Jennifer Rubin Is A Rubbishy Writer

Bush, Conservatism, English, Literature, Neoconservatism, The Establishment

This New York Review of Books reviewer suggests that the tedious neoconservative, Jennifer Rubin, made prominent for her banality, is reminiscent of the late Molly Ivins, who was an old-school, acerbic, liberal columnist.

Rubbish.

Ivins coined memorable monikers for George Bush such as “Shrub” and “Dubya.”

Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol was a neoconservative writer, organizer, and theorist for a quarter-century, at the barricades on controversies from health care reform to the Iraq War (he was also the most important promoter of Sarah Palin, who embodied Trumpism before Trump became Trump). Now he regularly issues withering tweets about Trump and is a fixture on the liberal-leaning MSNBC. The foreign policy writer Max Boot was a vocal and at times strident champion of the Bush Doctrine. These days he’s a ferocious and shrewd critic of the president. Washington Post blogger-columnist Jennifer Rubin was, among prominent conservative pundits, probably Mitt Romney’s most aggressive defender in 2012 and aside from that was known for her hard-line foreign policy views, particularly on matters relating to Israel. Now, her columns often read as if they could have been written by the late Molly Ivins. (Two recent Rubin headlines: “Trump Retreats on Iran, and He Will Need to Do So Again”; “The Enablers of the Racist President Are Back at It.”)

David Frum is also a much better writer than Israel Firster, Ms. Rubin.

MORE.

UPDATED (2/4/018): It’s Been A While Since Foreign Policy Has Been So Perilous On So Many Fronts

Foreign Policy, Middle East, Neoconservatism, Russia, War

Scanning the front page of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity should make all sane people gloomy. The neoconservatives are in charge and no one is the wiser. Certainly in foreign policy, there has been a speedy reversion to the neoconservative mean.

A smattering of headlines:

* “US Troops Arrive in Israel to Practice for Potential War With Hezbollah.” WTF!

* “Mattis Threatens Military Action Over Syria Gas Attack Claims, Then Admits ‘No Evidence‘”

* “Breaking: US-Backed Free Syrian Army Group Shoots Down Russian Jet, Kills Pilot”

* “Rex Tillerson: Neocon.”

Doesn’t look like President Trump has surrounded himself with the best people to optimize his original America First promise. Neoconservatives are indisputably the worst. In my book, The Trump Revolution: The Donald’s Creative Destruction Deconstructed, you will find recommendations for the excellent people we could have had in place, down to the military.

UPDATE (2/4/018):

Follow the money: Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD): Kurt Volker of the aptly named McCain Institute is speaking on Fox New charmingly about what’s essentially a nuclear arms race. So you know: US Missile Defense system has failed recently.

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‘In South Africa, More People Have Loans Than Jobs’

Africa, Culture, Debt, South-Africa

“Household debt is hobbling the black middle class” of South Africa. Via The Economist:

* South Africans are the world’s most avid borrowers, according to the World Bank. A study published in 2014 showed that 86% had borrowed money in the previous year.
* Most borrow from friends or family, but an astonishing 25m out of about 37m adult South Africans owe money to financial institutions or other corporate lenders (such as utilities or shops that allow them to buy now and pay later).
* Fewer than 10m people are formally employed (although many more work on farms or in the informal economy, where statistics are not reliable).
* Many South Africans are ignorant of the basics of personal finance, a trait that transcends income levels. Neil Roets, who heads Debt Rescue, a debt-counselling firm, says new clients are first asked for their household budget. Most do not have one. “We get people coming in who earn very big salaries…and have never learned how to work with money.”

MORE about the great South-African success brought about by the “Anglo-American axis of evil.”

Related:

Why Trump Pooh-Poohed “S-ithole” Countries (Part 2)
Trump’s ‘Shithole’ Controversy Deconstructed (Part 1)

Henry Kissinger Speaks: For Once, Media Didn’t Ask A Tele-Tart To Comment On North Korea

Celebrity, Feminism, Foreign Policy, Gender, Intelligence, Media

It’s hard to know whether the retarded reporters of the Daily Mail quoted Henry Kissinger inaccurately, or whether Kissinger was confused, in his comments about North Korea. The who “played a dominant role in U.S. foreign policy in the late 1960s and 1970s, [and] won the Nobel Peace Prize for his part in negotiating an end to American involvement in Vietnam,” is in his 90s.

I suspect the former. In any event, Kissinger mumbled a lot, but said eventually that “he was against forcing a military confrontation, but at the same time was in favor of putting pressure on Pyongyang.”

Fox News’ “experts” on foreign policy usually constitute a birgade of bimbos such as the barf-making Marie Harf, a hand-me-down from Obama, and a stupid, stupid girl called Jessica Tarlov. (The missing link: Meghan McCain, who’s been poached by television more liberal than Fox News.)

So it’s nice to hear, occasionally, from someone who knows a little something—even if we libertarians are not mad about Kissinger. A learned Methuselah who’s seen a thing or two is so much more enlightening than the tele-tarts.

‘Then we’re living in a new world, in which technically competent countries with adequate command structures are possessing nuclear weapons in an area where there are considerable national disagreements.
‘This … would drive a rethinking of the entire U.S. nuclear deterrent posture’ Kissinger said, as the current strategy assumes only one potential nuclear threat.

MORE.

A Feature of Fox News’ Fathead Anchors:

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