"Change We Can Believe In." Yeah, Right!

Seems that Senator Harry Reid from South Carolina was right after all when he called NObama a "liar" during an Obama speech on health care a few months ago. NObama himself proved this just last week, in case you missed it.

See, it's like this: during his campaign, Obama declared flat-out that if he were elected President, he absolutely would not sign any legislsation that contained "pork." After eight years of a President who could be considered the King of Pork, this was just what the people wanted to hear. And just last August in a speech given to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Phoenix, Arizona, the President - Obama, not Bush - said, and I quote: "If a project doesn't support our troops, we will not fund it. If a system doesn't perform, we will terminate it. And if Congress sends me a defense bill loaded with that kind of pork, I will veto it. "

Well, last week Congress sent him a defense bill that contained no less than 1,720 pet projects that had been tacked on by Congressmen to either create jobs in their districts and win votes, or to garner their support for the bill and win votes in the process. Some of these "pet projects" include:

$5 million for a visitors center in San Francisco
∙$23 million for indigent health care in Hawaii
∙$18 million for the Edward Kennedy Policy Institute in Massachusetts
∙$1.6 million to computerize hospital records in Oakland
∙$47 million for anti-drug training centers around the country
∙$20 million for the World War II Museum in Louisiana
∙$3.9 million grant to develop an energy-efficient solar film for buildings
∙$800,000 for minority prostate cancer research
∙$3.6 million for marijuana eradication in Kentucky
∙$2.4 million for handicap access and a sprinkler system at a community club in New York

And what did The Great Pretender do? Did he remember his campaign promises of a year ago? Nooooooo, of course not. Did he remember his vow to the VFW of only four months ago? Nooooooooo, of course not. What did he do?

He signed the bill, of course!

Now, would somebody please tell me what a handicap access and a sprinkler system at a community club in New York have to do with maintaining our military and keeping our country safe? Not a damned thing, that's what!

This, ladies and gentlemen, is called PORK, and our President has just crowned himself the King of Pork with a stroke of his pen. He has proven to us all that he is absolutely no different than any other politician who has ever held office, especially the Office of the President of the United States. He lied to us during his campaign, and he lied to us from his position as President. He has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt in any reasonable person's mind that he is nothing more than a typical politician, no different from any other.

Except in one way, of course. He's black.

But then, that's what got him elected in the first place, isn't it?

Seems to me that the only "change" we can "hope" for is the one that's gonna happen on January 20, 2013. But I shudder to think of just how much damage this idiot is gonna do between now and then. The only saving grace is that midway through his term, Congress comes up for re-election and maybe then Pelosi and her band of merry idiots will get shown the door and the Republicans will take over again which, after four years of Demoncratic control and two years of a black Alfred E. Neuman in the White House, won't be such a bad thing after all.

Until then, all we can do is hang on.

And HOPE it doesn't get too much worse.

IHC

Southern History 101 - The Emancipation Proclamation

In all of American history, second only to the Declaration of Independence there has been no more famous, no more important, and no more history-making document than the Emancipation Proclamation.

And there has been no more illegal, meaningless and misrepresented document in American history than the Emancipation Proclamation, second to none.

What? The famous Emancipation Proclamation is illegal? Meaningless and misrepresented? How can that be? Actually it’s very simple, and you won’t read it in the history books being used in our schools these days, that’s for sure. For to reveal the truth behind this document would be to show what a scheming and self-centered politician Abraham Lincoln really was, and it might just legitimize the Southern cause along the way.

Let’s take a look, shall we?

The Emancipation Proclamation is an illegal document.

This one is fairly simple. The EP is an illegal document because the president issuing it did not have legal authority over the area of the country which was addressed in the document itself. The wording of the EP states that the Proclamation affects “those states currently in rebellion against the government of the United States” or something very close to that effect. From the Yankee point of view, that view being that secession was unconstitutional and that the Southern states were still a part of the United States, the EP is legal and binding. (But if that’s the case, then why did the Southern states have to apply for re-admittance to the Union under the Johnson administration? Oh, wait, that’s for another blog!) But from the Southern point of view, the Confederate States had seceded from the United States and were now a separate, sovereign nation, and Lincoln had no legal authority over them. I guess this all hinges on whether or not secession is unconstitutional, but that point is still being argued no matter what the Supreme Court said in 1870 or thereabouts. Personally, I think secession IS constitutional, Lincoln had no authority over the Southern states, and therefore the Emancipation Proclamation is an illegal document.

The Emancipation Proclamation is a meaningless document.

This one is a no-brainer: if the EP is illegal, it is therefore meaningless. But on the larger scale, it’s a meaningless document because it only addresses slavery in the Southern states; it made no mention at all of slavery in the Northern states. While not being practiced due to the lack of need for slaves in the industrialized North, slavery was still legal in nearly all of the Northern states. Lincoln chose not to include the ENTIRE United States in his proclamation, limiting it instead to only “those states currently in rebellion.” If you’re gonna put out a document such as this, why not include the entire nation in its scope? Well, simple – this is what you do if you’re losing public support for your war effort and need something to kick-start it and gain back the support of the people. You need something that no Christian soul could possibly find fault with, something that would unite all of the Northern people behind you and your war effort. Slavery was the logical choice, and it worked like a charm.

The Emancipation Proclamation is a misrepresented document.

The Emancipation Proclamation is forever being loudly heralded by the lemming-like followers of “The Great Emancipator” as the document which put an end to slavery in the United States. As I pointed out in the previous paragraph, this is not the case. Additionally, all you have to do is read the list of amendments to the United States Constitution and you’ll find that slavery wasn’t abolished in the United States until December 6, 1865 with the ratification of the 13th Amendment. And even that is questionable, since IMHO the ratification of the 13th Amendment was illegal in and of itself. Without getting off on another tangent, it’s like this: amendments to the Constitution can only be voted on by representatives of “member states” of the Union. The stand of the Johnston administration and the majority of the Northern populace was that the Southern states would have to be “readmitted” to the Union, and therefore were not “member states” any longer. As a part of the “readmittance” program and Reconstruction, in order to be readmitted to the Union each former Confederate state would have to vote for and accept the ratification of the 13th Amendment. Since at the time of the ratification the former Confederate states were not, by admission of the Federal government, members of the United States, they were not eligible to vote on any amendment. But they did anyway, the Johnston administration accepted it, and the Federal government effectively ignored the US Constitution and allowed an illegal amendment to become law.

