By Semperpapa
For someone who despises anything military, Obama is sure becoming an expert at flanking maneuvers.
Just as he will be reversing Eric Holder decision to hold terror trials in New York only to assure the cooperation of Sen. Lindsey Graham on amnesty for illegal immigrants and Gitmo closing, Obama is now going to allow oil drilling off the coast of Virginia. The move is certainly designed to insure that some of the liberal Republicans in Congress will in turn support the Cap and Trade Bill that appears to be dead at this time.
The official justification from the ever truthful White House is that the move is aimed at moving America toward independence from foreign oil and to create jobs, two of the most pressing issues for the American people.
What the Administration is hoping, and has reason for such hope, is that the Media will do the bidding for this openly conniving move on the part of Obama, by just giving the American people the catchy headline, leaving some of the interesting details out.
As I am writing this, the local radio station I listen to, just had a News spot in which the only information given was that Obama is allowing off shore oil drilling.
The details that the Media will most likely ignore is that while the President is making a big production off the opening of few drilling sites off of the Virginia coast, he is also shutting down several new sites that were planned for Alaska Bristol Bay, where the presence of large oil reserves have already been located.
Moreover, the President has charged his Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to reverse last year decision to develop oil drilling in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Salazar will task scientists to the areas to study the possibility for future development. I bet my bottom dollar that these are the same “scientists” who have supported the Global Warming fiasco.
The flanking maneuver Obama is making is, I must admit, pretty clever. While the American people hear that finally something seems to be happening in making America less dependent from foreign oil, Obama is also appealing to his fringe environmentalist supporters by shutting down more sites than he opened and by maintaining a moratorium on off shore drilling off the West Coast and killing drilling where we already know oil is present.
The goal is fairly clear: give an opening to those RINOs in Congress that are chomping at the bit to get Cap and Trade legislature moving again. I would be willing to wager that the American people will be greeted this morning by news of Graham or McCain or Grassley or Hatch praising the President for this move and that it will not be long that we will start hearing about the energy bill making the headlines.
And I would be willing also to wager that somewhere in this whole pile of excrements we will hear that George Soros is somewhat involved, as it appears that the subversive billionaire is always lurking in the darkness of Obama sewer pipes.
President Obama can come out and promise anything he wants. Nuclear power plants? Sure. New oil drilling? Absolutely! But is it really going to happen? Do not count on it. Just as he reversed oil drilling in Alaska, he can do the same everywhere else soon after the spineless Congress gives him what he wants.
And the flanking maneuver continues. So while the American people are barely watching, Obama will use every mean at his disposal, and even some means the Constitution does not allow him to have, to circumvent the will of the people and the interests of the country.
And while the ignorant masses may celebrate the some ill perceived moderate move, they will be led toward disaster like good, obedient sheep.
Just my thoughts!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
One Weekend A Month
By Semperpapa
On March 24, 2010, a convoy of Light Armored vehicles was making its way through the desert of Southern Afghanistan Helmand Province, just as it had done so many times prior to that day.
Suddenly, a huge explosion and the one of the LAVs disappeared temporarily in an enormous cloud of fine dirt and smoke.
Vehicles in front and behind stopped immediately and Marines scrambled to secure the area and attempt to bring aid where possible.
The LAV affected was carrying three men. Two of them were killed instantly, the driver and the vehicle commander, while the Navy Corpsman in the rear of the vehicle survived with just scratches.
On March 24, Lance Cpl. Rick J. Centanni, 19, and Battalion Sgt. Maj. Robert J. Cottle died serving their country and giving their highest level of commitment for the cause of freedom.
The action was one of those situations one can define as a “silver bullet” as several other LAVs had passed by near the spot and it was that one that hit the mine. As one Marine from the same unit described it, in typical Marine fashion, “the fuckers got lucky!”
The convoy was part of the 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Force Reserve, out of Camp Pendleton, California.
That’s correct, a Marine Reserve Unit that has been in Afghanistan since end of last year. A Marine Reserve Unit that has seen, besides Centanni and Cottle, four other Marines and one Corpsman pay with their lives since the deployment started.
Rick Centanni and Robert Cottle were from H&S Co. based at Pendleton, which not only qualified them as Reservists, but, in the fun poking manner so common to the Military, they also qualify for the label of “Hollywood Marines”.
Which brings me to my point.
As much as fun is poked at the Reserve and National Guard units, the truth is that in the War on Terror they have been utilized extensively both in Iraq and in Afghanistan.
These men and women are serving in a capacity that is very often misunderstood by both civilians and full active Military. They practically get it from both sides.
The civilian world that surrounds them on a daily basis, does not understand them, does not see the commitment of their service and, let’s face it, does not care about it. Moreover they may encounter loathing from those nutcases that call themselves pacifists.
The Military world looks at them as only partially capable to perform the job they have signed up for. That’s where the expression “One weekend a month my ass” comes from, especially from those who spend seven to twelve, and at times fifteen months away from the cushy “civilian” lives.
And they have to deal with substandard equipment on those one-weekend-a-month, which allows them to hone their craft only so much.
Yet, the numerous Reservists and Guardsmen have bled and died in combat the same way full active Military has.
The IED that killed Rick Centanni and Robert Cottle, just like the IEDs that killed the other members of the 4th LAR, did not ask if they were full active or reservist Military.
War was not a part-time endeavor for the friends of Centanni and Cottle as they watched their vehicle burn for hours before they could retrieve the bodies of their brothers, including Centanni’s best friend LCpl. Martin who had been in a vehicle just ahead.
And it wasn’t a part-time endeavor for my son, also a very good friend of Rick and an admirer of Sgt. Maj. Cottle, who was tasked to go recover the destroyed LAV.
And definitely war was not a part-time endeavor for those families who got the knock on the door from the Marine officer and the Chaplain, nor for all the other families of the Reservists for whom the war is an extremely terrifying, full time reality.
Just my thoughts.
On March 24, 2010, a convoy of Light Armored vehicles was making its way through the desert of Southern Afghanistan Helmand Province, just as it had done so many times prior to that day.
Suddenly, a huge explosion and the one of the LAVs disappeared temporarily in an enormous cloud of fine dirt and smoke.
Vehicles in front and behind stopped immediately and Marines scrambled to secure the area and attempt to bring aid where possible.
The LAV affected was carrying three men. Two of them were killed instantly, the driver and the vehicle commander, while the Navy Corpsman in the rear of the vehicle survived with just scratches.
On March 24, Lance Cpl. Rick J. Centanni, 19, and Battalion Sgt. Maj. Robert J. Cottle died serving their country and giving their highest level of commitment for the cause of freedom.
The action was one of those situations one can define as a “silver bullet” as several other LAVs had passed by near the spot and it was that one that hit the mine. As one Marine from the same unit described it, in typical Marine fashion, “the fuckers got lucky!”
The convoy was part of the 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Force Reserve, out of Camp Pendleton, California.
That’s correct, a Marine Reserve Unit that has been in Afghanistan since end of last year. A Marine Reserve Unit that has seen, besides Centanni and Cottle, four other Marines and one Corpsman pay with their lives since the deployment started.
Rick Centanni and Robert Cottle were from H&S Co. based at Pendleton, which not only qualified them as Reservists, but, in the fun poking manner so common to the Military, they also qualify for the label of “Hollywood Marines”.
Which brings me to my point.
As much as fun is poked at the Reserve and National Guard units, the truth is that in the War on Terror they have been utilized extensively both in Iraq and in Afghanistan.
These men and women are serving in a capacity that is very often misunderstood by both civilians and full active Military. They practically get it from both sides.
The civilian world that surrounds them on a daily basis, does not understand them, does not see the commitment of their service and, let’s face it, does not care about it. Moreover they may encounter loathing from those nutcases that call themselves pacifists.
The Military world looks at them as only partially capable to perform the job they have signed up for. That’s where the expression “One weekend a month my ass” comes from, especially from those who spend seven to twelve, and at times fifteen months away from the cushy “civilian” lives.
And they have to deal with substandard equipment on those one-weekend-a-month, which allows them to hone their craft only so much.
Yet, the numerous Reservists and Guardsmen have bled and died in combat the same way full active Military has.
The IED that killed Rick Centanni and Robert Cottle, just like the IEDs that killed the other members of the 4th LAR, did not ask if they were full active or reservist Military.
War was not a part-time endeavor for the friends of Centanni and Cottle as they watched their vehicle burn for hours before they could retrieve the bodies of their brothers, including Centanni’s best friend LCpl. Martin who had been in a vehicle just ahead.
And it wasn’t a part-time endeavor for my son, also a very good friend of Rick and an admirer of Sgt. Maj. Cottle, who was tasked to go recover the destroyed LAV.
And definitely war was not a part-time endeavor for those families who got the knock on the door from the Marine officer and the Chaplain, nor for all the other families of the Reservists for whom the war is an extremely terrifying, full time reality.
Just my thoughts.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Muslim Mafia - Part One
By Semperpapa
27 March 2010
Today was a very eventful day. I attended a speech from a man which I have come to admire greatly in just a small amount of time that I have been exposed to his work.
This man is P. David Gaubatz.
David and his work was introduced to me by a man who I am proud to call friend: Steve “the Admiral” Amundson.
So, who is David Gaubatz. Well let me start by saying that David is one of those Americans who has unfortunately become a rarity these days: a patriot.
He is a twenty year veterans of the US Air Force OSI (Office of Special Investigations) during which he was briefed in numerous covert operations, holding the highest level of security clearance our Nation gives its agents.
Following the 9-11-01 attacks, David was handpicked to attend an intense one-year Arabic language course with the State Department and by the time our troops begun the invasion of Iraq, David was the first federal agent to enter that country.
Incidentally, David alerted his superiors in 2003 of the presence of WMDs buried under the Tigris river, an information that he had been given by Iraqi prisoners during interrogations. But his reports were never followed up and probably the WMDs are still there today.
While in Iraq, David also led the rescue of Mohammed Al-Rehaief and his family, the Iraqi lawyer who had assisted our Military in the rescue of Pvt. Jessica Lynch.
After such stellar career at the service of America, David is continuing to serve in his capacity of expert counter-terrorism/counter-intelligence researcher. So he has authored a book called Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That’s Conspiring to Islamize America.
The book is an eye opener. It is a compilation of researched material that sheds an accusatory light on the efforts that many Muslim organizations in America are conducting to bring Shariah law into our country. Much of the material collected by David in his research for the book comes from his own son Chris who was able to go undercover inside CAIR and gain much of their confidence, which gave him access to some incredible proofs.
Much of the work is centered on CAIR (Council for American-Islamic Relations) and its connections to the Muslim Brotherhood organization native of Egypt.
The book is not just a look at an organization that has been found to be a front for the raising of funds for Hamas and other terror organizations, but it is a window on the infiltration that this Islamic organization has achieved at the highest levels of our government.
For instance: Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota) who is a member of CAIR and who conducts breakfast meetings with CAIR leadership for the formulation of political activities. Chris Gaubatz, during his undercover work, even prayed right next to the Congressman who stated that by the next elections there will be at least fifteen Muslims in Congress.
Today, besides Re. Ellison, there is another Muslim Congressman, Indiana Andre Carson.
The presence of these two gentlemen in Congress, together with the numerous Islamic lobbyists actively roaming in Washington D.C., are the realization of the plan put in place sometime ago by the Muslim Brotherhood which is aimed at the infiltration of the highest levels of government in the United States in order to advance Shariah law in our country’s political system. The aim is clear: Muslims want to turn America into an Islamic nation.
Skeptics are probably reading this and scoff at what they are seeing. But I want to say that you are not skeptic, just ignorant. And that is exactly what our Radical Muslim enemies are counting on. You are probably thinking that in America, it could not happen for a religion to take over the whole Nation, and that is also what the enemy is counting on, using our own US Constitution to destroy us.
David Gaubatz confirmed what I have thought and written in the past, and something that all should pay very close attention to.
Islam is NOT a religion! Islam is a political, economic and military ideology first and foremost all encompassed into Shariah law.
The religious aspect comes in handy as a vessel of propagation, especially in America where freedom of religion is constitutionally safeguarded.
I read about David’s call to vigilance and today I heard that call loud and clear.
I would suggest for all Americans to read his book also and to get informed. This is not just another book on conspiracy theories, but it is backed by thousands of documents that CAIR was trying to shred, but was salvaged by the bravery of Chris Gaubatz, documents that are now in the hands of the FBI.
More to come on the subject.
Update/Correction:
It has been brought to my attention that by a good friend of mine, that I have used the term "Muslim" in what may be construed as an incorrect way. So I modified my post where I could see the problem by defining our enemy as the "Radical Muslim".
The main point I want to impress on the reader is that Radical Muslims do not consider moderate, mainstream Muslims as such unless they fully subscribe to Shariah law.
So just want to emphasize that our enemy is the Radicalized Islamic Muslim who takes Shariah law as the superseding law of the land and who is working incessantly in transforming America into a Shariah law nation.
(Thanks John)
NOT just my thoughts!
27 March 2010
Today was a very eventful day. I attended a speech from a man which I have come to admire greatly in just a small amount of time that I have been exposed to his work.
This man is P. David Gaubatz.
David and his work was introduced to me by a man who I am proud to call friend: Steve “the Admiral” Amundson.
So, who is David Gaubatz. Well let me start by saying that David is one of those Americans who has unfortunately become a rarity these days: a patriot.
He is a twenty year veterans of the US Air Force OSI (Office of Special Investigations) during which he was briefed in numerous covert operations, holding the highest level of security clearance our Nation gives its agents.
Following the 9-11-01 attacks, David was handpicked to attend an intense one-year Arabic language course with the State Department and by the time our troops begun the invasion of Iraq, David was the first federal agent to enter that country.
Incidentally, David alerted his superiors in 2003 of the presence of WMDs buried under the Tigris river, an information that he had been given by Iraqi prisoners during interrogations. But his reports were never followed up and probably the WMDs are still there today.
While in Iraq, David also led the rescue of Mohammed Al-Rehaief and his family, the Iraqi lawyer who had assisted our Military in the rescue of Pvt. Jessica Lynch.
After such stellar career at the service of America, David is continuing to serve in his capacity of expert counter-terrorism/counter-intelligence researcher. So he has authored a book called Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That’s Conspiring to Islamize America.
The book is an eye opener. It is a compilation of researched material that sheds an accusatory light on the efforts that many Muslim organizations in America are conducting to bring Shariah law into our country. Much of the material collected by David in his research for the book comes from his own son Chris who was able to go undercover inside CAIR and gain much of their confidence, which gave him access to some incredible proofs.
Much of the work is centered on CAIR (Council for American-Islamic Relations) and its connections to the Muslim Brotherhood organization native of Egypt.
The book is not just a look at an organization that has been found to be a front for the raising of funds for Hamas and other terror organizations, but it is a window on the infiltration that this Islamic organization has achieved at the highest levels of our government.
For instance: Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota) who is a member of CAIR and who conducts breakfast meetings with CAIR leadership for the formulation of political activities. Chris Gaubatz, during his undercover work, even prayed right next to the Congressman who stated that by the next elections there will be at least fifteen Muslims in Congress.
Today, besides Re. Ellison, there is another Muslim Congressman, Indiana Andre Carson.
The presence of these two gentlemen in Congress, together with the numerous Islamic lobbyists actively roaming in Washington D.C., are the realization of the plan put in place sometime ago by the Muslim Brotherhood which is aimed at the infiltration of the highest levels of government in the United States in order to advance Shariah law in our country’s political system. The aim is clear: Muslims want to turn America into an Islamic nation.
Skeptics are probably reading this and scoff at what they are seeing. But I want to say that you are not skeptic, just ignorant. And that is exactly what our Radical Muslim enemies are counting on. You are probably thinking that in America, it could not happen for a religion to take over the whole Nation, and that is also what the enemy is counting on, using our own US Constitution to destroy us.
