[Update: 11/18/2009: See similar and connected thoughts at the Watcher of Weasels blog, listing two sets of submissions from around the blogosphere.]

So, the President campaigns around the world to give away our national pride, at home to give up on our economy, and now he wants to treat war criminals like civilian law breakers and cast our fate to the wind.

The reason I say this: Discovery. Both sides of the legal representing have a right to see what the others have, so the trial can be “fair.”

Military tribunals are fit for those who have declared war on us. The leader of Al Qeada, Osama bin Laden did. The “detainees” in Guantanamo have attacked our nation and others, under the leadership and decentralized command of OBL. bin Laden did not tell us he was turning loose serial murders in the US and abroad in order to see if they could amass a better “body count” as criminal serial murderers. The “murders” that have resulted are collateral damage (when a non-combatant like those in the World Trade Centers and on the 4 flights) of warfare. There are several groups around the world, and even within the US which will gladly accuse the US Government and specifically the national leadership, or being “war criminals” for civilian deaths abroad, even when those officials didn’t even touch a trigger device of any sort. The military deaths the detainees have caused, some directly, are, in the very classic definition, casualties of “war.”

Now consider how the Nuremberg Trials put away the defense of “my leadership made me do it.” Each Nazi Official was tried, militarily, as war criminals based on the immoral acts they personally caused to be carried out.  We are at war with these people.  They are not simple criminals on the streets of America.

The President is now going to give away our national intelligence gathering and analysis capabilities, as now “discovery” is in play, and you can bet the rest of the world will be clamoring for official transcripts of the trial, and full sets of all evidence, so they can discern how we finally caught them after we first let them do their harm to the nation and our society. The men who have cost this nation close to over 7,000 lives (9/11 and the military casualties), not to mention the tens of thousands who were wounded, and on top of all of that, the massive amount of spending to demolish, then reconstruct ships, and structures they destroyed. And don’t forget to add to that the spending, both governmentally and personally, in excess of just flying from one place to another, pretty much anywhere in the world, and the cost of the delivery of goods by shipping. Yes, airport/airline and port security are major costs we have had to bear because a few men think the entire world deserves to return the the salad days of living in the desert with tents and slaves from all other parts of the world they could easily reach, or take by force of arms.

Just as the disclosures by the New York Times regarding the tracking of terrorists by their cell phone signals put out our eyes, followed by the disclosure that the US was tracking money moving to the terrorists in the international electronic banking network put us in the dark again, the discovery process will be a very similar exposure of how we actually keep ourselves protected from mass murdering individuals and groups and other nations.

I guess I just couldn’t expect a lawyer, with no experience with any connection with the military and national defense at any level to comprehend this is something more important, and not about giving these international murderers full Constitutional rights. And, that just dovetails with how we will consider illegal aliens in the future: worthy of all rights of any American citizen, just because the are physically here. I’m aghast that no one on his staff has managed to successfully point this out to the President.

The other fallout is military and intelligence officers who captured these illegal combatants did not do it like law enforcement does. There will be enough pieces of evidence that can’t be produced that the “defendants” (such a nice, unoffensive term, isn’t it?), that there will be no “beyond a shadow of a doubt” to convict them. They will be set free, and even if deported, they will see how they can repeat their actions and know the likelihood of every having to face the consequences will be essentially nil.

You can bet they have access to the most high powered American lawyers our oil money can buy via a Gulf country’s “defense fund.” It may be interesting to hear if any law firms approached will have the guts to say “no,” and even more telling to say they said “no” openly. I’ll bet we won’t hear any of that at all. Some may turn them away, but they won’t talk about it out of fear for the safety of their firms employees and partner’s lives. Bad enough the President can get protesters (who are generally against gun control everywhere) to right in front of the homes and offices of insurance and investment firm employees. the al Qaeda crowd is all about gun control for you and several AK-47s for them – and they know how to use them. Or IEDs in that recently filled pothole down your street….they’re all about the IEDs and EFPs.

To top it all off, know that the media, ours and worldwide, in particular, those who think America needs to be “taught a lesson,” will be happy to give an open microphone to those who have killed thousands and are willing to die if they have a chance to murder many more, or even a few.

We don’t allow our own mass murders this sort of unfettered access to the media, despite them having a Constitutional Right to free speech.

My prediction: The detainees, demoted to common criminals in our systems, will have extraordinary constitutional Rights, so as to make sure the World doesn’t call us hypocrites. It will be the World press’ perception of what the proper application of Constitutional Rights in America that will drive the discussion. Any American stepping forward to explain that’s an overly simplified, or incorrectly applied interpretation will be labeled as some sort of right Wing Extremist Christian, Zionist, bigot, racist, or Islamaphobe, or just a hard line American who just thinks they can have it their way without the rest of the world getting to have their say. Mark my words.

