Publius Forum

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Here We Go Again: News 9/30

Ladies and Gents, I am so far behind that I have to post these articles now. The longer I allow the numbers to grow, the more difficult it is to get started. I am forcing myself to get off my butt! I will be posting the articles somewhere else and posting the links here. Some may have their links to a story outside of my blog, but at least it will be posted. That is the important thing. Okay, here we go again.

Bloggers.
Iranians Rip Off Tyranny's Mask. 6/27/09.

Military - Afghanistan.
Afghan border efforts showing signs of success. 6/23/09.
Afghan pilots closer to providing own air support. 6/29/09.
Pentagon: Afghan citizens drive military success in Afghanistan. 7/23/09.

Military - Middle East.
Odierno: U.S. troops out of Iraqi cities ahead of June 30 deadline. 6/28/09.
President hails Iraq city withdrawal as 'important step'. 6/30/09.
Iraqi authority proceeding after initial friction. 7/21/09.

Misc.
Brand New Soldiers' Angels Watches. Friday, July 17, 2009.

This is important to all Californians:

A Study Done On AB32.

Summary (of study above):
Small businesses drive the economic engine in California. They comprise 99.2% of all employer firms and 99.7% of all firms. They account for over half the employment, over 90% of net new job creation, and 75% of the creation of gross state output. Costs borne by small businesses due to the implementation of AB 32 must be carefully evaluated for a full understanding of their significance and impact on the state and residents.

Currently California is facing one of the highest unemployment rates, worst real estate markets with rising foreclosures, and people looking to move out of the state to find a more affordable living. Businesses, similarly are faced with some of the highest taxes, utility costs, and unfriendly regulatory environment that will likely result in more leakages of businesses elsewhere. Each of the 50 states in the United States superimposes an array of regulations over and above those that exist at the federal level An adverse impact on small business is bound to adversely impact the production of goods and services, the risk tolerance of the American enterprise, the productivity of labor, the
quality of life, and the overall well being of the State and its citizens.

Legislative and regulatory mandates may result in practices, enact policies that raise the costs of operating for small business or provide a deterrent to small business growth, and hence provide disincentives for economic risk taking and entrepreneurship. This appears to be the case here. While the ultimate goals of AB 32 are not in question, the findings of this study suggest that the costs associated with the implementation of this Act will have a significant adverse impact on California’s economy, consumers, and small businesses.

The authors of this study are Sanjay B. Varshney, Ph.D., Dean College of Business Administration; California State University, Sacramento and Dennis H. Tootelian, Ph.D., Professor of Marketing & Director, Center for Small Business, California State University, Sacramento. Great study, lengthy though.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again. Digg! Digg!

Iraqi Air Force assumes independent control of C-130 fleet

Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq.

NEW AL-MUTHANA AIR BASE, Iraq (Sept. 30, 2009) – The Iraqi air force officially began fully independent C-130 air operations yesterday, marking the end of the U.S. C-130 air advisory mission here.

A ceremony deactivating the U.S. Air Force’s 321st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron and marking assumption of C-130 operations, maintenance and training by the Iraqi air force’s Squadron 23 formalized the milestone.

An Iraqi Air Force C-130 prepares for landing. Iraq now controls its C-130 fleet independently, marking an end to the U.S. C-130 advisory mission in Iraq.Presiding over the event were U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert C. Kane, commander of the 321st Air Expeditionary Wing and director of the Air Force’s Iraq training and advisory mission; Staff Lt. Gen. Anwar Hamad Amen Ahmed, Iraqi air force commander; Brig. Gen. Kareem Ali Abud, commander of the Iraqi air force’s New Al-Muthana Air Base; and Col. Christopher Pehrson, commander of the U.S. Air Force’s 321st Air Expeditionary Advisory Group.

“Today, I say we are proud to have had the honor to work with you side by side as brothers, not less,” Kareem said. “I have worked with about eight advisors, and we have here more than 60 groups at Al-Mathana, great in all fields: discipline, versatility, specialties and, more than that, humanity.

“We can’t forget the support you gave in the training of pilots, craft engineers, logistics, security forces and English classes,” he continued. “We respect your sacrifices -- leaving your families behind just to support Iraqi air forces. We are grateful for you and your families. We don’t like to say goodbye. See you again with better situations in Iraq.”

The deactivation of the U.S. squadron marked another claim to the Iraqi air force’s independence.

Squadron 23 is the largest C-130 squadron in the Iraqi air force, and its mission includes delivering troops and cargo, supporting distinguished visitors and flying medical evacuation missions. The squadron began after the United States gave three C-130E aircraft to the Iraqis through the Excess Defense Articles program.

The Iraqi air force C-130 airlift mission was born with the arrival in January 2005 of those same three aircraft at Ali Air Base. This paved the way for the first aircrew members to receive flight training at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. After being assigned to Ali Air Base since 2005, the squadron moved here March 7, 2006.

In his remarks, Kane declared the C-130 flight training effort “mission complete.”

“The Iraqi pilots, navigators, flight engineers, loadmasters, and maintainers have clearly demonstrated that they are ready to perform their missions and, most importantly, to do it well,” he said. “American advisors have also done what we’ve asked them to do: to stand side by side with their Iraqi partners and provide them the training required to operate the C-130 safely. This is a big deal -- something the people of Iraq, and even the world, will take note of. The Iraqi air force is on its way to independent operations.”

In his comments, Pehrson noted the milestone’s importance. “Today’s ceremony is possible because the United States Air Force and the Iraqi air force were successful in their partnership to develop credible, professional and enduring airlift capability in the Iraqi C-130 fleet,” he said. “It’s an important step in the realization of a fully independent Iraqi air force that will one day defend and protect the people of Iraq.

“From today forward, Squadron 23 will fly independently over the skies of Iraq without direct support from a U.S. air advisory squadron,” he added. “One day soon, other squadrons throughout the Iraqi air force will also operate independent of American advisor support. This change, and the evolution of the air advisory mission, is good because it means that we are moving together beyond foundational training and towards air power capabilities that are credible and enduring.”

Air advisory training included a focus on foundational training for pilots, navigators, flight engineers, loadmasters, crew chiefs and maintenance specialists in engines, sheet metal, avionics and hydraulics.

Source: CENTCOM.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Two Wins, Many Votes To Go

Today the Senate Finance Committee voted down both 'government options' which is a main bone of contention in one of the most favored bills by the Left for Universal Healthcare insurance. Here is a list of oh-so-biased media reports of this day's debates and votes.

Senate Finance Committee Rejects Public Option Proposal in Health Care Bill by JONATHAN KARL and Z. BYRON WOLF. ABCNews

Senate Finance Committee Rejects Both Public Option Amendments by William Branigin. Washington Post

Senate panel rejects health ‘public option’ by AP. MSNBC

Now for the 'fair and balanced' news.

Senate Finance Committee Votes Against Government-Run Health Insurance Plan by Fox News.

Ladies and gentlemen, you have done remarkable work. I am very proud of all of you. However this is not the time to relax. Sen. Baucus is determined to pass his bill (number?) through with only one Republican vote. This they call bipartisanship? NO! We must applaud those who voted against this monstrocity and demand confessions from those who voted for it.