David Gaubatz confirmed what I have thought and written in the past, and something that all should pay very close attention to.
Islam is NOT a religion! Islam is a political, economic and military ideology first and foremost all encompassed into Shariah law.
The religious aspect comes in handy as a vessel of propagation, especially in America where freedom of religion is constitutionally safeguarded.
I read about David’s call to vigilance and today I heard that call loud and clear.
I would suggest for all Americans to read his book also and to get informed. This is not just another book on conspiracy theories, but it is backed by thousands of documents that CAIR was trying to shred, but was salvaged by the bravery of Chris Gaubatz, documents that are now in the hands of the FBI.
More to come on the subject.
Update/Correction:
It has been brought to my attention that by a good friend of mine, that I have used the term "Muslim" in what may be construed as an incorrect way. So I modified my post where I could see the problem by defining our enemy as the "Radical Muslim".
The main point I want to impress on the reader is that Radical Muslims do not consider moderate, mainstream Muslims as such unless they fully subscribe to Shariah law.
So just want to emphasize that our enemy is the Radicalized Islamic Muslim who takes Shariah law as the superseding law of the land and who is working incessantly in transforming America into a Shariah law nation.
(Thanks John)
NOT just my thoughts!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Going Out With A Bang
By Semperpapa
Breaking News of a South Korean warship suffering an explosion and subsequently sinking is hitting the wire. The vessel was somewhere near the the maritime border between South Korea and North Korea. Preliminary reports claim several casualties.
The suspicion is that the SK ship was struck by a torpedo fired by the North, as the tension between the two countries is increasing again. The incident also occurs just days after the news of the North's leader Kim Jon-Il quickly deteriorating health were reported.
So what is really going on. It will take some time to actually get definite answers, but a possible escalation of tension and danger of restart of hostilities, are a scenario that certainly creates great preoccupation in Americans. Especially considering that faith in Obama's ability to deal with such a potential international crisis is, at best, low.
And definitely Hillary Clinton at State, or people like David Axelrod or Ramh Emanuel in the White House represent more dangerous incompetence that anything else.
But it is the mini-dictator of NK that should be considered as the main threat, because, as I wrote in the past, I believe that Kim is demented enough to have the desire to go out with the biggest bang possible, sort of a firework display in his honor when the well deserved time of death will come for the little puke.
My fear is just that he may provoke a major conflict with the South and with America just to let the world know that he was capable to start a major conflict in Asia.
With the US still having over 25,000 troops in SK, the prospect of Kim wanting to provoke a confrontation with the South is very worrysome for our Military too, considering that the NK dictator may have at his disposan nuclear weapons, even if rudimentary in technological status.
So there is the potential for a major problem in the area. What will Obama do? Will he be willing to protect our troops and our interests in the region?
Just my thoughts!
Breaking News of a South Korean warship suffering an explosion and subsequently sinking is hitting the wire. The vessel was somewhere near the the maritime border between South Korea and North Korea. Preliminary reports claim several casualties.
The suspicion is that the SK ship was struck by a torpedo fired by the North, as the tension between the two countries is increasing again. The incident also occurs just days after the news of the North's leader Kim Jon-Il quickly deteriorating health were reported.
So what is really going on. It will take some time to actually get definite answers, but a possible escalation of tension and danger of restart of hostilities, are a scenario that certainly creates great preoccupation in Americans. Especially considering that faith in Obama's ability to deal with such a potential international crisis is, at best, low.
And definitely Hillary Clinton at State, or people like David Axelrod or Ramh Emanuel in the White House represent more dangerous incompetence that anything else.
But it is the mini-dictator of NK that should be considered as the main threat, because, as I wrote in the past, I believe that Kim is demented enough to have the desire to go out with the biggest bang possible, sort of a firework display in his honor when the well deserved time of death will come for the little puke.
My fear is just that he may provoke a major conflict with the South and with America just to let the world know that he was capable to start a major conflict in Asia.
With the US still having over 25,000 troops in SK, the prospect of Kim wanting to provoke a confrontation with the South is very worrysome for our Military too, considering that the NK dictator may have at his disposan nuclear weapons, even if rudimentary in technological status.
So there is the potential for a major problem in the area. What will Obama do? Will he be willing to protect our troops and our interests in the region?
Just my thoughts!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Don't Worry, Osama, Be Happy!
By Semperpapa
A new audiotape from our friend Osama bin Laden has surfaced and is being publicized by our other friends at al Jazeera.
The recording is the usual admonition to the government of the United States. Osama’s message is directed to President Obama, threatening the execution of any American who falls in the hands of Osama’s followers, if the US government will execute Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other 9-11 conspirators.
Of course the threat is of some concern as al Qaeda and the Taliban has such a great record of humane treatment of prisoners that I think the Obama administration should seriously consider the admonition from the Saudi terrorist.
In the audiotape, Osama continues his accusation against the US government for continuing the policies of oppression against Muslims in Afghanistan and, ironically, for continuing the support of Israel in its oppression of the Palestinians in the occupied territories, this just days after Obama pretty much destroyed our relationship with the only ally in the Middle East.
There are couple of points that popped into my mind as I read about this.
In the first place, I hope that Osama does not loose much sleep over the past statements of the Obama administration regarding the conviction and execution of the 9-11 masterminds.
In the first place, just the fact that Obama, Holder and others at Justice have come out and stated that the terrorists will be found guilty and executed even before any evidence is presented, creates prejudice in the case and any two-bit defense lawyer would be able to blow huge holes in it.
In that regard, the US Constitution will come in handy.
Moreover, the past record from Eric Holder and Obama are clear indication that the trial of these terrorists, if conducted in a civilian court, which is not for sure it will happen, is not really aimed at their conviction, but in reality it will become a trial of America, the War on Terror and especially of the Bush Administration.
The intentions of the Obama administration are not to punish those who are responsible for the death of nearly 3,000 innocent people, but to demonstrate to the world, and especially our Islamic enemies, that we are a “changed” nation and that we are not really a threat to the Muslim terrorists any longer. The message to Islam is that America is your friend.
Another point that caught my attention was the fact that Osama did not, as far as it has been reported, promise an onslaught of terrorist attacks against America, but limited himself to threaten the killing of any American that falls into their hands.
My take on it is that even Osama is stepping away from wanting to stage a major scale terror attack against our country, and I see two major reasons for it.
In the first place, I believe that Osama bin Laden has a much limited influence within the terrorist community. Sure he is probably looked at as a spiritual icon and all that, but the actions taken by our government since the 2001 attacks has made him such a huge target that even some close to him would be tempted to get rid of him.
But the most important reason is that our enemies realize that the planning they have been doing for decades is finally paying off big dividends.
Since the 1960s forces of radicalization have permeated our country, beginning to erode all that had made and maintained the Nation at the leading edge of individual freedom.
The idea of self-reliance, personal responsibility and love of country became the target for destruction by those who instead preferred chaos and Progressivism.
The threat of Communism as America knew in the second half of last century has not changed. Sure the Soviet Union was defeated as a foe, but the ideology of control and oppression still remains live and well across the globe, it just has changed its face and re-branded itself.
The Communist infiltration, which was so expertly conducted by the Soviets and their allies, has been replaced by the Islamic infiltration, with the exception of the fact that Muslims have succeed where the Communist did not: patience.
Over the decades, Middle Easterners have been very crafty in using our own institutions and principles as a foundation to build a force of radicalization, beginning with colleges and universities. Wonder why so many Middle Easterners are professors?
Organizations like CAIR have used and abused the sense of fairness that lives in the American ideals to build an underground force whose ultimate goal is to make the United States an Islamic country.
That is where America finds itself today. That is what the American people are facing today. And that is why a major terror attack would be counter-productive to the underlined mission.
It is my contention that the 9-11-01 attacks were more successful than Osama had even hoped for, with the collapse of the WTC a definite added bonus. And what had not been planned by Osama was the reaction of President Bush, especially after the travesty of the 2000 elections, the Florida recount and the vitriol directed toward Bush that followed.
But today things are very different, thanks to the “change” Obama has brought. Today our enemies abroad, including Osama, can just sit back and watch the enemies within do a much better, much more thorough job at destroying America. And not on their dime.
So Osama don’t worry, my friend, and be happy. Obama and Holder got your six.
Just my thoughts!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Progressive Hypocrisy
By Semperpapa
I am quite amused at the reaction of Liberal Progressives to the protestations of the American people through the TEA Parties and the Conservative radio personalities.
They have attacked common people, those of us who have had enough of bunch of corrupted politicians and their thieving, with name calling, comparisons to Nazi, mob and anything else they could come up with.
They have been using every trick in the book, from telling lies to associating TEA Parties with Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage in the attempt to radicalize the movement. They have called American people exercising their right to protest, racist and homophobes and anything else that the Media could use.
They have attacked Talk Radio, and especially the above mentioned Rush Limbaugh, by attributing to him calls for violence to be perpetrated against Obama and his circus, which never happened.
And yet I can still remember my surprise at hearing that movies had been made and books had been published that called for the assassination of President Bush, and never heard a word of condemnation from any of the Network weasels nor any outrage from any of the scum in Congress.
What was constitutionally protected freedom of expression just few years ago is now sedition and fear mongering. Few years ago dissent was a patriotic duty, but today is racism and subversiveness.
And the man who was elected to stop the rising of the waters, the same man who was going to pay your mortgage and put gas in your car, who was going to pay for your doctor and for your college and who was going to deliver Osama bin Laden on a silver platter, the man who was going to make things right in Iraq, that same man has achieved the highest unemployment in decades, the demise of thousands of small businesses, an economic disaster on generational consequences and the exponential increase in the danger our nation find itself from terror attacks.
Progressive Hypocrisy at its most!
Just my thoughts.
I am quite amused at the reaction of Liberal Progressives to the protestations of the American people through the TEA Parties and the Conservative radio personalities.
They have attacked common people, those of us who have had enough of bunch of corrupted politicians and their thieving, with name calling, comparisons to Nazi, mob and anything else they could come up with.
They have been using every trick in the book, from telling lies to associating TEA Parties with Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage in the attempt to radicalize the movement. They have called American people exercising their right to protest, racist and homophobes and anything else that the Media could use.
They have attacked Talk Radio, and especially the above mentioned Rush Limbaugh, by attributing to him calls for violence to be perpetrated against Obama and his circus, which never happened.
And yet I can still remember my surprise at hearing that movies had been made and books had been published that called for the assassination of President Bush, and never heard a word of condemnation from any of the Network weasels nor any outrage from any of the scum in Congress.
What was constitutionally protected freedom of expression just few years ago is now sedition and fear mongering. Few years ago dissent was a patriotic duty, but today is racism and subversiveness.
And the man who was elected to stop the rising of the waters, the same man who was going to pay your mortgage and put gas in your car, who was going to pay for your doctor and for your college and who was going to deliver Osama bin Laden on a silver platter, the man who was going to make things right in Iraq, that same man has achieved the highest unemployment in decades, the demise of thousands of small businesses, an economic disaster on generational consequences and the exponential increase in the danger our nation find itself from terror attacks.
Progressive Hypocrisy at its most!
Just my thoughts.
I Am Fed Up With Liberals
By Semperpapa
On Tuesday, the American people were given the rare opportunity to witness a Liberal tell the truth.
During an interview on the Paul W. Smith show, Michigan Democrat Representative John Dingell was asked about the length of time the passing of Obamacare had taken and Dingell gave this answer:
Rep. Dingell let slip out the real goal that liberals progressive have had for our country for a long time, dating back to last century, and that is to gain control over the American people.
The same goal has been pursued by Socialist and Communist forces around the world and America had been mostly insulated by a simple piece of paper called the United States Constitution.
Well the truth will set you free and Rep. Dingell is free as a bird now. How fitting that the truth should come from the longest serving representative in the House, having been elected first to Congress in 1955…yes that’s 55 years ago. Truly the poster child for “career politician” and considering that he replaced someone called John D. Dingell Sr., John D. Dingell Jr. also may define the terms “power dynasty”.
So my question for those who support Obama and his minions, including old boy Dingell-berry, in the President’s quest to have the government take over the country is this. Are you actually in favor of such blatant admission of despotic desires? Do you feel comfortable with relinquishing control of your life in the hands of politicians?
Oh sure, the media will try to spin this into a non-consequential slip of the tongue, and in fact already the excuse Dingell himself gave, and the complacent Media reported, was that he was tired. With the Democrats one can always count on excuses like that, may it be Ted Kennedy killing someone while driving drunk (he just got scared), or Bill Clinton stooping anything he could get his hands on (but, but, but he supports abortion), or John Kerry trashing Vietnam Vets (but he was principled and passionate).
And now my thoughts.
Already the government has taken control of the War on Terror, forcing our Military, and make no mistake about the ROE having been dictated to McChrystal by the civilian leadership in Washington, to disengage prematurely from Iraq, while tying the hands of our fighting men and women. Our Soldiers and Marines and Special Forces are dieing in Afghanistan because of the control the liberal scum in the White House, in Congress, at the Pentagon, at Justice has.
Government has control of the education system resulting in the creation of a whole generation of uneducated, spineless, foul mouth, self-serving youngsters who get out of grade school unable to read and write proficiently, only to move on to college where some undercover Arab jihadist will inculcate hatred for America in their air filled skulls. And all this while tee shirts with Christian images are banned for being “offensive” in favor of those sporting Che Guevara’s assassin face.
And government has control of the automobile industry, the banking system, the energy industry and soon the health care industry.
And the American people are ok with it, because unemployment benefits have been extended, because they believe that they will no longer have to pay for a doctor’s visit.
And they are ok with it because Obama is going to fill the tanks of their Chinese car, and pay for their rent and their drugs.
They are ok with it because their ignorance is only matched by their desire for someone else to take out their garbage, someone else to remove their obligations and responsibilities necessary to be an American citizen.
Love America, rid Her of Liberalism!
Just my thoughts
On Tuesday, the American people were given the rare opportunity to witness a Liberal tell the truth.
During an interview on the Paul W. Smith show, Michigan Democrat Representative John Dingell was asked about the length of time the passing of Obamacare had taken and Dingell gave this answer:
Let me remind you this [Americans allegedly dying because of lack of
universal health care has been going on for years. We are bringing it to a halt.
The harsh fact of the matter is when you're going to pass legislation that will
cover 300 [million] American people in different ways it takes a long time to do
the necessary administrative steps that have to be taken to put the legislation
together to control the people (my emphasis).
Rep. Dingell let slip out the real goal that liberals progressive have had for our country for a long time, dating back to last century, and that is to gain control over the American people.
The same goal has been pursued by Socialist and Communist forces around the world and America had been mostly insulated by a simple piece of paper called the United States Constitution.
Well the truth will set you free and Rep. Dingell is free as a bird now. How fitting that the truth should come from the longest serving representative in the House, having been elected first to Congress in 1955…yes that’s 55 years ago. Truly the poster child for “career politician” and considering that he replaced someone called John D. Dingell Sr., John D. Dingell Jr. also may define the terms “power dynasty”.
So my question for those who support Obama and his minions, including old boy Dingell-berry, in the President’s quest to have the government take over the country is this. Are you actually in favor of such blatant admission of despotic desires? Do you feel comfortable with relinquishing control of your life in the hands of politicians?
Oh sure, the media will try to spin this into a non-consequential slip of the tongue, and in fact already the excuse Dingell himself gave, and the complacent Media reported, was that he was tired. With the Democrats one can always count on excuses like that, may it be Ted Kennedy killing someone while driving drunk (he just got scared), or Bill Clinton stooping anything he could get his hands on (but, but, but he supports abortion), or John Kerry trashing Vietnam Vets (but he was principled and passionate).
And now my thoughts.
