This past Monday I was a klutz. Yes, indeed. I didn’t realize my foot was asleep. I stood and promptly fell into a heap as I rolled the crap out of my ankle. It is not broken…but I have been housebound and told to literally stay off of it. RICE. (Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate.) Ankle injuries can be precarious and if not properly taken care of, I could deal with the repercussions for the rest of my life…I think, therefore I RICE!!

This is a difficult task for someone like me. I can’t drive, and crutches totally suck because of my height. I constantly feel as if I am “Hanging ten.” My goal is to make it to see my daughter march in the first night game ever at Michigan against Notre Dame next week…So far, I think I am managing. The house is a pigsty. I did manage to cook a meal or two without problems and only last night did I take a pain pill. 

My reason for writing, however, is not to elicit sympathy. It is to make some observations. I have been watching a lot of television due to the circumstances. Mostly cooking shows and a sprinkle of news. There is an abundance of reality programming and I do admit to perusing now and then. I also watch many of the home improvement shows as well.

So, I have a few new recipes that have actually been great and are simple to prepare. I even have a new appreciation for the Barefoot Contessa. Rachel Ray used to be more fun…I like Guy Fieri, Bobby Flay.

My favorite is Giada de Laurentis. She just enjoys what she does and I enjoy that.

My true observations have less to do with domestication and more to do with the utter ignorance I have seen in adults young and old.

While watching a real estate shows where people buy vacation homes or buy their first house, I was dumbfounded. Many of these shows airing   and were recorded a year ago or less. What 25 year -old speech pathologist from Indiana can afford a 300k house in California with a mere 1000 square feet? Unless one already owns a home there, why on God’s green earth would you buy in that state? And then, have the ignorance to be so concerned about fixing it up that they blow the rest of their savings in these times?

Next, we have someone who makes a hell of a lot more money and wants an apartment in NYC. 2800 square feet for a mere 3.0 million! I cannot imagine the tax bill alone, and their main residence is in (drum roll) California!!! Not only does that sound preposterous to me, but the wife and mother of two is a designer and wants to nearly gut the place because the quality wasn’t up to her snuff.  It looked pretty damn nice to me…She looked to be in her mid thirties and she was kind of whiny.

Is ignorance bliss? I have four kids. The oldest is finding out just how expensive things are and having to sacrifice…and to me, it’s nothing in comparison to what I have lived. I am pretty sure she has no clue about the severity of the problems of our Country. I don’t mean to imply she should not get an education, or that she won’t be able to obtain the kind of life we have thus far provided. I shudder to think of the ignorance of those out in the world, already making money. I don’t begrudge how people spend their money…I guess I am just shocked at casualness of it all because job creation as of today was zero!!

 

And you don’t go lower than that…or do you, if the Pied Piper is “leading”? I am no less surprised that the folks who voted this clown into office are still defending his every move and somehow finding ways to shift the blame over and over. Maybe that is what is wrong with the examples above? They have been snowed? Oy.

For several years my TH peeps and I have been talking about the state of things. And sadly, there have been no improvements in the leadership to speak of. The GOP remains as blissfully ignorant as my 19 year old and it simply frustrates the hell out of me. I wish I were 19 again…President Reagan would be in office and we would still be ahead of the game.

 

 

 

 

Friends, this is an old post, I never published. Read to the end and see the update...Just a bit of "accountability" going on...

I have an old Army pal who is an extreme left thinker.  However, his love of himself and what he eschews is a marvel!! We have been at odds with our political thinking probably forever. But our youth precluded us from having some of the discourse we have now.

He has his own blog and makes no apologies for what he says or thinks. I am the lone conservative commenter at his blog. His friends drool all over what he has to say, while I hold hisfeet to the fire.

There have been many times that I have tried to have a debate with him or others, by commenting and he either claims my comments get deleted or auto-dumped into the spam folder. And some of my fellow Crispians have also been privy to this practice. Well, as we know, many left minded thinkers do not want sensible debate and if they don’t like what is said, they flush it. Save for those who would swoon and idolize the words of he, the master of the Journal of Doubt.

He wrote something the other day and I saw red. Normally, I walk away from commenting because it does no good. He linked to it on Facebook where he has his own rule to never talk politics, because that forum is supposed to be for family and friends to connect. However, people do and it is a passion of mine and I do engage if I choose. He had the chutzpah to message me and tell me how he would hide me in his feed if I continued having such discussions. You know what the actual offense was? I answered a FB poll about whom I voted for!! Ah, yes. I did not vote for the Pied Piper.

He used the term “rightwingers”!! He therefore broke his own rule. I told him in no uncertain terms this time I would not let it slide. I commence.

Clearly, like many extreme left thinkers, he is suffering from some class envy, even though he himself claims a six-figure salary. I find it hard to believe as the company he works for is worth 3 million and has more than 20 employees.

However, my problem is that the pal believes if one has empathy, compassion, or sympathy for someone in a lower socio-economic or educative state (his working class poor) then it must automatically exempt him from the labels he so willingly puts upon, say, me, a conservative (er, right-winger).

And there is where I hold him down. He said this: “It’s got to be tough to be a kid today, especially if kids aren’t jacked into the meritocratic elite culture of posh suburban enclaves, elite schools, and familial connections in the working world. If you’re a fringe kid from the poor working classes, you’re pretty much fu**ed unless you’re the next Picasso or Kurt Cobain. Or you can hit a curveball like Joe Maurer.”

And this: “if you’re some poor or working class kid with very few prospects for the future; no matter how hard you work, it’s impossible, especially in America to compete with the elite when the playing field is totally in their favor by virtue of a vast inequity of wealth, privilege and opportunity.”

And to wit, his friends were drooling over that imagery and telling him how awesome and spot on he was! Me? Not so much. “meritocratic elite?”  The word “merit” implies that one has earned something with talent and ability. Elite, of course is what one might become with enough blood, sweat and tears. I find nothing wrong with that. But the implication i see here is that is must surely be someone else’s fault if these working class poor must be a Kurt Cobain in order to rise above!! And to me, what my pal has done is given these kids a pass because they have no connection, no brains and nothing will get them out of their sad states. WOW!! Why not just take them to the nearest welfare office and sign them up for life?