In setback for Obama, Senate panel rejects government-run insurance plan by DAVID LIGHTMAN
McClatchy Newspapers. Miami Herald

"Two efforts to adopt a public plan lost, one by 15 to 8, the other by 13 to 10. Three Democrats - Chairman Max Baucus of Montana, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Kent Conrad of North Dakota - voted against both proposals.

Sens. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Tom Carper, D-Del., backed a public plan that could negotiate rates with doctors, hospitals and other health providers, while opposing an alternative that would have tied the plan's rates to those paid by Medicare for two years." [Read whole article.]

Thank you for all the hard work you have done so far. You are all awesome! God bless.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Cross-posted @ Long Beach Patriots. Digg! Digg!

Sunday, September 27, 2009

McChrystal: Conventional strategy won't win in Afghanistan

by Gerry Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON (Sept. 27, 2009) – The top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan ardently believes that conventional military thinking and actions won’t win the counterinsurgency war there.

“What I’m really telling people is; the greatest risk we can accept is to lose the support of the people here,” Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal told “60 Minutes” news program correspondent David Martin during a profile segment that aired tonight.

Gen. Stanley McChrystan, commander, U.S. Forces - Afghanstan and International Security Assistance Force.McChrystal was appointed in June as chief of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. Martin traveled to Afghanistan to get McChrystal’s thoughts about what it would take to win, or lose, the conflict in Afghanistan.

After arriving in Afghanistan as the top commander, McChrystal said conditions there were “probably a little worse” than he’d expected, noting he was taken aback by the spread of Taliban-committed violence into some of the northern and western portions of the country.

The Taliban are the radical Islamic terrorists that once ran Afghanistan. U.S. and Afghan allies chased them from power during Operation Enduring Freedom in the fall and winter following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Prior to their removal from power, the Taliban facilitated al-Qaida’s stay in Afghanistan, where al-Qaida ran terrorist training camps and plotted attacks.

Protecting the Afghan population from a resurgent Taliban and thus gaining their support is the key tenet of counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan, McChrystal told Martin.

“If the people are against us, we cannot be successful,” McChrystal said. “If the people view us as occupiers and the enemy, we can’t be successful and our casualties will go up dramatically,”

McChrystal believes that just focusing on killing the Taliban – without consideration for accidental Afghan civilian casualties or the destruction of their homes – plays into the hands of the enemy.

“Since I’ve been here the last two-and-a-half months, this civilian casualty issue is much more important than I’d even realized,” McChrystal said. “It is literally how we lose the war, or in many ways, how we win it.”

Consequently, McChrystal banned air strikes against residential areas, even if the enemy was firing from the buildings.

“We’ve got some things we absolutely have got to show them we’ll do differently,” McChrystal said.

Waging conventional war in Afghanistan by blasting away with all the firepower that’s available is a non-starter, McChrystal said.

“There’s a favorite saying, that to a man with hammer everything looks like a nail,” McChrystal said. “We can’t operate that way; we can’t walk with only a hammer in our hands.”

McChrystal makes it point not to wear body armor or carry a sidearm when he visits with Afghan governors or with everyday citizens in public.

The governors and citizens don’t wear body armor, McChrystal pointed out, noting it’s important that he conveys a message of trust, while demonstrating that he doesn’t believe he is more valuable than his Afghan hosts are.

During his travels around the country, McChrystal routinely asks Afghans what U.S. and NATO forces can do to improve their lives -- especially in regard to protecting them from Taliban insurgents.

But, things are going too slow in Afghanistan right now to suit McChrystal.

“We could do good things in Afghanistan for the next 100 years -- and fail,” McChrystal said, “because we’re doing a lot of good things, (but) it just doesn’t’ add up to success.

“We’ve got to think quicker,” he said.

McChrystal also voiced frustration with a military bureaucracy that takes too long to provide him with needed staff personnel and other necessities.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates “talks in terms of 12 to 18 months to show a significant change, and then we eat up two or three months just on sort of getting the tools out of the toolbox,” McChrystal said.

“That really hurts,” he said.

An average organization pulls out a calendar when something needs to be done, McChrystal said, while a good organization looks at its watch.

“And, we really have got to get that way,” McChrystal said.

McChrystal also has directed that convoy drivers cease driving wildly around on Afghanistan’s streets and roads.

Such aggressive driving is perceived by the Afghans “as arrogant” behavior, McChrystal said, and an indicator of “not caring about their right to use their roads.”

Bad or dangerous driving constitutes one of many “bad habits we’ve got to deprogram” in Afghanistan, McChrystal said.

McChrystal’s room is shown as a Spartan affair, while the general acknowledges that he eats but once a day, and considers his daily hour-long run that starts at 5 a.m. as leisure time.

A Special Operations officer par-excellence, McChrystal was involved in the separate Iraq operations that captured Saddam Hussein and killed al Qaida terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

McChrystal recently submitted to the Pentagon and the White House his assessment of Afghan operations and another report recommending the required number of troops and resources that he thinks will be required to win in Afghanistan.

“I take this extraordinarily seriously,” McChrystal said of his duties as the top U.S. officer in Afghanistan. “I believe that what I am responsible to do is to give my best assessment.”

McChrystal also said he’d have no qualms if he had to tell President Barack Obama that the mission in Afghanistan couldn’t be accomplished.

“And, if I felt that way; the day I feel that way; the day I’m sure I feel that way; I’ll tell him that,” McChrystal said.

Source: CENTCOM.

America, Get A Backbone

Ron sent me this email, and I remember when (former) Prime Minister Howard first said this to the Australian people and immigrants who've chosen to come there. Read on.
Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia, as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks.

Separately, Howard angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques.

Quote: 'IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians.'

'This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom. We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, Learn the Language!'

'Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.'

'We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.'

'This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.'

'If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.'
Wow. Imagine that. Being offended by the very culture and country you CHOSE to emmigrate to! I have news for our illegals. I AGREE WITH HOWARD. If you don't like it here, go home! As for you atheists, read the Constitution. There is no questioning of what your religion is so that you can have no religion if you wish. That does NOT give you the right to deny my right to praise our One and Only Holy God! If you want me to leave you alone, then leave me alone. Got it? Good! Have a nice day.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Have We No Shame?

I found these videos over at Winston's site, The Spirit of Man. He is an Iranian dissident who lives in Canada. I borrowed one of these videos to show you what a real leader does and says, but you really should follow the link below to see the other 3 videos. It is moving, angering, and down right true.


Have we forgotten the Holocaust? Have we forgotten 9/11/01? What is happening to our society when we allow, no, condone, the torture and murder of an ally to placate the murderous ambitions of terrorists? Where is our humanity? Have we no shame?

I have not forgotten. I stand with all the Jewish people who desire peace but are ready to defend their tiny country, and I stand with all Iranians who desire freedon and liberty. I just wish there was more I could do. God, please forgive us.

Link: Have you no shame?

Hat tip: Winston.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again. Digg! Digg!

