Lynch Report

Newt Gingrich, America's Churchill?

2011-11-14T17:30:00.001-08:00

Although the statement may seem a reach to some, in addition to physical resemblances, other parallels appear between the lives of Winston Churchill and Newt Gingrich.

Both experienced childhood disruptions, and both grew up in military oriented households. Churchill's first political activity was at the age of 26, and Gingrich's at the age of 25. Both joined their country's Conservative political parties, and both became successful leaders their political party's as well as scared veterans of leadership battles. Gingrich, like Churchill, is a dedicated historian and author of numerous commentaries, histories and documentary films. Like Churchill, Gingrich is attempting a political resurrection during a period of significant unrest, upheaval, and apprehension for the future of their nation.

Gingrich at age 67, as Churchill was prior to his election as Prime Minister at age 66, has been dismissed by many as a relic of the past, an inconvenient speed-bump for Mitt Romney's Presidential campaign.

Newt's recent statesman-like performances in Republican debates, however, has propelled him to the top in the most recent polls. The question now is whether or not Newt can maintain discipline, stay focused on message, and avoid the awkward statements that he has shown a propensity to make.

On August 16th, 2011, the Irish bookmaker odds on Presidential candidates were: Obama at 4:6; Rick Perry at 7:2; Mitt Romney at 5:1; Michelle Bachmann at 16:1, John Boehner at 50:1, and candidate Newt Gingrich tied with actor Matt Damon at 100:1.

Newt is now at 14.3%, still behind Mitt Romney at 69.6%, but it's still early and Newt looks more and more like a Bulldog to many. The election, however, is still a long way off.

Veteran's Day Thanks

2011-11-10T18:26:00.001-08:00

Thank you to all who have served our country, during peacetime, or especially during war. We salute you.

No heroics, no tragedy, no wounds essential, or necessary for our sincere gratitude; just putting the uniform on made your limb and life vulnerable.

To those who's lives were severely impacted by wounds, or who made the ultimate sacrifice of life, we are eternally grateful and and humbled.

Thank you, one and all........

http://youtu.be/UTdluzwEk3w

Happy 236th Birthday To The U.S. Marine Corps

2011-11-10T08:50:00.001-08:00

Christened das Teufel Hunden - 'Devil Dogs' by Kaiser Wilhelm's elite troops at Belleau Woods during WW I for their ferocity and tenacity in the battle.

AND THEY HAVEN"T CHANGED

ONE BIT

Open Letter to Occupy Wall Street

2011-11-04T09:29:00.000-07:00

This note was recently dropped off to the inchoate crowd at Zuccotti Park:

Odds are, they won't comprehend its' import.....

2011-11-04T07:32:00.000-07:00

The world is a bit chaotic right now. Take a moment and enjoy a murmuration.

Solyndra: The $535M Obama Crap-Shoot Explained

2011-09-23T18:10:00.000-07:00

Solyndra: The $535M Obama Crap-Shoot Explained....it wasn't his money.

http://youtu.be/wGBc7ROxKi4

Economics 101 for Congress, or Why Obama's Jobs Bill Will Ruin U.S.

2011-09-20T18:07:00.000-07:00

Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro-Pacific Precious Metals, LLC., worked diligently during a Congressional hearing today, in (most probably) a vain attempt to educate some of the members of the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee.

This is the type of discussion that is desperately needed across the "Right" and "Left" mainstream news channel 'pundit shows', and more importantly, during the so-called 'Debates' of Presidential candidates.

Spend 22.36 minutes watching this...it's well worth your time.

If the video does not appear on your screen, please click here: http://youtu.be/_BHLguFEN3M

"Pass This Jobs Bill" Re-Mix.......

2011-09-09T14:25:00.000-07:00

Global Response To Obama's Job 'Bill" Swift, Clear And Dramatic

2011-09-09T12:06:00.000-07:00

The global response to Obama's demand for Congress to pass his Job 'Bill' (there actually isn't any 'Bill' yet, but that minor issue doesn't stop Obama from demanding that one be approved ) has been swift clear and dramatic........

Once again pointing out that if Obama really wanted to grow jobs and help the economy.....he'd just step away from the teleprompters and microphones.......

Transcript: President Obama's 'Job' Speech To The Joint Session Of Congress

2011-09-08T19:18:00.000-07:00

Mr Speaker, Mr Vice President, members of Congress, and fellow Americans:

Tonight we meet at an urgent time for our country.

We continue to face an economic crisis that has left millions of our neighbours jobless and a political crisis that has made things worse.

This past week reporters have been asking "What will this speech mean for the president? What will it mean for Congress? How will it affect their polls and the next election?"

But the millions of Americans who are watching right now: they don't care about politics. They have real life concerns.

Many have spent months looking for work. Others are doing their best just to scrape by - giving up nights out with the family to save on gas or make the mortgage; postponing retirement to send a kid to college.

These men and women grew up with faith in an America where hard work and responsibility paid off.

They believed in a country where everyone gets a fair shake and does their fair share - where if you stepped up, did your job, and were loyal to your company, that loyalty would be rewarded with a decent salary and good benefits; maybe a raise once in awhile.

If you did the right thing, you could make it in America.

But for decades now, Americans have watched that compact erode.

They have seen the deck too often stacked against them. And they know that Washington hasn't always put their interests first.

The people of this country work hard to meet their responsibilities. The question tonight is whether we'll meet ours.

The question is whether, in the face of an ongoing national crisis, we can stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy; whether we can restore some of the fairness and security that has defined this nation since our beginning.

Those of us here tonight can't solve all of our nation's woes. Ultimately, our recovery will be driven not by Washington, but by our businesses and our workers.

But we can help. We can make a difference. There are steps we can take right now to improve people's lives.

I am sending this Congress a plan that you should pass right away. It's called the American Jobs Act.

There should be nothing controversial about this piece of legislation.

Everything in here is the kind of proposal that's been supported by both Democrats and Republicans - including many who sit here tonight.

And everything in this bill will be paid for. Everything.

The purpose of the American Jobs Act is simple: to put more people back to work and more money in the pockets of those who are working.

It will create more jobs for construction workers, more jobs for teachers, more jobs for veterans, and more jobs for the long-term unemployed.

It will provide a tax break for companies who hire new workers, and it will cut payroll taxes in half for every working American and every small business.

It will provide a jolt to an economy that has stalled, and give companies confidence that if they invest and hire, there will be customers for their products and services.

You should pass this jobs plan right away.

Everyone here knows that small businesses are where most new jobs begin.

And you know that while corporate profits have come roaring back, smaller companies haven't.

So for everyone who speaks so passionately about making life easier for "job creators," this plan is for you.

Pass this jobs bill and starting tomorrow small businesses will get a tax cut if they hire new workers or raise workers' wages.

Pass this jobs bill, and all small business owners will also see their payroll taxes cut in half next year.

If you have 50 employees making an average salary, that's an $80,000 tax cut.

All businesses will be able to continue writing off the investments they make in 2012.

It's not just Democrats who have supported this kind of proposal.

Fifty House Republicans have proposed the same payroll tax cut that's in this plan. You should pass it right away.

Pass this jobs bill, and we can put people to work rebuilding America.

Everyone here knows that we have badly decaying roads and bridges all over this country.

Our highways are clogged with traffic. Our skies are the most congested in the world.

This is inexcusable. Building a world-class transportation system is part of what made us an economic superpower.

And now we're going to sit back and watch China build newer airports and faster railroads?

At a time when millions of unemployed construction workers could build them right here in America?

There are private construction companies all across America just waiting to get to work.

There's a bridge that needs repair between Ohio and Kentucky that's on one of the busiest trucking routes in North America.

A public transit project in Houston that will help clear up one of the worst areas of traffic in the country.

And there are schools throughout this country that desperately need renovating. How can we expect our kids to do their best in places that are literally falling apart?

This is America. Every child deserves a great school - and we can give it to them, if we act now.

The American Jobs Act will repair and modernize at least 35,000 schools. It will put people to work right now fixing roofs and windows; installing science labs and high-speed internet in classrooms all across this country.

It will rehabilitate homes and businesses in communities hit hardest by foreclosures.

It will jumpstart thousands of transportation projects across the country. And to make sure the money is properly spent and for good purposes, we're building on reforms we've already put in place.

No more earmarks. No more boondoggles. No more bridges to nowhere.

We're cutting the red tape that prevents some of these projects from getting started as quickly as possible.

And we'll set up an independent fund to attract private dollars and issue loans based on two criteria: how badly a construction project is needed and how much good it would do for the economy.

