{"id":19878,"date":"2017-10-11T16:43:02","date_gmt":"2017-10-12T00:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/?p=19878"},"modified":"2017-10-15T16:03:02","modified_gmt":"2017-10-16T00:03:02","slug":"rouge-forum-dispatch-draft-28","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/rouge-forum-dispatch-draft-28\/","title":{"rendered":"Rouge Forum Dispatch: Empire&#8217;s Nemesis."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>We Say Fight Back!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Bolshevik Revolution&#8211;100 years on:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Carr-Bolshevik-Revolution-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19956\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Carr-Bolshevik-Revolution-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"324\" height=\"499\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Carr-Bolshevik-Revolution-1.jpg 324w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Carr-Bolshevik-Revolution-1-195x300.jpg 195w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 324px) 100vw, 324px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"ROSA LUXEMBURG\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kEwmgSlt9UE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Internationale\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gXZVhKvvMVU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Gruber-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19911\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Gruber-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"282\" height=\"498\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Gruber-1.jpg 282w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Gruber-1-170x300.jpg 170w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 282px) 100vw, 282px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Draper-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19912\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Draper-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"304\" height=\"474\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Draper-1.jpg 304w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Draper-1-192x300.jpg 192w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 304px) 100vw, 304px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"c-article-title\">Classrooms deserted &#8211; 90,000 Dutch elementary school teachers strike<\/h1>\n<p>Elementary schools across the Netherlands were shut on Thursday as some 90,000 teachers went on strike to demand more pay and a lighter workload. Last-minute promises by politicians to boost spending failed to avert the largest work stoppage by Dutch primary school teachers since the 1980s. The strike comes as Prime Minister Mark Rutte seeks to close over 200 days of coalition talks, with teachers promised close to 800 million euros in extra spending. But primary school teachers are demanding a 1.4-billion euro (\u00a31.25 billion) spending injection to match salaries to those of secondary school teachers. The strike reflects growing frustration among workers in one of Europe\u2019s strongest economies, who feel left behind as accelerating growth has not been matched by wage increases. Despite decade-high economic growth of 3.3 percent and early signs of labour shortages, overall wage growth will remain limited to 1.6 percent, national forecaster <span class=\"caps\">CPB<\/span> said in August. Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Central Bank governor Klaas Knot and <span class=\"caps\">IMF<\/span> chief Christine Lagarde have urged companies to raise pay, but to little effect. \u201c60,000 people coming from far and away shows that these demands are just\u201d, outgoing Minister of Social Affairs Lodewijk Asscher told Reuters at a rally. \u201cTeachers are always modest about their pay, but they simply deserve more.\u201d\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2017\/10\/05\/classrooms-deserted-90000-dutch-elementary-school-teachers-strike\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.euronews.com\/2017\/10\/05\/classrooms-deserted-90000-dutch-elementary-school-teachers-strike<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"headline\" class=\"headline\">The Myth of the Spitting Antiwar Protester<\/h1>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"42\" data-total-count=\"42\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/spitting-image.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19951\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/spitting-image.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/spitting-image.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/spitting-image-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\u201cSo where do these stories come from?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"537\" data-total-count=\"579\">The reporter was asking about accounts that soldiers returning from Vietnam had been spat on by antiwar activists. I had told her the stories were not true. I told her that, on the contrary, opponents of the war had actually tried to recruit returning veterans. I told her about a 1971 Harris Poll survey that found that 99 percent of veterans said their reception from friends and family had been friendly, and 94 percent said their reception from age-group peers, the population most likely to have included the spitters, was friendly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"284\" data-total-count=\"863\">A follow-up poll, conducted in 1979 for the Veterans Administration (now the Department of Veterans Affairs), reported that former antiwar activists had warmer feelings toward Vietnam veterans than toward congressional leaders or even their erstwhile fellow travelers in the movement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"473\" data-total-count=\"1336\">I was glad the reporter was interested in the origin of these stories, because beginning even before the war ended, news organizations had too often simply repeated them \u2014 even though some stories had the hallmarks of tall tales all over them. Even The Times once <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1998\/11\/02\/business\/a-bicycle-path-from-wall-street-to-vietnam.html\">quoted<\/a>, matter-of-factly, a veteran telling of how he arrived stateside from Vietnam on a stretcher with a bullet in his leg, only to be splattered with rotten vegetables and spat on by antiwar college kids.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"296\" data-total-count=\"1632\">Whoppers like these go unchallenged by reporters and scholars perhaps because of their memoirist first-person quality, stories told by the men who say it happened to them. I collect the stories, I told the reporter, and have a spreadsheet with about 220 first-person \u201cI was spat on\u201d accounts.<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-1\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"895\" data-total-count=\"2527\">But you don\u2019t believe the stories, right? she asked. Acknowledging that I could not prove the negative \u2014 that they were <em>not<\/em> true \u2014 I went on to say there is no corroboration or documentary evidence, such as newspaper reports from the time, that they <em>are<\/em> true. Many of the stories have implausible details, like returning soldiers deplaning at San Francisco Airport, where they were met by groups of spitting hippies. In fact, return flights landed at military air bases like Travis, from which protesters would have been barred.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/10\/13\/opinion\/myth-spitting-vietnam-protester.html?smprod&#038;_r=0\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2017\/10\/13\/opinion\/myth-spitting-vietnam-protester.html?smprod&#038;_r=0<\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"post-440\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/vietnam\/burns-vietnam\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Burns Vietnam<\/a><\/h2>\n<div class=\"main\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Boomers Teach the Grandbabies<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>More Lies Ahead About the Wars on Vietnam<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Vietnam-olso-photo-bodies-tank.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19952\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Vietnam-olso-photo-bodies-tank-1024x808.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"395\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Vietnam-olso-photo-bodies-tank-1024x808.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Vietnam-olso-photo-bodies-tank-300x237.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Vietnam-olso-photo-bodies-tank-768x606.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Vietnam-olso-photo-bodies-tank.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a>They are at it again.<\/p>\n<p>They need to beat their own dead horse to death once more.<\/p>\n<p>The US rout in Vietnam must be mystified again\u2013to unite a nation reeling from the promise of endless war, the obvious reality of booming color-coded inequality, a flatly failed political system and ruling class, and increasing repression.<\/p>\n<p>And to fashion the possibility that a similar war could become popular in the future\u2013even World War III.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why Vietnam now?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Perhaps because it is the looming 50th anniversary of the Tet Offensive of January, 1968; that turning point when the quantitative work of the mass of Vietnamese people, leading a peoples\u2019 war against yet another invader empire (in order, the French, the Japanese\u2013and the Chinese Kuomintang\u2013the French again, and then the US), and the efforts of the US anti-war movement, came together to prove to the majority of Americans that the war could not be won\u2013and that the nations\u2019 leaders had lied about everything important.<\/p>\n<p>Now it is Ken Burns\u2019 turn on PBS\u2013that not-so-public broadcasting system so dependent on corporate sponsors (like Bank of American, feverishly boosting Burns) who, clearly, paid for his work as well as the massive advertising campaign promoting it.<\/p>\n<p>Is it fair to attack Burns\u2019 work before it appears?