In the annals of federal travesties of justice, I rank this one right up there along with Lincoln’s suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in 1862.

Of course, "historians" have ignored this little gem and have continued to proclaim the Emancipation Proclamation as THE document that abolished slavery, and have long touted Abraham Lincoln as "The Great Emancipator." All of which is historically inaccurate, of course. But then again, as Josef Goebbles, the propaganda minister for Nazi Germany, said, "If you tell a lie often enough, it becomes the truth."

So there you have it, dear readers, the truth behind the Emancipation Proclamation in all its ugly glory. Go find that in your history books, I dare ya.

Class dismissed!

IHC

Southern History 101 - What's In a Name?

One of the simplest and most hotly debated topics among followers and students of Southern history is the name by which the time period of 1861-1865 is called. Hard to believe that something so simple could cause so much discontent and hurt feelings, but it’s true. I’ve been a witness to forum exchanges in which the participants got downright nasty and insulting, all over which name for the conflict was “right” and which was “wrong.” And invariably, the main two participants would be from each side of the Mason/Dixon Line with supporters of each lining up behind them. I always tried to stay out of such petty arguments, because for the most part they were counter-productive at best and totally unproductive at worst. Nothing was ever accomplished that I know of, yet the argument still rages on in forums across the land to this day.

So why not address the topic and my opinions here? Hell, why not? It’s my blog; I can do whatever I want, right?

Having said that, and for what it’s worth, here’s my two cents worth on what name I consider “correct” when referring to the last war fought on American soil. There’s no way I can possibly cover all of the various names being used, so I’ll concern myself with the most popular and leave it at that.

The most common name, the name first used by Abraham Lincoln in his much-vaunted Gettysburg Address, is “Civil War.” Over the course of time this has become the “accepted” and “universal” name used; why, I don’t know. IMHO it’s just as incorrect now as it was then, so why it’s the name everyone settled on is….well, I know why, and I’ll talk about that in a later blog. But the reason I don’t consider this name accurate is simple: a “civil war” takes place when the civilian population of a nation takes up arms and rises up in revolt against the controlling government with the intent of overthrowing that government and installing their own. The Southern states and the Southern people did neither of these. They did exactly the same thing that the Founding Fathers did in 1776 with the Declaration of Independence – they announced their separation from the ruling government with the intent of establishing their own nation and their own government.

Only the Southern people went one step further – they actually established the government, complete with president, congress, armed forces and constitution – before the shooting started. The United States didn’t accomplish that until 1787 with the ratification of the US Constitution. So when the shooting started in Charleston Harbor on April 12, 1861, what took place was the beginning of a war between two separate nations with two established governments, each with established armed forces – as established as state militia under national control can be – with the Confederate States of America having the express goal not to overthrow the United States government and take over, but to break away from the United States and be a separate nation. And had Lincoln not maneuvered the Confederate States into firing the first shot, this very may well have happened. But in any event, that’s why I don’t think the term “civil war” is accurate.

The next most popular term is “War Between the States.” I used to use this term until I read something about why the term isn’t accurate, and found myself in agreement with it. The reason is simple: this term implies a war between independent states, with no federal or national government or forces being involved. As I have shown in the preceding paragraph, this is not the case. Hence I don’t feel that name is accurate, either.

Some really die-hard pro-modern day secession Southerners will use the term, “War of Northern Aggression,” and to a point – a very small one – they’re right. With the exception of the spring of 1862 when Lee invaded Maryland and again in the summer of 1863 when Lee invaded Pennsylvania, the war was a defensive one for the Confederacy, being fought almost completely in the South and against invading Northern armies. I suppose you could even go a bit further back in history to the many causes of the war and use them to justify this term, but personally I don’t buy it for one simple reason: the Confederacy fired the first shot. And he who fires first is, by definition, the aggressor. So I don’t think this term fits, either.

So what name “fits,” what name do I use when talking about this time period in our history? Well, it’s like this…I use the name which I feel most correctly sums up the war, its reason for being fought, and its goal from the Confederate point of view. Of course, the Yankees will disagree, but that’s to be expected. In any event, I call it:

“THE WAR FOR SOUTHERN INDEPENDENCE.”

Simple, effective, and most of all, accurate…from the Southern point of view, anyway. If the Yankees disagree, which I’m sure they will, then that’s just too bad.

They’ll get over it.

IHC

The Shine Begins to Fade

Just heard on the news that for the first time since taking office, NObama's approval rating has dropped below 50%. And on FOX NEWS a few days ago right after The Great Pretender got on TV and told an interviewer that he would rate his performance so far as a B+, I took a survey and saw that the overall results of everyone else who took it rated him the same as I did - a D-. Not something to be proud of, to be sure.

And honestly, I'm not at all surprised. I, like the millions of others who didn't vote for him because we saw him for the faker and the charlatan that he truly is, knew this day was coming.

For all of you out there who may be reading this and who voted for him, this might be a good time to go read something else, because it's gonna get ugly from here on out.

You're still here? Ok, then, you've been warned.

So after nearly a year in office, the only thing that NObama has proven is that he gives a great speech. Big deal. Hitler gave great speeches, too. He's proven himself to be a first-rate snake oil salesman, because he sure sold the American public a bill of goods. He burst onto the scene with this catchy little slogan of "Hope" and "Change We Can Believe In," got himself elected based on the color of his skin and not the experience level he would bring to the office, and immediately began to embarass himself, the office of the President, and the United States. He has bowed like a good little servant boy to every foreign leader he's ever met, something that no US president has ever done before - and with good reason. The US doesn't bow down to ANYBODY, in case you weren't paying attention.

He gave another great speech about how his much-lauded "stimulus package" would jump-start the economy and help lower the unemployment rate, and his Demoncratic cronies in Congress used their majority to ram the bill through and get it signed into law. And just what has this "stimulus package" accomplished? Nothing. Not a damned thing. And when people started to complain about the jobless rate still going up and the economy not recovering as The Great Pretender promised, he popped up and said that it would take "about a year or so" before we saw any real change.

There's that word again. Slogans and excuses instead of results.

Then there's the bailouts...more taxpayer's money - YOUR money, by the way, and mine - thrown down the toilet and flushed away. Big business benefits from his ideals of "hope" and "change," but as for you and me, well, we seem to be left out in the cold, huh? And then the word about the exhorbitant bonuses being given out by the companies who got the NObama bailout money, and what does the President do about it?