This idea came from a bill written by a Texas Republican and a Massachusetts Democrat.

The idea for a big boost in construction is supported by America's largest business organisation and America's largest labour organisation.

It's the kind of proposal that's been supported in the past by Democrats and Republicans alike.

You should pass it right away.

Pass this jobs bill, and thousands of teachers in every state will go back to work.

These are the men and women charged with preparing our children for a world where the competition has never been tougher.

But while they're adding teachers in places like South Korea, we're laying them off in droves. It's unfair to our kids. It undermines their future and ours. And it has to stop.

Pass this jobs bill, and put our teachers back in the classroom where they belong.

Pass this jobs bill, and companies will get extra tax credits if they hire America's veterans.

We ask these men and women to leave their careers, leave their families, and risk their lives to fight for our country. The last thing they should have to do is fight for a job when they come home.

Pass this bill, and hundreds of thousands of disadvantaged young people will have the hope and dignity of a summer job next year.

And their parents, low-income Americans who desperately want to work, will have more ladders out of poverty.

Pass this jobs bill, and companies will get a $4,000 tax credit if they hire anyone who has spent more than six months looking for a job.

We have to do more to help the long-term unemployed in their search for work.

This jobs plan builds on a program in Georgia that several Republican leaders have highlighted, where people who collect unemployment insurance participate in temporary work as a way to build their skills while they look for a permanent job.

The plan also extends unemployment insurance for another year. If the millions of unemployed Americans stopped getting this insurance, and stopped using that money for basic necessities, it would be a devastating blow to this economy.

Democrats and Republicans in this Chamber have supported unemployment insurance plenty of times in the past. At this time of prolonged hardship, you should pass it again - right away.

Pass this jobs bill, and the typical working family will get a fifteen hundred dollar tax cut next year.

Fifteen hundred dollars that would have been taken out of your paycheck will go right into your pocket.

This expands on the tax cut that Democrats and Republicans already passed for this year. If we allow that tax cut to expire - if we refuse to act - middle-class families will get hit with a tax increase at the worst possible time.

We cannot let that happen. I know some of you have sworn oaths to never raise any taxes on anyone for as long as you live.

Now is not the time to carve out an exception and raise middle-class taxes, which is why you should pass this bill right away.

This is the American Jobs Act. It will lead to new jobs for construction workers, teachers, veterans, first responders, young people and the long-term unemployed.

It will provide tax credits to companies that hire new workers, tax relief for small business owners, and tax cuts for the middle-class.

And here's the other thing I want the American people to know: the American Jobs Act will not add to the deficit. It will be paid for. And here's how:

The agreement we passed in July will cut government spending by about $1 trillion over the next ten years.

It also charges this Congress to come up with an additional $1.5 trillion in savings by Christmas.

Tonight, I'm asking you to increase that amount so that it covers the full cost of the American Jobs Act.

And a week from Monday, I'll be releasing a more ambitious deficit plan - a plan that will not only cover the cost of this jobs bill, but stabilize our debt in the long run.

This approach is basically the one I've been advocating for months.

In addition to the trillion dollars of spending cuts I've already signed into law, it's a balanced plan that would reduce the deficit by making additional spending cuts; by making modest adjustments to health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid; and by reforming our tax code in a way that asks the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations to pay their fair share.

What's more, the spending cuts wouldn't happen so abruptly that they'd be a drag on our economy, or prevent us from helping small business and middle-class families get back on their feet right away.

Now, I realize there are some in my party who don't think we should make any changes at all to Medicare and Medicaid, and I understand their concerns.

But here's the truth. Millions of Americans rely on Medicare in their retirement. And millions more will do so in the future.

They pay for this benefit during their working years. They earn it. But with an aging population and rising health care costs, we are spending too fast to sustain the program.

And if we don't gradually reform the system while protecting current beneficiaries, it won't be there when future retirees need it. We have to reform Medicare to strengthen it.

I'm also well aware that there are many Republicans who don't believe we should raise taxes on those who are most fortunate and can best afford it.

But here is what every American knows. While most people in this country struggle to make ends meet, a few of the most affluent citizens and corporations enjoy tax breaks and loopholes that nobody else gets.

Right now, Warren Buffet pays a lower tax rate than his secretary - an outrage he has asked us to fix.

We need a tax code where everyone gets a fair shake, and everybody pays their fair share. And I believe the vast majority of wealthy Americans and CEOs are willing to do just that, if it helps the economy grow and gets our fiscal house in order.

I'll also offer ideas to reform a corporate tax code that stands as a monument to special interest influence in Washington.

By eliminating pages of loopholes and deductions, we can lower one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world.

Our tax code shouldn't give an advantage to companies that can afford the best-connected lobbyists. It should give an advantage to companies that invest and create jobs here in America.

So we can reduce this deficit, pay down our debt, and pay for this jobs plan in the process.

But in order to do this, we have to decide what our priorities are. We have to ask ourselves, "What's the best way to grow the economy and create jobs?"

Should we keep tax loopholes for oil companies? Or should we use that money to give small business owners a tax credit when they hire new workers?

Because we can't afford to do both.

Should we keep tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires? Or should we put teachers back to work so our kids can graduate ready for college and good jobs?

Right now, we can't afford to do both.

This isn't political grandstanding. This isn't class warfare. This is simple math.

These are real choices that we have to make. And I'm pretty sure I know what most Americans would choose. It's not even close. And it's time for us to do what's right for our future.

The American Jobs Act answers the urgent need to create jobs right away. But we can't stop there.

As I've argued since I ran for this office, we have to look beyond the immediate crisis and start building an economy that lasts into the future - an economy that creates good, middle-class jobs that pay well and offer security.

We now live in a world where technology has made it possible for companies to take their business anywhere.

If we want them to start here and stay here and hire here, we have to be able to out-build, out-educate, and out-innovate every other country on Earth.

This task, of making America more competitive for the long haul, is a job for all of us.

For government and for private companies. For states and for local communities - and for every American citizen.

All of us will have to up our game. All of us will have to change the way we do business.

My administration can and will take some steps to improve our competitiveness on our own.

For example, if you're a small business owner who has a contract with the federal government, we're going to make sure you get paid a lot faster than you do now.

We're also planning to cut away the red tape that prevents too many rapidly-growing start-up companies from raising capital and going public.

And to help responsible homeowners, we're going to work with federal housing agencies to help more people refinance their mortgages at interest rates that are now near 4% - a step that can put more than $2,000 a year in a family's pocket, and give a lift to an economy still burdened by the drop in housing prices.

Other steps will require Congressional action. Today you passed reform that will speed up the outdated patent process, so that entrepreneurs can turn a new idea into a new business as quickly as possible.

That's the kind of action we need. Now it's time to clear the way for a series of trade agreements that would make it easier for American companies to sell their products in Panama, Colombia, and South Korea - while also helping the workers whose jobs have been affected by global competition.

If Americans can buy Kias and Hyundais, I want to see folks in South Korea driving Fords and Chevys and Chryslers. I want to see more products sold around the world stamped with three proud words: "Made in America."

And on all of our efforts to strengthen competitiveness, we need to look for ways to work side-by-side with America's businesses.

That's why I've brought together a Jobs Council of leaders from different industries who are developing a wide range of new ideas to help companies grow and create jobs.

Already, we've mobilized business leaders to train 10,000 American engineers a year, by providing company internships and training.

Other businesses are covering tuition for workers who learn new skills at community colleges.

And we're going to make sure the next generation of manufacturing takes root not in China or Europe, but right here, in the United States of America.

If we provide the right incentives and support - and if we make sure our trading partners play by the rules - we can be the ones to build everything from fuel-efficient cars to advanced biofuels to semiconductors that are sold all over the world.

That's how America can be number one again. That's how America will be number one again.

Now, I realize that some of you have a different theory on how to grow the economy.

Some of you sincerely believe that the only solution to our economic challenges is to simply cut most government spending and eliminate most government regulations.

Well, I agree that we can't afford wasteful spending, and I will continue to work with Congress to get rid of it.

And I agree that there are some rules and regulations that put an unnecessary burden on businesses at a time when they can least afford it.

That's why I ordered a review of all government regulations. So far, we've identified over 500 reforms, which will save billions of dollars over the next few years.

We should have no more regulation than the health, safety, and security of the American people require. Every rule should meet that common sense test.

But what we can't do - what I won't do - is let this economic crisis be used as an excuse to wipe out the basic protections that Americans have counted on for decades.

I reject the idea that we need to ask people to choose between their jobs and their safety.