Holy cow! Since when does having less money, or privilege preclude you from going out there and getting an education or the job or life you dream of for God’s sake? Oh…the pal has swallowed the stupid envy pill which allows him to lambaste those who started out with more money and a better education. He completely undermines the ambitions and the brains of these “poor, working class” and he makes them a victim. Forgive me, if I say isn’t that how the left operates- by using the victim card, the race card? Pick a card, any card!! Perhaps he should just tell them all to slit their wrists?

Here’s an idea! How about instead of finger pointing DO SOMETHING!! Liberals love to whine about it, but never get up off their collective “for the greater good” a**es.

I digress. He goes on about American culture being horrible and how it’s fueling the dispassionate attitude in kids! I ask, is it the kids or the adults who have been distancing themselves from their responsibilities as parents? No, couldn’t be that. It’s all because they aren’t “jacked” into suburbia, private schools and money, isn’t it? It’s because they are poor! For shame.

Apparently, my pal does not remember that being one of 9, with a widowed mother, he was not plugged into such things and yet, all the members of his family have success in their own right. He is one of the meritocratic elite he claims is dooming the less fortunate!

He opines that those elite (“weasels who read Ayn Rand”) don’t give an eff about shared sacrifice, egalitarian ways or civic duty. And every single time he brings this up, I ask him what has he done to sacrifice for the good of others? How does he think legislating equality is going to work, if he himself must be forced to pay more taxes by law if only in the form of health care and the mandate that maternity and well baby care are included in his premium?

We don’t all have the same brains or the capacity to produce, do we? And punishing those who can to favor those who do not or will not is unacceptable to me!! How indeed does he define civic virtue? For if he were to really affect change, he himself would not be nearly as self-serving as he is. Civic virtue is about being neighborly and kind, thinking of others. He does no such thing unless he benefits and the minute he doesn’t, out the door with you. By the way, he reads Paul Krugman. Can I call him a weasel?

He gets one thing right by saying that media has a role: ” The media is run by a few powerful moguls who pervert the national dialogue with every sort of self-serving bullsh** sophistry imaginable, all with the intent of keeping people scared, stupid, and apathetic about their role in a democratic nation. Nothing defeats egalitarianism quite like feeling frightened, unworthy, powerless, and insignificant.”

It’s unfortunate that although he is aware of the power, he doesn’t question the likes of Olberman, Maddow, Schultz, Matthews nor what the moguls like Soros, Buffet, do. Nope. He is aware that peddling these fears may also get him what he wants, so don’t test him!! What he wants is that we should all be grateful to the government for saving us from ourselves!! But what he fails to grasp again and again...the gov't doesn't care!!!

I think he forgets something I thought he learned when visiting East Berlin 2 years prior to the wall falling. Does he not remember big brother spying at every turn? Does he not remember the empty shelves in the stores or better yet the emptiness in the eyes of the people waiting on him? The government was practicing all the things he loves…shared sacrifice, equality for all!! But when the wall fell, those people had forgotten how to live, to think because all they had was an existence.

The meritocratic elite – er, read right wingers– are “scum worse than Nazis”. Yes. He said it. And he said:

“Since they were in diapers they’ve been told how wonderful and special they are, and they treat every aspect of life like a competition where, not only do they have to win, but they have to skull fu** everyone they vanquish. Remember the story of Pericles weeping after he defeated the Persians? Our elite would rape the dead Persians.”

That sounds like some serious envy there. Hmm. So, by that logic forget competition- everyone gets a trophy and if they don’t like it, will it make them “skull fu**ed?” Competition drives our economy and winning is part of that. Should his beloved Philly sports teams just give up the W so the other team can pretend they didn’t get an arse whooping? It’s a stretch to say that because a person grows up with more privilege or money that they have no concern for the “vanquished.” It sounds like a personal problem to me.

He whined about the gulf that exists between the rich and the poor and says we have returned to the Gilded Age! Ha. If he’s wussing about that, then surely he doesn’t realize that with his income he rides the top 5% tax bracket! I wonder if he should go to his boss and ask for less money because he wants to do something to narrow that gap!! Nooooo. That’s for those cheaters making eight-figure incomes!! Again, ha. The Gilded Age was about rapid economic growth…and sadly, we are headed toward the Bread and Circuses mode are we not? Wherein the Pied Piper has promised everything is coming up roses, while plundering continues with the other hand!!

And the pal? Why he blames all of this on Ronald Reagan!! Quote: “Go visit places like Camden, North Philly, West Baltimore, or Washington, DC just a few blocks from our Capitol; what you’ll see are American citizens who are way beyond being merely skull fu**ed. No, they were skull fuc**d back when Ronald Reagan took over…”

Yes, indeed. It was Ronald Reagan.

And, oh, his beloved Europe!! I have been there in the last 7 of 10 years and yes, they have it, too in Zurich, London, Germany…yep. Poverty, crime, homelessness are not extinct because a socialist government is in place. The crime rates there are higher in some Countries per capita than the US. Does he ask why or how? Of course not. Does he offer any feasible solution that does not involve taking other people’s money? Something basic is missing, but I daresay that Reagan’s policies alone or the rich have a lot to do with it.

He ponders what are we handing our kids today? He has no children, no wife. And he is a hypocrite of the finest order. You see he neglects to mention that he voted for Obama. This was after he said he would not, because Obama voted for the TARP.  He holds no other administration accountable for what is happening in our world today that are of the leftist persuasion. No. He neglects to note that as an Obama supporter he agrees with TARP, raising the Debt ceiling, etc…

He says nobody wants to pay higher taxes and because Republicans want a limited gov’t that soon the rest of the country will look like Camden, Philly, et al. His friend calls this year three of “crisis”! Uh, gee. Unless someone turned me into Johnny Appleseed and I have been sleeping, who is responsible for the crisis? C’mon, you *know* it’s the "teabaggers" and Bush. No matter that the Pied Piper has voted on more bailouts since the first one, and he ballooned the deficit, and broken many campaign promises and even kept up with some Bush policies.

RI, CA, NY, NJ, IL, MI are all in big trouble. Yet, I believe these states have been democratically (Uh-oh) governed for quite some time, have they not? Who is to blame for that? Conservatives? Reagan? Oh, I know. Bush!

As a conservative thinker I would ask this: As an employee, your job is to service a client, professionally, with fiduciary responsibility. If, as an employee, you did not, or you were not raising the revenue expected of you, would your employer keep you? You are a liability. No. Therefore, why would I ever want the government to have more of my money when they spend with reckless abandon and have not shown any fiduciary responsibility? Would you pay money for a car that will be four years old before you get to drive it?

