War of Wits

Regardless of which political party you support, in order to gauge where exactly the country would be headed under a particular candidate’s leadership, most people would listen to the speeches, read the party platform, or in the case of Candidate Obama, simply take him at his word. Conventional wisdom holds that comparing a candidate’s voting record to their rhetoric exposes any weaknesses in their commitment to actually do what they promise. But if one desires a truly unvarnished look into the political future under either party, one need look no further than the 2008 National Conventions in Denver and St. Paul. (more…)

“Congress is presumed to know the terrain against which it legislates… If Congress can appropriate billions for this aspect of national defense and not know how it is accounted for, then God save the Republic.” - Chief Justice Mayer - U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit

Today’s veterans enjoy unprecedented care and support, but we have not always offered previous generations of veterans all of the support that we indeed owe them. How quickly we forget that if not for their sacrifices, we’d speaking German or saluting the Rising Sun.

The Korean war was called the Forgotten War because it was sandwiched between and overshadowed by the dual traumas of WWII and Vietnam. We forget that in three years of fighting in Korea, we lost nearly 37,000 men. Contrast that with 4,000 dead in Iraq,  the 10,000 or so casualties since September of 2001 or even the 58,000 U.S. servicemen killed in Vietnam over 10 years. Korean War vets served just as valiantly as any generation of soldiers. They sacrificed heavily; indeed proportionately even more so than present-day veterans, but while Presidential candidates dangle free college tuition, fewer, shorter deployments and cutting-edge medicine in front of today’s veterans, most of these retirees have been forgotten, as have many of their brethren who served in WWII and the broken the promises that were made to them in return for their service. (more…)

“I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy… I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”  - Joe Biden to the New York Observer - Jan. 2007

Thanks to the tremendous reserve of mercy shown by Barack Obama, we won’t have to wait until the start of the Democratic Convention in Denver to find out who his Vice Presidential pick will be. Obama has finally announced that his running mate is Delaware Democrat Senator Joe Biden. The skies have cleared, the Angels are singing and the universe can now return to equilibrium. I sincerely hope that all Americans who signed up for Obama’s historic text message weren’t disappointed or feeling left out by its delivery in the wee hours of the morning. You should now breathe that collective sigh of relief because you’ll soon be deluged with spam seeking campaign contributions.

I am delighted that Obama has chosen Joe Biden, the legendary windbag, plagiarist, Delaware Democrat and a six-term Senator who is a card-carrying member of that exclusive club that Obama has so often railed against in the past, Washington insiders. (more…)

Democrats are running a bit lean these days. Some would say they’re on nothing more than vapors.

Although it seems that proponents of more oil drilling have the upper hand in the energy debate at the moment, getting a single drop of oil from the ground is another matter altogether. Opponents have pulled out all the stops, resorting to parliamentary maneuvering and intellectual dishonesty to avoid bringing the subject up for a vote.  It’s clear they have no intention of engaging in compromise or cooperation to reach a speedy, comprehensive solution to our short and long-term energy needs. (more…)

Well, it’s unanimous.

For the first time since this endless election cycle started, it appears that people are finally getting sick and tired of hearing about Barack Obama. Recent news reports show that large percentages of Americans believe Obama is completely over-exposed and given far too much praise and positive publicity. It would be nice if the nation could focus on a different subject, perhaps one that actually has some substance, but the mainstream media simply won’t allow that to happen. Instead of providing coverage of the facts needed to address American doubts over Obama, all we get is gleaming smiles on magazine covers and squishy, softball interviews, saturation coverage of Obama speaking to wooing German fans and Obama posing in family portraits or pictures portraying him as a regular guy bowling or playing basketball. (more…)

The fundamental difference between a free nation and one locked in the thumbscrews of tyranny has historically been representative government. As Americans, we belong to a constitutional republic with elected representatives tasked with enacting legislation on our behalf that enhances our freedom, security and well-being. But when our representatives are  diametrically opposed to the wishes of the people and actively work against them, we no longer exist as a free nation. Rather we suffer under a congressional oligarchy. (more…)

“Hindsight is 20/20, but I think that what I am absolutely convinced of is, at that time, we had to change the political debate because the view of the Bush Administration at that time was one that I just disagreed with, and one that I continue to disagree with.” - Barack Obama on his Iraq tapdance

