Saturday, November 14, 2009

Hello Déjà vu, it is Good to See You Again

Lessons learned from 9-11
Apparently, none.
Really.
Shall we review (and by we, I mean me)
Uncomfortable, but necessary - much like a prostate exam (have I shared too much)?

In the hearts and flowers world of pre 9-11, Clinton was more interested in fighting terrorism in court than on a battlefield. It was a magical time when the dot.com bubble was still building and we were beloved by all the world (or at lest that is the way it is portrayed in the Clinton Library and Massage Parlor...) oh yeah and Bin Laden was offered to us on a silver platter...which we refused on legal grounds ....which strangely didn't work out in our favor....
There were several mitigating factors in this decision:

1) Largely because the battlefield was a nebulous mess, not easily teased out into readily identified target areas ....it is very inconvenient when the enemy does not wear uniforms you know....
2) He was too busy fighting domestic terrorism in the White House after the whole Monica Lewinsky thing
3) In la-la land, one can rationalize with the irrational, evil does not exist and we can all just get along if, darn it anyway, we just try hard enough (because, everyone would really love us if they just got to know us better...)

Then 9-11 happened and along with the Towers that came crashing down, so did our sunshine and lollipops vision of the world. We were resolute. We were united. We recognized that enemies were to be defeated, not placated.
Yeah, that lasted. We are either incredibly stupid or suffer from serious memory issues....

In the revisited land of sunshine and lollipops that is the current administration we have:

1) An end to the war on terror (tho nobody told the terrorists that). I believe that it has been renamed the 'unfortunate altercation with people who don't like us for causes purely of our own making'
2) Soldiers who need to read Miranda rights to the enemy... an idea so asinine, it actually boggles the mind (it is true, my mind has been boggled...)
3) Farewell to GITMO... ah yes, now our enemies are privileged to have access to our court system and rights previously only known to our citizens... SWEET! Because nothing says 'deterrent' like access to US courts
4) Phrases like 'crime against our nation' and 'tragedy' are used by the administration to describe the recent events in Ft Hood. Sadly, phrases like 'shout out' are also used prior to announcing the necessity of said aforementioned phrases.... (insert old man voice here) " I remember way back in 9-11 when we used to call things like that 'terrorism' "
5) A criminal trial for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his gang of merry murderers in New York City...
6) Did I mention .... A criminal trial for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his gang of merry murderers in New York City...? Silly me, here I thought the killing of thousands by a foreign enemy would be considered an act of war, not as a crime. Then again, a military tribunal wouldn't potentially damage our intelligence operations nor would it give the terrorists (oops, can I even say that word anymore) a forum to spew their hatred from.... and we can't have that, now can we?

Hello Déjà vu, it is good to see you again. At the risk of repeating myself, repeating myself, are we really this stupid? Did we have a collective Alzheimer's moment, erasing the last 8 years?
I have the audacity of hope that the administration does not get us all killed by wallowing in naiveté and abject stupidity....

I will leave this posting with another prostate exam-like question... If acts like 9-11 are criminal and not an act of war, why are we in Afghanistan? How then, was it ever the 'right' war, the 'just' war, the 'necessary' war?

Methinks the administration forgot to put some lube on the glove....



Thursday, November 12, 2009

The Only Thing We Need to Fear...

......Is stupid people

(Methinks that this will be an ongoing segment, as humanity's stupidity cannot be adequately serviced nor explained in such a brief span of time and/or space. Today my ranting shall be focused upon the rocky shores of fiscal irresponsibility...)

...Especially elected ones. More so when they control all 3 levers of government (and no, I'm not just talking exclusively about Democrats here - G.W. and the Republicans showed us how fine a job they could do with things earlier this decade....and that turned out really well, didn't it?)

The problem with elected stupidity, is that they get to do stupid things with our money - brother, can you spare a few trillion? Of course, I was furious with G.W. when he ran up billions. I understood some of it... wars (could've been much better managed, but - ok), multiple natural disasters (katrina, et, al. - again, could've been much better managed - waste, fraud, etc.., but again, understandable). It was more of the Medicare drug prescription, TARP (a rant for another time) and loads of other pure crapola that spewed out of that administration that really drove me crazy. Pork was no longer 'the other white meat', it was a governmental dietary mainstay...or so I thought...
Then came Obama.
Holy shit but this man can spend money.
Our money.
Our children's money
Our grandchildren's money.
Our grandchildren's grandchildren's money.
Our grandchildren's grandchildren's robotic overlord's money...
On the bright side, we now own: significant portions of the auto industry and banking industry; majority of home loans and all of student loans (to name a few)...Which is good because the private sector and capitalism are bad, right? Isn't that what Michael Moore said? He makes such good points and he really is workin' that whole fat slob thing isn't he?......but I digress...

How do we expect to be taken seriously as a nation when our currency is the global equivalent of Charmin 3x-ply?

Truly, this stupidity must stop. A few more fiscal gems like 'cap and trade' or 'heathcare reform' (each both worthy of additional solitary rants) will irrevocably bury us. Until then, let's have the Fed drop interest rates to 0, thus encouraging people to spend more money that they don't have...because that has worked so well for us so far...

How I would love to see an amendment requiring a balanced budget..... maybe our grandchildren's grandchildren's robotic overlords will institute one...