Founders' Daily Quote(s):9/21-25/09

Monday, September 21, 2009.
"No morn ever dawned more favorable than ours did; and no day was every more clouded than the present! Wisdom, and good examples are necessary at this time to rescue the political machine from the impending storm." --George Washington, letter to James Madison, 1786

We understand, General Washington. We are here to pick up the mantel. May the Lord shine upon us once more.

Tue. 9/22.
"I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth -- that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the Ground without his Notice, is it probable that an Empire can rise without his Aid?" --Benjamin Franklin, to Colleagues at the Constitutional Convention

Wed. 9/23.
WTH? Again? Hmm, somehow I keep losing a quote here, a quote there. Very strange...

Thu. 9/24.
"The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave." --Patrick Henry, speech in the Virginia Convention, 1775

You tell him, Patrick! I love this guy. Doesn't he just inspire you to keep up the fight, Patriots? ;)

Fri. 9/25.
"With hearts fortified with these animating reflections, we most solemnly, before God and the world, declare, that, exerting the utmost energy of those powers, which our beneficent Creator hath graciously bestowed upon us, the arms we have compelled by our enemies to assume, we will, in defiance of every hazard, with unabating firmness and perseverance employ for the preservation of our liberties; being with one mind resolved to die freemen rather than to live as slaves." --John Dickinson and Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of the Cause and Necessity of Taking up Arms, 1775

YES! I would rather die Free than a Slave. Onward Patriots!

Source: Patriot Post.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Election Call From Former Aide

A former Party aide calls on Chinese to push for democracy as National Day approaches.

AFP
Bao Tong, 76, a former top aide to late Chinese leader Zhao Ziyang, holds up a photo of Zhao during an interview at his home in Beijing, April 27, 2009.



HONG KONG—A former top official in China's Communist Party has called on patriotic Chinese to "return power to the people" and push for full democracy ahead of the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic.

Sixty years after peasant leader Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China from Tiananmen Square on Oct. 1, 1949, former top Party aide Bao Tong said the Party has never admitted its mistakes.

"All of the great mistakes at a national level with far-reaching consequences were committed under the planning and leadership of the Communist Party," wrote Bao, a former aide to disgraced late Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang.

"The People's Republic of China is not a republic at all. This is a sort of pathology," he said.

"It consists in the systemic erosion of the rights of citizens to all sorts of things, including elections and private property, by the Party leadership over the last 60 years."

'Progress' under the Party.

In an essay penned from his Beijing home, where Bao has been held under house arrest since returning from a seven-year jail term in the wake of the 1989 student-led pro-democracy movement, Bao poured scorn on the wave of official praise for China's progress under the Party.

"Hidden troubles shouldn't be allowed to remain packaged up in talk of 'great and mighty results,' for the sake of our children, our grandchildren, and all their descendants," he wrote.

Behind the talk of "prosperity" and "the rise of China" lies rampant official corruption and an ever-widening gap between rich and poor, Bao said.

"Behind the words 'hard reasoning of development' lies the plunder of natural resources and the laying waste of the environment," he added.

He delineated a "collapse of personal freedoms, religious freedom, ethnic autonomy, and freedoms of speech, protest and demonstration" behind the government's emphasis on stability.

Call for elections.

"How should a patriot show their love and concern for their country?" Bao wrote.

"By returning power to the people and building a republic," said Bao, who called on Chinese people to educate themselves about what full, direct elections actually mean.

"If we are to cash in on [promises of] democracy, openness, competition and meritocracy, universal direct elections are inevitable," he wrote.

"Otherwise that particular check will undoubtedly bounce."

"China is in dire need of a period of education and enlightenment about what is really meant by a 'republic' and what is really meant by 'universal, direct elections.'"

Bao said that no political party should be given the right to field an approved list of candidates, or to interfere with the right of any candidate to enter the field or to take up their post if they are elected.

"The legitimacy of a republic rests on universal, direct elections. It is the sacred duty of every patriotic citizen to promote universal, direct elections in which there is true competition between candidates," Bao wrote.

Chinese authorities are implementing a nationwide security clampdown ahead of the Oct. 1 National Day celebrations, closing key Web sites and discussion boards, and detaining people who try to lodge complaints in Beijing about local governments.

The anniversary comes as Beijing struggles to quell ethnic tensions in China's northwest and to silence outspoken dissidents, petitioners, and civil rights lawyers, who have been warned not to use the occasion to protest against the government.

Original essay by Bao Tong. Mandarin service director: Jennifer Chou. Translated and written for the Web in English by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Sarah Jackson-Han.

Copyright © 1998-2009 Radio Free Asia. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Military News 9/22/09

Today I've decided to get back to catching up with all the emailed information I have yet to post. As I post these articles, I shall put their titles here. This way they do not go unnoticed or unread. Thank you for your patience.

New brigades represent new mission in Iraq. 9/11/09.
Afgan farmers bolster income with bees, 9/15/09.
Troops disrupt insurgent communications, 8/24/09.

Where does the time go? Here are three articles for you. Have a good day.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Should I Run For Rep. 54th District, CA?

I have been organizing Tea Parties, petitioning my Congresswoman and Senators, Assemblywoman and State Senator, and I have come to the conclusion that the only way to solve California's problems is to get rid of everyone in office and replace them with grassroot people like us. In order to do this, we need many volunteers to step up to the plate. This is a grassroots movement politicians. How does the unemployment line look now?

I have met so many talented people while in Long Beach, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and through the internet and on conference calls. I believe there are enough of us to do what needs to be done.

Many may ask (or say) that we have no experience in politics. For some of us this is true, others of us have helped at campaigns. Those of us who have helped at campaigns I believe are sick and tired of elected liars and have been very disappointed at all the broken promises.

So what and who am I? I am a Conservative who loves animals, sports, family, the Military, the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. I am a pro-life, Evangalical Christian who believes the government has crossed the line. Which one, you ask? Good question, since they've crossed so many.

No government has the right to deprive a city, town, or individual of their livlihood without fair compensation [See 5th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States]. This has been so distorted that there are citizens within our Central Valley that have ZERO water because of a stupid ALIEN fish. That is correct. It's origins are NOT the Delta. So why don't they catch them all and let them go somewhere else? Because that makes sense!

That is just one example of government intrusion. How do you like these new showerheads that moniter how fast the water is coming out? I'll tell you what, I'm tired of running around in the shower trying to get wet!

There are 5000 committees which pay very nicely (we have 5000+ cases of 'taxation without represention'), some or most receive over $100,000 per year for meeting once a month. Yes, these are termed-out politicians. They all need to be shut down. That includes you too, CARB [California Air Resources Bureau(?)]. TURN THE WATER ON!

I question whether or not I am a free marketer, or if the people who use that term realize what an oxymoron it is. Let's take a quick look at China. That country that sold and/or watch as almost all of nuclear arms flowed into N. Korea's warchest. We don't charge China for the junk they bring into our country to undercut our own manufacturers, yet we have to pay tarriffs and wonder still if they will come and take our companies. Hmm. Is that free-marketing? Not in my eyes. If I'm wrong, please explain to me why trading with an enemy of America is 'free'?

I am interested in foreign policy issues, but I believe our state is in much more need of fixing. Although someone should still run against Congresswoman Richardson. She has stayed in office only because no one opposes her.