The World will get to see a circus, where those who even put their own fellow Muslims in the line of fire for their power gains, for a purely religious reasoning, will get to say all that they want and all that they say will be repeated as truth, to include descriptions of the horrors of captivity in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, at the hands of those who began the Crusades and who are today trying to wipe Islam from the face of the earth by genocide. All the prior reporting, and the truth of the detainees having just about ever one of their physical needs catered to, while they complained of getting fat from the professionally prepared meals for thier religious beliefs, will be called “propaganda” of the Bush Administration.

The other result, that will take time to notice, and be analyzed for what it was, will be the ability of terrorists and other nations, like Iran and Venezuela and Syria, to bypass and manipulate our intelligence gathering system, and to use our own Constitutional methods against us. One of the only options to prevent this will be to turn the US Military and the CIA into law enforcement mode, and every single person being held to standards of securing crime scenes in foreign lands, and having the forensic collection equipment and methods available worldwide in massive quantities. That won’t happen, so therefore, we will never see convictions of any consequence. we will get the equivalent of the kid on the corner with the nickel bag of grass to sell to his friend, but the people behind that street crime will be completely insulated from capture and prosecution.

For goodness sake, we couldn’t even convict OJ Simspon, because the fitting of a single glove injected “reasonable doubt” into the discussion, not to mention the entire cultural battle that ensued regarding the overall statistics saying a large percentage of the African American population had been charged and convicted, so, OJ needed to be let off as a symbolic gesture of the “correcting” of the system.  If the Federal Prosecutors can’t produce “CSI: Kabul” quality evidence (did you know most police departments do not have access to all the equipment and methods you see in the CSI series?), then there’s doubt, and we already know we’re hyper-sensitive to making sure no one is wrongly accused, unless, or course, it’s a person who said something about someone else’s gender confusion, then we need to make sure they pay for their thoughts right away.

We have just seen a case where over-sensitivity to Islam has led to another 14 deaths and 31 casualties, and yet there are cries not to “jump to conclusions.” That was but 14 deaths. How much more sensitive will we be over the first 2996 that will be mentioned?

The connection mentioned in the title of the post: When John Walker and his brother sold our communications codes to the Soviet Union in the 70s and 80s, we lost our ability to detect and track their submarines, specifically those carrying ballistic nuclear weapons. The Navy had sensor systems, based on the sea floor and aboard ships and subs, that were rendered ineffective as a result of the Soviets knowing exactly what we were detecting on their subs. The for a period of time, the Nation was at great risk, as we could not keep track of the weapons of mass destruction off our shores, and near our carrier and amphibious battle groups. The cost was billions of taxpayer dollars to upgrade major systems, and to develop new ones, just to keep the nation and our strategic assets safe.

In the case of John Walker, John Walker was charged, tied and convicted as a spy. Even the New York Times reported that this had been the most damaging spy ring in history, and one of their journalists, John J. O’Connor reported that, “It’s been estimated by some intelligence experts that Mr. Walker provided enough code-data information to alter significantly the balance of power between Russia and the United States”. John Walker remains in prison today on his 30 year sentence.

President Obama has positioned himself to repeat this act of John Walker, but with our top level anti-terrorist intelligence networks. The anti-Americans of the world, be they individuals, small cells, large and organized extra-national entities, or entire sovereign nations, who use terror methodologies as their means of warfare, will, if they are not already, consider this merciful act of an American that should be better than that, a priceless gift.

This will lead to more unreasonable pain and suffering, something US citizens cannot be subject to by our own Constitution, yet the terrorist, who expect us to be bound and limited by our Constitution, will exempt themselves from the same laws when “dealing” with the US population.

John Walker worked in the dark on night. President Obama is doing this in the light of day.

I will presume, a person who has not studied history well, or has been taught only history from a perspective of “America the Evil,” does not fully appreciate there are many parties involved in the events that took place in Dresden during WWII, not merely US airmen dropping incendiary bombs.

I also presume, that he filters out that their own actions, regardless of who they are now, directly resulted in what came to their doorsteps. Between WWI and WWII, America was strongly isolationist. But, if you are looking for a scapegoat, it was one of President Obama’s heroes, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt that deftly maneuvered us closer to entering the conflict using the Lend Lease Program for England and Russia, and a variety of interesting operations that put US Navy and US Coast Guard ships in harms way escorting convoys. The mood of the Nation, despite the many year long conflicts in both Europe and China, and the massive expansion of the Japanese control of the Pacific Islands, we sat to the sidelines and went about our “normal” lives.

Somehow, in this day and age, declaring you were a victim seems to be all the rage, and a defense against anti-social behavior, at a personal and national level. The President of the United States must believe those victims need our heart felt apology, and we need nothing from them.

Like what is happening all across our nation, the abrogation of personal responsibility is the accepted manner in which to live life. Walk away from a mortgage you never should have signed on for, for one torpical example. Let the Government coddle you and keep a roof over your head, and food on your table, and a “volunteer” job to go to daily.

