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July 31, 2009
Police Officers Run Background Check On Obama; Placed On Leave
Officers Run Background Check On Obama; Placed On Leave
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga.
Two DeKalb County police officers have been placed on paid administrative leave after an investigation revealed they ran a background check on President Barack Obama.
A representative for the DeKalb County CEO’s office identified the officers as Ryan White and C.M. Route.
Officials said Obama’s name was typed into a computer inside a DeKalb County police car on July 20 and ran through the National Crime Information Center.
The secret service was immediately notified and contacted the DeKalb County Police Department.
A representative said both officers have been with the department less than five years. A representative said one of the officers denied involvement.
An official investigation is being conducted by the DeKalb County Police Department’s Internal Affairs division.
It is unclear why the officers ran a check on the president.
Wild Thing's comment........
I guess the officers didn't know that certain words and names are flagged, so if they’re run, it sets off all sorts of alerts.
“It is unclear why the officers ran a check on the president.”
Why unclear, they probably just wanted to see what they could find out about the creep Obama since he lied about being transparent. Maybe they’re PATRIOT's.
It would be interesting to know exactly what they found.
So these policemen get placed on leave for doing a background check on Obama..yet the CEO of the company that accessed(and possibly tampered with) Obama’s passport while contracted with the State Department during the primaries gets picked to be in the Obama Administration. It was this passport breach that started the whole refusal of Obama to release his long form birth certificate.
So many secrets and lies from the Left. How can they ever keep their stories straight??? weird!
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (6)
Muslims Pushing Their Death Cult in New York with ...Street Dawah
Part 1...New York...Street Dawah
Street Dawah involves calling people to Islam in a spontaneous manner. Usually, it involves walking up to people on the street to engage them in conversation. Street Dawah has been picking up pace from the streets of Washington D.C. , to New York and to the streets of Houston, TX. While in the early days of dawah in America only a handful of people were using this method, now an increasing number of MSA’s, Masjids, and Islamic Centers are jumping on the band wagon.
Part 2..... NY based RevolutionMuslim.com. Islamic hatemonger Yousef al-Khattab and his crew are getting more and more brazen with their message. 7-24-09
Wild Thing's comment........
I really hate this stuff, they use our Freedom of speech to push their agenda against our country.
"I don't think you can overstate the importance that the rise of Islamic fundamentalism will have to the rest of the world in the century ahead-especially if, as seems possible, its most fanatical elements get their hands on nuclear and chemical weapons and the means to deliver them against their enemies." --Ronald Reagan
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (13)
Sgt. Leon Lashley Letter About Henry Louis Gates
Sgt. Leon Lashley (James Crowley's Partner) Pens Letter To Barack Obama Regarding Henry Louis Gates
Wild Thing's comment.......
The left always does this Uncle Tom thing. They did it to Clarence Thomas, Larry Elder the radio talk show host, JC Watts and others. Anyone that strays away from their agenda or thinks for themselves that is black they attack them.
Obama and Gates have set back race relations many years IMO.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:49 AM | Comments (4)
Anthony H. Cordesman Says "This War Needs To Be Taken Seriously" Please Listen Obama!
Britain Will Stick with Afghan Combat Mission, says Envoy
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Wednesday that his country is determined to carry on with its combat mission in Afghanistan despite a rise in casualties and skepticism in domestic opinion polls. Miliband discussed the Afghan situation and related issues with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton here in Washington.
Miliband says the Afghan conflict is in a "tough phase," but that Britain intends to work through the difficulties, side-by-side with the United States as Afghanistan approaches historic elections next month.
"We know that this is a challenge that is not going to be easily resolved in a short period of time," said Hillary Clinton. "But we believe that we are pursuing a strategy, both military and civilian, that holds out promise for achieving our principle objective - that is to destroy, dismantle and defeat al-Qaida and their allies in the syndicate of terror that has unfortunately taken root in Afghanistan and spilled over into Pakistan."
Clinton and Miliband stressed the importance of the August 20th Afghan presidential election - for reaffirming the democratic ideals for which the war is being fought and opening the way for a new Afghan government to share more of the security burden.
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Anthony H. Cordesman
This man, Anthony H. Cordesman, gave an awesome speech and much of it is in the article above. He really lays in on the line including the corruption in the government there and also says this war needs to be taken seriouisly.
I hope you get a chance to watch the video. It really is worth it. They do not have this particular one at YouTube so I can only put the link here for you to CLICK ON LINK HERE FOR VIDEO AS SEEN BELOW IF IT DOES NOT WORK FOR YOU.
I will try to post the embedded code for the video. If anyone has trouble with my blog let me know and I can take the video off. Sometimes videos that are not YouTube or Live Leak mess with the code of my blog. Thank you.
Anthony H. Cordesman, the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, discusses the war in Afghanistan.
More US Troops May Be Needed in Afghanistan, says Pentagon Advisor
A member of the strategic assessment team working with the new U.S. military commander in Afghanistan says the U.S. government and its allies need to be more realistic about what is needed to win the Afghan war, and he says that may include more troops.
Senior Washington analyst Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies says the United States and its allies need to take the Afghanistan war more seriously. He says they need to be honest about the security and development problems they have allowed to fester in recent years, and about the resources that will be needed to reverse the situation.
"This war has been fought without resources, but above all without realism," he said.
Cordesman is recently back from Afghanistan, where he joined other experts on a team advising the new U.S. commander, General Stanley McChrystal, on how to move forward. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Cordesman declined to speak directly about the strategic assessment team's deliberations, but he suggested he believes more U.S. troops are needed.
"If you don't provide those resources and additional brigade combat teams, if you do not, I think, effectively move the Afghan security forces toward doubling them. I think unless we're prepared to commit those resources. If we somehow believe that a civilian surge of 700 people and tailoring our force posture to the views of a completely different set of strategic priorities, this is going to win, the answer is no, it's going to lose," he said.
But Cordesman said policymakers in Washington should not limit General McChrystal's options in advance. Rather he says they should wait for the 60-day report the new commander will provide next month, based partly on the assessment in which Cordesman participated. He said the military experts are working hard on the question of how many U.S. troops are needed in Afghanistan. And he says it is particularly important to significantly increase the number of competent Afghan troops.
The analyst was sharply critical of the latest Pentagon report on the situation in Afghanistan, saying it does not provide an adequate assessment of the country's insurgency. He said U.S. intelligence services need to focus on that. In addition, he says the U.S. government needs to deal with what he called the corruption and power brokering in Afghanistan, and must bring integrity to the aid system and work with allies to get more military and civilian help from them.
Cordesman says some allies are not honest about their contributions or are not willing to recognize the seriousness of the situation and the need for more effort to fix it. He described the international aid effort in Afghanistan, now in its eighth year, as being conducted as if it were in its first year, and having little impact.
"What should be an integrated civil-military effort and a focus on winning the war in the field, is a dysfunctional, wasteful mess focused on Kabul and crippled by bureaucratic divisions," he said.
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Wild Thing's comment.....
Well good for British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and shame on him too. The other day I posted how he said they wanted to pull out, they had 10 of their troops killed this last month and wanted to pull out. Now they have decided to stick it out and stay and fight along side our troops.
All of you at this blog and myself included have all been saying this war needs to be taken seriously and the enemy to be taken seriously. How even the wanting to rename it to some political correct name is BS and yet another way of not calling it like it is. and what this is all about.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:48 AM | Comments (4)
In Country Afghanistan and IED Information
This one is from the NATO channel
The Kunduz Provincial Reconstruction Team has been under attacks from insurgents. Get an inside perspective with Soldiers from the PRT's Golf platoon as they go on a long-term patrol. July 12 For more videos check out NatoChannel.tv
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Know your IEDs ( these are what our troops have to deal with ~ Wild Thing )
This information is to show the most probable type of IED you may see, and not necessarily how to defeat it. In keeping with protecting our troops and not giving the enemy the how to's of our awesome troops.
I would like to thank Afghan Lessons Leraned for Soldiers for this information and photos below. ~ Wild Thing
IEDs in Afghanistan are not as sophisticated as they typically are in Iraq but they tend to be much, much larger.
There are signs to look for on the side of the road, in the road and how to know what areas on the road are the highest risk.
I will talk about how you as a service-member may be traveling the roads could make a good guess as to what kinds of IEDs may be on the route you want to take.
There are several categories and sub-categories of IEDs. There are victim-initiated and command detonated.
Victim-initiated (VI) are dumb IEDs and the most dangerous. They don’t distinguish between local Afghans or coalition soldiers. They don’t require a triggerman or spotter. As the name suggests, they are triggered by the victim themselves. Good examples would be pressure plate IEDs or even a basic landmine.
Command Detonated (CD) IEDs are smarter than victim-initiated as in they require a trigger man to detonate. These triggers could be hardwired to the explosive or remote control detonated via a wireless signal of some type. There will always be a triggerman and these triggermen will almost always have “eyes on” the location of the IED so they know when to “trigger” it.
It is common to fine VI IEDs on routes that are not as heavily traveled by Afghans, and are usually on routes where the enemy can influence the locals to stay off of the route. The local areas can be informed of the threat so they don’t travel on the route. This raises the chance that only coalition forces will be the ones to initiate the IED. So this means you will rarely see VI IEDs on routes that have heavy traffic. For lack of a better term, these would be main supply routes (by Afghan standards).
Another example is that you can expect to see VI IEDs on routes which are one way (into a dead end of a valley, etc.), or on routes between small villages. This is why it is important to practice very good opsec and not allow your movement plans to leak out. If the enemy finds out you are planning to visit a particular location then it helps them know what routes they stand the highest chance of hitting you on.
CD IEDs will typically be found on high-traffic routes where any number of people could travel (jingle trucks, taxis, coalition forces, etc.) On these types of routes the enemy wants to be more selective of their target and hit the right target at the right time. While on these types of routes where there is a higher chance of seeing CD vs. VI IEDs you always want to have situational awareness of the area around you and in front of you to keep an eye out for the trigger man. There is also a slight chance to see VI IEDs on routes like this as I once experienced myself.
While on one mission, a part of our unit used a specific route that we were not aware of. Because of that and the fact that an IED cell was given an alert that we were heading down the road, they were able to hastily plant a standard anti-tank landmine with a modified tilt-rod. They did this as we rolled down the road and as we found out later, just barely got it installed before we came up on them. In fact the IED planter rode his bike right by my truck and even waved to me.
Command detonated IED hole that killed two and wounded two. This was a double-stack daisy-chain “pusher charge”
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Wild Thing's comment.......
God bless all our awesome troops. This was such great information and I wanted to share it with all of you.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM
Obama's Many Lies Keep the Questions Coming
Re: Andy on the Birth-Certificate Business
by Mark Steyn
Kevin, you're right re the Kenyan citizenship. At the time of his birth, Barack Obama was the son of a British subject — like every American president up to Martin van Buren. I believe, under certain interpretations of Britain's revised nationality law, President Obama would qualify as a "British Overseas Citizen" — for whatever that's worth (unlike most other countries, where it's merely a rhetorical term, Britain has literal and official categories of third-class citizenship).
But the rest of Andy's piece I found most interesting. It's the story of a self-invented man, a kind of Gatsby for the multiculti age who appears fully-formed on the world stage and for whom the first few decades of his short existence are mostly a source of misty watercolored but highly calculated anecdotage that, when you try to pin it down, seems to wiggle free of such humdrum earthbound concepts as facts.
Do I think he was born in Hawaii? Yes — if only because the alternative is way too audacious (to use an Obama-ism) to contemplate.
But do I think there's something on the long-form birth certificate he doesn't want us to see? Yes. That would seem entirely likely — and consistent with his modus operandi.
As for the alleged "kookiness" of birthers, a true conspiracy theorist would surely believe that Obama deliberately started the birth-certificate business in order to make it easier to dismiss his opponents as deranged.
Suborned in the U.S.A.
The birth-certificate controversy is about Obama’s honesty, not where he was born.
By Andrew C. McCarthy
Throughout the 2008 campaign, Barack Hussein Obama claimed it was a “smear” to refer to him as “Barack Hussein Obama.” The candidate had initially rhapsodized over how his middle name, the name of the prophet Mohammed’s grandson, would signal a new beginning in American relations with the Muslim world. But when the nomination fight intensified, Obama decided that Islamic heritage was a net negative. So, with a media reliably uncurious about political biographies outside metropolitan Wasilla, Obama did what Obama always does: He airbrushed his personal history on the fly.
Suddenly, it was “just making stuff up,” as Obama put it, for questioners “to say that, you know, maybe he’s got Muslim connections.” “The only connection I’ve had to Islam,” the candidate insisted, “is that my grandfather on my father’s side came from [Kenya]. But I’ve never practiced Islam.” Forget about “Hussein”; the mere mention of Obama’s middle initial — “H” — riled the famously thin-skinned senator. Supporters charged that “shadowy attackers” were “lying about Barack’s religion, claiming he is a Muslim.” The Obamedia division at USA Today, in a report subtly titled “Obama’s grandma slams ‘untruths,’” went so far as to claim that Obama’s Kenyan grandmother is a Christian — even though a year earlier, when Obama’s “flaunt Muslim ties” script was still operative, the New York Times had described the same woman, 85-year-old Sara Hussein Obama, as a “lifelong Muslim” who proclaimed, “I am a strong believer of the Islamic faith.”
*** This article is 4 pages long, I read the entire thing and it has a lot of really interesting things in it. Andrew like Mark Steyn both want Obama to show the world his long form birth certificate. *****
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ ALL 4 PAGES. It is a fast read, just way too long to put the whole thing here.
Wild Thing's comment........
Mark Steyn can’t help but see that the only reasons for Obama *not* to resolve the issue by publishing the certificate are (a) hiding something, or (b) being an *ssh*le.
If you get a chance to read what Andrew wrote and also seeing what Mark Steyn has written both taking the same desire but with tiny bit different angels to why they want to see it. I am glad Mark Steynand Andrew McCarthy are onboard and questioning the Birth details as well.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Comments (4)
July 30, 2009
Will There Be A Beer Czar Now ?
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At the time, Gates demanded an apology from Crowley and called him a "rogue policeman." Obama said the Cambridge policed "acted stupidly" in arresting Gates when he had shown proof he was in his home. Crowley said that, while he supported the president, Obama was "way off base wading into a local issue without knowing all the facts."
Gibbs said before Thursday's meeting: "We're not here to mediate apologies."
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Wild Thing's comment.......
Gates opts for the beer brewed by folks who aren’t white.~ LOL Just kidding.......
Biden wasn’t invited, but crashed the party for the free beer heh heh
In this "teachable moment"..they each seemed to be reaching to the center of the table for a handful of "peanuts".
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:44 PM | Comments (6)
One Term Barack Obama Sinking In Polls ~ LOL Epic Failure BHO
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 28% of the nation's voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty percent (40%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -12. That’s the lowest rating yet recorded for President Obama. Forty-nine percent (49%) now say that America’s best days have come and gone. Just 38% believe they are still to come. Thirty-four percent (34%) say the country is heading in the right direction. Seventy-five percent (75%) want the Federal Reserve to be audited. Overall, 48% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. That is the lowest level of total approval yet recorded for this President. Fifty-one percent (51%) now disapprove. A plurality of voters now believe the President views American society as unfair and discriminatory. It is important to remember that the Rasmussen Reports job approval ratings are based upon a sample of likely voters. Some other firms base their approval ratings on samples of all adults. President Obama's numbers are always several points higher in a poll of adults rather than likely voters. That's because some of the President's most enthusiastic supporters, such as young adults, are less likely to turn out to vote. Just 23% believe health care costs will go down if health care reform is passed. Most (53%) expect prices would rise and 50% expect the quality of care would decline. Republicans retain a slight edge on the Generic Congressional Ballot and most voters still have an unfavorable opinion of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Wild Thing's comment....... Finally seriously tanking in the polls. America is waking up. I think Obama is on everyone’s nerves. Problem is, being the narcissist that he is, it makes him even more determined to get in front of the cameras and more determined to shove gov’t run health care down everyone’s throat.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:40 PM
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Obama's Motorcade going to Releigh Town Hall Meeting, hundreds of protestors 4 blocks long............ AP Reports 'More Than 200 Protesters' at Obama Bristol, Va. Town Hall A crowd of more than 200 protesters opposed to President Obama's health care overhaul have gathered outside a Kroger supermarket in Bristol, Va., awaiting the president's arrival for a town hall meeting. Some held signs reading, "Obamacare is political malpractice" and "Keep your hands off my health care." The Wednesday protest drew people from the tri-state region of Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina. The Roanoake Times reports a pro-Obama rally was organized by the leftist labor union SEIU: A few blocks from the Kroger a group of supports shared their concerns with the current health care system and reasons why they are urging for an overhaul of the nation’s health care system. Sponsored by the Service Employees International Union, the rally sought to emphasize the hardship health care premiums have placed on small businesses. It also highlighted the problems Virginians face in paying for prescription drugs. The Times also reported on the anti-Obama protesters: Protesters were also waiting for Obama’s arrival. The largest group of protesters gathered outside the Kroger parking lot. Rho Griffin and her husband Blake drove down from Roanoke to tell the president to keep his hands off their health care. Great job tri-state tea partiers! Wild Thing's comment....... God bless these America loving people!!!!!
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM
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House Democrats reach deal on healthcare bill WASHINGTON Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives have reached a deal with a group of fiscal conservatives in their own party on how to move forward with healthcare legislation, a leading lawmaker said on Tuesday. Wild Thing's comment........ The did manage to buy the a couple more months. And this is very important. The more time we have the more time to get the word out, to friends, family, and anyone we can. And ask them too to call and tell them to vote no when they come back. I hope when all these people get home they hear in person from their voters even from those who did not vote for them but live in their areas. how they are against this bill. .
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM
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Dems warn GOP of backlash for opposing Sotomayor The Senate debate over Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor turned bitter Wednesday, after Democrats warned the GOP it would pay a steep price for opposing the judge who would be the first Hispanic justice, and a top Republican charged they were playing destructive racial politics. Reid's comments and the heated response they drew highlight the incendiary political dynamics surrounding next week's vote to confirm President Barack Obama's first high court nominee, the daughter of Puerto Rican parents who was raised in a South Bronx housing project and educated in the Ivy League before spending 17 years on the federal bench. There is little doubt that Sotomayor, 55, will be confirmed with majority Democrats backing her solidly and a handful of Republicans joining them. Since the NRA's threat, no Republican or conservative Democrat has come out publicly to support Sotomayor. Three Republicans, Sens. Richard Burr of North Carolina, Bob Corker of Tennessee and Jim DeMint of South Carolina, announced Wednesday that they planned to vote "no." Reid and Leahy appeared at a Capitol Hill news conference with a crowd of activists representing civil rights, Hispanic and women's groups, among others who are enthusiastically backing Sotomayor. Wild Thing's comment........ Whenever there is a threat made is done by a democrat. I don't remember one single time the Republican party or a Republican politician has made a threat to the Democrats. I am so sick of the left doing things and saying things like this and getting away with it. What they put Clarence Thomas and also Bork, what they put them through was horrible and someone should bring that up to these freaks on the left. And there were no such threats by Reps about Dem opposition to Estrada . Democrats had better be worried about the backlash they are going to get for all the leftist crap they’ve been pulling, including Sotomayor. I’m serious. Contempt for them is far too nice the word for what people who pay even the mildest attention are starting to feel. Average “Joe-sixpacks” are starting to get really mad. And these are folks who don’t watch what’s going on every day. If God didnt want some hypocrites in the world, he wouldnt have made Democrats.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM
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Obama’s Motorcade Being Booed in Raleigh ~ GOOD For Them!
Protest at Obama's Town Hall Meeting in Raleigh. Moveon.org had a very small group, Americans Patriots were in the hundreds as Obama drove right by all of them. Obama just looked straight ahead when he passed us, he looked kind of angry
Following on the hundreds who protested Barack Obama this morning in Raleigh, the Associated Press reports several hundred protesters were gathered in Bristol, Virginia as of 3:16 p.m. for the scheduled 4 p.m. Obama town hall meeting at a Kroger grocery store:“We’ll be here until the president sees us,” said Katie Hughes, 18 of Kingsport, Tenn. “It makes me mad. I mean this could mean our grandparents won’t be taken care of.”
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House Democrats Reach Deal On Socialized Medicine Bill
Representative Mike Ross, who leads the so-called "Blue Dog" conservative coalition, said they had reached a deal with leadership after days of long negotiations.
CNN said that under the agreement, a healthcare bill would be moved to committee by Friday but that the full House would not take the issue up until September after it returns from its month-long break.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Once Again Democrats Are The Party Of Making Threats!
Majority Leader Harry Reid implored Republicans Wednesday to join Democrats in voting to confirm Sotomayor next week, warning that GOP opposition would bring the same sort of public backlash that followed the party's spirited opposition to measures that would have given some illegal immigrants a chance to gain legal status.
"I just think that their voting against this good woman is going to treat them about the same way that they got treated as a result of their votes on immigration," said Reid, D-Nev.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, the head of his party's Senate campaign committee and a Sotomayor opponent, shot back that Reid and other Democrats were trying to exploit the nomination and "giving cover to groups and individuals to nurture racial grievances for political advantage."
"I don't think it influences people's votes, but what it does encourage is a very poisonous — indeed a very toxic — tone of destructive politics," Cornyn told The Associated Press. "They ought to be ashamed of themselves."
The decision on how to vote on her confirmation was made more difficult in recent days for some Republicans and Democrats from conservative-leaning battleground states after the National Rifle Association, which has a loyal and politically active base of members, announced that a vote to confirm Sotomayor would count against senators in the group's annual candidate ratings. The NRA calls Sotomayor "hostile" to the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the Judiciary Committee chairman, said he was "disappointed" that more Republicans hadn't sided with him in support of Obama's nominee. His panel's vote Tuesday to send Sotomayor's nomination to the full Senate was nearly along party lines, with just one Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, breaking with the party to back her.
"She knows the law. She knows how to apply the law. She understands the role of a judge. She understands the role of the courts. There is no mystery about this nominee," Leahy said. "Hers is a truly American story, and what a story, and what a model this is going to be for others in America."
Most Republicans, though, say they don't trust Sotomayor to keep her personal prejudices and opinions out of the courtroom. Burr said in a statement that the judge has "let her personal beliefs cloud her judgment."
DeMint said she "has not inspired confidence that she will consistently base her decisions on our Constitution and laws," citing in particular her stance on gun and abortion rights.
"After A Government Health Care Takeover"....( Video)
Your loved one denied surgery - a government bureaucrat decided it isnt needed.
Your hard-earned tax dollars funding abortions liberals in Congress decided they are needed.
Congress will soon vote on President Obamas healthcare bill a bill limiting our choices to preserve life and expanding the choice to end one.
Our greatest generation denied care. Our future generation denied life
Call your Senator.
Family Research Council Action is responsible for the content of this advertisement.
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Wild Thing's comment.......
Well done video by that group listed above.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:48 AM | Comments (5)
Seventy-year-old Congresswoman Makes Most Beautiful List
Seventy-year-old congresswoman makes most beautiful list
WASHINGTON
California Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters has a beauty secret.
"I bathe in moisturizer,'" the 70-year-old congresswoman told the Hill newspaper.
Waters is one of seven lawmakers that made the cut for the most-beautiful ....Capitol Hill paper's 2009 50 Most Beautiful List, landing in position #5 in the top 10.
Other lawmakers on the list include New Mexico Democrat Rep. Martin Heinrich, who scored the top spot on the list, Washington Republican Rep. Dave Reichert, Colorado Democrat Rep. Betsy Markey, California Democrat Rep. Jackie Speier, Illinois Republican Rep. Aaron Schock, and North Carolina Republican Sen. Richard Burr.
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," Reichert said to CNN about making the list.
Update 6:48 p.m.: Rep. Heinrich has chimed in about making the list: "The honor and photo provided my colleagues and me a brief laugh this morning, and then we went back to work trying to reform our health care system.”
Wild Thing's comment........
If you go HERE you can CLICK THE ARROWS on the right side bar and go through all of them. There are a lot of people I have not heard of before men and women and Republicans.
Maybe some of you have them in your State.
LOL I showed this to Nicolas and he laughed so hard. But he was also surprised too at the others on the list at the Hill site he had not heard of before.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:47 AM | Comments (6)
Obama’s Science Czar Said a Born Baby ‘Will Ultimately Develop Into a Human Being’
Obama’s Science Czar Said a Born Baby ‘Will Ultimately Develop Into a Human Being’
President Obama’s top science adviser said in a book he co-authored in 1973 that a newborn child “will ultimately develop into a human being” if he or she is properly fed and socialized.
“The fetus, given the opportunity to develop properly before birth, and given the essential early socializing experiences and sufficient nourishing food during the crucial early years after birth, will ultimately develop into a human being,” John P. Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, wrote in “Human Ecology: Problems and Solutions.”
John Holdren co-authored the book with Stanford professors Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich. The book was published by W.H. Freeman and Company.
At the time “Human Ecology” was published, Holdren was a senior research fellow at the California Institute of Technology. Paul Ehrlich, currently president of The Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford, is also author of the 1968 bestseller, “The Population Bomb,” a book The Washington Post said “launched the popular movement for zero population growth.”
“Human Ecology: Problems and Solutions” argued that the human race faced dire consequences unless human population growth was stopped.
“Human values and institutions have set mankind on a collision course with the laws of nature,” wrote the Ehrlichs and Holdren. “Human beings cling jealously to their prerogative to reproduce as they please—and they please to make each new generation larger than the last—yet endless multiplication on a finite planet is impossible. Most humans aspire to greater material prosperity, but the number of people that can be supported on Earth if everyone is rich is even smaller than if everyone is poor.”
The specific passage expressing the authors’ view that a baby “will ultimately develop into a human being” is on page 235 in chapter 8 of the book, which is titled “Population Limitation.”
At the time the book was written, the Supreme Court had not yet issued its Roe v. Wade decision, and the passage in question was part of a subsection of the “Population Limitation” chapter that argued for legalized abortion.
Wild Thing's comment........
John Holdren is so disconnected from his soul!
He’s actually saying that a baby is NOT a human until it’s been fed and grows up!
I have never in my many years thought we would live to see the day that these demons would be roaming the white house with their demon boss
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:45 AM | Comments (8)
We've Figured Him ( Obama) Out by Ben Stein
We've Figured Him Out
Ben Stein
( Ben is a writer, actor, economist, and lawyer living in Beverly Hills and Malibu. He writes "Ben Stein's Diary" for every issue of The American Spectator.)
Why is President Barack Obama in such a hurry to get his socialized medicine bill passed?
Because he and his cunning circle realize some basic truths:
The American people in their unimaginable kindness and trust voted for a pig in a poke in 2008. They wanted so much to believe Barack Obama was somehow better and different from other ultra-leftists that they simply took him on faith.
They ignored his anti-white writings in his books. They ignored his quiet acceptance of hysterical anti-American diatribes by his minister, Jeremiah Wright.
They ignored his refusal to explain years at a time of his life as a student. They ignored his ultra-left record as a "community organizer," Illinois state legislator, and Senator.
The American people ignored his total zero of an academic record as a student and teacher, his complete lack of scholarship when he was being touted as a scholar.
Now, the American people are starting to wake up to the truth. Barack Obama is a super likeable super leftist, not a fan of this country, way, way too cozy with the terrorist leaders in the Middle East, way beyond naïveté, all the way into active destruction of our interests and our allies and our future.
The American people have already awakened to the truth that the stimulus bill -- a great idea in theory -- was really an immense bribe to Democrat interest groups, and in no way an effort to help all Americans.
Now, Americans are waking up to the truth that ObamaCare basically means that every time you are sick or injured, you will have a clerk from the Department of Motor Vehicles telling your doctor what he can and cannot do.
The American people already know that Mr. Obama's plan to lower health costs while expanding coverage and bureaucracy is a myth, a promise of something that never was and never will be -- a bureaucracy lowering costs in a free society. Either the costs go up or the free society goes away.
These are perilous times. Mrs. Hillary Clinton, our Secretary of State, has given Iran the go-ahead to have nuclear weapons, an unqualified betrayal of the nation. Now, we face a devastating loss of freedom at home in health care. It will be joined by controls on our lives to "protect us" from global warming, itself largely a fraud if believed to be caused by man.
Mr. Obama knows Americans are getting wise and will stop him if he delays at all in taking away our freedoms.
There is his urgency and our opportunity. Once freedom is lost, America is lost. Wake up, beloved America.
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Wild Thing's comment..........
Some people are waking up, but the damage is done. I really am praying the Obamacare and Cap and Trade can be stopped . To have the most dangerous man in America elected to the highest office in the land is a shock I won't get over.
The politicans think that they are invincible, and we have allowed them to think that. We have to take that away from them. The many phone calls telling them they will not get another vote from us has got to open their eyes and they have to learn we mean it.
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....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:40 AM | Comments (9)
July 29, 2009
Latest News On One Term Obama's Socialized Medicine Bill
Pence Appears on FOX to Discuss Health Care Reform
Obama Asked About "Reading" The Health Care Reform Bill
Obama Asked About "Reading" The Health Care Reform Bill At North Carolina Health Care Town Hall Event - 07/29/09
Wild Thing's comment......
LOL I can't help it the way he speaks is sooooo painful. er ah er ah
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:27 PM | Comments (8)
Thank You Michele Bachmann ~ Blocks Resolution H. Res.593 Proclaiming Hawaii Obama's Birthplace
Michele Bachmann blocks resolution recognizing Hawaii as Obama's birthplace
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Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) introduced a resolution commemorating the 50th anniversary of Hawaii’s statehood. The resolution also proclaims the state as President Obama’s birthplace, a point the Plum Line’s Greg Sargent noted may “put House GOPers who are flirting with birtherism in a jam.” This afternoon on the House floor, Abercrombie spoke of his measure and specifically noted that Obama had been born in Hawaii.
“It’s also going to be the birthday in a week or so of President Obama, born in Kapiolani hospital just down the road from where I lived,” he said. Just as the presiding chair of the House, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), was about to declare the resolution passed by voice vote, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) stood and objected:
BACHMANN: Mr. Speaker? I object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make a point of order that a quorum is not present.
REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D-MD): Further procedings on this motion will be postponed.
H. Res. 593, a resolution “recognizing and celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the entry of Hawaii into the Union as the 50th State,” contains this provision: “Whereas the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, was born in Hawaii”
H RES 593
2/3 YEA-AND-NAY
27-Jul-2009
6:56 PM
QUESTION: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree, as Amended
BILL TITLE: Recognizing and celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the entry of Hawaii into the Union as the 50th State
Michele Bachmann's website
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Wild Thing's comment........
Are they serious! They can resolution their hearts out, doesn’t prove a thing, smacks of desperation. So instead of writing a resolution demanding Obama to present proof of his Constitutional elibility, they write one declaring their OPINION on the matter.
They seem very worried about something they keep telling us not to worry about. Why do they need a resolution if this is so blanking obvious, and that the people investigating are just a bunch of cranks? This just gets weirder and weirder. You can’t make this stuff up.
I am not sure but I think this is the deal on this. He said that it passed by 2/3rds and that pususant to cause 8 of rule 20 further procedings on this MOTION will be postponed. The motion is the motion to object to the vote. The resolution passed. It could actually help because now it shows intent to defraud the people and the constitution and shows a collaboration of the players that be.Barry is now officially legally illegal and there are now officially falsified records to prove it.
Posted by Wild Thing at 08:55 AM | Comments (7)
CNN Wrong Once Again ~ Hawaii Contradicts CNN Chief Jon Klein
CNN wrong once again – birth record not destroyed
Hawaii contradicts network boss' claim that Obama certificate no longer exists
Directly contradicting CNN chief Jon Klein – who ordered host Lou Dobbs to quit discussing President Obama's birth certificate – the Hawaii Department of Health affirmed that no paper birth certificates were destroyed when the department moved to electronic record-keeping.
"I am not aware of any birth certificate records that have been destroyed by the department," Janice Okubo, public information officer for the Hawaii DOH, told WND. "When the department went electronic in 2001, vital records, whether in paper form or any other form, [were] maintained. We don't destroy records."
Okubo affirmed that beginning in 2001, all vital records, including birth records, moved to electronic formats.
"Any records that we had in paper or any other form before 2001 are still in file within the department," she insisted. "We have not destroyed any vital statistics records that we have."
Last Thursday, Klein, CNN's U.S. president, told staffers of "Lou Dobbs Tonight" the issue of Obama's birth certificate and his eligibility to be president is a "dead" story.
According to MediaBistro.com, Klein wrote in an e-mail that CNN researchers found Hawaiian records were discarded in 2001 when the state's records system went electronic. Therefore, Klein said, Obama's original long-form birth certificate no longer exists. A computer-generated abbreviated version that has been promoted on the Internet is the official record, he said.
"It seems to definitively answer the question," Klein wrote. "Since the show's mission is for Lou to be the explainer and enlightener, he should be sure to cite this during your segment tonite. And then it seems this story is dead – because anyone who still is not convinced doesn't really have a legitimate beef."
Hawaii's Okubu refused to say whether the DOH has Obama's original long-form birth certificate, explaining state law prohibited her from commenting on the birth records of any specific person.
Okubu's refusal to comment on the status of Obama's long-form birth certificate seemed to contradict an Oct. 31, 2008, letter by Dr. Chiyome Fukino, director of health for the state of Hawaii. Fukino claimed she personally saw and could verify that Hawaii had Obama's original long-form birth certificate on file.
But both Okubu and Fukino are now on the record contradicting CNN's claim that Hawaii had destroyed Obama's long-form birth certificate when the health department went electronic in 2001.
The White House has refused to acknowledge repeated requests from WND that Obama authorize the Hawaii DOH to release all his birth records, including his original long-form birth certificate.
Lou Dobbs: Just produce birth certificate
CNN anchor says Obama's presidential actions could be 'illegal'
After being attacked by groups ranging from the Southern Poverty Law Center to Media Matters for relentlessly calling on Barack Obama to prove his eligibility for the office of the presidency, CNN's Lou Dobbs wasn't backing off on either his syndicated radio or his television program today.
Once again, he renewed his calls for Obama to produce his long-form birth certificate that would settle doubts about where he was born and offered that the president's actions could actually be "illegal."
Dobbs took on the special-interest groups demanding that CNN shut him up.
"The left is trying to silence their opponents and their competitors in the public marketplace of ideas," he said on his radio show. "One issue in which the ethnocentric issue groups have been trying to silence me is on the issue of illegal immigration. Many of those, if you will, have migrated to me here recently because I, even though I said I believe the president is a citizen of the United States, I don't understand why he shouldn't produce a birth certificate. My God, you're talking about the third rail of American journalism, baby! That's it. I'm not going to back off."
Now members of the Daily Kos website, which bills itself as "the largest progressive community blog in the United States," have turned up the heat even more by listing CNN executives' email addresses in a campaign to get Dobbs fired from the network.
"Lou Dobbs is an idiot and he should be booted off CNN for his obsession with President Obama's birth certificate," writes Daily Kos diarist kerouacforobama. "We need to get these far-right haters off the air."
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Wild Thing's comment........
Wow this is starting to go out of control for the Obamunists.
I know this is a serious thing but this is getting funnier every day! LOL So the crack research staff at CNN that said they investigated the matter was...wrong. Wow! Good grief.
And Father's Race = African ???
I doubt very much the designation of "African" would have been used in 1961. That's not a race.
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....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 08:50 AM | Comments (12)
One Term Obama's White House Website Has Plummeted As It Should!
Traffic to Obama's White House Web Site Has Plummeted
The traffic at President Obama's official White House Web site--whitehouse.gov--has fallen from a post-Inauguration peak to nearly the same level it was during the waning days of the Bush administration.
The dramatic drop in traffic has happened despite the Obama Administration's complete redesign of the site.
According to the web-traffic tracking site Alexa.com, whitehouse.gov was almost the 500th most popular Web site in the world in February. Since then, it has fallen to the 3,732 ranked Web site in the world. Traffic to the site has fallen 51.6 percent in the last three months.
People are also spending less time on the site than they did before. Time spent on a Web site is often used as a barometer for how interested visitors are in a site’s content. Time spent on whitehouse.gov declined 15 percent since May to an average of 2.6 minutes per visitor.
Visitors are looking at less and less on the site, despite the daily increase in content. Visitors viewed an average of only two pages per day over the past three months, declining 18.5 percent during that time.
In fact, the number of different pages viewed by the average visitor has fallen nearly 50 percent since February, when the site logged nearly four repeat visits per day. The White House is reaching fewer people through its Web site than it did in its early days. Whitehouse.gov’s reach--the percentage of Internet users who visit the site daily--declined to only 0.031 percent of all Internet users, a decline of 40.6 percent since May.
The overwhelming majority of whitehouse.gov visitors--67 percent--come from the United States. India and Germany account for 4.5 and 4.1 percent of visitors respectively with China, the United Kingdom, and Canada rounding out the top five with 2.7, 2.0, and 1.7 percent each.
The decline in White House’s web traffic has coincided with a decline in the president’s approval ratings and the approval ratings for his policies.
A Zogby poll released July 24 showed that only 48 percent of Americans approve of the job President Obama is doing, down from 51 percent in mid-June -- 49 percent of Americans said they disapprove of Obama’s performance and 4 percent were unsure.
When asked to rate Obama’s performance, 53 percent rated it negatively, with 43 percent giving the president a “poor” rating.
Other polls show a similar, negative trend for Obama. A Rasmussen tracking poll, published July 27, showed that only 49 percent of Americans approve of Obama’s performance, with a majority of 50 percent disapproving.
Only 30 percent of those surveyed by Rasmussen said they “strongly approve” of Obama, a number that has remained steady throughout his presidency.
Public approval of Obama’s health care initiative has also been declining, according to Rasmussen. The public opposes Obama’s efforts 53 to 44 percent, a figure that has been increasing the longer the president has been touting his plan.
The president’s stimulus spending plan is also losing favor with the public. According to a Gallup survey published July 23, a plurality of Americans--49 percent--said the stimulus has not had any effect on the economy. Fifty percent of respondents in the same survey also said that the stimulus plan would have either no long-term effect or a negative long-term effect on the economy.
Rasmussen reported similar findings, showing that only 25 percent of Americans thought Obama’s massive spending package had helped the economy, with 31 percent saying it had hurt the economy.
Whitehouse.gov’s traffic dropped off sharply after the passage of the stimulus in mid-February, declining from 0.15 percent of internet users to 0.031 percent as of July 26.
Wild Thing's comment......
“The dramatic drop in traffic has happened despite the Obama Administration’s complete redesign of the site.”
LMAO
Make me website Czar I’ll get the statistics up..
first week post his long form BC
second week his kindergarden records
third week Punahou records
fourth week Occidential
fifth week Columbia
sixth week Harvard
then his bar application
jobs
bank balance
social security numbers used
then his admission(s)
his trial
his punishment on video on the website (pay per view)
alternatively his pardon by Biden which would tear this country apart...(ala Nixon)
I LOVED the website President Bush and VP Cheney had. I loved going to it. It was the best! It had pages for kids with Barney their dog he had his own page too. It had history lessons for kids and oh gosh so many wonderful things with lots of patriotic graphics and tons of photos and interaction things.
Dictators like Obama and Michelle HO-bama don't think that way, They don't want it to belong to we the people. Just like THEIR White House and THEIR lawn. POS both them, Yes I am talking about you Barack and Michelle not proud of America. ...HUMPH!
The one Bush had is actually forzen online so we can still see it.
http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/
At the bottom of Bush's page you can still click on Kids and all the different links.
I won't put the freak Obama's link to the White House link here because I sure as heck do not want to add to his hits. But it is ugly and his mug is all over the place. SICKENING
.
....Thank you Jack for sending this to me.
United States Army
1965-1971
Army Combat Engineers
Quang Tri & Chu Lai '68 -'69
67-69
Jack's blog is Conservative Insurgent
Posted by Wild Thing at 08:49 AM | Comments (5)
Barack FONDA Obama and UK Gordon Brown Want Talks With " Moderate" Taliban
A soldier in Gereshk, Afghanistan. Gordon Brown has signalled the end of the first phase of Operation Panther's Claw, aimed at driving back the Taliban. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA Wire
Britain and US prepared to open talks with the Taliban
A concerted effort to start unprecedented talks between Taliban and British and American envoys was outlined yesterday in a significant change in tactics designed to bring about a breakthrough in the attritional, eight-year conflict in Afghanistan.
Senior ministers and commanders on the ground believe they have created the right conditions to open up a dialogue with "second-tier" local leaders now the Taliban have been forced back in a swath of Helmand province.
They are hoping that Britain's continuing military presence in Helmand, strengthened by the arrival of thousands of US troops, will encourage Taliban commanders to end the insurgency. There is even talk in London and Washington of a military "exit strategy".
Speaking at the end of the five-week Operation Panther's Claw in which hundreds of British troops were reported to have cleared insurgents from a vital region of Helmand province, Lieutenant-General Simon Mayall, deputy chief of defence staff, said: "It gives the Taliban 'second tier' room to reconnect with the government and this is absolutely at the heart of this operation."
The second tier of the insurgency are regarded as crucial because they control large numbers of Taliban fighters in Pashtun-dominated southern Afghanistan. The first tier of Taliban commanders – hardliners around Mullah Omar – could not be expected to start talks in the foreseeable future. The third tier – footsoldiers with no strong commitments – are not regarded as influential or significant players.
The change in tactics was revealed as the Ministry of Defence announced that two more British soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan. One, from the Light Dragoons, was on patrol in Operation Panther's Claw; the other, a soldier from the Royal Artillery, was killed on foot patrol in Sangin. Ten soldiers have died in Operation Panther's Claw.
A ComRes poll in today's Independent suggests most people now believe British troops should be pulled out of Afghanistan. Most of those who responded (58%) said the Taliban could not be defeated militarily, and 52% of those surveyed said troops should be withdrawn immediately.
America's priorities in Afghanistan will be spelled out in a briefing paper drawn up by General Stanley McChrystal, the new US commander in the country, due to be handed to Barack Obama tomorrow.
He will emphasise the need for speeding up the training of Afghan troops, according to defence sources. He is also expected to ask for more troops from Nato allies. British military commanders are drawing up contingency plans to increase the number of British forces to more than 10,000 from the current 9,000.
Miliband's call for talks with more moderate Taliban elements was echoed later by Gordon Brown, who said: "Our strategy has always been to complement the military action that we've got to take to clear the Taliban, to threaten al-Qaida in its bases – while at the same time we put in more money to build the Afghan forces, the troops, the police."
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Wild Thing's comment......
OMG The United States and Great Briatian are not opening negotiations with the very enemy they were supposed to purge off the face of the earth??? would a winning military force want to open up negotiations? This will embolden our enemy.
"call for talks with more moderate Taliban "
I don't care what level they want to split the Taliban into there is NO moderate Taliban . Remember how the the Taliban laughed at the idea that there are moderate Taliban’s spoken of by Obama when he said he wanted to sit down with the moderate Taliban. Obama: 'Victory' Not Necessarily Goal in Afghanistan
"Our enemies may be irrational, even outright insane, driven by nationalism, religion, ethnicity or ideology. They do not fear the United States for its diplomatic skills or the number of automobiles and software programs it produces. They respect only the firepower of our tanks, planes and helicopter gunships." ~ Ronald Reagan
It won't change the fact that they want kill us. It will give them breathing room, an air of respectability with those that may have opposed them otherwise, and of course obama will throw in funding from our tax dollars to them. This bad, this is real bad.
I think it's going to take years to reverse the damage that this asshole has already done...and he's just getting started. Obama's history is he will apologize, we all know that. He will slam our country for going to Afghanistan after 9-11 to hunt down the terrorists, and ‘causing’ this war to begin and continue.
So now we know, Obama did say he was not interested in VICTORY now we know what he is interested in ......talking., more of his insane speeches..........
I can see it now, limp wristed Obama and his teleprompter, turning his head side to side with his ugly chin raised just a tad to let them know he thinks he is the future ruler of the world. The Taliban with visions of not sugar plums dancing in their head but nice shiny sharp swords and knives being turned by the handle around and around as they pretend to be "moderate" as they listen to him say...... " Let me make this very clear......eh ah let me make this clear........I can offer you free medical insurance just like the other illegals and did I tell you I am a Muslim and the call to prayer in Islam is the most beautiful sound I have ever heard, did you hear my speech in Cairo?"
Fade to black screen and sounds of.......... " but what if I show you my real birth certificate?"....
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....Thank you Richard for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 08:48 AM | Comments (9)
Cambridge Truth VS. Racist Obama
Black male and female police officers share the truth about the incident involving their white colleague at Cambridge Police Department. Professor Gates' comments called "smokescreen" to create a racial situation where there was none. She also noted that President Obama should have recused himself and not made the derogatory statement against the police officer. This black female officer also said in regard to President Obama, "I voted for him, I supported him, I will not again."
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Wild Thing's comment.......
Rush said that Obama has no choice now but to invite her to the White House and give her a position in the administration, make her a “Czarina” of something. LOL
I suppose they will not investigate this black police woman like they did Joe the Plumber.
Lou Dobbs, CNN , wants Obama's original birth records, too. The left wing crazies are demanding he be fired for asking about it.
I think it has started, just in small ways but I have heard some comments on CNN, not MSNBC yet, where various people have questioned Obama where before they were in worshiip mode all the way. Maybe because of the Obamacare some of them are having buyers remorse as well.
To Obama, America is totally owned and controlled by him alone. HIS house, HIS front yard when it is the peoples. Never in my life have I heard a president that arrogant to refer to the White House as HIS and the yard as HIS.
Obama is ticking off a lot of people and this racial thing I could see did not sit well at all with some on CNN. Lots of rolling eyes during back and forth conversations between some of the regulars on CNN. The U.S. is suffering the unintended consequences of this affirmative action presidency. The democrats are going to have to take the blame for it all!
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 08:47 AM | Comments (4)
Obama Wants To Tax Fattening Foods
Tough love for fat people: Tax their food to pay for healthcare
When historians look back to identify the pivotal moments in the nation's struggle against obesity, they might point to the current period as the moment when those who influenced opinion and made public policy decided it was time to take the gloves off.
As evidence of this new "get-tough" strategy on obesity, they may well cite a study released today by the Urban Institute titled "Reducing Obesity: Policy Strategies From the Tobacco Wars."
In the debate over healthcare reform, the added cost of caring for patients with obesity-related diseases has become a common refrain: most recent is the cost-of-obesity study, also released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It finds that as obesity rates increased from 18.3% of Americans in 1998 to 25% in 2006, the cost of providing treatment for those patients' weight-driven problems increased healthcare spending by $40 billion a year.
~snipet ~
"Facing the serious consequences of an uncontrolled obesity epidemic, America's state and federal policy makers may need to consider interventions every bit as forceful as those that succeeded in cutting adult tobacco use by more than 50%," the Urban Institute report says. It took awhile -- almost 50 years from the first surgeon general's report on tobacco in 1964 -- to drive smoking down. But in many ways, the drumbeat of scientific evidence and the growing cultural stigma against obesity already are well underway -- as any parent who has tried to bring birthday cupcakes into her child's classroom certainly knows.
Key among the "interventions" the report weighs is that of imposing an excise or sales tax on fattening foods. That, says the report, could be expected to lower consumption of those foods. But it would also generate revenues that could be used to extend health insurance coverage to the uninsured and under-insured, and perhaps to fund campaigns intended to make healthy foods more widely available to, say, low-income Americans and to encourage exercise and healthy eating habits.
If anti-tobacco campaigns are to be the model, those sales taxes could be hefty: The World Health Organization has recommended that tobacco taxes should represent between two-thirds and three-quarters of the cost of, say, a package of cigarettes; a 2004 report prepared for the Department of Agriculture suggested that, for "sinful-food" taxes to change the way people eat, they may need to equal at least 10% to 30% of the cost of the food.
And although 40 U.S. states now impose modest extra sales taxes on soft drinks and a few snack items, the Urban Institute report suggests that a truly forceful "intervention" -- one that would drive down the consumption of fattening foods and, presumably, prevent or reverse obesity -- would have to target pretty much all the fattening and nutritionally empty stuff we eat: "With a more narrowly targeted tax, consumers could simply substitute one fattening food or beverage for another," the reports says.
Of course, the United States also would have to adopt extensive menu- and food-labeling changes that would make "good foods" easily distinguishable from the bad ones subject to added taxes. Not to worry though: Several European countries, most notably Great Britain, have led the way in this area.
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Wild Thing's comment.........
OK I hope I can make sense with what I am thinking.
First of all anyone that is overweight should be allowed to make the decision on their own to want to get in shape. And there are plenty of extremely thin people that are not in shape either. Too thin or too fat, both are at risk at not being as healthy as they should be or could be. But it needs to be up to each individual and not coming from any government. That is BS.
OK now about extra taxing funk food. NO way, please don't do that. Computer food is necessary. LOL And how the heck are we to survive Obama without some junk food along the way, that ever lovin feel good food and soft drinks.
Nicholas and his diet cokes and for me I am a frappuccino addict. Both of those would be on Obama's list to tax.
The Democrats are being super-stupid as usual. Many foods can be fattening if you eat enough of them.Where do you draw the line between fattening foods and healthy foods?
You can get fat on health food. Heck I can go to a Sweet Tomatoes and load up a salad that would be just as fattening as a hot fudge sundae.
Plus not everybody that eats Twinkies, Big-Macs, pizza, or any other high calorie food is fat. That means that the 147 pound guy is being charged for the health care of a 300 pound guy.
How does Nadler, Barney Frank, Ted Kennedy and some others feel about this. What is good for the goose kind of thing. Can I use the word goose with Barney Franks name? hahaha
Obama does not give a rat’s patootie about citizens. It’s all about power and gaining more power over every facet of one’s life.
Here is some liberal thinking........tax the overweight but hand out needles to junkies for free. sheessh that is how these idiots think.
I am 5'11 and have modeled with my weight being between 130 and 150. At 130 I look like a skelton and 160 is a healthier weight. Most of the magazine covers I did I weighed 160 hahaha that would be obese to Obama I bet.
Twenty years ago when I was body building there was this really nice guy at the Gold's gym that wanted more then anything to be a firemen. He had been a body builder for 5 years, competing etc. He took all his firemen tests and passed with flying colors. BUT when it came to the weight part of the exam he failed. This was in Venice, Calif. just down the road from Malibu. He failed because his weight did not match the weight chart for his height. He was 5'5 and even though he had extremely low body fat count he was considered way over weight. I asked him, didn't they see you in person to know the chart meant nothing and you are in great shape. He said it did not matter, that yes they saw him and told him he had to get his weight down 25 pounds. He did it but he really had to work his butt of to do it. It is not only hard to put muscle on but also hard to take it off.
If Obama goes by weight charts there are also going to be a lot of in shape people that will show up as over weight just like the firemen did. There is that too.
There are no real incentives with Obama, he is a downer all the way. If they do this tax on junk food, then why not say, if a person gets healthy or gains or looses weight to get in shape then give them the incentive to NOT have to pay the tax once they get in shape. Like a goal. There would still be people that would just rather pay the tax and not care so then Obama and Pelosi etc. would still get their hands on money that they worship. that they do not earn.
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.....Thank you Richard for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 08:46 AM | Comments (11)
Obama's Capitol Hill Card: Who is in Your Wallet?
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Wild Thing's comment..........
LOL this is excellent. Funny but also makes me angry.
......Thank you SSGT Steve
SSgt Steve
1st MarDiv, H Co., 2nd Bn, 5th Marine Regiment
2/5 Marines, Motto: "Retreat, Hell"
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 08:45 AM | Comments (5)
July 28, 2009
He is a Citizen But Is He Natural or Memorex
Lou Dobbs Calls Rachel Maddow "Tea-Bagging Queen" Over "Obama Birther" Comment ...- 07/28/09
Obama Has Been Planning For His Natural Born Problem since 2006
Why Was Sarah Herlihy Worrying About Article II?
Sarah Herlihy's article below. Herlihy works for the law firm of Kirkland and Ellis out of their Chicago office. The kicker is that Herlihy's article was published in the Kent Law review in 2006 and, notes Count us Out Blogger Creative Ogre:
"While digging my way through the Internet last night, I came across the following paper, written by SARAH P. HERLIHY. It’s title: AMENDING THE NATURAL BORN CITIZEN REQUIREMENT: GLOBALIZATION AS THE IMPETUS AND THE OBSTACLE caught my eye, and had to read it…
"I had to ask myself, what would drive any American to want to change a clause in a document that is the very foundation of our government? So, I kept digging, and found that SARAH P. HERLIHY is employed by Kirkland & Ellis LLP
"Noting that this law firm is based in Chicago, the light bulb was shining a little brighter . Upon looking at the firm, and the partners, I found that Bruce I. Ettelson, P.C., is Member of finance committees of U.S. Senators Barack Obama and Richard Durbin.
"In addition, Jack S. Levin, P.C., another partner who, in December 2002 was presented the ” Illinois Venture Capital As sociation’s lifetime achievement award for service to the private equity/venture capital community” presented by Sen. Barack Obama
"So it sure looks like Obama’s people have looked into the matter of “Natural born” as far back as early 2006. What is even more disturbing is that it would appear that they are following the thought of "If the facts do not support the theory, Destroy the facts!”
Here is the introduction to the paper… It looks like a road map for Obama’s defense lawyers…And a precursor to a Socialist world."
For those who find the PDF file information hard to open or read here’s a link to the piece:
Amending the Natural Born Citizen law - an attorney’s view
Excerpt:
This article was written in 2005 by an attorney affiliated with the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis (that has ties to Mr. Obama) promoting the idea of doing away with the “natural born citizen” requirement for serving as president.
Chicago-Kent Law Review
2006
81 Chi.-Kent L. Rev. 275
STUDENT NOTE: AMENDING THE NATURAL BORN CITIZEN REQUIREMENT: GLOBALIZATION AS THE IMPETUS AND THE OBSTACLE
NAME: Sarah P. Herlihy*
BIO: * J.D. Chicago-Kent College of Law, 2005. The author would like to thank Professor Graeme Dinwoodie, and the 2004-2005 Globalization and Its Effect on Domestic Law Seminar Class for their valuable comments and insights on this Note.
SUMMARY:
… “The natural born citizen requirement in Article II of the United States Constitution has been called the “stupidest provision” in the Constitution, “undecidedly un-American,” “blatantly discriminatory,” and the “Constitution’s worst provision. …
Additionally, considering that the Founding Fathers presumably included the natural born citizen clause in the Constitution partly out of fear of foreign subversion, the current stability of the American government and the in-tense media scrutiny of presidential candidates virtually eliminates the possibility of a “foreigner” coming to America, becoming a naturalized citizen, generating enough public support to become president, and somehow using the presidency to directly benefit his homeland. …
Even though this concern is not a legitimate reason to vote against abolishing the natural born citizen clause because many natural born Americans are Muslims, many Americans may oppose a Constitutional amendment because of the possibility that a naturalized citizen would be more likely to be a Muslim, Hindu, or some other religion besides Christian. …
Accordingly, Americans may rely on their belief that globalization is effectively eating away at “America” by lessening the strength of symbols such as the presidency to justify their decision to leave the natural born citizen requirement in place.”
Interesting that the this piece seems to be centered on religion, at least initially, EXCLUDING the Constitutional premise for the inclusion of native citizenship. ~ Wild Thing
To be a ‘natural born citizen’ a child must be born in the country of which the parents are citizens.
The term ‘natural born citizen’ was first codified in writing in colonial reference books in 1758, specifically in the legal reference book “Law of Nations.”
That legal reference book was used by John Jay, who later became the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Jay requested the clause be inserted into the Constitution via a letter he wrote to George Washington, the leader of the Constitutional Convention.
Jay, considered the outstanding legal scholar of his time, was responsible for inserting that term into the U. S. Constitution, a term derived from the Law of Nations.
The Law of Nations was written by Emmerich de Vattel. He was a Swiss jurist who attained world preeminence in international law. This fame was primarily the result of his great foundational work — The Law of Nations — which he published in 1758. This monumental work applied a theory of natural law to international relations.
De Vattel’s Law of Nations was THE primary reference and defining book used by the framers of the U. S. Constitution. It is really not possible to overstate the influence of de Vattel’s Law of Nations as the primary reference book in the drafting of the U. S. Constitution.
The Law of Nations is almost beyond comparison in its value as a defining document regarding U. S. Constitution intent and interpretation. The Law of Nations, or the Principles of Natural Law, published in 1758, is the first, and ONLY, definitive work the Framers of the U. S. Constitution used for the inclusion of the “Natural Born Citizen” phrase. It nails what is meant by the “natural born citizen” phrase of Section 1, Article 2, of the U. S. Constitution.
To be a “natural born citizen” one’s parents must both be citizens (native born or naturalized, it doesn’t matter which) AND one must be born within the nation of one’s parents.
“…natural-born citizens, are those born in the country, of parents who are citizens. As the society can not exist and perpetuate itself otherwise than by the children of the citizens, those children naturally follow the condition of their fathers, and succeed to all their rights. The society is supposed to desire this, in consequence of what it owes to its own preservation; and it is presumed, as a matter of course, that each citizen, on entering into society, reserves to his children the right of becoming members of it. THE COUNTRY OF THE FATHERS IS THEREFORE THAT OF THE CHILDREN.”
Rep. John Bingham of Ohio, considered the father of the Fourteenth Amendment, confirms that understanding and the construction the framers used in regards to birthright and jurisdiction while speaking on civil rights of citizens in the House on March 9, 1866:
” ... I find no fault with the introductory clause [S 61 Bill], which is simply declaratory of what is written in the Constitution, that every human being born within the jurisdiction of the United States of parents (plural, meaning two) not owing allegiance to any foreign sovereignty is, in the language of your Constitution itself, a natural born citizen...”
Bingham is also quoted saying in the Spring of 1868 some serious warnings: “May God forbid that the future historian shall record of this day’s proceedings, that by reason of the failure of the legislative power of the people to triumph over the usurpations of an apostate President, the fabric of American empire fell and perished from the earth!...I ask you to consider that we stand this day pleading for the violated majesty of the law, by the graves of half a million of martyred hero-patriots who made death beautiful by the sacrifice of themselves for their country, the Constitution and the laws, and who, by their sublime example, have taught us all to obey the law; that none are above the law...”
From all of this we can easily understand after reading this, Barack Obama is not eligible to be President under Section 1, Article 2, of the U. S. Constitution Obama’s father was a British subject).
‘natural born citizen’ is a person born in the country of which the parents are citizens.
Rationale of the logic is as follows: The U. S. Supreme Court in 1939 held that a certain Miss Elg was a NATURAL BORN CITIZEN because she was born in Brooklyn, New York on October 2, 1907, her father was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 1906 under the Naturalization Act of 1906, and her mother derived her US citizenship in 1907 under the Expatriation Act of 1907. (The Expatriation Act of 1907 extended the logic linking a woman’s citizenship to her marital status and the status of her spouse. The 19th Amendment to the U.S.Constitution obliterated that link.)
You can be a “citizen” under the following circumstances:
1. You were born of one citizen parent (Obama), or
2. You were born in the US mainland (anchor babies) or
3. You were naturalized (Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger)
To be a “natural born citizen” you must be born in the US mainland of two US citizen parents.
Obama is a citizen — not a natural born citizen because he was (probably) born in the State of Hawaii of one US citizen parent or maybe he was not born in Hawaii.
Ms. Elg was found to be a “natural born citizen” because she was born in the mainland USA (New York) of TWO US citizen parents.
If your parents are U.S. citizens and you are born in a foreign nation, as was John McCain, you are a citizen.
Native Born citizen:
1 - This principle was clearly stated by Attorney General Edwards Pierrepont in his letter of advice to the Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, in Steinkauler’s Case, 1875, 15 Op.Atty.Gen. 15. The facts were these: One Steinkauler, a Prussian subject by birth, emigrated to the United States in 1848, was naturalized in 1854, and in the following year had a son who was born in St. Louis. Four years later Steinkauler returned to Germany taking this child and became domiciled at Weisbaden where they continuously resided. When the son reached the age of twenty years the German Government called upon him to report for military duty and his father then invoked the intervention of the American Legation on the ground that his son was a native citizen of the United States. To an inquiry by our Minister, the father declined to give an assurance that the son would return to this country within a reasonable time. On reviewing the pertinent points in the case, including the Naturalization Treaty of 1868 with North Germany, 15 Stat. 615, the Attorney General reached the following conclusion: ‘Young Steinkauler is a native-born American citizen.
2- U.S. vs Wong Kim Ark (1898) The holding in U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark states that Wong Kim Ark is a native born citizen. If you look at the fact of Wong Kim Ark being born in San Francisco, CA, of Chinese parents who were loyal subjects of the Emperor of China, that holding is correct.
The importance of this case is that it is the first case decided by the Supreme Court that attempts to explain the meaning of “natural born citizen” under Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution. Natural born citizen is similar to the meaning of what a natural born subject is under Common Law in England. That is one of the reasons why the framers specifically included a grandfather clause (natural born Citizen OR a Citizen of the United States, at the time of adoption of this Constitution). The founding fathers knew that in order to be president, they had to grandfather themselves in because they were British subjects. If they didn’t, they could not be President of the U.S.
It is important because we cannot pick and choose which parts of the Constitution we want to follow, then ignore the rest. If the American people want to change the Constitution it must be done via ratification of a majority of the states. Not by resolution of the Senate or by popular vote.
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Wild Thing's comment......
Interesting to note, McCain's lawyer is with the same law firm.
McCain’s lawyer: McCain Justice Advisory Committee was Christopher Landau - Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Like a spiders web they weave all these politicans and those backing them like Soros.
Thanks to Satin Doll for a lot of this information.
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:55 PM | Comments (10)
Any Politican That Votes For Obama's DEATHCare Should Never Get Voted For Again!!
Key Senate Democrat Concedes Republican Support Needed for Health Overhaul
Sen. Kent Conrad, the chairman of the powerful budget committee says Senate Democrats alone cannot pass President Obama's ambitious overhaul of how Americans receive health care.
Senate Democrats are going to need help from Republicans to get President Obama's ambitious plan to reinvent the health care system over the goal line, a top lawmaker acknowledged on Sunday.
"Look, there are not the votes for Democrats to do this just on our side of the aisle," said Sen. Kent Conrad, the chairman of the powerful budget committee.
Even though the Democrats enjoy a majority in the Senate, some are skittish about the financial or political costs of the proposals.
And Republicans said they will continue their opposition to a plan they claim is simply a government takeover of private decisions.
"Republicans want to protect the right of Americans to make their own health care decisions, to pick their own doctors and their own plans," said Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C. "We could have a plan in a few weeks if the goal is not a government takeover. We've never seen the government operate a plan of any kind effectively and at the budgets we talked about."
Both sides said they want to improve the system and provide care for almost 50 million Americans who lack health insurance coverage, but they remain deeply divided over how to reach that goal. Republicans said the longer the delay, the more the public understands the stakes of a policy that has vexed lawmakers for decades
That final piece, however, will require GOP backing -- something Sen. Mitch McConnell said was unlikely. The Senate minority leader said congressional Democrats are having difficulty selling a health care bill to their own members.
"The only thing bipartisan about the measure so far is the opposition to it," said McConnell, R-Ky.
Sen. John Kyl, R-Ariz., told FOX News that it doesn't look likely that the Senate Finance Committee will complete their version this week.
"I think it's unlikely we will produce a bill before the August recess," he said. "That's a good thing. A good thing to go home in August and hear what constituents think we need to do."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, meanwhile, said she has the votes in her chamber to move forward with the plan despite the same concerns among fiscally conservative fellow Democrats.
"When I take this bill to the floor, it will win. We will move forward, it will happen," Pelosi said.
Wild Thing's comment.........
I pray no Republican will break ranks on this and also on the Cap andn Trade bill. The RATs had best NOT get a single GOP vote. Not One!
I have posted this Petition before. It is called Free Our Health Care Now..If you like please send it to others to sign if they would like to as well . It is being supported by most of the radio talk shows ( conservative talk shows).
http://www.freeourhealthcarenow.com/
Thank you so much.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (7)
St. Louis Tea Party Group and Concerned Citizens Meet With Sen.McCaskill's Dir. About Death Care
Missouri Senator Claire "ACORN" McCaskill arranged for her district director, Michelle Sherod to meet with constituents (after calling the cops on them two weeks ago)
After the “unfortunate incident” outside Claire McCaskill’s Delmar office two weeks ago, Americans for Prosperity President, Carl Bearden, secured an agreement with Senator McCaskill to meet with the AFP, Tea Party, and conerned citizens. Tonight, more than 1,000 concerned citizens attended the meeting at St. Louis Community College–Forest Park Campus. The crowd was so large that school moved the location to the student cafeteria.
A US soldier Paul Curtman demanded an apology from Senator Claire McCaskill at an Obamacare town hall in St. Louis, Missouri.
Source:
St.Louis Tea Party
For more than an hour, frightened, angry, and remarkably informed citizens voiced their concerns with socialized medicine as promoted by the current administration. At least 4 of 20 or so speakers had read the entire bills–that’s a higher ratio of people who’ve read the legislation than found among members of Congress.
The message from the people was loud and clear: keep your hands off my healthcare. Speakers read passages from the bills, including provisions for the government to spy on your checking account and other spending, provisions to order end of life services if the government believes a patient is not worth saving, and more horror stories.
A nurse recounted a time she was coerced into participating in a partial-birth abortion at a St. Louis hospital. She found out what she was assisting with when a doctor handed her the decapitated head of a baby, complete with hair, eyelashes, and a pain-filled grimace. Under ObamaCare, doctors and nurses will be forced to perform late-term abortions regardless of religious or personal beliefs. ObamaCare cares nothing for morality, civility, or decency.
Wild Thing's comment.......
Excellent, I love how they had so many show up for this. By that happening it showed Senator McCaskill even more how wrong she was to treat them the way she and her office did the last time.
She needs to know too that however many showed up there are even more people that could not make it, work , not able to travel, all kinds of things. BUT still Americans that love our country and do not want this socialized medicine to see the light of day, now or ever.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (3)
John Conyers (D-Mich) Says Health Care Bill is Filled With So Much Garbage Only a Lawyer Could Interpret
Conyers: why bother to read bill?
The Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee questions why lawmakers should bother to read the Health Care Bill. Nicholas Ballasy, a video reporter from CNSNews.com published this video of House Judiciary Committee Chairman (D-Mich) John Conyers questioning the point of lawmakers reading the health care bill:
Here's my question to Congressman Conyers: if it is so complicated that it requires two days and two lawyers to figure it out, should you be voting on it in the first place? Is it not your elected responsibility to vote in accordance with your membership? If you don't know what you're voting on, then how can you vote accordingly? Let me guess: Nancy Pelosi promised you that it was a good bill and you should just shut up and vote for it.
This is appalling. Would you sign a contract without reading it? Then why are the members of congress voting for legislation without reading it?
During his speech at a National Press Club luncheon, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Democratic Congressman John Conyers (D-Mich.), questioned the point of lawmakers reading the health care bill.
“I love these members, they get up and say, ‘Read the bill,’” said Conyers.
“What good is reading the bill if it’s a thousand pages and you don’t have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill?”
.
Wild Thing's comment.......
These idiots are guilty of legislative malpractice when they openly admit they don’t read and therefore don’t know what it is they are voting for! Wow...just wow...he actually admitted that it’s too much trouble to know what he’s voting on. My heart breaks for our nation.
Why do these people get paid when they can't be borthered to do their jobs? And what kind of constituents keep sending them back to DC.
They have forgotten the meaning of a representative form of government. That they are in fact supposed to read these bills, understand them, and vote in the best interest of their constituency. No member of congress is supposed to vote how they feel, but how the people back home feel.
Getting elected is not an endorsement of the persons judgement. It is saying that they will vote the way the people want. That is not always along party lines!!! Before any vote they should have to go home, and speak with the people to get their take on these bills!!!!
This is PRECISELY why ”TERM LIMITS”are vital to the survival of this republic!
.
....Thank you Richard for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:49 AM | Comments (7)
President Hamid Karzai Wants New ROE for US Troops
Karzai: Afghans want rules for troops changed
KABUL
President Hamid Karzai said Monday he wants new rules governing the conduct of U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan and would be willing to talk with Taliban leaders who publicly renounce violence and endorse peace.
But Karzai, acknowledging shaky relations with his international partners in the war on terror, told The Associated Press in an interview that he was not prepared at this time to discuss the key Taliban demand - a timetable for the withdrawal of all foreign troops.
Karzai said the presence of U.S. and international forces was in the Afghan national interest but should be "based on a new contract" that would minimize civilian casualties, limit searches of private homes and restrict detaining Afghans indefinitely without charge.
He also said he wants the U.S.-run prison at Bagram Air Base, where about 600 Afghans are held, re-evaluated and inmates released unless there is evidence linking them to terrorist affiliation. He said arrests are turning ordinary Afghans against U.S. and NATO forces.
Karzai has promised to pursue those demands for changes in the relationship with foreign forces if he wins a second term in the Aug. 20 presidential election. He is considered the leading contender in the 39-candidate field, though he would be forced into a runoff if he fails to win a majority of votes in the first round.
"The Afghan people still want a fundamentally strong relation with the United States," Karzai said. "The Afghan people want a strategic partnership with America" based on fighting Islamic extremism.
But he added that the partnership must ensure "that the partners are not losing their lives, their property, their dignity as a consequence of that partnership."
The 91,000 international troops based in Afghanistan include about 65,000 under NATO's International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF. The rest are part of a U.S.-led coalition involved in counterterrorism and training Afghan forces. Both groups operate under different rules, which are kept secret for operational security reasons.
It is widely assumed, however, that the U.S.-led counter-terror command enjoys broader powers to search homes and detain people indefinitely if they are suspected of posing a security threat.
Last month, the new U.S. and NATO commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, issued new orders saying troops may attack insurgents hiding in Afghan houses only if international forces are in imminent danger. The measures were put into effect to quell a storm of criticism from Karzai's government about civilian casualties, which help fuel the Taliban insurgency.
During his interview, Karzai suggested those measures may not be enough to convince most Afghans to accept a long-term international role, which he said was in the interest of the Afghan people.
Karzai said no Afghan mother would weep over a son killed or wounded in the war "but that Afghan mother would very much want her other son, her husband or her daughter to be safe in their homes, to be safe in their communities, not to be bombed, not to be arrested, not to have their homes broken into at night with their front gate blown up by dynamite."
Karzai also said he wanted a dialogue with Taliban members not affiliated with al-Qaida or "in the grips of foreign intelligence agencies" in order to "reintegrate" them into Afghan society. He said those Taliban members must first repent "and announce that publicly."
He did not specify any foreign intelligence agency, but Afghan officials have in the past accused Pakistan of backing the Taliban, which Pakistan denies.
But Karzai also made clear he was not prepared to call for a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign forces, which some key Taliban figures have demanded before they will enter peace talks.
Karzai acknowledged strong differences over the years with the NATO and U.S.-led forces "but I also know and the Afghan people also know that the presence of international troops in Afghanistan is bringing stability to Afghanistan."
"I would advise the Taliban not to ask for the exit of international forces in Afghanistan because that is not in the interest of the Afghan people," he said.
Instead, both sides should work toward a relationship in which foreign troops show greater sensitivity to Afghan culture and the Afghans display "better management of governmental affairs."
Karzai has come under criticism for embracing some of Afghanistan's most notorious warlords, including his vice presidential running mate Mohammad Qasim Fahim, and his defense adviser, Gen. Rashid Dostum, who has been accused of killing hundreds of Taliban prisoners in 2001.
Karzai defended those ties, saying many of those now branded as warlords had received "million and millions of dollars" from the United States for their help in fighting the Taliban in the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.
Wild Thing's comment........
What an idiot Karzai is! If we pulled our troops from Afghanistan, his life would not be worth a plug nickel.
Between this guy and the comment Obama made last week that didn't care about a victory in Afghanistan OMG!
What Obama and his like need to realise, is that the object of war, as Patton put it. “Is to kill the other guy before he can kill you" . As for the Afghan president, he should think long and hard about what position he would be in if we just decided to cut our losses and leave. He’d be so far up the proverbial creek without the proverbial paddle. You’d hear him begging us to stay on the moon. But none of this will happen because it means do to it right and keep our troops from being killed means we have to do what our troops do best and the Obamessiah can’t have that now can he.
.
....Thank you Jack for sending this to me.
United States Army
1965-1971
Army Combat Engineers
Quang Tri & Chu Lai '68 -'69
67-69
Jack's blog is Conservative Insurgent
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:48 AM | Comments (7)
In Country With 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division
Relocated Army outpost draws fire from angry Taliban insurgency
LOGAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan
The attackers waited until dusk, then came at the yet-to-be fortified American outpost from three sides, armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.
It was a surprise, the first attack on the newly established outpost near the Charkh District Center in nearly two months, said Lt. Col. Thomas Gukeisen, the squadron commander who monitored Friday’s brief, unsuccessful ambush from his base about 20 miles to the east. With the help of attack aircraft, up to 20 enemy fighters were repelled.
As soldiers from Company B, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, N.Y., struggle with the growing pains of setting up a post in the population hub in Charkh, they are contending with extremely primitive conditions while flushing out a rooted enemy.
"The enemy’s pissed off," Gukeisen said, noting that the attack and a roadside bomb ambush earlier in the day occurred just hours after 150 feet of perimeter security barriers known as Hescos were delivered to the district center.
“They hate the sight of Hescos. They know you are here to stay.”
Charkh — as well as Baraki Barak district to the north and Kharwar district to the south — is the battle space of the 3rd Squadron’s 71st Cavalry Regiment, which conducts surveillance and reconnaissance for the 3rd BCT. The units deployed to this region in January. Troops set up outposts in each district, getting to know the populations, the enemy and the lay of the land.
Company B of the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, which is attached to the 3-71 Cav, set up in Baraki Barak, then moved to Charkh in April, building its second outpost about seven miles from the district center.
Still in the raw stages, Combat Outpost Baugess had an Internet cafe and was about to get running water.
But Baugess was removed from both enemy forces and the civilians they operate within. It quickly became apparent that for the troops to do their jobs of separating the enemy from the people, helping to shore up local government and security forces, and ultimately winning the trust of the population, the outpost was in the wrong place.
They began using an abandoned school building adjacent to the district center as a launch post for patrols. And last week, soldiers packed up their rucksacks, dragged their cots, a generator and truckloads of sandbags, and headed there for good.
“Militarily, the outpost was great, but for the counterinsurgency, we had to commute to work,” Gukeisen said. “It’s hard on soldiers to tell them to pack up their stuff and move to a new location. But it’s the right thing to do because you have to be with and among the people. You have to have a persistent presence.”
It’s a complex and painstaking mission that falls to Capt. Jason Wingert, 29. He is trying to run two outposts at once.
The building the troops are squatting in is filthy. Once again, they are living without running water or electricity. Food consists of Meals, Ready to Eat. And the concrete roof tiles allow the weather and the dust to pass right through their seams.
Coming down with a bad bout of stomach bug has become a rite of passage at Charkh DC. Conditions were so bad that Gukeisen sent in a health team last week to address the situation.
“When I made the decision to do [the move], I knew I was asking a lot of these guys,” said Wingert, of Evans Mills, N.Y. “To start over again for this company, the third time this deployment, is a lot. But from where I sit, and my boss agreed, we are not here to make ourselves comfortable. We are here to support the government and the security forces and to protect the people.”
Just south of Kabul, Logar province has long been the heart of the insurgent activity targeting Kabul.
Desert conditions and rocky mountain terrain embrace lush green valleys where fruit orchards and wheat fields feed the capital. But a scarcity of water and the terrorizing reign of the Taliban have left the villagers poor, scared and often unwilling to side with an absentee government.
Until recently, Charkh’s district sub-governor refused to come to the district center, a U.S.-funded building that was blown up three times in recent years.
Only after Company B soldiers began launching regular patrols did a newly appointed sub-governor start showing up for work, though the Americans quietly question his family ties to a known top insurgent.
“Nine months ago, the enemy could walk around the DC,” said sub-governor Ghallam Farouq Hamayoon. “If the Americans weren’t here, we couldn’t keep the district center open.
“It would be better if it were Afghan National Army and police. Right now, we need the Americans.”
The U.S. forces see it the same way. When they aren’t building the Charkh outpost, one platoon trains a ragtag Afghan police force, while others push out on patrols to Charkh’s villages, from the bazaar just down the road to remote northwestern areas, getting to know friendly faces, and often, trying to win over ambivalent or even hostile villagers.
They take their police trainees with them, hoping to show people that this is not just an American mission but one that will ultimately give them the responsive government they’ve never known. And the troops try to develop local projects such as mosque repairs or rebuilding girls schools that are frequent targets of Taliban attacks.
“I think we are making progress,” said Spc. Adam Klodzinski, 32, a 60-mm mortar gunner from Buffalo, N.Y.
“They seem more open to us, more willing to accept our support,” he said. “I think people want to help, but they still fear the Taliban.”
When they first arrived, the soldiers were met with steady firefights.
Outgunned, the insurgents changed tactics, deploying more than 30 makeshift bombs since April, especially along the main road that runs from the district center south to COP Baugess and north toward Forward Operating Base Shank, the brigade’s headquarters. Though many struck their targets, soldiers in Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles have all survived.
“When we first got to the bazaar, they’d shoot at us from the rooftops. Now, we are surrounded by kids,” said 1st Lt. Scott Davis of Seattle, whose 3rd Platoon has seen the most firefights in Charkh. “People were really skeptical initially. But when you walk up, put your Darth Vader garb and your guns down, there’s a pretty impressive change in the atmospherics.”
When they do get into firefights, the troops seek out residents to explain what happened and make reparations for property damage.
“I really don’t want to shoot anyone in Sheshquela,” Davis told a homeowner after a firefight last week in that northern village. “I want to arrest these guys. If I give you a phone number, will you call so we can come and arrest them without a firefight?”
Davis and others liken the insurgency to street gangs. The Taliban use fear tactics and lure younger teenagers with flashy promises.
A 15-year-old recently arrested for burying roadside bombs said that a man, Mullah Bashir, promised him sneakers and a cell phone, Davis said.
“It’s a lot of punk kids looking for identity and a couple of charismatic leaders,” he said. “They get to be the cool kids around school with the new outfit and cell phone.
“Going around killing kids who plant IEDs for cell phones isn’t going to help anything.”
Gukeisen breaks it down this way: Divided by a river running south to north down through the district, Charkh’s west side is controlled by Los Angeles-like gangs, while east bank insurgents are more mafia-like.
On Saturday, insurgents attacked workers widening the main road, nearly capturing three of them in an apparent attempt to shake down the U.S.-paid contractor, Gukeisen said.
Charkh Police Chief Allah Mohammad Mahsovidi said despite setbacks, he’s encouraged by improving security.
“The government belongs to the civilians and they need to choose their government,” Mahsovidi said.
“The civilians don’t want the Taliban because they are cruel. They’ve been burning schools for four years. ... The Taliban burned the [Malakay High School for Girls] three times.”
In Sheshquela last week, the platoon visited both a mosque and a girls school that needed repairs.
Then gunfire erupted. Twice in the next hour, the troops exchanged fire with insurgents who they said then broke contact and fled, with the soldiers in pursuit through the fields and orchards.
As they stood guard outside the last site of exchange, two men walked gingerly up to the troops.
Davis told the men he needs their help to stop such attacks. But Haji Amir Mahmad, 45, wasn’t so sure.
Wild Thing's comment.......
Prayers for our heroes and keep them safe. These guys have so much to deal with, the enemy, CIC they are stuck with and dealing with the people that are not the Taliban but still not sure they want to help our troops or not.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (4)
US Vice President Biden Hits Nerve In Russia
US Vice President Biden hits nerve in Russia
By LYNN BERRY
MOSCOW
An interview U.S. Vice President Joe Biden gave to an American newspaper was front-page news Monday in Moscow, where his characterization of Russia as a weakened nation hit a raw nerve.
Biden said Russia's economic difficulties are likely to make the Kremlin more willing to cooperate with the United States on a range of national security issues.
"I think we vastly underestimate the hand that we hold," he said in an interview to The Wall Street Journal published Saturday.
Biden's comments appeared to catch the Kremlin by surprise, coming less than three weeks after President Barack Obama said on a visit to Moscow that the U.S. wants to see a "strong, peaceful and prosperous Russia."
"It raises the question: Who is shaping U.S. foreign policy? The president or members of his team, even the most respected ones?" said Kremlin foreign policy adviser Sergei Prikhodko.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs on Monday downplayed suggestions that Biden was setting a different U.S. policy from that laid out by the president.
When asked whether Obama thought Biden had gone too far in his remarks, Gibbs said the president stated his views on Russia during his recent visit and the vice president agrees with those views.
Gibbs said both leaders believe Russia will do its part to improve relations with the U.S.
Most Russian newspapers put Biden's interview on their front pages Monday, with headlines casting doubt on Washington's commitment to forge a more constructive relationship with Moscow.
The papers jumped on Biden's comments about Russia's demographic and economic problems.
"They have a shrinking population base, they have a withering economy, they have a banking sector and structure that is not likely to be able to withstand the next 15 years, they're in a situation where the world is changing before them and they're clinging to something in the past that is not sustainable," Biden said in the interview.
Some newspapers and commentators noted that Russians say the same things about themselves. The question, they said, was why Biden made the comments so quickly after this month's summit by Obama and President Dmitry Medvedev, and after Biden's own trip last week to Ukraine and Georgia, former Soviet republics whose growing ties to the West are deeply resented in Moscow.
.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made an apparent effort Sunday to reassure Moscow, saying on NBC "Meet the Press" that the administration considers Russia to be a "great power."
"Every country faces challenges," she said. "We have our challenges, Russia has their challenges. There are certain issues that Russia has to deal with on its own."
Wild Thing's comment..........
Hahaha Joe Biden...the gift that keeps on giving.
Biden saying what is true or not is not what counts here, knowing NOT to say things off the top of his head might have been better. It was dumb for saying what he said out loud, but I don’t think that what he said was dumb.
LOL Joe Biden is the adminstration’s real-life fact checker.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:46 AM | Comments (6)
Democrats Eye 10% TAX On Botox and Cosmetic Surgery ~ LOL
Democrats Eye 10% TAX On Botox and Cosmetic Surgery
Face-lifts, tummy tucks and hair transplants could be hit with a new tax to help finance the trillion-dollar healthcare overhaul plan, CONGRESS DAILY reports.
The Senate Finance Committee has discussed imposing a 10% excise tax on cosmetic surgery deemed unnecessary for medical purposes.
DAILY's Peter Cohn reveals: The idea was broached in a meeting with OMB Director Orszag in mid-July, after which Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus told reporters he had heard some "interesting," "creative," and "kind of fun" ideas.
Wild Thing's comment........
Let's make it retroactive and our own reps in Washington will owe millions in back taxes. Pelosi alone could bail out California. LOL
I get so tired of seeing all the people with crash dummy type faces. haha
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Comments (3)
Senate Group Omitting Dem Health Goals BUT They Could Add Them Later
Senate group omitting Dem health goals
After weeks of secretive talks, a bipartisan group in the Senate edged closer Monday to a health care compromise that omits a requirement for businesses to offer coverage to their workers and lacks a government insurance option that President Barack Obama favors, according to numerous officials.
Like bills drafted by Democrats, the proposal under discussion by six members on the Senate Finance Committee would bar insurance companies from denying coverage to any applicant. Nor could insurers charge higher premiums on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions.
The effort received a boost during the day from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, normally a close ally of Republicans. In a letter to committee leaders, the business group called for the panel to "act promptly, preferably before" the Senate's scheduled vacation at the end of next week. In doing so, the business organization dealt a blow to the Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and other GOP lawmakers who have called repeatedly for Democrats to slow down.
In yet another boost for the drive to enact legislation, PhRMA, which represents drug companies, has purchased more than $500,000 worth of television ads to air during the week in nine states.
Wild Thing's comment......
Rush was talking about this yesterday and he said they will just add it in later and I think so too. I don't even trust them to take it out at all actually. With hardly any democrats reading the bill and only some Republicans how the heck will they know if it is taken out. They won't.
I want No government health care period. Get the government out of it. This is all BS, once the pass this turkey we are screwed. I wish and pray the Republicans would STOP saying our country needs any kind of government health care at all. Cut the head off of this bill and any bill about this. The Republicans need to learn it is not just about going against Obama and the dems it is about NOT wanting this at all from either party.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:40 AM | Comments (3)
July 27, 2009
Shame On Obama and Yes He Needs To Apologize For His Remarks
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Professor Gates goes on N-word rant
By Aaron Klein
A video has surfaced on YouTube of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. delivering a church speech in which he uses the N-word, rails against "racist historically white institutions in America" and accuses Newt Gingrich of attempting to block blacks from entering the middle class.
Gates became a lightning rod of racial controversy when President Obama defended the professor, who was handcuffed outside his home last week by police in Cambridge, Mass.
"We are trying to end what we call the one n-gger syndrome – you know, this place ain't big enough for more than one of us," said Gates in the video, filmed in 1996 in the All Souls Church in Washington, D.C.
"We in the academy have to know that our people, those of us who practice African-American studies, have to know that our people are under assault," Gates said.
He continued: "Newt Gingrich can come in, that Contract for America is serious. You know what those guys have said? 'Somehow, while we were asleep, all you white women and all you black people got into the middle class.'
"'We are not sure how it happened. But the first thing we are going to do is we are going to shake the tree and any of y'all who can't hold on, you're all going back. And the second thing, we are going to set up barriers so no more of you all can get in here.'"
Gates was speaking to the church about his book, "The Future of the Race," which he co-authored with radical black professor Cornel West. Gates was arguing for the continued employment of affirmative action.
"Without affirmative action we would have never been able to integrate racist historically white institutions in American society," Gates said.
"I was able to go to Yale University because they were trying to diversify themselves," he said. "Because of racism I never would have been allowed to compete on a more or less level terrain with white boys and white girls.
"What we're trying to do is end 'your mamma' and 'your daddy criticism,' which is what African-Americans quite frankly have mastered in for 250 years," he said.
In clearly racially divisive remarks, Gates blasted the state of North Carolina, drawing applause when he exclaimed, "I don't even like the airplane to fly over North Carolina."One audience member pointed out American jazz icon John Coltrane was born in North Carolina.
"Oh, that's true. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," said Gates. "And they got good barbeque, too. So maybe it's OK."
Congressman to Barack Obama: Apologize to Sgt. James Crowley, Cambridge Police
Representative Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan plans to introduce a House resolution calling on Barack Obama to apologize to Sgt. James Crowley and the Cambridge, Massachusetts Police Department for the president's "acted stupidly" remarks. Obama made the comments in reference to the arrest of his friend, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Wild Thing's comment......
This guy is like Jeremiah Wright and others that Obama hangs out with because they are exactly like he is.
I wonder if intense psychotherapy for their racism might be the answer. They are polluting the minds and souls of another generation, and thus this will never end
Does Obama have any associations that are NOT racists or haters of America? It seems not.
I never knew there was such hate from so many blacks toward whites until Obama's campaign for president FROM Obama himself. It shocked me. I was stupid, I thought when a black person looked at me they just saw me, a girl named Chrissie. Dumb me. Obama has shown me that he and his friends are not in any way like Clarence Thomas, Larry Elder or any other person that care more about what is inside the person that if they are black or white or spotted. It is very sad to learn this but also angers me too. I wish America did not have these sick hate filled blacks like Obama and his friends, I wish they would just leave.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:44 PM | Comments (5)
Anti-Obama Rally in Jerusalem GOOD They Should!
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Anti-Obama Rally in Jerusalem
For the first time in years, the nationalist camp will hold a large scale rally against United States policies vis-à-vis Israel.
The protest will be held in downtown Jerusalem, on Agron St. on Monday evening, and is being organized by the Residents Committees of Binyamin and Samaria, as well as the nationalist umbrella organization Mateh Maamatz, the Yesha Council of Jewish Communities, and Komemiyut.
Knesset Members and others representing various parties, including the Likud, will speak.
“Not since the days of [U.S. Secretary of State Henry] Kissinger has there been such a protest against American policies,” said MK Yaakov Katz (Ketzaleh), chairman of the National Union party. “The pressure that Barack Hussein Obama is exerting against us to simply stop growing and stop living will not work.”
The Obama administration has made it clear that Israel must stop building of all types throughout Judea and Samaria (Yesha), as well as in parts of Israel’s capital city that were liberated during the Six Day War of 1967.
The slogan for Monday’s demonstration, and the message to Obama and his envoys, is, "Yes to Israeli Independence, No to American Dictates!"
In addition, hints have been dropped that American action against Iran depends on a cessation of Israeli construction in Yesha.
Wild Thing's comment......
GOOD. Wish I could be there. I would be honored to stand along side those protesting Obama.
I hope it is on TV in the states..and they show the world what a criminal Obama and the rest of the Washington crowd is
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:25 PM | Comments (5)
The anti-Semite Obama: Israel Is The Problem Not The Palestinians
Obama Clarifies: Israel Is The Problem Not The Palestinians
Obama invited a very select group of Jewish leaders to the White House. Like all his events, Obama made sure that his supporters dominated the room. Flanked by staffers Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod, Obama overloaded the guest list with left leaning American Jews. Groups like Peace Now, The National Jewish Democrat Council, and J Street, all of whom oppose the the elected government of Benjamin Netanyahu, were included among the typical "major Jewish organizations." Obama made sure that groups supporting the right wing government of Benjamin Netanyahu were a distinct minority.
From a few published reports and other sources, One Jerusalem has pieced together a picture of what took place at this meeting. In short, Obama made it clear that he feels Israel must be pushed to make a deal with the Palestinians - which means that Obama is planning to force Israel to compromise on Jerusalem, settlements, the West Bank, and possibly the right of return. He will not be dissuaded by facts on the ground (more on this later), and he sees a moral equivalency between the plight of the Palestinians and the needs of the State of Israel.
Wild Thing's comment........
OBama makes me sick. Our country has been a friend to Israel and now with this freaking Muslim in our White House we have to watch him do all he can to kill off that friendship.
He really favors terrorists over anyone else, such as Israeli's and also Americans.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:20 PM | Comments (2)
Politicians, Heal Thyselves!
Politicians, Heal Thyselves!
If Democrats in Washington think their health care reform with a public option is a good thing, why have they exempted themselves from it? Why isn't what's good for their constituents good for them?
As World Net Daily points out, on Page 114 of the Orwellian-titled Affordable Health Care Choices Act authored by Sen. Ted Kennedy's staff and the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP), there is a provision that specifically exempts members of Congress from the public plan.
At a news conference June 23, President Obama said people would be able to choose their insurance "the same way that federal employees do, same way that members of Congress do."
That statement was false.
Rep. John Fleming, R-La., a physician, told Fox News: "All these health care bills that are coming out on the Democrats' side — the 'reform' bills — basically say that Congress is exempt for at least the first five years, and perhaps longer.
The irony here is that under the health reform he is sponsoring, it is unlikely that Sen. Ted Kennedy would have gotten the treatment he needed for his brain tumor if his case had to be reviewed by some cost-effectiveness board.
The likelihood is that if Ted Kennedy were British and subject to the tender mercies of that nation's National Health System, he'd be dead by now.
Wild Thing's comment......
The government should get out of healthcare. They have already wrecked the post office, the railroads, the steel industry, the tobacco industry, the US borders, Social Security, Medicare....and on. They ruin everything they touch.
If the Health Care Reform is so good, then EVERY Federal Employee, MUST BE MANDATED to be on it.
If they won’t . . . then neither will WE!
How about this for a Constitutional Amendment.
There Shall be No Laws granting Exceptions, Exclusions, or Immunity from any Law, for any Person, for any Reason, under any circumstances, ever.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (10)
Hillary Not Sure If US Should Be Assassinating Al-Qaeda Members ~ HUH?
Hillary Not Sure If US Should Be Assassinating Al-Qaeda Members
The US assassinated Saad Bin Laden, Osama's son, in a drone missile attack and several other top Al-Qaeda members in the past year.
Where has Hillary been?
Wild Thing's comment.......
We have got to have the most idiots in our government then ever before. LOL
Here we have our troops, heroes, giving their all and America is so blessed to have such brave Americans. Then people like Hillary, Obama, Barney Frank, Pelosi etc. What a HUGE difference. The contrast just gets broader by the day.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (6)
Dunstan Visits Theodore's World
Mark and his wife got an adorable new puppy. He is part, Golden Retriever and part Australian Sheppard (or sheep dog), And he's 8 weeks old. His name is .......DUNSTAN.
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Wild Thing's comment.....
I am so happy about the new puppy and Dunstan is so cute. Thank you Mark and your wife for the photos.
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....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:48 AM | Comments (7)
An Open Letter to Geraldo Rivera by Colonel Bob Pappas, USMC
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An Open Letter to Geraldo Rivera
by Colonel Bob Pappas, USMC, Retired
Dear Geraldo,
This is in reference to the segment of your show on July 25th, that purported to answer the question of Obama's "citizenship."
I was struck by the dismissive way that you and your guests treated the subject of under the topical aegis of "citizenship." You and I both know that citizenship is not the question; the question is: "Does Obama qualify under the provisions of Article II Section 1?”
I realize that calling on an Obama supporter to answer the question is like asking the fox, "Who is guarding the chicken coop?" But I ask it anyway, in search of a vestige of
integrity of a man in an industry where that quality is pathetically lacking. Why are you and the others so afraid?
As an investigative attorney:
Have you seen Obama's original birth certificate? Had anyone on your panel seen it? Verified it forensically? If it were not for an abundance of anecdotal evidence joined with Obama's locking down all information, this matter could be easily settled. Wasn't it Obama who promised transparency? What does he have to fear?
Incidentally, Ann Coulter is no authority on the issue, in this instance she diminished herself by her evident ignorance; and I am a fan. Governor Huckabee knows nothing, for him to cite Hillary Clinton as some kind of investigative authority was childish and disappointing.
For your benefit I attach the statement from the State of Hawaii concerning Obama's birth certificate. It will take you a minute to read it, perhaps less. Then, after reading it, please answer this question. "Does the official statement inform us where Obama was born?" Not by implication, deduction, or alternative sourcing, "does the official statement tell the public where Obama was born?" Unless there is something about the English language that I don't understand, it does not.
This matter can easily be put to rest by a statement from the State of Hawaii that Obama's birth certificate has been forensically validated and that he was born in the State.
But, I hereby bet my copy of Salvador Dali's “Christ of St John” that they refuse to modify the statement per the foregoing, or any thing that would definitively state he was born in Hawaii.
Have you studied Hawaii law in force at the time of his birth? I doubt it, so attached is an analysis for your edification. It is my understanding that he could have been born on the moon and still have his birth registered in Hawaii.
I am not pursuing this lightly, there are 3 million servicemen and women, 28 million veterans and their families, and 300 Americans who deserve to know; and to be blunt, and your childishly unprofessional performance tonight was a disgrace.
Now, if you are half the man who you imagine yourself to be, do your job right (sorry but you deserve this)!
So far, "Shep" Smith, Governor Lingle of Hawaii, nor has Senator Inouye answered, we'll see if you have the integrity to do so.
Semper Fidelis,
Bob Pappas
Colonel, USMC (Ret)
Political Independent
Hawaii Official Statement regarding Obama’s birth certificate
Analysis of Hawaii law at the time of Obama’s birth, author unknown
The Territorial Public Health Statistics Act in the 1955 Revised Laws of Hawaii
I think that I now understand the legal background to the question of where Obama was born.
Let’s begin with the statement that Dr. Chiyome Fukino, the Director of the Hawaii Department of Health released on October 31, 2008. The television and print media used this statement as a reason to prevent and treat with contempt any investigation into whether Barack Obama was not born in Hawaii. But the language of the statement was so carefully hedged and guarded that it should have had the opposite effect.
“There have been numerous requests for Sen. Barack Hussein Obama’s official birth certificate. State law (Hawai‘i Revised Statutes §338-18) prohibits the release of a certified birth certificate to persons who do not have a tangible interest in the vital record. Therefore, I as Director of Health for the State of Hawai‘i, along with the Registrar of Vital Statistics who has statutory authority to oversee and maintain these type of vital records, have personally seen and verified that the Hawai‘i State Department of Health has Sen. Obama’s original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures.”
It is understandable that after such an apparently definitive statement most news outlets, whether conservative or liberal, would accept this as sufficient grounds to relegate the controversy to the status of a fringe phenomenon.
Unless they happened to take the trouble to look into the “state policies and procedures” as laid down by the relevant statutes. If they had done so, they would have seen that Dr. Fukino’s press release was carefully hedged and “lawyered” and practically worthless. But the media in general should not be faulted. The statement seems to roll out with such bureaucratic certainty and final authority. I believed it to be significant until a Honolulu attorney mailed me the relevant statutes. I was so surprised that I laughed out loud.
Here is a summary of Hawaii’s “state policies and procedures” in 1961.
In the State of Hawaii, back in 1961, there were four different ways to get an “original birth certificate” on record. They varied greatly in their reliability as evidence. For convenience, I’ll call them BC1, BC2, BC3, and BC4.
BC1. If the birth was attended by a physician or mid wife, the attending medical professional was required to certify to the Department of Health the facts of the birth date, location, parents’ identities and other information. (See Section 57-8 & 9 of the Territorial Public Health Statistics Act in the 1955 Revised Laws of Hawaii which was in effect in 1961).
BC2. In 1961, if a person was born in Hawaii but not attended by a physician or midwife, then all that was required was that one of the parents send in a birth certificate to be filed. The birth certificate could be filed by mail. There appears to have been no requirement for the parent to actually physically appear before “the local registrar of the district.” If a claim was made that “neither parent of the newborn child whose birth is unattended as above provided is able to prepare a birth certificate, the local registrar shall secure the necessary information from any person having knowledge of the birth and prepare and file the certificate.” (Section 57-8&9) I asked the Dept of Health what they currently ask for (in 2008) to back up a parent’s claim that a child was born in Hawaii. I was told that all they required was a proof of residence in Hawaii (e.g. a driver’s license [We know from interviews with her friends on Mercer Island in Washington State that Ann Dunham had acquired a driver’s license by the summer of 1961 at the age of 17] or telephone bill) and pre-natal (statement or report that a woman was pregnant) and post-natal (statement or report that a new-born baby has been examined) certification by a physician. On further enquiry, the employee that I spoke to informed me that the pre-natal and post-natal certifications had probably not been in force in the ‘60s. Even if they had been, there is and was no requirement for a physician or midwife to witness, state or report that the baby was born in Hawaii.
BC3. In 1961, if a person was born in Hawaii but not attended by a physician or midwife, then, up to the first birthday of the child, a “Delayed Certificate” could be filed, which required that “a summary statement of the evidence submitted in support of the acceptance for delayed filing or the alteration [of a file] shall be endorsed on the certificates”, which “evidence shall be kept in a special permanent file.” The statute provided that “the probative value of a ‘delayed’ or ‘altered’ certificate shall be determined by the judicial or administrative body or official before whom the certificate is offered as evidence.” (See Section 57- 9, 18, 19 & 20 of the Territorial Public Health Statistics Act in the 1955 Revised Laws of Hawaii which was in effect in 1961).”
[In other words, this form of vault birth certificate, the Delayed Certificate, required no more than a statement before a government bureaucrat by one of the parents or (the law does not seem to me clear on this) one of Barack Obama’s grandparents. If the latter is true, Ann Dunham did not have to be present for this statement or even in the country.]
BC4. If a child is born in Hawaii, for whom no physician or mid wife filed a certificate of live birth, and for whom no Delayed Certificate was filed before the first birthday, then a Certificate of Hawaiian Birth could be issued upon testimony of an adult (including the subject person [i.e. the birth child as an adult]) if the Office of the Lieutenant Governor was satisfied that a person was born in Hawaii, provided that the person had attained the age of one year. (See Section 57-40 of the Territorial Public Health Statistics Act in the 1955 Revised Laws of Hawaii which was in effect in 1961.) In 1955 the “secretary of the Territory” was in charge of this procedure. In 1960 it was transferred to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor (“the lieutenant governor, or his secretary, or such other person as he may designate or appoint from his office” §338-41 [in 1961]).
In 1982, the vital records law was amended to create a fifth kind of “original birth certificate”. Under Act 182 H.B. NO. 3016-82, “Upon application of an adult or the legal parents of a minor child, the director of health shall issue a birth certificate for such adult or minor, provided that the proof has been submitted to the director of health that the legal parents of such individual while living without the Territory or State of Hawaii had declared the Territory or State of Hawaii as their legal residence for at least one year immediately preceding the birth or adoption of such child.” In this way “state policies and procedures” accommodate even “children born out of State” (this is the actual language of Act 182) with an “original birth certificate on record.” So it is even possible that the birth certificate referred to by Dr Fukino is of the kind specified in Act 182. This possibility cannot be dismissed because such a certificate certainly satisfies Dr Fukino’s statement that “I as Director of Health for the State of Hawai‘i, along with the Registrar of Vital Statistics who has statutory authority to oversee and maintain these type of vital records, have personally seen and verified that the Hawai‘i State Department of Health has Sen. Obama’s original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures.” If this is the case, Dr Fukino would have perpetrated so unusually disgusting a deception that I find it practically incredible (and I greatly doubt that anyone could be that shameless). On the other hand, if the original birth certificate is of types 2, 3, or 4, Dr Fukino’s statement would be only somewhat less deceptive and verbally tricky. I only bring up this possibility to show how cleverly hedged and “lawyered” and basically worthless Dr Fukino’s statement is.