<\/p>\n<p>Sure. We know most of what is coming. He\u2019s published extensively, offered the film to other reviewers, shamelessly declaring that he has something new to say \u201cwith fresh eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Here is the high-water mark of his offer: \u201cif, with open minds and open hearts, we can consider this complex event from many perspectives and recognize more than one truth, perhaps we can stop fighting over how the war should be remembered and focus instead on what it can teach us about courage, patriotism, resilience, forgiveness and, ultimately, reconciliation.\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/05\/29\/opinion\/ken-burns-lynn-novick-vietnam-war.html?mcubz=0&#038;_r=0\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2017\/05\/29\/opinion\/ken-burns-lynn-novick-vietnam-war.html?mcubz=0&#038;_r=0<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Bluntly: that\u2019s vapid bullshit.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/vietnam\/burns-vietnam\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.richgibson.com\/vietnam\/burns-vietnam\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Murray-Charles-Shut-down.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19954\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Murray-Charles-Shut-down.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Murray-Charles-Shut-down.jpg 540w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Murray-Charles-Shut-down-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/a>As many in the crowd chanted, turned out lights and played loud noises on their cell phones, Bryan Ransom approached the stage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">The University of Michigan graduate student climbed up next to Charles Murray \u2014 the object of the protest \u2014 and waved for silence from those gathered at Palmer Commons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">For the next several minutes, he and Murray calmly went back and forth on whether Murray&#8217;s 1994 book \u2014 The Bell Curve \u2014 was arguing that black people\u00a0naturally had lesser intelligence than white people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Finally, Ransom had enough \u2014 he raised his hands and walked away.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;You use that Harvard degree to talk s&#8212;\u00a0about people,&#8221; he said. &#8220;That disappoints me.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Murray was on campus tonight to discuss his 2012 book, \u201cComing Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010.\u201d \u00a0The event was\u00a0hosted by the U-M College Republicans chapter and the American Enterprise Institute University of Michigan Executive Council, a public policy think tank where Murray serves as the W.H. Brady Scholar.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">For days leading up to Murray&#8217;s appearance, several people called for him to not be allowed to speak\u00a0on campus. Last month, a series of racist flyers were posted on campus that used IQ statements related to Murray&#8217;s 1990s-era book, &#8220;The Bell Curve,&#8221; to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/section\/campus-life\/flyers-calling-make-america-white-again-found-near-stockwell\">argue for the superiority of white people over black people<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The room where Murray spoke was full to its capacity of 200\u00a0with others looking to get in. While some where there to listen, many were there to protest. They held signs, turned out the lights and projected the words &#8220;white supremacist&#8221; on the wall behind Murray. Some played loud noises on their cell phones in an attempt to drown out Murray.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">At the start of the event, Murray said he would give his speech on what happened in politics to get Donald Trump elected.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;He&#8217;s not my cup of tea,&#8221; he said later at\u00a0the event of the president.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">As Murray\u00a0started talking the protestors kicked in.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Murray stood at the podium listening and occasionally\u00a0chided them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;The reason why universities exist is so we can have calm logical exchanges about differences,&#8221; he told the crowd.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Later, he said: &#8220;what you are doing is betraying the reason this place exists.&#8221;http:\/\/www.freep.com\/story\/news\/education\/2017\/10\/11\/michigan-students-debate-bell-curve-author-charles-murray\/756068001\/<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=grDBaFlQ8BU\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.youtube.com\/watch?v=grDBaFlQ8BU<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"bx-slab\">\n<div class=\"bx-align\">\n<div id=\"bx-creative-583350\" class=\"bx-creative bx-creative-583350\">\n<div class=\"bx-wrap\">\n<div id=\"bx-step-583350-1\" class=\"bx-step bx-step-1 bx-active-step bx-step-SncDMO2 bx-step-583350-1 bx-tail-placement-hidden\" data-close-placement=\"\">\n<form id=\"bx-form-583350-step-1\" action=\"https:\/\/api.bounceexchange.com\/capture\/submit\" method=\"post\"><input class=\"bx-input bx-carb-trap\" tabindex=\"-1\" autocomplete=\"off\" name=\"carb-trap\" type=\"input\" \/><\/form>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>The Little Red Schoolhouse<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Human-Munition-Factory.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19884\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Human-Munition-Factory.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"499\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Human-Munition-Factory.jpg 1053w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Human-Munition-Factory-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Human-Munition-Factory-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Human-Munition-Factory-768x766.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Human-Munition-Factory-1024x1021.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a>Why will Matt Damon&#8230;Weinsteins&#8217;s pal&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Damon-SOS.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19885\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Damon-SOS.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Damon-SOS.jpg 1484w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Damon-SOS-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Damon-SOS-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Damon-SOS-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a>Shill for Randi Weingarten?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Weingarten-Flag.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19886\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Weingarten-Flag.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"316\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Weingarten-Flag.jpg 950w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Weingarten-Flag-300x190.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Weingarten-Flag-768x486.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a>with the movie &#8220;BackPack full of Cash&#8221;?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Backpack-full-of-cash.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19887\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Backpack-full-of-cash.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"263\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Backpack-full-of-cash.png 1200w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Backpack-full-of-cash-300x158.png 300w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Backpack-full-of-cash-768x403.png 768w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Backpack-full-of-cash-1024x538.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Well, maybe because they are both millionaires who (like NEA&#8217;s Lily Garcia) want to divert school workers into their false flag operation about charters, away from the reality of perpetual war, booming color-coded inequality, and the fact of teaching lies to children, using methods so obscure that kids learn not to like to learn: future Cannon Fodder, Walm<\/span>art<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"> employees, prisoners, etc&#8230;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>One Subject ot the AFT\/NEA\/Damon film feels cheated\u00a0 <\/strong>&#8220;Let&#8217;s be clear \u2014 my point below is about the quote being cut OUT OF CONTEXT, deliberately, to make a point that was not the stated focus for the interview,&#8221; Allen writes in one email to the filmmakers.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are comfortable that our use of your interview was entirely within our rights of editorial discretion as filmmakers. Also we did not agree to any limitation on those rights in the appearance you signed,&#8221; they tell Allen. &#8220;Over the course of working on this film we came across that catchy phrase &#8216;backpack full of cash&#8217; numerous times so it was fortuitous for us that you used it in the interview.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Aronow and Mondale did not respond to a request for comment. Damon is a well-known advocate for public schools. He was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonglobe.com\/metro\/2017\/09\/13\/damon\/Y9FQnO4yAcZLdDwxR7H0dL\/story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">treated heroically<\/a> at a screening of <em>Backpack Full of Cash<\/em>\u00a0in Boston in September, attended largely by public-school teachers, though <a href=\"http:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2017\/09\/18\/matt-damon-wants-to-limit-school-choice-for-your-kids-but-sends-his-kids-to-posh-private-schools\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">conservative media<\/a> delighted in pointing out <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em>the screening took place at an expensive private school and that Damon does not send his kids to public schools.