Already the government has taken control of the War on Terror, forcing our Military, and make no mistake about the ROE having been dictated to McChrystal by the civilian leadership in Washington, to disengage prematurely from Iraq, while tying the hands of our fighting men and women. Our Soldiers and Marines and Special Forces are dieing in Afghanistan because of the control the liberal scum in the White House, in Congress, at the Pentagon, at Justice has.
Government has control of the education system resulting in the creation of a whole generation of uneducated, spineless, foul mouth, self-serving youngsters who get out of grade school unable to read and write proficiently, only to move on to college where some undercover Arab jihadist will inculcate hatred for America in their air filled skulls. And all this while tee shirts with Christian images are banned for being “offensive” in favor of those sporting Che Guevara’s assassin face.
And government has control of the automobile industry, the banking system, the energy industry and soon the health care industry.
And the American people are ok with it, because unemployment benefits have been extended, because they believe that they will no longer have to pay for a doctor’s visit.
And they are ok with it because Obama is going to fill the tanks of their Chinese car, and pay for their rent and their drugs.
They are ok with it because their ignorance is only matched by their desire for someone else to take out their garbage, someone else to remove their obligations and responsibilities necessary to be an American citizen.
Love America, rid Her of Liberalism!
Just my thoughts
Maxine Spews Excrements Again
By Semperpapa
Monday night, a day after the travesty of Obamacare vote in the House, the emeritus ignoramus congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) went on national television and called the TEA Party protesters "teabaggers". Granted that it was on the Joy Behar Show, whatever that is, and maybe 12 people actually saw it, bur still highly undignified.
I understand Maxine wanting to ingratiate her host by using terminology that gets Behar moist, but there should be some self-control exercised by a member of Congress.
(Hahahaha, I crack myself up sometimes!)
Anyway!
Could someone PLEASE tell Maxine to find out what that term really means?
I appeal to Barney Frank, a real authority in the field of "teabagging", to take Waters on the side and SLOWLY explain to this gigantic pile of Socialist dog shit what the real meaning of the word is?
Just my disgusted thoughts!
Monday night, a day after the travesty of Obamacare vote in the House, the emeritus ignoramus congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) went on national television and called the TEA Party protesters "teabaggers". Granted that it was on the Joy Behar Show, whatever that is, and maybe 12 people actually saw it, bur still highly undignified.
I understand Maxine wanting to ingratiate her host by using terminology that gets Behar moist, but there should be some self-control exercised by a member of Congress.
(Hahahaha, I crack myself up sometimes!)
Anyway!
Could someone PLEASE tell Maxine to find out what that term really means?
I appeal to Barney Frank, a real authority in the field of "teabagging", to take Waters on the side and SLOWLY explain to this gigantic pile of Socialist dog shit what the real meaning of the word is?
Just my disgusted thoughts!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
My Agreement With Al Sharpton
By Semperpapa
My contempt for Rev. Al Sharpton and just about anything that comes out his pie hole is well known to anyone who has been reading my work, but today I must admit that finally, against all possible odds, I find myself in agreement with this charlatan.
During a special coverage on Fox News of the vote in the House on Sunday, March 21, on Obamacare, Sharpton stated that when the American people voted Obama into the Presidency, they may have voted for the “change” that Obama was proponent of, but really what the American people overwhelmingly voted for was Socialism.
"First of all, then we have to say the American public overwhelmingly voted for socialism when they elected President Obama," Sharpton said. "Let's not act as though the president didn't tell the American people - the president offered the American people health reform when he ran. He was overwhelmingly elected running on that and he has delivered what he promised."
And in all fairness, Al is absolutely correct.
Obama did not run his Presidential campaign by telling the people he was going to support American exceptionalism, or the Capitalist economic approach, or American standing in the world. He did not run on support for our Military, on insuring that National security was going to be paramount.
What Obama run his campaign on was the transformation of America. His record, as minimal as it was, clearly presented the radicalism of the man and his tendency to wanting to transform our economy from a Capitalist to a Socialist form, forcing self-reliance into the ground to replace it with dependency on the government and Obama.
The message Obama sent during the campaign was clear to any American who actually took the time to become knowledgeable about the man.
While the MSM would spin, cover and misrepresent the radical message coming out of the mouth of candidate Obama, they would exalt the man as the savior of the country, not much because his message, but because he represented the image of an anti-Bush.
Al Sharpton is correct in stating that the American people had the facts right in front of their eyes and chose to vote for the radicalism Obama impersonated. Those voters who cast a vote for Obama definitely knew, or should have known, the truth and surely agreed with his agenda.
Where my agreement with Sharpton ends is his argument about the issue of “majority” and the motivations behind Obama’s victory.
Sharpton states that the majority of the American people voted for a move toward Socialism that Obama promised. It is my contention that only a fraction of the 52% votes Obama got were truly motivated by ideological understanding and approval. In other words, I believe that only a small percentage of those voters really understood the message and agreed with it.
The remainder of Americans had much different motivations for casting a vote for Obama.
Part of them, like the American black population, voted for Obama because of his skin color, sort of a blind acceptance of the historical “must” that a black President represented, regardless of the man’s agenda.
Another portion voted for Obama out of guilt. These are white people so whipped by an onslaught of accusations of racism that they left behind any common sense, convinced that any possible opposition they could have toward Obama could not be based on ideological rejection, but had to be due to the color of his skin.
Truthfully, I feel that these people are racists, as their decision solely based on someone’s skin tone is testimony of it.
When the above are added to the mass of brainwashed college students who have been bombarded by their university professors with anti-American “facts” and the ignorant multitude that just wanted to be on the winning side of an historical election, the rest of the country finds itself in a serious process of radicalization.
Finding myself in agreement with Sharpton is a painful experience only comparable to a bad case of hemorrhoids. Thankfully my own common sense and my love for my country are the Preparation H the allow me to continue to remain positive. America will survive, because there are a lot more people who love her and are willing to serve her, the Military especially, than there are people who want to see her die. Time to get loud is NOW!
Love America, defeat Liberalism.
Just my thoughts.
My contempt for Rev. Al Sharpton and just about anything that comes out his pie hole is well known to anyone who has been reading my work, but today I must admit that finally, against all possible odds, I find myself in agreement with this charlatan.
During a special coverage on Fox News of the vote in the House on Sunday, March 21, on Obamacare, Sharpton stated that when the American people voted Obama into the Presidency, they may have voted for the “change” that Obama was proponent of, but really what the American people overwhelmingly voted for was Socialism.
"First of all, then we have to say the American public overwhelmingly voted for socialism when they elected President Obama," Sharpton said. "Let's not act as though the president didn't tell the American people - the president offered the American people health reform when he ran. He was overwhelmingly elected running on that and he has delivered what he promised."
And in all fairness, Al is absolutely correct.
Obama did not run his Presidential campaign by telling the people he was going to support American exceptionalism, or the Capitalist economic approach, or American standing in the world. He did not run on support for our Military, on insuring that National security was going to be paramount.
What Obama run his campaign on was the transformation of America. His record, as minimal as it was, clearly presented the radicalism of the man and his tendency to wanting to transform our economy from a Capitalist to a Socialist form, forcing self-reliance into the ground to replace it with dependency on the government and Obama.
The message Obama sent during the campaign was clear to any American who actually took the time to become knowledgeable about the man.
While the MSM would spin, cover and misrepresent the radical message coming out of the mouth of candidate Obama, they would exalt the man as the savior of the country, not much because his message, but because he represented the image of an anti-Bush.
Al Sharpton is correct in stating that the American people had the facts right in front of their eyes and chose to vote for the radicalism Obama impersonated. Those voters who cast a vote for Obama definitely knew, or should have known, the truth and surely agreed with his agenda.
Where my agreement with Sharpton ends is his argument about the issue of “majority” and the motivations behind Obama’s victory.
Sharpton states that the majority of the American people voted for a move toward Socialism that Obama promised. It is my contention that only a fraction of the 52% votes Obama got were truly motivated by ideological understanding and approval. In other words, I believe that only a small percentage of those voters really understood the message and agreed with it.
The remainder of Americans had much different motivations for casting a vote for Obama.
Part of them, like the American black population, voted for Obama because of his skin color, sort of a blind acceptance of the historical “must” that a black President represented, regardless of the man’s agenda.
Another portion voted for Obama out of guilt. These are white people so whipped by an onslaught of accusations of racism that they left behind any common sense, convinced that any possible opposition they could have toward Obama could not be based on ideological rejection, but had to be due to the color of his skin.
Truthfully, I feel that these people are racists, as their decision solely based on someone’s skin tone is testimony of it.
When the above are added to the mass of brainwashed college students who have been bombarded by their university professors with anti-American “facts” and the ignorant multitude that just wanted to be on the winning side of an historical election, the rest of the country finds itself in a serious process of radicalization.
Finding myself in agreement with Sharpton is a painful experience only comparable to a bad case of hemorrhoids. Thankfully my own common sense and my love for my country are the Preparation H the allow me to continue to remain positive. America will survive, because there are a lot more people who love her and are willing to serve her, the Military especially, than there are people who want to see her die. Time to get loud is NOW!
Love America, defeat Liberalism.
Just my thoughts.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Sad Day For Our Republic
By Semperpapa
And so the gauntlet has been thrown. Freedom and liberty has taken a beating at the hands of a group of degenerate liberal progressives who have been able to achieve a major victory in their quest to further destroy America.
Those Democrats who championed themselves to the cause of protection of the unborn have caved in and voted for a bill that was clearly against their principles, once again demonstrating that being a politician is nothing more than whoring oneself to the personal quest for power.
Does Rep. Stupac really believe that Obama executive order really means anything? Of course not, as he knows very well that if the monstrosity of Obamacare becomes law, any executive order will be meaningless, but Stupac, and all his other so-called "pro-life" Democrats, just hope that their constituencies will re-elect them on the basis that they "fought" for their principles and what happens next is not really their fault.
And this is one more step toward the goal of these bastards of having the government decide who gets to live and who gets to die, based on governmental parameters of productivity for the state, ideology, gender necessity and environmental obsessions.
And Rep. Slaughter reflected the sentiment of the Speaker of the House and all the other immoral and revolting Democrats, by stating that there is nothing they cannot accomplish.
Translation is that the shenanigans, subterfuges, illegal and unconstitutional deeds they resorted to, will be used for any other Communist legislation they want to pass on the road to dictatorship.
Illegal immigration amnesty is next!
Sure, common sense Americans may have the chance in November to punish these immoral domestic enemies, but, as Charles Krauthammer stated last night, this catastrophe will not be avoidable by reversal.
The United States Congress last night has embarked, by passing this bill, on a very dangerous road, as the American people, a majority of them, still are against this and may not be to prone to just taking such danger to our country lightly.
But today is a very sad day for our Republic.
Just my sad thoughts.
And so the gauntlet has been thrown. Freedom and liberty has taken a beating at the hands of a group of degenerate liberal progressives who have been able to achieve a major victory in their quest to further destroy America.
Those Democrats who championed themselves to the cause of protection of the unborn have caved in and voted for a bill that was clearly against their principles, once again demonstrating that being a politician is nothing more than whoring oneself to the personal quest for power.
Does Rep. Stupac really believe that Obama executive order really means anything? Of course not, as he knows very well that if the monstrosity of Obamacare becomes law, any executive order will be meaningless, but Stupac, and all his other so-called "pro-life" Democrats, just hope that their constituencies will re-elect them on the basis that they "fought" for their principles and what happens next is not really their fault.
And this is one more step toward the goal of these bastards of having the government decide who gets to live and who gets to die, based on governmental parameters of productivity for the state, ideology, gender necessity and environmental obsessions.
And Rep. Slaughter reflected the sentiment of the Speaker of the House and all the other immoral and revolting Democrats, by stating that there is nothing they cannot accomplish.
Translation is that the shenanigans, subterfuges, illegal and unconstitutional deeds they resorted to, will be used for any other Communist legislation they want to pass on the road to dictatorship.
Illegal immigration amnesty is next!
Sure, common sense Americans may have the chance in November to punish these immoral domestic enemies, but, as Charles Krauthammer stated last night, this catastrophe will not be avoidable by reversal.
The United States Congress last night has embarked, by passing this bill, on a very dangerous road, as the American people, a majority of them, still are against this and may not be to prone to just taking such danger to our country lightly.
But today is a very sad day for our Republic.
Just my sad thoughts.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Iran Helping Taliban Kill Troops
By Semperpapa
It may come as a surprise, but the West now is realizing that Iran is helping the Taliban in its terrorist efforts against American troops in Afghanistan.
The startling revelation was outlined in an interview that the Times Online conducted with two Taliban commanders who the reporters convinced to travel to Kabul to tell their story.
According to the article, the Taliban terrorists traveled into Iran at the beginning of winter and there they were trained by Iranian plain clothes instructors in the art of ambushing NATO troops, the construction of IEDs (improvised explosive devices), planting of IEDs in series so to kill rescuers of victims of IEDs, and attacking checkpoints and bases.
After the “news” became known, it is said that Western officials found the revelations “disturbing”, including the US Ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry.
Upon reading the headline of this article I almost moved on, as my first reaction to it was “Really? No kidding?” but I decided to actually take a look at it and sort of regretted it afterward, because I find it utterly mind blowing.
Anyone who has even slightly followed the events around Afghanistan in the last 12-14 months would have been able to realize that the threat Iran represents for our troops in Afghanistan is a clear and present one. With Pakistan push against the Taliban on their side of the border, the only place left for the terrorists to seek refuge and replenishment is to the west, in Iran.
Months ago I stated in one of my blogs, that the Taliban fighters able to escape the July 2009 offensive in the Helmand Province most likely made their way into Iran to find refuge and to undergo training and replenishing during the winter months in preparation for the usual Spring offensive activities.
Considering the fact that I am not in the know of any classified information, that I am not an expert in terrorism or Afghanistan, my deduction came from pure application of something called common sense.
The “experts” discount Iran help for the Taliban based of the fact that the Shiite Iran would never aid the predominantly Sunni Taliban, but in my simple mind I saw an Islamic theocracy bent on the destruction of the West being in the position to aid Islamic terrorist bent on killing Americans, notion that was confirmed by the Taliban commanders in the interview. Plain and simple.
At one level, the reaction of the western officials to the news proves to me that the “experts” are so engrossed in their “expertise” that they forget or reject the basis of common sense.
At another level, I find their reactions disingenuous at best and criminal at worst, as their access to classified information should have given them the inkling that Teheran is indeed involved in the killing of NATO troops, especially after the report, dated back to 2007, surfaced telling of a new kind of IED, the Shaped Charge IED, could be traced back to Iran, new IEDs that were killing many US and Coalition forces in Iraq.
The overall conviction I reach is that NATO, an organization that stood up to the Soviet threat during the Cold War, is nothing but a shell of its initial significance.
From the spineless leadership of every European country to the spineless leadership in Washington, the handling of the Iran issue is highly disturbing.
Most of the military contingents in Afghanistan have performed well in the struggle against the Taliban. British troops have suffered high rates of casualties, mostly due to IEDs, and here we have a British News Agency conducting an interview with terrorists who declare they are trained and ready to inflict even more casualties. I guess my understanding of support for the troops is different than smarter people.
But it appears that the various government are just not too interested in taking care of their troops in harm’s way, because the “revelation” surfaced from this article should prompt them to take very publicized measures against it.
I may be completely off base here, but the knowledge of a specific country’s aid to our enemy should invoke a more robust reaction on the part of the good guys.
If I was king, I know a scary thought, I would definitely make Iran understand that helping the Taliban terrorists killing my troops is not appreciated, and would definitely cause a reaction on my part.
According to the Taliban commanders interviewed, the training camps in question are fairly close to the Afghan border, and surely our technological advance should be able to pin point them for surgical strikes. The message should be clear, and one that the mullahs in Teheran would understand: close the training camps or you will have a lot of new parking lots.
But as sheepish the European leadership is, more concerned about their economic cooperation with Iran than the lives of their soldiers, the Washington leadership is just as bad if not worst, because they cannot even use that excuse, at least not openly.