I reject the argument that says for the economy to grow, we have to roll back protections that ban hidden fees by credit card companies, or rules that keep our kids from being exposed to mercury, or laws that prevent the health insurance industry from shortchanging patients.

I reject the idea that we have to strip away collective bargaining rights to compete in a global economy.

We shouldn't be in a race to the bottom, where we try to offer the cheapest labour and the worst pollution standards. America should be in a race to the top.

And I believe that's a race we can win.

In fact, this larger notion that the only thing we can do to restore prosperity is just dismantle government, refund everyone's money, let everyone write their own rules, and tell everyone they're on their own - that's not who we are. That's not the story of America.

Yes, we are rugged individualists. Yes, we are strong and self-reliant. And it has been the drive and initiative of our workers and entrepreneurs that has made this economy the engine and envy of the world.

But there has always been another thread running throughout our history - a belief that we are all connected; and that there are some things we can only do together, as a nation.

We all remember Abraham Lincoln as the leader who saved our Union. But in the middle of a civil war he was also a leader who looked to the future - a Republican president who mobilized government to build the transcontinental railroad; launch the National Academy of Sciences; and set up the first land grant colleges.

And leaders of both parties have followed the example he set.

Ask yourselves - where would we be right now if the people who sat here before us decided not to build our highways and our bridges; our dams and our airports?

What would this country be like if we had chosen not to spend money on public high schools, or research universities, or community colleges?

Millions of returning heroes, including my grandfather, had the opportunity to go to school because of the GI Bill. Where would we be if they hadn't had that chance?

How many jobs would it have cost us if past Congresses decided not to support the basic research that led to the Internet and the computer chip?

What kind of country would this be if this Chamber had voted down Social Security or Medicare just because it violated some rigid idea about what government could or could not do?

How many Americans would have suffered as a result?

No single individual built America on their own. We built it together.

We have been, and always will be, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all; a nation with responsibilities to ourselves and with responsibilities to one another.

Members of Congress, it is time for us to meet our responsibilities.

Every proposal I've laid out tonight is the kind that's been supported by Democrats and Republicans in the past.

Every proposal I've laid out tonight will be paid for. And every proposal is designed to meet the urgent needs of our people and our communities.

I know there's been a lot of scepticism about whether the politics of the moment will allow us to pass this jobs plan - or any jobs plan.

Already, we're seeing the same old press releases and tweets flying back and forth.

Already, the media has proclaimed that it's impossible to bridge our differences.

And maybe some of you have decided that those differences are so great that we can only resolve them at the ballot box.

But know this: the next election is fourteen months away. And the people who sent us here - the people who hired us to work for them - they don't have the luxury of waiting fourteen months.

Some of them are living week to week; paycheck to paycheck; even day to day. They need help, and they need it now.

I don't pretend that this plan will solve all our problems. It shouldn't be, nor will it be, the last plan of action we propose.

What's guided us from the start of this crisis hasn't been the search for a silver bullet.

It's been a commitment to stay at it - to be persistent - to keep trying every new idea that works, and listen to every good proposal, no matter which party comes up with it.

Regardless of the arguments we've had in the past, regardless of the arguments we'll have in the future, this plan is the right thing to do right now.

You should pass it. And I intend to take that message to every corner of this country.

I also ask every American who agrees to lift your voice and tell the people who are gathered here tonight that you want action now.

Tell Washington that doing nothing is not an option. Remind us that if we act as one nation, and one people, we have it within our power to meet this challenge.

President Kennedy once said, "Our problems are man-made - therefore they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants."

These are difficult years for our country. But we are Americans. We are tougher than the times that we live in, and we are bigger than our politics have been.

So let's meet the moment. Let's get to work, and show the world once again why the United States of America remains the greatest nation on Earth.

Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.

President Obama's 'Job' Speech To The Joint Session Of Congress

2011-09-08T18:26:00.000-07:00

I watched the President's speech to the joint session of Congress this evening. The scenes of the politicians making their way into the chamber, and socializing prior to the President's arrival, were the telling preamble to the show; everyone was smiling effusively, glad-handing one and all. The President's arrival showed more of the same; big-tooted grins, man-hugs, kisses, and smiles. This was our apparatchiks socializing...they're all members in good standing of the same club, Democrats and Republicans alike, and it's not the real-world club of coupon-cutting, turning off the lights, and searching for BOGO's, that we belong to.

Cue the teleprompters, and Obama shifted into presentation mode; furrowed brow, steely-eyed, and voice perfectly tuned for maximum outrage and vitriol. The speech was fine tuned for maximum election campaign sound-bites and red-meat for his base. Pure, demagogic rhetoric, crafted in a perfect Alinsky structure.

We don't need more cow-bell, we need more TEA Party!

Full Republican Presidential Debate At Reagan Library

2011-09-08T06:26:00.000-07:00

View at http://www.lynchreport.com/

An Extraordinary Speech - Lt. General John F. Kelly

2010-12-12T19:05:00.000-08:00

It’s Christmas time… and my wife and I spent last night helping our son Ed, his wife Kris, and three of our little grandkids, put up their tree. We laughed, drank some good wine and scotch, took pictures, and as we walked home to our house, we generally felt that all was right with the world.

Unfortunately, it isn’t. Yet there’s no need to become morose and distressed…because that’s exactly what our enemies want us to do. But we do need to be mature, adult, and aware. They aren’t going away until we make them go away.

To me, the most significant comment in the following speech by Lt. General Kelly was this: “We are at war and like it or not, that is a fact. It is not Bush's war, and it is not Obama's war, it is our war and we can't run away from it. Even if we wanted to surrender, there is no one to surrender to. Our enemy is savage, offers absolutely no quarter, and has a single focus and that is either kill every one of us here at home, or enslave us with a sick form of extremism that serves no God or purpose that decent men and women could ever grasp”.

We all know that, or should. So let’s be uninhibited about going about our lives as free Americans, enjoying the Liberty and Freedom that our forefathers established for us, and stay resolved to continue those freedoms for ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren. And this Christmastime, when all the lights are glowing and we’re feeling maybe not-so-good about some of the economic issue that are buffeting us about, let’s remember all the Lt. Kelly’s and their families, and say a prayer of thanks to them for the Christmas presents that they’ve given us. Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a safe and Happy New Year!

What follows is an extraordinary speech given by Lieutenant General John F. Kelly USMC on November 13, 2010. What renders it so exceptional is that General Kelly's son, First Lieutenant Robert Michael Kelly, was killed in action in Sangin, Afghanistan only four days before Lt. Gen. Kelly gave this speech. Lt. Gen. Kelly's eldest child is also A U.S. Marine.

SEMPER FI SOCIETY OF ST LOUIS SPEECH

Lt. Gen. John F. Kelly on Nov 13, 2010

Nine years ago two of the four commercial aircraft took off from Boston, Newark, and Washington. Took off fully loaded with men, women and children-all innocent, and all soon to die. These aircraft were targeted at the World Trade Towers in New York, the Pentagon, and likely the Capitol in Washington, D.C... Three found their mark. No American alive old enough to remember will ever forget exactly where they were, exactly what they were doing, and exactly who they were with at the moment they watched the aircraft dive into the World Trade Towers on what was, until then, a beautiful morning in New York City. Within the hour 3,000 blameless human beings would be vaporized, incinerated, or crushed in the most agonizing ways imaginable. The most wretched among them-over 200-driven mad by heat, hopelessness, and utter desperation leapt to their deaths from 1,000 feet above Lower Manhattan. We soon learned hundreds more were murdered at the Pentagon, and in a Pennsylvania farmer's field.

Once the buildings had collapsed and the immensity of the attack began to register most of us had no idea of what to do, or where to turn. As a nation, we were scared like we had not been scared for generations. Parents hugged their children to gain as much as to give comfort. Strangers embraced in the streets stunned and crying on one another's shoulders seeking solace, as much as to give it. Instantaneously, American patriotism soared not "as the last refuge" as our national-cynical class would say, but in the darkest times Americans seek refuge in family, and in country, remembering that strong men and women have always stepped forward to protect the nation when the need was dire-and it was so God awful dire that day-and remains so today.