As a conservative I would ask: Do you spend money to get out of debt? Because last I checked in my house, I cut my spending. Is the government doing that? Uh. Nope. They have grown much faster than the private sector, you see, and um, THEY PRODUCE NOTHING!! How does that fix the staggering real unemployment rate or the hyperinflation that will soon follow?

And lastly, as my pal is so full of compassion and empathy for the poor, would he lead by example and just tell the government to increase his tax rate to 50%? I am dead sure all of his friends who think alike will follow suit, because they care about giving hope and affecting change. It’s for the greater good, after all!

UPDATE: I can go quietly into the night and not look back, indeed. Said friend has blocked me from his FaceBook feed because he doesn't like my accountability measures that are posted to my "wall". That is all well and good. I have disappeared from his friend list as well...it's not important to me and to keep the peace among our friends from that duty station, I just let him be. What does continue to bother me is that he refuses to accept responsibility for the vote he gave Obama after he said he would not because the Pied Piper, aka COWboy President voted for the bailout. Anyhow, as with all "friends" on the book, I check in. Yesterday, much to my chagrin what was posted forced me to respond.

Said the friend: "Dear Tea Party: I hope you are happy, you are reaping what you sow. This is reality."

And, man, oh man! I went at it.

Dear ****: No, the democratic voters are reaping what they sow. The tea party is about supporting limited gov't,  the Constitution, and free markets. Who was in control of Congress from 2007-2011? Who ran up deficits of 460B, 1.3T, 1.4T and 1.6T respectively? Who failed to produce a budget after defeating one proposal 97-0 in the last two years? And how long has this crisis been looming before resolution? During all this time the only thing the Pied Piper did differently than Bush was to blatantly party, have more time on the tees in two years than Bush had in  eight years! And please do tell me, how the Tea Party folks who elected those that reflect their principles 6 months ago have done this to the US? Don't forget that the last Congress to balance the budget was Republican. Oh. Did I say that out loud?

We asked for a balanced budget and we didn't get it. We asked for cuts in spending and entitlements and we didn't get anything to write home about in the long run. You can continue to blame Bush all you want. At what point will you and the rest of the left minded folk take any responsibility for casting an Obama vote? When? Because last I checked the stock market is down 500, gold is up nearly 100 bucks. What has Obama done except to grow gov't when we least need more consumption and leave those in the private sector high and dry? When are you going to understand that as the ship lies listing, and begins to sink, that party affiliations are not going to matter? THAT is reality!
You have yet to hold yourself (or those who politically hang on your every word) accountable for the votes cast. I suppose you are like The Pied Piper and blaming Standard & Poors, Europe, the GOP...eh...the list could go on.
I took screen shots, too. Because I knew he would delete my comment. He is nothing but an effing coward and will never own the views he eschews. And for that, he can go to hell in a handbasket. Liberalism is a mental disorder.

If I have an opinion on illegal immigrants that states, “Illegal immigrants are breaking the law and they should be booted out of our Country!” Does that mean I cannot be a friend to one?  If I take pity on an immigrant who knocks on my door looking for work and I give him a job, I am a hypocrite. Even if I felt sorry for him and paid him to work, I am a hypocrite.  No points for my "charity".

If you know your friend is having an affair and you don’t believe it’s right, aren’t you complicit in the lie if you stay quiet?  Same principle.

If the commandment says "Thou shall not steal and Target has not charged for all the drugs purchased, but the purchaser does not correct the mistake because “it’s their fault!” is that hypocritical?

 If I have an opinion that welfare and food stamps are temporary for the times when bad things happen to good people, does that make me a hypocrite because I accepted that help for 3 months? 

If I have an opinion that permanent welfare entitlements are wrong does that make me a hypocrite, too? What if the federal government is not helping someone in a time of need but another charity is, does that make a person a hypocrite or does one form of charity trump another?

If I offer a homeless man a bottle of water and an apple and he tells me to eff off, that he wanted money, am I a hypocrite because the panhandler is ungrateful? Does that mean that I think all people on the street “deserve” to be homeless?  Why am I not allowed to be angry about the way some homeless people act?

If I have an opinion about the housing market and those who got loans that shouldn’t have, am I a hypocrite because the tangled web that was woven leads them to the street?

If I have lived in a great house but must move into something smaller for economic reasons, am I a hypocrite because I am afraid of changing the lifestyle my children have grown accustomed to? I foolishly spend more than I can afford so my kids would feel good about moving. Am I dissing my friends who may have less of a house than myself because I want to get more than I can afford and say the words, “I don’t want to live in a shack”?  I believe I am no more hypocritical as I am guilty of making a bad decision in a stressful time. I guess thou shall forgive went out her window.

If my passionate chats about politics makes people uncomfortable, perhaps more education on their part is necessary instead of treating me as if  my opinions are how I think my friends really are-on the left minded thinking side of things. Eleanor Roosevelt said that being offended is a personal choice.Was I offended that they sent me Bush jokes day in and day out?

My best friend called me today after 5 months of not talking to me and bringing up twenty-five years of hurt feelings in an email. She asked if I would still be willing to testify on her behalf with an annulment. I said sure because in the grand scheme of things, I didn't have a problem with her demons. And we proceeded to have a discussion about all of the things listed above.  

To listen to her talk, I honestly felt that I was the most evil individual in the world. She was telling me I said things I don’t remember saying and that my passionate foray into politics are extreme. She took my words and twisted them into something they are not and also the words of others. I continue to be floored and flabbergasted at what she believes of me after 25 years.

That I would have flown the coop for someone who could give me more money, that my husband’s parents “bought” me and always have, that I am teaching my kids to look down on others, that I was all wrapped up in what my neighbors think? That I called a secretary "my" when she was a "peer"!! She was a secretary where I worked for a lot of people. But when we remained friends for all these years and I described her to people she was "my" secretary because she was "my" friend. 

She also had the balls to make fun of the fact that I posted a tax calculator and stated the tax law effects if they were not extended on FB...it is my job to be able to help our clients, but according to her, answering phones(which I do, along with 1040's) didn't make me an expert on taxes. Heh. I never claimed to be an expert, but even so, does that preclude me from being educated about it for the client?

