, 2015

Progressives often take issue with me when I make the self-evident statement that “not all change is good.”

“Name one thing that got worse as a result of progressive policies!” they say.

In that situation, I always point this out:

Did You Ever See a Lassie Go This Way and That? December 17, 2015

Not sure you can trust the source, but here’s what Star Magazine has to say:

Caitlyn Jenner hasn’t even hit her one-year mark as a woman and she’s already regretting her transition. Click through to find out why the I Am Cait reality star might be after another drastic change.

Here’s my prediction in a comment 6 months ago, back when the Caitlyn Jenner furor was in full swing:

Guess I was wrong about the “quiet” part, but I think I nailed the rest of it.