Sections 57-8, 9, 18, 19, 20 & 40 of the Territorial Public Health Statistics Act explain why Barack Obama has refused to release the original vault birth certificate. If the original certificate were the standard BC1 type of birth certificate, he would have allowed its release and brought the controversy to a quick end. But if the original certificate is of the other kinds, then Obama would have a very good reason not to release the vault birth certificate. For if he did, then the tape recording of Obama’s Kenyan grandmother asserting that she was present at his birth in Kenya becomes far more important. As does the Kenyan ambassador’s assertion that Barack Obama was born in Kenya, as well as the sealing of all government and hospital records relevant to Obama by the Kenyan government. And the fact that though there are many witnesses to Ann Dunham’s presence on Oahu from Sept 1960 to March 1961, there are no witnesses to her being on Oahu from April 1961 to August 1962 when she returned from Seattle and the University of Washington. No Hawaiian physicians, nurses, or midwives have come forward with any recollection of Barack Obama’s birth.
The fact that Obama refuses to release the vault birth certificate that would instantly clear up this matter almost certainly indicates that the vault birth certificate is probably a BC2 or possibly a BC3.
It is almost certainly a BC 3 or even a BC 4 if the “Certification of Live Birth” posted on the Daily Kos blog and the fightthesmears.com website by the Obama campaign is a forgery. Ron Polarik has made what several experts claim to be a cogent case that it is a forgery. There have been a couple of attempts to refute his argument and Polarik has replied to the most extensive of them. I do not claim expertise in this area, but I think it would be best for journalists and politicians to familiarize themselves with the arguments on both sides before they casually dismiss Polarik’s position without taking the trouble to understand it.
Here are 2 of Polarik’s websites: http://bogusbirthcertificate.blogspot.com/
http://bogusbithcertificate.blogspot.com/
Because the disputants know far more about this subject than I do, I am an agnostic about Polarik’s argument. However, the likelihood that this computer-generated “Certification of Live Birth” was forged, is, I believe, increased by the fact that it has been pretty clearly established that Obama "either didn't register for the draft or did so belatedly and fraudulently. The documents indicate that it's one or the other." http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/004431print.html The forgery of Obama’s selective service registration was necessary, because according to Federal law, “A man must be registered to be eligible for jobs in the Executive Branch of the Federal government and the U.S. Postal Service. This applies only to men born after December 31, 1959." http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/wars/a/draft2.htm)
It is also very strange that Dr Fukino's statement in no way attested to (or even addressed the issue of) the authenticity of the "Certification of Live Birth" (and the information that appears on it) that the Daily Kos blog and the Obama campaign posted on line. Dr Fukino merely stated that "I as Director of Health for the State of Hawai‘i, along with the Registrar of Vital Statistics who has statutory authority to oversee and maintain these type of vital records, have personally seen and verified that the Hawai‘i State Department of Health has Sen. Obama’s original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures.”
If there is no hospital or physician record in the vault birth certificate, then he wasn't born in a hospital in Hawaii. And a home birth or non-hospital birth can then be ruled out for the following reason.
When someone has a home birth or is not born in a hospital, this becomes a part of his family's lore and is now and again spoken of by his parents. He and his siblings grow up knowing that he was born at home or his uncle's house, etc. The fact that someone in the campaign told the Washington Post reporter that he was born in Kapioliani hospital and his sister said he was born at Queens hospital (which is extremely unlikely since women did not choose to go to Queens hospital for labor in 1961) indicates that there was not and is not any Obama/Dunham family memory of a home birth or non-hospital birth in Hawaii.
And if there is no hospital record in the original vault birth certificate, then he was not born in a hospital in Hawaii.
Instead of the birth certificate on file at the Hawaii Dept of Health, the Obama campaign posted on the Daily Kos blog and the Fightthesmears website a “Certification of Live Birth”. The Certification of Live Birth is not a copy of the original birth certificate. It is a computer-generated document that the state of Hawaii issues on request to indicate that a birth certificate of some type is “on record in accordance with state policies and procedures”. And there is the problem. Given the statutes in force in 1961, the Certification of Live Birth proves nothing unless we know what is on the original birth certificate. There are several legal areas (involving ethnic quotas and subsidy) for which the state of Hawaii does not accept its computer-generated Certification of Live Birth as sufficient proof of birth in Hawaii or parentage. Why should the citizens of the United States be content with lower standards for ascertaining the qualifications of their President?
If you combine an awareness of what the Certification of Live Birth posted on the internet really is with 1) a knowledge of the relevant statutes in 1961 and 2) Obama’s stubborn refusal to permit the release of the real birth certificate and his determination to fight any legal actions that would compel him to do so, it becomes clear that there is no logical explanation for Obama’s refusal without taking into consideration the relevant statutes. Then his behavior becomes clear. The Territorial Public Health Statistics Act in the 1955 Revised Laws of Hawaii is the missing piece of the puzzle.
Most people think of a birth certificate as a statement by a hospital or midwife with a footprint, etc. (That may be why some main-stream journalists have straight out lied about this. Jonathan Alter, senior editor at Newsweek magazine, for example, told Keith Olbermann on MSNBC on Feb 20, 2009 that “They [the Republicans] are a party that is out of ideas so they have to resort to these lies about the fact that he's not a citizen. This came up during the campaign, Keith. The Obama campaign actually posted his birth certificate from a Hawaii hospital online.” But it is Alter who resorted to lying to the American people on television. “The Obama campaign” never “actually posted his birth certificate from a Hawaii hospital online.”) Most people would not consider a mailed-in form by one of his parents (who could have been out of the country or whose signature could have been forged by a grandparent) or a sworn statement by one of his grandparents or by his mother or even a sworn statement by himself many years later to be sufficient evidence when set next to the statements by his maternal grandmother, etc. that he was born in another country. A reasonable person would acknowledge that there are serious reasons to doubt that Barack Obama was born in the United States. This is especially true because, if Obama was born in a foreign country, his family had a compelling reason to lie about it.
In 1961 if a 17 year old American girl gave birth in a foreign country to a child whose father was not an American citizen, that child had no right to any American citizenship, let alone the “natural born” citizenship that qualifies someone for the Presidency under Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution.
In 1961, the year that Barack Obama was born, under Sec. 301 (a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, Ann Dunham could not transmit citizenship of any kind to Barack Obama.
“ 7 FAM 1133.2-2 Original Provisions and Amendments to Section 301
(CT:CON-204; 11-01-2007)
“a. Section 301 as Effective on December 24, 1952: When enacted in 1952, section 301 required a U.S. citizen married to an alien to have been physically present in the United States for ten years, including five after reaching the age of fourteen, to transmit citizenship to foreign-born children. The ten-year transmission requirement remained in effect from 12:01 a.m. EDT December 24, 1952, through midnight November 13, 1986, and still is applicable to persons born during that period.
“As originally enacted, section 301(a)(7) stated: Section 301. (a) The following shall be nationals and citizens of the United States at birth: (7) a person born outside the geographical limits of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents one of whom is an alien, and the other a citizen of the United States who, prior to the birth of such person, was physically present in the United States or its outlying possessions for a period or periods totaling not less than ten years, at least five of which were after attaining the age of fourteen years: Provided, That any periods of honorable service in the Armed Forces of the United States by such citizen parent may be included in computing the physical presence requirements of this paragraph.”
The Immigration and Nationality Corrections Act (Public Law 103-416) on October 25, 1994 revised this law to accommodate “a person born outside the geographical limits of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents one of whom is an alien, and the other a citizen of the United States who, prior to the birth of such person, was physically present in the United States or its outlying possessions for a period or periods totaling not less than five years, at least two of which were after attaining the age of fourteen years”.
But in 1961, if Barack Obama had been born outside of the country, the Dunham family had no way of knowing that in 1994 Congress would pass a law that would retroactively make him a citizen. At that time, the only way to get citizenship for him would be to take advantage of one of the loopholes in the Territorial Public Health Statistics Act.
People can debate the meaning of the term “natural-born citizen” as long as they like but this is clear: If, in 1961, 17 year old Ann Dunham gave birth to a child on foreign soil whose father was not an American citizen, then the Immigration and Nationality Act at that time denied Barack Obama any right to American citizenship of any kind. Therefore if at the time of his birth Obama was ineligible for American citizenship of any kind, then he cannot be a “natural-born citizen”.
This is true even if the Immigration and Nationality Act was changed 33 years after he was born. Even if the law was retroactively changed to grant citizenship (but not “natural-born” citizenship) to some of those who had at birth been denied it. If a person is not at the time of his birth an American citizen, he cannot be a natural-born citizen. Therefore, that person is ineligible under Article II, Section1 for the Office of President of the United States.
It is only by examining the 18th century usage and definition of a term that we can ascertain its meaning in the Constitution. In the 18th century, and at the time of the framing and ratification of the Constitution by the states, the term "natural-born" subject or citizen was always used or defined in such a way as to exclude the child of a British or American girl or woman when that child was born in a foreign country and that child's father was a foreign citizen. No 18th century jurist would have thought the term "natural-born" citizen or subject could have been extended to the child of a British or American girl or woman when that child was born in a foreign country and that child's father was a foreign citizen.
Here is Blackstone's classic exposition in 1765 of the legal meaning of the term from the Commentaries on the Laws of England.
William Blackstone, Commentaries 1:354, 357--58, 361--62
1765
"Natural-born subjects are such as are born within the dominions of the crown of England, that is, within the ligeance, or as it is generally called, the allegiance of the king; and aliens, such as are born out of it.. . .
"When I say, that an alien is one who is born out of the king's dominions, or allegiance, this also must be understood with some restrictions. The common law indeed stood absolutely so; with only a very few exceptions: so that a particular act of parliament became necessary after the restoration, for the naturalization of children of his majesty's English subjects, born in foreign countries during the late troubles. And this maxim of the law proceeded upon a general principle, that every man owes natural allegiance where he is born, and cannot owe two such allegiances, or serve two masters, at once. Yet the children of the king's embassadors born abroad were always held to be natural subjects: for as the father, though in a foreign country, owes not even a local allegiance to the prince to whom he is sent; so, with regard to the son also, he was held (by a kind of postliminium) to be born under the king of England's allegiance, represented by his father, the embassador. To encourage also foreign commerce, it was enacted by statute 25 Edw. III. st. 2. that all children born abroad, provided both their parents were at the time of the birth in allegiance to the king,...might inherit as if born in England: and accordingly it hath been so adjudged in behalf of merchants. But by several more modern statutes these restrictions are still farther taken off: so that all children, born out of the king's ligeance, whose fathers were natural-born subjects, are now natural-born subjects themselves, to all intents and purposes, without any exception; unless their said fathers were attainted, or banished beyond sea, for high treason; or were then in the service of a prince at enmity with Great Britain." [The italics are Blackstone's]
The irresponsible confirmation in the Senate of the irresponsible tallying of votes in the Electoral College does not supersede the clear meaning of Article II, Section 1. If it is allowed to stand, disregard of the Constitution by all branches of the government would be openly established. To all who believe that the Constitution is the government’s basic law, that the Constitution is the only instrument that gives the enactments of Congress and the commands of the Executive validity, it will be clear that the rule of law in the United States is a fiction.
Journalists and politicians complain that we must avoid a Constitutional crisis, but there already is a Constitutional crisis. It has been caused by Obama’s refusal to take the simple step to clear the matter up. The power of the Executive branch has been compromised. Its right to collect taxes and sign Congressional enactments into law, in fact all of its powers, have become problematic. Since their validity under Section I is now doubtful, they depend on the illegal exercise of force. Since officers of the American military take their oath on commissioning to the Constitution and not the President, their obedience to the Commander-in-Chief has lapsed and, if they challenge or resist his authority, any courts-martial will also be an illegal exercise of force. The only way out of the present Constitutional crisis is for Obama to do as McCain did when he was confronted by far less pressing doubts about the circumstances of his birth. He must disclose his vault birth certificate. Since the document has been so suspiciously withheld for so long, it should be subjected to rigorous forensic tests. Then whatever is on it should be judicially assessed together with the claims that have been made that Barack Obama was born on foreign soil.
It should be added that “Obama’s top terrorism and intelligence adviser, John O. Brennan, heads a firm that was cited in March for breaching sensitive files in the State Department’s passport office, according to a State Department Inspector General’s report released this past July.
“The security breach, first reported by the Washington Times and later confirmed by State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, involved a contract employee of Brennan’s firm, The Analysis Corp., which has earned millions of dollars providing intelligence-related consulting services to federal agencies and private companies.
“During a State Department briefing on March 21, 2008, McCormack confirmed that the contractor had accessed the passport files of presidential candidates Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and John McCain, and that the inspector general had launched an investigation.
“Sources who tracked the investigation tell Newsmax that the main target of the breach was the Obama passport file, and that the contractor accessed the file in order to ‘cauterize’ the records of potentially embarrassing information.
“ ‘They looked at the McCain and Clinton files as well to create confusion,’ one knowledgeable source told Newsmax. ‘But this was basically an attempt to cauterize the Obama file.’
“At the time of the breach, Brennan was working as an unpaid adviser to the Obama campaign.
" ‘This individual's actions were taken without the knowledge or direction of anyone at The Analysis Corp. and are wholly inconsistent with our professional and ethical standards,’ Brennan’s company said in a statement sent to reporters after the passport breach was made public.
“The passport files include ‘personally identifiable information such as the applicant’s name, gender, social security number, date and place of birth, and passport number,’ according to the inspector general report.
“The files may contain additional information including ‘original copies of the associated documents,’ the report added. Such documents include birth certificates, naturalization certificates, or oaths of allegiance for U.S.-born persons who adopted the citizenship of a foreign country as minors.”
“The State Department Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a 104-page report on the breach last July. Although it is stamped ‘Sensitive but Unclassified,’ the report was heavily redacted in the version released to the public, with page after page blacked out entirely.”
http://www.newsmax.com/timmerman/brennan_passport_breach/2009/01/12/170430.html
The following may be relevant:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/apr/19/key-witness-in-passport-fraud-case-fatally-shot/
Key witness in passport fraud case fatally shot
Saturday, April 19, 2008
"A key witness in a federal probe into passport information stolen from the State Department was fatally shot in front of a District church, the Metropolitan Police Department said yesterday.
"Lt. Quarles Harris Jr., 24, who had been cooperating with a federal investigators, was found late Thursday night slumped dead inside a car, in front of the Judah House Praise Baptist Church in Northeast, said Cmdr. Michael Anzallo, head of the department's Criminal Investigations Division.
"Cmdr. Anzallo said a police officer was patrolling the neighborhood when gunshots were heard, then Lt. Harris was found dead inside the vehicle, which investigators would describe only as a blue car.
"Emergency medics pronounced him dead at the scene.
"City police said they do not know whether his death was a direct result of his cooperation with federal investigators.
"We don't have any information right now that connects his murder to that case," Cmdr. Anzallo said.
"Police say a "shot spotter" device helped an officer locate Lt. Harris.
"A State Department spokeswoman yesterday declined to comment, saying the investigation into the passport fraud is ongoing.
"The Washington Times reported April 5 that contractors for the State Department had improperly accessed passport information for presidential candidates Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain, which resulted in a series of firings that reached into the agency's top ranks.
"One agency employee, who was not identified in documents filed in U.S. District Court, was implicated in a credit-card fraud scheme after Lt. Harris told federal authorities he obtained "passport information from a co-conspirator who works for the U.S. Department of State." "
There is a possibility that the breaches of the passport files associated with the "credit-card fraud scheme" were a cover for or associated with the breaches of the passport files by the employee of Brennan's Analysis Corp. This certainly at least should be looked into.
On June 7, 2009, a spokeswoman for the Hawaii Department of Health told a rather obvious lie (or engaged in a pretty transparent verbal deception) in another attempt to discourage further investigation into the issue of whether Barack Obama was born on Oahu. "The state Department of Health no longer issues copies of paper birth certificates as was done in the past, said spokeswoman Janice Okubo." [Honolulu Star Bulletin] http://www.starbulletin.com/columnists/kokualine/20090606_kokua_line.html
This statement is false or deliberately very misleading. Here, from a current Hawaii state document, is a description of how to apply for a "Certificate of Live Birth" (the original birth certificate) as opposed to the Certification of Live Birth:
"In order to process your application [to prove native Hawaiian ancestry], DHHL [Department of Hawaiian Homelands] utilizes information that is found only on the original Certificate of Live Birth, which is either black or green. This is a more complete record of your birth than the Certification of Live Birth (a computer-generated printout). Submitting the original Certificate of Live Birth will save you time and money since the computer-generated Certification requires additional verification by DHHL.
"Please note that DOH [Department of Health] no longer offers same day service. If you plan on picking up your certified DOH document(s), you should allow at least 10 working days for DOH to process your request(s), OR four to six weeks if you want your certified certificate(s) mailed to you."
http://hawaii.gov/dhhl/applicants/appforms/applyhhl
Ms. Okubo must have issued her statement to give the false impression that Obama could not gain access to or release the Certificate of Live Birth, and that it is the DOH's policy rather than his own reluctance that is responsible for the holding back of the Certificate. This is an obvious deception.
Only the information on the original birth certificate, the Certificate of Live Birth, can demonstrate to the people of the United States whether there is convincing evidence that he was actually born here or whether a relative or two (or possibly even Barack Obama himself) just made a statement to that effect to a low level bureaucrat.
Wild Thing's comment...... I realize it takes awhile to read this due to the length, but it is most interesting and there are things in it I never knew before. This is really excellent. "The latest AOL online poll of more than 30,000 people, shows 82 percent of respondents saying Barack Obama should release his birth certificate. In fact, in every state in the union – including Obama's claimed birthplace of Hawaii and his more recent home state of Illinois – most people want to see the birth certificate." - source is The Aurburn Journal .
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:47 AM
| Comments (10)
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....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
The Duck Speaks Out
Wild Thing's comment......
LOL this is so funny. hahahahahhaaha
....Thank you Jack for sending this to me.
United States Army
1965-1971
Army Combat Engineers
Quang Tri & Chu Lai '68 -'69
67-69
Jack's blog is Conservative Insurgent
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:45 AM | Comments (4)
Marines at CAMP DWYER, Helmand Province, Afghanistan Build Iwo Jima Memorial
Lance Cpl. William Byrne, left, and Cpl. David Belling, right, field artillery fire controlmen with Regimental Combat Team 3, originally stationed in Okinawa, Japan, built an Iwo Jima memorial at the RCT-3 compound to help motivate and lift the spirits of the Marines and Sailors stationed at Camp Dwyer, Helmand province, Islamic Province of Afghanistan. Photo by Lance Cpl. Daniel Flynn
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U.S. Marine Cpl. David Belling uses a saw aboard forward operating base Dwyer, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, July 21. Belling is a fire direction controlman with Regimental Combat Team - 3, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade. RCT-3 is deployed in support of the NATO-International Security Alliance Forces counterinsurgency and Afghan national security forces mentoring mission in IRoA.
Marines Build Motivation With Recognizable Image
Story by Lance Cpl. Daniel Flynn 07.25.2009
CAMP DWYER, Helmand Province, Afghanistan
What is needed to get through a combat deployment? Some might say the answer is perseverance, determination and motivation.
Two Marines with Regimental Combat Team 3, deployed here from 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment based in Okinawa, Japan, have gone out of their way to help bring a little bit of motivation to their fellow Marines and Sailors.
Cpl. David Belling and Lance Cpl. William Byrne, field artillery fire control men with RCT-3, built a silhouetted Iwo Jima memorial at the RCT-3 compound here.
This particular memorial depicts one of the most recognizable photographs of World War II, taken by
Joe Rosenthal, of five Marines and one Navy corpsman raising the American flag atop Mount Suribachi on the fourth day of the Battle of Iwo Jima.
"I wanted to do what I could to help bring a little bit of motivation and help boost the morale of the Marines," said Belling, who is nine months into his deployment.
They started working on the memorial July 20, and it took about eight hours to complete it.
We worked on the project because we wanted to inspire others by reminding everyone of the history of our Corps, Byrne said.
Throughout the process of building the memorial, Marines and Sailors approached the Marines, shaking their hands and telling them "good job."
"The memorial just signifies what Marines are," said Petty Officer 1st Class Gustavo Ortiz, the religious program specialist with RCT-3. "It is things like this that make it such a privilege to serve with Marines."
In their efforts, Belling and Byrne have left an iconic image of pride and motivation so that those who travel past will remember the sacrifice Marines and Sailors have given.
Wild Thing's comment........
I love it, what a great idea.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:40 AM | Comments (7)
July 26, 2009
Sarah Palin Farewell Address AWESOME!
Sarah Palin Farewell Address (1/2) - 7.26.09
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Sarah Palin Farewell Address (2/2) - 7.26.09
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Some notes and comments from me.
Sarah going after the press: “quit making thing up”... loud applause
Freedom of the press....democracy depends on you. In honor of the American solider how about you quit making things up!
To the Media: “our new Governor has nice kids, too. LEAVE THEN ALONE!”
Going over her record as Governor right now. A lot of accomplishments in a short period of time.
She’s on fire.
pro 2nd Amendment jibe at hollywood.
We eat therefore we hunt!
State rights is a big theme with Palin, and I applaud her for it.
Government can’t make you happy or healthy or wealthy or wise!!!!!!
I love how the military is hanging with her, and how she's returning the love
This woman has the political instincts of a tiger on the hunt. She senses weakness at the National Level in both the Reoublican Party, AND in Washington, as more of the TRUE Obama is getting past the media’s self-censorship.
She is delightful!
Posted by Wild Thing at 08:04 PM | Comments (6)
Rahm Emanuel: Changes To Health System Take Time
The House of Representatives does plan to vote on health legislation before leaving for its August recess, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told NPR.
Emerging from several hours of meetings Thursday with House leaders, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Emanuel told NPR's Steve Inskeep that "their intention is to go next week and she is working toward that goal."
Despite an earlier push by President Obama for Congress to complete its work on the legislation before the break, he and his chief of staff have acknowledged that a final product is more likely to be seen at the end of the year.
Still, setting the deadline for August was important, Emanuel said, because Congress "can use the summer months to basically work out and iron out differences."
Those differences include debates over thorny issues like taxing the wealthy to pay for expanding health coverage, whether to create a government plan that would compete for patients with private insurers, and what kind of role businesses should play, among other things.
"Having a deadline focuses the mind," he said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid acknowledged what had become obvious in recent days — that the full Senate would not vote on health care in August.
"It's better to have a product based on quality and thoughtfulness rather than try to jam something through," Reid said.
But he said the Senate Finance Committee would produce a bill and work on it before the August recess begins.
Still, many members of Congress have raised concerns about leaving incomplete legislation unfinished over the summer to be picked apart.
Emanuel dismissed the idea that this would bring down the bills, noting that 14,000 people a day lose their health insurance.
"The public wants health care reform that fundamentally doesn't put the insurance companies in control of the process, which is where they fundamentally are," he said.
Emanuel shrugged off comments from Sen. Jim DeMint, a Republican from South Carolina, who said Wednesday that health care is Obama's "Waterloo." He also dismissed remarks Thursday by Sen. James Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma, that Republicans are plotting the bill's demise on a "week by week" basis.
But tensions are also evident within the Democratic caucus as the Senate Finance Committee struggles to put together its version of the bill.
The administration's efforts to get and keep big health care interest groups on board has been worrying some Democrats in recent days. Hospitals, physicians, insurance companies and prescription drug industry groups have all pledged varying degrees of support for an overhaul.
Emanuel said it was important to keep the advocates who have been opposed to reform in the past on board, but "not at all costs. That has been a key part of this."
Fiscally conservative Democrats have also raised concerns about cost, but Emanuel urged the country to take a step back and think about the scale of what Congress is trying to accomplish.
"For 40 years, we've had a debate about health care that was solely about expanding coverage. For the first time, you have the dual goals of controlling costs and expanding coverage," he said.
"We're not just running it up on the credit card, which is how they did the prescription drug bill," he said, referring to the passage of a bill in 2003 under a Republican-controlled Congress that added a prescription drug benefit to Medicare.
"They charged it, which is a $900 billion charge," he said. "And nobody paid for it."
Emanuel sees giving more power to a commission already in place to advise Congress on how to hold down Medicare spending as key to keeping costs under control.
At the end of the day, Emanuel expects a bill-signing ceremony.
"We will have a bill by the end of the year for the president to sign on health care that controls costs, expands coverage and provides choice," Emanuel said.
But he declined to predict how, exactly, the president and Congress would get there.
"I don't want to fast forward the movie; you're just going to have to watch the movie all the way through," he said.
Wild Thing's comment.......
"I don't want to fast forward the movie; you're just going to have to watch the movie all the way through," he said.
OMG he thinks this is a movie? The movie that Rham spoke about is not ‘Debbie Does Dallas’ but ‘Obama Does America’.
I’m getting REALLY sick of these people in the White House.
Obama, Pelosi, Rahm Emmanuel and David Axelrod are running the country---into the ground. Add to that WH Chief of Staff's (Rahm's) brother who is also running the health care show in the WH.
"We're not just running it up on the credit card, which is how they did the prescription drug bill," he said, referring to the passage of a bill in 2003 under a Republican-controlled Congress that added a prescription drug benefit to Medicare.
Little known fact. It was Emmanuel who was the driving force behind the "buy drugs from Canada" movement which would have bankrupted our drug companies.
Which was the reason Pres. Bush signed the bill...to keep our medical co's profitable.
Emmanuel has been in a huge snit since then. One reason for his frenzy to see this bill passed...He sees it as payback vs. Pres. Bush.
On FOX news Bret Baier said Rahm Emmanuel says House will vote on Health Care before the August recess but Senate will not. When Brett announced that the House will be voting, he said something I didn’t quite understand....that by having the House vote, they will be bypassing Bluedog committee...and going straight to a vote? Anyone understand? It sounds Bad. It probably means that they do not care about any Blue Dog concerns. Rahm has probaly put a folder in front of each of them detailing how they will each be ruined unless they vote for this bill.
Rahm has been metting with the Blue Dogs like mad.
"The White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, led a hastily called three-hour negotiating session at the Capitol with conservative Blue Dog Democrats, the group of fiscal hawks who have stalled action on the health care bill in the House."
And some White House aides were optimistic that the negotiations between Mr. Emanuel and the Blue Dogs in the House would result in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s scheduling a floor vote for next week. Emerging Thursday afternoon from the session with Mr. Emanuel, Representative Mike Ross, Democrat of Arkansas and a leader of the Blue Dogs, said many issues remained unresolved and that talks would continue. The Blue Dogs have expressed concerns about the cost and scope of the health legislation. But even if those differences are settled, the lack of a Senate vote before the recess hinders Ms. Pelosi’s ability to bring a health plan to the House floor.
Many House Democrats are wary of casting a potentially career-defining vote to raise taxes to pay for expanded health coverage unless Democratic senators are also on board for a tax increase.
It’s time to melt the phone lines.
Time to start calling Congressmen, they vote on this horrendous bill Next week and we have to let them know we don't want it.
I am gonig to remind as many as I can to votee NO and we do not want this thing and that they can be replaced next year.
Here is the Blue Dog Coalition website
Here's a website for quick reference to your reps...it gives contact phone numbers, fax numbers, email addresses and the rep's homepage...just click on your state and have at em'!...
Capital Switchboard #800-965-4701, 800-828-0498, 202-224-3121.
The White House at 202-456-1414.
Pelosi: 202-225-011
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (12)
Sarah Palin Picnic in Wasilla, Alaska (Speech~Video)
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Gov. Sarah Palin kicked off the first of three picnics marking her departure from office with a hometown tribute to the troops and an elbow at the news media.
Speaking before a friendly crowd at a park here Friday night, two days before she resigns, Palin invoked her soldier son to assure supporters that she is not downcast over the political frustrations that are prompting her to quit before her term is up.
She told the hundreds gathered in a military “Honor Garden” that she wanted to “do something… more worthy than speaking politics” before sharing a story about a reporter who had asked her about how she handles difficult days.
“I said, ‘Oh no,’ it is not a down day – my son called this week from Iraq,” Palin recalled, referring to her son, Track, an Army enlistee. “He is safe, he is sound. It is always a good day when my son calls.”
Interrupting the applause, Palin said: “I wish that some in the media would keep things like that in perspective, what is really important in our country. And what is important is our freedoms, America’s security, our liberty.”
Later, citing military families that have lost loved ones, she again drew loud applause by saying: “Let us continue to love our country, be proud of our country, never apologize for our country.”
She concluded her remarks by noting that it was the last time she’d appear in her hometown as governor, thanking the city that first elected her as mayor.
After she was done, one man yelled out, “We want you as our commander-in-chief,” prompting more cheers from the crowd and a military-style salute from Palin.
But that was the only hint she gave as to her future plans.
Sarah and crowd praying during invocation
Gov. Sarah Palin has made her last official appearance in her hometown as the leader of Alaska. The Governor's Picnic in Wasilla attracted thousands of people from as far away as Texas, New York and Florida.
They prepared enough hot dogs, watermelon and root beer floats for 5,000 picnickers. Some came for the free food and music, but the main attraction was someone who has grown up and made her home right in their own backyard.
It was the first taste of Palin's three-course picnic weekend. And even in her hometown, neighbors who've grown up around Palin seemed a little star struck. "She served me a hotdog and she signed napkins for myself and this gentleman up here that I've been chatting with," said Wasilla resident Cindy Harvey.
And for those visiting from Outside, it was a meal they'll never forget. "There's five of us here from Louisiana," said Diana Hobson. "We love Sarah Palin -- I've been looking for Sarah Palin T-shirts all over Wasilla."
"I just told her that everybody, when we left and said we're coming to Alaska, they said, ‘Tell Sarah we love her,' so she signed my book," said Anna Bayless of Austin, Texas.
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Rush praised Governor Palin tonight on Fox News Channel's “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren”. Here's the video: Just one note. Rush states he never talked to her, he meant he has not talked to her about no longer being a Gov. because Rush interviewed her on his show last year during the campaign and she called in and spoke with him.
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Major General Craig Campbell: Sarah Palin “Awesome” Commander-in-Chief of Alaska National Guard
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Wild Thing's comment.......
It is pathetic that her simple words of love and respect for our country and the troops are so hard to find from our “representatives” these days!
Compare to Obama who flies all over the world apologizing for the USA (idiot), but then when he runs his mouth without the facts can only "recalibrate his words" (weasel).
Today Sarah heads to Fairbanks where she'll hand over power to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell
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....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Comments (15)
Obama's Socialized Medicine The Tool To Destroy America
How Obama socialized medicine bill effects senior citizens
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Wild Thing's comment.......
Something to think about as well, Obama said he wants to make health care more efficient and stop paying for things that don't make you healthier. OK let's look at that and what it means.
What about cancer patients or those with a brain tumor that have loss of hair due to chemo therapy. Their wigs do not make them healthier according to Obama's way of thinking. Insurance companies now pay for this kind of thing because all heck would break loose if they didn't. But if the government was running the health care they would not be so likely to pay for this especially after we have already heard Obama say to the woman whose mother had heart surgery at 100 years old and is still alive today at 105, he told her she could just have been given a pain pill. THAT is the kind of thinking Obama has and his health care would reflect that same attitude about wigs and any reconstructive surgery necessary for cancer patients.
There are many things people are treated for that don't necessarily make them physically healthier but are necessary. Things like maintenance drugs that a person takes for high blood pressure to maintain their health. They don't make a person healthier the condition still exists but the drug given to the patient helps to maintain them and helps them live longer. Nicholas has taken a blood pressure pill every day since before I even met him. So I was thinking about that. One of the models I used to know would get a shot in her nose ( YIKES) for the very painful hay fever sinus infections she would get. Did that shot make her healthier I think so, but under Obama's health plan would she just be told to hang in their till the hay fever season was over. Socialized medicine is a cold blooded thing and it goes from bad to worse once it gets started.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM | Comments (4)
Teen Medic Thrives on Aiding Others
Army Spc. Amanda Cleveland, a medic for the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade, describes the importance of pressure in stopping blood loss during first-aid training at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq. Cleveland has trained nearly 1,000 soldiers in Task Force Keystone leading up to and during a nine-month deployment to Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. James Waltz
Army Spc. Amanda Cleveland, a medic for the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade, shows Army Sgt. Seth Cantler how to hold the needle while he “sticks” Army Spc. Christopher Leonard during combat lifesaver training at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. James Waltz
Teen Medic Thrives on Aiding Others
Army Sgt. James Waltz serves in the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade public affairs office
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq
July 24, 2009
Army Spc. Amanda Cleveland is a self-described simple girl who is "not into drama." But it’s tough for an Army medic to avoid dramatic situations, especially during a deployment to Iraq.
Cleveland’s comrades say it is her ability to consistently help people -- not the drama -- that drives the Williamsport, Pa., native to excel at her job.
Cleveland graduated from high school in 2007 at 17 and immediately took on basic combat training and combat medical school.
"I really wanted to go into the medical field and wasn't sure how I was going to do it," she said. "A recruiter was able to get me into the health care field and give me a $20,000 bonus on top of it."
Cleveland was 18 when her six months of rigorous medical training began. She admits being a bit nervous.
"It was the longest time I had ever been away from my family," she said. "I don't know if I could have graduated if it had not been for a few older friends I had made who shared their previous experiences with me."
While at training, she learned the ins-and-outs of emergency medicine and basic medical skills. She recalled one exercise, which she called "blood lanes."
"We went through these blood lanes where we had to treat mock casualties in a stressful environment," she explained. "It was fast-paced training, and we had to deal with them screaming, among other things."
Cleveland went through similar training at the regional medical training site at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa., in preparation for her nine-month deployment here, where she is serving with Task Force Keystone.
Leading up to the three-month, pre-deployment mobilization, she was one of several medics tasked with training 28th Combat Aviation Brigade soldiers in basic combat medical skills. The training allows each soldier to act as a bridge between an emergency and the arrival of a medic -- often the most critical time in ensuring a patient's survival.
Her supervisor, Army Sgt. 1st Class Collin Bowser of Indiana, Pa., said Cleveland is extremely proficient at medical training.
"She has done an excellent job teaching several hundred soldiers the basics of first aid," he said. "And these are mostly soldiers who are novices at this stuff and have minimal medical experience."
Cleveland is humble about her teaching ability, but is quick to acknowledge the importance of it. "I really enjoy teaching, but it's not always easy keeping a student's attention because I'm not a dominating person," she said. "I just keep reminding myself that what I am teaching these soldiers will not only affect them, but also the people they may have to save. I may be helping my students save a life."
Cleveland is the primary instructor of the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade’s first aid refresher course here, which is taught monthly to a rotation of soldiers. When she is not training, she is receiving clinical experience in her unit's medical clinic. She takes vital signs, screens patients, performs asthma treatments and stitches sutures.
During her 12-hour shifts, she uses downtime to write home. Many soldiers here use e-mail, but Cleveland prefers to put pen to paper.
"I like to physically write letters for two reasons. First, some of my family members are technologically impaired," she joked. "But really it just feels more personal. It feels good to have that letter in your hand, knowing there was more time and energy put into it."
Wild Thing's comment........
What a great story about an amzing Army Spc. Amanda Cleveland.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:48 AM | Comments (10)
Australian Army and USMC - Talisman Sabre
The Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR) in Townsville, the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Darwin and B Squadron of 3/4 Cavalry Regiment along with combat engineers from the 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment in Townsville join our USMC in Afghanistan.
They also will be providing security for Afghan elections next month.
MAJGEN Kelly also said that the expression of the democratic will of the people was a reminder to the Taliban insurgents that there was no place for oppression and intimidation in Afghanistan.
Wild Thing's comment.......
God bless these awesome troops and prayers for their safety.
....Thank you Lynette in Australia
for sharing this.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:47 AM | Comments (7)
Business Groups Blast Healthcare Reform
Business groups blast healthcare reform
A coalition of business groups released a letter today panning the healthcare reform legislation pending in Congress.
The letter, addressed to members of Congress, was signed by seemingly hundreds of business groups across the country, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. (The letter is one page; the list of signatories is 35 pages long.)
"Collectively, we are dedicated to improving our nation's health care system, especially in terms of lowering health care costs, improving the quality of care, and making sure every American has access to affordable coverage," the letter says. "However, we believe that the legislation currently being considered would not improve the system, but jeopardize the parts of the system that currently work."
Specifically, the business groups cited the employer mandate as a cause for concern.
"This 'pay or play' mandate is especially bad because employers are also required to pay the majority of employee premiums," the letter reads. "Even with some exemptions, this provision will kill many jobs."
HERE IS THEIR LETTER AND THE LIST BY STATE of the companies.
Interesting Michigan has a huge list. My State Florida not so many, but my guess is it may not have been advertised enough to let business's know about this sign up list and letter.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:40 AM
| Comments (6)
Obamas Headed for Vineyard Vacation It's hard to pick the perfect escape when you're the leader of the free world. But word has it that the Obamas have found the hideaway they need: A 28-acre, $20-million property on Martha's Vineyard Island, off the coast of Massachusetts, called Blue Heron Farm. The 10,000-square-foot retreat has everything a president wanting some downtime needs, including a swimming pool, basketball court, and golf tee. And it is even dog-friendly. The Obama family will pay its own way for a one-week getaway at the end of August, and it's not cheap: Rents reportedly run from $35-$50,000 a week for similar homes. (Not surprisingly, the town of Chilmark, where they're headed, was voted the most expensive small town in America a couple years back. And that was before the First Family said they'd be coming.) While it may seem elitist in mid-recession to turn up at an exclusive resort, consider this: The Secret Service rejected some 20 other vacation spots before Blue Heron Farm got the seal of approval. As the AP notes, the Obamas' visit is not as bad as you think—it actually adds to the rich history of the place: In the old days, black families vacationed on the island because they were unwelcome elsewhere. Now prominent African Americans who choose to spend their summers there include director Spike Lee, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (yes, that Henry Louis Gates), and Obama's Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett. The cost of taking a week's vacation when you are the president is undoubtedly high. But the value of family time, we're sure, is priceless. Wild Thing's comment....... LOL guess he wants to hang out with some of his campaign contributors. CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION SEARCH for Chilmark, MA (02535) That is right next to Chappaquiddick Island. Dress-Me-Up Michelle Obama heh heh There is NO WAY he is spending almost 10% of his annual earnings almost on a WEEK'S VACATION!! Someone else is paying or he is paying a tiny portion. IF he is spending 8-10% of his Annual Income on a Week's Vacation, then he is even more STUPID than I thought! Either way, he's a LOSER.
Posted by Wild Thing at 12:14 PM
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Google, Yahoo Censor Obama Citizenship Searches According to the Constitution only someone who is a natural born citizen of the United States is eligible to be president of the United States of America. All that Obama would have to do to end all of the speculation regarding his birth would be to release his original certificate and put the so-called birthers to shame but he hasn’t and he won’t. Truth means something, right means something, the rule of law means something and the Constitution means something. If any of the just mentioned are meaningless concepts then there is no social order, no civilization, no United States of America. Obama birth certificate matters because this is a nation of laws and as long as he remain president without valid proof that he is complying with the laws of this nation he make this a lawless nation. Obama birth certificate matters because holding the office of the presidency hostage while there is this legitimate question concerning his constitutional eligibility, again, makes America an illegitimate power. The very Constitution is at stake. The very Country is at stake. What that means is the freedom that you and I have come to expect and enjoy is at stake. To date Obama has spent over one million dollars to conceal his birth certificate and other records that would verify whether or not he is constitutionally qualified to hold the office of President of the United States of America. He has used government resources to protect the fact that he may be ineligible to be president and he is using the blindness of his supporters to shield himself from truth and reality.
Wild Thing's comment.......... I just did a Google search for “Obama birth certificate” and the top results are sites like factcheck, snopes, lataimes stories that claim the story is debunked etc. Interesting. Of course whatever they did to take it further away from the first pages of search will not last forever, I don't think so anyway. As people use the search engines it will slowly bring it back to the top. LOL But it is a lot of work on the part of Google etc. to make such a fuss to hide the main source that has been investigating this topic. Sometimes the left has too much time on their hands . This is so silly and so childish, but then followers of the communist in the White House would do what they can to keep the truth from getting out there.
Posted by Wild Thing at 11:55 AM
| Comments (9)
As She Steps Down, Palin Vows to Reclaim Ethics Fight ANCHORAGE Sarah Palin, who rose from obscurity to become Alaska's governor three years ago, began her career as a combative whistleblower crusading against state political corruption. She accused GOP leaders of violating ethics laws, then publicized details of the confidential investigations. Now, as Palin prepares to step down Sunday, 18 months before the end of her term, she vows to resurrect her early crusader image on a national stage..... ~snipet ~
Wild Thing's comment......
July 25, 2009
It's Good To Be The King (?)
Hide and Go Seek
Excerpt from "The Savage Nation" on July 24th, 2009.Dr. Michael Savage interviewed Joseph Farah of WorldNetDaily on the July 24th broadcast of "The Savage Nation". It appears that search engines, including Google, Yahoo and Bing are collaborating with the Obama administration to censor posts about the Obama Birth Certificate/Citizenship issue.
Farah tells Michael Savage that within a period of 24 hours, all of WorldNetDaily's stories about the Birth Certificate/Citizenship issue had been buried deep in the search results of all three search engines.
I don't listen to Michael Savage but I saw this story and thought you might be interested in it too. It is one of those wow that is odd things kind of stories.
Sarah Palin Says Goodbye at Picnic
"I'm not leaving the governorship because of any particular ethics complaint. Rather, I have explained that the millions of dollars spent by the state and the diversion of resources to address politically inspired records requests, personnel board costs and wasting staff time is unnecessary and harmful to the state," Palin said in written comments to The Washington Post. "I will take the battle nationally and I won't shy away from challenging the powerful, the entrenched, the corrupt and anyone standing in the way of getting our country back on the right track."
"I will not worry about some 'political image,' " she said. "The people will judge me on my substance and my message, not my 'image.' "
Friday July 24th, .......More than a thousand people showed up Friday for Gov. Sarah Palin's annual picnic held in her hometown of Wasilla. Palin, who is resigning and leaves office on Sunday, used the occasion to sign autographs and hand out hot dogs.
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"Palin's Wild Ride: Early popularity an advantage with Legislature"
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Wild Thing's comment......
The article is mostly about her campaign with McCain and other things from the past but her quotes are what stand out so I wanted to share them with you.
giggle, the fact that she gave this statement to the Washington Post was to make sure it got wide distribution to all the liberals out there. WaPo articles are picked up by lots of smaller newspapers. It’ll go all over. She knows it.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 AM | Comments (10)
Obama Sends $200 Million to Aid Palestinians As He Bankrupts USA
US transfers $200 million in aid to Palestinians
RAMALLAH, West Bank
The United States has transferred $200 million to the Palestinian government to help ease a growing budget deficit, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday.
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has been struggling in recent months to keep his government afloat, borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars from commercial banks just to cover the public payroll.
The reasons for the shortfall include Israel's restrictions on the Palestinian economy, the border blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and the failure of some donor countries to make good on their aid pledges, Fayyad said Friday, in a video conference with Clinton.
With Friday's aid transfer, donor countries have given the Palestinian government $606 million in budget support this year, covering only about one-third of the estimated deficit of $1.45 billion for 2009, Fayyad said.
"We have received aid, but not enough to deal with our needs, and we faced sharp economic difficulties throughout the last months," Fayyad told reporters.
Senior Member of Palestinian Ruling Party:No Recognition of Israel – EVER !
Traditionally there has been only one difference between Hamas the terrorist group that control's Gaza, and Fatah, the terrorist group that controls Judea and Samaria. Hamas is open about it terrorist goals, Fatah (controlled by Palestinian President Abbas) tries to maintain a public shroud of "moderation."
Fatah may be changing its strategy and allowing honesty to shine through. Since Bibi Netanyahu Made his speech offering to sit down and have talks with the Palestinians with no preconditions, there has been no movement toward talks. You see, the Palestinians refuse to talk unless Israel agrees to give them everything they want before negotiations. That doesn't sound like moderation.
It gets worse. Yesterday a Senior Member of Fatah, the supposedly moderate party run by Palestinian Authority President Abbas, has denied that the party has recognized Israel. He's right,take a look at these items from the Fatah Constitution:
* Article 7 defines Israel— "the Zionist entity"—as "racial, colonial and aggressive in ideology, goals, organisation and method."
* Article 12 calls for the "complete liberation of Palestine, and eradication of Zionist economic, political, military and cultural existence" through violence....
.. Article 22 puts forth Fatah’s opposition to "any political solution offered as an alternative to demolishing the Zionist occupation in Palestine, as well as any project intended to liquidate the Palestinian case or impose any international mandate on its people.
The senior Fatah member Rafik Natsheh, a good friend of President Abbas, also says that the party will NEVER recognize Israel or give up terrorism.
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Wild Thing's comment..........
Everytime Obama demands anything from BiBi, then BiBi should send this back as his reply......"The senior Fatah member Rafik Natsheh, a good friend of President Abbas, also says that the party will NEVER recognize Israel or give up terrorism. "
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (14)
Angelina Jolie In Country With Our Troops Iraq
Angelina Jolie Visiting Troops in Baghdad
Actress and United Nations Good Will Ambassador, Angelina Jolie, spending some time visiting with troops today at the Cross Sabers monument in Baghdad's International Zone. She got a tour of the monument from troops with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team from the 1st Infantry Division. She also posed for pictures with troops from the 301st Chemical Company from the Kentucky National Guard. Jolie has visited Iraq several times to report on refugee camps for the UN High Commissioner for Refugee Camps. She told a military reporter that she is hopeful for the future of Iraq and is always glad to visit with the men and women who serve. Produced by Sgt. Frank Merola
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Posted by Wild Thing at 04:49 AM | Comments (9)
Greatest Movie Line Ever and More True Now Then Ever
Wild Thing's comment........
This is sooo good, it even applies more now then ever before.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:48 AM | Comments (10)
In Country Our Troops in Afghanistan
Some News:
Afghan and US forces repelled coordinated Taliban assaults in two major cities in eastern Afghanistan. Suicide bombers armed with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles attacked government installations and a US base in the cities of Gardez and Jalalabad. Eight Taliban fighters and six Afghan security personnel were reported killed in the failed attacks. In Gardez in Paktia province, six suicide bombers, some wearing the full-length burkas worn by Afghan women, attacked government buildings, including the provincial intelligence office, but were gunned down as they attempted to storm the buildings. ( Bill Riggio)
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Pennsylvania Brothers Provide Support From Above
Majs. William and Richard Bartolomea pose in front of a AH-1W Super Cobra, June 12. This is the first time the brothers have been deployed together. Photo by Lance Cpl. Samuel Nasso
Story by Lance Cpl. Samuel Nasso Marine Air Group 40
Date: 07.23.2009
CAMP BASTION, Afghanistan
Maj. Richard 'Bart' Bartolomea feels at home serving with his brother Bill in a operational environment.
"It's awesome," said Bart. "I brought the board games but haven't had the chance to break them out yet."
The officer-in-charge of the Scan Eagle detachment from Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron-2, Marine Aircraft Group 40, Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, Bart was commissioned a Marine officer after earning a bachelor's degree at Pennsylvania State University in 1994.
Bill, known as "Chakka," is the director of the department of safety standardization for Marine Light/Attack Helicopter Squadron-169. He also earned a degree from Penn State, but he graduated in 1995.
Before it all started, the brothers aspired to be professional athletes, like a lot of kids. However, once high school rolled around, Bart had aircraft posters covering his walls and became interested in aviation.
"When I was in high school, 'Top Gun' came out and I imagined what it would be like to be a pilot," said Bart.
The military already had a prominent role in the Bartolomea family. Their father, Richard Bartolomea, and their uncle, James Craft, joined the Marine Corps in 1967. Even though Craft wasn't related to the family at the time, he was a significant influence in why the boys joined the Marine Corps.
"Uncle Jim went to college with our father and encouraged him to join the Corps with him," said Bart, whose father was an infantry officer in Vietnam. "Twenty-six years later, our father retired as a lieutenant colonel, and here we are now in Afghanistan."
So when the time eventually came, the decision to join wasn't too difficult.
"After growing up in Quantico and observing my dad and his friends when I was younger, it was an easy decision when I actually thought about it," said Bill.
"Bill actually knew what he wanted to do," said Bart. "He didn't join because I did; he was enrolled in the Reserve Officers Training Course at Penn State for a while."
With their father working at Penn State as the director of sports camp and managing the ROTC program, it seemed military service was inevitable.
"After I got my degree I wasn't sure what I wanted to do so I went and talked to my father," said Bart. "I told him I didn't really want to pursue journalism and I wanted to go to law school. He told me that I would have to pay for it so that was out of the question. Then he asked me if I ever thought about the Marine Corps."
Both brothers were not only commissioned as Marine Corps officers, they both became pilots.
Bill started flying AH-1W Super Cobras in 1997, and Bart started flying CH-53Ds in the same year. Bart eventually transitioned into flying Cobras 10 years later and transitioned again to fly Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
"Flying UAVs is neat, but after flying a Cobra there's nothing really like it," said Bart. With different billets but the same line of work, it was just a matter of time until they encountered each other in the fleet.
"It is really cool," said Bart. "One day I was watching a few Cobras complete a mission with our UAVs and later that day I asked my brother if he was flying. He said he was and I told him I watched him with our UAVs. Even though I am not flying Cobras at the moment, I still get to operate with my UAVs and watch my brother fly his Cobra."
This is Bart's first deployment and Bill's fifth. When it comes down to it, the brothers are here to complete their duties as Marines.
"The reason why I am here is to provide air support for the grounds guys," said Bill. "Whether you're a grunt or with (Combat Logistics Battalion) or whatever, our mission is the same: to provide air support for all of our Marines."
The brothers are happy to be deployed at the same time and their families fully support them.
"Our mother was a Marine Corps wife for a while and she helps my wife and Bart's wife when they need anything," said Bill.
Although they may not be working side by side, the 'Bart Brothers' patrol the Helmand skies, flying topcover for MEB-Afghanistan's soldiers below supporting the local population to be freed from intimidation and aggression of insurgents.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:47 AM
Why We Are In Trouble In America ~ LOL
A Washington, DC, airport ticket agent offers some examples of why our country is in trouble!
1. I had a New Hampshire Congresswoman ask for an aisle seat so that her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window. (On an airplane!)
2. I got a call from a candidate's staffer, who wanted to go to Capetown. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information, then she interrupted me with, "I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in Massachusetts." Without trying to make her look stupid, I calmly explained, "Cape Cod is in Massachusetts, Capetown is in Africa."Her response - click.
3. A senior Vermont Congressman called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that's not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, "Don't lie to me, I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state!" (OMG)
4. I got a call from a lawmaker's wife who asked, "Is it possible to see England from Canada?" I said, "No." She said, "But they look so close on the map." (OMG, again!)
5. An aide for a cabinet member once called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas. When I pulled up the reservation, I noticed he had only a 1-hour layover in Dallas. When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, "I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we will need a car to drive between gates to save time." (Aghhhh)
6. An Illinois Congresswoman called last week. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at8:30 am and got to Chicago at 8:33 am. I explained that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois, but she couldn't understand the concept of time zones. Finally, I told her the plane went fast, and she bought that.
7. A New York lawmaker called and asked, "Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?" I said, "No, why do you ask?" She replied, "Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said (FAT), and I'm overweight. I think that's very rude!" After putting her on hold for a minute while I looked into it (I was laughing). I came back and explained the city code for Fresno, CA is (FAT - Fresno Air Terminal), and the airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.
8. A Senator's aide called to inquire about a trip package to Hawaii. After going over ! all the cost info, she asked, "Would it be cheaper to fly to California, and then take the train to Hawaii?"
9. I just got off the phone with a freshman Congressman who asked, "How do I know which plane to get on?" I asked him what exactly he meant, to which he replied, "I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these planes have numbers on them."
10. A lady Senator called and said, "I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola, Florida. Do I have to get on one of those little computer planes?" I asked if she meant fly to Pensacola, Fl. on a commuter plane. She said, "Yeah, whatever, smarty!"
11. A senior Senator called and had a question about the documents he needed in order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded him that he needed a visa. Oh, no I don't. I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those." I double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I told him this he said, "Look, I've been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express!"
12. A New Mexico Congresswoman called to make reservations, "I want to go from Chicago to Rhino, New York." I was at a loss for words. Finally, I said, "Are you sure that's the name of the town?" "Yes, what flights do you have?" replied the lady. After some searching, I came back with, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I've looked up every airport code in the country and can't find a Rhino anywhere." The lady retorted, "Oh, don't be silly! Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!" So I scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, "You don't mean Buffalo, do you?" The reply? Whatever! I knew it was a big animal."
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Wild Thing's comment.......
Snopes said this is not true, but it is so funny it is worth a good laugh and the thing is it is sooooo close to what could be true from our politicians. LOL
I loved this...hilarious!
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:40 AM | Comments (4)
July 24, 2009
Obama If You Can't Apologize For Yourself! Don't Apologize For the USA!
Obama Seeks to Clarify 'Stupidly' Comment, Praises White Policeman
Obama stopped short of an apology to Sgt. James Crowley for saying he "acted stupidly" for arresting black Harvard scholar Henry Lewis Gates Jr., but said he should have chosen his words more carefully.
Obama stopped short of an apology to Sgt. James Crowley on Friday for saying he "acted stupidly" for arresting black Harvard scholar Henry Lewis Gates Jr., but said he should have chosen his words more carefully.
At an impromptu appearance at the daily White House briefing, Obama said he spoke with Crowley over the phone, and said he wanted to share a beer with Crowley and Gates at the White House.
"Because this has been ratcheting up and I helped contribute to ratcheting it up, I want to make clear that in my choice of words I unfortunately gave an impression that I was maligning the Cambridge Police Department or Sgt. Crowley specifically and I could have calibrated those words differently."
"My sense is you've got two good people in a circumstance in which neither of them were able to resolve it the way the wanted to resolve it," Obama added.
Earlier in the day Friday, the Cambridge and area police unions voiced their support for Crowley and called for an apology from Obama for his statement.
"His remarks were obviously misdirected but made it worse yet by suggesting somehow this case should remind us of a history of racial abuse by law enforcement," Dennis O'Connor, president of the Cambridge Police Superior Officers Association, said at a news conference.
O'Connor also referred to statements made by Governor Deval Patrick -- the state's first black governor -- who called the arrest "every black man's nightmare."
"Whatever may be the history, we deeply resent the implications and reject any suggestion that in this case or any other case that they've allowed a person's race to direct their activities. However we hope they will reflect upon their past comments and apologize to the men and women of the Cambridge Police Department," O'Connor said.
Obama has said he was surprised by the controversy sparked by his comments. White House spokesman Roberts Gibbs said early Friday that the president regrets that the media have gotten all worked up over the controversy and been distracted from other more substantive issues such as health care.
Obama's remarks sparked outrage among many police officers who say the criticism could make it harder for police to work with people of color and set back the progress of race relations that helped Obama become the nation's first black president.
Gates was arrested July 16 by Crowley, who was first to respond to the home the renowned black scholar rents from Harvard, after a woman reported seeing two black men trying to force open the front door. Gates said he had to shove the door open because it was jammed.
He was charged with disorderly conduct after police said he yelled at the white officer, accused him of racial bias and refused to calm down after Crowley demanded Gates show him identification to prove he lived in the home. The charge was dropped Tuesday, but Gates has demanded an apology, calling his arrest a case of racial profiling.
Obama was asked about Gates' arrest at the end of a nationally televised news conference on health care Wednesday night and began his response by saying Gates was a friend and he didn't have all the facts.
"But I think it's fair to say, No. 1, any of us would be pretty angry," Obama said. "No. 2, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. And No. 3 -- what I think we know separate and apart from this incident -- is that there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately, and that's just a fact."
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'Scofflaw' Obama has history with 'stupid' Cambridge police
Condemns action of officer at department that ticketed prez 17 times while a student
Obama, who targeted the Cambridge, Mass., police department with his comment that one of its officers acted "stupidly" in the arrest of a black man, has a history with the department dating from his college years to as recently as the launch of his presidential campaign.
Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested July 16 by Cambridge police Sgt. James Crowley, who responded when a woman called police to say two black men were trying to force open the door of the home.
Gates, who contends he was racially profiled, said the door of his own rented home was jammed, and he and his driver were trying to force it open. Obama responded to a question about the case at a nationally televised news conference Wednesday.
"But I think it's fair to say, No. 1, any of us would be pretty angry," Obama said. "No. 2, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. And No. 3 – what I think we know separate and apart from this incident – is that there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately, and that's just a fact."
According to the Somerville Times in 2007, as a Harvard Law School student, Obama got 17 parking tickets during 1989-1991 from the Cambridge Police Department that he left unpaid until just weeks before he announced his bid for the presidency.
"In other words, as a practicing lawyer in Chicago, he allowed these tickets and penalties to remain unpaid; as an Illinois state senator he allowed these tickets and fines to remain unpaid; and as a United States senator he allowed these almost-two-decade-old signs of his disdain for the law to remain unpaid," commented John LeBoutillier on Newsmax.com.
The Washington Post said two years ago that the tickets included parking without a proper permit and parking in a bus stop.
The Associated Press reported in 2007 that Obama's "healthy stack" of parking tickets was finally paid, including late fees, "two weeks before he officially launched his presidential campaign."
Said Jen Psaki, spokeswoman for Obama's campaign during his race to the White House, "He didn't owe that much and what he did owe, he paid. … Many people have parking tickets and late fees."
The White House press office did not respond to a request for a comment.
Wild Thing's comment......
Right off the top I have to say....he goes all around the world apologizing for the USA andn then when he screws up himself in a BIG way he cannot apologize. POS that he is.
Hussein's proven himself...irrefutably...to be a race pimp. I did not hear an apology.
He stepped in it big time. Cops were already complaining he blew off the annual memorial to fallen officers earlier this year.
The backlash over his overt racism has stung Obama enough that he feels compelled to tell a few more lies.
Obama is full of it. He is the racist president and nothing he says now or ever will take that away. He keeps it going. This country was so much better off without him , I wish we could go back to not ever hearing about him.
Undoubtedly the STUPIDEST president EVER !
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:14 PM | Comments (15)
TREASON from Obama He Says " "Victory" Not Necessarily The "Goal" In Afghanistan"
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Obama: "Victory" Not Necessarily The "Goal" In Afghanistan
Video statement by the Traitor!
PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW ~ Thank you.
Obama: "Victory" Not Necessarily The "Goal" In Afghanistan
Obama has put securing Afghanistan near the top of his foreign policy agenda, but "victory" in the war-torn country isn't necessarily the United States' goal, he said Thursday in a TV interview.
"I'm always worried about using the word 'victory,' because, you know, it invokes this notion of Emperor Hirohito coming down and signing a surrender to MacArthur," Obama told ABC News.
"I'm always worried about using the word 'victory,' because, you know, it invokes this notion of Emperor Hirohito coming down and signing a surrender to MacArthur," Obama told ABC News.
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Wild Thing's comment.......
Obama is a fool. If we're not fighting to win, what the HELL are we doing there anyway? He has our troops in danger and he is telling them he does not want victory? This guy is nuts!
He wants to give aid and comfort to the enemy while simultaneously crushing the spirit of our own troops! Just tell them you're not playing to win, that you're asking them to sacrifice basically for nothing. OMG
This is treason! I can’t believe it ..... what a Bastard!
More troops died in Afghanistan this month than in any previous month, and the Obama tells those parents/spouses/children that “winning” isn’t a goal?
There is no other way to state it. This bastard needs to be thrown out of office now!
This makes me ill. He has changed the ROE too , makes it much more dangerous for our troops. We are basically protecting their dope now and can’t bomb their building and we have to read them miranda right to boot . Sickening!
Marines were sent in without a lot of supplies they needed .Now sending more Army in as well as I posted about a couple of days ago.
The hell that Iraq was for our troops especially when they worked to get to Baghdad, Iraq was paradise compared to Afghanistan under this new management.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (13)
Congressman Ted Poe, Roland Martin on Lou Dobbs Discuss Obama
Dobbs tells Roland Martin to pipe down as Rolland gets riled up.
Hawaiian newspapers don't prove birthplace
Announcements published in 1961 not solid evidence of U.S. location
Article HERE
Baro was hired by WND to investigate issues related to Obama's birth in Hawaii and he documents an interview his staff conducted with Beatrice Arakaki, who has lived at 6075 Kalanianaole Highway in Honolulu since before Obama was born.
The announcement in the "Births, Marriages, Death" section read: "Mr. and Mrs. Barack H. Obama, 6085 Kalanianaole Hwy., son, Aug. 4."
Arakaki told Baro's investigators she had no recollection of Obama being born or of the family living next door having a black child born to a white mother.
Baro sent a team of investigators to Honolulu to explore records regarding current residents of Kalanianaole Highway and to track down residents back to 1961.
Baro's investigators were unable to locate any current or past resident of Kalanianaole Highway who could recall Obama or his family living at the address listed in the Sunday Advertiser announcement.
Baro also sent investigators to the newspaper offices to examine files, but the Advertiser could not confirm who actually placed the ad.
According to Baro's affidavit, Beatrice Arakaki affirmed she was a neighbor of the address listed. She has lived at her current residence of 6075 Kalanianaole Highway from before 1961 to the present.
Moreover, Arakaki said she believed that when Obama lived with the Dunhams, his grandparents, the family address was in Waikiki, not on Kalanianaole Highway.
Baro was able to determine the previous owners of the residence at 6085 Kalanianaole Highway – the alleged address of Obama's parents when he was born – were Orland S. and Thelma S. (Young) Lefforge, both of whom are deceased.
It still remains unclear at which Hawaiian hospital – if any – Obama was born in, since two different facilities, the Queen's Medical Center along with the Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children, have both been cited as the exact facility.
Wild Thing's comment........
Good for you Lou Dobbs.
Is it not amazing, how shrill the left gets when the question gets asked.
If they knew with absolute certainty that Obama really was born in Hawaii, then there should be nothing to fear about a request for his birth certificate, right? Obama produces the certificate, he and the lefties are all vindicated, we look like petty rabble-rousers, it's a win-win for them. Yet none of them is saying anything like, "Bring it on, Obama, show the certificate.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (12)
Racist Obama Totally Disgraceful and He Should Apologize to Police Officer!
At a press conference, Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert Haas issues a statement saying that when Sgt. James Crowley arrested Professor Henry Louis Gates in his own home, he "acted in a way that is consistent with his training... I do not believe his actions in any way were racially motivated." Haas adds that he does not consider Crowley "a rogue cop," as Gates dubbed him.
When asked to respond to President Obama's criticism of the arrest the night before during a primetime news conference, Haas said: "This department is deeply pained" and "taking this seriously."
Police union condemns Obama's comments
President Obama's Wednesday night criticism of Cambridge, Mass., police has drawn a rebuke from the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP).
The criticism comes after Obama said Cambridge police officers acted "stupidly" when they arrested Henry Louis Gates, a friend of the president's, after he broke into his own home. Gates was arrested on disorderly conduct charges, which were then dropped. The president said it highlights ongoing problems with race relations in the U.S.
Jim Pasco, executive director of the FOP's legislative office, noted that before Obama made the remarks, the president acknowledged that he was only vaguely familiar with what happened.
"That being the case, it's unfortunate that he chose to say anything," Pasco said. "He wasn't there, and he doesn't know what happened."
Pasco said it appears that Gates was the "provocateur" because he called Officer James Crowley a racist instead of producing identification as requested.
On Thursday, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs sought to walk back the president's comments.
"Let me be clear. He was not calling the officer stupid, OK?" Gibbs told reporters on Air Force One. "He was denoting that ... at a certain point the situation got far out of hand, and I think all sides understand that."
Gates Arresting Officer: Obama 'Way Off Base'
The white police sergeant who arrested black Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. said Thursday President Barack Obama was "way off base" claiming Cambridge officers acted "stupidly" during the incident.
Sgt. James Crowley, who is a police academy expert on racial profiling, responded to Gates' home near Harvard University last week to investigate a report of a burglary and demanded Gates show him identification. Police say Gates at first refused and accused the officer of racism.
Gates was charged with disorderly conduct. The charge was dropped Tuesday, and Gates has since demanded an apology from Crowley.
"I acted appropriately," Crowley told WBZ Radio's Carl Stevens Thursday.
"Mister Gates was given plenty of opportunities to stop what he was doing. He didn't. He acted very irrational he controlled the outcome of that event."
"There was a lot of yelling, there was references to my mother, something you wouldn't expect from anybody that should be grateful that you were there investigating a report of a crime in progress, let alone a Harvard University professor."
According to the police report, Crowley asked Gates to talk outside, to which he responded "Yeah, I'll speak with your mama outside."
Obama was asked about the arrest of Gates, who is his friend, at the end of a nationally televised news conference on health care Wednesday night.
"I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry," Obama said. "Number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. And number three -- what I think we know separate and apart from this incident -- is that there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately, and that's just a fact."
Crowley maintained he had done nothing wrong in arresting Gates.
"I think he's way off base wading into a local issue without knowing all the facts, as he himself stated before he made that comment. I don't know what to say about that. I guess a friend of mine would support my position, too."
Crowley has taught a class on racial profiling for five years at Lowell Police Academy. In the class, he teaches officers about different situations and how officers should handle them.
Gates has said he was "outraged" by the arrest.
He said the white officer walked into his home without his permission and only arrested him as the professor followed him to the porch, repeatedly demanding the sergeant's name and badge number because he was unhappy over his treatment.
"This isn't about me; this is about the vulnerability of black men in America," Gates said.
He said the incident made him realize how vulnerable poor people and minorities are "to capricious forces like a rogue policeman, and this man clearly was a rogue policeman."
So what does Crowley think about Gates' claim that he's a racist?
"It almost doesn't even warrant a comment it's so ridiculous. My friends, my family, my colleagues, those people (whose) opinions mean the most to me, they know who I am. They know what I am and what I am not."
"It's an unfortunate thing that the professor or other people have even mentioned that."
The Cambridge cop prominent Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. claims is a racist gave a dying Reggie Lewis mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in a desperate bid to save the Celtics team stats superstar’s life 16 years ago Monday.
“I wasn’t working on Reggie Lewis the basketball star. I wasn’t working on a black man. I was working on another human being,” Sgt. James Crowley, in an exclusive interview with the Herald, said of the forward’s fatal heart attack July 27, 1993, at age 27 during an off-season practice at Brandeis University, where Crowley was a campus police officer.
Obama Remark on Black Scholar's Arrest Angers Cops Nationwide
BOSTON
Many police officers across the country have a message for President Barack Obama: Get all the facts before criticizing one of our own.
It could even set back the progress in race relations that helped Obama become the nation's first African-American president, they said.
"What we don't need is public safety officials across the country second-guessing themselves," said David Holway, president of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, which represents 15,000 public safety officials around the country. "The president's alienated public safety officers across the country with his comments."
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Wild Thing's comment.......
Police have to die protecting Obama but he doesn’t give a hoot about them. He may have left Rev. Wright's church but he brought it with him to the White House. Because Obama IS a what Wright teaches.
He has nothing inside of him to tell him about being a responsible person when he speaks. He just says whatever he feels like and he thinks it is ok.
“There is a class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs-partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs.” ~~Booker T. Washington (1856-1915.)
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (14)
Two Different CIC's and One Military ~ The Military's Reaction Speaks Volumes
The difference between Love and respect of the President and showing respect to the office
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This is another video that I would love for all of you to see. It is very well done.
TIME: White House Photo Blog of President George W. Bush
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Wild Thing's comment.......
Obama’s first military order :
The first order from America’s new commander is that the Marines must not return enemy fire for fear of killing an Afghan non-combatant.
ABC Correspondent Mike Boettcher, who is embedded with Golf Company, reports that the young Marines, when ambushed by Taliban forces with automatic weapons, were ordered to shoulder their rifles. Their command, Boettcher writes, warned them that “one civilian casualty could negate the No. 1 objective of this operation – - winning the trust and respect of the farmers of the Helmand River Valley.”
GOD help the Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, and Air Men in harms way with Obama as CIC. They have two enemies, their CIC and the terrorists.
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....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:46 AM | Comments (6)
Vietnam Veteran Re-enlists in Iraq
Army Sgt. 1st Class Hershel Mayfield, right, receives his re-enlistment certificate from Army Capt. Irvin Morris at Contingency Operating Site Marez East, Iraq, July 7, 2009. Mayfield has served 39 years in the Army, including 37 with the 158th Maintenance Company of the Alabama Army National Guard. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Martonio Patterson
Vietnam Veteran Re-enlists in Iraq
CONTINGENCY OPERATING SITE MAREZ EAST, Iraq
Army Sgt. 1st Class Hershel L. Mayfield is a Vietnam veteran with 39 years of service. But when he re-enlisted here earlier this month, his mind was on the future and the young people he serves with.
The Tallassee, Ala., native has served 37 years with the 158th Maintenance Company of the Alabama Army National Guard. He recently decided it was time to continue to serve his country for two more years.
"Everything I do today is done with the next generation in mind and how I can influence them to do the same for their nation," Mayfield said.
After serving on active duty in the Army for two years as an infantry soldier, Mayfield joined the Guard and reclassified as a light-wheel vehicle mechanic with a desire to continue serving his country. He said he appreciates the support he’s received throughout his military career from his wife of 30 years and his children.
"It is a way of life, and they've learned to live in it," he said, noting his family has dealt with his absence during three deployments and numerous training events. He was deployed to Vietnam in 1969, Kosovo in 1996, and to Mosul, Iraq, in 2008.
"I joined the military because the base was adjacent to my home, and in order to have freedom, someone has to do the job," he said. "It also provided me with benefits that no other civilian job has."
Wild Thing's comment........
Thank you Sgt. 1st Class Hershel L. Mayfield and your service is appreciated.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Comments (4)
Rush Limbaugh On Greta Van Susteren's "On the record"
Rush on Greta Van Susteren's On the record show.
Greta interviews Rush.
[Part 1-Of-4] Fantastic. They all are good, if you are short on time I would try to see 1,2,4 of the video's.
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[Part 2-Of-4] excellent!
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[Part 3-Of-4]
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[Part 4-Of-4] this one is excellent!
The press has met their Waterloo and it's Obama. They have sacrificed whatever integrity, character, professionalism, ethics that they've had. It's all gone. Their total reason, most of them, for existence is propping this guy up. They're not reporting the details of his plans. They're not reporting his policies. They're looking at it as a horse race. Obama win... Obama lose...
They're running countdown clocks on some of the networks for the press conference last night. Countdown clock: 8 hours 25 minutes 13 seconds to Obama press conference. These people sitting around with their tingles up their legs all day. They marvel at how Obama is so smooth and elegant.
They are not informing anybody about the details of his policies. And yet, 53%, over 50% in most polls now oppose this health care plan. So who's telling the people? Who's telling the people what's in it? Alternative media. Your network, talk radio, the conservative blogger network.
The mainstream media has cashed in its chips. They have become nothing more than stenographers for Rahm Emanuel. And it is breathtaking to see; willingly sacrifice every characteristic that makes quality journalism.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:40 AM | Comments (1)
July 23, 2009
Obama Attacks Police and Doctors In His Press Conference
What he said about the police
Obama: If I Tried to Break Into the White House, I'd Get Shot
NO it is not YOUR house, it is the PEOPLES HOUSE! ~ Wild Thing
QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. Recently, Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., was arrested at his home in Cambridge. What does that incident say to you and what does it say about race relations in America?
OBAMA: Well, I should say at the outset that Skip Gates is a friend, so I may be a little biased here. I don't know all the facts. What's been reported though is that the guy forgot his keys, jimmied his way to get into the house. There was a report called in to the police station that there might be a burglary taking place. So far, so good, right? I mean, if I was trying to jigger into -- well, I guess this is my house now, so...
(LAUGHTER) ... it probably wouldn't happen. But let's say my old house in Chicago. (LAUGHTER)
Here, I'd get shot.
(LAUGHTER)
Now, I don't know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that. But I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home; and, number three, what I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there's a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. That's just a fact.
As you know, Lynn, when I was in the state legislature in Illinois, we worked on a racial profiling bill because there was indisputable evidence that blacks and Hispanics were being stopped disproportionately. And that is a sign, an example of how, you know, race remains a factor in the society.
That doesn't lessen the incredible progress that has been made. I am standing here as testimony to the progress that's been made. And yet the fact of the matter is, is that, you know, this still haunts us.
And even when there are honest misunderstandings, the fact that blacks and Hispanics are picked up more frequently and often time for no cause casts suspicion even when there is good cause.
And that's why I think the more that we're working with local law enforcement to improve policing techniques so that we're eliminating potential bias, the safer everybody is going to be. All right? Thank you, everybody.
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Link: 
On Doctors
Obama: Doctors Taking Tonsils Out For Money Instead Of Diagnosing It As Allergies
AP: In trying to rally support for health care overhaul, Obama described a patient who sees a physician for a sore throat, or a parent who brings in a child with a sore throat.
Right now, doctors a lot of times are forced to make decisions based on the fee payment schedule that's out there. So if they're looking and you come in and you've got a bad sore throat or your child has a bad sore throat or has repeated sore throats, the doctor may look at the reimbursement system and say to himself, "You know what? I make a lot more money if I take this kid's tonsils out."
Wild Thing's comment.....
This guy is such a dsgrace!!!
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (16)
Awesome Sen. Jim DeMint Stands By His Saying "Obama's Waterloo"
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Sen. Jim DeMint calls defeating Obama like Waterloo
"If we're able to stop Obama on [health care reform], it will be his Waterloo. It will break him and we will show that we can, along with the American people, begin to push those freedom solutions that work in every area of our society."
Sen. Jim DeMint: Obama "On A Rampage, We've Got To Stop Him"
"He's been on a rampage to take over various parts of our economy," DeMint said. "We've got to stop him... I'm serious."
RUSH Limbaugh:
Obama is already failing. He is in the process of failing and failing big. He is failing the United States. He is failing our country. He is failing our economy. He, in his mind, is succeeding. This is what people still don't get. What's happened as a result of his policies is exactly what was intended. There is no sane person in the world who would implement policies like this if their objective was economic growth and prosperity. You would only do what they are doing and then double down on it if your intent is to remake it, destroy it, and put it back together in a way that we won't recognize.
Obama is mad that his presidency might be destroyed. We heard this from Charles Grassley who quotes a member of the House, saying that, "Democrats in Congress could destroy my presidency." And that's what makes him mad. See, he doesn't care if he destroys private insurance companies. He doesn't care if he destroys the automobile industry. He doesn't care if he destroys elements of the private sector. He doesn't care if millions of jobs are destroyed, but, boy, let's start talking about his presidency being destroyed, and now we got some anger and now we got some motivation. And the motivation Rahm Emanuel and the Democrats and Obama are in today is saving his presidency. It's not about giving you health care. It's not about doing anything for you. What have they done for you?
Wild Thing's comment........
I do so love it when Obama is upset. He has been upsetting us, during the campaign, and ever since he was sworn in.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (9)
Listen Up Obama ~ 2 Out of 3 Americans Oppose Your Cap and Trade
2 out of 3 Americans oppose carbon taxes
Survey shows huge majority resists opening wallets for Cap-and-Trade
Almost half of the Americans who responded to a new poll say they have concerns about the impact of carbon dioxide on the climate, but two out of three say they have no interest whatsoever in opening their wallets to pay for any mitigation.
Asked whether they "believe that man-produced carbon dioxide and other so-called greenhouse gases will induce catastrophic climate change" if unaddressed, 49.6 percent of the respondents said yes. Twenty-seven percent said no, and 23.4 percent were uncertain. The concern from Democrats and Republicans was reversed with Democrats saying 10-1 yes and Republicans saying 2-1 no.
However, when asked if they were willing to "pay significantly higher energy bills in the hope of heading off what some scientists believe to be impending climate change," 63.6 percent said no. That included Democrats by a margin of almost 3-1 and members of the GOP by 12-1.
The WND/Wenzel survey was conducted July 12-17 using an automated telephone technology calling a random sampling of listed telephone numbers nationwide. The survey included 16 questions and carries a 95 percent confidence interval. It included 807 adult respondents. It carries a margin of error of +/– 3.4 percentage points.
Asked about the pending "cap and trade" legislation in Congress that restricts the amount of carbon dioxide and water vapor that can be produced – generating financial penalties for violators – only 23.7 percent of the respondents support the measure.
Nearly 42 percent opposed it and another 35 percent were unsure.
"As the U.S. Senate considers the bill, the fact that fewer than one in four Americans favors its passage should give them serious pause," Wenzel commented.
The core of the opposition appeared to be the costs, but Americans also were worried about the impact on the economy from rocketing prices for gasoline, natural gas, electricity and other sources of energy.
U.S. top greenhouse gas emitter, counting imports
OSLO
The United States is by far the biggest greenhouse gas emitter ahead of China if consumers in rich nations are given responsibility for energy used to make imported goods, a researcher said on Wednesday.
Greenhouse gases, including by factories making goods such as cars or televisions for export, usually count toward the total of the country where they are made. Such data indicate that China has overtaken the United States as top emitter.
But adjusting emissions according to the country where consumers of goods live swells emissions by developed nations, said Glen Peters, a researcher at the Center for International Climate and Environment Research in Oslo (CICERO).
"The ranking makes a lot of rich countries look worse and a lot of poor countries look better," he told Reuters.
In the ranking of 73 nations, Americans have the biggest annual "carbon footprint" at the equivalent of 29 tonnes of carbon dioxide per capita, ahead of Australians on 21 tonnes and Canadians on 20 tonnes.
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Wild Thing's comment........
Scientists who seek data to support their conclusions and not the other way around are the worst sort of charlatans.
Hold on, hold on...let me get this straight. We are responsible for the pollution that we create AND for the pollution that others create, simply because we buy their cheap junk?
The twists and turns that some people go through, just to blame America for something mystifies me.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (9)
Lou Dobbs:"a 'Certificate of Live Birth' is NOT a Birth Certificate"
Lou Dobbs to Obama: a 'Certificate of Live Birth' is NOT a Birth Certificate
Wild Thing's comment........
Over the weekend Nicholas and I went to Sam's Club and if you have ever been to one they have a man or woman standing there as you enter. You show them your Sam's Club membership card and get a card and then shop. The ones here always have senior citizens doing this.
As we walked in and were showing the man our card, he said to us,
" You have more ID with that card then Obama has with not showing us his original birth certificate."
Just out of the blue he said this. Nick and I both said yes that's for sure.
I wanted to share this with you because every so often this happens in other places too. People are learning about this and now more people are talking about it in the media as well.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:49 AM | Comments (10)
‘Flying Tigers’ Take Mission to Afghanistan
Air Staff Sgt. James Irvin performs an air-cycle machine inspection on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, to ensure the A-10 Thunderbolt functions properly, July 20, 2009. Irvin is deployed from the 23rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Moody Air Force Base, Ga. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Felicia Juenke
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A pair of A-10 Thunderbolt IIs from the 74th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, get their final weapons check before taking off on a close-air-support mission. The aircraft provide close-air support and airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for U.S. and coalition ground troops. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Lake
‘Flying Tigers’ Take Mission to Afghanistan
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan
July 22, 2009
by Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Jung serves with the 455th Expeditionary Wing public affairs office
American volunteers flying shark-faced P-40 Tomahawks protected China during World War II, and their legacy has become a fixture in the war in Afghanistan.
In homage to the storied airmen of the past, the 74th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, deployed from Moody Air Force Base, Ga., has the iconic shark’s face painted on the front of its A-10 Thunderbolt II's, lovingly nicknamed the "Warthog."
The Warthogs provide daily close-air-support and precision-engagement missions throughout Afghanistan in support of coalition ground forces.
The squadron has had at least two aircraft airborne and providing support to their warrior counterparts on the ground on every day of its deployment. But the 74th Aircraft Maintenance Unit keeps the A-10s ready to fly.
"Just like the airmen that defended China in World War II, the 74th AMU is often short on resources, said Air Force Capt. James Schieser, officer in charge of the squadron’s maintenance unit. The maintenance airmen make do with what they have to maintain their aging aircraft, he added. "The strong leadership, dedication and perseverance of our noncommissioned officers, senior noncommissioned officers and officer corps, are what ensure every aircraft is fully mission-capable. The maintainers of the 74th AMU understand, with the Flying Tiger legacy they inherited, failure is not an option."
The Flying Tigers have broken records by flying more than 12,000 mission hours, expending more than 100 tons of ordnance since arriving in February. Sometime, though, all it takes is a show of force to end an engagement.
"We seek to avoid civilian casualties in all our operations - period," said Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Victor Castillo, weapons section superintendent. "We have a variety of methods we use, including loading of precision-guided munitions, monthly updates of aircraft digital maps and daily maintenance of our targeting systems to ensure the safety of innocent civilians on the ground."
But when enemy combatants don't flee after a show of force, the Warthog can deliver a precise strike to protect coalition ground forces.
Army Spc. Jason Dorsey, Company C, 178th Infantry, saw firsthand the precision and power of the Warthog.
"The A-10s were a valuable asset to us on ground missions here in Afghanistan,” Dorsey said. “Their speed and precise targeting provided great support for us and kept the bad guys' heads down during firefights."
"We have so many soldiers coming in from the field to thank us - it's their stories of desperately needing air [support] and seeing an A-10 flying overhead providing cover for them that kept us energized and motivated," said Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Thomas E. Moore, lead production superintendent for the maintenance unit. "It kept us working hard even when it seemed all we were doing was launching and recovering jets 24/7."
Wild Thing's comment.......
I am glad to see they are still around.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:48 AM | Comments (8)
Democrats Block GOP Health Care Mailing
Democrats Block GOP Health Care Mailing
Democrats are preventing Republican House Members from sending their constituents a mailing that is critical of the majority’s health care reform plan, blocking the mailing by alleging that it is inaccurate.
House Republicans are crying foul and claiming that the Democrats are using their majority to prevent GOP Members from communicating with their constituents.
The dispute centers on a chart created by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) and Republican staff of the Joint Economic Committee to illustrate the organization of the Democratic health care plan.
At first glance, Brady’s chart resembles a board game: a colorful collection of shapes and images with a web of lines connecting them.
But a closer look at the image reveals a complicated menagerie of government offices and programs that Republicans say will be created if the leading Democratic health care plan becomes law.
In a memo sent Monday to Republicans on the House franking commission, Democrats argue that sending the chart to constituents as official mail would violate House rules because the information is misleading.
In their eight-point memo, which was obtained by Roll Call, Democrats identify a litany of areas where they believe the chart is incorrect.
Republican Members have made 20 requests to mail a version of the chart to their constituents and have been told that the requests are being delayed while the commission reviews allegations that the chart is misleading.
“Hiding the truth about wildly unpopular policies is a Democrat specialty,” said one GOP aide. “I’d like to see the flow chart on how Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi plans on implementing the open and transparent government she keeps promising everyone.”
Wild Thing's comment.......
Democrats are giving this even more publicity by their being jerks about this. Thanks to their tyranny, this chart is getting more publicity than it otherwise would.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (8)
Hundreds Ride Bikes for Captured Idaho Soldier
Hundreds of residents paid tribute to Bowe Bergdahl's love of bicycle's by biking to a candlelight vigil in his hometown of Hailey, Idaho. He was recently captured by the Taliban.
HAILEY, Idaho - More than 500 people attended a vigil for an Idaho soldier who was captured in Afghanistan by the Taliban.
The hourlong event Wednesday night was held in held in Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl's hometown of Hailey, in central Idaho. It started at the coffee shop where Bergdahl worked before enlisting in the U.S. Army in 2008, and ended at a nearby park.
The Idaho Statesman reports that family friend Jeff Gunter was one of several speakers at the event. Gunter said that when Bergdahl returns, he wants to take him "to the top of the mountains," so Bergdahl can look down and see all the yellow ribbons and signs hung up around town in his honor.
Bergdahl was serving with an Alaska-based infantry regiment earlier this month when he vanished. The 23-year-old appeared in a video released Saturday by the Taliban.
This undated photo provided by Bergdahl family spokesperson Sue Martin shows Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl during a motorcycle ride through central Idaho's backcountry. Bergdahl was captured on June 30, 2009 in Afghanistan, and appeared in a video released by the Taliban on Saturday, July 18. (AP Photo/Bergdahl family via Sue Martin)
AP's earlier story is below.
HAILEY, Idaho (AP) , To the rest of the world, Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl is the frightened soldier who appeared in a Taliban propaganda video after he was captured in Afghanistan.
The people of this Idaho mountain town have a more complete portrait of Bergdahl , that of a hard-working, mild-mannered, adventurous young man who rode his bicycle everywhere as he searched for a purpose in life before eventually setting his sights on the military.
Bergdahl, 23, dabbled in numerous ventures before joining the Army. He performed with the Sun Valley Ballet School. He was in the Sun Valley Swords fencing club, sparring in 2003 at the local renaissance fair with a buddy. He was a voracious reader who would frequently spend hours at a local library. He once crewed on a sailboat trip from South Carolina to California.
He also bounced between jobs, including two separate stints at a local coffee house, a period on an Alaskan fishing boat in Bristol Bay, and did construction before spending the summer of 2007 cleaning guns and stocking targets at the shooting club just down the road.
Bergdahl signed Army paperwork in June 2008 and went off to basic training in Fort Benning, Ga. He was deployed to Afghanistan in February, and he is now a prisoner of the Taliban.
What exactly happened isn't clear, with conflicting reports of whether he left his base near the Pakistan border willingly, or was taken. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates pledged Monday the military was doing everything it could to bring him home.
Meanwhile, those who knew this young man who traded the long blond hair of his youth for the crew cut of an Army private say he was unfailingly polite and hardworking, but clearly on the lookout for something to define his life.
"It was part of his adventurous spirit that carries on," said Blaine County Sheriff J. Walt Femling, who rented an apartment to Bergdahl in 2006, on why he joined the military. "Not only that, but he wanted to serve."
Bergdahl showed up at the Blaine County Gun Club in 2007, looking for summer work. He and manager Dick Mandeville got along well, with Bergdahl's duties including helping shooters on the trap fields, stocking targets and cleaning racks full of rifles.
"He was good every which way you looked at it," Mandeville said.
Bergdahl grew up about six miles west of Hailey, in a humble home with a weathered metal roof set back from the gravel of Croy Creek Road.
His parents, Bob and Jani Bergdahl, came here about 30 years ago for a reason, neighbors said: The seclusion of the high sage hills that flank their place would help them live in peace and quiet. Bowe and his older sister, Sky, were home-schooled. He received his high-school GED diploma from a local college. His father worked as a local UPS driver.
Bowe eventually got a job with Sue Martin at Zaney's River Street Coffee House. Not surprisingly, he showed up on his ever-present bicycle looking for a job.
"He had the opening shift. He got along really well with the regulars," said Martin, whose voice Monday was hoarse after enduring hours of interviews with out-of-town media. She was one of the few locals to speak on the record, a decision she made, in part, to take pressure off the camera-shy family.
At the cafe, he talked about the prospect of a military future.
His sister had married a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis about eight years earlier.
Consequently, Bergdahl's blond hair went from long to short, a sign he was getting serious. Martin doesn't know exactly why he sought out the Army, but said he was always on the lookout for a new adventure. She spent two hours with the family Tuesday morning, and said they are upbeat.
"They are talking about things in terms of 'When Bowe comes home,'" she said.
In the three weeks since Bergdahl went missing in Afghanistan, much of Hailey tried to keep word of his captivity from leaking out to the broader public.
First, there was the privacy of Bob and Jani Bergdahl to respect.
Friends and acquaintances also feared a media furor could put his life more at risk.
"I was shocked when I found out," said Jim Spinelli, head of the Hailey Chamber of Commerce, who attributes locals' discretion to their longtime respect for the privacy of celebrities such as Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom Hanks who call this central Idaho resort region their second home.
The circumstances of Bergdahl's capture on June 30 aren't clear.
As more and more Hailey residents now view the startling 28-minute Taliban video where a shaven-headed Bergdahl tells a captor he fears never being able to hug his family again, many want to do something , anything , to honor him and help speed his return.
Yellow ribbons are tied around trees all over town, and there are signs in virtually every shop window that plead for Bowe's return. A candlelight vigil is planned for Wednesday evening starting at Zaney's.
"We appreciate and take comfort in all the kind words of support we've heard," the family said in a statement Tuesday.
Wild Thing's comment............
Prayers for Bowe and his loved ones and his fellow soldiers.
Hailey, s also a place where residents all know one another, at least to say ‘hi.’ “So when something like this happens, it shakes us all up,” said Rob Beck, a tree-cutter from Hailey who has known Bergdahl’s father, a mild-mannered UPS delivery driver, for 15 years.
If you like you can email a message of support for PFC Bowe Bergdahl through the Blaine County Sheriff’s office.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:46 AM | Comments (4)
Change is Here, Change is Coming By Sam Webb Communist Party USA
Change is Here, Change is Coming
Remarks to National Committee Meeting June 20, 2009
Author: Sam Webb, National Chair
I make no attempt to be comprehensive in these remarks. My aim is much more modest, as you will see.
Let me begin with a simple observation: If the last 30 years were an era of reaction, then the coming decade could turn into an era of reform, even radical reform.
Six months into the Obama presidency, I would say without hesitation that the landscape, atmosphere, conversation, and agenda have strikingly changed compared to the previous eight years.
In this legislative session, we can envision winning a Medicare-like public option and then going further in the years ahead.
We can visualize passing tough regulatory reforms on the financial industry, which brought the economy to ruin.
We can imagine the troops coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan while U.S. representatives participate in a regional process that brings peace and stability to the entire region.
In the current political climate, the expansion of union rights becomes a real possibility.
Much the same can be said about winning a second stimulus bill, and we sure need one, given the still-rising rate, and likely long term persistence, of unemployment.
Isn’t it possible in the Obama era to create millions of green jobs in manufacturing and other sectors of the economy in tandem with an attack on global warming?
Can’t we envision taking new strides in the long journey for racial and gender equality in this new era, marked at its beginning by the election of the first African American to the presidency?
And isn’t the overhaul of the criminal justice and prison system – a system steeped in racism – no longer pie-in-the sky, but something that can be done in the foreseeable future?
All these things are within reach now!
I make this observation because in the ebb and flow of the first six months of the Obama presidency, it is easy to lose sight of the overall dynamics and promise of this new era.
Obama’s role
The new conditions of struggle are possible only – and I want to emphasize only – because we elected President Obama and a Congress with pronounced progressive and center currents.
So far Obama’s presidency has both broken from the right-wing extremist policies of the Bush administration and taken steps domestically and internationally that go in a progressive direction.
At the same time, the administration hasn’t gone as far as we would have liked on a number of issues. On economic matters as well as matters of war and occupation we, along with others, advocated bolder actions.
All and all, however, the new President in deeds and words – and words do matter – has created new democratic space for peace, equality, and economic justice struggles. Whether this continues and takes on a consistently progressive, pro-people, radical reform direction depends in large measure on whether the movement that elected him fills and expands this space.
The struggle going forward, much like the New Deal, will be the outcome of a contested and fluid process involving broad class and social constituencies, taking multiple forms, and working out over time.
It will pivot on the expansion of social and economic rights, the reconfiguring of the functions of government to the advantage of working people, and the embedding of a new economic architecture and developmental path into the nation’s political economy.
No less importantly, it will also entail the recasting of the role of the U.S. in the global community along egalitarian and non-imperial lines.
“What’s all this talk about reform?” you may be asking. “Aren’t we radicals? Isn’t socialism our objective?”
Yes, socialism is our objective and, according to recent public opinion polls, it is increasingly attractive to the American people. But clearly it is not on the immediate political agenda. Neither the current balance of forces nor the thinking of millions of Americans – the starting point in any serious discussion of strategy and tactics – has reached that point.
That socialism isn’t on the people’s action agenda, however, doesn’t mean that we should zip our lips. Quite the contrary! We should talk it up and bring our modern, deeply democratic Twenty-First-Century vision of U.S. socialism into coalitions and mass movements. And with the use of the Internet we can reach an exponentially bigger audience than we could in the past.
As for our radicalism, we should be as radical as reality itself. And reality strongly suggests that our main task is to bring the weight of the working class and other democratic forces to bear on the reform process with the aim of deepening its anti-corporate content and direction.
Current phase of struggle
How do we understand the current phase of struggle? On the one hand, our strategic policy of defeating right wing extremism doesn’t quite fit the new correlation of class forces. On the other hand, neither have we arrived at the anti-monopoly stage of struggle – a stage in which corporate class power is confronted on every level of struggle.
In short, we are in transitional phase that contains elements of both.
In the course of this struggle, political conditions – consciousness, organization, unity, and alliances, including temporary and conditional alliances – will hopefully mature to the point where corporate power emerges as the main hindrance to radical democracy and socialism in the minds of tens of millions.
We can conjure up pure forms of struggle and direct and unencumbered paths to socialism in our impatient minds, but they don’t exist in real life. The struggle for a socialist future is complex, contradictory, roundabout, and goes through different phases/stages of struggle.
Propaganda and agitation by themselves won’t bring people to the threshold of socialism. They need their own experience in struggle for their essential (what is essential is variable and expands over time) needs.
The question
People aren’t sitting on their hands. Anger is out there, hardship is widespread, and the fight back is taking shape.
And yet, it is fair to ask: does the level of mobilization of the diverse coalition that elected President Obama match what is necessary to win his administration’s immediate legislative and political agenda – let alone far-reaching reforms, such as military conversion to peacetime and green production, a shorter work week, a “war” on poverty and inequality, democratic ownership of critical economic sectors, and a retreat from empire?
I think the answer is no – not yet. A favorable alignment of forces exists and mass sentiments favor change. But political majorities and popular sentiments are consequential only to the degree that they are an active and organized element in the political process.
And herein lays the role of the Left. Its main task, as it has been throughout our country’s history, is to persistently and patiently assist in reassembling, activating, uniting, educating, and giving a voice to common demands that unite this broad majority.
The Left's political analysis, its solutions to today's pressing crises, and its vision of radical democracy and socialism, rooted in national realities, will receive a fair and favorable hearing from millions of Americans to the degree that Left activists are active participants in the main labor and people’s organizations struggling for vital reforms today — jobs, health care, retirement security, quality public education, equality and fairness, immigration reform, a foreign policy of peace and cooperation, and a livable environment and sustainable economy.
Those who narrow down the role of the Left to simply being a critic of every move of the Obama administration or insist on Left demands as the only ground for broad unity cut down the Left’s capacity to be a growing part of a much larger coalition that could remake America.
Some on the Left dismiss the new President as simply another centrist or a right social democrat, or an unabashed spokesperson of Wall Street. Still others call him the new face of imperialism.
I find it unwise for many reasons to put President Obama into a tightly sealed political category. We should see the President and his administration as a work in progress in an exceptionally fluid situation.
Let’s remember that he is the leader of a diverse multi-class coalition and a party with different currents. Let’s not forget about the balance of forces in Congress that has to enter his – and hopefully our – political calculus.
Let’s not turn any one issue into a litmus test determining our attitude toward the administration and Congress. Let’s be aware that he has to keep a coalition together for his long-term as well as immediate legislative agenda. Let’s give President Obama some space to change and to respond to pressures from below.
Finally, we should resist pressures from some sections of the Left, and a few in our Party, to define the current struggle as one that arrays the people against President Obama. That’s not Marxism; it’s plain stupid.
The American people and their main mass organizations have good reason to be angry and frustrated, but few embrace an approach that turns the Obama administration into the main roadblock to social progress.
That we have spurned such an approach too is to our credit. (Read the outstanding speech of AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka to the national convention of CBTU, in which he speaks of labor’s positive view of the new administration and the new openings for class and democratic struggles that now exist.)
We can help re-bend the arc of history in the direction of justice, equality, and peace. But only if we, and millions like us, pursue a sound strategy that unifies broad sections of the American people and looks for alliances no matter how temporary and conditional. Majorities make history, not militant minorities.
President Obama and progressive Congresspeople can’t be the only change agents and will be change agents only up to a point.
Our responsibility is to support them, prod them, and constructively take issue with them when we have differing views.
But more importantly – and this is the heart of the matter – we have to reach, activate, unite, educate, and turn millions of Americans into “change agents” who can make the political difference in upcoming struggles.
Our parents and grandparents were such bottom-up change agents in the Depression years. Unhappy with the pace and substance of change, they sat down in plants and in the fields, marched for veteran benefits, petitioned local relief agencies, lobbied for a social safety net, established unemployed groups, organized industrial workers into the CIO, opposed discrimination and racism, turned multi-racial unity into an organizing principle, and, we should note, re-elected Roosevelt and a New Deal Congress in a landslide in the 1936 elections.
The American people today would do well to follow their example.
Likewise, communists of our generation should draw from the example of our Depression-era comrades. Because they were guided by a sound strategy that accented struggles for economic and social reforms and because they employed flexible tactics, and because they didn’t conflate their mood with the mass mood, they were a vital part of this process too.
Struggle for health care reform
The mobilization that the labor movement and others carried out tirelessly last year in the elections is exactly what is needed now. How else can health care for all, the Employee Free Choice Act, economic relief, comprehensive immigration reform, a transfer of funds from military spending to massive green job creation, and a tax policy that weighs heavily the wealthiest families and corporations be won?
The Right Wing, the American Medical Association, the pharmaceutical and insurance companies have drawn a line in the sand on health care. They hope to defeat any legislation in the near term and in doing so to fatally weaken the administration’s legislative program in the longer term, much like they did in the Clinton years.
The core of this struggle, whether we like it or not, turns on the inclusion of a public option in a health care bill. President Obama reaffirmed his support for such an option and the Congressional Progressive Caucus recently expressed its full support for a public option that is government run, covers everyone, and goes into effect right away.
Meanwhile, Republicans, with help from some Democrats, are ganging up against any public option, while at the same time introducing measures to weaken health care reform and confuse the American people.
True to form, the right-wing media is the megaphone of this effort.
Mass mobilization is needed
Over the summer this fight will be waged like an election campaign by the labor movement and progressive forces. Across the country activists will be asked to knock on doors and make phone calls to build a massive groundswell for health care reform.
This campaign provides a great opening to strengthen our clubs and build the broader movement. Some of our clubs are in the thick of the fight; some are looking for ways to become engaged.
Each district and club should discuss how to carry this fight forward in a way that results in new friends, new readers of the People’s World, and new members of the Party and Young Communist League. A few ideas:
• speak to neighbors and friends about their health care stories and suggest what they can do.
• share coverage of the Peoples World in either its print or electronic form and ask if they would like the paper every week in one or another form.
• prepare a special agenda for your club meeting with invited guests.
• help build participation in rallies and events of unions and other organizations.
• organize speak-outs and town hall meetings with others.
• collect signatures on petitions, make phone calls, employ the internet, and organize visits to your elected officials.
While we support HR 676 as the most advanced demand in the current debate, it should not be counterpoised to a Medicare-like public option. In the single payer movement and the campaign for a public option, our role isn’t to sharpen differences, but rather to build maximum unity against the health care industrial complex and its supporters (Democratic as well as Republican) in Congress and for meaningful health care reform.
Economic crisis over
Another observation that I want to make is to beware of talk of better economic times around the corner. We may be over the worst of it; we may have avoided a 1930s-type depression; but it’s quite another thing to suggest that we are on the road to recovery.
Yes, there have been some indicators that show improvement in the economy; but we shouldn’t read too much into them (as the business press does).
After all, there are more signs that suggest that we haven’t reached bottom yet, that the recovery is still not in sight; and that more government intervention is necessary.
Unemployment hasn’t peaked, even though the official rate is nearly ten per cent. Poverty is growing, and among the long-term poor, the crisis is dire. Manufacturing is hemorrhaging jobs – none more so than the auto industry. Banks, as quiet as it is kept, hold mountains of toxic assets. Debt is nearly off the charts. Credit markets are far from fluid. Business investment is off. And housing prices fall and foreclosures rise.
On a global level, signs of renewed economic activity are few. Maybe the best we can say is that the decline of the economy is slowing down, thanks to massive government intervention, but hasn’t bottomed out.
If this is so then three questions follow: first, when will the economy hit bottom? Second, when will the economy begin a vigorous and sustained renewal? Third, is the economic crisis reconfiguring the geography of economic power on a global level?
On these questions there is no consensus.
Some say that the economy will bottom out soon to be followed by a recovery early next year. Other economists are more pessimistic. Citing the enormous piling up of debt over the past 20 years, overcrowded world commodity markets, technological displacement, capital flight, downward pressures on profitability, and so forth, they predict little economic bounce for some time to come.
Months ago it was said that the downturn could be “L-shaped” rather than “V-shaped.” In other words, the crisis begins with a steep decline in economic activity followed by long period of economic stagnation.
I suspect that this is what will happen, thus making sustained government and people’s intervention an imperative. In my view this should take at least three forms:
First, more economic stimulus: the economy is underperforming and nearly 30 million workers are unemployed or underemployed and that number hasn’t peaked yet.
