"Both have to run through Syria in order to reach the destination port facilities..."

Not necessarily. They could take a longer route through Iraq and pick up some more oil in Kirkuk. Pipelines do not require a lot of area. There are many routes they can take.

"That’s why Republican toady Walter Jones of North Carolina has already joined the Dirty Dems in demanding that Nunes step aside. (The unctuous Rep. Jones already has co-sponsored an otherwise all-Democratic bill to establish an independent commission to probe claims of Russian attempts to influence the U.S. election.)"

It's possible that this bill for an independent commission is only being touted by Democrats because they know it won't pass. Any kind of really independent probe, after all, is likely to uncover dirty deeds by members of both parties.

Walter Jones, who represents a southern district with military bases, was the first GOP Congressmen to admit his mistaken vote in favor of Iraq II. Having the courage to stand alone against the rest of GOP establishment, including some primary challengers, is not an example of 'toadiness'. Nor is Jones a so-called 'liberal' in his votes on domestic issues. His 'unctuousness' appears to be sincere - he doesn't like what he sees, and he sees things that the rest of us are not privy to.

"...hope that Steve Bannon is urging Trump to get Ryan out of the way..."

There is no doubt that Trump wants people to like him as evidenced by his reaction to Michael Forbes' winning the "Scotsman of the Year" award for defying Trump's attempt to take his farm for Trump's Aberdeen golf resort. Trump lashed out at Forbes, a poor farmer, for making him "look bad".

Nevertheless, Trump's public denunciation of the Freedom Caucus may (or may not) have been with a wink and a nod at them in private. Some of Trump's advisers are said to have, privately, blamed Ryan. We shall see.

The real danger for Trump is, if (or when) the economy turns south. If he manages to avoid blame for it and turns it on his enemies, he'll do fine. But, if his own polls decline, and he really starts lashing out at his supporters like the Freedom Caucus, Trump will fall hard.

Thanks for the link. I have read similar stories before about the amendment's 'ratification'. However, at this point, squatter's rights apply so we're probably stuck with it. The worst thing about it is they way it has been interpreted by so-called 'liberalism'. When the 14th amendment was supposedly ratified, there was little concept of a 'right to an education' (at taxpayers' expense). Lawyers have not only found such a 'right' in the 14th amendment, but they have also used it to force social 'justice' on local school systems.

The 'anchor baby' clause was intended to make citizens out of former slaves. Most 'anchor baby' birthers could be required (by writing a statute) to return to their country with their baby, even if the baby has citizenship. If a former 'anchor baby' returns as an adult to claim his citizenship, statutes could be written to prevent him from bringing his family with him. In fact, immigration could be reduced by enforcing the law when illegal immigrants line up for handouts and by preventing legal immigrants from bringing in their extended families.

The referenced article includes a quote which is partially repeated in Wikipedia's bio of Jacob Howard who was on the committee that drafted the 14th amendment:

"During debate over the first clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, he argued for including the phrase and subject to the jurisdiction thereof. Howard said:
[The 14th amendment] will not, of course, include persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens, who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers accredited to the government of the United States, but will include every other class of person." - Wikipedia (Jacob M Howard).

As far as I know, foreigners traveling in the US, excepting those with diplomatic immunity, have always been at least partially "subject to the jurisdiction" of the US and the state they are traveling in so, if this is what the amendment meant, it should have been better worded.

BTW, Howard was the author of the 13th amendment which banned slavery and "involuntary servitude". IMHO, "involuntary servitude" should include military conscription, even if it were not intended for that purpose.

"...stop pretending that the Constitution guarantees automatic citizenship to so-called anchor babies. It absolutely, positively, does not."

I am not 'absolutely, positively' sure about that. The 14th amendment starts off by saying that

"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside."

I don't agree with the amendment, but it's there and makes a case for 'anchor babies' being citizens unless we stop pregnant women from coming in for a visit.

"Others feel morally superior....Here we’re talking lost souls like Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Pocahontas — empty vessels who have no deeply held beliefs..."

These statements are self-contradictory. Don't "deeply held beliefs" include (mainly) moral beliefs? How can anyone "feel morally superior" if he has no "deeply held beliefs"? Frankly, I consider freedom, including the free press, to be morally superior to locking people up for expressing their (moral) beliefs. I also consider truth (objective reality) to be morally superior to dishonesty and fraud.

"Moral superiority" or feeling "morally superior" has nothing to do with the outrageous behaviors that Mr. Ringer has touched upon here. Many of the identified culprits do not even claim to be "morally superior". Some of them have been known to criticize religious leaders for imposing their moral beliefs, or morality, on others and would, thus, find common cause with Mr. Ringer.

Mr. Ringer, in his books "Looking Out for Number One" and "Winning through Intimidation", identified himself as a follower of Ayn Rand. Perhaps he has since figured out that Ayn Rand was an absolute moralist, but had a different view on what is moral. In her view, individual rights were moral and in accordance with man's (objectively true) nature. As she said, the problem is not to return to morality, but to discover it.

Perhaps all the negative comments I have been making about the Pentagon over the past ever years should be more directed at politicians and foreign policy bureaucrats.

Off Topic (sorta): I learned (from the Drudge Report) that 'my' Senator (John McCainiac) has a Republican challenger to his Senate seat. As a registered (Ron Paul) Republican (and McCain hater), I shall be voting voting for her (Dr Kelli Ward, State Senator) in the primary. McCain haters in Arizona who are not registered Republicans should consider so registering. Other McCain haters around the country might consider donating to Ward's campaign.
News: http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2015/12/15/arizona...
Kelli Campaign website: http://www.kelliward.com/

"I'm in the west. I don 't accept Turkey's version."

That's because you have a brain. Bubus (un)Americanus, generally, does not.