I would have married my guy even if he were a gas station attendant because I loved him and he had what I wanted in a husband and potential father. Period. That he chose a profession that could earn more in one year than my mother made in her lifetime was a bonus that he and I worked hard for. That my in-laws bailed us out of a 3k debt hole when we were in school bugged her. That they could afford and wanted to purchase plane tickets or rental cars bugged her. That they gifted us money(with the intention of being paid back while going through business bankruptcy) also frosted her. That we live in a neighborhood of larger homes she said spooked her. That I needed to dress nicer when My other half was a partner in a large firm did involve keeping some appearances up, bugged her. I'm sorry she never had that chance.

Holy cow!! Our family has gone from making a lot of money to barely being able to pay the everyday bills. We have had three unemployed periods since 2007. And I have managed to land one job after 19 years at home. I could give a rat’s behind about appearances. We have all made mistakes. If I was unhappy and bitching, there was still one constant. I loved my husband --thick and thin. I didn’t have to like what we went through, but I was strong enough to keep us together through all of it. Maybe I didn’t listen or wasn’t able to do what she thought I could, but this is my bottom line. We’re together. I still wake up thanking God every day that I managed to see the good and not be filled with hate. And even though things didn’t turn out as we originally planned, I still wouldn’t have it any other way. Marriage is hard!! In the end, what I know is that I will do whatever is necessary to make it work. I don’t have to like it all the time but hopefully the good will always outweigh the bad and love is what remains with or without “stuff.” She didn’t seem to get that.

At this point, I cannot move forward in friendship with her, because I don’t have that bitterness that she does for whatever reason. My politics may have been the catalyst for this situation, but it’s not what’s wrong with my friend. I don’t know what it is except that every word I have ever uttered to her she seems to have taken personally and she feels attacked. I am sorry that whatever ails her, I can’t fix. I’m sorry that I didn’t pretend my life was all rainbows and gumdrops and that I couldn’t do what she thought.  I’m sorry that the venom she spewed at me will come back and haunt me from time to time. And lastly, I am sorry that I will never be able to trust anyone else like that ever again. And I do mean that.

If she had taken a moment to ask herself if I ever meant to hurt her or offend her, the answer would be no.  If she had ever stopped me then when I said something to make her feel bad, I could parsed my words better, but she never did. At least I got that much and I did apologize even if I never knew it.

I can't apologize for being me, though. I don’t think I am a hypocrite and I also don’t think that my liberal friends are out to get my money because they believe in redistributing the wealth!! (Yeah,yeah, sorry. I needed the humor!!) And, I just needed to get this off my chest.

 

 

 

 

 

Townhall is not the greatest these days. Apparently they are lacking great help in correcting the issues of us long time bloggers extraordinaire, and it is not an option to create new ones. Do you suppose they are trying to infringe upon our freedom of speech? I don’t know what they did to GunnyG, but it appears some of my stuff is not accessible using clicks and links.

The G-ster still has a good following at his new place, as does the Crawfish. I am trying to keep up with the other oldsters here….BrianR, Flag, Sarge. But some good people have fallen off the face of the blogs…DaveCat, Phil, Bob’s Uncle and where, I don’t know! Fletch is writing a book…that I do know. Gray is supremely busy…makes me wish I were some kind of engineer kind of thinker or something!

Today, I pose a few questions…

What position do you think we would be in, had we let Castro in? Say, as opposed to letting him rot and giving Russia a darn cozy kind of space to work with through him a mere 100 miles away?

Or this: You’ve all read about the leak and what the Pied Piper did for Russia…the left-minded say it’s no bid deal, just a few serial numbers…blah, blah, blah…”But what do logical minded people think?

What of the lack of true oversight when it comes to the stimulus or any other gov’t funded crap? Tom Coburn has shed more light, yet again on the fraud and waste happening.

And oh, indeed, what, oh what of Hasni Mubarek appointing the military as an interim authority? MMmm, Mmmmm, mmmm. Fee fi fo fum, I smell the rat…and the Pied Piper is in big trouble!

So many things have gone on since I was last able to access my blog. I don’t want it to be a rant, so I pose questions to debate. Alas, I will surely have a more informative essay of sorts in a few days….

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, I suppose my TH friends have missed my rants....I just have not had it in me to do anything that doesn't make me sound nasty and bitter. I have noticed many great writers disappearing from Townhall and it is pretty disconcerting. I keep trying to start a post and then, I just trash it.

Of late, my oldest has graduated from HS, and is trying to go to the University of Michigan. She was accepted by five schools for engineering and chose Michigan partly due to family ties and such, but also because it's number three in the country. She has auditioned also for the Marching Band, which has been a big positive in her HS career. (go here and hear me whoop it up for her solo...it was her last time playing... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOYT-r4Rc98) She did it by herself, thinking she was sparing me more stress, but didn't know that she should have applied for scholarships along with admission...Hence...

When I say trying, I mean we need a student loan. And it has been difficult to get, due to the nature of the last 3 years and the way things have gone. We own an accounting business but the gross was not all it cracked up to be upon purchase, so in addition to the income being 1/3 of what it used to be, we are scraping all the butter out of the tin, if you will.  I have to say that I never dreamed it would happen to us, but it has. Yes, we have our house and 4 healthy kids. I must say that some days I do wake up and wonder why the hell do I do it? Or why do I have "stuff"!? It sometimes seems ridiculous. I am jumping through hoops to help this kid make her dream come true. Thankfully, she did say that she understood, no money means no shcool. At least not at UM. Won't stop her, she'll readjust the plan.

I have also been working with my husband and it proves to be a challenge. I am medically inclined, not numbers oriented. I survived tax season,  mainly by doing all the admin. That was fine. But the Accountant wants an employee and I have been his wife for 24 years...it's very hard not to want to please him as opposed to reading his mind about the things that need to be done from his perspective. We are saving money with me there, but I could do something else, too and he is against it. (Groan!) Part of me gets that the security of having me around is what is necessary...but August is right around the corner and we will need money to live on...until busy season kicks in. The saving grace will be one employee less and I...get paid other ways...haha!