There was, however, a small segment of America that made very different choices that day...actions the rest of America stood in awe of on 9/11 and every day since. The first were our firefighters and police, their ranks decimated that day as they ran towards-not away from-danger and certain death. They were doing what they'd sworn to do-"protect and serve"-and went to their graves having fulfilled their sacred oath. Then there was your Armed Forces, and I know I am a little biased in my opinion here, but the best of them are Marines. Most wearing the Eagle, Globe and Anchor today joined the unbroken ranks of American heroes after that fateful day not for money, or promises of bonuses or travel to exotic liberty ports, but for one reason and one reason alone; because of the terrible assault on our way of life by men they knew must be killed and extremist ideology that must be destroyed. A plastic flag in their car window was not their response to the murderous assault on our country. No, their response was a commitment to protect the nation swearing an oath to their God to do so, to their deaths. When future generations ask why America is still free and the heyday of Al Qaeda and their terrorist allies was counted in days rather than in centuries as the extremists themselves predicted, our hometown heroes-soldiers, sailors, airmen, Coast Guardsmen, and Marines-can say, "because of me and people like me who risked all to protect millions who will never know my name."

As we sit here right now, we should not lose sight of the fact that America is at risk in a way it has never been before. Our enemy fights for an ideology based on an irrational hatred of who we are. Make no mistake about that no matter what certain elements of the "chattering class" relentlessly churn out. We did not start this fight, and it will not end until the extremists understand that we as a people will never lose our faith or our courage. If they persist, these terrorists and extremists and the nations that provide them sanctuary, they must know they will continue to be tracked down and captured or killed. America's civilian and military protectors both here at home and overseas have for nearly nine years fought this enemy to a standstill and have never for a second "wondered why." They know, and are not afraid. Their struggle is your struggle. They hold in disdain those who claim to support them but not the cause that takes their innocence, their limbs, and even their lives. As a democracy-"We the People"-and that by definition is every one of us-sent them away from home and hearth to fight our enemies. We are all responsible. I know it doesn't apply to those of us here tonight but if anyone thinks you can somehow thank them for their service, and not support the cause for which they fight-America's survival-then they are lying to themselves and rationalizing away something in their lives, but, more importantly, they are slighting our warriors and mocking their commitment to the nation.

Since this generation's "day of infamy" the American military has handed our ruthless enemy defeat-after-defeat but it will go on for years, if not decades, before this curse has been eradicated. We have done this by unceasing pursuit day and night into whatever miserable lair Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and their allies, might slither into to lay in wait for future opportunities to strike a blow at freedom. America's warriors have never lost faith in their mission, or doubted the correctness of their cause. They face dangers everyday that their countrymen safe and comfortable this night cannot imagine. But this has always been the case in all the wars our military have been sent to fight. Not to build empires, or enslave peoples, but to free those held in the grip of tyrants while at the same time protecting our nation, its citizens, and our shared values. And, ladies and gentlemen, think about this, the only territory we as a people have ever asked for from any nation we have fought alongside, or against, since our founding, the entire extent of our overseas empire, as a few hundred acres of land for the 24 American cemeteries scattered around the globe. It is in these cemeteries where 220,000 of our sons and daughters rest in glory for eternity, or are memorialized forever because their earthly remains are lost forever in the deepest depths of the oceans, or never recovered from far flung and nameless battlefields. As a people, we can be proud because billions across the planet today live free, and billions yet unborn will also enjoy the same freedom and a chance at prosperity because America sent its sons and daughters out to fight and die for them, as much as for us.

Yes, we are at war, and are winning, but you wouldn't know it because successes go unreported, and only when something does go sufficiently or is sufficiently controversial, it is highlighted by the media elite that then sets up the "know it all" chattering class to offer their endless criticism. These self-proclaimed experts always seem to know better-but have never themselves been in the arena. We are at war and like it or not, that is a fact. It is not Bush's war, and it is not Obama's war, it is our war and we can't run away from it. Even if we wanted to surrender, there is no one to surrender to. Our enemy is savage, offers absolutely no quarter, and has a single focus and that is either kill every one of us here at home, or enslave us with a sick form of extremism that serves no God or purpose that decent men and women could ever grasp. St Louis is as much at risk as is New York and Washington, D.C... Given the opportunity to do another 9/11, our merciless enemy would do it today, tomorrow, and every day thereafter. If, and most in the know predict that it is only a matter of time, he acquires nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons, these extremists will use these weapons of mass murder against us without a moment's hesitation. These butchers we fight killed more than 3,000 innocents on 9/11. As horrible as that death toll was, consider for a moment that the monsters that organized those strikes against New York and Washington, D.C. killed only 3,000 not because that was enough to make their sick and demented point, but because he couldn't figure out how to kill 30,000, or 300,000, or 30 million of us that terrible day. I don't know why they hate us, and I don't care. We have a saying in the Marine Corps and that is "no better friend, no worse enemy, than a U.S. Marine." We always hope for the first, friendship, but are certainly more than ready for the second. If its death they want, its death they will get, and the Marines will continue showing them the way to hell if that's what will make them happy.

Because our America hasn't been successfully attacked since 9/11 many forget because we want to forget...to move on. As Americans we all dream and hope for peace, but we must be realistic and acknowledge that hope is never an option or course of action when the stakes are so high. Others are less realistic or less committed, or are working their own agendas, and look for ways to blame past presidents or in some other way to rationalize a way out of this war. The problem is our enemy is not willing to let us go. Regardless of how much we wish this nightmare would go away, our enemy will stay forever on the offensive until he hurts us so badly we surrender, or we kill him first. To him, this is not about our friendship with Israel, or about territory, resources, jobs, or economic opportunity in the Middle East. No, it is about us as a people. About our freedom to worship any God we please in any way we want. It is about the worth of every man, and the worth of every woman, and their equality in the eyes of God and the law; of how we live our lives with our families, inside the privacy of our own homes. It's about the God-given rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable right." As Americans we hold these truths to be self-evident. He doesn't. We love what we have; he despises who we are. Our positions can never be reconciled. He cannot be deterred...only defeated. Compromise is out of the question.

It is a fact that our country today is in a life and death struggle against an evil enemy, but America as a whole is certainly not at war. Not as a country. Not as a people. Today, only a tiny fraction-less than a percent-shoulder the burden of fear and sacrifice, and they shoulder it for the rest of us. Their sons and daughters who serve are men and women of character who continue to believe in this country enough to put life and limb on the line without qualification, and without thought of personal gain, and they serve so that the sons and daughters of the other 99% don't have to. No big deal, though, as Marines have always been "the first to fight" paying in full the bill that comes with being free...for everyone else.

The comforting news for every American is that our men and women in uniform, and every Marine, is as good today as any in our history. As good as what their heroic, under-appreciated, and largely abandoned fathers and uncles were in Vietnam, and their grandfathers were in Korea and World War II. They have the same steel in their backs and have made their own mark etching forever places like Ramadi, Fallujah, and Baghdad, Iraq, and Helmand and Sagin, Afghanistan that are now part of the legend and stand just as proudly alongside Belleau Wood, Iwo Jima, Inchon, Hue City, Khe Sanh, and Ashau Valley, Vietnam. None of them have every asked what their country could do for them, but always and with their lives asked what they could do for America. While some might think we have produced yet another generation of materialistic, consumeristic and self-absorbed young people, those who serve today have broken the mold and stepped out as real men, and real women, who are already making their own way in life while protecting ours. They know the real strength of a platoon, a battalion, or a country that is not worshiping at the altar of diversity, but in a melting point that stitches and strengthens by a sense of shared history, values, customs, hopes and dreams all of which unifies a people making them stronger, as opposed to an unruly gaggle of "hyphenated" or "multi-cultural individuals."

And what are they like in combat in this war? Like Marines have been throughout our history. In my three tours in combat as an infantry officer and commanding general, I never saw one of them hesitate, or do anything other than lean into the fire and with no apparent fear of death or injury take the fight to our enemies. As anyone who has ever experienced combat knows, when it starts, when the explosions and tracers are everywhere and the calls for the Corpsman are screamed from the throats of men who know they are dying-when seconds seem like hours and it all becomes slow motion and fast forward at the same time-and the only rational act is to stop, get down, save yourself-they don't. When no one would call them coward for cowering behind a wall or in a hole, slave to the most basic of all human instincts-survival-none of them do. It doesn't matter if it's an IED, a suicide bomber, mortar attack, sniper, fighting in the upstairs room of a house, or all of it at once; they talk, swagger, and, most importantly, fight today in the same way America's Marines have since the Tun Tavern. They also know whose shoulders they stand on, and they will never shame any Marine living or dead.

