Hmm... wonder if Twitter is squelching Sarah

I agree with Sarah Palin. The new socialist congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, shows a bizarre lack of basic knowledge about how our government is constituted. This really is amazing ignorance for a member of Congress. Was she taught basic civics in sixth grade? Well, I suppose she'll be learning on the job, but one must wonder how well she will represent her district while she catches up on basic knowledge every American is presumed to have.

Yes, true Sarah had some flubs of her own. But they seem to have been of the sort where one says "west" when one intended to say "east." And the liberal media of course misrepresented her words to make her sound as goofy as possible.

The fact that Palin is being swamped in Twitter-land suggests that youthful socialists are very interested in protecting one of their own. But they should realize that a real socialist knows government inside and out, being well-versed in political arcana. So then, how well is such a limited person likely to represent their cause?

And then of course there is the issue of Twitter shadow-banning conservatives to make it appear that they are getting little support. Twitter has denied those charges, but the denials are slippery and unpersuasive.

Gab is up, but something is still wrong

Gab.com
http://gab.com

is up and running as far as I could tell, although I did not try to sign on. Yet the Web of Trust (WoT) gives the site a poor rating, which generally means users have run into malware. But, because WoT relies on voluntary user ratings, it wouldn't be hard to have trolls give the site a false "danger" rating. There is also the possibility the site had to use a server which is under attack, or is unreliable for some reason.

I checked again at 7.30 p.m. EST on 02/04/19 and got the same result. Hence, what we have is harassment intended to deter use. Who is doing it is not clear as it is rather easy to set up some sort of automated bum-rating gizmo.

Corbett skewers Reditt

Imagine the nerve of some subversives -- actually using real news from reputable media! Well, Reddit's on guard not only against fake news, but also real news, Reditt assures us. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-AK7fDGvBY

The trick that turned the tide

Some recent history by British writers

For those interested in recent history, I recommend The First World War by John Keegan. Keegan, who began his career as a journalist, was a military analyst par excellence. One gets to understand the various strategic interactions. The only thing he missed was the importance of something that has been lost in the fog of war and history: An American ruse de guerre that suddenly turned the tide and resulted in the war's ending soon thereafter.

The Americans realized a spy in U.S. field headquarters was relaying secrets to the Germans. So, left in a waste basket was a rumpled copy of an American "battle plan" alleging a coming drive in a certain sector. Sure enough, the Germans began shifting major units from the Saint Mihiel salient to counter the Americans, who then struck that salient when the Germans were weak, and took it.

The Allies had been unable to put a dent in that salient through four years of fighting. So the effect on troop morale was astounding. The German soldiers, who like the European Allied soldiers, were sick of that war, became downcast. How could they be expected to fight the newly arrived Americans, too, who they imagined as a bunch of wild gunslingers of American Western lore? When their officers told them, truthfully, that American troops were not all that fearsome, the German troops laughed at them in derision.

The Americans wanted to keep their offensive going but were overruled by the allied command, which before long let loose a front-wide offensive against the Germans. Allied troop morale was soaring, German in the pits. Hence, one-third of the German army surrendered. Why die in a pointless show of bravery?

This is why Germany immediately sued for peace. Although Communist propaganda undoubtedly had been undermining morale, the biggest factor was the astonishing U.S. victory at Saint Mihiel in September 1918. Hitler's propaganda omitted the most important element in the sudden collapse of Germany.

Two extremely impressive accounts of World War II are by Antony Beevor: Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943 and D-Day: The Battle for Normandy. Beevor captures the enormity and the ghastliness of the Stalingrad campaign and the Soviet encirclement of Paulus. This turnabout marked Hitler´s end, just as the czar´s mauling of Napoleon's army proved his undoing.

Another little-known fact of history: the Normandy breakout was strongly assisted by British airplanes giving U.S. troops close tactical support, bombing and strafing German tanks at the behest of GI spotters. (American fliers were busy with other work.) Control of the air permitted this lethal combination to overcome the Panzer tank, which heavily over-matched American tanks.