I have also worried about stockpiling of stuff...food, guns, ammo, bitterness, religion, medical, liquor, smokes....You never know what you'll be able to barter with when Hyperinflation finally comes. I am so tired of the ignorance is bliss attitudes of those around me. People are dropping money on frivolous things IMO because they choose to deny how bad it is. I have been made fun of for trying to prepare and frankly, a little part of me gets pisssed off. Because of who I am, I will never turn away my formerly ignorant neighbors who might need food, shelter, medical attention that I can offer. They won't have anything to offer me in return because of their ignorance. But being a fellow countryman compels me. Mind you, I'll shoot the first basturd who wants to steal from the fruits of my labors. Well, maybe I'll try a little of Pepp's Juliet treatment first...:)

Alas, I plug along and I know how lucky I am to be living in the land of the free with a healthy family and potential!! Collective anything equals Collective punishment and I will fight it with all my might. I am hoping to scrape together the money to get to DC for the Restore America thing. It is what I need to get re-energized. Anyone who reads my blog going? Are any of you stockpiling like me? What have you got? What are you reading?

Okay...so that's it for now...nothing groundbreaking, but I am still here...
Remember, Utopia is a frame of mind....
God Bless America, because my N- word is NOVEMBER!!

I read many blogs and DavidBellavia.com is a good one for humor, insight, military issues or the world. I read this today and asked to repost it with permission. Read on.

A Fundamental Misunderstanding of America

“Freedom’s just another word for, nothing left to lose.”

Is that where we are again?  Those words rang true for so many of us long haired liberals in the 60’s and 70’s.  Those were the years when the anti-hero was born.  The clean cut icons like Pat Boone soon gave way to the alcohol/drug culture led by tragic figures like Janice Joplin as crew cuts surrendered to greasy unkempt long hair, and pressed suits and sweaters to torn jeans and tie-dyed T-shirts.   And who can forget that the bullet attempted to dominate the ballot in those confusing days of yesteryear.

As I remember those years, especially the year 1968, radicals tried to rule America by violently removing leadership… as we lost both Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy in that year.  But Americans refused that attempted takeover.  They refused to see America as evil; rather they saw men like James Earl Ray and Sirhan Sirhan as evil.  They refused to blame the gun or the culture; they blamed and punished the assassins.  The great majorities of that day loved and cherished America and her constitution.  They refused to follow the anarchists and their attempted coup, be they radical right or left.

But beware; the plan has not changed for the radical, only the tactic.  The plan is still imposing their will on America, constitution be damned.  It is no longer via the gun, it is via the media.  They cloaked themselves in righteousness and deceived even the sincere to gain power. Yet when granted that power, their hatred for our beloved nation was quickly revealed as they began trampling our traditions, institutions, and foundational freedoms under the boot of tyranny.   This fact is slowly becoming obvious to even their media, as the new left is not shy about wielding its wrath.

But what about our reaction, do we have the resolve to see our political opponents as opponents, rather than as they see us, enemies?  Can we see a peaceful method to restore our freedoms as our taxes soar, our birth rights taken from us and granted to the undeserving, and our children indoctrinated rather than educated?  I say, without a doubt, yes, yes, yes.

Although the media is doing their utmost to paint the American Right as homogenized and rallying around lawlessness, it is the left that is far closer to intolerance and imposing their will on the majority than the right.  Have the likes of Jeremiah Wright, Al Sharpton or Lois Farrakhan made their fortunes on the backs of the rich or the poor?  Have they made their millions by extolling a message of love, forgiveness, and tolerance or retribution, hatred, and bigotry?  Are they divisive or uniting?  And never forget, it is the modern left and its leadership in the Democratic Party that has imposed punitive legislation, as well as dangerously lackadaisical fiscal and foreign policy, not the right.  Moreover, it is the left who present a flower to the terrorist, while prosecuting their soldiers.  It is the new kind of ‘hope and change’ which is in the midst of ruthlessly killing the American dream.   But hope lies on the right, because it is the right who still sees America and capitalism as the world’s last best hope.  They see it as a chance for optimistic opportunity, not pessimistic guarantees.  Finally, they see it not as ‘nothing left to lose;’ but something left to gain.

We fought the good fight. It’s unfortunate that we must now deal with the repercussions of our representatives and their complete disregard for the people they serve, to include the most arrogant President of our time. He truly believes is is up on the stage all by himself performing magic.

My AAR about the events of Saturday are moot. I met wonderful people as far away as AK, MO, even IA. Some people drove 24 hours to get here. Buses arrived up until 3pm…There were great speakers and the evening proved particularly satisfying as we stood on steps where only Republicans showed their faces. The dirtbag dems used the underground tunnels to exit the grounds.Their  aides came out smirking and served to enrage me. I got very loud. We taunted….”Nan-cy, Nan-cy!!” And we could be heard from the inside out. It was exhausting and so worth it. It’s just a shame that the leaders only care about power, not people.

What I am also tired of is the attitude of people “that something is better than nothing because we are going to pay anyway” bull. They have not educated themselves but followed their reps blindly into the fire. More disconcerting to me is that people that are my friends are calling me extreme, non-compliant because I am so against this. And it isn’t for lack of compassion, nor that I lack the knowledge that people need care. It isn’t.

I am having a hard time understanding that people that I believed to be smart, and thoughtful and logical have totally bought into this. For example: my friend in Germany is the beneficiary of a social system of medical care. She is also an alcoholic but needed treatment for a bacterial ulcer. It took seven months for her to be diagnosed. In the meantime, she lost weight, had blood in her stools. As my medical background helps, I worried that she might have colon cancer. (There is a family history, too) I told her to call her sister and come to the USto be seen. She did not. My friend of 24 years said that she didn’t believe me, and that no offense, but my german friend was an alcoholic!!

Was that even the point? No, of course not. How does that justify that the system she wants was not giving access and quality of care to someone who was sick? She does not believe her choice and voice will be lost. I am stunned to be perfectly honest.

I will fight this to our Republic’s revolution should it come to that.

Below are some of the health care gems interpreted, but not by me.

The sections described below are taken from HR 3590 as agreed to by the Senate and from the reconciliation bill as displayed by the Rules Committee.

1. You are young and don’t want health insurance? You are starting up a small business and need to minimize expenses, and one way to do that is to forego health insurance? Tough. You have to pay $750 annually for the “privilege.” (Section 1501)

2. You are young and healthy and want to pay for insurance that reflects that status? Tough. You’ll have to pay for premiums that cover not only you, but also the guy who smokes three packs a day, drink a gallon of whiskey and eats chicken fat off the floor. That’s because insurance companies will no longer be able to underwrite on the basis of a person’s health status. (Section 2701).

3. You would like to pay less in premiums by buying insurance with lifetime or annual limits on coverage? Tough. Health insurers will no longer be able to offer such policies, even if that is what customers prefer. (Section 2711).