Now, if one was to be fair and balanced, how might these questions be answered:

Who stand from the Saudi Arabian Kingdom and apologize to the African nations and the ancestors of the slaves of the 1600s, 1700, and 1800s?
Who from Japan will go to Nanking and apologize to the Chinese?
Who from Germany will go to Warsaw and apologize to the Poles?
Who from Japan will travel to Malaysia and Singapore and Myanmar and Vietnam and Laos and Cambodia and apologize to the people of those countries?
Who from Germany will go to Volgograd and apologize to the Russians?
Who from Germany will go to Paris and apologize to the French?
Who from Germany will travel to Morocco and Egypt and Libya and apologize to the Allied Forces?
Who from Germany will go to London and apologize to the English for the Blitz?
Who from Japan will travel to Pearl Harbor and apologize to the US military?
Who from Germany will travel to Rome and apologize to the Italians?
Who from Germany will come to Normandy and apologize to the Americans, the French, the English, the Poles, and all the nations warriors who came to take back their lands?
Who will come from North Korea to Seoul and apologize to the South Koreans?
Who will come from Beijing to Seoul and apologize to the South Koreans?
Who will come from Moscow to Seoul and apologize to the South Koreans?
Who will come from Hanoi to Saigon and apologize to their countrymen?
Who will come from Hanoi to Cambodia and Laos and apologize for the aftermath of the US involvement in SE Asia?
Who will come from Hanoi to a VFW convention and apologize for the treatment of the POWS in their custody?
Who from Iraq will come to Kuwait City and apologize to the Kuwaitis?
Who will come to New York City and Arlington, VA and Shanksville, PA and apologize to the families of the 9/11/2001 victims?
Who from Pakistan will go to Mumbai and apologize to the Indians?
Who will come from Germany to Jerusalem and apologize to the Jewish people?
Who from Turkey will stand and apologize to the Armenians?
Who from Iraq and Iran will come and stand at Arlington National Cemetery and apologize to the families of those men and women in uniform who were killed as a result of their hate crimes? After all, they hated us because we were “Infidels” and I believe that would come under the Hate Crimes legislation in this country, if someone were to speak a religious epitaph during the commission of a murder.

I know the list is woefully short of all the apologizes necessary, in this day and time, for all the bad behavior, that has resulted in death and destruction, at the hands of tyrants.

Mr. President: I know we have done things in this Nation, that are worthy of contemplation for the immoral paths taken, but we are not the source of all evil in the world, nor in all of history. It was this society that threw off the mantle of a monarch that has given you this platform to speak and to be part of the legacy that has freed peoples and helped along the cause of greater worldwide prosperity since its inception. If this is unsettling to you, you are in the wrong job, and maybe there is another land that would welcome a leader who is disgusted by their own historical behavior, so much so, he will make a point to point it out at every opportunity., and even travel abroad at the people’s expense to trumpet that feeling in large and small venues.

If you, Mr. President, are using this opportunity to set a worldwide tone of reconciliation, then you need to place that standard in the open, and look other country’s leaders in the eye and say: “We (not “I”) have done our (not “my”) part, now I expect the same from you and your people.”

Somehow, I doubt this is your plan.

Somehow, I expect you to tell the world how mean we have been through out our 232+ year history, and why they should not respect us any longer, by your words and actions.

Mr. President: One president in our history went to Berlin, Germany to demand the end of tyranny. Millions are free as a result of that speech. I presume you go there to endorse tyrannical behavior, not call it out, and I will be listening to your words in your important speech in Dresden. President John F Kennedy did not shy from facing down tyranny, either, in Berlin, as did President Reagan.

And, when you’re done with that, I’m sure the D-Day visit shall hold for us more degrading rhetoric at the hands of you and your speech writers. I’m projecting this outcome, based on your G20 World Apology I Tour results.

The President of the United States, will hand over dozens photographs of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan to the ACLU, based on a long legal battle. According to the link, these aren’t even as bad as the Abu Gharib photos, but show there was more abuse than disclosed to the public.

You’d think, for the sake of the Muslims, who rioted and even killed some of their own overseas, when they heard, falsely as it turned out, that a Koran was flushed down a toilet. Forgetting Americans will be endangered, foreigners may die in the resulting riots. I this not out of the realm of reason, based on the last time such things were brought to light by the MSM, to postulate that this is a likely outcome, is it?

The irony off this long process, that was politicized before, is that the US Army, with a brave soldier ratting out the morons at Abu Gharib, were the ones to disclose it was going on at all. The MSM then ran with it, and used it as a blunt instrument against President Bush. Regardless of the fact that the military was busy taking care of their bad actors, it was presented to the nation and the World as though this was a common methodology of our service members, a charge that was completely false.

