GOD BLESS “MERICA” (this is way the NASCAR guys say it)

I don’t think it is just Republicans who are “locked in.” As a Democrat, let us be objective: everybody that I talk too of all kinds of political persuasions, appear to get it about Afghanistan, we simply can’t do anything. They are a tribal people, still live in the Middle Ages, a President who stole an election and fosters corruption. He is, by reasonable American standards, a joke. Yet, we continue to pour in millions as though we have a McChrystal ball. Nothing seems to make any real difference: we have a demo Prez, that I’ve supported bigtime, Demo congress: no difference. So, it really baffles me.

 

I’m sticking with my view: 30% of Americans are downright stupid. I don’t mean dumb, they just don’t think, and they appear to be mostly Republicans from where I stand but by no means, the only ones. We have 300 million plus in the country, 25% are out to lunch, they don’t participate in anything: operate on a philosophy of “Of all my fathers children, I love myself the best. If the Lord provides for me, the devil take the rest.” And, what I’m hoping is that there is at least 50% of Americans, of all persuasions, who at least possibly, maybe are still participating and want to rescue the country.

 

America is a great country, still experimenting, I believe. We may be ungovernable, like CA, not sure. Still, we have lots of opportunity, can criticize the government, and be about as nutso as we want to be.

GIVING UP FREEDOMS

***On Thursday 13 American Soldiers were killed and another 30 wounded at a horrific mass shooting at a US Army installation, Ft Hood Texas . As I watched in horror and then anger I recalled my two years of final service in the Army as a Battalion Commander at Ft Hood, 2002-2004.

My wife and two daughters were stunned at the incident having lived on the post in family housing. A military installation, whether it is Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, or Coast Guard, is supposed to be a safe sanctuary for our Warriors and their families. It is intended to provide a home whereby our “Band of Brothers and Sisters” can find solace and bond beyond just the foxhole but as family units. A military installation is supposed to be a place where our Warriors train for war, to serve and protect our Nation.

On Thursday, 5 November 2009 Ft Hood became a part of the battlefield in the war against Islamic totalitarianism and state sponsored terrorism.

here may be those who feel threatened by my words and would even recommend they not be uttered. To those individuals I say step aside because now is not the time for cowardice. Our Country has become so paralyzed by political correctness that we have allowed a vile and determined enemy to breach what should be the safest place in America , an Army post.

We have become so politically correct that our media is more concerned about the stress of the shooter, Major Nidal Malik Hasan. The misplaced benevolence intending to portray him as a victim is despicable.

***the above is a portion of the comments made by the former battalion commander and prompted my remarks to follow.

The dilemma that I face personally is that I want an open society but I am afraid that we can no longer have it. PC and labels like liberal and conservative will no longer do. We have to put the security of the country ahead of political idealogies. Unfortunately, those like myself or as I see it, those who are open about things have to accept that it no longer can be.

Here’s one of the things I’m thinking and maybe the only positive that comes from this unfathonable tragedy: the shooter at Fort Hood, being alive and because of the military system, when found guilty and sentenced to death will be at Leavenworth prison for years but we will be forced to deal with what he has done because it was a terrorist act. Eventually, as a country we might be forced to face our future and consequently have to give up some of the freedoms we have known in the past. Like what? I don’t know but when 9-11 happened, I said (not original with me and no great insight) this has changed life in America and will affect us forever. And, it will and it has. Consequently, in the past, I would have shrugged off Col West’s comments whereas now, I am thinking about it differently. I would vote for Col West in a millisecond (he is running for congress in Florida). My seminary professor, Dr. Boyce said once that “man has a great capacity to change and to change his views.” Rarely does that happen but I’m giving it a shot. God bless us.

WAR LORDS

Malalai Joya is an Afghan who tells it like it is. If there has ever been a reason to think exit Afghanistan, her book lays it out. She was actually elected to their congress but expelled for accusing the War Lords of being the problem with her country. She says that about half of them are criminals, involved in dope, adinfinitum. I think if we could let women run the world, we wouldn’t be in the shape we are.

