Photo, above: A crowd gathers to watch Adm. William E. Gortney relieve Adm. John C. Harvey Jr. as commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command in a ceremony aboard the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at Norfolk Naval Station. (Amanda Lucier | The Virginian-Pilot).    New Fleet Forces commander will focus on efficiency   See: Hour 1, Block B, Adm John Harvey, US Navy (retired); former Commander, US Fleet Forces Command; on, Joint Chiefs of Staff say shrinking budgets will hurt readiness; Adm Harvey asks, “Ready for what?” 

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW

Guest-host: Francis Rose, Federal News Radio.

Hour One

Sunday 10 November 2013 / Hour 1, Block A: Major General Dale Meyerrose, US Air Force (retired); president, Meyerrose Group; former Chief Information Officer, US Northern Command and Office of the Director of National Intelligence; in re: security vulnerabilities of Healthcare.gov

Sunday 10 November  2013 / Hour 1, Block B: Adm John Harvey, US Navy (retired); former Commander, US Fleet Forces Command; in re: Joint Chiefs of Staff say shrinking budgets will hurt readiness; Adm Harvey asks, “Ready for what?”

Sunday 10 November  2013 / Hour 1, Block C: Michael Strain, resident scholar, American Enterprise Institute; in re: Friday’s jobs numbers aren’t what they seem

Sunday 10 November  2013 / Hour 1, Block D: Gordon Chang, Forbes.com, in re: Chinese government’s desire to control messages now going beyond its own borders  Paul Mooney, a veteran journo covering China to whom everyone turned for human-rights reporting, has not had his visa renewed. Xi Jinping won't allow anyone that good near China.

Bloomberg News Is Said to Curb Articles That Might Anger China  The investigative report they had been working on for the better part of a year, which detailed the hidden financial ties between one of the wealthiest men in China and the families of top Chinese leaders, would not be published.  In the call late last month, Mr. Winkler defended his decision, comparing it to the self-censorship by foreign news bureaux [in Nazi Germany] trying to . . .

Upshot: Beijing has set up global news organizations in order to shape world opinion of China while banning our reporters.  Having each news organization protest won’t do it; need governmental intervention: White House, Berlin, et al.

Hour Two

Sunday 10 November  2013 / Hour 2, Block A: Jeff Bliss, Bliss Index,  in re:  adding up the Obamacare enrollment numbers in advance of the White House’s numbers

Sunday 10 November  2013 / Hour 2, Block B: Jim McTague, Washington Editor, Barron’s; in re: Investors can make money on the defense drawdown. Why Defense Stocks Could Go Higher

Sunday 10 November  2013 / Hour 2, Block C: Adam Isacson, Senior Associate for Regional Security Policy at Washington Office on Latin America; in re:  50-year conflict between Colombian government and FARC is close to settlement

Sunday 10 November  2013 / Hour 2, Block D: David Wertime, Fellow, Truman National Security Project; in re:  China’s view of US exceptionalism

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. . . It’s unlikely that U.S. policymakers will take this particular editorial to heart. For one, it doesn’t contain much actionable advice. In Chinese, the village contract – cungui minyue – refers to a mode of governance sanctioned by the party and enshrined in Chinese law, hardly something the United States could follow even if it wanted to. It also appears the article has not been reproduced in English, even though publishing English-language barbs aimed across the Pacific is a frequent practice of Chinese state media.

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Hour Three

Sunday 10 November  2013 / Hour 3, Block A: Megan McArdle, Bloomberg View, in re: Obamacare is out of bullets

Sunday 10 November  2013 / Hour 3, Block B: Andrew deGrandpre, Managing Editor, Marine Corps Times; in re:  On Marine Corps birthday, battle of two four-stars

Sunday 10 November  2013 / Hour 3, Block C: Michael Strain, resident scholar, American Enterprise Institute; in re: Friday’s jobs numbers aren’t what they seem

Sunday 10 November  2013 / Hour 3, Block D: Dr. Steve Bucci, director of the Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation; in re: Splitting leadership of NSA, US Cyber Command when General Keith Alexander retires

Hour Four

Sunday 10 November  2013 / Hour 4, Block A: Andrew Jackson O’Shaughessy, Saunders Director of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello; at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation; author of    The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire (The Lewis Walpole... by Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy (1 of 4)

Sunday 10 November  2013 / Hour 4, Block B: The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire (The Lewis Walpole... by Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy (2 of 4)

Sunday 10 November  2013 / Hour 4, Block C: The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire (The Lewis Walpole... by Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy (3 of 4)

Sunday 10 November  2013 / Hour 4, Block D: The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire (The Lewis Walpole... by Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy (4 of 4)

The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire    The loss of America was a stunning and unexpected defeat for the powerful British Empire. Common wisdom has held that incompetent military commanders and political leaders in Britain must have been to blame, but were they? This intriguing book makes a different argument. Weaving together the personal stories of ten prominent men who directed the British dimension of the war, historian Andrew O’Shaughnessy dispels the incompetence myth and uncovers the real reasons that rebellious colonials were able to achieve their surprising victory. In interlinked biographical chapters, the author follows the course of the war from the perspectives of King George III, Prime Minister Lord North, military leaders including General Burgoyne, the Earl of Sandwich, and others who, for the most part, led ably and even brilliantly. Victories were frequent, and in fact  . . .

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Music

Hour 1:   Sherlock Holmes.

Hour 2:  Game of Thrones.

Hour 3:  Breaking Bad.

Hour 4:  Downton Abbey.