We can also take comfort in the fact that these young Americans are not born killers, but are good and decent young men and women who for going on ten years have performed remarkable acts of bravery and selflessness to a cause they have decided is bigger and more important than themselves. Only a few months ago they were delivering your paper, stocking shelves in the local grocery store, worshiping in church on Sunday, or playing hockey on local ice. Like my own two sons who are Marines and have fought in Iraq, and today in Sagin, Afghanistan, they are also the same kids that drove their cars too fast for your liking, and played the God-awful music of their generation too loud, but have no doubt they are the finest of their generation. Like those who went before them in uniform, we owe them everything. We owe them our safety. We owe them our prosperity. We owe them our freedom. We owe them our lives. Any one of them could have done something more self-serving with their lives as the vast majority of their age group elected to do after high school and college, but no, they chose to serve knowing full well a brutal war was in their future. They did not avoid the basic and cherished responsibility of a citizen-the defense of country-they welcomed it. They are the very best this country produces, and have put every one of us ahead of themselves. All are heroes for simply stepping forward, and we as a people owe a debt we can never fully pay. Their legacy will be of selfless valor, the country we live in, the way we live our lives, and the freedoms the rest of their countrymen take for granted.

Over 5,000 have died thus far in this war; 8,000 if you include the innocents murdered on 9/11. They are overwhelmingly working class kids, the children of cops and firefighters, city and factory workers, school teachers and small business owners. With some exceptions they are from families short on stock portfolios and futures, but long on love of country and service to the nation. Just yesterday, too many were lost and a knock on the door late last night brought their families to their knees in a grief that will never-ever go away. Thousands more have suffered wounds since it all started, but like anyone who loses life or limb while serving others-including our firefighters and law enforcement personnel who on 9/11 were the first casualties of this war-they are not victims as they knew what they were about, and were doing what they wanted to do. The chattering class and all those who doubt America's intentions, and resolve, endeavor to make them and their families out to be victims, but they are wrong. We who have served and are serving refuse their sympathy. Those of us who have lived in the dirt, sweat and struggle of the arena are not victims and will have none of that. Those with less of a sense of service to the nation never understand it when men and women of character step forward to look danger and adversity straight in the eye, refusing to blink, or give ground, even to their own deaths. The protected can't begin to understand the price paid so they and their families can sleep safe and free at night. No, they are not victims, but are warriors, your warriors, and warriors are never victims regardless of how and where they fall. Death, or fear of death, has no power over them. Their paths are paved by sacrifice, sacrifices they gladly make...for you. They prove themselves everyday on the field of battle...for you. They fight in every corner of the globe...for you. They live to fight...for you, and they never rest because there is always another battle to be won in the defense of America.

I will leave you with a story about the kind of people they are...about the quality of the steel in their backs...about the kind of dedication they bring to our country while they serve in uniform and forever after as veterans. Two years ago when I was the Commander of all U.S. and Iraqi forces, in fact, the 22nd of April 2008, two Marine infantry battalions, 1/9 "The Walking Dead," and 2/8 were switching out in Ramadi. One battalion in the closing days of their deployment going home very soon, the other just starting its seven-month combat tour. Two Marines, Corporal Jonathan Yale and Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter, 22 and 20 years old respectively, one from each battalion, were assuming the watch together at the entrance gate of an outpost that contained a makeshift barracks housing 50 Marines. The same broken down ramshackle building was also home to 100 Iraqi police, also my men and our allies in the fight against the terrorists in Ramadi, a city until recently the most dangerous city on earth and owned by Al Qaeda. Yale was a dirt poor mixed-race kid from Virginia with a wife and daughter, and a mother and sister who lived with him and he supported as well. He did this on a yearly salary of less than $23,000. Haerter, on the other hand, was a middle class white kid from Long Island. They were from two completely different worlds. Had they not joined the Marines they would never have met each other, or understood that multiple America's exist simultaneously depending on one's race, education level, economic status, and where you might have been born. But they were Marines, combat Marines, forged in the same crucible of Marine training, and because of this bond they were brothers as close, or closer, than if they were born of the same woman.

The mission orders they received from the sergeant squad leader I am sure went something like: "Okay you two clowns, stand this post and let no unauthorized personnel or vehicles pass." "You clear?" I am also sure Yale and Haerter then rolled their eyes and said in unison something like: "Yes Sergeant," with just enough attitude that made the point without saying the words, "No kidding sweetheart, we know what we're doing." They then relieved two other Marines on watch and took up their post at the entry control point of Joint Security Station Nasser, in the Sophia section of Ramadi, al Anbar, Iraq.

A few minutes later a large blue truck turned down the alley way-perhaps 60-70 yards in length-and sped its way through the serpentine of concrete jersey walls. The truck stopped just short of where the two were posted and detonated, killing them both catastrophically. Twenty-four brick masonry houses were damaged or destroyed. A mosque 100 yards away collapsed. The truck's engine came to rest two hundred yards away knocking most of a house down before it stopped. Our explosive experts reckoned the blast was made of 2,000 pounds of explosives. Two died, and because these two young infantrymen didn't have it in their DNA to run from danger, they saved 150 of their Iraqi and American brothers-in-arms.

When I read the situation report about the incident a few hours after it happened I called the regimental commander for details as something about this struck me as different. Marines dying or being seriously wounded is commonplace in combat. We expect Marines regardless of rank or MOS to stand their ground and do their duty, and even die in the process, if that is what the mission takes. But this just seemed different. The regimental commander had just returned from the site and he agreed, but reported that there were no American witnesses to the event-just Iraqi police. I figured if there was any chance of finding out what actually happened and then to decorate the two Marines to acknowledge their bravery, I'd have to do it as a combat award that requires two eye-witnesses and we figured the bureaucrats back in Washington would never buy Iraqi statements. If it had any chance at all, it had to come under the signature of a general officer.

I traveled to Ramadi the next day and spoke individually to a half-dozen Iraqi police all of whom told the same story. The blue truck turned down into the alley and immediately sped up as it made its way through the serpentine. They all said, "We knew immediately what was going on as soon as the two Marines began firing." The Iraqi police then related that some of them also fired, and then to a man, ran for safety just prior to the explosion. All survived. Many were injured...some seriously. One of the Iraqis elaborated and with tears welling up said, "They'd run like any normal man would to save his life." "What he didn't know until then," he said, "and what he learned that very instant, was that Marines are not normal." Choking past the emotion he said, "Sir, in the name of God no sane man would have stood there and done what they did." "No sane man." "They saved us all."

What we didn't know at the time, and only learned a couple of days later after I wrote a summary and submitted both Yale and Haerter for posthumous Navy Crosses, was that one of our security cameras, damaged initially in the blast, recorded some of the suicide attack. It happened exactly as the Iraqis had described it. It took exactly six seconds from when the truck entered the alley until it detonated.

You can watch the last six seconds of their young lives. Putting myself in their heads I supposed it took about a second for the two Marines to separately come to the same conclusion about what was going on once the truck came into their view at the far end of the alley. Exactly no time to talk it over, or call the sergeant to ask what they should do. Only enough time to take half an instant and think about what the sergeant told them to do only a few minutes before: "...let no unauthorized personnel or vehicles pass." The two Marines had about five seconds left to live.

It took maybe another two seconds for them to present their weapons, take aim, and open up. By this time the truck was half-way through the barriers and gaining speed the whole time. Here, the recording shows a number of Iraqi police, some of whom had fired their AKs, now scattering like the normal and rational men they were-some running right past the Marines. They had three seconds left to live.

For about two seconds more, the recording shows the Marines' weapons firing non-stop...the truck's windshield exploding into shards of glass as their rounds take it apart and tore in to the body of the son-of-a-bitch who is trying to get past them to kill their brothers-American and Iraqi-bedded down in the barracks totally unaware of the fact that their lives at that moment depended entirely on two Marines standing their ground. If they had been aware, they would have know they were safe...because two Marines stood between them and a crazed suicide bomber. The recording shows the truck careening to a stop immediately in front of the two Marines. In all of the instantaneous violence Yale and Haerter never hesitated. By all reports and by the recording, they never stepped back. They never even started to step aside. They never even shifted their weight. With their feet spread should width apart, they leaned into the danger, firing as fast as they could work their weapons. They had only one second left to live.

The truck explodes. The camera goes blank. Two young men go to their God. Six seconds. Not enough time to think about their families, their country, their flag, or about their lives or their deaths, but more than enough time for two very brave young men to do their duty...into eternity. That is the kind of people who are on watch all over the world tonight-for you.