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It was a shock to see them cunningly and deliberately cut my quote to serve their own purpose,&#8221; Allen says. &#8220;We always have to fight people who are, frankly, uneducated about the issue. If I could show Matt Damon what we actually do, and the options kids can have so they don&#8217;t have to go to failing schools, he&#8217;d be a supporter.&#8221;\u00a0\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/news\/participant-matt-damon-public-school-doc-lashes-at-filmmakers-1043801\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.hollywoodreporter.com\/news\/participant-matt-damon-public-school-doc-lashes-at-filmmakers-1043801<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Napolitano.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19894\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Napolitano.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"413\" height=\"310\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Napolitano.jpg 413w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Napolitano-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 413px) 100vw, 413px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"trb_ar_hl_t\">Why UC President Napolitano deserved this unusual rebuke<\/h1>\n<p>The still-stunning decision by <a id=\"OREDU0000192\" title=\"University of California System\" href=\"http:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/topic\/education\/colleges-universities\/university-of-california-system-OREDU0000192-topic.html\">University of California<\/a> President Janet Napolitano to interfere with a state audit \u2014 by removing and weakening criticism of her office\u2019s performance from individual UC campuses \u2014 has gotten the harsh rebuke it deserves. It came in the form of <a href=\"http:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB562\">Assembly Bill 562<\/a>, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed this week. Under the new law, a state agency\u2019s decision to interfere with, impede or obstruct a state audit requested by the Legislature or required by statute is now a misdemeanor crime with a fine of up to $5,000.<\/p>\n<p>How Napolitano thought her behavior was acceptable in this matter remains incomprehensible. As part of state Auditor <a id=\"PEPLT00008039\" title=\"Elaine Howle\" href=\"http:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/topic\/politics-government\/government\/elaine-howle-PEPLT00008039-topic.html\">Elaine Howle<\/a>\u2019s review of Napolitano\u2019s office and its finances, Howle\u2019s staff sent campus officials a survey \u2014 one that was supposed to be confidential \u2014 asking them to evaluate services provided by the president\u2019s office. But before the surveys were returned to the auditor, they were in several cases revised to make responses more favorable to Napolitano and her aides. Yet at a May 2 meeting of a joint legislative oversight committee, Napolitano asserted the changes were made not to make her look better but to make the responses <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/opinion\/editorials\/sd-napolitano-uc-audit-scandal-20170503-story.html\">accurate<\/a>. An <a href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/politics\/la-pol-sac-uc-audit-interference-20170427-story.html\">egregious change <\/a>involving UC San Diego\u2019s survey shows the absurdity of this claim: The response to a question about the president\u2019s office\u2019s transparency and budget process was changed from \u201cdissatisfied\u201d to \u201csatisfied.\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/opinion\/editorials\/sd-napolitano-interfere-audit-uc-20171006-story.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/opinion\/editorials\/sd-napolitano-interfere-audit-uc-20171006-story.html<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"entry-title\">How a Church Secretary, 25, Was Picked for La Mesa School Board Over 4 Experienced Rivals (<em>what happens when the US public runs capitalist schools<\/em>)<\/h1>\n<p>Blessed with an agile mind and the right political affiliation, a 25-year-old church secretary and events planner recently was appointed to the La Mesa-Spring Valley school board.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/rebekah-basson-0a3524112\/\"><strong>Rebekah Basson<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 who registered to vote a day after the seat\u2019s application deadline \u2014 is one of the youngest school board members in the state.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe world is my oyster,\u201d she said of her decision to apply for a vacant seat. \u201cThat\u2019s a mind-set \u2026 a lot of people my age have.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Basson said another secretary she met through her events work at <a href=\"https:\/\/foothillschurch.org\"><strong>Foothills Christian Church<\/strong><\/a> in El Cajon mentioned the school-board opening, \u201cand so I kind of figured that I would give it a go\u201d despite having lived in the district only 1 1\/2 years as an adult.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Rebekah Basson on science vs. faith issues\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ljqMfLvaeOg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1>Step Inside This Forbidden Book Warehouse That\u2019s Been Left To Decay In Detroit (schools in ruins&#8211;thanks DFT)<\/h1>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Detroit-book-warehouse.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19928\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Detroit-book-warehouse.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Detroit-book-warehouse.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Detroit-book-warehouse-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><em><strong>The floors of the building are carpeted with books and other supplies that once served a vital purpose within the school district.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Detroit-book-warehouse-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19929\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Detroit-book-warehouse-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Detroit-book-warehouse-2.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Detroit-book-warehouse-2-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><em><strong>t\u2019s enough to make a bookworm cry: piles and piles of discarded novels, manuals, and magazines create a sad and surreal setting.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Detroit-book-warehouse-3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19930\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Detroit-book-warehouse-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Detroit-book-warehouse-3.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Detroit-book-warehouse-3-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><em><strong>Detroit has been run by Democrats for near<\/strong><\/em>ly 50 years\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.onlyinyourstate.com\/michigan\/abandoned-book-warehouse-mi\/?utm_medium=email&#038;utm_source=michigan&#038;utm_campaign=newsletter\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.onlyinyourstate.com\/michigan\/abandoned-book-warehouse-mi\/?utm_medium=email&#038;utm_source=michigan&#038;utm_campaign=newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>The International Hot War of the Rich on the Poor<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/West-Point-Commie.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19921\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/West-Point-Commie.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"368\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/West-Point-Commie.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/West-Point-Commie-300x221.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1>West Point superintendent responds to outrage over pro-Communist former cadet<\/h1>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">Since photos surfaced in late September of a now-second lieutenant sporting a Che Guevara T-shirt under his uniform at West Point\u2019s 2016 graduation and commissioning ceremony, West Point and the Army have drawn the ire of everyone from active-duty soldiers to a Florida senator.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">On Wednesday, West Point superintendent Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen responded to the outrage in a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usma.edu\/news\/Shared%20Documents\/Superintendent%27s%20Letter%20to%20Graduates%20Regarding%202nd%20Lt.%20Rapone.pdf\">letter addressed to the men and women of the U.S. Military Academy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">\u201cI ask that you help me prevent the negativity associated with the alleged behavior of one graduate from causing us to lose sight of the thousands of graduates who sacrifice and serve honorably every day,\u201d he wrote.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2017\/10\/11\/west-point-superintendent-responds-to-outrage-over-pro-communist-former-cadet\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2017\/10\/11\/west-point-superintendent-responds-to-outrage-over-pro-communist-former-cadet\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Queeg.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19918\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Queeg.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"335\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Queeg.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Queeg-300x201.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1>\u2018I now hate my ship\u2019: Surveys reveal disastrous morale on cruiser Shiloh<\/h1>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s only a matter of time before something horrible happens,\u201d one shipmate warned.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">\u201cOur sailors do not trust the CO,\u201d another noted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">It\u2019s a \u201cfloating prison,\u201d one said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">&#8220;I just pray we never have to shoot down a missile from North Korea,\u201d a distraught sailor lamented, \u201cbecause then our ineffectiveness will really show.