Just my thoughts.
It may come as a surprise, but the West now is realizing that Iran is helping the Taliban in its terrorist efforts against American troops in Afghanistan.
The startling revelation was outlined in an interview that the Times Online conducted with two Taliban commanders who the reporters convinced to travel to Kabul to tell their story.
According to the article, the Taliban terrorists traveled into Iran at the beginning of winter and there they were trained by Iranian plain clothes instructors in the art of ambushing NATO troops, the construction of IEDs (improvised explosive devices), planting of IEDs in series so to kill rescuers of victims of IEDs, and attacking checkpoints and bases.
After the “news” became known, it is said that Western officials found the revelations “disturbing”, including the US Ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry.
Upon reading the headline of this article I almost moved on, as my first reaction to it was “Really? No kidding?” but I decided to actually take a look at it and sort of regretted it afterward, because I find it utterly mind blowing.
Anyone who has even slightly followed the events around Afghanistan in the last 12-14 months would have been able to realize that the threat Iran represents for our troops in Afghanistan is a clear and present one. With Pakistan push against the Taliban on their side of the border, the only place left for the terrorists to seek refuge and replenishment is to the west, in Iran.
Months ago I stated in one of my blogs, that the Taliban fighters able to escape the July 2009 offensive in the Helmand Province most likely made their way into Iran to find refuge and to undergo training and replenishing during the winter months in preparation for the usual Spring offensive activities.
Considering the fact that I am not in the know of any classified information, that I am not an expert in terrorism or Afghanistan, my deduction came from pure application of something called common sense.
The “experts” discount Iran help for the Taliban based of the fact that the Shiite Iran would never aid the predominantly Sunni Taliban, but in my simple mind I saw an Islamic theocracy bent on the destruction of the West being in the position to aid Islamic terrorist bent on killing Americans, notion that was confirmed by the Taliban commanders in the interview. Plain and simple.
At one level, the reaction of the western officials to the news proves to me that the “experts” are so engrossed in their “expertise” that they forget or reject the basis of common sense.
At another level, I find their reactions disingenuous at best and criminal at worst, as their access to classified information should have given them the inkling that Teheran is indeed involved in the killing of NATO troops, especially after the report, dated back to 2007, surfaced telling of a new kind of IED, the Shaped Charge IED, could be traced back to Iran, new IEDs that were killing many US and Coalition forces in Iraq.
The overall conviction I reach is that NATO, an organization that stood up to the Soviet threat during the Cold War, is nothing but a shell of its initial significance.
From the spineless leadership of every European country to the spineless leadership in Washington, the handling of the Iran issue is highly disturbing.
Most of the military contingents in Afghanistan have performed well in the struggle against the Taliban. British troops have suffered high rates of casualties, mostly due to IEDs, and here we have a British News Agency conducting an interview with terrorists who declare they are trained and ready to inflict even more casualties. I guess my understanding of support for the troops is different than smarter people.
But it appears that the various government are just not too interested in taking care of their troops in harm’s way, because the “revelation” surfaced from this article should prompt them to take very publicized measures against it.
I may be completely off base here, but the knowledge of a specific country’s aid to our enemy should invoke a more robust reaction on the part of the good guys.
If I was king, I know a scary thought, I would definitely make Iran understand that helping the Taliban terrorists killing my troops is not appreciated, and would definitely cause a reaction on my part.
According to the Taliban commanders interviewed, the training camps in question are fairly close to the Afghan border, and surely our technological advance should be able to pin point them for surgical strikes. The message should be clear, and one that the mullahs in Teheran would understand: close the training camps or you will have a lot of new parking lots.
But as sheepish the European leadership is, more concerned about their economic cooperation with Iran than the lives of their soldiers, the Washington leadership is just as bad if not worst, because they cannot even use that excuse, at least not openly.
Just my thoughts.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
"Enemies Foreign And Domestic"
By Semperpapa
I remember very well when I spoke those words so long ago, as I held my right hand up, proud to be one of the newest US citizens. Those words meant a lot to me then, and maybe in sort of a naïve way, they mean even more today, as I watch the enemies of my country slowly, but surely attempt to destroy it.
Today, there are as many domestic threats at work against the United States as foreign ones, maybe even more.
There is a controversy going on between the Dept. of Justice and the CIA over the agency request that the DoJ would conduct a probe and investigate the actions of certain organizations and several law firms involved in the “legal defense” of terrorist being held in US Military custody. The most prominent, and appalling, of these organizations is our good friend, the American Civil Liberty Union.
In 2009, Michelle Malkin brought up to the attention of many, that members of the ACLU and people contracted by them, were going around taking pictures of CIA operatives, their families and, at times, their places of residence, creating sort of dossiers that were then shown to the defense lawyers of terrorists. Eventually, as it was discovered at Guantanamo Bay detention facility, these “dossiers” were found in possession of the terrorists themselves.
What make this situation relevant is that the information gathered by the ACLU and distributed by radical lawyers to terrorists, created a clear and present danger for the safety and security of those CIA operatives and their families, not to mention the damage that was being done to future intelligence operations aimed at safeguarding National security.
As expected, the DoJ is not interested in any of this, as a matter of fact, Eric Holder, last August, reopened the investigation on alleged CIA abuses, and just this week, Holder called those legal counsels “patriots” for defending terrorists and therefore taking a very unpopular position in the eyes of public opinion.
During a meeting last Tuesday between US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and senior intelligence officers, things got heated and one of the Justice national security officers, Donald Vieira, recused himself from the investigation in an act of disagreement with the CIA.
Vieira, who was a Democrat counsel on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and is now chief of staff of the DoJ Nations Security Division, decided he was no longer interested in investigating how pictures of CIA operatives were found in possession of terrorists at Gitmo. So he quit! Not his job, way too cushy, but the investigation.
So here they are; the domestic enemies of America, always ready to attack the country that ironically is the only one in the world that actually gives them the freedom, a constitutionally guaranteed freedom, to openly attack it.
Of course the ACLU, always ready to take on the institutions that are sacred to the majority of the American people in favor of the whining of inconsequential minorities. May it be a cross in the middle of the Mohave Desert of some freaky lunatic who is offended by the phrase “In God We Trust” on our currency. May it be going one step further to insure that sensitive national security information is passed to our enemies, only to satisfy a personal agenda.
What I find most entertaining is the fact, and it is a fact, that the people who are plotting for the destruction of American institutions and ideals do not appear to understand that the only reason they even have a voice, the only reason they are even allowed to spew their venom is because of the very principles they are so adamantly trying to destroy.
It all comes down to the particular character flaw that is so inherent to the human race: power. More specifically, power over others.
There is nothing chivalrous about the motivations of liberal/progressives. Their goal is not the equality of people, but the control of their lives and the decision making capability over life and death.
Case in point is that some of the most “dedicated” lawyers to the cause of the terrorists are now part of the Justice Dept. political machine, as mentioned in previous posts. So their anti-American, pro-terrorism activism has paid off in terms of, you guessed it, power.
History teaches us.
Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Castro are all examples of human beings who used the banner of progressivism to justify the curtailing of their people liberties and the elimination of millions of dissenters and those who just did not fit in the program. They achieve their sinister goals in steps, either by via of revolution or via the take over of their countries’ economies.
In our country, our beloved America, those forces are at work and have been for a long time, for the most part hiding in plain sight, with the exception that today they have proponents in the White House and in Congress behind it.
These forces of totalitarianism are in the Government, in the schools, in the industry, in the Media, in the church.
These forces seek to gain absolute power over the population, first by stringing the carrot in front of people who want something for nothing, gaining their dependency and then, if not checked, by swinging the stick.
What is on the other side of the process is something the same people who supported the “change” would be devastated by, as these sheep will be the first to be taken to the slaughter house, once their usefulness is exhausted.
What is on the other side of this process is something I am not prepared to accept blindly, as long as this is the same America I swore to protect, even if just as a civilian.
“…from all enemies, foreign and domestic…”
Still means something to this American. Love America!
Just my thoughts!
I remember very well when I spoke those words so long ago, as I held my right hand up, proud to be one of the newest US citizens. Those words meant a lot to me then, and maybe in sort of a naïve way, they mean even more today, as I watch the enemies of my country slowly, but surely attempt to destroy it.
Today, there are as many domestic threats at work against the United States as foreign ones, maybe even more.
There is a controversy going on between the Dept. of Justice and the CIA over the agency request that the DoJ would conduct a probe and investigate the actions of certain organizations and several law firms involved in the “legal defense” of terrorist being held in US Military custody. The most prominent, and appalling, of these organizations is our good friend, the American Civil Liberty Union.
In 2009, Michelle Malkin brought up to the attention of many, that members of the ACLU and people contracted by them, were going around taking pictures of CIA operatives, their families and, at times, their places of residence, creating sort of dossiers that were then shown to the defense lawyers of terrorists. Eventually, as it was discovered at Guantanamo Bay detention facility, these “dossiers” were found in possession of the terrorists themselves.
What make this situation relevant is that the information gathered by the ACLU and distributed by radical lawyers to terrorists, created a clear and present danger for the safety and security of those CIA operatives and their families, not to mention the damage that was being done to future intelligence operations aimed at safeguarding National security.
As expected, the DoJ is not interested in any of this, as a matter of fact, Eric Holder, last August, reopened the investigation on alleged CIA abuses, and just this week, Holder called those legal counsels “patriots” for defending terrorists and therefore taking a very unpopular position in the eyes of public opinion.
During a meeting last Tuesday between US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and senior intelligence officers, things got heated and one of the Justice national security officers, Donald Vieira, recused himself from the investigation in an act of disagreement with the CIA.
Vieira, who was a Democrat counsel on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and is now chief of staff of the DoJ Nations Security Division, decided he was no longer interested in investigating how pictures of CIA operatives were found in possession of terrorists at Gitmo. So he quit! Not his job, way too cushy, but the investigation.
So here they are; the domestic enemies of America, always ready to attack the country that ironically is the only one in the world that actually gives them the freedom, a constitutionally guaranteed freedom, to openly attack it.
Of course the ACLU, always ready to take on the institutions that are sacred to the majority of the American people in favor of the whining of inconsequential minorities. May it be a cross in the middle of the Mohave Desert of some freaky lunatic who is offended by the phrase “In God We Trust” on our currency. May it be going one step further to insure that sensitive national security information is passed to our enemies, only to satisfy a personal agenda.
What I find most entertaining is the fact, and it is a fact, that the people who are plotting for the destruction of American institutions and ideals do not appear to understand that the only reason they even have a voice, the only reason they are even allowed to spew their venom is because of the very principles they are so adamantly trying to destroy.
It all comes down to the particular character flaw that is so inherent to the human race: power. More specifically, power over others.
There is nothing chivalrous about the motivations of liberal/progressives. Their goal is not the equality of people, but the control of their lives and the decision making capability over life and death.
Case in point is that some of the most “dedicated” lawyers to the cause of the terrorists are now part of the Justice Dept. political machine, as mentioned in previous posts. So their anti-American, pro-terrorism activism has paid off in terms of, you guessed it, power.
History teaches us.
Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Castro are all examples of human beings who used the banner of progressivism to justify the curtailing of their people liberties and the elimination of millions of dissenters and those who just did not fit in the program. They achieve their sinister goals in steps, either by via of revolution or via the take over of their countries’ economies.
In our country, our beloved America, those forces are at work and have been for a long time, for the most part hiding in plain sight, with the exception that today they have proponents in the White House and in Congress behind it.
These forces of totalitarianism are in the Government, in the schools, in the industry, in the Media, in the church.
These forces seek to gain absolute power over the population, first by stringing the carrot in front of people who want something for nothing, gaining their dependency and then, if not checked, by swinging the stick.
What is on the other side of the process is something the same people who supported the “change” would be devastated by, as these sheep will be the first to be taken to the slaughter house, once their usefulness is exhausted.
What is on the other side of this process is something I am not prepared to accept blindly, as long as this is the same America I swore to protect, even if just as a civilian.
“…from all enemies, foreign and domestic…”
Still means something to this American. Love America!
Just my thoughts!
Happy Anniversary, Semper America
By Semperpapa
It has been a year since Semper America started. Amazingly enough, a lot has happened in the last 12 months and I have attempted to express my thoughts on anything I considered to be of interest and/or importance.
I have not run any statistics, I hate statistics, but a rough estimation tells me that I published about 85,000 words.
Considering I call it "just my thoughts" you can see that my head is a busy place.
Just want to thank anyone who has had the patience to follow my rants, to those who became fans of Semper America on Facebook, fans that, I am happy to see, are from across this great country of ours.
I hope you stick with me for the sake of our country, because an informed American has the chance to remain a free American (and the Second Amendment helps too!).
If nothing else, I hope my rants spark the interest of the readers to seek more information and knowledge.
I also want to thank a true American Hero, Army Sgt. David Bellavia, who has graciously allowed me to contribute to his web site. It is truly a honor for me. Hope you check it out.
http://www.davidbellavia.com/
Thanks to you all. and looking forward to serve my country in this small way for as long as I am allowed.
Love America!
Just my thoughts.
It has been a year since Semper America started. Amazingly enough, a lot has happened in the last 12 months and I have attempted to express my thoughts on anything I considered to be of interest and/or importance.
I have not run any statistics, I hate statistics, but a rough estimation tells me that I published about 85,000 words.
Considering I call it "just my thoughts" you can see that my head is a busy place.
Just want to thank anyone who has had the patience to follow my rants, to those who became fans of Semper America on Facebook, fans that, I am happy to see, are from across this great country of ours.
I hope you stick with me for the sake of our country, because an informed American has the chance to remain a free American (and the Second Amendment helps too!).
If nothing else, I hope my rants spark the interest of the readers to seek more information and knowledge.
I also want to thank a true American Hero, Army Sgt. David Bellavia, who has graciously allowed me to contribute to his web site. It is truly a honor for me. Hope you check it out.
http://www.davidbellavia.com/
Thanks to you all. and looking forward to serve my country in this small way for as long as I am allowed.
Love America!
Just my thoughts.
Friday, March 19, 2010
A Leap Of Faith
By Semperpapa
The subject of religion is one I purposely steer clear from, as I consider faith as being an extremely personal human endeavor, but I will make an exception for once.
As a Catholic, I try to adhere to the teachings of my faith and my Church, but there are times when the actions of the Church leave me no choice but to dissent. These are the times that remind me that after all, the high echelons of the Church are nothing more than human beings with specific ideologies and agendas.
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has come out in opposition to the Obamacare debacle on the basis that the bill would have federal money be used for the performance of abortions.
As much as I share the view of the USCCB, I find it extremely ingenuous for the leadership of the Catholic Church in America to come out and now voice some sort of a unified front against those who are fervent proponents of the murder of innocent lives.
In the Presidential elections of 2008, 54% of Catholics voted for Obama, together with a majority from other faiths, including Jewish.
And at the time ramping up to the elections, the fact that Obama supported abortion under all circumstances, including the barbaric practice of partial-birth abortion, did not appear to create an ideological obstacle for Catholic voters, nor for the leadership of the Church. More concerned with following the ideology of what they labeled “human justice” that the Obama machine succeeded in portraying, I cannot remember nor find any instance where the USCCB had the conviction to come out denouncing candidate Obama.
Obama catholic supporters at the time combated the criticism by stating that their support for Obama, or any candidate for that matter, could not be based on a single issue decision, that it was the totality of the candidate that counted. What a crock!
Even if we want to accept those premises, and I do not, one should ask which part of Obama agenda Catholics felt it was a good fit for their so-called religious beliefs.
Besides the abortion issue, was it the redistribution of wealth that attracted the faithful? Was it the stand on the war on terrorism? Was it the radical communist agenda?
I am just as incensed about it now, reading about the USCCB statement against Obamacare, as I was then.