4. Think you’d like a policy that is cheaper because it doesn’t cover preventive care or requires cost-sharing for such care? Tough. Health insurers will no longer be able to offer policies that do not cover preventive services or offer them with cost-sharing, even if that’s what the customer wants. (Section 2712).

5. You are an employer and you would like to offer coverage that doesn’t allow your employers’ slacker children to stay on the policy until age 26? Tough. (Section 2714).

6. You must buy a policy that covers ambulatory patient services, emergency services, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment; prescription drugs; rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices; laboratory services; preventive and wellness services; chronic disease management; and pediatric services, including oral and vision care.

You’re a single guy without children? Tough, your policy must cover pediatric services. You’re a woman who can’t have children? Tough, your policy must cover maternity services. You’re a teetotaler? Tough, your policy must cover substance abuse treatment. (Add your own violation of personal freedom here.) (Section 1302).

7. Do you want a plan with lots of cost-sharing and low premiums? Well, the best you can do is a “Bronze plan,” which has benefits that provide benefits that are actuarially equivalent to 60% of the full actuarial value of the benefits provided under the plan. Anything lower than that, tough. (Section 1302 (d) (1) (A))

8. You are an employer in the small-group insurance market and you’d like to offer policies with deductibles higher than $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for families? Tough. (Section 1302 (c) (2) (A).

9. If you are a large employer (defined as at least 101 employees) and you do not want to provide health insurance to your employee, then you will pay a $750 fine per employee (It could be $2,000 to $3,000 under the reconciliation changes). Think you know how to better spend that money? Tough. (Section 1513).

10. You are an employer who offers health flexible spending arrangements and your employees want to deduct more than $2,500 from their salaries for it? Sorry, can’t do that. (Section 9005 (i)).

11. If you are a physician and you don’t want the government looking over your shoulder? Tough. The Secretary of Health and Human Services is authorized to use your claims data to issue you reports that measure the resources you use, provide information on the quality of care you provide, and compare the resources you use to those used by other physicians. Of course, this will all be just for informational purposes. It’s not like the government will ever use it to intervene in your practice and patients’ care. Of course not. (Section 3003 (i))

12. If you are a physician and you want to own your own hospital, you must be an owner and have a “Medicare provider agreement” by Feb. 1, 2010. (Dec. 31, 2010 in the reconciliation changes.) If you didn’t have those by then, you are out of luck. (Section 6001 (i) (1) (A))

13. If you are a physician owner and you want to expand your hospital? Well, you can’t (Section 6001 (i) (1) (B). Unless, it is located in a country where, over the last five years, population growth has been 150% of what it has been in the state (Section 6601 (i) (3) ( E)). And then you cannot increase your capacity by more than 200% (Section 6001 (i) (3) (C)).

14. You are a health insurer and you want to raise premiums to meet costs? Well, if that increase is deemed “unreasonable” by the Secretary of Health and Human Services it will be subject to review and can be denied. (Section 1003)

15. The government will extract a fee of $2.3 billion annually from the pharmaceutical industry. If you are a pharmaceutical company what you will pay depends on the ratio of the number of brand-name drugs you sell to the total number of brand-name drugs sold in the U.S. So, if you sell 10% of the brand-name drugs in the U.S., what you pay will be 10% multiplied by $2.3 billion, or $230,000,000. (Under reconciliation, it starts at $2.55 billion, jumps to $3 billion in 2012, then to $3.5 billion in 2017 and $4.2 billion in 2018, before settling at $2.8 billion in 2019 (Section 1404)). Think you, as a pharmaceutical executive, know how to better use that money, say for research and development? Tough. (Section 9008 (b)).

16. The government will extract a fee of $2 billion annually from medical device makers. If you are a medical device maker what you will pay depends on your share of medical device sales in the U.S. So, if you sell 10% of the medical devices in the U.S., what you pay will be 10% multiplied by $2 billion, or $200,000,000. Think you, as a medical device maker, know how to better use that money, say for R&D? Tough. (Section 9009 (b)).

The reconciliation package turns that into a 2.9% excise tax for medical device makers. Think you, as a medical device maker, know how to better use that money, say for research and development? Tough. (Section 1405).

17. The government will extract a fee of $6.7 billion annually from insurance companies. If you are an insurer, what you will pay depends on your share of net premiums plus 200% of your administrative costs. So, if your net premiums and administrative costs are equal to 10% of the total, you will pay 10% of $6.7 billion, or $670,000,000. In the reconciliation bill, the fee will start at $8 billion in 2014, $11.3 billion in 2015, $1.9 billion in 2017, and $14.3 billion in 2018 (Section 1406).Think you, as an insurance executive, know how to better spend that money? Tough.(Section 9010 (b) (1) (A and B).)

18. If an insurance company board or its stockholders think the CEO is worth more than $500,000 in deferred compensation? Tough.(Section 9014).

19. You will have to pay an additional 0.5% payroll tax on any dollar you make over $250,000 if you file a joint return and $200,000 if you file an individual return. What? You think you know how to spend the money you earned better than the government? Tough. (Section 9015).

That amount will rise to a 3.8% tax if reconciliation passes. It will also apply to investment income, estates, and trusts. You think you know how to spend the money you earned better than the government? Like you need to ask. (Section 1402).

20. If you go for cosmetic surgery, you will pay an additional 5% tax on the cost of the procedure. Think you know how to spend that money you earned better than the government? Tough. (Section 9017).

You see, I am affected and it’s wrong. Number 3, 6. I currently hold a policy with a lifetime limit. And insurance companies are now forbidden to offer it. Hence, because of the health czars, oops, the IRS,(Ach! what’s  another 10 billion?) I will end up being dropped from that and forced to buy what the government says I need.

Why do I need to pay for maternity, pediatrics and well baby care? i am fixed, I will have no more babies. This is stealing from me to pay for someone else. I challenge anyone who believes that it is okay to steal, to just give your money to me, now. After all, (cue the Kum-freaking baya) we’re all going to pay– but some of us would actually do it of our own free will. Others must be forced because they would never do it to begin with even if they say they are for those who cannot seem to fend for themselves.That would be my best friend.

I resent the redistribution of my hard earned money. Period. What does this mean? I am subject then to what the government deems acceptable. I have lost my choice and my voice and the government gets to steal it from me.

Where is right about a law that mandates taking my money to pay for something I am not using? I just cannot believe the lack of logic I am seeing in all of this.