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">These comments come from three command climate surveys taken on the cruiser Shiloh during Capt. Adam M. Aycock\u2019s recently-completed 26-month command. The Japan-based ship is a vital cog in U.S. ballistic missile defense and the 7th Fleet\u2019s West Pacific mission to deter North Korea and counter ascendant Chinese and Russian navies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">These comments are not unique. Each survey runs hundreds of pages, with crew members writing anonymously of dysfunction from the top, suicidal thoughts, exhaustion, despair and concern that the Shiloh was being pushed underway while vital repairs remained incomplete.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">Frequently in focus is the commanding officer\u2019s micromanagement and a neutered chiefs mess. Aycock was widely feared among sailors who said minor on-the-job mistakes often led to time in the brig, where they would be fed only bread and water.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2017\/10\/09\/i-now-hate-my-ship-surveys-reveal-disastrous-morale-on-cruiser-shiloh\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2017\/10\/09\/i-now-hate-my-ship-surveys-reveal-disastrous-morale-on-cruiser-shiloh\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Navy-Ship-John-McCain-Collision.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19896\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Navy-Ship-John-McCain-Collision.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Navy-Ship-John-McCain-Collision.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Navy-Ship-John-McCain-Collision-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Navy-Ship-John-McCain-Collision-768x509.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Navy-Ship-John-McCain-Collision-1024x678.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1>Navy fires John S. McCain leadership, calls fatal August collision &#8220;preventable&#8221;<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">Calling a fatal August collision involving the destroyer John S. McCain that killed 10 sailors \u201cpreventable,\u201d the Navy\u2018s 7th Fleet has fired the ship\u2019s commanding officer and executive officer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">The McCain\u2019s skipper, Cmdr. Alfredo J. Sanchez, and the ship\u2019s second-in-charge, Cmdr. Jessie L. Sanchez, were relieved Wednesday morning in Japan, according to a 7th Fleet release.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">\u201cWhile the investigation is ongoing, it is evident the collision was preventable, the commanding officer exercised poor judgement, and the executive officer exercised poor leadership of the ship\u2019s training program,\u201d the release states.\u00a0\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2017\/10\/11\/navy-fires-john-s-mccain-leadership-calls-fatal-august-collision-preventable\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2017\/10\/11\/navy-fires-john-s-mccain-leadership-calls-fatal-august-collision-preventable\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h1>Top recruiter: Just 136,000 out of 33 million young Americans would join the Army<\/h1>\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/army-recruiter.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19922\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/army-recruiter.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"379\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/army-recruiter.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/army-recruiter-300x228.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/army-recruiter-768x582.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/army-recruiter-1024x777.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a>According to U.S. Army Recruiting Command, there are 33.4 million Americans ages 17 to 24, the Army\u2019s prime demographic for enlisting and commissioning.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">But there\u2019s one hitch: When you whittle that number down for standards, quality and interest? Only about 136,000 are left.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">The Army\u2019s accession standards aren\u2019t coming down, so the service must do a better job of conveying to Americans what the Army is and what soldiers do, USAREC Command Sgt. Maj. Anthony Bowers said Wednesday at the AUSA annual meeting in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">\u201cIn recruiting command, our soldiers who come out and recruit, we tell them to be giving guests. They show the community itself what the Army is all about,\u201d he said. \u201cWe dispel a lot of the rumors, a lot of the stigma that is involved with the military.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">That stigma comes from several places. One is that \u201cGeneration Z,\u201d as it\u2018s been dubbed, is much less likely to want to leave home and see the world than others, Bowers said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">\u201cMany of today\u2019s youth are not inclined to want to leave their family and friends,\u201d he said. \u201cFamily and friends, they oppose them joining the military service.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/mauldin-vetsday3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19923\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/mauldin-vetsday3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"341\" height=\"425\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/mauldin-vetsday3.jpg 341w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/mauldin-vetsday3-241x300.jpg 241w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 341px) 100vw, 341px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">And according to a study, many young Americans see the Army as a last resort, not a top choice for their future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">\u201cIt was kind of sad for me to find out, me being a prior soldier, the American public thought of the Army as the lower left-hand quadrant, and [that people join] the Army because they had nothing else to do,\u201d said James Cox of the Army Marketing Research Group.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">A large number of people who join the Army do so because they have a family member who serves or served, Bowers said, and they have a more accurate picture of what the military is like.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">It has become a family business, Bowers said. And as the number of Americans who serve \u2014 about 1 percent \u2014 shrinks, so does the number of their family members who might be interested in joining.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">That interest is key. Of the 33.4 million target population, only 9.7 million are qualified to join the Army, according to USAREC statistics. Reasons for disqualification include fitness and weight standards, medical issues, misconduct, substance use and mental health.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">Then they have to be available to join, i.e. they\u2019re not already enrolled in college. That brings the number down to 5.7 million. And because the Army isn\u2019t looking for just the bare-minimum qualifying recruits, USAREC says only 1.7 million of those young people are of the high quality they want.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">Finally, of those 1.7 million, USAREC estimates that just 136,000 young people would even be interested in joining the Army.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2017\/10\/12\/top-recruiter-just-136000-out-of-33-million-young-americans-would-join-the-army\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2017\/10\/12\/top-recruiter-just-136000-out-of-33-million-young-americans-would-join-the-army\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Isis-book.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19940\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Isis-book.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"232\" height=\"346\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Isis-book.jpg 232w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Isis-book-201x300.jpg 201w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 232px) 100vw, 232px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h1 id=\"headline\" class=\"headline\">Betrayed by God, ISIS Fighters, Having Pledged to Fight or Die, Surrender en Masse<\/h1>\n<p id=\"story-continues-1\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"196\" data-total-count=\"196\">DIBIS, Iraq \u2014 The prisoners were taken to a waiting room in groups of four, and were told to stand facing the concrete wall, their noses almost touching it, their hands bound behind their backs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"347\" data-total-count=\"543\">More than a thousand prisoners determined to be Islamic State fighters passed through that room last week after they fled their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/10\/05\/world\/middleeast\/iraq-hawija-isis.html\">crumbling Iraqi stronghold of Hawija<\/a>. Instead of the martyrdom they had boasted was their only acceptable fate, they had voluntarily ended up here in the interrogation center of the Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"446\" data-total-count=\"989\">For an extremist group that has made its reputation on its ferociousness, with fighters who would always choose suicide over surrender, the fall of Hawija has been a notable turning point. The group has suffered a string of humiliating defeats in Iraq and Syria, but the number of its shock troops who turned themselves in at the center in Dibis was unusually large, more than 1,000 since last Sunday, according to Kurdish intelligence officials.<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-2\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"231\" data-total-count=\"1220\">The fight for Mosul, Iraq\u2019s second-largest city, took nine months, and by comparison, relatively few Islamic State fighters surrendered. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/08\/31\/world\/asia\/iraq-isis-tal-afar-abadi.html\"> Tal Afar<\/a> fell next, and more quickly, in only 11 days. Some 500 fighters surrendered there.