James R. Rummel

I am a self defense instructor who lives in Columbus, Ohio.

Hidden Agenda

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An op-ed in Time magazine seems to be a refutation of claims to a growing terrorist threat from Muslims in the United States, but uses that pretext to push one of the Left’s most cherished and discredited agendas.

The author does get a few things right, pointing out that those of the Islamic faith here in the US are more integrated and moderate than anywhere else in the Western world. He also states that the vast majority of wannabee Jihad Johnnies are disgruntled loners that act without backing from any terrorist organization. The only time he goes off the rails is when he handwaves the horrific attack carried out by Major Hasan at Fort Hood in 2009. It wasn’t terrorism because Hasan wasn’t shooting civilians, you see!

That single gross and deliberate distortion of the issue aside, the author does make a pretty good case for his premise that claims concerning an ever escalating level of terrorism from the Muslim population in the US are overblown. But, even though he is very clear that a significant threat has yet to emerge, he is very clear as to what should be done about it.

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Beyond Human

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Anyone recognize this guy?

marvel comics thor

That is Thor, comic character from Marvel Comics. Based, of course, on the deity worshiped by the Norse.

What can this object of ancient reverence do to warrant such regard? Like most thunder gods, he can hurl thunderbolts that destroy his enemies as long as he wields a mystical hammer called Mjolnir.

ultimate marvel thor hammer mjolnis

That is the main thing thunder gods do, after all, and it seemed to be something that would be extremely impressive to the Vikings.

Anyone recognize these?

both-9mm-carry-guns-with-spent-brass-and-loaded-magazines

My favorite carry guns. They are smaller and lighter than that hammer thing, and yet I can still create thunder by no more effort than making a fist.

Sure, it isn’t exactly the same thing. I can’t call the storm like Thor supposedly could, for example. But it still is a perfectly common, well known, mature technology that expands my abilities to something that is impossible for an unaided human being to duplicate.

I’m bringing up the fantastically obvious due to this online article. (Hat tip to Glenn.) Some really strange young woman has a hobby where she cuts herself open in order to shove magnets down amongst nerve clusters. Says she can feel magnetic fields that way.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

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2009-turkey-part-1

A distinctly North American holiday, Thanksgiving is probably the closest thing to a celebration of philosophical thought that you will find. Tabulate your blessings, give thanks for them whether big or small, and consider where you would be without them.

I hope this is a joyous day for you. If not, then at least remember that it could be much worse.

filthy-bum

(Cross posted at Hell in a Handbasket.)

Size Matters

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Earlier this decade, it seemed that the French government was doing their best to oppose the United States. Someone asked me why.

So I struggled to come up with a way to explain my impressions concerning the foreign policy of The Fifth Republic at the time, finally settling on describing a child that stomped around in a fury, shrilly shrieking “We used to be a world power!” over and over again.

The reason why this image came to mind was due to the fact that France, like most European countries, had allowed their armed forces to rot away to the point that they had a terrible time projecting force beyond their borders. This loss of military ability corresponds to a loss in influence on the world stage. Instead of biting the bullet and increasing their commitment to building and maintaining a world class force of arms, the French under Jacques Chirac appeared to be determined to browbeat the United States into acting as a proxy branch of their own government.

The point to the overly long diatribe above is that regimes and cultures which have their own interests at stake are not inclined to listen to what you have to say if there are no consequences for refusing to negotiate.

Such dusty history sprang to mind when I spied this news article on the UK Telegraph server. It appears that two new aircraft carriers planned for the Royal Navy might just be the victims of budget shortfalls.

queen elizabeth class future aircraft carrier for great britain

(Picture source.)

The top brass, desperate to save the carrier project, have proposed cutting the British fleet in half!

“In a final appeal to the National Security Council, Navy chiefs yesterday offered to make cuts that would reduce the senior service to its smallest since the time of Henry VIII.”

“The Navy has argued that having two carriers is vital if Britain is to retain its place as a top-rank military power.”

There is nothing quite like an aircraft carrier for getting hostile regimes to sit up and play nice, and it is true that the United Kingdom needs these carriers if they are to retain their present level of influence on the future history of humanity. And yet, reducing the fleet to such anemic levels would make it impossible for Great Britain to meet commitments in other areas.

You could say that the Royal Navy is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea on this issue.

If there is one thing this proves, it is that the United Kingdom is not ready to meekly slide down the slippery slope into insignificance. Let us hope that such resolve is enough.

(Cross posted at Hell in a Handbasket.)

Ad Rage

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In a recent post, I discussed how art lovers were upset that billboards were blocking the view of famous landmarks in Venice, Italy. Complain all they might, the mayor of that canal-infested city points out that selling ad space is the only way to generate the funds needed to preserve the very treasures the critics want to see.

To point up the unreasonable nature of the complaints, I juxtaposed how people not involved in law enforcement were constantly insisting that the police expand their responsibilities. This is in spite of the fact that there simply isn’t enough in the budget to pay for equipment, training, or the manpower to do the new jobs.

This prompted Ric Locke to pen a comment ….

“Perhaps police should sell advertising space on their patrol cars, rather the way race drivers do.”

That has already been tried. If memory serves, the public didn’t like it because some local strip clubs (to my knowledge the only healthy and growing businesses in Toledo, Ohio) bought adverts on the cruisers.

There is no pleasing some people.