It strikes me as a double jeopardy like issue, where the military has taken these photos in as evidence, and most likely has handled the disciplinary actions in each case. Now, the stories will be published and the “trial” on the media pages and screens, and all across the ‘net will begin in earnest, but, these not being valid legal venues, there will be no stopping them.

The outcome? If you can read this, then you are well aware of the dark strain Abu Gharib left and how then the implication became a reason to not trust the Bush Administration in any matter of detainment, regardless of the evidence that pointed towards containment of the enemy.

So, where do I see this getting us? To a bad place. Some days I just feel like packing it in, but what country is left, that is not overrun by the urge to bend over to the lawyers or the terrorists and let them have their way. As far as I know, there is none left. I can’t afford an island of my own, or the private army/navy to defend it, so, I guess I’m screwed.

I can only figure the President is blinded by his ambition. I may be way off the mark, but the lower his popularity numbers sink, the more this kind of reporting floats up, with the only seeming rationale is to satiate his left left wing crowd….so they will settle down.

Short sited at best, dangerous at the worst. On top of that, will this make “them” make hate us more or less? I say more, but The One will stand will hold them high, and declare “This was not on my watch! Don’t blame me, I’m the one showing you how horrible the American military and intelligence systems are, and what they do behind closed doors.” It will put all of us at risk, at one level or another. It will make military members second guess every act, if they must come in contact with detainees. It will cause good men and women to leave their jobs, so they are not abused at the whim of a capricious administration, bent on saying “It’s not I!” who caused this, when, in fact, he is sowing the seeds of the next action against American citizens and our military.

What good can come of this? None. What has happened? The guilty parties have been taken care of, now, the world will be shown a whole new set of pictures they can use as an excuse for their hatred.

And the irony of it all, is even our own citizens and “Western” media can’t seem to do more than yawn when the people’s head were rolling in the streets of Iraq and Afghanistan, and Thailand and the Philippines, and even recently here, in the United States proper. Our soldiers can have a dog bark at someone and make them stand naked, and be reviled, yet a terrorist can actually chant “God is Great” while decapitating another human being, and somehow, it is wished away as a justifiable act.

We have lost a critical thinking skill: Logic, which would establish a real proportionality. I fear we shall not be able to retrieve this before it is too late.

I am not in favor of any mistreatment, but I am not in favor of the President taking all matters into his own hands, disregarding the very military and US legal systems that have served this Nation well over 200 plus years. His action do just that.

All I can say: He is not looking out for justice, he is looking forward to punishing anyone connected to his political opposition.

Consider this quote from the article linked above:

“My sense is the president was trying to please a lot of audiences at one time and that over the last (week) he has totally failed to put the mind of the intelligence community at ease,” said Mark Lowenthal, a former senior adviser to CIA Director George J. Tenet. “He is going to end up with a national clandestine service that will not be willing to do anything because they feel he will not be there for them when they need him.”

Call to Action: Bombard your representatives, once again, for they need to be the check in the system, or we are truly lost for a lack of leadership where we must have it under these circumstances.

]]> http://www.therosistance.org/2009/04/24/this-isnt-funny-anymore-the-president-to-release-more-abuse-photos/feed/ 0 http://www.therosistance.org/2009/04/14/credit-where-credit-is-due-lets-get-real/ http://www.therosistance.org/2009/04/14/credit-where-credit-is-due-lets-get-real/#comments Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:32:26 +0000 admin http://www.therosistance.org/?p=399 As far as giving credit to President: It’s not the job of the C-in-C to micro manage when shots are to be fired. The Rules of Engagement (ROE) that are in effect from National Command Authority (NCA) allow what happened. For the President to say “you can use standing guidance” is well…stupid beyond belief, or, it implies he will control every action taken in conditions that clearly fall within the standing ROE. Does that mean all service members now have to wait to attack in the face of hostile acts and hostile intention, or in self defense (including acts of violence against US citizens in a known danger zone (Oh, yeah, which was why the Navy is there in the first place)?

Just a few days ago, President Obama felt the hostage situation was an “annoying distraction.” Now. it’s his Presidential responsibility. I know, taking over the US economy is far more important that the life of one American citizen. I understand those looking at being homelss in America face a bleak situation, but not like the possibility of being fish food, right after Somali pirates shoot you in the back…It’s a question of the most immediate threat.

Had President Obama said “My Secretary of Defense is in control of that situation and keeping me apprised continuously. I am relying on the military to handle this effectively and they have their orders.” That, I would say, would have sounded, well, Presidential. Don’t bother me with one guy in danger when I can talk to homeowners and grab more votes type of response is, well, self centered and indicative of a complete mis-understanding to the reason his bank account is getting those direct deposits from the US Treasury on the 1st and 15th of each month.

On any given day, in any given town or city, if a whack job is in a 7-11, holding a loaded gun at the head of the clerk, and the SWAT team sees a chance to engage to rescue the hostage, must they now call Eric Holder? That would be the same thing.