RETIRED MILITARY CHAPLAINS SPEAK THEIR MINDS

Chaps, I thought the President did well, making the strongest statements
about the killer, justice, etc, in fact being the only one to speak of the
killer. Although they all spoke of the irony and horror of being killed in
a “safe” military environment no one mentioned that it was at the hand of a
fellow soldier. It sounded to me like the Army brass were afraid that they
might slip up and accidently say Muslim or terror/terrorist.

Also, I wondered why the senior chaplain didn’t use other chaplains for a
couple of the chaplain parts. Is it because there is a Muslim or Buddhist
chaplain there, or a fundamentalist chaplain, Dave or Tom, and he didn’t
want to have to deal with “diversity?” Or was afraid one of his chaplains
might mention the name of Jesus? Does anyone know? L Hunt
Chaplain (COL) US Army, Retired

Chaps,
I hope that President Obama’s words came from his own heart, not from
speech writers, and which ever is the case, that he heard himself and felt
something new in the environment in which he uttered those words.

And I prayed and pray that President Obama is forever changed in ways
that will be good for our constitutional government and for us.

Claude

Agree with you, Dave, in fact all of you. What really ticks me off is here we have spent no telling how much of a dollar value could be put on this guy’s edcucation, at least a million, after getting his education, he comes up with all these radical things, ie, fighting other muslims, etc. I personally think it was an act of terroism, the same as if he were a suicide bomber.

What I hate is that we are going to spend years dealing with this guy. His rights, our prejudice against Muslims, etc. It is such a shame that our cop didn’t complete the job. We don’t need to learn this guy’s motive: jidhad, kill the infidels. jda

THE FORT HOOD TRAGEDY

Could hardly believe what I was hearing. It wasn’t comparable to 9-11 but it was shocking in its tragedy. For about 4 hours, I was glued to the TV. An Army psychiatrist kills thirteen and wounds 41. I could hardly believe it. Aren’t psychiatrists in the helping professions? This doesn’t make any sense. Then, of course, we have his name: it isn’t John Smith, it’s Arabic. Immediately, we think terrorism, a suicide bomber, what! A shrink for God’s sake. What is going on? I’m going to wait and see. Crazy in it’s magnitude and sadness in what this senseless shooting has wrought.

I have known lots of Army psychiatrists and most of the time smile when I think about ‘em. I asked one why he bece a shrink. “I hate blood”, he says. Well, those are reasons. I can’t conceive of a psychiatrist in the helping mode doing something like this to innocent soldiers.

And, then there’s the comeraderie of being a soldier. There’s something about “all being in this together.” Us against the world sort of thing. Soldiering these days is a subculture of sorts where few people outside the military have any concept of what it’s like. Those who are in this environment probably feel a false sense of security. No longer.

My seminary professor, Dr. Boyce said to us once, “Sometimes there is a sympathy so great for someone, that there really is nothing to say.” The only thing I know to say, God bless all at Fort Hood and the families of all who’ve died and been wounded.

AFGHANISTAN/VIETNAM

I am plowing through Ted Kennedy’s True Compass. It has proven to be quite the “fine.” I’ve never been much of a fan of any of the Kennedys and I really don’t know why. I think that some of it has  just been personal prejudice with no basis. In the book, one of the things that I zeroed in on immediately: Money is never any option. Want to go overseas, take off. How about a new house in Palm Beach? Sure. See what I mean. Few of us have those privileges but beyond that, True Compass, is fascinating. And, especially now that we are in the throes of dealing with Afghanistan and with the President mulling a decision of whether to send more troops. You could take an overlay of Vietnam and put it on Afghanistan and it is a perfect fit. The difference is that HO’s  overriding desire was nationalism for Vietnam while the Taliban and AlQueta are fanatics. But, Vietnam’s Diem was corrupt as is Karzai, Diem had appointed himself president, lined his own pockets with nepotism as his middle name. He had lost touch with the people. It is an absolute replay of the same song, different verse. Diem’s big thing was fighting communism. We were willing to dole out billions then whereas now it is terrorism.