In the State of California, we should have a Right to Work Law. As most of us have seen, ACORN is a corrupt organization, and they have their tenacles everywhere, such as the SEIU and other unions. I do not believe Californians should be penalized or forced to have their money stolen from them when they choose not to belong to a union. However if they choose to belong to a union, that's a different story. But it should not be any of our business! Don't we have enough to fix?

Well, I've addressed only a few of my concerns. I'd really like to talk about the schools and my easy solution to some of the problems. Make the principle the boss. Let the teachers teach reading, writing, math, history, American History, languages if they choose, art, sports, Excercise, etc. Teachers are closest to their students so they know what is needed. You will never be able to convince me that someone in DC knows what is better for our students than do our parents and teachers. Never.

So, should I run for California State Assembly District 54? I would like your feedback. If I receive a good amount of comments, I will start an exploratory committee. Until then, I have to wait. Why? I don't know too many people. Yes, I know this is a drawback, but that's what hitting the pavement is for! On the brighter side, I have fresher ideas and the passion to go along with them. Being a Citizen Representative may be just the shot in the arm this state needs. What say you?

I'd like to thank all of you in advance for your comments, suggestions, critiques, etc. I cannot eccept any money yet, so don't ask why I don't have it set up yet. Without officially opening the exploratory committee, I cannot receive monies for this purpose. I'll let you know where to find the site I set up so you contribute once everything is in motion. God bless you, and be safe.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Linkfest Haven, the Blogger's Oasis

Today I am having an open trackback courtesy of Linkfest. This means you can (track)post your best post here. Remember to link me to your article before you trackback. You don't have trackbacks available? Why not use Wizbang Stand Alone Trackback? Everyone have a nice day.

Cross-posted @ Talon, TownHall, Long Beach Patriots, TCU, SGP and Rosemary's News and Ideas. Digg! Digg!

Friday, September 18, 2009

Smacking Allies In The Face Isn't Healthy

Right now I am so frustrated and angry (ie. frightened) that I am going to refer you to the article I just read in the Wall Street Journal opinion section. I don't know if I can withstand another 9/11/2001. Can you?

Here is the link. Please read this so you know what I am talking about. Talking about "chickens coming home to roost'! This is going to make us more vulnerable, not safe.

Since when does the Commie state of the USSR get a veto over whether we put defensive missiles wherever we need them? Oh, Obama, if you only knew how weak you appear to the entire world. These commies invade Georgia, you want them to sit down and talk. If someone invades my apartment, they're dead. There will be no time for talking. If they were not invited and I don't know them, they are there for one reason and isn't a good one.

You have smacked all of our allies in the face, pretty hard I might add, while at the same time trying to make friends with our enemies. Have you given it ANY thought as to why they are our enemies? Could it be they hate our Republic? Yes, it could. And they love your weakness and feeble mind.

Please remember that you are president of the United States and us alone. Your job is to protect us. If anything happens to us while you are president, I will blame you without forgiveness. What you have done by snatching away our agreement with Poland and the Czech Republic is unconscionable. Please rethink your decision.

Until then, Tea Party On! Also, Congresswoman Richardson (CA-D) of the 37th district was found to be one of the 15 most corrupt people in Congress, but I cannot find the source for that statement. That leaves me with a very difficult question. Should I run for Congress? How do I start an exploratory thingy. (Is that grass roots enough for ya? haha.) Please let me know what you think. It takes money which I don't have. But it also takes passion to do the right thing which I do have. I'll be waiting for your input.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Founders' Daily Quote(s):9/14-18/09

Monday, September 14, 2009.
"It is an object of vast magnitude that systems of education should be adopted and pursued which may not only diffuse a knowledge of the sciences but may implant in the minds of the American youth the principles of virtue and of liberty and inspire them with just and liberal ideas of government and with an inviolable attachment to their own country." --Noah Webster, On Education of Youth in America, 1790

Tue. 9/15.
"Law and liberty cannot rationally become the objects of our love, unless they first become the objects of our knowledge." --James Wilson, Of the Study of the Law in the United States, 1790

Wed. 9/16.
"[W]e ought to deprecate the hazard attending ardent and susceptible minds, from being too strongly, and too early prepossessed in favor of other political systems, before they are capable of appreciating their own." --George Washington, letter to the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, 1795

Thu. 9/17.
"[T]he present Constitution is the standard to which we are to cling. Under its banners, bona fide must we combat our political foes." --Alexander Hamilton, letter to James Bayard, 1802

Fri. 9/18.
"I trust that the proposed Constitution afford a genuine specimen of representative government and republican government; and that it will answer, in an eminent degree, all the beneficial purposes of society." --Alexander Hamilton, speech to the New York Ratifying Convention, 1788

Source: Patriot Post.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

9/12/09 March On DC Tea Party Videos

Wow. One of my friends sent me an e-mail with many pictures and videos. They are awesome. The videos I have chosen to share with you have 8 parts to them. (I think.) These are being provided by MoxNewsDotCom. The site may be found at MOXNews.
Tea Party (Taxpayer) March On Washington DC pt.1. 10:57. I call it the history of the beginning of the end of the beginning. Jenny: CAN YOU HEAR US NOW?

Dick Armey Tea Party (Taxpayer) March On Washington DC pt.2 REDUX. 8:36. Brendan Steinhauser and Dick Armey speak.

Tea Party (Taxpayer) March On Washington DC pt.3. 7:30. James Anderer was a victim of the government when they stole his car dealership that he had in his family for quite a while.

Tea Party (Taxpayer) March On Washington DC pt.4. 10:56.

Tea Party (Taxpayer) March On Washington DC pt.5. 8:33.

Tea Party (Taxpayer) March On Washington DC pt.6. 10:53.
I have chosen this one to play here (although I will provide the link in case my computer goes screwy), because it includes many of the people I care about. They sign a rap song to salute our brave men and women, yes--they are not forgotten, and a lady I adore. Yes, she speaks for me!


Here is the link: Tea Party (Taxpayer) March On Washington DC pt.7. 9:51 minutes.
Tea Party (Taxpayer) March On Washington DC pt.8. 10:41.

Senator DeMint Tea Party (Taxpayer) March On Washington DC pt.9. 10:54.

Betsy McCaughey Tea Party (Taxpayer) March On Washington DC pt.10. 10:06. Greg Harrell, Ohio Coal Miner.

Congressman Pence Tea Party (Taxpayer) March On Washington DC pt.11. 10:19.

Tea Party (Taxpayer) March On Washington DC pt.12. Doc Thompson, Radio Talk Show host from Virginia.

Congresswoman Blackburn Tea Party (Taxpayer) March On Washington DC pt.13. 9:36.

Tea Party (Taxpayer) March On Washington DC pt.14. 10:47.

Tea Party (Taxpayer) March On Washington DC pt.15. 10:58. Mario Lopez, National Hispanic Leadership Fund, Founder and President. Kelly Hoag, Former Marine Captain, Iraq War Veteran, Hector Barreto, Latino Coalition Chairman, Former Admistrator, SBA 2001-2006. Plus more.

