Linkee-poo wants to know who took the money away?

Juan Cole turns over his blog for a guest post by Ken Ballen on "Terrorism Can't be Taken out and Shot" about the al Awlaki killing. And in the main, I agree with Ken's assertions. If all we were doing was target killing leaders, that's a strategy doomed to fail (or at least something that will keep up busy for a hundred years). I disagree with it being an all or nothing approach and say you should do all of the above (info/propaganda war, denying shelter/safe havens, and targeted killing). Just releasing this item's Ken says won't work so well as we are not a trusted source in the Islamic world these terrorist potential recruits live in. But we do need to have more and direct (as in, not just government to government levels) contact (I was going to say "in that part of the world" but then Al Shabbab has been recruiting in Minnesota). That doesn't mean we stop targeting and killing the leadership (especially the way we killed al Awlaki and bin Laden). Does it have much effect on the recruitment? Not much. It does, however, send a message that we can kill you (terrorist cell leaders), now matter where you go. And you won't see it coming. All it takes is time, and we're very patient about that low-level warfare. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

It's now gotten so bad, both sides say government can barely complete their easiest work. Which means our government is out of the solutions business. For those of you that just cheered, please tell me who will be the solutions. 'Cause we already know the market doesn't give a shit (or maybe you missed what the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations were all about).

Roger Ebert with some thoughts on modern politics, the Tea Party and OWS. Don't forget to watch the video at the end. In general, I agree with the commentator on Breitbart's comments (also, remember the whole conversation about the level of violence in conservative rhetoric, there it is, the "I'm not kidding" quote). Dear Andrew Breitbart, you're right. I don't have a gun right now. But I have had one in the past. And I've gone through (civilian) firearms training with those who support you. I'm a better shot. As for the mentality part of your statement, it's only because progressives believe in civility (which is a different mind set that what you have). Not because we can't or won't. And, yes, I do know the difference between target shooting and working through targets. If you don't understand that last phrase, you shouldn't be talking shit. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

A WND article on how the Boy Scouts have been infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood. Don't forget to read the comments. Don't point out that half of their "facts" aren't related into their argument chain. (Grokked from Jim Wright)