Second, restructuring is imperative. The old economic model that rested on bubble economics, cheap labor, financial manipulation and speculation, deregulation, capital outsourcing, environmental degradation, and so forth, has to be replaced by a new model that expands and restructures the productive base and is “people and nature” friendly.
Finally, the economy has to be democratized. The wizards of Wall Street and inside the Beltway failed miserably, in fact, so miserably those economic decisions that affect the welfare of millions shouldn’t rest in their hands.
The resistance to such measures will be massive. It will take a labor-led coalition far bigger than what exists now to drive the process.
Furthermore, even in the event that such a coalition materializes and pushes through such measures, the organically embedded economic contradictions and crisis tendencies of capitalism will erupt in one form or another. There is no such thing as a crisis-free capitalist developmental model. Sooner or later, it exhausts its potential and gives way to sharp and ultimately irresolvable contradictions located at every level of the capitalist economy.
In the meantime, the struggle for immediate public sector jobs and relief should command our attention. We, along with the labor movement, the nationally and racially oppressed, women, youth and others, have to help the unemployed find their voice and forms to express their demands and organize their struggle.
In addition to articulating class wide demands, we have to argue for special measures that address the catastrophic situation in the African American, Latino, Asian American, American Indian, immigrant, and other minority communities. The lack of jobs is at the heart of this dire situation, but it also includes malnutrition and hunger, poor health care, shabby housing, high dropout rates, homelessness, racial profiling, police brutality, criminalization, and so on.
The job crisis requires special discussion and initiatives with our allies. They should be concrete and realistic.
As for the impact of the current crisis of capitalism on the geographical distribution of economic power on a global level, it is enormous and consequential. While the U.S. and European market economies report negative growth rates, the economies of the emerging giants – China, India, and Brazil – are expanding this year and this trend will continue at a faster rate next year. If this trend continues – and there is no reason to think that it won’t – the implications and consequences will be profound and long lasting.
An end to violence
Still another observation that I would like to make is this: against the background of the bloodiest century in human history and this decade of war, genocide, boycotts, and threats and counter threats, thanks in large measure to the Bush administration and our own imperialism, humanity is seeking a new world order in which peace and justice are its organizing principles.
The vast majority of people desire the easing of tensions, an end to violence, and the normalization of relations between states. They want dialogue and negotiation, not war and threats. And they hope that the U.S. government will choose a constructive role in world affairs.
President Obama has captured this sentiment well in several speeches before vast audiences. His emphasis on human solidarity, diplomacy, cooperation, and peaceful settlement of outstanding issues is striking an emotional chord worldwide. In nearly every region of the world, the President has expressed a readiness to engage with countries that during the Bush years were considered mortal enemies – Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, and others. In Latin America, he indicated that the administration would like to put relations between our government and others in the region on a different footing. In a historic speech in Prague, he voiced his desire to reduce and ultimately abolish nuclear weapons. Earlier this month, in an unprecedented address in Cairo he indicated his eagerness to reset relations with the Muslim world, sit down with the Iranian government, and press for a two state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
And only this week, he has been circumspect with regard to the massive social explosion in Iran over the rigged election and right-wing theocratic rule. He has quietly made his allegiances clear, but not in a way that would play in to the hands of the ruling reactionary regime.
While the administration has yet to fully match its words with practical deeds, what it has said and done so far constitutes a qualitative turn compared to the previous administration.
Nevertheless, more needs doing before we are on a distinctly new course.
In Afghanistan and North Korea, a negotiated solution to both conflicts that includes increased economic and humanitarian aid is urgently needed. Military occupation and troop buildup in Afghanistan and the imposition of sanctions against North Korea are extremely dangerous and will postpone any resolution of those crises.
To go further, if one or the other (or both) metastasizes into a bigger conflict, it could be the undoing of this administration. Don’t get me wrong: terrorist activities and nuclear proliferation are both enormous dangers, but the solutions to these have to be sought along other lines and involve regional and international players.
In Iraq, the U.S. withdrawal plan is proceeding, with the first stage being withdrawal from Iraqi cities by July. President Obama has reiterated his intention to stick with the pullout deadlines. Even with the caveats about what U.S. forces might remain, this is a major victory for the peace movement. The struggle over what forces remain will depend in large part on the Iraqi people's democratic and progressive forces, as well as our own peace movement.
In the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Netanyahu, in an about-face, said he could live with a two-state solution. And even with all the caveats and demagogy surrounding the “concession,” I believe that it signifies recognition, albeit forced, on Likud’s part that public opinion is shifting against them in Israel, Europe, and the U.S.
In this country the peace movement has to note particularly the changing dynamics in U.S. opinion, including in the White House and Congress, including Jewish members of Congress. Netanyahu got a different reaction than he expected when he met with Congressional leaders when he was in Washington recently. While he wanted to focus on Iran, they pressed him on the settlements. And, that pressure will only grow if the new Israeli government continues in its actions to pursue its present policy.
As far as Cuba is concerned, we are at a crucial moment in U.S.-Cuba relations. The Obama administration has indicated its readiness to reset relations with Cuba and has taken some very modest steps in words and deeds in that direction. But obviously much more needs to be done to end all travel restrictions, lift the blockade, resume trade, and free the Cuban 5, who languish in maximum security prisons. That said, the good news is that diverse groups have an interest in normalizing the relations between our two countries, including in the Congress.
Finally, we are in a moment when our ability to change our foreign policy will bear directly on our capacity to address economic and social problems at home. Currently, 53 percent of the discretionary spending of the federal budget goes to the military.
Thus, ending wars, closing military bases, and cutting military spending coupled with diplomacy, cooperation, and respect for international law and national sovereignty is good economic as well as good foreign policy.
But there is a hitch. Both Republicans and Democrats are upset at the minimal steps the administration is proposing to cut specific “unnecessary” or useless weapons systems.
So we have a struggle on our hands. And it will be fought out in “the court of public opinion,” at the ballot box, and in the economic trenches.
So far the peace movement has an array of plans to challenge the military appropriations process, including town hall Congressional meetings on foreign policy during the August recess. We should participate and support them.
Bottom line: the country and the Obama administration need a more vocal peace movement in order to reconfigure our role in world affairs and address the economic crisis.
Mentality of marginalization
Another observation that I want to make is that because of McCarthyism, the Cold War, and the long economic expansion following WW II, the Left has been on the edges of politics for more than a half century. During this time, our ability to impact on broader political processes in the country has been narrowly circumscribed – nothing like the 1930s, nothing like the Left in many other countries.
While we stubbornly fought the good fight and made undeniable contributions over the past half-century, we were not a major player; we didn’t set the agenda or frame the debate; we didn’t determine the political direction of the country; we were not a decider.
But this could change. Because of the new political, economic and ideological landscape, the Left has an opportunity to step from the political periphery into the mainstream of U.S. politics. It has a chance to become a player of consequence; a player whose voice is seriously considered in the debates bearing on the future of the country; a player that is able to mobilize and influence the thinking and actions of millions.
Whether we do depends on many factors, one of which is our ability to shake off a “mentality of marginalization” that has become embedded in the Left’s political culture over the last half of the Twentieth Century.
How does this mentality express itself? In a number of ways – in spending too much time agitating the choir; in dismissing new political openings that if taken advantage of could create the conditions for mass struggle; in thinking that partial reforms are at loggerheads with radical reforms; in seeing the glass as always half empty; in conflating our outlook with the outlook of millions; in turning the danger of cooptation into a rationale to keep a distance from reform struggles; in enclosing ourselves in narrow Left forms; and in damning victories with faint praise.
In this peculiar mindset, politics has few complexities. Change is driven only from the ground up. Winning broad majorities is not essential. There are no stages of struggle, no social forces that possess strategic social power, and no divisions worth noting. Finally, alliances with unstable allies and distinctions between the Democratic and Republican parties are either of little consequence or disdainfully dismissed.
Unless the Left – and I include communists – sheds this mentality, it will miss a unique opportunity to grow and leave a distinct imprint on our country’s direction.
A final observation before closing is that I wholeheartedly welcome the proposals to reconfigure our work that you received and that we are going to discuss later today.
I don’t have any of the reservations about this that some have. The upside of this new means of communication, education, organization, and fund raising is that it is nearly limitless.
I think it is going to make a huge difference in our ability to reach, influence, and interact with a mass audience – something that we haven’t ever been able to do in a systematic way so far.
Every aspect of our work will experience new potentials, including grassroots organizing and club building.
I hope we enthusiastically adopt these proposals. Assuming for the moment that we do, it is fair to say that we will have our work cut out for us. But as is often said, we have a world to win! Thank you.
Wild Thing's comment.........
More confirmation of what kind of person Obama is and his agenda. The very freedom that fight against is what they use to even exist in our country.
....Thank you Richard for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Comments (7)
DNC Runs Another Anti-Rush Ad
Wild Thing's comment..............
Everything Obama wants is to destroy our country so you bet I want him to fail too. How a person that has been friends with Bill Ayers and all the other things could ever become president is shameful.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:40 AM | Comments (2)
July 22, 2009
Pelosi Claims Votes to Pass Health Care ~ Durbin Says Aug. Deadline NOT Possible!
More Pelosi Lies??
Pelosi claims votes to pass health care ( I saw this at Drudge )
Jul 22, 3:33 PM (ET)
By DAVID ESPO
WASHINGTON
Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Democrats have the votes to pass health care legislation in the House, even though negotiations are under way to make changes in the bill to satisfy some of its critics.
The House’s top Democrat declined to say when she will call for the vote on President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority. She says she wants to see what the Senate’s plans are.
The California Democrat made her comments at a news conference Wednesday. She spoke as conservatives and the White House seek changes to impose greater cost controls on health care. Other members of the rank and file seek additional changes.
Pelosi Says She Has Votes to Pass House Health Plan
-- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she has the votes to pass legislation overhauling the U.S. health- care system as Democratic Party leaders moved closer to an agreement with rebellious members of their own party.
Leaders are “making progress” with Democrats who want more cost cuts in the legislation, Pelosi told reporters in Washington today, a day after President Barack Obama met with a group of Democrats to try to convince them to back the plan.
“I have no question we have the votes on the floor of the House to pass this legislation,” Pelosi said.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman said he plans to meet with members of the Blue Dog Coalition of fiscally conservative Democrats again today after the group moved closer to consensus on health-care legislation.
“We want to reach an agreement and go to markup in our committee,” possibly as early as tomorrow, said Waxman. “We have not resolved our issues but we are getting close.”
Obama is looking for movement on Capitol Hill before holding a news conference at 8 p.m. today Washington time, where he is likely to press for his plan to carry out the most sweeping changes in U.S. health care in more than four decades.
Talks have proven so difficult that Pelosi, Waxman and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer left open the possibility Congress may fail to meet Obama’s August deadline for passage.
Hatch Quits
The overhaul effort suffered a fresh blow today in the Senate, when Republican Orrin Hatch of Utah quit bipartisan talks aimed at reaching a compromise.
“With some of the provisions in there, I just can’t do it,” Hatch told reporters, referring to the bill’s potential $1 trillion price tag, among other issues. He was one of a group of just four Republicans working closely on the plan.
Obama yesterday spent more than an hour meeting with Blue Dogs and other Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has yet to pass its part of the legislation.
The Blue Dogs on the panel “can’t support the bill as it stands,” Representative Mike Ross of Arkansas, one of the group’s leaders, said in an interview after the meeting.
To help win them over, Waxman agreed to a provision to create an independent commission that would set reimbursement rates for Medicare providers each year. Ross said such a body would take politics out of decisions on the federal insurance program for the elderly, giving Congress an up-or-down vote on any changes, without amendment.
‘Favorable Attitude’
During the White House meeting, Obama asked lawmakers to take “a favorable attitude toward his proposal” to set up the five-member commission, Waxman said.
Today, one Blue Dog member, Tennessee Democrat Jim Cooper, called the idea “definitely better than doing nothing” because “Congress will never address these issues on its own.”
Pelosi said the proposed commission is “appealing to a broad sector of our caucus” concerned about cutting costs. “But we want to do it in a way that respects the prerogatives of the Congress” and the president, she said.
The current House plan, unveiled on July 14, would expand insurance coverage to 97 percent of Americans while adding $239 billion to the federal budget deficit over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The Blue Dogs considered the CBO estimate “a real hit across the bow” that gave them ammunition to insist on more cost cuts, said Indiana Representative Baron Hill, another Blue Dog Democrat who attended the meeting with Obama.
Durbin says August deadline not possible
6:22 PM EDT
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said for the first time Wednesday that its no longer possible for the Senate to pass a health-reform bill before leaving for the August recess – which would defy President Barack Obama’s wish that both houses approve the legislation before summer break.
Durbin’s comments, confirmed by his office, are the strongest signal yet of what’s become increasingly apparent on the Hill – that the Senate Finance Committee is well short of being able to negotiate a compromise in time to clear the full Senate.
Now, with August fading as the goal for passing health care legislation in the Senate, Democratic officials are moving towards a new definition of victory: a bipartisan bill out of the Finance Committee by the recess.
The Senate Finance Committee is still days, if not a week, away from reaching an agreement. This timeline makes it almost impossible to hold a markup, merge the bill with one approved by the Senate health committee and schedule a floor vote – unless the recess was significantly delayed or a confirmation vote on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor was pushed back to September.
The new Democratic thinking is that Obama can legitimately claim progress if two Senate committees and three in the House approve bills by the August break. But even this goal is still not forgone, as lawmakers continue to grapple over major issues.
Wild Thing's comment....
So many lies and so little time. I have no idea what the heck is going on. And Obama the camera hugger will speak tonight if one can call it speaking, about his death care bill.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:40 PM | Comments (2)
The Big Lie Being Pushed By Obama and Most Don't Want What He Is Selling
Doctors Wage War Against Obama's Health Care Overhaul
As President Obama pushes for passage of his first major domestic policy change, some physicians are waging an all-out war against a health care reform bill they say amounts to nothing more than socialized medicine.
Obama pushes for passage of his first major domestic policy change, some physicians are waging an all-out war against a health care reform bill they say amounts to nothing more than socialized medicine.
America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 would create a public health insurance alternative and require coverage for most Americans and from most employers.
The American Medical Association -- the nation's largest physician organization with nearly 250,000 members -- initially opposed the president's plan, but backed the House Democrats' version of the bill last week. That has led to an internal dispute that has resulted in some physicians leaving the nation's largest doctors' association.
Some doctors charge the bill will lead to inferior patient care as physician offices around the country triple their patient lists and become forced to ration care.
"This is war," Dr. George Watson, a Kansas physician and president-elect of the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons, told FOXNews.com Thursday. "This is a bureaucratic boondoggle to grab control of health care. Everything that has been proposed in the 1,018 page bill will contribute to the ruination of medicine."
Watson said the president's reform bill is loaded with rules and regulations that will ultimately result in shoddy patient care and long waiting lines. He blasted the bill as "insidious" by forcing doctors contracted with Medicare into the nationalized plan -- a "trap" he described as "involuntary servitude."
While most doctors support some form of health care reform, a growing number are blasting the president's proposal and calling for a dramatically different approach -- one that calls for a system that pays for quality rather than quantity of medical procedures available to patients.
"There's no need to rush a bill through Congress," said Dr. Donald J. Palmisano, a leading surgeon and former president of the AMA who heads the physicians group Coalition to Protect Patients' Rights. "We don't get praise for getting out of the operation room quickly. We get praise for doing the right thing for the patients," he said.
Palmisano said he opposes the president's plan because patients will no longer be able to properly contract with their doctors. He is proposing a patient-centered system that will allow the patient to own the policy, which he said could be achieved by using tax credits to buy insurance.
"The government takeover of the practice of medicine will destroy the private health insurance companies, and will result in rationing, long lines, and loss of access to physicians in the patient hour of need," he said.
The Mayo Clinic, a non-profit organization and internationally renowned medical practice group, took issue with patient care quality that will result if the president's bill becomes law:
"Although there are some positive provisions in the current House Tri-Committee bill -- including insurance for all and payment reform demonstration projects -- the proposed legislation misses the opportunity to help create higher-quality, more affordable health care for patients."
"In fact, it will do the opposite," the clinic said in a July 16 statement on its Web site.
Wild Thing's comment......
It is too bad the doctors did not start to complain earlier. I hope it is not too late. The doctors should have been on this from the beginning. I asked our doctor if there was a petition to sign or anything he could give me to post at my blog and this was months ago. He said no and I told him it was his battle too not just ours as patients. That we should all fight things monster together.
....Thank you so much Lynette in Australia for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:18 PM | Comments (2)
Are You Willing To Die For Obama's Health Care
Dr. James David Manning says your support for Obama's Health Care will kill you.
Shock: Inside the Healthcare Bill
Following the mad recommendations of Peter Singer made in NYT's Sunday magazine, it pays to take a look at what is actually in the healthcare bill.
It's worse than you can possibly imagine. Somehow, it manages to be Singer on steroids. Who wrote this bill. It has Singer's footprints all over it.
Peter Fleckstein (aka Fleckman) is reading it and has been posting on Twitter his findings. This is from his postings (Note: All comments listed below are Fleckman's)
Pg 22 of the HC Bill MANDATES the Govt will audit books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure!!
Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill - THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benes u get
Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill - YOUR HEALTHCARE IS RATIONED!!!
Pg 42 of HC Bill - The Health Choices Commissioner will choose UR HC Benefits 4 you. U have no choice!
PG 50 Section 152 in HC bill - HC will be provided 2 ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise
Pg 58HC Bill - Govt will have real-time access 2 individs finances & a National ID Healthcard will b issued!
Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Govt will have direct access 2 ur banks accts 4 elect. funds transfer
PG 65 Sec 164 is a payoff subsidized plan 4 retirees and their families in Unions & community orgs (ACORN).
Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Govt is creating an HC Exchange 2 bring priv HC plans under Govt control.
PG 84 Sec 203 HC bill - Govt mandates ALL benefit pkgs 4 priv. HC plans in the Exchange
PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specs for of Benefit Levels for Plans = The Govt will ration ur Healthcare!
PG 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill - Govt mandates linguistic approp svcs. Example - Translation 4 illegal aliens
Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Govt will use groups i.e., ACORN & Americorps 2 sign up indiv. for Govt HC plan
PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specs of Ben Levels 4 Plans. #AARP members - U Health care WILL b rationed
-PG 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill - Medicaid Eligible Indiv. will b automat.enrolled in Medicaid. No choice
pg 124 lines 24-25 HC No company can sue GOVT on price fixing. No "judicial review" against Govt Monop
pg 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill - Doctors/ #AMA - The Govt will tell YOU what u can make.
Pg 145 Line 15-17 An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into pub opt plan. NO CHOICE
Pg 126 Lines 22-25 Employers MUST pay 4 HC 4 part time employees AND their families.
Pg 149 Lines 16-24 ANY Emplyr w payroll 400k & above who does not prov. pub opt. pays 8% tax on all payroll
pg 150 Lines 9-13 Biz w payroll btw 251k & 400k who doesnt prov. pub. opt pays 2-6% tax on all payroll
Pg 167 Lines 18-23 ANY individual who doesnt have acceptable HC accrdng 2 Govt will be taxed 2.5% of inc
Pg 170 Lines 1-3 HC Bill Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from indiv. taxes. (Americans will pay)
Pg 195 HC Bill -officers & employees of HC Admin (GOVT) will have access 2 ALL Americans finan/pers recs
PG 203 Line 14-15 HC - "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax" Yes, it says that
Pg 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill Govt will reduce physician svcs 4 Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor affected
Pg 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill - Doctors, doesnt matter what specialty u have, you'll all be paid the same
PG 253 Line 10-18 Govt sets value of Dr's time, prof judg, etc. Literally value of humans.
PG 265 Sec 1131Govt mandates & controls productivity for private HC industries
PG 268 Sec 1141 Fed Govt regulates rental & purchase of power driven wheelchairs
PG 272 SEC. 1145. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CANCER HOSPITALS - Cancer patients - welcome to rationing!
Page 280 Sec 1151 The Govt will penalize hospitals 4 what Govt deems preventable readmissions.
Pg 298 Lines 9-11 Drs, treat a patient during initial admiss that results in a readmiss-Govt will penalize u.
Pg 317 L 13-20 OMG!! PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. Govt tells Drs. what/how much they can own.
Pg 317-318 lines 21-25,1-3 PROHIBITION on expansion- Govt is mandating hospitals cannot expand
pg 321 2-13 Hospitals have oppt to apply for exception BUT community input required. Can u say ACORN?!!
Pg335 L 16-25 Pg 336-339 - Govt mandates estab. of outcome based measures. HC the way they want. Rationing
Pg 341 Lines 3-9 Govt has authority 2 disqual Medicare Adv Plans, HMOs, etc. Forcing peeps in2 Govt plan
Pg 354 Sec 1177 - Govt will RESTRICT enrollment of Special needs ppl! WTF. My sis has down syndrome!!
Pg 379 Sec 1191 Govt creates more bureaucracy - Telehealth Advisory Cmtte. Can u say HC by phone?
PG 425 Lines 4-12 Govt mandates Advance Care Planning Consult. Think Senior Citizens end of life
Pg 425 Lines 17-19 Govt will instruct & consult regarding living wills, durable powers of atty. Mandatory!
PG 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 Govt provides apprvd list of end of life resources, guiding u in death
PG 427 Lines 15-24 Govt mandates program 4 orders 4 end of life. The Govt has a say in how ur life ends
Pg 429 Lines 1-9 An "adv. care planning consult" will b used frequently as patients health deteriorates
PG 429 Lines 10-12 "adv. care consultation" may incl an ORDER 4 end of life plans. AN ORDER from GOV
Pg 429 Lines 13-25 - The govt will specify which Doctors can write an end of life order.
PG 430 Lines 11-15 The Govt will decide what level of treatment u will have at end of life
Pg 469 - Community Based Home Medical Services=Non profit orgs. Hello, ACORN Medical Svcs here!!?
Page 472 Lines 14-17 PAYMENT TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORG. 1 monthly payment 2 a community-based org. Like ACORN?
PG 489 Sec 1308 The Govt will cover Marriage & Family therapy. Which means they will insert Govt in2 ur marriage
Pg 494-498 Govt will cover Mental Health Svcs including defining, creating, rationing those svcs
.
Wild Thing's comment.......
I don't have Twitter and have no idea how it works. I am assuming it is like short notes or sentences. If that isi the case then that is why the shortened words in the notes above about the Health care bill.
I wonder if a person could just go to their Veternarian. I have a wonderful doctor for our dog and cat. They better not mess with these doctors for animals and put our animlas lives in danger, or they better get round the clock security for everyone that signs the death billl from hell. Children, the elderly, the people that have medical conditions that need regular care all these are at the most risk with this Bill.
I can't believe there is so lilttle regard for human life......even from baby killing democrats.
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:55 AM | Comments (5)
Obama Takes Aim At Gun-Rights Revolt
Obama Administration Takes Aim At Gun-Rights Revolt
The Obama administration is raising the stakes in a fight over states' rights and firearm ownership by arguing that new pro-gun laws in Montana and Tennessee are invalid.
In the last few months, a grass-roots, federalist revolt against Washington, D.C. has begun to spread through states that are home to politically active gun owners. Montana and Tennessee have enacted state laws saying that federal rules do not apply to firearms manufactured entirely within the state, and similar bills are pending in Texas, Alaska, Minnesota, and South Carolina.
Yet the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and Explosives now claims that that not only is such a state law invalid, but "because the act conflicts with federal firearms laws and regulations, federal law supersedes the act."
Tennessee's law already has taken effect. The BATF's letter on July 16 to firearms manufacturers and dealers in the state says "federal law requires a license to engage in the business of manufacturing firearms or ammunition, or to deal in firearms, even if the firearms or ammunition remain within the same state."
A similar letter was sent to manufacturers and dealers in Montana, where the made-in-the-state law takes effect on October 1, 2009. Neither law permits certain large caliber weapons or machine guns, and both would bypass federal regulations including background checks for buyers and record-keeping requirements for sellers.
While this federalism-inspired revolt has coalesced around gun rights, the broader goal is to dust off a section of the Bill of Rights that most Americans probably have paid scant attention to: the Tenth Amendment. It says that "powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
Read literally, the Tenth Amendment seems to suggest that the federal government's powers are limited only to what it has been "delegated," and the U.S. Supreme Court in 1918 confirmed that the amendment "carefully reserved" some authority "to the states." That view is echoed by statements made at the time the Constitution was adopted; New Hampshire explicitly said that states kept "all powers not expressly and particularly delegated" to the federal government.
More recently, federal courts have interpreted the Tenth Amendment narrowly, in a way that justifies almost any law on grounds that it intends to regulate interstate commerce. In the 2005 case of Gonzales v. Raich, for instance, the Supreme Court ruled that a person growing marijuana for her own medicinal use could have a "substantial effect on interstate commerce."
(In an impassioned dissent at the time, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote: "If Congress can regulate this under the Commerce Clause, then it can regulate virtually anything -- and the federal government is no longer one of limited and enumerated powers.")
Gary Marbut, president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, said in an interview with CBSNews.com on Monday that he expects to be facing off against the Obama administration in court soon. "We will find the right test cases to get us in court," he said.
Marbut believes that the letters were't that meaningful because they were addressed to gun manufacturers and dealers who already are licensed by the federal government. "Those people already are under the thumb of the Feds," he said. "We've assumed they wouldn't want to put their circumstances at risk in dabbling in the state-made guns business. The people who the letters are addressed to are pretty irrelevant to the whole discussion."
Washington drops hammer on state gun plan
Federal gun regulators have written to gun dealers around Tennessee, dropping the hammer on a new state law that exempts weapons made, sold and used inside the state from interstate regulations.
The letter, dated just days ago, was distributed to holders of Federal Firearms Licenses.
In it, Carson W. Carroll, the assistant director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told dealers the Tennessee Firearms Freedom Act, adopted this year, "purports to exempt personal firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition manufactured in the state, and which remain in the state, from most federal firearms laws and regulations."
The exemption is not right, the federal agency letter contends.
"As you may know, federal law requires a license to engage in the business of manufacturing firearms or ammunition, or to deal in firearms, even if the firearms or ammunition remain with the same state," the letter said. "All firearms manufactured by a licensee must be properly marked. Additionally, each licensee must record the type, model, caliber or gauge, and serial number of each firearm manufactured or otherwise acquired, and the date such manufacture or other acquisition was made.
"These, as well as other federal requirements and prohibitions, apply whether or not the firearms or ammunition have crossed state lines," the letter said.
The law was adopted by the state Legislature this year. It provides that "federal laws and regulations do not apply to personal firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition that is manufactured in Tennessee and remains in Tennessee." It also carries exemptions for certain types of weapons and ammunition and the requirement that all firearms made or sold in the state have "Made in Tennessee" on them.
Tennessee is not the first state to move in this direction. WND reported earlier that Utah was considering such a plan, and the state of Montana earlier adopted its own gun exemption procedure.
Montana's bill provides that guns, ammo, accessories, silencers and other products made, sold and used in the state would not require any federal documentation, registration, serial numbers, records check or waiting period.
The pushback from the states comes at a time when the federal administration is replete with anti-gun activists in influential positions, including an attorney general, Eric Holder, who supported a complete handgun ban in the District of Columbia before it was tossed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Obama administration has even pushed for a treaty that would require sportsmen who reload their ammunition to obtain a federal license.
The Montana plan cites the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that "guarantees to the states and their people all powers not granted to the federal government elsewhere in the Constitution and reserves to the state and people of Montana certain powers as they were understood at the time that Montana was admitted to statehood in 1889."
"The guaranty of those powers is a matter of contract between the state and people of Montana and the United States as of the time that the compact with the United States was agreed upon and adopted by Montana and the United States in 1889," the Montana plan states.
"The regulation of intrastate commerce is vested in the states under the 9th and 10th amendments to the United States Constitution, particularly if not expressly pre-empted by federal law. Congress has not expressly pre-empted state regulation of intrastate commerce pertaining to the manufacture on an intrastate basis of firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition," it says.
Further, state lawmakers cite the Second Amendment right of the people to "keep and bear arms as that right was understood at the time that Montana was admitted to statehood in 1889."
The Tennessee plan includes many of the same arguments.
The Tennessee Gun Owners website includes this comment: "And the battle begins. I don't believe this was unexpected. According to the 10th Amendment, the state has authority. Tennessee is applying its constitutional rights. The feds are saying, no, the Constitution doesn't count. Calling all lawyers!"
In Montana, a Democrat governor signed the gun exemption law; in Tennessee, a Democrat governor allowed the gun exemptions to become law without his signature.
At Resistnet.com, there was a discussion among hundreds of members who have stated their willingness to bring a lawsuit against the federal government over the issue.
"The sovereign state of Tennessee should stand her ground. If people would stand up to the bully (Big Brother) we might take back some of the rights that have been stolen from us. It will not be comfortable. It will not be easy. But, it can be done, if we want it bad enough," said one participant.
One other was a little less eloquent, but his message came through.
"This is a crock! This is a free state and it's time to tell the thieves in Washington to butt out."
The weapons definitions are part of a general move on the part of states – Alaska being the most recent – to simply declare their sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment.
About three dozen states have begun working on such plans.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin signed House Joint Resolution just days ago. It "claims sovereignty for the state under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States."
The joint resolution does not carry the force of law, but supporters say it is a significant move toward getting their message out to other lawmakers, the media and grassroots movements.
While seven states – Tennessee, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Alaska and Louisiana – have had both houses of their legislatures pass similar decrees, Palin signed Alaska's Tenth Amendment declaration and Tennessee's governor signed that state's Tenth Amendment declaration of sovereignty.
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Sheriff Mark's website
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Wild Thing's comment...........
Everything Obama does is to fit his Marxist/Commie agenda. He's already the biggest failure in the nation's history, and the only openly socialist pig ever elected to the seat.
Someone needs to tell Obama that he is not the Supreme Court. Our Founding Fathers put the 2nd Amendment in there for a reason.
They could also take the opportunity to tell him he’s not Congress either, and explain perhaps that all these unelected czars he’s appointing without any approval or accountability are illegal. He’s got Cabinet secretaries. Not friggin’ czars.
Obama knows his time is very limited because many are on to him about his being in presidency illegally! Someone pulling his strings wants these things done fast and the main thing they want done is confiscate guns so they can pass these bills without out caring anymore what people say if they ever did.
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:50 AM | Comments (5)
Minneapolis Struggles With Rise Of Somali Terrorists
Minneapolis struggles with rise of Somali gangs
MINNEAPOLIS
Ahmednur Ali's family fled the chaos and violence of their East African homeland Somalia in the 1990s, eventually making their way to Minnesota like thousands of their compatriots.
While many of the estimated 32,000 Somalis who settled in the state have struggled to adapt, Ali flourished. By age 20, he had blazed a path to Minneapolis' Augsburg College, where he played soccer, studied political science and aspired to a political career modeled on President Barack Obama's.
He was shot and killed last September outside a busy community center where he worked part-time as a youth counselor, and prosecutors said the 16-year-old accused of killing him was part of a gang.
Ali was one of seven Minneapolis-area Somali men killed over a 10-month period, and authorities believe all were killed by fellow Somalis. Police say it's too simple to tie all the killings to Somali gangs, which have lured hundreds of young community members to their ranks in recent years.
Those in the insular community willing to speak out, however, disagree.
"It was all gang activity, totally, 100 percent," said Shukri Adan, a former Somali community organizer who estimated in a 2007 report for the city that between 400 and 500 young Somalis were active in gangs. "The police don't want to say that but everybody else knows that."
Despite anger and despair over the killings in Minnesota's Somali community — the nation's largest — police and prosecutors have struggled to catch and try the killers. Few witnesses have stepped forward because of a fear of reprisal and deep-rooted distrust of authority. More than half of Minnesota's Somalis are living in poverty, according to state statistics, and many complain that authorities are biased against Somalis because of their Islamic faith.
The Muslims are more afraid of Islamic retribution than the limpwristed US law enforcement authorities.
Gangs like the Somali Hot Boyz, the Somali Mafia and Madhibaan with Attitude have grown more active in recent years, said Jeanine Brudenell, the Minneapolis Police Department's Somali liaison officer.
The recent spate of killings started in December 2007, when two Somali men, ages 27 and 25, were found shot to death at a south Minneapolis home. No arrests have been made in that case.
They culminated last September, when a man was fatally shot outside of the Village Market Mall, a cluster of Somali-owned businesses and a popular destination for local Somalis. Investigators believe the shooter was retaliating for the death of his cousin, one of the other slain Somalis. The mall shooting was the only of the seven slayings for which anyone was convicted — 23-year-old Hassan Mohamed Abdillahi.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said he hoped the conviction would show local Somalis that the law is on their side, and spark new progress in closing the other cases. "We have a job to do to convince people they can trust us," he said.
Wild Thing's comment............
They have brought what makes Somalia a hell hole to Minneapolis and are turning it into a backward, Islamic hell hole, too, only with taxpayer-funded community centers instead of mud huts. And if the original inhabitants of Minneapolis object, they are racists. If you want to live in Islamic culture, return to the hell hole of your birth and take your offspring with you, and leave us alone.
Please note the title of the article says....."gangs" is what the article labeled them. Gangs? Not Terrorists? They are Muslims, their beliefs are what Islam is about. Wow, encourage thousands of third world savages to emigrate to your state and violence erupts? How did they not see that coming?
1. stop labeling anything other then what they are.....TERRORISTS, Islamic terrorists.
2. How much longer and how many more violent things have to happen for the citizens of Minn. to wake up and see that voting for a Muslim like Keith Ellison and Obama only mean destruction for our country.
Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN in 1907"
'In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.'
Theodore Roosevelt 1907.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:49 AM | Comments (3)
Iranian Militias Marry, Rape Virgin Prisoners Before Executions
Members of Iran's Basij paramilitary force on parade in Tehran. A reputed militia member said prison guards in Iran marry and rape female virgins the night before their executions.
Iranian Militias Marry, Rape Virgin Prisoners Before Executions
Members of Iran's feared Basij militia forcibly marry female virgin prisoners the night before scheduled executions, raping their new "wives" and making it religiously acceptable to execute them, a self-professed member of the paramilitary group said.
The anonymous militiaman told the Jerusalem Post that at age 18 he was "given the 'honor' to temporarily marry young girls before they were sentenced to death."
In the Islamic Republic of Iran it is illegal to execute a woman if she is a virgin, the former guard told the newspaper. So the government arranges "wedding" ceremonies to be conducted the night before executions, and prisoners are forced to have sexual intercourse with a guard.
Raped by her new "husband," a female prisoner is now fit to be put to death.
"I regret that, even though the marriages were legal," said the militiaman, who told the Jerusalem Post he had just been released from prison himself after freeing two teenagers rounded up during post-election protests.
Some of the prisoners in his care were drugged with sleeping pills to make them docile, as the girls in their custody always fought back, he said, fearing the night of the rape more deeply than their executions the following day.
"I remember hearing them cry and scream after the rape was over," he told the paper. "I will never forget how this one girl clawed at her own face and neck with her finger nails afterwards. She had deep scratches all over her."
" I wed Iranian girls before execution"
In a shocking and unprecedented interview, directly exposing the inhumanity of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's religious regime in Iran, a serving member of the paramilitary Basiji militia has told this reporter of his role in suppressing opposition street protests in recent weeks.
He has also detailed aspects of his earlier service in the force, including his enforced participation in the rape of young Iranian girls prior to their execution.
The interview took place by telephone, and on condition of anonymity. It was arranged by a reliable source whose identity can also not be revealed.
Founded by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979 as a "people's militia," the volunteer Basiji force is subordinate to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and intensely loyal to Khomeini's successor, Khamenei.
The Basiji member, who is married with children, spoke soon after his release by the Iranian authorities from detention. He had been held for the "crime" of having set free two Iranian teenagers - a 13-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl - who had been arrested during the disturbances that have followed the disputed June presidential elections.
"There have been many other police and members of the security forces arrested because they have shown leniency toward the protesters out on the streets, or released them from custody without consulting our superiors," he said.
When he was 16, "my mother took me to a Basiji station and begged them to take me under their wing because I had no one and nothing foreseeable in my future. My father was martyred during the war in Iraq and she did not want me to get hooked on drugs and become a street thug. I had no choice," he said.
He said he had been a highly regarded member of the force, and had so "impressed my superiors" that, at 18, "I was given the 'honor' to temporarily marry young girls before they were sentenced to death."
In the Islamic Republic it is illegal to execute a young woman, regardless of her crime, if she is a virgin, he explained. Therefore a "wedding" ceremony is conducted the night before the execution: The young girl is forced to have sexual intercourse with a prison guard - essentially raped by her "husband."
"I regret that, even though the marriages were legal," he said.
Why the regret, if the marriages were "legal?"
"Because," he went on, "I could tell that the girls were more afraid of their 'wedding' night than of the execution that awaited them in the morning. And they would always fight back, so we would have to put sleeping pills in their food. By morning the girls would have an empty expression; it seemed like they were ready or wanted to die.
"I remember hearing them cry and scream after [the rape] was over," he said. "I will never forget how this one girl clawed at her own face and neck with her finger nails afterwards. She had deep scratches all over her."
Returning to the events of the last few weeks, and his decision to set free the two teenage detainees, he said he "honestly" did not know why he had released them, a decision that led to his own arrest, "but I think it was because they were so young. They looked like children and I knew what would happen to them if they weren't released."
He said that while a man is deemed "responsible for his own actions at 13, for a woman it is 9," and that it was freeing the 15-year-old girl that "really got me in trouble.
"I was not mistreated or really interrogated while being detained," he said. "I was put in a tiny room and left alone. It was hard being isolated, so I spent most of my time praying and thinking about my wife and kids."
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Wild Thing's comment........
Shocking!!!
And we can’t despise and oppose this evil religion why?
14th century barbarians with nukes. Just what the world needs more of.
....Thank you Richard for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:48 AM | Comments (4)
Democrats Irked By Obama Signing Statement
Democrats irked by Obama signing statement
WASHINGTON
Barack Obama has irked close allies in Congress by declaring he has the right to ignore legislation on constitutional grounds after having criticized George W. Bush for doing the same.
Four senior House Democrats on Tuesday said they were "surprised" and "chagrined" by Obama's declaration in June that he doesn't have to comply with provisions in a war spending bill that puts conditions on aid provided to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
In a signing statement accompanying the $106 billion bill, Obama said he wouldn't allow the legislation to interfere with his authority as president to conduct foreign policy and negotiate with other governments. Earlier in his 6-month-old administration, Obama issued a signing statement regarding provisions in a $410 billion omnibus spending bill.
"During the previous administration, all of us were critical of (Bush's) assertion that he could pick and choose which aspects of congressional statutes he was required to enforce," the Democrats wrote in their letter to Obama. "We were therefore chagrined to see you appear to express a similar attitude."
The letter was signed by Reps. David Obey of Wisconsin, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and Barney Frank of Massachusetts, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, as well as Reps. Nita Lowey and Gregory Meeks, both of New York, who chair subcommittees on those panels.
Obey and Frank in particular are needed by Obama to push through Congress key pieces of his agenda, including health care and financial oversight reform.
The White House said Tuesday the administration plans to implement the provisions of the bill and suggested that Obama's signing statement was aimed more at defending the president's executive powers than skirting the law.
"The president has also already made it clear that he will not ignore statutory obligations on the basis of policy disagreements and will reserve signing statements for legislation that raises clearly identified constitutional concerns," White House spokesman Ben LaBolt said in a statement.
Bush issued a record number of signing statements while in office as he sparred with Democrats on such big issues as the war in Iraq.
Democrats, including Obama, sharply criticized Bush as overstepping his bounds as president. In March, Obama ordered a review of Bush's guidelines for implementing legislation.
"There is no doubt that the practice of issuing such statements can be abused," Obama wrote in a memo to the heads of executive departments and agencies.
At the same time, however, Obama did not rule out issuing any signing statements, which have been used for centuries. Rather, he ordered his administration to work with Congress to inform lawmakers about concerns over legality before legislation ever reaches his desk. He also pledged to use caution and restraint when writing his own signing statements, and said he would rely on Justice Department guidance when doing so.
Two days after issuing the memo, Obama issued his first signing statement after receiving a $410 billion omnibus spending bill. He said the bill would "unduly interfere" with his authority by directing him how to proceed, or not to, in negotiations and discussions with international organizations and foreign governments.
Obey and the other House lawmakers said this week that Obama's signing statement on the war bill will make it tougher in the future to persuade other lawmakers to support the World Bank and IMF.
If Congress can't place conditions on the money, "it will make it virtually impossible to provide further allocations for these institutions," they wrote.
Wild Thing's comment...........
It seems the dems never thought they’d get the ‘We won!’ line used on them.
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:47 AM | Comments (4)
Happy Birthday BobF
Happy Birthday BobF,
May you have many, many more ! Thank you for being here and a part of Team Theodore.
from everyone here at Theodore's World
Chrissie
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:46 AM | Comments (3)
Gov. Sarah Palin To Feds: Alaska Is Sovereign State
Palin to feds: Alaska is sovereign state
Constitutional rights reasserted in growing resistance to Washington
Gov. Sarah Palin has signed a joint resolution declaring Alaska's sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution – and now 36 other states have introduced similar resolutions as part of a growing resistance to the federal government.
Just weeks before she plans to step down from her position as Alaska governor, Palin signed House Joint Resolution 27, sponsored by state Rep. Mike Kelly on July 10, according to a Tenth Amendment Center report.
The resolution "claims sovereignty for the state under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States."
Alaska's House passed HJR 27 by a vote of 37-0, and the Senate passed it by a vote of 40-0.
According to the report, the joint resolution does not carry with it the force of law, but supporters say it is a significant move toward getting their message out to other lawmakers, the media and grassroots movements.
Alaska's resolution states:
Be it resolved that the Alaska State Legislature hereby claims sovereignty for the state under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States.
Be it further resolved that this resolution serves as Notice and Demand to the federal government to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers.
While seven states – Tennessee, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Alaska and Louisiana – have had both houses of their legislatures pass similar decrees, Alaska Gov. Palin and Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen are currently the only governors to have signed their states' sovereignty resolutions.
The resolutions all address the Tenth Amendment that says: "powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
The Tenth Amendment Center also reported that Florida State Sen. Carey Baker, R-Eustis, introduced a memorial earlier this month urging "Congress to honor the provisions of the Constitution of the United States and United States Supreme Court case law which limit the scope and exercise of federal power."
"Now more than ever, state governments must exercise their Constitutional right to say no to the expansion of the federal government's reckless deficit spending and abuse of power," Sen. Baker said. "With this resolution, our Legislature can send a message to Washington that our state's rights must be respected."
The full text of Florida's memorial is available on the Tenth Amendment Center website.
As WND reported, South Carolina's proposal, S. 424, is titled: "To affirm South Carolina's sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution over all powers not enumerated and granted to the federal government by the United States Constitution."
Essentially it's a reminder that the United States is made up of individual states; it's not a federal authority broken up into political subdivisions.
In South Carolina, the proposals remains pending in the state Senate, where Sen. Lee Bright said he still hopes that it will be adopted this year.
The proposal there notes specifically that the "federal government was created by the states … to be an agent of the states," and the states currently "are treated as agents of the federal government," many times in violation of the Constitution.
Bright told WND the movement is spreading from state to state as fast as lawmakers discover it.
Michael Boldin, a spokesman for the Tenth Amendment Center, said his organization has created a posting for all such proposals to be tracked.
Among the states where such proposals at least have been considered are Louisiana, Colorado, Wisconsin, Florida, Illinois, West Virginia, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Nevada, Oregon, Alabama, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Idaho, New Mexico, South Dakota, Virginia, Kentucky, Alaska, Indiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, Minnesota, South Carolina, Georgia, Kansas, Texas, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Missouri, Iowa, Montana, Michigan, Arizona, Washington and Oklahoma.
In Louisiana, it passed the Senate in May and the House in June.
In Idaho, it passed the House in March and the Senate in April.
In North Dakota, it passed the House and Senate both in April, with the House a short time later adopting changes made by the Senate.
In South Dakota, it was approved by both houses of the Legislature and under that state's rules does not need the governor's signature.
In May, Rep. M.J. "Manny" Steele, a Republican in South Dakota, wrote that he believes up to $11 trillion is being wasted in the coming years by Washington's efforts "to duplicate and micromanage our states' affairs."
He said states should manage their own affairs and not be dependent on a federal cash cow to make ends meet. Likewise with industries, he said, citing federal cash dumps on the banking, insurance and automobile industries.
Steele told WND his dollar estimate was based on what President Obama himself has allocated in the coming years to spend on stimulus packages, industry bailouts and the like.
"If we would just let the market take care of these things," he said.
His letter noted that Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Carolina legislatures joined South Dakota's in passing some statement on the Tenth Amendment this year. The results vary based on state procedures, however. In Oklahoma, the governor vetoed the plan and it was launched on its second trip through the legislature and has been passed by the House.
"Over the course of decades, there have been increasing federal mandates and acts designed to effectively step in and legislate the affairs of our various states from Washington D.C.," Steele said. "Federal usurpation into state affairs severely limits the ability of state governments to operate according to their citizens' wishes."
Wild Thing's comment.........
Fantastic that she did this! GO Sarah!
Sarah would be a President that actually upholds the Constitution of the United States, unlike the Obama plant that lives and breaths hate for the Constitution.
Excellent. Keep the movement growing. The RATS are unconsitutional Marxists out to crush our personal freedoms and states’ rights.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:45 AM | Comments (8)
The Second American Revolution (Video)
Wild Thing's comment.......
I wish soooo much Obama and all on the left would watch this video. From what I have seen it is only the left and now we can add Obama to that too, that are the people that want to divide our country and they work very hard to do this. Add to that how they are destroying our country on every level in all ways.
They do NOT love our beloved country!
This is an excellent video. I posted it awhile back but it is one that should be seen every so often it is the best I have ever seen about taking America back. Totally awesome video!!!!!
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:40 AM | Comments (4)
July 21, 2009
Gates Announces Army Being Increased By 22,000
A U.S. Army Soldier calls for an airstrike on the hills surrounding Barge Matal, during Operation Mountain Fire in Afghanistan
Gates announces Army being increased by 22,000
WASHINGTON
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today announced plans to add up to 22,000 Soldiers to the U.S. Army's ranks.
The plus-up of active duty troops will take the Army from 547,000 to 569,000 forces in what Gates characterized as a temporary increase of the Army's "end strength" for three fiscal years.
"This is an important and necessary step to ensure that we continue to properly support the needs of our commanders in the field while providing relief for our current force and their families," the secretary told reporters during a Pentagon news conference.
Gates pointed to escalating violence in Afghanistan and an added U.S. presence there, political turmoil in Pakistan and elimination of the so-called "stop-loss" policy of involuntarily extending a soldier's length of service as reasons behind the decision.
"The cumulative effect of these factors is that the Army faces a period where its ability to continue to deploy combat units at acceptable 'fill rates' is at risk," he said. "Based on current deployment estimates, this is a temporary challenge which will peak in the coming year and abate over the course of the next three years."
Some 130,000 American forces are in Iraq and 58,000 are in Afghanistan, where an influx of deploying troops will bring the number to 68,000 by the end of this year, defense officials said.
"These additional forces will be used to ensure that our deploying units are properly manned, and not to create new combat formations," the defense secretary said, adding that the decision was made after consulting with the Army's top military and civilian leadership and with the backing of President Barack Obama.
Gates, who has described the defense budget as "zero sum," said the cost of the Army increase would be absorbed in funding already allocated in the budget for the next two fiscal years.
"We will take that money from someplace that isn't as high a priority as [adding] more Soldiers and taking some additional steps to relieve the stress on the force," he said. "This is a very high priority."
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appeared alongside Gates today, and also weighed in on the decision.
"I've grown increasingly concerned over the last year and a half about stress on the force and our ability to meet the demands out there," he said. "This temporary increase helps us address that concern. It will also help us get a better handle on [time at home between deployments] and boost the number of people we can deploy with the capabilities our commanders most need."
Wild Thing's comment........
If he is going to add more troops, please God make him add more funding for the things they need. The way Obama is doing things this is insane to make cut backs to funding for our military.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (10)
Congressman Mike Castle R-DE. Town Hall Erupts Over Obama's Birth Certificate
The woman who spoke at the townhall said she wants her country back.
" I'm American. My father worked, fought in World War II, the greatest generation, Pacific theater for this country, and I don't want this flag to change. "
Congressman Mike Castle pronounces Obama as a citizen which causes a roar of disapproval and the lady calls everyone to stand and say Pledge of Allegiance
Limbaugh: 'Obama has yet to prove he's a citizen' ( he plays the video above on his show)
Radio giant blasts president's refusal to show long-form birth certificate
Rush Limbaugh, upset that he's forced to report his every movement to tax authorities, blasted President Obama for failing to prove he is natural-born citizen of the United States.
On his show today, Limbaugh told listeners,
"As you know, I'm in the midst of another harassing audit from New York State and New York City for the last three years. We're up to 16 different ways I have to prove to New York City and state tax authorities where I have been every day – not just work week – but every day, for the past three years."
*snip*
Later in the show, Limbaugh showed a video of a woman criticizing Rep. Mike Castle for ignoring the birth certificate issue during a Delaware town meeting. She presented her own birth certificate, signed by a doctor, and asked why Obama hasn't been compelled to do the same.
*snip*
"The crowd went nuts," Limbaugh noted. "There's all kinds of stuff bubbling up out there."
Limbaugh joked several times about the subject in comparing Obama to God on his June 10 show.
Asking rhetorically what God has in common with Obama, Limbaugh said, "Neither has a birth certificate."
Limbaugh previously mentioned the birth certificate issue just days before the 2008 election, when Obama's campaign announced the candidate would rush to Hawaii to visit his dying grandmother, but took several days before actually making the trip. Limbaugh said on Oct. 23:
See, I think this is about something else. You know what's really percolating out there? I've been laying low on this because it hasn't met the threshold to pass the smell test on this program.
This birth certificate business, this lawsuit that a guy named Philip Berg filed in Philadelphia in August for Obama to produce his genuine birth certificate and he still hasn't replied. You've got a deathly ill grandmother, you are going to rush to her side a few days from now, when you first announced this, you're going to rush, you're going to hurry, you're going to make tracks, you're going to get over there because you don't want your grandmother to die before you got there like your mother did, but somehow you keep campaigning, you take three days to get over there, if he's left yet, and this birth certificate business, I'm just wondering if something's up. I have no clue, and folks, I'm telling you, this has not reached the threshold until now, and it's popping up all over the place. There are a lot of people now that are starting to speculate and be curious about this.
I don't know, let's say for example that somebody does come up with proof that something's screwy with his birth certificate and something's screwy about the fact that he's allegedly a natural citizen, American citizen, but may not be, dual citizenship, born in Kenya, who knows, there's all kinds of stuff out – so what? What's going to happen this late in the campaign? Do you think if it's proven that they're going to dump him? That's not going to happen. But still, these are just questions that I have. And, look, both of my parents have died. When I was told the end was near, bam, I got there, fast as I could. I didn't announce to the audience, "I just got word my father is said to be passing away and in four or five days I'm going to go to Missouri. In the meantime, I will not leave you here on this radio program." These are just natural questions. I think any inquisitive reporter – I know the risk I'm running here by raising all this. But I wouldn't be me if I didn't do that.
'Get out of war free' card
The case of the missing birth certificate grows more and more curious.
While numerous attempts to clarify the historical record have been successfully fought by the administration's lawyers, the issue became much more serious when Maj. Stefan Cook, a U.S. Army reservist with deployment orders to Afghanistan, filed a lawsuit regarding his questions about the legality of a deployment order based on the command of a potentially illegitimate commander in chief. But rather than contesting the suit, the Army took the highly peculiar step of revoking the major's deployment order, suggesting that the Pentagon generals are not entirely confident that they can demonstrate the legitimacy of their purported commander in chief.
The doubts this action raised about Obama's legitimacy were further increased when Maj. Cook was almost immediately fired from his civilian job at a private defense contractor, reportedly due to pressure from a federal agency under the Department of Defense, the Defense Security Services Agency. Although the obvious purpose of revoking the deployment order was to render the lawsuit moot, the firing only provides Maj. Cook with additional ammunition for broadening the scope of his lawsuit now that he has suffered demonstrable material damages.
Maj. Cook has already been joined in his lawsuit by two other soldiers, a retired Army two-star general and an active reserve Air Force lieutenant colonel. But the potential consequences of the major's revoked deployment go far beyond the number of American soldiers with doubts about the legitimacy of orders from their nominal commander in chief. The Pentagon's decision to back down rather than risk exposing Obama's birth records to the public means that every single American soldier, sailor, pilot and Marine now holds a "get out of war free" card. Not only every deployment order, but every order issued from an officer in the line of command can now be challenged in the knowledge that the top brass are afraid to respond for fear that their commander could be exposed for a fraud.
Given the number of sea and barracks lawyers in the various branches of the U.S. military, it seems unlikely that it will take very long for servicemen who are disinclined to accept an unpalatable or dangerous order to figure out how to best make use of this useful little veto. If even a small number of soldiers elect to do so, the effect on military discipline could rapidly become catastrophic.
It is hard to comprehend why Obama has been so obsessively secretive about his personal records, but it is now time for him to call off his lawyers and show the American public his cards. It would be the height of irresponsibility for the commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces to be the source of destroying American military discipline. Permitting such an easily preventable situation to develop would very strongly imply that the man is not only ineligible for the office, but unfit for it as well.
.
Wild Thing's comment......
Free Speech at it’s finest!!! This video of the woman doing this made me cry, I love my country so much.
May God Bless her and everyone at the meeting who cheered and stood up to say the Pledge. This was not a tea party group, it was a group of citizens of Delaware, for the Townhall meeting about Health Care.
Also very interesting points brought up by the last article posted just above."Get out of war free' card"..... I doubt Obama, Soros and whoever else from the beginning have known the truth about Obama ever thought it would go on this long, but also that it would have such far reaching consequences such as our military. It should have, but since the left has so little regard for our troops to them a soldier, Marine, sailor or pilot is so far beneath them they give no thought to them and their reactions to Obama as CIC. They are learning now though.
This is from someone that was there:
This took place on June 30, 2009 in Georgetown, DE at the CHEER Center(that’s a senior citizen center).
Mike Castle was presented with an angry crowd for over two hours of over 200 people that came out that morning. He was having a townhall meeting on healthcare, but he got an earful from angry constituents on his Cap N Trade vote. This happened on Sussex County, which is the southernmost of Delaware’s three counties. It is very conservative, as opposed to the north of Delaware which is very liberal. The usual “niceness” of Sussex Countians was notably absent that day. Mike Castle stayed and took the arrows, but he was visibly shocked by the anger of the crowd. Castle is a former two term Governor and is the most respected politician in Delaware. For him to get a reception like this was earthshaking.
I got to speak with Mr. Castle afterwards to tell him that he was wrong on global warming and that CO2 is not a pollutant.
This lady in the video was a real firecracker that day. “I want my country back!” was great!
And how funny was it that she singlehandedly got the whole crowd to stand up and say the Pledge of Allegiance, when she pointed out to the Congressman that he started a public meeting without doing that.
He got an earful about healthcare also that morning.
On Friday he voted “no” on Obamacare on the Finance Committee meeting, one of three committees that are prepping the bill for the House to vote on.
This meeting caused quite a storm in DE politics that week. We had the Georgetown Tea Party two days later, and I heard Castle was in Wilmington(northern DE) for their Tea Party and got another earful.
When I went that morning, I thought I would be the only person upset with him that morning. Turns out there 200 of us. And he got the message—loud and clear.
.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (17)
Jerusalem The Eternal City of Israel ~ Petition
I have mentioned several times that I wish there was a way to let BiBi know I support his decisions and not to cave in to Obama.
A dear friend of mine that has an awesome blog Bare Naked Islam sent me a Petition that One Jerusalem has, that calls for maintaining a united Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty.
Also be sure to check out her blog, she has tons of information about what Islamics our "peaceful" enemy is up to.
I signed the Petition and wanted to share it here with all of you. ~ Wild Thing
Here is what the Petition says:
United Jerusalem Petition can be found HERE..... One Jerusalem blog
JOIN THE ONLINE CAMPAIGN TO SAVE JERUSALEM AND ISRAEL FROM THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION!
Friends of Jerusalem and Israel know that we are facing the greatest challenge of our lives.
Israel's enemies are emboldened by the conciliatory policies of the Obama Administration and by its antagonistic attitude toward the elected government of the State of Israel.
We have mobilized over 100,000 defenders of Jerusalem and Israel. As a community, we share information that is often not reported by the Media, we promote pro-Israel ideas and people. We bring to the public's attention actions they can take to help our cause.
By signing this petition, you will join our growing and vibrant community. Join today. We need your assistance!
I support a unified Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, to ensure free and open access for all people.
I support a unified Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, as an expression of the unique relationship between the Jewish People and its eternal capital.
I support a unified Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, so as never to return to the dark period of 1947-67, when Arab control over an artificially divided Jerusalem meant religious persecution, desecration of holy sites, and wanton destruction.
I support a unified Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, according to the current municipal boundaries, set in the wake of Israel’s defensive 1967 Six Day War.
I support a unified Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, where Jews may enjoy the right to pray on the Temple Mount, the holiest site in the Jewish world.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:49 AM | Comments (6)
Obama Could Spend $23.7 Trillion to Fix Financial System?
$23.7 Trillion to Fix Financial System?
By MATTHEW JAFFE
July 20, 2009
"The total potential federal government support could reach up to $23.7 trillion," says Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, in a new report obtained Monday by ABC News on the government's efforts to fix the financial system.
Yes, $23.7 trillion.
"The potential financial commitment the American taxpayers could be responsible for is of a size and scope that isn't even imaginable," said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., ranking member on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. "If you spent a million dollars a day going back to the birth of Christ, that wouldn't even come close to just $1 trillion -- $23.7 trillion is a staggering figure."
Granted, Barofsky is not saying that the government will definitely spend that much money. He is saying that potentially, it could.
At present, the government has about 50 different programs to fight the current recession, including programs to bail out ailing banks and automakers, boost lending and beat back the housing crisis. Barofsky’s estimate means that if each federal agency spends the maximum potential amount involved in these 50 different initiatives — if the Federal Reserve ends up spending $6.8 trillion on its programs. If the Treasury Department spends $4.4 trillion, if the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation spends $2.3 trillion, and so on — then the numbers add up to a total of $23.7 trillion.
But in his new quarterly report to Congress that will be released Tuesday, the watchdog warns that hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars could be lost if the government does not make certain changes to these programs. The Treasury Department, he cautions, needs to increase the transparency of the $700 billion TARP program, which he says has grown to an unprecedented scope and scale.
"Although Treasury has taken some steps toward improving transparency in TARP programs, it has repeatedly failed to adopt recommendations that SIGTARP believes are essential to providing basic transparency and fulfill Treasury's stated commitment to implement TARP with the highest degree of accountability and transparency possible," Barofsky says in the report.
Barofsky said his office currently has 35 ongoing civil or criminal investigations.
Barofsky notes that there are currently four specific recommendations that the Treasury Department has not adopted. The department, he believes, should require all TARP recipients to report on their use of funds. The department should also report on the values of its TARP portfolio so taxpayers know about the value of their investments; disclose the identity of any TALF borrowers; and disclose tradings, holdings and valuations of assets of the public-private investment funds that will be buying toxic assets from banks.
It is a 3 page article you can continue HERE....thank you.
Wild Thing's comment........
There is no price tag for Obama on what he is willing to spend to destroy the United States of America. He wants to hold the rope while America swings. $24 trillion to create 1,000 “green” jobs.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:48 AM | Comments (6)
Democrats Refuse to Sign Pledge to Read Health Care Bill Before Vote
Let Freedom Ring: By close of business on Monday, July 20th, we will release the names of those who have signed, those who have declined to sign and those who have failed to respond.
We will then begin targeted publicity campaigns thanking those who have signed and taking to task those who have not.
Senators and Members of Congress who have already signed our pledge:
Total signers at the time I am doing this post.....72
http://www.letfreedomringusa.com/pledge-to-read
Rep Steve Austria, OH - 07
Rep Michele Bachmann, MN - 06
Rep Brian Bilbray, CA - 50
Rep Gus Bilirakis, FL - 09
Rep Rob Bishop, UT - 01
Rep Marsha Blackburn, TN - 07
Rep Roy Blunt, MO - 07
Rep John Boehner, OH - 08
Rep Michael Burgess, TX - 26
Rep Dan Burton, IN - 05
Rep Dave Camp, MI - 04
Rep Eric Cantor, VA - 07
Rep John Carter, TX - 31
Rep Bill Cassidy, LA - 06
Rep Mike Castle, DE - 00
Rep Jason Chaffetz, UT - 03
Sen Tom Coburn, OK
Rep Mike Coffman, CO - 06
Rep Tom Cole, OK - 04
Rep Mike Conaway, TX - 11
Sen John Cornyn, TX
Rep John Culberson, TX - 07
Sen James DeMint, SC
Rep Charlie Dent, PA - 15
Rep Mary Fallin, OK - 05
Rep Jeff Flake, AZ - 06
Rep John Fleming, LA - 04
Rep Virginia Foxx, NC - 05
Rep Scott Garrett, NJ - 05
Rep Jim Gerlach, PA - 06
Rep Phil Gingrey, GA - 11
Rep Louie Gohmert, TX - 01
Rep Kay Granger, TX - 12
Rep Sam Graves, MO - 06
Rep Ralph Hall, TX - 04
Rep Gregg Harper, MS - 03
Rep Wally Herger, CA - 02
Rep Duncan Hunter, CA - 52
Sen James Inhofe, OK
Sen Mike Johanns, NE
Rep Steve King, IA - 05
Rep John Kline, MN - 02
Rep Doug Lamborn, CO - 05
Rep Bob Latta, OH - 05
Rep Kenny Marchant, TX - 24
Rep Kevin McCarthy, CA - 22
Rep Cathy McMorris Rodgers, WA - 05
Rep John Mica, FL - 07
Rep Jerry Moran, KS - 01
Rep Pete Olson, TX - 22
Rep Ron Paul, TX - 14
Rep Mike Pence, IN - 06
Rep Joe Pitts, PA - 16
Rep Todd Platts, PA - 19
Rep Bill Posey, FL - 15
Rep Tom Price, GA - 06
Rep Adam Putnam, FL - 12
Rep Tom Rooney, FL - 16
Rep Paul Ryan, WI - 01
Rep Steve Scalise, LA - 01
Rep Pete Sessions, TX - 32
Rep John Shadegg, AZ - 03
Rep Lamar Smith, TX - 21
Rep Mark Souder, IN - 03
Rep John Sullivan, OK - 01
Rep Todd Tiahrt, KS - 04
Rep Patrick Tiberi, OH - 12
Rep Fred Upton, MI - 06
Rep Zach Wamp, TN - 03
Rep Lynn Westmoreland, GA - 03
Rep Joe Wilson, SC - 02
Rep Frank Wolf, VA - 10
Obama = LIAR LIAR LIAR
Barack Obama "Public Will Have 5 Days To Look At Every Bill That Lands On My Desk"
Wild Thing's comment..........
Great concept I love it! Thank you Let Freedom Ring for doing this.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (6)
Obama Fails as America's CEO He Is Totally Clueless
1. Gitmo review delayed 6 months (Obama puts vow in doubt)
Obama on Monday extended by six months a task force charged with determining how terrorism suspects should be interrogated, held in custody or handed over to other countries, putting in jeopardy his promise to close the military detention facility at the U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by January.
Late Monday, with only a select group of reporters invited, the White House deployed senior administration officials to sell the new delay. "We are over halfway through reviewing the detainees that are at Guantanamo," an official said.
2. Obama Delaying Release of Key Economic Report
Obama pushed back the release of a congressionally mandated report on the nation's economic conditions. Obama is delaying release of a congressionally mandated report on the nation's economic conditions, spawning speculation that it is trying to tamp down bad economic news to avoid further complicating the already fraught legislative debate over health care reform.
3. Obama and White House began to extend a self-imposed deadline for overhauling the nation's health care system.
"Although there are some positive provisions in the current House Tri-Committee bill – including insurance for all and payment reform demonstration projects – the proposed legislation misses the opportunity to help create higher-quality, more affordable health care for patients. In fact, it will do the opposite.
In general, the proposals under discussion are not patient focused or results oriented. Lawmakers have failed to use a fundamental lever – a change in Medicare payment policy – to help drive necessary improvements in American health care. Unless legislators create payment systems that pay for good patient results at reasonable costs, the promise of transformation in American health care will wither. The real losers will be the citizens of the United States."
GREAT Statement above from Mayo Clinic, condemning Obama DEATHcare. I have always heard good things about Mayo Clinic. The only people Democrats don’t want to kill are criminals, the Taliban and Al Queda...everyone from babies, the infirm and the elderly are all on the slaughter list. ~ Wild Thing
4. Obama Once Again Demanding Prime Time TV coverage of himself.
Most will carry Obama conference; time shifted after NBC balked! After some hesitation and a time shift, three major broadcast networks have agreed to carry Barack Obama's latest primetime news conference.
The event was announced Friday afternoon as Obama battles to bolster congressional support for an ambitious health-care overhaul while facing dropping approval ratings.
But broadcasters are struggling with falling approval ratings of their own; Nielsen's audience measurements show viewership in a summertime slump.
The conference will mark the president's fourth primetime press event since he took office six months ago. Such interruptions tend to wreak havoc with network schedules and can cost millions in lost advertising.
CBS, which airs only repeats that evening, agreed early Monday to cover the conference.
But for NBC, Fox and ABC, the decision was tougher. During a summer that's otherwise strewn with repeats, Wednesday includes all their top-rated reality programs.
Fox declined outright to air the news conference. This is the second time Fox has ruled against covering an Obama press conference.
NBC and ABC fell into line late Monday after the White House shifted the event's time from the previously announced 9 p.m. to the lesser-watched hour of 8 p.m.
It's only been 6 months are I cringe every freaking time this moron is on our TV.But in thinking about how often he is on, which really has been every single day, the Obama fatigue is starting to happen from the left. They are making comments a lot now about Obama being on TV too much. LOL If we really go back, it was a 2 year campaign with Obama being shown yakking someplace he was speaking every single day, the debates, the press conferences, all the media coverage everyday for 2 years. Now as their president he has also been on the same way, press conferences, speeches, townhalls, announcements, and Prime Time TV spots messing with the time off of hard workers across our counrtry that just want to forget about Obama for the evening. Hahhaha yes the world is sick of you Obama and it has only been 6 LONG months. And how delicious is it when he also is showing he does not care about the networks that elected him and their losing millions in advertising just to show his ulgy mug and his er ah er ah speech. He could care less about even the media's economy. ~ Wild Thing
5. Obama approval rating in a downward trajectory and sinking fast.
Jake Tapper on Obama's Approval Ratings
Sources I used for this post:
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Comments (8)
A Voice For Missile Defense
Meet America’s Top Missile-Defense Cheerleader
Riki Ellison, the onetime NFL linebacker who hung up his cleats to become the one of the most prominent U.S. advocates for missile defense.
Bloomberg’s Curtis Eichelberger has an interesting profile of Ellison, who’s been busier than ever with his campaign to keep the missile-defense dollars flowing. And as an owner of three Super Bowl rings, Ellison can’t resist a football metaphor.
“Sometimes you play zone defense, other times you play man-to-man, the key is to layer your defense so you can protect your goal line no matter how they attack you,” Ellison told Eichelberger. “That’s essentially how a missile defense system works.”
With a belligerent North Korea brandishing missiles, Ellison has been particularly vocal about keeping alive some of the programs that have been targeted for cuts by the Obama administration. And before a recent North Korean missile test, Ellison wrote to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, urging the deployment of the Sea-Based X-Band Radar (SBX), a powerful tracking and discrimination radar was undergoing repair in Hawaii. While the SBX was not diverted to track the missile, Ellison managed to get more attention to the program.
During his NFL career, Ellison held internships at Lockheed Martin where he met Edward Teller, who helped develop the first atomic bomb while working on the Manhattan Project and was the force behind Reagan’s missile defense initiative.
Following the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001, Ellison, a registered lobbyist, formed his organization to work for the deployment of a missile defense system.
It is funded by about 9,000 private donors, defense contractors and others interested in missile defense. He wouldn’t identify them.
“In football, you can’t win by building everything around your offense,” Ellison said. “In the real world, it’s imperative that you keep the opponent from reaching your end zone, even once.”
Wild Thing's comment......
Maybe this guy can convience Obama he is wrong. Obama doesn’t think the country should be allowed to defend itself.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:40 AM | Comments (4)
July 20, 2009
The Obamas to Vacation in Martha's Vineyard
The Obamas to Vacation in Martha's Vineyard
Wild Thing's comment......
Obama it is a good idea to leave your teleprompter at home when you go to Martha's Vineyard. These are people that can actually speak without notes.
And please God NO fist bumps or whatever the hell you call that ebonic black shit you do. Leave your racist shit at home too.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:10 PM | Comments (9)
More Race BS From Obama "African Americans Are More Fundamentally Rooted In The American Experience"
Obama: "African Americans Are More Fundamentally Rooted In The American Experience"
Source
Breitbart
Wild Thing's comment.........
Oh nooooo the teleprompter break again????
Excuse me then why the hell do they want to be called African Americans and not just Americans.
African Americans are more fundamentally rooted in the American experience because they don’t have a recent immigrant experience to draw on.
Glad to hear that Obama has now officially acknowledged that he is NOT an African-American.
Obama is illiterate. What history books did he read? Did he ever go to school anywhere that taught true American history? But then his teachers were Frank Marshal Davis and Rev Jeremiah Wright, with a little Saul Alinsky sprinkled in for good measure. Next we will hear that African Americans founded the nation. LOL
And even in the film industry, I don't even remember movies made that had blacks crossing our country in covered wagons, but I may have missed those movies.
I'm getting so sick of these minorites that have made it up the ladder-Sotomayor, BO— telling us that whitey is so bad. America was founded, built, batteled for and made prosperous by white European settlers. An America that put them where they are. Sorry BO, that's just the way it is. Whites founded the greatest country in history and did a fine job of it. If these people don't want whites to be important, then they should move back to their native countries where people of their own color founded and made their countries. I have nothing against any ethnic group in America, I like the fact that America is a melting pot, but they sure do have it out for the white man.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 PM | Comments (7)
Good For BiBi Netanyahu For Standing Up To Barack Obama
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** In his early years, Bibi served as a captain in the Sayeret Matkal reconnaissance unit of the Israeli Defense Force.
** In his early years, Obama says he did marijuana, cocaine and booze.
** Bibi’s brother, Yoni, (who attended Harvard) was wounded in the 1967 War and later killed during the raid on Entebbe.
** Obama’s brother, George, lives in a shack in Nairobi. In January he was arrested for drug possession.
** Bibi attended MIT, and later received a Masters from the Sloane School of Management.
** Obama attended Occidental College and Columbia, deciding five years after graduating to attend Harvard Law School. During the years in between he was a community organizer in Chicago. ( there are NO records of any schooling that I know of, last I heard they were sealed so no one could see them. And we have not heard much if anything from the people that he worked with when he was a community organizer either. Almost total silence and sealed duct taped past)
** Bibi has been elected to serve in the Israeli Knesset since 1988, and was elected Prime Minister in 1996, and again in 2009. He has also served as head of the Likud party for much of the time since 1993 and as Finance minister.
** Obama was a state senator before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2005. Three years later he ran for, and was elected president of the United States.
** Benyamin Netanyahu is fluent in English and Hebrew and he is considered a powerful speaker and he has an awesome voice..
** Barack Hussein Obama, who is also considered a powerful and influential speaker ( he is NOT) , says he’s embarrassed that Americans don’t know a foreign language and he says, “I don’t speak a foreign language. It’s embarrassing!” Interesting he would say that since he lived in Indonesia and speaks some knows Arabic .OH yess it would not be foreign to him since he well er all did live there or was born there......who knows.
** On occasion, Bibi, who is Jewish, will include Biblical quotes in his speeches, like: “G-d will give might to His people, G-d will bless His people with peace.” (Psalm 29)
** Obama, who says he is not muslim and that Jeramiah Wright is not his pastor, will include quotes from what he calls the “holy Koran” like: “"Be conscious of God and speak always the truth."
** Netanyahu’s father was a Professor of Jewish History at Cornell University
** Obama’s father was a drunk and a man that fathered children by different women, and did not take care of them and a communist.
** BiBi is a hero to his country and countrymen.
** Obama has been an embarassment, and a disgrace to our country and what it has stood for all my life. He is the enemy within and the most dangerous man in our country. He is NOT loved. He might have been worshiped by the left and he was, but not loved. Love has more meat in it, more depth then the feeling of worshp which can fad in the wind. Obama does not love Amercia and it shows, in his actions and words.
Netanyahu tight-lipped about imminent Iran attack
Israeli warships cross Red Sea in apparent signal to Tehran
JERUSALEM
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office refused to respond to a report today purporting to quote an Israeli defense official stating the recent deployment of warships across the Red Sea should be seen as serious preparation for an attack on Iran.
"It is not our policy to comment on such reports," Mark Regev, Netanyahu's spokesman, told WND.
Earlier this week, two Israel Navy gunboats openly sailed through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea with permission from Egypt.
"This is preparation that should be taken seriously. Israel is investing time in preparing itself for the complexity of an attack on Iran. These maneuvers are a message to Iran that Israel will follow up on its threats," the Times of London today quoted what it said was an Israeli defense official as saying.
The warship movements follow the passage last month of an Israeli Dolphin-class submarine through the canal, later returning the same way.
According to Israeli defense officials speaking to WND, the Dolphin was carrying out test drills. The officials said the submarine passed through the canal with permission from Egypt, even though the Egyptian government denied any permission was granted.
The Times today quoted an Israeli diplomat explaining the Jewish state has been bolstering its ties with certain Arab nations that are also threatened by Iran. The diplomat cited a "shared mutual distrust of Iran" between Israel and Egypt.
In a report denied by Netanyahu's office, the Times of London two weeks ago claimed Saudi Arabia would turn a blind eye to Israeli warplanes flying over the kingdom in any raid on Iran's nuclear sites.
The Times said Mossad director Meir Dagan had held secret talks with Saudi officials to discuss the possibility.
"The Saudis have tacitly agreed to the Israeli air force flying through their airspace on a mission which is supposed to be in the common interests of Israel and Saudi Arabia," the newspaper quoted a diplomatic source as saying.
Netanyahu: Jerusalem is Ours, Not Up for Debate
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued a sharp response Sunday to United States pressure to stop Jews from building in parts of Jerusalem claimed by the Palestinian Authority. Israel's sovereignty in Jerusalem is “not up for debate,” Netanyahu said, and Jews are permitted to build in any part of the capital city, as are Arabs.
Netanyahu implied that the U.S. request was racist, saying before the weekly Cabinet meeting, “Imagine what would happen if Jews were forbidden to live or to buy apartments in certain parts of London, New York, Paris or Rome. There would be an international outcry."
"All the more, we cannot to a decree like this regarding Jerusalem,” he said.
Over the weekend, the U.S. State Department summoned Israeli envoy Michael Oren and demanded that Israel halt construction of Jewish homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, near the ancient grave of Shimon HaTzaddik (Simon the Just). The property on which the homes are to be built has been owned by Jewish activist Dr. Irving Moskowitz for more than 20 years.
Oren told U.S. officials that Israel would not agree to stop building in the area.
Wild Thing's comment.........
Go Bibi! Stay strong Israel!!!! Pay no attention to the Obama administration,they want to destroy you’re country just like they are doing to ours! God bless BiBi and the hell with Obama.
It is so OUTRAGEOUS that Obama and company think they can tell Israel where to build in their own city. Man it is awful for the U.S. to be represented by madman #$%&@* It turns my stomach. Give em hell Bibi!
Barack Obama has failed in his domestic and foreign policies. Everything he touches is ruined!!!
Thank you to Cinnamon Girl and I saved several of the photos of BiBi for later on.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (12)
Judges Don't Belong on the Battlefield
Judges Don't Belong on the Battlefield
Recent decisions have altered the way we're fighting in Afghanistan.
by David B. Rivkin, Jr., and Lee A. Casey
Earlier this year, a Washington D.C.-based federal court extended the constitutional right to habeas corpus to three foreign nationals detained by U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The case, Maqaleh v. Gates, represents yet another step in the federal judiciary's transformation from Alexander Hamilton's "least dangerous branch" into a fully active policy maker.
Historically, the constitutional right to habeas corpus -- an ancient process permitting prisoners to challenge the legality of their confinement -- was available only to individuals present in the U.S., or to American citizens held by federal authorities overseas. In a leading World War II case, Johnson v. Eisentrager (1950), the high court decided, with "bright line rules," that habeas corpus is unavailable to foreign citizens held outside the U.S.
But last year, the high court reversed itself in Boumediene v. Bush. The court held, by a 5-4 vote, that foreign nationals detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, also have a right to habeas corpus. Articulating a new, multifactor test for determining who can receive habeas corpus overseas, the court left open the possibility that aliens detained at any U.S. controlled foreign facility could sue the government for their release.
In Maqaleh the court concluded that three detainees, held at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan, but actually captured in other countries, have habeas corpus rights under the U.S. Constitution. It reasoned that permitting the president to move captured enemies from one location to another without judicial review would simply give the executive too much power.
What really is at stake is whether the president's actions overseas -- especially in military operations -- are to be subject to judicial supervision. In this light, the courts have never been so bold. Although the Maqaleh court denied it, the premise of its decision is that the Constitution permits judicial involvement in all U.S. actions abroad. While this particular ruling involves habeas rights in Afghanistan, there is in fact no principled limitation on the court's reasoning. The real test in any particular case is whether a federal judge believes the president is operating with insufficient constraints on his authority.
This new state of play has already affected U.S. military operations. American special forces, have now limited their activities in the Afghan-Pakistan border region -- where al Qaeda and the Taliban are now most active -- to avoid claims by enemy fighters that they were captured outside of Afghanistan, in Pakistan.
If those enemy fighters were captured outside of Afghanistan, then according to the Maqaleh decision, they are eligible for habeas relief. This provides a strategic sanctuary for Pakistan-based enemy operatives, who are now effectively immune from U.S. ground attacks.
This is obviously not the first time the courts have overstepped their proper constitutional bounds, seeking a political role for themselves. Notorious examples include the Supreme Court's efforts to preserve slavery in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) and its determination to oppose federal economic regulation during President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. In each case, the judges have eventually been strong-armed back, through the force of the public opinion and political pressures, to a more appropriate role.
The sooner this process begins, the better. A good first step would be some questions for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor by the Senate. Senate members should determine her views on the proper role of judges in reviewing U.S. military operations overseas.
Justice Robert Jackson, writing in the Eisentrager case, explained why foreign enemies should not have access to American courts. "It would be difficult to devise more effective fettering of a field commander than to allow the very enemies he is ordered to reduce to submission to call him to account in his own civil courts and divert his efforts and attention from the military offensive abroad to the legal defensive at home." The question is: Does Ms. Sotomayor agree?
Wild Thing's comment.......
The Supreme Court's disastrous Boumediene decision is giving terrorists cover in Afghanistan. Why oh why can't everyone that is not boots on the ground Generals, our troops etc. stay out of how our troops are fighting this war.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (12)
Obama "Health Plan" to Cover 12 Million Illegals
Obama Health Plan to Cover 12 Million Illegals
On Friday, Democrats moved one step closer to giving free health insurance to the nation’s estimated 12 million illegal aliens when they successfully defeated a Republican-backed amendment, offered by Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., that would have prevented illegal aliens from receiving government-subsidized health care under the proposed plan backed by House Democrats and President Barack Obama.
The House Ways and Means Committee nixed the Heller amendment by a 26-to-15 vote along straight party lines, and followed this action by passing the 1,018-page bill early Friday morning by a 23-to-18 margin, with three Democrats voting against the plan.
The Democratic plan will embrace Obama’s vision of bringing free government medical care to more than 45 million uninsured people in America – a significant portion of whom are illegal aliens.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, costs under the Obama plan being proposed by the House will saddle citizens with $1.04 trillion in new federal outlays over the next decade.
Congressional Democrats and Obama have argued that their health plan is necessary to contain rising health care costs.
But, last Thursday, CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf testified before the Senate Budget Committee and warned lawmakers that the proposed “legislation significantly expands the federal responsibility for health care costs."
A key factor increasing costs is that Democratic plan provides for blanket coverage to as much as 15 percent of the U.S. population not currently insured, including illegals.
Democrats had insisted throughout the health-care reform debate that illegals would be ineligible for the so-called public option plan that is to be subsidized by taxpayers.
"We're not going to cover undocumented aliens, undocumented workers," Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, told reporters in May. "That's too politically explosive."
Wild Thing's comment........
“12 million ”
LOL oh come on! It’s been 12 million for 9 years...try 22 million!
Any Republican who votes for this preposterous outrage to American freedom should be run out of town on a rail! Democrats too, but none have the stones to vote against their master.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:49 AM | Comments (2)
40 Years Later Kennedy Still Getting Away With Death of Mary Jo Kopechne
Spinning Kennedy For 40 Years
In Massachusetts, everyone just loves Senator Ted Kennedy. In the Boston media, this man can do no wrong, especially now because of his illness, but we all know there are things few of us could get away with but he did simply because he’s a Democrat and (more importantly) a Kennedy.
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Mary Jo Kopechne, killed July 18, 1969 after leaving a party with Senator Edward Kennedy. That night, Kennedy drove his car off a bridge, and left the scene with Kopechne still in the submerged vehicle; he did not call the police until the following morning.
Perhaps the most egregious example of the liberal media planting a pro-Kennedy spin on Chappaquiddick came in a January 5, 2003 Boston Globe Magazine profile of Kennedy:
“If she had lived, Mary Jo Kopechne would be 62 years old. Through his tireless work as a legislator, Edward Kennedy would have brought comfort to her in her old age.” — Charles Pierce Globe writer
We all know what would happen to any of us had we walked away from the scene of an accident where someone died. Continuing on as a United States senator would not be one of them.
Remember that while Ted Kennedy continues to be celebrated
On this day 40 years ago 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne was left in the car to drown
Sometime around midnight, on July 18, 1969 Kennedy drove his Oldsmobile 88 off of a small bridge on Chappaquiddick island, into eight feet of chilly water. The vehicle landed upside-down. While Kennedy managed to free himself from the wreck and swim to safety, his passenger, 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne was left in the car to drown.
Once he reached shore, Kennedy claims to have made seven or eight attempts to rescue Kopechne, but could not free her.
Kennedy then walked back to the cottage where he and four other men, were partying with several young women known as the “Boiler Room Girls“ who had worked on Robert Kennedy‘s campaign. Though Kennedy passed by a fire station and a private home to return to the cottage, he never stopped to ask for help for the trapped Kopechne.
He returned to the party and according to Kennedy himself, informed his cousin and a friend of the situation. The two men, Joseph Gargan and Paul Markham claim to have returned to the scene of the accident and made several unsuccessful attempts to free Kopechne.
Then Kennedy’s story takes an even stranger turn.
After the failed rescue attempts, Kennedy claims to have jumped back into the water and made the 500-foot swim across the channel back to Edgartown. He then walked back to his hotel and spent the night. He even took the time to change clothes and pay a visit to the front-desk, to complain about a noisy party--no doubt Kennedy's sloppy attempt at securing an alibi.
The next morning, Gargan and Markham around 8:00 a.m., and were supposedly shocked to discover that Kennedy never reported the accident to police. According to Kennedy‘s own testimony, he told them: "about my own thoughts and feelings as I swam across that channel ... that somehow when they arrived in the morning that they were going to say that Mary Jo was still alive"
The two men along with Kennedy went back to Chappaquiddick, where Kennedy spent some time making phone calls, seeking advice from various individuals as to how to proceed.
Meanwhile, two fisherman had discovered the submerged car and notified police. At 8:45a.m. a diver recovered the lifeless body of Mary Jo Kopechne.
It was not until 10a.m., over nine hours after driving-off of the bridge that Ted Kennedy went to the police station in Edgarton to report the accident.
Kennedy then gave the following prepared statement to police: “On July 18, 1969, at approximately 11:15 p.m. in Chappaquiddick, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, I was driving my car on Main Street on my way to get the ferry back to Edgartown. I was unfamiliar with the road and turned right onto Dike Road, instead of bearing hard left on Main Street. After proceeding for approximately one-half mile on Dike Road I descended a hill and came upon a narrow bridge.
The car went off the side of the bridge. There was one passenger with me, one Miss Mary [Kopechne], a former secretary of my brother Sen. Robert Kennedy. The car turned over and sank into the water and landed with the roof resting on the bottom. I attempted to open the door and the window of the car but have no recollection of how I got out of the car. I came to the surface and then repeatedly dove down to the car in an attempt to see if the passenger was still in the car. I was unsuccessful in the attempt. I was exhausted and in a state of shock.
I recall walking back to where my friends were eating. There was a car parked in front of the cottage and I climbed into the backseat. I then asked for someone to bring me back to Edgartown. I remember walking around for a period and then going back to my hotel room. When I fully realized what had happened this morning, I immediately contacted the police”
In a move which must have been rather tortuous for her parents, Kennedy attended Mary Jo's funeral, wearing a neck brace (which he reportedly never wore again) and looking rather pathetic.
The diver who recovered Kopechne’s body, John Farrar testified at the official inquest that her body was found where the air pocket would have formed. He said: “Had I received a call within five to ten minutes of the accident occurring, and was able, as I was the following morning, to be at the victim's side within twenty-five minutes of receiving the call, in such event there is a strong possibility that she would have been alive on removal from the submerged car.”
A week after the incident, Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and received a suspended two-month sentence. Kennedy then went on national television to repeat his rather implausible story, and to ask for the public’s “prayers.”
The ensuing scandal and questionable details given by all of those involved is now left to speculation. It was obvious to most people that Kennedy had allowed a young girl to drown, in a desperate and self-serving attempt to protect his political career.
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Wild Thing's comment.......
It is sickening how the media and the Democrats and the RINO’s fawn over what a great man Ted Kennedy is/was.
It’s more revolting as the years pass. No justice.
....Thank you Jack for sending this to me.
United States Army
1965-1971
Army Combat Engineers
Quang Tri & Chu Lai '68 -'69
67-69
Jack's blog is Conservative Insurgent
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:48 AM | Comments (9)
A Vietnam Veteran Writes About the Traitor Cronkite
FEBRUARY 27, 1968 ......WALTER CRONKITE'S "WE ARE MIRED IN STALEMATE" BROADCAST
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdOb_183d1o .....VIDEO
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Walter Cronkite: Only The Good Die Young
Right in a Left World Blog....Please also check out his blog.
by Lew Waters
Walter Cronkite, long-time news reporter and anchorman for CBS News has died at the age of 92.
Labeled by many as “iconic” and “the most trusted man in America,” I cannot share that view of this man. Like Debbie Schlussel, I have no tears to shed for a man who held the responsibility of responsibly and honestly reporting the news to America, deliberately gave a false view of our involvement in the nation of Viet Nam during the 1960’s.
Much of America listened every evening to the man they trusted and never suspected that he was beginning the very biased news against America that helped lead America down the path of the communist nation we are now becoming.
In the Viet Nam War, many seemed to be surprised by the sudden attacks across the nation in the Tet of 68 offensive. Even though our intelligence was at best sketchy, American and South Vietnamese were not caught totally off guard and the offensive launched by the North Vietnamese Communist ended up a huge failure for the Communist North Militarily. Their numbers were decimated and it took many years for them to recover and launch the final drive South, defeating the South Vietnamese who no longer received any aid from America due to Democrat congressional policies.
In many regards the Tet of 68 Offensive was very similar to Germany’s Battle of the Bulge in World War Two, a desperate attempt.
It is ironic that Cronkite reported on both battles of desperation, accurately reporting the Bravery and steadfastness of World War Troops who pushed back the Nazi’s, but labeling our decisive victory in Tet as a “stalemate” and “unwinnable” in a broadcast aired on February 27, 1968 upon his return to America from Viet Nam and ending that broadcast with,
“it is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could.”
Abandoning a struggling ally is hardly “the best they could do,” as millions of Asians in Viet Nam, Cambodia and Laos paid with their lives as Communism spread across Southeast Asia and untold thousands more lost their lives as they desperately tried escaping the throes of Communism in rickety boats across the South China Sea in what was labeled the Boat People.
In an October 2000 speech, retired General Fredrick Weyand, who commanded II Field Force during the Tet of 68 offensive said in part,
“After Tet, General Westmoreland sent Walter Cronkite out to interview me. I was in Command of the Forces in the South around Saigon and below and I was proud of what we'd done. We had done a good job there. So, Walter came down and he spent about an hour and a half interviewing me. And when we got done, he said, “well you've got a fine story. But I'm not going to use any of it because I've been up to Hue. I've seen the thousands of bodies up there in mass graves and I'm determined to do all in my power to bring this war to an end as soon as possible.”
“It didn't seem to matter that those thousands of bodies were of South Vietnamese citizens who had been killed by the Hanoi soldiers and Walter wasn't alone in this because I think many in the media mirrored his view…”
“When I was in Paris at the Peace Talks, it was the most frustrating assignment I think I ever had. Sitting in that conference, week after week listening to the Hanoi negotiators, Le Duc Tho and his friends lecture us. Reading from the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Herald Tribune, the Atlanta Constitution, NBC, CBS, you name it. Their message was always the same. “Hey, read your newspapers, listen to your TV. The American people want you out of Vietnam. Now, why don't you just go ahead and get out?” So finally a Peace Agreement was signed that everyone knew would be violated and with no recourse or hope of enforcement on our part.”
General Weyand went on to say he doesn’t blame the media entirely for the outcome of the war, but Cronkite’s words expressing how he had no intention of reporting the Battle truthfully evidence how the media spearheaded the anti-war effort at turning public opinion against the effort to keep the South Vietnamese free and towards supporting the Communist Forces of the North.
In short, he sold out America and our Troops as well as millions of Southeast Asians.
In the days ahead many will label Cronkite as “iconic,” “legendary,” and heap accolades upon him I feel are undeserved. Cronkite himself called what he said on Vietnam as his “proudest achievement.”
It escapes me how having the blood of millions of people, over 40,000 of which are American Soldiers on your hands could be seen as his “proudest achievement.”
Uncle Walt, as he was affectionately known, is gone. Dead at the age of 92 and who lived much longer than many of my brothers whose blood is on his hands that he sold out. His death at this ripe old age reinforces the old adage, “only the good die young.”
I have no tears for the man but offer condolences to his family and loved ones.
Others who sold out the Vietnamese and American Troops will join him one day. Jane Fonda, John Kerry, Ramsey Clark, Bill Ayers and so many others who today lavish themselves with the very luxuries they called for others to scorn as they spoke out against a free Viet Nam will also face the grim reaper in time.
Just as I hope and pray for Walter Cronkite, they too should face every single one of those well more than 40,000 American Troops their anti-American conduct helped kill on their descent to hell!
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Wild Thing's comment.......
The media spent a lot of the weekend praising Cronkite. I hope they have gotten it out of their system now with the new week starting.
I know I already posted about him the day he died.
Communist and Traitor Walter Cronkite....DEAD!
But Lew Waters did such a great job at his blog, when I read what he wrote I wanted to share it with you. Lew is a Vietnam Veteran.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (12)
Checking in With Our Military
Army Staff Sgt. Larry Kazmierzak, 3-338th Aviation National Guard Unit, is accompanied by his twin daughters, Ashley and Kari Kazmierzak, at Forward Operating Base Diamond Back, Mosul, recently. The Kazmierzaks, who are deployed with the same unit and work in the same department, are on a one-year deployment to Iraq. Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Carmichael Yepez, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs.
U.S. Army Sgt. Christopher Sommer, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, attracts local kids while giving out pens as leaders meet with a shaykh near Abu Asif, June 25. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Neil Stanfield.
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U.S. Army Field Artillery Museum Virtual Tour
In June, CannonArtillery.com attended the 2009 Fires Seminar and Trade Expo. While there, Gordon A. Blaker, director and curator of the new U.S. Army Field Artillery Museum, was kind enough to show the CannonArtillery.com team around 234 years worth of Army artillery artifacts. View this week's video featuring the experimental mule-cannon display below.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Comments (4)
Obama's Health Bill Might Direct Tax Money to Abortion
Health Bill Might Direct Tax Money to Abortion
An Obama administration official refused Sunday to rule out the possibility that federal tax money might be used to pay for abortions under proposed health care legislation.
Peter R. Orszag, the White House budget director, asked whether he was prepared to say that “no taxpayer money will go to pay for abortions,” answered: “I am not prepared to say explicitly that right now. It’s obviously a controversial issue, and it’s one of the questions that is playing out in this debate.”
Senator Judd Gregg, Republican of New Hampshire, who along with Mr. Orszag was asked about the issue on “Fox News Sunday,” said it had the potential to complicate the legislative battle over health care. “I would hate to see the health care debate go down over that issue,” Mr. Gregg said.
Abortion has been simmering behind the scenes as an issue in legislation to guarantee access to health insurance for all Americans. The debate affects not only the public health insurance plan that Democrats want to create, but also private insurers, who would receive tens of billions of dollars of federal subsidies to cover people with low and moderate incomes.
Under the House bill, for example, most insurers would have to provide an “essential benefits package” specified by the health and human services secretary, who would receive recommendations from a federal advisory committee. Opponents of abortion want Congress to prohibit inclusion of abortion in that benefits package, while advocates of abortion rights say the package should be left to medical professionals to determine.
In an analysis of the House bill, the National Right to Life Committee said that ordinary principles of administrative law could allow the Obama administration to determine what would be included in the benefits package.
Wild Thing's comment........
I would expect this life hating Obama to put anything he can into his unhealthy bill just to do more damage to our civilization and our country. Death is what Obamacare is all about and you won’t have to be in the womb to be touched by it. The DemocRATS are the party of death. Obamacare is not about healthcare.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:44 AM | Comments (4)
New GOP Ad ~ " Obama vs. Obama"
Wild Thing's comment........
Excellent, complete with sinister music. Hope we see that all over the place.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:40 AM | Comments (6)
July 19, 2009
Islamic Group Hizb ut-Tahrir Holds First U.S. Conference TODAY In Obama's Chicago
From their website...Khilafah Conference 2009
"He it is Who has sent His Messenger (Muhammad SAW) with guidance and the religion of truth (Islam), that He may make it (Islam) superior over all religions. And All-Sufficient is Allah as a Witness." (TMQ 48:28)
Khilafah Conference 2009: Hizb ut Tahrir America: This group plans world domination
***Session 1: Failure of Capitalism***
Lecture 1: Capitalism is Doomed to Fail
Lecture 2: The Suffering Under Capitalism
***Session 2 : Islamic Perspective on Economy***
Lecture 1: How Wealth is Distributed Justly
Lecture 2: Life Under the Islamic Economic System
***Session 3 : Rise of Islam***
Lecture 1: Global Activism for Islamic Revival
Lecture 2: Role of Muslims in America
Islamic Supremacist Group Holds First U.S. Conference
A group committed to establishing an international Islamic empire and reportedly linked to Al Qaeda is stepping up its Western recruitment efforts by holding its first official conference in the U.S.
Hizb ut-Tahrir is a global Sunni network with reported ties to confessed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Al Qaeda in Iraq's onetime leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It has operated discreetly in the U.S. for decades.
Now, it is coming out of the shadows and openly hosting a July 19 conference entitled, "The Fall of Capitalism and the Rise of Islam," at a posh Hilton hotel in a suburb of Chicago.
Hizb ut-Tahrir insists that it does not engage in terrorism, and it is not recognized by the State Department as a known terror group.
But some terrorism experts say it may be even more dangerous than many groups that are on the terror list.
"Hizb ut-Tahrir is one of the oldest, largest indoctrinating organizations for the ideology known as jihadism," Walid Phares, director of the Future of Terrorism Project at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told FOXNews.com.
Phares said that Hizb ut-Tahrir, rather than training members to carry out terrorist acts like Al Qaeda, focuses instead on indoctrinating youths between ages of 9 and 18 to absorb the ideology that calls for the formation of an empire — or "khilafah" — that will rule according to Islamic law and condones any means to achieve it, including militant jihad.
Hizb ut-Tahrir often says that its indoctrination "prepares the infantry" that groups like Al Qaeda take into battle, Phares said.
"It's like a middle school that prepares them to be recruited by the high school, which is Al Qaeda," he said. "One would compare them to Hitler youth. ... It's an extremely dangerous organization."
Phares said Hizb ut-Tahrir has strongholds in Western countries, including Britain, France and Spain, and clearly is looking to strengthen its base in the U.S.
"The aim of this conference is to recruit within the Muslim community in America," he said. "The Middle East governments go after them, but in the U.S. they are protected, so having a base here is going to help their cells around the world."
Representatives of Hizb ut-Tahrir declined to comment when contacted by FOXNews.com.
Oren Segal, director of Islamic Affairs for the Anti-Defamation League, said the conference is cause for concern.
"While they're not, for the most part, engaging in violent activities, and they publicly say that they're against violence, there have been examples around the world where people who have spun off of this group have engaged in violent activity," Segal told FOXNews.com. "That's why they're banned in several Arab and Central Asian countries, as well as Germany and Russia."
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is one of the group's most famous alumni, New Statesman journalist Shiv Malik reported, citing intelligence sources. In addition to plotting the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, he also is implicated in the World Trade Center bombing of 1993, the Bali nightclub bombings and the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
Malik's report, the public policy institute the Nixon Center and the counter-extremism think tank the Quilliam Foundation agree that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq until he was killed in June 2006, also was once a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir.
They say other former members include Asif Muhammad Hanif, a British man who blew himself up outside a bar in Tel Aviv, killing four people (including himself) and wounding more than 50; and Omar Bakri Mohammed, a radical cleric currently banned from Britain who praised the 9/11 attacks, raised funds for Hezbollah and Hamas and called for attacks on the Dublin airport because U.S. troops transfered there on their way to Iraq.
Segal said Hizb ut-Tahrir is becoming more active online in the U.S. — particularly on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace — and now it may be able to add a significant number of Americans to its ranks.
But one place the group will likely not be recruiting is a local Islamic school that backed out of hosting the conference.
The non-profit Aqsa school in Bridgeview said Hizb ut-Tahrir had deceptively portrayed the conference as a bazaar-type event where traditional food and clothing would be sold.
"They misrepresented themselves and the event. We don't want to be in the middle of something like that," the school's business manager Rana Jaber, told CBS News.
The conference's new venue doesn't seem to mind.
Hilton Oak Lawn General Manager Rick Harmon said Hizb ut-Tahrir used its own name when it reserved the room for the conference, but the hotel was not aware of the content of the event, which includes lectures entitled "Capitalism is Doomed to Fail," "The Global Rise of Islam," and the "Role of Muslims in America," until after the contract was signed.
Still, Harmon said the hotel is open to all kinds of meetings, that don't necessarily reflect its position or beliefs.
"We're United States citizens and an American business — if it's legal, we're able to host it, as long as it's nothing that disrupts our other guests' privacy and security," Harmon told FOXNews.com.
"Hizb-ut-Tahrir is convinced that change must start in the minds of people, and therefore does not accept for people, or societies, to be forced to change by means of violence and terror," it reads.
The site, which includes a promotional YouTube video, says the group "does not work in the West to change the system of government, but works to project a positive image of Islam to Western society."
But former member Ishtiaq Hussain said Hizb ut-Tahrir is repackaging itself as a moderate organization as a tactic, while in reality it is "extremist."
"They don't recognize countries like Israel, for example; they don’t believe Israel should exist," Hussain, now a trainer for the Quilliam Foundation, told FOXNews.com. "Some of their leaders have denied the Holocaust, and they believe homosexuals should be thrown off the highest building. ... It's actually a very dangerous group."
Hizb ut-Tahrir itself has also published writings that seem to contradict its tenet of non-violence.
In his book, "How the Khilafah Was Destroyed," Sheikh Abdul Qadeem Zalloom, the former global leader of Hizb ut-Tahrir, says anyone who rules by a non-Islamic system should "either retract or be killed ... even if this led to several years of fighting and even if it led to the killing of millions of Muslims and to the martyrdom of millions of believers."
Hizb ut-Tahrir's official ruling on the permissibility of hijacking planes says, "If the plane belongs to a country at war with Muslims, like Israel, it is allowed to hijack it, for there is no sanctity for Israel nor for the Jews in it.
And one of the organization's more recent leaflets, published in March, calls for the declaration of "a state of war against America."
But, despite these threats and calls to action, Hizb ut-Tahrir remains off the State Department's terror watch list, and it is free to host the Khilafah Conference and any other event like it.
"In other parts of the world where they're really very active, they've drawn tens of thousands of people to some of their events," Segal said.