Tea Party (Taxpayer) March On Washington DC pt.16. 9:21. Bomb scare. Nice, jackass.

Tea Party (Taxpayer) March On Washington DC pt.17. 10:59.
Well, I hope you get the idea. There are many more videos from other people, all of these were posted by MoxNewsDotCom. Everytime I thought I was almost done, bam! There's 5 more! ;)

He/she did a very good job of making what appears to be a continuous video. I guess the camera or the upload at YouTube would only allow 11 minutes at a time, so he/she sliced them together. That is why I posted so many. Some tapes end in the middle of what someone is saying, and the next one picks up the rest of the speech. Cool! I know that was a lot of work. Please check them out. Have a great day, ya'll!

Hat tip: President/Boardmember of Eagles UP!

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Cross-posted @ Long Beach Patriots. Digg! Digg!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Please Sign Vets For Freedom's Petition

Below is a petition which I have signed, and I am asking you to do the same. These brave men are over in Afghanistan fighting for our freedoms and lives, and it is the least we can do to make sure they have the troops and equipment they need to win the victory. We owe this to them.

To sign the petition, all you have to do is check the little box on top of the information, fill in the information, then hit submit. If you do not see it at first, click onto the information and go downward. It will force it up. (That's what I had to do. Then again, my fonts are messed up.)

This is very important to our Military, the Afghans, and us at home. Don't quit now. We are not losers, no matter what others want you to believe. If you don't believe me, then go to Vets For Freedom and ask them if it is worth it. They have been there. They know. Thank you.
To President Obama.

We, the undersigned U.S. war veterans and patriotic Americans, petition you with one simple request:

Listen to the commander on the ground in Afghanistan—General Stanley A. McChrystal—and provide him with the troops he says he needs to win the war in Afghanistan.

By accepting the troop recommendations of General McChrystal—and his boss General David Petraeus—we have a chance to turn the war in Afghanistan around. This is a moment in history we must not miss
.

Like General Petraeus in Iraq, General McChrystal is an outside-the-box thinker who thrives in the ambiguity of asymmetrical battlefields. Like General Petraeus in Iraq, General McChrystal has the right strategy—a comprehensive counterinsurgency plan.

In 2007, General Petraeus was given the troops he needed (the "Surge") to win, and Iraq has turned around—resulting in dramatically lower U.S. casualties, a more stable Iraq, and a drawdown of American forces.

General McChrystal—and all our brave Soldiers and Marines on the ground—deserve the same chance to win in Afghanistan. They deserve the additional troops needed to turn a winning strategy into a winning result.

We fully acknowledge that the war in Afghanistan has been tough, and is currently headed in the wrong direction. And as you have said, it has been under-resourced, under-funded, and under-manned for years. You have also said that it is a war we must win. We agree on all fronts.

Unlike Iraq, there was consensus at the beginning of the war in Afghanistan that America must be successful in toppling the Taliban and dismantling Al Qaeda, for the safety of our country. Eight years later, the consensus on the war in Afghanistan is fractured; however we believe—as do you—that the need for victory has not changed.

During this time of domestic uncertainty and global threats, winning the war will require steadfast Presidential leadership; a Commander-in-Chief who is unwilling to be swayed by lagging poll numbers or party leaders who want to block troop increases.

Now is the time for your leadership. If you listen to commanders on the ground, give them what they need, and stand behind our warriors in Afghanistan—we will stand with you. If you don't, and would rather fight the "war of necessity" with one hand tied behind our back, then we will loudly object.

Many—in fact a majority—said the war in Iraq was "unwinnable," yet our troops persevered and turned the tide. Despite the drumbeat of detractors—on both sides of the aisle—this is another war we can win. But we must act now.

We owe it to the Marines and Soldiers slogging it out with insurgents every day to get this right. If we do, they'll fight, they'll persevere, and they'll win. If we don't, we are setting them up for failure. No less than America's greatness—and the legacy of America's finest warriors—is at stake. [Please sign the petition here.]
Hat tip: Elyse, President/Boardmember of Eagles UP!

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Racism: More Than A Word

Let's say a white man were president and he had the same ideology as Obama, would the response by those Tea Party Patriots have been the same? You bet your sweet buns. Why? Because we love our country and don't need anyone apologizing for her, we love our Constitution and are tired of both parties disregarding it after they swore on oath to protect it, and we also treasure our liberty which entails us, as individuals, to be responsible for ourselves, and not being slaves to any government.

Now that I have made my case as to why we oppose this president and it has nothing to do with race, we are called 'racists' because we disagree with the status quo (that being to agree with everything they believe in even though we do not).

When you call someone a 'racist', please make sure they are indeed a 'racist'. It is the same as when a woman cries 'rape' after the fact because she is mad and it turns out not to be true. What happens to her when she is actually raped? That's correct. People do not believe her. Worse than that, if there could be a worse, is the fact that it sets all women in a bad light. We have to fight very hard to get back to where we started from because of this.

When there is true racism, I want to know about it. I want it eradicated from our country. How can this happen when people like Maureen Dowd use this term so irresponsibly and often? She is not the only one by far, just the most recent.

Racism is a very hateful, ignorant, violent indecency that has plagued this nation long ago and sadly, still exists in some hearts. It is real, it is violent, it is ugly, and it should never be used as a means of shutting up the opposition when you have no other argument. Disagreeing with someone is not racist. You cannot judge another person's words on your own perception of them. Maybe you are harboring something we should know about?

Well Maureen, you are very unintelligent and harmful to the actual meaning of the word 'racism'. Because you give it so little thought or credence, you diminish the word. Is it because you live in a glass house? Is it because you have never slept with a black man? Yes, I said that. If you had, you might understand that racism is real and you don't go throwing words like that around on a whim.

Racism is so serious that it scars people for life. As I was growing up, I was called a n******-lover. That is only half true. I loved a black man (he was a REAL man), and I wasn't going to allow people like you to interfere with my life no matter how uncomfortable it made you feel. Did you ever stop to give a damn how you made me feel? No, you never did.

And now you're trying to make up for it? You're barking up the wrong tree, witch. If you only know how much I would rather use the other word! It is fitting, but I would like to think I'm above that. I know I'm not always, but at least I can admit it. Can you?

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Cross-posted @ TownHall, TCU, SGP and Rosemary's News and Ideas. Digg! Digg!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Afghan farmers bolster income with bees

by Capt. John T. Stamm
Panjshir PRT

BAGRAM AIRFIELD (Afghanistan, Sept. 15, 2009) – In an effort to increase agricultural productivity and boost economic capacity, 450 families throughout Afghanistan’s Panjshir province were supplied with training and materials to operate and manage their own honey production businesses.

The program, sponsored by the province’s agriculture ministry, began in July 2008 with the delivery of 900 bee boxes called “lower deep supers,” or brood chambers, complete with a queen bee and a starter colony.

A beekeeper in the Dara district of Afghanistan’s Panjshir province tends to one of his hives.Initially, starter colonies produce only enough honey to survive, but as the colonies continue to grow, they produce excess honey that can be harvested. This natural progression requires an “excluder” for the queen, “deep upper supers” for the bees and additional training for the beekeepers.

