The Fort Hood Massacre

My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims of this senseless tragedy, and may the murdered victims rest in peace. Although they met their end not on the battlefield, but on their home soil at the hands of a sick murderer, they died as heroes and shall never be forgotten.
Now I need to vent some genuine anger about how the media is already portraying this act of domestic terrorism. As if this horrifying mass murder wasn’t disturbing enough, I have to get up the next morning and read disgusting reports form the corrupt main stream media that make me want to go throw-up. They are already spinning the story in a sick way by making the mass murderer, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan out to be the real victim here. He is being portrayed as misunderstood. A devout Muslim, apparently he was against the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He received orders for deployment in Iraq, and took issue with that; even enlisting the aid of a lawyer to fight it. So, clearly, he is the victim here right? Well, I don’t know about you, but I don’t see that there is a whole lot to misunderstand about an individual who voluntarily submits his service to the U.S. military, then decides to walk into a crowded area on base calmly shooting innocent American soldiers and proclaiming "Allahu akbar!"
Personally, being formerly in the Marines Corps, I am having a hard time comprehending how this guy was not shot dead within a few steps after he started unloading on people. I agree that in a school, a mall, a stadium; generally anywhere out in public, it seems more believable that someone may be able to get away with shooting over 40 people. Armed security is more common on a military base than uniformed police are on the civilian streets. Not to mention, if necessary, access to weapons and ammo is readily available at any armory. Anyway, what’s done is done I wont dwell on how this guy wasn’t riddled with bullets within a few moments of his murderous spree. Regardless of the outcome, he had to have thought he was going to his death. Proclaiming “Allahu akbar” indicates he thought he would die for what he was doing. Allahu Akbar is Arabic for “God is great”. Generally speaking, it is accepted among Islamic believers that proclaiming praise to Allah at the time of death is good. Maj. Hasan thought he was righteously going to his death and proclaiming praise to Allah for it.
I also want to point out that whenever something mind-numbingly horrific like this happens the Muslim community fails miserably to publically denounce this type of behavior. You want to know why? Because their fundamental belief system stems from a violent attitude toward infidels! Actually, enslavement of the infidels is preferred, but if you can’t enslave them, then killing them is acceptable. Not only is it acceptable, it is encouraged.
The traditional American value of personal responsibility is completely dead in the media. One no longer has to be accountable for their actions. Blame is shifted to a disease, a gene, an addiction, an idea, an object, or any other number of external forces except the individual who perpetrated the act. The erroneous and destructive concept of political correctness is greatly aiding in the adulteration of authentic American values. We can’t come out and objectively appoint blame where blame is due for fear of offending someone or offending their heritage, religion, orientation, etc. etc. This deception has slithered its way into our culture as a basic right that we all posses, the right to not be offended. To be perfectly candid, nowhere in the United States Constitution, any of its 27 amendments, the Bill of Rights, or even the Ten Commandments for that matter does is say you have a fundamental right not to be offended. If being blamed for something that happened by your own hand or as a direct result of your actions offends you, then too bad. Being offended is part of life. What you do with that feeling, how you act or react to it is what helps define your character. The media of today hastily looks for blame everywhere else except for where blame should be placed -- with the individual. This has a nasty unintended consequence of fostering a false notion that the individual is actually a victim, and is not to be held accountable. For the families of the murdered at Fort Hood I hope Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan lives. I hope he lives so that the families of the true victims can see justice served upon him.

Commander in Chief or Commander in Least?

I was fortunate enough to have this article published in American Thinker on November 2nd, 2009. To view the article originally published on American Thinker, click here: http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/11/commander_in_chief_or_commande.html, and enjoy!

As a Marine, Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran, and Honorably Discharged Sergeant, I know a thing or two about mission accomplishment versus troop welfare. As a matter of fact, any Marine can tell you the clearly stated objective of the Marine Corps is mission accomplishment. Troop welfare comes secondary.

Commanders and military leaders learned long ago that success on any battlefront depends chiefly upon mission accomplishment. Troop welfare, while important, does not trump mission accomplishment. For the enlisted Marine on the ground, this is sometimes a hard pill to swallow. But we understand. And actually, this is one of the reasons why the Marine Corps is one of the finest and most effective fighting forces in the world.

Our current Commander in Chief (who never served in the military) has not demonstrated that he comprehends the concept of mission accomplishment before troop welfare. Disappointingly, President Obama has not demonstrated that he comprehends the concept of mission accomplishment at all. We have no clear mission in Afghanistan. We have no concise finalization strategy for Iraq. The President has yet to establish just what we are supposed to be doing in either of these theaters.