I can remember when in 2009 some illegal immigrant woman sought sanctuary in a Catholic Church, I believe in San Francisco. The priest and his higher ups allowed that to happen. They allowed someone who had broken a federal law to circumvent it under the protection of the Church. In that case, my decision would have been clear and swift, as I would have had ICE officers just go into the church and arrest the woman. And my decision would be the same if it was a Mosque or a Synagogue, for if the country allows the breaking of the law to go unpunished under the banner of religious protection, than a huge can of worms may be opened.
Then terrorists could not be apprehended if they sought refuge in a church, or robbers or rapists.
And spare me the accusation of comparing illegal immigrants to terrorists and rapists.
Breaking the law is just that! If someone’s actions go against the law of the land, if they are listed as an offense against society by the Penal Code, they are illegal actions and therefore punishable.
The gravity of the offense and the proper punishment is determined by the courts. The enforcement of the law is determined by law enforcement.
One of the attractions the United States represented for me was the clear demarcation between lawful and illegal. But that demarcation line has gotten so completely blurred that law enforcement officials appear to be shooting at a fast moving target, and even when they hit the target, there is always a lawyer or a judge ready to shift the culpability from the crime perpetrator over to the victim or the system.
The actions of Obama and Co. for the last year have been a typical example of radicalism wanting to overturn everything our Founding Fathers had created, radicalism disregarding the law and the US Constitution. The hypocrisy of the USCCB in opposing Obamacare when they supported the election of Obama just leaves me utterly disgusted.
Just my thoughts!
The subject of religion is one I purposely steer clear from, as I consider faith as being an extremely personal human endeavor, but I will make an exception for once.
As a Catholic, I try to adhere to the teachings of my faith and my Church, but there are times when the actions of the Church leave me no choice but to dissent. These are the times that remind me that after all, the high echelons of the Church are nothing more than human beings with specific ideologies and agendas.
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has come out in opposition to the Obamacare debacle on the basis that the bill would have federal money be used for the performance of abortions.
As much as I share the view of the USCCB, I find it extremely ingenuous for the leadership of the Catholic Church in America to come out and now voice some sort of a unified front against those who are fervent proponents of the murder of innocent lives.
In the Presidential elections of 2008, 54% of Catholics voted for Obama, together with a majority from other faiths, including Jewish.
And at the time ramping up to the elections, the fact that Obama supported abortion under all circumstances, including the barbaric practice of partial-birth abortion, did not appear to create an ideological obstacle for Catholic voters, nor for the leadership of the Church. More concerned with following the ideology of what they labeled “human justice” that the Obama machine succeeded in portraying, I cannot remember nor find any instance where the USCCB had the conviction to come out denouncing candidate Obama.
Obama catholic supporters at the time combated the criticism by stating that their support for Obama, or any candidate for that matter, could not be based on a single issue decision, that it was the totality of the candidate that counted. What a crock!
Even if we want to accept those premises, and I do not, one should ask which part of Obama agenda Catholics felt it was a good fit for their so-called religious beliefs.
Besides the abortion issue, was it the redistribution of wealth that attracted the faithful? Was it the stand on the war on terrorism? Was it the radical communist agenda?
I am just as incensed about it now, reading about the USCCB statement against Obamacare, as I was then.
I can remember when in 2009 some illegal immigrant woman sought sanctuary in a Catholic Church, I believe in San Francisco. The priest and his higher ups allowed that to happen. They allowed someone who had broken a federal law to circumvent it under the protection of the Church. In that case, my decision would have been clear and swift, as I would have had ICE officers just go into the church and arrest the woman. And my decision would be the same if it was a Mosque or a Synagogue, for if the country allows the breaking of the law to go unpunished under the banner of religious protection, than a huge can of worms may be opened.
Then terrorists could not be apprehended if they sought refuge in a church, or robbers or rapists.
And spare me the accusation of comparing illegal immigrants to terrorists and rapists.
Breaking the law is just that! If someone’s actions go against the law of the land, if they are listed as an offense against society by the Penal Code, they are illegal actions and therefore punishable.
The gravity of the offense and the proper punishment is determined by the courts. The enforcement of the law is determined by law enforcement.
One of the attractions the United States represented for me was the clear demarcation between lawful and illegal. But that demarcation line has gotten so completely blurred that law enforcement officials appear to be shooting at a fast moving target, and even when they hit the target, there is always a lawyer or a judge ready to shift the culpability from the crime perpetrator over to the victim or the system.
The actions of Obama and Co. for the last year have been a typical example of radicalism wanting to overturn everything our Founding Fathers had created, radicalism disregarding the law and the US Constitution. The hypocrisy of the USCCB in opposing Obamacare when they supported the election of Obama just leaves me utterly disgusted.
Just my thoughts!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Offensive Old Glory
By Semperpapa
Well at least Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro are going to be vindicated!
The US Military and civilian compound in Haiti, the area from where the vast majority of aids to the earthquake victims are coordinated and provided, has been prohibited from flying the US flag.
That is correct!
The administration has issue a statement regarding the protestations received from several Veterans organizations:
"We are not here as an occupation force, but as an international partner committed to supporting the government of Haiti on the road to recovery,"
Subsequently, the spokesman for the Joint Task Force/Haiti, Army Col. Billy Buckner, confirmed the directive adding that the decision had been made as a show of respect for the host authorities and that the flag was proudly shown on their uniforms.
Well, thank God for small miracles!
In the days following the horrible earthquake, as the help from the United States was pouring into the beleaguered country, voices of protest could be heard coming from the Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez and from Cuba’s Fidel Castro, accusing the United States of using the natural disaster as an excuse for invading the tiny country, as if the taking over of Haiti was the utmost on our minds.
Chavez, who must have been temporarily off his medications, even implied that the earthquake had been caused by a submerged nuclear explosion triggered by Washington.
Yup, we can always count on good old swine face Chavez for entertainment (hope Sean Penn doen't get too mad at me).
But why is Old Glory prevented from flying over our compound when every other foreign contingent is flying their own flags?
It comes down, in my opinion, on the refusal of the Obama administration, and I really feel Obama personally, to feel any pride in America, in the country he is the leader of.
Weather it was the refusal of wearing a flag lapel pin, or the failure, read refusal, of placing his hand on his heart during official moments, Obama has a well defined record of breaking protocol when it comes to recognizing the exceptionalism of our country and to honor important symbols like our flag.
And for anyone who may accuse me of picking on the poor Obama, I can tell you that I felt just as incensed when, in 2003, the Marines in the armored vehicle that helped the Iraqis knock down the famous Saddam statue in the Baghdad square, were told to conceal the small American flag they put on their tank, because we wanted to make sure we portray an image of liberators, while the flag could send a message of occupation. And I remember screaming BULLSHIT!
But at least the bases in Iraq and Afghanistan were and still are allowed to fly Old Glory.
Just my thoughts!
Well at least Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro are going to be vindicated!
The US Military and civilian compound in Haiti, the area from where the vast majority of aids to the earthquake victims are coordinated and provided, has been prohibited from flying the US flag.
That is correct!
The administration has issue a statement regarding the protestations received from several Veterans organizations:
"We are not here as an occupation force, but as an international partner committed to supporting the government of Haiti on the road to recovery,"
Subsequently, the spokesman for the Joint Task Force/Haiti, Army Col. Billy Buckner, confirmed the directive adding that the decision had been made as a show of respect for the host authorities and that the flag was proudly shown on their uniforms.
Well, thank God for small miracles!
In the days following the horrible earthquake, as the help from the United States was pouring into the beleaguered country, voices of protest could be heard coming from the Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez and from Cuba’s Fidel Castro, accusing the United States of using the natural disaster as an excuse for invading the tiny country, as if the taking over of Haiti was the utmost on our minds.
Chavez, who must have been temporarily off his medications, even implied that the earthquake had been caused by a submerged nuclear explosion triggered by Washington.
Yup, we can always count on good old swine face Chavez for entertainment (hope Sean Penn doen't get too mad at me).
But why is Old Glory prevented from flying over our compound when every other foreign contingent is flying their own flags?
It comes down, in my opinion, on the refusal of the Obama administration, and I really feel Obama personally, to feel any pride in America, in the country he is the leader of.
Weather it was the refusal of wearing a flag lapel pin, or the failure, read refusal, of placing his hand on his heart during official moments, Obama has a well defined record of breaking protocol when it comes to recognizing the exceptionalism of our country and to honor important symbols like our flag.
And for anyone who may accuse me of picking on the poor Obama, I can tell you that I felt just as incensed when, in 2003, the Marines in the armored vehicle that helped the Iraqis knock down the famous Saddam statue in the Baghdad square, were told to conceal the small American flag they put on their tank, because we wanted to make sure we portray an image of liberators, while the flag could send a message of occupation. And I remember screaming BULLSHIT!
But at least the bases in Iraq and Afghanistan were and still are allowed to fly Old Glory.
Just my thoughts!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
By Semperpapa
I am waiting for the MSM to jump all over this one. Waiting and waiting…
Guess I better not hold my breath.
It appears that during an hearing of the House Appropriations subcommittee, Attorney General Eric Holder was very clear about the doubts he holds about ever being able to capture Osama bin Laden alive.
In a sometime heated exchange with lawmakers, Holder told them that
“The possibility of capturing him alive is infinitesimal. He will be killed by us, or he will be killed by his own people so that he is not captured by us”
Some of the Republicans on the subcommittee were insistent in their questioning regarding Holder’s demonstrated tendency of wanting to try terrorist in civilian courts, accusations that Holder says “get my blood boiling”. Well Mr. Holder, your record is very eloquent.
Holder stated, as comparison, the case of Charles Manson, the crazy lunatic spending his life in prison for a mass murder in the 1960s.
So Eric Holder is comparing bin Laden, culpable of the death of 3,000 innocent people, openly at war with the United States, completely dedicated to the destruction of our Nation, with a drug-crazed poor excuse for oxygen user who got his kicks from killing few people just because.
And Charles Manson would be dead by now, if not for one of those Californian Liberal judges, Rose Bird. Instead, he keeps on going up for parole every year while he gets three squares a day at my expenses. And I have no doubt that at some point the parole board will either get tired of seeing his face again or actually feel he has paid his debt to society and set him free. I wonder if AG Holder would be apt for a similar solution for bin Laden.
Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) called Holder’s comparison “incredible”. And I could not agree more. What I am waiting for, though, is for the Media to attack the Obama administration for stating that bin Laden will not be captured alive, because after all, the failure of Bush to capture or kill the Saudi scum was amply and consistently used by Obama as a campaign point in 2008, while the Media augmented the point incessantly.
Waiting and waiting…
Our political, and it appears the judicial also, leadership is showing the dangerous tendency to take the fact that we are at war so lightly that it almost appears to be inviting more terrorist attacks.
There is a clear and proven tendency to downplay a war in favor of law enforcement approach, while conducting drone attacks in Pakistan aimed at elimination the need for Obama to have to worry about capturing terrorists. Those who are not blown to pieces in actions that were attacked viciously when the Bush Administration conducted them, are going to be treated as common criminals.
Why are the Obama regime and all the related minions so bent on making America more vulnerable? My opinion is that Obama wins regardless.
If a terror attacks does not occur, and I am specifically speaking of an attack the magnitude of which would be comparable or worst than the ones on September 11, Obama and Co. will use the absence of it as a victory for the Progressive ideology of the Left.
Cajole up to the terrorists and avoid attacks. The small type of attacks, like the one that failed on Christmas Day 2009, will really not be considered much of anything as they will be accepted as just the “cost of doing business”. Obama wins.
If a major terror attack does happen, and the American people will be witnessing a very large number of civilian casualties, when large number of American people will be directly affected by such attack in one way or another, Obama will leverage upon the act to accomplish in one swift blow what he is trying to accomplish piece meal today and that is to suspend the US Constitution.
A National crisis similar or worst than September 11 would be a perfect opportunity, a crisis not to let go to waste, for consolidating his power grab by eliminating the document he so deeply hates.
In such eventuality, the American people would deem patriotic to follow the leadership. Those sounding an alarmist dissent would be considered anti-American and quickly disposed of. In the name of National Security, the American people would maybe be willing to sacrifice personal liberties. Obama wins.
But I am still waiting for the Media to address the fact that Holder, which really means Obama, is convinced that Osama bin Laden will never be caught alive after it had been such a inspiring campaign promise. Still waiting…
Just my thoughts.
I am waiting for the MSM to jump all over this one. Waiting and waiting…
Guess I better not hold my breath.
It appears that during an hearing of the House Appropriations subcommittee, Attorney General Eric Holder was very clear about the doubts he holds about ever being able to capture Osama bin Laden alive.
In a sometime heated exchange with lawmakers, Holder told them that
“The possibility of capturing him alive is infinitesimal. He will be killed by us, or he will be killed by his own people so that he is not captured by us”
Some of the Republicans on the subcommittee were insistent in their questioning regarding Holder’s demonstrated tendency of wanting to try terrorist in civilian courts, accusations that Holder says “get my blood boiling”. Well Mr. Holder, your record is very eloquent.
Holder stated, as comparison, the case of Charles Manson, the crazy lunatic spending his life in prison for a mass murder in the 1960s.
So Eric Holder is comparing bin Laden, culpable of the death of 3,000 innocent people, openly at war with the United States, completely dedicated to the destruction of our Nation, with a drug-crazed poor excuse for oxygen user who got his kicks from killing few people just because.
And Charles Manson would be dead by now, if not for one of those Californian Liberal judges, Rose Bird. Instead, he keeps on going up for parole every year while he gets three squares a day at my expenses. And I have no doubt that at some point the parole board will either get tired of seeing his face again or actually feel he has paid his debt to society and set him free. I wonder if AG Holder would be apt for a similar solution for bin Laden.
Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) called Holder’s comparison “incredible”. And I could not agree more. What I am waiting for, though, is for the Media to attack the Obama administration for stating that bin Laden will not be captured alive, because after all, the failure of Bush to capture or kill the Saudi scum was amply and consistently used by Obama as a campaign point in 2008, while the Media augmented the point incessantly.
Waiting and waiting…
Our political, and it appears the judicial also, leadership is showing the dangerous tendency to take the fact that we are at war so lightly that it almost appears to be inviting more terrorist attacks.
There is a clear and proven tendency to downplay a war in favor of law enforcement approach, while conducting drone attacks in Pakistan aimed at elimination the need for Obama to have to worry about capturing terrorists. Those who are not blown to pieces in actions that were attacked viciously when the Bush Administration conducted them, are going to be treated as common criminals.
Why are the Obama regime and all the related minions so bent on making America more vulnerable? My opinion is that Obama wins regardless.
If a terror attacks does not occur, and I am specifically speaking of an attack the magnitude of which would be comparable or worst than the ones on September 11, Obama and Co. will use the absence of it as a victory for the Progressive ideology of the Left.
Cajole up to the terrorists and avoid attacks. The small type of attacks, like the one that failed on Christmas Day 2009, will really not be considered much of anything as they will be accepted as just the “cost of doing business”. Obama wins.
If a major terror attack does happen, and the American people will be witnessing a very large number of civilian casualties, when large number of American people will be directly affected by such attack in one way or another, Obama will leverage upon the act to accomplish in one swift blow what he is trying to accomplish piece meal today and that is to suspend the US Constitution.
A National crisis similar or worst than September 11 would be a perfect opportunity, a crisis not to let go to waste, for consolidating his power grab by eliminating the document he so deeply hates.
In such eventuality, the American people would deem patriotic to follow the leadership. Those sounding an alarmist dissent would be considered anti-American and quickly disposed of. In the name of National Security, the American people would maybe be willing to sacrifice personal liberties. Obama wins.
