On October 24, 2011 · Comments Off
Once again, GWOT Veterans are in the cross hairs of the very government they served to protect YOUR liberties… When you sit and read the articles, keep in mind how easy it would be to construe a wounded Veteran from recent operations in Iraq who loves to be prepared and live outdoors showing up at a surplus store. Having been wounded, and losing limbs, they can easily be ‘profiled’ according to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force handout as a domestic terrorist. This after MIAC, and the DHS Report in 2008. BOHICA!
David Codrea’s Gun Rights Examiner article: http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/fbi-adds-preppers-to-potential-terrorists-list?CID=examiner_alerts_article
PDF of the FBI handout to Colorado Surplus stores… ColoradoFBISurplusStore
On April 13, 2011 · Comments Off
Really, if any agency deserves budget cuts more than the TSA let me know… Wait, never mind, I can think of a few myself… However, maybe we should do away with the multiple redundant bureaucracy that is the Dept. of Homeland Security and send ‘Big Sis’ Napolitano back to New Mexico. Its obvious that these ‘enhanced’ screening techniques often times end up being used on children who aren’t involved in terrorism; along with grandmothers, grandfathers, and I’m sure handicapped folks. Being a father of toddlers, this disgusts me; being a GWOT veteran who went forth to kill terrorists in their own nation, this angers me further to see these amateurs ignore techniques that are far less intrusive and far more effective (yes it involves profiling behavior, not race; though since most of the crazy suicide bombers stem from one part of the world… however that behavior profiling might also yield some other results in other arenas such as battling drug smuggling…). So here it is folks the articles for your perusal from Glenn Beck’s The Blaze: Little Miss Drexel’s folks, and the Jihad Jammer. So, which Americans should we screen more closely?
On March 19, 2011 · Comments Off
US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security continue to astound me in their hammering of US Citizens returning home with COMIC BOOKS while completely ignoring the gaping hole in our Southern Border that allows drug cartels and terrorists to waltz right in un-opposed (with the BATFE now supplying some of the guns to the cartels through OP Gunrunner…). Instead of dealing with the existential threat of dirty bombs coming from the south, they focus on comic book collectors coming back with Japanese Manga and Anime; charging them with child pornography. This after searching all their electronic devices, from computer laptops, net books, and flash and thumb drives.
While some of the Japanese hentai and ecchi manga/anime is indeed disgusting, it is legally obtainable in the United States… Which makes me wonder why they are wasting time charging comic book geeks at the borders with child pornography… Unless of course, at the border, your 1st Amendment Rights mean nothing (and to some extant, the ICE does need the greater latitude to search for contraband to protect the US…). I’m not going to condone pornography of any sort, however if our resources are being expended on some ICE officers interpretation of child pornography in the context of drawn pictures of Japanese comics, instead of on the guy down the line who is a drug smuggler or terrorist… Then we as a nation are in trouble.
It reminds me of going to Korea. We had Security Forces at Osan AFB give us the briefing about contraband, and any pornography imported to Korea was considered contraband. So, the guys with Playboy in their bags had to drop it in the ‘Amnesty Box’. Then after clearing customs, go pick up the same issue at the AAFES Shopette down the road… Or pick up the local stuff off base (which included some ‘black market’ American stuff obtained through AAFES and likely the Customs Amnesty box!). Gee, lets make contraband what can be acquired in country anyway? Oh, yeah, because it bypasses the normal importation procedures and taxation? So do cigarettes, yet every nation I’ve travelled to allows for small quantities for personal use to be brought by individuals in country… The same can be said for COMIC BOOKS and other media. If we allow latitude for the personal use of TOBACCO, the same should apply to comic books, books, games, and other media that is being brought in by people for their own personal collections.Its truly eerie to see artwork treated in such a manner, as well as electronic media. So far, we aren’t at the European standard of tyranny yet were you are required to give the Customs agents your user names and passwords for your accounts on your laptop along with any encryption keys so they can scan your computer by routine (the UK…). However, we aren’t far off. This the United States of America; art, written word, and other forms for free speech are to be cherished and protected. If something is suspicious, then there is probable cause. However, in this case I believe they are moving too far; and I’m a person opposed to pornography for moral and religious reasons!
Really, we have bigger fish to fry on the border than the dirty minded comic book fanboy.
Today I ran across an individual who believed in ‘not participating’ in the political system, to the point of not even voting; and yet they lead a ‘Freedom Initiative’ movement that is working to audit the Federal Reserve (an action I do indeed agree with very much). However, Its my opinion that not voting, this person has indeed abdicated their citizenship and indeed for me their opinions regarding the Political Landscape in the United States. Not voting is turning over and ceasing to fight (rhetorically) and surrendering to the whim of whom ever is in charge; not voting and complaining about government is not only surrendering to the whim of such government, but complaining without doing any thing to positively effect said government.