Hizb ut Tahrir is one of the most radical groups operating in the world today and is an offshoot of Al Muhajiroun, whose leader Omar Bakri Mohammed broke away from HT to form what became AM. To permit Hizb ut Tahrir to hold a conference openly calling for the implementation of the Khalifate in the world is a travesty on the war on terror and will only attract those who will follow in the footsteps of the London bombers.( from a UK site when they had their conference in August of 2005)
Palestinian Authority prevents HT's Conference & arrests 100s in servitude to Islam's enemies
From Hizb ut-Tahrir Palestine's Media Office:
The Palestinian Authority (PA) prevented the Khilafah conference organised by Hizb-ut-Tahrir Palestine on the 04/07/2009 in Ramallah and arrests hundreds of activists of the hizb in servitude to the enemies of Islam.
From dawn, the security services started to set up check points around the city and occupied the school where the conference was due to take place. Hundreds of people were arrested, and some beaten up randomly and the city was effectively turned into a military base.
Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain 2009 Conference Trailer ( the one in Britain is right after the one in the USA...the comments at YouTube are all from Muslims)
Dates & Location:
Sunday 26th July 2009 London
Sunday 2nd August 2009 Birmingham
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Wild Thing's comment.........
Of course I have not seen this story on ABC, CBS, NBC or CNN .
"despite these threats and calls to action, Hizb ut-Tahrir remains off the State Department's terror watch list"
And with Obama as president they probably never will be on the terror watch list.
“Hizb ut-Tahrir is one of the oldest, largest indoctrinating organizations for the ideology known as jihadism,” Walid Phares, director of the Future of Terrorism Project at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told FOXNews.com.
“It’s like a middle school that prepares them to be recruited by the high school, which is Al Qaeda,” he said. “One would compare them to Hitler youth. ... It’s an extremely dangerous organization.”
I am so glad Walid Phares is speaking out about this group, he is excellent.
This Islamist organization which has emerged fully in the United States since the election of Obama.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (9)
UPDATE About Captured American Soldier ( VIDEO)
In case you missed it on July 2nd, I posted this:
US: American Soldier Captured in Afghanistan
That same day I also post this: ( note the name Haqqani network, it will be in the article further down as to who might have our captured soldier)
Haqqani Network In Afghanistan
Haqqani network, the most deadly US foe in Afghanistan. All are members of Afghanistan's most lethal group, the Haqqani network, a shadowy outfit that many officials consider to be the biggest threat to the American presence in the country. The network is better connected to Pakistani intelligence and Arab jihadist groups than any other Afghan insurgent group, according to American intelligence officials.
This video frame grab taken from a Taliban propaganda video released Saturday, July 18, 2009 shows an American soldier who went missing from his base in eastern Afghanistan June 30 and was later confirmed captured. The soldier, whose identity has not yet been confirmed by the Pentagon pending notification of members of Congress and the soldier's family, says his name, age and hometown on the video, which was released Saturday on a Web site pointed out by the Taliban. Two U.S. defense officials confirmed to The Associated Press that the man in the video is the captured soldier.
(AP Photo/Militant Video)
.
AP sources: Taliban video shows captive US soldier
The American soldier who went missing June 30 from his base in eastern Afghanistan and was later confirmed to have been captured, appeared on a video posted Saturday to a Web site by the Taliban, two U.S. defense officials said.
The soldier is shown in the 28-minute video with his head shaved and the start of a beard. He is sitting and dressed in a nondescript, gray outfit. Early in the video one of his captors holds the soldier's dog tag up to the camera. His name and ID number are clearly visible. He is shown eating at one point and sitting on a bed.
The soldier, whose identity has not yet been released by the Pentagon pending notification of members of Congress and the soldier's family, says his name, age and hometown on the video, which was released Saturday on a Web site pointed out by the Taliban. Two U.S. defense officials confirmed to The Associated Press that the man in the video is the captured soldier.
The soldier said the date is July 14. He says he was captured when he lagged behind on a patrol.
He is interviewed in English by his captors, and he is asked his views on the war, which he calls extremely hard, his desire to learn more about Islam and the morale of American soldiers, which he said was low.
Asked how he was doing, the soldier said on the video:
"Well I'm scared, scared I won't be able to go home. It is very unnerving to be a prisoner."
He begins to answer questions in a matter-of-fact and sober voice, occasionally facing the camera, looking down and sometimes looking to the questioner on his left.
He later chokes up when discussing his family and his hope to marry his girlfriend.
"I have my girlfriend, who is hoping to marry," he said. "I have a very, very good family that I love back home in America. And I miss them every day when I'm gone. I miss them and I'm afraid that I might not ever see them again and that I'll never be able to tell them that I love them again and I'll never be able to hug them."
He is also prompted his interrogators to give a message to the American people.
"To my fellow Americans who have loved ones over here, who know what it's like to miss them, you have the power to make our government bring them home," he said. "Please, please bring us home so that we can be back where we belong and not over here, wasting our time and our lives and our precious life that we could be using back in our own country. Please bring us home. It is America and American people who have that power."
The video is not a continuous recording — it appears to stop and start during the questioning.
It is unclear from the video whether the July 14 date is authentic. The soldier says that he heard that a Chinook helicopter carrying 37 NATO troops had been shot down over Helmand. A helicopter was shot down in southern Afghanistan on July 14, but it was carrying civilians on a reported humanitarian mission for NATO forces. All six Ukrainian passengers died in the crash, and a child on the ground was killed.
On July 2, the U.S. military said an American soldier had disappeared after walking off his base in eastern Afghanistan with three Afghan counterparts and was believed to have been taken prisoner. A U.S. defense official said the soldier was noticed missing during a routine check of the unit on June 30 and was first listed as "duty status whereabouts unknown."
Details of such incidents are routinely held very tightly by the military as it works to retrieve a missing or captured soldier without giving away any information to captors.
But Afghan Police Gen. Nabi Mullakheil said the soldier went missing in eastern Paktika province near the border with Pakistan from an American base. The region is known to be Taliban-infested.
The most important insurgent group operating in that area is known as Haqqani network and is led by warlord Siraj Haqqani, whom the U.S. has accused of masterminding beheadings and suicide bombings including the July 2008 attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul that killed some 60 people. The Haqqani group also was linked to an assassination attempt on Afghan president Hamid Karzai early last year.
On Saturday, a U.S. military official in Kabul, Col. Greg Julian, said the U.S. was "still doing everything we can to return him safely."
Julian said U.S. troops had distributed two flyers in the area where the soldier disappeared. One of them asked for information on the missing soldier and offered a $25,000 reward for his return. The other said "please return our soldier safely" or "we will hunt you," according to Julian.
Wild Thing's comment.........
I wish Obama would let our military be unleashed, and the rules of engagement, and the terrorists’ so-called miranda rights, need to be tossed in the trash. Our foreign policy needs to follow this philosophy: Those that don’t love us must respect us; those that don’t respect us must fear us. The taliban fall in to the last category; fear will come when a bunker-buster sends them to their 72 virgins in hell.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (8)
Team ObamaCare: Sanger, Ginsburg and Holdren
Team ObamaCare: Sanger, Ginsburg and Holdren
"The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government." --Thomas JeffersonNow that Barack Hussein Obama has undermined free enterprise by nationalizing major financial and manufacturing sectors of our economy, he has set his sights on the health care sector, which comprises almost 18 percent of the U.S. economy.
This shouldn't surprise us. After all, he did promise a "fundamental transformation of the United States of America," and his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, did cite the current economic crisis as the means for doing so. "Rule 1: Never allow a crisis to go to waste," Emanuel said. "They are opportunities to do big things."
Of course, there is NO constitutional authority or precedent for this massive government intrusion into the private sector. But then, when do Leftists look to any authority higher than themselves?
Considering the prospect of Socialists in charge of dispensing health care from cradle to grave, I was reminded, by none other than Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, that when one is in need of health care, one should not depend on folks who advocate a "culture of death."
In an interview last week, Ginsburg said that she thought "at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don't want to have too many of."
This comment was not some senile blunder from an aging jurist noted for nodding off during High Court deliberations.
In fact, Ginsburg's candid assessment of the Left's advocacy for abortion as a means for controlling propagation of undesirable ethnic groups is based upon the writings of atheist social activist and leftist icon Margaret Sanger.
Some 50 years before Roe v. Wade, Sanger founded the American Birth Control League, which later became Planned Parenthood, now the largest perpetrator of abortions in the U.S.
Sanger asserted that ministry to the poor, a fundamental tenet of Christianity, is responsible for excessive numbers of "unwanted" ethnic breeds.
"Those vast, complex, interrelated organizations aiming to control and to diminish the spread of misery and destitution and all the menacing evils that spring out of this sinisterly fertile soil, are the surest sign that our civilization has bred, is breeding, and is perpetuating constantly increasing numbers of defectives, delinquents, and dependents. My criticism, therefore, is not directed at the failure of philanthropy, but rather at its success. These dangers are inherent in the very idea of humanitarianism and altruism, dangers which have today produced their full harvest of human waste."
Ah, yes, "human waste."
Sanger characterized the poor as "human weeds, reckless breeders, spawning ... human beings who never should have been born."
In "Woman and the New Race," Sanger insisted that women create an enormous "debt to society [by] creating slums, filling asylums with the insane, and institutions with other defectives. ... Poverty and the large family generally go hand in hand. ... The most merciful thing that a large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it."
Of blacks, Sanger wrote, "We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members."
She advocated policies that ensured "more children from the fit, less from the unfit" in order to "to create a race of thoroughbreds." (Remember this quote the next time a liberal tells you that Fascists and Socialists have nothing in common.)
Sanger was certainly the 20th century's most noted American proponent of racist eugenics. However when we remind our liberal friends of the origins of Planned Parenthood, they sputter on about Sanger's support for eugenics being an anomaly of another time and context.
But Sanger's advocacy for the extermination of the "unwanted" is the basis of today's culture of death. Indeed, one of the adherents of eugenics now directs BHO's White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and is the co-chair of Obama's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
John Holdren may not be openly advocating racial selection, but he clearly advocates mass sterilization and abortion in order to control human impact on the environment. This is nothing but a contemporary interpretation of Sanger's eliminating "human weeds" and "reckless breeders."
Holdren's modern day eugenics program is outlined in a book he co-authored, "Ecoscience," in which he calls for "a comprehensive Planetary Regime [in order to] control the development, administration, conservation and distribution of all natural resources."
One solution, writes Holdren, is "adding a sterilant to drinking water or staple foods" which would help weed out those "who contribute to social deterioration."
As for the constitutional authority, Holdren writes, "Indeed, it has been concluded that compulsory population-control laws, even including laws requiring compulsory abortion, could be sustained under the existing Constitution if the population crisis became sufficiently severe to endanger the society."
"If some individuals contribute to general social deterioration by overproducing children," insists Holdren, "if the need is compelling, they can be required by law to exercise reproductive responsibility -- just as they can be required to exercise responsibility in their resource-consumption patterns -- providing they are not denied equal protection."
I suppose Holdren is Obama's "Czar of Compelling Needs."
As for global solutions, Holdren writes, "The Planetary Regime might be given responsibility for determining the optimum population for the world and for each region and for arbitrating various countries' shares within their regional limits. Control of population size might remain the responsibility of each government, but the Regime would have some power to enforce the agreed limits. If this could be accomplished, security might be provided by an armed international organization, a global analogue of a police force. Many people have recognized this as a goal, but the way to reach it remains obscure in a world where factionalism seems, if anything, to be increasing. The first step necessarily involves partial surrender of sovereignty to an international organization."
Holdren is of course careful about how his "Planetary Regime" might enforce these limits, but given the common bonds of Fascists and Socialists, a contemporary global solution with much more efficient ecological results than dismembering children in the womb would be to release a biological agent targeting mass populations in developing regions of Asia and Africa -- something like strains of Swine or Bird Influenza. After all, AlGorites consider climate change to be a crisis of global proportions, and such a crisis requires innovative solutions.
Holdren concludes, "This may be the last opportunity to choose our own and our descendants' destiny. Failing to choose or making the wrong choices may lead to catastrophe. But it must never be forgotten that the right choices could lead to a much better world."
In 1931, futurist H.G. Wells wrote of Sanger's proposed regime, "The movement she started will grow to be, a hundred years from now, the most influential of all time. When the history of our civilization is written, it will be a biological history, and Margaret Sanger will be its heroine."
Apparently, Obama's director of White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is prepared to do his part to sustain Sanger's legacy.
Given Holdren's musings about population control, should these folks be in charge of determining who receives what medical care?
Circling back to that same interview with Justice Ginsburg last week, here is how she defended a woman's right to end the life of her unborn child: "The basic thing is that the government has no business making that choice for a woman."
But in regard to ObamaCare, I doubt that Ginsburg would apply a similar standard: "The basic thing is that the government has no business making that choice."
The Hippocratic Oath, until recently the de facto position of medicine, established the fundamental principle that a physician should "First, do no harm." Perhaps BO himself should take that oath -- not that he has shown any penchant for honoring the one he took for his current job.
Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis!
Mark Alexander
Wild Thing's comment......
Excellent article and very informative.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (6)
Obama Official's Book About Curbing Free Speech On The Internet
GAG THE INTERNET!
An Obama Official's Frightening Book About Curbing Free Speech Online
When it comes to the First Amendment, Team Obama believes in Global Chilling.
Cass Sunstein, a Harvard Law professor who has been appointed to a shadowy post that will grant him powers that are merely mind-boggling, explicitly supports using the courts to impose a "chilling effect" on speech that might hurt someone's feelings. He thinks that the bloggers have been rampaging out of control and that new laws need to be written to corral them.
Advance copies of Sunstein's new book, "On Rumors: How Falsehoods Spread, Why We Believe Them, What Can Be Done," have gone out to reviewers ahead of its September publication date, but considering the prominence with which Sunstein is about to be endowed, his worrying views are fair game now.
Sunstein is President Obama's choice to head the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. It's the bland titles that should scare you the most.
"Although obscure," reported the Wall Street Journal, "the post wields outsize power. It oversees regulations throughout the government, from the Environmental Protection Agency to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Obama aides have said the job will be crucial as the new administration overhauls financial-services regulations, attempts to pass universal health care and tries to forge a new approach to controlling emissions of greenhouse gases."
Sunstein was appointed, no doubt, off the success of "Nudge," his previous book, which suggests that government ought to gently force people to be better human beings.
Czar is too mild a world for what Sunstein is about to become. How about "regulator in chief"? How about "lawgiver"? He is Obama's Obama.
Sunstein also believes that - whether you're a blogger, The New York Times or a Web hosting service - you should be held responsible even for what your commenters say. Currently you're immune under section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. "Reasonable people," he says, "might object that this is not the right rule," though he admits that imposing liability for commenters on service providers would be "a considerable burden."
"As we have seen," Sunstein writes, having shown us no such thing, "falsehoods can undermine democracy itself." What Sunstein means by that sentence is pretty clear: He doesn't like so-called false rumors about his longtime University of Chicago friend and colleague Barack Obama.
Sunstein calls for a "notice and take down" law that would require bloggers and service providers to "take down falsehoods upon notice," even those made by commenters - but without apparent penalty.
Consider how well this nudge would work. You blog about Obama-Ayers. You get a letter claiming that your facts are wrong so you should remove your post. You refuse. If, after a court proceeding proves simply that you are wrong (but not that you committed libel, which when a public figure is the target is almost impossible), you lose, the penalty is . . . you must take down your post.
How long would it take for a court to sort out the truth? Sasha and Malia will be running for president by then. Nobody will care anymore. But it will give politicians the ability to tie up their online critics in court.
Sunstein, trying to fair, argues that libel awards should be capped at $15,000, or at least limited for anyone demonstrating financial hardship. But $15K is the limit you'd pay to your opponent. The legal bill is the scary part, and the reason bloggers already have plenty of reason to be careful about what they say, even if they don't much fear a libel conviction.
Sunstein dreams of an impossibly virtuous America: "We could also imagine a future in which those who spread false rumors are categorized as such, discounted and marginalized . . . people would approach rumors skeptically even they provide comfort and fit their own biases." But if his chilling wind doesn't work, Sunstein may try to make good on the implicit threat that runs through his book: that he would redefine libel as the spread of false information and hold everyone up the ladder responsible.
If this happened, the blogosphere would turn into Pluto overnight. Comments sections would slam shut. Every writer would work on a leash shorter than a shoelace.
Sunstein is an enemy to every news organization and blogger. We should return the favor and declare war on him.
Government of Canada moves to monitor Internet users
In the spring, the Government of Canada introduced two pieces of legislation that would greatly expand the power of the state to monitor its citizens online activity. The legislation, known as the Investigative Powers for the 21st Century (IP21C) Act, would force Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to install costly surveillance systems on their networks and give police wide ranging new powers that do away with judicial oversight.
According to University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist, the legislation would create additional requirements for ISPs and expand police powers. These ISP requirements can be broken down into two components. First, ISPs will be required to install costly surveillance equipment on their networks. Part of the cost will fall to taxpayers while the remainder will be carried by the companies themselves.
Some smaller ISPs will be exempt from this requirement for a period of three years, creating an unfair burden on the larger, more successful companies. Second, the legislation would require that all ISPs give personal information to the government, including the names of their customers, as well as their IP, e-mail, and mailing addresses—on demand and without any judicial oversight.
Police will also gain expanded powers under this legislation. First, they will be able to obtain information about Internet-based messaging, including tracking what sites people are visiting and who they are communicating with. This information will be subject to a judicial order. Second, police will be able to order ISPs to preserve data on their customers. Third, police will be able to obtain a warrant to remotely activate tracking devices in technologies such as cellular telephones. Fourth, the legislation also deals with computer viruses and makes it easier for the government to coordinate its efforts with international governments.
There are numerous problems with the proposed legislation that should be alarming to freedom loving Canadians. It forces private business to not only be complicit in the government's attempt to spy on its citizens, it also forces them to shoulder much of the financial responsibility for the new policy.
Wild Thing's comment........
We already have laws in place to prohibit both libel and slander. This guy wants to regulate opinion.
Gagging/policing the web would be a challenge for our inept government - thank GOD.
“We hardly need to imagine a world, however, in which people and institutions are being harmed by the rapid spread of damaging falsehoods via the Internet,” he writes. “We live in that world. What might be done to reduce the harm?”
Does that mean Sarah won’t be ridiculed and attacked in the media?
Blogs are good for venting. Normal people need to vent. After they vent, that’s the end of it. It feels good to vent. Libs are deathly afraid of the ideas that we express.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Comments (9)
Muslim Rep. Keith Ellison (Dem.Minn.) Seeks To Ensure The Safe Return Of Somali
Rep. Ellison says U.S. trying to ensure safe return of missing Somalis
by Laura Yuen
St. Paul, Minn.
Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison said the U.S. government is trying to ensure the safe return of some of the young Somali-American men believed to be fighting with a terrorist group in their homeland.
Ellison said he has been included in classified briefings about efforts to bring the missing men back to the Twin Cities.
At least four Somali-American men from Minnesota who left to fight in the Horn of Africa have died there in recent months.
One of youngest, a skinny teenager from Minneapolis named Burhan Hassan, was trying to leave the fighting and make his way to the U.S. embassy in neighboring Kenya, according to family members. They believe a fellow member of the extremist group Al-Shabaab shot Hassan to death when the group learned of his plans to escape.
Congressman Keith Ellison thinks the U.S. should try to retrieve the Minnesotan men who may have been misled into joining Al-Shabaab and want out.
"We can't have a knee-jerk emotional reaction," Ellison said. "We've got to have an intelligent reaction. If a young person says, 'I have been lied to. I don't like these people. I want to get away from them,' we should help them do that, as long as we know that does not create a public safety issue for Minnesotans and Americans."
Wild Thing's comment......
I guess to Muslim Keith Ellison we need more terrorists on our soil.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:40 AM | Comments (8)
July 18, 2009
Mark Levin Interviews Dr. Betsy McCaughey On National Healthcare
Wild Thing's comment......
Dr. McCaughey explains things really well. I am so glad mark Levin had her on his show.
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:40 PM | Comments (3)
Missouri Car Dealer Offers Free AK-47 With New Truck
The article below is from FOX, but the video is from CNN. Please note how the woman doing the interview speaks about guns. LOL
The owner of a Missouri dealership is giving away free AK-47s with the purchase of any truck. Actually, he’s offering a voucher that buyers can use to buy an AK-47 at a gun store.
BUTLER, Mo.
Buy a truck and get a free AK-47 gun.
That's the deal a Missouri truck dealer is offering new customers who buy a pick-up truck in August.
Mark Muller, owner of Max Motors in Butler, says he knows people will be bothered by the promotion.
But not to worry, Muller is not handing out free guns. Instead, he will give buyers a voucher to use at a gun store after they obtain a license to carry a concealed weapon.
The AK-47 is an upgrade on a previous promotion in which Muller gave away vouchers for the price of a Caltec pistol.
The retail value of an AK-47 is $450 dollars but Muller says customers can spend their voucher on the gun of their choice.
Wild Thing's comment.......
This is the website for the dealer in the story.
This dealer had a previous promotion offering a handgun.
Obama this is called Capitalism, something you hate, something you are trying to destroy.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (12)
Democrat Claire McCaskill Wants Your Vote After That You Are Nothing To Her!
Claire McCaskill's Office Does NOT want to hear from their voters! Wait till she wants votes next time. She should be kicked out of office right now for doing something like this, or allowing this kind of thing to happen.
Tea Party patriots held an anti-Obama Care protest at Senator Claire "ACORN" McCaskill’s district offices on Delmar Boulevard today. The protest was organized by Americans for Prosperity and the St. Louis Tea Party Coalition.
McCaskill's office manager locked the doors, pull down the blinds, called the cops and forced the protesters across the street.
Wild Thing's comment......
They want our votes to keep them in office but God forbid if we want to talk to them. My gosh this is so horrible, these people were not causing trouble. Code Pink causes trouble , they paint buildings, break windows and make threats.
Amendment I
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Comments (8)
Joe Biden: ‘We Have to Go Spend Money to Keep From Going Bankrupt’
Joe Biden: ‘We Have to Go Spend Money to Keep From Going Bankrupt’
Joe Biden told people attending an AARP town hall meeting that unless the Democrat-supported health care plan becomes law the nation will go bankrupt and that the only way to avoid that fate is for the government to spend more money.
“And folks look, AARP knows and the people with me here today know, the president knows, and I know, that the status quo is simply not acceptable,” Biden said at the event on Thursday in Alexandria, Va. “It’s totally unacceptable. And it’s completely unsustainable. Even if we wanted to keep it the way we have it now. It can’t do it financially.”
“We’re going to go bankrupt as a nation,” Biden said.
“Now, people when I say that look at me and say, ‘What are you talking about, Joe? You’re telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?’” Biden said. “The answer is yes, that's what I’m telling you.”
The event, sponsored by the AARP – which supports the Obama administration’s plan – was attended by mostly AARP members who were bussed in for the meeting.
Biden told the group that the Obama health plan will not eliminate people’s ability to choose their health care insurance and that people who cannot afford insurance will be covered by the plan.
“They’ll be a deal in there so there’s competition, so what you’ll have in there is you’ll have the ability to go in there and say, ‘Now look, this is the policy I want. This is the one,” Biden said.
“And those people who can’t afford to get in there, up to a certain income, we’re going to subsidize them, you get in there and we’ll help you pay for it,” Biden said.
Wild Thing's comment......
Joe needs to know our country is already bankrupt.
Jokin’ Joe forgot to provide this Disclaimer:
Warning:Do Not Attempt This At Home
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM | Comments (9)
Soros Must Be Proud As Obama Pushes His Socialized Medicine Bill
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This has a much larger size so you can see it clearly, just click the link below. The Obmacare bureaucratic nightmare!
http://docs.house.gov/gopleader/House-Democrats-Health-Plan.pdf
Wild Thing's comment.........
Obama thinks there should be no opposition, no debate, no one allowed to disagree with him. Noticei how he is getting angry in his speech's lately. There is a lot of anger building up one can feel it. I guess the few that are fighting back about this are gonig to be on his hit list. Tuff, I would rather have him upset then what he wants to do to our country and to all of we citizens.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:48 AM | Comments (7)
Obama Is Dangerous For America and For Your Health
One of the many outrageous mandates in the health care bill that people need to know about.
**** Starting on Page 425 and continue on in Obama’s health care bill, the Federal Government will require EVERYONE who is on Social Security to undergo a counseling session every 5 years. ****
And HERE IS THE FULL TEXT of the Socialized Medicine PDF file
http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/AAHCA-BillText-071409.pdf
Just click on the PDF file, let it load and scroll down to page 425 and continue on from there regarding this topic.
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Betsy McCaughey is great about all of this about the bill. She actually reads these damnable socialized medicine bills. Says that cuts to seniors medical care is 1/2 of the cost of the bill. Every 5 years seniors required to be counseled on how to proceed with less care, less medical help or (?) end their life.
Betsy on Fred Thompson's radio show....PLEASE CLICK TO HEAR THE AUDIO.
PAGE 425 it begins........
SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION.
(a) MEDICARE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1861 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x) is amended—
(A) in subsection (s)(2)—
(i) by striking ‘’and’’ at the end of subparagraph (DD);
(ii) by adding ‘’and’’ at the end of subparagraph (EE); and
(iii) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
P. 425
‘’(FF) advance care planning consultation (as defined in subsection (hhh)(1));’’; and
(B) by adding at the end the following new subsection: ‘’Advance Care Planning Consultation ‘’(hhh)(1) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), the term ‘advance care planning consultation’ means a consultation between the individual and a practitioner described in paragraph (2) regarding advance care planning, if, subject to paragraph (3), the individual involved has not had such a consultation within the last 5 years. Such consultation shall include the following:
‘’(A) An explanation by the practitioner of advance care planning, including key questions and
considerations, important steps, and suggested people to talk to.
‘’(B) An explanation by the practitioner of advance directives, including living wills and durable powers of attorney, and their uses.
‘’(C) An explanation by the practitioner of the role and responsibilities of a health care proxy.
‘’(D) The provision by the practitioner of a list of national and State-specific resources to assist consumers and their families with advance care planning, including the national toll-free hotline, the ad-
P. 426
vance care planning clearinghouses, and State legal service organizations (including those funded through the Older Americans Act of 1965).
‘’(E) An explanation by the practitioner of the continuum of end-of-life services and supports available, including palliative care and hospice, and benefits for such services and supports that are available under this title.
‘’(F)(i) Subject to clause (ii), an explanation of orders regarding life sustaining treatment or similar orders, which shall include—
‘’(I) the reasons why the development of such an order is beneficial to the individual and the individual’s family and the reasons why such an order should be updated periodically as the health of the individual changes;
‘’(II) the information needed for an individual or legal surrogate to make informed decisions regarding the completion of such an order; and
‘’(III) the identification of resources that an individual may use to determine the requirements of the State in which such individual resides so that the treatment wishes of that individual will be carried out if the individual is un-
P. 427
able to communicate those wishes, including requirements regarding the designation of a surrogate decisionmaker (also known as a health care proxy).
‘’(ii) The Secretary shall limit the requirement for explanations under clause (i) to consultations furnished in a State—
‘’(I) in which all legal barriers have been addressed for enabling orders for life sustaining treatment to constitute a set of medical orders respected across all care settings; and
‘’(II) that has in effect a program for orders for life sustaining treatment described in clause (iii).
‘’(iii) A program for orders for life sustaining treatment for a States described in this clause is a program that—
‘’(I) ensures such orders are standardized and uniquely identifiable throughout the State;
‘’(II) distributes or makes accessible such orders to physicians and other health professionals that (acting within the scope of the professional’s authority under State law) may sign orders for life sustaining treatment;
P. 428
‘’(III) provides training for health care professionals across the continuum of care about the goals and use of orders for life sustaining treatment; and
‘’(IV) is guided by a coalition of stakeholders includes representatives from emergency medical services, emergency department physicians or nurses, state long-term care association, state medical association, state surveyors, agency responsible for senior services, state department of health, state hospital association, home health association, state bar association, and state hospice association.
‘’(2) A practitioner described in this paragraph is—
‘’(A) a physician (as defined in subsection (r)(1)); and
‘’(B) a nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant who has the authority under State law to sign orders for life sustaining treatments.
‘’(3)(A) An initial preventive physical examination under subsection (WW), including any related discussion during such examination, shall not be considered an advance care planning consultation for purposes of applying the 5-year limitation under paragraph (1).
P. 429
‘’(B) An advance care planning consultation with respect to an individual may be conducted more frequently than provided under paragraph (1) if there is a significant change in the health condition of the individual, including diagnosis of a chronic, progressive, life-limiting disease, a life-threatening or terminal diagnosis or life-threatening injury, or upon admission to a skilled nursing facility, a long-term care facility (as defined by the Secretary), or a hospice program.
‘’(4) A consultation under this subsection may include the formulation of an order regarding life sustaining treatment or a similar order.
‘’(5)(A) For purposes of this section, the term ‘order regarding life sustaining treatment’ means, with respect to an individual, an actionable medical order relating to the treatment of that individual that—
‘’(i) is signed and dated by a physician (as defined in subsection (r)(1)) or another health care
professional (as specified by the Secretary and who is acting within the scope of the professional’s authority under State law in signing such an order, including a nurse practitioner or physician assistant) and is in a form that permits it to stay with the individual and be followed by health care professionals and providers across the continuum of care;
P. 430
‘’(ii) effectively communicates the individual’s preferences regarding life sustaining treatment, including an indication of the treatment and care desired by the individual;
‘’(iii) is uniquely identifiable and standardized within a given locality, region, or State (as identified by the Secretary); and
‘’(iv) may incorporate any advance directive (as defined in section 1866(f)(3)) if executed by the individual.
‘’(B) The level of treatment indicated under subparagraph (A)(ii) may range from an indication for full treatment to an indication to limit some or all or specified interventions. Such indicated levels of treatment may include indications respecting, among other items—
‘’(i) the intensity of medical intervention if the patient is pulse less, apneic, or has serious cardiac or pulmonary problems;
‘’(ii) the individual’s desire regarding transfer to a hospital or remaining at the current care setting;
‘’(iii) the use of antibiotics; and
‘’(iv) the use of artificially administered nutrition and hydration.’’.
Wild Thing's comment........
Thank goodness for the various people that are checking this out and letting us know what all is in the Obama bill.
Obama the late term abortion, death to innocent children and now Betsy in the above information tell us about the part regarding older people too. So Obama sure is showing us his total disrard for the very young and the Senior Citizens. Each day we find something else out about this monster bill.
The other day I posted about how the Healrth bill OUTLAWED private insurance. Obama says it doesn't but he is telling a lie and the truth is right there in the bill. He sure count on people not using a compuuter or not doing research or watching the news on TV.
This is another thing that is in the bill, demanding vaccines for children no matter what even if parents don't want it done.
The committee’s official summary of the bill says: “Authorizes a demonstration program to improve immunization coverage. Under this program, CDC will provide grants to states to improve immunization coverage of children, adolescents, and adults through the use of evidence-based interventions. States may use funds to implement interventions that are recommended by the Community Preventive Services Task Force, such as reminders or recalls for patients or providers, or home visits.”Home visits? What exactly is the state going to do when it sends people to “implement interventions” in private homes designed “to improve immunization coverage of children”?
The bill lists eight specific ways that states may use federal grant money to carry out immunization-promoting “interventions.” Method “E” calls for “home visits” which can include “provision of immunizations.”
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:47 AM | Comments (6)
Glenn Beck Tells Off A Typical Stupid Socialist Medicine Loving Woman LOL Good One!
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Wild Thing's comment......
LOL I love it, he yells at her. It is actually refreshing to hear when we have had to sit here and listen to McCain constantly say " My Friend" to every dang Democrat in the universe.
Go for it Glenn!
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:46 AM | Comments (2)
Al-Qaeda Vows To Hit China Over Uighur Unrest
An ethnic Uighur man ushers his camel along in front of Chinese paramilitary policemen in riot gear standing on a platform on a main street in the city of Urumqi in China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region July 16, 2009. Security remains heavy in ethnic Uighur neighbourhoods of Xinjiang regional capital Urumqi after riots on July 5 between the Muslim Uighur minority and majority Han Chinese wounded more than 1,600.
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Armed Chinese paramilitary police in riot gear patrol a main street in the city of Urumqi in China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region
Al-Qaida declares jihad against Chinese
Response is to violent crackdown on Muslim Uighurs
Beijing is facing a new problem because of its recent harsh response to demonstrations in Xinjiang province resulting in the deaths of Muslim Uighurs – a threat of retaliation from al-Qaida.
The terrorist group has suggested it might attack overseas operations linked to China, which has dispatched hundreds of thousands of workers to the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America – all regions where al-Qaida has a capability of launching attacks.
Initial reports of the ethnic riots in Xinjiang province said that the number of Uighurs killed since the July 5 riots began in the city of Urumqi was 156, with another 1,100 injured. But the World Uighur Congress, or WUC, reported that the Uighur death toll exceeded 800.
In addition to the harsh Chinese troop takedown of Uighurs, the WUC reports that other Uighurs were lynched by Han Chinese. According to WUC general secretary Dolkun Isa, some four Uighur women students attending Urumqi University's medical school were killed and their heads cut off.
While thousands of Chinese troops were sent into Urumqi, their mission apparently was not to protect the Uighur minority. Uighur leaders said that Chinese troops opened fire on the Uighurs who were initially protesting peacefully.
"We have been hearing that bodies are lying in the streets in Urumqi," said WUC vice president Asgar Can. The WUC's main office is located in Munich, Germany.
WUC has called for Uighurs worldwide to demonstrate in front of Chinese embassies.
China had offered strong support to Washington against terrorism following the Sept., 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.
Human Rights Watch, however, is concerned that China "has construed that support against terrorism as a pretext for gaining international support – or at least silence – for its own crackdown on ethnic Uighurs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region."
"Beijing has long claimed to be confronted with 'religious extremist forces' and 'violent terrorists' in Xinjiang," a Human Rights Watch statement said. "Much like Tibetans, the Uighurs in Xinjiang have struggled for cultural survival in the face of a government-supported influx by Chinese migrants, as well as harsh repression of political dissent and any expression, however lawful or peaceful, of their distinct identity.
"Chinese authorities have not discriminated between peaceful and violent dissent, however, and their fight against 'separatism' and 'religious extremism' has been used to justify widespread and systematic human rights violations against Uighurs, including many involved in non-violent political, religious, and cultural activities," Human Rights Watch added.
While it may not help the Uighurs by having the terrorist group al-Qaida embrace their cause, the reality is that a branch of al-Qaida, the Algerian-based Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, has called for reprisals against China for its actions toward them.
Al-Qaeda vows to hit China over Uighur unrest
HONG KONG
Al-Qaeda is threatening for the first time to attack Chinese interests overseas in retaliation for the deaths of Muslims in the restive region of Xinjiang, according to a risk analysis group.
The call for reprisals against China comes from the Algerian-based offshoot Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), according to a summary of its report sent to AFP by the international consultancy Stirling Assynt.
"Although AQIM appear to be the first arm of Al-Qaeda to officially state they will target Chinese interests, others are likely to follow," said the report, which was first divulged by the South China Morning Post Tuesday.
Osama bin Laden's network has not previously threatened China, but the Stirling report said a thirst for vengeance over Beijing's clampdown in Xinjiang was spreading over the global jihadist community.
Hundreds of thousands of Chinese work in the Middle East and North Africa, including 50,000 in Algeria, estimated the group, which has offices in London and Hong Kong providing risk advice to corporate and official clients.
"This threat should be taken seriously," Stirling said, basing its information on people who it said had seen the AQIM instruction.
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Wild Thing's comment........
I don’t think the Chinese are going to start asking, “Why do they hate us?”
That the Chi-Coms are being threatened.....no I don't care about that. Sorry, I am not going to phony it up and act like oh dear me how horrible. Not as long as Chi-Coms are killing Christians in China which they are. Or that the al-Qaeda terrorists Muslim group the Uighurs are being threatened...nope not them either.
China will go all Tiananmen Square on any group that attacks their people, and they won’t give a hoot about the U.N., or anyone else for that matter. China won’t read them their Miranda rights, that’s for sure.
al-Qaeda is about to find out what it means to take on someone who will take the fight right back to them without handwringing and politicking. They’re going to wish they hadn’t. The Chinese don’t worry about having little boy kings on the throne who want to make nice with the enemy.
Look at this...............
China Trained Taliban And Al-Qaeda Fighters Says US Intel
6-22-02
China's military provided training for Afghanistan's Taliban militia and its al Qaeda supporters, according to a U.S. intelligence report.
The intelligence was obtained from anti-Taliban Afghan sources. It was surprising to U.S. analysts because China is a target of Islamic separatists, who are known to have been trained in terrorist camps in Afghanistan.
The training of the Taliban forces took place before September 11. It was carried out in cooperation with Pakistan's ISI intelligence service, defense officials told us.
The report, and others like it, was unwelcome news for some of the pro-China analysts within the U.S. government who are pushing the Bush administration to adopt a more conciliatory posture toward the communist government in Beijing. These officials point to China's cooperation in the war on terrorism, which has included intelligence sharing of limited value.
U.S. intelligence officials do not know why the Chinese provided the military training to Islamic radicals. But some analysts believe it was an attempt to gain influence over the Taliban and al Qaeda.
Another theory is that the Chinese military training was a high-risk variation on the Soviet deception operation in the 1920s known as the Trust. The operation created a false dissident organization in Russia. The group lured regime opponents back to Russia, where they were imprisonment or executed. The Chinese training could have been part of an effort to identify some of the thousands of Uighurs in China's western Xinjiang province, who are working with al Qaeda.
Evidence of Chinese military backing for the Taliban continues to surface. Late last month, U.S. Army Special Forces troops discovered 30 HN-5s, the designation for Chinese-made SA-7s surface-to-air missiles, in southeastern Afghanistan.
Other intelligence reports indicated the Chinese shipped missiles to the Taliban after September 11. China's government has denied supporting al Qaeda and the Taliban. ..."
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....Thank you JohnE PFC U.S. Army for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:45 AM | Comments (7)
Kate Obenshain Discusses Media Efforts To Bring Palin Down
Young America's Foundation VP Kate Obenshain discusses the media's efforts to bring Governor Palin down.
Wild Thing's comment......
Good for Kate for what she says about Sarah. The left is not going to give up so I am really glad to see so many on our side speaking out about Sarah.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:40 AM | Comments (4)
July 17, 2009
Communist and Traitor Walter Cronkite....DEAD!
My comments are below ~ Wild Thing
During the Vietnam War through he was responsible for a massive disinformation campaign to turn America’s victories into defeats (the Ted Offensive) and fabricate out of whole cloth Viet Cong victories that were used to demoralize the American public. He should be remembered as one of the great traitors of American history, right there along with Benedict Arnold.
He was worse than Arnold because he was lying to so many more people. Good riddance to him. He can spend his time now in hell with Robert Strange McNamara.
Walter Cronkite betrayed every one of the 58,000 men who died in Viet Nam. He betrayed every man and woman wounded in Viet Nam. He betrayed every man and woman who served in Viet Nam and he betrayed the people of South Vietnam. He stabbed the Viet Nam vet in the back.
Walter Cronkite went to Hue during Tet '68 fairly late in the battle and saw what he wanted to see, but refused an invitation to see the massacred the communists had killed and tossed in a mass grave. He chose the side of the enemy and his reports of lies effected his buddy LBJ in his decision making as well.
When LBJ heard of Cronkite’s comments, he was quoted as saying, “That’s it. If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost middle America.”
Our American heroes fought hard, were maimed and died in that offensive and becuase of Cronkite.
Cronkite was a self serving bastard.
In January 2006, Cronkite said his statement on Vietnam was his proudest moment. When asked then if he would give the same advice on Iraq, Cronkite didn’t hesitate to say “Yes.”....article HERE....Cronkite's Vietnam moment: 'US must leave Iraq'
Walter Cronkite on the Tet Offensive
"Report from Vietnam," Walter Cronkite Broadcast, February 27, 1968.
Tonight, back in more familiar surroundings in New York, we'd like to sum up our findings in Vietnam, an analysis that must be speculative, personal, subjective. Who won and who lost in the great Tet offensive against the cities? I'm not sure. The Vietcong did not win by a knockout, but neither did we. The referees of history may make it a draw. Another standoff may be coming in the big battles expected south of the Demilitarized Zone. Khesanh could well fall, with a terrible loss in American lives, prestige and morale, and this is a tragedy of our stubbornness there; but the bastion no longer is a key to the rest of the northern regions, and it is doubtful that the American forces can be defeated across the breadth of the DMZ with any substantial loss of ground. Another standoff. On the political front, past performance gives no confidence that the Vietnamese government can cope with its problems, now compounded by the attack on the cities. It may not fall, it may hold on, but it probably won't show the dynamic qualities demanded of this young nation. Another standoff.
We have been too often disappointed by the optimism of the American leaders, both in Vietnam and Washington, to have faith any longer in the silver linings they find in the darkest clouds. They may be right, that Hanoi's winter-spring offensive has been forced by the Communist realization that they could not win the longer war of attrition, and that the Communists hope that any success in the offensive will improve their position for eventual negotiations. It would improve their position, and it would also require our realization, that we should have had all along, that any negotiations must be that-negotiations, not the dictation of peace terms. For it seems now more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate. This summer's almost certain standoff will either end in real give-and-take negotiations or terrible escalation; and for every means we have to escalate, the enemy can match us, and that applies to invasion of the North, the use of nuclear weapons, or the mere commitment of one hundred, or two hundred, or three hundred thousand more American troops to the battle. And with each escalation, the world comes closer to the brink of cosmic disaster.
To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe, in the face of the evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past. To suggest we are on the edge of defeat is to yield to unreasonable pessimism. To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory, conclusion. On the off chance that military and political analysts are right, in the next few months we must test the enemy's intentions, in case this is indeed his last big gasp before negotiations. But it is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could.
This is Walter Cronkite. Good night.
Posted by Wild Thing at 08:30 PM | Comments (9)
Senator Barbara Boxer Accused Of Race-Baiting At Energy Hearing
This has to be one of the most tense moments in a hearing about clean energy that's ever taken place.
Wild Thing's comment......
Boxer tried to mau-mau the wrong guy, and he let her have it. She was so condescending I am surprised he didn’t get up and walk out of there. But he held his ground and put her in her place in a way she so richly deserved. He had every right to be offended. What she was saying is that only black people who agree with her have a right to an opinion, and to express their opinions and have them heard — completely dissing him, his intelligence and his organization. What a show. Bravo Mr. Alford for pointing out to that obnoxious woman that she is not Queen of the Universe, as she apparently believes.
There is however the other side of the coin, LOL which kind of makes this even funnier. Because it is ironic that someone who is president of the Black Chamber of Commerce complains that a senator is treating him "racially." If you represent an organization based on race, don't be surprised if race becomes the overriding factor in the discussion.
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:40 PM | Comments (10)
Obama's Socialist Health Care Plan To Destroy America
Kate Obenshain on Obama's socialist health care plan
Megan Kelly interviews Sen. Bernie Sanders argues need for health care reform
He is such a liar this Bernie Sanders.
Wild Thing's comment...........
They have to lie to try and sell this socialism to our country. The truth would shut this Bill down so fast their heads would spin like a top and fly right off their shoulders.
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Posted by Wild Thing at 07:24 PM | Comments (7)
Senator Inhofe One of the Good Guys Has a Petition To STOP the Transfer of Terrorist Detainees From Gitmo
HERE IS THE PETITION
From the Office of Senator James Inhofe (R-OK):
Today, U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a Senior Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, posted on his website a petition opposing the transfers of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (GITMO) to the United States.
The petition is also in support of Inhofe’s amendment, S.Amdt.1559, to the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2010 (S.1390), which prohibits the transfer of detainees from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to any facility in the United States. In a YouTube video, Inhofe invited Americans to sign the petition and he promised to show the petition to his fellow Senators before they vote on this important legislation.
“By more than a 3 to 1 margin, Americans are opposed to detainees being transferred to their home states. And to date, the views of the American people have not changed,” Inhofe said. “Regardless, the administration is committed to fulfilling its political campaign promise to close GITMO, even though President Obama has yet to visit the facility for himself.
“Right now we have an opportunity to stop the President from bringing terrorists to American soil. My amendment will do just that, but I need you to weigh in. By signing this petition, you are telling the Senate and the President that it is unacceptable to house terrorists in your home states. I will make sure that my Senate Colleagues see these petitions and that they are aware of your opposition before they vote on this very important legislation.”
PETITION
I am one of the many Americans that does not support the transfer of detainees from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to the United States. I believe transferring terrorist detainees to the United States threatens our national security and could afford these terrorists with constitutional rights reserved for U.S. citizens – risks the U.S. should not be willing to take.
There are a majority of Americans that stand by me: a recent USA Today/Gallup Poll reported that by more than 2 to 1, Americans say the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility should not be closed and by more than 3 to 1, Americans oppose moving some of the accused terrorists to prisons in their own states. In addition, 27 states have passed measures that would prevent detainees from being sent to their states. These numbers should not be ignored.
Because of my position on closing GITMO, I support Senator Inhofe's amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 that prevents the Obama administration from transferring terrorist detainees to the United States. I hope you will support this amendment as well.
"It's not often a senator takes the time to reach out to the blogosphere. Please take a minute to support Senator Inhofe on this very important issue. Gateway"
Wild Thing's comment.........
Thank you Senator Inhofe for doing this. I agree 100% that we need to keep the prisoners at GITMO.
Posted by Wild Thing at 01:47 PM | Comments (1)
Navy F18 Streaks Past Apartment Building
A Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet crew got permission for a low-level demonstration flight, as part of the opening ceremony for a speedboat race on the Detroit River, last weekend. This is what it looked like, for Motor City residents.
[Photo: AP/The Detroit News, Steve Perez. Originally spotted at the Daily Mail]
Now that's what I call a fly-past: US Navy F18 streaks past apartment block
This is the moment a a US Navy pilot gave a shocked resident a very close look at his F18. The fighter/bomber streaked past an apartment block on the banks of the Detroit River at the weekend.
It was part of a tactical demonstration fly-past to open a speedboat race in the North American city.
Officials waived rules to allow the Navy flyers to swoop under 100ft along the waterway
One resident said: 'I couldn't believe how low they flew and how close they came to our building - I'm sure the pilot waved at me.'
The jets had flown in from the Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia to put on a spectacular show for thousands of spectators.
The Chrysler Jeep Superstores APBA Gold Cup race was won by speedboat ace Dave Villcock.
'We danced with the devil at every turn,' said Villwock, 55, who demolished the field on his way to his seventh Gold Cup win.
'We were either going to win it big or lose it big.'
He couldn't match the F15s for speed, although his average of 141mph for the five-lap final remained impressive.
Wild Thing's comment.........
Totally cool, I would love to have been the person standing on the balcony. heh heh
How fantastic is that!
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (6)
Jackie Mason Speaks Out For Sarah Palin
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Greta: Sarah Palin Easily Most Popular National Republican Candidate [FOX News]
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Wild Thing's comment.......
The look on his face as he ends with, "You lowlife bastards..," is precious. He's actually seething with righteous disdain for the Sarah-haters.
Americans love Sarah because Sarah loves America. I'm talking about the America we grew up in, that saved the free world, and that shines as a beacon of joyous freedom and sovereign independence for all the world to aspire to.
The same America that Obama and his Sarah-hating zealots feel they have to apologize for, and then somehow "change for the better."
Better than what? We're the best that there is, and Sarah is going to help us make sure that we keep it that way. I hope that, when she take office, she goes after all the traitors, theives and usurpers who have burned our Constitution.
Thanks, Jackie. For a Hollywood dude to talk like you takes real chutzpah!
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Comments (6)
Cap and Trade: Will It Save the Earth? The Democrats Lie!
A focus group lets us know what they think about global warming and cap and trade policy proposals that reduce emissions. Heritage analysts point out some key misconceptions that might change their minds about this massive new energy tax.
Wild Thing's comment........
OMG, lol listen to the woman at the beginning of the video talking about how it would add 5 years to her life.
LOL Help us all!!!!
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....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM | Comments (4)
D.B. Sweeney,Don Shula,Warrick Dunn,Leeann Tweeden,Bradley Cooper Entertain Troops in Afghanistan
Actor Bradley Cooper greets Ronny, a patrol detector dog and his handler, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Gina Pronzati, outside the Pat Tillman USO on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, July 15, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Michael Greenberger
Former Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula, center, poses for a photo with a group of servicemembers at the Pat Tillman USO on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, July 15, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Michael Greenberger
Former Dolphins head coach Don Shula autographs a football for Army Pvt. John Gentry at the Pat Tillman USO on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, July 15, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Michael Greenberger
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Celebrities Entertain Troops in Afghanistan
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan
July 16, 2009
Celebrities stopped by here yesterday to entertain troops as part of the star-studded USO’s Summer Troop Visit.
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the celebrities are travelling throughout the U.S. Central Command area of operations to thank troops for their service and sacrifice.
The celebrities include actors Bradley Cooper and D.B. Sweeney, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Warrick Dunn, National Football League Hall of Famer Don Shula, and sports commentator and model Leeann Tweeden.
The group’s first stop was aboard the USS Ronald Reagan, an aircraft carrier currently under way in the Gulf of Oman. From the floating airport to the sands of Iraq to the hills of Afghanistan, the stars accompanying Mullen said they were excited about entertaining the troops deployed overseas.
“We feel like we want to give something back,” said Shula, a well-known former Miami Dolphins coach. “We appreciate so much what our troops do, and we wanted to do something in return.”
Travelling to different locations presents logistical challenges. Travel in Afghanistan is dangerous, and some of the outposts are so remote, the only way to reach them is by helicopter.
“The hardest part is getting the talent out to where they have to go,” said Army Capt. Dena De Lucia, deputy chief of quality-of-life programs for U.S. Forces Afghanistan.
“Getting to remote [forward operating bases] means getting helicopters, and we got lucky this time because the 82nd Airborne graciously gave us two to use,” De Lucia said.
Planning these types of trips can be as harrowing as planning an air-assault mission.
“It takes weeks and months in advance to plan something like this,” De Lucia said. “It’s a very arduous process. You have to contact camps and make sure they can support the visit, and make sure you can get to where they need to go.”
Travelling throughout Afghanistan was difficult for the USO tour, but well worth it to both the troops they visited and the stars themselves.
“All of the places we go are really important, but the smaller locations are very austere, where they don’t have hot showers or necessarily a hot meal every day,” said Rachel Tischler, USO entertainment operations vice president. “So it’s very special to bring that touch of home to those people that don’t necessarily have those creature comforts.”
Many of the hundreds that lined up outside the Pat Tillman USO here yesterday were delighted that the stars could break away from busy schedules to visit them.
“It’s great to have the support of celebrities over here,” Army Sgt. Linnea Biniak said. “Them being here and showing support for the troops definitely raises morale.”
Inside the USO building, which is named for Pat Tillman, the ex-NFL player and U.S. Army Ranger killed in Afghanistan in 2004, the visiting celebrities struggled to give adequate attention to the servicemembers who had come to see them.
Rather than stay indoors, the stars decided to “walk the line” outside, where they could meet with more people and make sure everyone who came to see them received an autograph or personal photo.
In addition to the “grip and grins” pictures, ssome soldiers were given the opportunity to talk personally with celebrities. Army Spc. Jonathan Grizzard asked Sweeney about several of his films, including “Fire in the Sky,” a 1993 film in which Sweeney plays a man abducted by aliens.
“That was the sweetest experience I’d ever had,” Grizzard said. “I waited almost an hour, but I would have waited two hours -- it was totally worth it!”
“I’ve got several movies that people really responded to, and it’s very flattering for people to bring up a movie that’s 10 years old and talk about specific scenes,” Sweeney said. “I kind of get to relive the process of making it, and it underscores what I think my role as an entertainer is, to help people forget their jobs for a little while and get through the day a little easier.”
Elsewhere in the line, football fans shook hands and “mugged” with Dunn. Iraqi war veterans swapped stories with Tweeden from her last trip overseas.
Cooper was a big draw following his most recent hit film, “The Hangover.”
Meanwhile, inside the building, Shula shared his most memorable moments with diehard sports fans eager for a glimpse of his Super Bowl ring and to get his autograph on their footballs.
Staying until well after 10 p.m., the stars made sure everyone had gotten what they’d come for before finally packing it in to prepare for another day of travelling to more Afghan locations the following day.
“It’s amazing for them to come out here and represent the United States,” said Air Force Master Sgt. Raymond Stone. “Not many people come out here, and I think it’s great that they do it. They’ve got other things that they have to do, yet they’ve taken the time to come out here and show their support to us.”
Wild Thing's comment........
God bless them for going to see our troops and huge God bless and keep safe for our awesome troops.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:48 AM | Comments (6)
Sarah Palin Favorablitiy Ratings
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Rush Discusses Palin's Favorablitiy Ratings July 16, 2009
From Rush Limbaugh:
Gallup: 72% of Republicans Approve of Sarah Palin
Rush: Liberals and Drive-By Media Fear Palin the Most
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Wild Thing's comment.......
Rush Limbaugh as well has praised and supported Sarah in the past. Since she made her announcement he has also said he has supported her in private. In that sense its complete .
The ones that Sarah Palin scares are not right-wing. They are RINO or Democrats.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:47 AM | Comments (7)
Democrat Witchhunt Going After VP Dick Cheney To Attempt To Cover for Pelosi's LIE
Krauthammer: Dems After Cheney, Just Cover For Nancy Pelosi
And this from Liz Cheney:
"I am really surprised that the democrats decide that that's what they want to fight over. I mean, if they want to go to the American people and say that they disagree with the notion that we ought to be capturing and killing Al Qaeda leaders, I think it's just going to prove to the American people one more time why they can't trust the democrats with our national security."
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Wild Thing's comment.........
Liberals cannot stand the thought of Dick Cheney, he inhabits the Col Jessup corner of their psyches.
I guess they are going to say even thinking about killing Al Qaeda is a hate crime.
Fools rush in don't they? No wonder the democrats are such pals of the Palestinians. neither group ever loses an opportunity to lose an opportunity. They always underestimate Dick Cheney. Well, here we go again. Hope they know what they are in for. They are delusional people plain and simple. Go Dick, Go Liz.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:45 AM | Comments (6)
In Country Afghanistan
The Department of Defense announced today the deployment of two units to Afghanistan.
The 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, from Fort Campbell, Ky., and the 173rd Airborne Brigade, Vicenza, Italy, have been alerted to replace forces currently deployed in Afghanistan, in order to maintain the capabilities of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
The 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, will deploy with approximately 3,800 troops to Afghanistan in late fall 2009. The 173rd Brigade Combat Team, with approximately 3,700 troops, will deploy to Afghanistan in the winter of 2009-2010. Both units will conduct the full spectrum of combat operations.
The United States continues to be NATO-ISAF’s largest troop contributor, and remains committed to leading the offensive in counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan, training and equipping the Afghan national security forces and assisting with reconstruction. Force levels in Afghanistan are conditions-based and will be determined in consultation with the Afghan government and NATO.
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A U.S. Army Soldier with 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, fires at anti-Afghanistan forces attacking from the hills surrounding the remote village of Barge Matal during Operation Mountain Fire in Afghanistan's Nuristan province, July 12. During the operation, U.S. and Afghan national security forces quickly secured the tiny mountain village, which was overwhelmed by AAF several days prior.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:40 AM | Comments (5)
July 16, 2009
Obama's Socialized Medicine DeathCare ~ It Is NOT About Choice
It's Not An Option
Congress: It didn't take long to run into an "uh-oh" moment when reading the House's "health care for all Americans" bill. Right there on Page 16 is a provision making individual private medical insurance illegal.
When we first saw the paragraph Tuesday, just after the 1,018-page document was released, we thought we surely must be misreading it. So we sought help from the House Ways and Means Committee.
It turns out we were right: The provision would indeed outlaw individual private coverage. Under the Orwellian header of "Protecting The Choice To Keep Current Coverage," the "Limitation On New Enrollment" section of the bill clearly states:
"Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day" of the year the legislation becomes law.
So we can all keep our coverage, just as promised — with, of course, exceptions: Those who currently have private individual coverage won't be able to change it. Nor will those who leave a company to work for themselves be free to buy individual plans from private carriers.
From the beginning, opponents of the public option plan have warned that if the government gets into the business of offering subsidized health insurance coverage, the private insurance market will wither. Drawn by a public option that will be 30% to 40% cheaper than their current premiums because taxpayers will be funding it, employers will gladly scrap their private plans and go with Washington's coverage.
The nonpartisan Lewin Group estimated in April that 120 million or more Americans could lose their group coverage at work and end up in such a program. That would leave private carriers with 50 million or fewer customers. This could cause the market to, as Lewin Vice President John Sheils put it, "fizzle out altogether."
What wasn't known until now is that the bill itself will kill the market for private individual coverage by not letting any new policies be written after the public option becomes law.
The legislation is also likely to finish off health savings accounts, a goal that Democrats have had for years. They want to crush that alternative because nothing gives individuals more control over their medical care, and the government less, than HSAs.
With HSAs out of the way, a key obstacle to the left's expansion of the welfare state will be removed.
The public option won't be an option for many, but rather a mandate for buying government care. A free people should be outraged at this advance of soft tyranny.
Washington does not have the constitutional or moral authority to outlaw private markets in which parties voluntarily participate. It shouldn't be killing business opportunities, or limiting choices, or legislating major changes in Americans' lives.
It took just 16 pages of reading to find this naked attempt by the political powers to increase their reach. It's scary to think how many more breaches of liberty we'll come across in the final 1,002.
Congressional Budget Office Chief BASHES Obamacare
Congressional Budget Office Chief Criticizes Democrats' Health Reform Measures
Director Says Proposed Changes Would Increase Health-Care Spending
Thursday, July 16
Instead of saving the federal government from fiscal catastrophe, the health reform measures being drafted by congressional Democrats would increase rather than reduce public spending on health care, potentially worsening an already bleak budget outlook, the director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said this morning.
Under questioning by members of the Senate Budget Committee, CBO director Douglas Elmendorf said bills crafted by House leaders and the Senate health committee do not propose "the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce the trajectory of federal health spending by a significant amount."
"On the contrary," Elmendorf said, "the legislation significantly expands the federal responsibility for health-care costs."
Though President Obama and Democratic leaders have said repeatedly that reining in the skyrocketing growth in spending on government health programs such as Medicaid and Medicare is their top priority, the reform measures put forth so far would not fulfill their pledge to "bend the cost curve" downward, Elmendorf said. Instead, he said, "The curve is being raised."
The CBO is the official arbiter of the costs of legislation, and Elmendorf's stark testimony is certain to undermine support for the measures even as three House panels begin debate and aim to put a bill on the House floor before the August recess. Fiscal conservatives in the House, known as the Blue Dogs, were already threatening to block passage of legislation in the Energy and Commerce Committee, primarily due to concerns about the long-term costs of the House bill.
Cost is also a major issue in the Senate, where some moderate Democrats have joined Republicans in calling on Obama to drop his demand that both chambers approve a bill before the August recess. While the Senate health committee approved its bill on Wednesday with no Republican votes, members of the Senate Finance Committee were still struggling to craft a bipartisan measure that does more to restrain costs.
The chairman of the Senate Budget Committee Kent Conrad, (D-N.D.), has taken a leading role in that effort. This morning, after receiving Elmendorf's testimony on the nation's long-term budget outlook, Conrad turned immediately to questions about the emerging health-care measures.
"I'm going to really put you on the spot," Conrad told Elmendorf. "From what you have seen from the products of the committees that have reported, do you see a successful effort being mounted to bend the long-term cost curve?"
Elmendorf responded: "No, Mr. Chairman."
Sen Roberts: Obamacare Bill includes the end of Medicare and TRICARE
CSPAN
Senator Pat Roberts on CSPAN-Senate channel now. Claims the Obamacare Bill ends both Medicare and TRICARE by making reimbursements so low that no doctor or hospital will be able to afford to provide it through a bill no one has had the time to read. Claims Obamacare will end ALL other health care options by also purposefully and maliciously undercutting all private plans. Pure Stalinist medicine.
It's clear why Obama and Pelosi are freaking-out and trying to get this passed before the end of July. If congresspeople go home and get an earful of their constituents' anger they'd never come back and vote for it.
Roberts: "Wake-up, seniors! Wake up, AARP! Wake up, National Hospital Association! This is your medical care and Obama is taking it away from you!"
American Medical Association backs House health bill
WASHINGTON
The influential American Medical Association on Thursday said it supported the healthcare overhaul legislation moving through committees in the Democratic-led House of Representatives and urged its approval.
"This legislation includes a broad range of provisions that are key to effective, comprehensive health system reform," AMA executive vice president Michael Maves wrote to the House committee leaders.
In particular, he said, the doctors' group backs the insurance market reforms that seek to expand healthcare coverage and the proposed health insurance exchange. In this exchange consumers would choose between private insurers and a public plan.
He also cited the ban on exclusion from coverage for pre-existing conditions and an increased reliance on primary care doctors.
On federal healthcare programs, the AMA said it welcomed the changes in Medicare health care for the elderly which would include a repeal of the sustainable growth rate formula and the expansion of Medicaid for the poor.
"This year, the AMA wants the debate in Washington to conclude with real, long overdue results that will improve the health of America's patients," he wrote.
And the AMA is like saying I support having my dinner poisened tonight?
The AMA represents a small fraction of doctor’s. They are a liberal association.
It’s funny - a month ago when the AMA had reservations about the public plan, the Democrats attacked them and said they “don’t speak for most doctors”. Now they are trumpeting this endorsement?
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Wild Thing's comment........
Excellent article by Investor's Business Daily.
DeathCare brought to you by the Muslim Messiah and the US Congress and the MSM! If you’re over 60, kiss your rear goodbye. All they want is power over your life and death. Obama's agenda is the destruction of the America he hates.
THIS is the federal government eliminating an industry. This is a law to make all private health insurance illegal. Obama is going to kill this country in less than a year with his policies including that farce Cap & Trade.
This Bill ends both Medicare and TRICARE by making reimbursements so low that no doctor or hospital will be able to afford to provide it through a bill few have taken the time to read. Roberts speaking said Obamacare will end ALL other health care options by also purposefully and maliciously undercutting all private plans. Pure Stalinist medicine.
Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity both sounded the alarm about this on their radio shows today.
We are witnessing the end our Republic if this passes.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 PM | Comments (7)
Pentagon Won't Ban War-zone Smoking
War is not golf Obama, you don't get creidt for allowing our troops to smoke now if they want to, you should have put a stop to the ban to begin with. ~ Wild Thing
Pentagon won't ban war-zone smoking, despite study
Smoke 'em if you got 'em.
The Pentagon reassured troops Wednesday that it won't ban tobacco products in war zones. Defense officials hadn't actually planned to eliminate smoking — at least for now. But fear of a ban arose among some troops after the Defense Department received a study recommending the military move toward becoming tobacco-free — perhaps in about 20 years.
An advocacy group, however, is strongly condemning the push by Pentagon health experts to ban the use of tobacco by troops and end sales of tobacco products on military property. Brian Wise, executive director of Military Families United, decried even the discussion of such a ban.
"With all the issues facing our military today and the risks our troops take to protect our freedom, banning smoking should not even be on the radar screen," Wise said in a written statement Wednesday.
"Nobody doubts the effects of smoking, but it is not an illegal substance and should not be banned," he said. "Our troops make enough sacrifices to serve our nation. They give up many of the freedoms civilians enjoy already without being told they cannot partake in yet another otherwise legal activity. Perhaps more than anything, smoking in the field is more about comfort and coping with an often hostile environment."
Press secretary Geoff Morrell pointedly told a Pentagon news conference that Defense Secretary Robert Gates is not planning to prohibit the use of cigarettes, chewing tobacco or other tobacco products by troops in combat.
"He knows that the situation they are confronting is stressful enough as it is," Morrell said, noting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "I don't think he is interested in adding to the stress levels by taking away one of the few outlets they may have to relieve stress."
Criticism of the proposals spread across the Internet and among troops.
"Our troops make enough sacrifices to serve our nation," said Brian Wise, executive director of the advocacy group Military Families United. "They give up many of the freedoms civilians enjoy already without being told they cannot partake in yet another otherwise legal activity."
Spc. Charles Rodriguez, 23, said he started smoking long before he joined the Army and that his pack-a-day habit doesn't affect his physical fitness.
Wild Thing's comment.........
The idea that they are even considering this speaks volumes as to how they don't have a clue about combat. Or if they do could care less about our troops.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (10)
Reactions and Updates To Maj. Stefan Frederick Cook Decision
Pentagon orders soldier fired for challenging prez
Army warrior terminated from job after questioning Obama eligibility
The Department of Defense has compelled a private employer to fire a U.S. Army Reserve major from his civilian job after he had his military deployment orders revoked for arguing he should not be required to serve under a president who has not proven his eligibility for office.
According to the CEO of Simtech Inc., a private company contracted by the Defense Security Services, an agency of the Department of Defense, the federal agency has compelled the termination of
Cook's attorney, Orly Taitz, wrote in her blog that Simtech CEO Larry Grice said he would try to find another position within the company for Cook, but nothing is currently available.
The Department of Defense does contracting in the general field of information technology/systems integration, at which Cook, a senior systems engineer and architect, was employed until taking a military leave of absence on July 10 in preparation for his deployment to Afghanistan.
"Grice told Plaintiff, in essence, that the situation had become 'nutty and crazy,' and that plaintiff would no longer be able to work at his old position," Taitz wrote.
Grice made clear that it was Defense Security Services that had compelled Simtech to fire Cook.
According to the report, Grice told Cook "there was some gossip that 'people were disappointed in' the plaintiff because they thought he was manipulating his deployment orders to create a platform for political purposes."
The Simtech CEO then discussed Cook's expectation of final paychecks, without any severance pay, and wished the soldier well.
Lou Dobbs on his radio show yesterday discussed Barack Obama Birth Certificate Issue
Guest lineup includes Dr. Orly Taitz Attorney, Representing Major Stefan Frederick Cook And Alan Keyes
Liberal Talk Show Host Lynn Samuels Questions Obama's Place of Birth - Audio 7/15/09
Sirius Satellite Radio's Lynn Samuels, a liberal talk show host, saying she believes President Obama is 'lying' about his true place of birth, which may have been outside the United States
I have no idea why they have Ann Coulter's image on this screen she is not a guest on this woman's(??) talk show.
PLEASE slide the arrow to 55:14 that is where Gibbs takes two questions about the birth certificate. Gibbs is sarcastic and talks down to the reporter. Also his second question is about why was Helen Thomas not invited to the July 4th fireworks at the White House and Gibbs once again smarts off and brings up the Birth certificate again.
Wild Thing's comment......
As I understand this it he didn't refuse the order to deploy, he filed suit to find out if it was a lawful order.
DOD's response was to cancel his military deployment and to inform his employer that he was no longer welcome at his civilian job at McDill Air Force base, effectively firing him.
WHEW I never heard of this Lynn Samuels before. She would be scary to run into at night on a dark street.
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....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (7)
Obama's Goal To Be Dictator
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Wild Thing's comment.........
Yes there he is in all his it's about me glory, wanting so badly to rule the entire world. LOL I could see Obama doing this, limp wrist and all.
Twinkle toes leaving the baseball field as he throws out the first pitch, the limp wristed one now could it be, the leader of the free or once free world ah yessss it might be , it could be...... dancing around probably with a few chosen dance steps taught to him by Rahm heh heh.....
....Thank you Tom for sending this to me.
Tom
US Army Aviation
Vietnam 1966-68
US Army Special Forces
1970-72
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:49 AM | Comments (8)
Obama Betraying America's Soldiers: Iranian War Criminals Go Free
Betraying America's Soldiers: Iranian War Criminals Go Free
"The moment you give up your principles, and your values . . . the moment you laugh at those principles, and those values, you are dead, your culture is dead, your civilization is dead. Period." Orianna Fallaci
On Thursday, July 9th, the US released 4 Iranian detainees who are suspected of being members of an Iranian Special Forces team that facilitated the smuggling of explosives and explosive devices into Iraq, including shaped charges that could penetrate US armored vehicles. A recent article on the National Review Online, by Andrew C. McCarthy entitled "Negotiating with Terrorists" outlines one of the actions these men are suspected of planning, equipping and executing.
"On Jan. 20, 2007, five American soldiers were killed and three seriously wounded in Iraq. As Bill Roggio relates at the Long War Journal, it was a daring operation: a twelve-man terrorist team disguised as U.S. servicemen attacked our troops as they held a previously arranged meeting with local officials in Karbala. Four of the soldiers were alive when they were abducted from the scene. They were handcuffed and murdered in a remote location when the coalition forces attempting to rescue them closed in."
A few months later Qais Qazali, Laith Qazali and Ali Mussa Daqduq were captured, along with documents that confirmed they were agents of Iran responsible for organizing and directing terror cells in Iraq. Hundreds of US servicemen and women and thousands of innocent Iraqis died horribly because of them. What these Iranians did were war crimes, from the killing of civilians to the execution of prisoners. They likely took part in operations themselves; in fact the attackers in Karbala were so expertly disguised as American soldiers their equipment and vehicles were very likely supplied directly by Iran.
McCarthy continues;
"About two weeks ago, the Obama administration released Laith Qazali after extensive negotiations with the Asaib al-Haq terror network. That network has long been in negotiations with the fledgling Iraqi government, dangling the possibility of laying down its arms, renouncing violence, and integrating into Iraqi society, provided that its top members - particularly Qais and Laith Qazali, as well as Ali Mussa Daqduq - be released."
Now that has been done, below the radar, and over the graves of our soldiers. These war criminals are being called diplomats in an attempt to hide the release from the American public. They are being set free to reunite with friends and family and continue their work for a brutal murderous regime that is our mortal enemy.
What the US may receive in return is a temporary lull in terror attacks, so the precipitous withdrawal of US troops by the Obama administration won't be seen for the blunder that it is. Our soldiers and their grieving families will not receive justice; their murderers are now a tool of the Democrats, their release a stratagem for political gain.
All this should make Americans realize just what kind of people are in the White House and in Congress. They do not respect or honor our foundational principles; they do not respect or honor America's values. You do not let a crime go unpunished. You do not reward evil; it cannot be appeased. We will inherit no goodwill; we will enjoy no diplomatic concessions; we are the "great Satan" to the regime in Teheran and treating with us is an immoral act. Their ideology and their policies are based on hatred. To think otherwise is not merely naïve, it is idiotic.
We are in the awful situation were an American President and his administration sides with our enemies, where crimes against us are ignored for petty political gain. How much more American and Iraqi blood will be spilt because of their adolescent leftist ideology? Can they truly be so blind to the horrific consequences of releasing terrorists in an attempt to secure peace? Or do they hate our soldiers so completely that they do not care?
The Obama Administration has betrayed this nation's servicemen and women. They have sold our soldiers lives for a pittance, for short term political expediency. They are dealing with the devil, and are comfortable doing it. By their actions the Obama administration has set the stage for the killing of more brave young Americans and countless innocents.
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Wild Thing's comment..........
Obama is in charge. This couldn’t happen without his direct involvement.
It is outrageous. The current White House occupants gave the OK. The Iranians had been trying to get these jihadis released since 2007 but got no where until now.
Here is Andrew's complete article about this.
The Obama administration ignores a longstanding — and life-saving — policy.........By Andrew C. McCarthy
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:48 AM | Comments (9)
Al Franken, Minnesota's Idea of a Statesman Asks Sotomayor About Perry Mason
Senate Judiciary Committee's confirmation hearing for Sonia Sotomayor, where new Minnesota Sen. Al Franken used his precious time and opportunity to talk with her about -- Perry Mason episodes!
Franken & Sotomayor Discuss 'Perry Mason' Episodes During Hearing
Perry Mason was a fictitious defense lawyer, whom Franken noted won all his cases except one. He asked Sotomayor to name it, and she said she couldn't.
"Didn't the White House prepare you for that," the comedian-turned-politician asked, laughter filling the hearing room.
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Wild Thing's comment.......
The entire hearing, everyone in that room should be embarrassed at this kind of thing.
It reminds me of years ago, I don't remember who it was but someone in power in merry ole England. He was found to be some kind of weirdo, and the English people were divided as to what to do with him. Some were embarrassed but they were out numbered by those that did not care. Seeing Al Franken treating this hearing with so little regard to how important it is, a lifetime position and all, brought that whole mess in England to mind.
Franken is going to bring all he is connected with down to his level. All low class just like Michelle and Barack Obama.
I loved watching Perry Mason but to refer to it during this hearing......hello!!!
Shame on Minnesota!
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (10)
~ Happy Birthday Lynn ~
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Lynn,
Happy Birthday and may all your wishes come true. Thank you for being a part of Team Theodore and for your kindness and friendship.
((hug))
Chrissie and everyone here
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:46 AM | Comments (7)
Iran Closer to Having Nuclear Bomb
'Germany believes Iran could have nuclear bomb within 6 months'
Iran is capable of assembling an atomic bomb within six months, German intelligence analysts told the German weekly newsmagazine Stern.
"If they want to, they will be able to set off a uranium bomb within six months," an analyst with Germany's intelligence service, Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), told the magazine.German intelligence officials told Stern believe Iran has "mastered" every stage of uranium enrichment and that they have activated enough centrifuges to produce sufficient quantities of weapons-grade uranium for at least one atomic bomb.
"Nobody would have thought this possible some years ago," an intelligence official told Stern.
The UN Security Council has imposed three sets of sanctions on Tehran for defying its demands to suspend uranium enrichment.
Israeli navy in Suez Canal prepares for potential attack on Iran
Two Israeli missile class warships have sailed through the Suez Canal ten days after a submarine capable of launching a nuclear missile strike, in preparation for a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The deployment into the Red Sea, confirmed by Israeli officials, was a clear signal that Israel was able to put its strike force within range of Iran at short notice. It came before long-range exercises by the Israeli air force in America later this month and the test of a missile defence shield at a US missile range in the Pacific Ocean.
Israel has strengthened ties with Arab nations who also fear a nuclear-armed Iran. In particular, relations with Egypt have grown increasingly strong this year over the “shared mutual distrust of Iran”, according to one Israeli diplomat. Israeli naval vessels would likely pass through the Suez Canal for an Iranian strike.
“This is preparation that should be taken seriously. Israel is investing time in preparing itself for the complexity of an attack on Iran. These manoeuvres are a message to Iran that Israel will follow up on its threats,” an Israeli defence official said.
It is believed that Israel’s missile-equipped submarines, and its fleet of advanced aircraft, could be used to strike at in excess of a dozen nuclear-related targets more than 800 miles from Israel.
“It is not by chance that Israel is drilling long-range manoeuvres in a public way. This is not a secret operation. This is something that has been published and which will showcase Israel’s abilities,” said an Israeli defence official.
He added that in the past, Israel had run a number of covert long-range drills. A year ago, Israeli jets flew over Greece in one such drill, while in May, reports surfaced that Israeli air force aircraft were staging exercises over Gibraltar. An Israeli attack on a weapons convoy in Sudan bound for militants in the Gaza Strip earlier this year was also seen as a rehearsal for hitting moving convoys.
The exercises come at a time when Western diplomats are offering support for an Israeli strike on Iran in return for Israeli concessions on the formation of a Palestinian state.
If agreed it would make an Israeli strike on Iran realistic “within the year” said one British official.
Diplomats said that Israel had offered concessions on settlement policy, Palestinian land claims and issues with neighboring Arab states, to facilitate a possible strike on Iran.
“Israel has chosen to place the Iranian threat over its settlements,” said a senior European diplomat.
Iran: Online newspaper says 100s of slain protesters are in morgues
The on-line Farsi-language newspaper, Nooroz, reports that hundreds of unidentified dead bodies are being held in Tehran's morgues. One of the few official organs providing information on the detainees is the office of unidentified dead persons, which has summoned some families to various morgues around the city to determine whether their loved ones are among the dead. Nooroz newspaper reports that those families, who find their sons or daughters among the countless corpses, are threatened and pressured into signing statements attesting that their family members died in car crashes or as a result of other ordinary, run of the mill accidents. Unless the families sign these statements, the cherished bodies of their loved ones are withheld from them.
One person who reportedly visited the morgue in south-west Tehran [which in the past had been used only for the storage of fruits and dairy products]reports to Nooroz that she was presented with an album containing hundreds of pictures of the dead and was told to try and find her child among these images. This woman reports that, as she was leaving the morgue, she saw hundreds of dead bodies piled on top of one another.
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Wild Thing's comment.......
Obama will say go ahead. I cannot believe the times we are living in. It is frightening.
This might sound crazy but just in case something does happen with Israel and Iran, fill the gas tanks and don't forget to have a survival kit packed and ready. You just don't know what is going to blow; it could be volcanoes, quakes, power shortages, or bad weather....because if it is nuclear is what I am thinking about.
It’s only a matter of time. Another article said that Israel has it that Egypt is cooperating, and Saudi Arabia has given Israel a Red Sea base from which to launch an attack, and overflight rights over Saudi territory into the Persian Gulf. This would allow Israel to avoid having to ask Obama for overflight permission in Iraq — which he would never grant.
There is also this:
Preparations for Attack on Iran Almost Complete
Israel has decided to go ahead. Taking into account political, geopolitical, military preparedness, and climatic conditions, there are two windows: between July 21 and 24 and between August 6 and 8. Advance teams comprised of Mossad agents and military personnel are already on the ground in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Iraq (including in the Kurdish lands, adjacent to Turkey).
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....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Comments (6)
Firefighters Appear at Sotomayor Hearings
Firefighters to testify about Sotomayor
Republicans will call two New Haven firefighters to testify in the confirmation hearings of Sonia Sotomayor next week, making clear the GOP's intent to place affirmative action at the center of Senate battle over Sotomayor's nomination.
A Judiciary Committee press release lists Frank Ricci and Ben Vargas as expected Republican witnesses. Ricci was the lead plaintiff in Ricci v. New Haven, the controversial case in which Sotomayor ruled the New Haven fire department acted constitutionally when it promoted black firefighters who scored lower than their white counterparts on a qualifying test. Vargas was the only non-white co-plaintiff in that case.
The Supreme Court later overturned that decision.
Wild Thing's comment......
The left has been going after the firefighter Ricci. To Democrats the end justifies the means, don't you know. Why let the truth interfere with a good character assasination.
She does not belong on the highest court of the land.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:44 AM | Comments (2)
Barack Obama and His Mom Jeans At Game by CNN
Wild Thing's comment.....
LOL I never heard of Mom jeans before. But I do so love how CNN has made some fun of their president.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:40 AM | Comments (4)
July 15, 2009
Darrell "Shifty" Powers ~ Band of Brothers ~American Hero R.I.P.
Darrell “Shifty” Powers, one of the soldiers depicted in “Band of Brothers,” passed away on Wednesday, June 17, 2009.
Darrell "Shifty" Powers (March 13, 1923 – June 17, 2009) - A True American Hero.
Darrell "Shifty" Powers
Easy Company
506th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Infantry
(Band of Brothers)
"R.I.P. Shifty, and may God be good to you!!
Darrell "Shifty" Powers, like millions of Americans, answered the call of World War II. A quiet, unassuming man, Shifty joined the Army and then volunteered for the Airborne.
After intensive training, Powers was assigned to the famed Easy Company 2nd Battalion 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, where he jumped into Normandy on D-day. He was involved in the assault on Bracore Manor, which saved thousands of lives on Omaha Beach.
Powers fought in the battle of Carentan and the airborne invasion of Holland as part of Operation Market Garden, where millions of French and Dutch citizens found freedom.
The 506th was encircled by superior German forces in the Battle of the Bulge and against incredible odds, successfully defended the city of Bastone. Powers and the 506th then entered Germany, liberated concentration camps and captured Hitlers, "Eagles Nest" in Berchtesgarden.
Shifty survived the war only to be seriously injured in an auto accident while en route home and his return to civilian life.
Like millions of veterans, Powers lived a simple productive life and would have slipped into history unknown if it were not for Stephen Ambrose and the story "Band of Brothers", which was turned into an HBO mini series.
“The world depended on them. They depended on each other.”
That was the tagline for “Band of Brothers” – an award-winning 2001 HBO mini-series drama on the World War II experiences of Easy Company, a U.S. Army unit that fought bravely and fiercely across Europe.
Bravery – and dignity – was a constant, running thread in the life of “Shifty” Powers, both during and after his life as an Army sharpshooter in the actual “Band of Brothers.”
During the war, he fought brutal battles against the German army across France and Belgium.
After the war, Powers served as an eloquent representative for the men he fought with: At one point during the “Band of Brothers” mini-series, he appeared on camera to talk in moving, humane fashion about his grim but necessary task during the war – killing the enemy.
And, too, Powers served as a loyal, steadfast representative for the country he fought for: from graciously meeting with a former enemy German soldier to eagerly accepting any chance to speak with modern-day members of the U.S. military.
Ivan Schwarz, a producer on the “Band of Brothers” HBO series, remembers Powers as a “kind, generous soul with a great sense of humor.”
“Shifty was an incredibly humble human being,” said Schwarz, now executive director of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission in Cleveland, Ohio.
“He was like most of the other [Easy Company] soldiers we met for the series. They were good guys who were kind of shocked that, 50 years later, people were making a big deal over them for just doing their duty.
“That’s exactly how Powers was, too,” Schwarz said.
"Don't miss, Shifty" is from the HBO adaptation. Here is an anecdote from the book:
Shifty Powers came in from an OP to report to 1st Sergeant Lipton. "Sergeant," he said, "there's a tree up there toward Noville that wasn't there yesterday." Powers had no binoculars, but Lipton did. Looking through them, Lipton could not see anything unusual, even after Powers pinpointed the spot for him.
One reason Lipton had trouble was that the object was not an isolated tree; there were a number of trees along the road in that area. Lipton expressed soume doubts, but Powers insisted it had not been there the previous day. Lipton studied the spot with his binoculars. He saw some movement near the tree and then more movement under other trees around it. Then he saw gun barrels - 88s by their appearance, as they were elevated and 88s were the basic German antiaircraft weapon as well as ground artillery piece. Lipton realized that the Germans were putting an antiaircraft battery inamong the trees, and had put up the tree Powers spotted as part of their camouflage.
Lipton put in a call for a forward artillery observer. When he arrived, he saw what Powers and Lipton had seen. He got on the radio, talking to a battery of 105 mm back in Bastogne. When he described the target he had no trouble getting approval for full battery fire, despite the short supply of artillery ammunition.
To zero in on the target, the observer called for a round on a position he could locate on his map, about 300 meters to the right of the trees. One gun fired and hit the target. Then he shifted the aim 300 meters to the left and called for all the battery's guns to lay in on the same azimuth and ragne. When he got a report that all was ready, he had his guns fire for effect, several rounds from each gun.
Shells started expoding all around the German position. Lipton watched throuigh his binoculars as the Germans scrambled to get out of there, salvaging what they could of their guns, helping wounded to the rear. Within an hour the place was deserted.
"It all happened," Lipton summed up, "because Shifty saw a tree almost a mile away that hadn't been there the day before."
Here's another:
Lipton and Popeye Wynn looked at the place where the sniper had held them up, the one Powers shot at. They found the sniper with a bullet right in the middle of the forehead.
"You know," Wynn commented, "it just doesn't pay to be shootin' at Shifty when he's got a rifle."
Subject: Memorial Service: you're invited.
We're hearing a lot today about big splashy memorial services. I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell "Shifty" Powers.
Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.
I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle," the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.
Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made.
Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 .. . . " at which point my heart skipped.
At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy is?" At this point my heart stopped.
I told him "yes, I know exactly where Normandy is, and I know what D-Day was." At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland, into Arnhem." I was standing with a genuine war hero . . . . and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day..
I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France, and he said "Yes. And it's real sad because, these days, so few of the guys are left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart was in my throat and I didn't know what to say.
I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I'd take his in coach.
He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and who still care is enough to make an old man very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming up now as I write this.
Shifty died on June 17 after fighting cancer.
There was no parade. No big event in Staples Center. No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage. No weeping fans on television. And that's not right.
Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way. Please forward this email to everyone you know. Especially to the veterans.
Rest in peace, Shifty.
Chuck Yeager, Maj Gen. [ret.]"
Wild Thing's comment..........
Shifty, thank you for so many years of being safe and for our freedom we have loved so dearly.you are one of our heroes, fade away gently old soldier , you will never be forgotten.
I want to take this time in this post to say something.
The Band of Brothers was passed on by these fine men to others and those all part of the Brotherhood of those who have served our country. Most of the finest people I ever met in my life have been Veterans, from WW11, the Korean War, Vietnam War, the Gulf War, all of them and today as well.
And our troops serving in combat arms today are just like these guys of WW2.I have met several with three and four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Several are disabled and every one of them has told me the same thing, they would serve again and their love for our country and how important it has been for them to be a part of keeping us the country we have been.
We are losing our WW11 Veterans and the Band of Brothers and I pray so much that people realize how important it is to say thank you, to walk across that room if you see a Veteran and say thank you. And when seeing someone in uniform serving now to thank them, buy their meal if you see them when eating out, let them know their sacrifices and service is appreciated.
I know all of you here and the regulars that read this blog each day are already thanking them. But to those from the left that send such vile hate mail and try to get your sickening comments through this is for you to read. You take advantage of the most awesome freedom any country ever had in the history of the world. These men like Shifty and those at this blog have paid the price and deserve better then your protests and disrespect we see from Obama and his wife and other politicians and from you all on the left. Think about it, because they have made a difference!!!
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....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 PM | Comments (8)
Obama To RHAM Through His Socialized Medicine in Weeks
RAHM IT THROUGH: NATIONALIZED HEALTH CARE IN WEEKS!
Obama Open to Partisan Vote on Health-Care Overhaul, Aides Say
Barack Obama may rely only on Democrats to push health-care legislation through the U.S. Congress if Republican opposition doesn’t yield soon, two of the president’s top advisers said.
“Ultimately, this is not about a process, it’s about results,” David Axelrod, Obama’s senior political strategist, said during an interview in his White House office. “If we’re going to get this thing done, obviously time is a-wasting.”
Both Axelrod and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said taking a partisan route to enacting major health-care legislation isn’t the president’s preferred choice. Yet in separate interviews, each man left that option open.
“We’d like to do it with the votes of members of both parties,” Axelrod said. “But the worst result would be to not get health-care reform done.”
House Democrats today unveiled legislation totaling about $1 trillion that would expand health care to millions of Americans over the next decade by raising taxes on the wealthiest households. The Senate has yet to agree on a bill as Democratic lawmakers struggle to get Republican support.
Emanuel, making a theoretical case for a party-line vote, offered a definition of bipartisanship based not on roll-call votes but on whether Democrats have accepted Republican ideas during the process of negotiations.
And he said Democrats already have passed that test, pointing to Republican amendments that the Democratic-controlled Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee has adopted.
Republican Ideas
“That’s a test of bipartisanship -- whether you took ideas from both parties,” Emanuel said. “At the end of the day, the test isn’t whether they voted for it,” he said, referring to Republicans. “The test is whether the final product represented some of their ideas. And I think it will.”
Analysts and some veteran political practitioners have inveighed against a partisan approach on such a contentious issue.
They include two former Senate majority leaders -- Robert Dole, a Republican, and Tom Daschle, a Democrat, who is a close White House adviser on health-care issues.
During a joint appearance in June as the two unveiled their own bipartisan health-care proposal, Dole said he believed Democrats could pass a bill by a party-line vote, even as he expressed disapproval of such a tactic.
“I hope it doesn’t come to that,” Dole said. “If there’s not a Senate Republican vote for the package, then the American people are going to be very skeptical.”
Don’t Assume ‘Unanimity’
The Democrats have 60 votes in the Senate to 40 for the Republicans, and have a 255-178 advantage in the House, with two vacancies.
Daschle said he “couldn’t agree more” with Dole’s warning about the political fallout from a partisan vote.
Moreover, he expressed doubt that Democrats alone could prevail, because that scenario “assumes unanimity” he said, and that isn’t the case.
Time is running short for the House and Senate to pass the legislation before their August recess, the deadline Obama has set. In entertaining the possibility of a party-line vote on health care, Emanuel cited “reconciliation,” a parliamentary procedure that a dominant party can use to prevent the other party from blocking legislation.
“It’s not the first priority, or the second priority, or the third priority. We think we can get it done without it,” he said.
‘Alternative Vehicle’
Yet reconciliation “exists as an alternative vehicle, Emanuel said. “That’s what it was created for.”
With time running out, some Democrats have urged Obama to get more deeply involved in the nitty-gritty legislative negotiations.
Axelrod said the president is likely to do that.
“I can’t guarantee whether his sleeves will be rolled up or not,” he said. “Obviously, as this process evolves, I think he will be very clear about things.”
The White House and Congress are trying to agree on ways to cover the estimated 46 million uninsured Americans and rein in health-care costs.
National health care reform plan unveiled
A day after President Barack Obama prodded lawmakers to get moving on health care reform, House leaders unveiled a sweeping measure Tuesday that would force every American to obtain health insurance, prohibit insurers from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions and create a government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers.
The legislation, which could cost more than $1 trillion, would be financed in part by a tax increase on the 2 million wealthiest taxpayers. Other costs would be offset by savings in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The measure would help provide health insurance to an additional 37 million Americans, according to a preliminary report by the Congressional Budget Office.
Employers who don't provide health insurance coverage would have to pay a penalty of 8% of their payroll. Small businesses would get some exemptions. People who choose not to obtain coverage also would be penalized through a 2.5% tax on their incomes.
Calling the moment historic, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) rolled out details of far-reaching health care changes that have eluded Congress for decades. She expects things will be different this time around, predicting that the chamber will pass the bill in the next few weeks.
"Inaction is not an option for us," she said.
"We are going to accomplish what many people felt wouldn't happen in our lifetime," said Rep. Henry Waxman, another California Democrat who leads the House Energy and Commerce Committee and is one of the bill's main sponsors.
The legislation would raise $544 billion from a new income tax surcharge on single people making $280,000 a year and households making $350,000 and above. It also would draw $37 billion from other tax adjustments, about $500 billion from cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and about $200 billion from penalties paid by individuals and employers who don't obtain coverage.
Obama, who has made health care his top domestic priority, praised the House bill in a statement Tuesday.
"The House proposal will begin the process of fixing what's broken about our health care system, reducing costs for all, building on what works, and covering an estimated 97% of all Americans," he said.
But House Republicans were quick to criticize the legislation as too costly and full of stealthy tax increases.
"The price tag is daunting," said Rep. Paul Ryan, a Janesville Republican who is pushing his own health care reform legislation. "There's a way to fix this problem without new taxes or new spending."
Democrats counter that their legislation will reduce costs in the long run because health care costs are predicted to keep rising if Congress fails to act.
"We cannot afford to not deal with health care," said Rep. Gwen Moore, a Milwaukee Democrat. "These are investments as opposed to expenses."
Democratic leaders released their 1,000-page proposal amid pressure by Obama to produce legislation he could sign into law this year before the mid-term election campaigns get into full swing.
The president invited key members of Congress to the White House on Monday to encourage both the House and Senate to pass their versions of the legislation by the congressional recess in August.
"For those naysayers and cynics who think that this is not going to happen, don't bet against us," Obama said Monday.
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Wild Thing's comment........
OMG NO!!!
What the hell is the rush!!!!????!!! This will completely change our country into socialism. There is NO turning back once this happens. Why rush into it like this. He has been president now for what, something like 160 days plus. Does he have to do everything like someone on drugs all speeded up or something. God help us!!!!!
Is it their goal to destroy small businesses? Is that what they want? Certainly seems that way, because this will force small business owners to close.
It’s in keeping with the long-range goal of the Marxists - the government must have ownership of all of the means of production.
They are pushing this through because the economy is about to implode.
They have to rush things through before it can be stopped. The only thing I can think of is the reason Obama is doing EVERYTHING so fast is because he realizes if things take a long time to put through then more people will wake up and see what he is about as the economy gets worse and then he won't be able to do the Cap and Trade and the socialized medicine.
Cap and Trade,National Health Insurance and Immigration—they all want this rammed through before Americans, now with their minds on vacation, can mobilize and respond.
ALL of this is against our Constitution!!!!
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (10)
FOX News Mentions Soldier Saying Obama Ineligible To Be CIC and UPDATE
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Soldier says Obama isn’t president
Says he shouldn’t have to go to Afghanistan because Obama is not a U.S. citizen
U.S. Army Maj. Stefan Frederick Cook, set to deploy to Afghanistan, says he shouldn’t have to go.
His reason?
Barack Obama was never eligible to be president because he wasn’t born in the United States.
Cook’s lawyer, Orly Taitz, who has also challenged the legitimacy of Obama’s presidency in other courts, filed a request last week in federal court seeking a temporary restraining order and status as a conscientious objector for her client.
In the 20-page document — filed July 8 with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia — the California-based Taitz asks the court to consider granting his client’s request based upon Cook’s belief that Obama is not a natural-born citizen of the United States and is therefore ineligible to serve as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Cook further states he “would be acting in violation of international law by engaging in military actions outside the United States under this President’s command. ... simultaneously subjecting himself to possible prosecution as a war criminal by the faithful execution of these duties.”
Cook, a reservist, received the orders mobilizing him to active duty on June 9.
According to this document, which accompanies Cook’s July 8 application for a temporary restraining order, he has been ordered to report to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., on Wednesday. From there, the Florida resident would go to Fort Benning before deploying overseas.
Documents show Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961, two years after it became a state.
A hearing to discuss Cook’s requests will take place in federal court here Thursday at 9:30 a.m.
Breaking: Major has orders revoked
July 14, 8:55 PM
U.S. Army Major Stefan Frederick Cook Filed a restraining order asking for legitimate confirmation that his Commander in Chief was legitimately in Office, giving him his orders to Deploy to Afghanistan with his unit.
Today in a stunning development, the Military rescinded those orders.
This has set a precedent heretofore unknown. The entire US Military can now not only question it's orders, a requirement of their duty when they believe that an order is given illegitimately, but can expect that their orders will also be rescinded should they question the legitimacy of the CIC who is the ultimate Authority in Command. In other words Obama.
Orly Taitz, Major Cook’s lawyer filed the request for a temporary restraining order in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia asking the court to grant her client’s request for proof of Obama’s eligibility to serve as President of the United States.
Stating in her filing that cook “would be acting in violation of international law by engaging in military actions outside the United States under this President’s command. ... simultaneously subjecting himself to possible prosecution as a war criminal by the faithful execution of these duties,” Ms Taitz has essentiality won her case as the military has ducked on the issue.
At first glance this may seem to have ended the case. However, it must be noted, that if Obama cannot legitimately give an order to deploy, then he cannot rescind the order either.
Things just got real interesting folks.
It is also at WND as it came in late last night at 2153.
Bombshell: Orders revoked for soldier challenging prez
Major victory for Army warrior questioning Obama's birthplace
July 14, 2009
9:53 pm Eastern
U.S. Army Reserve major from Florida scheduled to report for deployment to Afghanistan within days has had his military orders revoked after arguing he should not be required to serve under a president who has not proven his eligibility for office.
His attorney, Orly Taitz, confirmed to WND the military has rescinded his impending deployment orders.
"We won! We won before we even arrived," she said with excitement. "It means that the military has nothing to show for Obama. It means that the military has directly responded by saying Obama is illegitimate – and they cannot fight it. Therefore, they are revoking the order!"
She continued, "They just said, 'Order revoked.' No explanation. No reasons – just revoked."
A hearing on the questions raised by Maj. Stefan Frederick Cook, an engineer who told WND he wants to serve his country in Afghanistan, was scheduled for July 16 at 9:30 a.m.
"Then any order coming out of the presidency or his chain of command is illegal. Should I deploy, I would essentially be following an illegal [order]. If I happened to be captured by the enemy in a foreign land, I would not be privy to the Geneva Convention protections," he said.
The order for the hearing in the federal court for the Middle District of Georgia from U.S. District Judge Clay D. Land said the hearing on the request for a temporary restraining order would be held Thursday.
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Wild Thing's comment.........
The author of the first article refers to Orly Taitz as a he/ his, it might be a typo or just a mistake. We all know Orly Taitz is a woman. haha Just to let you all know of the error in the article.
Here is some information about Cook:
Army Reserve Officer (MAJ)/DOD Contractor. Spent 19 months in Kuwait from February 2002 through September 2003 as a Defense Contractor providing IT support to CFLCC HQ. Also served as a reservist (mostly not on active duty) in Kuwait. Mobilized in support of the Global War on Terror in the SOUTHCOM AOR from Aug 2005-Jul 2007. br />
Combat Engineer - Faciendum est
BS Economics, St. John's University 1983.
MBA Finance & Quantitative Analysis, Fordham University GBA 1986.
MS Total Quality Management (TQM), Anna Maria College 1996.
CCNA, CCDA, MCSA, CCNP, CCDP, CCDE(Qual), ITIL foundations, NSO L2
....Thank you Richard for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Comments (5)
Eligibility Arguments to Get Court Hearing
"We're either going to stop him, or the United States of America is going to cease to exist," he said. "That's not a laughing matter.'
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Eligibility arguments to get court hearing
'For 1st time, we have a judge who's listening'
In what ultimately could prove to be a turning point in the legal challenges to Barack Obama's eligibility to be president, a federal judge in California has planned a hearing on the merits of a federal court case raising those questions.
According to attorney Orly Taitz, who is working on multiple cases alleging Obama is a "usurper" because he doesn't meet the constitutional requirement that only a "natural born citizen" can be president, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter ruled in a hearing today that her case will move forward.
The hearing was on her motion for a default order against Obama, because although Taitz said she notified him of the action, Obama's attorneys did not make an appearance.
Her complaint was filed against the president on Jan. 20, the day of his inauguration, over his actions before he became president.
Taitz has told WND if her motion for default is granted she immediately would request access to Obama's birth records and other documentation that could determine his eligibility to occupy the Oval Office.
The case was filed on behalf of former U.S. Ambassador Alan Keyes, also a contestant in the 2008 presidential race in California, and others. Taitz said the case might have been confused with another Keyes vs. Obama case filed in the state's court system, which was thrown out and now is on appeal.
Orly has a new website, I am not sure what happened to the other one. Last I heard it was hacked or something.
http://www.orlytaitzesq.com/blog1/?p=3029
Asst. U.S. Atty. David DeJute heard the judge’s comments. Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said that “the judge did make a bunch of comments about having the matter correctly and thoroughly aired, once and if they got to the merits of the actual lawsuit, which was not the subject of today's discussion."
The key word is “if,” Mrozek stressed. “We're literally at procedural grounds at this point in time," he said.
At a previous hearing, Carter had ruled that Taitz had not properly served the case on Obama. In Monday's hearing, both Taitz and DeJute tried to prematurely argue the merits of the case. Carter, a former marine, told both parties that the case could easily be tied up for months or another year on procedural technicalities. A better approach would be for Taitz just to file the paperwork so that the case could proceed without more delays, the judge said.
Once the paperwork is filed, the government has 60 days to respond.
Now White House joins 'birth hospital' cover-up
Spokesman belittles WND reporter, asks 'what reporting' has been done
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs today refused to confirm that a letter posted by the Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu – purportedly from President Obama claiming the facility as his birthplace – is, in fact, real.
The issue arose today when Les Kinsolving, WND's correspondent at the White House, asked Gibbs about the letter, which the hospital also used in a magazine fundraising article.
However, when WND reported on the posted images and questioned their authenticity, the hospital concealed the online image, and then refused to confirm the letter even exists.
Gibbs' answer came in response to Kinsolving's question, which begins at the 55:27 mark into the video recorded by C-SPAN:
"While you and the president were overseas on July the 7th, there was on the Internet a copy of a letter on White House letterhead dated January the 24th, 2009, with the signature "Barack Obama," which stated, "The place of my birth was Honolulu's Kapi'olani Medical Center." And my question is, can you verify this letter? Or if not, would you tell us which Hawaiian hospital he was born in, since Kapi'olani, which used to publicize this, now refuses to confirm?"
Gibbs said, without responding directly to the question about the veracity of the letter, "Goodness gracious. I'm going to be, like, in year four describing where it is the president was born. I don't have the letter at my fingertips, obviously, and I don't know the name of the exact hospital."
When Kinsolving asked when Gibbs could check, he responded.
"I will seek to interview whoever brought the president into this world. But can we just – I want to do this once and for all, Lester. Let's just do this once and for all. You can go on this – I hope you'll take the time not just to Google 'President, January 24, Hawaii hospital, birth' and come up with this letter, but go on the Internet and get the birth certificate, Lester, and put…"
When Kinsolving pointed out the image posted on various website's was not a birth certificate or a certificate of live birth, but a different "Certification of Live Birth" document, Gibbs said, "I know. Just a document from the state of Hawaii denoting the fact that the president was indeed born in the state of Hawaii."
Then Gibbs, amidst a repeating chorus of guffaws and giggles from the White House press corps, started lecturing the WND correspondent, who is among a handful of the most senior correspondents on the White House assignment, about journalism.
"You know, Lester, I – I want to stay on this for a second, Lester, I want to stay on this for a second, because you're a smart man, right?" said Gibbs.
"Hypothetical," said an unidentified reporter.
"All right, all right, settle down in here. Only I get to make jokes like that," said Gibbs.
"Lester, let's finish this one. Do all of your listeners and the listeners throughout this country the service to which any journalist owes those listeners, and that is the pursuit of the noble truth. And the noble truth is that the president was born in Hawaii, a state of the United States of America. And all of this incredible back-and-forth – I get e-mails today from people who inexplicably can figure out very easily the White House e-mail address, and want proof of where the president was born," Gibbs said.