Now, allowing air strikes into a sovereign nation, that takes a specific authorization from the C-in-C, for keeping the heat on the Taliban and AQ in Pakistan…oh, yeah, BZ to him, that’s his decision and I think it was a good one to aid in keeping us safe, and other nations as well.

The President needs to face facts: The pirates are a threat, the Navy is there to protect American shipping in international sea lanes, the pirates held a hostage and specifically threatened that life. Another fact: The Constitution requires a standing Navy, but not a standing Army. Why? Well, international trade is and has been a fact, by sea for millenia. Pirates have been along for the ride with all nations in all recorded history.

Next step: Use “proportionate force” to neutralize the pirates. The On Scene Commander (OSC) determined kill shots were that. Sending a Marine Harrier in with APAM/ROCKEYE cluster munitions would have been overkill (disproportionate) force, and would have killed the hostage (Capt Phillips). The OSC is to be commended for cool headed thinking, and a through understanding of the ROE.

The President’s duty now is to compliment his sailors, airmen and Marines and, in this case, the FBI (which shouldn’t have been involved anyhow), then get back to handling the business of the people, not strutting and getting stroked for something that is way below his paygrade.

I’ll cheer when he takes action to stop the nuclear proliferation in NK, Syria and Iran. That’s right down his alley, therefore commensurate with the duties of his paygrade.

I’ll quit complaining when he takes the role, in the chain of command, he was elected to take, not usurping the credit of a well trained, dedicated, experienced group of Navy Petty Officers on the triggers.

Side note: The only non-proliferation he is doing is own own, and that will put us at a disadvantage in the future. How come the MSM isn’t calling him on this?

]]> http://www.therosistance.org/2009/04/14/credit-where-credit-is-due-lets-get-real/feed/ 0 http://www.therosistance.org/2009/04/12/double-meaning-easter-seals/ http://www.therosistance.org/2009/04/12/double-meaning-easter-seals/#comments Mon, 13 Apr 2009 04:24:20 +0000 admin http://www.therosistance.org/?p=395 It just dawned on me. From this day forward, especially for Captain Phillips, the crew of the Maersk Alabama, and those in the US Navy who made yesterday (Easter Sunday) a special day.

We have had Easter Seals around for as long as I can remember, to help the charities for the disabled, and as of yesterday, we have “Easter SEALs.”

]]> http://www.therosistance.org/2009/04/12/double-meaning-easter-seals/feed/ 0 http://www.therosistance.org/2009/04/12/when-a-crisis-in-your-doorstep-the-leader-is-in-the-thick-of-it/ http://www.therosistance.org/2009/04/12/when-a-crisis-in-your-doorstep-the-leader-is-in-the-thick-of-it/#comments Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:12:08 +0000 admin http://www.therosistance.org/?p=392 This is a brief tale about what I see now at the national level, based on what I learned about leadership.

Once, while in the employ of the taxpayer, to preform one of the basic responsibility of The Constitution of the United States of America, I was assigned to a vessel as second in command. I had been aboard about 2 months, still growing into my new position when the “assist team” delivered the report on the condition of the damage control equipment status. The terms used are those ones you never want to hear: Unsatisfactory. That’s a crisis, as either pierside, or underway, fire and flooding situations can show up, and, always, unexpectedly. The best offense, is a ready defense…always ready.

So, there was our own personal and collective crisis. While it has been preached for decades that “Damage control is everybody’s responsibility!,” some are truly more responsible than others in keeping the fittings and gear in a proper state of readiness. I was in that chain, along with the Ship’s Engineer Officer, also the Damage Control Officer by that assignment, the Damage Control Assistant and the assigned Damage Control Petty Officers for each division/work center in the organization. The Commanding Officer? Yes, the man with all the burden on his shoulders was very much in it, too.

The leadership of the ship was gathered after the Assist Team was sent ashore with a handshake and a “thank you for your report.” The CO laid out the basics: All Officers, Chief Petty Officers, First Class Petty Officers, and Damage Control Petty Officers would stay aboard nightly until 2000 (8 PM), we would work regular (plus the extended time just stated) hours all weekend, too, until every single maintenance check on the entire ship was redone by the maintenance cards. Not spot checked, not looked at and left alone if it was right…but a total redo of the things that should have been done, to make sure we were fixed, and fixed right.

That was the background. The task was a large one, and the leadership, for not having managed to make sure it had been done, would do it themselves (this work was within the capability of the bunch of us, as we all had had training in damage control and maintenance).

The key: The Captain was there for every hour we were there, putting his 16 years of sea time experience into the equation. He didn’t do the work, but he was around, talking with those who were and doing his own quality assurance.

He did not leave while we worked. He used his knowledge to bring the project along. He made sure we were doing it properly, and on the weekends, he left his family, and came to the Ship to work, as he expected us to do.

