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On June 29th of this year former Gen. Wesley Clark was interviewed on "Face The Nation". During this interview Gen. Clark was asked questions about the presidential election and his support of Sen. Clinton and more recent support of Sen. Obama. Gen. Clark responded by making several disparaging comments about Sen. McCain's military background and has not "held executive responsibility" and had not commanded troops in wartime. Gen. Clark also was brazen enough to say "He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall". Gen. Clark at one point during the interview stated that being shot down and becoming a POW is not qualification to be president.
This interview can be watched here.
Gen. Clark as a veteran, American, and someone active in politics, you not only have the right, but some would even say the responsibility to ask questions of a presidential candidate. To ask for clarification on economic policy, military strategy, foreign policy, and other matters of a president is perfectly acceptable, but to make the statements you've made about Sen. McCain's abilities on his "executive experience" are simply shameless. Gen. Clark you've embarrassed every member of the armed forces with this rant and embarrassed yourself. As a four star general you've obviouslyaccomplished great things, however to the best of my knowledge, you sir have never been a POW or been a guest at the "Hanoi Hilton". Sen. McCain had opportunities to leave his predicament and choose not so stating reason such as "others have been here longer". Sen. McCain had opportunities to sell out his county to end the torture and once again had the integrity to do the right thing. Gen. Clark, I ask you, would you have had that level of courage and integrity? I guess we'll never now since YOU'VE NEVER WALKED TEN INCHES IN SEN. McCAIN'S SHOES.
Gen. Clark, I didn't agree with you when you decided to run for president as a democrat or many of your positions during that campaign but as a former soldier I still respected you as a soldier and officer for your many accomplishments. Gen. Clark I no longer respect you as I believe that you've committed an unforgivable sin in your statements about Sen. McCain.
After this rant Gen. Clark was asked how he could say these things about Sen. McCain yet supported Sen. Obama who has very little experience in all matters and zero military experience. Gen. Clark smugly responded that Sen. Obama was running on strengh of character.
I will not pretend to speak for all veterans, but as one I would like to know what happened to you a once great leader.
Many of you may remember when Sen. Obama said “And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”
If like many Americans your less than impressed the these thoughts from the good senator, the NRA ILA has yard sign that you may be interested in. If your interested in putting one of these in your yard to let Sen. Obama and his supporters know where you stand, you can go here to purchase one. These signs are for sale directly from the NRA ILA for the price of $15.95 for one sign, $26.95 for two, three packs are available for $38.45, and $49.95 for four signs. If you want more than that contact the NRA ILA at (866) 869-6389 or you can visit http://www.nrailasigns.org/ to order direct or see other signs that are available. Showing your opinions and thoughts in this manor is a quick and effective way of letting people know how you feel on given topic and these clear messages are noticed by elected officials and do influence how they deal with issues.
This was printed in a recent edition of the "Army Times" newspaper. The art is from Master Sgt. Mark Baker who is the artist behind the comic strip Pvt. Murphy's Law which is a regular feature in the Army Times newspaper.
Recently the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Roberts finally made clear the high courts opinion on the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution and key component of the Bill of Rights. In a 5 to 4 decision with Justice Kennedy as the tie breaker, the high court did as some predicted. The high court ruled that the DC gun ban was in fact a violation of Mr. Heller's Constitutional rights. The high court in its decision, also stated that the 2nd Amendment was in fact an individual right.
Many opponents of this decision have already started the cry that "people will no longer be safe" and other such similar statements. I simply can't agree with this view, especially since Washington DC has consistently had one of the nations highest murder rates and in some years leading in murders. When will people realize that when you remove guns from law abiding citizens you simply create a "target/victim rich environment" for malcontents and others who do not respect the rule of law. Some people are under the ridiculous and false belief that when you outlaw firearms, criminals turn in their guns and cease all activity to acquire new ones just like the law abiding members of society. History has shown that criminals do not turn in guns when others are asked to and certainly don't cease attempting to acquire new and or additional guns. Gun free zones which many anti-gun enthusiasts view as Utopia are nothing more than Disney to criminals. I challenge anyone to show me even one example of a society where guns were taken from the lawful populace and the result was not either a tyrannical government or an increase in crime against those no longer able to defend themselves.