But I am still waiting for the Media to address the fact that Holder, which really means Obama, is convinced that Osama bin Laden will never be caught alive after it had been such a inspiring campaign promise. Still waiting…
Just my thoughts.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Flowers for the GI
By Semperpapa
U.S. Army Private First Class Danny Comley of Camdenton Missouri, assigned to Delta Company 4th Brigade combat team, 2-508, 82nd parachute infantry Regiment, receives flowers from an Afghan girl during a patrol in the Arghandab valley in Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan.
U.S. Army Private First Class Danny Comley of Camdenton Missouri, assigned to Delta Company 4th Brigade combat team, 2-508, 82nd parachute infantry Regiment, receives flowers from an Afghan girl during a patrol in the Arghandab valley in Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan.This is one of those pictures I would like to see coming out from Afghanistan more frequently. The impact of our presence in that country, without the slant of Imperialistic accusations.
Just my thoughts!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Hey Sean Penn, STFU!!!
By Semperpapa
Another Hollywood asshole opened his mouth last week. Sean Penn.
He has the distinction to be the subject of Semper America rant. And that is quite an accomplishment, as the lives and vicissitudes of the Hollyweirdos are so low on my scale of importance, that I very seldom waste much of my valuable time writing about.
So what did Sean Penn say that got him on this blog.
Well to begin with, when during an interview he was asked about those who have criticized his handling of Haiti earthquake donations he had collected, he ruined every small quantity of decency he may have gained by expressing his hope that the critics would die screaming from rectal cancer.
Now I am not aware of any controversy regarding the handling of those donations, and I really could care less about it, but I do have to recognize the efforts of people who are supposed to be doing something for good. Sure I am interested in the legal handling of donated money, but I am of the opinion that if someone uses a horrific disaster like the one in Haiti for personal profit, he/she joins the list of those people whose demise I would certainly welcome. Moreover I trust they will have to answer to a higher source eventually.
What I do have, though, is a profound dislike for lack of decency, which Penn is a prime example and a poster boy. His wish for his critics is a basic demonstration that even rich Hollyweirdians can be a typical example of white trash. But he goes beyond that qualification in Semper America graduatory and is promoted to smelly human waste.
And Penn had another moment in which he showed his tendency to dislike criticism, when he stated that those journalists who are critical of his big daddy buddy Hugo Chavez, should be incarcerated.
Well, that is the very sign of a "good" Liberal, one who takes every chance given by notoriety to spew criticism against those he opposes, invoking his right to free speech, but is ready to curtail the same for those who are disagreeable to his agenda and that of his Communist friends.
But that is not a surprise, as the attitude he is championing is the same that has brought Hugo Chavez to power and that the Venezuelan dictator is using to oppress his critics.
So, I ask, how long before Penn gets an appointment in the Obama Administration?
Just my thoughts!
Another Hollywood asshole opened his mouth last week. Sean Penn.
He has the distinction to be the subject of Semper America rant. And that is quite an accomplishment, as the lives and vicissitudes of the Hollyweirdos are so low on my scale of importance, that I very seldom waste much of my valuable time writing about.
So what did Sean Penn say that got him on this blog.
Well to begin with, when during an interview he was asked about those who have criticized his handling of Haiti earthquake donations he had collected, he ruined every small quantity of decency he may have gained by expressing his hope that the critics would die screaming from rectal cancer.
Now I am not aware of any controversy regarding the handling of those donations, and I really could care less about it, but I do have to recognize the efforts of people who are supposed to be doing something for good. Sure I am interested in the legal handling of donated money, but I am of the opinion that if someone uses a horrific disaster like the one in Haiti for personal profit, he/she joins the list of those people whose demise I would certainly welcome. Moreover I trust they will have to answer to a higher source eventually.
What I do have, though, is a profound dislike for lack of decency, which Penn is a prime example and a poster boy. His wish for his critics is a basic demonstration that even rich Hollyweirdians can be a typical example of white trash. But he goes beyond that qualification in Semper America graduatory and is promoted to smelly human waste.
And Penn had another moment in which he showed his tendency to dislike criticism, when he stated that those journalists who are critical of his big daddy buddy Hugo Chavez, should be incarcerated.
Well, that is the very sign of a "good" Liberal, one who takes every chance given by notoriety to spew criticism against those he opposes, invoking his right to free speech, but is ready to curtail the same for those who are disagreeable to his agenda and that of his Communist friends.
But that is not a surprise, as the attitude he is championing is the same that has brought Hugo Chavez to power and that the Venezuelan dictator is using to oppress his critics.
So, I ask, how long before Penn gets an appointment in the Obama Administration?
Just my thoughts!
But Is Anyone Paying Attention
By Semperpapa
It’s the middle of March Madness, and no, I am not talking about College Basketball. I am talking about Obamacare.
So while the whole country is busy either worrying about our healthcare being high jacked by the Government or hoping that the entitlement disaster will become the law of the land, some movements are happening on another front of America’s battle against self-destruction.
In a letter dated 12 February 2010, Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich responded to a request for information made by several members of Congress regarding the status of the investigation of CAIR, the Council on American Islamic Relations.
Congresswoman Sue Myrich and the other members of Congress who received Weich’s letters had made a request in October 2009 regarding the DoJ investigation of CAIR as an unindicted co-conspirator of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development in the case of United States vs. Holy Land Foundation et al.
The letter from the members of Congress was sent then to request clarification on the connections between members and founders of CAIR and the terrorist group Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood and other designated terror organizations. Mr. Weich also indicated in the letter that the request from Rep. Myric for a criminal investigation in illegal activities of CAIR to FBI Director Muller, had been forwarded to the proper FBI investigative entities.
The significance of this information is multifaceted, beginning with the delay of response on the part of the DoJ. Why has it taken four months to provide an answer to a legitimate request for information that should have been readily available? I don’t have the answer, besides the one provided by the legendary slowness of Washington bureaucracy, because otherwise one should start to engage in those pesky conspiracy theories.
What is also significant about this is that it finally appears that the Department of Justice is distancing itself from CAIR, especially the FBI, which had been played like a fiddle by the Muslim organization thanks to the pervasive tendency to be politically correct.
CAIR had been an active entity in hindering the work of several law enforcing agencies, from the FBI at a federal level to local police forces like the Fairfax County Police Department, which works in very close cooperation with the FBI on terror investigations in the Virginia/D.C. area, including the attacks of 9-11-01.
CAIR had been successful in positioning itself as an organization desiring to demonstrate the willingness of American Muslims to aid the US in its counter-terror war following the September 11 attacks. And even if the tactics used to accomplish the task were more of the semi-extortion nature, the council banked successfully on the fear of Washington officials to appear Islamophobic following the terror attack.
But, as documented in Gaubatz and Sperry book Muslim Mafia, what CAIR was actively involved in was hindering investigations of any Muslim suspected of terrorist ties by invoking the prospect of religious persecution.
In a letter dated April 28 2009 to Sen. Jon Kyl, the Assistant Director in the FBI office of Congressional Affairs, Richard C. Powers, told the Senator that in view of the unindicted co-conspirator status of CAIR in the investigation of the Holy Land Foundation, all connections between the FBI and CAIR were terminated outside specific investigations. What this really means is that the FBI was no longer going to utilize the “support” of CAIR regarding potential terrorist investigations, role that the Islamic organization has used repeatedly and consistently to thwart said investigations.
So all this is a step in the right direction on the part of the Department of Justice, which under the Holder/Obama regime has maintained a fairly dismal record.
It would be now interesting, and the American people should demand, to find out if the January secret meeting at the Homeland Security Dept. between Sec. Napolitano and Muslim, Arab and Sikh organizations included CAIR. There still is reluctance on the part of the HS department to keep the list of participants secret. Sure, the intelligence value of keeping the names under wrap can be appreciated, but again the record of our government in keeping sensitive information out of public scrutiny has, in the last few years, been very poor.
And it would also be interesting if the DoJ is going to look into the relationship between US Congressman and CAIR member, Keith Ellison and those terrorist organizations of which CAIR may be a front. But that’s a whole other article.
It is unfortunate that these kinds of news are available only to those who are interested in finding out about the security of the Nation. No mention of any of this information will ever appear on any news media outlets, outside of maybe a small mention buried where the American people, more concerned about Obamacare, College Basketball and American Idol, will never become aware of it. For some time, after the 9-11-01 attacks, the American people remained more conscious of the threat we are facing, awareness sparked by the perceived certainty that the horrific attacks of that day were going to occur again. The complacency the American people have slipped back into is an unfortunate collateral damage of the success that the Bush Administration achieved in the past nine years.
Just my thoughts!
It’s the middle of March Madness, and no, I am not talking about College Basketball. I am talking about Obamacare.
So while the whole country is busy either worrying about our healthcare being high jacked by the Government or hoping that the entitlement disaster will become the law of the land, some movements are happening on another front of America’s battle against self-destruction.
In a letter dated 12 February 2010, Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich responded to a request for information made by several members of Congress regarding the status of the investigation of CAIR, the Council on American Islamic Relations.
Congresswoman Sue Myrich and the other members of Congress who received Weich’s letters had made a request in October 2009 regarding the DoJ investigation of CAIR as an unindicted co-conspirator of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development in the case of United States vs. Holy Land Foundation et al.
The letter from the members of Congress was sent then to request clarification on the connections between members and founders of CAIR and the terrorist group Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood and other designated terror organizations. Mr. Weich also indicated in the letter that the request from Rep. Myric for a criminal investigation in illegal activities of CAIR to FBI Director Muller, had been forwarded to the proper FBI investigative entities.
The significance of this information is multifaceted, beginning with the delay of response on the part of the DoJ. Why has it taken four months to provide an answer to a legitimate request for information that should have been readily available? I don’t have the answer, besides the one provided by the legendary slowness of Washington bureaucracy, because otherwise one should start to engage in those pesky conspiracy theories.
What is also significant about this is that it finally appears that the Department of Justice is distancing itself from CAIR, especially the FBI, which had been played like a fiddle by the Muslim organization thanks to the pervasive tendency to be politically correct.
CAIR had been an active entity in hindering the work of several law enforcing agencies, from the FBI at a federal level to local police forces like the Fairfax County Police Department, which works in very close cooperation with the FBI on terror investigations in the Virginia/D.C. area, including the attacks of 9-11-01.
CAIR had been successful in positioning itself as an organization desiring to demonstrate the willingness of American Muslims to aid the US in its counter-terror war following the September 11 attacks. And even if the tactics used to accomplish the task were more of the semi-extortion nature, the council banked successfully on the fear of Washington officials to appear Islamophobic following the terror attack.
But, as documented in Gaubatz and Sperry book Muslim Mafia, what CAIR was actively involved in was hindering investigations of any Muslim suspected of terrorist ties by invoking the prospect of religious persecution.
In a letter dated April 28 2009 to Sen. Jon Kyl, the Assistant Director in the FBI office of Congressional Affairs, Richard C. Powers, told the Senator that in view of the unindicted co-conspirator status of CAIR in the investigation of the Holy Land Foundation, all connections between the FBI and CAIR were terminated outside specific investigations. What this really means is that the FBI was no longer going to utilize the “support” of CAIR regarding potential terrorist investigations, role that the Islamic organization has used repeatedly and consistently to thwart said investigations.
So all this is a step in the right direction on the part of the Department of Justice, which under the Holder/Obama regime has maintained a fairly dismal record.
It would be now interesting, and the American people should demand, to find out if the January secret meeting at the Homeland Security Dept. between Sec. Napolitano and Muslim, Arab and Sikh organizations included CAIR. There still is reluctance on the part of the HS department to keep the list of participants secret. Sure, the intelligence value of keeping the names under wrap can be appreciated, but again the record of our government in keeping sensitive information out of public scrutiny has, in the last few years, been very poor.
And it would also be interesting if the DoJ is going to look into the relationship between US Congressman and CAIR member, Keith Ellison and those terrorist organizations of which CAIR may be a front. But that’s a whole other article.
It is unfortunate that these kinds of news are available only to those who are interested in finding out about the security of the Nation. No mention of any of this information will ever appear on any news media outlets, outside of maybe a small mention buried where the American people, more concerned about Obamacare, College Basketball and American Idol, will never become aware of it. For some time, after the 9-11-01 attacks, the American people remained more conscious of the threat we are facing, awareness sparked by the perceived certainty that the horrific attacks of that day were going to occur again. The complacency the American people have slipped back into is an unfortunate collateral damage of the success that the Bush Administration achieved in the past nine years.
Just my thoughts!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
True Honor Is Not A Movie Script
By Semperpapa
Not to beat a dead horse, but Tom Hanks' comments about our Military, and our Nation, wanting to kill people because they are "different" really pissed me off, especially when applied to today's conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Sure, it is very easy for Mr. Hanks to spew his "opinions" regarding something that he knows nothing about, from the comfort of his mansion. Even after starring or producing war movies, he has obviously learnt nothing about what our Military has done for our country and for so many others.
But this war "expert" still gets the honor of speaking to real men, WWII Veterans, at the WWII monument in Washington D.C. only because he is a celebrity. And being an actor, and very good at his muse, I am now not too sure that his professed respect for Veterans is not just a self-promoting act.
This picture was taken in Marjah, Afghanistan, as our Marines were advancing to rid the place of the Taliban. This is our Military today as it has always been. This is a the true poster of every men and woman who has worn or is wearing a uniform of our Armed Forces.
An Afghan civilian and his child being shielded by two United States Marines under fire.
While the Taliban uses civilians as human shields, our Military places themselves as shields for the civilians. If that is not "different" enough, I don't know what could be.
Just my thoughts!
Friday, March 12, 2010
A Simplistic Look At History
By Semperpapa
I have been looking forward to the HBO mini-series The Pacific coming up later this month. A big fan of the series Band of Brothers, I was thrilled that a similar look would be taken of the war in the Pacific, which would document the brutality and ferocity of that conflict.
I even praised Tom Hanks for his work on the initial series and for wanting to tackle the second front America was involved with, even if the obvious political leanings of the Oscar winning actor are nowhere close to mine. I kept on telling myself “as long as he gives the Veterans the due respect”, I was willing to overlook his Liberal ideology.
For such reason I was somewhat disappointed by Tom Hank’s simplistic look at what WWII represented for our Nation, when, during an interview, he stated that the reason America wanted to kill the Japanese was because they were different. They looked different, they believed different.
Well I have a major problem with Hank’s assertion.
Having been an avid reader of anything related to WWII since I was a little guy, I find the over simplification of such an event, immature and misguided. I would have imagined that having been involved in Saving Private Ryan as an actor and in Band of Brothers as a producer, Tom Hank would have had the opportunity to deepen his historical knowledge and understanding.
Thinking about it, though, those two projects were based on the European theater of Operations and completely disregarded the Pacific side of things. So it is possible that Hank’s concentration on American and Allies efforts to defeat Nazi Germany has not left much time to dig more into the reasons why we fought for the annihilation of Japan. Moreover, Hanks has not offered any such wisdom regarding the annihilation of Nazi Germany. After all they “looked” like us.
I could even understand that Tom, as a good Liberal, would hold America responsible for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, because after all the American fleet was an “imperialistic” obstacle to the “legitimate” expansionist needs of Japan toward South Eat Asia.
The Japanese nation is poor of national resources and the hungry militaristic regime in Tokyo in the 1930s needed the raw material necessary for the industrial expansion of that country.
But the leaders of Japan, with the blessing of the Emperor, were not satisfied by purchasing the raw material, so they decided that the Western Pacific Rim was to be under the sphere of control of Japan.
Imperial Japan begun their expansion war in China, occupying some of the eastern coastal areas, pillaging the natural resources and embarking on a killing spree of the locals that may not have equals. As an example one must only look at the Rape of Nanking, during which Japanese forces, under command of Gen. Matsui killed, over 200,000 civilians, mostly just for “sport”.
This 1937 event was met by protestations on the part of European and American leadership, but Europe was still trying to work the Munich agreement with Hitler and America was fully in its isolationist mode.