We Marines believe that God gave America the greatest gift he could bestow to man while he lived on this earth-freedom. We also believe he gave us another gift nearly as precious-our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Coast Guardsmen, and Marines-to safeguard that gift and guarantee no force on this earth can every steal it away. It has been my distinct honor to have been with you here today. Rest assured our America, this experiment in democracy started over two centuries ago, will forever remain the "land of the free and home of the brave" so long as we never run out of tough young Americans who are willing to look beyond their own self-interest and comfortable lives, and go into the darkest and most dangerous places on earth to hunt down, and kill, those who would do us harm. God Bless America, and...SEMPER FIDELIS!

http://www.marines.mil/unit/marforres/CMFR/blog/CMFR101113.aspx

Hat tip to Alan Fraser

Thoughts On The 2010 Election

2010-11-03T15:03:00.000-07:00

Or, Where do We Go From Here?

Observing the response to the Obama Administration's domestic and international actions over the past year has been fascinating. Despite how you view his policies and actions from a political perspective, it would be difficult to find disagreement with the statement that President Obama generates significant positive and negative passion from both his political base and his political opponents. Regarding the 2010 elections, the key questions have been, "who will come out and vote, and how will they vote?"

Now we know......

The American people rejected this administration in the most significant display of "Your Fired !" in over 70 years since Herbert Hover's administration, with Republican gaining 6 seats in the Senate, 60 seats in the House, 8 State Governors, and 26 State legislatures.

Listening to various news channels throughout the day, those that leaned favorable towards President Obama and the Democrats tended to stress that the Republicans hadn't won by as large a margin as had been predicted, and highlighted the Democrat wins in California and Connecticut. Those that favored Republicans seemed disappointed for the same reasons. They shouldn't have been. This is a historic non-violent reversal of political power, and should be celebrated, albeit soberly; the contest is not over, and much work is left to be done in order to change the trajectory of government control and spending that the Democrats launched.

Listening to President Obama during his press briefing this afternoon, he seemed to convey the impression that he just move ahead on the next of his check-off list, just not so quickly. He swerved around all the reporters attempts to question and tag him with responsibility for his Party's stunning reversal in the elections. There was no apparent regret for any of the actions that caused this; the 'TARP', 'Stimulus Plan', 'Obamacare', and new financial regulations. He seemed to express the view that now that the Republicans have some political leverage, that they should help out by assisting him with his agenda.

The bottom line appears to be that yesterday's victories were just step one of a multi-step assault on the extensive foundation and structure of governmental control that the Democrats erected during the past two years. The problem that the Republicans face in attempting this reversal is significant. They will only control one branch of the bi-cameral legislature, and the executive branch can veto any legislation that they are able to pass. Along with that, any steps that they initiate to improve the economy, increase jobs, reduce international tensions, or improvement of any other quality of life element, may backfire on them by reducing voter displeasure with Obama and the Democrats for the 2012 election. On the other hand......lack of demonstrable and positive results will also render them vulnerable themselves in 2012. Conundrum.

Can the Republicans steer their way through these convoluted and treacherous straights? Will the Tea-Party backed Freshmen Representatives and Senators add the right amount of spice to energize and help the old-guard Republicans rise to the occasion effectively, or will they be a net disappointment by just being disruptive? Will Obama play the Republicans like a fiddle, while they struggle to press their plans? And will the Republicans have the ability to effectively communicate their plans and positions to the electorate so that they are perceived as being part of the solution and not the problem? We shall see......

Buckle up, it looks like it's going to be a real bumpy ride for the next two years....or so.

Jd'E

The 'Idea' Of America Is It's Secret

2010-06-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

The Secret of America

Ms. Carol Negro has articulated the essence of our nation in a very simple manner. I personally witnessed an example of what she expressed about fifteen years ago while in a meeting with colleagues from our company in the U.S., some of our European staff, and executives from some European companies who we were negotiating a joint venture with.

One of my colleagues who had flown in from New Jersey, a gentleman with obvious Asian heritage and accent, stated “as an American, I can state that we are required to do ….xyz”. No one blinked an eye, or thought that his statement was anything but accurate. He was viewed by all as an American, speaking on behalf of our society, despite having been born somewhere else in the world, and speaking with an Asian accent.

Having lived in Europe for five years, I had been told a number of times, by people across Europe, that they could not think that people of Turkish descent born in Frankfurt were German, people of Indonesian heritage born in Amsterdam were Dutch, or a man who’s parents had migrated from Pakistan was English. America is unique and exceptional. Now we need to educate our own people about that truth….. starting with President Obama.

Courtesy of Carol Negro via American Thinker.Com:

America is not a plot of land. It is not a culture. It is not a nationality. It is not a set of traditions or customs. It is not a government. It is not a people. It is not a book of laws. And it certainly isn't a race.

America is an idea.

That's why anyone can become an American. Embrace the idea (and fill out a few forms) and you're an American.

You're one of us.

Most other nations are nationalities. Their heritage depends on blood and territory. America is portable. We carry it around in our hearts and minds.

If you bomb our cities, you can't destroy America. If you ruin our economy, you can't destroy America. If most of the continent falls into the ocean, you can't destroy America. Even if you kill most of us, you can't destroy America.

Because wherever two or more of us are gathered in her name...America is there.

Here is the secret: We don't live in America. America lives in us.

America is an idea.

The greatest, purest, sweetest, most sublime idea in the history of the world. It lifts man up, it blesses him, it encourage him, it enlightens him, it civilizes him, it opens his heart, it makes him kind and generous and honest and brave and free. It makes him smart and successful and industrious. It makes him innovative and cheerful. It makes him happy, honorable, and honest.

America is an idea.

And it is that idea that is under constant assault in the halls of power, the press room, the classroom, and the screening room.

Who seeks to murder the idea seeks the destruction of America.

What specifically is this idea? It is that man is created with certain inalienable rights, including Life, Liberty, and Property. It is that man has the right to self-government, the right to be left alone, the right to the fruit of his labors, the right to dispose of his property as he sees fit. It is that all men are created equal under God and the law, and that no man can take away these rights, and that the sole duty of government is to protect them. It is that government must be accountable to The People, not the people to the government. It is that ours is to be a nation of laws, not of men, and that no one is above the law. It is that justice is blind. It is that man must be virtuous if he is to be free. It is that human rights come from the creator and cannot be abrogated by men.

The entire goal of the Left is to murder the idea of the goodness and righteousness of freedom, of self-reliance, of independence, of merit, of virtue, of hard work, of honor, of courage, of sacrifice, of loyalty, of morality, of faith, of the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and property.

The Left, in politics, media, education and entertainment, despise the idea that is America. And they are doing everything in their power to promote a replacement "idea" -- one that distorts the language of freedom to promote the serfdom of dependence, twists the meaning of truth to tell lies, seeks to limit freedom, mocks faith, virtue and morality, undermines self-reliance and the independent spirit; one that disdains (or punishes) hard work, laughs at frugality, and sneers at sacrifice; one that approves of murdering new life, regulating liberty, confiscating property, and seizing the fruit of our labors. One that denies the Creator and those annoying and inconvenient inalienable rights.

They seek to replace a divinity with a corpse.

Since America is the idea, plotting the overthrow of the idea is plotting the overthrow of America.

They may love their jobs, their plot of land, their privileges, their personal wealth, their property, their family, their friends, their clubs, and their cars. They may love California wine and Maine lobster and Southern Fried Chicken, Texas barbeque, and Boston baked beans. They may love museums, and lighthouses, and beaches and palm trees and big salty lakes, and waterfalls and huge canyons, and redwoods and geysers and cowboys and Indians. They may love football, and Santa Claus, and Martin Luther King Day. They may love fireworks, and Hollywood, and Harvard. But they don't love America.

They have already killed her in their own hearts. And they are trying to kill her in ours and our children's with their unconstitutional laws, their biased reporting, their false history, their immoral and undermining "art."

They seek nothing less than the death of the American idea, which is far worse than the conquest of territory. They mercilessly and tirelessly work toward the destruction of the American soul.

Ms. Negro is Founder & Director of My Liberty, the Tea Party Patriots of San Mateo County, California.

Don't ask for whom the ass should be kicked

2010-06-11T05:38:00.000-07:00

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the ass needs to be kicked; it is thee."
(with my apologies to Ernest Hemingway)

Much ado about nutin' (shades of Watergate)

2010-05-28T21:56:00.001-07:00

Sure we talked, but nobody did nuttin' wrong, ain't that right Bill? You're 'zactly right, Obama, I mean Mr. President......we were just havin' a little discussion about some volunteer work that Congressman Sestak might like to be involved in if he wasn't bein' busy running for Senator (chuckle, chuckle, snort, snort, wink, wink, nod, nod., double fist-bump). And if anybody thinks that was wrong, well…….they just must be part of that vast right-wing conspiracy.