\u00a0 The Iraqi military ousted the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL, from Hawija in 15 days, saying it had taken its forces only three days of actual heavy fighting before most of the extremists grabbed their families and ran. According to Kurdish officials, they put up no fight at all, other than planting bombs and booby traps.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/10\/08\/world\/middleeast\/isis-iraq-surrender.html?hp&#038;action=click&#038;pgtype=Homepage&#038;clickSource=story-heading&#038;module=photo-spot-region&#038;region=top-news&#038;WT.nav=top-news&#038;_r\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2017\/10\/08\/world\/middleeast\/isis-iraq-surrender.html?hp&#038;action=click&#038;pgtype=Homepage&#038;clickSource=story-heading&#038;module=photo-spot-region&#038;region=top-news&#038;WT.nav=top-news&#038;_r<\/a><\/p>\n<h1>FACT CHECK: Afghans don\u2019t have Strykers<\/h1>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/stryker.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19948\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/stryker.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/stryker.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/stryker-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/stryker-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/stryker-1024x576.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">Appearing before a House hearing on South Asia strategy for Afghanistan in early October, Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told lawmakers that Afghan forces had been supplied with U.S. Stryker vehicles and that they were having an impact on the battlefield.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">\u201cBut here is what I want to tell you \u2014 is the glimmers of hope. You know we bought the Stryker vehicles \u2014 those are being employed right now, and they have actually provided a competitive advantage to the Afghan forces over their counterparts,\u201d Dunford said responding to a question about the U.S. weapons program for Afghan forces.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">But there\u2019s a major problem with that statement \u2014 Afghans don\u2019t have Stryker vehicles, according to U.S. officials at the Pentagon.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2017\/10\/13\/fact-check-afghans-dont-have-strykers\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2017\/10\/13\/fact-check-afghans-dont-have-strykers\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<h1 class=\"post-title\">What prompted the US-Turkey visa dispute?<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/topics\/country\/united-states.html\">US<\/a> move to suspend visa services in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/topics\/country\/turkey.html\">Turkey<\/a> was motivated both by Washington&#8217;s concern over Ankara&#8217;s Syria policy, and by last week&#8217;s arrest of a US embassy employee who allegedly had information on American involvement in the 2016 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2016\/12\/turkey-failed-coup-attempt-161217032345594.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">failed coup attempt<\/a>, a senior Turkish official told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<p>The US mission in Turkey announced on Sunday that it had stopped all non-immigrant visa services amid concerns over &#8220;the security of US mission and personnel&#8221;. Ankara reiterated reciprocally hours later, using similar language.<\/p>\n<p>The development is unprecedented between the two NATO allies and represents a major fallout in bilateral relations.<\/p>\n<p>Turkish authorities last week detained Metin Topuz, a Turkish citizen working for the US consulate in Istanbul. He was accused of having links to the organisation of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/topics\/people\/fethullah-gulen.html\">Fethullah Gulen<\/a>, an exiled religious leader and businessman based in the US and wanted in Turkey. Ankara accuses Gulen of masterminding the July 15 coup attempt that killed more than 300 people.<\/p>\n<p>Turkish President <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/topics\/people\/recep-tayyip-erdogan.html\">Recep Tayyip Erdogan<\/a> has repeatedly called on Washington to extradite Gulen since the coup attempt, but the US has refused.\u00a0http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2017\/10\/motivated-turkey-visa-dispute-171009123602253.html<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/dotard.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19935\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/dotard.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/dotard.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/dotard-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/dotard-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"headline\" class=\"headline\">Dotard Alone Can Order a Nuclear Strike. Congress Can Change That.<\/h1>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"256\" data-total-count=\"256\">The broad debate over President Trump\u2019s fitness for the difficult and demanding office he holds has recently been reframed in a more pointed and urgent way: Does he understand, and can he responsibly manage, the most destructive nuclear arsenal on earth?<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"355\" data-total-count=\"611\">The question arises for several reasons. He has threatened to \u201ctotally destroy\u201d North Korea. He has reportedly pressed for a massive buildup in the American nuclear arsenal, which already contains too many \u2014 4,000 \u2014 warheads. And soon he will decide whether to sustain or set a course to possibly unravel the immensely important Iran nuclear deal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"670\" data-total-count=\"1281\">Doubts about his competency were reinforced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/10\/08\/us\/politics\/trump-corker.html\">this week <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/10\/08\/us\/politics\/trump-corker.html\">by <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/10\/08\/us\/politics\/trump-corker.html\">Senator Bob Corker<\/a>, who charged that Mr. Trump was treating his office like \u201ca reality show\u201d with reckless threats that could set the nation \u201con the path to World War III.\u201d Mr. Corker, a Republican from Tennessee, says he is relying on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and John Kelly, the White House chief of staff, to help \u201cseparate our country from chaos.\u201d That is a searing indictment, and Mr. Corker is no garden-variety legislator; as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he is a respected, and largely responsible, voice on national security issues.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"248\" data-total-count=\"1529\">Further, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/all\/trump-wanted-dramatic-increase-nuclear-arsenal-meeting-military-leaders-n809701\">NBC News now reports<\/a> that Mr. Tillerson judged Mr. Trump a \u201cmoron\u201d after a July 20 meeting in which Mr. Trump, apparently distressed that the arsenal has declined since the Cold War, said he wanted a nearly tenfold increase in weapons.<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-1\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"534\" data-total-count=\"2063\">Mr. Trump\u2019s policy pronouncements during the campaign betrayed either profound ignorance or dangerous nonchalance: At one point he wondered why America had nuclear weapons if it didn\u2019t use them; at another he suggested that Japan and South Korea, which have long lived under the American security umbrella, should develop their own nuclear weapons.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/10\/11\/opinion\/trump-korea-war-competence.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2017\/10\/11\/opinion\/trump-korea-war-competence.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>The International Economic War of the Rich on the Poor<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Va-hotel-in-Paris.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19949\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Va-hotel-in-Paris.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Va-hotel-in-Paris.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Va-hotel-in-Paris-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Va-hotel-in-Paris-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Va-hotel-in-Paris-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1>Plan to sell off VA&#8217;s ritzy Paris hotel gets opposition from veterans group<\/h1>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">Lawmakers are again working to get the Department of Veterans Affairs to sell its multi-million dollar hotel in France to pay for more relevant needs, but American Legion officials are now standing in their way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">They say the plan is really a get-rich-quick scheme for a foreign developer that could jeopardize World War I artifacts and cheat American taxpayers out of a valuable property.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">\u201cThis is a short-sighted attempt and a quick fix to larger issues within VA,\u201d said Lou Celli, director of the Legion\u2019s Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Division. \u201cUltimately, by selling the building, veterans lose.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">Pershing Hall, which sits less than a mile from the Arc de Triomphe in the heart of Paris, has been managed by VA since 1991 and owned by the federal government since 1935, when Legion officials transferred ownership of the site in hopes of establishing a permanent war memorial and veterans assistance site\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2017\/10\/13\/plan-to-sell-off-vas-ritzy-paris-hotel-gets-opposition-from-veterans-group\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2017\/10\/13\/plan-to-sell-off-vas-ritzy-paris-hotel-gets-opposition-from-veterans-group\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Donald Trump is president of the U.S. Virgin Islands. He doesn&#039;t seem to realize that.