"Lester, the next time you ask me a question I'm going to ask you what reporting you've done to demonstrate to your listeners the truth, the certificate, the state, so that they can look to you for that momentous search for the truth, and you can wipe away all the dark clouds and provide them with the knowing clarity that comes with that certainty," Gibbs said.
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Wild Thing's comment.........
All it takes is for one judge to sign a court order demanding the release of his vital records.
Saying a prayer for both Orly and the judge.
I looked up the Judge presiding over Orly's case, Judge David O. Carter.
The Judge was born 1944 in Providence, Rhode Island .......a United States District Court Judge for the Central District of California.
Carter is a "Double Bruin," having received both his bachelor's degree (B.A. 1967) and his law degree (J.D. 1972) from the University of California, Los Angeles. Carter graduated cum laude and was a candidate for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship in 1967.
After graduating from college, Carter enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He was promptly dispatched into service in Vietnam during the Vietnam War where he fought in the Battle of Khe Sahn in 1968. Carter was released as a First Lieutenant following his service in Vietnam. His military awards and decorations include a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.
A Marine, wounded in Vietnam, he keeps a clock in his Santa Ana chambers that plays a tinny rendition of the Marine Corps Hymn a few minutes after the hour.
Carter began his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney with the Orange County District Attorney's Office in 1972 where he became the senior deputy district attorney in charge of the office's homicide division. As a prosecutor, Carter was the initial prosecutor and filed charges in the case of serial killer William Bonin, also known as "The Freeway Killer," who became the first person executed by lethal injection in California in 1996.
In 1981, Carter joined the bench as a Municipal Court Judge in Orange County, California. One year later, he became an Orange County Superior Judge, a position that he held until joining the federal judiciary in 1998. Carter initiated a variety of programs to assist in the rehabilitation of convicted felons, including a tattoo removal program for gang members, and was active in planning the county's Law Day festivities. He earned the nickname "King David" from attorneys while serving as the Supervising Judge of the court's Criminal Division.
The nickname is hard to fathom at first. Carter is an informal man, polite to defendants, deferential to jurors. No one stands when he strolls into his courtroom. Carter is the first on his feet when the jury enters or leaves.
Carter was nominated by President Bill Clinton on June 25, 1998 to fill a seat vacated by William J. Rea.
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....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM | Comments (6)
"Sarah Palin, political genius" by Willie Brown a Democrat
Willie Brown, Mayor of San Francisco from 1996 to 2004 & Speaker of the California Assembly from 1980 to 1995 had this to say about Governor Palin:
Sarah Palin, political genius
by Willie Brown
The pundits are wrong. Conventional wisdom is wrong. Sarah Palin's decision to step down as Alaska governor was a brilliant move.
Palin has some of the best political instincts I have ever seen. She became a pop-culture superstar overnight when John McCain made her his veep pick, and she's still second only to President Obama among politicians the public is interested in. Even in liberal San Francisco, she'd be front-page news if she ever came to town.
But that kind of celebrity comes at a high price. What a lot of people don't know is that Palin entered Alaska politics as a reformer attacking the corruption of the state's Republican establishment. As such, she was the darling of the Democrats - until she hooked up with McCain.
After the election, with Palin back home but positioning herself for a 2012 presidential run, it was clear she would catch nothing but ridicule from Alaska's Democrats. It was not going to be pretty.
If Palin wants to play on the national field, she has to be free to move around. She has to be able to drop into Indiana, Ohio or Tennessee and help Republican candidates raise money. She has to be available for radio and TV.
She has to be like Gavin Newsom, free to roam around the country, safe in the knowledge that things will pretty much take care of themselves back home.
Instead, Palin faced the prospect of being constantly pinned down in a state that is a day and a half away from the rest of America. She would have been totally isolated in every sense of the word.
Now she can study up on issues where she is lacking and become a full-time political celebrity.
The pundits call her a quitter, but let's be honest - the pundits never liked her to begin with. Better to take one hit for stepping down and move on than to stay in Alaska and die a death by a thousand cuts.
Governor or not, Palin is still the biggest star in the Republican galaxy. After all, who else have they got?
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Wild Thing's comment.......
Like they say, "Even a broken clock is right twice a day."
I lived in California for 27 years and I’ve never liked Willie Brown’s politics but this man is right on target on this one. Willie Brown doesn’t pretend to be anything he’s not.
She won’t have McCain’s RINOs to hold her back any more! Unlike many Republicans, Sarah Palin gets it. She knows whats wrong in the country and she knows how to fix it. It is the conservative values that the Republican party has let go of for too long, and kissed up to the dem lites in the party and the rinos' .
Based on her initial announcement alone, we can infer that this brave and beautiful spirit is drawing up plans for a metaphorical big game hunting expedition throughout the country with a focus in the DC wilds. The MacArthur quote was not an idle comment. Free of the legal and political shackles, Sarah Palin will take the fight to preserve the Constitution and US Sovereignty into enemy territory. It is an urgent and righteous cause. We the people are ready to join the fray. All she has to do is signal when ready.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:48 AM | Comments (6)
Best Ever,Tractor Square Dance
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Wild Thing's comment........
LOL this is great, I never saw anything like this before.
.... Thank you GM Cassel for sending this to me.
GM Cassel AMH1(AW) USN RETIRED
US Navy
1973- 1993
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:47 AM | Comments (4)
Obama Booed at All-Star Game and Laughs As He Says "We're Out of Money"
Obama faced a tough crowd in St. Louis tonight at the All-Star Game. He was booed loudly by the crowd before he threw out the first pitch.
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American hater Obama sitting in the broadcast booth with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver laughs and jokes about being out of money as he kids about a bailout for baseball. SHEESH! He really has NO respect for our country at all, this is yet another time he is laughing at running our country into the ground! Damn him! ~ Wild Thing
Wild Thing's comment......
Watch the guy driving the cart too. He glances over at Obama but notice how he looks forward again right away made me think he felt like I do, and he didn't want to even look at Obama. hahaa Then Obama reaches out to shake the drivers hand, the driver shakes it but no smile on his face at all. NONE. hahaha
Maybe I am reading it wrong but body language and fascial expressions count too and it does look like he is not that thrilled with Obama. heh heh.
We could hear the boos a lilttle better on TV, but not huge, but they were there.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:45 AM | Comments (10)
Cronkite Award for Couric Represents Journalism’s Rotting Corpse
Cronkite Award for Couric Represents Journalism’s Rotting Corpse
by John Ziegler
On April 15th, the “prestigious’ (and apparently now openly liberal) USC Annenberg School for Communication will be presenting CBS Evening News Anchor Katie Couric with the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Journalism.
Now, for there to even be such a thing as an prize for “Excellence in Television Journalism” in an age where a desperate thirst for ratings has caused most TV “news” to become little more than glorified infotainment, is a bit like passing out awards for fiscal responsibility to members of Congress. But for Katie Couric, the poster child of this “infotainmentification” of news, to be the recipient of such an oxymoronic honor is much like if that aforementioned trophy for frugal spending in Congress went to John Murtha or Barney Frank.
But what makes this situation so particularly galling is the specific reason why Couric is being honored for her “excellence in journalism.” Couric is being presented with the award for “Special Achievement for National Impact on the 2008 Campaign.”
What was it that Couric did that was so “special”? The judges singled her out solely for “her "extraordinary, persistent and detailed multi-part interviews with Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.”
Of course there is no disputing that the perception created by that interview and the ensuing media and entertainment coverage of it clearly had enormous impact on how Barack Obama got elected, but is this the kind of “achievement” that journalism is supposed to be honoring? (If it is, shouldn’t the award really go to Tina Fey?) And is there any doubt whatsoever that had Couric asked the exact same questions and Palin had been perceived as having preformed well (or if one of her softball interviews with Barack Obama had brought down his candidacy) that there would be no awards for her from USC or anyone else of note?
So it is obvious that Couric is being rewarded for the political result of her interview (the shooting down of a conservative superstar just in time to save the Obama campaign) and not the “journalism” of it, but that truth is not even the most outrageous aspect of this absurdity. That lies in the reality that not only shouldn’t Couric be getting rewarded for that Palin interview, in a world where journalism still mattered at all she would have been roundly condemned for it.
How do I know this? Because I have devoted most of the last eight months of my life to telling the real story behind the media coverage of the 2008 election with my documentary “Media Malpractice…How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted.” The focal point of my film is the exclusive interview I did with Governor Palin from her home in Wasilla where she reveals more than enough evidence to completely discredit Couric’s USC award.
Continued article ......CLICK HERE
Katie Couric Buys Daughter Mosque-Shaped Alarm Clock That ‘Does the Call to Prayers’
"I recently traveled on a five-day trip to the Middle East and Afghanistan with Sec. of Defense Robert Gates and a small corps of traveling press. In this video, I interview some of the other journalists about their experiences covering the new administration."
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Wild Thing's comment........
Liberals giving other liberals awards. Sounds like Oscar night.
I guess next Katie will be buying a burqa for herself. She is nuts!!! She has been disgusting for a very long time. I can't remember if she ever did real reporting, or journalism.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:40 AM | Comments (2)
July 14, 2009
Tonight CBS News To Do a Report on Green Berets Operating in Afghanistan and Iraq
Tonight on CBS Evening News - a report on the Green Berets operating in Afghanistan and Iraq.
From CBS website
Probe of Cheney's Covert CIA Plan Urged
I just checked and on the Esst coast it comes on at 1830.
It looks like it is a half hour show.
Congressional Leaders Never Told about Operation Ordered by then-VP to Kill Al Qaeda at Close Range ~~~
and why on earth is that a bad thing. Dead is dead at any range. And God bless the soldier, sniper, Special Forces, Marine, Saiilor, Air Force whoever does it. K-POW bye bye terrorist! ~ Wild Thing
HERE IS THE VIDEO .......CBS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVnHLEfNWXc
Wild Thing's comment........
giggle. This is a quickie post, I just got home and wanted to let you all know right away in case you wanted to see it too.
....Thank you Tom for sending this to me.
Tom
US Army Aviation
Vietnam 1966-68
US Army Special Forces
1970-72
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:06 PM | Comments (4)
The 'Cap And Tax' Dead End ....by Sarah Palin
The 'Cap And Tax' Dead End
By Sarah Palin
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
There is no shortage of threats to our economy. America's unemployment rate recently hit its highest mark in more than 25 years and is expected to continue climbing. Worries are widespread that even when the economy finally rebounds, the recovery won't bring jobs. Our nation's debt is unsustainable, and the federal government's reach into the private sector is unprecedented.
Unfortunately, many in the national media would rather focus on the personality-driven political gossip of the day than on the gravity of these challenges. So, at risk of disappointing the chattering class, let me make clear what is foremost on my mind and where my focus will be:
I am deeply concerned about President Obama's cap-and-trade energy plan, and I believe it is an enormous threat to our economy. It would undermine our recovery over the short term and would inflict permanent damage.
American prosperity has always been driven by the steady supply of abundant, affordable energy. Particularly in Alaska, we understand the inherent link between energy and prosperity, energy and opportunity, and energy and security. Consequently, many of us in this huge, energy-rich state recognize that the president's cap-and-trade energy tax would adversely affect every aspect of the U.S. economy.
There is no denying that as the world becomes more industrialized, we need to reform our energy policy and become less dependent on foreign energy sources. But the answer doesn't lie in making energy scarcer and more expensive! Those who understand the issue know we can meet our energy needs and environmental challenges without destroying America's economy.
Job losses are so certain under this new cap-and-tax plan that it includes a provision accommodating newly unemployed workers from the resulting dried-up energy sector, to the tune of $4.2 billion over eight years. So much for creating jobs.
In addition to immediately increasing unemployment in the energy sector, even more American jobs will be threatened by the rising cost of doing business under the cap-and-tax plan. For example, the cost of farming will certainly increase, driving down farm incomes while driving up grocery prices. The costs of manufacturing, warehousing and transportation will also increase.
The ironic beauty in this plan? Soon, even the most ardent liberal will understand supply-side economics.
The Americans hit hardest will be those already struggling to make ends meet. As the president eloquently puts it, their electricity bills will "necessarily skyrocket." So much for not raising taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 a year.
Even Warren Buffett, an ardent Obama supporter, admitted that under the cap-and-tax scheme, "poor people are going to pay a lot more for electricity."
We must move in a new direction. We are ripe for economic growth and energy independence if we responsibly tap the resources that God created right underfoot on American soil. Just as important, we have more desire and ability to protect the environment than any foreign nation from which we purchase energy today.
In Alaska, we are progressing on the largest private-sector energy project in history. Our 3,000-mile natural gas pipeline will transport hundreds of trillions of cubic feet of our clean natural gas to hungry markets across America. We can safely drill for U.S. oil offshore and in a tiny, 2,000-acre corner of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge if ever given the go-ahead by Washington bureaucrats.
Of course, Alaska is not the sole source of American energy. Many states have abundant coal, whose technology is continuously making it into a cleaner energy source. Westerners literally sit on mountains of oil and gas, and every state can consider the possibility of nuclear energy.
We have an important choice to make. Do we want to control our energy supply and its environmental impact? Or, do we want to outsource it to China, Russia and Saudi Arabia? Make no mistake: President Obama's plan will result in the latter.
For so many reasons, we can't afford to kill responsible domestic energy production or clobber every American consumer with higher prices.
Can America produce more of its own energy through strategic investments that protect the environment, revive our economy and secure our nation?
Yes, we can. Just not with Barack Obama's energy cap-and-tax plan.
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Wild Thing's comment........
Go Sarah!!
“The ironic beauty in this plan? Soon, even the most ardent liberal will understand supply-side economics.”
Good one Sarah! This is terrific ! LOL I love it! I think a little bit of Ann Coulter (who also is very much for Sarah), has been rubbing off on Sarah. Love the sarcasm coming from Sarah. I can’t wait til she is unleashed. She isn’t even unleashed yet and she is smacking Obama left and right. Imagine what happens after July 26th, Obama will have to find a bunker to hide in.
This is the path that Reagan took while he was in the wilderness: op-eds, radio spots and speeches.
"So, at risk of disappointing the chattering class, let me make clear what is foremost on my mind and where my focus will be:"
Excellent!
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (17)
Thank You America – And Damn You, You Bastards
Iraqi Columnist: Thank You, America
Our contributor Stephen Schwartz points out a recent editorial from a Baghdad newspaper that provides an interesting Iraqi perspective:
Translated from this newspaper
http://www.albayyna-new.com/
Thank You America – And Damn You, You Bastards
By Jabr Al Jabouri
Al-Bayyna Al-Jadida [Baghdad]
July 1, 2009
America chose to save us from the most evil party, and the most despicable President in the universe [Saddam]. Meanwhile, the Arab powers stood firmly against the American project. They used all means to thwart them, but Allah’s will had another say in this matter. America turned the Ba’athists into the world’s laughing stock by showing them fleeing in their underwear on live television. Meanwhile, the Arab powers turned those cowards into national heroes on their satellite channels.
America gave the lives of 4,000 of its people to Iraq’s land to instill security and democracy, while the Arabs sent us their filthy mercenaries who mercilessly murdered, bombed, and slaughtered the Iraqi people.
America came bearing democracy for Iraq, while the Arabs brought us the new religion of the Wahhabis and Salafists. This religion aims to destroy Iraq and return it to the days of minority rule.
America canceled all of our debts and urged the rest of the world to do so, while the Arabs refused to do so and they even demanded payment for every Iraqi citizen living in their countries.
America allowed Shias to practice their religion while the Arabs bombed the Askari shrine. America proposed that the Iraqi President be Kurdish – so that we can prove to the world that Iraq has entered an age of freedom and respect for ethnic minorities. Yet, the Arabs have “removed Iraq from the Arab map,” pointing to the fact that the President is a non-Arab. America urged all honorable Sunnis to take part in the political process, while the Arabs issued a fatwa to kill every Sunni Iraqi who works with the government.
America opened the world to us, while the Arabs slammed their doors in our faces. America urged the world’s countries to open embassies in Iraq. Thus far, the Arabs have not opened embassies… or even acknowledged Iraq’s new democratic regime. America is carrying the burden of removing Iraq from Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, while the Arabs – led by Saudi Arabia – are doing their best to obstruct these efforts.
America urged the Gulf States to allow Iraq to return to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), while the Arabs refused to allow Iraq to join the GCC. The Americans sponsored Iraq membership in international, political, and cultural organizations, while the Arabs expelled the Iraqi Authors and Writers Union from the Arab Writers Union.
America decided to withdraw from Iraq cities and hand these cities over to the Iraq forces on June 30 in preparation for the final withdrawal from Iraq. The Arabs decided to hinder the withdrawal so that their excuse for fighting the occupier and killing the Iraq people can remain. America signed the Strategic Framework Agreement with Iraq, which includes all political, cultural, military, and technological fields. The Arabs issued a decision stating that Iraq is “officially occupied” because we signed the security agreement. Never mind that all these Arab countries have agreements with America. The Arabs decided that every American soldier in Iraq is an occupier that must be killed, while if an American soldier was to be in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, or Egypt he would be considered as a friendly ally that must be treated with respect. The Arabs decided to consider every Iraqi living in America to be a traitor and spy, even though Iraqi people living in America are fewer in numbers than all other Arab nationalities. The Arabs consider every Iraqi who works as a translator for the American forces to be a traitor…
This is how Arabs are, and this is just a drop in a vast ocean. All this is what the Arabs do in public. What they do behind the walls is another matter entirely.
According to American news sources, Saudi Arabia has been trying hard to convince America to return the Ba’athists to power in Iraq. However, the American Administration does not care about what Saudi Arabia thinks or wants in this country.
Today, our American friends are true to their word. They have handed over security responsibilities to the Iraq forces, and they decided to withdraw from the Iraqi cities.
I wonder when the American forces in Saudi Arabia – estimated at 80,000 troops – are going to withdraw. When are the 30,000 U.S. soldiers in Kuwait going to withdraw? When are the American bases in Qatar, Egypt, Oman, Yemen, and all other Arab countries that live off American aid going to be shut down?
The geographically close, but, in humanitarian terms, distant Arab Nation does not deserve any political, cultural and commercial ties with us. Nations that are completely different from and unrelated to us are racing to assist us.
After six years of liberation, we now know who our friend is and who our foe is. We should not give a chance to those idiots who claim that Iraq is part of the Arab Nation. These idiots should understand that Iraq is part the federal, free and democratic world.
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Wild Thing's comment......
This is wonderfull , oh how I wish our troops could see this. Wow this is very special.
....Thank you Tom for sending this to me.
Tom
US Army Aviation
Vietnam 1966-68
US Army Special Forces
1970-72
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (11)
La Raza Sotomayor Vows Impartiality If Confirmed to Court ~
Sotomayor vows impartiality if confirmed to court
Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic Supreme Court nominee in history, vowed loyalty to "the impartiality of our justice system" Monday, confronting Republican skeptics at Senate hearings suffused with racial politics but all but certain to lead to her confirmation.
"My personal and professional experiences help me to listen and understand, with the law always commanding the result in every case," the 55-year old Sotomayor said in her first substantive remarks in public since President Barack Obama nominated her seven weeks ago.
Her comments amounted to a polite but firm rebuttal to Republicans who have criticized her 2001 comment that a "wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences" might make better rulings than a white male.
Despite GOP misgivings, Democrats command a large majority in the committee and the Senate as a whole, and there seemed virtually no doubt about the ultimate outcome.
"Unless you have a complete meltdown, you're going to get confirmed," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told her.
"And I don't think you will" have a meltdown, he added quickly as Sotomayor sat listening, her face in a half-smile.
She'll answer questions Tuesday following Monday's day of speechmaking by committee members and her own five-minute statement.
Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the senior Republican, promised a "respectful tone" and "maybe some disagreements" when lawmakers begin questioning Sotomayor on Tuesday.
"I will not vote for, and no senator should vote for an individual nominated by any president who believes it is acceptable for a judge to allow their own personal background, gender, prejudices or sympathies to sway their decision," he said.
"Call it empathy, call it prejudice or call it sympathy, but whatever it is, it's not law," Sessions said. "In truth, it's more akin to politics, and politics has no place in the courtroom."
Wild Thing's comment............
“Sotomayor pledges impartial justice if confirmed”
Anyone want to buy a bridge? She would not recognise “impatrial justice” if she poured it on her cereal every morning.
We saw her impartiality in the Ricci case. Soto-dodo is an outright liar. Everything she has written, ruled on, given speeches on, the groups she belongs to, etc. prove the absolute opposite of this baloney that came out of her mouth yesterday.
Also it is beyond surreal and sickening to also think that one of the Senators asking questions is Al Franken.
America where did you go?
....Thank you Jack for sending this to me.
United States Army
1965-1971
Army Combat Engineers
Quang Tri & Chu Lai '68 -'69
67-69
Jack's blog is Conservative Insurgent
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:49 AM | Comments (10)
Obama Says Slavery's Past Should Be Taught in U.S.
Obama addressing members of the Ghanaian Parliament at the International Conference Center in Accra, Ghana, on July 11, 2009
Obama Says Slavery's Past Should Be Taught in United States
WASHINGTON
President Obama says slavery is a terrible part of the United States' history and should be taught in a way that connects that past cruelty to current events, such as the genocide in Darfur.
During an interview with CNN while traveling in Ghana, Obama compared the legacy of slavery to the history of the Holocaust. He said both are horrible historical points that cannot be ignored and that their lessons must not be forgotten.
"I think it's important that the way we think about it and the way it's taught is not one in which there's simply a victim and a victimizer. And that's the end of the story," Obama said at Cape Coast Castle, a West African site where traders once shipped slaves to the New World.
Obama, his wife, Michelle, and their daughters visited the slave trading post on Saturday at the end of a trip that took them to Russia, Italy and Ghana. It was the first trip to sub-Saharan Africa for America's first black president.
"I think the way it has to be thought about, the reason it's relevant, is because whether it's what's happening in Darfur or what's happening in the Congo or what's happening in too many places around the world, you know, the capacity for cruelty still exists," Obama said.
Wild Thing's comment.........
Blacks were not just slaves, but slavemasters and sellers of slaves.
How about having American History accurately taught in schools as it happened. How about the Founding Father's thought process to come up with the Constitution. How about how the Founding Father's thoughts were about a small national government. I would like to hear from Obama where it says in the Constitution that we the people are to own private industry, GM, Chrysler, the banks, et al. How about the rule of law that says "empathy" plays no part in judicial proceedings?
.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:48 AM | Comments (17)
Obama's Federal Budget Deficit Tops $1 Trillion for the First Time
Federal Budget Deficit Tops $1 Trillion for the First Time
The Treasury Department says the deficit in June totaled $94.3 billion, pushing the total since the budget year started in October to nearly $1.1 trillion.
Nine months into the fiscal year, the federal deficit has topped $1 trillion for the first time.
The imbalance is intensifying fears about higher interest rates and inflation, and already pressuring the value of the dollar. There's also concern about trying to reverse the deficit -- by reducing government spending or raising taxes -- in the midst of a harsh recession.
The Treasury Department said Monday that the deficit in June totaled $94.3 billion, pushing the total since the budget year started in October to nearly $1.1 trillion.
The deficit has been propelled by the huge sum the government has spent to combat the recession and financial crisis, combined with a sharp decline in tax revenues. Paying for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan also is a major factor.
The country's soaring deficits are making Chinese and other foreign buyers of U.S. debt nervous, which could make them reluctant lenders down the road. It could force the Treasury Department to pay higher interest rates to make U.S. debt attractive longer-term.
"These are mind boggling numbers," said Sung Won Sohn, an economist at the Smith School of Business at California State University. "Our foreign investors from China and elsewhere are starting to have concerns about not only the value of the dollar but how safe their investments will be in the long run."
Government spending is on the rise to address the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and an unemployment rate that has climbed to 9.5 percent.
Congress already approved a $700 billion financial bailout and a $787 billion economic stimulus package to try and jump-start a recovery, and there is growing talk among some Obama administration officials that a second round of stimulus may be necessary.
This has many Republicans and deficit hawks worried that the U.S. could be setting itself up for more financial pain down the road if interest rates and inflation surge. They also are raising alarms about additional spending the administration is proposing, including its plan to reform health care.
President Barack Obama and other administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, have said the U.S. is committed to bringing down the deficits once the country has emerged from the current recession and financial crisis.
Wild Thing's comment.........
And the socialist/communist Obama wants to keep borrowing and printing money to make the debt worse — all to kill the private sector and get hold of as much taxpayer wealth he can to BUY POWER AND CONTROL.
Obama’s goal is to destroy the economy and he is doing just that.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (4)
LOL Obama Teleprompter Falls Apart
Obama’s Teleprompter “Falls Apart” During His Speech; Crashes Like His Economic Plan..
Wild Thing's comment......
LOL ho-ho heh heh ha ha ......just because it feels good to see this happen.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:46 AM | Comments (6)
A Man With No Country Or Is He ~ Paging Dr. Who??
Just who delivered baby Barack Obama?
Physician who attended birth remains shrouded in mystery
Despite an in-depth search, the name of any physician or medical attendant who might have helped deliver the baby Barack Obama at Honolulu's Kapi'olani Hospital in 1961 remains shrouded in mystery.
The certification of live birth short-form document Obama's presidential campaign produced during the 2008 election fails to provide any birth details, mentioning neither the hospital where the president was allegedly born nor the physician who attended the birth.
A thorough search of Obama's campaign websites, White House websites and the voluminous Internet discussion devoted to his birth also failed to produce any information regarding the attending physician.
The White House, despite repeated requests from WND last week, failed to provide any details on President Obama's birth, including the name of the attending physician. It also ignored a request that it release Obama's long-form birth certificate or obtain from the president the required permission for official medical records on his birth to be released by the hospitals and government agencies that may possess such information.
Wikipedia says Obama born in Kenya
Online encyclopedia can't make up its mind on president's birthplace
Wikipedia just can't seem to make up its mind about where President Barack Obama was born.
The free, online encyclopedia written and edited entirely by its users this weekend displayed at least two countries the commander in chief may have been born in – the United States and Kenya.
WND documented how the entry for the "Early life and career of Barack Obama" changed numerous times.
This afternoon at 4:45 p.m. Eastern, Wikipedia said:
Barack Obama, the current President of the United States, was born on August 4, 1961 in either Honolulu, in the state of Hawaii[1], or Mombasa, Kenya, to Barack Obama, Sr. (1936–1982) (born in Nyang’oma Kogelo, Siaya District, Nyanza Province,[2] Kenya Colony, British Empire), and Ann Dunham (1942–1995) (born in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas).[3][4] On his mother's side he has a half-sister; on his father's side, Obama has two half-sisters and five surviving half-brothers.[5]"
Then 20 minutes later at 5:05 p.m., it began to include information regarding the original, hospital-generated birth certificate the president has refused to release:
"Barack Obama, the current President of the United States, was born on August 4, 1961 in either Honolulu, in the state of Hawaii[1], or somewhere in Kenya (the refusal of Obama to release his long-form birth certificate has left this important detail without any confirmation), to Barack Obama, Sr. ... "
At 5:35 p.m., it elaborated with specifics about the hospital's name and the doctor who delivered him being absent from any Obama disclosure:
"Barack Obama, the current President of the United States, was born on August 4, 1961 in either Honolulu, in the state of Hawaii[1], or somewhere in Kenya. The refusal of Obama to release his long-form birth certificate, which would contain verifiable details such as the hospital's name and the attending physician's name, has left his place of birth still yet unconfirmed. He was born to Barack Obama, Sr. ... "
At 5:50 p.m., the issue of whether or not Obama was therefore constitutionally eligible to be president of the U.S. was part of the entry:
"Barack Obama, the current President of the United States, was born on August 4, 1961 in either Honolulu, in the state of Hawaii[1], or somewhere in Kenya. The refusal of Obama to release his long-form birth certificate, which would contain verifiable details such as the hospital's name and the attending physician's name, has left his place of birth and therefore his constitutional eligibility as president, still yet unconfirmed. He was born to Barack Obama, Sr. ... "
At 6:20 p.m., "somewhere in Kenya" was revised to just "in Kenya":
"Barack Obama, the current President of the United States, was born on August 4, 1961 in either Honolulu, in the state of Hawaii[1], or in Kenya. The refusal of Obama to release his long-form birth certificate, which would contain verifiable details such as the hospital's name and the attending physician's name, has left his place of birth and therefore his constitutional eligibility as president, still yet unconfirmed. He was born to Barack Obama, Sr. ... "
And finally, at 6:33 p.m., all references to Kenya and the question of eligibility for the U.S. presidency were scrubbed off the Wikipedia entry:
"Barack Obama, the current President of the United States, was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, in the state of Hawaii[1] to Barack Obama, Sr. (1936–1982) (born in Nyang’oma Kogelo, Siaya District, Nyanza Province,[2] Kenya Colony, British Empire), and Ann Dunham (1942–1995) (born in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas).[3][4] On his mother's side he has a half-sister; on his father's side, Obama has two half-sisters and five surviving half-brothers.[5]"
The battle continued into the overnight Monday morning, as a WND check of Wikipedia at 1:35 a.m. found the entry to say Obama was born in either Hawaii or Kenya.
The blatant scrubbing comes on the heels of several online information sites changing the president's supposed birthplace from one hospital in Hawaii to another, after WND broke the news of a letter said to be from the White House in which Obama ostensibly declared he was born at Honolulu's Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children, calling it "the place of my birth."
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Wild Thing's comment........
Regarding the first article maybe midwives or a witchdoctor in Kenya?
I’m absolutely sure there has never been a guy as famous as Barack Obama with so incredibly few people remembering him almost his entire life up until he entered politics. To me it’s downright spooky.
And about the changes at Wikipedia .
Whew it makes me dizzy just putting all the various times and changes into this post. LOL Like a roller coaster ride. hahahaaha
Obama is so guilty it is stupid how he is the one really that keeps it going. For all of us it is not going to go away, because we respect our Constitution, for him it is not going away because he hate our Constitution and has no intention of taking his oath seriously on any level starting with his being eligible.
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....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Comments (9)
It Looks Like Iran - But It's Obama's Administration Here in America
Television ad that highlights recent press accounts that sound more like they are out of Iran than the U.S. But truth be told they are actually accounts of Barack Obama's (and his administration's) failures and poor policy decisions.
We're under assault from liberals in Congress who have gone on a spending spree to the tune of over $10 trillion. Taxpayer-funded bailouts have been passed against our consent. Taxes are being raised. And now the Obama Administration is warning law enforcement to focus their attention on the dangers of conservatives.
from Our Country Deserves Better
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:40 AM | Comments (2)
July 13, 2009
TV Screen Time Hog Obama To Join Joe Buck and McCarver in Fox Booth for All-Star Game
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President Barack Obama will join Joe Buck and Tim McCarver in the Fox booth during the All-Star Game.
Barack Obama will be adding baseball broadcaster to his résumé. SI.com learned Sunday that the President will join Fox Sports announcers Joe Buck and Tim McCarver during Tuesday's All-Star Game. Obama is expected to be in the booth sometime between the third and fifth inning. SI.com reported earlier that the White House was considering Fox Sports' request to interview the President during the game.
Obama is scheduled to throw out the first pitch Tuesday in St. Louis at Busch Stadium. He will be joined by former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter in a seven-minute video address to be aired during the pregame ceremony. The video will honor 30 Americans whom MLB and People magazine have recognized for service to their communities.
Major League Baseball says the video will mark the first time all of the living U.S. presidents will participate in a ceremony at a sporting event. Following the video, Obama will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. The last sitting president to throw out a first pitch at the All-Star Game was Gerald Ford, in 1976.
"We have asked [for Presidents to throw out the first pitch] on a couple of occasions, but I think this year it's so appropriate given the scope of our pregame program," says Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig. "It is very consistent with what President Obama has done. I wrote to him and he immediately accepted."
Fox Sports President Ed Goren says Obama's presence will influence the setup of Fox's production in St. Louis. "We went through this during the post-9/11 World Series at Yankee Stadium for Game 3 [where President Bush threw out the first pitch]," Goren says. "The Secret Service will lock down the facility leading up to the game. There may be some limitations of camera movement, and it certainly involves a lot more communication. But it's not a big deal; it will be seamless to the viewer. And trust me, it's well worth it."
ESPN, which will cover the Home Run Derby on Monday, has also put in a request to interview Obama. "We're waiting to hear back on his availability," says ESPN spokesperson Nate Smeltz.
Wild Thing's comment........
Way to ruin an all American sport you jerk Obama!!!
Never, never, never, have I seen such a TV hound.
The ONLY way this would be ok is if Tim McCarver asks Obama about his birth certificate while he is in the booth.
Nicholas is going to be furious, he is a HUGE baseball fan and looks forward to the All-Star game and also tonights Home Run Hitting contest too.
......Thank you RAC for sending this to me.
RAC has a website that is awesome. 336th Assault Helicopter Company
13th Combat Aviation Battalion - 1st Aviation Brigade - Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 PM | Comments (5)
Obama Orders Review of Alleged Slayings of Taliban During Bush Era vs. Horse Soldiers
Obama orders review of alleged slayings of Taliban in Bush era
Obama has ordered national security officials to look into allegations that the Bush administration resisted efforts to investigate a CIA-backed Afghan warlord over the killings of hundreds of Taliban prisoners in 2001.
"The indications that this had not been properly investigated just recently was brought to my attention," Obama told CNN's Anderson Cooper in an exclusive interview during the president's visit to Ghana. The full interview will air 10 p.m. Monday, tonight.
"So what I've asked my national security team to do is to collect the facts for me that are known, and we'll probably make a decision in terms of how to approach it once we have all of the facts gathered up," Obama said.
The inquiry stems from the deaths of at least 1,000 Taliban prisoners who had surrendered to the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance in late 2001.
The fighters were in the custody of troops led by Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, a prominent Afghan warlord who has served as chief of staff of the country's post-Taliban army.
Dostum, a former communist union boss and militia leader who fought against the U.S.-backed mujahedeen in the 1980s, is known for switching sides as Afghanistan's political conflict has evolved. When the United States invaded Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, Dostum sided with the Americans and received military and CIA support to battle the Taliban.
At the time, the Boston, Massachusetts-based group Physicians for Human Rights said it found a mass grave in nearby Dasht-e Leili, where witnesses said the bodies of Taliban prisoners were buried. The finding prompted U.S. Gen. Tommy Franks, who led the invasion of Afghanistan, to support an investigation into the allegations.
But The New York Times, citing government officials and human rights organizations, reported Friday that the Bush administration "repeatedly discouraged efforts to investigate the episode."
When asked by CNN about whether Obama would support an investigation, the president replied, "I think that, you know, there are responsibilities that all nations have, even in war. And if it appears that our conduct in some way supported violations of laws of war, then I think that, you know, we have to know about that."
If you have read Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan you will be outraged by the statement that Obama intends to investigate the actions of General Dostum in the death of 1,000 Taliban prisoners, while also investigating the Bush administrations unwillingness to press charges of some sort at the time.
You may not know, but Dostum is a colorful General in the Northern Alliance, working on various sides of various issues and often for himself, as warlords do. This event is with respect to the prison riot that erupted after the Taliban started to collapse in the fall of 2001. That is the prison riot where an American CIA agent was killed by the Taliban prisoners.
For background, a small team of US special forces and CIA agents went into Afghanistan in the fall of 2001, right after 9-11 and teamed with what was left of the northern alliance (Dostum and others) to take down the Taliban. They fought against the Taliban in some of the most unconventional ways - taking on Taliban Tanks while Dostum's guys and CIA were on horse back, calling in JDAM GPS guided weapons from B52s built in the 60's, using a satellite hand held radio. Special Forces, CIA, and the Northern Alliance did what the Russians had failed to do, take over Afghanistan. And they did it in months.
Franks and others had wanted to delay 6 months and deploy 50k-100k troops to do what these guys accomplished in a short time before winter came. Under the Franks plan thousands more would have died, on both sides.
The Horse Soldiers, as they were called, exhibited the best traits, true American spirit, working closely and respectfully with local leaders like Dostum to adapt to the regional realities. The book contrasts the success in Afghanistan to the difficulties in Iraq, where our policies were less integrated with regional politics and realities. Afghanistan and taught us that working with marginal characters like Dostum is a lesson in respecting others. Isn't it Obama that keeps telling us to think about other people and their cultures? I suspect the Bush team understood that, and that's why Bush did not investigate the deaths related to the prison riot in greater detail.
So the prison story goes a bit like this...
There are two types of Taliban, Afghan and non Afghan. When an Afghan Taliban gives up he pledges allegiance to the Northern Alliance, and won't switch sides unless there is some other lost battle. The non Afghan Taliban will never surrender. So, Dostum beat the hell out of a key Taliban leader on the battle field. The Taliban surrendered. So Dostum had to take the radicalized non-Afghan Taliban and stick them in a prison (Because its easy to find a prision for 1,000 people in the middle of a bombed out country). The Afghan Taliban were all let go after pledging allegiance to Dostum. Well it appears, this surrender was actually a ploy of sorts. The non-afghan Taliban prisioners all kept their weapons (long story, read the book). And after some time staged an uprising to take over the prision. Dostum was not fully prepared. His troops shot their machine guns from the prison turrets and killed hundreds of prisioners, but they kept coming. The Taliban had no intention of surrendeirng. The fight lasted several days. Ultimately they had the last of the Taliban cornered in a lower level, pooring kerosene in to burn them out. When that did not work they redirected an irrigation system to flood them out. Something like 35, of more than 1,000 killed, were still alive and surrendered. One of those was that jerk John Walker Lynn.
This was a war. Dostum is a questionable character, but in a Jack Bauer kind of way. Hell Jack was probably there.
More importantly, if you listen to the guys who were in the book, you get a much better insight into what wars of the future might be like and how we need to work with local factions to achieve victory without putting 100k troops at risk. This is a dumb investigation. It works against the the lessons from the battle. Some things should just never be investigated. There is no way to judge the actions of someone in the battlefield 8 years after the fact. And for those that talk about civil rights, what about the rights of the 10,000 troops that would have died through a conventional American invasion?
I suspect there are other reasons for the investigation, as a matter of fact all the new investigations (Dostum, CIA, unwarranted this or that). If your poll numbers start going down, take on the the other guy (Bush) and start blaming him. Economy not doing well, can't blame Bush its the Obama plan. But you can go after Bush about war Crimes.
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Wild Thing's comment......
Obama has lost what little mind he has if he’s even thinking of a prosecution about this. Obama to stir up a “war crimes” is bad enough and WRONG, then add in that the surge he just ordered has just begun and our brave men are dying over there mostly because of his ROE not to shoot at the Taliban if one civilian could be hit. When we know the Taliban hide behind them, dress in Burqas and hide among children and in homes of civilians. He is also giving the Taliban a morale boost and some propganda support on top of that!
With declining poll numbers threatening his governmental take over of our country and all of it's citizens lives, he props himself the only way he knows how, which is by attacking President Bush. And he chooses to villainize and stigmatize the one group of Americans he and Bill Ayers so jealously hate...our precious U.S. Military.
Obama doesn't have a clue what war is, what our military go through, sacrifice, put up with, are in danger every second 24/7. Not a clue!!! This would fall under his BIGGEDT apology ever in the sickest way possible. Next Obama will be calling for NATIONAL Day of Mourning for fallen Taliban by U.S. Forces. And what the hell is wrong with killing the Taliban anyway!
Dostum may be a questionable character, but he, the CIA, and our awesome Special Ops guys did what had to be done. This investigation is nothing but cover for the Obama Admin.
The fall of the Taliban government in Kabul to the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan was a fantastic achievement for our Special Forces, Bush /Cheney ( I still think Cheney had a lot to do with it in the background he is a take no prisoner kind of guy) and Rumsfeld.
The media was doing their propaganda machine on it and mostly only wanted to point out they still did not get Bin Laden.
* What you can do for your country
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 AM | Comments (13)
Barbara Boxer's Fear Mongering, and Lies As She Pushes Climate Bill
Boxer faces 'challenge of a lifetime' on climate change bill
If the Senate doesn't pass a bill to cut global warming, Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer says, there will be dire results: droughts, floods, fires, loss of species, damage to agriculture, worsening air pollution and more.
She says there's a huge upside, however, if the Senate does act: millions of clean-energy jobs, reduced reliance on foreign oil and less pollution for the nation's children.
Boxer is engaged in her biggest sales job ever. The stakes couldn't be higher as she faces one of the toughest high-profile acts of her lengthy career: getting Congress to sign off on historic legislation to lower greenhouse-gas emissions.
"For Barbara Boxer , it's both the opportunity and a challenge of a lifetime," said Frank O'Donnell , the president of Clean Air Watch .
As the Senate's top-ranked environmentalist, Boxer heads the influential committee that began hearings on the issue this week. She's aiming to get her panel to pass a bill by the end of September. For months now, she's been meeting with senators one on one and hosting a group of about 30 senators for "Tuesday at 12" meetings to develop a strategy to win 60 votes, enough to overcome a Republican filibuster.
With a House of Representatives bill already approved, all eyes are on Boxer, who must overcome plenty of skepticism on Capitol Hill among her fellow Democrats.
"It's going to be a tough slog, but I'm excited about it. . . . I know that my Republican colleagues are going to try to do
everything to stop it and distort it," Boxer said Friday in an interview.
Boxer has been working closely with top White House aides and Reid, a close ally, to figure out a way to pass the bill. To reach out to farm-state and coal-state senators, she's enlisted a team of lieutenants: Democratic Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts , Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota , Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Thomas Carper of Delaware , among others.
Boxer Delays Senate Climate Bill Until September
This was supposed to be a big week for action on climate change in the Senate -- but it's ending with Republicans rubbing their hands in glee as the Environment and Public Works Committee delays its unveiling of legislation on carbon emissions.
Just two weeks ago, Boxer advised supporters of transportation reform to "work with me on my global warming bill" as she called for a quick rescue of the nation's highway trust fund.
The highway account is expected to run dry in mid-August, sending Congress and the Obama administration scurrying to find $20 billion to keep state-level road projects funded until the end of 2010.
Wild Thing's comment........
If the Senate doesn't pass a bill to cut global warming, Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer says, there will be dire results: droughts, floods, fires, loss of species, damage to agriculture, worsening air pollution and more.
...droughts, floods, fires, loss of species, damage to agriculture, worsening air pollution and more.
We're all doomed! Doomed! Doomed I tell you!
These things have been occurring on this planet since the beginning of time. Only a ditz like Boxer would think that she could stop it by stealing even more money from the American taxpayers.
“Boxer said the legislation wouldn’t include any new taxes, and she’s portraying Republican opponents as obstructionists.”
I’d be very proud to be called an ‘obstructionists’ over this bill. ....Chant... Obstruct! Obstruct! Obstruct! Obstruct!
Barbara Boxer's continued advocacy of this crooked, discredited scheme calls her basic mental competency and/or ethics into question.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (8)
Democrats Trying To Protect Pelosi's Lies Go After Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney kept Congress in dark over CIA counterterrorism action
Intelligence officials reveal former US vice president ordered hushing up of plan
The former US vice president Dick Cheney directed the CIA not to inform Congress about a counterterrorism programme that the CIA director, Leon Panetta, ended last month, according to revelations by US intelligence officials.
The programme, the nature of which is not known, was set up eight years ago after the 9/11 attacks, reported the New York Times, citing a former intelligence official and another government official familiar with Panetta's briefing to the House and Senate intelligence committees on 24 June.
Upon learning of the programme a day earlier from within the CIA, Panetta terminated it and called an emergency meeting with the committees the following day. He told them the programme had existed but had now been cancelled.
Cheney played a central role in overseeing the Bush administration's surveillance programme. Last week, an inspectors' general report noted that Cheney's chief of staff, David Addington, personally decided who in Bush's inner circle could know about the secret initiative.
Revelations about Cheney's role in making decisions for the CIA on whether or not to notify Congress came as a surprise to some on the committees, said another government official who, like the other sources, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the issue in public.
The nature of the counterterrorism plan remains a mystery. The former intelligence official said it was not related to the CIA's rendition, interrogation and detention programme. Nor was it part of a wider classified electronic surveillance programme.
The official characterised it as an embryonic intelligence-gathering effort, that was only sporadically active. He said it was set up to yield information that would be used to conduct a secret mission or missions in another country, but it never matured to that point.
The two sources said Congress had not been briefed about other CIA activities.
Wild Thing's comment.......
Now Panetta and Democrats in an effort to protect liar liar Nancy pants are on fire want to blab about this. This is another sloppy attempt to provide cover for Pelosi and her tribe.
They have to attack Cheney because of his rising popularity. And why on earth would anyone trust the Rats in Congress with protecting any secrets involving national defense...?
Obama is sinking in the polls, unemployment is HIGH, Obama's ROE for our troops is getting more of our troops killed every day, people are waking to what a socialist, communist Obama is, the list goes on and on so of course they have to go after Cheney.
Pelosi and the other dems are famous for leaking information to the New York Times and Cheney was supposed to trust them with information that would endanger all of our lives when legally he id not have to tell them squat.
I say God bless Dick Cheney and thank you sir for your wisdom then and now about these low lifes in government.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:49 AM | Comments (4)
I am Proud To Be An Arrogant American !
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Wild Thing's comment......
Wonderful video about this, well worth watching.
.....Thank you BobF, for sending this to me.
BobF
SMSgt, USAF
1973 - 1999
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:48 AM | Comments (5)
A Great Day in DownTown Chicago ~ People Have Had ENOUGH of Obama's Agenda
"The American people are sick and tired of this change!! If the rest of the USA saw this I'm certain more of those who are like-minded would have the guts to stand up too, but obviously they're not going to show this in the news.....for that very reason! "
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Wild Thing's comment......
giggle, I LOVE the signs we see at these Tea Parties.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:47 AM | Comments (4)
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Legare Sails To Western And Central Africa
The Portsmouth, Va.,-based U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Legare sails past Naval Station Norfolk, July 1, en route western and central Africa. Under the direction of the commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, Legare will support the Navy's 6th Fleet by serving as the primary APS platform, conducting activities and exchanges that bolster maritime safety and security as part of an ongoing support mission made up of multinational governmental agencies and nongovernmental organizations. Photo by Lt. Rob Wyman
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Wild Thing's comment.....
Saw this photo and loved it. I sat here for a little while just looking at it, beautiful I think. Love our Coast Guard!
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:45 AM | Comments (3)
U.S. Air Force Rescue Aids in 'Golden Hour' Recovery
As dust kicks up from the rotor wash of an HH-60G Pave Hawk, Senior Airman Clint Lentz, pararescueman with the 129th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, prepares for the landing June 26, Hemland province, Afghanistan. Airman Lentz and the rest of the crew are responding to a medevac request to aid personnel conducting combat operations further down range.
Staff Sgt. William Lawson, pararescueman with the 129th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, comforts a wounded Afghan national army soldier, Hemland province, Afghanistan. Lawson will provide care to the injured soldier until they can safely deliver him to a hospital.
U.S. Air Force Rescue Aids in 'Golden Hour' Recovery of Coalition Forces
by Staff Sgt. Stacia Zachary
Racing against the clock, rescue flights launch into action to retrieve wounded service members and other battlefield casualties. As the helicopters hover over a hostile area, the Guardian Angel team rushes out to retrieve the wounded - often risking their own lives "so that others may live."
The 129th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron here responds to emergency medical evacuation calls within Helmand province. The detachment covers the dual role of providing casualty evacuation and personnel recovery/combat search and rescue in the Helmand province. They support Regional Command South, responding to calls for U.S. and coalition forces as well as Afghan national security forces and local nationals.
"As Air Force rescue crews, we use our personnel recovery and combat search and rescue skill-set to conduct CASEVAC quicker and better than anyone in theater," said Maj. Matt Wenthe, 129th ERQS detachment commander.
The rescue squadron is made up of more than 60 personnel and HH-60G Pave-Hawks. The rescue flight consists of two helicopters, each with a pilot, co-pilot, aerial gunner, flight engineer and two pararescuemen or combat rescue officers.
The Air Force rescue teams hold true to their motto: Those things we do so that others may live. They are often identified through the Jolly Green Giant patches seen worn on their right shoulders.
"Our entire mindset is to bring an emergency medical platform, combined with offensive security capability, to the site for quick and successful extraction of those who need us," Wenthe said.
The area has recently seen an increase of insurgent activity as more coalition forces are moved into Afghanistan. As such, more calls come over the radio requesting rapid recovery of injured servicemembers, or innocent bystanders in locations that are extremely hostile. This type of mission demands a response team specialized in rapid insertion to and egress from aggressive and risky environments.
"The CSAR mission requires us to train going into hostile environments," the major said. "That training allows us to execute medical evacuations in areas other units cannot get into."
The rescue crews are trained to extract personnel in any environment.
"We can go into any mission-set to recover someone, regardless of the terrain," said Capt. John, 129th ERQS CRO. "Whether they are Marines entrapped in an MRAP [mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle] or hanging from a 10,000 ft. cliff, my men can get to them and get them to safety."
The rescue teams must remain on high alert during their 12-hour shifts. When a medical report drops, the teams need to be ready immediately.
"Things happen quick and the men have to be ready to move at a moment's notice," Wenthe said. "Our guys can be asleep or playing video games and 15 minutes later, flying into a hot zone recovering a seriously injured Soldier."
As per Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, teams need to respond within 60 minutes from the time a 9-Line medical alert drops, to wheels down and transferring a patient to a higher level of medical care - a concept commonly referred to as the "Golden Hour."
"Speed is what's saving lives," the major said. "Getting the Soldiers who are injured picked up quickly and to the higher care they need. If we are able to get to someone within the 'Golden Hour,' then survival is pretty certain for someone."
Recently, a Marine on a foot patrol in the Helmand province was seriously injured from the blast of an improvised explosive device.
"If our CSAR guys hadn't gotten to the Marine when they did and start medical care on him, he wouldn't have survived - it's that simple," said Capt. Jac Solghan, Camp Bastion Role 3 Hospital Aeromedical Evacuation Liaison Team flight clinical coordinator. "Following the 'Golden Rule' is giving people a chance who otherwise would have had none and [the CSAR] guys are giving us that hope for survival. Without them, countless people would now be dead."
Constantly on the move, the teams receive upwards of five calls per shift. They respond to all types of calls requiring care for anyone affected by the war.
"Per our creed, our role is to save a life in any condition," the CRO said. "With so many customers on the line who need our help, it's not a burden but a welcome opportunity to go out there and help the people who need us most. Through our men, lives are being saved. There's no better reward than knowing someone will get to go home alive."
Wild Thing's comment........
Wow, God bless these awesome people.......thank God for each one of them.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:44 AM | Comments (1)
USS Ronald Reagan Launches First Sorties in Relief of USS Eisenhower
USS Ronald Reagan Launches First Sorties in Relief of USS Eisenhower
ABOARD USS RONALD REAGAN, At Sea
The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group relieved the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group today in command of Task Force 50 and launched its first sorties in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
Aircraft from Carrier Air Wing 14 departed the decks of the strike group's flagship, the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, bound for Afghanistan to support coalition ground forces.
"I'm excited to get this started, because in essence, what we're doing is saving American and coalition lives," said Navy Capt. Kenneth Norton, Ronald Reagan's commanding officer. "The Eisenhower strike group did a fantastic job in theater, and we're ready to continue that level of support. We have a lot of experience on board Ronald Reagan and with the air wing. Our crew knows how to execute this mission effectively."
While Ronald Reagan and Carrier Air Wing 14 are returning to a mission they performed a year ago, they understand that conditions in Afghanistan have changed, officials said, with stricter guidelines in place to minimize civilian casualties and collateral damage in Afghanistan.
Navy Rear Adm. Scott Hebner, the strike group's commander, said the group's more than 7,500 sailors are eager to carry out their mission.
"Our sailors are focused and serious-minded about what is ahead," he said. "They know the Navy and our country is counting on them. They are ready to demonstrate their impressive capabilities across the spectrum of our maritime strategy."
The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group had operated in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations since March.
"Our preparations last fall allowed us to deliver exactly what the fleet commander asked for: persistent U.S. naval power in perfect partnership with our joint and coalition partners [and] delivering security and stability for the good of all mariners in this vital area of the world," said Navy Rear Adm. Kurt W. Tidd, commander of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group.
Eisenhower's embarked air wing, Carrier Air Wing 7, flew more than 2,000 sorties in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Ships of the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group also were vital in counter-piracy operations, including the USS Bainbridge's direct role in the rescue of Richard Phillips, captain of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama.
"I am extremely proud of the 4,500 men and women on USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. They have performed magnificently this entire deployment," said Navy Capt. Dee L. Mewbourne, Eisenhower's commanding officer. "They supported coalition forces on the ground in Afghanistan with utmost professionalism while providing regional security and stability. Without question, their service made a difference."
USS Ronald Reagan is joined by the guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville. Other Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group ships will support maritime security operations while deployed to the region. The guided-missile destroyers USS Decatur, USS Howard and USS Gridley and the guided-missile frigate USS Thach will help to deter destabilizing activities and ensure a lawful maritime order in the Persian Gulf, Persian Sea, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden and Red Sea, officials said.
The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group is on a routine deployment to the region. Operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations are focused on reassuring regional partners of the U.S. commitment to security, which promotes stability and global prosperity, officials said.
Wild Thing's comment........
I love that they are out there, Land, sea and air, all of it protecting us and working together to absolutely positively destroy every breathing terrorist.......... well that would be great! heh heh
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:40 AM | Comments (2)
July 12, 2009
Obama Cuts Funding For Gear and Armored Vests & Armored Vehicles
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White House cuts funding for (Soldier) gear (Armored vests & armored vehicles)
WASHINGTON
House lawmakers on Thursday blasted a White House decision not to provide money next fiscal year for upgrades to combat-worn equipment, and promised a fight to put billions back into the defense budget.
The House version of the fiscal 2010 defense authorization bill already contains about $20 billion for the repair of equipment worn down by desert conditions and purchase of new gear to replace items destroyed in combat. About $11 billion of the total is for the Army alone.
But that’s down more than $2 billion from previous years’ requests, and doesn’t include any funds for things like vehicle armor improvements, new communications equipment or other upgrades.
Officials from the Office of Management and Budget said money for those improvements will come from the Army’s base budget, and not from the extra overseas contingency funds meant to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli said Tuesday that the directive outlining the funding change effectively cuts any such recapitalization work next year.
"For the most part, adding on upgrades to equipment won’t be allowed in FY2010," he said. "I think it makes a lot of sense to upgrade when we can. But the new rules are that we can’t do that."
In a statement OMB officials said the move "is part of a long-overdue attempt to rationalize how the Administration requests funding for war, versus non-war programs, forces and activities."
But news of the policy upset lawmakers, who said they were unaware of any limits on equipment reset for next year and were concerned about shortchanging the services.
"If we’re going to do this on the basis of ... a budget number, as opposed to our obligation to provide what [the services] need, then I have a real dilemma here," said Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii. "I can’t say we’re giving a number that really provides for the military’s necessity."
Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., said OMB may have overstepped its boundaries in the directive by limiting how the reset fund can be spent, and said he believes the Army and Marine Corps should receive the money they need for critical readiness upgrades next year.
OMB officials did not provide comment by deadline, but service officials confirmed the overseas contingency operations directive was provided to the Pentagon as part of the budget process earlier this year.
Congress has authorized nearly $70 billion for reset and upgrades of equipment since 2006, money that doesn’t include funds to fast-track production of combat necessities like Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles.
Army and Marine Corps officials have said throughout that shortfalls in equipment and repair funding would not endanger troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, since they’re constantly supplied with the best-conditioned vehicles and gear available.
But units training in the States, or those in noncombat units based overseas, have been stuck with older equipment and faced shortfalls in getting up-to-date training equipment.
Chiarelli said he’s confident the $11 billion the Army requested for fiscal 2010 — about $8 billion for logistics costs and depot maintenance, and $3 billion for procurement and repair — is enough to keep missions and training operating smoothly.
"We are able with the funds available to reset equipment," he said. "We understand the tremendous fiscal crisis our country has gone through. As long as we can reset our equipment, we understand that because of fiscal requirements it may be in the best interest of our country as a whole to cut back on recapitalization."
The Marine Corps is expected to receive about $2 billion in reset funds, and the National Guard and Reserve another $7 billion.
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Wild Thing's comment.......
The RATS need all of those funds to push their commie agenda. Obama and the left have no respect for the troops or their families
They are determined to destroy our military and to leave them minimally equipped right in the MIDDLE of a war with 2 fronts.These people are systematically deconstructing America. Damn the traitors Obama really is evil. Debilitating our military while at war with radical Islamic jihadists is NOT a good idea. TREASON!
So this means the troops themselves will have to buy the armor gear for themselves out of their pockets. OMG!
Obama is putting our Troops in harm’s way.......on purpose. OBAMA how can you do this, PLEASE stop messing with our troops!!!!!
Muslim breath Barack Hussein Obama military policy so far:
* Miranda Rights for Terrorists / Terrorists Captured on Battlefield Have Constitutional Rights (Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) said that the Obama administration's policy of reading Miranda rights to terrorists captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan is "outrageous." )
* Gays ask and tell
* Fight Taliban with hands tied
* Don’t shoot back at Taliban Terrorists!
* And don’t bother the women and men in burqas!
* Cancel F-22 and Missile Defense
* Watch out for the Poppy Fields, don't disturb the poppies
* Implement ban on smoking who cares how slow they do it the fact it is in the works is anti-troops
* Cancel Body armor and vehicle funding.
Soooooo what is next, tanks made of plastic or something????
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (16)
Obama's Books Banned At Federal Prison As "detrimental to national security"
Audacity of Nope: US prison tells inmate that Obama's books harmful to national security
The federal government's most secure prison has determined that two books written by President Barack Obama contain material "potentially detrimental to national security" and rejected an inmate's request to read them.
Ahmed Omar Abu Ali is serving a 30-year sentence at the federal supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, for joining al-Qaida and plotting to assassinate then-President George W. Bush. Last year, Abu Ali requested two books written by Obama: "Dreams from My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope."
But prison officials, citing guidance from the FBI, determined that passages in both books contain information that could damage national security.
A prison spokeswoman referred questions to the FBI, where a spokeswoman was looking into the matter Thursday evening.
The documents detailing the prison's rejection of Obama's books are included in court papers for a resentencing hearing scheduled later this month for Abu Ali, a U.S. citizen.
Abu Ali requested the books in August, before Obama was elected. In a short, handwritten note on a prison complaint form, Abu Ali argues that the two rejections "violate my 1st amend. rights" - referring to the part of the U.S. Constitution that promises free speech among other rights.
The rejections, as well as other restrictions on family visits, prompted a hunger strike by Abu Ali that has since ended, Dratel wrote.
Prison officials cite specific pages - but not specific passages - in the books that they deem objectionable. They include one page in Obama's 1995 book, "Dreams from My Father," and 22 separate pages in his policy-oriented 2006 book, "The Audacity of Hope." It was not immediately obvious what passages might have been deemed problematic, though nearly half of the pages cited are in a chapter devoted to foreign affairs.
Supermax inmates, including convicted Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui and "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski, are housed under the most severe restrictions in the federal prison system. Inmates typically are kept in their cells in solitary confinement 22 or 23 hours a day.
Abu Ali will be resentenced July 27, following an appellate court ruling that U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee improperly deviated from sentencing guidelines that recommended a term of life in prison.
Wild Thiing's comment.........
Not only his books but Obama himself is a danger to our national security!
You can’t make this sh!t up. If 5 years ago an author had written a fiction novel about the last two years of history he’d have been laughed at and scorned: America electing a Muslim president barely 8 years after 9/11? Electing a man that is friends with domestic terrorists, the Nation of Islam, Black Panthers, George Soros and a veritable zoo full of assorted crazies and communists? Never happen, we’d have shouted!
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (8)
Sotomayor Backers Urge Reporters to Probe New Haven Firefighter
Sotomayor backers urge reporters to probe New Haven firefighter
Supporters of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor are quietly targeting the Connecticut firefighter who's at the center of Sotomayor's most controversial ruling.
On the eve of Sotomayor's Senate confirmation hearing, her advocates have been urging journalists to scrutinize what one called the "troubled and litigious work history" of firefighter Frank Ricci.
This is opposition research: a constant shadow on Capitol Hill.
"The whole business of getting Supreme Court nominees through the process has become bloodsport," said Gary Rose, a government and politics professor at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn.
On Friday, citing in an e-mail "Frank Ricci's troubled and litigious work history," the liberal advocacy group People for the American Way drew reporters' attention to Ricci's past. Other advocates for Sotomayor have discreetly urged journalists to pursue similar story lines.
Specifically, the advocates have zeroed in on an earlier 1995 lawsuit Ricci filed claiming the city of New Haven discriminated against him because he's dyslexic. The advocates cite other Hartford Courant stories from the same era recounting how Ricci was fired by a fire department in Middletown, Conn., allegedly, Ricci said at the time, because of safety concerns he raised.
The Middletown-area fire department was subsequently fined for safety violations, but the Connecticut Department of Labor dismissed Ricci's retaliation complaint.
No People for the American Way officials could be reached Friday to speak on the record about the press campaign.
"To go after so sympathetic a plaintiff as Frank Ricci . . . is a new low in the politics of personal destruction," said Roger Pilon, the director of the libertarian Cato Institute's Center for Constitutional Studies. "If they were smart, they'd keep a low profile."
Ricci, though, has his own advocates, including conservative commentators such as CNN's Lou Dobbs and Fox's Sean Hannity.
Nor is he the only Supreme Court confirmation witness to receive sharp elbows. In 1991, for instance, then-Senate Minority Leader Alan Simpson of Wyoming warned that witness Anita Hill would be "injured and destroyed and belittled and hounded and harassed" if she testified against nominee Clarence Thomas. Hill was preparing to testify that she'd been sexually harassed by Thomas.
Hill's subsequent testimony threw into question Thomas's confirmation, during a hearing he likened to a "high-tech lynching." A closely divided Senate ultimately confirmed him.
The 35-year-old Ricci was the lead plaintiff in the case Ricci v. DeStefano, challenging New Haven's refusal to promote white firefighters after African-American and all but one Hispanic firefighters failed to score high enough on a promotion exam.
Sotomayor and a majority of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the city's claim that it was justifiably concerned about a potential civil rights suit being filed by the African-American firefighters.
"Sotomayor and her panel colleagues were bound by long-standing precedent and federal law," People for the American Way executive vice president Marge Baker said in a June statement. "They applied the law without regard to their personal views."
Last month, however, the Supreme Court overturned the 2nd Circuit by 5-4.
"Once . . . employers have made clear their selection criteria, they may not then invalidate the test results, thus upsetting an employee's legitimate expectation not to be judged on the basis of race," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority.
With his awards for bravery, some 17 years of fire department service and history of overcoming dyslexia, Ricci has become a compelling human character in the Sotomayor confirmation drama. Senate Republicans have summoned him, along with Lt. Ben Vargas of the New Haven Fire Department, as two of their 14 witnesses next week.
Though even Republicans concede Sotomayor appears poised to win confirmation, the hearing — and Ricci's part in them — could be exploited politically. The case is symbolic of race-based preferences, which conservatives have long rejected.
"Affirmative action remains a potentially useful issue for the GOP," Rose noted, and "this case has the potential of perhaps mobilizing the Republican party again."
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina added that many Americans can identify with Ricci, making him an especially attractive witness for the GOP and potentially dangerous for Democrats.
"He took on a second job and worked hard, but was denied due to the same legal concepts" that were designed to protect people's rights, Graham said.
Wild Thing's comment.......
The “politics of personal destruction” raises its ugly head once again. This is a sure sign of desperation.
This is ialso one of the reasons these creeps want to go after the firefighter.
This guy has a great story. A very hard working and deserving man who was callously thrown under the bus by a very flippant and superficial ruling by Sotomayer.
Washington (AP/WTNH) - Republicans plan to call a white firefighter whose reverse discrimination claim was rejected by Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor to testify against her.
New Haven firefighter Frank Ricci brought a lawsuit challenging his city's decision to scrap the results of a promotion test because too few minorities scored highly enough to qualify. He's one of 14 witnesses Republicans will call during Senate hearings on Sotomayor's confirmation that open Monday.
Sotomayor was part of an appellate court panel that rejected Ricci's claim. The Supreme Court reversed the ruling last week.
.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:49 AM | Comments (10)
New Reports Cite Obama's African 'home'
Barack Obama reviews an honor guard upon arrival at the Presidential Castle in Accra, Ghana. Obama condemned tyrants who enrich themselves and urged Africans to demand stronger governments as the son of an African immigrant made a landmark trip to the continent. (AFP/Saul Loeb)
New reports cite Obama's African 'home'
Ghana newspaper calls Africa 'continent of his birth'
An African news site and an MSNBC broadcaster have delivered new references to President Obama's birthplace as being outside of the United States, even as a controversy has developed over a letter purporting to be from the president claiming Kapi'olani hospital in Honolulu as his birth location.
Network correspondent Mara Schiavocampo was reporting on the celebratory atmosphere in Accra, Ghana, immediately prior to Obama's visit to the west African nation today.
Interviewing a person who appeared to be a shop operator, she suggested, "Barack Obama is Kenyan … but Ghanaians are still proud of him."
The video of the report is at this link.
Her report talks about the party atmosphere and the Obama fan clubs who has posted "Welcome home" signs.
"Although this may seem insignificant, it clearly stated an assumption about Obama's heritage that is clearly understood by African citizens and NBC as well," a WND reader said.
Meanwhile, a report at Modern Ghana also posted in advance of the president's visit cited his birthplace on the continent of Africa.
"For Ghana, Obama's visit will be a celebration of another milestone in African history as it hosts the first-ever African-American president on this presidential visit to the continent of his birth," the report said.
Wild Thing's comment........
"For Ghana, Obama’s visit will be a celebration of another milestone in African history as it hosts the first-ever African-American president on this presidential visit to the continent of his birth,” the report said.”
OOPS!
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:48 AM
| Comments (7)
Gov Palin Signs 5 Resolutions Protecting Gun Ownership Rights From Feds
Have you noticed when she is among the troops she is listening intently Notice the sincere focused attention, showing that whatever is said is being seriously considered and not to be forgotten. ~ Wild Thing
Gov Palin Signs 5 Resolutions Protecting Gun Ownership Rights From Feds
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Governor Palin has signed House Bill 201 into law. The bill, sponsored by Representative Craig Johnson, changes the expiration date of a concealed handgun permit from five years from the date of issue to the person's birthday. “The right to own guns & use them responsibly is something I and many other Alaskans cherish,” Governor Palin said. “We have to be vigilant to protect the rights of individual Alaskans to own & use guns. I appreciate the work of our legislature in standing up for the Constitution.”
The Governor also signed 4 resolutions. HJR 17, sponsored by Representative John Harris, urges Congress not to pass HR 45. The federal legislation would put burdensome licensing & registration controls on individual gun owners.
SJR 10, sponsored by Senator Joe Thomas, urges Congress to pass S 371. The legislation would ensure that citizens of each state who are licensed or authorized by their home state to carry a concealed weapon, could do so in another state as long as they comply with the laws of that state. Currently, states offer this right of reciprocity through individual agreements that can vary from state to state.
HJR 27, sponsored by Representative Mike Kelly, reasserts states’ rights. The resolution reminds the federal government that the 10th Amendment limits the scope of federal powers to those specifically granted by the Constitution of the United States & no more.
SJR 3 is a resolution sponsored by Senator Gene Therriault. The resolution expresses support to Congress for repealing the ban on carrying a firearm on National Park Service lands. Congress did so in May, & the repeal becomes effective February 2010.
Wild Thing's comment......
Thank you Sarah, you never let us down. Looking forward to cheering you on for a very long time. ( big smile)
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (8)
Obama Says Economic Stimulus Plan Worked as Intended
Obama Says Economic Stimulus Plan Worked as Intended
Barack Obama said his $787 billion stimulus bill “has worked as intended” as he pushed back against Republican criticism that his recovery program has failed to rescue the economy.
“It has already extended unemployment insurance and health insurance to those who have lost their jobs in this recession,” Obama, who is traveling today in Ghana, said in his weekly Saturday radio and Web address. “It has delivered $43 billion in tax relief to American working families and business.”
Obama spoke after stocks fell for a fourth week on concern that an economic recovery will be delayed. A government report last week showed that employers cut 467,000 jobs in June and the unemployment rate rose to 9.5 percent, the highest since 1983.
Obama, in his speech, said the stimulus program is helping state governments save jobs. Were it not for the program, the president said, “state deficits would be nearly twice as large as they are now, resulting in tens of thousands of additional layoffs -- layoffs that would affect police officers, teachers, and firefighters.”
Republican Response
In the weekly Republican response, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia said the stimulus bill was “full of pork- barrel spending, government waste and massive borrowing cleverly called ‘stimulus.’”
“The plain truth is that President Obama’s economic decisions have not produced jobs, have not produced prosperity, and have not worked,” Cantor said.
He said the Republicans want reductions in tax rates that he said would help middle-class families.
Obama said the measure “was not designed to work in four months -- it was designed to work over two years.”
The spending plan will “accelerate greatly” through the summer and autumn, creating “thousands more infrastructure projects” that will lead to additional jobs, he said.
“We’re moving in the right direction,” Obama said. “We must let it work the way it’s supposed to, with the understanding that in any recession, unemployment tends to recover more slowly than other measures of economic activity.”
Earlier this week, Vice President Joe Biden also defended the Obama administration’s efforts to rebuild America’s economy, while expressing frustration with those who say progress is too slow.
“Remember, we’re only 140 days into this deal,” Biden said in a speech in Cincinnati. “It’s supposed to take 18 months.”
Wild Thing's comment.......
Obama's mission is to destroy this country and so sure his stimulus is working.
1. It got lots of money to Obama’s Brown Shirts.
2. It has seized control of significant industry.
3. It has made people more dependent on the government.
Somewhere, amidst the fires of hell, Saul Alinsky is smiling.
.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Comments (13)
Scam Artist Al Gore Hoping For "global governance" With Taxes From Cap andn Trade
Here is his video of his speech. I am putting it here but there is no way I can stand it to watch it. LOL I just have a zero tolerance to hear his voice. But if anyone is stronger then I am it is here for you. ~ Wild Thing
Gore boasts: 'Global governance' coming with carbon tax
Tells conference U.S. responding to warming threat with 'cap-and-trade'
Former Vice President Al Gore, whose "An Inconvenient Truth" video epistle on the claims of global warming has not weathered recent scientific research, now has promised at a conference in the United Kingdom that the impending virtual energy tax under the U.S. "cap-and-trade" legislation will bring about "global governance."
Gore, who this year famously left his Nashville mansion's driveway brightly illuminated during the "Earth Hour" event that promoted energy savings, was speaking at the Smith School World Forum on Enterprise and the Environment.
He cited the "cap-and-trade" legislation in the U.S. Congress that by President Obama's own estimate would cause utility bills to skyrocket for American consumers.
Those taxes are good, Gore said.
Wild Thing's comment.........
Global warming all about control of us by THEM.
"the impending virtual energy tax under the U.S. "cap-and-trade" legislation will bring about "global governance."
So long, sovereignty.
Al Gore's Dad was a bud to Armand Hammer who was the ONLY American (and I use that title very loosely here) allowed to fly his private jet into and out of the USSR under Stalin and his successors without either US or USSR diplomatic clearance. Hammer cranked up and ran many businesses for old Uncle Joe Stalin.
Old Armand gave Al, Sr. TONS of campaign dough and Al, Sr. carried Armand's water on Capitol Hill for years.
And here's a REAL piece of irony: Hammer owned a significant stake in Occidental Petroleum which was responsible for the LOVE CANAL toxic waste mess in New York. Gotta wonder how much of born-again envirowhacko Al, Jr's current assets flowed from the profits Hammer and Occidental generated from burying those thousands of barrels of sickening toxic sludge at Love Canal.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:44 AM | Comments (10)
Senior Airman Nicholas Barker Defuses Commercial Airline Incident
Col. Thomas Kauth, Logistics Assessment Branch chief, presents Senior Airman Nicholas Barker, 436th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief, a certificate of appreciation for his excellence during Dover Air Force Base’s Logistics Standardization and Evaluation Program inspection. Two months later, Barker showed his excellence again by subduing an irate man on an international commercial flight. U.S. Air Force photo by Tom Randle
Face of Defense: Airman Defuses Commercial Airline Incident
By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace, Special to American Forces Press Service
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del.
June 29, 2009
It was enough to make even the calmest airline passengers nervous: an irate man pacing the aisles of a commercial flight shouting, “I want to slit the captain’s throat!”
However, in the face of this peril on a June 9 U.S. borne flight to Italy, a Dover mechanic came to the rescue.
Though Senior Airman Nicholas Barker, 436th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief, looked like the many other passengers, by the end of the flight it was apparent he was different – he was a hero.
Barker was headed to Naples, where he was to report for maintenance readiness training. However, fate had a different plan for the crew chief that day and he soon found himself in a perilous situation, strong-arming and securing an enraged man speaking Italian.
“He was pacing up and down the aircraft almost as he was looking for something,” explained the Plymouth, Mich., native. “I wasn’t the only person to notice his strange behavior. People all around were looking at him as if he was drunk and the crew was trying to calm him down.”
Since Barker doesn’t speak Italian, he did not know the severity of the situation at first, but recalled the state of affairs leading up to his intervention.
“The aircraft’s captain came to our section of the plane to try to get the guy back to his seat,” Barker said. “One of the flight attendants looked at me and said, ‘We may need your help.’”
Barker stood up, but the situation seemed to calm and the passenger seemed to be heading to his seat. Barker returned to his seat as well. A little while later, a voice came over the airliner’s public announcement system asking if anyone had law enforcement or military training.
Barker made his way to the rear of the plane to see what he could do to help. What he found in the plane’s rear was the same guy, more irate than before, saying he hoped the engine would catch fire and that he wanted to slit the captain’s throat. The situation required immediate action.
“A crew member handed me a pair of plastic hand cuffs,” Barker recalled. “As I began to walk over to the passenger, he saw the cuffs and started to resist. I then gave the cuffs to a flight attendant so that I could restrain him.”
Barker, along with the many other passengers that day, found themselves in a situation that could have gone downhill fast. Barker knew he had to act.
“I grabbed the guy’s forearm, put my elbow into his shoulder and held him by his throat,” he explained. “I wasn’t choking him, but applying enough pressure that he knew I could if I needed.”
With the man subdued, a flight attendant was able to cuff his hands and feet. After that, Barker situated the man upright in his seat, buckled him in, and tied his cuffs to his seat belt. After he was secure in his restraints, Barker returned to his seat near the front of the aircraft.
It soon became apparent that the man was trying to free himself from his restraints, and Barker was summoned again.
“I just took a seat adjacent to him to keep an intimidating eye on him – it kept him calm,” he said. There was not any more trouble for the remainder of the flight.
Afterward, Barker reflected on his training and the fact that being in the military gave him a leg up in the situation.
“Servicemembers know to not freeze up under pressure,” said Barker, adding that most servicemembers willingly sacrifice their safety for that of others. “I didn't have time to think. I knew this guy was a possible threat and this just had to be done.”
The 436th AMXS commander, Maj. Stephanie Halcrow, was not surprised by Barker’s actions.
In fact, excellence seems to be a Barker trademark. He was recognized by Air Mobility Command’s Logistics Standardization and Evaluation Program inspection team for his superior performance during an April inspection.
Halcrow reacted to Barker’s recent heroism in five simple words, “Senior Airman Barker – our hero!”
Wild Thing's comment........
Thank you Senior Airman Nicholas Barker.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:40 AM | Comments (8)
July 11, 2009
‘Camouflage Angel’ Spends Last Moments With U.S. Combat Casualties
Army Sgt. Jennifer Watson, non-commissioned officer-in-charge of the Casualty Liaison Team at Joint Base Balad, stands in Hero's Highway. Each patient brought via helicopter to the Air Force Theater Hospital passes through Hero's Highway. Watson, a native of Peru, Ind., is deployed here from Fort Campbell, Ky. Photo by Staff Sgt. Dilia Ayala, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing.
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‘Camouflage Angel’ Spends Last Moments With U.S. Combat Casualties
By Staff Sgt. Dilia Ayala, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing
The emergency-room trauma call and the medical staff's immediate action upon his arrival is only a memory to her now; sitting quietly at the bedside of her brother-in-arms, she carefully takes his hand, thanking him for his service and promising she will not leave his side.
He is a critically injured combat casualty, and she is Army Sgt. Jennifer Watson of the Casualty Liaison Team here.
Although a somber scene, it is not an uncommon one for the Peru, Ind., native, who in addition to her primary duties throughout the last 14 months, has taken it upon herself to ensure no U.S. casualty passes away alone. Holding each of their hands, she sits with them until the end, no matter the day or the hour.
"It's unfortunate that their families can't be here," said Watson, who is deployed here from Fort Campbell, Ky. "So I took it upon myself to step up and be that family while they are here. No one asked me to do it; I just did what I felt was right in my heart. I want them to know they are heroes.
"I feel just because they are passing away does not mean they cannot hear and feel someone around them," she continued. "I talk to them, thanking them for what they have done, telling them they are a hero, they will never be forgotten, and I explain my job to them to help them be at ease knowing the family will be told the truth."
In general, Watson explains to the patients that the CLT works within the Patient Administrative Department here, acting as a liaison for all military and civilian patients in-theater and initiating the casualty-notification process to the patient's next-of-kin.
Upon their arrival at the Air Force Theater Hospital, Watson speaks with each combat casualty getting as accurate information as possible about the incident. Once the doctor gives their diagnosis and severity of the patient's injuries, Watson and her team complete and send a Defense Casualty Information Processing System folder report to the Department of the Army or the patient's respective service so that their next-of-kin can be notified.
"I make sure we tell their family everything they want to know, so they know everything that's going on," said Watson. "[Through the report], we'll tell the families everything that is going on with their family member ... so that they don't have any questions."
Furthermore, once the initial report has been sent, the CLT and Watson make hourly rounds to the intensive-care ward or unit to check on the patient's well-being, or, for the more critical patients, to check on their stability.
"We are constantly communicating and making sure the family knows everything we know," said Watson. "We want to put the families at ease and let them know that everything is being done for their loved one. From the moment a servicemember is brought in through Hero's Highway, they are never alone."
Each month, the AFTH, the equivalent of a U.S. Level-1 trauma center, treats more than 539 patients; more than 101 are trauma cases in the emergency department. Although Watson can never predict if and when her fellow brothers- or sisters- in arms may need her, she is always available here.
"The hospital staff is wonderful," said Watson. "They know how important it is for me to be there with them and if they know it's time, someone will come and get me no matter where I'm at.
"I see it as a form of closure, not just for me, but for the families so that they know that somebody was there with their son or daughter," she added. "My heart goes out to every patient that comes into the hospital, especially my wounded in action Soldiers. I feel like everyone who comes through the door is my brother or sister."
Not surprisingly, Watson's dedication to duty and her hard work have not gone unnoticed. She has touched the lives of all those who she has come in contact with, to include the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group commander, Col. Mark Mavity.
"Sgt. Watson's story is one of the most compelling here in the Med Group," said Mavity. "She is a Soldier's Soldier who combines an unparalleled level of compassion and commitment to our most grievously wounded warriors with amazing professionalism each and every day.
"What is truly incredible is that she is a personnelist by training but with the heart of a medic who has taken it upon herself to hold the hand and keep a bedside vigil with every mortally wounded Soldier who has spent their last hours within the AFTH," continued the colonel. "She will not let her brave brothers or sisters pass alone. This is a heavy burden to bear and at great personal emotional cost to Sgt. Watson, but she is unwavering in her final commitment to these Soldiers. You don't have to look any further than Sgt. Watson to find a true hero."
"Angel" and "hero" are only two of the many titles Watson has been given since arriving at JBB; although she is appreciative of the kind words, she remains humble.
"I am far from an angel," said the sergeant with a smile. "I just do what is in my heart. I guess for me, I think about the family and the closure of knowing the Soldier did not pass away alone. To say I'm a hero ... no. The heroes are my guys who come in [through Hero's Highway]."
Reflecting on her time here, Watson said she is extremely thankful for the opportunity she has had to work side-by-side with the Air Force.
"The staff of the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group has done an amazing job since I have been here," she said. "They are incredible. They have done procedures and saved the lives of the most critically injured Soldiers, and have been some of the most professional people I have ever worked with.
"I want the families to know that their servicemember was a hero," Watson concluded. "They made the ultimate sacrifice, but before they passed on, they received the best medical treatment, and the staff did everything they could -- they were not in pain and they didn't die alone."
Wild Thing's comment......
Prayers for this soldier and those she helps. This is not even her assigned duty, she an administration clerk. This is just something she started doing because she's an angel full of love and everyone else in the unit not only accepts it, they encourage it.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (14)
How Obama's Stimulus Violates Your Constitutional Rights
How Obama's stimulus violates your constitutional rights
Lawsuit challenges government 'guidance' to doctors
A nurse has filed a lawsuit against the medical records provisions of President Obama's stimulus bill alleging it not only gives government officials access to personal health records, it opens the door for bureaucrats to make health care decisions.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court for the Southern District of New York by Beatrice Heghmann, a nurse from Durham, N.H. It targets the health sections of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that demand all health care records be put into an electronic format.
The recently filed claim cites the authorization of the "Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology."
The lawsuit explains the federal law specifies, "The National Coordinator shall perform the duties under subsection (c) in a manner consistent with the development of a nationwide health information technology infrastructure that allows for the electronic use and exchange of information and that among other functions provides appropriate information to help guide medical decisions at the time and place of care."
Using the personal information, the lawsuit claims, "the National Coordinator will monitor treatments to make sure the plaintiff's doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective."
The lawsuit said the federal plan's goal "is to reduce costs and 'guide' plaintiff's doctor's decisions."
The language is virtually identical to what former Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., prescribed in his 2008 book "Critical, What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis" after voters in his state refused to return him to Washington.
"According to Daschle, doctors have to give up autonomy and 'learn to operate less like solo practitioners,'" the lawsuit said. "The National Coordinator will be able to enforce his decision as to what is appropriate treatment through sanctions against health care providers. Health care providers that are not 'meaningful users' of the new system will face penalties. 'Meaningful user' is not defined in the Stimulus Act. That will be left to the HHS secretary, who will be empowered to impose 'more stringent measures of meaningful use over time.'"
The result is that penalties that could be imposed against doctors that would "deter the plaintiff's health care providers from going beyond the electronically delivered protocols should (a medical) condition become atypical," the lawsuit said.
Further, the demand that all health records be kept electronically would put the plaintiff's personal information "a mouse-click away from being accessible to strangers."
That amounts to an unconstitutional release of her personal and private health information, the lawsuit says.
Named as defendants are Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and other Obama administration officials.
Twila Brase, president of the Citizens' Council on Health Care, has been working on privacy issues related to health care records for years. She's seen some success in Minnesota, where health officials have been taking DNA from newborns and archiving it for eventual research use.
She said while the wording of the stimulus law is convoluted, it appears to set up a requirement for all medical records to be posted online so that government administrators in Washington could review a diagnosis as well as a prescription and apply pressure to the doctor if they felt the treatment was more expensive than they wanted.
Brase said the federal law calls for a single electronic medical record for every U.S. resident by 2014 and providing access to those records to "providers, health plans, the government, and other interested parties."
Worst of all, she said, it appears to eliminate a state's right to impose stricter privacy standards as provided by the current federal law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
Brase said in a nextgov report that the bottom line is that privacy would be in the hands of a Washington bureaucrat instead of a physician.
Analysts said they believe there will be similar lawsuits over the privacy of medical records.
The lawsuit seeks class-action status, and explained that the plaintiff, as a patient, "was required [on several occasions] and in the future will be required to reveal intimate aspects of her life to the health care provider during the course of consultation and treatment."
Since she never has been covered by either Medicare or Medicaid, her doctors were selected by her and paid either directly by her or in combination with private health insurance she maintained.
"Under the Hippocratic Oath, state law and federal law while the medical records are the property of the plaintiff’s health care providers, the information contained in the records remains property of the plaintiff and the health care providers are required by law to maintain that information in strict confidentiality."
But the new law, the lawsuit said, "attempts to render the privacy provided under federal law, state law, the Hippocratic Oath and HIPAA null and void."
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Wild Thing's comment.......
Thank goodness there is finally a lawsuit about SOMETHING these thugs are doing with this.
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....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Comments (8)
John Holdren, Obama's Science Czar Is A Nut Case
John Holdren, whom Barack Obama has recently appointed Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, and Co-Chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology -- informally known as the United States' Science Czar.
John Holdren, Obama's Science Czar: Forced abortions and mass sterilization needed to save planet
Forced abortions. Mass sterilization. A "Planetary Regime" with the power of life and death over American citizens.
The tyrannical fantasies of a madman? Or merely the opinions of the person now in control of science policy in the United States? Or both?
These ideas (among many other equally horrifying recommendations) were put forth by John Holdren, whom Barack Obama has recently appointed Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, and Co-Chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology -- informally known as the United States' Science Czar. In a book Holdren co-authored in 1977, the man now firmly in control of science policy in this country wrote that:
~ Women could be forced to abort their pregnancies, whether they wanted to or not
~ The population at large could be sterilized by infertility drugs intentionally put into the nation's drinking water or in food
~ Single mothers and teen mothers should have their babies seized from them against their will and given away to other couples to raise
~ People who "contribute to social deterioration" (i.e. undesirables) "can be required by law to exercise reproductive responsibility
~ If this could be accomplished, security might be provided by an armed international organization, a global analogue of a police force. Many people have recognized this as a goal, but the way to reach it remains obscure in a world where factionalism seems, if anything, to be increasing. The first step necessarily involves partial surrender of sovereignty to an international organization.
There is a lot of information at this site, please feel free to CLICK HERE TO READ more evil and evidence about Holdren.
Wild Thing's comment......
This has to be the most evil and vile administration in history lead by the most dangerous man that has ever been president of our country.
....Thank you Jack for sending this to me.
United States Army
1965-1971
Army Combat Engineers
Quang Tri & Chu Lai '68 -'69
67-69
Jack's blog is Conservative Insurgent
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM | Comments (12)
“Held Down” Under Heavy Fire: Echo Company Marines From 2/8 Battle To Hold Position
“Held Down” Under Heavy Fire: Echo Company Marines From 2/8 Battle To Hold Position
Troops from a US Marine company in Afghanistan have been under almost constant fire since entering the country with 4,000 other troops during the week.
Since flying in by helicopter to Mian Poshteh in Helmand province, troops from the 2/8 infantry battalion have been held down by insurgents.
The 200 Marines are still fighting to hold position and have had to call in helicopter gunships for assistance.
Taliban fighters have been using small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and rockets against the Marines
One Marine was killed in the hostile fire in the first day of the battle, while others are succumbing to the intense heat in the area and are being evacuated to medical facilities.
The Marines are in an area which is criss-crossed by canals and irrigation ditches which were built by the US in the 1950s and 1960s to aid agriculturalists in the region.
Opium has become the mainstay on local farms, where the owners have been forced by the Taliban insurgency to grow the crop.
Agencie France Presse:
GARMSIR, Afghanistan
AFP
Since 4,000 US Marines pushed into Taliban-controlled areas of southern Afghanistan on Thursday, one company has been in a constant firefight with the insurgents, the military said.
Troops from Echo company of the 2/8 infantry battalion flew in by helicopter to Mian Poshteh, a key canal and road junction in Helmand province, as part of President Barack Obama’s efforts to finally defeat the Islamist militants.
The 200 Marines fighting to hold the position arrived at dawn on Thursday, and they were still engaged in fierce combat through the weekend, Major Dan Gaskell told AFP at nearby Camp Delhi.
“Echo company landed by the canal intersection and set up shop,” he said late Saturday. “They have been fighting to hold that position.
“The enemy really wants it back, and have been doing everything they can to dislodge Echo. That continues.”
The US has called in helicopter gunships three times to help the Marines, Gaskell said, including one attack using a Hellfire missile.
He said about 40 Taliban fighters were using small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and rockets against the Marines, who have based themselves in a walled compound.
“The enemy tactic is to conduct a feint attack from one compass direction, then fire from a second direction, and follow up with a proper attack from a third,” he said.
“They have shown the ability to switch back and forth, so the combination may come from any angle.”
One Marine was killed by hostile fire in the first day of the battle, while at least two others have suffered chronic heat exhaustion in the scorching temperatures and had to be evacuated by helicopter.
“Mian Poshteh is the most difficult situation in the current operation,” Gaskell said of the site 25 kilometres (15 miles) south of Camp Delta in the Garmsir district of Helmand.
“The enemy are against a 200-plus Marine company, which is the most feared thing in the world. But we have rules of engagement and destroying everything in the area is not our intent. We fight back in a proportional way.”
The Helmand River valley is criss-crossed with canals and irrigation ditches built by the US in the 1950s and 1960s to promote agriculture in the region, but the main crop is now opium which funds much of the Islamist insurgency.
“The terrain is pretty tricky and easy to get bogged down in, especially with the weight of gear that Marines carry,” Gaskell said.
“The Hellfire missile was fired after the company commander had spent eight hours trying to manoeuvre in on one pocket of resistance. We knew from live aerial video there were no civilians there.”
He said another air attack, on Saturday afternoon, was “a helicopter rocket and gun run” that had either killed those targeted or forced them to flee the tree line from where they were firing on the Marines.
Operation Khanjar, which involved thousands of Marines moving into the Helmand valley to extend the reach of the Afghan central government, has faced generally light resistance.
But US commanders say they expect their troops to soon be hit by counter-attacks.
“The enemy assumes that within several days we’ll be leaving but we’re not going anywhere,” Lieutenant Colonel Christian Cabaniss, in charge of the US operations around Garmsir, said.
“We’ve picked good ground, close to the population centres, and we’re going to stay.
“But we do want to know why the enemy have chosen to fight at Mian Poshteh. Perhaps there’s a high value commander there.”
The military’s plan is to improve security in Helmand so that locals reject the hardline Taliban in favour of the central government, allowing international troops who have been in the country since 2001 to eventually withdraw.
The area south of Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand, is the world?s biggest opium-growing region and a route for Taliban fighters joining the insurgency from across the Pakistan border.
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Footage of Marines from Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines conducting Operation Strike of the Sword. Scenes include Marines waiting then boarding helicopters and on patrol in Sorhduz. Provided by NATO TV.
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Wild Thing's comment.......
God's speed to our troops and protect them.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:48 AM | Comments (4)
The Best Of Jaywalking from the Final Jay Leno Tonight Show
This video was made with several of the Jaywalking tapes over the years and played on the last night that Jay did the Tonight show this last May 2009.
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Wild Thing's comments........
This is one of the responses to one of Jay's questions.
" Founding Fathers of what???"
OMG! this is scary because this guy was serious. haha
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:47 AM | Comments (2)
Obama 'smear' Site Vanishes From Web
Obama 'smear' site vanishes from Web
Statements scrubbed on birth certificate, Bill Ayers, ACORN
A website aimed at combating so-called Internet "smears" about President Obama has disappeared from the Internet – including an alleged certification of live birth posted during his campaign – and archives for the website have been thoroughly scrubbed.
As The Obama File notes, even the Internet Archive Way Back Machine appears to have lost its archived copies of Obama's "Fight the Smears" website.
A Google cache of the website still shows many of the "smear" topics the website addresses, but content for each posting is no longer available. The snapshot of the page from July 2, 2009, lists the following topics:
* Obama's campaign was funded by foreigners
* Obama sought endorsement from the New Party
* Obama has connections to Bill Ayers
* Jerome Corsi's research on Obama and Kenya's Raila Odinga
* Obama's relationship with Fannie Mae executives
* Obama's affiliation with ACORN
* NRA research on Obama's record on guns
* "Born alive" accusations concerning Obama's pro-abortion stance
* Jerome Corsi's research on Obama in "new hit book"
* Obama is a Muslim
* Obama has not shown a long-form birth certificate and may not have been born in America
Obama's campaign posted a "Certification of Live Birth" on the "Fight the Smears" website that has been widely touted as "Obama's birth certificate" – though it does not in any way prove he was born in Hawaii, since the same "short-form" document is easily obtainable for children not born in Hawaii. The true "long-form" birth certificate – which includes information such as the name of the birth hospital and attending physician – is the only document that can prove Obama was born in Hawaii, but to date he has not permitted its release for public or press scrutiny.
Nonetheless, that posting has vanished along with the website. A screenshot image of the original page can be seen below.
The statement read, "Smears claiming Barack Obama doesn't have a birth certificate aren't actually about that piece of paper – they're about manipulating people into thinking Barack is not an American citizen."
It continued, "The truth is, Barack Obama was born in the state of Hawaii in 1961, a native citizen of the United States of America. Next time someone talks about Barack's birth certificate, make sure they see this page."
Another main issue addressed by Obama's "Fight the Smears" site was the contention he was once a Muslim.
"Senator Obama has never been a Muslim, was not raised as a Muslim, and is a committed Christian," stated the site.
Obama launched his "Fight the Smears" website in June 2008 to stop "ideologues" from "spreading a 'pack of lies' about Barack."
Tommy Vietor, spokesman for the Obama campaign, told the New York Times at the time of launch that the campaign sought to confront "lies" and "false rumors" with the "Fight the Smears" website.
"Whenever challenged with these lies we will aggressively push back with the truth and help our supporters debunk the false rumors floating around the Internet," he said.
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Wild Thing's comment.......
This is so odd, haha, I wonder if the lawyers Obama has to handle his Birth Certificate lawsuits and to keep his Birth Certificate away protected might be the ones telling him to take down certian things from the internet.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:44 AM | Comments (9)
July 10, 2009
Helping The Enemy Obama?? ~ "Ban on tobacco urged in military "
DOD considering banning smoking, regardless of social experiment's effect on morale and cohesion
Ban on tobacco urged in military
WASHINGTON
Pentagon health experts are urging Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ban the use of tobacco by troops and end its sale on military property, a change that could dramatically alter a culture intertwined with smoking.
Jack Smith, head of the Pentagon's office of clinical and program policy, says he will recommend that Gates adopt proposals by a federal study that cites rising tobacco use and higher costs for the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs as reasons for the ban.
The study by the Institute of Medicine, requested by the VA and Pentagon, calls for a phased-in ban over a period of years, perhaps up to 20. "We'll certainly be taking that recommendation forward," Smith says.
A tobacco ban would confront a military culture, the report says, in which "the image of the battle-weary soldier in fatigues and helmet, fighting for his country, has frequently included his lit cigarette."
Also, the report said, troops worn out by repeated deployments often rely on cigarettes as a "stress reliever." The study found that tobacco use in the military increased after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began.
Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said the department supports a smoke-free military "and believes it is achievable." She declined to elaborate on any possible ban.
One in three servicemembers use tobacco, the report says, compared with one in five adult Americans. The heaviest smokers are soldiers and Marines, who have done most of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the study says. About 37% of soldiers use tobacco and 36% of Marines. Combat veterans are 50% more likely to use tobacco than troops who haven't seen combat.
Tobacco use costs the Pentagon $846 million a year in medical care and lost productivity, says the report, which used older data. The Department of Veterans Affairs spends up to $6 billion in treatments for tobacco-related illnesses, says the study, which was released late last month.
Along with a phased-in ban, the report recommends requiring new officers and enlisted personnel to be tobacco-free, eliminating tobacco use on military installations, ships and aircraft, expanding treatment programs and eliminating the sale of tobacco on military property. "Any tobacco use while in uniform should be prohibited," the study says.
The military complicates attempts to curb tobacco use by subsidizing tobacco products for troops who buy them at base exchanges and commissaries, says Kenneth Kizer, a committee member and architect of California's anti-tobacco program.
Seventy percent of profits from tobacco sales — $88 million in 2005 — pays for recreation and family support programs, the study stays.
Strong leadership could make the military tobacco-free in five to 10 years, Kizer says. President Obama, he says, could set an example for the military by ending his own smoking habit once and for all. Last month, Obama said he is "95% cured" but "there are times when I mess up" and smoke.
Wild Thing's comment......
OH I see it's ok for the Commander in Chief to smoke but not the front line soldier. Obama's hate for our military knows no bounds.
He wants to force troops with high powered weapons, under a great deal of stress in the field, to quit nicotine? I would SO want to see him try to relieve one of our soldiers of his Marlboros, or of his chew.
So what is Obama hoping for the recruiters close up shop?
Tobacco keeps you alert when you are exhausted. It is a stimulant in extreme conditions and heightens your senses. GIs smoked in every war we have been in . . . What a crock of shit. What an absolute crock!!
Just think, if they were in prison, they’d be able to smoke! What are we, nuts, or what!!!!!
One of the physiological effects of nicotine is the constriction of the peripheral blood vessels--which can give the impression of offsetting the effects of alcohol, but can also slow the progress of shock. Which is why so many tobacco consumers want a smoke or a chew in times of extreme stress or after a traumatic experience.
Go ahead, demoralize and screw with the morale of 1 in every 3 military Troops. I mean, it’s only 120 degrees where they are fighting for your filthy dumb ass Obama and they could use some more stress.
These men are facing possible death every single day as they protect our country. If they want a cig before or after a battle..the country should not only ‘allow’ it, but provide them!!
I have so had it with Obama, he just won't stop hampering our military.
What is next, cussing, sugary drinks, gum?
CIC Obama forcing troops to be on their mission with their hands tied.
Marines must not return enemy fire for fear of killing an Afghan non-combatant.Don’t shoot back! IF there is any possibility there are civilians around. Especially the women ( Taliban cross dressing in Burqas)
"ABC Correspondent Mike Boettcher, who is embedded with Golf Company, reports that the young Marines, when ambushed by Taliban forces with automatic weapons, were ordered to shoulder their rifles. Their command, Boettcher writes, warned them that “one civilian casualty could negate the No. 1 objective of this operation – – winning the trust and respect of the farmers of the Helmand River Valley.”
Be careful of the Poppy Fields.
And now the very possible BAN on smoking.
God Save the United States of America — from itself !!!
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 PM | Comments (26)
Obama To Resettle 1,700 Palestinians From Iraq in USA
US to resettle 1,350 Palestinians from Iraq
The US State Department confirmed Tuesday that as many as 1,350 Iraqi Palestinians - once well-treated guests of Saddam Hussein and now estranged from Iraqi society - will be resettled in the US, mostly in southern California, starting this fall, the Christian Science Monitor reported.
The US, which takes in about 80,000 refugees annually, hopes to bring 17,000 Iraqi refugees this year.
It will be the largest-ever resettlement of Palestinian refugees into the US - and welcome news to the Palestinians who fled to Iraq after 1948, but who have had a tough time since Hussein was ousted in 2003. Targeted by Iraqi Shi'ites, the Palestinians, mostly Sunni Muslims, have spent recent years in one of the region's roughest refugee camps, Al Waleed, near Iraq's border with Syria in the west.
"Really for the first time, the United States is recognizing a Palestinian refugee population that could be admitted to the US as part of a resettlement program," Bill Frelick, refugee policy director at Human Rights Watch in Washington told CSM.
Considering that the US in the past was reluctant to resettle Palestinians - only seven were accepted in 2007 and only nine in 2008 - the effort could become a point of contention between Israel and the US.
For many in the State Department and international community, the resettlement is part of a moral imperative the US has to clean up the refugee crisis created by invading Iraq. The US has already stepped up resettlement of Iraqis, some whom have struggled to adjust to life in America.
The resettlement of Iraqi Palestinians is "an important gesture for the United States to demonstrate that we're not heartless," Alon Ben-Meir, a professor of international relations and Middle Eastern studies at New York University told the publication.
But some critics say the State Department is sloughing off its problems onto American cities, especially since in this case the Palestinians were sympathizers of the Iraqi tyrant.
"This is politically a real hot potato," said Mark Krikorian, director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, adding, "America has become a dumping ground for the State Department's problems - they're tossing their problems over their head into Harrisburg, Pa., or Omaha, Neb."
Palestinian refugees came to Iraq in successive waves over several decades, first in 1948, then in 1967, and in 1991. They were treated well under Hussein but were also used to attack Israeli policies, and their presence was resented by many locals.
After Hussein was removed from power in 2003, many of these Palestinians were driven out of their homes and now live "at the mercy of the weather" in rough camps along the Syrian and Jordanian border, said Mr. Ben-Meir. The number of Palestinians in Iraq has fallen from around 34,000 to an estimated 15,000, with about 2,773 living in camps, according to the State Department.
While the US generally doesn't accept Palestinians, Todd Pierce, a spokesman for the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, said that the Iraqi population of Palestinians falls under a different category from those in Gaza and the West Bank. Each applicant will be carefully scrutinized for terrorist ties, he added.
The US reluctance to accept Palestinians is because it "doesn't want the refugee program to become an issue in its relationship with Israel," said a diplomat in the region on condition of remaining anonymous. But these Palestinians, he said, would be processed as refugees from Iraq.
Mr. Krikorian said the US should be the last refuge for those fleeing persecution. Only Jordan of all the Arab countries routinely grants citizenship to Palestinian refugees, he noted. More recently, said Mr. Frelick, Jordan has also shut its borders to Palestinians coming from Iraq.