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

An Abbreviated Tribute

I had planned to compose a meaningful tribute today to our nation's veterans - a blog entry truly worthy of those who serve and have served..

but there were 2 small problems..
1) I just don't write that well
2) I'm freaking exhausted (the wahmbulance will be here soon - and yes, I had a wahmburger and french cries for dinner)

So, in a very un-soldierlike display, I am taking the night off.
A veteran, taking veterans day off.... sheer madness...

I salute you my friends.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Cry Havoc and Let Slip the Dogs of Stupidity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QqD-RwM5PY

Let me start by saying that Dr. Phil is an unmitigated douchebag - and his finger-wagging friend is quite an entertainer as well. Truly, this a link too good to miss.

and Dr. Phil is a douchebag... just in case I didn't mention it..

Are we really, as a society, this stupid?

So many absolutely asinine statements floating about the airwaves and news outlets today... just for funzies, let's revisit a few.

1) This is Obama's fault. Wrong. People who think this is the case should report immediately for voluntary sterilization so that their genes will not pollute society as a whole. PCJS (politically correct jackass syndrome) was not inflicted upon this country by the president. He just (unfortunately) tends to suffer from the disease himself.

2) 'W'. Wrong again. Recommendations as per above. George, thankfully did not suffer from PC part of PCJS.. although the jackass part... (you are either with us or against us.. I had to go against the principles of free market to save it, etc)... well, at least he wasn't politically correct

3) Since Maj Hasan was apparently acting alone, it was just the actions of a crazy person, not a terrorist. Survey says... Wrong. Timothy McVeigh was not part of some larger plot and no one hesitated to refer to him as a terrorist (for obvious reasons). What then would make this case any different? Is it because explosives were not used or was the body count not quite high enough?

4) This is the Army's fault for sending Hasan to Afghanistan, even tho he really didn't want to go there. Ummmmmm....Wrong. Those drinking this kool aid should be slapped in the face repeatedly with a large, 3 day old tuna. A soldier goes where Uncle Sam tells them to go, period. Get over it. The Army's needs come before personal ones - and after the first Gulf War, if one is stupid enough to think that a deployment to somewhere in the Arab world isn't a distinct possibility, then one should refer to recommendations as posted in #1.

This could go on ad nauseum, but I think the pattern is fairly clear..

The real questions are these:
1) Has the tipping point been reached. Has the abject stupidity of political correctness finally worn out it's welcome? Have the self righteous jackasses who worship at this particular altar, realize what they have done? Do they see that their sacrifice at this altar had a price in blood and that it is on their hands?
or
2) Will we go back to the status-quo. Will we drown in our own stupidity. After all, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then we shouldn't jump to conclusions...

and in case I forgot to mention it, Dr. Phil is a douchebag

Monday, November 9, 2009

and Knowing is Half the Battle.....

Remember when, at the end of the GI Joe cartoon, they would have the cartoon version of a Public Service Announcement (like what to do if someone is choking or what not) and it would always end with 'and knowing is half the battle'..? You DID watch GI Joe cartoons as a child, right? If not, do push-ups...

Yet I digress...

They knew. They just didn't get off their brass and do anything about it. Had Hasan been a white supremacist, he would have been booted long ago (and rightfully so). The Army isn't supposed to see white, black, brown, yellow or f*ing purple! - they are only supposed to see GREEN! Apparently, not today, not anymore.

For fear of the almighty race card being played, officers sat and did nothing. The behavior was known. I won't re-hash what has been said (tho I will post a link). I do wonder how those sitting on his last promotion board are sleeping these days...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,573469,00.html

General Casey stated that he is concerned that 'it would be a greater tragedy if our diversity became a casualty as well'.. I had to listen to the clip twice to make sure i got that right...
a "greater" tragedy? To this I have the following response:
(a) General Casey vastly underestimates the integrity of his troops if he is seriously entertaining the aforementioned notion. Soldiers are brothers and sisters. Race/color/creed/etc are generally non-issues. His inference to the contrary is sickening and pathetic.
(b) This man should never command troops again. period. I am embarrassed to have ever served (however briefly) under his command.

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/11/08/casey-muslim-backlash/

Our troops deserve better than this.

Inclusion is a wonderful thing. Bending over backwards to include those who wish to (and sometimes do) kill us, is not.

Methinks, somewhere, Gen. George Patton is spinning in his grave...


Sunday, November 8, 2009

O 'Bama Where Art Thou?

Celebrations begin in Berlin to commemorate the fall of the Wall - one of the seminal (that's right, I said seminal, Beavis) moments of freedom in our time...and where is our president?

He can go to Denmark and plug the Olympics for Chicago..
He can play a whole lot of golf..
He can date his wife..
He can campaign for governors..
He can make the rounds (over and over) with the talking heads to plug the abomination that is his healthcare plan..

But he can't go to Berlin?

In retrospect, its not terribly surprising.

He didn't meet with the Dalai Lama when he came to Washington..
He didn't so much as repeat his 'Cairo speech' when Iranian citizens were being brutalized and murdered when they protested fixed election results..
He supported Honduran President Manuel Zelaya (along with Castro and Chavez) instead of the Honduran people (who had the audacity to follow the dictates of their own constitution)...

Perhaps it is because, at this particular event, he would be unwise to 'apologize' for the United States when overseas?

Or is celebrating freedom just not his style...?

I promise, tomorrow I will find a new target... I still have a Ft. Hood hangover..