Bear with me, I have a point. Each year in November, we start hearing all the stories about how terrible the retail business is this year. By Christmas, it's all gloom. No one's buying anything, the economy is stalled, oh woe is me. Man-in-the-shop interviews with worried retailers. Then in January, with no explanation or apology, the very same anchors and reporters tell us, "this Christmas exceeded all previous sales records." Remember all the stories all summer long about how the armed forces keep missing their quotas? Utter bunkum. Catch a load of this, thank you Ralph Peters in the New York Post (free registration required):
Every one of the Army's 10 divisions — its key combat organizations — has exceeded its re-enlistment goal for the year to date.It gets better.
Those with the most intense experience in Iraq have the best rates.More details.
The 1st Cavalry Division is at 136 percent of its target, the 3rd Infantry Division at 117 percent. What about first-time enlistment rates, since that was the issue last spring? The Army is running at 108 percent of its needs. Guess not every young American despises his or her country and our president.The Army Reserve is having a harder time --understandably, since it is unpredictable and interrupts home lives pretty dramatically. But weren't you, like me, laboring under the false impression that a Reserve-only problem was widespread? I not only feel better about the war effort generally, but better about my fellow Americans. There are still some tough guys in the country! Curtsy to Powerline.
