Wanted to extend a heartfelt wish to all regulars and visitors of No Quarter to enjoy the goyim New Year (if you are Jewish you already celebrated a New Year but hey, why not double dip). 2012 is going to be a rough ride. I expect Mitt Romney will be the Republican nominee. So far he is wisely focused on the economy to the exclusion of everything else. That will be the game for 2012.

The Super Pacs will fall largely in favor of the Republicans. Expect the Dems to scream like stuck pigs. Too bad. The Super Pacs will beat the hell out of Obama and they will only need to tell the truth about the real record of Barack Obama. He and the Dems will try to smear lipstick on the ugly pig that is the economy but events overseas will probably drive the US and the world economy into the toliet.

Any of you have any bold predictions? Read the rest

Me?  Agree with Karl Rove?  Ick! Ick! Ick!

Karl Rove, architect of the Dubya administration’s policies?  Karl Rove, who along with Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, helped sell the American public on the need to invade Iraq in a war of choice?  Karl Rove, the man most often cited as the person who leaked the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame? Karl Rove, whom Dubya affectionately called “Turd Blossom?”

Me?  Agree with Karl Rove?  Oh God, please forgive me!

The thing is, I just read Rove’s predictions for the national elections of 2012.  And I can’t help it if we both have similar predictions, can I?  It’s not like I think the man has superior intelligence like me!

But, in this case, I think he’s pretty much nailed it.  I dunno, maybe the outcomes are so obvious to everybody that we are all seeing it the same way.  It might be that if you just walked up to some drooling guy in rags drinking Everclear straight from the bottle as he lay slumped against a building in an alley in any city of the USA, he’d make the same predictions as Karl Rove.   And me, unfortunately.

Read the rest

The following is part of an email I sent to a friend in the intel community (now retired) who is alarmed by the growing drum beat to go to war with Iran.

Here’s what I wrote:

Look, the problem is totally political. What do I mean by that? When the Democrats in the Senate refused to back the Obama Administration’s effort to water down the sanctions on Iran, what is Obama to do? I think it is pretty well known that I am a pretty outspoken opponent of Obama. However, on this one the Administration was right. There is no way in an election year, as long as Obama remains a candidate, that he can take a public stance offering anything perceived as accommodation of Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The bottom-line is this–despite Iran’s own heated rhetoric, they have consistently (at least over the last 20 years) been very cautious about using terrorism or military adventurism. They have always acted in their perceived national interest. If the current push to impose sanctions that cut off Iran’s ability to export or sell its oil go into effect then it is almost certain that Iran will take actions to disrupt oil exports by other countries in the Persian Gulf.

So, from an assessment standpoint, if sanctions are imposed on Iran that hurt its oil income then is the prospect of a war is greatly increased? Absolutely.

The National Security bureaucracy, at least some components–DIA in particular–are pushing back hard against the red herrings being offered up as justification for engaging Iran in a battle. Is Iran trying to weaponize uranium? Probably. But has their research advanced to the point that they have a viable weapon that can be reliably delivered? Absolutely not. Read the rest

John Batchelor, writing below about Lawrence Lessig’s new book, “Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress–and a Plan to Stop It,” reflects: “POTUS Obama pulled textbook bait and switch with his ‘change’ campaign that delivered him to Washington as just another one of the gang.”

If it is to be Mitt Romney who outlasts the GOP circus acts in Iowa, NH, SC and FL, then with the victory comes the long-anticipated match-up with POTUS Obama.

An honest concern is that with these two leading the tickets, how can you sustain the dinner party conversation on the election? You may not. You may change the subject to dessert, or to baseball season, or to the unusual weather (if it can be found anywhere).

The Election could quickly become the topic no one will speak. The table killer. This will alarm the cables that depend upon alienation and desperation. The two men are harmless as personalities. The two men can present themselves as leaders for the Brave New Normal, but no one over 40 is going to believe it for long.