Nothing. Not a damned thing.

But he will get on TV and give another good speech. He's really good at that.

Then there's his big idea about health care reform and how "socialized medicine" is going to be a good thing for all of us. Yeah, I know he's never called it that, but when the government takes over health care and pays for a part of it, that's called "socialized medicine." It doesn't work in Canada, so why the hell should it work here? But in the mean time, he and his Demoncratic cronies in Congress who were always the first and the loudest to complain about "partisan politics" when the Congress was controlled by the Republicans are now complaining that the Republicans won't roll over for what is recognized to be a disaster in the making if this health plan passes. NObama and the Demoncrats are now saying that they expect "cooperation" in getting the bill passed, and the President has even hinted at strongarm tactics to get the bad boy Republicans to see it his way.

Of course, the Republicans aren't going to back down, and good for them. They shouldn't. This health care plan is going to result in more taxes, more debt, more governmental control over our lives, and is going to be the ruination of the economy. The Republicans know this and are fighting it, and I'm behind them on this all the way.

And back at the White House, NObama has surrounded himself with what he thinks are "qualified" people to attend to his home and office. Yeah, well, his security staff sure has screwed the pooch in the last couple of month, haven't they? First we hear about this "high society" Virginia couple who crashes a dinner party and are even photographed shaking his hand, and now we hear that a few months before that a couple of tourists who arrived at the White House a full day early for their tour got invited to an "invitation only" breakfast with NObama.

Two breaches of White House security in two months. Way to go, guys. Great security ya got there.

And at the height of public discontent and satisfaction at the job our first black president is doing, what does The Great Pretender do? He trots off to Europe to pick up his Nobel Peace Prize - you know, the one he was nominated for after a mere twelve days in office. To be honest, this isn't his fault since he had no input or knowledge that it was going on, but I gotta say that he did have the option of turning it down. But of course he didn't. He's now right up there with his hero, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., so why the hell would he not accept the "do-nothing" prize? And I guess the million bucks that goes along with it didn't hurt none, either.

So now the first year of NObama's term in office is nearly done, and after all is said and done it has been a disappointing year at best, a disastrous one at worst. But it's one year less that he has in office, and that's a good thing. Let's just hope that it doesn't get much worse from here.

But I ain't holding my breath on that one.

So for all you Obamabots out there who bought into his big talk and empty promises and elected him into an office for which he was supremely unqualified to hold, lemme ask ya something....

HOW'S THAT "HOPEY-CHANGEY" THING WORKIN' OUT FOR YA?

IHC

"NYPD TRACKS GUN IN TIMES SQUARE SHOOTING" - Once Again, the Media Misses the Point Entirely

For those of you who didn't hear about it, there was a shooting a few days ago in Times Square in The Great Stinkhole, also known as New York City, involving several plain clothes undercover cops with the NYPD and a street hustler/wannabe rap star named Richard Martinez. Martinez was selling his home-made rap CDs to tourists and other suckers in Times Square when the undercover cops ID'd themselves and asked him for his tax stamp - something you have to have when hawking your goods on the street. (You don't need a license since you're selling home-made stuff, but you do need a tax stamp.) Martinez didn't have one, an argument ensued, and then he pulled out a MAC-10 machine pistol and started shooting. The cops, of course, shot back, and when the gunsmoke had cleared the punk wannabe rap star was lying on the ground, dead. He got off 3 shots before his gun jammed.

And yesterday we're greeted with the banner headline of, "NYPD TRACKS GUN IN TIMES SQUARE SHOOTING!"

Big deal. Not like they solved the Lindbergh Kidnapping or something like that. After all, it wasn't that hard to do. Turns out that all they had to do was run the serial number of the weapon, which showed it was LEGALLY PURCHASED in a gun store in Powhatan County, Virginia in early October, and that the person who bought it also later reported it stolen from her car on October 28. They even named the person who bought it in the news article. (Me, I'd have sued the living crap outta someone for releasing my name, but that's just me.) So now the NYPD is investigating just how the street punk came into possession of the firearm, which is the next logical thing to do.

Mayor Bloomberg, of course, is using this opportunity to spew his message of gun control, citing the fact that "once again" a weapon used in a shooting on the streets of New York City was purchased in that evil empire, Virginia, and how guns are bad and we need to get rid of them to solve all of society's ills.

In my humble opinion, Mayor Mike Bloomberg is as full of shit as a Christmas turkey.

Never mind the obvious facts of the story that have nothing to do with where the gun was purchased.

Never mind the fact that Martinez was recording and publishing rap songs about "staring down the cops" and had bragged that he wasn't afraid of them and had even hinted at not being afraid to take a shot at one - a brag which he fulfilled as his last mortal act.

Never mind the fact that the weapon was purchased legally, and was, in fact, an "illegal handgun" at the time of the crime because it had been STOLEN from the lawful owner and THEN used in a crime.

Never mind the fact that the gun store owner followed all federal regulations regarding gun sales, which allowed the NYPD to track the gun so quickly in the first place.

Never mind that the required federal background check was conducted before the sale, and the gun was sold LEGALLY after the check came back clear.

Never mind the fact that Martinez was in the act of committing a crime - a small one, to be sure, but a crime no less - when he started the gunfight with the cops. Not a smart thing to do, but then again, this punk hasn't shown himself to be all that bright to begin with.

No, let's not pay any attention to all of the more important facts about the incident - let's play "Bloomberg Hates Guns" and focus on the fact that the gun was purchased in Virginia and found its way to NYC via the criminal elements in that city. Let's not pay any attention to how the gun came into the punk's hands, or who facilitated it getting there. And finally, let's not pay any attention at all to the fact that the punk illegally purchased a stolen firearm, was illegally in possession of it, was carrying it concealed illegally, was committing an illegal act when he used it, and used it to try and kill two cops.

No, let's not pay any attention to that at all.

IHC

Homeowner's Associations - Why I Hate Them

So have you been following the story from Henrico County, Virginia (the county that Highland Springs is located in, by the way) about a homeowner's association that has been harrassing the living crap out of one of the homeowners about the 20 foot flagpole he put up in his front yard so he could fly his American flag every day? Seems that the erecting of the pole in the front yard was deemed by the Sussex Square Homeowner's Association not to be "asthetically pleasing" to the neighborhood, so the association denied the homeowner's request to erect the pole. They said if he wanted to fly an American flag in his front yard, then he'd have to do it like everyone else in the neighborhood was - from a smaller pole mounted on the railing of his porch or the side of his house.