It never ceases to amaze me that so many people wish to continue to question what the 2nd Amendment meant even though it was the shortest and most concise of all the amendments. Some will say that the framers never intended for the general public to own or have access to arms, which is highly questionable considering the framers based it on the concept of preventing a tyrannical government. I grow very tired of people telling us that "art" depicting excrement on Jesus is protected by the 1st Amendment, yet virtually anything short of a disassembled single barrel shotgun (unloaded and trigger locked of course) is questionable and not what the framers wanted. I may not agree with certain "displays" such as the previously referenced example, but it, like guns are, has been, and will continue to remain protected under the US Constitution. The only way that this can be changed is for our legislative branch to attempt a new Constitutional Amendment which requires at minimum 3/4 of all members to be in agreement.
This decision by the high court, although heavily favored by, is not a victory for the Republican Party, the NRA, or even Mr. Heller who first started this case rolling. This decision is a victory for the Constitution itself, for the high court did as it is charged and confirmed the meaning and wording that was put to ink all those years ago.
The US Constitution and all contained therin are the law of the land which is the basis of our society and basis of our rule of law.
The dems say the all sorts of things about pretty much anybody that does not agree with them. One of their favorite whipping posts is the "recession caused by the Bush Administration" (blog author's note: Recession is defined as an extended decline in general business activity, typically two consecutive quarters of falling real gross national product.) I think that someone should tell Senator Feinstein that this condition has not happened. These people want to tell us everything that they are doing wrong yet have many skeletons in the closet themselves.
I would like to draw your attention to the senate cafeteria which is considered by some the worlds most exclusive dining hall. This comprises the dining hall, affiliated cafeterias, and coffee shops within the Capital and Senate office building. This enterprise which may come as a surprise to some of you is not a privatized business designed to run on a profit, but in fact a government run and senate controlled mini-bureaucracy. Oh and here is the fun part they have lost $18,000,000.00 since 1993 and are already $2,000,000.00 in the hole for 2008 according to the AP. The situation is so dire that without an immediate infusion of $250,000.00 they will not be able to make payroll next month. Guess what what happens when a government program can't maintain is baseline expenses? If you said the taxpayers get to pay the difference, you were paying attention in Civics class unlike the the power dreaming most dems did in Economics class.
I don't mean to intend or imply that running a large food service organization is easy and without it's own complexities. These people want to tell us how we've screwed up the war, social services, medical care, and the economy overall, yet they can't seem to figure out how to properly price the Tuesday tuna special so as to cover their costs.
They went 18 million on food service that only serves the members of senate, their staffs, and a limited number of others authorized to utilize them, but want to establish a nationwide health care system that would serve the entire nation. I don't even want to think how far into the hole they would be with that program.
They can't even break even on cheeseburgers and cappuccino and want us to let them run health care who are these people kidding?
In a late night vote last week the Senate voted to privatize there coveted dining services.
I'm very interested in the opinions of my readers. Please scroll to the bottom of the page and answere the latest poll question on Sen. McCains VP choice.
From time to time we hear stores about people who want better cell phone coverage but don't want more cell towers or cheaper gas but no domestic oil exploration. My personal favorite example of this behavior would be people who want all they assume to be theirs as Americans with no tolerance for those "pesky and annoying military types". Some people just don't understand what it takes to ensure the amazing lifestyle Americans enjoy everyday. They will not hesitate to gripe, complain, and act like a child when anything interrupts their Sunday nap or their precious "mocha choca non-fat low steam soy latte". These people regardless of what they say when asked don't respect the courageous Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines of our armed forces. They do this for many reasons that I won't dignify with a listing here.
Luke Air Force Base in Arizona just west of Phoenix just recently got the joy of hearing from one of these charming citizens. The area around Luke AFB has become a rather large residential area. Many of these homeowners decided to call the community around Luke AFB home way after the based was built and made operational. The primary point here is that these people have chosen to live in the proximity of a military airfield. The story to follow is from June of 2005, but just came to my attention and I feel that this is unfortunately a timeless enough issue to post about. As you will see in the following letter to the editor of the "Arizona Republic" newspaper in June of 2005 by a Mr. Tom MacRae, this guy "Just doesn't get it".
"Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base: Whom do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 a.m., a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns' early-bird special? Any response would be appreciated."
Well Tom got just what he asked for in this response from Lt Col Scott Pleus Who at the time was that commanding officer of the 56th fighter wing stationed at Luke AFB.
"On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly timed four-ship of F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt Jeremy Fresques. Capt Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day. At 9 a.m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend. Based on the letter writer's recount of the flyby, and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the president of the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they have endured. A four-ship flyby is a display of respect the Air Force pays to those who give their lives in defense of freedom. We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects. The letter writer asks, "Whom do we thank for the morning air show?" The 56th Fighter Wing will call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of their lives. Lt Col Scott Pleus Commander, 63rd Fighter Squadron Luke Air Force Base"
In full disclosure of this story, Mr. MacRae did send somewhat of a apology to the same newspaper after the Lt Col's response. I believe that Mr. MacRae did this once the court of public opinion found him guilty of gross incompetence in regard to ignorance of reality and total lack of respect for those who gave him the right to print such drivel in the first place. I don't for one second believe that this "citizen" has any remorse for what he said and submitted the apology only because he looked so bad after the truth of the incident came out.
First impressions are like initial statements, meaning it is ofter how you truly feel or plan to present yourself.
I'm for one, eternally grateful to all members, of the all the armed forces for what they do everyday in the preservation of the American way of life. Service members everywhere will continue to sweat, bleed, be separated from their loved ones, and occasionally make the ultimate sacrifice in order for people like Mr. MacRae to continue to write such letters. They will never tell him not to,never ask for an apology, or for thanks. Such men and woman are of a moral fibre not commonly found and do their jobs out of love and respect for America.
I like many others who attended the VA Republican Convention this past weekend went there to back specific candidates. The grassroots efforts of the attendees was quite something to see. All was not peaches & cream however and fairness did not seem to be present in some areas. In the RPV Chairman race for instance their were several oddities with what occured. Most everyone who was a registered delegate to the convention got a plastic bag with campaign stickers, candidate information, Richmond area information, a small flag, and even a break away key chain from the good folks at AARP. Strangely missing from the bag was anything about Delegate Jeff Frederick of Prince William; candidate for RPV Chairman. Now it's entirely possible the Delegate Frederick simple dropped the ball and never gave them anything to place in the bags. It's also possible the Delegate Frederick was not aware that if his campaign provided items to RPV that they would go into the bags or perhaps he knew and just forgot to ask if he could have items placed in the bags.
Well here is the problem with all of those theories; First, The items in question were provided to RPV. Second, The requests were made to have those items placed into the convention delegate bags. Oh and here is the good part; an RPV volunteer told a Frederick campaign staffer that when they were filling the bags asked "Aren't we gonna put Frederick stuff in the bags also?" and was told no and that no Frederick material would go in the bags. In all fairness I can't furnish a name of either the RPV volunteer or the person who told her not to put Frederick items in the bags, but I find this strangely coincidental.
When the information came to Frederick campaign as to speeches and such it was originally stated that Chairman Hagar would receive 20 minutes for him and his endorsers, yet Delegate Frederick would only receive 15 to do the same. I did not have a timer on this matter so I don't know if Chairman Hagar actually used 20 minutes. Delegate Frederick wanted to use a multimedia display during his speech which RPV (at the time under the direction of Chairman Hagar) continually changed conditions under which this would be permissible and ultimately said No. This video can be watched here:
When I spoke with convention delegates about who they wanted to support for RPV Chair I asked them why they were supporting whomever they came to support? I heard many reasons for support of Delegate Frederick such as 2 times winner in a deeply democrat part of VA, that he raised nearly as much money in one county as what Chairman Hagar had raised in the entire state, and that he realized that the system is broken and that it needs to be fixed. The one thing that I heard from nearly every person I spoke with, which is that grassroots is not just something you do two month before an election and they believed that Delegate Frederick would energize the party and gets us on an even field with the Democrats on the use of the internet and technology overall.