Suppose they held an Election and no one listened? I will have to dig to find something credible to say about either man, because at this time they have labored for decades in order to appear pleasant blanks. Read the rest

Five days. I can’t wait for Iowa to be over. So over. Every four years, I get angry that such a vanilla state, so atypical of many states in the nation, demands, and gets, the right to first choice. Then there’s the astonishing amount of money that gets poured into a state where only — get this — about 150,000 people trudge into uncomfortable rooms for a caucus that lasts a minimum of two hours.

Oh, I have more beefs with this system. How about the fact that at least one-third of the states have to wait to vote until, by the time it’s their turn, their votes don’t much matter anymore. The entire West Coast and their neighboring states never get a real shot at influencing the choice of the nominees. Imagine if states like Oregon, Washington, Idaho, or Utah got a real chance to influence the race.

Then there’s the caucus system. Caucuses are flat-out unfair. Try being a parent with limited discretionary money having to hire a babysitter. Try being disabled and being unable to get out or, if you can get out, having to navigate to rooms far from the entrance, and find an uncomfortable chair, look for the nearest bathroom (hopefully on the same floor). And what if you end up in the hospital, as happened to me four years ago? I couldn’t cast a vote, not even through a proxy.

With that off my chest, here are some news items I discovered in the past day, some serious and some just interesting (like the birth of a baby — the parents are disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin, SoS Hillary Clinton’s trusted aide): Read the rest

DISCLAIMER:  Sarcasm and satire ahead!

Sometimes simple math can play tricks on your mind.  For example, in the United States Senate there are 100 seats.  If they are split by one seat (or one vote), there’s a difference of 2.  50/50 becomes 49/51.  A split of two votes makes a difference of four: 48/52.  It’s like magic!

The same principle holds for percentages.  If a candidate wins 52% of the vote and the opponent wins 48% of the vote, did the winner win by 2% or 4%?  If one end of the seesaw rises one inch, the other falls one inch, so the resulting change is the ends are now two inches apart.  It just boggles the mind!

I just finished reading about the announced retirement of Democratic Senator Ben Nelson from Nebraska.  And it made me sad, while at the same time it made me happy.  How can this be?  It’s not that I’m emotionally unbalanced — all right, stop the snickering! — or that I can’t make up my mind.  It’s complicated, all right?

The Republicans only need to gain four seats to win control of the Senate, and so far seven Democratic senators have announced their retirements, giving the Republicans a strong chance of winning the Senate.  If they do that and hang onto the House, they control Congress.  If they do that and Obama wins re-election (permission to vomit?), then Obama will not only be a lame-duck, he’ll be castrated.  He’ll also be at the mercy of an oppositional Congress who can probe his background, investigate his documents, and maybe even impeach him!  (permission to squeal with delight?!) Read the rest

The insanity of trying to start a war with Iran continues. The latest appears in the Daily Beast with the headline, U.S., Israel Discuss Triggers for Bombing Iran’s Nuclear Infrastructure:

The Obama administration is trying to assure Israel privately that it would strike Iran militarily if Tehran’s nuclear program crosses certain “red lines”—while attempting to dissuade the Israelis from acting unilaterally. Eli Lake reports exclusively.

When Defense Secretary Leon Panetta opined earlier this month that an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities could “consume the Middle East in a confrontation and a conflict that we would regret,” the Israelis went ballistic behind the scenes. Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to Washington, lodged a formal diplomatic protest known as a demarche. And the White House was thrust into action, reassuring the Israelis that the administration had its own “red lines” that would trigger military action against Iran, and that there is no need for Jerusalem to act unilaterally.

The only country not eager to go to war is Iran. Ignore the bombastic harangues by Ahmadinejad. The Iranian mullahs and the Revolutionary Guard understand very well that they will be destroyed if they start a war. But that’s not their strategy. Read the rest

Speaking Ali Soufan, author, “The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda,” re the fail of the CIA and FBI from the WTC 1993 onward, and especially af the Cole attack, October 2000.