\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YDWGtxMzl9Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Nearly three-quarters of the world\u2019s adults own under $10,000 in wealth. This 71 percent of the world holds only 3 percent of global wealth. The world\u2019s wealthiest individuals, those owning over $100,000 in assets, total only 8.1 percent of the global population but own 84.6 percent of global wealth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUltra high net worth individuals\u201d \u2014 the wealth management industry\u2019s term of art for deep pockets worth more than $30 million \u2014 hold an astoundingly disproportionate share of global wealth. These wealth owners own 12.8 percent of total global wealth, yet represent only a tiny fraction of the world population.<\/p>\n<p>The world\u2019s 10 richest billionaires, according to Forbes, own $505 billion in combined wealth, a sum greater than the total goods and services most nations produce on an annual basis.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/inequality.org\/facts\/global-inequality\/https:\/\/inequality.org\/facts\/global-inequality\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">inequality.org\/facts\/global-inequality\/https:\/\/inequality.org\/facts\/global-inequality\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/International-inequality.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19926\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/International-inequality.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"416\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/International-inequality.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/International-inequality-300x250.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<h2>David Leonhardt<\/h2>\n<p>Op-Ed Columnist<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\">Floridians\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/p.nytimes.com\/email\/re?location=pMJKdIFVI6pehkIEQ5\/wRlHuBnABnhdlpuSND\/tjjQBR2tNFiNrhnY\/8s4llVLZyquwwMaUgvlezLLh0VwYyAQ==&amp;campaign_id=69&amp;instance_id=104737&amp;segment_id=114616&amp;user_id=1077d6867cfb1e9eaaaa4a81b0c3ab4b&amp;regi_id=2254121\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">are<\/a>\u00a0\u201camazing people,\u201d President Trump tweeted after Hurricane Irma. \u201cWe\u2019re going to see some of the folks and make sure they\u2019re happy,\u201d he\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/p.nytimes.com\/email\/re?location=pMJKdIFVI6pghfX2HXfSzxRpdoyDWYNWFGYNwyo+qOIXlEOd4h+JoZY5yf0hwFgAVkF28AH6\/mNutiA8tUp6h\/QoLGCjZ7gZMgZYX9beqeuyqmxgy+KceQ8vkhql7uVGLmyTdI6uziDFcS8Tr\/jnxfekD+8j4PJ1qUfHpcjIqCgofumKVUbCXOxEdQPS2MYwSM+5KUjrTQ8=&amp;campaign_id=69&amp;instance_id=104737&amp;segment_id=114616&amp;user_id=1077d6867cfb1e9eaaaa4a81b0c3ab4b&amp;regi_id=2254121\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a>\u00a0in Fort Myers. Texans, for their part, \u201chave done a fantastic job of getting things together\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/p.nytimes.com\/email\/re?location=4z5Q7LhI+KXlmQtWhJRiUCQVtYl32NmtDdqJYI0+ZxvHfUyF7LRJDJtUD2x+8IQky8KyL1EwTOPps5X69lCOcCGY920VFEnZwEnaJ+cBCMTn1B9Qf5NI71IpbQlljfa6diHfYJp8eo4=&amp;campaign_id=69&amp;instance_id=104737&amp;segment_id=114616&amp;user_id=1077d6867cfb1e9eaaaa4a81b0c3ab4b&amp;regi_id=2254121\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">after Harvey<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\">\u201cWe are with you today, we are with you\u00a0tomorrow, and we will be with you EVERY SINGLE DAY AFTER, to restore, recover, and REBUILD!\u201d he\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/p.nytimes.com\/email\/re?location=pMJKdIFVI6pehkIEQ5\/wRlHuBnABnhdlpuSND\/tjjQBR2tNFiNrhnTd4z4uc4D105twSlVVE1hCYi06RjT29EA==&amp;campaign_id=69&amp;instance_id=104737&amp;segment_id=114616&amp;user_id=1077d6867cfb1e9eaaaa4a81b0c3ab4b&amp;regi_id=2254121\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">told<\/a>\u00a0Texas. Florida received the same message, right down to the: \u201cEVERY SINGLE DAY.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\">And Puerto Ricans? They \u201cwant everything to be done for them,\u201d Trump has tweeted. \u201cWe cannot keep FEMA, the Military &amp; the First Responders, who have been amazing (under the most difficult circumstances) in P.R. forever!\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\">After Harvey made landfall, Trump used his weekly video address to deliver a message of unity. \u201cWhen one part of America hurts, we all hurt,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t ask their names or where they are from \u2014 we help our fellow Americans every single time.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\">It\u2019s almost as if he didn\u2019t mean it.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>The Emergence of Fascism as a Popular Mass Movement<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Play-Soldier.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19944\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Play-Soldier.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Play-Soldier.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Play-Soldier-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Play-Soldier-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Play-Soldier-1024x576.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"block-591e374d5016e15b3229c227\" class=\"sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html\" data-block-type=\"2\">\n<div class=\"sqs-block-content\">\n<h2 class=\"text-align-center\">Welcome to MILSIM WEST<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"block-yui_3_17_2_3_1495153843931_76497\" class=\"sqs-block image-block sqs-block-image sqs-text-ready\" data-block-type=\"5\">\n<div id=\"yui_3_17_2_1_1507967310994_230\" class=\"sqs-block-content\">\n<div id=\"yui_3_17_2_1_1507967310994_229\" class=\"image-block-outer-wrapper layout-caption-hidden design-layout-inline\">\n<div id=\"yui_3_17_2_1_1507967310994_228\" class=\"intrinsic\">\n<div id=\"yui_3_17_2_1_1507967310994_227\" class=\"image-block-wrapper has-aspect-ratio\" data-description=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumb-image loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/static1.squarespace.com\/static\/50e53176e4b0837383d71516\/t\/591e3db6b3db2bf1985a6d06\/1495154110672\/?format=1500w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static1.squarespace.com\/static\/50e53176e4b0837383d71516\/t\/591e3db6b3db2bf1985a6d06\/1495154110672\/\" data-image=\"https:\/\/static1.squarespace.com\/static\/50e53176e4b0837383d71516\/t\/591e3db6b3db2bf1985a6d06\/1495154110672\/\" data-image-dimensions=\"900x26\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"591e3db6b3db2bf1985a6d06\" data-type=\"image\" data-position-mode=\"standard\" data-image-resolution=\"1500w\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>A Veteran owner and operated company, MilSim West is the most cutting edge military simulation production company in North America. Founded in 2012 by a group of friends who wanted to take the military simulation experience to the next level through the creative use of blank fire fires, pyrotechnics, military vehicles, as well as integrating current and prior-service military members into the players chain of command to give participants a truly unique and exciting milsim experience not found anywhere else. \u2014MSW Command Headquarters<\/p>\n<div id=\"block-yui_3_17_2_2_1495585843576_980502\" class=\"sqs-block image-block sqs-block-image sqs-text-ready\" data-block-type=\"5\">\n<div id=\"yui_3_17_2_1_1507967310994_302\" class=\"sqs-block-content\">\n<div id=\"yui_3_17_2_1_1507967310994_301\" class=\"image-block-outer-wrapper layout-caption-hidden design-layout-inline\">\n<div id=\"yui_3_17_2_1_1507967310994_300\" class=\"intrinsic\">\n<div id=\"yui_3_17_2_1_1507967310994_299\" class=\"image-block-wrapper has-aspect-ratio\" data-description=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumb-image loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/static1.squarespace.com\/static\/50e53176e4b0837383d71516\/t\/5924e6681b10e3f0ccdfc7ff\/1495590505292\/breakout.png?format=1500w\" alt=\"breakout.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static1.squarespace.com\/static\/50e53176e4b0837383d71516\/t\/5924e6681b10e3f0ccdfc7ff\/1495590505292\/breakout.png\" data-image=\"https:\/\/static1.squarespace.com\/static\/50e53176e4b0837383d71516\/t\/5924e6681b10e3f0ccdfc7ff\/1495590505292\/breakout.png\" data-image-dimensions=\"800x44\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"5924e6681b10e3f0ccdfc7ff\" data-type=\"image\" data-position-mode=\"standard\" data-image-resolution=\"1500w\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"block-yui_3_17_2_2_1495594024363_24766\" class=\"sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html\" data-block-type=\"2\">\n<div class=\"sqs-block-content\">\n<h3>October 20-22 at the Government Training Institute in Barnwell, SC<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"MilSim West: Clash on the Steppes Event Trailer\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ii9UKxgaUkk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Videos inside <a href=\"http:\/\/milsimwest.com\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">milsimwest.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Lesser-evil.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19904\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Lesser-evil.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"577\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Lesser-evil.jpg 832w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Lesser-evil-260x300.jpg 260w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Lesser-evil-768x886.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"story-body__h1\">White Fascists return to Charlottesville<\/h1>\n<p class=\"story-body__introduction\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fascists-Charlottesville.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19939\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fascists-Charlottesville.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fascists-Charlottesville.jpg 660w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Fascists-Charlottesville-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a>White nationalist protesters have returned to the US town Charlottesville two months after violent clashes there saw a woman killed.