The misunderstanding that Tom Hank demonstrates in attributing the determination of the American forces to annihilate the Japanese forces solely on the fact that “they” looked “different” does not speak too highly to my impression of the man.
In asserting that that was the driving force behind campaigns like Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Saipan, not only casts a shadow of ignorance on the man, but also cheapens the horrors that American forces had to endure during the island-hopping campaigns.
In the interview, Hank points out his latest project wanted to honor the bravery of the American troops
“…but we also wanted to have people say, ‘we didn’t know our troops did that to Japanese people.’”…
Is Tom Hank referring to the Japanese civilians? I am not sure, but I may have an answer after watching the mini-series.
The main difference between the pain inflicted upon the civilian population of Germany and of Japan is that the US used atomic bombs on Japan and not on Germany. And the use of those extreme weapons was successful in forcing the Japanese Emperor to an unconditional surrender. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki actually saved Japan from complete national annihilation, because of the very fact that the Japanese culture was so different from ours, in so far that it did not allow for surrender, that death was preferable to surrender. That may work fine for members of the Japanese military, but had the collateral effect to condemn innocent civilians to the same fate.
There is some truth to Hanks statement, though. The American and Allied forces advancing in the Pacific faced a level of atrocities that would shake even the saltiest Marine Gunnery Sergeant. Fanaticism of the highest degree, torture and murder of civilian, especially in the Philippines, and the systematic murder of POWs were factors that increasingly hardened the warriors on an hourly base.
And in places like Okinawa and Saipan, the advancing forces were treated to an onslaught of Japanese civilians committing suicide, having been brainwashed by the Japanese Military that they would be subject to unspeakable horrors if they surrendered to the Marines. So in that respect atrocities committed against those civilians were perpetrated by their own.
Tom Hanks does not recognize the complexity of that conflict, oversimplifying it by labeling it as just a reaction to the somatic and cultural differences America saw in the Japanese people.
Perhaps clarity is obfuscated by his political leanings as he compared the WWII Pacific campaign to what America is doing today in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Possibly, Mr. Hanks should get himself more informed about the type of enemy we are facing today, beyond the boundaries of external looks and religious faith. Maybe reading some of the material written by David Bellavia, Marcus Luttrel, Michael Yon or Bing West would give him a clue.
What it really comes down to is that our society is based on a culture of life, where life is to be preserved even if it means having to stand up and fight for it, against a culture of death where any life can be taken, even an innocent life, for sake of theocratic power.
I applaud Tom Hanks for his support of the Veterans, but just appearing in or producing or funding a movie or series is only meaningful if he would take the time to become more in tune with the totality of the subject.
He just took a very simplistic stand on probably the most complex human endeavor: war.
Just my thoughts.
I have been looking forward to the HBO mini-series The Pacific coming up later this month. A big fan of the series Band of Brothers, I was thrilled that a similar look would be taken of the war in the Pacific, which would document the brutality and ferocity of that conflict.
I even praised Tom Hanks for his work on the initial series and for wanting to tackle the second front America was involved with, even if the obvious political leanings of the Oscar winning actor are nowhere close to mine. I kept on telling myself “as long as he gives the Veterans the due respect”, I was willing to overlook his Liberal ideology.
For such reason I was somewhat disappointed by Tom Hank’s simplistic look at what WWII represented for our Nation, when, during an interview, he stated that the reason America wanted to kill the Japanese was because they were different. They looked different, they believed different.
Well I have a major problem with Hank’s assertion.
Having been an avid reader of anything related to WWII since I was a little guy, I find the over simplification of such an event, immature and misguided. I would have imagined that having been involved in Saving Private Ryan as an actor and in Band of Brothers as a producer, Tom Hank would have had the opportunity to deepen his historical knowledge and understanding.
Thinking about it, though, those two projects were based on the European theater of Operations and completely disregarded the Pacific side of things. So it is possible that Hank’s concentration on American and Allies efforts to defeat Nazi Germany has not left much time to dig more into the reasons why we fought for the annihilation of Japan. Moreover, Hanks has not offered any such wisdom regarding the annihilation of Nazi Germany. After all they “looked” like us.
I could even understand that Tom, as a good Liberal, would hold America responsible for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, because after all the American fleet was an “imperialistic” obstacle to the “legitimate” expansionist needs of Japan toward South Eat Asia.
The Japanese nation is poor of national resources and the hungry militaristic regime in Tokyo in the 1930s needed the raw material necessary for the industrial expansion of that country.
But the leaders of Japan, with the blessing of the Emperor, were not satisfied by purchasing the raw material, so they decided that the Western Pacific Rim was to be under the sphere of control of Japan.
Imperial Japan begun their expansion war in China, occupying some of the eastern coastal areas, pillaging the natural resources and embarking on a killing spree of the locals that may not have equals. As an example one must only look at the Rape of Nanking, during which Japanese forces, under command of Gen. Matsui killed, over 200,000 civilians, mostly just for “sport”.
This 1937 event was met by protestations on the part of European and American leadership, but Europe was still trying to work the Munich agreement with Hitler and America was fully in its isolationist mode.
The misunderstanding that Tom Hank demonstrates in attributing the determination of the American forces to annihilate the Japanese forces solely on the fact that “they” looked “different” does not speak too highly to my impression of the man.
In asserting that that was the driving force behind campaigns like Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Saipan, not only casts a shadow of ignorance on the man, but also cheapens the horrors that American forces had to endure during the island-hopping campaigns.
In the interview, Hank points out his latest project wanted to honor the bravery of the American troops
“…but we also wanted to have people say, ‘we didn’t know our troops did that to Japanese people.’”…
Is Tom Hank referring to the Japanese civilians? I am not sure, but I may have an answer after watching the mini-series.
The main difference between the pain inflicted upon the civilian population of Germany and of Japan is that the US used atomic bombs on Japan and not on Germany. And the use of those extreme weapons was successful in forcing the Japanese Emperor to an unconditional surrender. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki actually saved Japan from complete national annihilation, because of the very fact that the Japanese culture was so different from ours, in so far that it did not allow for surrender, that death was preferable to surrender. That may work fine for members of the Japanese military, but had the collateral effect to condemn innocent civilians to the same fate.
There is some truth to Hanks statement, though. The American and Allied forces advancing in the Pacific faced a level of atrocities that would shake even the saltiest Marine Gunnery Sergeant. Fanaticism of the highest degree, torture and murder of civilian, especially in the Philippines, and the systematic murder of POWs were factors that increasingly hardened the warriors on an hourly base.
And in places like Okinawa and Saipan, the advancing forces were treated to an onslaught of Japanese civilians committing suicide, having been brainwashed by the Japanese Military that they would be subject to unspeakable horrors if they surrendered to the Marines. So in that respect atrocities committed against those civilians were perpetrated by their own.
Tom Hanks does not recognize the complexity of that conflict, oversimplifying it by labeling it as just a reaction to the somatic and cultural differences America saw in the Japanese people.
Perhaps clarity is obfuscated by his political leanings as he compared the WWII Pacific campaign to what America is doing today in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Possibly, Mr. Hanks should get himself more informed about the type of enemy we are facing today, beyond the boundaries of external looks and religious faith. Maybe reading some of the material written by David Bellavia, Marcus Luttrel, Michael Yon or Bing West would give him a clue.
What it really comes down to is that our society is based on a culture of life, where life is to be preserved even if it means having to stand up and fight for it, against a culture of death where any life can be taken, even an innocent life, for sake of theocratic power.
I applaud Tom Hanks for his support of the Veterans, but just appearing in or producing or funding a movie or series is only meaningful if he would take the time to become more in tune with the totality of the subject.
He just took a very simplistic stand on probably the most complex human endeavor: war.
Just my thoughts.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Oops! He Did It Again!
By Semperpapa
Just another surprise from America’s most ethical Attorney General, Eric Holder: it appears from a statement from the Justice Department spokesman Matt Miller that at the time Eric Holder was going through the confirmation process, Mr. Holder “forgot” to disclose a legal brief he had contributed to in which he declared that the Executive branch of government does not have the authority to hold an American citizen, declared enemy combatant, in prison indefinitely.
The brief was issued by Holder, in conjunction with Janet Reno and couple more Clinton era officials, to address the case of Jose Padilla, a US citizen turned al Qaeda terrorist before his capture.
According to the brief, Holder maintains that handling suspected terrorists in federal court does not preclude gaining intelligence about other terror plots in planning. He also said that the procedure is not a guarantee that intelligence can be achieved, but the benefits of Mirandizing terror suspects and affording them legal representation outweighs the negatives. Obviously, that is an assertion Holder is not ready to make any longer as in the case of Abdulmutallab.
Moreover, the brief calls “speculative’ the possibility that vital national security information can be delayed or withheld altogether once the terror suspect lawyers up. He calls it the “inherent limitation of Executive powers”. In other words, Holder and Co. believes that the Executive branch, namely the President, does not have the power to do all that is necessary to safeguard the lives of American citizens. The possibility of not gaining the info necessary to save lives is called “speculative”.
Michelle Malkin reminds us that this “omission” of information is not the first instance for Eric Holder, leaving the American people wondering if this is a pattern we should be concerned of.
The other omission was the fact that Eric Holder had been hired by former Illinois Governor Blagojevich to probe corruption accusations made against the gambling licensing agency process in the state. The contract was a fairly lucrative one for Holder, who after receiving a cool $300,000, found no corruption in Blagojevich’s agency. The coincidences in today’s Liberal world are truly astonishing.
I wonder, now, how those 19 Republican Senators who voted to confirm Holder feel about their decision. They were the usual suspects like Snowe, Collins, Specter, Voinovich, Graham; but I want to believe that others like McCain and Session and Hatch and Kyl and Bond must feel pretty much as if they have been bamboozled in allowing this first degree liar, this big time corrupted man be Attorney General.
So now that Holder has been caught again guilty of the crime of omission, would anyone want to wager that NOTHING else has been omitted? Does anyone really care, especially among the Republicans in Congress? Is that crickets I hear?
Just my thoughts!
Just another surprise from America’s most ethical Attorney General, Eric Holder: it appears from a statement from the Justice Department spokesman Matt Miller that at the time Eric Holder was going through the confirmation process, Mr. Holder “forgot” to disclose a legal brief he had contributed to in which he declared that the Executive branch of government does not have the authority to hold an American citizen, declared enemy combatant, in prison indefinitely.
The brief was issued by Holder, in conjunction with Janet Reno and couple more Clinton era officials, to address the case of Jose Padilla, a US citizen turned al Qaeda terrorist before his capture.
According to the brief, Holder maintains that handling suspected terrorists in federal court does not preclude gaining intelligence about other terror plots in planning. He also said that the procedure is not a guarantee that intelligence can be achieved, but the benefits of Mirandizing terror suspects and affording them legal representation outweighs the negatives. Obviously, that is an assertion Holder is not ready to make any longer as in the case of Abdulmutallab.
Moreover, the brief calls “speculative’ the possibility that vital national security information can be delayed or withheld altogether once the terror suspect lawyers up. He calls it the “inherent limitation of Executive powers”. In other words, Holder and Co. believes that the Executive branch, namely the President, does not have the power to do all that is necessary to safeguard the lives of American citizens. The possibility of not gaining the info necessary to save lives is called “speculative”.
Michelle Malkin reminds us that this “omission” of information is not the first instance for Eric Holder, leaving the American people wondering if this is a pattern we should be concerned of.
The other omission was the fact that Eric Holder had been hired by former Illinois Governor Blagojevich to probe corruption accusations made against the gambling licensing agency process in the state. The contract was a fairly lucrative one for Holder, who after receiving a cool $300,000, found no corruption in Blagojevich’s agency. The coincidences in today’s Liberal world are truly astonishing.
I wonder, now, how those 19 Republican Senators who voted to confirm Holder feel about their decision. They were the usual suspects like Snowe, Collins, Specter, Voinovich, Graham; but I want to believe that others like McCain and Session and Hatch and Kyl and Bond must feel pretty much as if they have been bamboozled in allowing this first degree liar, this big time corrupted man be Attorney General.
So now that Holder has been caught again guilty of the crime of omission, would anyone want to wager that NOTHING else has been omitted? Does anyone really care, especially among the Republicans in Congress? Is that crickets I hear?
Just my thoughts!
Catastrophe Avoided
By Semperpapa
I can vividly remember when the Obama Administration told the members of Congress that the passage of the Stimulus Bill was so important that failure to do it right there and then was going to cause a financial catastrophe of biblical proportions.
From the foaming Media, still tingling about Obama, to the common person on the streets of America, we all checked continuous updates to find out if the world was coming to an end or not.
The bill passed and the Obama maniacs hailed their Messiah as the savior of humanity for the leadership demonstrated in such dire times.
And I also remember my skepticism about a spending bill so vehemently pushed by a man who I have come to realized is completely dedicated to a total control of the American people on the part of HIS government.
Today, in March 2010, rumblings arise from many quarters, including some of the Obama loving Media, about the futility that the $800 billion spending spree truly was.
The John W. Pope Civitas Institute has done some research on the way some of the money was allocated in North Carolina. Here are some examples:
Study of monkeys using cocaine: $71,623; Wake Forest University was granted money to "study the effects of self-administering cocaine on the glutamate system on monkeys."
North Carolina Dance Theatre: $50,000; this grant is used to retain four professional dancers from the North Carolina Dance Theatre's second company.
Reducing hot flashes through yoga: $147,694; funds granted to Wake Forest University to study "preliminary data on the efficacy of integral yoga for reducing menopausal hot flashes."
Collecting, researching and reporting on the stimulus act: $115,000; $150,000; $227,940 (total: $492,940); nearly half a million taxpayer dollars will go toward funding more propaganda selling the "benefits" of the stimulus plan.
Create interactive dance performance technology: $762,372; this grant to UNC-Charlotte will fund the development of computer technology to digitally record the dance moves of performers so the recorded movements can then be reviewed and manipulated by a computer program.
American Dance Festival, Inc.: $50,000; a graphic designer and archivist will retain their jobs thanks to this grant.
Construction of a new town hall in Bladenboro: $200,000; $100,000 (Total: $300,000); why are taxpayers from across the country forced to finance construction of a local government office?
North Carolina Folk Life Institute: $25,000; with the help of this grant, the Institute was able to retain its executive director.
Preservation of an insect collection at North Carolina State University: $253,123; we were promised that the stimulus was going to "save jobs"; we were never told it would also help preserve dead bugs.
Greensboro Symphony Orchestra: $50,000; these funds are used to retain the GSO's director of marketing and education manager.
So, as shown, the American people can be really proud of the fact that their overtaxed earnings are being so well used in the state of North Carolina.
From self serving studies to cocaine using monkeys and hot flashes reducing yoga, the money Obama stole from the American working people are being used to avoid catastrophic collapse of our economy. I can feel much safer now that I know my money save the world…of insects.
I know, you are going to smirk and call me naïve, but I assure you I am not surprised about this, just profoundly disgusted. It is just another example of the lies the politicians in Washington are feeding us, nothing new.
At least the digital recording of dance moves is safe…that was close!
Just my thoughts!
I can vividly remember when the Obama Administration told the members of Congress that the passage of the Stimulus Bill was so important that failure to do it right there and then was going to cause a financial catastrophe of biblical proportions.
From the foaming Media, still tingling about Obama, to the common person on the streets of America, we all checked continuous updates to find out if the world was coming to an end or not.
The bill passed and the Obama maniacs hailed their Messiah as the savior of humanity for the leadership demonstrated in such dire times.
And I also remember my skepticism about a spending bill so vehemently pushed by a man who I have come to realized is completely dedicated to a total control of the American people on the part of HIS government.
Today, in March 2010, rumblings arise from many quarters, including some of the Obama loving Media, about the futility that the $800 billion spending spree truly was.