The homeowner did what I would have done - he erected the freestanding 20 foot pole anyway. And at that point the association started with the harrassment, demanding that the homeowner remove the flag or face legal action to include fines and a lien on his property to ensure he paid the fines.

The homeowner told them to go pound sand. Good for him!

The homeowner, by the way, is a ninety year old veteran of three wars, those being WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. He is Retired US Army Colonel Van T. Barfoot, and is a Medal of Honor recipient from WWII. But the Sussex Square Homeowner's Association didn't give a crap about all that - they demanded that Colonel Barfoot remove the flag, period.

After nearly a week of a firestorm after the story hit the national wire, the homeowner's association has given up and told the colonel that he can keep his flagpole right where it is, and they won't bother him anymore. Seems they were literally flooded with e-mail, snail mail, and phone calls supporting the colonel and his flagpole, and they finally saw the error of their ways.

Man, do I hate homeowner's associations! And this is a very good reason why!

Yeah, I know the reason for homeowner's associations - they keep the neighborhood from looking like crap by enforcing rules like no junk cars in the front yard, things like that. And I fully understand the logic behind it and to a very small point support it. But I have yet to hear of ANY homeowner's association that did not fall prey to the part of the Peter Principle which states, "Absolute power corrupts - absolutely."

It's like this: the day YOU start paying taxes on my property and start paying my mortgage for me, THAT is is the day you can tell me what I can and can't do with my house. Simple as that.

The neighborhood I live in now has a homeowner's association, and to be honest if I had known that prior to the day we went to close on the house, I absolutely would NOT have purchased my current house. I found out about the association literaly at closing, when the attorney was ticking off the fees. He mentioned homeowner's association dues, and when I said, "Hey, wait a minute! HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION DUES?" It was at that point that I found out that there was an association in my development. Of course I had no choice but to continue on - I had already transferred in my job and had sold the house in New Jersey, and all of our stuff was on the truck on the way to the new house by then. So we closed on the house and became unwilling members of the association.

I absolutely despise my homeowner's association, because they have some of the stupidest rules that I have ever heard of in my entire life.

As it is right now, the board of the association is made up of the developers of my subdivision; the bylaws state that when the subdivision is "100% complete" - meaning that all of the lots are sold and all of the available houses are up - the control of the association would be turned over to the homeowners. Until then the association is controlled by the developer and their lawyers. Sounds reasonable, right?

Except for this little jewel: All new construction in my development came to a screeching halt when the housing market collapsed two years ago! There has been ZERO new construction since then, and I don't forsee the development being "100% complete" anytime in the near future. I guess the board saw it, too, because last December when they sent us our statement for dues, they said they were taking names of homeowners who were interested in serving on the board because they were going to turn the board and the association over to the homeowners since construction had stopped. Of course I put my name in!

Well, that was December 2008, and I got the exact same letter again this year. I personally know of four people in my neighborhood in addition to me that volunteered for the board, so there's no good reason why it hasn't been turned over to us yet.

So in the mean time, we're all living by rules set by a real estate development company that was trying to get all of the property sold as quickly as possible, meaning that the neighborhood needed to be a "showcase" for all of the prospective buyers driving around looking at things. And some of those rules are absolutely stupid, let me tell you! Here's the most stupid of the bunch:

You can't leave your garage door open, period. You must open it, get what you need out of the garage, and close it immediately. Failure to follow this rule will result in a warning for the first offense and then a fine.

You can't park any vehicles on the street, period. If your driveway is full, then that's just too bad. Failure to follow this rule will result in a warning and then a fine.

You can't park cars in your yard, period. (I agree with this one, but readily admit that if you could park on the street you wouldn't need to park in your yard!) Failure to follow this rule...well, you get the idea.

You can't have chain-link fences, period.

Any fences must be plank wood and must be "scalloped" in design. They must also come up along the side of your house far enough to cover your AC unit. (NO, mine doesn't. Screw 'em.)

You can't erect metal sheds, period. Any sheds erected must be covered in aluminum siding and must match the design of your house; i.e., if your house is light grey with a dark green roof, then your shed must be light grey with a dark green roof.

And I saved my all-time favorite for last, and you ain't gonna believe this one! (I have the bylaws on file to back this up, too!)

Ready? Here it is: The association board members have the right to ENTER MY HOUSE and evaluate the style of INTERIOR LIGHTING installed, and order me to remove it if they don't like it!

All I can say is this: ANYONE who enters MY house without either my permission or a search warrant is leaving in a body bag!

The wife and I have discussed where we'll end up in the future, and we're both agreed that this won't be the last house we ever buy. We're also both in agreement that the next house we buy will NOT be someplace where there's a homeowner's association!

In the mean time, I'm still waiting for the association to turn the board over to us...I'll keep you posted.

IHC

The Smell of Woodsmoke and the Klondike Derby

One of my favorite things is one of the simplest things there is, that being the smell of wood smoke - or a campfire, to be more precise. Every time I smell wood smoke, I'm automatically transported back to when I was a kid and was in the Boy Scouts, and went on my very first camping trip ever.

I was in Troop 512 in Highland Springs, Virginia, the troop being sponsored by New Bridge Baptist Church. The church was pretty big, and the Scout troop had its own one-room building behind the church at the end of the parking lot. The building was pretty big, big enough for the whole troop to meet there, and it had a big fireplace on one side of the room. I was in the troop from the winter of 1969 until the summer of 1972 when my family moved to North Carolina, and those few years in the Scouts are some of my most favorite times growing up.

I joined the Scouts in late November of 1969 at the urgings of a 6th grade classmate of mine, David Nunnally. As soon as I got involved in the troop I started working on my first rank badge, Tenderfoot. There were a couple of skills I'd have to master before I could get the badge, and those could only be done on a camping trip since they had to do with woodlore and things like that. As it turns out, that was no problem because the troop was planning on going on a camping trip in January, 1970 to participate in the annual Klondike Derby. I was going along, and I was very excited about it!

A brief explanation of just what the Klondike Derby is all about is required at this point.