Back in business.....

2010-05-28T21:50:00.001-07:00

Vacation’s over…..

I started blogging on August 12^th, 2008. My intention at the time was to learn how to do it effectively, understand what the business elements were (if it in fact was a business), and have fun commenting about my 2^nd favorite subject – politics (business being my favorite subject). I thought that I’d probably stick to it for a month, or so, and then by that time, move on to something else.

For the most part, I accomplished what I set out to do. But along the way, I found that instead of being just an aloof observer and commentator as I had intended, after almost a year and a half of commenting every day, I came to become significantly involved in wanting to effect the outcome of the issues I was commenting on. And because the proponents of the solutions that I desired were not running the show, my comments became continuously and fundamentally negative, and that bothered me. The Obama administration and its colleagues in the House, Senate and Press were so radical and relentless in implementing their agenda, that I found myself constantly focused on the fundamental changes to our society that they were implementing, and railing against them.

After a year and a half of blogging on an almost daily basis, I just shut down. I got tired of commenting about the same issues, day after day. I felt frustrated in that the politics of usual, unfortunately remained the same. I began to feel like I was just spitting in the wind, having no impact on any issue or argument, and worse than that…….not having fun anymore.

Despite the fact that during the past four months nothing has fundamentally changed in our situation, the Obama Administration is still in office, and the Democrats still control the House and Senate, I’ve decide it’s time to get back in the fray, and work to change the direction we’re currently headed.…

Here we go again…..

Jim Lynch

From Joe the Plumber To Sen. Scott Brown

2010-01-19T20:30:00.000-08:00

Just a little over a year later.....

It was just a short time ago that it was "Joe The Plumber", an average American citizen who began to question the then candidate Obama about raising taxes on small businesses, to today, on the anniversary of President Obama's inaugural, for the tide to turn against the outrageous attempt by this President to undermine and overturn many of the basic principles of this nation.

Today, the people of Massachusetts elected Scott Brown as Senator to replace the, late, and quintessential Democrat, Senator Ted Kennedy - the man who endorsed Obama for President. The people of Massachusetts voted into office a man dedicated to defeating the very Health Care bill Ted Kennedy championed.

There is still much work to be done, but the tide appears to have turned. Sen. Scott Brown will fuel up his truck and drive it to Washington. I urge haste, but caution. Remember, we're dealing with Alinsky Democrats.

Global Warming - The Other Side

2010-01-15T14:22:00.000-08:00

(That's not been allowed to be heard)....

"Global Warming - The Other Side," was created and hosted by John Coleman, the founder of The Weather Channel, and debuted on San Diego's independent television station KUSI.

Readers should be familiar with Coleman as the man who not only called global warming "the greatest scam in history," but also advocated suing Nobel Laureate Al Gore to expose the fraud.

Breaking with American media's tradition of almost exclusively broadcasting programs supporting Gore's view of climate change, "The Other Side" remarkably devoted an entire hour to fully explaining what the global warming-obsessed press dishonestly hide from the public (videos in five parts embedded below , h/t News Busters):

KUSI meteorologist, Weather Channel founder, and iconic weatherman, John Coleman explains the science and controversy surrounding Global Warming

Segment 1 (link here if not shown below)
Carbon dioxide, CO2, does not cause significant warming of the earth....

Segment 2 (link here if not shown below)
The amazing story of how Al Gore and the U.N. became involved in global warming....

Segment 3 (link here if not shown below)
The global warming frenzy is full of dire predictions. This segment debunks them.

Segment 4 (link here if not shown below)
Breaking news! Climategate comes to the U.S.

Segment 5 (link here if not shown below)
John Coleman's summation of the global warming debate.

2009 - The Year Of Obama

2009-12-31T19:08:00.000-08:00

And unfortunately, 2010 probably will be too.......

Let's start from the beginning of the year and list the many ways that Obama has made 2009 notable:

He became the first half-Black President (I never did buy into that whole Bill Clinton thing)
He announced an ill-advised closure of Guantanamo Bay in 2009 (and thankfully hasn't met his own deadline)
He appointed the most tax-cheats, degenerates and Communists to his cabinet and other high offices
He unilaterally destroyed the rights of the GM and Chrysler bond-holders
He allowed his Treasury Secretary (and tax-cheat) to use the Tarp funds to bail out the Auto companies and prop up the UAW pension plans
He used the "stimulus" money promised for "shovel-ready" jobs to pay for teachers and police salaries that would have been paid anyway by their local municipalities....in Democrat districts - of course
He promised 8% unemployment and we're way over 10%
He announced a new strategy and authorized additional troops for Afghanistan
He fired Gerald Walpin as Inspector General of Americorps because Walpin blew the whistle on Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson an Obama supporter.
He allowed his Attorney General to drop the voting rights case against the Black Panthers
He appointed the first "Latina" Supreme Court Justice despite her clear and significant history of bias
He's overseen the fall of the dollar to new lows
He initiated the "Cash for Clunkers" program that cost the American taxpayer $226 Billion to buy cars in the Summer instead of in the Fall, at a net cost $24K to the taxpayers per car sold, and all accomplished with borrowed money so that we'll be paying interest on it for years
Allowed millions of civilian Federal employees to get a 2% wage increase, raising the average pay to $71,206 Vs. $40,331 in the Private sector, all while millions of taxpayes were losing their jobs
He's overseen raising the debt ceiling by $1.8 Trillion
He has pushed an agenda so far to the Left that even the Liberal mayor of Chicago, Wm. Daley has penned a year-end op-ed admonishing Obama to move back to the Center
He was the first American President not to voice support for an oppressed people when he ignored the opportunity and the injustice done to the Iranian people, by not speaking out and supporting their call for justice during the election. His silence supported the oppressor regime
He became the first Amrican President to bow before foreign Heads Of State
He ostracized and marginalized Honduras because they prevented a Chavez-like overthrow of their Democracy
He turned off a news-ticker that annoyed Castro
He showed his own bias against white police officers
He has denigrated our Intelligence services and put us at a disadvantage
He killed the missile defense for Poland and Eastern Europe to placate Russia, lost the trust in the U.S. by our allies, and gained the scorn of our enemies
He undermined the freedom of the press by pursuing a war against FOX News
He has proposed massive unilateral disarmament that would make us vulnerable
He has politicized Art Funding
He sabotaged his own Afghan war strategy, ignored the issue, dissed his own hand-picked General, devalued Karzai, and portrayed America as weak
Has allowed Iran to continue it's nuclear weapon program, and invited their scorn
He has insulted our strongest allies
He has weakened our borders
Has been shown to not be the author of the books that he claimed to have written
He embarrassed the United States and the Office of the President by his ill-timed and advised participation in losing the Olympics for the U.S.
Was awarded the Nobel Prize for being not-Bush
He played a lot of golf
He blamed Bush for everything
He did not celebrate the reunification of Germany and the U.S. role in making it happen
He has presided over the dismantling of our exceptional healthcare system, and the government takeover of one-sixth of our economy
He has presided over the establishment of a government command and control of our energy sector through the pursuit of cap-and-trade legislation, and/or EPA regulations on CO2
He has alienated both the left and right
And worst of all, he has diminished the flame freedom, tarnished America's image around the world, and created the impression of a weak country, which as every school child knows, invites the school-yard bully to test you. We can expect more difficult situations everywhere, even with our "friends"

There were many more actions that could be listed and attributed to our "Dear Leader", but we just don't have the time to be that detailed.

As we look forward to 2010, Obama has planted the seeds of many bitter fruits that may indeed sprout. However, there is hope that real change can still appear in time to prevent them from flowering.

I wish all a healthy, safe, and prosperous new year. God bless us all.

A Thousand Wordsworth....

2009-12-09T17:41:00.000-08:00

The road to serfdom........

President Obama!

2009-12-03T14:26:00.000-08:00

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.........

President Obama hosted a conference today with business and labor leaders and economic advisers to serve up “every demonstrably good idea” for creating jobs that they could think of.

I heard him tell executives from American Airlines, Nucor Corp., Google Inc., Walt Disney Co. and Fed-Ex "I want to be clear: While I believe the government has a critical role in creating the conditions for economic growth, ultimately true economic recovery is only going to come from the private sector” .

Mr. Obama then told the chief executives that he wanted to know: “What’s holding back business investment and how we can increase confidence and spur hiring? And if there are things that we’re doing here in Washington that are inhibiting you, then we want to know about it.”.