One could believe that he was there “covering his six.” Yes, certainly at one level he was, for to fail, it would have blighted his career record greatly. I served 12 months with him, as a leader and a mentor. His entire concern was not for him, but for his crew. If there was a fire, or flooding, his crew would be on the hoses, or trapped below decks, knee deep in danger. Unless he made sure, as a responsibility of his duty, that every piece of DC gear was functioning, he was possibly putting someone to death. That was the foundation of his decision making process. Yes, it made him look good, too, when a very senior and high level inspection team, a few months later, told us our ship was in the best damage control condition of any ship they had seen, and they also noted they were not in the business to hand out “atta boys,” they were inspecting ships for serviceability to the nation, reporting directly to Congress and we stood out as making sure our equipment was properly maintained all around the ship (which, should have been the norm fleetwide, but it wasn’t, so we stood out in just doing the assigned jobs properly).

Regardless of the words spoken, the fact was our equipment was ready, in the event that it’s use arose.

I hope you have noted the comments about the Commanding Officer.

• He told us the obvious – We had not done our jobs
• He composed a plan, on the fly, based on his experience
• He told us we would be sacrificing time with our families, but this was more important
• He stood shoulder to shoulder with us, sacrificing himself, just as he directed us to do
• He took the view of the situation as a danger to his shipmates, and one to be solved, and solved now, before the cost was more than anyone should bear

Now…contrast that with the man who leads a nation, with problems of a far greater magnitude than my Captain faced. Is he asking for sacrifice and then doing the same? Is he present with us, as we struggle? Is his view that of his fellow citizens are in pain, and he must do what it takes to relieve the forces causing this distress?

Granted, it is unreasonable for him to completely stop conducting the duties of the Office of the President, but a good leader, using those who I served with and for for 24 years as a measure, would let his family know he had duties to attend to, and it would require him to cut short his time with them. He would tell his friends, the average person in the country needed his attention and effort, more than they needed to have cocktail and pizza at his place. He would indicate, in very real ways, that the concern was not about the comfortable temperature in the White House, but how many people we without electricity or fuel oil or natural gas to heat their homes in during massive snow storms, or if their homes and businesses were being destroyed by flood water. And, if you were a citizen aboard, not wearing the uniform of the United States military, and were a hostage of terrorists, it would show good leadership to treat the matter like the crisis it is, and not as a “distraction.”

That’s not leadership that I see emanating from the White House. To me, viewed though my life experience, I see a selfish, power hungry man, with a drive to gather the glory to himself, but then, what do I know, I’ve never been a community organizer.

]]> http://www.therosistance.org/2009/04/12/when-a-crisis-in-your-doorstep-the-leader-is-in-the-thick-of-it/feed/ 0 http://www.therosistance.org/2009/04/10/testing-testing-testingis-my-brain-on/ http://www.therosistance.org/2009/04/10/testing-testing-testingis-my-brain-on/#comments Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:51:19 +0000 admin http://www.therosistance.org/?p=381 Joe Biden warned us. What he didn’t say clearly was, in 60 days, the tests have come hard and fast, and the Administration of President Obama, has failed, failed, failed, but then he thought Hillary would be a better VP pick than he would be. History is what it is and we’ll not know, but after he thoughts about “criminal acts” and then not saying we’re going to sink them before dawn says she’d be equally as bad in the role, playing her lawyering as the lead view of the conditions.

A few pirates in a lifeboat can bring the the entire US response to a standstill, but not without using up lots of taxpayers dollars. Ships don’t run for free. P-3 Orions have a thing called “flight hours” with a dollar value attached to them.

History has been here before, only then, the pirates were actually agents of their governments, making a good life off of stealing the goods of others, and enslaving the crews of the vessels. Finally, while the other nations of the world kept paying for protection, we got tired of it and sent the frigates, the Senator Jefferson argued against building, to make the point that we wouldn’t tolerate such behavior. We got our way, but it seem President Obama is too tied up trying to nationalize health care to be able to protect our citizens outside our borders, even when the might of the US Navy is sitting right there, on scene, observing the scenario play out. On top of that, somehow Eric Holder believes he has some decision making role in the drama, not having any idea this is, in the clearest context, a job for the military forces to handle. The FBI does not patrol the sea lanes of communications, the US Navy does.

Now, as we diddle and send a capable warship (USS HALYBURTON) to the scene, the pirates are doing what the spineless, but cagey terrorists do: Bring in the human shields.

Here’s an idea, if you want to treat his as an LE op: How would the duty SWAT team handle this? They’d have snipers ready (granted covered boat, roll and pitch, and relative motion between two targets (not one) in addition to windage in the equation), as well as many as close to the threat as possible, ready to rush and engage.

Would they allow a breach in the cordon to allow the bad people to have their friends come over, with more weapons and ammo, and also more hostages? No ……..in’ way.

My point: This administration hasn’t a clue as to what they are doing. If it’s a military/international operation, we are about to go from a position of strength, to one of extreme weakness (we can’t manage collateral damage anymore, even a hang nail on a bad guy).