Hindsight may be 20/20, but then why is Barack Obama blindly placing so much emphasis on his supposed hindsight to oppose the war in Iraq? That argument may have sold like hotcakes when we were losing, but all you can get for it these days is a handful of loose change. (more…)

In these times of economic uncertainty, global terrorism and nationwide tumult, the last thing this country needs is a Commander-In-Chief that has absolutely no military or foreign policy experience. (more…)

When I was six, I watched as a man insulted my father after dad refused to allow the guy to cut in front him in the bakery line. After a few words were exchanged, I watched as my father took him out  back to where we old-schoolers call “behind the woodshed” where he proceeded to pummel the poor chap silly before he apologized and slunk off.

As a young boy, all I could think of was how proud I was of my father when he kicked that guy’s butt. My brother and I were laughing about how cool it was my dad clocked this guy when we were sternly interupted for the compulsory lessons about conflict that this particular pummeling demonstrated. (more…)

Freedom -Free-dom frē-dəm\ n. The quality or state of being free as a: the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action. b: Liberation from slavery. c: The quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous. © 2008 Merriam Webster Inc.

Many people think of Independence Day as a day off from work. A day to shoot off fireworks. A chance to enjoy a summer barbecue, a weekend camping trip or a day at the beach. But when I think of Independence Day, all at once I am filled with both gratutide and an overabundance of caution. I celebrate the magnificent gift of freedom that our founders bestowed upon us with their fantastic experiment, yet I am increasingly wary of the current generation of it’s handlers. As Americans, we owe our allegiance to our Constitution, not some elected body that pretends to carry out our wishes every few odd years so they can maintain their stranglehold on power. (more…)

(An Open Letter To Jack “Cold-Blooded” Murtha) 

Congressman Murtha,

Were I you sir, I would hang my head in shame and pray to my Creator, begging His forgiveness for the pain that I’ve caused innocent people. And then I would perform some serious personal introspection to see what I could possibly do to begin the process of restitution for my crimes.

But you won’t because you have no shame. (more…)

Warning: Contains coarse language.

The military has long recognized that when the unwelcome stench of undue command influence begins to waft through the halls of justice, you’d better hold your nose, because bad things are about to happen. That is why they have regulations in place to seek out and eradicate the influence of commanders on the military judicial process. Unlawful command influence has been called “the mortal enemy of military justice” and for good reason. In this particular case, the ones wielding that illegal influence are figuratively fragging Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani. (more…)

“Multiculturalism is not a rational idea, but is part of the tyranny of wishful thinking that inevitably accompanies the decay of reason.” - Political Correctness - British Author/Researcher Phillip Atkinson

The primary role of any government is to ensure the safety, security and well-being of its citizens while intruding as little as possible into their personal affairs. The secondary role of any government is to ensure that while fulfilling it’s primary role, the will of the majority is given the utmost consideration. But when the will of the majority is no longer even of tangential concern to the government, particularly when said government engages in unapologetic social engineering, thought control or redistribution of wealth, it is tyrrany that prevails.

(more…)

USMC 1st Lt Andrew Grayson

On June 4th, 2008, yet another ace was yanked from the house of cards that laid foundation of the government’s case against eight Marines for their actions relating to a terrorist ambush in Haditha, Iraq in November of 2005. 

Although that deck was completely stacked against them and reshuffled repeatedly, five of eight Marines have had their charges dismissed and First Lieutenant Andrew Grayson has faced court martial and was rightly found not guilty on all counts. (more…)

Fraud - \’Frôd - n.-

1. a: Deceit, trickery; specifically: intentional perversion of truth in order to induce another to part with something of value or to surrender a legal right. b: an act of deceiving or misrepresenting.
2. a: a person who is not what he or she pretends to be: Impostor; also: one who defrauds: cheat: b. one that is not what it seems or is represented to be. © 2008 Merriam-Webster Inc.

I’ve ridden 40 foot swells in the South China Sea for three days straight, skirting typhoons on a hangover and two hours of sleep, yet nothing nauseates me more than one who uses deception about anything related military service when they themselves didn’t have the pair between their legs, the sense of duty or the time to put on my country’s uniform. (more…)