<\/p>\n<p>The town&#8217;s mayor said the small group&#8217;s appearance at the statue of a Confederate general was &#8220;another despicable visit by neo-Nazi cowards&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>The brief torch-lit rally was organised by far-right figure Richard Spencer.<\/p>\n<p>In videos he posted protesters can be heard chanting &#8220;You will not replace us&#8221; and &#8220;we will be back&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>The statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee was also the venue for the &#8220;Unite the Right&#8221; rally in August, held to oppose plans to remove it.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-41543631\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-41543631<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Solidarity for Never<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>A Rogues&#8217;\u00a0 Gallery of the Counterfeit American Left&#8211;a serialized story&#8211;week to week. This week:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Labor-Notes.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19914\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Labor-Notes.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"196\" height=\"257\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Labor Notes Conferences are the biggest gatherings out there of grassroots union activists, worker center leaders, and all-around troublemakers<strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"> (where discussions of class war and imperialism\u00a0 are verboten)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>CONFERENCE DETAILS<\/h3>\n<p><b>Registration: <\/b><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> $150.<\/span> Includes light breakfasts and Saturday night banquet.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Join thousands of union members, officers, and labor activists<\/b> who are on the front lines in our workplaces and our communities, organizing new workers and agitating together. Meet troublemakers from across the country and around the world.<\/li>\n<li><b>More than 100 meetings and workshops<\/b> include creative organizing tactics, beating apathy, running for local union office, winning contract campaigns, bargaining over technology, understanding the economy, life after \u201cright to work,\u201d and reviving the strike. For a taste of what to expect, <a href=\"http:\/\/labornotes.org\/2016\">check out the 2016 lineup<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><b>Organize with others in your union, industry, or campaign.<\/b> Face-to-face meetings to share tactics and swap notes are the heart of the Labor Notes Conference. Join an existing industry, union, or caucus meeting\u2014or contact us to set one up.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Don\u2019t miss a weekend of inspiration, education, and agitation.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Labor Notes conceals it&#8217;s Trotskyist leadership (&#8220;Solidarity&#8221;) who hide their politics in order to teach people via baby steps, about their &#8220;revolutionary&#8221; plans: in other words, trick people into their bogus form of Marxism. They have led dozens of union &#8220;reform&#8221; efforts, and appear unable to learn. Their big success was having one of their members get elected to the presidency of the Teamsters. When he turned out to be a crook, the effort collapsed. LN practices &#8220;lowest common denominator organizing,&#8221; hiding the critical role of class cosciousness. But they persist in their union reform fetish, pretending that American unions are unions, and that they can be reformed. Neither is true.\u00a0 Labor Notes Lies. And they know it.\u00a0 <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.counterpunch.org\/2013\/10\/23\/counterfeit-unionism-in-the-empire\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.counterpunch.org\/2013\/10\/23\/counterfeit-unionism-in-the-empire\/<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>In Contrast:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Ollman.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19915\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Ollman.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"188\" \/><\/a><strong><span class=\"lineheightlg\"><span class=\"subheadblack\">What is Marxism? A Bird&#8217;s-Eye View<\/span><br \/>\nBy Bertell Ollman<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"lineheightlg\">A young reporter asked a leading capitalist how he made <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nyu.edu\/projects\/ollman\/images\/marx01.jpg\" alt=\"Karl Marx\" width=\"151\" height=\"208\" align=\"right\" border=\"0\" hspace=\"10\" vspace=\"10\" \/>his fortune. &#8220;It was really quite simple&#8221;, the capitalist answered. I bought an apple for 5 cents, spent the evening polishing it, and sold it the next day for 10 cents. With this I bought two apples, spent the evening polishing them,and sold them for 2O. And so it went until I amassed 80. It was at this point that my wife&#8217;s father died and left us a million dollars&#8221;. Is this true? Is it fair? What does it all mean? There are no more hotly contested questions in our society than why some are rich and others poor\u2014and whether things have to be this way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Karl Marx sought the answers to these questions by trying to understand how our capitalist society works (for whom it works better, for whom worse), how it arose out of feudalism and where it is likely to lead. Concentrating on the social and economic relations in which people earn their livings, Marx saw behind capitalism&#8217;s law and order appearance a struggle of two main classes: the capitalists, who own the productive resources, and the workers or proletariat, who must work in order to survive. &#8220;Marxism&#8221; is essentially Marx&#8217;s analysis of the complex and developing relations between these two classes.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"lineheightlg\"><br \/>\n<b>1 ORIGINS<\/b><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The main theories that make up this analysis\u2014the theory of alienation, the labor theory of value, and the materialist conception of history\u2014must all be understood with this focus in mind. Even Marx&#8217;s vision of socialism emerges from his study of capitalism, for socialism is the unrealized potential inherent in capitalism itself (something our great material wealth and advanced forms of organization makes possible) for a more just and democratic society in which everyone can develop his\/her distinctively human qualities. (More&#8230;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nyu.edu\/projects\/ollman\/docs\/what_is_marxism.php\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nyu.edu\/projects\/ollman\/docs\/what_is_marxism.php<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Spy versus Spy<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Spy-schools.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19919\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Spy-schools.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"432\" height=\"648\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Spy-schools.jpg 432w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Spy-schools-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Grounded in extensive research and reporting, <em>Spy Schools<\/em> reveals how academia has emerged as a frontline in the global spy game. In a knowledge-based economy, universities are repositories of valuable information and research, where brilliant minds of all nationalities mingle freely with few questions asked. Intelligence agencies have always recruited bright undergraduates, but now, in an era when espionage increasingly requires specialized scientific or technological expertise, they\u2019re wooing higher-level academics\u2014not just as analysts, but also for clandestine operations.<\/p>\n<p>Golden uncovers unbelievable campus activity\u2014from the CIA placing agents undercover in Harvard Kennedy School classes and staging academic conferences to persuade Iranian nuclear scientists to defect, to a Chinese graduate student at Duke University stealing research for an invisibility cloak, and a tiny liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio, exchanging faculty with China\u2019s most notorious spy school. He shows how relentlessly and ruthlessly this practice has permeated our culture, not just inside the US, but internationally as well. Golden, acclaimed author of <em>The Price of Admission<\/em>, blows the lid off this secret culture of espionage and its consequences at home and abroad.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Daniel Golden&#8217;s extensive essay about the CIA on campus (especially Penn State and Graham Spanier&#8211;Paterno&#8217;s protector) in the Chronicle of Higer Ed was published in the Chronicle of Higher Ed on October 10th as &#8220;Spies on Campus.&#8221; The CHE blocks non-subscribers.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>The Magical Mystery Tour<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/creationism-fucked.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19931\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/creationism-fucked.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"660\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/creationism-fucked.jpg 639w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/creationism-fucked-227x300.jpg 227w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<section class=\"article__headline-section\"><span class=\"article__kicker theme__copy-color\">END OF DAYS <\/span><\/section>\n<section class=\"article__headline-section\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Christuan-end-of-days-david-Meade.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19908\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Christuan-end-of-days-david-Meade.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Christuan-end-of-days-david-Meade.jpg 590w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Christuan-end-of-days-david-Meade-300x198.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/section>\n<section class=\"article__headline-section\">\n<h1 class=\"article__headline\">Is the end of the world on October 15 and what\u2019s David Meade\u2019s Planet X conspiracy theory?