The John W. Pope Civitas Institute has done some research on the way some of the money was allocated in North Carolina. Here are some examples:
Study of monkeys using cocaine: $71,623; Wake Forest University was granted money to "study the effects of self-administering cocaine on the glutamate system on monkeys."
North Carolina Dance Theatre: $50,000; this grant is used to retain four professional dancers from the North Carolina Dance Theatre's second company.
Reducing hot flashes through yoga: $147,694; funds granted to Wake Forest University to study "preliminary data on the efficacy of integral yoga for reducing menopausal hot flashes."
Collecting, researching and reporting on the stimulus act: $115,000; $150,000; $227,940 (total: $492,940); nearly half a million taxpayer dollars will go toward funding more propaganda selling the "benefits" of the stimulus plan.
Create interactive dance performance technology: $762,372; this grant to UNC-Charlotte will fund the development of computer technology to digitally record the dance moves of performers so the recorded movements can then be reviewed and manipulated by a computer program.
American Dance Festival, Inc.: $50,000; a graphic designer and archivist will retain their jobs thanks to this grant.
Construction of a new town hall in Bladenboro: $200,000; $100,000 (Total: $300,000); why are taxpayers from across the country forced to finance construction of a local government office?
North Carolina Folk Life Institute: $25,000; with the help of this grant, the Institute was able to retain its executive director.
Preservation of an insect collection at North Carolina State University: $253,123; we were promised that the stimulus was going to "save jobs"; we were never told it would also help preserve dead bugs.
Greensboro Symphony Orchestra: $50,000; these funds are used to retain the GSO's director of marketing and education manager.
So, as shown, the American people can be really proud of the fact that their overtaxed earnings are being so well used in the state of North Carolina.
From self serving studies to cocaine using monkeys and hot flashes reducing yoga, the money Obama stole from the American working people are being used to avoid catastrophic collapse of our economy. I can feel much safer now that I know my money save the world…of insects.
I know, you are going to smirk and call me naïve, but I assure you I am not surprised about this, just profoundly disgusted. It is just another example of the lies the politicians in Washington are feeding us, nothing new.
At least the digital recording of dance moves is safe…that was close!
Just my thoughts!
Out Of This World
By Semperpapa
This is what it is coming down to. Some village idiot Democrat decides that he has the power to tell New York restaurant owners that they are forbidden to use salt in the preparation of any food.
No kidding!
The village idiot’s name is Felix Ortiz, a state assembly moron from Brooklyn.
The bill, A10129, is just another example of what the Liberal/Progressive agenda is, even down to the small detail of how we prepare food for our own consumption.
Of course the restaurant owners are up in arms, because such legislation makes absolutely no sense under any circumstance.
But that is just the small side of the issue. It baffles me to no end the audacity that politicians have to openly attempt to intrude in every aspect of our lives.
From what vehicle we are to drive to what how much we use our air conditioner to what kind of food we are to eat, the governmental characters are interested in sticking their grubby, sleazy, greasy, chubby fingers in our collective pockets to satisfy some specific special interests.
Because I do believe that the motivation behind characters like Ortiz to even waste taxpayers’ money with stupid legislation like this is that it would pave the way for litigation against restaurants on the part of people who have no concept of personal responsibility.
These are the actions America has to be vigilant of, not just the big stuff. Erosion is by definition a process of slow removal. In the case of the Liberal/Progressive forces in our country and in the case of the spineless, unorganized and lame Conservative opposition, erosion is applied to our very liberties.
Lack of vigilance will allow dictatorship to slowly creep its way into our lives, and by the time people will wake up and smell the coffee, some politician will have probably legislate a ban on coffee.
Just my thoughts!
This is what it is coming down to. Some village idiot Democrat decides that he has the power to tell New York restaurant owners that they are forbidden to use salt in the preparation of any food.
No kidding!
The village idiot’s name is Felix Ortiz, a state assembly moron from Brooklyn.
The bill, A10129, is just another example of what the Liberal/Progressive agenda is, even down to the small detail of how we prepare food for our own consumption.
Of course the restaurant owners are up in arms, because such legislation makes absolutely no sense under any circumstance.
But that is just the small side of the issue. It baffles me to no end the audacity that politicians have to openly attempt to intrude in every aspect of our lives.
From what vehicle we are to drive to what how much we use our air conditioner to what kind of food we are to eat, the governmental characters are interested in sticking their grubby, sleazy, greasy, chubby fingers in our collective pockets to satisfy some specific special interests.
Because I do believe that the motivation behind characters like Ortiz to even waste taxpayers’ money with stupid legislation like this is that it would pave the way for litigation against restaurants on the part of people who have no concept of personal responsibility.
These are the actions America has to be vigilant of, not just the big stuff. Erosion is by definition a process of slow removal. In the case of the Liberal/Progressive forces in our country and in the case of the spineless, unorganized and lame Conservative opposition, erosion is applied to our very liberties.
Lack of vigilance will allow dictatorship to slowly creep its way into our lives, and by the time people will wake up and smell the coffee, some politician will have probably legislate a ban on coffee.
Just my thoughts!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Bravo November
By Semperpapa
This is one to go on the list of “Thank you, Lord!”
A British Chinook pilot was flying a Medevac mission in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. The mission was to pick up casualties from a furious engagement between US and Afghan military and Taliban terrorists.
The firefight on the ground was so severe that the pilot had to circle the LZ several times before being able to sit the bird down.
As the big chopper was finally being loaded with casualties, the enemy turned their attention to it and begun firing on the old Chinook, code sign Bravo November, and as the rounds continued to impact the fuselage, the pilot managed to lift off when one “lucky” bullet ricochet inside the cockpit and struck the pilot on the helmet, right between the eyes.
The Taliban fire also caused the stabilization controls to shut down and the pilot, now blinded by his own blood, had to fight to keep his bird from crashing into the ground. Few minutes later, against all odds, Bravo November landed at Camp Bastion with its precious cargo.
A British TV presenter, Mike Brewer, was on board at the time of the incident and made this statement:
"It was terrifying. We came under fire just as the ramp was closing. Then just after we'd taken off the Chinook suddenly lurched from side to side and we heard the pilot had been shot. The only reason we didn't plunge straight back into the desert was because of the sheer bravery and skill of Ian and the rest of the crew. They're all heroes."
It is an amazing story of resilience and luck and the pilot lived up, literally, to his own name. Flight Lt. Ian Fortune was treated at the medical facility on Camp Bastion and is going to be just fine.
But besides his own name, Lt. Fortune had the right bird under his controls. It appears that Bravo November is a lucky guy. It is one of the oldest Chinook in the British Fleet, having been in service since the Falkland Islands conflict. During that conflict, Bravo November was just airborne off the Atlantic Conveyor when the ship was hit by two Exocet missiles.
And the Chinook also survived crashing in the ocean at 100 knots during a blizzard, but subsequently allowing the pilot to lift off again and reach land.
So the combination of skills, resilience and luck save the day for many that day in Afghanistan. Thank you Flight Lt. Fortune and all the British forces who are fighting next to our brave American troops.
Just my thoughts (and prayers).
This is one to go on the list of “Thank you, Lord!”
A British Chinook pilot was flying a Medevac mission in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. The mission was to pick up casualties from a furious engagement between US and Afghan military and Taliban terrorists.
The firefight on the ground was so severe that the pilot had to circle the LZ several times before being able to sit the bird down.
As the big chopper was finally being loaded with casualties, the enemy turned their attention to it and begun firing on the old Chinook, code sign Bravo November, and as the rounds continued to impact the fuselage, the pilot managed to lift off when one “lucky” bullet ricochet inside the cockpit and struck the pilot on the helmet, right between the eyes.
The Taliban fire also caused the stabilization controls to shut down and the pilot, now blinded by his own blood, had to fight to keep his bird from crashing into the ground. Few minutes later, against all odds, Bravo November landed at Camp Bastion with its precious cargo.
A British TV presenter, Mike Brewer, was on board at the time of the incident and made this statement:
"It was terrifying. We came under fire just as the ramp was closing. Then just after we'd taken off the Chinook suddenly lurched from side to side and we heard the pilot had been shot. The only reason we didn't plunge straight back into the desert was because of the sheer bravery and skill of Ian and the rest of the crew. They're all heroes."
It is an amazing story of resilience and luck and the pilot lived up, literally, to his own name. Flight Lt. Ian Fortune was treated at the medical facility on Camp Bastion and is going to be just fine.
But besides his own name, Lt. Fortune had the right bird under his controls. It appears that Bravo November is a lucky guy. It is one of the oldest Chinook in the British Fleet, having been in service since the Falkland Islands conflict. During that conflict, Bravo November was just airborne off the Atlantic Conveyor when the ship was hit by two Exocet missiles.
And the Chinook also survived crashing in the ocean at 100 knots during a blizzard, but subsequently allowing the pilot to lift off again and reach land.
So the combination of skills, resilience and luck save the day for many that day in Afghanistan. Thank you Flight Lt. Fortune and all the British forces who are fighting next to our brave American troops.
Just my thoughts (and prayers).
Too Damn Bad
By Semperpapa
Yesterday, Sunday March 7th, the news broke that Adam Gadahn had been captured by Pakistani Commandos in Pakistan.
From CBS to AP, from Hot Air to Drudge, the news spread wildly, because Americans were excited about the capture of this vile traitor.
As everyone was holding hope that the news would be accurate, unfortunately Gadahn is still a free bird as the al Qaeda operative that was captured turned out to be somebody else.
Too damn bad, but tomorrow is another day and hopefully Gadahn will NOT get to use the American Judicial system when real justice catches up to him.
SP out!
Yesterday, Sunday March 7th, the news broke that Adam Gadahn had been captured by Pakistani Commandos in Pakistan.
From CBS to AP, from Hot Air to Drudge, the news spread wildly, because Americans were excited about the capture of this vile traitor.
As everyone was holding hope that the news would be accurate, unfortunately Gadahn is still a free bird as the al Qaeda operative that was captured turned out to be somebody else.
Too damn bad, but tomorrow is another day and hopefully Gadahn will NOT get to use the American Judicial system when real justice catches up to him.
SP out!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Numbers May Tell Better Story
By Semperpapa
On 5 March 2010, an article was published by the BBC regarding the failed attempt to bring down Flight 253 over Detroit by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian terrorist better known as the “panties bomber”.
The report, part of a series the BBC is putting together on the subject of air travel safety, claims that a test performed indicates that even in the event that the attack would have succeeded, the damage to the plane would have been not severe enough to bring down the aircraft and that the crew would have been able to land safely.
The test was conducted by one Dr. John Wyatt, an international terrorism and explosive adviser to the United Nations. According to the article, the test was a controlled explosion of the same type and quantity of pentaerythritol (or PETN) explosive attached to the rear-end of a dummy.
The results were that the explosion would have not succeeded in perforating the skin of the aircraft and that the structural integrity would have been uncompromised allowing the crew to execute a safe landing. Most likely, the report concludes, the passenger next to the terrorist and the terrorist would have not survived and the smoke in the cabin would have been intense, while the passengers in proximity to the explosion could have suffered severe hearing damage.
Well so far so good.
But then the article says that the test was conducted on a 747 type aircraft and that is when my engineer’s alarm went off.
I am just a mechanical engineer, not a structural or aircraft engineer, but understand enough about the physics of things and my memory is not bad enough not to see a problem with the “experiment” parameters.
So the test was conducted on a Boeing 747, but the aircraft in question on Christmas Day was an Airbus 330. Even if it is not a clear case of apples and oranges, the difference in the two aircrafts is enough for me to discount the test results as pointless.
The major heartburn I have is the fact that a Boeing 747 is a much larger aircraft than the A330. Here are some comparisons:
Length: 76 m (747); 63 m (A330) that’s a difference of 13 m or approximately 40 feet.
Wing Span: 68 m (747); 60 m (A330) a difference of 8 m or approximately 25 feet.
Height: 19 m (747); 17 m (A330) or approximately 6 feet difference.
But probably the most telling difference is the weight of the aircrafts. The 747 could have a gross weight at takeoff of 442 tons (that’s approximately 975,000 lb) compared to the maximum take off weight for the A330 of 233 tons or about 47% less.
One does not need to be an aeronautical engineer, or even an engineer at all, to realize that the same quantity of a certain explosive would do a lot less damage to an object of such greater mass. And the experiment does not take into consideration the difference in dynamic loads that an airframe is under during flight, as the test was obviously conducted on the ground.
So the experiment conducted by Dr. Wyatt means absolutely nothing to me.
But the worst part of this whole thing is that the BBC is going to use this kind of creative science to tell an ignorant public that the action of Abdulmutallab was not that bad and that really the lives of the 289 people on that flight and of those on the ground weren’t really in danger.
What is the point of a pseudo-scientific experiment if the parameters used for it are flawed? Is it just another episode of the campaign of apology for Islamic terrorism that the BBC has been conducting?
Or maybe Dr. Wyatt is one of those scientists who also participated in “proving” Global Warming. The fact alone that he is an adviser for the United Nation should have sounded my alarm immediately.
Just my thoughts!
On 5 March 2010, an article was published by the BBC regarding the failed attempt to bring down Flight 253 over Detroit by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian terrorist better known as the “panties bomber”.
The report, part of a series the BBC is putting together on the subject of air travel safety, claims that a test performed indicates that even in the event that the attack would have succeeded, the damage to the plane would have been not severe enough to bring down the aircraft and that the crew would have been able to land safely.
The test was conducted by one Dr. John Wyatt, an international terrorism and explosive adviser to the United Nations. According to the article, the test was a controlled explosion of the same type and quantity of pentaerythritol (or PETN) explosive attached to the rear-end of a dummy.
The results were that the explosion would have not succeeded in perforating the skin of the aircraft and that the structural integrity would have been uncompromised allowing the crew to execute a safe landing. Most likely, the report concludes, the passenger next to the terrorist and the terrorist would have not survived and the smoke in the cabin would have been intense, while the passengers in proximity to the explosion could have suffered severe hearing damage.
Well so far so good.
But then the article says that the test was conducted on a 747 type aircraft and that is when my engineer’s alarm went off.
I am just a mechanical engineer, not a structural or aircraft engineer, but understand enough about the physics of things and my memory is not bad enough not to see a problem with the “experiment” parameters.
So the test was conducted on a Boeing 747, but the aircraft in question on Christmas Day was an Airbus 330. Even if it is not a clear case of apples and oranges, the difference in the two aircrafts is enough for me to discount the test results as pointless.
The major heartburn I have is the fact that a Boeing 747 is a much larger aircraft than the A330. Here are some comparisons:
Length: 76 m (747); 63 m (A330) that’s a difference of 13 m or approximately 40 feet.
Wing Span: 68 m (747); 60 m (A330) a difference of 8 m or approximately 25 feet.
Height: 19 m (747); 17 m (A330) or approximately 6 feet difference.
But probably the most telling difference is the weight of the aircrafts. The 747 could have a gross weight at takeoff of 442 tons (that’s approximately 975,000 lb) compared to the maximum take off weight for the A330 of 233 tons or about 47% less.
One does not need to be an aeronautical engineer, or even an engineer at all, to realize that the same quantity of a certain explosive would do a lot less damage to an object of such greater mass. And the experiment does not take into consideration the difference in dynamic loads that an airframe is under during flight, as the test was obviously conducted on the ground.
So the experiment conducted by Dr. Wyatt means absolutely nothing to me.
But the worst part of this whole thing is that the BBC is going to use this kind of creative science to tell an ignorant public that the action of Abdulmutallab was not that bad and that really the lives of the 289 people on that flight and of those on the ground weren’t really in danger.
What is the point of a pseudo-scientific experiment if the parameters used for it are flawed? Is it just another episode of the campaign of apology for Islamic terrorism that the BBC has been conducting?
Or maybe Dr. Wyatt is one of those scientists who also participated in “proving” Global Warming. The fact alone that he is an adviser for the United Nation should have sounded my alarm immediately.
Just my thoughts!
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