When I spoke with Chairman Hagars supporters I did not get nearly the same substance in fact most of the Chairman Hagar supports told me things like: "I've know John a long time and he is a really nice guy", or "he put his time in and it's his turn. I have no question that (then) Chairman Hagar has some devout supporters, however none of them were able to bring up specific reason that he should be re-elected to his position and many would look the other way when I brought up the losses under his leadership, or his fund raising, or the many people who paid and showed for the VP Gala with Dick Cheney and who were turned away. These things are all the responsibility of the RPV Chairman. I agreed with many I spoke with that John Hagar was and is a well intentioned man and a distinguished gentleman, however as I told many people we are voting for a leader not a nice guy.
When the convention was told that the votes for the chairman's race had been collected and that they were now counting them everyone in the room waiting nervously. When we heard that if would be about 10 more minutes and then saw Chairman Hagar come to the microphone moments later we did not know what to think. Chairman Hagar then announced that it was his intention to concede the race via acclimation to Delegate Frederick due to it being numerically infeasible for him to catch up or win based on the count at that time.
Delegate and now Chairman Jeff Frederick had a clear mandate for his vision and an equally clear message through victory that the old methods were done and that grass roots had come to stay. I as many other hope the Chairman Frederick will keep Mr. Hagar in the loop, although we may not agree with some of policies, his experience in VA politics in considerable and will be useful in many ways in the future.
This victory sends a clear message to bully politicians and anyone else who thinks that a Richmond knows best. The hard working members of the grassroots movement have chosen a new General and are ready will and able to report for duty and not just for 2 months.
(This post was actually completed in the spring of 06' and has never been posted.)
IMMIGRATION INSANE
Before I get going on this particular rant, let it be said that this is the “Melting Pot”. This country would not be what it is without hardworking people from all corners of the world who were and still are willing to come to this country.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock or think Ted Kennedy is a genius than you’re aware of the absolute nightmare that border security / enforcement has become. We have thousands of illegal aliens from many south of the border countries, predominantly Mexico, coming across our borders every day. The US Border Patrol and I.C.E. stop hundreds of these individuals daily and they estimate that they only catch less than a ¼ of those that attempt to cross.
The term “Undocumented Worker” is being used by some members of the House & Senate as well as having become a popular term to be used by the media. Calling a border crosser an “Undocumented Worker” who in doing so has committed a felony makes about as much sense as having someone forcefully break into your house, damage it, and then hurt someone and then refer to them as a “Undocumented House Guest”. This country needs radical Immigration Reform and it needs it yesterday. We have to fix this problem without creating brand new problems. President Bush favors a system where illegal’s that have been here for more than 5 years could pay a fine and stay here provided that they learn English and start the legitimate path to citizenship, they however must go to the end of the line. I personally voted for “W” and were it not for the alternative being about as attractive as a private moment with a cheese grater I would consider that a bad choice. I want to know where the man that I voted for is. I want to know where the national security hawk is that I learned to deeply respect in the first term went. I’m no legal genius, but when someone commits a crime and they admit it, we know it, and no one disputes it and we then allow them to continue the behavior that caused the crime, that’s amnesty folks, plain and simple. President Bush will tell us that this plan is not amnesty because they have to pay a fine and start at the end of the line on their legitimate citizenship path. OK let’s break that down: First if illegal behavior is allowed to continue with government knowledge, that’s amnesty (nuff said on that topic). Second, they have to pay a fine: this is very small and dependant on whether they even turn themselves in (Reagan tried that and if memory serves correctly it didn’t work then either). Third, W says that they must go to the end of the line. Ha that’s laughable and downright insulting to some poor sap in his home country who is doing it the right way and has not illegally trampled on our sovereignty and who is going through this process the correct way while the criminal can do his or her process right here in the USA, but at the end of the line. I would like to point out a few analogies of this. If you’re an employer and you find out that one of your employee’s has been stealing from you for 5 years, are you going to fire and prosecute them or say that’s wrong but it will be OK if they do it right from now on? If you chose B then send me all your business info so that I make sure that I never invest in your company because with that kind of business management, you’ll be out of business be the end of the week. You’re the principle of a high school and you determine that one of the seniors has cheated for all 4 years and is about to graduate, do you stop this and expel the student or do you applaud their creativity and allow them to graduate? If you chose the later then tell me what school you’re at so that I can take steps to make sure that my kids don’t go near the place. This is so simple, which has to be the reason that Washington just does not get it. If you reward bad behavior and or illegal behavior, what you’re doing is setting a precedent that this county is not concerned with illegal immigration. You may also be creating a defense strategy for other felons that will claim “Equal Protection Status” for their crimes based on the amnesty that was by default issued to the illegal border crossers.