<\/h1>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"article__subdeck theme__border-color\">\n<p>A seven-year series of catastrophic events including earthquakes, hurricanes, nuclear attacks and volcanic eruptions is set to begin in a few days, according to a Christian conspiracy theorist, Hence, if you are reading this, you are blessed! <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/news\/4523791\/end-of-the-world-planet-x-nibiru-david-meade-october-15-conspiracy\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.thesun.co.uk\/news\/4523791\/end-of-the-world-planet-x-nibiru-david-meade-october-15-conspiracy\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Catholic-rape-dd-nothing.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19932\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Catholic-rape-dd-nothing.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Catholic-rape-dd-nothing.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Catholic-rape-dd-nothing-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"headline\" class=\"headline\">23 Women Accuse Former Queens Priest of Abusing Them as Children (that perpetual motion rape machine&#8230;)<\/h1>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"247\" data-total-count=\"247\">A former teacher at a Catholic school in Queens who said she had reported the sexual abuse of seven female students by a priest in 1991 now claims that the Diocese of Brooklyn covered it up for more than a decade, allowing more girls to be abused.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"461\" data-total-count=\"708\">The teacher, Linda Porcaro, said on Wednesday that she is coming forward now because the victims, on whose behalf she was speaking, are ready to seek justice. Over the last two months, 23 women who said they were abused by the former priest, Adam Prochaski, have become clients of the lawyer, Mitchell Garabedian, who was portrayed in the Oscar-winning film \u201cSpotlight,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/06\/22\/nyregion\/brooklyn-diocese-seeks-to-compensate-sex-abuse-victims.html\">about clergy sex abuse<\/a>. Most of the women\u2019s claims have been referred to the police.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"191\" data-total-count=\"899\">Mr. Prochaski was based at Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church in Maspeth for nearly 25 years. He is accused of abusing the girls between 1972 and 1994, when they were between the ages 5 and 16.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"337\" data-total-count=\"1236\">In New York State, no criminal or civil litigation can take place for most child sex abuse crimes after a victim turns 23. But an exception can be made for rape. The New York Police Department was investigating whether any of the recent allegations qualify for prosecution, a spokeswoman for the Queens district attorney\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n<p id=\"story-continues-1\" class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"317\" data-total-count=\"1553\">Mr. Garabedian said the crimes Mr. Prochaski was accused of ranged from fondling to rape. He has also provided advice on whether the women should apply for compensation through the diocese\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/06\/22\/nyregion\/brooklyn-diocese-seeks-to-compensate-sex-abuse-victims.html\">Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program<\/a>, which was established in June. He expects more women will come forward.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/10\/11\/nyregion\/adam-prochaski-accused-of-sex-abuse-queens.html?_r=0\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2017\/10\/11\/nyregion\/adam-prochaski-accused-of-sex-abuse-queens.html?_r=0<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"317\" data-total-count=\"1553\"><strong>AntiChrist Calls for &#8220;God Worship!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Trump: Americans &#039;Worship God,&#039; Not Government\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hm0slQDPp-k?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body-text story-content\" data-para-count=\"317\" data-total-count=\"1553\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Video Presentation from the Church of the Sub-Genius!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/197805750\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">vimeo.com\/197805750<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>The Best and Worst Things in the History of the World<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The FIrst PhD in War Diploma From UCS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/wAR-PHD.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19942\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/wAR-PHD.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"386\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/wAR-PHD.jpg 2915w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/wAR-PHD-300x232.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/wAR-PHD-768x594.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/wAR-PHD-1024x791.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Below, Hillbillary and pervert campaign doner\/next door neighbor Weinstein<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Clinto-Weinstein.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19880\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Clinto-Weinstein.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Clinto-Weinstein.jpg 634w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Clinto-Weinstein-300x230.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Below, Hillbillary&#8217;s pervert Bill<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Clinton-Grope.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19881\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Clinton-Grope.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"437\" \/><\/a>below, pervert Dotard, naked<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Trump-bald.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19882\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Trump-bald.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"306\" height=\"424\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Trump-bald.jpg 306w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Trump-bald-217x300.jpg 217w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 306px) 100vw, 306px\" \/><\/a><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The US political class is unfit to rule&#8230;..<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<h3>America\u2019s biggest drug smuggler and Bill Clinton<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Sam Smith<\/strong> \u2013 The new film, <em>American Made, <\/em>features Tom Cruise as the late Barry Seal, once the top drug smuggler into America, with Arkansas as a major destination. Unexamined by the film is the role played by the governor of the state, Bill Clinton. As during prohibition, the job of a friendly governor was to look the other way as his territory became a smuggler favorite. There\u2019s no doubt Arkansas at the time was one of the top states for drug smuggling, illustrated by the tale of a drug pilot who told of landing in a pasture where his pickup was a state trooper in a marked car.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/blogger.g?blogID=7018073541417646773#publishedposts\">Buzzfeed<\/a> describes the one brief allusion to Clinton:<br \/>\nThey included a scene in which, after Seal has been arrested by multiple agencies, the attorney general of Arkansas fields a call from then-governor Clinton. Afterwards, Seal is released from custody and immediately whisked away to the White House \u2014 the implication being that Clinton had been asked by the Reagan administration to cut Seal loose so he could begin informing for the DEA. Clinton never appears in the scene \u2014 we only know it&#8217;s him on the phone after the state attorney general calls him &#8220;Bill.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In the early 90s, I tried to tell the story, along with other seamy aspects of the Clintons in Arkansas, but the national media was not only disinterested, I even got banned from a scheduled CSPAN appearance by a network higher up as well as banned from appearing on the local Washington NPR station. I had never run into such media denial but it would lead me not to be surprised by the failure of the press to have covered Trump\u2019s New York past in time for voters to do something about it.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/prorevnews.blogspot.com\/2017\/10\/americas-biggest-drug-smuggler-and-bill.html?utm_source=feedburner&#038;utm_medium=email&#038;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+prorevfeed+%28UNDERNEWS%29\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">prorevnews.blogspot.com\/2017\/10\/americas-biggest-drug-smuggler-and-bill.html?utm_source=feedburner&#038;utm_medium=email&#038;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+prorevfeed+%28UNDERNEWS%29<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>So Long<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Do we miss Spicey yet?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/spicer-lies-sean-.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19906\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/spicer-lies-sean-.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/spicer-lies-sean-.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/spicer-lies-sean--300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/spicer-lies-sean--768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/spicer-lies-sean--1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We Say Fight Back! The Bolshevik Revolution&#8211;100 years on: Classrooms deserted &#8211; 90,000 Dutch elementary school teachers strike Elementary schools across the Netherlands were shut on Thursday as some 90,000 teachers went on strike to demand more pay and a lighter workload. Last-minute promises by politicians to boost spending failed to avert the largest work [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19878"}],"version-history":[{"count":37,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19961,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19878\/revisions\/19961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}