The warrants support the general finding of the 9-11 Commission that the failure to share specific logical information permitted the ops al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar to enter the US and prepare from July 2001. Soufan also documents how he was denied an opportunity to knot together the clues that would have led the the so-called courier Abu Ahmed who was the final connection to Bin Laden’s hiding hole in Abbottabad.

It is a stunning tale of paper chasing fools and bullies who withheld information without common sense. Read the rest

Ah, sad news. According to the New York Times, U.S. Prepares for a Curtailed Relationship With Pakistan. The article reports:

With the United States facing the reality that its broad security partnership with Pakistan is over, American officials are seeking to salvage a more limited counterterrorism alliance that they acknowledge will complicate their ability to launch attacks against extremists and move supplies into Afghanistan.

The United States will be forced to restrict drone strikes, limit the number of its spies and soldiers on the ground and spend more to transport supplies through Pakistan to allied troops in Afghanistan, American and Pakistani officials said. United States aid to Pakistan will also be reduced sharply, they said.

Sharply reduced? How about cut it off completely? Read the rest

Ron Paul’s iconoclasm and awkward determination get ambushed by CNN video archive. The newsletter Ron Paul makes reference to in August of 1988 is an execrable mish-mash of textbook phobias about Jews, homosexuals, non-whites, and there are specific slanders against Martin Luther King and Bill Clinton, a stew of bile and dimwitted obsession about race and sex. Read the rest

I resurrected my earlier rendering of The Donald to start a discussion of his latest move. No longer a Republican, Trump has officially become “unaffiliated.”

Why? So if the Republicans come up with a nominee he thinks will lose to President Obama in 2012, he may just invest his millions and run himself.
Read the rest

Talking is one thing, but doing is another. Newt, fulfilling my low expectations, once again demonstrated why he is the quintessential Washington K-Street windbag. He failed to garner enough signatures to get on Virginia’s March primary and, in my view, it is all about Luke 14:28.

For those who are not Christian or not familiar with the New Testament, permit me to quote a bit of Scripture on this holy Sunday (you know, Christmas and all):

“For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?

You don’t have to be a grizzled theologian to understand this simple passge. Read the rest

And so it is, another Christmas Day is upon us. This is such a special time, spending time with family, stressing out over gifts, or food preparation for family gathering, or the inability to afford either…It is a time of reflection, a time of sharing. It is a time of remembering what is important, of a lowly birth in a manger, of hopes for peace around the world. It is a magical time, filled with a beauty only the winter can bring…

And it is about the music. Whether one is a Christian or not, there is something special about the music of this season. It can be quiet and soothing, like a mother singing to her child. It can be joyous, and exuberant, the birth of the promised one remembered and celebrated. It can be lighthearted, and fun, sleigh rides in the snow, and you just know there will be a mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows waiting at the end of the ride…
Read the rest

Robert Reich a Democrat who is nonetheless terrifically interested in the health of the Republican party, voices concern about the potential “crack-up” of that party.

Some describe the underlying conflict as Tea Partiers versus the Republican establishment. But this just begs the question of who the Tea Partiers really are and where they came from.

Reich doesn’t want to actually identify and understand the “underlying conflict” within the party (that would involve political philosophy, history and understanding of another point of view) so he begs the question by using the vague “Some describe.” I’m guessing he doesn’t watch CNBC either or know the “Tea Party” got its start in CHICAGO. Reich is just interested in doing major flame-throwing at the Tea Party – that’s the real reason for this screed.

Read the rest

Talk about an OOPS! Perry disqualified from Va. primary ballot Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry failed to submit enough valid signatures to qualify for the Virginia primary ballot, state GOP officials said. … Perry’s campaign [claimed] it had submitted 11,911 signatures, but a Republican source [says] that the Texas governor did not submit the required 10,000. …

Some candidates didn’t submit signatures, reports the Washington Post: “Republican presidential candidates Michele Bachmann, Jon Huntsman and Rick Santorum.” The candidates who did submit signatures and are expected to qualify are “Romney, Perry, Paul and former House speaker Newt Gingrich.” Read the rest