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Wild Thing's comment........
Obama is importing more Muslim terrorist's to our soil. Obama is destroying this country on purpose. This will end badly. When it all explodes it is going to literally rip apart this country.
This is national suicide. I guess there are not enough terrorist bombings to suit Obama.
Why? Why bring them here? Who wakes up in the morning and asks themselves, why don't we have more Palestinians running around in the United States? Obviously not someone who wants America to be safe or worries about our best interests.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 AM | Comments (20)
Obama Speaks At G8 Summit In Italy ( another apology )
Barack Obama speaks about climate change Thursday, July 9, 2009, during the G8 Summit in L'Aquila, Italy
"I don't think I have to emphasize that Climate Change is one of the defining moments of our time, the science is clear and conclusive and the impacts can no longer be ignored. Ice sheets are melting, sea levels are rising, our oceans are becoming more acidic and we've already seen its effects on weather patterns, our food and our water sources, our health and our habitats."(At 1:55)
"Developed countries like my own have a historic responsibility to take the lead, we have a much larger carbon footprint per capita, and I know that in the past (Bush again) the United States have fallen short of meeting it's responsibilities, so let me be clear, those days are over"
Wild Thing's comment.........
He can't help himself, he has to put the USA down in each country he goes to. I say he can't help himself because he has NO love for America, he resents it I think. So he just won't even try to hold back.
This is such an unforgivabble thing for him to do. I wish any President that did this kind of thing would be immediately kicked out of office.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:50 AM | Comments (14)
Photo Essay Of G8 Summit In L'Aquila, Italy
Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi arrives for a dinner at the G8 summit
A general view of the round table session during the G8 summit in L'Aquila
Heads of state attend a meeting with the leaders of the Group of Eight (G8), Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa and Egypt, during a G8 summit in L'Aquila, central Italy, on July 9, 2009. The G8 world powers issued a joint declaration expressing "serious concern" yesterday over post-election violence in Iran but said they were determined to find a peaceful resolution to the standoff over Tehran's nuclear programme.
Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi walks with
Obama praises Italy's 'great' leader as a man of integrity — but it's not Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi escorts the President
Many Italians will no doubt be pleased that when President Obama arrived in Italy today for his first G8 summit, he immediately launched into lavish praise of the nation’s “great leader”.
This eminent figure had “the admiration of the Italian people”, Mr Obama said, not only because of his long public service but also for his “integrity and his graciousness".
“I just want to confirm that everything I have heard about him is true - he’s an extraordinary gentleman and a great leader of this country," Mr Obama added.
He was talking, however, not about Silvio Berlusconi, but about President Giorgio Napolitano, the head of state, who received him at the Quirinal palace.
The White House later attempted to brush off any suggestion that the compliments - which were pointedly not extended to Mr Berlusconi - were intended as veiled criticism of the scandal-tainted Prime Minister.
Barack Obama holds a soccer jersey given to him by Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (R) before a round table session at the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy
Activists wearing masks depicting the leaders attending the G8 (Group of Eight) Summit in L'Aquila, pose for photographers during a protest against the G8 Summit in front of St. John in Lateran Basilica, in Rome, Thursday, July 9, 2009.
Activists wearing masks depicting the leaders
German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives on a electric cart
Electric carts are seen at the G8 summit site in L'Aquila, Italy
Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak (2nd L) is surrounded by security as he makes his way to a round table session in an electric car during the G8 summit
Obama listens to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi speak at a press conference following the Major Economic Forum meeting outlining ways to manage climate change on the second day of the G8 summit on July 9, 2009
President Barack Obama (C) and France's President Nicolas Sarkozy (R) take their places with junior G8 delegates for a family photo
Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi arrives for a dinner at the G8 summit
Obama, and Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi pictured during the G8/G5 summit in L'Aquila, Italy Obama shook hands with Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi Thursday, a sign that relations have improved considerably between the U.S. and the North African nation. The two met as they posed for pictures ahead of a G-8 summit dinner hosted by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. Obama's diplomatic gesture was his latest effort to reach out to controversial world leaders .
Despite improved international relations, Qaddafi remains a controversial figure. He criticized the U.S.-led war in Iraq during a speech last month to the Italian Senate.
World leaders stand for a family photo before a dinner at the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, July 9, 2009. Leaders of the Group of Eight major industrial nations and the main developing economies are meeting in the central Italian city of L'Aquila until Friday to discuss issues ranging from global economic stimulus to climate change and oil prices.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:49 AM | Comments (18)
Ginsburg: I thought Roe was to rid undesirables
Ginsburg: I thought Roe was to rid undesirables
Justice discusses 'growth in populations that we don't want to have too many of'
In an astonishing admission, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she was under the impression that legalizing abortion with the 1973 Roe. v. Wade case would eliminate undesirable members of the populace, or as she put it "populations that we don't want to have too many of."
Her remarks, set to be published in the New York Times Magazine this Sunday but viewable online now, came in an in-depth interview with Emily Bazelon titled, "The Place of Women on the Court."
The 16-year veteran of the high court was asked if she were a lawyer again, what would she "want to accomplish as a future feminist legal agenda."
Ginsburg responded: Reproductive choice has to be straightened out. There will never be a woman of means without choice anymore. That just seems to me so obvious. The states that had changed their abortion laws before Roe [to make abortion legal] are not going to change back. So we have a policy that affects only poor women, and it can never be otherwise, and I don't know why this hasn't been said more often.
Question: Are you talking about the distances women have to travel because in parts of the country, abortion is essentially unavailable, because there are so few doctors and clinics that do the procedure? And also, the lack of Medicaid for abortions for poor women?
Ginsburg: Yes, the ruling about that surprised me. [Harris v. McRae – in 1980 the court upheld the Hyde Amendment, which forbids the use of Medicaid for abortions.] Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don't want to have too many of. So that Roe was going to be then set up for Medicaid funding for abortion. Which some people felt would risk coercing women into having abortions when they didn't really want them. But when the court decided McRae, the case came out the other way. And then I realized that my perception of it had been altogether wrong.
When pressed to explain what she meant by reproductive rights needing to be straightened out, Ginsburg said, "The basic thing is that the government has no business making that choice for a woman."
Asked if that meant getting rid of the test the court imposed, in which it allows states to impose restrictions on abortion such as a waiting period, the justice said she was "not a big fan of these tests."
I think the court uses them as a label that accommodates the result it wants to reach. It will be, it should be, that this is a woman's decision. It's entirely appropriate to say it has to be an informed decision, but that doesn't mean you can keep a woman overnight who has traveled a great distance to get to the clinic, so that she has to go to some motel and think it over for 24 hours or 48 hours.
I still think, although I was much too optimistic in the early days, that the possibility of stopping a pregnancy very early is significant. The morning-after pill will become more accessible and easier to take. So I think the side that wants to take the choice away from women and give it to the state, they're fighting a losing battle. Time is on the side of change.
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Wild Thing's comment........
Wow, nothing different than Hitler and Mengele. Only this time abortion will create the master race, instead of gas chambers. Chilling and creepy to the max! Good grief, she have a copy of Mein Kempf on the nightstand next to her bed??
I wonder who exactly those “undesirables” are? Unbelievable that she was on the highest court in the land.
Planned parenthood’s founder, Margret Sanger, was a huge proponent of eugenics. And sole purpose of purpose behind Planned Parenthood is to cut down the black population by pushing abortion to the blacks. It has been working for them because more blacks then whites get abortions.
This is the creepiest thing I have read in a long time.
Here is more about Planned Parenthood and Sanger.
How Planned Parenthood Duped America
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:48 AM | Comments (16)
EPA Admits Cap-and-Trade Will Fail
Morning Bell: EPA Admits Cap-and-Trade Will Fail
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee began their hearings on the 1,500 page Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade legislation Tuesday, and ranking member Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) won a startling admission from Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson.
Inhofe produced an EPA chart generated last year during the Senate’s debate of the Lieberman-Warner cap-and-trade legislation. The chart showed that the carbon reductions under that bill would not materially effect global carbon concentrations in the atmosphere. Inhofe then asked Jackson if she agreed with the chart’s conclusions.
Jackson replied: “I believe that essential parts of the chart are that the U.S. action alone will not impact CO2 levels.”
Also, at the hearing, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said he did not agree with chart. This is interesting ,since all the best science confirms Inhofe’s and Jackson’s conclusions.
For example, a recent study of cap-and-trade by MIT concluded:
“The different U.S. policies have relatively small effects on the CO2 concentration if other regions do not follow the U.S. lead…The Developed Only scenario cuts only about 0.5 °C of the warming from the reference, again illustrating the importance of developing country participation.”
So how is that “developing country participation” going? The New York Times reports from the Group of 8 summit in L’Aquila, Italy:
“The world’s biggest developing nations, led by China and India, refused Wednesday to commit to specific goals for slashing heat-trapping gases by 2050, undercutting the drive to build a global consensus by the end of this year to reverse the threat of climate change.”
For anyone that has been following the issue, this development should come as no surprise. On June 30th of this year India’s Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told Bloomberg: “India will not accept any emission-reduction target — period. This is a non-negotiable stand.
” China has also made it explicitly clear that they view the carbon tariffs in the Waxman-Markey bill as a violation of World Trade Organization rules.
So if other countries will not sacrifice their own economic growth to meet carbon cutting goals, then what is the economic hit Americans are taking?
The left is touting a recent Congressional Budget Office study which they say shows Waxman-Markey would only cost Americans $175 a year. However, the left is seriously misrepresenting what the CBO study is.
Footnote three on page four of the CBO study explicitly admits:
“The resource cost does not indicate the potential decrease in gross domestic product (GDP) that could result from the cap. The reduction in GDP would also include indirect general equilibrium effects, such as changes in the labor supply resulting from reductions in real wages and potential reductions in the productivity of capital and labor.”
In other words, the CBO study is not an economic analysis at all. Instead it is a simple accounting of how energy tax revenue that Waxman-Markey collects is distributed. When the economic costs of Waxman-Markey are included, the harm to American families skyrockets. According to Heritage’s Center for Data Analysis Waxman-Markey will decrease GDP in 2020 by $161 billion (2009 dollars). For a family of four, that is $1,870 that the CBO simply ignores.
All economic pain, for no environmental gain. No wonder the Obama economy is failing.
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Wild Thing's comment.......
Cap and Trade is primarily a very large tax. It’s primary purpose is to take more money out of our pockets and give that money to the government. Crippling the coal and oil industries is a secondary goal.
But if reducing carbon usage were a primary goal of the bill, the bill would look completely different than it does.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:47 AM | Comments (4)
Global Warming: Fact, Fiction and Political Endgame
Global Warming: Fact, Fiction and Political Endgame
Global Alarmist Albert Gore -- Consummate Hypocrite
"Of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people, commencing demagogues and ending tyrants." --Alexander Hamilton
Gore claimed that he and wife, Tipper, "live a carbon-neutral lifestyle."
Well, perhaps if you don't count all the fuel burned by his private jet travels and limo deliveries. One of Gore's exclusive mansions, according to a recent utility report, uses 20 times the electrical energy consumed by the average household, but who is counting.
Gore's son, Albert III, is true to his word. When he was stopped by police (his third high-speed, drug toting arrest) just before the elder Gore's Live Earth concerts began, he may have been traveling 100mph but he was doing it in his fuel-efficient Toyota Prius hybrid. Unfortunately, Al III was fueled up on marijuana, and had in his possession various prescription drugs -- Valium, Xanax, Vicodin, Adderall and Soma -- all without prescriptions. Fruit does not fall far from the tree.)
Separating Fact from Fiction
For the record, most reputable scientists agree that we are in a period of gradual global warming (about 0.7 degrees Celsius in the last century), and that the greenhouse effect prevents our climate from becoming a deep freeze. Most also agree that the level of CO2, including manmade CO2, in the atmosphere has increased in the last century, and that global warming is due, in some part, to the greenhouse effect.
However, there is no scientifically established correlation between global-warming trends and acceleration of the greenhouse effect due to human production of CO2 -- only broad speculation.
CO2 -- The Global Carbon Cycle
Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with one carbon and two oxygen atoms. It is a major component of the carbon cycle -- the exchange of carbon between the biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere. CO2 is one of the greenhouse gases associated with the "greenhouse effect.". The Earth absorbs about 70 percent of the Sun's radiant energy and reflects 30 percent. As greenhouse gasses increase, less of the radiant energy is reflected, with a corresponding increase in global temperatures.
All greenhouse gases comprise only three percent of the Earth's atmosphere by volume. Of that three percent, water vapor is estimated to cause up to 70 percent of the greenhouse effect, carbon dioxide up to 20 percent, and methane, nitrous oxide and ozone cause the balance, but these causal estimates are very difficult to accurately document.
All plants depend on CO2, consume it from the atmosphere and convert it to oxygen during photosynthesis, then respirate it back into the atmosphere.
Fact is, it is impossible to say with any degree of accuracy how much CO2 is produced or consumed in the natural carbon cycle and any estimate of the manmade percentage is highly questionable.
Gore's "Scientific Consensus"
Albert Gore claims, "I've been trying to deliver this message for 30 years. The degree of scientific consensus on global warming has never been stronger. Unless we act boldly, our world will undergo a string of terrible catastrophes. Of course, there will always be questions around the edges of the science..."
Yeah, fringe inquiries like "Is the Earth really the center of the universe?" and "Is the Earth really flat?"
Despite Gore's claims, there is a growing body of peer-reviewed studies challenging conventional global warming assumptions.
While more skeptics are going on record, the media has ignored dissenting views, with some notable exceptions like the UK's public broadcasting Channel 4 network, which produced a remarkable documentary titled "The Great Global Warming Swindle,".
Of course, it has not been broadcast by any of the U.S. networks.
The documentary features distinguished scientists from MIT and other major universities around the world.
**** This is an excellent article and you can read the rest of the article HERE.
~ Snipet ~
Commentary
"Global warming has become a big-ticket item in the eyes of its supporters. At stake are research funds, jobs and the ability to control lives all over the globe." --Walter E. Williams
"As someone who lived under communism for most of his life, I feel obliged to say that I see the biggest threat to freedom, democracy, the market economy and prosperity now in ambitious environmentalism, not in communism.... The environmentalists ask for immediate political action because they do not believe in the long-term positive impact of economic growth and ignore both the technological progress that future generations will undoubtedly enjoy, and the proven fact that the higher the wealth of society, the higher is the quality of the environment.... The issue of global warming is more about social than natural sciences and more about man and his freedom than about tenths of a degree Celsius changes in average global temperature" -- Czech President Vaclav Klaus
"A couple of days before the Oscars, the Reverend Al Gore gave a sell-out performance at the University of Toronto. 'From my perspective, it is a form of religion,' said Bruce Crofts of the East Toronto Climate Action Group, who compared the former vice president to Jesus Christ, both men being (as the Globe And Mail put it) 'great leaders who stepped forward when called upon by circumstance.' Unlike Christ, the Eco-Messiah cannot yet walk on water, but then, neither can the polar bears. However, only Al can survey the melting ice caps and turn water into whine." --Mark Steyn
"While the public has been led to believe that 'all' the leading scientists buy the global warming hysteria and the political agenda that goes with it, in fact the official reports from the United Nations or the National Academy of Sciences are written by bureaucrats -- and then garnished with the names of leading scientists who were 'consulted,' but whose contrary conclusions have been ignored. ... Global warming 'deniers' are likened to Holocaust deniers. The difference is that we have the hardest and most painful evidence that there was a Holocaust. But, for the global warming scenario that is causing such hysteria, we have only a movie made by a politician and mathematical models whose results change drastically when you change a few of the arbitrarily selected variables. No one denies that temperatures are about a degree warmer than they were a century ago. What [skeptical] climate scientists...deny is that you can mindlessly extrapolate that [the change is man made]. 'Global warming' is just the latest in a long line of hysterical crusades to which we seem to be increasingly susceptible." --Thomas Sowell
"Hoax is defined as, 'The art of deception.' The greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people is that manmade gases are causing climate change." --Senator James Inhofe
"A careful study of the substantial corpus of peer-reviewed science reveals that Mr. Gore's film, An Inconvenient Truth, is a foofaraw of pseudo-science, exaggerations, and errors, now being peddled to innocent schoolchildren worldwide." Lord Monckton (Viscount Monckton of Brenchley) a policy adviser to former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who has challenged Gore to an open scientific debate on climate change.
"'If you want to save the planet, I want you to start jumping up and down. Come on, m-----f-----s!' Madonna railed from the stage at London's Live Earth concert Saturday. 'If you want to save the planet, let me see you jump!' You just can't beat that. What else could capture the canned juvenilia of a 48-year-old centimillionaire -- who owns nine homes and has a 'carbon footprint' nearly 100 times larger than the norm -- hectoring a bunch of well-off aging hipsters to show their Earth-love by jumping up and down like children?" --Jonah Goldberg
"There are at least two characteristics all fundamentalists share. One is the exclusion and sometimes suppression of any and all information that challenges or contradicts the belief one wishes to impose on all. The other is the use of the state in pursuit of their objectives... One can get a sense of who is telling the truth about global warming by the company the concept keeps. Most of the disciples of global warming are liberal Democrats who never have enough of our money and believe there are never enough regulations concerning the way we lead our lives. That ought to be enough to give everyone pause, along with emerging evidence that the global warming jihadists may be more full of hot air than the climate they claim is about to burn us up." --Cal Thomas
Wild Thing's comment........
Excellent article and I love the quotes at the end of the write up.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:45 AM | Comments (11)
Texas Band Flyleaf Delivers High Spirits to Troops Overseas
Flyleaf vocalist Lacey Sturm unleashes a vocal torrent during a show on Bagram Air Field July 6. The band performed 15 songs and signed nearly 1,000 autographs on the 2nd largest military base in Afghanistan. (Photo by U.S. Army Spc. Opal Hood, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)
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by Army Capt. Michael Greenberger
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan
Nearly a thousand service members were treated to a healthy dose of hard rock July 6 thanks to the Texas-based band Flyleaf.
On a tour sponsored by AKA Productions, the band arrived at Bagram Air Field just in time to take the stage in the Morale, Recreation, and Welfare “clamshell” tent, somewhat late from a previous show at Forward Operating Base Ramrod in southern Afghanistan.
While waiting for Flyleaf’s arrival, the band’s opening act consisted of a group of service members playing the videogame Rock Band. Projected on a massive screen, people took turns singing and playing on guitar and drum game controllers while the crowd howled for more.
“The Rock Band part was fun,” said Army Pfc. Jessica Kimball. “They should do that more often. It’s a good way for people to interact with each other.”
The warm-up act starred a “band” that won a Rock Band competition on Bagram just weeks prior. Many of the service members who took the stage participate every Wednesday in a weekly get-together for, what else, Rock Band night.
“Rock Band is important because it’s the closest thing on BAF to a party,” said Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Miller. “It’s a great social event and anybody can be a rock star for an evening.”
Flyleaf got into the electronic gaming world with one of their songs, “I’m So Sick” appearing on the Rock Band video game.
After two hours of jamming, the “Rock Band night” regulars relinquished the stage to the newly arrived Flyleaf, who took the stage to a mass of cheering people.
First up in their hour-long set was a new song titled “Justice and Mercy”.
“This first song was written with all of you in mind,” said vocalist Lacey Sturm as she greeted the crowd.
In the lyrics, the words “The living and dying, surviving, we’re trying to breathe in safety – come home safely” were written for Soldiers, said tour manager Kat Hartmann.
“The song is about respect for the troops,” Hartmann went on. “We respect everything they’ve done like putting their lives on the line, which is also in the lyrics to the song.”
As the musical set began, the intensity of the crowd was audibly carried up a notch when Sturm’s lyrical voice turned to primal scream in the middle of “Breathe Today”, a song off their debut, self-titled album “Flyleaf”.
We’ve travelled overseas to Europe and other places before,” said Hartmann. “But we’ve never gone into a war zone.”
Their first ever tour for the troops took them from Qatar to a remote outpost called FOB Baylough in southern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border.
“The FOB is a really rough place,” said Sturm. “They just have the bare essentials and the guys there said no one had been out to see them in years, so we were really excited to get out to see them.”
According to Sturm, Flyleaf had wanted to come see the troops for a while and the band got lucky when another group cancelled its tour.
Travelling light, Flyleaf performed their shows acoustically, which is something they’re not used to doing. In addition to a light equipment load, two members of the band couldn’t make the tour. Bass player Pat Seals and guitarist Sameer Bhattacharya stayed behind for personal reasons while lead singer Sturm’s husband Josh stepped in to play guitar for the duration of the tour. But in true wartime fashion, Flyleaf did the very best with what was available.
They did a great job with what they had,” said Army Pfc. Michael Langford. “The show was great and it’s nice to know that people actually do care about us.”
And care they do. Flyleaf got their start in Belton, Texas, a “stone’s throw” from one of the largest military bases in America, Fort Hood.
The band played lots of shows near Fort Hood, Sturm explained. “But this was our first time out playing to a completely ‘military’ audience,” Sturm said. “It was just overwhelming to look out into the crowd and see nothing but uniforms.”
The Flyleaf show was full of special treats for the troops. According to Hartmann, the group played their new songs “Chasm” and “Circle” from their upcoming album “Memento Mori” for the first time live. The band also stuck around and signed autographs for anyone who wanted them, a process that took the rockers well past 2 a.m.
“I think that after being exhausted from flying all day and performing multiple concerts, the fact that they offered to stay, sign autographs, and take pictures with the troops really exemplifies how down to earth and selfless they really are,” said Army Staff Sgt. Charlene Fick. “They stated during the show how proud they were of us, but I am proud of them for thinking of us and jumping at the opportunity to come to a somewhat dangerous area to perform for us.”
“This was our first tour for the troops,” said Sturm. “I hope we can come back and do it again.”
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Wild Thing's comment.......
Lacey Sturm has a great attitude and I love how she really lets you know she wanted to be there and support our troops.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:40 AM | Comments (4)
July 09, 2009
USMC Combat Veteran Jesse Kelly Is Running for Congess in AZ.
Jesse Kelly for Congress website
As a United States Marine Corps combat veteran, Jesse Kelly led a squad of Marines while deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was honorably discharged in August 2004 after four proud years of service.
After serving our country, Jesse moved on to work in the family construction business in Tucson, AZ. Managing multi-million dollar infrastructure projects for state and local governments, his duties include: estimating, scheduling, budget analysis, and human resource management.
Jesse's wife Aubrey attended the University of Arizona on a gymnastics scholarship graduating with a degree in Accounting. Jesse and Aubrey are proud parents of their infant son James. Their family attends Alive Christian Fellowship Church of Tucson.
Jesse Kelly is proud to announce the following endorsements:
Former Congressman and Presidential candidate, Duncan L. Hunter
Congressman Trent Franks, AZ-2
Congressman Frank Wolf, VA-10
Congressman Duncan D. Hunter, CA-52
Arizona Senator Al Melvin, LD-26
Town of Marana Councilwoman, Roxanne Ziegler
Arizona State Coordinator of Smart Girl Politics, Karen MacKean
Minuteman PAC
Iraq Veterans for Congress PAC
Jesse Kelly is running for a House seat against Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz.
Wild Thing's comment.....
This is great, I hope Jesse wins. It would be so wonderful to have a whole new Congress and for Reublicans to me in the majority.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:20 PM | Comments (4)
Malia Obama Wears Peacenik Communist T-shirt ~ A Message To G8 Leaders?
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Miss Obama's peacenik T-shirt sends a message to G8 leaders
By Charlotte Spratt
Barack Obama's eldest daughter has a clear message for her father - it's time to get rid of the world's nuclear weapons.
Just 48 hours after the U.S. President shook hands with Vladimir Putin over an agreement to reduce their stockpile of nuclear weapons, Malia spotted out wearing not one, but two anti-nuclear T-shirts.
The 11-year-old wore tops bearing the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament's famous symbol as her father prepared for three days of G8 talks in Italy.
She wore a grey T-shirt to visit the Colosseum in Rome with mother Michelle and sister Sasha, seven, and then appeared to have whipped it off to reveal a mottled white and grey top also bearing the CND logo.
The symbol, designed for the CND in 1958, is now widely used as to signify peace and is also an international sign for anti-war protesters.
The Obama's spent two days in Moscow this week meeting President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
There the America and Russia agreed a landmark deal to reduce their stockpile of nuclear weapons.
The 'joint understanding' would see the two countries - which between them possess 95 per cent of the world's nuclear firepower - cut the number of warheads to around 1,500 from current levels above 2,200.
At the height of the Cold War both sides had some 40,000.
And it seems Malia was a fan of the agreement, though the deal is a 'guide' for negotiators as the nations work toward a replacement pact for the START arms control agreement, which expires in December.
Obama's family are now accompanying him at the G8 in the Italian town of L'Aquila for three days of talks on global issues such as climate change, trade and financial reform with Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,and Russia.
Wild Thing's comment........
This shirt is atrocious for the daughter of an American President to be wearing!!!! BIG Mistake!
What is next from these communists in the White House, Che t-shirts?
Obama and his family are an utter embarrassment to our great country. He puts America down every chance he gets and has done so in every country he has visited since becoming president. And now this??????
Cowards and hippies sported the Peace Symbol and "Make Love, Not War" during the 60's. Instant flashback and I hated it then and that has not changed. I could care less if it is the "in thing" in all the stores right now, or if all the kids are wearing this it does not make it OK.
Message to the Obamas. Keep your kids out of politics if you want them off limits. If you are going to let them wear radical clothing pushing the farthest leftist agenda in history then you leave the door wide open .
Regardless if she intended it to be a political statement, or not, it still is a political statement. For the daughter of the President of the United States who is traveling abroad on official business. She needs to learn she is representing her country, whether or not she wants to be or not. As others have pointed out, an adult should have known better, and not allowed her to wear the shirt. Malia is only 11, so this is all Michelle's fault for not doing the right thing.
I can promise you if had ever done something like this my Father would have had me throw it away and not even allow it in our home. I mean it, I would not have bought one but if I had, that is exactly what he would have done and he would have been correct in doing so.
Barack Obama, as President, has sent men into battle and men have been killed as recently as yesterday. There is no doubt that there are parents with sons and daughters in the service in theaters of combat that will take great offense to her shirt.
Children are off limits, I agree. But, the children cannot expect to make overtly political, and might I add inflammatory, statements and not expect to be publicly criticized.
One of the pages at my website is called ..." Extreme Prejudice The Red Zone"....... It specalizes in information about John Kerry, Hanoi Jane, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and information about the Peace Symbol.
The Truth About Those Strange Designs
In all of their public commentaries the Communists employ what they call "Aesopian language," enabling them to communicate freely with one another without alarming the target population in whose midst they operate. It is this coded Marxist jargon with which the Communist leadership lays down the ever-changing vagaries of the Party Line.
The technique dates from the early days of the Russian Revolution. International Affairs, an official publication of the Communist Party, U.S.A., quotes Vladimir Lenin as referring to "that cursed 'Aesopian' language - to which Tsarism forced revolutionaries to have recourse whenever they took up their pens in order to undertake a 'legal' work .... " Joseph Stalin noted: "A legally published newspaper could not call openly for the overthrow .... It had to resort to hints, which, however, the class-conscious workers [Communists] understood very well, and which they explained to the masses."
In Language As A Communist Weapon, Professor Stefan Possony explains how the Communists code their revolutionary terms to deceive gullible non-Communists. He correctly observes that "The deception of the non-Communist world is, of course, a main objective of their language manipulations .... Non-Communists are easily deceived, because they rarely bother to get full Communist quotes, usually misunderstand their context, and hardly ever master the Communist jargon."
Professor James D. Bales explains in his valuable Dictionary Of Communist English that, as early as the Seventh World Congress of the Comntern (Communist International) at Moscow, special attention was given to avoiding the use of "sectarian language." The object, says Dr. Bales, was to create a jargon for revolutionaries which would be pleasing to non-Communist ears while at the same time conveying revolutionary commands to the Communists.
A society can be attacked by the undermining or perversion or destruction of its symbols. An obvious example is the public burning of American flags by the revolutionary Marxists who flaunt the tri-colored banners of the Communist Vietcong. Several years ago, you will recall, members of a team of saboteurs belonging to the Communist Revolutionary Action Movement were arrested as they moved to dynamite such symbols of our American heritage as the Statue of Liberty, the Old North Bridge, and the Liberty Bell.
The Communists seek to replace traditional American symbols with those of their own design. Which is why they employ symbolism as a part of their "Aesopian" code. Thus Communist symbols exhibit both exoteric and esoteric meanings. That sounds a little heady, let's break it down more simply. Webster's Third New International Dictionary defines exoteric as "suitable to be imparted to the public; readily comprehensible; publicly .known ." That which is esoteric, says Webster's, is "designed for or understood by the specially initiated alone ... confined or limited to a small circle."
Socialist conspirators have long made a habit of using ostensibly innocent, and previously positive, symbols as a part of their trappings. An obvious example is the use of the swastika by AdoIf Hitler's National Socialist Party.
Symbols, Signs And Their Meaning that "Red, of course, is the color of anarchy and the left wing in politics. The Red flag was used as a slogan of battle, and there is a reference to it in this sense in the London Gazette of 1666. This significance is clearly derived from blood .... "
Another esoteric symbol of the international socialist movement is the "joined" or "clasped" hands - the ancient sign of the god Fides. Mackey's Symbolism says this design has been used historically to denote fidelity. It is now used by the Freemasons, the A.F.L.-C.I.O., and is frequently reproduced in the Communist Daily World to indicate union between Comrades. This insignia is the official symbol of the Communist-controlled Student "Nonviolent" Coordinating Committee, and serves as the logo for the Trotskyite Communists' Workers World.
But surely the most omnipresent symbol used currently by the international socialists is the one which we are told is a sign of "peace." The Communists love "peace." You will remember that Lenin declared more than forty years ago in The Tasks Of The Youth League that: "As an ultimate objective, 'peace' simply means Communist world control." And the Communists are campaigning for precisely that sort of "peace." Their symbol is a part of the trappings of this scheme. Resembling a chicken track enclosed in a circle, or a swept-wing bomber in vertical flight, the "peace" insignia - like the other symbols of the international socialists - reflects what Lenin called "that cursed 'Aesopian' language."
In the fall of 1968 your correspondent attended a four-hour "acid rock" festival in a darkened auditorium in downtown Seattle. Sprawled throughout the hall were more than three hundred young radicals, many on drugs and all bathed in the eerie and subliminal patterns being flashed in stroboscopic colors on the curtain serving as a backdrop for the "entertainers." In the center of that curtain, upon which were flashed the faces of Ho chi Minh, Che Guevara, and Mao Tse- tung, was a huge Aldermaston "peace" symbol.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (14)
Biden Announced: $155 Billion Deal With Hospitals To Help Pay For Socialized Medicine
Joe Biden announcing a supposed $155 Billion deal with Hospitals to help pay for the Obama Administration's Health Care proposal. Supposedly, the agreement is that hospitals across the nation will donate $155 Billion that they will save through the Health Care Plan to help fund it. This only represents 10% of the total $1.5 Trillion cost of their Health Care Plan to bring socialized medicine to America.
Hospitals Agree to Health Care Deal
The nation's hospitals will give up $155 billion in future Medicare and Medicaid payments to help defray the cost of President Barack Obama's health care plan, a concession the White House hopes will boost an overhaul effort that's hit a roadblock in Congress.
Vice President Joe Biden announced the deal at the White House on Wednesday, with administration officials and hospital administrators at his side.
Reform is coming. It is on track; it is coming. We have tried for decades to fix a broken system, and we have never, in my entire tenure in public life, been this close," Biden said. And in a firm message to lawmakers, Biden added, "We must — and we will — enact reform by the end of August."
Obama has set an ambitious timetable for legislation, with the hope of signing a comprehensive bill in October. But lawmakers returned Tuesday from their July 4 break with lots of questions about the complex legislation and deep misgivings about key elements under discussion.
Democratic senators in particular are having second thoughts about a proposed new tax on generous health insurance benefits provided by some employers. Without the tax — Republicans favor it as a brake on cost increases — the prospects for a bipartisan deal in the Senate appear to be in jeopardy.
Timing is critical because lawmakers might be reluctant to vote on such a charged issue as health care next year, when all House members and one-third of senators face elections.
"We're not there yet," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., who, as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has spent countless hours seeking a compromise with Republican colleagues. "I'm trying the best I can to get there soon."
Another senator deeply involved in the bipartisan negotiations said the proposed new tax on the costliest employer-paid insurance benefits is quickly losing favor with Democrats.
"It's clearly a very difficult issue," said Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., citing recent polls. "You go to the public to ask them what they think and they don't like it."
A compilation of surveys reviewed by senators showed at least 59 percent of the public opposed to taxing health care benefits to "pay for reform."
As a result, Conrad said, "we're looking at other options" to help finance a bill whose price tag is expected to reach $1 trillion or slightly more. Those other options may be hard to sell to Republicans whose support Baucus has been cultivating.
Baucus has long championed a tax on health benefits as the best way to pay for health care while simultaneously restraining the growth of the cost of coverage in the future. But the idea has drawn strong opposition from organized labor, a core Democratic constituency. House Democrats have been highly resistant, too, and Obama campaigned hard against it in last year's run for the White House.
The deal with the hospitals — the one bright spot right now for Obama — may also be on shaky ground. Officials said it's pegged to the Senate Finance Committee legislation that Baucus is negotiating, and whose prospects are uncertain. It would follow concessions from drug companies, and an announcement by Wal-Mart last week that it would support an employer requirement to help pay for health care.
Of the $155 billion in projected savings from hospitals, about $40 billion to $50 billion would come from reducing federal payments hospitals receive for providing care to uninsured and low-income patients, according to lobbyists. Those payments are now made through the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The Medicaid cuts would be apportioned by state, as 10 percent annual reductions beginning around 2015.
Officials of public hospitals say they have concerns such reductions could also squeeze funding for trauma centers and burn units, which receive Medicare and Medicaid money. But they wanted to see the fine print.
Other savings of about $100 billion would come from slowing increases in planned Medicare payments to hospitals. A small amount of savings would come from trimming the money hospitals get for preventing patients from being readmitted for additional care.
Hospitals would also get something out of the deal. They won an agreement that if the Finance Committee's legislation includes a public health insurance plan, it would reimburse hospitals at above the rates Medicare and Medicaid pay, which hospitals have long complained are insufficient.
The issue of a government insurance plan to compete against private companies continued to inflame sentiments on both sides of the political aisle. Republicans remain solidly opposed. Democrats, citing polls that show the public is open to the idea, are talking about a showdown on the issue.
Biden was joined at the White House by Rich Umbdenstock, president of the American Hospital Association, Richard Bracken, president of Hospital Corporation of America, Wayne Smith, president of Community Health Systems, and Sister Carol Keehan, president of Catholic Health Association of the United States.
"We know how urgently reform is needed, both for moral and economic purposes," said Keehan, who represents Catholic hospitals.
House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio criticized the hospital deal, saying it was negotiated out of public view. "The administration and congressional Democrats are literally bullying health care groups into cutting backroom deals to fund a government takeover of health care," Boehner said in a statement.
Wild Thing's comment......
I bet the medical profession feels strong-armed big time by the Chicago socialist THUG. I wouldn't put it past O and his thugs to threaten, demoralize, and do underhanded things to get the medical profession to come up with that.
I don't understand how if 80% of insured are satisfied with their coverage 70%, as quoted by the MSM, thinks the health-care system must be fixed.
When people figure out that their rates just went up 50% to pay for 12 million illegals the "sh*t is going to hit the fan."
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (10)
If You Don't Hate the Cap and Trade Bill, Let Me Show You Section 304
Rep. Waxman: "I don't know the details. I rely on the scientists."
If You Don't Hate the Cap and Trade Bill, Let Me Show You Section 304
I bet you thought that if you bought a house, you actually own it and can, with reasonable exceptions, do with it what you want. You probably think that if you want to live in a log cabin, with wood stoves that belch smoke into the air for heat, and an old washer and dryer that don't have those little EnergyStar stickers on them you can because it's your life and your property. You paid for it with money you earned with the sweat of your brow and what the heck is America anyhow if a body can't live in the home they want furnished with the appliances they want?
Ah, silly you. You didn't reckon on the Democratic Party's desire to control every miniscule aspect of your life.
Let me introduce you to a little section of the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill called the "Building Energy Performance Labeling Program". It's section 304 of the bill and it says, basically, that your house belongs to the state. See, the Federal Government really wants a country full of energy-efficient homes, so much so that the bill mandates that new homes be 30 percent more energy efficient than the current building code on the very day the law is signed. That efficiency goes up to 50 percent by 2014 and only goes higher from there, all the way to 2030. That, by the way, is not merely a target but a requirement of the law. New homes must reach those efficiency targets no matter what.
But what does that have to do with current homeowners like you? Well, I'm glad you asked. You're certainly not off the hook, no way, no how. Here's what the Democrats have planned for you. The program requires that states label their buildings so that we can all know how efficient every building (that includes residential and non-residential buildings) is and it requires that the information be made public. To that end, the bill suggests a number of circumstances under which the states could inspect a building, including:
(A) preparation, and public disclosure of the label through filing with tax and title records at the time of
(i) a building audit conducted with support from Federal or State funds;
(ii) a building energy-efficiency retrofit conducted in response to such an audit;
(iii) a final inspection of major renovations or additions made to a building in accordance with a building permit issued by a local government entity;
(iv) a sale that is recorded for title and tax purposes consistent with paragraph (8);
(v) a new lien recorded on the property for more than a set percentage of the assessed value of the property, if that lien reflects public financial assistance for energy-related improvements to that building; or
(vi) a change in ownership or operation of the building for purposes of utility billing; or
(B) other appropriate means.
Pay close attention to (iii), (iv), and (vi) because those hit you right where you live. What that's saying is the state will be empowered to inspect your home if you want to 1) renovate your house in any way that requires a building permit, 2) sell your house, or 3) change the name of the person responsible for any utility bill.
By now, if you haven't swallowed your tongue and are in need of medical attention, you're probably wondering if there's a penalty for not being in compliance with the new efficiency ratings. The answer is no, and yes. Here's where the bill gets really sneaky. So far as I can tell, there is no direct penalty if your house does not meet the bill's target. However, it does require that the number of buildings inspected by the state meet certain percentage targets and if they do not, the state loses out on a significant portion of the money it could get from Washington. In other words, the bill demands certain things from the states, but ties funding for those demands to compliance with the demands.
Did I say the bill gets sneaky? I was wrong. The bill strong-arms the states like a couple mob heavies leaning on a witness in a Rico trial. In turn, the states are going to put the screws to you, so it gets the billions of dollars Washington is dangling in front of them. So while the Federal government won't directly punish you, it will provide the states with lots and lots of rectangular, green reasons to do so.
And it gets worse. The Federal government has graciously offered to help homeowners with the retrofits the states will force them to do through a program called the Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Purposes (REEP). REEP sets aside a pool of money in each state for property owners who have to turn their polar bear-killing buildings into lean, mean, green machines. But, and I'm sure you've guessed this already, there's a catch. Before I get to that, here's the magic formula (and don't read ahead and spoil the surprise!):
(i) AWARDS- For residential buildings--
(I) support for a free or low-cost detailed building energy audit that prescribes, as part of a energy-reducing measures sufficient to achieve at least a 20 percent reduction in energy use, by providing an incentive equal to the documented cost of such audit, but not more than $200, in addition to any earned by achieving a 20 percent or greater efficiency improvement;
(II) a total of $1,000 for a combination of measures, prescribed in an audit conducted under subclause (I), designed to reduce energy consumption by more than 10 percent, and $2,000 for a combination of measures prescribed in such an audit, designed to reduce energy consumption by more than 20 percent;
(III) $3,000 for demonstrated savings of 20 percent, pursuant to a performance-based building retrofit program; and
(IV) $1,000 for each additional 5 percentage points of energy savings achieved beyond savings for which funding is provided under subclause (II) or (III).
If you want to hit that 50 percent savings mark that all new homes have to hit, then you can get as much as $12,200, including inspection, as you scoop all those awards. That's a pretty good chunk of change that should cover most, if not all of the costs of a retrofit on any moderately-sized older house, right? Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy.
Except for that catch and boy is it a doozy.
(ii) MAXIMUM PERCENTAGE- Awards under clause (i) shall not exceed 50 percent of retrofit costs for each building. For buildings with multiple residential units, awards under clause (i) shall not be greater than 50 percent of the total cost of retrofitting the building, prorated among individual residential units on the basis of relative costs of the retrofit.
Did you get that? You'll be on the hook for half of the cost of the retrofit, no matter what. To get the full effect of that part of the bill, I suggest you visit this web page and click the big yellow button right after you finish reading it.
I think Mark Steyn sums it up rather nicely:
I confess I'm finding it harder and harder to see why you fellows bothered holding a revolution. Under this bill, it will be illegal for me to sell my property to a willing buyer without first bringing it into line with some twerp bureaucrat's arbitrary and ever shifting "environmental" regulations originally designed for California, and which have helped turn the Golden State into the foldin' state, but which are nevertheless now to be applied from Maine to Alaska. And no matter what you spend a couple of years down the road the standards will be "revised" and you'll be out of compliance all over again.
And the very worst thing about all this is that it is only one little bit of what the Democrats in Washington want to do to you. Are you getting a little bit upset yet? If not, here are 49 more things they want to do to you in the name of climate change. I'm sure you can find something in there that might give you a reason to contact your Senator today.
And how will this bill affect you? It has regulations on every single aspect of your daily life. There are light bulb restrictions (no more than 60 watts in your candelabra); in fact there’s a whole section that deals with lamps. If you decide to build a new home, it must meet new and specific energy requirements. If you decide to sell your existing home, a federal inspector must inspect your home, determine it’s energy rating, and if your home is found to be unacceptable then you must retrofit and make changes before you will be able to sell.
There’s an entire section on planting trees including guidelines on “scientific based measurements outlining the species and minimum distance required between trees planted…in addition to the minimum required distance to be maintained between such trees and building foundations, air conditioning units, driveways and walkways…”. Do we really need the federal government telling us where we can plant trees?
There’s a section dealing with outdoor lighting in which you are given instructions about landscape lights, lights in your swimming pool, lights on artwork and other architectural lighting. The federal government is going to tell you what wattage that light can be and how many you can have. In some cases the lights must be capable of producing two different light levels (100 and 60 watt).
There are new government regulations for water dispensers, hot tubs and other appliances. They’re going to regulate water usage, and regulate wood stoves. Any wood stove that does not meet regulation must be “destroyed and recycled.”
Data Dump: What’s In The Cap And Tax Bill?
"This thing is so long that I had to go back and restart the text of it, as it timed out 5 times (that happens at Thomas). I can’t say I actually read it, but, sure skimmed quite a bit, though, I do not think the 300 page attachment is included yet in the text of the bill. That’s where the pork probably lies. I’m going to give you a slightly disjointed data dump, in some cases long passages, in others just things I saw."
Such as:
They’re coming after your TVs, your furnaces, your blenders, you name it. And there is a requirement that CO2 output be part of the labels on appliances. More cost.
Trips to the dentists will be more expensive if you want Nitrous Oxide, or, maybe dentists will just do away with it, due to the certain coming cost of maintaining the paperwork. If Los Federales allow dentists to even keep it. And notice that last part. the Administrator can designate whatever he wants as a bad gas. Sulfer hexafluoride has many applications, and regulation will drive your costs up. Nitrogen trifluoride is used in flat screen displays. Perfluorocarbon’s have many medical uses, as well as in electrical devices and cosmetics. Cost. Go. Up.
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Wild Thing's comment........
Stop the ACLU has a really LONG list from the text of the Cap and Trade bill so if you like I suggest gonig to the link just above and checking it out.
I am terrified of this Cap and Trade and the socialized medicine one coming up. It does not feel good to be afraid like this and I don't like it at all.
It is like these people doing this, writing this bill, PigMan Waxman etc. have all been lifelong patients in a mental hospital and someone let them out in our government and given them free reign. 100% of this crap in this bill should have had them laughing at themselves what idiots they were to even consider it. But they were taken seriously, how scary is that!
That does it, I can't handle it, I am going to put an old movie video on TV and escape, at least we can do that till the Monster bill passes or does not pass. None of this bill should pass, not one sentence, it should be thrown into a big incinerator. IMO it is an insult to our country and it's citizens. It treats us like we are mindless and can't know not to waste water, or not to turn on every light where we live. It is disgusting beyond words!!!!
OH and just one more thing.....Look at this.....sheesh! Waxman making THREATS!
Henry Waxman: GOP rooting against USA
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), who has had an eventful couple of weeks to say the least, believes House Republican opposition to climate change legislation and the stimulus indicates they’re cheering against the good ol’ US of A.
“It appears that the Republican Party leadership in the Congress has made a decision that they want to deny President Obama success, which means, in my mind, they are rooting against the country, as well,” the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman told WAMU radio host Diane Rehm on Tuesday morning, promoting his new book, “The Waxman Report.”
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:49 AM | Comments (12)
Sarah Palin Poll Numbers Have Her Right At Top With Mitt Romney
Poll: Sarah Palin remains threat to Mitt Romney in potential GOP 2012 race
Boston Herald
Former Bay State Gov. Mitt Romney is locked in a statistical dead heat with Sarah Palin for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, despite the Alaska governor’s abrupt resignation last week, according to a new poll of Republican voters.
Romney leads all Republican presidential contenders, garnering 25 percent of the vote, edging out Palin (24 percent), former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (22) and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (14 percent) in the Rasmussen poll released yesterday.
Palin’s abrupt resignation has shaken up the GOP 2012 race, with some saying it clears the way for a White House run but others calling it a career-ending misstep.
The poll also found that 40 percent believe Palin’s resignation hurts her presidential hopes while 24 percent said it helps. But Palin still led all potential candidates in favorability with 76 percent. Romney was second with a 73 percent favorability rating.
The poll also found that 75 percent of voters believe a GOP candidate could defeat President Obama, 41 percent of whom said it was “very likely.”
Palin’s Support Rises Among Republicans
Sarah Palin’s decision to resign as governor of Alaska lifted her standing among Republicans, according to a USA Today/Gallup Poll.
A USA Today story about the poll says, “Republicans are somewhat inclined to see her more favorably” in light of her announcement Friday. But neither that story nor one on Gallup’s web site gives precise numbers.
Seven out 10 respondents in the poll, conducted Monday, say their views about Palin weren’t influenced by her departure as governor.
Of those who were affected by the move, Democrats view Palin less favorably by a 4-to-1 margin and independents by a 2-to-1 ratio.
Two-thirds of Republicans support the idea of Palin as a major national political figure in the future, the poll says. Three-fourths of Democrats oppose that idea, as do 55 percent of independents.
As for a possible presidential campaign, 72 percent of Republicans say they would likely vote for her, compared to 44 percent of independents and 17 percent of Democrats
Wild Thing's comment........
It can only get better for her as 0bama will continue to lead this country on a path of destruction and the media being taken down with their fellow Demonrats they always build up with lies and Palin speaking out and not having the inept McPain handlers to hold her back.
But but but the State Run Media says she shot herself in the foot.
Bwahahahahahaaaaaa!
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:48 AM | Comments (8)
Why Do Liberals Bleed?
Why Do Liberals Bleed?
By Robin of Berkeley
I've been thinking about learning how to fire a gun, maybe even buying one. Now if you are a lifelong conservative, Red State dweller, and NRA member, you might be thinking, "Big yawn. What's next? She'll be telling us what she had for breakfast?"
"Berkeley is a city of victims. You try to understand the street people and the criminals and sit down and talk to them and then they hit you on the head and steal your purse. The police come and then you refuse to press charges. The criminals know this and prey on you."
And he's right: almost everyone I know has been a victim of some awful crime, from being in restaurants during takeover robberies (not uncommon here), to being robbed at gunpoint, to being assaulted for no other reason except a thrill for the assailants.
A neighbor, who had lived all over the world, once said to me, "Berkeley is the most dangerous place I've ever lived." Her husband was robbed at gunpoint as were almost all her friends. She couldn't wait to get out of here.
I wish I could say I'm an exception to the victim rule. But several years ago I was coming out of a restaurant in a decent area and was mugged. As Gavin de Becker states in his seminal book, The Gift of Fear, (which I, unfortunately, read after the fact), victims generally sense when they're about to be victimized but ignore the signs in order to be nice and not judgmental. This was my situation exactly. I could tell right away that the guy looked sinister. But it was a major street, at high noon, and I didn't want to seem racist, so I turned the corner a few feet to reach my car, and a minute later, had my purse stolen as well as all my feelings of being safe in the world.
I'll spare you (and me) the horrible details, but the incident ended with my having a broken nose and two black eyes, and needing surgery for the nose several days later. People wrote bad checks and stole rental cars in my name for a year afterwards. I developed a fear not only of people, but of the phone and the mail, as every day was another reminder of what happened.
Witness the response of a left wing friend, Judy, when I told her I was mugged. She said, and I quote, "I don't think what you went through was so bad. And anyway he was a victim too." (Maybe it's a good thing I wasn't armed back then.)
So I'm asking myself whether I should become armed, and I'm also wondering why so many "educated" people (I might have just answered my own question) put up with crime infested streets? Why are the biggest protests against the cops? Why are the innocent viewed as guilty, and the guilty innocent? Why is no one up in arms about liberals literally bleeding?
Then it occurred to me: Stockholm Syndrome, the same brainwashing that turned Berkeley resident Patty Hearst into Tania the bank robber. She was tortured, sexually abused, and kept in isolation by the far left group, the Symbionese Liberation Army (kissing cousins of Bill and Bernadine's Weather Underground). Successfully brainwashed, she joined their twisted and sick "army."
In the real Stockholm, the hostages were locked in a vault for days, came to "love" their captors in that perverted way that an abused woman loves her husband, and refused to testify against them in court. One even became engaged to her captor.
SS (good acronym, huh?) is rooted in a basic, primordial instinct for self protection in the wake of extraordinary trauma and terror. To survive, the victim identifies with the captors and merges psychologically with them. But SS takes on a life of its own when victims stop seeing their own humanity and want only to serve the abuser.
Living in places like Berkeley, being force fed propaganda, with police afraid to protect you, your friends unsympathetic, and no one armed, SS can spread like a virus. What starts out as compassion morphs into complicity. Occasionally there may be someone, like me, who snaps out of the trance they've been in for decades. After all, Tania woke up and became Patty Hearst again and, interestingly, married her bodyguard. (I bet that they own a whole lot of weapons.) But she had to leave Berkeley for a leafy, sheltered life elsewhere to do this.
But then again, I never bought into the notion of collective guilt, that groups of people are guilty because of the color of their skin, and individuals are exonerated because of some protected victim status. I'm the rare bird. In Berkeley, most people are so over identified with their ideology, that their logical, questioning minds have flown the coop along with a God-given knowledge, possessed by every 5 year old, of right and wrong.
As a good, loyal liberal, I always expected others to take care of me. If I gave my unqualified loyalty to the system, I could sleep well at night. But now, with victims left bleeding, a dangerously naive government, and sheep like masses, I see the absurdity of my thinking.
I heard a philosopher once say that one of the biggest existential tasks of life is giving up the fantasy of the ultimate rescuer. Liberalism reinforced this fantasy for me, as it does for so many others. Now I see the truth: We come into this world alone, and we will leave it alone. When we live our lives in the back seat of the car expecting Daddy to drive us, we only have a child's view of the world.
On that very dark day in November years ago when I became an object of someone's evil and inhumanity, I glimpsed a truth I never wanted to see: that there really is no protection, not in the way I had always thought, not by other flawed humans. I didn't know what to do with this insight until 1 1/2 years ago when I discovered that there were others out there like me, that there was something called conservatism, and now slowly but surely the pieces are coming together for me, one by one.
As I continue on the path to independence and personal responsibility, perhaps looking to myself for protection is another step on my journey.
So let me try to convey to you the enormousness, the Alice in Wonderland quality of my even posing the question, something I've never, ever considered in my life. No one I know owns a gun. I've never seen a gun (well on a holster of a police officer but I never wanted to get up close and personal with it). I have given lots of good money over the years for gun control. Learning to fire a gun seems as ludicrous as deciding to take up brain surgery.
But, I am rethinking absolutely everything. There is not a single thing that I believed, that I held absolute and holy, that is not up for grabs. My brain is in a tizzy 24/7 and I don't know if up is down, or if east is west.
And the thought about a gun just came to me last week when I was listening to talk radio. A caller related how an armed citizen in the South stopped a take over robbery in a fast food restaurant. A light went on in my head. Suddenly I realized that the Red States may be on to something: the police are strongly supported, the citizens have guns, and, therefore, the gangsters may be a little reluctant to take over the local Burger King.
Contrast that to the Blue States where few liberals own guns and the police are being emasculated. You may have heard of the horrendous case in Oakland where four cops were killed by a known felon, on a parole violation for child rape. But the powers that be in Oakland sent out the message to the police to make nice and not scare the populace, so the officers never drew their guns when approaching this felon. (Anyone else notice how the Left is slowly but surely disarming the police and military, situation-by-situation?) When I expressed my heartfelt grief to a friend about the deaths of these brave officers, he said, "The man who shot them was a human being too."
(I'd like to say that, as a psychotherapist, I responded in a sophisticated and psychologically crafty manner. No such luck. I almost blew a gasket, turned bright red, and said with barely contained anger, "He lost his claim to be human when he raped a child." To the friend's credit -- and perhaps some fear on his part -- he shut up.)
So what I realized during the talk show is that in places like Berkeley, only the criminals have the power. Not only do they have the power of guns, they are supported by several thousand brainwashed zombies who give the green light to criminals because they are the victims of someone else's "privilege" and "supremacy" and "imperialism." (Although I was a leftist until recently, I was the rare exception: I never excused crime because of the bad guy's race, creed, age, sex, or daddy being a meanie.)
I recall vividly what a Berkeley police officer once told me:
Wild Thing's comment......
Good for her, she is not gonig to be disappointed. Great piece she wrote I hope a lot of gun control people read it.
......Thank you RAC for sending this to me.
RAC has a website that is awesome. 336th Assault Helicopter Company
13th Combat Aviation Battalion - 1st Aviation Brigade - Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (6)
NEA leader: "Conservative b@$+@%&s picking on us"
NEA leader: Conservative b@$+@%&s picking on us'
Editor's Note: Some of the language in the following story may be offensive.
The retiring general counsel for the National Education Association has complained that conservative "ba----ds" are picking on his powerful union, which boasts more than 3 million members who contributed "hundreds of millions" of dollars annually to its causes.
The comments came from Bob Chanin, who gave a speech at last week's convention on the occasion of his retirement.
The comments have been posted on YouTube: (Some of the language in the video will be objectionable)
According to Linda Harvey of Mission America, "His prepared remarks were peppered with profanity and reflected an arrogant, in-your-face attitude about NEA's well-known political involvement. Just listen to the You Tube. Advance to 16:00 and begin listening there."
Among Chanin's observations: "Why are these conservative and right-wing ba----ds picking on NEA and its affiliates?"
He explains it is because NEA is "the most effective union in the United States" and boasts of its "power."
Chanin said the organization was attacked under the Bush administration by the IRS and others. That will stop now under President Obama's tenure, he noted.
But, he said, "attacks by conservatives and right-wing troops will continue."
That's because the NEA has fashioned itself into "the nation's leading advocates for public education and the type of liberal social and economic agenda that these groups find unacceptable."
The speech was made at the same event at which the NEA decided to go on the record in support of laws legalizing civil unions and homosexual marriage.
According to a Baptist Press report, the union also seeks to repeal legislation that "discriminates" against same-sex couples, which presumably could target the Defense or Marriage Amendment.
The proposal states: "NEA will support its affiliates seeking to enact state legislation that guarantees to same-sex couples the right to enter into a legally recognized relationship pursuant to which they have the same rights and benefits as similarly-situated heterosexual couples, including, without limitation, rights and benefits with regard to medical decisions, taxes, inheritance, adoption and immigration."
Wild Thing's comment.........
No, it’s because you folks are undermining the education of students with do-nothing classes about global warming, self-esteem, empathy classes, the joys of LGBT instead of arithmetic, science, and actual history. That the NEA is also in the back pocket of the DNC.
From Wikipedia
LGBT = is an initialism referring collectively to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
How dare the public demand that teachers teach. It is our tax dollars that pay their wages... When 2+2 = 5 someone needs to be fired.
What a sickening piece of filth. The ideas and the attitude displayed by this elitist jerk are precisely why we’re losing so many of our future generations minds to socialism, sheepery, victim-hood and phony self esteem.
Obama and LGBT:
"Obama woos LGBT leaders
The president welcomes 300 prominent gays to the White House."
June 30,2009
Obama struck a sympathetic tone, frequently comparing the struggle for gay rights to the 1960s civil rights era."I know that many in this room don't believe that progress has come fast enough, and I understand that," he said. "It's not for me to tell you to be patient, any more than it was for others to counsel patience to African-Americans who were petitioning for equal rights a half century ago."
Obama said he'd asked Pentagon officials to begin planning for how to end "don't ask, don't tell," but 77 House members have already asked him to eliminate the policy faster.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:46 AM | Comments (4)
News Sites Swap Obama's Birthplace Like Magic
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News sites swap Obama's birthplace like magic
UPI, Snopes change location within hours of WND report
More than eight months after Barack Obama was elected president, the mystery surrounding his precise birthplace is deepening as the myth-busting website Snopes.com – along with several news agencies and an Obama community blog – directly contradict the president's own claim regarding the hospital in which he was born.
But according to Snopes, the popular online hoax-buster that many rely on as the final word on both important and frivolous stories, Obama was born at a different hospital in the Hawaiian capital.
and UPDATE as of
July 09, 200912:27 am Eastern
If you happened to read online news sites such as United Press International or the popular hoax-busting Snopes.com anytime up until Tuesday night, you would have seen definitive statements that President Obama was born at the Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.
But checking back now, both sites are suddenly providing an entirely different location, the Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children, also in the capital of the Aloha State.
Within hours of a WND report revealing Obama's birth being reported at two different Hawaiian hospitals, both sites changed their information to suddenly fall in line with the president's claim that he was born at Kapi'olani.
Note screen shot above from Snopes on July 7, before WND's report was posted.
Within just 90 minutes of the WND report, Snopes swapped the location of the president's birth from Queen's to Kapi'olani, as evinced by this screen shot from the exact same Web address:
In response to a query from WND, Snopes sent WND a statement reading, "A number of readers have written to us to point out that Wikipedia previously updated their Obama-related entries to resolve the same discrepancy, so we included a similar clarification in our latest round of updates."
The same phenomenon happened with UPI, as these before and after screenshots from the same online address.
UPI.com address on July 8. 2009, reveals UPI swapped the location of President Obama's birth from Queen's Medical Center to the Kapi'olani Medical Center.
WND had contacted UPI on Tuesday to find out specifics about why it had published last November Obama's birthplace as Queen's Medical Center, which is contrary to the president's new assertion in a White House letter to Kapi'olani. The news agency has not responded.
Wild Thing's comment...........
LOL so obvious! This is just too funny even though it is highly serious, this whole thing is rotten to the core.
Snopes is despicable. hahaha I love how they change their “Facts” to whatever story Obama makes up on a particular day.
Paging David Axelrod, paging David Axelrod.
This reallly is amazing to me. I have been thinking lately about how Soros and Obama must have felt Republicans/Conservatives/ etc. would give up on this if it even did become an issue. I would bet they felt once Obama was elected it would die out. HA!
There is a reason why the Republlican party has the Elephant as our symbol. heh heh Elephants never forget. It is a fact.
http://www.sane.org.za/misc/books/elephant.htm
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Comments (2)
In Country With Our Marines 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co
“You’re going to change the world this summer and it starts this morning. The United States and the world are watching. Their expectations are enormously high during this summer of decision,” Lieutenant Colonel Christian Cabaniss, commander of the 2nd battalion, 8th Marines, told the Marines before they boarded helicopters to be part of Operation Khanjar, or Strike of the Sword. The southern offensive was launched shortly after 1 a.m. (4:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday), as thousands of Marines poured from helicopters and armored vehicles into Taliban-controlled villages along roughly 20 miles of the Helmand River in Helmand province, the world’s largest opium poppy-producing area. The goal is to clear insurgents from the hotly contested region before the nation’s Aug. 20 presidential election. (AP)
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U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. run off the back of a helicopter during the start of Operation Khanjari on July 2, 2009 in Main Poshteh, Afghanistan. The Marines are part of an operation to take areas in the Southern Helmand Province that Taliban fighters are using as a resupply route and to help the local Afghan population prepare for the upcoming presidential elections. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
A U.S. Marine from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. takes up a fighting position after off loading from a helicopter during the start of Operation Khanjari on July 2, 2009 in Main Poshteh, Afghanistan. The Marines are part of an operation to take areas in the Southern Helmand Province that Taliban fighters are using as a resupply route and to help the local Afghan population prepare for the upcoming presidential elections. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. take up defensive position as more are flown in by helicopter during the start of Operation Khanjari on July 2, 2009 in Main Poshteh, Afghanistan . The Marines are part of an operation to take areas in the Southern Helmand Province that Taliban fighters are using as a resupply route and to help the local Afghan population prepare for the upcoming presidential elections. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
US Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade make preparations as they wait for helicopter transport as part of Operation Khanjar at Camp Dwyer in Helmand Province in Afghanistan on July 2, 2009. US Marines launched a major offensive into the Taliban heartlands of southern Afghanistan before dawn as President Barack Obama’s new war plan swung into action. With dozens of aircraft ferrying out troops from various bases, the assault aimed to insert forces into insurgent strongholds in Helmand province in what officers said was the biggest offensive airlift by the Marines since Vietnam. Operation Khanjar (Strike of the Sword), involving nearly 4,000 US forces as well as 650 Afghan police and soldiers, would bring security to the Helmand River valley ahead of presidential elections on August 20, commanders aid. (MANPREET ROMANA/AFP/Getty Images)
US Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade wait to get onto a helicopter as part of Operation Khanjar at Camp Dwyer in Helmand Province in Afghanistan on July 2, 2009. (MANPREET ROMANA/AFP/Getty Images)
US Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade prepare to board helicopter transport as part of Operation Khanjar at Camp Dwyer in Helmand Province in Afghanistan on July 2, 2009. (MANPREET ROMANA/AFP/Getty Images)
US Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade walk towards helicopter transport as part of Operation Khanjar at Camp Dwyer in Helmand Province in Afghanistan on July 2, 2009. (MANPREET ROMANA/AFP/Getty Images)
US Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade wait for helicopter transport as part of Operation Khanjar at Camp Dwyer in Helmand Province in Afghanistan on July 2, 2009. (MANPREET ROMANA/AFP/Getty Images)
U.S. Marine Captain Eric Meador from Laurel, Mississippi of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. gives his Marines a pep talk before loading up on helicopters during the start of Operation Khanjari on July 2, 2009 in Main Poshteh, Afghanistan. The Marines are part of an operation to take areas in the Southern Helmand Province that Taliban fighters are using as a resupply route and to help the local Afghan population prepare for the upcoming presidential elections. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
A U.S. Marine from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Fox Co. prepares to load up on a helicopter during the start of Operation Khanjari on July 2, 2009 in Main Poshteh, Afghanistan. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. prepare to search a building during the start of Operation Khanjari on July 2, 2009 in Main Poshteh, Afghanistan. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
U.S Marines from the 2nd MEB, 1st Battalion 5th Marines wait at Camp Leatherneck to board helicopters for a night air assault in Afghanistan’s Helmand province Thursday July 2, 2009. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:40 AM | Comments (2)
July 08, 2009
Desperate Dealings With Moscow With Barack Obama's Giveaway
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Obama Just Made Us More Vulnerable
Cutting through the White House spin coming out of Moscow, Congressional Strategic Posture Commission member and Missouri State University professor Keith Payne writes in today’s Wall Street Journal:
"Beyond the bad negotiating principle of giving up something for nothing, there will be serious downsides if the U.S. actually reduces its strategic launchers as much as Moscow wishes. The bipartisan Congressional Strategic Posture Commission — headed by former secretaries of defense William J. Perry and James R. Schlesinger — concluded that the U.S. could make reductions “if this were done while also preserving the resilience and survivability of U.S. forces.” Having very low numbers of launchers would make the U.S. more vulnerable to destabilizing first-strike dangers, and would reduce or eliminate the U.S. ability to adapt its nuclear deterrent to an increasingly diverse set of post-Cold War nuclear and biological weapons threats."
Obama went to Moscow desperate for the appearance of a foreign-policy success. He got that illusion -- at a substantial cost to America's security.
The series of signing ceremonies in a grand Kremlin hall and the litany of agreements, accords and frameworks implied that the United States benefited from all the fuss. We didn't.
We got nothing of real importance. But the government of puppet-master Vladimir Putin (nominally just prime minister) got virtually all it wanted. In Moscow, this was Christmas in July.
Ignore the agenda-padding public-health memorandum and the meaningless "framework document on military cooperation" (we've had such agreements before; the Russians always just stiff us). The main course in Moscow was arms control.
President Obama's ideological bias against nuclear weapons dates back to his undergraduate years. Yet those weapons kept the peace between the world's great powers for 64 years. A few remarks about deterrence notwithstanding, Obama just doesn't get it.
He agreed to trim our nuclear-warhead arsenal by one-third and -- even more dangerously -- to cut the systems that deliver the nuclear payloads. In fact, the Russians don't care much about our warhead numbers (which will be chopped to a figure "between 1,500 and 1,675"). What they really wanted -- and got -- was a US cave-in regarding limits on our nuclear-capable bombers, submarines and missiles that could leave us with as few as 500 such systems, if the Russians continue to get their way as the final details are negotiated
Arms Control Amnesia
The new talks with Moscow could put the U.S. nuclear deterrent in jeopardy. Here are the facts
Mr. Payne, a professor of defense and strategic studies at Missouri State University, is a member of the Perry-Schlesinger Commission, which was established by Congress to assess U.S. nuclear weapons capabilities. This op-ed is adapted from testimony given before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on June 24.
By KEITH B. PAYNE
Three hours after arriving at the Kremlin yesterday, President Barack Obama signed a preliminary agreement on a new nuclear arms-control treaty with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The agreement -- a clear road map for a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) -- commits the U.S. and Russia to cut their nuclear weapons to the lowest levels since the early years of the Cold War.
Mr. Obama praised the agreement as a step forward, away from the "suspicion and rivalry of the past," while Mr. Medvedev hailed it as a "reasonable compromise." In fact, given the range of force levels it permits, this agreement has the potential to compromise U.S. security -- depending on what happens next.
In the first place, locking in specific reductions for U.S. forces prior to the conclusion of the ongoing Nuclear Posture Review is putting the cart before the horse. The Obama administration's team at the Pentagon is currently examining U.S. strategic force requirements. Before specific limits are set on U.S. forces, it should complete the review. Strategic requirements should drive force numbers; arms-control numbers should not dictate strategy.
Second, the new agreement not only calls for reductions in the number of nuclear warheads (to between 1,500 and 1,675), but for cuts in the number of strategic force launchers. Under the 1991 START I Treaty, each side was limited to 1,600 launchers. Yesterday's agreement calls for each side to be limited to between 500 and 1,100 launchers each.
According to open Russian sources, it was Russia that pushed for the lower limit of 500 launchers in negotiations. In the weeks leading up to this summit, it also has been openly stated that Moscow would like the number of deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched missiles (SLBMS), and strategic bombers to be reduced "several times" below the current limit of 1,600. Moving toward very low numbers of launchers is a smart position for Russia, but not for the U.S.
Why? Because the number of deployed Russian strategic ICBMs, SLBMs, and bombers will drop dramatically simply as a result of their aging. In other words, a large number of Russian launchers will be removed from service with or without a new arms-control agreement.
The Obama administration will undoubtedly come under heavy pressure to move to the low end of the 500-1,100 limit on launchers in order to match Russian reductions. But it need not and should not do so. Based solely on open Russian sources, by 2017-2018 Russia will likely have fewer than half of the approximately 680 operational launchers it has today. With a gross domestic product less than that of California, Russia is confronting the dilemma of how to maintain parity with the U.S. while retiring its many aged strategic forces.
Mr. Medvedev's solution is to negotiate, inviting the U.S. to make real cuts, while Russia eliminates nothing that it wouldn't retire in any event.
This isn't just my conclusion -- it's the conclusion of many Russian officials and commentators. Russian Gen. Nikolay Solovtsov, commander of the Strategic Missile Troops, was recently quoted by Moscow Interfax-AVN Online as saying that "not a single Russian launcher" with "remaining service life" will be withdrawn under a new agreement. Noted Russian journalist Pavel Felgengauer observed in Novaya Gazeta that Russian leaders "have demanded of the Americans unilateral concessions on all points, offering practically nothing in exchange." Precisely.
Beyond the bad negotiating principle of giving up something for nothing, there will be serious downsides if the U.S. actually reduces its strategic launchers as much as Moscow wishes. The bipartisan Congressional Strategic Posture Commission -- headed by former secretaries of defense William J. Perry and James R. Schlesinger -- concluded that the U.S. could make reductions "if this were done while also preserving the resilience and survivability of U.S. forces." Having very low numbers of launchers would make the U.S. more vulnerable to destabilizing first-strike dangers, and would reduce or eliminate the U.S. ability to adapt its nuclear deterrent to an increasingly diverse set of post-Cold War nuclear and biological weapons threats.
Accepting low launcher numbers would also encourage placing more warheads on the remaining ICBMs -- i.e., "MIRVing," or adding multiple independently targeted warheads on a single missile. This is what the Russians openly say they are planning to do. Yet the U.S. has long sought to move away from MIRVed ICBMs as part of START, because heavy MIRVing can make each ICBM a more tempting target. One measure of U.S. success will be in resisting the Russian claim that severely reducing launcher numbers is somehow necessary and "stabilizing." It would be neither.
Third, the new agreement appears to defer the matter of so-called tactical nuclear weapons. Russia has some 4,000 tactical nuclear weapons and many thousands more in reserve; U.S. officials have said that Russia has an astounding 10 to 1 numerical advantage. These weapons are of greatest concern with regard to the potential for nuclear war, and they should be our focus for arms reduction. The Perry-Schlesinger commission report identified Russian tactical nuclear weapons as an "urgent" problem. Yet at this point, they appear to be off the table.
The administration may hope to negotiate reductions in tactical nuclear weapons later. But Russia has rejected this in the past, and nothing seems to have changed. As Gen. Vladimir Dvorkin of the Russian Academy of Sciences said recently in Moscow Interfax-AVN Online, "A treaty on the limitation and reduction of tactical nuclear weapons looks absolutely unrealistic." If the U.S. hopes to address this real problem, it must maintain negotiating leverage in the form of strategic launchers and weapons.
Fourth, Mr. Medvedev was quoted recently in RIA Novosti as saying that strategic reductions are possible only if the U.S. alleviates Russian concerns about "U.S. plans to create a global missile defense." There will surely be domestic and international pressure on the U.S. to limit missile defense to facilitate Russian reductions under the new treaty. But the U.S. need for missile defense has little to do with Russia. And the value of missile defense could not be clearer given recent North Korean belligerence. The Russians are demanding this linkage, at least in part to kill our missile defense site in Europe intended to defend against Iranian missiles. Another measure of U.S. success will be to avoid such linkages.
In short, Russian leaders hope to control or eliminate many elements of U.S. military power in exchange for strategic force reductions they will have to make anyway. U.S. leaders should not agree to pay Russia many times over for essentially an empty box.
Finally, Russian violations of its existing arms-control commitments must be addressed along with any new commitments. According to an August 2005 State Department report, Russia has violated START verification and other arms-control commitments in multiple ways. One significant violation has even been discussed openly in Russian publications -- the testing of the SS-27 ICBM with MIRVs in direct violation of START I.
President Obama should recall Winston Churchill's warning: "Be careful above all things not to let go of the atomic weapon until you are sure and more than sure that other means of preserving peace are in your hands." There is no need for the U.S. to accept Russian demands for missile-defense linkage, or deep reductions in the number of our ICBMs, SLBMs and bombers, to realize much lower numbers of Russian strategic systems. There is also no basis for expecting Russian goodwill if we do so.
Wild Thing's comment......
In Moscow, this was Christmas in July.Only Obama the idiot at work again. He makes me so angry!!!
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 PM | Comments (5)
Obama Behaving Like “ugly American” Tourist in Russia ?
O2 Lounge at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. Located within sight of the Kremlin
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Family Night for Obamas Miffs Some in Moscow
MOSCOW — If Paris is for lovers, it looks like Moscow is for families.
After passing on dinner with the French president to go on a date in the City of Light with his wife last month, President Obama took leave of his Russian hosts on Tuesday night to seclude himself in his Moscow hotel with his wife, Michelle, and their daughters.
The first family enjoyed a relaxed evening at the O2 Lounge, the super-chic, super-pricey rooftop club at the new Ritz-Carlton, although no doubt the Secret Service first cleared the place of most if not all of the swaggering tycoons and leggy models who flock to such Moscow venues.
They could not ask for a more scenic vista. The glass-enclosed O2 offers a panoramic view of Moscow, including Red Square and the Kremlin, all the more striking as the lingering summer sun sets after 10 p.m. The club is “a place to see and be seen,” as its Web site says — that is, unless you are a visiting president who after a day and a half of blinis, beluga and bilats (the diplo term for “bilateral meetings”) just wants to hang out with the clan.
The decision to brush off the Russians on one of his two nights here miffed some in the Moscow government who did not understand why he would not devote the scarce time to his hosts. Mr. Obama had dinner with President Dmitri A. Medvedev on Monday and lunch with him on Tuesday. But with the second dinner slot unavailable, he ended up having breakfast Tuesday with Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin, a known night owl not given to American-style early morning business meals.
The Obamas, though, wanted some downtime before getting back on Air Force One to head to Italy for three days of meetings at the Group of 8 summit meeting and, from there, to Ghana for a one-day visit.
Mr. Obama has seemed tired here, several times fumbling the pronunciation of Mr. Medvedev’s name and Mr. Putin’s title. Beginning a speech here, he mistakenly said he first met his wife in school instead of at the law firm where they actually met. And he misstated his younger daughter’s age.
He was quick on his feet, however, while addressing graduates of the New Economic School. In praising Russian culture, Mr. Obama cited painters, composers, dancers — and a hockey player, The Associated Press reported.
“As a resident of Washington, I continue to benefit from the contributions of Russians — specifically, from Alexander Ovechkin,” he said. Mr. Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals was the National Hockey League’s most valuable player.
And while Mr. Obama was tending to business, the first lady and the girls kept a separate schedule. Mrs. Obama visited an orphanage and then escorted the orphans to a special dance performance at a Moscow theater. Malia, 11, and Sasha, 8, did not accompany her, remaining instead with Mrs. Obama’s mother, Marian Robinson.
“They came with me to Russia,” the first lady told the Russian orphans. “They’re with their grandmother. I think they’re making dolls.”
Much attention here focused on the fact that the Obamas named their younger daughter Natasha, or Sasha for short. (In Russia, Sasha is actually a nickname for Alexandra, not Natasha.) The president told ABC News that he laughed at the sight of his younger daughter walking through the halls of the Kremlin with a trench coat on and her hands in the pockets.
Mr. Obama jokingly called her “Agent 99,” after the “Get Smart” character. “She just looked like she knew where she was going,” he said. “I thought she was going to pull out her shoe phone.”
Wild Thing's comment.......
Great instead of sending a world class leader of an industrialized nation to speak to the Russians, we send the Griswald family from National Lampoon's European Vacation.
I can understand the sentiment of wanting to go off and have dinner with his family but a president has responsibilities and from othis trip and the one to France Obama treats them more like he is a tourist.
My Father had an international business and one cardinal rule is that whether you feel like it or not, if you are invited out by your hosts you go.
Top that off with it was NOT to have a quiet night with family. That quiet night was at a super trendy, super expensive, club to party. That is not what I call a quiet night with family.
He is being an “ugly American” tourist when he travels on our dime. We can't afford this kind of self-centered amateurism.
"Mr. Obama has seemed tired here, several times fumbling the pronunciation of Mr. Medvedev’s name and Mr. Putin’s title. Beginning a speech here, he mistakenly said he first met his wife in school instead of at the law firm where they actually met. And he misstated his younger daughter’s age."
Ever notice how this guy always seems "tired"? When he was making gaffes left and right during the campaign, it was blown off as being "tired"....far as I know, George W. Bush was NEVER "tired" (although, as President, he was probably exhausted at times). Even Bill Clinton was never "tired". And during the campaign, John McCain, at age 73, never used the excuse of being tired.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:40 PM | Comments (7)
Anti-American With a Podium Obama Refuses to Admit US Won Cold War
Major Garrett interviewed President Obama after his little speech in Moscow. Even when he’s not apologizing he still downplays America’s standing in the world.
GARRETT: In your speech this morning, you said the Cold War reached its conclusion because of the actions of many nations over many years. Mr. President, are the Russian sensitivities so fragile that you can’t say the Cold War was won? The West won it? And it was led by a combination of Democratic and Republican American presidents?
OBAMA: Well, listen, the — I think that you just cut out Lech Walesa and the Poles. You just cut out Havel and the Czechs. There were a whole bunch of people throughout Eastern Europe who showed enormous courage.
And I think that it is very important in this part of the world to acknowledge the degree to which people struggled for their own freedom. I’m very proud of the traditions of Democratic and Republican presidents to lift the Iron Curtain.
But, you know, we don’t have to diminish other people in order to recognize our role in that history.
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Wild Thing's comment........
American patriots rolling in their graves at warp speed.
To admit the US won the cold war would be admitting that that the US did something good, Obama doesn't want to admit that. Obama was on the enemies side during the cold war. He still is, the marxist quisling.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (23)
Democrat Steny Hoyer:"U.S. must be open to second economic stimulus"
U.S. must be open to second economic stimulus: Hoyer
U.S. leaders should be open to the possibility of a second stimulus package to jolt the economy out of a recession still causing job losses, House of Representatives Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said on Tuesday.
But in the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid was more skeptical of the need for more stimulus spending -- an idea that rattled markets fearful that the economy is far from well and corporate earnings could suffer.
Reid said he saw no evidence another stimulus was needed, saying the "shoots" of economic recovery "are now appearing above the ground."
President Barack Obama led the charge for a two-year $787 billion stimulus package that his fellow Democrats who control Congress pushed through the House and Senate in February and he has argued it would help create or save up to 4 million jobs.
Despite continued large job losses, both Reid and Hoyer -- who spoke at separate news conferences -- said not enough time had passed since first package was approved for it to have the full impact on the U.S. economy, which has been in a recession since December 2007.
"It's certainly too early right now ... to say it's not working," Hoyer said of the initial stimulus package. "In fact we believe it is working. We believe there are a lot of people who otherwise would have been laid off, lost their jobs, who haven't done that."
Obama Adviser Says U.S. Should Mull Second Stimulus
The U.S. should consider drafting a second stimulus package focusing on infrastructure projects because the $787 billion approved in February was “a bit too small,” said Laura Tyson, an outside adviser to President Barack Obama.
The current plan “will have a positive effect, but the real economy is a sicker patient,” Tyson said in a speech in Singapore today. The package will have a more pronounced impact in the third and fourth quarters, she added, stressing that she was speaking for herself and not the administration.
~snipet~
Obama said last month that a second package isn’t needed yet, though he expects the jobless rate will exceed 10 percent this year. When Obama signed the first stimulus bill in February, his chief economic advisers forecast it would help hold the rate below 8 percent.
Worse Than Forecast
“The economy is worse than we forecast on which the stimulus program was based,” Tyson, who is a member of Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory board, told the Nomura Equity Forum. “We probably have already 2.5 million more job losses than anticipated.”
Republicans, including House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, seized on the latest labor numbers to attack the Obama administration’s handling of the economy.
Even Democrats have bemoaned the pace of the package’s implementation. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said on “Fox News Sunday” June 5 that congressional Democrats are “disappointed” stimulus funds weren’t distributed faster.
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Wild Thing's comment.......
and a third...and a fourth...and a fifth...and WHEN will this madness stop???
They’re going to destroy the dollar, and then the country.
This Congress, without a doubt the worst in history, has already spent us into bankruptcy and this idiot wants to spend more!!
....Thank you Richard for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Comments (9)
Obama Lauds Putin’s ‘Extraordinary Work’ in Visit to Mend Ties
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Barack Obama (L) and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (R) converse while having traditional Russian tea and snacks on a terrace at Putin's residence outside Moscow in Novo-Ogarevo on July 7, 2009. Obama praised Vladimir Putin's "extraordinary work" as Russia's president and now prime minister, but admitted their two nations still do not agree on everything.
Barack Obama (L) and first lady Michelle Obama look at a cat at Russian President's Dmitry Medvedev residence Gorki outside Moscow July 6, 2009. Visiting U.S. President Obama and Kremlin leader Medvedev agreed a target for cuts in nuclear arms and a deal to let U.S. troops fly across Russia at the start of a trip intended to mend strained ties.
Obama Lauds Putin’s ‘Extraordinary Work’ in Visit to Mend Ties
Obama lauded Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for his service to Russia, continuing a three-day push to overcome the animosities of the George W. Bush era.
“I am aware of not only the extraordinary work you have done on behalf of the Russian people in your previous role as prime minister -- as president -- but in your current role as prime minister,” Obama told Putin after more than an hour of talks at the premier’s residence near Moscow.
Obama and Putin’s protégé and successor Dmitry Medvedev reached agreements yesterday on nuclear arms and Afghanistan, which Obama said marked a “new start” in relations between the two nuclear superpowers.
The two leaders called for a reduction of atomic warheads by as much as a third, while Russia also agreed to allow the transit of U.S. arms shipments to troops fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.
While Obama, 47, and Medvedev, 43, “had a symbolically successful day” yesterday, the U.S. president’s meeting with Putin, 56, was “key” to the relationship because Putin is still the dominant political figure in Russia, said Andrew Kuchins, a scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
Obama's meeting with the man widely regarded as the most powerful in Russia is taking place on the second day of the American leader's visit to Moscow.
Obama praised Mr Putin for his "extraordinary work" as president and PM as the pair met for the first time.
Mr Putin said Mr Obama's own role would be key in improving relations.
The breakfast meeting was held at Mr Putin's dacha outside the capital.
Obama said: "I am aware of not only the extraordinary work that you've done on behalf of the Russian people in your previous role as prime minis-, uh, as president, but in your current role as prime minister."
Mr Putin said: "We link hopes for development of our relationship with your name."
Last week, Obama said he thought the former Russian president turned prime minister had "one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new".
Obama is later due to deliver a major speech on democracy, the global economy and the US-Russian relationship.
On Monday, after meeting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, he signed eight separate agreements with Russia.
They included a pact to negotiate a new arms control treaty to replace the 1991 Start I pact which expires in December.
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Wild Thing's comment.........
LOL I love that photo where Putin is the one in only obvious chair. hahaha
And this from the NY Times:
In Russia, Obama’s Star Power Does Not Translate
"Let other capitals go all weak-kneed when President Obama visits. Moscow has greeted Mr. Obama, who on Tuesday night concluded a two-day Russian-American summit meeting, as if he were just another dignitary passing through. Crowds did not clamor for a glimpse of him. Headlines offered only glancing or flippant notice of his activities. Television programming was uninterrupted; devotees of the Russian Judge Judy had nothing to fear. Even many students and alumni of the Western-oriented business school where Mr. Obama gave the graduation address on Tuesday seemed merely respectful, but hardly enthralled. “We don’t really understand why Obama is such a star,” said Kirill Zagorodnov, 25, one of the graduates. “It’s a question of trust, how he behaves, how he positions himself, that typical charisma, which in Russia is often parodied. Russians really are not accustomed to it. It is like he is trying to manipulate the public.” ... Some Obama aides said they were struck by the low-key reception here."
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM | Comments (12)
Sarah Palin To Speak At The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum
Governor Palin first speaking event will be at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum in Simi Valley, California. She has been invited to speak at the 50th Anniversary Gala of the Simi Valley Republican Women.
Guest Speaker:
Governor Palin
When:
Saturday, August 8, 2009
5:30 p.m. Cocktail Reception and Tours
6:30 p.m. Dinner
Where:
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum
40 Presidential Drive
Simi Valley, CA
Event:
Cocktail Attire
$150 per Person
Make Checks Payable to SVRWF
Deadline:
Reply by July 20th, 2009
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:48 AM | Comments (4)
Sports Writer Mike Lupica Blames McNair Death On death on 'American gun culture'
Steve McNair: Killed by 2nd Amendment?
Sports writer blames NFL star's death on 'American gun culture'
After former NFL and Super Bowl quarterback Steve McNair was found shot dead yesterday, the police said he was a victim of murder, but one well-known sports writer claims the athlete was a victim, instead, of the "American gun culture."
Mike Lupica is the author of more than two dozen sports-related books and novels, an ESPN TV personality, a regular writer for the New York Daily News and, apparently, no friend to gun-rights advocates.
In response to the discovery of McNair's body and that of his alleged mistress, both shot presumably by the semiautomatic pistol found at the crime scene, Lupica penned an article titled,
"Steve McNair's famous face becomes just another victim of American gun culture."
Lupica's article takes a couple of soft shots at the presence of firearms in America, commenting, "Where did the gun come from? Where it always comes from: Somewhere," and, "This weekend McNair was famous again, this time as a crime statistic, homicide victim, dead by gun," before concluding with a far more pointed comment:
"McNair is the 36th homicide victim in Nashville this year. That is down from 41 at the same time last year," Lupica writes. "Only in a country of gun lovers is that considered progress."
Second Amendment gun rights advocates, however, have criticized Lupica's comments as insulting and "ignorant" of the facts.
"Blaming the 'gun culture' for a criminal act is a calculated insult to the tens of millions of peaceable American gun owners who own firearms and do not engage in violence," responded David Codrea, Gun Rights Examiner for Examiner.com. "The fact is, guns in private hands are overwhelmingly used to save lives, most of the time without firing a shot."
Codrea told WND that especially given the circumstances – including the fact that police are not currently seeking suspects, which some are speculating indicates a likely murder-suicide scenario – blaming the deaths on "guns" constitutes a cop out.
Wild Thing's comment........
What a loony leftist this Mike Lupica is, sheesh. Blaming the gun instead of the person that shot McNair.
Gosh, and when was the last time they booked a gun, took gun fingerprints and a photo of the guilty gun then threw that gun in the jail cell.
Lupica and all of his kind, will use McNair’s death merely as an excuse to promote his anti-gun bias. Lupica and his ilk dance on the graves of the dead just to promote their gun grabbing, nanny state, anti-freedom agenda. No doubt Lupica is busy at a cocktail party with Sarah Brady tonight to celebrate another gun death.
....Thank you JohnE PFC U.S. Army for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:47 AM | Comments (8)
Obama Over His Head In Russia
Obama Over His Head in Russia. Talking to Puppet!
Lt. Col. Ralph Peters talking with Judge Andrew Napolitano who was subbing for Glenn Beck yesterday.
They discussed Obama's visit to Russia. Peters bluntly said that Obama is in over his depth in trying to deal with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. He also said that what Obama craves most is adulation and applause. He descriptively said, "Obama is a vampire who doesn't live on blood - he lives on applause."
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“The future does not belong to those who gather armies on a field of battle or bury missiles in the ground.”
President BARACK OBAMA, calling on the U.S. and Russia to overcome Cold War mistrust and reduce nuclear arsenals, in his commencement speech before graduates of Moscow’s New Economic School
Wild Thing's comment.......
"The future does not belong to those who gather armies on a field of battle "
Obama may have said this referring to the Cold War. but I take it as much more then that. We know how he feels about our troops and are they not an army on the field of battle??????? SCREW You Obama! We would have no future if it were not for our troops, we would not have had a future if it were not for our Veterans.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:46 AM | Comments (7)
Hospital Won't Back Obama Birth Claim
Barack Obama states in this letter on White House stationery that he was born at the Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu. The letter was posted by the medical center on its website.
Hospital won't back Obama birth claim
Honolulu's Kapi'olani Medical Center refuses to confirm White House letter
The hospital in Hawaii where Barack Obama claims he was born refuses to produce any documentation – or even confirm the claim – without permission of the president himself.
The Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu has posted on its website a letter on White House stationery dated Jan. 24 in which Obama wrote, "As a beneficiary of the excellence of Kapi'olani Medical Center – the place of my birth – I am pleased to add my voice to your chorus of supporters."
Kristy Watanabe, the public relations specialist for the hospital refused to confirm or deny the veracity of Obama's letter claiming he was born at the hospital.
"Our comment to everyone who has been calling is that federal law does not permit us to provide any more details concerning information [about Obama's birth] without authorization from Mr. Obama," Watanabe told WND.
She said the hospital had not contacted Obama for authorization.
When WND asked Watanabe why the hospital did not contact Obama to ask for authorization, especially given the number of phone calls the hospital was receiving with the request, Watanabe said: "This is our response, and we can't say anything more than that."
WND asked if a hypothetical elected official pretended to be born at the hospital, would federal law prevent her from disclosing that? If so, which federal law would that be?
"It's just our policy that without permission we don't ever answer questions about babies born in the hospital," she said.
This is not the first time Kapi'olani and other Hawaiian hospitals have slammed the door on WND's attempts to ascertain specifics about Obama's birth.
As reported last month, Kapi'olani declined to return any of at least four WND messages requesting comment, while Queen's Medical Center said in a prepared statement, "Due to patient privacy laws we cannot respond to your inquiries."
A private detective working in conjunction with WND's investigations last year into Obama's birthplace also visited the hospitals.
In a subsequent affidavit, he said the much-publicized online image of what the White House says is Obama's birth certificate doesn't prove any birth location.
"On October 31st, 2008, officials in Hawaii released a statement that they had examined the birth certificate, but failed to declare whether it was a Live Birth Certificate generated by a hospital with signatures of the attending physician or a 'Late Birth' Certificate of Hawaiian Birth that could have been obtained (for a child) who is one year old or older after birth by a simple affirmation of a family member," wrote investigator Jorge L. Baro, of Elite Legal Services in Florida.
"Only the 'Long Form' original certificate will answer all questions about the date and location of birth and confirm that it occurred in Hawaii," he said.
WND reported in the April issue of Whistleblower that Obama's step-grandmother in an interview transcript obtained by WND in Africa has claimed she was present at Obama's birth in Mombasa, Kenya.
WND is in possession of an affidavit submitted by Rev. Kweli Shuhubia, an Anabaptist minister in Kenya, who is the official Swahili translator for the annual Anabaptist Conference in Kenya, and a second affidavit signed by Bishop Ron McRae, the presiding elder of the Anabaptists' Continental Presbytery of Africa.
In his affidavit, Shuhubia asserts "it is common knowledge throughout the Christian and Muslim communities in Kenya that Barack Hussein Obama, Jr., was born in Mombasa, Kenya."
Shuhubia further states in his affidavit that he visited Obama's grandmother at her home in the village of Alego-Kogello, on Oct. 16, 2008, in order to conduct a telephone conference interview that would connect with McRae in the United States.
During the telephone interview, McRae specifically asked Sarah Obama two times, "Were you present when your grandson was born in Kenya."
"Both times she specifically replied, 'Yes,'" Shuhubia affirmed in the affidavit.
"Ms. Sarah Hussein Obama was very adamant that her grandson, Senator Barack Hussein Obama, was born in Kenya, and that she was present and witnessed his birth in Kenya, not the United States," Shuhubia continued in the affidavit.
"During the conversation, Ms. Sarah Hussein Obama never changed her reply that she was indeed present when Senator Barack Obama was born in Kenya," Shuhubia insisted in the affidavit.
The affidavit documents that President Obama's step-grandmother was asked the questions several times, both in her native language, Swahili, and in English, and that the Anabaptists conducting the interview were confident she understood clearly the questions that were asked.
"Ms. Sarah Hussein Obama never changed her reply that she was indeed present when Senator Barack Obama was born in Kenya," McRae swore in his affidavit
McRae affirmed that Obama's step-grandmother had been asked the question several times and a discussion over the conference call with those present with her in her home in Kogello made clear that she understood the question.
WND also reported the office of Hawaii Republican Gov. Linda Lingle has officially declined a request made in writing by WND in Hawaii to obtain a copy of Obama's hospital-generated long-form original birth certificate.
Wild Thing's comment........
This gets more and more interesting.
This has gone beyond absurd on Obama's part. How many other U.S. Presidents have felt compelled to post letters of adoration on the hospital web sites where they were born?
This search for truth is imperative to the Constitutions...the base law of our country.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:45 AM | Comments (2)
Gore Fight About Global Warming to Battle With Nazis
Al Gore: Climate-Change Fight Like Battle Against Nazis
Al Gore on Tuesday compared the battle against climate change with the struggle against the Nazis.
The former vice president said the world lacked the political will to act and invoked the spirit of Winston Churchill by encouraging leaders to unite their nations to fight climate change.
He also accused politicians around the world of exploiting ignorance about the dangers of global warming to avoid difficult decisions.
Speaking at Britain's Oxford University at the Smith School World Forum on Enterprise and the Environment, sponsored by the Times of London, Gore said, "Winston Churchill aroused this nation in heroic fashion to save civilization in World War II."
He added, "We have everything we need except political will, but political will is a renewable resource."
Gore admitted that it was difficult to persuade the public that the threat from climate change was as urgent as the threat from Nazi Germany.
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Wild Thing's comment......
Sen. Inhofe: ‘Gore Is Full of Crap,’ ‘All Recent Science…Confirms This Thing Is A Hoax’
Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) attacked Al Gore and global warming science, claiming that Gore was “full of crap” on global warming......
Appearing on Glenn Beck’s radio show and CNN television program, Inhofe said that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which concluded that global warming was real and caused by humans, used “one scientist.” Inhofe added: “All of the recent science…it confirms that I was right on this thing. This thing is a hoax.”
Thank you to Sen. Inhofe, too few politicans speak out about this baloney, insanity. Heck even sliding into Rinoville Newt did that global warming ad with Pelosi.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:40 AM | Comments (6)
July 07, 2009
A Life of Worth, Overlooked
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A Life of Worth, Overlooked
by Martha Gillis
My nephew, Brian Bradshaw, was killed by an explosive device in Afghanistan on June 25, the same day that Michael Jackson died. Mr. Jackson received days of wall-to-wall coverage in the media. Where was the coverage of my nephew or the other soldiers who died that week? There were several of them, and our family crossed paths with the family of another fallen soldier at Dover Air Force Base, where the bodies come "home." Only the media in Brian's hometown and where he was stationed before his deployment covered his death.
I remember Brian as a toddler wandering around in cowboy boots and hat, not seeing the need for any other clothing. He grew into a thoroughly decent person with a wry sense of humor. He loved wolves and history. Most Christmases, I gave him a biography or some analysis of the Civil War. He read such things for pleasure.
He had old-fashioned values and believed that military service was patriotic and that actions counted more than talk. He wasn't much for talking, although he could communicate volumes with a raised eyebrow.
He was a search-and-rescue volunteer, an altar boy, a camp counselor. He carried the hopes and dreams of his parents willingly on his shoulders. What more than that did Michael Jackson do or represent that earned him memorial "shrines," while this soldier's death goes unheralded?
It makes me want to scream.
MARTHA GILLIS
Springfield
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Relatives of Soldier Killed in Afghanistan Decry Lack of Coverage Amid Jackson Spectacle
A day before New York Rep. Peter King called Michael Jackson a “pervert” unworthy of nonstop media coverage, the aunt of a U.S. soldier killed in Afghanistan on the same day Jackson died asked why her nephew's death went virtually unnoticed while the King of Pop got memorial shrines across the country.
"Mr. Jackson received days of wall-to-wall coverage in the media," Martha Gillis wrote to the Washington Post. "Where was the coverage of my nephew or the other soldiers who died that week?"
Gillis' nephew, Lt. Brian Bradshaw, 24, died in Kheyl, Afganistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Bradshaw, of Steilacoom, Wash., was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division in Fort Richardson, Alaska. He was one of at least 13 U.S. soldiers to die in Afghanistan since Jackson's death on June 25.
Bradshaw's mother, Mary, said she agreed with Gillis, saying the nonstop coverage of Jackson's death has become "totally ridiculous" and laughable.
"I can watch the news many nights and there's no mention of what's going on in Afghanistan or Iraq and there's boys dying over there," Bradshaw told FOXNews.com. "Oh God, I can't talk."
Gillis, of Springfield, Va., could not be reached for comment. In her letter to the Washington Post, she described Bradshaw as a "thoroughly decent person with a wry sense of humor" who loved history, particularly the Civil War.
"He had old-fashioned values and believed that military service was patriotic and that actions counted more than talk," Gillis wrote. "He wasn't much for talking, although he could communicate volumes with a raised eyebrow."
Bradshaw, who graduated from Pacific Lutheran University, was the product of a military family. His father, Paul, is a retired National Guard helicopter pilot, and his mother is a retired Army nurse. Bradshaw was buried Monday following a service at St. John's Bosco Church in Lakewood, Wash.
"He was a search-and-rescue volunteer, an altar boy, a camp counselor," Gillis' letter continued. "He carried the hopes and dreams of his parents willingly on his shoulders. What more than that did Michael Jackson do or represent that earned him memorial 'shrines,' while this soldier's death goes unheralded?"
Gillis said the only media outlets that covered Bradshaw's death were in his hometown of Steilacoom, Wash., and those where he was stationed before his deployment in March.
Gillis' sentiment echoes that of King, the Long Island, N.Y., congressman who called on society to stop "glorifying" Jackson in a YouTube video posted on Monday.
King said Jackson had been excessively praised in the days after his death while society ignored the efforts of teachers, police officers and veterans. In the two-minute video, King called the "day in and day out" coverage of Jackson's death "too politically correct."
"Let's knock out the psychobabble," he said in the video, which was taped outside an American Legion Hall in his district. "He was a pervert, a child molester; he was a pedophile. And to be giving this much coverage to him, day in and day out, what does it say about us as a country? I just think we're too politically correct."
King, who is among the possible Republican contenders to run against Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, acknowledged that Jackson "may have been a good singer" and "did some dancing," but he blasted the King of Pop as someone who could not be trusted around children.
"There's nothing good to say about this guy," King continued. "But the bottom line is, would you let your child or grandchild be in the same room as Michael Jackson?"
The deaths of seven U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan on Monday received just 1/20th of the network television news coverage devoted to Jackson, according to an analysis by the Media Research Center, a Virginia-based news analysis organization.
The seven deaths garnered less than one minute of coverage on ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts combined, including just 13 seconds on CBS, compared to more than 13 minutes of Jackson-related news. That's a 60-to-1 disparity, the analysis found.
“This is a prime example of why network television news audiences are disappearing before our eyes," Media Research Center President Brent Bozell said. "There is no justification for determining that the death of a celebrity over a week ago merits 20 times more news coverage than the tragic deaths of American soldiers in Afghanistan."
Wild Thing's comment.........
Millions of Americans have their priorities all messed up. And I agree with Martha Gillis 100%.
I have to add that it is not just now with Michael Jackson. Our media should be telling the wonderful stories of
our troops and the tremendous things they have been doing. Too many civilians don't even know how our troops build schools, get water systems put in, build airports, hospitals, so many things. Then there are the stories of family members meeting up in the war where a father and son get to meet up in Baghdad or Kabul, or other places. Brothes both serving and other stories of how entire families are serving at the same time.
I know of one that the Dad is Coast Guard, the Mom is Army, the son is Navy and the daughter is Army. There entire family is serving our country.
And this from Mark:
These American military members died in Iraq this month:
Sergeant Justin J. Duffy
Specialist Christopher M. Kurth
Specialist Charles D. Parrish
Lance Corporal Robert D. Ulmer
Staff Sergeant Edmond L. Lo
Sergeant Joshua W. Soto
Captain Kafele H. Sims
Specialist Chancellor A. Keesling
And these members of our U.S. Armed Forces died in Afghanistan this month:
Sergeant Jones, Ricky D.
Specialist Munguia Rivas, Rodrigo A.
Command Master Chief Petty Officer Garber, Jeffrey J.
1st Sergeant Blair, John D.
Sergeant Smith, Paul G.
Staff Sergeant Melton, Joshua
Sergeant 1st Class Dupont, Kevin A.
Specialist O'Neill, Jonathan C.
Chief Warrant Officer Richardson Jr., Ricky L.
Specialist Silva, Eduardo S.
Lance Corporal Whittle, Joshua R.
Major Barnes, Rocco M.
Major Jenrette, Kevin M.
Staff Sergeant Beale, John C.
Specialist Jordan, Jeffrey W.
Specialist Griemel, Jarrett P. Specialist Hernandez I, Roberto A.
Sergeant Obakrairur, Jasper K.
Staff Sergeant Hall, Jeffrey A.
Private 1st Class Ogden, Matthew D.
Private 1st Class Wilson, Matthew W.
Let's remember and honor this day those whose deaths are truly impacting.
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....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 PM | Comments (9)
John Ziegler Podcast With Palin Spokesperson Meg Stapleton
After joining her family on a fishing trip Monday, Gov. Sarah Palin granted interviews to each of four news networks, and CNN was the first to get its story on the web. Unfortunately, the article contains only one direct quote consisting of nine words from the governor out of a ten-minute interview. The rest of CNN's web report is mostly background and reaction from Alaska.