“The deep uppers are where the bees store the excess honey that will be harvested and will allow the queen growing room for the colony to keep them from swarming to another location,” said Greg Schlenz, a U.S. Department of Agriculture representative to the provincial reconstruction team. “The training is necessary to ensure understanding in bee colony development and use of received materials.”

Local residents said they had no recollection of a substantial honeybee population ever existing in the province. Abdulla Shah, a lifelong resident of the valley, said Dara district had some honeybee hives prior to the team’s arrival, but doesn’t know what happened to them.

“I remember seeing the hives and the farmers selling honey in Dara about five years ago,” Shah said. “But, I don’t remember them anywhere else in Panjshir, not even as a child.”

Bees are a vital component in pollination, a process by which the male cells of a plant are carried to the female cells of another, which enables fertilization. This process is necessary in agriculture, because 80 percent of plant fertilization occurs by animal interaction. Without pollination, plants can’t bear fruit or reproduce.

“Pollination was the No. 1 reason for bringing bees into the province,” Schlenz said. “The secondary reason was the honey production.”

A single beehive can pollinate a three-mile radius and produce more than six pounds of harvestable honey a year. In Panjshir, the price of honey is between 300 and 1,000 afghanis per kilogram, or about $6 a pound. This translates into about $42 per hive per year, a substantial supplement to the average Afghan farmer’s income of about $400 a year.

Abdullah, a farmer in the province’s Khenj district, is a participant in the beekeeping project. His farm has grown from two to five hives in just one season, and he recently harvested almost 18 pounds of honey.

“This has been very good for my family,” Abdullah said. “I have the honey for my family, and the bees have increased the pollination in my fields.”

The beneficiaries of the starter bee farms were handpicked by the Panjshir director of agriculture through consultations during community council meetings. The recipients had to meet stringent criteria and attend four weeks of training, which included biology, species, identification, raising and caring techniques, maintenance, pollination, production and harvesting, and basic business and marketing skills.

The project not only benefits the ecosystem, but also builds capacity through cooperation. Only two honey extractors are within each of Panjshir’s seven districts, with beekeepers having to share the equipment. Through this process, beekeepers share experience, knowledge and information.

“It’s a win-win project where, agriculturally, we are seeing an increase in fruit, vegetables, wild flowers, clovers, alfalfas and other plants,” Schlenz said. “Secondly, the farmers are earning an extra income they probably never thought would occur from bees.”

Source: CENTCOM.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Remember September 11, 2009

Men who hung our flag over the top of a building in defience of the cowardly attacks. Our Statue of Liberty shall remain strong just as we all must do so.




VIDEO: September 11, 2001 by Klavan on Culture, courtesy of PJTV.




The Pentagon - September 11, 2001. The Twin Towers in NYC - September 11, 2001. Never forget.








Sharing memories with The World According To Carl.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

New brigades represent new mission in Iraq

by Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON (Sept. 11, 2009) – The new advisory and assistance brigades to flow into Iraq in the coming months will bring important new capability as they focus on building the Iraqi security forces, the commander of Multinational Corps Iraq said Thursday.

Army Lt. Gen. Charles Jacoby Jr. called the so-called AABs – reconfigured brigade combat teams that focus on advising, assisting and developing Iraqi security forces – “a concept we believe in” for moving forward in Iraq. “We think it’s the right way to go as we move from counterinsurgency and full-spectrum ops to our strategy of being done with combat operations for U.S. forces in August 2010,” he told Pentagon reporters via videoconference from Camp Victory, Iraq.

A 3rd Infantry Division Soldier trains for deployment to Iraq as a member of the new advisory and assistance brigades intended to train Iraqi security forces.The Pentagon announced the new brigades in July. The first four brigade combat teams to be assigned the mission are the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st and 2nd Brigade Combat Teams based at Fort Stewart, Ga., and its 3rd BCT at Fort Benning, Ga.; and the 4th Infantry Division’s 3rd BCT at Fort Carson, Colo.

They will deploy beginning this fall, and be dispersed throughout Iraq in areas where they can best support provincial reconstruction teams and the training of Iraqi forces, Jacoby said. “We’ve done a fair amount of work studying where we think the advisory assistance brigades can best serve that mission,” he said.

The AABs represent a mindset as well as a mission, Jacoby said, as they operate within the stability operations realm to improve the Iraqi security forces’ ability to conduct combat operations and take the lead in other security operations.

For now, traditional brigade combat teams deployed to Iraq are passing back lessons learned and observations being made to help prepare the AABs for their new mission. Jacoby lauded the “great exchange of information between the theater and back home in the training base.”

AABs will be about the size of a standard brigade combat team, but will include more field-grade officers serving as advisors, and more engineering, military police, civil affairs, transportation and other capabilities to support the training and mentoring mission, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman explained when announcing the new teams in July.

Their pre-deployment training is expected to differ considerably from that of standard brigades, Whitman said. In addition to standard combat training, they will undergo scenario-based training and mission-readiness exercises designed to prepare them for the complex challenges they will encounter in Iraq.

Source: CENTCOM.

Founders' Daily Quote(s): 9/7-11/09

Monday, September 7, 2009.
"To cherish and stimulate the activity of the human mind, by multiplying the objects of enterprise, is not among the least considerable of the expedients, by which the wealth of a nation may be promoted." --Alexander Hamilton, Report on Manufactures, 1791

Tue. 9/8.
"No people will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffusd and Virtue is preservd. On the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant, and debauchd in their Manners, they will sink under their own weight without the Aid of foreign Invaders." --Samuel Adams, letter to James Warren, 1775

Wed. 9/9.
Okay. Someone is eating my Daily Quotes!

Update: I found it.

"Cherish, therefore, the spirit of our people, and keep alive their attention. Do not be too severe upon their errors, but reclaim them by enlightening them. If once they become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress, and Assemblies, Judges, and Governors, shall all become wolves." --Thomas Jefferson, letter to Edward Carrington, 1787

Yes, that is what has happened, but we are determined to turn back the clock so to speak. We have awaken, and we are not well pleased!

Thu. 9/10.
Here too.

Fri. 9/11.
"To judge from the history of mankind, we shall be compelled to conclude that the fiery and destructive passions of war reign in the human breast with much more powerful sway than the mild and beneficent sentiments of peace; and that to model our political systems upon speculations of lasting tranquillity would be to calculate on the weaker springs of human character." --Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 34, 1788

Source: Patriot Post.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

One Man's POV On Obama's HealthScare

Yesterday night President Obama gave a tired old speech about what he considers a health care insurance 'crisis'. (Isn't everything with these peeps?) The only thing I found to be new was lip-service to malpractice insurance. It was boring, it was full of lies, and it was insulting to at least half of America.

Liars are we? I was happy when CONGRESSMAN JOE WILSON of South Carolina called him to task when Obama did lie. He did apologize, but he also energized both the Left, the Right, and most people in between! Please donate today! The Leftist Marxists are collecting on what happened, let's outdo them. ;)

A friend of mine wrote about this event (speech) today as well. I will share some of it with you, and then you can decide if you choose to continue reading his article.
Obama lied, his credibility died.
By J. Matt Barber.