Furthermore, the President seems to be thwarting any forward momentum with regard to mission accomplishment by manifesting an attitude that troop welfare is paramount. Obama has also hastily portrayed an apologetic attitude for American strength. This destructive attitude breeds not only optimism in our enemies, but despair in those in uniform who are genuinely proud to serve the country they love.

Not only that, the President is arguing with the very commander he appointed to do what needs to be done. Consequently, Obama's indecisiveness, or "dithering" as Cheney put it, is costing American lives and wasting precious time needed to gain momentum toward mission accomplishment -- for whatever the mission may be.

For someone who neither served in the military nor had any executive leadership experience prior to the presidency, Obama has yet to do anything to assuage the collective apprehensions from those of us who feel he is too green for the job of Commander in Chief. The presidency is not the place for on-the-job training, especially in a time of war. Although Obama has probably learned a lot in his first nine months in office, he has not asserted to Americans or our enemies that the new administration has any idea how to handle a war, let alone two.

To the 30% out there who are lie-down Obama supporters no matter what, and to the sycophants in the media who exalt every aspect of his presidency, I would ask one very serious question: Why? As responsible American citizens, we are supposed to be questioning our leaders, demanding accountability, and settling for nothing less than what our Constitution was ratified for: freedom, liberty, and a limited government with checks and balances.

Hypocritically, it seems, some apply this standard only when a Republican is in office, and I fear that their lack of vigilant citizenship is just as damaging to the country as the Obama administration is proving to be. Given nine months' continually compiling evidence pointing to the administration's dangerous incompetence; its clear anti-American actions and attitudes; and the vast, almost un-countable contradictions that spew forth from Obama's own mouth, why...why do you blindly believe and support such insults to your own intelligence and patriotism?

Among other things, I would highly recommend to our rookie President that he catch up on some history. For starters, he could read up on the first term of a fellow Democrat, Lyndon B. Johnson. Johnson had great domestic aspirations with the Great Society, Medicare, and civil rights, but was hampered by a little-known nuisance at the time in Southeast Asia. Although President Kennedy initially involved the U.S. in Vietnam, it was Johnson and his advisers who ultimately bungled and exacerbated the conflict to an irrevocable boiling point. At very high cost with little gain, the Vietnam Conflict, generally speaking, serves as a warning to future generations of what can happen when politicians mismanage a war.

For cathartic reasons, I have outlined a plea that I so ardently wish for the President to fundamentally believe, hold in his heart, and take action to uphold:

The United States military is the best in the world. We have the best warriors, equipment, weapons, training, leaders, and intelligence resources. Combine that with the highest esprit de corps and morale from an all-volunteer force, and you have the finest military the world has ever known. For every person who holds contempt in his heart for America, there are a thousand others in our debt because of the security we provide, and a thousand more who would give up everything they have -- even risk death -- just to live here.

Mr. President, if you are not proud of this land, then how can you possibly believe that you are what is best for America right now? And if you want to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan, then make that your mission, and just get out! If not, then be the leader our nation needs in this desperate hour...and lead.

In the meantime, our sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, husbands, wives, brothers, and sisters lives are held in the balance while you throw parties at the White House, attend fundraisers, and refine your chip-shot. Need I even mention the time and money already wasted while you demonstrate your incompetence and display to the rest of the world how weak and indecisive America has become under your administration? Our strong military is not something to be ashamed of, not something to apologize for. American strength is something to be proud of, not embarrassed about. We are one Nation under God, not one Nation under the Opinion of a Few.

Although history has a nasty way of repeating itself, it also has a cleansing way of balancing itself out. Conservatism, common sense, traditional Christian values, and the grand old unique-to-America fighting spirit are in the midst of a great reawakening. As destructive as the Obama administration may ultimately prove to be, responsible citizens will not allow its deception to prevail. We may be giving way to one of our finest hours. Ultimately, it will be our children and grandchildren who will either reap the benefits of our fight or drown in the wake of our apathy.

I have a vision for my grandchildren. Someday, before I die, I would want them to be able to thank me and my generation for fighting back when our country needed us the most, for confronting tyranny, exposing and debunking the deception of Socialism, standing up for our constitutional rights, and proudly proclaiming, "Don't Tread on Me!"

Think We Are Free? Think Again.