Here’s something I see. True Compass lays out the path of the late Senator Kennedy’s disillusionment of Vietnam while at the same time starting out as a supporter. It is simply amazing and scary and another example of how history repeats itself. The sad thing is that it doesn’t seem to make any difference. We have two major wars going on with no real end in sight. Although we still hear that Iraq is more peaceful, we’re headed toward withdrawal, I remain skeptical. And, a strategy in Afghanistan which at best will mean years more of our involvement and at worst finding ourselves where we did after Vietnam, 58,000 plus American lives and billions of dollars; was it worth it. NO WAY. Maybe a legacy of the late Senator Kennedy’s final word to us in True Compass is that for once we understand the concept of quagmire. Vietnam was a quagmire. Afghanistan is a quagmire.

HEART BREAKING

THE RECESSION IS OVER. Says who?–not the recent Frontline Show on PBS. I know we’ve all seen how difficult some people’s lives are in these economic conditions. However, this program got in depth with how the economy has effected people’s lives and those who think good times are here didn’t talk to these people. Frontline profiled several and the damage to individuals and families in losing a job. One man had worked for a company for 18 years and they gave him ten minutes to clean out his office and leave. HEARTLESS! After being fired, It became a process that many worked like a job, with little or no results: some sending out 200 resumes a week, no response. Then it showed the people losing their homes. The banks were ruthless. One man had borrowed to make up for being behind 3 payments but when he tried to pay, they said no, “You are almost four behind.” They foreclosed.

God bless those folks.

GUANTANOMO

I’ve always thought Guatanomo was stupid for lots of reasons–a bad idea of bringing prisoners of unknown value to Guantonomo. It has proven to be nothing but trouble. One of those Dick Cheney and Don Runsfelt ideas that we are still living with.

This is a novel idea. Has nobody ever surfaced the idea of treating the prisoners really good. Educate and show them the best of America. I know, I know, opposition would be everywhere. [We have got to get away from this idea that we can't do things because of opposition.] And, of course, has nobody thought about the psychological toll on the young military police men and women who guard the prisoners.

A suggestion to the President: take s look at these two locations for moving them: Leavenworth in Kansas. I’m sure somebody has suggested this so why not. And, what about taking back Alcatraz. Great idea. The tourists would have to give it up but they could simply ride around it and the tour guides could tell great stories of previous residents, i. e., Al Capone. Problem solved, plus by refurbishing Alcatraz, it could become part of stimulus package. Create jobs.

We Are All From Some Place Else

OPPOSITION MELTS AWAY. There’s a school in San Francisco that takes kids who speak no English and teaches them. In six months, they are speaking English better than most of us. Pretty inspiring. Reminds me of the great American immigration of Vietnamese who had helped us in that sorry war. Most expected big time opposition in bringing all these Vietnamese into the country. Here came the busses and all these kids started getting off the busses and guess what: OPPOSITION MELTED.

For those who spend lots of time with their bowels all upset over immigration policy, I always think: there for the grace of God go Us. We could have been born in Mexico, Pakistan, anywhere; by fate, luck, whatever we were born in America.The only point here is that, “Way to go San Fran for having this much insight. Some of these kids already speak the language well as they’ve learned it off TV. We are giving them “the American Chance.” Not a bad thing. kt

DEATH ON THE CHEAP

In a recent local editorial, the editor talked about how terrible the death penalty is in California. The gist of the editorial is to advocate that life in prison is better and costs less. Maybe so: I’ve thought about that and concluded that some things are so heinous that nothing short of death is worthwhile. My opinion. Not something like lethal injection but public hanging or a slow death. WHAT IS THAT BAD?

Marcus Wesson killed 9 of his children. He had fathered them with his wife, daughters and nieces. He shot them once in the eye and stacked them up like kindling in the back bedroom. Heinous enough? Unfortunately, he will live on the average of 20 years on death row as platoons of lawyers make a good living for keeping really bad people like this alive through appeal. We need a few editorials urging a reasonable amount of time for these crazies and then it is “bye bye Miss American pie.” Appeals a couple of years max.