On Wednesday night President Obama threw a universal healthcare Hail Mary. The call? Incomplete pass.

His much anticipated address to a joint session of Congress promised to finally — for real, this time — provide details about his "healthcare reform plan" (the government takeover of about 20 percent of America's once free market).

Instead, the President regurgitated the same worn-out talking points, tired platitudes and baseless rhetoric he's been spouting for months, generating more confusion than clarity.

As his approval ratings sink faster than an Olds off the bridge Chappaquiddick, the speech-giver-in-chief's latest lecture was a transparently desperate attempt to salvage his signature issue and, by extension, the very presidency he's wagered on it. He even went so far as to breathlessly suggest this time that a failure to implement his governmental healthcare scheme means that "more Americans will die." It was embarrassing.

This was Obama's umpteenth healthcare homily amid an average of more than one speech per day since he's taken office. True, it's better he should run his mouth than actually attempt to govern, but, nonetheless, it's become annoying that he continues to stubbornly refuse America's, "Not only no but h--- no," answer to his persistent "pretty please."

"I am not the first president to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last," he proclaimed. To that end he may succeed. Indeed, in light of America's boisterous rejection of his socialist vision, future presidents may avoid — like Harry Reid avoids Nevada — the polarizing issue altogether.

As for the speech: I'll leave it to other pundits to tackle the President's arrogantly partisan, condescending and less-than-convincing Windy City tough-guy tone. Instead, I want to address — at the risk of being "called out" by chief thug, Rahm Emanuel (scary, I know) — the fact that Obama, with a straight face, repeatedly lied to the American people (the teleprompter made him do it). I was reminded of my eight year-old, standing before me with chocolaty crumb covered cheeks, saying, "Cookie? What cookie?" [Continue reading Renew America.]
It gets better. Truly. Well, then again, I guess that would depend on if you are still able to do a little critical thinking for yourself. I am so grateful I am able to do so. Have a great night everyone. Don't forget, tomorrow is September 11, 2009. Even though the Left may desire to turn it into Service Day, do not allow this to upset you. We remember...

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

News From August 2009

Today you will have an opportunity to read some of the fascinating, scary, etc. writings by some great (and not so great, hehe) writers about the war on terror (yeah, I said it, whatcha gonna do?), terrorism (again!), etc. This will cover the articles from the month of August which I did not have time to post. Good reading!

MICHAEL YON.
Resurrection. Aug. 3, 2009
Common Sense & Common Thoughts. 8/5/09
Pixie Dust. 8/6/09
No Young Soldiers. 8/10/09
Stars & Stripes. 8/13/09
The Kopp-Etchells Effect. 8/17/09
Do Americans Care about British Soldiers? 8/19/09

I have now had this in 'draft' and it is now September 16th. I think it's time to publish it and start working on the others. Thank you for your patience.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

NATO reaffirms commitment to Afghanistan

by Gerry Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

NORFOLK, Va., (Sept. 9, 2009) – Despite the challenges it faces there, NATO will stay the course during its tough fight against Taliban and other extremists in Afghanistan, the alliance’s top leader said Wednesday.

“Let no one think that a run for the exits is an option; it is not,” NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, berthed at Naval Station Norfolk, after he’d participated in a ceremony transferring command of Allied Command Transformation from U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James N. Mattis to Gen. Stephane Abrial of France’s air force.

“My view is very clear,” Rasmussen said. “What we are doing now is very difficult, is very costly. But, if we were to walk away, we would pay a much higher cost -- and soon.”

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, right, speaks with reporters as Marine Corps Gen. James N. Mattis, commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command, far left, and Gen. Stephane Abrial of the French air force, incoming commander of NATO’s Allied Command Transformation, look on at Naval Station Norfolk, Va.A military withdrawal from Afghanistan would result in terrorist attacks originating from Afghanistan, Rasmussen said, as well as “profound instability in Pakistan and in Central Asia.” Extremists worldwide would become “emboldened” if NATO disengaged from Afghanistan, he added.

“This is simply not a future we can allow to happen,” Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen acknowledged to reporters that more needs to be done in Afghanistan – especially more progress in training higher numbers of Afghan soldiers and police. More trainers, he said, are required to achieve that goal.

“We need to further develop the capacity of the Afghan security forces,” Rasmussen said, “so that the Afghans can take responsibility themselves, gradually, province by province.”

What’s also needed, Rasmussen said, is “a clear step towards transition” to Afghan leadership in the realms of security, health, education, development and governance.

“Within NATO, that means investing much more heavily in training and developing the Afghan security forces,” Rasmussen said.

The road to success in Afghanistan entails achieving more progress, Rasmussen said, and demonstrating that progress through “clear, visible transition” to Afghan authorities, Rasmussen said. It’s also essential that the Afghan government deliver better services to its citizens, he added.

The bottom line, Rasmussen said, is “we need to show the Afghan people and the citizens of troop-contributing nations that we are getting somewhere.”

Reducing civilian casualties is Afghanistan is part of the strategy to achieve success there, the secretary general told reporters. “I know that our troops on the ground do their utmost to reduce the number of civilian casualties,” he said, noting that over the last year, civilian casualties in Afghanistan have been reduced by around 95 percent.

“But what we cannot and will not do is waver,” Rasmussen said. “Success in our efforts is essential to Afghan security, to regional security and our security -- and we will get there.”

Rasmussen cited the change-of-command ceremony as a “significant milestone” for NATO. Abrial became ACT’s first nontemporary European commander. Before 2003, ACT was known as Allied Command Atlantic, which was established in 1952. Most of ACA’s commanders have been Americans.

“I am truly honored by the command with which I have been entrusted,” Abrial said after the ceremony. “I am eager to serve alongside the dedicated men and women in NATO’s most diverse command serving here in Norfolk and throughout Europe.”

NATO established Allied Command Transformation in 2003. It works with U.S. Joint Forces Command to identify, advocate and facilitate continuous improvement of NATO capabilities to maintain the alliance’s effectiveness in the 21st century.

Earlier this year, France decided to rejoin NATO’s military command. Then-French President Charles de Gaulle had pulled France out of NATO’s military command in 1966. France has hundreds of troops deployed in Afghanistan in support of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force there.

“As NATO says, eventually you need France’s voice in the command structure if their troops are going to be in every operation,” Mattis told reporters after the change-of-command ceremony.

The Marine four-star general, who received NATO’s Meritorious Service Medal at the ceremony, remains the chief of U.S. Joint Forces Command, also based here. Mattis had served as Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation for about two years.

Source: CENTCOM.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Gates speaks frankly on Pakistan, Iraq to Al-Jazeera

by Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON (Sept. 8, 2009) – The situation in Pakistan and the way ahead in Iraq were among the issues Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates spoke about with the Arabic television network Al-Jazeera in an interview being broadcast this week.

The network’s Washington bureau chief, Abderrahim Foukara, spoke with the secretary Sept. 4.

Gates traced the growth of the insurgency in Afghanistan to a lessening of pressure on al-Qaida and the Taliban across the border in Pakistan.