It was based on the Klondike gold rush of the 1800's, and consisted of a course laid out through a large wooded area that had "stations" on it. At each station, the scouts would be required to perform a Scouting skill such as knot tying, first aid, fire building, etc. The stations were manned by judges, who were the scoutmasters from each of the participating troops and the sponsoring Council. Each skill had a time limit and a minimum standard, and if you completed it in the time limit and according to standards, you were awarded a "gold nugget" which was actually a small rock painted gold. In addition to earing gold nuggets, you were also competing for time - the faster you completed the entire course, the more gold nuggets you were awarded at the finish. The course was laid out in a very large circle - one year, the course was measured out at just under three miles - and the troops would be started off on the course two patrols at a time in ten minute intervals. One would go clockwise, and the other would go counter-clockwise; ten minutes later, two more patrols would take off, and so on until all entries in the Derby were on the course. Each troop could enter as many patrols in the Derby as they could field, as long as each patrol met the minimum requirements.

Did I mention that each patrol entered in the Derby had to build a dog sled like was used in the Klondike gold rush? And to make matters worse, the sled had to be built to Derby specifications, meaning that there was a minimum length, height, and width for the sled. Additionally, the sled had to contain certains items of camping gear like the gold rushers would have carried, such as a tent, food, clothing, etc, everything you would expect to find on a sled of the time. You lost points for missing items from the mandatory list, and you can bet your sled was checked at entry time. And lastly the sled had to meet a minimum weight - if the sled was too light, you either withdrew the sled from the Derby, or you stacked ballast on it until it met the weight minimum. (The last year I ran the Derby with my troop, we ran it with a 25 pound log on board.)

So ya wanna guess who pulled the sled through the woods? The scouts, that's who. You had to have one driver and at least six "sled dog" scouts pulling it, but no more than 11 scouts total. The runners of the sleds were all lined with tin so they slid pretty easily across the open ground, but once you got those babies into the woods and started pulling them across the broken ground, dense woods, creeks and streams and all that other crap found in the woods - well, you get the idea. I participated in three Klondike Derbys, and only one - the last one - was done when there was actually snow on the ground which, believe it or not, actually made it harder to pull the sled through the woods. Over open ground you could flat-out fly, but when you hit the woods and had to traverse the sled up over logs and such, slipping around on the snow made it that much harder.

At the end of the day, the patrol with the fastest time AND the most gold nuggets was declared the winner, with 2nd and 3rd prizes being given out as well. The second year I competed, we placed 3rd by one nugget.

So my first camping trip ever was to the Klondike Derby in January, 1970, and the week before the trip my father took me to the local Army/Navy Store in Eastgate Mall and bought me a brand-new, canvas pup tent complete with floor! Then we went to the local Sears store that sold Boy Scout equipment where he bought me an official Boy Scout sleeping bag! Man, I was in tall cotton!

The troop gathered together on the Friday before the derby and loaded the sled - we only fielded one sled each year because we didn't have enough troops for two - into the back of our scoutmaster's old Ford pickup truck, and then we convoyed out to the derby site and picked out our campsite. The rest of the afternoon and early evening was spent with the older scouts showing me what I needed to know, like how to set up the tent, how to tie knots that wouldn't slip, things like that, and by about eight o'clock at night I was fairly beat. So I slipped into my tent, took off my clothes, put on my pajamas like a good little boy, and climbed into my sleeping bag to get some much-needed sleep.

Did I mention that this camping trip took place in JANUARY?

One of the things that the older scouts either forgot to tell me or didn't tell me on purpse as kind of an "initiation" of sorts was that when you went camping in the winter and intended to sleep on the ground, it wasn't the amount of covers you had on top of you that mattered, but how much you had beneath you - between you and the groud - that counted. The more layers of insulation between you and the ground the better, because without it the cold of the ground would freeze you like a popsicle in no time flat. And they didn't tell me this, so when I climbed into my brand-new sleeping bag wearing my pajamas, the only thing between me and the ground was a canvas tent floor and the back side of a sleeping bag.

I liked to froze to death.

The next day was the Derby, and I swear I'd never worked so physically hard in my life as I did that day pulling the sled along with the others scouts in my patrol. At the end of the day when we had eaten, we had the traditional "snipe hunt" during which I was formally inducted into the troop, and after that I started to head for my tent to try and sleep despite the cold. It was at this point that one of the older scouts let me in on the secret to keeping warm while camping in the winter time, and he got two or three blankets out of the troop supply chest and put them on the ground under my sleeping bag. Then he told me NOT to take off my clothes but to only take off my boots, and sleep in my clothes for warmth. He told me that if I slept with my boots on my feet would swell while I slept, and my boots would get so tight as to impede the circulation in my feet which could really be trouble. After passing these pearls of wisdom on to me I hit the sack, and slept like a log - a warm log, at that!

Somewhere during the evening my patrol leader came and woke me up, calling me out to the campfire where the Scoutmaster presented me with my Tenderfoot badge which I had earned that day during the sled run.

Sunday morning we packed up the sled and the scouts and headed back to the church, where our parents all picked us up. I came home smelling like wood smoke, which my mother commented on (but not in a bad way since my dad had been a scout, too) and which I found to be not all that unpleasant. My first Klondike Derby and camping trip was behind me now, and over the next few years of Scouting they would be followed by many more.

And you can bet that I made sure that the next new scout that joined us on a winter camping trip didn't freeze his butt off the first night like I did.

Except for that snot-nosed little whiny crybaby that came up to our troop from the Webelos in '72, that is...but that's another story for another time.

IHC

A Peek Behind the Scenes: The Macy*s Thanksgiving Day Parade

As I sit here watching the Macy*s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV just like 50 million other Americans, I can’t help but think back to the year I was involved in the parade when I was working for Macy*s. In 2001 the company I was working for, Stern’s, was closed by its parent company, Federated Stores Group, which also owns Macy*s; as a result, all of the Stern’s Loss Prevention folks were transferred to Macy*s. This was easy since all but five of the former Stern’s stores were converted literally overnight to a Macy*s store. Five stores, however, did not convert; three were closed outright never to reopen, and two were bought by Bloomingdale’s to be totally rebuilt and converted to a Bloomie’s, as they are called. My store in Bridgewater, New Jersey, was one of the two that was going to be converted to a Bloomie’s, so I found myself working at the Macy*s in the Garden State Plaza in Paramus.

Let’s just say it was not a happy experience and let it go at that, shall we? More on that in a later post.