I generally try to find the time to read Americanthinker.com daily. An article on 10/22 by Jan LaRue titled: Obama Manipulates Media to Expel Fox brings home a very good example of just how much Obama lies. The more and more I see contradicting statements surface from Obama the more I can’t help but think, one: He actually has no clue of the things he has said in the past, or two: He is too arrogant to give a crap. I tend to agree with the later more. Obama is the ultimate example of someone who tirelessly speaks in the moment; which, in and of itself is not necessarily a bad thing for a public figure. However, Obama speaks as if whatever he has to say, about every issue, at whatever point in time he says it is pure Gold. Glaring contradictions that surface later be damned! A whole book can be devoted to his contradictions, and actually, my prediction is we will see the first one in print by next year if this administration hasn’t started book burning by then…
In her article Jan points out the following:
In honor of World Press Day, Obama said the following on May 1st of this year:
“Today, I lend my voice of support and admiration to all those brave men and women of the press who labor to expose truth and enhance accountability around the world. In so doing, I recall the words of Thomas Jefferson: "The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."

I guess all that lip service about “support and admiration” for members of the press who “expose truth and enhance accountability” was only meant for the networks that trip over themselves just to kneel before him and kiss his hand. Obama and his administration have made it clear that they do not revere Fox News as a genuine member of “the press”. I’m not trying to raise any panic alarms here, but seriously: WAKE THE HELL UP PEOPLE! They are not even trying to hide it. We are clearly experiencing an indictment on the United States Constitution and our First Amendment Rights stemming from the highest branch in government. I’m not stupid; I get the whole Party-Line political song and dance that dictates you try to belittle and discredit those that oppose you. But Fox news is merely doing its job. The Press is supposed to ask the hard questions, point out the hypocrisies, and take Big Government to task on issues where it seems to overstep its boundaries. Apparently, if you question anything coming from this administration, you are ostracized, scoffed at, and declared unfit to be listened to. America: We are being lulled to sleep by a President, White House, and corrupt-main-stream media that wants us to get in line or shut up, and when enough of us wake up and try to shake the yolk of tyranny off, we are going to wonder where our Liberty went.
Once again, I direct your attention to the glaring and unmistakable hypocrisy and double-standard stench reeking from the Left. If Dub-yuh had his administration declare war on CBS, or NBC, or any other of those liberal-rag networks that constantly barraged him with disdain, what do you think the out-come would be? They would crucify him! His head would be on a platter before all to see, and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear talk of impeachment.

This Just in...

Obama just received another Nobel Prize! Yes, two in one day! The only person in history to accomplish such a prestigious feat! He was just awarded a 2nd Nobel prize for his grand efforts in creating, cultivating, and distributing massive amounts of his own brand of industrial grade fertilizer to the people of America, and of the world over. Congratulations Mr. President!

Officer Does Not Like anti-Obama Poster:

If this isn’t eerie insight as to where the country is headed, I don’t know what is. A police officer at a peaceful, non-violent Town Hall Meeting protest is attempting to force a protestor to remove his sign. I don’t know if there are any city ordenences prohibiting this behavior; however, it appears this cop just didn’t like the protestors sign. So, peaceful, non-violent protest is conditional to party line allegiance now? Is an American citizen only allowed to protest as long as it does not question or confront Obama, or his current administration? The larger concept here is that this administration is polarizing people like never before, but it seems any opposition is being ostracized and diminished by the blind supporters. You should be outraged, and if your not, you are just another sheep being led to the slaughter. BLIND!.