CNN's Story .....CLICK HERE
CNN will likely air video from its interview in short segments throughout the day, as has been its custom when interviewing Palin in the past. CNN reporters Drew Griffin and Kathleen Johnston did report that the governor said that she announced her impending resignation because responding to a series of politically-motivated ethics complaints was making huge demands in terms of state resources such as time and money. The meritless complaints have taken away from the job she wanted to do for her constituents. But we already knew this, so the only thing really new from CNN's interview that it has posted so far is a teaser in the form of this money quote from Gov. Palin:
"I am not a quitter; I am a fighter."
Fox News was another one of the networks which interviewed the governor, and that interview -- or at least a portion of it -- will air on "America's Newsroom" with Megyn Kelly and Bill Hemmer later this morning at 9:00 AM.
ABC was also granted an interview, and the network will show it on its "Good Morning America" program.
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John Ziegler talks with Palin spokesperson Meg Stapleton about Sarah Palin's decision to resign as Alaska Governor
RIGHT CLICK......to hear this interview........
http://www.1260.am/programming/podcasts/popup/?ID=1864
Wild Thing's comment......
John Ziegler talked with Gov. Palin's personal spokesperson Meg Stapleton about the decision to resign. Ziegler asked Stapleton about a report by NBC's Andrea Mitchell Friday that Gov. Palin was "through with politics, period." Stapleton told Ziegler, "Someone is misleading Andrea."
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:55 AM | Comments (8)
Some Fun With Our Troops ~ In Country
Soldier Does Harry Caray Impressions
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Drill sergeant in Iraq drilling ducks and geese
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The Tax Drill Sergeant
Wild Thing's comment.....
LOL I especially love the one with the ducks. We have the best most wonderful troops in the world.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:50 AM | Comments (4)
More Tea Party Photos ~ Ca.,Omaha, Dallas, Philly
Tea Party Woodland Hills , California
250 - 300 People attended
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Tea Party Omaha, NE. This is the group Lynn and Richard are with
Guest speakers include Congressman Lee Terry and author Michael LeMieux
This is from the 9.12 Group in the photo
About The 912 Project-Nebraska
The 9 Principles
1. America is good.
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.
The 12 Values
Honesty
Reverence
Hope
Thrift
Humility
Charity
Sincerity
Moderation
Hard Work
Courage
Personal Responsibility
Gratitude
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Tea Party Southfork Ranch Dallas, Texas.........Tom thank you for telling me about Southfork Ranch
More than 25,000 attend Southfork Ranch tea party, organizer says. An estimated crowd of 25,000 to 35,000 people attended the Independence Day tea party at Southfork Ranch on Saturday, one organizer said.
While the official figures haven’t been tallied yet, Debbie Meyers said the bulk of the crowd arrived after 7:30 p.m. to avoid the heat of the day. The temperature reached a high of 101 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
“I was standing on the stage and couldn’t see the end of the people,” said Meyers
And this from Michelle Malkin blog. Michelle Malkin was at the Southfork Ranch Tea Party.
I returned from the Dallas Tea Party this weekend inspired and motivated by the massive turnout of citizen activists. The official county estimate of the day-long event’s crowd: 37,000!
The Tea Party organizers aren’t surprised by the MSM games of lowballing numbers. And they are not letting it distract them from their agenda. Behind the scenes, they are mobilizing and organizing their troops; connecting political newcomers and old hands; and working hard down at the local level to restore conservative values and principles in their city councils and state legislatures. These efforts won’t make front-page headlines or the cable news. But they will yield dividends for all of us in the form of candidates, initiatives, and reforms driven by the grass-roots instead of the Beltway establishment.
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July 4th - Philadelphia - Independence Hall:
Independence Hall Tea Party III was quite a success, surprising even to us. At the highest point 2100 people
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:49 AM | Comments (6)
Obama's Stupid New ROE As Taliban Fighters Dress As Women To Escape Marines
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Wild Thing's comment.........
Stupid, STUPID and dangerous for our troops!
So much for reading history and why being soooooo careful ONLY kills our troops. And of course it would be too much to ask Obama to actually do some istening of our military and what would work best for them.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:47 AM | Comments (4)
Mullah Sprung From GITMO Jail Now Leads Taliban Fighting US Troops in Afghanistan
A former Gitmo detainee is leading the Taliban in Afghanistan in fighting the US in Afghanistan's Helmand Province.
KABUL, Afghanistan
As Marine Corps forces roll into southern Afghanistan, they face an enemy familiar to US officials -- Mullah Zakir, a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner who now leads a reconstituted Taliban.
Abdul Qayum Zakir, also known as Abdullah Ghulam Rasoul, is from Helmand Province and has taken a circuitous route to become head of the radical Islamic group.
Zakir was a senior fighter during the Taliban regime in the 1990s. In a memorandum prepared for his administrative review board at Guantanamo, Zakir apparently "felt it would be fine to wage jihad against Americans, Jews, or Israelis if they were invading his country."
And he acknowledged that he was "called to fight jihad in approximately 1997," when he joined the Taliban.
In 2001, he surrendered to US and Afghan forces in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif as the regime was collapsing. He spent the next several years in custody, was transferred to Guantanamo around 2006, then to Afghanistan government custody in late 2007, and was eventually released around May 2008. American officials won't say why he was let go and have not released a photograph of him.
Zakir wasted little time rekindling his relationship with the Taliban, especially its inner shura, or leadership council, based in Pakistan. According to some accounts, Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar appointed Zakir as a senior military commander in mid-2008. He quickly developed a reputation as a charismatic leader.
The Taliban, apparently concerned that some governors and military commanders had become ineffective and bracing for the growing US military presence, announced its own new strategy in April.
They called it Operation Nasrat ("victory") and pledged to use "ambushes, offensives, explosions, martyrdom-seeking attacks, and surprise attacks." The Taliban also warned that they would attack "military units of the invading forces, diplomatic centers, mobile convoys and high-ranking officials" of the Afghan government.
As Marines move through Helmand, they will be on the lookout for Zakir and his support network. But like many senior Taliban leaders, Zakir spends a lot of time in Pakistani cities like Quetta and Karachi, frightened he'll be killed in an attack.
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OH But that is not enough , because you see Obama wants to make sure the Taliban has every chance possible not to be taken out. ~ Wild Thing
Directive Re-emphasizes Protecting Afghan Civilians
WASHINGTON
A new tactical directive for coalition forces serving in Afghanistan re-emphasizes the importance of preventing civilian casualties.
Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan, released the directive July 2. It builds on previous tactics and is much clearer about use of close-air support, searching Afghan houses and protecting Afghan cultural and religious sensitivities. All coalition forces in Afghanistan must follow the directive.
Taliban fighters use a tactic of engaging coalition forces from positions that expose Afghan civilians to danger. Close-air support of coalition and Afghan personnel engaged in a May 4 firefight with the Taliban in Afghanistan’s Farah province killed numerous civilians. The Taliban cite such incidents to lead people to believe the NATO-led force does not care for Afghan civilians.
McChrystal’s tactical directive emphasizes that ISAF is in Afghanistan to protect the people from the insurgents. “Like any insurgency, there is a struggle for support and will of the population,” he wrote. “Gaining and maintaining that support must be our overriding operational imperative – and the ultimate objective of every action we take.”
Still, the directive does not prevent commanders from protecting the lives of their troops engaged in direct combat.
The directive is general because the nature of a counterinsurgency is complex and no one can foresee all eventualities, officials said. McChrystal expects commanders at all levels to understand the directive and use it when planning and conducting operations.
“Following this intent requires a cultural shift within our forces – and complete understanding at every level,” he wrote.
The tactical guidance takes the new strategy for Afghanistan as its base, recognizing that ISAF and Afghan forces may win tactical victories against the Taliban, but lose the war. “We must avoid the trap of winning tactical victories – but suffering strategic defeats – by causing civilian casualties or excessive damage and thus alienating the people,” McChrystal wrote.
Specifically, the directive calls on commanders “to scrutinize and limit the use of force like close air support against residential compounds and other locations likely to produce civilian casualties.” Bombing residential compounds will be allowed only under very limited conditions, the directive says. For example, if a coalition force comes in contact with Taliban fighters and the enemy takes cover in a residential compound, the NATO force can break contact and wait out the enemy rather than calling for close-air support.
Another portion of the directive states that any search of Afghan homes will be done by Afghan security forces with the support of local authorities.
“No ISAF forces will enter or fire upon, or fire into a mosque or any religious or historical site except in self-defense,” McChrystal wrote in the directive. “All searches and entries for any other reason will be conducted by the Afghan National Security Forces.”
The directive is not a departure from past practices, officials said, noting that killing civilians never has been an International Security Assistance Force tactic.
“Working together with our Afghan partners, we can overcome the enemy’s influence and give the Afghan people what they deserve: a country at peace for the first time in three decades, foundations of good governance and economic development,” McChrystal said.
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Wild Thing's comment......
I blame Obama this comes from him, he is the CIC and he may not have let the prisoner out, that was under Bush. BUT Obama is the one that has chnged the ROE.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:45 AM | Comments (2)
NFL USO Coaches Tour To Iraq To Vist Our Troops
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden poses for a photo with U.S. Army Capt. Erica Chin of Killeen, TX, who wears Gruden's Super Bowl ring, during a USO meet-and-greet at Forward Operating Base Maraz in Mosul, Iraq, July 2, 2009. Gruden and a host of other NFL coaching legends are in the combat zone as part of a week-long USO tour to bring troops a touch of home during the July 4th holiday, signing autographs, posing for photos and boosting morale. (Photo by Mike Theiler/USO Photo)
Commanding General of Multi-National Force - Iraq, Gen. Raymond Odierno (3rd,L), poses with NFL coaching legends (L-R) John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens), Jeff Fisher (Tennessee Titans), Tom Coughlin (NY Giants), Jon Gruden (formerly Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders) and Bill Cowher (formerly Pittsburgh Steelers) on the airfield at Forward Operating Base Warrior near Kirkuk in Iraq, July 2, 2009. (Photo by Mike Theiler/USO Photo)
Bill Cowher, the former head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, poses with U.S. Air Force SRA Jonathan Echevarria of Milwaukee, Wisc,, who wears Cowher's Super Bowl ring at a USO meet-and-greet at Forward Operating Base Warrior near Kirkuk, Iraq, July 2, 2009. The coaches, wearing the colors of the U.S. Army's First Cavalry Division from Fort Hood, Tex, are stepping off the sideline into the combat zone as part of a week-long USO tour to bring troops a touch of home during the July 4th holiday, signing autographs, posing for photos and boosting morale. (Photo by Mike Theiler/USO Photo)
NFL coaches (L-R) Bill Cowher (formerly Pittsburgh Steelers), Jon Gruden (formerly Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders), Tom Coughlin (NY Giants), John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens) and Jeff Fisher (Tennesee Titans) pose with their U.S. Army pilots CW2 Michael Mignogna of Warrington, Penn (L) and CW4 Jonathan Case of Fort Dix, NJ, prior to their departing Kuwait, July 1, 2009, for a flight to Baghdad, Iraq, where they will meet with U.S. troops to boost morale, sign autographs and join in July 4th festivities as part of a USO-sponsored tour. (Photo by Mike Theiler/USO Photo
U.S. Army CSM Larry Wilson (L) joins hands with NFL coaching legends (L-R) Jon Gruden (formerly Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders), Tom Coughlin (NY Giants), John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens), Jeff Fisher (Tennessee Titans) and Bill Cowher (formerly Pittsburgh Steelers) prior to a USO meet-and-greet at Forward Operating Base Warrior near Kirkuk, Iraq, July 2, 2009. The coaches, wearing the colors of the US Army's First Cavalry Division from Fort Hood, Tex, are stepping off the sideline into the combat zone as part of a week-long USO tour to bring troops a touch of home during the July 4th holiday, signing autographs, posing for photos and boosting morale. (Photo by Mike Theiler/USO Photo)
.S. troops, who are fans of former Pittsburgh Steeler head coach Bill Cowher, wait in line with trademark Terrible Towels and autograph sheets for their chance to meet a group of NFL coaching legends at Forward Operating Base Maraz in Mosul, Iraq, July 2, 2009. The NFL coaches are in the region as part of a week-long USO tour to bring troops a touch of home during the July 4th holiday, signing autographs, posing for photos and boosting morale. (Photo by Mike Theiler/USO Photo)
It is clear we have the right team. And we know we have the right mission – meet as many troops as possible and thank them for their service.
The trip to Iraq is never easy, and this tour is no exception. Our group met up from various initial points of departure in Washington, D.C. where we boarded a 13-hour flight to Kuwait City. After clearing customs in Kuwait, we got a ride from the commercial airport to a U.S. military base in order to catch a military flight to Baghdad.
After meeting and greeting the service members in the terminal, the coaches boarded two small C-12 military airplanes to make the final leg of our journey. We landed in Baghdad around midnight local time and made our way to our quarters, not arriving and getting settled until close to 2 a.m. We had been traveling for more 30 hours, and it was time for a few precious hours of sleep.
Our first full day in Iraq began with an 06:00 wake-up call. After breakfast, our first stop was the office of General Ray Odierno.
Odierno is a four-star general who commands the entire coalition war effort in Iraq. That is the first thing you should know about him. The second thing you should know about General Odierno — a former tight end on the Army football team — is that he is a huge Giants fan. A resident of Rockaway, N.J., General Odierno wrote a letter to Coughlin prior to the 2007 season, wishing the Giants good luck in the upcoming campaign. This letter led to a strong friendship between the coach and the general, with General Odierno now having visited and addressed the Giants several times.
In his office on the morning of Day 2 of our trip, General Odierno gave the coaches a briefing of the current situation in Iraq. Now is a time of great transition here, as June 30, 2009, marked the date that U.S. troops withdrew from Iraqi cities. Nevertheless, 130,000 U.S. service members remain in Iraq outside the cities in U.S. bases. General Odierno’s message to the coaches was the same as he has been giving major news outlets in recent days — that tremendous progress has been made in Iraq, but there are still good days and bad days and a need to proceed with caution.
From the general’s office, our group, which included the coaches and General Odierno, boarded Black Hawk helicopters for a quick two-minute flight to the nearby airfield. From there, we boarded C-35 and C-12 airplanes headed north to Mosul.
From Mosul, we flew southeast to Kirkuk, where we visited Forward Operating Base (FOB) Warrior. Upon entering the Dining Facility (DFAC), the coaches were presented with “Infantry One” football jerseys. They then hosted a two-hour meet-and-greet that included a rousing visit from the base football team.
Following the meet-and-greet, the coaches ate with 33 hand-picked troops who had served with great distinction. It was then back to the planes and back to Baghdad.
Trip of a lifetime
Coughlin is one of five current or former head coaches who are in Iraq on the inaugural NFL-USO Coaches Tour
“It’s some trip – unbelievable,” Coughlin said today by phone from Baghdad. “The soldiers were so gracious and they were so anxious to see us. They are truly genuine in their expression of joy that we’re here for them, that we would take the time to come and see them. And that has been very, very meaningful for us. They have treated us extremely well and shown genuine excitement that we’re here. We have expressed to them our thoughts on why we truly believe in what they’re doing and are thankful for why we’re here.”
Coughlin, a fervent admirer of the men and women who serve in the Armed Forces, was originally invited to Iraq by Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the commanding general of the multi-national force in Iraq. Odierno is a Rockaway, N.J. native and Giants fan who has made several visits to Giants Stadium and the team’s training camp in Albany.
When Coughlin was approached by the NFL about traveling to Iraq, he made it clear he wanted to spend time with Gen. Odierno. That has not yet been an issue, because the general traveled with all of the coaches on Thursday.
Coughlin and Co. came together Tuesday at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C. They took a 13-hour flight to Kuwait.
“It’s a long trip,” Coughlin said. “We were three hours delayed coming out of Dulles and we flew all night. We lost July 1 – we don’t have a clue as to what happened to July 1. You fly up over the top. It seemed like in a very few minutes we were at Albany and we flew over Greenland. It’s a long flight, but we flew United and the first-class accommodations were fabulous, as good as you’re going to get. We were supposed to land at 5:15 (p.m.)and we landed a little after seven.”
After spending a few hours in Kuwait, the group boarded a prop plane for Baghdad. That’s when the journey started to get very interesting.
“When you’re 15 minutes outside of Baghdad you have to shut all the lights off on the plane,” Coughlin said. “The first part of the adventure was going in there; you land in sandstorms and darkness. The airport in Kuwait is a bustling place and then when you get over to Iraq it’s a little bit different.”
The coaches and the rest of the traveling party were met at the airport by Gen. Odierno’s Chief of Staff, perhaps a dozen soldiers and, as Coughlin said, “all kinds of people.” They were driven to their hotel, which is actually one of Saddam Hussein’s former palaces that he had built on a man-made lake. Immediately after checking in at about 1 a.m., the coaches were briefed about the following day’s activities.
"None of us could sleep – we were all wired,” Coughlin said. “We were all up at five – all five of us are in one room.”
After breakfast, the coaches were transported to Gen. Odierno's headquarters at Al Faw, which is another former
Hussein palace. The general briefed the coaches on the recent developments in Iraq, including this week’s American pull back out of Iraqi cities.
At about 8:15 a.m. (1:15 eastern time), the group took a helicopter to the airport, where they boarded three C-35 jets and flew to Mosul, the site of an American military base in northern Iraq.
“It is a hot spot,” Coughlin said, and he wasn’t referring to the temperature. “If there is any terrorist activity, it has occurred more often up there. They lost three soldiers two days ago up there. This is what the general meant when he told me he wanted to take me to the most remote spots in Iraq and talk to the soldiers. General Bob Brown is the commander of the post up there.
“When you get up there, you know you’re in a war zone. The soldiers are all armed, they’re all on combat alert. There are concrete abutments on the outside of the buildings and sandbags on the inside of the windows. It’s hotter than hot. It’s in the 125-degree area. And that was prior to the sandstorms.”
On the base, Coughlin met a former West Point teammate of Mike Sullivan, the Giants’ wide receivers coach. Odierno and the coaches were then driven to the center of the base. The coaches each sat at a table and perhaps a thousand soldiers came through to get autographs signed, take photos or just chat with the visitors.
“This went on for quite a while, but we made sure we accommodated everybody,” Coughlin said.
From Mosul, the coaches were flown to an airbase near Kirkuk, which is not exactly a place for rest and relaxation.
“It is another extremely fortified war zone,” Coughlin said. “We were met at the airport by all the brass, because General Odierno is with us. At this particular spot we went to a huge mess hall. Every place we go we’re introduced and we get a nice response, nice applause. In this place all five of us sat down at a table and they tried to organize it with each person coming through with pictures of us to sign. We signed them and then we stood or sat and took pictures with all the soldiers. That was again a lengthy time, but the soldiers were all very appreciative. The guys are great with the soldiers. They’ve really responded well.
“We had been introduced at Mosul by the commander of the troops and sent right to our tables. At Kirkuk, we were introduced by a guy who would introduce you at a boxing match. It was one of the soldiers (who said), ‘Heeeeere’s Jeff Fisher.’ I spoke at this place. Then we ate with the troops in the mess hall and we sat down and talked to them.”
Coughlin said it’s impossible to ignore the searing heat in Iraq.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “We were in a chopper that had its windows open. We got in the helicopter where the hot air poured in on you and it felt like it was 140 degrees. It was hot. Because of the sandstorms we’ve had some sand cover, so the sun is not always beating right down on us.”
In Kirkuk, Coughlin and Odierno did a live interview on FOX and Friends. Coughlin was asked about the similarity in leadership principles between football and the military.
“What the General always talks to me about is team,” Coughlin said. “I remember back in ’07, as we got ready to go to training camp, I received a letter on the eve of training camp from General Odierno. His message was about team. He was very flattering in his comments about the soldiers here in Iraq, the young women and men who represent our country. He talked about their beliefs; their belief in their leaders, but most of all their belief in each other. He talked about team and the way you have to serve each other in order to understand what the team concept is all about. His message has always been one of team and the message the New York Giants preach is always that of team.”
Coughlin was asked if the trip enabled him to gain a different perspective on the men and women serving in Iraq.
“I have been so impressed and so inspired by the attitude,” Coughlin said. “It is always one of attitude, whether we visit the Walter Reed hospital following the Super Bowl and talk to those wounded troops, their attitude to try and get back to serve their country, to rejoin their group. Or whether it is the attitude of these young men and women who are serving our country here, who believe in what they are doing. We are always impressed by that. I know that the troops here think that we inspire them, but believe me, they inspire us as well.”
After the visit in Kirkuk, Coughlin and the other coaches returned to Baghdad, where they attended a reception on a third-floor balcony at Al Faw.
“The balcony was huge,” Coughlin said. “There must have been 500 soldiers on that porch. Bill Cowher spoke for us. We broke off again and did 2½ hours of autograph signings for the soldiers and again the reception was outstanding. Then we returned to where we’re staying and had another meeting in terms of what is planned for tomorrow.”
Coughlin said he hoped to catch up on his sleep Thursday night. But he is excited about visiting many more soldiers and Marines when the coaches visit three more military bases on Friday.
“We spend a lot of time with them,” Coughlin said. “We ask them where they’re from and they tell us about their favorite NFL team. There are lots of guys from New York. And there are a lot of Steelers fans. The Steelers are well-represented everywhere. We have a pretty good representation. The Giants are pretty popular. You’ll meet people from New England who tell you they don’t like you or tell you they’re not from New England and thanks for beating the Patriots.
“When I spoke, I expressed that the NFL and the military has often inspired one another,” Coughlin said. “We want to thank them, because they put their lives in danger every day, so that we can have the freedoms at home that, quite frankly, a majority of the people take for granted. We’re here to tell them that we’re very, very proud to be here with our soldiers.”
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Wild Thing's comment.........
How wonderful, this is GREAT! I love to see our troops happy like this and it is good for these Coaches to get a chance to thank them. Just a trip like this can make a difference, these guys will remember this forever.
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....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:40 AM | Comments (3)
July 06, 2009
Robert McNamara Dead Good Riddance You POS! NO Mourning Here
Robert Strange McNamara (born June 9, 1916, in Oakland, California ) is an American business executive and the former 8th United States Secretary of Defense. McNamara served as Defense Secretary from 1961 to 1968, during the Vietnam War. After holding that position he served as President of the World Bank from 1968 until 1981.
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Wild Thing's comment........
“What we still don’t understand is why you Americans stopped the bombing of Hanoi. You had us on the ropes. If you had pressed us a little harder, just for another day or two, we were ready to surrender! It was the same at the battles of TET. You defeated us! We knew it, and we thought you knew it. But we were elated to notice your media w as definitely helping us. They were causing more disruption in America than we could in the battlefields. We were ready to surrender. You had won!”
General Vo Nguyen Giap in his memoirs
DEAD at 93 years old....Long overdue
He abused that power, he experimented with the lives of good men, then turned his back on them.
He forced our military to fight with one hand tied behind their backs. Then he gave our military a weapon that would not work and stuck with these weapons after he knew soldiers were dying because their weapons would jam and there wasn't enough ammunition.
From Wikipedia:
"McNamara ordered the weapon be adopted unmodified, in its current configuration, for immediate issue to all services, despite receiving reports noting several deficiencies with the M16 as a service rifle, including the lack of a chrome-lined bore and chamber, the 5.56 mm projectile's instability under Arctic conditions, and the fact that large quantities of 5.56 mm ammunition required for immediate service were not available."
He treated our soldiers as if they were inconsequential pawns. Remember when he told the soldiers they were using too many bullets.
He made money on a book and never did a bloody thing for Vietnam vets.
He harbored his own son and his draft-dodging friends in his house when they came to DC to demonstrate against it. This was a man who later praised the antiwar left and wouldn’t lift a hand (not even from the sale of his “book” about Vietnam) to help veterans of the war.
This was a man so desperate to be accepted back into the Georgetown party circuit of rich liberals that he would repudiate the war he crafted and the men who fought it (Robert Novak wrote that he’d been running around Georgetown for years trashing the war). This was a man I saw on a tv interview one time in the 80s shrieking “I was against it”, when he was its architect.
As for Agent Orange, McNamara knew about its potential deadly effects even as it was being used in Vietnam, and long before veterans came home to die or waste away from the herbicide's after effects.
McNamara remained silent for years as the government stonewalled Vietnam veterans who claimed Agent Orange caused their cancer or nausea or violent rages or numbness in limbs or birth defects in their children. Veterans' pleas for testing, treatment, and compensation continued to be ignored.
Finally, in 1983, Judge George Pratt, Jr. agreed to hear the lawsuit of Vietnam Veterans against Dow Chemical for conspiring to keep hidden the truth about Agent Orange. For the first time, documents released by Pratt provided a detailed look at what the company and the government knew about dioxin danger and when. In 1965, when the government was purchasing millions of pounds of Agent Orange, Dow's internal report stated that dioxin could be "exceptionally toxic" to humans and that "fatalities have been reported in the literature." Pratt noted that McNamara attended meetings where the human health hazards of dioxin were discussed. In addition, said Pratt, McNamara's Defense Department commissioned a study which noted the "health dangers of the herbicide" in 1967.
Barry M. Goldwater once said McNamara was the most dishonest man he ever met.
They can roll it up in a VC flag and roll him into a pile of water buff dung. My Dad hated McNamara with a passion. He is smiling in Heaven now to know McNamara is dead.
I will not say “God rest his soul”. And for you Democrats that lurk here, this will not interfere with his ability to vote Democrat he can be added to your DEAD people ACORN voting list.
Ok next,.......Walter Cronkite, Kerry, Hanoi Jane.... please and thank you ever so. Just sayin.....
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:37 PM | Comments (20)
Joe Biden Says It's "Corny" To Be Proud of Being An America
Questioning Joe Biden’s ‘Corny’ Patriotism
by Ned Rice
For those of you who take it as an article of faith that Dan Quayle was the dumbest, most out-of-touch vice president who ever served this nation, I’m afraid I have some bad news for you.
Yesterday, Independence Day, Vice President Joe Biden attended a naturalization ceremony at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq. During the ceremony 237 U.S. servicemen from 59 countries, including Iraq, were sworn in as citizens of the United States of America.
At the conclusion of this solemn, undoubtedly moving and inspirational occasion, and in the presence of his own son Beau (currently serving in the 261st Theater Tactical Signal Brigade, Delaware Army National Guard), this is what the Vice President of the United States had to say:
”As corny as it sounds,” he told the troops, “Damn, I’m proud to be an American!”
Where to begin?
OK, if you were really proud to be an American, Mr. Vice President, you wouldn’t find it necessary to preface that declaration with the words, “as corny as it sounds”. If you were really proud to be an American those words wouldn’t sound corny to you. Then again, if you were really proud to be an American you wouldn’t be serving under a President who spent his last trip overseas apologizing to the world on behalf of America. You wouldn’t be serving under a President who either doesn’t recognize or simply doesn’t understand the concept of American exceptionalism. You wouldn’t, it could be reasonably argued, be a member of the current Democrat Party.
Joe Biden is known in Democratic circles as a “shoot-from-the-hip” type of guy, which means he’s known for shooting his mouth off on subjects he knows nothing about without the slightest regard for where he is or who he’s speaking to. You might say that’s his trademark, along with the serial plagiarism and the hair plugs. Well, yesterday’s outburst was vintage Biden. It simply never occurred to America’s Number Two (as he’s known around my house) that it might be sort of…oh, I don’t know, moronic?…to stand up in front of hundreds of U.S. soldiers in a combat theater and tell them you think it’s corny to feel proud of your country. Then again, Biden knows virtually nothing about the military despite his (much boasted-about) service on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as any English-speaking adult who’s analyzed Biden’s, uh, “thoughts” on Iraq could tell you. Like Vice President Dick Cheney (who I’m sure doesn’t think it’s corny to be proud to be an American), Vice President Biden sought and was granted five military deferments during the Vietnam War. So like Senator Barbara Boxer, who recently scolded a brigadier general for (correctly and properly, as it turns out) addressing her as “M’am”, Biden might be forgiven for the stupidity of today’s remarks on the grounds that’s he’s simply ignorant of military culture. Which I guess would be something else for him not to be proud of. Then again, it could be worse. Michelle Obama only started being proud of her country about a year and a half ago, and she’s the First Lady!
But let’s say a reasonable person might, under certain circumstances, be feeling somewhat reticent, somewhat bashful about a full-throated declaration of pride in being an American. Like, say, after visiting the Bill Clinton Presidential Library or attending a deceased senator’s memorial service with Al Franken or something like that. OK, fair enough. Personally I don’t get it, but I suppose that, in some hypothetical situation, the words, “I’m proud to be an American” might strike some hypothetical person as being somewhat corny. But if there’s one person, in one scenario, who should never, ever feel that it’s corny to be proud to be an American, it would be:
- The Vice President of the United States.
- Surrounded by hundreds of U.S. servicemen and women.
- Who have just become U.S. citizens.
- In a war zone.
- On Independence Day.
- You stupid moron, you.
So on this July the Fourth weekend, please take a moment to contemplate the implications of Joe Biden’s casual, unscripted (thus, highly revealing) thoughts on what it means to him to be an American. And after careful consideration if you still think an arrogant, grinning, eye-blinking, speech-stealing simpleton like Joe Biden is qualified to be Vice President of the United States– and Sarah Palin is not!– I’d love to hear from you in care of this website.
As for the rest of you: at the risk of sounding too corny, happy Independence Day to you all, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.
Wild Thing's comment.......
I love what the writer said, great article.
"As corny as it sounds," Biden said at the ceremony, "Damn I'm proud to be an American."
Then send a thank-you note to the former Commander in Chief, George W. Bush, won't you Joe? You know, the guy that you and your bossed trashed for sending American troops to liberate the Iraqi people?
Joe Biden and Michelle Obama please leave our country for good asap thank you very much.
......Thank you RAC for sending this to me.
RAC has a website that is awesome. 336th Assault Helicopter Company
13th Combat Aviation Battalion - 1st Aviation Brigade - Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:55 AM | Comments (8)
Tea Parties Counterattack "bad guys on bad mission"
'We're gonna be in a state of socialism here if we don't stop this nonsense'
Independence Day is upon us, and the Tea Party Patriots have over 800 events planned all across the nation! From events expecting thousands of people, like Tulare, California, and Dallas, Texas, to small town parades across the nation, the Tea Party Patriots will be out in force celebrating the birth of the greatest nation on earth.
From Ketchikan, Alaska, to Fishkill, New York; from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Sioux Falls, South Dakota; from Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi to Kihei, Hawaii, and hundreds of other locations spanning every great state of this nation, we will be out in force at Fourth of July parades, tea parties, and fireworks displays. From the country fair, to mega celebrations in the cities, the Tea Party Patriots will be present.
West Palm Beach, Fla., were typical of the angst vented against recent government action.
Fort Lauderdale Tea Party protesters declare: End 'fiscal lunacy'
A hearse with a sign on the window reading "born free but taxed to death" drives past protesters lined up in front of the Federal Courthouse on Broward Blvd. This was one of many Republican-led protests against taxes, modeled after the Boston Tea Party (in spirit, anyway; there are no ships of tea to unload) demonstration against taxes keyed to the holiday. (Mike Stocker, Sun Sentinel / July 4, 2009)
Organizers estimated that the last such protest in Fort Lauderdale, held in April, drew about 5,000 people.
Initially Saturday's demonstration in Fort Lauderdale was going to be held in a park, but lack of permits shifted the rally to Broward Boulevard, in front of the federal courthouse.
Under a blazing sun, the crowd chanted, "USA.'' Some wore T-shirts with messages like "Obama: How you like him now?'' and "Send Barry back to Kenya.''
Republican Allen West, who unsuccessfully challenged Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Klein last year, gave a speech promising to help win seats in 2010 and 2012 and put the country back on a more conservative course.
"For Fourth of July it's really remarkable that people would stand out in the heat to express their distrust of our government,'' said radio host Joyce Kaufman on WFTL, AM 850.
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Arizona Tea Party
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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Many Americans from coast-to-coast turned Independence Day 2009 into a "counterattack" against what they call the high-spending, freedom-shrinking policies of President Barack Obama and members of Congress, irrespective of party affiliation.
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Yesterday's event attracted participants of all ages, including Jenna Wessels, 18, of Fort Lauderdale, and her 19-year-old sister, Katie. They and their father, David Wessels, were inspired to take part in two South Florida tea parties the same day.
America needs to wake up and realize what's going on with our country," Jenna said.
"They're not going to be able to afford anything after they get taxed," added Katie. "Our generation is going to be even more in debt than they already are."
Val Anderson of Lake Worth, Fla., said he showed up to protest "the excessive, obscene government spending."
Referring to higher taxes on the way, he sported a suggestive sign reading, "Bend over, here it comes."
Jeanne Barnett, right, of Royal Palm Beach, Fla., wears gigantic ears to demonstrate that politicians of all parties "are not listening to we the people." The schoolteacher says she doesn't want children to suffer when lawmakers "spend all our money and just blow it." (WND photo / Joe Kovacs)
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HAWAII ......Kona Tea Party, July4, 2009 did theirs in a very long line along the highway. The man donig the voice over on the Video also mentions the birth certificate.
200 arriving and leaving throughout the rally time period of 4 hrs.
Later on during the 4th of July Parade element 1000's of people enthusiastically cheered the TEA Party group as it passed by.
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Tea Time in Tulare: Thousands Angered About Taxes...Valley Freedom Rally-California-15,000 attend
Another thing worth mentioning. There was a HUGE declaration of independence for people to sign. As you might imagine the line got pretty long for that.
Wild Thing's comment.......
I don't know how many turned out for this second round of Tea Parties ....the total. Some had hundreds, some thousands, and some as many as one had 35,000 at theirs and some others 15,000 and 20,000.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:50 AM | Comments (15)
What Are You Doing Next This Tuesday?
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Al Sharpton Calls For 'Love Vigils' For Jackson
Reverend Rallies USPS For A Commemorative Jackson Stamp
LOS ANGELES
The Rev. Al Sharpton has delivered a sermon in Los Angeles where he called for nationwide "love vigils" for Michael Jackson on Tuesday.
The civil rights activist addressed congregants at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church on Sunday.
"We want love. That's what Michael sang about," Sharpton said. "Let's talk about love. Let the media deal with the mess, while we deal with the message."
Sharpton is urging people to gather in schools, community centers and churches to honor Jackson on Tuesday, when a public memorial service will be held at Staples Center.
Sharpton is rallying to get the U.S. Postal Service to issue a commemorative Michael Jackson stamp.
Typically, the postal service waits at least five years before issuing commemorative stamps, but Sharpton said he and Edwards hoped to sway the stamp committee.
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Wild Thing's commnet......
How about if they end up doing a stamp as Sharpton wants, the Postal service has to do a Stamp for each branch of the Military. And how about one for General Petraeus.
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......Thank you RAC for sending this to me.
RAC has a website that is awesome. 336th Assault Helicopter Company
13th Combat Aviation Battalion - 1st Aviation Brigade - Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:49 AM | Comments (11)
Limbaugh, Coulter and Matalin Views on Sarah Palin
This video and interview is from the Radio Equalizer who got Rush Limbaugh's reaction to Gov. Sarah Palin's decison to resign as Governor of Alaska. Limbaugh essentially says he does not know what her future holds, but he believes this will not preclude her deciding to run for office in the future. He did say he believes Palin must base her operations in the Lower 48, and not in Alaska if she is to be successful on the national stage.
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From FOX: Ann Coulter: Sarah Palin Is Too "Big" To Stay As Alaska's Governor - 07/05/09
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Here is video of Republican strategist Mary Matalin saying she believes Gov. Sarah Palin's resignation announcement is a "brilliant" move that will rally many supporters around the nation in her defense. Matalin says she believes this assuming there is no scandal behind the decision, which she does not believe exists.
Wild Thing's comment.......
I am glad to see where they are not trying to second guess Sarah and are just supportive of what she wants to do. Meanwhile Sarah can know we are all here for her.
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:48 AM | Comments (12)
Soldier Hopes His Story Instills Sense of Reality
Army Staff Sgt. Conrad Begaye stands before fellow soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, during a ceremony in Vicenza, Italy, June 30, 2009. Begaye was awarded the Silver Star for his valorous actions during an enemy ambush Nov. 9, 2007, in Afghanistan’s Nuristan province. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Joseph Sanfilippo
Face of Defense: Soldier Hopes His Story Instills Sense of Reality
By Army Capt. Joseph Sanfilippo
Special to American Forces Press Service
VICENZA, Italy, July 1, 2009
Even as Army Staff Sgt. Conrad Begaye relived the firefight that took the lives of his fellow soldiers, and even as he was awarded the military’s third-highest honor for valor yesterday, his thoughts were on his comrades.
Begaye, a Navajo from Black Canyon City, Ariz., said he wants the story of his actions in Afghanistan to help younger soldiers understand the importance of training, leadership and motivation. For troops eager to see combat, he said, he hopes his story instills a sense of the reality of war.
"It should open their eyes. A firefight is a life-altering experience - one that I'm still living through," Begaye said following a June 30 ceremony here in which he received the Silver Star. "Soldiers should understand … this is real life, and people do die."
On Nov. 9, 2007, Begaye, an Airborne Ranger with the 503rd Infantry Regiment’s 2nd Battalion, was part of a unit that had just met with local leaders in Afghanistan’s Nuristan province. They were hiking along rugged terrain when his squad, his platoon's headquarters sections and a squad of Afghan soldiers began taking fire from enemy positions above.
Pinned down at first, Begaye was struck in the arm while returning fire and directing his men. Begaye bounded over a cliff, calling to his troops to follow him down the rocky slope to find cover.
Keeping his composure against overwhelming odds, Begaye directed and encouraged his fellow soldiers under heavy fire. One paratrooper had been shot in both legs and was still taking fire. Begaye called out to him to play dead, knowing the enemy would shift their fire away if they thought the soldier was killed -- quick thinking that likely helped to save that soldier's life.
Ignoring his own injuries, Begaye moved a wounded soldier to a nearby cave to protect him from enemy fire. Using a radio, he called his higher headquarters and directed mortar fire onto enemy positions - essentially ending the battle. Then he motivated a soldier to organize a defensive perimeter of Afghan soldiers to prevent their unit from being harassed or overrun.
Twenty-one months later, with his comrades standing quietly on the parade ground behind him, Begaye listened as Maj. Gen. William B. Garrett III, commander of U.S. Army Africa, spoke here, where Begaye began his service 10 years ago.
"Today, we honor a noncommissioned officer whose bold actions turned the tide of battle and saved the day, … [and] whose courage under fire and fierce loyalty to his men still astounds us all," Garrett said. "Outnumbered, wounded, and initially pinned down in the kill zone of an enemy ambush -- he didn't hesitate to leap forward, literally, and take charge of the fight."
Garrett spoke of the "warrior ethos" that guides soldiers: place the mission first, never accept defeat, never quit, and never leave a fallen comrade.
"These are just words to some people," Garrett said. "But the warrior ethos is a way of life to Staff Sergeant Begaye. Amazing acts of bravery and valor were commonplace that grim day. But this morning, we recognize Staff Sergeant Begaye for his courage - and we are thankful for the opportunity to serve with such a man."
After the ceremony, Begaye's wife, Air Force Staff Sgt. Idellia Beletso, a flight medic based at Aviano Air Base, Italy, hugged her husband. Hundreds of red-bereted paratroopers lined up to shake Begaye's hand, many of whom served with him in combat.
"There are people who have passed on that deserve this," said Begaye, who served three combat tours. "There were five men who died. I'll accept and wear it in honor of them, not for my actions, but for theirs."
Begaye said he would have preferred a simple handshake or a pat on the back. After all, he said, infantrymen don't fight for medals, they fight for each other. That's why Begaye felt grateful to have soldiers from his unit, Chosen Company, behind him on the parade field during the ceremony.
"What happened there is something I think about every day,” Begaye said. “It's not easy to forget about."
Wild Thing's comment.......
"There were five men who died. I'll accept and wear it in honor of them, not for my actions, but for theirs."
I have heard this from so many Veterans, I wish more people would read and hear these stories that are shared of our troops. It would be good for civilians to know more about what our troops are like and how awesome they are in every way.
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:47 AM | Comments (8)
Islam and America
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Below is a mixture of my writing and also notes and articles about Islam and America.
There is an article at FrontPage Magaznie titled .........Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Dhimmitude.
Here are some snipets from the artilce:
This weekend, as America celebrates its 233rd birthday, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), an unindicted co-conspirator in the U.S. vs. Holy Land Foundation prosecution, is celebrating “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Yes, the inalienable rights our Declaration of Independence calls “self-evident” are the theme of the Muslim Brotherhood-associated organization’s 46th annual convention, in Washington, DC, July 3-6, 2009.
Certainly, understanding life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as Islamic values requires creativity. No problem there. Most non-Muslims, including influential and well-respected church leaders, seem to be in an ongoing state of suspension of disbelief, as well as suspension of belief, concerning Islam. This weekend ISNA’s convention will give some Christian leaders the opportunity to display the same sort of appeasement and dhimmitude that frequently accompanies Christian-Muslim dialogue.
.... guest of the convention is Senegal’s President, Abdoulaye Wade. Wade is the chairman of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), that great bastion of human rights. The OIC is most recently known for promoting the “Defamation of Religions” resolution in the UN Commission on Human Rights. The resolution’s goal is to outlaw all criticism of Islam. Wade recently condemned the indictment of Sudan President Omar el Bashir for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court. Wade, ever concerned about the life, liberty, and happiness of the Darfurians, assures the ICC that there is no genocide in Sudan.
A speaker in the convention’s main session is American Muslim scholar Sheikh Hamza Yusuf. Yusuf has not exactly been known for wishing America life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Among his anti-American and anti-Semitic statements, in an April 2003 FrontPage Magazine article, anonymous UCLA students reported Yusuf’s remarks at a September 9, 2001 benefit dinner for convicted cop-killer Imam Jamil Al-Amin (H. Rap Brown). Because America had been “ungrateful for the bounties of Allah” it was “facing a very terrible fate,” said Yusuf. He warned that America had “a great tribulation coming to it,” and scoffed that people were “too illiterate to read the writing on the wall.” After September 11, Yusuf himself just may have proved the U.S. government’s inability to read the writing on the wall. After moderating his own inflammatory rhetoric, he met with and became an “advisor” on Islam to President George W. Bush.
Several mainline church leaders such as Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Mark Hanson, and former member of Congress and general secretary of the National Council of Churches, Bob Edgar, will also speak at the convention.
But by far the biggest gaggle of Christian dhimmis will be at the convention’s “Interfaith Unity Reception.” The gathering’s theme, A Common Word Between Us and You, refers to the warm and fuzzy letter sent by 138 Muslim clerics and scholars from around the world to Pope Benedict XVI and other Christian leaders in October 2007 inviting Christians to peace with Islam. Hundreds of Christian leaders (not including Benedict XVI) rushed to prostrate themselves before their Muslim pen pals with an obsequious reply. Their reply, Loving God and Neighbor Together: A Christian Response to A Common Word Between Us and You sets the standard, the double standard, that will most probably be adhered to by Christians at ISNA’s interfaith unity reception.
In their eagerness to find common ground with the Muslims the Christians marginalize themselves. Sookhdeo (Rev. Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo of the Barnabas Fund) says that “the tone of the Muslim letter is condescending, given from a position of superiority and strength,” while the Yale response is “one of abject humility, guilt, and subjugation.” He says that this “self-humbling, grateful tone” fits the “classical Islamic understanding of the role of Christians as dhimmis in the Islamic state.”
One of the most appalling aspects of Loving God and Neighbor Together is its failure to be a voice on behalf of Christians, Jews, and others .
OK ENOUGH of that before I really get sick! I wanted you to see that and see how Christians, Non Christians, Jews etc. are catering to the Muslims and their Islam. If this was a drawing or a graphic since I am very visual I tend to think in those terms, imagine every religious group on one side, and on the other side ISLAM. Now one would think that Islam would be reaching out to the others if they want to be understood. Listening to the others and showing AN OUTRAGE at what ISLAM has wrought on the entire world!!!!! DEATH AND DESTRUCTION!
But that is not the case. And it never will be. That is not a part of the agenda of Islam for not only America but the entire world. It is to be the one and only, to rule, Shira Law in every city,town and country. They count on the weakness of people in groups like the article is about to let them in, open the door and cater to their every whim of Islam.
Look at what has been happening in Michigan,with a heavy Muslim populaton. Two cities there with the call to prayer blasted out into the city for all to hear. How would you like to hear that every day? But it is happening right here in America. Shouldn't that be against the law or something, in invading ones air space of sound? If it was RAP being blasted every day from speakers I bet if people complained it would be stopped. And how much more offensie Islam is and what it stands for, yet it is allowed!!!!
A couple of days ago I posted about the Arab Festival 2009: Sharia in the USA. And showed the video of a NON Muslim going to it and just wanting to ask questions at a booth that said it was for specifically for answering questions people have about Islam. Yet another lie, it had no intention of wanting to be asked tuff questions about Islam they only wanted to use that booth to convert and when asked normal questions the Muslim security guards way over reacted. One would have thought this Arab Festival was in a Muslim land and not in the USA.
Now let's look at this, it is an article at WND titled...."Will 'legal jihad' silence online critics of Islam?". . This article is about a man named, Joe Kaufman.
Snipets from the article:
When Internet journalist Joe Kaufman wrote an article exposing terrorist connections in two American Muslim groups, he was sued by a swarm of Islamic organizations, none of which he had mentioned in his online article.
The technique is called by some "legal jihad" or "Islamist lawfare," and the Thomas More Law Center, which is representing Kaufman in the lawsuit, claims Muslim advocates are using the strategy to bully online journalists into silence.
"The lawsuit against Kaufman was funded by the Muslim Legal Fund for America. The head of that organization, Khalil Meek, admitted on a Muslim radio show that lawsuits were being filed against Kaufman and others to set an example," claims a Thomas More statement on the case. "Indeed, for the last several years, Muslim groups in the U.S. have engaged in the tactic of filing meritless lawsuits to silence any public discussion of Islamic terrorist threats."
The organizations suing Kaufman also sought to legally deny him certain legal protections granted to traditional journalists, claiming that as an Internet writer, his right to seek a quick and inexpensive dismissal of the case didn't apply.
In an unanimous decision from a three-judge panel of the Texas Second Court of Appeals, however, not only did the court rule that the Muslim organizations had no basis for claiming defamation – since Kaufman didn't name or point to them in his article – but the judges also declared that online journalists do merit the same status and legal protections that their more traditional media peers enjoy.
Though the case against Kaufman is therefore dismissed for now, the Law Center reports the seven Muslim organizations have filed an appeal, continuing their quest for, according to court documents, "injunctive relief related to Kaufman's existing and future Internet publications."
Kaufman's troubles began when he wrote an article for the online FrontPage Magazine in 2007, criticizing two Islamic groups for hosting a "Muslim Family Day" at Six Flags over Texas, a Dallas-area amusement park. The Islamic Circle of North America and the Islamic Association of North Texas, Kaufman revealed, had funneled money to the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and al-Qaida.
"While using images of cartoon characters and sponsoring events at amusement parks may seem innocuous, the danger that the Islamic Circle of North America poses to the United States, Canada and others is clear," Kaufman wrote. "As a faction of the Muslim Brotherhood, the organization looks to impose Islam on Western society, and as a donor to a terrorist organization, the group is a willing participant in the act of violence."
This going after anyone that states facts, whether it be a journalist or a blogger or a talk show host is something that should alarm everyone that loves our country. When Mark sent me the video you see at the top of this post, I was thinking about that Arab Festival. Sometimes things just stick in ones mind and as Islam is expanding across our country I am very afraid it will take over and with a whimper from the American people. No one wants to be harassed, or sued, threatened, and that kind of thing could be in our future more and more for taking a stand against Islam and FOR our country.
Yet another threat to point out regarding Islam and their tactics.
This is from FrontPage Magazine, it is titled "A Day In Court With CAIR". Frontpage Interview’s guest today is Dave Gaubatz, the first U.S. civilian (1811) Federal Agent deployed to Iraq in 2003. He is the owner of DG Counter-terrorism Publishing. He is currently conducting a 50 State Counter-terrorism Research Tour (CTRT).
His BIO:
Retired USAF in 1999. Twelve years as a Special Agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI). Prior to 11 Sept. 2001, I returned to federal service as an 1811 Federal Agent, OSI. Attended one year of Arabic language at the Foreign Service Institute (U.S. State Department, Arlington, VA). Then requested by U.S. Government to deploy to Saudi Arabia (ArAr Air Base) in Jan 2003. Subsequently deployed to Nasiriyah, Iraq upon the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Upon returning from Iraq and leaving federal service, I dedicated my life to conducting first-hand CT research to educate the public and law enforcement to the realities of Islamic Jihadists who have dedicated their lives to destroying America.
INTERVIEW DONE JULY 2, 2009
FP: Dave Gaubatz, welcome back to Frontpage Interview. You have researched issues on the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) for several years. What are your updates for us on this “civil rights” organization?
Gaubatz: Thanks Jamie. CAIR has actually just sent me a letter from the law firm of Martin F. McMahon & Associates pertaining to my upcoming attendance at the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) conference to be held in Washington, DC, during the 4th of July holiday.
FP: What did the letter say?
Gaubatz: First let me emphasize what I have said for several years:
[1] It is my professional opinion that CAIR and its executives are terrorist supporters and their ‘non profit’ and IRS endorsed organization should have never been allowed to open almost 15 years ago.
[2] It is also my professional opinion that anyone or organization supporting CAIR or its ideology supports terrorism and are a national security threat to our country.
[3] A different acronym used does not change the ideology. CAIR is ISNA, ISNA is MSA, and MSA is MANA (Imam Siraj Wahhaj). These are different people representing the same ideology of an Islamic Ummah (Nation) under Sharia law.
[4] Many of our law enforcement executives of various agencies have lost sight of who they work for. They do not work for Saudi financed CAIR or ISNA, they work for America and its citizens.
FP: So the letter?
Gaubatz: The letter is a notice for me to cease and desist from contacting CAIR and its reps both at the ISNA convention and anytime afterwards.
FP: And your reaction?
Gaubatz: Amused would be the best description. While reading the letter it took everything I had not to laugh. Here I am reading a letter from an organization that advocates murder against innocent Israeli people and their actions put the lives of our troops in jeopardy each day, and they are calling me a ‘threat’. CAIR executives are rather amusing and ignorant. The U.S. government has officially advised this organization is an unindicted co-conspirator of the Holy Land Foundation case and the FBI admits they have discontinued meetings with them.
I am more concerned about our troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan than I am from any ‘bogus’ allegations from a terrorist supporting organization. I will pass on an attorney to represent me. I believe I have the skills to defeat any attorney who has been ‘brainwashed’ by CAIR. When you have the truth it takes very little else to scare these clowns away. I look forward to a day in court with them.
FP: Has CAIR ever threatened others you are aware of?
Gaubatz: Yes. CAIR uses this tactic often. They intimidate small companies into complying with Sharia law aspects of Islam. There are too many to mention, but a quote the attorneys of CAIR frequently use to intimidate their targets is:
“The First Amendment protects the rights of all U.S. citizens to practice religion. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof….”
“CAIR has resolved a number of similar acts of discrimination and defamation involving some of America’s top corporations such as Nike, Solectron, The Los Angeles Times, JC Penny, Sears, Burger King, Office Max, Office Depot, Delta Airlines, and many others
FP: What mistakes has CAIR made?
Gaubatz: I’ll tell you its biggest mistake: it believes the First Amendment is only applicable to itself in regards to religious issues. Again this is the mentality of former CAIR executives such as Khalid Ighbal. Is Ighbal a U.S. citizen? He was involved in thousands of dollars of fraud against his own members and Muslims. Possibly an energetic agent or journalist should check this out. It is one thing to be intimidated by Americans working for CAIR, but by employees who are not U.S. citizens is another thing. And now they are trying to intimidate me, a 20 year U.S. military veteran and a man who went to war for his country in 2003, and who is willing to give his life for all regardless of race or religion. I and many veterans find this situation extremely offensive.
I find it so offensive I am asking Immigration authorities to review the workers of CAIR to determine how many are actually U.S. citizens. For a fact we know CAIR’s former Attorney Morris Days was not actually an attorney yet he tried intimidating and harassing American citizens on a daily basis in his CAIR appointed Attorney position for CAIR/VA
CAIR is doing with me what they do with anyone who begins to get too close to the truth of their relationship with Islamic terrorist organizations. They use the same tactics as Hamas or Al Qaeda. They attempt to terrorize the person, company or government into ‘backing off’ if they opine they or Islam is being ‘oppressed’. Americans must at some point come to the understanding CAIR and their supporters do represent the same ideology of Hamas and are conducting their own form of ‘Jihad’. The Jihad of CAIR is by use of the ‘pen and tongue’, which means to terrorize their target with lawsuits, threats, and through their words. The physical part (fighting) is an essential aspect of Jihad which the CAIR executives also endorse, but they leave this (currently) to others.
FP: So will you be attending the ISNA conference in DC this upcoming weekend?
Gaubatz: I will be attending the event as a professional journalist who desires to learn more about the Islamic ideology. In 2008, I was able to learn ISNA has vendors who distribute pro Hamas material advising Muslims to destroy Israel, material was distributed calling for Israel and America to be destroyed, child marriages were being advocated in the materials, and much more, yet again DHS officials will have a table next to people calling for our destruction. DHS will be attempting to recruit many of them to be U.S. federal agents. Now is there any reason Americans should not feel distressed and threatened by knowing this?
Americans have to stand up for our Constitutional Rights today. We cannot wait until tomorrow. These rights may not be there for our children if we wait.
And this H/T Atlas Shrugs for this section of information:
Dave Gaubatz attended the ISNA conference (or at least attempted to); what follows is his experience. Dave Gaubatz was the first U.S. civilian (1811) Federal Agent deployed to Iraq in 2003. He is the owner of DG Counter-terrorism Publishing. He is currently conducting a 50 State Counter-terrorism Research Tour (CTRT). He can be contacted at davegaubatz@gmail.com.
Here is what Dave wrote:
Quick synopsis, of course more coming out later tonight/tomorrow:
1. Went to ISNA/DC to check in. I had prepaid $100.00 fee and had my registration.
2. It was apparent I was 'flagged'.
3. 8 or 9 ISNA and other men surround me.
4. They refused to tell me who they are or why they want me to leave.
5. One then said, "CAIR wants you out."
6. They began crowding me. I was professional and told them to step away from me, tell me who they are, and why was I being illegally detained.
7. I told them this could have been avoided if ISNA would have emailed me a cancellation. I told them I want my $100.00 back. Meanwhile I was asking them some tough questions they could not answer.
8. Then the group led me out of the convention; still no names of who they were.
9. I was on the street and noticed at least 3 DC patrol cars. I took pictures. Then I started walking toward my parked car. One patrol car was following me slowly. I stopped took a few pictures of him. Then walked to my car.
10. I got in my car. Three Patrol cars surrounded me and surrounded my vehicle. I was told to get out.
11. I asked what was the problem. Finally one officer showed me a picture CAIR had given them and told them I was a threat. It had four pictures. 3 were with me in Iraq with my M-16 and 9mm, and two I was holding AK-47s in Iraq. CAIR had photocopied the picture of me helping a sick iraqi child from the picture. Then CAIR had cropped my head shot onto a Nazi uniform (which was obvious).
12. The lead cop said this is all CAIR had given them. I told them about the pictures, my background in Iraq, and who I was. They knew nothing of this.
13. CAIR and ISNA had essentially tried to get me killed. The officer said they just had the holocaust shooting. CAIR intentionally misled the officers to make them believe I was just someone who carries guns. CAIR failed to tell them these were pictures from Iraq when I was serving my country.
.
Yes that is happening in America!!!!!!!
This with Dave shows how far we have come down the path of caving in. These people have done these kinds of things in other countries and now look at those countries. Wonderful places that now are much different then they used to be and imo will never be able to go back to what they were. I loved my trips to England, there are places there, enchanting places, thatched roof homes and beautiful whimisy gardens, Pubs to chat, laugh and converse in on a rainy night. The land of Shedrlock Holmes and Dr. Watson and Winston Churchill, so many things. But now Muslims everywhere and Shira law enforced as well for Muslims in their courts.
On July 1st 2009 , Daniel Pipes wrote about this.........CAIR Distributes 100,000 Korans; Overtly Proselytizes
The Hamas-founded Council on American-Islamic Relations has long pretended to be a civil rights organization, comparing itself at times to the NAACP, but a close look at its record reveals the real CAIR agenda to be – in common with all Islamists – promoting the Shari'a. This can be achieved two ways. The more circuitous method influences American public opinion through the educational system, the media, the arts, the courts, and the political process. The more direct method converts Americans to Islam.
Today, CAIR took what is probably the most major step ever in the direction of da'wa (call to Islam) with the announcement of a "Share the Quran" campaign. It involves sending free copies of the Koran over the next six months to 100,000 leaders: "governors, state attorney generals, educators, law enforcement officials, state and national legislators, local elected and public officials, media professionals, and other local or national leaders who shape public opinion or determine policy."
Nor is that all: CAIR's national executive director Nihad Awad added that "The long-term goal of the campaign is to put one million Qurans in the hands of ordinary Americans of all faiths over the next ten years."
We have the most dangerous man in our country sitting in our Oval Office, catering to Muslims and add to that looking for and reaching out to them, putting them in his administration. making his speech in Cairo to beg and plead with them to love him and trust him and put their hope in him as a leader of their freaking Muslim WORLD.
Thank you , I realize this is long but once I started to gather the information pertaining to all of this the post it kept growing.
~ Wild Thing
....Thank you Mark for sending this video me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:45 AM | Comments (8)
Boehner, Westmoreland Unveil “Bloodhounds” Video Asking: Where Are the Jobs?
WASHINGTON, D.C. House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today released a new YouTube video targeting the failure of Washington Democrats trillion-dollar stimulus bill and asking where are the jobs? The tongue-in-cheek web video, inspired by a classic 1984 TV commercial by now-Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), features a job-sniffing GOP bloodhound named Ellie Mae and a down-home voiceover by Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA).
This is a lighthearted web video, but the underlying point is no laughing matter, Boehner said. At a time when Americans are looking to Washington for leadership, the trillion-dollar stimulus has been a wasteful failure. Americans were promised the stimulus would keep the unemployment rate from going above eight percent. Its now at 9.4 percent, and rising. Where are the jobs?
In the video, job-sniffing bloodhounds follow the stimulus money trail across the nation in search of the millions of jobs the Obama Administration promised to save or create if the trillion-dollar spending bill were enacted. The trail takes them to AIG Headquarters in New York City, where stimulus funds were used to pay big bonuses to top executives; to Wisconsin, where stimulus funds are paying for repairs to a bridge that reportedly carries about 260 cars per day, many to a place called Rustys Backwater Saloon, according to a June 16 report in the Wall Street Journal; and to North Carolina, where stimulus funds were reportedly used by one town to hire a new worker whose job is to apply for more stimulus funds from Washington.
A real stimulus would help small businesses across America get back on their feet and create jobs. Washington hasnt tried that yet. Instead weve made government bigger, wasted taxpayers money, and piled new debt on our children and grandchildren, Boehner said. Republicans have put forth a better solution a plan that recognizes small business, not government, is the engine of the American economy. We hope Washington Democrats will work with us in the months ahead to make it a reality.
Wild Thing's comment.......
Obama and his accomplices are siphoning/funneling large amounts of PORKULUS into the
DMC, liberal organizations (i.e.: such as ACORN, etc.), etc., etc., etc. coffers
How about drawing and quartering?
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:40 AM | Comments (8)
July 05, 2009
Pentagon Denies Flyover of Patriotic 'God and Country Rally'
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NAMPA, Idaho
This marks the first time in the 42 year history of the event that a flyover request was denied by the Pentagon.
The event is held ever year to honor the spiritual foundations of our country with a special emphasis on the men and women who serve in the armed forces.
In past years, the "God and Country Rally" has focused on honoring and paying tribute to those veterans who have served our nation in the past and those who are currently on active duty.
At the rally this year, all five branches of the armed services were featured with over 60 new recruits sworn into the military at the event.
After a phone conversation and an e-mail response from the Pentagon, Rally Director Patti Syme says they were denied the request for a flyover this year because of the "Christian" nature of the event.
The Christian Defense Coalition says this is a "slap in the face" to all those who have proudly served or are currently on active duty in the armed services.
The group is concerned that this new policy may indicate an open hostility toward public expressions of faith by the Obama Administration.
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, states,
"For years, flyovers have been allowed by the Pentagon at the 'God and Country Rally' in Nampa Idaho. These flyovers were not to endorse or promote any one religious faith tradition. Rather, they were held to honor and pay tribute to our heroic men and women who have served or are currently serving in our armed forces.
"For the Obama Administration to deny a flyover for the first time, is a slap in the face to all those who proudly serve our country especially when we are at war. These flyovers have been a special part of the 'God and Country Rally' for many years.
"Will the new policy of President Obama be that a person has to surrender their faith tradition to honor and pay tribute to our courageous men and women who serve in the military?
"With respect to the economic concerns that the Pentagon mentioned, I would answer this way. If we can pay hundreds thousands of dollars for President Obama to go on a date with his wife to see a Broadway show and have an expensive dinner in New York City, we can certainly find a way to honor our brave men and women who serve in the armed services with a simple flyover.
"The Christian Defense Coalition will diligently work to reverse this unjust policy and determine why this flyover was denied in the first place."
Brandi Swindell, national Christian activist and Director of Generation Life, based in Idaho, adds,
"For the Pentagon to deny this flyover for the first time in the history of our state is deeply troubling and disturbing.
"During a time of war and especially around the 4th of July we should be doing all within our power as a nation to honor and respect our military.
"It must be stressed that the flyover was not to honor Christianity but to honor our fallen heroes who have proudly given their lives to protect our country and advance the cause of liberty around the world.
"Does this mean in the future that all public rallies must be stripped of any expressions of faith to respect our military? This Administration should be protecting religious expression in the public square not crushing it.
"I hope that President Obama will reverse this unjust policy and next year we will be allowed to give the military the honor they deserve."
The e-mail from the Pentagon:
Thank you for your request for Air Force aviation support during God and Country Festival on 01 Jul
2009 in Nampa , ID.
We have carefully reviewed this particular event. As you may recall from the request form’s
instructions, the Department of Defense (DoD) authorizes the Air Force to participate in flyovers for
those recognition events held in direct support of the five patriotic holidays (Armed Forces Day,
Memorial Day, Independence Day, POW-MIA Day and Veterans Day) and for aviation-related events,
such as airshows and airport dedications. Sporting events that fall on one of the five patriotic holidays
mentioned above are not considered to be events held in direct support of a holiday commemoration
and will require a waiver.
Your Air Force aviation support request doesn’t fall into either approved category, as such, we are
unable to approve it. Air Force and DoD policy prohibit support for events which appear to endorse,
selectively benefit, or favor any special interest group, religious or ideological movement.
With an increasingly high operations tempo and limited resources to meet our training and operational
commitments, we are required to take a hard look at all of our requests and carefully follow our
policies and guidelines. In denying your request, we are not questioning the worthiness of the event,
but rather enforcing DoD and Air Force policy to preserve the operational and training requirements of
our aviation units and to practice the prudent stewardship of taxpayer-financed resources.
We hope that you can appreciate and understand our position. We believe that your event will,
nevertheless, be a success. Any further questions can be referred to me at 703-695-9664.
Tech. Sgt. Roy Utley
Aviation Support
Wild Thing's comment......
So I guess it is only OK if Air Force One flys low over New York City.
Remember this back in February of this year? OBama could care less about counterterror work the FBI does.
Obama shifts FBI from Counter Terrorism to Fraud
President Obama is shifting the focus of the FBI from counter terrorism work to fraud. Obama is sacrificing our national safety. This shows where his priorities are placed.
Keep it up Obama! Obama is putting a nail in his own coffin every day. He’s committing political suicide!
......Thank you RAC for sending this to me.
RAC has a website that is awesome. 336th Assault Helicopter Company
13th Combat Aviation Battalion - 1st Aviation Brigade - Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:55 AM | Comments (14)
Bush Gets 6 Standing Ovations on July 4th in Okla.
In Crystal Beach Park Arena in the small rural town of Woodward, Oklahoma, population 12,000, the Freedom Ring 2009 festival was held. 9,200 tickets were sold. The organizers said that 14,000 enthusiastic supporters attended the event, and it was standing room only for President Bush's address to the crowd.
WOODWARD, Okla.
AP
Former President George W. Bush spoke amid thunderous applause in a rural Oklahoma town to celebrate the Fourth of July, calling the U.S. the ''greatest nation on the face of the earth.''
Bush was given six standing ovations as he spoke Saturday inside a remodeled rodeo arena in Woodward, a town of about 12,000 residents in northwest Oklahoma. About 9,200 tickets were sold for the event, which would be the biggest crowd for Bush since he left office in January.
''Patriotism comes in all different kinds of forms,'' he said. ''Freedom is beautiful, freedom is precious, freedom must always be defended.''
Bush spoke of the bravery of injured soldiers he'd met throughout his presidency, and thanked members of the military for their service. He also thanked spectators for giving ''a retired guy something to do.''
Wild Thing's comment.......
calling the U.S. the ''greatest nation on the face of the earth.''
You couldn't get his successor to say those eight words, ever. Unless he were talking about
Indonesia or Pocky-ston.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:50 AM | Comments (6)
Palin's Attorney Threatens to Sue Liberal Blogs & State-Run Media For Slander
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 4, 2009
On July 3rd, 2009, Governor Sarah Palin announced her intent to resign her gubernatorial duties and transfer the powers of Governor to Lt. Governor Sean Parnell.
Almost immediately afterwards, several unscrupulous people have asserted false and defamatory allegations that the “real” reasons for Governor Palin’s resignation stem from an alleged criminal investigation pertaining to the construction of the Wasilla Sports Complex. This canard was first floated by Democrat operatives in September 2008 during the national campaign and followed up by sympathetic Democratic writers.1. It was easily rebutted then as one of many fabrications about Sarah Palin. Just as power abhors a vacuum, modern journalism apparently abhors any type of due diligence and fact checking before scurrilous allegations are repeated as fact...
To the extent several websites, most notably liberal Alaska blogger Shannyn Moore, are now claiming as “fact” that Governor Palin resigned because she is “under federal investigation” for embezzlement or other criminal wrongdoing, we will be exploring legal options this week to address such defamation. This is to provide notice to Ms. Moore, and those who re-publish the defamation, such as Huffington Post, MSNBC, the New York Times and The Washington Post, that the Palins will not allow them to propagate defamatory material without answering to this in a court of law. The Alaska Constitution protects the right of free speech, while simultaneously holding those “responsible for the abuse of that right.” Alaska Constitution Art. I, Sec. 5 http://ltgov.state.ak.us/constitution.php?section=1
These falsehoods abuse the right to free speech; continuing to publish these falsehoods of criminal activity is reckless, done without any regard for the truth, and is actionable.
Text of the press release from her attorneys here at
Full text at
* This past year Governor Palin won 15 different bogus ethics complaints filed against her.
* The state of Alaska spent $2 million defending the governor.
* It cost those Sarah Palin-haters nothing to file the bogus complaints.
* Fighting the complaints left Sarah and Todd Palin $500,000 in debt.
Wild Thing's comment.......
She's rolled up her sleeves and ready to fight back. Sarah scares them, otherwise they wouldn’t bother with her.
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:49 AM | Comments (4)
Marines March in Grueling Afghan Sun for July 4
LTC Michael Gabel of 4-25 FA BN CDR (L-R), Major General Curtis Scaparrotti, commanding general, CJTF-82 and Regional Command East, CSM Thomas Capel, Division Command Sergeant Major, CJTF-82 and regional Command East and CSM Robert Lehtonen II, Command Sergeant Major 4-25 FA cut a cake as they mark the United States Independence Day at the Forward Operating Base (FOB) Airborne in the mountains of Wardak province in Afghanistan, July 4, 2009
.
Brigadier General Larry Nicholson demonstrated the more open approach he wants to see among the new US troops sent to southern Afghanistan by going shopping for melons. Nicholson, commander of the 4,000 Marines deployed on Thursday in the mainly Taliban-held Helmand River valley, headed to Garmsir district centre to visit a bazaar selling fruit, vegetables and meat.
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U.S. Marine Cpl. Brian Knight, of Cincinnati, Ohio, with the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, 1st Battalion 5th Marines, pauses briefly in the heat to rest with his heavy pack filled with mortar equipment, ammunition, food, and water in the Nawa district in Afghanistan's Helmand province Saturday, July 4, 2009. Taliban militants attacked a U.S. coalition base in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday with an explosives-laden truck that blew up outside the gates, sparking a two-hour gunbattle and killing two American troops, officials said.
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Marines march in grueling Afghan sun for July 4
Taliban militants were nowhere in sight as the columns of U.S. Marines walked a third straight day across southern Afghanistan. But the desert heat proved an enemy in its own right, with several troops falling victim Saturday to temperatures topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Marines carry 50-100 pounds (23-45 kilograms) on their backs. But because they are marching through farmland on foot, they can't carry nearly as much water as their thirst demands.
Few even realized the date was July 4, but once word of the holiday spread through the company, several said they knew relatives would be holding lakeside celebrations — a world away from the strenuous task Bravo Company of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment was taking on.
"Happy 4th of July, dawg. Happy America," said Lance Corp. Vince Morales, 21, of Baytown, Texas said to one of his Marine buddies while resting under a tree during a break.
Some Marines ate watermelon from a farmer's field as the evening sun set, but there were few other signs of a holiday celebration here.
Some 4,000 Marines are moving through southern Helmand to take back Taliban-held territory and pinch the insurgents' supply lines. Bravo Company has seen a lot of walking but up to now little fighting, though other Marines in the operation have had extended battles.
So far, the worst danger facing Bravo is the heat. Temperatures are well above 100 degrees (37.8 Celsius), and medics treated several heat casualties Saturday.
"When (body) temperature goes up past 104 (40 Celsius), your brain starts cooking, and that's what we're trying to prevent," said Simon Trujillo, an HM3 Navy Medic from Dallas.
The high heat, heavy packs, limited water and three straight days of walking through tough farmland terrain were taking a toll, he said. Several Marines threw up or were dry-heaving from the heat. Three passed out, and other Marines rushed to share the weight and pour water on overheated bodies.
"It's pretty taxing on your body. There's no way to prepare for this," said Trujillo.
One cruel irony: A helicopter dropped off a load of water to the Marines early Saturday, but because they hadn't yet reached their final destination, they took only what they could carry and left hundreds of bottles behind for Afghan villagers to drink.
The sun in southern Helmand is blazing by 8 a.m., and the troops seek out any sliver of shade available. Trees grow along the many manmade water canals the farmers use to survive here, but there is little relief elsewhere.
Sweat pours off faces as Marines shift heavy weapons from one shoulder to the other. Everyone still carries all the ammunition they arrived with in the dark hours of early Thursday, because this unit has not yet exchanged fire.
The Marines walk in columns down dusty dirt roads, and every couple dozen steps they bend over at the waist to give aching shoulders a break. During frequent breaks, medics go up and down the line, looking to see if their men are drinking water.
"It'd be so great if we took contact. We'd lose so much weight," said Lance Corp. Michael Estrada, 20, of Los Angeles.
Lance Corp. Bryan Knight, a mortar man, carries one of the heaviest pack. The 21-year-old Cincinnati native weighs a slight 145 pounds (65.8 kilograms) — and his pack almost equals him.
He carries a 15-pound (6.8-kilogram) mortar base plate, four mortar rockets that weigh 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) each, about 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms) of water and another 50 pounds (22.7 kilograms) of combat gear — ammunition, weapon and his flak jacket.
Unsurprisingly, he is drenched in sweat. "The only dry parts of my clothes are the pockets," he said.
Squatting in a lean-to made out of a camouflage poncho beside Knight was Corp. Aaron Shade, 24, of Greenville, Ohio, who hadn't realized it was Independence Day back home in the U.S.
"My family's out on the boat house riding on jet skis, drinking lots of beer," he said. "That's not depressing to think about."
The company captain, Drew Schoenmaker, said the heat was affecting militants as well, noting there were few daytime attacks theater-wide and none on his unit. He said he doubted people back in the United States could understand how hard his Marines work.
"Someone back home might say, 'Oh, it's 100 degrees here, too.' But you're not trying to carry 60 or 90 pounds and people aren't trying to kill you," he said. "And you can always step out of the sun. You can't always do that here."
Wild Thing's comment.....
Last year I posted about how it would get up to 120 degrees. I know what they feels like from being in Las Vegas for one year and it is not good even when people say dry heat is not that bad. Heat that high is hot no matter dry or humid and evenings don't get that much cooler. It does get to a person there is no way it can't. And like they said add into that factor carrying all that weight all that equipment too. That is so huge!
God bless our troops and keep them safe.
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:48 AM | Comments (5)
Hon. James David Manning Has BHO Pegged
Hon. James David Manning, PhD continues speaking about the Patrick Henry style revolution. This message comes from The Manning Report on Monday, 18 May 2009
Wild Thing's comment.......
Maybe the GOP should hire Manning to take over Michael Steele’s job.
giggle I like his fire!
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:47 AM | Comments (9)
Palin Always Makes A Difference To Save America
Palin in 2012!
By Pamela Geller
Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska announced yesterday that she is resigning and will not seek a second term as governor. Many conservatives are characterizing this as an abdication of responsibility and a failure of will. Quin Hillyer wrote in the American Spectator that "Sarah Palin's resignation is an appalling dereliction of duty and a highly cynical move to set herself up for a presidential run for which she is manifestly unqualified."
I vehemently disagree. She did not quit. From what I saw of her speech before Fox inexplicably cut it off (after seven days of wall-to-wall Michael Jackson coverage), this is not a woman who is retiring or "cutting and running," as Hillyer put it. She is getting into the fight to save America. Palin committed herself to fighting "for our state and our country, and campaign(ing) for those who believe in smaller government, free enterprise, strong national security, support for our troops and energy independence." Obama's treasonous presidency has made this struggle necessary. Palin, like all patriotic Americans, is shocked by what is happening. Obama is destroying this country. She knows it. We all know it. We need a leader.
Palin is that leader. On Friday she assumed the mantle. She delivered a campaign speech. She spoke on the eve of Independence Day about the sacrifices great Americans have made, and what our Founding Fathers fought and died for. Without naming Obama, she went after his disastrous policies, saying that "living beyond our means today is irresponsible for tomorrow," and noting that as governor she had "vetoed debt-ridden stimulus dollars." She believes in and wants to fight for free enterprise, small government and national security.
And is she really "manifestly unqualified" to be president? I am unmoved by assertions that Palin needs more foreign policy experience or more experience of any kind. She has the key ingredient to great leadership: common sense. I am not concerned that she won't get up to speed on the nitty gritty details of national and international issues. Her thinking is sound. She has common sense, a moral compass and a very definite understanding of good and evil.
And best of all, she is not a product of the limp-wristed, spineless GOP of the Age of Obama. There is a struggle in the Republican Party for the heart and soul of our future: the RINOs (McCain, Romney, etc.) versus true individualists and conservatives like Palin. She is outside the box. She has grit. She has guts. That is why she so frightens the RINOs, leftopaths and freedom haters. The Democrats despise Palin because she best embodies everything they are not. She is principled, true, hard working, smart and honorable. She embodies all that is good and fine and decent – you couldn't have written a more charismatic, honorable character in a Victor Hugo novel.
Because of this, the left and the RINOs like Hillyer, out of their hatred of the good for being good, will do anything and say anything to destroy this woman. She has already been mercilessly attacked. Those on the right who have suffered the slings and arrows of the vile left smear machine know that the more they throw, the greater you are. The more vile, disgusting and outrageous the smear, the more envious and afraid you know the destroyers are.
And in Palin's case they have stopped at nothing. An army of political operatives filed 15 spurious ethics charges against her, draining the public resources. She and her staff spent huge amounts of time and incurred over half a million in legal fees fighting charges that were ultimately dismissed. And the same shills who laud Obama for dropping a cool $100,000 on dinner and a show with Meesh in New York City are aghast that Sarah spent $150,000 of donated bucks on her wardrobe for the presidential campaign. Now the Democrats and their propaganda machine, the dinosaur media, will continue to attempt to destroy and marginalize this wonder woman.
New media better pick up the slack – and make the point that this move will allow Palin to spend more time in the lower 48 states, where we urgently need her voice, without the left accusing her of neglecting her duties as governor.
Her country needs her desperately. She is answering our call. The 2012 campaign began today!
Wild Thing's comment.....
Obama only wishes he could give speeches like Sarah. Sarah has it all and there is a difference in being chanted at like Obama was and the love and respect like Sarah receives.
Sarah will be great whatever she does, and she will also make a difference in this world just as she has been doing.
Remember what she said ...."ONLY DEAD FISH GO WITH THE FLOW!"
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:46 AM | Comments (9)
Colonel Ed McMahon by Major Van Harl USAF Ret.
He wanted to be a Marine fighter pilot. The US was building up their military force, but they were not at war yet and the Navy required all its potential Navy and Marine pilots to have two years of college. So Ed started classes at BostonCollege.
When Pearl Harbor was attacked the Army and the Navy both dropped the college requirement and Ed applied to the Marines. His primary flight training was in D allas and then he went to Pensacola, Florida. He was carrier qualified, which means he knew how to perform a controlled crash of his single engine fighter, onto the rolling deck of a Navy floating runway.
It took Ed almost two years to get through all the Navy flight training. His problem was he was a very good pilot and the Marines needed flight instructors. He had a great command presence and public speaking ability, which landed him in the classroom, training new baby Marine pilots.
His orders to the Pacific fleet and the chance to fly combat missions off a carrier came in th e spring of 1945, on the same day the Atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Of course his orders where changed. He never went to sea and he was out of the Marines in 1946.
Ed stayed in the USMC as a reserve officer. He became a successful personality in the new TV medium, after the war. His Marine command presence helped. He was recalled to active duty during the Korean War. He never got to fly his fighter aircraft, but he saw his share of raw combat. He flew the Cessna O-1E Bird Dog, which is a single engine slow-moving unarmed plane. He functioned as an artillery spotter for the Marine batteries on the ground and as a forward controller for the Navy & Marine fighter / bombers who flew in on fast moving jet engines, bombed the area and were gone in seconds. Captain Ed was still circling the enemy looking for more targets, all the time taking North Korean and Chinese ground fire.
He stayed with the Marines as a reserve officer and retired in 1966 as a Colonel.
The world knows Ed as Ed McMahon of the Johnny Carson, Tonight Show. One night I was watching the show when the subject of Colonel McMahon earning a number of Navy Air Medals came up. Carson, a former Navy officer, understood the significance of these medals, but McMahon shrugged it off, saying that if you flew enough combat missions they just sort of gave them to you. McMahon flew 85 combat missions over North Korea; he earned every one of those Air Medals. The casualty rate, for flying forward air controllers in Korea sometimes exceeded 50% of a squadron’s manpower. McMahon was lucky to have gotten home from t hat war.
Once a Marine, always a Marine.
When the public was spitting (taking their personal safety into their own hands) at Marines on the streets of Southern California during Vietnam, Colonel McMahon was taking Marines off the streets and into his posh Beverley Hills home. I spoke to a retired Marine aircrew member the day Colonel McMahon died and he personally remembered seeing McMahon at numerous Marine Air Bases in California in the 1960s. He=2 0was known for going to the Navy hospitals and visiting the wounded Marines and Sailors from this country’s conflicts, even in the last years of his life.
Colonel McMahon presented awards and decorations to fellow Marines and attended many a Marine ceremony and the annual Marine Corps Birthday Ball. He stayed true to his Corps as a board member of the Marine Corps Scholarship Fund and as the honorary chairman of the National Marine Corps Aviation Museum. After retiring from the Marine Reserve, one night on the Johnny Carson show, members of the California Air National Guard came on stage.
Colonel McMahon was commissioned a Brigadier General in the Air Guard in front of millions of Americans who watched it happen live. You will not see anything like that on TV anymore.
The three core values of a United States Marine are; honor, courage and commitment. This is what a Marine is taught from the first day of training and this is what that Marine believes. That was Colonel Edward P. McMahon Jr. USMCR Retired. Before he was a national figure he was a true combat hero and a patriot the nation needed then and this country needs now.
Your war is over. Thank you Colonel McMahon. Semper Fi sir.
23 June 2009
Major Van Harl USAF Ret.
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'Westboro Baptist Church' Protests Col. Ed McMahon Funeral there are a few Patriot Guard Riders there too to keep an eye on the vile Protest people
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Wild Thing's comment.......
I wish so much the media would get their act together. They really aren't giving the news and they sure as heck are not covering other stories in any detail. Ed McMahon dies, he gets a mention, Michael Jackson dies and he has been worshiped from that moment up to now and it will probably continue for awhile longer. grrrrrrrr
My other post about Ed McMahon passing away....from June 24th.
WW11 Fighter Pilot and ‘Tonight’ Show Sidekick Ed McMahon Dies
WW11 Marine Fighter Pilot . After several months of training at Miami and El Toro, McMahon arrived in Korea in February 1953. He flew 85 artillery-spotting missions in the Cessna OE Bird Dog before Sources Boston Herald Lowell Massachusetts
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:45 AM | Comments (15)
Viva Honduras! Honduras Leaves OAS After Body Decries Coup
Opponents of toppled Honduran President Manuel Zelaya rally in San Pedro Sula, Honduras
People against ousted Honduras President Manuel Zelaya gather outside of the presidential residence in support of the interim government in Tegucigalpa, Friday July 3, 2009.
Honduras leaves OAS after body decries coup
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras
Honduras rebuffed demands by the international community to reinstate President Manuel Zelaya and pulled out of the Organization of American States, thrusting the poor Central American nation deeper into political crisis and isolation.
Zelaya was traveling in Central America but planned to return to Honduras on Sunday, according to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. Honduras' interim government has said it will arrest Zelaya if he returns, setting up a potentially volatile showdown.
About 10,000 supporters of the president ousted in a military coup June 28 again marched in his support Saturday, blocking traffic close to the presidential palace, which is occupied by a caretaker president selected by Congress to replace Zelaya, but also heavily fortified and guarded by soldiers.
Diplomats from across the Americas had hinted they would suspend Honduras' OAS membership during an emergency Saturday meeting of the organization in Washington. But after rejecting the personal appeal of the group's secretary-general, Jose Miguel Insulza, the Honduran government decided to renounce its charter rather than wait to be punished.
In a letter to Insulza read on state television Friday night, interim Honduran President Roberto Micheletti wrote that "the OAS is a political organization, not a court, and it can't judge us."
"The government rejects the attempts of the OAS to impose unilateral resolutions," said the letter read by deputy foreign minister Martha Lorena Alvarado.
Micheletti said leaving the OAS means his country will not face economic sanctions that were expected if the group's membership had been suspended. The OAS still can encourage other organizations around the hemisphere to halt aid and loans to one of Latin America's poorest countries.
Also late Friday, a grenade exploded outside Immigration offices in Tegucigalpa, the capital, smashing windows and damaging the building's facade — the fifth such explosive attack since the coup, according to police.
The letter renouncing Honduras' OAS charter capped a long and frustrating Friday for Insulza, who flew to this country to demand that the interim government restore Zelaya, who was rousted from his bed by soldiers, handcuffed and flown into forced exile. The world community has demanded his return to office.
"We wanted to ask that this situation be reversed," Insulza told a news conference after meeting with Supreme Court President Jorge Rivas, the attorney general and other political leaders. "Unfortunately, one must say that there appears to be no willingness to do this."
Insulza said Honduran officials gave him documents showing that charges are pending or have been brought against Zelaya, which they say justified the coup. The military ouster came after Zelaya pushed for a referendum on constitutional reform that the Supreme Court, the attorney general and Congress had all said was illegal.
The Supreme Court, which authorized the coup, also said it would not agree to restore the toppled leftist leader despite Insulza's personal appeals.
"Insulza asked Honduras to reinstate Zelaya, but the president of the court categorically answered that there is an arrest warrant for him," court spokesman Danilo Izaguirre said.
During the trip, the Americas' top international diplomat also met with the two main candidates in Honduras' Nov. 29 elections and with the leftist Popular Block, an umbrella group of farm, labor and student groups that largely supports Zelaya.
But he did not see Roberto Micheletti in order to avoid legitimizing the government. Micheletti has vowed to serve out the six months remaining in Zelaya's term.
Foreign Minister Enrique Ortez, said that Insulza "cannot return to Honduras, and if he does he will be arrested and tried."
Ortez also claimed that members of the Zelaya administration stole at least $40 million in cash from the Central Bank during their last day in power and announced the new government was firing at least 10 ambassadors, including those to the OAS, the United Nations, Mexico and Panama.
Micheletti's supporters say the army was justified in ousting Zelaya because he was trying to use his referendum to extend his rule. Zelaya denies that and has said he will no longer press for constitutional changes.
Nations around the world have promised to shun Micheletti and Honduras already is suffering economic reprisals.
Neighboring countries have imposed trade blockades, major lenders have cut aid, the Obama administration has halted joint military operations and all European Union ambassadors have abandoned the country.
The U.S. Embassy in Honduras issued a statement expressing "deep concern over restrictions imposed on certain fundamental rights" by Micheletti's government, including a curfew in force since the coup, and "reports of intimidation and censorship against certain individuals and media outlets."
Honduras quits Organization of American States
Hours later, acting President Roberto Micheletti and vice chancellor Martha Lorena de Casco announced Honduras planned to withdraw from the region’s key diplomatic organization. The move preempts an OAS General Assembly meeting scheduled for Saturday, where Honduras was widely expected to be suspended from the group for overthrowing a democratically elected leader.
The OAS “tried to impose unilateral solutions. The government of Honduras repudiates such attempts to impose unilateral solutions and reaffirms its sovereignty,” de Casco said in a nationwide address. “The OAS is a political organizatioon, not a court of law. … There is no institutional crisis here.”
She ended her brief statement by invoking article 143 of the OAS charter — without elaborating what that article says. The OAS clause she cited calls for member nation to withdraw from the OAS after submitting a written complaint.
Wild Thing's comment.......
This is good news, it is a good start for even a small Nation such as Honduras to begin the task of telling the Leftist infested organizations of the World to screw off.
It’s time for other countries to step forward and flip off these “organizations” who have nothing better to do than to meddle in the affairs of sovereign nations.
I miss the days of Oliver North and Ronald Reagan.
the Honduran government decided to renounce its charter rather than wait to be punished.
I like that attitude: "You can't fire me, I quit..." LOL! Good for Honduras!
‘Micheletti wrote that “the OAS is a political organization, not a court, and it can’t judge us.”
I love this guy
Just to note, Venezuela is an honored member of the Organization Of American states. And Cuba has recently been made a member of good standing in the OAS.
The U.S. Embassy in Honduras issued a statement expressing "deep concern over restrictions imposed on certain fundamental rights" by Micheletti's government, including a curfew in force since the coup, and "reports of intimidation and censorship against certain individuals and media outlets."
Straight from the mind of Barack Hussein Obama.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:40 AM | Comments (8)
July 04, 2009
What America Is About and What the Declaration of Independence is Not
Remembering What the Declaration of Independence is Not
By Bruce Walker
When we celebrate the Fourth of July, we are celebrating one of the most important political documents in the history of the world. The Declaration is a statement to the world -- the people of the world was the audience -- about the very nature of government and its relationship to men. Sometimes we appreciate what this document was, but perhaps we need even more to appreciate what it was not.
It was not a poll-driven summation of current opinion. The men who gathered in Philadelphia did respect each other's talents and knowledge, but the document they signed was not not driven by the latest Gallup or Zogby poll results. What was right and true was not dependent upon popular opinion.
The signers did not even seek a vote of the people. No referendum was necessary for the Declaration of Independence and it might well have failed in some of the colonies. The "will of the people," so precious to demagogues, did not determine what was right and true. The people can fall for Hitler, adore Obama, and be enchanted by silly or wicked men. The purpose of government, as the Declaration clearly states, is to secure liberty and not to implement that dubious, inconstant sentiment "the will of the people."
The men who signed the Declaration of Independence represented the absolute opposite of "interest group politics" so slavishly worshipped in political science departments. They pledged their lives, their wealth, their liberty, and their honor -- everything -- on a toss of the dice. Often, even if the revolution won, these men personally lost. The game was not about them, their economic interest, or their political ambition. They won if America became a new order of liberty in the world. Interest politics would have led them all to make peace with the Crown. Moral principles led them to what Churchill would later call "blood, toil, sweat, and tears."
The brave men in Philadelphia were engaging in unconstitutional action. Britain had a constitution, albeit a largely unwritten one, and Jefferson knew that he was defying our equivalent of the Supreme Court. He and his colleagues defied the moral power of a system which no longer treasured liberty above advantage or caprice. Rulers making decisions which did not really affect them, living thousands of miles from their subjects, lacked the moral authority to wield law.
Moral authority was the heart of the Declaration as well. It lacked a separation of church and state and instead there was a unity of God and government. All men were created equal by God. That is the foundational point of the Declaration from which all else flows like the spring of liberty. If all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, politics is clear and simple. If that is true, then -- of course! -- protecting these inalienable rights is the only reason that governments are instituted among men. These were truths which, in the magical pen of Jefferson, the brave authors and signers held to be "self-evident." There is a Creator. He made us. He made us, specifically, free in body and in conscience. We are not sheep or some sort of oddly self-domesticated animals. We are creatures in the image of a Creator, unique in reality, and given the power to choose.
The men who wrote and signed the Declaration are all dead, long, long, dead -- they never expected otherwise. If we met their ghosts today, they would not ask about our technological marvels or our global economy or our medical breakthroughs or space travel. If we told them about our partisan debates or the new King in Washington, they might cringe like a father over an addled child.
But when speaking of what they wrote in 1776 -- signing their own death warrants, in some respects -- they might ask us this: "We did not mean to confuse you. That is why the words we chose were so clear. You are free creatures of God. Government is your creature, your chattel, your tool -- nothing more. We studied history long before we wrote our brief statement of liberty. You own government or rather the spirit of free men owns government. You fret about ‘stuff.' Why? We are all dead now, as we knew we would be. But we chose to die free, following our consciences - that is the only real choice in life. What confused you?" The principle of liberty is easy. All it requires is courage and honor.
Wild Thing's comment.....
Awesome video and the article is fantastic too.
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:55 AM | Comments (7)
Happy Independence Day ~ Happy 233 Years Birthday America!
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Two Hundred Thirty-Three Years of Freedom THANK YOU to our Veterans and our Troops Today!!
Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue
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America: a tribute to heroes - God bless the USA sung by Lee Greenwood
I am crying so hard. Dear God, help us, save America, we love her so much. And so many have sacrificed and given their all to make us free and keep us free. They deserve our country to be FREE more then any of us. Each day we see our country disappearing and evil men and women doing her harm and are bent on destroying the very freedom that has set us apart from any other country. ~ Wild Thing
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John Adams wrote this historic letter to his wife:
“I am apt to believe that this day will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore.”
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It was Richard Henry Lee of Virginia who first proposed drawing up a document that formally announced America's Independence from Great Britain.
On June 11, 1776, a drafting committee was formed and Lee was called away because of his wife's sickness. Lee's good friend and fellow Virginian Thomas Jefferson took Lee's place on the committee to draft the document and became the author of The Declaration of Independence.
Jefferson's document was delivered to the Continental Congress on July 1. It was debated and vetted by the delegates on on July 2nd and 3rd. And on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was formally approved.
It was printed overnight and the very next morning, a stack of copies was delivered to the waiting delegates. Others were prepared to be sent for public reading to each of the state assemblies and to the commanding officers of the Continental troops.
The Declaration was read aloud in courtyards across the land. When John Nixon read the document in Philadelphia to a crowd waiting in front of the Pennsylvania State House, similar reading were happening across the land. In many ways, this dissemination of news was more proficient than today.
Important documents were read in their entirety without comment and were later debated in pubs, homes and meetings. Now we hear snippets and opinions and rarely read the entire document. We chastise Congress for not reading legislation before voting on it and yet we rarely read these documents. Truthfully, they are not as easily available as they were in 1776.
But that document gave birth to the greatest political and social experiment of all time - America and modern democracy.
When you celebrate with fireworks and barbecues this weekend, remember your freedoms and the people who have fought and died to keep you free.
Remember those men who had the courage to claim Independence 233 years ago.
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Aaron Tippin - Where The Stars And Stripes And Eagles Fly
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A Tribute to our awesome Vietnam Vets.....The Song is "The Wall" by John McDermott .....For all who served in Vietnam, I thank you. The Patriot Guard Riders will always ride for you.
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Martina McBride - God Bless America
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:50 AM | Comments (5)
Sarah Palin News
Team Sarah Founders address Governor Sarah Palin’s decision to step down as Governor of Alaska
Washington
Today Team Sarah commented on the announcement that Sarah Palin will step down as Governor of Alaska on July 25, 2009: “Sarah Palin has always been an intensely independent woman-- always true to her faith, her family and call to public service. She has taken vast numbers of Americans to a new place: politics without cynicism. And she has provided women with a new political role model,” said Team Sarah Co-Founder Marjorie Dannenfelser. “Her entrance onto the public stage has had an immensely positive effect, drawing in massive numbers of Americans new to the political process. We have every confidence she will have an equal and profound impact in whatever projects she undertakes now.”
“Team Sarah members anxiously await Palin’s next decision on how she believes she can best serve our nation. Since the 2008 Election, the continual presence of personal attacks on both Governor Palin and her family indicate that she remains a threat to the liberal feminist political establishment,” said Team Sarah Co-Founder Jane Abraham. “Despite criticism, Governor Palin’s success will endure. Team Sarah’s thousands of members remain as engaged as ever on TeamSarah.org. The Governor has inspired millions, and her audience of enthusiastic support will only grow in the future.”
Team Sarah is a coalition of Americans dedicated to advancing the values that Sarah Palin represents in the political process. Its political networking website, www.teamsarah.org, has grown to over 70,000 activists.
After Friday's announcement, some aren't so sure about Palin's prospects.
"I am real surprised. It is real unconventional," William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard, told FOX News. "It would make sense to finish the governorship and then run for president in 2012.
But Kristol didn't count Palin out for 2012, calling her "crazy like a fox."
"It's a huge gamble -- but some of her gambles have paid off in the past," he said. "If I had to bet right now, I would bet that we just heard the first opening statement in the 2012 presidential race."
Palin also hinted at her own national ambitions, invoking a quote that she credited to Gen. Douglas MacArthur: “We are not retreating; we are advancing in another direction.”
Palin ended 2008 with a striking run of personal successes in high-profile popularity polls. According to a poll by Gallup she was the second most admired woman of the year, after Hillary Clinton. Time magazine chose her as the world’s fourth most influential person, behind Barack Obama, Henry Paulson of the US Treasury and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France.
Last week she triumphed in an annual poll, commissioned by a property website, as the person Americans would most like to have as their neighbour.
An internet campaign is already under way to promote Palin as the Republican party’s best choice to challenge Obama in the presidential elections of 2012. More than 60,000 people have joined TeamSarah.org, an umbrella group that unites numerous pro-Palin fan clubs such as Catholics for Sarah, Texans for Palin and Small Business-Owners for Sarah.
James Brislin, a Connecticut team member, noted that “the Republican party has lost its way . . . Sarah Palin is who we need moving forward”.
Sarah Palin breaks the mold again
By Thomas Lifson
A different school of thought is that she is planning a run for the presidency, and realizes she cannot do that from a base in Alaska. The distance from the mainland and the lack of media coverage of her while acting as governor would make it all but impossible to put together the sort of organization one needs to run for president. Freed from the duties of governor, she can go out and give speeches, supporting candidates and earning chits, meeting people and capitalizing on her unrivaled hold on the GOP base, which loves her. Mark Levin presented a particularly insightful case that this is what Governor Palin has in mind, all the while acknowledging that he doesn't know any inside information.
And there is such a need to BUILD up and FIGHT for our state and our country. I choose to FIGHT for it! And I'll work hard for others who still believe in free enterprise and smaller government; strong national security for our country and support for our troops; energy independence; and for those who will protect freedom and equality and LIFE... I'll work for and campaign for those PROUD to be American, and those who are INSPIRED by our ideals and won't deride them.
I WILL support others who seek to serve, in or out of office, for the RIGHT reasons, and I don't care what party they're in or no party at all. Inside Alaska - or Outside Alaska.
This does sound as though she is planning to campaign for politicians across the country. And then there was this basketball analogy:
Let me go back to a comfortable analogy for me - sports... basketball. I use it because you're naïve if you don't see the national full-court press picking away right now: A good point guard drives through a full court press, protecting the ball, keeping her eye on the basket... and she knows exactly when to pass the ball so that the team can WIN. And I'm doing that - keeping our eye on the ball that represents sound priorities - smaller government, energy independence, national security, freedom! And I know when it's time to pass the ball - for victory.
Because I like and admire Sarah Palin, and think she has unmatched charisma and authenticity, my hope is that she intends to devote her professional energies to running for president, and, in the process, lead the opposition movement to the radical change Obama and the Democrats are trying to accomplish. But it is a hope more than a prediction.
Wild Thing's comment......
She knows exactly what she is doing. She is finally free..free, free as a bird and now she can soar to new heights. Libs are probably more terrified of her now then they were of her yesterday
God does not pluck someone like Sarah from obscurity unless there is a purpose. I believe Sarah is a person of destiny just as Ronald Reagan was.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:49 AM | Comments (8)
The Left's Assault on the Declaration of Independence
Quote of the Day: "No country can be called free which is governed by an absolute power; and it matters not whether it be an absolute royal power or an absolute legislative power, as the consequences will be the same to the people." ~ Thomas Paine
Morning Bell: The Left's Assault on the Declaration of Independence
There has been a lot of change in recent months – a $787 billion spending bill, a budget exceeding $3 trillion, government ownership of auto manufacturers, government-imposed caps on earnings, legislation imposing limits on economic activity in America under the name of environmental justice. It is increasingly difficult for conservatives to sustain any audacity of hope for moderate policies coming from the current administration.
What unites these policies and their sweeping designs is the progressive aim of “remaking America”—as President Obama said in his Inaugural Address—into a country much more like the highly regulated, secular, and pacifist nations of Europe.
The view of America that dominates the academy, journalism, major foundations, and most segments of the American intellectual community was marked out at the start of the last century by progressive thinkers when they launched their grand project for America.
They repudiated the Founders’ principles, holding that there are no self-evident truths—in the Declaration of Independence or elsewhere—only change in the constant search for progress without final goals.
There are no permanent rights with which man is endowed, but endlessly evolving rights that develop and grow based on new demands. Our fidelity must be to a “living” Constitution that adapts to fit the demands of the times. The way forward is to control social conditions and engineer a better society, redistributing wealth through a distant and patronizing welfare state that regulates more and more of the American economy, politics and society.
Over the course of the twentieth century—as America’s principles were assaulted, undermined, and redefined in our culture, in our universities, and in our politics—we have taken significant steps down this path. The Progressive Movement laid the intellectual groundwork, but the basic infrastructure of the modern welfare state established under the New Deal has expanded in regulatory scope and social purpose under the Great Society and its progeny in both political parties. We are in the beginning of a new and perhaps decisive move in this direction.
Now, more than ever, is the time to relearn the meaning and contemporary significance of the Declaration of Independence and recognize that modern liberalism has explicitly rejected the truths it proclaims.
Woodrow Wilson, one of the most famous early progressives, argued during the 1912 presidential campaign that “all that Progressives ask or desire is permission…to interpret the Constitution according to the Darwinian principle,” meaning that it should promote an ever-expanding set of powers for an ever-expanding government.
The problem, he declared, was that pesky Declaration of Independence: “some citizens of this country have never got beyond the Declaration of Independence,” he remarked with astonishment; “The Declaration of Independence did not mention the questions of our day.”
The progressive view rejects outright the very idea, at the heart of the Founders’ way of thinking, of being guided by permanent or fixed principles. As the prominent progressive historian Carl Becker put it in 1922, “to ask whether the natural rights philosophy of the Declaration of Independence is true or false, is essentially a meaningless question.” Such relativism renders meaningless the whole American experiment in self-government.
But denying the truth of America’s principles for the sake of “change” can make no claim to progress at all—a point made with unsurpassed clarity by Calvin Coolidge on the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 1926:
“If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions.”
We don’t need to remake America, or discover new and untested principles. The change we need is not the rejection of America’s principles but a great renewal of these permanent truths about man, politics, and liberty—the foundational principles and constitutional wisdom that are the true roots of our country’s greatness.
As we celebrate the blessings of liberty that America’s Founders made possible and the sacrifices of succeeding generations have enabled us to enjoy, let us also rededicate ourselves, and strive to rededicate our nation, to the Declaration of Independence.
Wild Thing's comment........
Great article!
So many countries wish they had the freedom we have as Americans.
Heritage is giving away free copies of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. You can order one online at AskHeritage.org. Ask for it and they'll send you freebies of the Declaration and the Constitution.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:48 AM | Comments (8)
Battle Hymn of the Republic
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.