If this is supposed to be in the LE realm, then we have blown it, too, telling them (a report I read) they won’t negotiate, and either to hand the Master over, or die, and we haven’t the guts to follow up. The LE now becomes a joke to the pirates/criminals/thugs/hoodlum or the seas.

How will they get out of this? Well, when you’re gonna spend over a trillion, what’s $2M to save a life? Hey, the world will still love us (a delusion at best)!

No grasp of the law of unintended consequences, where our citizens will become like those in SA and Mexico that are being captured as a money making operation…and it’s been paying.

No grasp of history, that of some guy, I think his name was Jefferson (but he, being a white, European oppressor), why study his administration and a little tiff in the Mediterranean? Might have some clues as to mistakes and corrective measures…

Further consider WHEN the Administration authorizes payment and parachutes the money (will it have those cute little exploding money packs, so we can see who has the dye on them?), that our tax dollars will be directly funding terrorism.

Was it Lenin or Stalin that said something about the capitalist will see them the rope to hang themselves with? Maybe he didn’t realize the peoples to his south would be more successful that they would be…

Now watch what John Bolton has to say and note comments by the President and the Attorney General in the report.

[youtube 4KWjnuUXU2M]

The outcome of our “test results,” as a nation are going to establish the “Obama Doctrine.” I project that will be “We aren’t worthy and deserve anything you want to do to us, for we have been arrogant and have dictated to you. We’ll now let you take what you will as reparations.” That policy, much “equal rights” has no end on it. No one can say when the rest of the world has extracted thier due. It’s endless.

]]> http://www.therosistance.org/2009/04/10/testing-testing-testingis-my-brain-on/feed/ 0 http://www.therosistance.org/2009/04/07/joe-biden-vp-and-moron-and-i-disagree-with-him/ http://www.therosistance.org/2009/04/07/joe-biden-vp-and-moron-and-i-disagree-with-him/#comments Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:14:20 +0000 admin http://www.therosistance.org/?p=376 And I quote from Yahoo/AP news article:

Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday his predecessor, Dick Cheney, is “dead wrong” when he says President Barack Obama’s national security policies are making the United States less safe. Biden said the exact opposite is true and added that President George W. Bush’s vice president was part of a dysfunctional decision-making system.

Up is down, down is up, good is evil, evil is good, Islamics are “peaceful,” Christians commit genocide, and taking death to the enemy who will not submit in any other manner is…well…making us less safe. WHAT?

Who is this idiot and where did he go to school? Like the financial mess, brought to us by “Smart, Ivy League” brainiacs, I say it’s time that common folk get a change to see how “Common Sense” might work better then what these highly (refer to line below the quotes) edumakated leaders have done for us all these years.

“Dead wrong” he says. Ask those with loved ones lost in 93 at the WTC, on the USS COLE and at the embassies. Yep…when we turned our eyes from things that made us want to puke, the dead and dismembered bodies, the real terror. Geuss what? The same foriegn policy, amplified to tell the world we say we need a whipping (at Clinton never told them that), is going into effect at the hands of the first Muslim Preisident. Hey, Joe: WAS BUSH IN THE WHITE HOUSE THEN? And, yes, GWB was there by 9/2001, still sifting through things that some as a result of the policies before your term in office.

Just like with you. Difference: He manned up, and even talked with his predecessor regarding the state of affairs. He didn’t stand on the rubble of the WTC and say: “I know you’re a little bit upset right now, but I’d suggest you get in your cars and go and picket at Bill and Hillary’s, because all of this is their fault.”

You and Preident Obama don’t have such class, nor understanding of the history of this Nation, and the peaceful transition of power between people who can disagree on policy, but are willing to join together as Americans, when the enemy comes our way.

How about grow up and actually read some news and not let the staffers from every Bush Hating group do your homework and then brief you.

We have elected two people so knee deep in politics, they don’t even know they are knee deep in the very thing that is polarizing us, and then he has the guts to say this. Yeah, I know, stupid cop and stupider cop routine. However, either one of them is good.

Now, with that being said, I feel very patriotic, like Hillary, for I have just exercised my right to dissent.

]]> http://www.therosistance.org/2009/04/07/joe-biden-vp-and-moron-and-i-disagree-with-him/feed/ 0 http://www.therosistance.org/2009/03/22/a-recommendation-to-the-president-to-help-with-government-spending/ http://www.therosistance.org/2009/03/22/a-recommendation-to-the-president-to-help-with-government-spending/#comments Sun, 22 Mar 2009 14:42:19 +0000 admin http://www.therosistance.org/?p=328 An Open Letter to President Obama;

Sir;

It has come to my attention that we face the greatest financial crisis in 50 years. I know, because I heard you say so.