The House of Representative sent a border security bill to the Senate in December of 05’ and the Senate has sat on this and done nothing. They claim they want a comprehensive plan that includes a border security and a guest worker program. This is bordering on colossal stupidity. If you’re in a boat and it takes on water, do you plug the leak first or start bailing water first? Common sense says that you plug the hole then and only then do you start to bail the water out. To do it the other way makes about as much sense as having Chuck Schumer do the key note speech at the NRA convention. I propose that any member of the house or congress who willingly and knowingly lets these types of bills be shown the door come November 06’. Then there is one of my personal favorite arguments used by those that favor letting them stay without penalty. They will tell you that without the work that these people do the US Economy will be crippled and that they contribute too much to our economy. OK here is another thing that has to be broken down to properly address: First, they recently had rallies all across this country where as they did not report to work to show the impact that this would have on there employers and the economy over all. Where in the world would people be able to have rallies celebrating illegal behavior and not only not be arrested but be protected by the constitution for this activity? They made all the news shows and just about every newspaper in the free world, but did they actually make a serious dent in the economy? My estimation based on working in the finance industry is that they barely caused a hiccup in the economy which is quite short of the crippling that they promised. Second, regardless of how much they produce they cost us more & more and recent numbers show that the actual cost of illegal immigration cost as much as three times what it produces. Three hospitals have gone out of business in Southern California largely due to the overwhelming majority of illegal immigrants that come in for emergency medical services (many injuries were from the illegal activity of their border crossing) and have no way to pay or insurance to cover the services that they use and certainly don’t come back to pay later on. And when these hospitals close, it causes unemployment for all of the people working at those hospitals which in turn causes a rise in the cost factor of illegal immigration. Statistics and studies show that many illegals send most if not all of their money back to Mexico or other countries, which means little to none of it goes back into the US economy. Many of you say but they pay taxes on there paychecks even if they give faulty SSN’s and you would be wrong, because most of them file exempt which if your honest means that if at the end of the year it’s found that you owe Uncle Sam, you write a check. Big surprise these people do owe and they don’t write checks, and by the time the government and the employers determine that the SSN was faulty they’ve already left to go do it again somewhere. When you add up all the costs of illegal immigration it far and away overshadows the benefits. Did you know that if you work in Mexico as a non Mexican citizen and you send money to other countries, that you will be prosecuted under Mexican law and likely imprisoned? This is one of the hard edged immigration laws of Vicente’s Fox’s Mexico, the same guy who spends government funds to print brochures on how to safely avoid US authorities when attempting to illegally enter America.
When the information that has been presented is taken into consideration, it’s hard to accept an amnesty program. My family like most of you who are reading this are here because of immigration, some way back and some more recent. I don’t have any ill will toward immigrants and will continue to welcome lawful immigrants from all parts of the world to come here and make their future in America.
Dr. Kurt Michael, long time Chairman of the Augusta County Republican Committee announced just recently that he would be resigning his post as chairman immediately following this weekends 6th District Meeting. It clear to me that Dr. Michaels has made a clear statement about his passion and love for the Republican party and specifically the Republican Committee of Augusta. Dr. Michaels had stated that there is currently to much diversiveness in the party and will step down in an effort to end some of this for the benifit of the Party overall. This level of integrity and honor is rare and I for one am glad to call this man a friend and colleague. Dr. Michaels has stated that he has no intention of leaving politics or not staying active in Augusta County issues.
Thank You Dr. Michaels for your time, hard work, blood, sweat, tears, and countless amount of time away from your family while serving as Chair for 5+ years.
If your interested in putting one of these in your yard to let Sen. 