As I go through the Constitution of the United States, I see the vote and participation of the Citizen a requirement for the maintenance of this Republic. In order to keep the Republic from slinking into simple “mob rule” of Athenian Democracy, the Founders established a Representative Democracy in the Legislative Branch of our Government through the House of Representatives. All bills involving revenue and its generation (taxation) must start in the House, the PEOPLEs Representatives chosen directly through the democratic process in each district based on population size in order to get the best representation possible across the land (and by no means perfect, and currently exploited in many cases sadly). In the beginning, until the 17th Amendment in 1912, our Senators were chosen by our State Legislators, this separated the democratic process from the direct democracy into the representative democracy that prevails through the rest of our government. Since we chose our State Legislators directly, they in turn would vote for the Senators based upon their obligations to their State Constituency. This created a bit more of a ‘refined’ wing to the Legislative Branch of government, as the Senate is where treaties and other affairs that affect Foreign Policy are decided. Now, we have more direct control over our Senators, and I can’t say its the best thing as now it seems we have greater mob rule in the Senate… But I digress, voting is still critical no matter if we vote directly for the Representative, or we elect a State Legislator to chose our Senator. Ben Franklin’s quote about maintaining the Republic comes to my mind on this issue.
While I find myself getting angry and blurting out “YOU DON’T VOTE? DON’T BITCH!” quickly followed by “Maybe we should remove your citizenship and turn you into a resident” I’m not going to actively seek to do that. No, the idea doesn’t make me a Fascist, those that think so should compare and contrast the Fascists to the Communists and re-assess. I’m not a Fascist, I’m a Federalist, and one that believes strongly in taking responsibility for the maintenance of my beloved Republic. While I rhetorically hammer folks for failing to do so, I have NO INTEREST in actually carrying it out. In many cases such shocking language is required to get some people to stop and think about their apathy and its impact. I’m furious at the 30% turnout at the polls during elections. My point with those conversations is to indeed get folks to get off their butts and out to the polls. Those who don’t believe in this cornerstone of this Republic should indeed be ashamed. Besides, when you cease to vote, no one needs to take your Rights as a citizen away from you, you just cast them aside yourself. All I do when I mention the heavy handed ‘stripping’ is point it out… And advocate for your protection as merely a resident.
When asked how would they would go about changing the government without voting, this person responded with the question of how can we change it with voting. What a stupid response. Its just an evasion, just like the very politicians we seek to remove from power by simply voting for someone else. Sure, voting isn’t the perfect way to ensure our government remains the protector of our natural God given rights, however it sure as hell beats a bloody removal from power of a dictator that takes years to really build up for. Every two years, we overthrow by force of the ballot, sections of our government be they local, state or federal. In a lot of cases, we keep the same people. Thats part of being a Representative Democracy (and if you don’t know what Representative Democracy is, you need to remove your head from your cranium and LEARN something, thereby becoming a better informed Citizen, and I daresay VOTER).
When we vote, and things don’t turn out our way, we have every right to be angry, and we still have recourse to express our opposing points of view. Even when a person is elected to an office, they have obligation to protect the rights of all their Constituents, no matter if they voted for them or not; and they are accountable to them. What we have witnessed here is the failure of many politicians to realize this duty to protect the rights of all Citizens; not the failure of Representative Democracy and the ballot box. Instead we have the perfect storm of Voter apathy, corruption of Government, and failure to fulfill duty. Because the Voter participates in the system, they have every reason to experience righteous indignation and anger. The non-participant, abdicates theirs by virtue of failing to partake in the most basic, and important, office of our nations government, Citizen.
Voting is, by its very nation, the Citizen applying force against the government. Force need not be violent and deadly like we first visualize when the word ‘force’ is used. Force of will is what it is. If the framers of our Constitution didn’t believe in the awesome responsibility of Citizenship and the power of the Ballot Box over Government, we’d have been left as peons and peasants with not ability to Vote from the get go of the Constitution. Peons and Peasants can’t vote, and are required to accept their lot in life and submit to the Citizens who can vote, hold property, and carry arms. Our Founders understood this well, and unlike the Roman Republic, and those that followed up until our Constitutional Convention, they worked to ensure all Americans were Citizens (even if the final draft conspicuously left the Slaves and Native Americans out of the picture… It is interesting to note that Ben Franklin went on to be one of the leading Abolitionists of his day… It was indeed a political concession in order to get the Southern States to ratify the final draft of the Constitution, that the process of Amendments was written in to support such changes).