“Frankly, when agreements were reached on the Pakistani side of the border, it essentially relieved the pressure from the Pakistan side on the Taliban, who were then in Pakistan,” Gates said. “So we have seen a steady increase in violence that really began late in 2005 and early 2006, and the Taliban have gotten better and better over that time.”

And other extremist groups – such as the Hakkani network and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s group – have rushed to embrace the Taliban. Gates called these alliances of convenience, but acknowledged they still are effective. “It is now perhaps a more complex situation [in Afghanistan and Pakistan] than it was in 2002,” he said.

Part of that, he said, resulted from earlier mistakes. “We did not provide the resources in Afghanistan early enough to stem this change in the situation in 2005 and 2006,” Gates said, noting that the war in Iraq made it difficult to do so. “We didn't have the resources to move in reinforcements, if you will, as the situation in Afghanistan began to deteriorate,” he said.

Getting Pakistan on board with the strategy in the region is important for the United States, Gates said, calling trust and commitment the keys to that aim.

Pakistan is important in its own right to the United States, Gates said, but it also is important in terms of violent extremists who cross back and forth across the Pakistani-Afghan border and put both governments at risk.

The United States cannot duplicate its policy – or lack of one – that existed after the Soviets left Afghanistan in 1989, Gates said. “As soon as the Soviets left Afghanistan, we turned our backs on Afghanistan and we did not cultivate our relationship with the Pakistanis properly,” he said.

“And so, I think we gave rise to doubts in the region about whether we are prepared to stay there and be their partner on a continuous basis,” he said. “And I believe we’ve learned our lesson, and that both Afghanistan and Pakistan can count on us for the long term.”

The secretary generally was upbeat on the future of Iraq, noting that the Iraqi security forces have taken control and are performing their mission. The country will stay together, Gates said, even as America withdraws from the nation.

“I think we have real confidence that they can do that,” he said, “and I think the best evidence that a sense of Iraqi nationalism has returned is that al-Qaida has made very strong efforts in recent weeks and months to try and provoke a renewal of the sectarian violence between the Sunnis and the Shiias in Iraq through suicide bombers. And what has been interesting and encouraging is that they have failed in that effort.”

American leaders, the secretary said, have a high opinion of the Iraqi army and police. The commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, says the Iraqi security forces have developed better and faster than he anticipated, Gates added.

“I think that's why you have not seen renewed sectarian violence, and that’s why we are comfortable with the arrangements in which we have withdrawn from cities and in which we will withdraw all our combat troops by the end of August next year,” he said.

Gates categorically said the United States will have all troops out of Iraq by the end of 2011. “That is the agreement that we have with the Iraqi government,” he said. “All U.S. forces. No bases. No forces.”

Source: CENTCOM.

Bloggers News From July

I get the feed from Stop The ACLU, and there are some pretty good ones I've been saving. Maybe you've forgotten about the time when Helen Thomas went off because of the way the Obama Administration was trying to control the media, yes Helen Thomas, Maybe you've forgotten quite a bit more? Not to worry. I have a collection from many bloggers for you here.

Stop The ACLU.
Video: Obama Team Smacked Down For Controlling the Press. 7/1/09

Radio Free Asia.
Hong Kong's Lyrical Lament. July 1, 2009
On the 12th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover, residents march—and sing—to voice their discontent with the status quo.

Burma, North Korea Said To Expand Military Ties. July 2, 2009
BANGKOK—A leaked report purportedly drafted by authorities in Burma’s military government describes a top-secret visit to North Korea late last year by Burma's top brass, during which the two sides pledged to significantly expand cooperation in military training and arms production, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports.

Outspoken Uyghur Economist Presumed Detained After Urumqi Clashes. July 8, 2009
HONG KONG—An outspoken economist from China's Uyghur ethnic minority, whose blog was cited for allegedly instigating deadly ethnic clashes in Xinjiang, has gone silent and his whereabouts are unknown after he reported police had summoned him from his Beijing home, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports.

Salt and LIght.
A Biblical Look at the Declaration of Independence. July 2, 2009

Pajamas Media.
"The Fog is not Lifting: New DVD Whitewashes Islamism" by Sid Shahid, Pajamas Media. July 5, 2009

ACT! For America.
A Call to Jihad, Answered in America. NY Times by ANDREA ELLIOTT, 7/13/09
Hizb Ut-Tahrir: Shariah Takes Precedence over U.S. Constitution
Imam Promises to Fight "Until Islam Becomes Victorious or We Die in the Attempt"
. IPT News, July 20, 2009
FBI confirms terror indictments, missing Somalis linked. by Elizabeth Stawicki, Minnesota Public Radio and Laura Yuen, Minnesota Public Radio. July 28, 2009

American Islamic Forum for Democracy.
American Islamic Forum for Democracy.
Jihadist Indoctrination Group Recruiting in Chicago. July 17, 2009
Muslims Need to Speak out Against Hizb ut-Tahrir. M. Zuhdi Jasser, AIFD YouTube Channel- July 18, 2009
AIFD is pleased to bring you our video commentary on our YouTube Channel- AIFDtv. In this first installment- on the eve of the first American conference of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Chicago on July 19, 2009, Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, AIFD President speaks out against the jihadist recruitment group, Hizb ut-Tahrir.

AIFD is calling on American Muslim organizations to condemn Hizb ut-Tahrir and its Islamist ideologies and the threat it poses to American security.
Jihadist indoctrination group recruiting in Chicago. by M. Zuhdi Jasser in The Hill Blog, July 27, 2009

America Family Association - Action Alert.
Full text of HR 3200. Health Scare Health Insurance. July 31, 2009

Politico.
How the GOP wants to fix health care. Hat tip: Sylvia of Smart Girl Politics.

That should do it for the bloggers posts in July. I still have to do CENTCOM and the Daily Quotes. Then I get to do August! All of this while I get ready for the 9/12West.org Tea Party. Wheh!

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Tea Party News

There is a great video I've received from South Bay Tea Party Video, and they will be at the Tea Party this coming Saturday. If you would like more news about what, when, where, and who, please refer to More 9/12 Info.

Hey, I have to promote our Long Beach Patriots site so that the citizens of Long Beach do not feel so isolated. This is LIBERAL LAND, USA. You just don't know! hahaha. Yes, my neighbors, we have Conservatives here too! They could not keep us away. Whether the fight for Liberty may abound, there shall always be those to answer her call.

Let us remember to be respectful of those who disagree with us. They are sadly mistaken, but we cannot education someone by screaming at them. Some will be persuaded with facts, others will never be persuaded. You have to determine which one you are having a conservation with over healthcare, debt, deficit (two different things), taxes, education, or whatever. You might be surprised how many people actually agree with you when you ask, "Do you want the govt to rule more of your life or less?" *heh*

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Blacks, Hispanics, Poor Whites: What Say You?

I've saved this post until now in case you've forgotten what it is fighting against and what we are fighting for. Life, Liberty, and Private Property. All government entities: HANDS OFF.

This was written by Mr. Mark Alexender at the Patriot Post. Be prepared to feel sick by the time you finish reading.

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 Jefferson.

Now 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
Publisher, PatriotPost.

May you walk with the LORD always, and when you cannot take another step, may He carry you the rest of the way until you can walk along side Him again.