So Thanksgiving of 2001 found me working for Macy*s and getting tagged to work the Security detail for both the parade itself and the filling of the balloons the day before. All of the Macy*s Security people (they didn’t call it Loss Prevention, they called it Security) in New York and New Jersey were required to work the parade, with the junior folks – of which I was one – being detailed to work the detail for the balloon filling the day before as well. It was a busy two days, let me tell you, but I learned a lot about the parade which I’m going to pass on here. Nothing negative today, friends and neighbors…not on Thanksgiving.

So here we go…it’s Trivia Time!

The parade I worked was the 75th Anniversary Parade, and I learned that in the early days of the parade, once the balloons reached the end of the parade route they were simply released by the handlers and allowed to float away. This was in the days before air travel was huge, of course, so there was no threat to aircraft overhead. As the balloons came down – whether by lack of hydrogen (yep, HYDROGEN) or by being shot down by hunters – they would be returned to Macy*s for repair and use in the next year’s parade, if possible.

All of the handlers for the balloons are Macy*s employees and they’re all non-paid volunteers. Believe it or not, there’s actually a waiting list each year to work the balloon crew detail, even thought it means losing part of the holiday with your family. They train in balloon handling on their days off for a month prior to the parade to prepare for the big event. The balloon detail leader is given a whistle, and the commands to lower, raise, and move the balloon are given using this. There’s no way the team members would be able to hear any spoken commands with the noise from the crowd, so they use a whistle. (This also saves the voice of the team leader.) The team members are trained to recognize the commands and act accordingly.

The big logo on the street in front of the Macy*s store where all of the acts perform is actually painted on the street, and it stays there year-round. The city of New York actually blocks off that part of the street for the day before the parade so the logo can be re-painted; if it rains, the logo isn’t repainted, the wear and tear of a year of traffic rolling over it very visible. The street stays blocked off overnight with a guard from Macy*s Security posted on it so it looks fresh and new for the parade.

The man who is in charge of the parade does nothing else for Macy*s. That’s his full-time job, and the preparations for the parade begin the day after this year’s parade is over. Sometimes even before, if something special comes along that requires it. He has a full staff working for him full-time that does nothing but help him plan the parade, and they’re not detailed out to work anything else as some companies will do at times. The parade is their gig, their only gig, and they do nothing else. Period. Nice job if you can get it.

All of the people working crowd control along the 3 mile parade route are all Macy*s Security folks. 364 days out of the year they spend their day catching thieves and bad guys for Macy*s, but on that one day of the year they work crowd control to free up the NYC Police Dept for bigger and better things. And they do it wearing suits, no less.

And that’s it for now. The turkey is going in the oven shortly, and soon after that my lovely wife and I will sit down and engage in that most revered of Thanksgiving traditions – overeating!

Y’all have a happy Turkey Day!

IHC

So is Jesse Jackson an idiot or a racist??

So did you hear on the news yesterday that during the 25th anniversary celebration of Jesse Jackson's FAILED attempt at the White House (emphasis on failed) he made the outrageous statement that a black lawmaker in Congress "can't vote against health care and call yourself a black man"? This statement was aimed directly at Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., the only member of the Congressional Black Caucus to vote against the House version of the legislation.

Say WHAT!?!

Since when did the pending vote on NObama's disastrous health care bill become an issue of RACE? Oh, I see...it wasn't until last night when Jackson, in my opinion one of the two worst closet racists in the country, made this outrageous, insulting, and downright asinine statement.

You have to ask yourself just what in the living hell this man was thinking when he said this...and of course, 24 hours later after the furor in the press has been going on, now he's "softening his challenge" to the black lawmaker.

Too late, asshole...you can't "unsay" what has already been said. You said it, we heard it, and you're screwed.

This move by someone who calls himself "reverend" to take an important issue that is not related to race in any way, such as health care legislation, and turn it into a race-related issue makes me wanna puke my guts out. Obviously Jackson is worried that the legislation won't pass the pending vote on its own merits, so he's trying a last-ditch attempt to get whatever support he can by shaming black lawmakers into voting for it.

What he's going to do instead is give just about every white man and woman in this country a solid reason NOT to trust him, now or in the future, and to be VERY wary of everything that comes out of his mouth.

Like some of us have been for years...

In one moment, with one simple statement, Jesse Jackson has done more to set race relations back in this country than has been done in the past ten years. Throwing the "race card" is despicable at best, but when done by a supposed man of God on a topic as hot-button as health care goes beyond description.

What I want to see now is what NObama is going to do. He has two choices: one, condemn the statement and call Jackson on the carpet for it publicly which will effectively remove the "race" issue from the topic, or two, say nothing which will indicate his approval of Jackson's abhorrent tactics and show everyone that NObama is as big a racist as Jackson.

So what's it gonna be, Mr. President? Are you a President, or are you a black President?

So is Jesse Jackson an idiot or a racist? Simple.

He's both.

IHC

Yet Another Bad Decision by The Great Pretender

So The Great Pretender has decided not only to close Gitmo and move the terrorist prisoners there to Illinois - his home state, so why not create jobs where you came from, right? - but he's also made the downright stupid decision to put the 9/11 attack masterminds on public trial in New York City.

Of all the stupid things this man has done since he was inaugurated, I think this is the stupidest one. His lack of leadership abilities and inexperience is showing more and more as time goes on...and we won't even talk about his practice of bowing to every head of state of every other nation in the friggin' world like a good little subordinate should.

Not now, anyway....

But back to the topic at hand.

As I see it, there are three major problems with putting these terrorist assholes on public trial in New York City instead of putting them on trial in a military tribunal on a military installtion. In no specific order of priority, they are:

1. A public trial gives the defendents and their supporters the public platform they want.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that these defendants are going to take the stand in their own defense, and when they do you can bet that they're going to spread their message of hate and murder and terror for as long as they have the opportunity to open their mouths. And the news media, specifically the lapdog of the NObama administration, CNN, will broadcast every single word of it to everyone that will listen, worldwide. This will serve to motivate and embolden all of the terrorist cells out there into doing just what they do best - murder innocents.

And in addition to the outbursts from the defendants inside the courtroom, you can bet on having public demonstrations by every radical Islamic asshole on the Eastern Seaboard taking place on the streets outside the courtroom as well - and this, too, will be covered and broadcast worldwide by the news media.

If the trial were being held in a military tribunal on a military installation, the proceedings DO NOT have to be made pubic, and the media can - and would - be blocked from attending and broadcasting it. There would be no public stage for the terrorists at all, and that's how it should be.