For me, it is utterly alien to believe that Voting is trivial and pointless. The results vary greatly, however it is my obligation to vote. I feel compelled to vote, even though I know for certain that things might not always turn out exactly my way (300 million Americans, I’m sure not everyone thinks like I do…). Too many Flags over too many graves stones for me to not vote. But then, if you don’t think that American servicemen die to secure such Liberties, by all means, continue with your apathy and ignorance. If you don’t vote, how do you plan to change government and secure your rights? Revolution? Thats the way it seems some folks are going right now… After all, look at what those 14 Democratic State Senators did in Wisconsin… They knew they’d be defeated and just decided not to vote, jump state, and ensure the Unions had time to gather a storm of protestors with the intention of intimidating the peoples chosen representatives and governor into changing their minds about public employee collective bargaining.
To me, not voting is a cancer to this Republic. Its motivated by apathy, or anarchy. Neither is conducive to the continued health of this Republic.
On February 15, 2011 · Comments Off
…or MRARANOD (pronounced Murrrahh-NOD)!
15FEB2011
Yet another reason to follow El Al’s example of screening from the moment people show up at the airport and observing their actions up until they board instead of the screening we currently have in place now with the DHS TSA. Corruption was certainly bound to happen, and did in New Jersey.
“Michael Arato, 41, of Ewing also admitted Monday in federal court in Newark that he regularly stole from passengers who went through his checkpoint in Terminal B.
Prosecutors say Arato permitted a worker he supervised to steal between $10,000 and $30,000 in cash from travelers’ bags over a 13-month period. In exchange, the subordinate would give a portion of the money to Arato. The subordinate, who was not named, cooperated with the federal investigation that led to Arato’s arrest in October.”
The Middle East is definitely in the spotlight as of late with Egypt’s coup d’etat. Interesting how when Egypt has turned over the reigns of power to the Military and they suspend both parliament and the Constitution nobody on the Left in this country is screaming foul (like they did in Honduras back in 2009 when the military arrested the President after he attempted to be able to become President for life… parliament actually requested the Honduran military remove him from the country if I recall). However, there is indeed good signs coming out of some of the actions of Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, largely the Parliament was run by Mubarak supporters, and parts of the Constitution worked for Mubarak to rig elections… However, its still a situation to observe closely and skeptically based on historical precedent.
While Rick Francona doesn’t see the same religious undertones he saw in the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the possibility still remains for the Muslim Brotherhood to turn Egypt into an Islamic Republic. So far people are pretty positive about the Muslim Brotherhoods sincerity in creating, and allowing, other political parties; however many of us who have read about the Muslim Brotherhood and their history in the region remain skeptical. While they are all about democracy and the ballot box today, when they gain control tomorrow that remains to be seen. Democracy in its truest form is mob rule, whoever has the most votes DICTATES just as much as an autocratic dictator; this is why our country is a Constitutional Republic with a form of Representative Democracy with safeguards to protect minorities. Seeing how Islamic Republics like Iran, or the Taliban, ‘respect’ minorities such as Christians, Jews, tribal sects, and women; I’m remaining cautiously skeptical. Good things can certainly happen within Egypt, so long as the Muslim Brotherhoods dream of an Islamic Republic of Egypt is NOT realized. One of the primary concerns here is the Muslim Brotherhoods demands that the treaty with Israel is not recognized by any new regime… This to me is very telling that the party of reform in Egypt is also the party of war; that is the Muslim Brotherhood. I highly, highly, recommend folks read “The Looming Tower” by Lawrence Wright; the history of modern radical Islam in that book is enlightening (especially the relationship of the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda).
This movement has indeed emboldened many across the Middle East to do the same kinds of protests, and its fascinating to see whats going on in Iran. To me the silence of the American media and our current Administration is deafening. On the one hand, they covered Iran’s regimes mass demonstration in support of the Egyptian protests that toppled Mubarak (because Mubarak was an American supporter), yet on the other hand when the ‘chickens come to roost’ in Iran the Iranian government is seeking to crush them completely? Irony. Of course, you never saw the same level of support from Obama and the American Left for Irans protesters back in 2009, nor are we going to see the same level of support they gave Egypt this time as well. I believe that the current Administration needs to come out much more strongly in favor of the protesters in Iran, and do so publicly as a clear message that we aren’t going to play Iran’s nuclear game any more, nor are we going to accept their actions in the form of Hizbollah. We need to send a clear message that the current Islamic Regime is unacceptable and needs to be toppled. But that would require our government to grow a pair and wield the big stick that goes with talking softly. What ever happened to the idea of a war of liberation, or at least the threat of force to ensure liberation? If we do nothing, many more are going to die soon if we do little or nothing.