I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His day is marching on.
I have read a fiery Gospel writ in burnished rows of steel;
As ye deal with My contemners, so with you My grace shall deal;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,
Since God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Since God is marching on.
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free;
[originally let us die to make men free]
While God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! While God is marching on.
He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave;
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of wrong His slave,
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.
The hymn appeared in the Atlantic Monthly in 1862. It was sung at the funerals of British statesman Winston Churchill, American senator Robert Kennedy, and American presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and a Month after 911.
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:47 AM | Comments (8)
White House Garden Tests Positive For Lead
White House garden tests positive for lead
WASHINGTON
The White House says its high-profile garden on the South Lawn has tested positive for lead although it is not at dangerous levels.
White House spokeswoman Katie McCormick-Lelyveld said Thursday that tests on the soil in the White House garden detected lead levels of 93 parts per million. Soil is considered unsafe for growing vegetables when it reaches more than 500 parts per million.
First lady Michelle Obama planted the garden on the South Lawn this spring with local schoolchildren. Produce from it is used in the White House kitchens and donated to area groups.
McCormick-Lelyveld says the White House will continue to grow vegetables in its garden, which food activists sought and praised.
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Wild Thing's comment......
Can I say Get the lead out Michelle. heh heh
Note to White House ...You are supposed to test the soil BEFORE you dig the garden.
So the Obama creeps are serving schoolkids lead tainted food.
I wonder if it's from the Musket Balls? You know I am just wanting so bad to make a joke about that. LOL
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:45 AM | Comments (8)
Powell Has Buyers Remorse As He Airs Doubts on Obama Agenda
Powell airs doubts on Obama agenda
Colin Powell, one of President Obama's most prominent Republican supporters, expressed concern Friday that the president's ambitious blitz of costly initiatives may be enlarging the size of government and the federal debt too much.
"I'm concerned at the number of programs that are being presented, the bills associated with these programs and the additional government that will be needed to execute them," Mr. Powell said in an excerpt of an interview with CNN's John King, released by the network Friday morning.
But, he said, "one of the cautions that has to be given to the president -- and I've talked to some of his people about this -- is that you can't have so many things on the table that you can't absorb it all."
"And we can't pay for it all," said Mr. Powell
Mr. Powell expressed alarm at "budgets that are running into the multi-trillions of dollars" and "a huge, huge national debt that, if we don't pay for in our lifetime, our kids and grandkids and great-grandchildren will have to pay for it."
"So, I think the president, as he moves forward with his initiatives, has to start really taking a very, very hard look at what the cost of all this is. And, how much additional bureaucracy [will] be needed to make all of this happen?" Mr. Powell said.
"The federal government has become too large and too intrusive in our lives," Mr. Powell said then. "We can no longer afford solutions to our problems that result in more entitlements, higher taxes to pay for them, more bureaucracy to run them, and fewer results to show for it."
Mr. Powell said that now that he still believes what he said then, but that he would put it in different terms now.
"I don't like slogans anymore like 'limited government.' That's not the right answer. The right answer is, give me a government that works," he said. "Keep it as small as possible. Keep the tax burden on the American people as small as possible, but at the same time, have government that is solving the problems of the people."
Wild Thing's comment......
Title could read, affirmative action Powell sees what a mistake it was to go rascist and vote for the affirmative action Obama. This is what happens with Affirmative Action. The “slow to get a clue” and the “not so bright” rise to the top.
And he makes his statement yesterday after awhile back he claimed Americans want bigger government and more taxes
Powell is an idiot and a rascist and his waking up makes no difference in the world. Got that Powell. I don't want your sorry ass back in our Republican party. You chose the Muslim freak Obama and he is all yours. You Powell are part of the problem and NOT part of the solution.
Colin is miffed because he didn't get a big, cushy, high profile, post-election appointment he may have craved from his Soul Brother. Fool! Traitors and jumpers NEVER get trust or respect from EITHER side.
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:40 AM | Comments (6)
July 03, 2009
VERY Ugly Arianna Huffington Encourages Bashing of Retarded People
Palin Will Run In '12 On More Retardation Platform
The EVIL FAR LEFT, SOCIALIST, COMMUNIST LOVING ....THE HUFFINGTON POST blog.
written by Erik Sean Nelson
**** email of the author*****
In Sarah Palin's resignation announcement she complained about the treatment of her son Trig who always teaches her life lessons. She said that the "world needs more Trigs, not fewer." That's a presidential campaign promise we can all get behind. She will be the first politician to actually try to increase the population of retarded people. To me, it's kinda like saying the world needs more cancer patients because they teach us such personal lessons.
Her first act as President: To introduce a Pre-K lunch buffet that includes lead paint chips. Sort of a Large HEAD-START Program.
She will then encourage women to hold off on pregnancies until their 40's just to mix up some chromosomes.
She now is in favor of abortion only in case of diploid birth.
Her policies will increase jobs because Wal-Mart is building new stores each day and someone has to be the greeter.
This will lead to smaller government because fewer Americans will have the cognitive ability to hold a government job.
Look, she says she's resigning as governor because people are making attacks on her and Trig. If she ever did become president, all Osama bin Laden would have to do to defeat the United States is Photoshop a picture of Trig and she'd surrender the country that night. As she said, "That's not politics as usual." It isn't. Politicians don't usually quit for so stupid of reasons.
Wild Thing's comment.....
Huffington is one of Obama's political whores, sorry but that is how she runs her blog and the things she says and allows to be written at her blog. Arianna’s envy of Sarah is all-consuming.
The article above was published at Huffington's blog shortly after the resignation of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin with the following headline: Palin Will Run in '12 on More Retardation Platform
To make sure that the article's reference to Gov. Palin's infant son Trig who was born with Down Syndrome last year, the article is keyword tagged by the Huffington Post: ...Sarah Palin Trig; Trig; Comedy News
Huffington and her people at her blog are scared to DEATH of Sarah. Human behavior gets no lower then this article. That is the most disgusting piece of excrement I've ever read!
One thing for sure, if ObamaDeathCare were to take over people like Trig would become targets, maybe THAT is why Sarah moved so fast. She is out to stop Deathcare.
My question for Arianna would be how many husbands can one woman turn gay? Just asking.
UPDATE!
Huffington took the article down that was attacking Sarah's son Trig.
Here is the same link and see what it has there now.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/erik-sean-nelson/palin-will-run-in-12-on-m_b_225568.html
Huffington Post Apologizes for Offensive Sarah Palin Article
The Huffington Post issued an apology Friday evening for an article about the resignation of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin posted at their website entitled, Palin Will Run In '12 On More Retardation Platform, written by HuffPo writer Erik Sean Nelson.
An e-mail apology from Mario Ruiz of HuffPo:
Due to an editorial lapse, Erik Sean Nelson’s post on Sarah Palin bypassed the normal vetting process and appeared on HuffPost — but was never featured anywhere on the site. Even though satiric works are generally given greater latitude, Nelson’s post falls outside of HuffPost’s editorial guidelines. As such, if not for the error, it would not have been approved for publication, and was removed from the site as soon as our editors became aware of it. We sincerely regret the error and any offense it might have caused.
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:20 PM | Comments (5)
Sarah Palin Resigns as Alaska's Governor
In a stunning announcement, Gov. Sarah Palin said Friday morning she will resign her office in a few weeks.
Speculation has swirled for weeks, perhaps months that Palin would not seek re-election in 2010 as she pursues a political career on the national stage. The former vice presidential candidate has long been rumored to be considering a run at the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.
Palin did not address those rumors at the press conference at her Wasilla home, during which she did not take questions from reporters.
Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell will be inaugurated as her successor at the Governor's Picnic at Pioneer Park in Fairbanks on Sunday, July 26, Palin said.
Parnell said he will seek election to the governor's office in 2010. Parnell ran unsuccessfully against Rep. Don Young in the Republican primary last year.
Palin made the announcement flanked by Parnell and most, if not all, of her cabinet.
Palin Quits as Alaska Governor
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Friday that she is stepping down at the end of the month, setting up a potential run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin shocked the political word Friday by announcing that she will step down at the end of the month and transfer power to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell.
Palin made the announcement from her home in Wasilla, flanked by her husband, Todd, and family and state commissioners.
The announcement came on the same week that one of her top public health officials says she was forced out of office because Palin felt she wasn't in step on social issues.
Palin's decision now allows her to avoid the difficult task of running for president while serving as governor.
Todd Palin told FOX News that his wife will concentrate on "doing the things for Alaska and the country" that she is passionate about and can not do as governor with the limitation and constant opposition she deals with within the state.
Palin, who defeated incumbent Gov. Murkowski in a primary in 2006,.gained national prominence when GOP presidential candidate John McCain picked her as his running mate last year. But her approval ratings in the state have skidded in recent months.
Palin has been dogged in recent months by ethics inquiries. Her office last month announced the 15th dismissal of an ethics complaint against her or one of her staff.
On Wednesday, Beverly Wooley, who has worked more than 20 years in public health in Alaska, most of it with the municipality of Anchorage, ended her stint as state public health director.
She's the second top health official to leave within days. The state's chief medical officer, Jay Butler, left in late June after declining to take on Wooley's job along with his own. He now is in Atlanta, overseeing a U.S. Centers for Disease Control task force on a vaccine to protect against the H1N1 flu virus.
Wild Thing's comment........
I am so proud of her. I was shocked at first, but the more I think about it this is a stand up kind of thing to do.
This is an all or nothing decision. And that is the kind of person Sarah is and why I respect her so much.
She has made a smart political move. She'll be free to raise $$$, not chained to the affairs of State. The way other politicians have done it is they stay in office USE those who voted for them as they beg for money to run for the next office and are not doing the job they were elected to do. Just my take on it. Sarah has her own way of doing things.
Her speech was awesome and as soon as it shows up on YouTube I will post it.
Here it is:
It is labeled as Part 2 but there is no part one so I think the person that did the video just has part one as the media covering this and then they broke to her giving her speech.
LOL OOPS I was wrong..... Part ONE is now available. Sorry for the messy post,.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:30 PM | Comments (16)
Sarah Palin At High Noon
Sarah Palin At High Noon
By Lloyd Marcus
( Lloyd Marcus is the Singer/Songwriter of the "American Tea Party Anthem" and President, NAACPC (National Association for the Advancement of Conservative People of Color).
I just watched the classic movie "High Noon" (again). Gary Cooper played a brave sheriff who brought law and order to his town. As one woman said, "He made it safe for a decent woman to walk down the street". A recently released outlaw was coming back to town on the noon train to deliver vengeance against the sheriff who put him away. His gang of three arrived early to help their leader take out the sheriff.
Fully aware of why the bad men were in town, the sheriff could not arrest them because they had not broken any laws. Waiting is not illegal.
Desperate, the sheriff interrupted a church service to solicit help. After much debate, the ungrateful town folks declined. They even suggested the sheriff "get out of town" hoping the trouble would follow him. The sheriff contemplated their recommendation. He began saddling his horse, but something inside would not allow him to run away. Heroically, the sheriff faced the bad guys and won!
I thought of another strong, gutsy, bold, stand-on-principles hero, Sarah Palin, in her own modern day version of High Noon. Sheriff Palin rode into America Town on a white horse with conservative guns blazing and saved a dead McCain campaign. She brought hope to weary and battered conservative town folks and gave them a reason to vote.
Outlaw Obama and his posse, the hate filled liberal media/Democrat gang, came to town a gunnin' to politically eliminate Sheriff Palin. They ambushed her at Miss Katie Couric's CBS saloon. Though wounded numerous times, Sheriff Palin survived.
She bravely stood tall and rode high in the saddle while ungrateful, weak kneed Republican town folks ran for cover, hid in their homes and peeked nervously through the curtains.
Why are Obama and his gang so committed and desperate to destroy Palin? Could it be they recognize her destiny, like that of Moses, to set her people free? And why is she so despised by them? Obama's gang hate Palin for all the reasons we love her. Sheriff Palin is a good, decent and strong character driven conservative leader. Palin also believes in God. Such humility and virtues are as repulsive to liberals as showing Dracula the cross.
Something that sticks in the craw of many liberal women is that in their youth, they brought into the feminist rhetoric that women's liberation means no husband and family. Tragically, they find themselves aging and alone. Meanwhile, this conservative woman has it all: great career, fine family and a husband who loves and respects her. Adding insult in injury, Sheriff Palin looks mighty fine in her jeans.
Recently, the libs sent an old washed up gunslinger, the Letterman Kid, to challenge Sheriff Palin to a shoot out. Palin planted two bullets between the pathetic old dude's wrinkly eyes before he could un-holster his gun.
Despite Sheriff Palin's courage and willingness to fight, Obama and his posse rule America Town. They are in the process of taking over everything! Obama took over the livery stable and banned horses. While he and his posse continue riding horses, we town folks are forced to ride miniature ponies.
But in the spirit of what has made America Town great, an uprising is a brewin'. A huge conservative posse is building daily. Our first battle will be in 2010 to win back America Town's House and Senate. Then, in 2012, God willing and the creek don't rise, Sheriff Palin will lead us to victory in the battle of Little Big Washington DC. Years earlier, another great lawman cleaned up America Town, Sheriff Ronald Reagan.
After Sheriff Palin sweeps out the Obama gang, perhaps once again, we will be as what Sheriff Reagan affectionately called us, "a shining city on a hill".
Wild Thing's comment......
Great article.
I loved this...it isn't about making her a Sheriff in reality, it is about recognizing that she has STOOD up to the media that has tried over and over to hurt her-both professionally and worse, personally.
She does exude a certain love of country that annoys liberals, and she is UNASHAMED of being a good person, who loves her family and does so with great zeal. That she was willing to bring Trig into the world, loving him and embracing him absolutely makes the folks who love abortions cringe. They hate her because she is EVERYTHING they are not and more.
I LOVE HER STYLE, AND HER DEDICATION TO PRINCIPLE A GREAT BIG BUNCH!
I would love to meet Lloyd Marcus, the author of this article, I know exactly what he meant. I saw republicans hiding when Sarah arrived on the scene, as well.
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:27 PM | Comments (3)
Orders From Obama:U.S.Troops Told to Stop Taliban Pursuit If Civilians At Risk
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A U.S. Marine checks his equipment before joining other Marines and about 650 Afghan soldiers and national police officers as they prepare to board CH-53D Sea Stallion and CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters on Forward Operating Base Dwyer, Afghanistan, July 2, 2009. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Philippe E. Chasse
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U.S. Marines, military working dog, and about 650 Afghan soldiers and national police officers prepare to board CH-53D Sea Stallion and CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters on Forward Operating Base Dwyer, Afghanistan, July 2, 2009. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Philippe E. Chasse
U.S. troops told to stop Taliban pursuit if civilians are at risk
KABUL
Beginning Thursday, American soldiers in Afghanistan will be under orders to back down when they're chasing Taliban fighters whenever they think that civilians might be at risk.
Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top commander in Afghanistan, will issue the directive as part of an effort to cut down on civilian casualties, which have enraged the Afghan government and residents. Instead of calling in air support or firing into civilian homes where Taliban fighters have sought refuge, commanders will be instructed to reach out to tribal elders or undertake other efforts to dislodge the fighters.
The order is consistent with what national security adviser James L. Jones told McClatchy Newspapers in Washington Wednesday was President Barack Obama's concern about civilian casualties in Afghanistan.
"General McChrystal has been given instructions when he left here that, in all military operations, that we redouble our efforts to make sure that innocent loss of life is minimized, with zero being the goal," Jones said, noting that, "In one mishap you can create thousands more terrorists than you had before the mishap."
The new order, however, is likely to draw criticism from some U.S. troops, many of whom feel the rules that govern how they fight the war already are too restrictive.
Many troops here say they depend on air power and heavy weaponry because there aren't enough ground troops to chase Taliban forces on foot. Jones said no additional ground troops will be sent this year, even though some ground commanders want them.
"Everybody had their day in court, so to speak, before the president made his decision," he said. "We signed off on the strategy, and now we're in the implementation phase."
McChrystal's order will instruct soldiers to "think about what else can we do," said Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, the military's top spokesman in Afghanistan. "We cannot keep going down the path of putting civilians at risk. ... People want to see changes in behavior."
Airstrikes, which Afghans charge kill innocent people, won't be eliminated, Smith said. "Air power will be as valuable after this directive is issued as it ever was," he said.
The new order, however, will require troops to assume that civilians are present and back off when Taliban fighters escape into villagers' houses, Smith said.
"The assumption must be there are civilians in those residences, and in those instances, he is asking commanders to think of other options in front of them," Smith said.
Those options might include gathering intelligence and regrouping to fight another day; reaching out to a tribal leader or encouraging villagers to help coalition forces track down Taliban forces. In some cases, it could mean letting Taliban escape.
McChrystal's order, an unclassified version of which is expected to be made public later this week, comes on the heels of a Pentagon report issued last month that acknowledged that as many as 86 civilians may have been killed in a May airstrike in Farah province.
The strike, by a B-1B strategic bomber, was ordered after Afghan forces came under fire from the Taliban and sought U.S. help. The report faulted Americans on the ground for not determining whether civilians were present before the plane dropped a 2,000-pound bomb.
Since McChrystal took command here last month, he has said reducing civilian casualties would be a top priority.
He repeated that concern Tuesday in an interview Tuesday with Radio Free Europe. "The most important thing is to not hurt the Afghan people because the most important thing is to win their support," he said. "This fight is for the Afghan people, it's not with the Afghan people."
Civilian casualties have become a major source of tension between Afghans and U.S. and other coalition forces here. Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks out frequently against coalition forces and their use of airstrikes on campaign stops as he seeks re-election, and earlier this year, the parliament passed a resolution condemning the use of airstrikes.
"One mistake is OK. But every day there is a mistake. You start to lose sympathy," said Khalid Pashtun, an Afghan-American member of parliament who represents Kandahar province, a Taliban stronghold. "Now, I am an American, and I feel this way. Imagine how the normal Afghan feels. He feels Afghan blood has become very cheap."
McChrystal has briefed Karzai about the new directive and his response was "encouraging," Smith said.
Top military officials here discount concerns that the Taliban will exploit the new order and step up their presence among civilians who often don't reveal Taliban hiding locations, either because they support them or fear retribution.
Military officials, however, said that the Taliban already exploit the way the U.S. has been fighting and purposely flee to villages in anticipation that coalition actions will lead to civilian casualties, exacerbating tensions between the coalition and the civilians.
Wild Thing's comment..........
no NO NO NO NO This is VERY bad. Is this an intercepted communication from LBJ to Westmoreland?
Dear God..this is insanity! It’s bad enough that the order was given..but to broadcast it in ADVANCE..just as we are sending our soldiers into the field?
TREASONOUS!!
"the Taliban already exploit the way the U.S. has been fighting and purposely flee to villages in anticipation that coalition actions will lead to civilian casualties"
THAT is exactly what they do. The do it on purpose and they know since the last time it was a set up too. And then the Coward in Chief Obama apologized and said he would get to the bottom of the civilians deaths and he blamed our military without even checking it all out.
The Taliban hides behind skirts and children. God help and protect our troops. This has me sitting here crying. Damn Obama! to hell!
Notice we don't hear that Obama was concerned about American troop casualties.
This is a purposeful plan to lose our advantage and appease the Muslims, injure and eliminate our dear troops from the battlefield in the process.
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:55 AM | Comments (10)
Obama and Senate Would Fine People $1000 For Refusing Health Care Coverage
Senate Bill Would Fine People More Than $1,000 for Refusing Health Care Coverage
Senate aides said the penalties, estimated to raise around $36 billion over 10 years, would be modeled on the approach taken by Massachusetts, which now imposes a fine of about $1,000 a year on individuals who refuse to get coverage.
Americans who refuse to buy affordable medical coverage could be hit with fines of more than $1,000 under a health care overhaul bill unveiled Thursday by key Senate Democrats looking to fulfill President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated the fines will raise around $36 billion over 10 years. Senate aides said the penalties would be modeled on the approach taken by Massachusetts, which now imposes a fine of about $1,000 a year on individuals who refuse to get coverage. Under the federal legislation, families would pay higher penalties than individuals.
In a revamped health care system envisioned by lawmakers, people would be required to carry health insurance just like motorists must get auto coverage now. The government would provide subsidies for the poor and many middle-class families, but those who still refuse to sign up would face penalties.
Called "shared responsibility payments," the fines would be set at least half the cost of basic medical coverage, according to the legislation. The goal is to nudge people to sign up for coverage when they are healthy, not wait until they get sick.
The legislation would exempt certain hardship cases from fines. The fines would be collected through the income tax system.
The new proposals were released as Congress neared the end of a weeklong July 4 break, with lawmakers expected to quickly take up health care legislation when they return to Washington. With deepening divisions along partisan and ideological lines, the complex legislation faces an uncertain future.
Obama wants a bill this year that would provide coverage to the nearly 50 million Americans who lack it and reduce medical costs.
In a statement, Obama welcomed the legislation, saying it "reflects many of the principles I've laid out, such as reforms that will prohibit insurance companies from refusing coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and the concept of insurance exchanges where individuals can find affordable coverage if they lose their jobs, move or get sick."
The Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions bill also calls for a government-run insurance option to compete with private plans as well as a $750-per-worker annual fee on larger companies that do not offer coverage to employees.
Sens. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said in a letter to colleagues that their revised plan would cost dramatically less than an earlier, incomplete proposal, and help show the way toward coverage for 97 percent of all Americans.
In a conference call with reporters, Dodd said the revised bill had brought "historic reform of health care" closer. He said the bill's public option will bring coverage and benefit decisions driven "not by what generates the biggest profits, but by what works best for American families."
The Congressional Budget Office, in an analysis released Thursday evening, put the net cost of the proposal at $597 billion over 10 years, down from $1 trillion two weeks ago. Coverage expansions worth $645 billion would be partly offset by savings of $48 billion, the estimate said.
However, the total cost of legislation will rise considerably once provisions are added to subsidize health insurance for the poor through Medicaid. Those additions, needed to ensure coverage for nearly all U.S. residents, are being handled by a separate panel, the Senate Finance Committee. Bipartisan talks on the Finance panel aim to hold the overall price tag to $1 trillion.
The Health Committee could complete its portion of the bill as soon as next week, and the presence of a government health insurance option virtually assures a party-line vote.
In the Senate, the Finance Committee version of the bill is unlikely to include a government-run insurance option. Bipartisan negotiations are centered on a proposal for a nonprofit insurance cooperative as a competitor to private companies.
Three committees are collaborating in the House on legislation expected to come to a vote by the end of July. That measure is certain to include a government-run insurance option.
At their heart, all the bills would require insurance companies to sell coverage to any applicant, without charging higher premiums for pre-existing medical conditions. The poor and some middle-class families would qualify for government subsidies to help with the cost of coverage. The government's costs would be covered by a combination of higher taxes and cuts in projected Medicare and Medicaid spending.
Obama voters are sharing their personal stories with Obama at his Organizing For America website. I would NOT register to read them but I found it at the vile person Huffington Post blog so here it is. This way you don't have to register to see what it looks like. ~ Wild Thing
Jackie in Logan, N.D., wrote that she cried when she was hospitalized in January out of fear for the bills -- even though she has health insurance.
"I told my husband that perhaps I should just go home and wait to die," Jackie wrote, "as it would be cheaper to be cremated, than to have to exist dealing with the debt of surviving."
Brad of Granite City, IL, wrote that "I may die any day because Health Insurance isn't available to me."
"For profit healthcare killed my wife," wrote John of Nashville, Tenn.
http://stories.barackobama.com/healthcare
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Wild Thing's comment.......
Check out the Obama LOGO once again. sheesh I am so sick of seeing that logo of his. His communist dictator logo.
Notice how they EXPECT to "make" $36 million dollars over the next ten years. They are HOPING that people won't be able to afford health insurance so they can kick their feet out from under them and rob them blind!
This is unbelievable! Our rights are fast deminishing. Unfathomable that such a thing would be done!
Our country currently has the best medical care in the world. The Socialist Obama and his Socialist Congress are determined to destroy it.
Where in the Constitution are the president and congress allowed to dictate to us which doctors we will see, how long we have to wait to get treatment, which hospitals we will use, and how much they are allowed to charge? Obama would create a statist, socialist medical care system which denies us the right to hire a non-government doctor or hospital. Canadians already “enjoy” this situation, so they come to the United States for treatment.
We have too much government involvement in medical care already. What we need is more free enterprise, which always results in more choices, better quality, easy access, and lower prices. Obama thinks the government can do it better. So did the other Socialists and the communists in history, and they all failed.
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....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Comments (10)
Because We Never Forget "Military Medical Team Makes the 'Toughest Call'
Pfc. Channing Moss, far right, stands on a hilltop in Afghanistan in February 2006 with his Alpha Company squad from 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry, 10th Mountain Division, from left, Sgt. Harold Jarrell, Spc. Collin Reynolds, Cpl. Kirill Tikhonenkov, Spc. Justin Randall holding a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and Pfc. John O'Brien. Moss was wounded the following month when, during an ambush, he was impaled with an RPG.
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A fellow soldier was impaled by a live RPG. For medics and a helicopter crew, there was only one choice.
PLEASE CLICK LINK JUST BELOW TO WATCH THE VIDEO
http://www.militarytimes.com/multimedia/video/rpg_surgery/
Military Medical Team Makes the 'Toughest Call'
Unexploded Rocket-Propelled Grenade Impales Army Private in Afghanistan
Thursday, March 16, 2006, was a beautiful sunny day in Paktika Province, eastern Afghanistan -- the front line in a half-forgotten war. It borders a lawless region of Pakistan that is home to some al Qaeda and Taliban forces. Snow in the mountain passes along the border had melted giving them access again to Afghanistan where they came looking for American soldiers. They soon found them.
At dawn, the 10th Mountain Division's Alpha Company headed out on a mission. Lt. Billy Mariani, the unit commander, noticed something about his troops.
"There was definitely a sense of uneasiness. There was an air about them of, you know, maybe something was going to happen," he said.
The convoy included some two dozen 10th Mountain Division soldiers mounted in five armored Humvees and a handful of Afghan National Army troops riding in a pickup truck. Their mission was to visit a remote village to meet the tribal elders. No roads existed in this no-man's land and they had to drive through waddis, dry narrow river beds with high, dangerous ground on either side.
Four hours into the drive and just miles from the village, gunfire broke out. They'd been ambushed from above. Twenty-three-year-old Pvt. Channing Moss, the gunner, said it sounded like rattling spoons.
Then came the big guns. Volleys of rocket propelled grenades rained down. The Afghan National Army pickup exploded. Two of the Afghan soldiers died.
One RPG skidded past Lt. Mariani's vehicle. All of the vehicles had to quickly get out of the "kill zone." But before they could get to safety, two rockets hit Pvt. Moss' Humvee.
Staff Sgt. Eric Wynn, 33, the soldier in the front passenger seat, felt one slice through his face. Moss remembers the truck practically lift up. He was thrown up against the Humvee and then moved to return fire.
"I smelled something smoking and I looked down ... and I was smoking," he said.
Wynn turned to tell Moss where to fire and saw the tail fins of the RPG sticking out of Moss' side.
Roughly the length of a baseball bat, an RPG travels at the speed of a bullet. At the front end is the warhead -- a large grenade. The detonator and fuel are contained in the shaft. On the back are its fins, pieces of metal that stick out like legs on a camera tripod. The RPG is the weapon of choice for many of the world's guerillas.
Luckily for Moss, the company medic Spc. Jared Angell, 23, who the soldiers call "Doc," was in his Humvee. With Alpha company still under fire, it would have been nearly impossible for Angell to get to Moss in time if he hadn't been close by.
A Human Bomb
The RPG that had plowed into Moss' lower abdomen stretched from one hip to the other. If the RPG went off, it would kill everyone within 30 feet of him. Yet Angell stayed close, bandaging his wounds and stabilizing the weapon so that movement wouldn't cause it to explode.
Moss was still fully conscious, so Angell ordered him to not look down at the injury. He didn't want Moss to panic.
"I'm gonna do everything I can," Angell said to Moss. "You keep fighting with me and I'll keep fighting with you."
Wynn held his wounded face together with a bandage and reported their casualties over the radio while he also reached for Moss' hand.
He was squeezing my hand ... making sure I was staying alive," Moss said.
Reports of injuries had been radioed to the medical evacuation helicopter (MEDEVAC) base in Salerno, Afghanistan -- minus one crucial piece of information.
"We didn't tell them that, you know, Moss had live ordnance in him," Mariani said, "because there was that possibility that, you know, they might not want to transport him with live ordnance in him."
Preparations began for the rescue mission. But first the Blackhawk crew had to wait for clearance from commanders because the area was "hot" -- the battle was still raging. For MEDEVAC crew chief SSG Christian Roberts, it was a very long 15 minutes.
"When you know you have wounded people out there that are waiting for you to come pick them up, it seems like an eternity," he said.
The firefight died down and Mariani went over to check on Moss. Even though he was stunned by the fins sticking out of him, Mariani said, "I grabbed his hand and I just said, 'Hey, buddy, we're gonna get you out of here.'"
"Doc" continued working frantically to stabilize Moss even though the RPG was a danger to everyone around Moss. He knew that his only chance for survival was to get out of there and to a hospital quickly.
"I constantly was looking at my watch, saying, you know, 'When is the bird gonna get here, when is the bird gonna get here,'" medic Doc Angell said.
When Lt. Mariani pulled "Doc" aside to ask him if he thought Moss would make it, he could only shake his head no.
If Pvt. Moss was to not survive his injuries, his wife, six months pregnant with their second child, would lose her husband and his daughter Yuliana would lose her father. But just as Moss felt he would die, he heard the chopper. An Apache helicopter escorted the MEDEVAC chopper in case there was more gunfire.
Spc. Collier, the flight medic, quickly realized what they faced with Pvt Moss.
"I see a metal object protruding out, and there are fins on it, and I am like, 'This looks like this guy got hit with something, and it's stuck in him, and it didn't blow up,'" he said.
Army policy states that they are not supposed to transport soldiers in Moss' condition. The risk of catastrophic loss is too great -- four MEDEVAC crew members, three wounded soldiers and a helicopter could all be blown out of the sky.
But they also knew if they didn't take Moss. he would die.
Pilot CW2 Jorge Correa conferred with his soldiers: "I asked my crew, you know, 'Are you guys comfortable with this?'" he said. "Because I wasn't gonna put my crew in jeopardy if they weren't comfortable with it."
The crew quickly decided to take the risk.
Co-pilot Jeremy Smith recalled the tense moment.
"We all said, 'Yeah, let's get him on board and let's get outta here,'" he said.
As crew chief Christian Roberts said, "We are not gonna leave a U.S. soldier to die in the middle of Afghanistan."
Past the 'Golden Hour'
The MEDEVAC helicopter flew over mountains fully loaded with Moss and three other wounded, racing the clock. Moss' best chance of survival was to get advanced medical care within one hour of his injury. Trauma surgeons call it the "golden hour." But Moss' had already ended.
Radio dispatches let the trauma team know that they had one critical patient coming whose blood pressure was dropping and heart rate was dangerously high. But reports of the true nature of Moss' injury had not reached the closest medical facility at the Orgun-E base -- a former goat shed transformed into a rough field hospital. They were told it was "shrapnel injury." The aid station had two doctors, Maj. John Oh, a general surgeon, and Maj. Kevin Kirk, an orthopedic surgeon. At this point it wasn't clear which Moss needed most -- a surgical team or a bomb squad.
It was only when Oh started cutting away all the bandages that "Doc" Angell had delicately wrapped around the RPG that he saw what they were facing.
"It had fins coming out of the left side of his body and had a big bulge in the front of his right thigh," Kirk said.
Still conscious, Moss remembers the faces dropping in shock as they took in the sight.
Incredibly, both Oh and Kirk had drilled for this exact scenario, because the Army has a protocol to handle patients with unexploded ordnance in them.
"You're actually not supposed to bring them into an aid station," Oh said."And actually, he wasn't supposed to be flown with the other patients either."
According to the "War Surgery Manual," Moss should have been placed far away from other patients and operated on last. If procedure had been followed, Moss would likely have bled to death, but the doctors felt compelled to save him.
Then Pvt. Moss had another life-saving break -- Staff Sgt. Dan Brown, the explosives expert who spends his time disposing of bombs and captured weapons, was on the base. In his spare time, Brown had been watching an episode of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" about a patient with an unexploded grenade in him. In that story, the bomb technician is blown up. Brown was about to play a leading role in his own non-fiction drama.
Brown was shocked to see that Moss was still alive. Most of the time his patients are deceased. Brown confirmed that they were dealing with an RPG. Moss' life hung on whether or not they would remove the rocket.
Brown explained the different scenarios of what could happen. The worst case was that they would all become "pink mist" -- everyone in the room would be killed. But to identify how much explosive power they were facing, they needed an x-ray to determine whether the RPG's warhead was inside Moss. Their notoriously temperamental x-ray machine malfunctioned, and it wasn't until the third attempt that they got a decent image.
The doctors and Brown were relieved by what they didn't see. The deadliest part of the RPG -- the main explosive charge -- was not in Moss. But their relief diminished when Brown explained to the surgeons that it would still have enough force to kill Moss and destroy their hands.
At that point, Oh ordered everyone except the critical staff out of the aid station, the two doctors and three surgical staff remained. They all knew the risk they faced.
"I looked everybody in the eye and said, 'You guys understand what's going on here, right?' And I knew everybody heard me, but nobody said anything. They just kept doing their jobs," he said.
Oh told them it was okay to leave -- but nobody did. With no words exchanged, each had decided to risk their life to save Moss.
Extreme blood loss had caused his heart to stop. Unable to do chest compressions for fear of setting off the round, they gave him epinephrine. His heart soon restarted and they could finally operate to remove the RPG.
Sgt. Brown used an unusual instrument to gently remove the RPG's tail fins -- a hacksaw. The surgeons reached inside Moss, steadying the still lethal rocket, inches from the soldier's beating heart. They then gently eased the rocket out, with the detonator aimed at Brown's flak vest.
Brown quickly walked out of the aid station to a bunker and detonated it. The sound of the explosion thundered through the base. As the surgeons closed up Moss' incisions, Sgt. Brown sat down outside to collect himself. Finally, the impact of the drama hit him.
"I started shaking. I just sat there. I knew I did everything I could to help him live. And that was very, very intense for me after the fact," he said.
Coming Home
In a matter of days, after stops at hospitals in Afghanistan and Germany, Pvt. Moss was rushed to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. There his wife, Lorena, saw him for the first time and it was almost too much to bear.
"He looked very vulnerable. I went in, and ... I walked away. I couldn't stay in the room. I broke down outside in the hallway," she said.
Moss' pelvis was shattered, his internal organs were severely damaged and he was unable to walk.
For Moss, this was another challenge in a lifetime of obstacles. Raised by family friends after a tough childhood, he had become a high school football standout, got into college, got married and had a family.
As broken as Moss' body was, he focused from the very start on recovery. He said he didn't need a doctor to tell him if he'd be able to walk again.
"I told [the doctor] ... I could feel my feet, I'm going to walk again. Told him just like that," Moss said.
For his wounds in combat, Pvt. Moss had a Purple Heart coming. But he wanted to wait. It was important for him to be able to stand to receive it.
He underwent four major surgeries followed by intense physical therapy. Pvt. Moss' recovery was steady … moving from a wheelchair to a walker to a cane.
"I wanted to walk and get my medal, I wanted to stand up, to let them know I fought hard to get where I came from," Moss said. "They say 'Army Strong' [and] I wanted to be an example of that, and I was. So I stood up, I walked over there and got my medal."
A year later Moss is home with his family and the new baby daughter, Ariana, he thought he would never meet. Despite the aches and pains, he is grateful for the risks so many soldiers took that day.
"I was given a second chance. And to whom much is given ... much is expected. So a lot is expected of me," Moss said.
For Sgt. Brown, there was never a question about taking the gamble.
"He was American, he was a solider, he was a brother and he was one of us. And there was nothing gonna stop us from doing what we knew what we had to do … We knew we did right. In that screwed up world we did something right," Brown said.
Moss is missing about two-thirds of his intestines, part of his pelvic bone and needs more repair to his left hip. A member of the staff at Walter Reed calls him “Rocket Man.”
But the infantryman, who joined the Army to help give his family a better life, said he knows he’s alive because of his fellow soldiers.
“I don’t think there has been a day in the last year and a half that I haven’t thought about them, that I haven’t prayed for them. They saved my life,” said Moss, 24, whose slender 135-pound frame belies the hearty young man who went to war 55 pounds heavier.
“I knew it was love of country and brothers in arms. I hope God watches over them if they get deployed.”
The soldiers responsible for saving Pvt. Moss were recognized for their service that day and the Army has not changed its policy regarding unexploded ordnances in soldiers.
Epilogue: Recognition for Service
Several soldiers involved with saving Moss have since been honored or promoted. Here are their current ranks and awards they have received.
Maj. John Oh, general surgeon -- The Soldier's Medal
Maj. Kevin Kirk, orthopedic surgeon -- Army Commendation Medal with Valor
SSG Eric Wynn and Pfc. Channing Moss -- Purple Heart
CW3 Jorge Correa, MEDEVAC pilot, and Sgt. John Collier, flight medic -- Air Medal with Valor
CW2 Jeremy Smith, co-pilot, and SSG Christian Roberts, crew chief -- Air Medal
Sgt Jared Angell, field medic, and SFC Dan Brown, explosives expert -- Bronze Star with Valor
Wild Thing's comemnt.....
Tears running down my cheeks! God bless our brave soldiers.
Even though this happened a couple of years ago it is such an honor to post about our Heros. I don't think a lot of people saw this story when it happened. I don't remember the media covering it. and it is the first time I have heard about it.
This is quite a story!
God bless all the people who risked their lives to save this soldier! From the medics, to the helicopter crews who willingly took “unexploded ordinance” on their flight. Talk about bravery! Loyalty, courage, in the face of death.
Every time I read about incidents such as this one I am overwhelmed by the bravery and strong ties the Brotherhood that our awesome military has and it goes on into forever with our Veterans.
God bless all of you Veterans too, you touch my life every single day !
......Thank you RAC for sending this to me.
RAC has a website that is awesome. 336th Assault Helicopter Company
13th Combat Aviation Battalion - 1st Aviation Brigade - Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM | Comments (6)
Obama Tells Russia's Putin the Cold War is History
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Obama tells Russia's Putin the Cold War is history
President Barack Obama said former Russian President Vladimir Putin and his hand-picked successor should expect an in-person reminder the Cold War is over when the U.S. leader makes his first trip to a Moscow summit.
Days before he departs for Russia, Obama said Thursday that Putin "still has a lot of sway" in his nation as its nominal prime minister. "I think that it's important that even as we move forward with President Medvedev that Putin understand that the old Cold War approaches to U.S.-Russian relations is outdated," he said. "Putin has one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new."
Wild Thing's comment.......
What a freaking Moron Obama is, he is dangerously arrogant. Putin knows he is a joke.
Putin has already warned Obama that communism (socialism) does not work. Putin will and can run circles around Obama .
I’m in for Putin all the way. He’s my guy. Heck, I want Putin to run for president in 2012. Obama has proven that being a citizen is not required. I want a president that’s willing to kill the crooks, Putin will. I just wish Putin was Black, then I know he would win.
Putin = Mighty Mouse 2012
heh heh Ok I was just kidding, I could not resist at this late hour in the middle of the night er ah morning ( 4:30 a.m.)
hahahaaha
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:48 AM | Comments (12)
Obama Suspends Military Relations With Honduras
US suspends military relations with Honduras
WASHINGTON
The Obama administration said Wednesday it has suspended joint military operations with Honduras to protest a coup that forced President Manuel Zelaya into exile. The U.S. withheld stronger action in hopes of negotiating a peaceful return of the country's elected leader.
The Organization of American States, meeting in Washington, gave Honduran coup leaders three days to restore Zelaya to power - under threat of suspending Honduras's OAS membership. Afterward, several officials said the administration is still reviewing the possibility of cutting off U.S. aid.
Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said, "We continue to monitor the situation and will respond accordingly as events transpire."
At the State Department, spokesman Ian C. Kelly said the department's top diplomat for the Americas, Thomas Shannon, met with Zelaya at OAS headquarters on Tuesday evening. Kelly would not reveal details, except to say Zelaya thanked the administration for supporting his unconditional return to power.
Kelly said he was not aware of any plan to recall the U.S. ambassador from the Honduran capital. Another official, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal deliberations, said the administration believes it stands a better chance of achieving a peaceful outcome if it keeps a diplomat in Tegucigalpa.
The official also said the U.S. was not advocating that the matter be taken up by the U.N. Security Council.
Kelly said the administration was still studying whether the forced removal of Zelaya was a military coup in a legal sense that would trigger a cutoff or suspension of American financial assistance.
"Our legal advisers are actively assessing the facts and the law in question, which we take very seriously," Kelly said.
The administration appeared to be counting on the threat of Honduras having its OAS membership suspended as leverage in getting Zelaya back in power. While the administration joined the OAS in calling for Zelaya's unconditional return, with no limits on his presidential powers, it also seemed open to some form of compromise.
U.S. officials said they were pleased that Zelaya, who had vowed to return to Honduras on Thursday, put that off after the OAS announced the three-day deadline for the country's interim leaders to accept him back. Zelaya was in Panama on Wednesday to attend that country's presidential inauguration.
Zelaya said he would put off his return until the weekend.
The decision to suspend U.S. military activities in Honduras was announced by Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman, who said, "We've postponed any activities in Honduras right now as we assess that situation."
Whitman would not be specific, but the suspension could have broad implications because the United States runs a large Central American security and counternarcotics operation from a jointly run air base in Honduras. Whitman said only operations affecting Honduras itself are on hold.
Earlier, OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza delivered what he called "an ultimatum" for Zelaya's safe return.
In a sharply worded resolution, the OAS said it vehemently condemned the coup and "the arbitrary detention and expulsion" of Zelaya.
The coup, the OAS resolution said, has produced an "unconstitutional alteration of the democratic order."
Calling Zelaya's overthrow an "old-fashioned coup," Insulza said: "We need to show clearly that military coups will not be accepted. We thought we were in an era when military coups were no longer possible in this hemisphere."
Zelaya has said he intends to return home accompanied by Insulza, the presidents of Argentina and Ecuador and the head of the U.N. General Assembly to seek restoration of his authority.
Roberto Micheletti, named by Honduras' Congress as the new president, said Tuesday that Zelaya could be met with an arrest warrant if he returned.
Wild Thing's comment.....
WoW So much for not meddling in other countries. I cannot believe the USA is allies with Chavez and Armanutjob now
Honduras has risen above the typical third world type of politics only to have the USA spit in their face for it.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:47 AM | Comments (4)
Arab Festival 2009: Sharia in the USA
Sharia Comes to Dearborn, Michigan
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
A Detailed Explanation of the Video
On June 21st, I moderated a peaceful public debate between Mary Jo Sharp and Ehteshaam Gulam. After the debate, Nabeel, Mary Jo, and I went to the Dearborn Arab Festival, which had already become an open celebration of persecution against Christians.
The festival organizers had declared that Christians could not distribute materials on the public sidewalks or street, and, when the matter was brought before the courts, the judge agreed that Christians could not freely distribute information during the festival. (Note: This decision has been defended in the media by claiming that the “no-distributing-materials” rule applied to everyone, and therefore wasn’t unfair to Christians. However, anyone who was at the festival knows that this is not true. People were walking up and down the sidewalks distributing pamphlets and brochures, right in front of security. The rule was only enforced against Christians, and therefore only the rights of Christians were violated.)
Muslim security guards (one of whom had “Hezbollah” tattooed down his forearm) took things a step further and wouldn’t even allow Christians to talk about their beliefs openly. Security guards also repeatedly entrapped Christians in an attempt to get us to violate the court order.
This even happened to me, despite the fact that I wasn’t talking to anyone about Christianity or Islam.
I had a pamphlet in my front pocket, and one of the Muslim security guards walked up to me and said, “That looks like a really interesting pamphlet. Could I have it?” She even had her walkie-talkie in hand!
Fortunately, I had already heard about this woman and other Muslim security guards doing this repeatedly at the festival, so I didn’t fall for it. That’s when Nabeel and Mary Jo entered the tent in an attempt to question a group of Muslims about a horribly inaccurate pamphlet they were distributing. What happened next may be outlined as follows:
We see a booth that is specifically for answering questions people have about Islam.
Nabeel walks up to the booth and attempts to ask a question.
When the Muslims don’t want to talk on camera, Nabeel begins walking away.
One of the Muslims (a former member of Tupac’s crew!) then invites Nabeel back for a dialogue.
Security grabs our camera and forces MJ to turn it off. Security then breaks up the discussion, despite the fact that the Muslims at the booth agreed that we could record the conversation.
We leave the tent and ask a police officer if we are free to record; he responds that we are in a public area and can record all we want. He also says that it is illegal for anyone to touch our cameras or force us to turn them off.
We walk up to some non-Muslim security guards and ask if we can record a dialogue; they reply in the affirmative.
Nabeel attempts to reestablish the discussion, but this time the Muslims at the booth don’t want to talk on camera.
We leave the booth, and I see the woman who had grabbed the camera and forced MJ to turn it off. I begin recording the woman (in case we need to identify her later), at which point she gets on her walkie-talkie and informs her fellow Muslim security guards that we are harassing her.
Following their pattern of entrapping Christians at the festival, the Muslim security guards convince two teenagers to strike up a conversation with Nabeel and snatch a pamphlet from his hand.
While one of the teens distracts Nabeel with a conversation, the other snatches the pamphlet from Nabeel's hands.
Within seconds we’re surrounded by a mob of Muslim security guards.
The Muslim security force slaps our cameras, threatens us, shouts profanity at us, openly proclaims that our rights as Americans are meaningless, pushes us, kicks and tries to trip Nabeel, and lies to the police.
The head of security then informs the police that we must be removed from the festival.
Fortunately, we got most of this on tape! See the video at the top.
Now think about this. We insisted on our Constitutional rights to (i) ask a question at a booth, and (ii) record in a public place. This was enough to get us banned from a public sidewalk in Dearborn, Michigan (the city with the highest percentage of Muslims in the U.S.). By comparison, the Muslim security guards openly harassed, intimidated, bullied, threatened, entrapped, and assaulted Christians; they openly proclaimed that they don’t care about our rights as American citizens; they used profanity as they insulted us; they lied to police. This behavior was perfectly welcome in Dearborn, even at a family festival!
I have contacted the Arab Chamber of Commerce (the organization responsible for planning the festival, selecting the security team, and deciding that Christians are no longer free to distribute information in public places). I have asked for an apology and for their thoughts on how such horrendous treatment of Christians will be avoided in the future. They have not responded.
Going back to the time of Muhammad, whenever the population of Muslims becomes significant, followers of other religions are suppressed, and the proclamation of non-Muslim beliefs is forbidden. This second-class status for non-Muslims is prescribed by Sharia, and the victims are called "dhimmis." Welcome to Sharia in the United States, my friends.
We ask you, is it a coincidence that the city with the highest percentage of Muslims in the United States is the city where Christianity is not allowed to be represented (let alone preached) on a public sidewalk? Is it coincidence that in this city, people will say "No way!" when we say "This is the United States of America"?
Is this what will happen when Islam takes over the United States?
Wild Thing's comment......
Chills, I sure am glad I don't live in that City, very scary. This kind of thing could be happening all over in the future of our country.
To see Security too acting like that when they are supposed to be the ones to calm things down. In this case above they were a huge part of the problem.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:45 AM | Comments (7)
Obama's War On Talk Radio
Wild Thing's comment......
I wonder if Obama will leave anything untouched by his filthy hands when he leaves. IF he leaves!
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....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:40 AM | Comments (9)
July 02, 2009
Meghan Kelly and Jonah Goldberg Discuss 'It's a Pattern'
Wild Thing's comment.........
I wonder if they will have Helen sit in the back of the room. hahaha
The thing Meghan mentioned at the beginning of the video about Obama stacking the deck when he has townhalll meetings is so true. I think Obama is terrified to be confronted by anyone that is honest and is sincerely wanting to ask questions.
So far every single one of his townhall meetings, during the campaign and those since he has been in office have all be set up, hand picked people and all that have worked on his campaign or are supporters.
Posted by Wild Thing at 05:40 PM | Comments (2)
Haqqani Network In Afghanistan
Haqqani network, the most deadly US foe in Afghanistan
By Anand Gopal
GARDEZ, AFGHANISTAN
Sitting in an open field, three Taliban-allied insurgents carefully pore over a map of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
"This is where we will be staying," one says, pointing.
In the next scene from this insurgent propaganda video, one fighter shows the others a video of an empty room with a window. "You will shoot at Karzai from this window," he explains to the others. "We have people on the inside who will help you."
The assassination attempt on President Hamid Karzai, which took place in April 2008 during a military parade, nearly succeeded. The president escaped, but three people died.
The fighters in this video had detailed intelligence of the area. They knew how to slip by police checkpoints, and they had people in the Afghan government telling them exactly where Mr. Karzai would be standing on the parade ground.
Afghan insurgents often film their operations from start to finish, edit the result, and release it as a propaganda video. This video was purchased in Quetta, Pakistan.
Afghan intelligence officials have identified one of the three men in the video as part of the assassination team.
All are members of Afghanistan's most lethal group, the Haqqani network, a shadowy outfit that many officials consider to be the biggest threat to the American presence in the country.
"The Haqqani network has proven itself to be the most capable [of the insurgent groups], able to conduct spectacular attacks inside Afghanistan," says Matthew DuPee, researcher at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif.
The network, which is independent of (but allied with) the Taliban, showed its mettle again on May 12, when nearly a dozen fighters stormed government buildings in Afghanistan's southeastern city of Khost. The coordinated attack featured multiple suicide bombers and was one of the most brazen to take place in the city in years.
The Haqqani network is considered the most sophisticated of Afghanistan's insurgent groups. The group is alleged to be behind many high-profile assaults, including a raid on a luxury hotel in Kabul in January 2008 and a massive car bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul that left 41 people dead in July 2008.
The group is active in Afghanistan's southeastern provinces – Paktia, Paktika, Khost, Logar, and Ghazni. In parts of Paktika, Khost, and Paktia, they have established parallel governments and control the countryside of many districts. "In Khost, government officials need letters from Haqqani just to move about on the roads in the districts," says Hanif Shah Husseini, a parliamentarian from Khost.
The leadership, according to US and Afghan sources, is based near Miramshah, North Waziristan, in the Pakistani tribal areas. Pakistani authorities and leading Haqqani figures deny this, although former Haqqani fighters say this is indeed the case.
The network is better connected to Pakistani intelligence and Arab jihadist groups than any other Afghan insurgent group, according to American intelligence officials.
These links go back a long way. It was here – in the dusty mountains of Paktia Province, near the Pakistani border – that the group's putative leader, Jalaluddin Haqqani, first rose to fame. Born into an influential clan of the Zadran tribe, Mr. Haqqani morphed into a legendary war hero for his exploits against the Russians in the 1980s. Many in the southeastern provinces of the country fondly recall his name, even those who are now in the government.
"He is a virtuous and noble man, with an unwavering belief in Islam," says Hanif Shah Hosseini, a member of the Afghan parliament from Khost. He is one of Haqqani's childhood friends.
Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson, who worked closely with the anti-Soviet insurgency (inspiring the 2007 Tom Hanks film "Charlie Wilson's War"), once called Haqqani "goodness personified."
In the 1980s, Haqqani quickly established himself as one of the preeminent field commanders. "He could kill Russians like you wouldn't believe," says one US intelligence officer who knew him at the time. The Central Intelligence Agency forged close links with him, and through the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency funneled large amounts of weapons and cash his way.
Unlike many commanders, Haqqani was often in the line of fire himself and would at times retreat to Saudi Arabia to convalesce from his wounds. It is believed that his trips to the Gulf helped him forge close links with Arab militants, and he became one of the first Afghan commanders to host foreign fighters. His ties with Arab fighters and Al Qaeda continue to this day, say US and Afghan military officials.
Although he joined the Taliban government in the mid-1990s, Haqqani was never formally part of the Taliban movement. "The Taliban wanted to create an Islamic emirate, but Haqqani favored an Islamic republic," claims Maulavi Saadullah, who was a close friend at the time.
"During those years, [Haqqani's son] Siraj used to complain to me about how heavy-handed and dogmatic the Taliban were in their interpretation of Islam," recalls Waheed Muzjda, an Afghan-based policy analyst who knew the family.
Still, the Taliban saw Haqqani's usefulness as a commander and enlisted him in the fight against the Northern Alliance. On the eve of the American invasion in October 2001, Haqqani was named the head commander for all of the Taliban forces.
But for a few months after the US-led coalition invaded Afghanistan, Haqqani was on the fence as to whether to join the new Afghan government or fight against it, according to those who knew him at the time. A series of American bombing raids killed members of Haqqani's family, and he disappeared across the Pakistani border, telling friends that "the Americans won't let me live in peace," according to Mr. Saadullah. American officials, however, countered that he was abetting Al Qaeda fighters in their escape from Afghanistan into Pakistan and was not a neutral figure.
During the early years of the current Afghan war, Haqqani was merely one Taliban commander among many. But his close ties with Pakistan's ISI and Arab militants enabled him to raise funds and build training camps. Soon he was able to fight independently against the Americans, without help from the Taliban leadership. By 2007 his network had emerged as a distinct insurgent group.
Haqqani's son Sirajuddin has now taken the reins of the organization, according to intelligence officials. The younger Haqqani has proved more dynamic than his father, expanding the network greatly in the last few years. "He is not content with his father's methods," says one US intelligence officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "He's a lot more worldly than his father."
Sirajuddin took credit for planning the assassination attempt on the Afghan president in a rare interview with NBC News in July 2008.
The father has been reported to be dead, ailing, or incapacitated in some way. He last appeared in a March 2008 propaganda video of another insurgent attack.
Unlike most of the Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani network often works closely with foreign militant groups. For instance, the Islamic Jihad Union, an Uzbek militant group, reportedly has ties to the Haqqanis. The IJU brings militants from as far afield as Turkey to conduct attacks in Afghanistan. They are also allegedly behind plots to attack targets in Europe.
The Haqqani network also works more closely with the Pakistani Taliban than other Afghan insurgent groups.
The Haqqanis pioneered the use of suicide attacks in Afghanistan, an import from Al Qaeda in Iraq. Haqqani attacks are more likely to use foreign bombers, whereas Afghan Taliban attacks tend to rely on locals. The suicide attacks are an innovation of Sirajuddin's, according to US intelligence officials.
In addition to suicide attacks, the Haqqanis are known for their well-orchestrated attacks. US intelligence officials and Haqqani insiders say that this is largely a result of close cooperation with the Pakistani ISI – something Pakistani officials have denied.
Every major attack "is planned in detail with the ISI in camps in Waziristan," says one former Haqqani commander, who declined to be named for fear of retribution. Officials say the Haqqanis use money from Al Qaeda-linked sources, and also possibly from timber smuggling, to finance their operations.
"The majority of Haqqani fighters are young," says the former Haqqani commander, "and their fathers had fought for Haqqani during the Russian jihad." Many joined after the Afghan government and the Americans failed to live up to their promises, he adds.
Here in Paktia Province, the Haqqani network is so extensive that some subcommanders have emerged as nearly distinct threats in their own right. For instance, longtime commander Saif Rahman Mansour, who had been fighting under Haqqani's banner, has been operating more independently of late, Afghan government officials say.
Wild Thing's comment......
Our troops have been hitting this terrorist group hard over the last month especially.
From The Long War Journal this is very concerning.
"The Haqqani Network: The Haqqani Network is run by Jalaluddin and his son Sirajuddin. It operates both in Pakistan and across the border in eastern Afghanistan, primarily in the provinces of Khost, Paktika, and Paktia. The network is responsible for some of the most deadly attacks in Afghanistan, and has the backing of Pakistan's military and intelligence services."
Posted by Wild Thing at 04:55 PM | Comments (2)
US: American Soldier Captured in Afghanistan
Photo of US Troops in Afghanistan, this is not the soldier that is missing. There is no photo available as of this time. The news just broke about this a couple of minutes ago. And also they are being careful to protect the soldier that is missing.
US: American soldier captured in Afghanistan
Insurgents have captured an American soldier in eastern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said Thursday.
Spokeswoman Capt. Elizabeth Mathias said the soldier went missing Tuesday.
"We are using all of our resources to find him and provide for his safe return," Mathias said.
Mathias did not provide details on the soldier, the location where he was captured or the circumstances.
"We are not providing further details to protect the soldier's well-being," she said.
An Afghan police official said the soldier went missing during the day Tuesday in the Mullakheil area of eastern Paktika province. Gen. Nabi Mullakheil said there is an American base in the area.
The news broke as thousands of U.S. Marines launched a major anti-Taliban offensive in southern Afghanistan. The missing soldier was not part of that operation.
Zabiullah Mujaheed, a spokesman for the Taliban, could not confirm that the soldier was with any of their forces. A myriad of insurgent groups operate in eastern Afghanistan, and the Taliban is only one of them.
Wild Thing's comment......
Prayers for this solider!!! I seriously hope they can rescue him quickly knowing the history of those animals!
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:47 AM | Comments (9)
Helen Thomas:"Not Even Nixon Tried to Control the Media Like Obama"
Helen Thomas: Not Even Nixon Tried to Control the Media Like Obama
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Following a testy exchange during today’s briefing with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas told CNSNews.com that not even Richard Nixon tried to control the press the way President Obama is trying to control the press.
“Nixon didn’t try to do that,” Thomas said. “They couldn’t control (the media). They didn’t try.
“What the hell do they think we are, puppets?” Thomas said. “They’re supposed to stay out of our business. They are our public servants. We pay them.”
Thomas said she was especially concerned about the arrangement between the Obama Administration and a writer from the liberal Huffington Post Web site. The writer was invited by the White House to President Obama’s press conference last week on the understanding that he would ask Obama a question about Iran from among questions that had been sent to him by people in Iran.
“When you call the reporter the night before you know damn well what they are going to ask to control you,” Thomas said.
“I’m not saying there has never been managed news before, but this is carried to fare-thee-well--for the town halls, for the press conferences,” she said. “It’s blatant. They don’t give a damn if you know it or not. They ought to be hanging their heads in shame.”
During today’s briefing, Thomas interrupted a back-and-forth between Gibbs and Chip Reid, the White House correspondent for CBS News, when Reid was questioning Gibbs about who was going to decide what questions would be asked of President Obama in a townhall meeting that was scheduled to take place in Annandale, Va., today.
Gibbs then had an exchange involving Reid and Thomas that went as follows:
Gibbs: “… But, again, let's--How about we do this? I promise we will interrupt the AP's tradition of asking the first question. I will let you [Chip Reid] ask me a question tomorrow as to whether you thought the questions at the town hall meeting that the President conducted in Annandale—“
Chip Reid: “I'm perfectly happy to—”
Helen Thomas: “That's not his point. The point is the control--”
Reid: “Exactly.”
Thomas: “We have never had that in the White House. And we have had some, but not-- This White House.”
Gibbs: “Yes, I was going to say, I'll let you amend her question.”
Thomas: “I'm amazed. I'm amazed at you people who call for openness and transparency and—”
Gibbs: “Helen, you haven't even heard the questions.”
Reid: “It doesn't matter. It's the process.”
Thomas: “You have left open—”
Reid: “Even if there's a tough question, it's a question coming from somebody who was invited or was screened, or the question was screened.”
Thomas: “It's shocking. It's really shocking.”
Gibbs: “Chip, let's have this discussion at the conclusion of the town hall meeting. How about that?”
Reid: “Okay.”
Gibbs: “I think—“
Thomas: “No, no, no, we're having it now--”
Gibbs: “Well, I'd be happy to have it now.”
Thomas: “It's a pattern.”
Gibbs: “Which question did you object to at the town hall meeting, Helen?”
Thomas: “It's a pattern. It isn't the question—”
Gibbs: “What's a pattern?”
Thomas: “It's a pattern of controlling the press.”
Gibbs: “How so? Is there any evidence currently going on that I'm controlling the press--poorly, I might add.”
Thomas: “Your formal engagements are pre-packaged.”
Gibbs: “How so?”
Reid: “Well, and controlling the public—”
Thomas: “How so? By calling reporters the night before to tell them they're going to be called on. That is shocking.”
Gibbs: “We had this discussion ad nauseam and—”
Thomas: “Of course you would, because you don't have any answers.”
Gibbs: “Well, because I didn't know you were going to ask a question, Helen.
Go ahead.”
Thomas: “Well, you should have.”
Reporter: Thank you for your support.
Gibbs: “That's good. Have you e-mailed your question today?”
Thomas: “I don't have to e-mail it. I can tell you right now what I want to ask.”
Gibbs: “I don't doubt that at all, Helen. I don't doubt that at all.”
Wild Thing's comment........
Helen came out of her coma. LOL Ubama's chickinnnnnnnnnnnnns....are comin' home to rOOst!
“What the hell do they think we are, puppets?” Thomas said. “They’re supposed to stay out of our business. They are our public servants. We pay them.”
Well yes Helen you are puppets, all in the media that had a part of Obama getting elected are his puppets. The whole bunch of you have proven you’re nothing more than marionettes dancing to Obama’s tune.
Obama is about to find out about the old saying, “Hell hath no fury like a woman reporter scorned.”
Rush was right. The State Run Media didn't give a rat's behind about anything obama's done until he stepped on their turf with the HuffPo questioner.
Posted by Wild Thing at 07:45 AM | Comments (16)
Camp Leatherneck Marines Deploy on Major Mission Afghanistan
U.S. Marine Corps file photo by Sgt. Freddy G. Cantu
Largest Marine Offensive since Vietnam -Operation Khanjar - “Strike of the Sword” Begins
Operation Khanjar (Strike of the Sword) involved nearly 4,000 US forces as well as 650 Afghan police and soldiers, the Marine Expeditionary Brigade said, announcing the pre-dawn launch of the drive in southern Helmand province… Deploying about 50 aircraft, the air and land assault was to push troops into insurgent strongholds in what officers said was the biggest offensive airlift by the Marines since Vietnam… "What makes Operation Khanjar different from those that have occurred before is the massive size of the force introduced, the speed at which it will insert," MEB commander Brigadier General Larry Nicholson said in a statement… Troops would hold areas they take until they could transfer security responsibilities to Afghan forces, said Brigadier General Larry Nicholson .
Marines Deploy on Major Mission
Thousands Fan Out in Afghanistan's South in Crucial Test for Revised U.S. Strategy
CAMP LEATHERNECK
Afghanistan
July 2
Thousands of U.S. Marines descended upon the volatile Helmand River valley in helicopters and armored convoys early Thursday, mounting an operation that represents the first large-scale test of the U.S. military's new counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan.
The operation will involve about 4,000 troops from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, which was dispatched to Afghanistan this year by President Obama to combat a growing Taliban insurgency in Helmand and other southern provinces. The Marines, along with an Army brigade that is scheduled to arrive later this summer, plan to push into pockets of the country where NATO forces have not had a presence. In many of those areas, the Taliban has evicted local police and government officials and taken power.
Once Marine units arrive in their designated towns and villages, they have been instructed to build and live in small outposts among the local population. The brigade's commander, Brig. Gen. Lawrence D. Nicholson, said his Marines will focus their efforts on protecting civilians from the Taliban and on restoring Afghan government services, instead of mounting a series of hunt-and-kill missions against the insurgents.
"We're doing this very differently," Nicholson said to his senior officers a few hours before the mission began. "We're going to be with the people. We're not going to drive to work. We're going to walk to work."
Similar approaches have been tried in the eastern part of the country, but none has had the scope of the mission in Helmand, a vast province that is largely an arid moonscape save for a band of fertile land that lines the Helmand River. Poppies grown in that territory produce half the world's supply of opium and provide the Taliban with a valuable source of income.
The operation launched early Thursday represents a shift in strategy after years of thwarted U.S.-led efforts to destroy Taliban sanctuaries in Afghanistan and extend the authority of the Afghan government into the nation's southern and eastern regions. More than seven years after the fall of the Taliban government, the radical Islamist militia remains a potent force across broad swaths of the country. The Obama administration has made turning the war around a top priority, and the Helmand operation, if it succeeds, is seen as a potentially critical first step.
Traveling through swirling dust clouds under the light of a half-moon, the first Marine units departed from this remote desert base shortly after midnight on dual-rotor CH-47 Chinook transport helicopters backed by AH-64 Apache gunships and NATO fighter jets. Additional forces poured into the valley during the pre-dawn hours on more helicopters and in heavy transport vehicles designed to withstand the makeshift but lethal bombs that Taliban fighters have planted along the roads.
The initial Marine units did not face resistance as they converged on their destinations. Marine commanders said before the start of the operation that they expected only minimal Taliban opposition at the outset but that assaults on the forces would probably increase once they moved into towns and began patrols. Field commanders have been told to prepare for suicide attacks, ambushes and roadside bombings.
Officers here said the mission, which required months of planning, is the Marines' largest operation since the 2004 invasion of Fallujah, Iraq. In the minutes after midnight, well-armed Marines trudged across the tarmac at this sprawling outpost to board the Chinooks, which lumbered aloft with a burst of searing dust. A few hours later, another contingent of Marines boarded a row of CH-53 Super Stallion helicopters packed onto a relatively small landing pad at a staging base in the desert south of here. As the choppers clattered through the night sky, dozens of armored vehicles rolled toward towns along the river valley.
The U.S. strategy here is predicated on the belief that a majority of people in Helmand do not favor the Taliban, which enforces a strict brand of Islam that includes an-eye-for-an-eye justice and strict limits on personal behavior. Instead, U.S. officials believe, residents would rather have the Afghan government in control, but they have been cowed into supporting the Taliban because there was nobody to protect them.
In areas south of the provincial capital, local leaders, and even members of the police force, have fled. An initial priority for the Marines will be to bring back Afghan government officials and reinvigorate the local police forces. Marine commanders also plan to help district governors hold shuras -- meetings of elders in the community -- in the next week.
"Our focus is not the Taliban," Nicholson told his officers. "Our focus must be on getting this government back up on its feet."
But Nicholson and his top commanders recognize that making that happen involves tackling numerous challenges, starting with a lack of trust among the local population. That mistrust stems from concern over civilian casualties resulting from U.S. military operations as well as from a fear that the troops will not stay long enough to counter the Taliban. The British army, which had been responsible for all of Helmand since 2005 under NATO's Afghan stabilization effort, lacked the resources to maintain a permanent presence in most parts of the province.
"A key to establishing security is getting the local population to understand that we're going to be staying here to help them -- that we're not driving in and driving out," said Col. Eric Mellenger, the brigade's operations officer.
With the arrival of the Marines, British forces have redeployed around the capital of Helmand, Lashkar Gah, where they are conducting a large anti-Taliban operation designed to complement the Marine mission. Two British soldiers were reported killed in fighting in the province Wednesday.
The Marines have also been vexed by a lack of Afghan security forces and a near-total absence of additional U.S. civilian reconstruction personnel. Nicholson had hoped that his brigade, which has about 11,000 Marines and sailors, would be able to conduct operations with a similar number of Afghan soldiers. But thus far, the Marines have been allotted only about 500 Afghan soldiers, which he deems "a critical vulnerability."
"They see things intuitively that we don't see," he said. "It's their country, and they know it better than we do."
Despite commitments from the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development that they would send additional personnel to help the new forces in southern Afghanistan with reconstruction and governance development, State has added only two officers in Helmand since the Marines arrived. State has promised to have a dozen more diplomats and reconstruction experts working with the Marines, but only by the end of the summer.
To compensate in the interim, the Marines are deploying what officers here say is the largest-ever military civilian-affairs contingent attached to a combat brigade -- about 50 Marines, mostly reservists, with experience in local government, business management and law enforcement. Instead of flooding the area of operations with cash, as some units did in Iraq, the Marine civil affairs commander, Lt. Col. Curtis Lee, said he intends to focus his resources on improving local government.
Once basic governance structures are restored, civilian reconstruction personnel plan to focus on economic development programs, including programs to help Afghans grow legal crops in the area. Senior Obama administration officials say creating jobs and improving the livelihoods of rural Afghans is the key to defeating the Taliban, which has been able to recruit fighters for as little as $5 a day in Helmand.
In meetings with his commanders at forward operating bases over the past three days, Nicholson acknowledged that focusing on governance and population security does not come as naturally to Marines as conducting offensive operations, but he told them it is essential that they focus on "reining in the pit bulls."
"We're not going to measure your success by the number of times your ammunition is resupplied. . . . Our success in this environment will be very much predicated on restraint," he told a group of officers from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines on Sunday. "You're going to drink lots of tea. You're going to eat lots of goat. Get to know the people. That's the reason why we're here."
Wild Thing's comment.....
Prayers for their safety and a successful mission. Chesty is cheering them on!!
I am not sure how true this is. "officers said was the biggest offensive airlift by the Marines since Vietnam". The Marines were also in Iraq. But I forget how many but I do remember we had a lot of Marines and Army in Iraq.....a lot of each.
When the articles are not written by the DOD I want to make sure it is accurate, but no way to check right now as these are the only links right now.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM | Comments (6)
Prisoner Wrongly Imprisoned by Sotomayor Converts To Islam While In Prison
Sotomayor Achilles' heel? Wrongly imprisoned man
The nomination by President Obama of 2nd Circuit Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court is more than alarming to an innocent man who was convicted of murder and spent 16 years in prison before being cleared and released.
Jeff Deskovic, whose pursuit of freedom has been chronicled by the New York Times and others, told WND that the last six of those years are directly attributable to decisions endorsed by Sotomayor.
"I'm very alarmed," he said. "The rest of my life, as a result of my ordeal, is dedicated to preventing this from happening to other people."
Sotomayor in her 2nd Circuit position repeatedly put "procedure over innocence" and rejected appeals that could have provided Deskovic with his freedom much earlier than it actually happened, he told WND.
He blames the prosecutors and others in his original case for getting his conviction and sentence, but he blames Sotomayor – and the other judge on the 2nd Circuit panel – for the last six years he remained in prison.
The other judge, he told WND, is equally culpable, but is not now being nominated for the highest court in the land.
The background of the case is all over the public record. He was arrested and accused of assaulting and killing 15-year-old Angela Correa in 1989 and went on trial in 1990 when he was 17.
A year to make up for 16 lost ones: Jeffrey Deskovic reflects on freedom, fears
September 2007
DOBBS FERRY - When Jeffrey Deskovic was exonerated a year ago today, after spending half his life in prison for a brutal crime he didn't commit, he vowed to make up for lost time.
~snipet~
Upon his release, Deskovic had to support himself with welfare checks, donations and help from the Hudson Valley Islamic Community Center in Mohegan Lake, which provided the Muslim convert with a communal apartment until Mercy College found him a dorm room.
Continuing his quest for independence and justice, Deskovic filed a lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court against police and prosecutors who contributed to his conviction; a separate lawsuit is planned in the state Court of Claims seeking compensation for his wrongful incarceration.
Though still struggling financially, he has started earning small stipends from his speaking engagements and writing assignments, listed on his website.
http://www.jeffreydeskovicspeaks.org/
The publicity also propels his 10-year life plan, he said, beginning with law school - preferably Pace - and culminating with a run for public office.
He wants to stay in Westchester County, even though his family now lives upstate.
.
Wild Thing's comment.......
First of all, I am sorry this man was wrongly put in jail I really am, no one should have that happen to them.
But here is my problem with this guy. While in prison he converted to Islam and right now he is being supported partl;y by the Hudson Valley Islamic Community Center.
I do agree that this conviction goes against Sotomayor big time! I just wish he had not become a Muslim.
"Upon his release, Deskovic had to support himself with welfare checks, donations and help from the Hudson Valley Islamic Community Center in Mohegan Lake, which provided the Muslim convert with a communal apartment until Mercy College found him a dorm room."
There is no such thing as a "moderate Muslim".....imo.
As a country we are headed for major problems with followers of Islam. We already see what has happened to other countries around the world and that was before we had Obama in power. Now it is an open door and Obama and Eric Holder have already made it where Muslims will get special protection.
my post on June 6th
AG Eric Holder and Obama Pledge To Protect American Muslims
"DOJ issues statement “to protect American Muslims;” silent on protecting Americans from jihadists It’s a statement “to protect American Muslims.”
And a Moderate Muslim??????
Here is another post I did on February 14th of this year
A N.Y. So Called "Moderate" Muslim Leader Beheads Wife
Founded TV network to combat negative perceptions of Muslims Hassan was a community leader and a so called "moderate" Muslim. He was the founder of Bridges TV. A show started to help combat the negative perceptions of Islam"
We have read story after story about " moderate Muslims" killing family members or non family members. A daughter puts lipstick on and is murdered, a wife wants a divorce and is beheaded and on and on.
Yes he was in prison and yes he was innocent according to the above article. But how many of us would turn to Islam if that happened to us, or how many of us would turn to God, the one true God and not want anything to do with Islam.
It says he wants to be a lawyer and that he is also against the death penalty. That makes me soooo happy....NOT. I am for the death penalty.
Muslims don't need a death penalty they have their own and they carry it our around the world in the devastation and destruction they bring to the world. Islam worships death. Non Muslims celebrate life.
Prisons are infested with people converting prisoners to Islam.
IMO we have got to take Islam seriously, it is breathing down our necks as a nation and it comes straight from the Oval Office now. I don't want our awesome country to become like England, Sweden, Germany, and France etc.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:48 AM | Comments (6)
Federal Agents Hunt For Guns, One House At A Time
Federal agents hunt for guns, one house at a time
In front of a run-down shack in north Houston, federal agents step from a government sedan into 102-degree heat and face a critical question: How can the woman living here buy four high-end handguns in one day?
The house is worth $35,000. A screen dangles by a wall-unit air conditioner. Porch swing slats are smashed, the smattering of grass is flattened by cars and burned yellow by sun.
“I’ll do the talking on this one,” agent Tim Sloan, of South Carolina, told partner Brian Tumiel, of New York.
Success on the front lines of a government blitz on gunrunners supplying Mexican drug cartels with Houston weaponry hinges on logging heavy miles and knocking on countless doors. Dozens of agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — sent here from around the country — are needed to follow what ATF acting director Kenneth Melson described as a “massive number of investigative leads.”
All told, Mexican officials in 2008 asked federal agents to trace the origins of more than 7,500 firearms recovered at crime scenes in Mexico. Most of them were traced back to Texas, California and Arizona.
Among other things, the agents are combing neighborhoods and asking people about suspicious purchases as well as seeking explanations as to how their guns ended up used in murders, kidnappings and other crimes in Mexico.
“Ever turning up the heat on cartels, our law enforcement and military partners in the government of Mexico have been working more closely with the ATF by sharing information and intelligence,” Melson said Tuesday during a firearms-trafficking summit in New Mexico.
Firearms dealers visited
The ATF recently dispatched 100 veteran agents to its Houston division, which reaches to the border.
The mission is especially challenging because, officials say, that while Houston is the number one point of origin for weapons traced back to the United States from Mexico, the government can’t compile databases on gun owners under federal law.
Agents instead review firearms dealers’ records in person.
People who are legally in the United States and have clean criminal records, but are facing economic problems are often recruited by traffickers to buy weapons on their behalf in order to shield themselves from scrutiny.
Knocks at the door of the shack that looked to be the definition of hard times went unanswered.
“I am out of here,” Sloan said a few moments later, as a pit bull lazily sauntered from the back yard. “I don’t like pit bulls walking up behind me.”
Best information source
On second thought, Sloan switched to Spanish and interviewed a neighbor.
The neighbor said the woman left a month ago after a fight with her husband or boyfriend, who still lived there with what she called “other degenerates.”
“An angry ex-girlfriend or wife is the best person in the world, the greatest source of information,” Sloan said.
The night before, the duo were in a stakeout where they watched a weapons sale.
They also combined efforts with the Drug Enforcement Administration for an aircraft to stealthily follow traffickers to the border.
On this day, agents weren’t wearing raid jackets or combat boots and weren’t armed with warrants.
Guns were hidden under civilian shirts.
Another tip took agents on a 30-minute drive from the shack to a sprawling home with a pool in the back and an American flag out front.
It turned out two handguns, of a type drug gangsters prefer, were bought by a pastor for target practice.
Some stories, they say, are hard to believe.
The lamest so far came from a police officer: He said he bought a few military-style rifles, left them in his car and — on the same night — forgot to lock a door. He couldn’t explain why he didn’t file a police report or why he visited Mexico the day after the alleged theft.
Wild Thing's comment.......
I guess multiple gun purchases in day are red flagged.
....Thank you JohnE PFC U.S. Army for sending this to me.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:45 AM | Comments (8)
President Reagan Jokes About the Soviet Union
One of Ronald Reagan’s favorite pastimes was collecting jokes about the Soviet Union. Most times they were jokes by folks from the Soviet Union themselves, dealing with the government running everything in their lives.
Wild Thing's comment........
President Reagan was a great president, obama couldn't tie Reagans shoes.
He would hate what has been happening aa much as all of us do. The take over of companies, these bills that are a huge part of Obama's agenda. The shocking spending Obama has been doing, his horrible treatment of our military so many things.
.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:40 AM | Comments (2)
July 01, 2009
Terrorists Behead Polish Engineer Piotr Stanczak's Refusal to Convert To Islam
.
Given the opportunity by his devout kidnappers to avoid beheading by converting to Islam, engineer Piotr Stanczak chose death.
Polish engineer's refusal to convert costs him his life
Piotr Stanczak did not exhibit the slightest hint of hesitation when the Pakistani Taliban asked him to choose between execution and conversion to Islam.
Whether the Polish geologist acted out of pride or religious conviction, he decided to pay through his blood to save his faith, a choice that bewildered his killers and keep them talking about him with respect after his murder.
Stanczak, 42, was kidnapped Sep 28 on his way to survey for oil exploration in Attock district, of Pakistan's eastern province of Punjab. The kidnappers also killed his driver and two guards. Militants released a gruesome seven-minute video in early February showing his beheading. One of the murderers blamed the Pakistani government which failed to accept their demands for the release of detained militants.
Warsaw reacted angrily, slammed Islamabad's "apathy" in tackling terrorism and offering a 1 million zloty ($300,000) reward for information leading to the capture of the Taliban militants who beheaded Stanczak.
Among the militants whose release was sought by the Taliban was Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a British-Pakistani who was sentenced to death for the 2002 abduction and murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl.
When negotiations between the representatives of the Pakistani government and the hostage-takers failed, the Taliban leadership gave the Polish man a last chance to save himself, Stanczak's captors revealed to another hostage, a Pakistani man Mohammad Amir.
Amir - a pseudonym as he asked for anonymity to avoid possible repercussions - was released recently after his family paid 1 million rupees ($25,000) to agents of Taliban commander Tariq Afridi.
Afridi heads a small group of Taliban in the Orakzai tribal district and is loyal to Baitullah Mehsud, the chief of local Taliban who has a $5 million bounty on his head for being an Al Qaeda facilitator. Pakistani troops have recently been ordered to take decisive action against Mehsud.
In an interview with DPA in Attock, Amir said he was kept in the same cell where Stanczak was held for a month before the Polish man was decapitated. Amir said Taliban soldiers guarding the two-storey prison building in South Waziristan, a lawless tribal district bordering Afghanistan, frequently chatted with him and one day they mentioned the abduction and killing of Stanczak.
"Our people were keeping an eye on his (Stanczak) movements for several months. We were expecting that we could exchange some of our mujahideen in the government's custody for him," Amir quoted a guard as saying.
Because Stanczak was a high-profile target, the Taliban made extensive preparations to kidnap and shift him to a safe place from Attock, some 100 km from Islamabad.
"You know the Indus river lies between Attock and North Western Frontier Province (NWFP) and our people could not use the bridge to cross it because it is heavily guarded. So we bought a boat to transport Piotr across the border," the guard, who identified himself as Abdullah, told Amir.
From NWFP, Stanczak was moved to the Tirah Valley of the adjoining Khyber tribal district, and a month later to the Taliban's stronghold of South Waziristan, a 14-hour drive through muddy mountain tracks.
"Piotr never showed any sign of nervousness or fear. He would finish the food we gave him and sleep well. We all admired his courage. It was not an easy decision even for our commander to kill Piotr," Abdullah said. "That's why he gave him a last chance."
"But he was very stubborn and refused our goodwill gesture to save his life," Abdullah was cited as saying by Amir. Piotr said first we should release him. He will go back to his country, consult his family and read about Islam and only then decide about converting to Islam.
"This surprised everyone but we had to kill him because principles are principles - we gave him a chance and he lost it," the guard told Amir. "But undoubtedly he was a brave man."
The son and Stanczak's girlfriend of Polish geologist murdered by militants in Pakistan pay homage to him at his casket after his remains return to Warsaw, Poland .AP Photo
Body of Polish man slain in Pakistan returned home
April 29, 2009
Warsaw, Poland
The remains of a Polish geologist beheaded by militants in Pakistan were returned to Poland in a casket draped in the two countries' flags and covered in flowers.
Piotr Stanczak's body was flown to Warsaw's military airport on a Pakistani air force plane. In a short ceremony on the tarmac, a Roman Catholic priest prayed over the white casket.
Dressed in black, Stanczak's son and girlfriend stood briefly by the casket, their heads bowed.
The geologist was one of a handful of foreigners kidnapped in Pakistan in recent months as the country witnessed deterioration in security along with a rise in al-Qaida and Taliban-led violence.
Stanczak was kidnapped Sept. 28 close to the Afghan border while he was carrying out a project for a Krakow-based geophysics company that surveys oil and gas fields.
He was held hostage for several months before his captors beheaded him in February, a killing that they videotaped.
On Sunday, a car dropped the casket near a paramilitary camp in Razmak, Pakistan.
Officials then confirmed the remains were those of Stanczak.
Wild Thing's comment........
This innocent man, to the end, probably had the faint hope, if not the expectation, that his captors would not wantonly and cruelly murder him.
It’s difficult to get decent, regular folk to understand that this is real and possibly coming to this country. We will be seeing similar cases right here in the USA in view of our government’s effort to bring in more and more Muslims. And the fact that obama favors Muslims above all.
And the world is waiting for the “moderate” muslims throughout the world to condemn this act.........waiting for the sun to turn into a Red Giant and then become a white dwarf.
Obama these are YOUR people that did this.
Posted by Wild Thing at 03:55 PM | Comments (11)
U.S. Combat Forces Turning Over Security of Cities in Iraq
Army Capt. Rich Turvey, commander of 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery Regiment, signs over Joint Security Station Salaam to Iraqi army 1st Lt. Jassim Abbas at a transfer ceremony near Numaniyah, Iraq, June 20, 2009. In accordance with the U.S.-Iraqi security agreement, Iraqi security forces took full ownership of security in their cities, towns and villages on June 30, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Joe Thompson
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Withdrawal Marks Historic Day for Future of Iraq, General Says
By Army Staff Sgt. Dave Lankford
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq, June 30, 2009
In accordance with Article 5 of the security agreement between the U.S. and Iraqi governments, Iraqi security forces now have full ownership of security in their cities, towns and villages.
“As of today, U.S. combat forces will turn over the security of cities to Iraqi security forces, and begin a period where our primary security role is one of training, mentoring and advising the ISF,” said Army Maj. Gen. Rick Nash, Multinational Division South commander. “Today’s ISF is capable, ready and dedicated to keeping the people of Iraq safe.”
Nash praised the dedication of the Iraqi security forces as well as the proficiency of U.S. and coalition forces, and attributed the successful implementation of the security agreement to their actions.
“Iraq’s successes and significantly improved security are a testament of the ISF’s progress and its dedication to Iraq’s sovereignty,” Nash said. “The Iraqis have made strides in their ability to protect their citizens, and our brave soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are doing a great job in helping them build both their security forces and their civil capacity.”
Though U.S. and coalition forces no longer will inhabit Iraqi cities, they will continue to support the Iraqi security forces within the parameters of the security agreement, Nash said.
“Leaving the cities does not mean that we are backing off,” he said. “Instead, it indicates our confidence in the Iraqis to safeguard their own citizens. Likewise, the security agreement is a tangible, positive sign of a mature relationship between two sovereign nations.”
In accordance with agreement, U.S. forces will withdraw from all Iraqi territory by Dec. 31, 2011. Today will be remembered as a significant step toward the realization of that objective, Nash noted.
“So, on this important day of transition in Iraq, our two nations move forward together as friends, with the shared goal of the safety and security of the Iraqi people,” he said. “I am very encouraged about the future success of Iraq.”
Gen. Raymon Oderno, commnading general, Multi-National Forces-Iraq pays tribute at the Monument of the Unkown Solidiers, June 30.
Iraqi officials and military commanders place flowers on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier and to stand a minute to read (Surat Al-Fatihah) for the lives of the martyrs of Iraq.
As U.S. Meets Withdrawal Deadline, Baghdad Declares Holiday
As the United States completed its withdrawal of combat forces from Iraqi cities in accordance with today's deadline, Baghdad commemorated the milestone with a national holiday.
The departing American brigades and battalions leave behind a significantly smaller contingent of U.S. trainers and advisors in the cities, where Iraqi forces now have primary authority, the top U.S. commander in Iraq said.
Meanwhile, news reports from Baghdad describe Iraqis marking the day with a military parade attended by Iraqi reporters and dignitaries in the international area known as the "Green Zone" at the official monument to an unknown soldier.
Similar celebrations took place around the country in recent days as the American drawdown from cities neared completion.
But today's transfer of responsibility to Iraqi security forces represents a "significant milestone," Odierno said.
"It is a day when Iraqis celebrate as they continue to move towards exercising their full sovereignty," he said. "The Iraqi people should be very proud of the dedication, progress and sacrifice of the Iraqi security forces and the government of Iraq. Their accomplishments in preparing for this day are commendable."
As Iraqis secure the cities, Odierno said, U.S. forces are establishing a layer of defense outside the urban areas, conducting full-spectrum and stability operations alongside Iraqis to eliminate safe havens, crack down on insurgents and stem the flow of foreign fighters. U.S. forces also will support civil efforts led by the U.S. Embassy, the Iraqi government, and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq, he said.
"Our combat forces, partnering with the Iraqi security forces, will secure the belts and borders in an attempt to eliminate safe havens and sanctuaries and to limit freedom of movement of insurgents and prevent the facilitation of foreign fighters through the borders," he said.
As Iraqis celebrate a nationwide holiday highlighting their added responsibility, Americans also can be proud of the efforts by U.S. forces to stabilize Iraq, which last month had the lowest levels of violence since the war began six years ago, the general noted.
"The American people can also be very proud, as well, of the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, as well as our civilians, who have worked so hard over the past years -- and tirelessly -- and sacrificed so much in helping the people of Iraq progress towards a peaceful and democratic society," Odierno said.
Maj. Jacob Evans, team chief for Military Transition Team 0228, instructs an Iraqi Soldier on the proper placement of the flag on a uniform aboard Camp Hamza, Iraq
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Wild Thing's comment.......
OK now I want to show you something, this was
June 30, 2009
Obama statement on Iraq
Transcript from President Obama's remarks on Iraq:Today American troops have transferred control of all Iraqi cities and towns to Iraq's government and security forces.
This transition was agreed to last year as part of our status of forces agreement with the sovereign Iraqi government. It's a part of our strategy to responsibly end the war by removing all American combat brigades from Iraq by next September and all of our troops from Iraq by the end of 2011.
So the Iraqi people are rightly treating this day as a cause for celebration. This is important step forward as a sovereign and united Iraq continues to take control of its own destiny.
With this progress comes responsibility. Iraq's future is in the hands of its own people, and Iraq's leaders must now make some hard choices necessary to resolve key political questions, to advance opportunity and to provide security for their towns and their cities.
In this effort America will be a strong partner to the Iraqi people on behalf of their security and prosperity.
Now, make no mistake, there will be difficult days ahead. We know that the violence in Iraq will continue. We see that already in the senseless bombing in Kirkuk earlier today. And there are those who will test Iraq's security forces and the resolve of the Iraqi people through more sectarian bombings and the murder of innocent civilians.
But I'm confident that those forces will fail.
The future belongs to those who build, not those who destroy. ( Obama has done nothing BUT try to destroy, That is all he has done with America since he was sworn in and that is all he has tried to do with the moral and non funding of our troops in the war. Destroy should be his middle name. ~ Wild Thing)
And today's transition is further proof that those who have tried to pull Iraq into the abyss of disunion and civil war are on the wrong side of history. ( that has Obama's name written all over it! ~ Wild Thing)
Finally, the very fact that Iraqis are celebrating this day is a testament to the courage, the capability and commitment of every single American who has served in Iraq. Through... That's worth applauding.
Through tour after tour of duty, our troops have overcome every obstacle to extend this precious opportunity to the Iraqi people. ( Obama get real , you are the big ole Muslim loving Military hating OBSTACLE!~ Wild Thing)
And these women and men are not always in the headlines, but they're our hearts and prayers. And we will forever honor their selfless service and sacrifice, as well as the service and sacrifice of their families.
There's more work to be done, but we've made important progress in supporting a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq. And everyone who's served there, both in uniform as well as our civilians, deserves our thanks.
Now, it's fitting that we're here today to talk about what each of us can do to lift up this nation, because our troops' sacrifice challenges all of us to do what we can do to be better citizens. That's what the people that you've heard from already are doing every single day.
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Obama is so full of it! He makes my stomach turn.
NEVER FORGET....NEVER FORGET.....NEVER FORGET!
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:55 AM | Comments (10)
Biden to Take New Role Overseeing Iraq Policy
Biden to take new role overseeing Iraq policy....Biden's New Job: Beacon Of Bipartisanship
President Barack Obama has asked Vice President Joe Biden to take on a new role overseeing the US departure from Iraq and Washington's effort to promote internal political reconciliation there.
The White House said Tuesday that Biden would work closely with General Ray Odierno, the top US commander in Iraq and US ambassador to Baghdad Christopher Hill as US forces prefer to leave for good by the end of 2011.
"The vice president has been asked by the president to oversee the policy," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Tuesday.
Biden would work with Iraqis "toward overcoming their political differences and achieving the type of reconciliation that we all understand has yet to fully take place but needs to take place."
"Given his knowledge of the region, the number of times he's been there, he's perfectly suited for this type of role," Gibbs said.
Biden, who was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee before becoming vice president, has made repeated trips to Iraq, and is playing a similar role overseeing a 787 billion economic stimulus package.
Gibbs said that an idea once put forward by Biden, of dividing Iraq's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish communities into a federation of autonomous zones, was not on the table for the Obama administration.
He said the vice president's role would likely include travel to Iraq and also meetings with the key players on US Iraq policy.
Biden's new portfolio had been rumored for several days, and Gibbs confirmed the reports on the day that US troops withdrew from the center of Iraqi cities and towns under an agreement with the Baghdad government.
Wild Thing's commnet..........
LOL Obama has been getting ticked at Biden for his many gaffes. The last one I think was when he kidded about the birth certificate. So now he has planned for Biden to be as far away from 1600 Penn. Ave. as possible.
Talk about your disasters waiting to happen!
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:50 AM | Comments (8)
Obama Open For Taxing People Earning Less Than $250,000
White House open to new tax on health benefits
WASHINGTON
The Obama White House left open the possibility Sunday that the president would break a campaign promise and raise taxes on people earning less than $250,000 to support his health care overhaul agenda.
White House adviser David Axelrod said the administration wouldn't rule out taxing some employees' benefits to fund a health care agenda that has yet to take final form. The move would be a compromise with fellow Democrats, who are pushing the proposal as a way to pay for the massive undertaking without ballooning the federal deficit.
"There are a number of formulations and we'll wait and see. The important thing at this point is to keep the process moving, to keep people at the table, to the keep the discussions going," Axelrod said. "We've gotten a long way down the road and we want to finish that journey."
But if President Barack Obama compromises on that point, it would reverse a campaign tax promise.
"I pledge that under my plan, no one making less than $250,000 a year will see any type of tax increase," Obama told a crowd in Dover, N.H., last year. "Not income tax, not capital gains taxes, not any kind of tax."
At the time, his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was proposing a tax on health benefits similar to the plan Obama is now considering. Just a year ago, Obama spent millions on campaign commercials attacking the idea.
One ad accused McCain of favoring "taxing health benefits for the first time ever ... taxing health care instead of fixing it. We can't afford John McCain."
A second Obama ad called McCain's approach "the largest middle-class tax increase in history." Driving the point home, it contended the "McCain tax could cost your family thousands. Can you afford it?"
Under the current proposals, a tax on health benefits would affect only those with pricey health plans. The idea would be to tax as income the portion of health benefits worth more than a specified limit. Officials are considering several options, including one that would set the limit at $17,240 for family coverage and $6,800 for individuals.
Plans worth more than that would be taxed; those worth less would see no increase.
Obama has faced similar criticism before. When he increased taxes on tobacco to pay for a children's health bill, his critics said he was raising taxes on those making less than $250,000 a year.
Obama left open the possibility of a tax during interviews last week, insisting he wasn't taking any option off the table despite his personal opposition. But two of his high-profile advisers - budget chief Peter Orszag and economic adviser Jason Furman - both have indicated they support some taxes on health benefits to pay for the overhaul.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said that Obama should step in an oppose the tax if he's truly against it. Otherwise, he faces a loss to his own Democratic Party and his own campaign credibility.
"I think it's going to take presidential leadership to get people of his party to see that we shouldn't be subsidizing high-end health insurance policies that drive up inflation in health insurance," said Grassley, the top Republican on the powerful finance committee.
Grassley - and, to be sure, other Republicans - remember Obama's scathing criticism of their GOP presidential nominee.
"Since the president denigrated John McCain's effort to move in this direction during the campaign, it's going to take, in order to win over Republicans, presidential leadership in that direction," Grassley said.
To help sell his plan, Obama scheduled a town hall-style meeting this week in Annandale, Va., a Washington suburb. He plans to take questions Wednesday from the audience and from online sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
Wild Thing's comment.........
Another townhall UNTownhall meeting????? Can't this freak Obama ever stay off camera?
And again will the Union people and the elected government officials/workers be exempt again on this one?
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:49 AM | Comments (12)
Clinton Urged Obama To Talk Tough On Iran
Clinton urged Obama to talk tough on Iran
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged President Obama for two days to toughen his language on Iran before he did so, and then was surprised when he condemned Iran's crackdown on demonstrators last week, administration officials say.
At his June 23 news conference, Mr. Obama said he was "appalled and outraged" by Iranian behavior and "strongly condemned" the violence against anti-government demonstrators. Up until then, Mr. Obama and other administration officials had taken a softer line, expressing "deep concern" about the situation and calling on Iran to "respect the dignity of its own people."
Behind the scenes, the officials, who spoke on the condition that they not be named because they were discussing internal deliberations, said Mrs. Clinton had been advocating the stronger U.S. response, but the president resisted. When he finally took her advice, the aides said, he did so without informing her first.
This was the first known example of awkwardness between the two former rivals for the Democratic nomination for president since they made up following Mr. Obama's election. The disagreement also gave some insight into the Obama administration's foreign policy decision-making process five months into its term.
Wild Thing's comment.........
We know Obama can be tuff, he just doesn't want to be with Muslims. or his communist buddies.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:48 AM | Comments (10)
Obama Backing of Zelaya Draws Criticism
Charles Krauthammer talks about Honduras and how wrong Obama is about it.
"Two weeks ago he refuses to meddle in a country where peaceful demonstrators are getting shot be a theocratic dictatorship. He doesn't want to choose sides. And, now he's eager to meddle on behalf of a president in Honduras who's a Chavez wannabe who's strong-arming his way to a referendum that has been declared illegal by his Supreme Court as a way to have a referendum to establish a assembly that will establish a new constitution that will be a Chavez-like dictatorship... Look a rule of thumb here is whenever you find yourself on the side of Hugo Chavez, Daniel Ortega and the Castro twins you ought to re-examine your assumptions."
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Supporters of Honduras' interim President, Roberto Micheletti
A man holds a banner against ousted president Manuel Zelaya during a rally at Morazan Square in central Tegucigalpa. Officials Tuesday ordered the arrest of ousted President Zelaya if he returns to Honduras after being expelled in an army-backed coup, as thousands of protesters took to the streets here.
(AFP/Jose Cabezas)
White House backing of Zelaya starts to draw criticism
by Bridget Johnson
The U.S. co-sponsored a successful U.N. resolution supporting Honduras's ousted leader Tuesday as Republicans began to speak out against the Obama administration's condemnation of the overthrow.
Manuel Zelaya, who was arrested and forced into exile Sunday, addressed the U.N. General Assembly after the unanimous vote on the resolution sponsored in part by Bolivia, Mexico, Venezuela and the United States.
"The resolution that the United Nations has just adopted unanimously ... expresses the indignation of the people of Honduras and the people worldwide," said Zelaya, who began his speech by thanking Venezuela and Ecuador.
President Obama, meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Monday, said the U.S. would "stand with democracy" in the face of the overthrow.
"We believe that the coup was not legal and that President Zelaya remains the democratically elected president there," Obama said. "It would be a terrible precedent if we start moving backward into the era in which we are seeing military coups as a means of political transition rather than democratic elections."
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday that the ouster "should be condemned by all."
When contacted for comment by The Hill on Tuesday, the office of Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) said the senator was reserving comment until the situation in Honduras becomes clearer.
Zelaya planned to return to Honduras on Thursday accompanied by the head of the Organization of the American States, which was to meet in Washington after the U.N. session to formulate a response.
"I believe, if he — if he does come either today or tomorrow, that he will likely meet with officials from the State Department, some of whom, as I said, have been in contact," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said in Tuesday's briefing, repeating this when pressed by a reporter about whether Zelaya would meet with Obama.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has urged Zelaya to try to speak with Obama while in D.C., saying the American president's support would "deliver a major blow" to Honduras's interim government.
But that support for Zelaya, who was arrested and forced into exile on Sunday after pressing ahead with a constitutional referendum that would have allowed for his reelection, is gradually drawing more criticism of the White House.
"Manuel Zelaya trampled the Honduran Constitution by pushing for his illegal referendum to allow him to rule indefinitely, and by firing the top military official, General Romeo Vasquez Velasquez, when he refused to comply with Zelaya's unconstitutional orders," Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) said in a statement to The Hill on Tuesday.
"There is little doubt that Zelaya, in his blatant power grab, has moved Honduras down a dangerous path toward less freedom, less security, and less prosperity. He consistently ignored the checks and balances which are essential to a democratic government."
The referendum had been judged illegal by Honduras's highest court and was opposed widely through political and military circles, including within Zelaya's own party.
Wild Thing's comment.........
Charles Krauthammer was dead on. Stinging rebuke of Obama in a Krauthammer way.
There is no explanation for Obama not supporting their defense of the constitution except that Obama is a Communist. Also Obama doesn't want the actions by the Honduran Legislature/Courts/Military to be seen as setting a legally and morally justifiable precedent for other Western Hemisphere nations.
Obama sees no need to defend a Constitution. He is busily trying to get rid of our own. If he can get us under the UN for climate change and under International Court, global interests will usurp our Constitution. Getting rid of our Constitution is most of his hope and change. He hopes he can get rid of it and change the US into a Communist Dictatorship.
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:47 AM | Comments (10)
What Did John Conyers Know About His Wife's Corruption?
Former aide: Monica Conyers took cash in Greektown deal, wrote letter with husband
Sam Riddle, a former aide to Monica Conyers, says the Detroit councilwoman drove him to a meeting with a Greektown businessman, arranged a $20,000 consulting contract for Riddle, demanded $10,000 as a finder's fee and later drafted a letter along with her husband, U.S. Rep. John Conyers, in support of the businessman.
In an extended admission, Riddle told the Detroit Free Press that Conyers brokered several similar deals for him because she could not hire him directly as a consultant, including the deal with Greektown entrepreneur Dimitrios Papas.
Detroit Free Press, June 29: "I didn't have to do a lot of work," Riddle said. "And the councilwoman insisted on half of my retainer as a finder's fee."
Riddle said Papas gave him checks totaling $20,000. He said he then paid the councilwoman $10,000 cash.
"While I felt it was a bit exorbitant, it didn't feel that bad given the workload, which was nil," Riddle said, adding, "It was clear he was dealing with me because of Monica, not because of any special skill set he was hoping to gain with me."
It's not clear that John Conyers knew of his wife's link to the businessman, but the two drafted a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency seeking approval of a Romulus waste injection project that one of Papas' companies was looking to take over.
Riddle also confirmed a similar arrangement with Zeidman's owner Tomas LaBret in which he was paid a large retainer and Conyers received jewelry.
Riddle's candor isn't a total surprise. Although he had refused to comment on the situation, he repeatedly promised to tell the truth under oath and earlier this month told Fox 2 that "The only difference between Detroit and third world nations -- where corruption is concerned -- is goats in the street."
Wild Thing's comment.......
John Conyers: Take my wife. Please! (/hennyyoungman)
What a couple, but they do fit right in with the rest of the party on the left.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at 06:45 AM | Comments (10)
“When we get people who are more concerned about reading the rights to an Al Qaeda terrorist than they are with protecting the United States against people who are absolutely committed to do anything they can to kill Americans, then I worry,” - VP Dick Cheney
A toast to each of you 