2. Security both inside and outside the courthouse is going to be a nightmare.

There is no way that adequate security is going to be able to be established and maintained in a public trial location - absolutely no way. I'd be willing to bet that a few days into the proceedings, a suicide bomber makes his presence known outside of the courthouse in the public streets by blowing himself and those around him up, thus taking a bad situation and making it worse.

If the trial were held on a military installation, security would be nearly guaranteed. The closest any terrorist would get to the trial location would be the entrance gate; there's no way they'd get past the gate and the troops stationed there. Additionally, the US Army has a much better capability to provide adequate troops and equipment for security than the NYPD does. Nothing against the NYPD, but they just don't have either the manpower nor the payroll nor the equipment to put up and maintain the kind of security this public trial is going to demand.

3. The sources of evidence obtained by confidential intelligence means are going to be compromised, which will result in someone - or many someones - getting murdered.

Any and all evidence presented in a pubic trial is open to full and complete disclosure - in other words, you have to tell the court where and how you obtained the evidence, and you can't cite "national security" to avoid it. Lots of the evidence being used against these terrorist assholes was obtained by confidential intelligence means, the compromising of which could and would endanger national security and the ability of the intelligence community to continue their work. And once the sources of this information is revealed, the lives of the sources can be measured in hours, if not minutes. This would do irreparable harm to our intelligence community and their ability to function in the rest of the world.

If the trial is a military tribunal, the identities of the sources and the means by which the evidence was obtained can be protected from disclosure to the public. The tribunal judge will ensure that all evidence is admitted legally and was obtained legally, but he will also ensure that the confidentiality of both the means and the sources is protected. A civilian judge in a civilian courtroom during a pubic trial cannot do this since he must abide by civilian laws and the US Constitution.

The magnitude of the disaster awaiting our nation once this public trial gets underway scares the living hell out of me. I simply cannot believe that NObama would be so utterly stupid and unbelieveably naive to think that nothing but bad could come out of this public trial.

I just hope too many people don't die because our elected President is a fuckin' moron.

IHC

The Cow and The Ice Cream

This came to me in an e-mail this week, and I thought it was worth sharing.

"THE COW AND THE ICE CREAM"

"ONE OF THE BEST EXPLANATIONS OF WHY OBAMA WON THE ELECTION

--From a teacher in the Nashville area

"We are worried about 'the cow' when it is all about the 'Ice Cream.'

The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while teaching third grade this year...

The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest.

I decided we would have an election for a class president. We would choose our nominees. They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote. To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class members.

We discussed what kinds of characteristics these students should have.

We got many nominations and from those, Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot.

The class had done a great job in their selections. Both candidates were good kids. I thought Jamie might have an advantage because he got lots of parental support. I had never seen Olivia's mother.

The day arrived when they were to make their speeches.

Jamie went first.

He had specific ideas about how to make our class a better place. He ended by promising to do his very best.

Everyone applauded and he sat down.

Now is was Olivia's turn to speak. Her speech was concise. She said, "If you will vote for me, I will give you ice cream."

She sat down.

The class went wild. "Yes! Yes! We want ice cream!"

She surely would say more. She did not have to.

A discussion followed. How did she plan to pay for the ice cream?

She wasn't sure.

Would her parents buy it or would the class pay for it.

She didn't know.

The class really didn't care. All they were thinking about was ice cream.

Jamie was forgotten. Olivia won by a landslide.

Every time Barack Obama opened his mouth he offered ice cream and 52 percent of the people reacted like nine year olds. They want ice cream.

The other 48 percent know they're going to have to feed the cow and clean up the mess."

Remember, the government cannot give anything to anyone that they have not first taken away from someone else."

So just how is Obama going to pay for this grand health care plan he and his chief lap dog and boot licker Nancy Pelosi are currently shoving down Congress' throat?

Simple. He's going to tax the rich to pay for it; namely, all single citizens who make more than $500,000 a year and all couples who make more than $1 million a year.

He's going to take from someone and give it to someone else.

I guess he thinks he's Robin Hood.

But he ain't. "Robin Hood" economics won't work, as any first-year business student will tell you.

This should be good.

IHC

Paying the Price of "Political Correctness"

Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely abhor the phrase, "politically correct," and pride myself on NOT being that way. I'm a "call 'em as I see 'em" kinda guy; always have been, always will be. And yes, I pride myself on NOT being one of the millions of lemmings out there who won't do this or won't say that because "it's not POLITICALLY CORRECT" or may hurt someone's sensitive feelings. I have the right to voice my opinions, and I do; when I do, I try not to be insulting or rude, and I'll say right up front that I'm not always successful in that effort. Sometimes the topic and my feelings on the topic just don't make that possible.

Hang onto your ass, friends and neighbors, because today's topic is one of those kinds. I'm gonna piss some people off with what I'm going to say, and to be honest about it I really don't care.

So here goes.

I don't know exactly who is responsible for it and I don't know exactly how it got started, but the end result of the "politically correct" movement that has overtaken our American society like so much unwanted kudzu has resulted in two things.

The first of these is a society that is so afraid of the repercussions both personally and professionally for voicing their opinions and concerns that they would rather keep quiet rather than raise their concerns and/or sound an alarm. For the most part, the United States is now a population of sheep, doing nothing except what they are told, and not doing things they know they really should be doing because they know they're right but won't do because they've had it pounded into their heads by the liberal media that it's not "politically correct" and may hurt someone's feelings. And we just can't have that, now can we?

The second is twelve dead American soldiers and one dead American civilian, murdered in cold blood on a stateside US Army post, murdered by a devout follower of the so-called "religion of peace," Islam. Murdered here at home, not in a war zone across the ocean on the other side of the world. Murdered where they live, where they thought they were safe.

In my mind and in my way of thinking, both of these things are reprehensible, repulsive, and downright disgusting. And in this tragic case, both of them are inexorably and undeniably linked.

Here you have an officer in the United States Army who is a Muslim, who voices "anti-American sentiments" to students in a training class where he was in training, who is noted by his supervisors as being "emotionally torn" between his Islamic beliefs and his service to the United States and the Army, who is known to have worshipped at the same mosque and listened to the preachings of the same radical imam as three of the 9/11 hijackers - and nobody says a damned thing! Instead, it all comes to light when this Muslim murderer jumps up on a table in a processing center filled with soldiers, shouts "Allah Akbar!" ("God is great"), pulls out two pistols and starts shooting the unarmed soldiers surrounding him. When the smoke clears and the investigating begins, NOW it comes to light that people knew this guy was looney tunes and would most likely do something like this.