For all of those whom I have discussed this with, and those who simply believed the government had their best interests in mind…Well, I finally have something that I can give Billy Jeff Credit for besides the welfare issue. And that is, that he did have some integrity not to bribe those serving him.And, yes, as much as GWB spent, I believe we would not be here, today with national heath care if he were in office. No bribing and thuggery to be had by the person the left called a Nazi. Somewhere in Chicago, Nevada and California, their villages are missing the most blatantly corrupt idiots of our time.

And those of us who started out against those non-read stimulus and health care bills that are killing the Republic one at a time…we’ve got what it takes to keep up the fight.

Okay folks...I am off to DC to stand up for what I believe in. Supporting and defending the Constitution against all enemies foreign and (SOB) domestic.

Can you believe it has come to this? GOE anniversary and rally against all the communist pukes, pinkos and what not....AAR to follow. We've got to fight for the republic and then we can say we did our best...before the blood is shed.

God Bless us...

The Individual Must Prevail

“This is a duel between two very formidable adversaries: an extremely powerful, formidable and ruthless state and an insignificant, unknown private individual. The duel does not take place in what is commonly known as the sphere of politics; the individual is by no means a politician, still less a conspirator or an enemy of the state. Throughout, he finds himself very much on the defensive. He only wishes to preserve what he considers his integrity, his private life, and his personal honor. These are under constant attack by the government of the country he lives in.

With fearful menace the state demands that the individual give up his friends, abandon his lovers, renounce his beliefs and assume new prescribed ones. He must use a new form of greeting, eat and drink in ways he does not fancy, employ his leisure in occupations he abhors, make himself available for activities he despises, and deny his past and his individuality. For all this he must express extreme enthusiasm and gratitude.

The individual is opposed to all of that, but he is ill prepared for the onslaught.

…He is nevertheless stubbornly antagonistic. So he enters into the duel—without enthusiasm, shrugging his shoulders, but with a quiet determination not to yield.

He is, of course, much weaker than his opponent, but rather more agile. You will see him duck and weave, dodge his foe and dart back, evading crushing blows by a whisker.  You will have to admit that, for someone who is neither a hero nor a martyr, he manages to put up a good fight. Finally, however, you will see him compelled to abandon the struggle or, if you will, transfer it to another plane.”

Does this sound as if the individual might be a conservative thinker, a tea party person or someone who would prefer to keep his government smaller? Does it seem like this person does not want to lose liberties and freedoms?

 I am reading a book called Defying Hitler by Sebastian Haffner. It was written in the 1930’s.

I have not gotten very far. I was simply astounded at the first pages and what was obviously coming for Germany. Haffner makes a statement that Germany might not have been so hopeless if the outside world had intervened and knew that a war would not be avoided. Even more gut wrenching is he notes that the Germans who fight to defend their private peace and their private liberty were fighting not just for themselves but for the peace and liberty of the world. 

Those of us standing and fighting this Presidency and his congress for accountability must continue to educate those who have no clue, because we are, in effect, fighting for the rest of the world and it’s continued survival as we know it. We are the shining city on a hill, the beacon of light.

Lead do not follow. May life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness continue to prevail! 

NPR....Oh boy. You know, we constantly hear that we must know the enemy. And believe you me, the enemy is within. Right here. Who is it? Well, I can't tell you by the numbers, but just about any dem/rep in office, to include the Pied Piper, his supporters- the enemy.

As for NPR...while in college I woke up to it every day of my life as my alarm. I stopped listening the day Maya Angelou was allowed to say she was happy that Richard Nixon was dead on the air. I was a sporadic listener at the time and then my tolerance was gone. Seriously, who the hell do these people think they are?

What they are is a one-sided machine of propaganda spewing forth "facts" that only they can twist and mold to fit the beliefs that, oh, say The COWBoy in chief is really The Messiah who will heal the economy, racism and fix the divide. (Uh, How's that hope and change really working?) Not. You name it, they can turn it into something to be believed by those who would stand idly by and watch our Republic be destroyed.

This time NPR has spent your tax dollars on a video slamming those of us exercising free speech. IT is an absolutely despicable example of free speech and were it done by conservatives....well...you know what would happen. I cannot copy or embed it, so you must go to the link. Prepare to be ticked off.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120344047

CDR Salamander - http://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com
LL - http://chromedcurses.com

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Milblogs have been a vital link in getting accurate news and information about the military, and military operations, to you.  Today, many milblogs are gone and others are under attack from within and without.  Today, you have the chance to imagine a world without milblogs, and to do something about it.  Make your voice heard by writing your congressional representatives and others, and by making donations as you see fit.
 
The battle for freedom of speech and the marketplace of ideas is fought on many fronts and in many ways.   Without your help, the battle may well be lost.

I was a “Fear Not!” soldier. Fear Not! Those were the words we spoke when rendering a salute to our HQ Commander and the CO. I was stationed at Ft. Hood in the 80’s. Part of 13th SUPCOM’s 1st  Med Group.  Ft. Hood is indeed a huge installation. I worked in  three areas…Main Post Garrison, West Fort and North Fort. 369 square miles of lean and mean, don’t hit a cow, yep lean and mean!! I make no excuses for anyone that betrays their oath.  And I will not apologize for jumping to conclusions, either, when it comes to the tragedy that has taken place at Ft. Hood.
The first words out of my mouth upon the news were,  “Am I just a cynical human being for thinking this is a terror attack?”

Political correctness has been killing this Country and now, it is killing our soldiers. I hate PC.

On Thursday, Nidal Malik Hasan, who was an officer that practiced psychiatry, at Ft. Hood, opened fire in an enclosed space where some 600 soldiers, and civilians were waiting for processing in preparation for deployment. He carried two  of his own weapons and extra ammo.

As far as I am concerned, this was pre-meditated.  No one is allowed to carry a privately owned, concealed weapon on a federal installation or post.  And I guess I must ask why?  Virginia did not allow it, and look what happened there…How did he get past the gates with weapons?

A soldier took and oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.  As a doctor, Hasan violated a medical oath, too, to value life above all.  He betrayed all of it, in the name of religion.  

How did he get those two guns and extra ammo on post? He shot 46 rounds according to reports. And, that means 44 rounds hit a mark. Some were injured via a ricochet effect. You know, small spaces, no place to run, and lots of targets.

