A View From our Paris Window
Pat Buchanan suggests that it is in America’s interest not to have Assad fall.
America and NATO were 100% responsible for taking out Saddam and Kadhafi, thus destabilizing the Middle East. No destabilization, no ISIS. Now, the very same neocon crowd that pushed Bush to invade Iraq and Obama to take out Kadhafi wants to take down Assad.
This is nuts and the neocons are, once again, off track. Pat maintains that Vladimir Putin, however, would be on the right course in helping Assad, Putin’s long-time friend, stay in place and preventing ISIS from taking control of Syria.
There is much to gain for America in allowing Putin to immerse himself and the Russians in a Syrian quagmire. The Russians have probably not learned from their beating in Afghanistan how disastrous it can be to send troops into an ancient land where the rules of engagement are much different from those for which you have been prepared.
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 “Europe should strengthen its external borders to discourage migration. Hungary last week decided to extend its border fence with non-EU member Serbia to parts of its border fence with fellow EU members Croatia and Romania, which are outside Europe’s open border Schengen area.”
“Tensions between Hungry, Croatia and Romania rose amid the crisis, with Hungary declaring over the weekend it would prevent Croatia from joining the Schengen area.”
Read more here.
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The Fed would do us all a whole lot of good by setting a proper course on interest rate increases. Instead it continues to pander to Wall Street and is five years late to the party. The Fed has clearly lost its “Way Back Home”.
A better R&B quintet sound would be hard to find. Cornell Dupree was one of the top three R&B guitarists around. Larry Goldings is a top three Jazz Hammond B3 organ guy. Ronnie Cuber is a top three jazz baritone sax player (Way Back Home needs a baritone sax). Eddie Gomez is a top ten jazz bass player. Finally Steve Gadd seems to be everywhere at once and is a drum favorite of all the pros. What a special group.-E.J. Smith
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What happens when cities do not reform pensions? Or when government unions, refusing to compromise on pensions and retiree health care, insist that the wealthy pick up the tab? Welcome to Chicago, with its $33 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is now proposing gigantic tax increases in a city already heavily burdened with taxes. Mr. Emanuel is looking for an increase of $588 million in property taxes, to be phased in over four years. The revenue from the increase in taxes will do little or nothing to improve city services. Instead the money will fund pensions for firemen and policemen.
As the WSJ notes, “there aren’t enough rich to soak, so now Mr. Emanuel is whacking middle-class homeowners.”
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 The American Conservative’s Daniel Larison points out the ongoing folly of the neocon “War Dogs.”
Arms provided by the Obama administration to the Syrian opposition end up in the hands of the jihadists. Were no lessons learned by the U.S. in Afghanistan?
As could have been expected, taking out Saddam in Iraq and Gaddafi in Libya has destabilized the Middle East. Removing Assad in Syria will contribute to an even greater destabilization and a probable victory for ISIS. Putin and the Russians apparently can connect the dots here—not that embroiling themselves in a Syrian quagmire will not end up as Afghanistan redux.
The U.S. has a sorry track record when it comes to allowing for the unintended consequences, as former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft has written on frequently through the decades.
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The Cote de Nuits wine trail crosses, famous villages whose names have been around the world. Download a free copy of the map here.
Today Debbie and I drove the length of the Cote de Nuits, the northern half of Burgundy’s famous Cote d’Or. Here is produced the incomparable red wine made from the Pinot Noir—though there are a few isolated white wines planted in Chardonnay, specifically the ultra-rare Corton-Charlamagne.
Included on our trip were visits to Aloxe-Corton, Vosne-Romanee, Morey-Saint-Denis, Gevrey-Chambertin, and Fixin. The tiny, ancient wine villages sit timelessly, with little in the way of commercial activity except, here and there, for the occasional small hotel, bistro or neighborhood pharmacy. There are few stoplights, and it is rare to see a soul on the narrow streets as we wind our way through the villages and uphill to the choicest vineyards. Almost by chance, Debbie and I were able to locate both our targeted Domaine Romanee Conti and Corton-Charlamagne, perhaps the worldwide king and queen of fine wine. Romanee-Conti, which covers a mere 4½ acres, produces but 500 cases per year. In comparison, Bordeaux covers 250,000 acres and produces somewhere on the order of 30 million cases of wine per year.
When asked the question Burgundy or Bordeaux Daniel Johnnes, wine director for Daniel Boulud, responded, “Ask anyone in the world of wine and they will laugh at the question—Burgundy!”
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Did you know the path of a bullet traveling towards a target 7 ½ football fields (750 yards) down range has a similar flight path to that of a football? The bullet has a high arching flight path that, like a football, either terminates on target or on the ground. Getting bullets consistently on target, no matter what the conditions, is what precision scoped rifle is all about. Last week I had the opportunity to attend an intensive three-day precision scoped rifle course at Sig Sauer Academy. Why? Because once you figure out the basics—it’s a blast. Watch the video here.
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Beautiful day and sky in Cote de Beaune. Lunch in Puligny-Montrechet, where we had visited about 5 years ago when we were on a Butterfield & Robinson bike trip. Driving or biking is spectacular through the Grand Cru Wine Route, which covers about 21 kilometers between Ladoix-Serrigny and Santenay.
  
We drove through beautiful ancient villages where clusters of stone houses are adorned with geraniums and roses. The narrow cobbled streets are charming and challenging, and you pray that an oncoming vehicle is not around the next bend. The spectacular open and rolling hills not covered with legendary vineyards are sprinkled with Charolais (white) cattle.
Back to Paris and the Left Bank tomorrow.
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With the announced resignation of House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) President Obama may end up missing him the most. Obama has “run circles around this Congress since John Boehner’s been speaker,” said Rep. Tim Heulskamp (R., Kansas). “We need a speaker who is going to be a conservative leader.” Amen to that. If we’ve learned anything from the debates it’s that Americans are fed up with the establishment politician. Establishment politicians like Boehner are not reformers. Washington is broken and in desperate need of reform. If you can’t fix-it, then get out.
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