Both of these writers are, by the way, British.

I also recommend Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts, who, while not shrinking from Napoleon's flaws, takes a relatively sympathetic view of the man, a point of view with which I agree. Roberts is yet another British historian and journalist. One can almost hear him whispering perfidious Albion as he writes of the British aristocracy's determination to restore the Bourbons.

Kid stuff on SNL

Sarah Palin Sunday on FaceBook

Why SNL Sucks So Bad; Desperation Became Boring Irrelevancy

Lorne Micheals [sic], you’re the leader of the pack. Are you going to let a young do-nothing not-even-funny “comic” and/or comedic team continue the degradation of SNL?

With all the grace I can muster I challenge you to wrestle back control of the show you’d shepherded, but allowed to be hijacked by some pretty sick - and boringly uncreative - young men. You’re going down with the ship, Lorne. Sad to see your life’s work and worth crumble under the heartless no-talents.

And for shame, group-think audience, going along to get along yukking up anti-American mockery of America’s finest. A military vet that accomplished more in one tour of duty than you could dream of in your lifetime, willing to go through hell so you’ll sleep well, is the object of scorn of only the shallow and selfish.

There’s so much creativity and beauty out there, Lorne. Talent waiting in the wings that will edify and lift up this great country, all the while brilliantly entertaining a deserving audience. Tap into the new and truly talented, Lorne, and feel worthwhile again.

Look forward to you meeting the challenge, SNL.

- Sarah Palin

I am sure many agree with Sarah's sentiments. As a combat vet, personally I don't worry much about this sort of thing. And, another point is the comedian's age. One doesn't expect a great deal of social sensitivity from people in the adolescent part of their 20s (which ends at 25 for men). I'd hate to see a 24-year-old's career destroyed by some politically inept social gaffe. But Sarah has a right to express her opinion, and I respect her for it.

Update: Being men

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/wounded-veteran-appears-on-snl-to-get-revenge-on-pete-davidson

Video of the reconciliation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKaakjMVtyE

Comedian is a war victim

https://people.com/tv/pete-davidson-honors-father-died-9-11/

Hell of a campaigner

Sarah Palin shows she has the stuff

to rev up Trump backers in this 2016 video. She shows here what a tremendous asset she can be for all of us deplorables. Yes, she's had some reverses. But let's not count her out. Let's see her as the Comeback Queen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqa10Xo2rbw

Pistol-packing Sarah to sex harassers: don't try it

The Telegraph

You know, I think a whole lot people know that I’m probably ‘packing’ – so, I don’t think there’s a whole lot of people who would necessarily mess with me.

Palin has condemned sex harassment as a very serious issue.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/20/sarah-palin-says-doesnt-get-sexually-harassed-carries-gun/

A principled rebuke of Downs abortions

Anyone who thought Sarah Palin was mocking her Downs son should listen to this video, in which she decries a report on the use of abortion to cull Downs children from a population. She tells of her prayer to overcome her fear of bearing such a child and how that prayer was answered when he was born.

This is a principled woman speaking, not a typical dodgy politician.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8FZTGiqt7Y

There is something we can do, says Sarah. Offer help to fearful women

A difficult path
I wholeheartedly agree with Palin's attitude here, and with her denunciation of what seems a Nazi-style eugenics program. Yet, as much as I oppose abortion and favor controls by the states, I am leery about compelling women to give birth to children with severe congenital defects. That's a decision for the parents, not for the state, though personally I wish that more parents could have the faith to see that love for a handicapped child is a worthy thing, with God right there to help the parents along.

I applaud my good friends who have an 18-year-old son that they greatly cherish and continue to care for, though he is profoundly retarded and unable to walk or feed himself. Even so, I notice that there is something within him that is penetratingly conscious. That family is a wonder to behold.