We know several things.  We know Hasan was a practicing Muslim. We know he was a psychiatrist who counseled those soldiers with PTSD.  We know he was against the war because he told retired Colonel Tom Lee that a Muslim fighting a Muslim was wrong.  We know it was reported to the chain of command and apparently in an effort to maintain laissez-faire in regard to religious affiliation, in a DADT kind of way, political correctness ensued.  

We have heard that he was harassed after 9/11.  We have heard that it was hard for him to take.   I believe it was understandable on the side of those doing the harassing.  He could have built some trust among those. Instead, he traveled a different path and went to the Uniformed Services School and did an internship and residency in psychiatry.

If it was so bad for him, he could have resigned his commission.  He did not. Was it because he liked the money and status of being an officer? Or can I be sinister and suggest he had a plan all along? The parents have said they love “their” country and so did their son.  But how do you have undying love for your Country and then betray morale, the trust and the oaths you took and kill your fellow comrades?
Because-He is a Muslim. First. Last. Always.  

As human beings we are conditioned over time to react much like Pavlov’s dogs salivating at the sound of a bell.  Hence, why the minute we heard the name of the suspect, we say terrorist. We can go back to any terror attack suffered by the US, whether here or in another place, perpetrated by those claiming to be of Muslim religion.  Yikes.  Name them in no specific order. Khobar Towers, USS Cole, WTC 1993, Marine Barracks 1983, the plane crashes, and finally 9/11. After that, we’ve got a few sparse attacks…Muslim American soldiers attacking their comrades in Iraq. Muslims attacking civilians up and down the DC area, Muslims attacking a recruiter center and even a Muslim running over someone at UNC. I shouldn’t forget the USPS carrier here in NC who noticed suspicious activity, reported it, and voila, busted Muslim terror cell. And there were the bozos in CO, too.

What will happen to the now comatose, paralyzed Hasan?  There are no firing squads, and the last time the electric chair was used at Leavenworth was in the 60’s.
He will be tried under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. (UCMJ).  From Chuck Z, the Guy who started Valour-IT:

“You see, if He's charged with 13 murders and 31 attempts, a military court can have a quick decision to make on his guilt.  
ALL of his appeals in the military system are based on whether or not the trial was functionally correct--i.e. was the process correct.? The process of the trial is what matters, and only if the proceedings are at fault is another trial granted.  

If it is judged an act of terror, he could be sent to GITMO...  If the military keeps his criminal trial within the UCMJ, his 12 peers will all be military officers.  Men and women who've dedicated their lives to leading and protecting soldiers are not likely to lose any sleep at night by giving him the death penalty.  

From the time he's convicted until he eventually is put to death, he'll spend every last minute of his life in solitary confinement at the US Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth.  He'll have to be in solitary because all of the convicts at the DB are former solders, many of them are officers who've committed a crime, but even then, they still have some sense of duty and honor.  Hasan would find himself beaten to death,  quick fast and in a hurry, by fellow inmates if left in general population.”


Is it any wonder that the Army’s political correctness had a play in this tragedy? The question now is, how the hell do we prevent it from happening again?

Do we allow all soldiers to now to carry a sidearm? I mean, weapons induce a quiet kind of  “don’t phuck with me or else” respect, don’t they?

In the old days, carrying a weapon was a daily occurrence and people didn’t just go off willy-nilly killing each other. And I do remember while being stationed at Ft. Hood, that officers wore a sidearm if they chose. I never once thought it strange.
The use of political correctness and the need for diversity has helped to kill 13 soldiers and wound 31 others. I don’t care what it takes.  Our soldiers have been subjected to something that has destroyed families, taken lives and ruined deployment morale.  That is absolutely and unequivocally not acceptable.
If we are fighting a war and cannot prove the allegiance of a Muslim American soldier, perhaps it is time to profile. Sorry, but the rest of the military is now at risk for the sake of diversity and tolerance? No.  I am not on board with that.  

I am truly sorry that 44 families are affected by the actions of one. It makes me sad and so angry.  Something must be done, because if not, the next massacre is already being planned.

(A side note: I abhor the Pied Piper’s reaction to the incident at Ft. Hood. To me he was just a faker extraordinaire. Giving  a shout out for 2 minutes, instead of addressing “his” troops immediately.  And, sorry, PTSD by osmosis ain’t gonna fly.)

Lastly, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to former President Bush  and his wife for secretly heading to Killeen to comfort the wounded and express their sympathies to the victims families.  This guy has always gotten it, hasn’t he, when it comes to the troops. I think the Pied Piper aka COWboy in chief has been punked by a true statesman.

Folks,

Reposting this little gem from Blackfive.net...I couldn't have said it better. Originally done in 2008, I believe, and reposted in light of the Pied Piper not, (as Uncle J says) manning up. I'm just helping to get the word out.

From B5's Jim Hanson

The brother and father of a Marine fighting the war in Afghanistan have some solid advice for our politically-challenged Commander in Chief.

"As family members of a Marine deployed in Afghanistan, we know the importance of timely decisions in the heat of battle--indecision in the field puts troops at risk and leads to casualties. Likewise, the president's indecision about the next steps in Afghanistan is placing the overall mission and the troops on the ground at risk.

Announcing his counter-insurgency strategy for Afghanistan this past March, President Obama said, "If the Afghan government falls to the Taliban or allows al-Qaeda to go unchallenged, that country will again be a base for terrorists who want to kill as many of our people as they possibly can." This commitment was clearly re-affirmed by the president in an August speech before the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Yet, the president and his advisers are now engaged in a prolonged process of re-thinking America's Afghanistan strategy. What has changed?

According to the White House, it would be irresponsible to act until a credible resolution to the presidential elections in Afghanistan emerges. But we fear, as many have reported, that the real reason for delay is anxiety amongst civilian White House aides that an escalation in Afghanistan will derail the president's domestic agenda. On the latter, let us be clear--considerations of political expediency have no place in the president's war room."

Man up Sir.

I think the rant I did just after he took office is particularly apt right now."

Watch the video and remember this from Chuck Z over at From My Position:

-if you lack the WILL to use overwhelming force and ferocity to retaliate against your enemies and those who support them, you will never stop them from attacking you.  Policies which the soldier perceives as inhibiting his ability to do his mission, do inhibit his ability to do his mission.  Perception being truth applies here, because if the soldier feels hamstrung by ROE, then he begins to doubt if his leaders, and their leaders, care more about him than they care about the perception of the public and his enemy.

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