Got to love Doomsday scenarios… We are now an apocalyptic people, we all see apocalypse around us in our media; be it the zombie apocalypse (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Return of the Living Dead, and a whole host of clones and remakes), post nuclear apocalypse (Mad Max, Fallout 3, etc.), or biblical apocalypse (Left Behind, End of Days, etc..). New York has finally gone ahead and published a Doomsday ‘manual’! Really, its just a Public Health Legal Manual, a guide for Judges, Attorneys, and Public Health Professionals. What should be done is perhaps teaching their people how to be somewhat self sufficient… Or else when disaster hits the hordes of barbarians will raid and pillage those who have prepared and leave everyone starving. Its likely going to be a bloody mess of mobs and the Judges, Attorneys, and Public Health Professionals will likely be able to do too little to stop the chaos. It’ll be up to the people outside NYC to clean up the mess, most likely a disproportionate amount of American resources will be wasted trying to recover a dead NYC should an event of apocalyptic proportions affect NYC, thats the cost of most of the population not having to leave a three mile radius most of they’re lives (not to mention the proportion of welfare recipients who will suddenly cease to get any of it rather suddenly).
Perhaps what makes my head explode more is the fact that Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) wants to end the practice of US Representatives living in their Congressional offices… Apparently, 33 Representatives who don’t leave the House when they are in Washington DC is ‘un-ethical’. They equate it being dorm rooms and frat houses? Apparently they believe it violates House Rules and and is an unreported tax benefit?! What planet are they on? I’m happy to see Representatives practicing some fiscal sense and not paying $2,000 a month to the Watergate Hotel for a one room suite! How much you want to bet Watergate is behind CREWs investigation?
On a more positive note, Soldiers love the XM-25 25mm ‘smart’ grenade launcher! Nothing like ‘smart’ grenades that explode overhead at specific distances needed by the soldier over the heads of stupid terrorists! Ballistic trajectories just got a heck of a lot more interesting!
On September 11, 2010 · Comments Off
Whenever an army runs a camp, they “Stand To” at dawn, the most likely point when an enemy force will attack. When they “Stand To” everyone is in a fighting position along the perimeter, or otherwise in a position in which to carry out battle should an attack possibly happen.
http://www.esquire.com/features/essay/ESQ0307ESSAY
I miss being in, the above essay is the best I’ve seen on the subject.
Currently today I serve with the Alaska State Defence Force, a Title 32 State Militia that falls under Alaska’s Adjutant General (the General in charge of both the Alaska Army and Air National Guard, Alaska Military Youth Academy, and Alaska State Defence Force). I’ve gone from being an Airman fighting for the nation as a whole overseas to a Soldier for Alaska defending the United States from within Alaska. I’ll always likely be drawn to jobs and volunteer opportunities involving security, its forever in my nature now.
I joined the Air Force 10 years ago out of feelings of patriotism and the need to be ready should something terrible happen. Nine years ago something did indeed occur that vindicated my decisions. I found myself right where I was needed when I needed to be there (even if I didn’t go to war where and when I thought I should have!).
Every year this day comes, I’m haunted by two conversations from high school. First was my Creative Writing Teacher laughing at the notion that terrorist could possibly attack our nation. Apparently the 1993 WTC bombing was lost on her, and the more obvious threat was from the McVeigh crowd… She laughed… In 1999… Then there were the Pearl Harbor Survivors that I heard speak when I was a snot nosed Navy JROTC Cadet standing in formation at the US Air Force Academy honouring. I remember the old retired Navy Sailor who survived Pearl Harbor very worriedly with pain in his voice decry how our nation had forgotten the lessons and was not fully prepared… (I even found the article from this event as few of these survivors are left today: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4191/is_19991208/ai_n9962942/ it was always a special occasion in Colorado Springs).
On September 10 2001 I was loading Humvees into a KC-135 at Topeka’s Airport getting ready for my first National Training Center rotation (a month of war games out at Ft. Irwin CA). I’d just achieved my Combat Mission Readiness status in JUL01 and was fully deployable. I’d just been in over a year (02AUG00 was when I went to Basic…). The next day I was supposed to have the day off after dropping one of our Airmen off at the stating point as he was part of the Advance Party going to fly with our trucks… Needless to say, it became one of the longest days in my military career. I remember walking out of our squadron break room on Ft. Riley and closing our motor pool gate and putting a holster on my TA-50 gear after watching the Pentagon getting hit. A short time later our Squadron Commander called us into the briefing room and we watched the events unfold on our projector screen, we all had that sick feeling in our guts knowing we were at war right now. As our Squadron Commander released us to go home to our families for the day, and to expect a phone call at any minute, the towers collapsed. Living in the dorms, there was no sleep for me. Just interrupted rest as we rotated who would do a building walk around each hour…
We ended up going to NTC a week later. I didn’t deploy to Afghanistan, ever… However I ended up supporting Operation Enduring Freedom from Kuwait in 2002 by working at the bombing ranges and training pilots (and getting training myself…) that were flying through on their way to Afghanistan. I did go to Korea for a year, and served in the long war that never ended there (its still under the 1953 ceasefire) from 2003-2004, and finally went to Iraq twice before getting out. Now I serve locally in Alaska…
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