Might I be so forward, as one of your conglomerate of employers, make a recommendation that would provide hope and change for us all:

- Offer to serve as President of the United States for the period of one Fiscal Year for the salary of $1.
- Ask Congress to pass legislation the returns the remaining $399,000 to reduce the National Debt.

By doing this, you will show the nature of your character, and how you might use what you have been blessed with to help as you are financially able. It also shows solidarity with the leadership example of Edward Liddy of AIG, Inc, when you follow his example.

I understand you received a book advance for $500,000, weeks before you were sworn in as The President of the Untied States. Given you have some money in the bank, and actually more than your pay would have been, I’m sure you can accept my recommendation and give some hope to the common working person and show how you can change America for the better.

Now, since there won’t be any tax paid on the $399,000 put back in the Treasury, you could offer the tax value from the surplus of the book deal, that exceeds the $400,000.  That will make you look even better, as the money you would have paid will still be received by the IRS for use in the tax base, as the other money went stright towards the National debt.

What’s not to like about my idea? You show courage, you sacrifice along with your fellow citizens, and the National Debt is reduced, while the tax revenues remain intact as projected.

Sincerely,

Just one man, one voice, one vote.

]]> http://www.therosistance.org/2009/03/22/a-recommendation-to-the-president-to-help-with-government-spending/feed/ 0 http://www.therosistance.org/2009/03/21/while-the-world-is-about-to-burns/ http://www.therosistance.org/2009/03/21/while-the-world-is-about-to-burns/#comments Sat, 21 Mar 2009 19:19:18 +0000 admin http://www.therosistance.org/?p=322 How much has the President actually done regarding his Constitutional duties to protect this country and it’s interest abroad?

He has manager to practice bowling, appear on the Jay Leno Show, and take on deciding how much executives will earn, if they take the taxpayer’s dime(s), and…he can manage to have cocktail parties.

He couldn’t manage to find a meaningful gift to a major foreign leader.

He has told the Pentagon to cut their budget, while passing out money like you could just print as much as you need, along with cutting current defense programs. We don’t need a next generation long range bomber plan, we don’t need the F-22 fighters,.

He tried to push through a measure to require veterans to pay for their service related treatment with private insurance, until he felt the ire of the Veteran’s organizations, and even a number of those normally leaning left who actually do “support the troops.” He backed off.

So, while North Korea and Iran share technology, and Russia “helps” Iran bring “peaceful” nuclear reactors on line, Barack Hussein Obama can bowl a 129 and can make fun of the handicapped. Iranian officials even blow off his message of openness.

Why can’t he deal with them? Can he not confront anyone but Rush Limbaugh? Look at this pattern: First he takes on the Talk Show hosts, and they fire back. Now he does the “fresh target, shift fires” routine and takes on someone who doesn’t have a national microphone: AIG and bank executives. Besides, all the President did was to bring more listeners and advertizers to rush, which, I contend, provided the opportunity for the undecided to listen to Rush and some most likely were “converted to the dark (light, take your pic for political correctness) side!”

Side note: Notice how there has been a deafening silence from the White House regarding Rush’s offer to debate the President? Yep, he’ll only take on those who don’t push back.

Bank owners/manager can’t do this. They have to suffer in silence, or find enough to band together to hire the kind of lawyers who can take on the President and the Congress and have a chance of winning in the Federal Court system.

Now, we find out Syria did in fact, get into building nuclear things, aided by Iran and North Korea.

Iran, has amped up the commentary, saying the President hasn’t changed enough, and they still hate us, yet he keeps believing his assisted rhetoric will win the day, for some warped reason.

President Bush could most likely clear more land in a day than President could. On top of that, George Bush knew who the Axis of Evil was, and he took out one of them. Syria has now moved from a tier 2 to a tier 1 “participant,” and along the way, those three nations view us with disdain, despite any “Happy New Year” message we can video without the press present.

In my world, as a part employer, I think it wold be nice for the President to stay on task, and prioritize the defense of the nation above all else, and not be jetting off to visit with Hollywood celebrities. I had my first mentor in the real world tell me about a boss who had all the desks with drawers taken out of the office. Desks had legs and a surface and an in and out basket. When the “In” was empty, you could go home. That meant the work all had to be placed in the “Out” basket, since there was no other place to put things. Time for the President to work at that standard. We’re paying him, but I guess when you make more in one book deal than a year’s salary on the taxpayer’s graciousness, maybe you think we don’t matter…and you can blow us off. Somehow, I think $400K is nothing to sneeze at, particularly considering the troubles some people are having this very day. Mr. President: Get to WORK!

While the World burns, beginning with Israel, President Obama can pride himself on how he made sure the hyper-inflated currency wasn’t “mis-spent” by the bourgeoisie. I’m not sure how well that will go over after we have the 9/11, Part II in a neighborhood within America’s sovereign national borders.

]]> http://www.therosistance.org/2009/03/21/while-the-world-is-about-to-burns/feed/ 0