Copenhagen: The Ego Has Landed

I have to say it: I chuckled fairly hardily at the onset of the 2016 Olympics going to Rio de Janeiro. Chicago didn’t even make it past the first round. In fact, Chicago received so few votes we can even say that Obama’s presents before Olympic committee members wasn’t necessary at all. Poor Obama, I hope they didn’t hurt his widdle feewings…The International Olympic Committee basically was like: “Oh, ya, and Obama, don’t let the door hit you on the way out big guy! And take Oprah with you, we don’t like the way she is constantly eyeing the snack bar…”
A certain word just keeps popping up in my head: KARMA. Our wonderful, all knowing, all saving, all promising, Supreme Leader has done nothing but trash America in front all the nations of the world since he took office. In a hasty and ill prepared act, the White House packed up and flew down to Copenhagen to lobby for the Olympic Games to be held in Chicago. Really? Obama doesn’t even fundamentally believe in American strength or authentic American values. He believes that we are a problem in the world.
So let me get this right, once again, my brain is having difficulty processing the hypocrisy and B.S. flowing from this administration. Obama parades around the world at various summit meetings and UN conferences, apologizes for America, yucks it up with tyrannical dictators, gives the finger to our allies in the middle east, goes on and on about how detrimental for the environment we are and how evil our capitalist economy is, etc, etc. But wait, wait, wait! Put the breaks on! America is good enough to be the international stage for the 2016 Olympics? In Barry’s home town of Chicago no less! Need I even go into detail about how blatantly contradictory this is? This whole situation reeks of political pacification and quid pro quo. Corrupt Chicago-style politics and community organizers (ACORN anybody?) did their damndest to help Obama get elected, now its time for him to pay back on the favor.
Let’s put this situation into perspective for a moment because the corrupt, Lame Stream Media fails miserably in objectively delivering the truth. There is a very real war going on that we are supposed to be attempting to win in Afghanistan, yet Obama has talked to the commander on the ground once in over two months. 263,000 more jobs were lost in September, unemployment is at 9.8% -- highest since 1983, yet Biden and the Obama administration in all their economic genius have been claiming victory over the recession. Iran is testing long-range missiles and apparently has nuke capability, and the crazy dictator nut-job Mahmoud Ahmadinejad even said that Obama’s speech at the UN vindicated his stance toward Israel.
Although all you out there still suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome (including Obama apparently) do nothing but blame Bush for all of the nations foreign and domestic troubles, that insipid crap just isn’t going to work anymore. This whole Olympic issue is about priorities. We have a president that is clearly obsessed with two things: Himself, and how he is portrayed in the media. I remember during the campaign one of the most frustrating things about Obama was how he would refer to EVERY issue as his “number one issue”, or “one of my TOP priorities”. It seemed after listening to his debates that the man had two dozen “number one priorities”. Well, I wish we had a president that had some pro-American priorities. I wish we had a president that wasn’t completely consumed with HIS image and celebrity status. Did he really think he could just sweep through Copenhagen with Michelle and Oprah while his country was in crisis, float a few fluffy lines about hope and change, and they would welcome him with open arms? That they would cater to his every move like the brainwashed media back home? The international community has seen how Americas own president doesn’t even like America that much and yet has a very odd, unrealistic view that he will be the mechanism of change by “talking” people into liking us.

Cash For Clunkers From Suckers

Last month Americans For Tax Reform released a break-down of the recent Car Allowance Rebate Program, or “Cash for Clunkers”. Although their release on September 8th didn’t quite have all the math correct, the report still shows that if you are floating in a fantasy world that says: "more government and more government spending is the solution to all our problems", you need to wake up one of these days and comprehend that government does not create anything in and of itself. Government just spends your money, and when it needs more, government raises your taxes and damages the economy by devaluing our dollar by injecting more into the stream by printing more.
I know how people use numbers to further their ideological cause. People do it all the time. Politicians especially love to use numbers to help bring the illusion of validity to their causes. You have to be very careful taking for face value any numbers that are just dropped in front of you. Any Statistician will tell you numbers never lie; it is just how they are presented that can be deceitful. This is not deceitful. This is as straight forward as it gets.

Here is the correct breakdown of how the Government just blew three billion ($3,000,000,000) of our tax dollars to save about $717 million:

The average mileage a persons puts on their vehicle per year is 12,000 miles. The average “clunker” trade was for a vehicle that got 16mpg to a vehicle that got 25mpg. (Actually it was more like 15.8 to 24.9, but we will round to keep this nice and fifth-grade-like)
• Driving a 16mpg vehicle uses 750 gallons of gas per year (12,000/16 = 750)
• Driving a 25mpg vehicle consumes 480 gallons of gas per year (12,000/25 = 480)
• This equals an average of 270 less gallons consumed per year for each person. (750 – 480 = 270)
• 690,114 vehicles were used for this program equaling a total savings of 186,330,780 million gallons of gas per year. (690,114 x 270)
So far so good, right?

Here is the second part:
1 barrel of oil is $75 (right now anyway) and contains 42 gallons of crude oil.
1 barrel of oil will produce an average of 19.5 gallons of motor gasoline.
• 186,330,780 gallons saved divided by 19.5 gallons of gas from 1 barrel of oil, equals about 9.56 million barrels of oil.
• 9.56 million barrels at $75/barrel is about $717 million.
So, the government did in fact spend three billion ($3,000,000,000) of our tax dollars to maybe save about 717 million. This is no joke. There really are people out there that put their faith and trust in the government to do what is right with our money without ever thinking twice or questioning them. Sheep to the slaughter I say! And you want to give them Health Care, 17% of our entire economy?

Decide for yourself. Was this a fiscally sound program aimed at stimulating the economy? Or was this just another stunt by a far left administration with no sense of fiscal responsibility to force the country into aligning itself with a political or ideological notion? Let me ask you: Where do you think the $3500 or $4500 was going to come from if you qualified for this program? Money trees on Capitol Hill? Well, practically! We are the money trees! Every time (all 690+ thousand times) the government said “You want a new car? Here’s a bag of money!” they dug into our pockets. We are the suckers...
You’re welcome…