Well, Mr President, I have a suggestion for a quick way to create jobs. Since you have such good relationship and standing with the Labor Unions, maybe you could exert some influence on them to stop holding up much needed construction in Jacksonville, Florida. There's a $208 Million terminal construction project that's been on hold, and is still on hold, because the ILA is trying to shake down Hanjin Shipping and get them to agree to costly and anti-competitive labor practices.

And while we're at it, maybe you can shake the tree a bit and get the Department of Defense to finalize the decision to move one of our nuclear carriers from Norfolk to Mayport Naval Station. Besides making us all less vulnerable to the potential disaster that could ensue by having all our carriers in one location, as we now have them, it would sure create a lot of additional jobs........

Let me know if you'd like some additional suggestions, but just working on those two would be really appreciated........

Jaxport postpones Hanjin terminal choice

Jacksonville Business Journal - by Mark Szakonyi

The Jacksonville Port Authority is holding off on choosing a firm to design the Hanjin container terminal at Dames Point because negotiations between Hanjin and the longshoremen’s union haven’t progressed enough.

The construction of Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd’s $208 million terminal, which is slated to open 2013, isn't expected to be pushed back because delays were factored into the timeline, said David Kulik, chairman of the Jacksonville Port Authority’s board. The board was originally expected to choose the terminal design firm Dec. 9, and it isn’t known when it will make its choice.

William Rooney, managing director of Hanjin’s American headquarters, said his shipping company continues to negotiate with the local International Longshoremen Association union. Part of the reason negotiations haven’t progressed as quickly is because both parties were waiting to see if a two-year contract extension for all ILA longshoremen would be approved.

The association approved the extension in late November with United States Marine Alliance Ltd. (USMX), the alliance of East Coast and Gulf Coast container carriers, despite some members’ concerns about the growing technological nature of terminals, which reduces the need for union workers. The contract will last until Sept. 30, 2012.

Hanjin’s planned terminal will be highly automated, and the South Korean company and the local unions haven’t decided how many workers per container gang will load and unload ships, said Jess Babich, president of ILA Clerks & Checkers Local 1593. His union and ILA Local 1408 normally use about 15 workers per container gang, but Hanjin wants to use seven.

Babich said local union representatives are going to Houston next week to talk to district officials on how to come to an agreement over staffing at the dock. ILA Local 1408 President Romia Johnson wasn’t available for comment.

A Thousand Wordsworth.....

2009-12-02T18:18:00.000-08:00

Courtesy Michael Ramirez and Investor's Business Daily

"Climategate" Warning From 1961

2009-12-02T17:33:00.000-08:00

We were warned....

Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers.

The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present

and is gravely to be regarded.

Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific technological elite.

Unfortunately, we only remember the Military-Industrial aspect of his warning to us..........

Military-Industrial Complex Speech,

Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961

Public Papers of the Presidents, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1960, p. 1035- 1040

My fellow Americans:

Three days from now, after half a century in the service of our country, I shall lay down the responsibilities of office as, in traditional and solemn ceremony, the authority of the Presidency is vested in my successor.

This evening I come to you with a message of leave-taking and farewell, and to share a few final thoughts with you, my countrymen.

Like every other citizen, I wish the new President, and all who will labor with him, Godspeed. I pray that the coming years will be blessed with peace and prosperity for all.

Our people expect their President and the Congress to find essential agreement on issues of great moment, the wise resolution of which will better shape the future of the Nation.

My own relations with the Congress, which began on a remote and tenuous basis when, long ago, a member of the Senate appointed me to West Point, have since ranged to the intimate during the war and immediate post-war period, and, finally, to the mutually interdependent during these past eight years.

In this final relationship, the Congress and the Administration have, on most vital issues, cooperated well, to serve the national good rather than mere partisanship, and so have assured that the business of the Nation should go forward. So, my official relationship with the Congress ends in a feeling, on my part, of gratitude that we have been able to do so much together.

II.

We now stand ten years past the midpoint of a century that has witnessed four major wars among great nations. Three of these involved our own country. Despite these holocausts America is today the strongest, the most influential and most productive nation in the world. Understandably proud of this pre-eminence, we yet realize that America's leadership and prestige depend, not merely upon our unmatched material progress, riches and military strength, but on how we use our power in the interests of world peace and human betterment.

III.

Throughout America's adventure in free government, our basic purposes have been to keep the peace; to foster progress in human achievement, and to enhance liberty, dignity and integrity among people and among nations. To strive for less would be unworthy of a free and religious people. Any failure traceable to arrogance, or our lack of comprehension or readiness to sacrifice would inflict upon us grievous hurt both at home and abroad.

Progress toward these noble goals is persistently threatened by the conflict now engulfing the world. It commands our whole attention, absorbs our very beings. We face a hostile ideology -- global in scope, atheistic in character, ruthless in purpose, and insidious in method. Unhappily the danger is poses promises to be of indefinite duration. To meet it successfully, there is called for, not so much the emotional and transitory sacrifices of crisis, but rather those which enable us to carry forward steadily, surely, and without complaint the burdens of a prolonged and complex struggle -- with liberty the stake. Only thus shall we remain, despite every provocation, on our charted course toward permanent peace and human betterment.

Crises there will continue to be. In meeting them, whether foreign or domestic, great or small, there is a recurring temptation to feel that some spectacular and costly action could become the miraculous solution to all current difficulties. A huge increase in newer elements of our defense; development of unrealistic programs to cure every ill in agriculture; a dramatic expansion in basic and applied research -- these and many other possibilities, each possibly promising in itself, may be suggested as the only way to the road we wish to travel.

But each proposal must be weighed in the light of a broader consideration: the need to maintain balance in and among national programs -- balance between the private and the public economy, balance between cost and hoped for advantage -- balance between the clearly necessary and the comfortably desirable; balance between our essential requirements as a nation and the duties imposed by the nation upon the individual; balance between actions of the moment and the national welfare of the future. Good judgment seeks balance and progress; lack of it eventually finds imbalance and frustration.

The record of many decades stands as proof that our people and their government have, in the main, understood these truths and have responded to them well, in the face of stress and threat. But threats, new in kind or degree, constantly arise. I mention two only.

IV.

A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction.

Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime, or indeed by the fighting men of World War II or Korea.

Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations.

This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.

Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping changes in our industrial-military posture, has been the technological revolution during recent decades.

In this revolution, research has become central; it also becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of, the Federal government.

The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present

and is gravely to be regarded.

It is the task of statesmanship to mold, to balance, and to integrate these and other forces, new and old, within the principles of our democratic system -- ever aiming toward the supreme goals of our free society.

Another factor in maintaining balance involves the element of time. As we peer into society's future, we -- you and I, and our government -- must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow.

VI.

Down the long lane of the history yet to be written America knows that this world of ours, ever growing smaller, must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect.

Such a confederation must be one of equals. The weakest must come to the conference table with the same confidence as do we, protected as we are by our moral, economic, and military strength. That table, though scarred by many past frustrations, cannot be abandoned for the certain agony of the battlefield.

Disarmament, with mutual honor and confidence, is a continuing imperative. Together we must learn how to compose differences, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose. Because this need is so sharp and apparent I confess that I lay down my official responsibilities in this field with a definite sense of disappointment. As one who has witnessed the horror and the lingering sadness of war -- as one who knows that another war could utterly destroy this civilization which has been so slowly and painfully built over thousands of years -- I wish I could say tonight that a lasting peace is in sight.

Happily, I can say that war has been avoided. Steady progress toward our ultimate goal has been made. But, so much remains to be done. As a private citizen, I shall never cease to do what little I can to help the world advance along that road.

VII.

So -- in this my last good night to you as your President -- I thank you for the many opportunities you have given me for public service in war and peace. I trust that in that service you find some things worthy; as for the rest of it, I know you will find ways to improve performance in the future.

You and I -- my fellow citizens -- need to be strong in our faith that all nations, under God, will reach the goal of peace with justice. May we be ever unswerving in devotion to principle, confident but humble with power, diligent in pursuit of the Nation's great goals.

To all the peoples of the world, I once more give expression to America's prayerful and continuing aspiration:

We pray that peoples of all faiths, all races, all nations, may have their great human needs satisfied; that those now denied opportunity shall come to enjoy it to the full; that all who yearn for freedom may experience its spiritual blessings; that those who have freedom will understand, also, its heavy responsibilities; that all who are insensitive to the needs of others will learn charity; that the scourges of poverty, disease and ignorance will be made to disappear from the earth, and that, in the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of mutual respect and love.