So why the hell didn't anybody say anything before now?

Simple. They were afraid to. They didn't want to have the finger of "Political Incorrectness" pointed at them, especially if they were an officer in the United States Army. See, it's like this: in the officer corps of all of the Armed Forces, if you have an accusation thrown at you that's serious in nature, even if you're later cleared of the accusation it's always gonna be there - and the people who will sit on the selection boards for your next promotion are gonna know about it, and they're NOT gonna promote you - because THEY don't want that same finger pointed at THEM for promoting you, a "suspected" politically incorrect person who did something awful and terrible...never mind that you were cleared. Because if they promote you, then THEY are just as GUILTY of what YOU didn't do as you are. And that's the end of THEIR career.

Think I'm wrong? Ask any retired military officer who no longer has a career to worry about. THEN tell me I'm wrong.

So several people in positions of power had their suspicions about this Muslim officer in the United States Army and what he might do, and no one says a damned thing.

And 13 people are dead because of it.

That's one hell of a price to pay for being "politically correct."

It's time we woke up and stopped being a nation of friggin' sheep. This "politically correct" bullshit that has been gripping our nation for the past 15 years or so needs to be kicked to the curb, and RIGHT NOW.

The facts are simple: you can't always make everyone happy, and every now and then people are gonna get their feelings hurt because, like it or not, sometimes the truth hurts. So you deal with it and get on with your life! You don't file a lawsuit, or go on "Oprah" and weep your tale of woe, or anything like that crap. And if you're accused of doing something wrong, if you did it then stand up like an adult and take your medicine; don't jump on the "race wagon" and say you're only being accused because you're black, or hispanic, or asian, or a redhead, or any other damned thing. And that also doesn't make your accuser a racist, either. In many cases it makes him RIGHT.

And like I said, the truth hurts.

In the end run, I have a feeling that the US Army is gonna take a high, hard one right up the old poop chute on this one, and deservedly so. Too many people saw the danger in this guy and ignored it for nothing to be done. And the fact that this involves a Muslim should NOT be a factor in what is done and how and to what severity; regardless of the religion, the fact is that this guy MURDERED thirteen innocent people because of his religious beliefs. For that, he needs to be held accountable and the people who knew he was a ticking time bomb and did or said nothing need to be held accountable as well. Those people who sat on their hands and did nothing because they were afraid to endanger their careers are now going to sit back and watch said careers go up in flames, because they sat on their hands and did nothing. And deservedly so.

As for the Muslim murderer, I hope the major makes a full and complete recovery, I really do. I hope for nothing less than his return to complete health...

...so he can be tried in a General Courts-Martial for thirteen counts of murder in the first degree, found guilty, transported to the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and then hung by his neck until he's dead.

And deservedly so.

IHC

It's Time to Outlaw Islam!

I've been stewing over my thoughts on the shootings at Fort Hood ever since the news broke, waiting to see what other details about this Muslim asshole would come to light. I was honestly kinda hoping that he'd be a "lone ranger," someone who acted alone, with no ties to the terrorist/radical fringe of the Muslim religion that has been responsible for so much needless and unwarranted death and destruction throughout the world for the past ten years or so.

Alas, that was not to be. Several things have come to light about this Islamic murderer, some of them being that he was "openly anti-American," spoke frequently about his hatred for all things American, and that he worshipped at the same mosque and listened to the teachings of the same radical imam that three of the 9/11 terrorists did. On top of that, what does this Muslim asshole do right before he starts shooting? He jumps up on a table and shouts, "Allah Akbar!" which is Arabic for "God is Great" and is the same thing every Muslim terrorist shouts right before he kills an innocent person, or persons.

I have come to two conclusions: First, I hope that this Muslim asshole at Fort Hood makes a full recovery. Yep, I do, I really do. I want him to make a full recovery so he can be put on trial in a military courts-martial for 12 counts of murder in the first degree, found guilty, taken to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and the United States Military Disciplinary Barracks, and hanged by the neck until he's dead. And good luck with those virgins, by the way, you asshole.

Second, it's time to outlaw Islam. Period. And there's nothing in the United States Constitution that says we can't, either. The Constitution says that "Congress shall make no law" protecting or establishing one religion, but it sure as hell doesn't say that you can't make a law declaring a religion to be illegal.

If I'm wrong, then please correct me. But I don't think I'm wrong.

And ya know what? If the Constitution does say something like that, then I think it's time for an amendment so we CAN outlaw Islam.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I know...you can't judge the members of one group by the actions of a few.

Bullshit. Yes I can, and yes I will.

And as for that tired old line about "not all Muslims are terrorists," my response to you is twofold: first, maybe not, but all terrorists sure as hell are Muslims, and second, try telling that to the victims of the Fort Riley shooting. And when you do, shout it loud because Arlington National Cemetery is a long ways away.

I honestly don't care who I piss off in the Islamic religion with my views on this brutal, violence-riddled religion. I've sat back and watched members of this so-called "religion of peace" blow up, shoot, and behead innocents for the past ten years, and I'm damned sick and tired of it. If ever there was a religion that needed to be banned, it's Islam. I can think of no other religion that calls for the intentional murder of non-believers - "infidels," by the way - or the murder of anyone who turns away from the Islamic faith. ANY religion that calls for the intentional, cold-blooded murder of someone who doesn't follow that faith is NOT a religion in my book - it's a cult, and a damned bloody, violent one at that.

The people of the world in general and America in specific need to wake the hell up and see Islam for the real threat that it is. And if you don't think it's a threat, if you don't think things like that are really being talked about and planned for in the Islamic community, then you need to check out http://www.revolutionmuslim.com and see for yourself. Or just pick up a copy of the Daily News from New York City and read all about the Jewish-born American who converted to Islam, took up a raghead name, and is now calling the Fort Hood shooter a "hero." (Personally, I think this asshole needs to be taken into an alley and beaten to within an inch of his life - and then beaten for another foot.)

So does that make me just as bad as them? Prob'ly, and ya know what? I don't care. One of the lessons I've learned in life is that sometimes, in order to solve a particularly nasty problem, you have to get down and dirty and be even nastier than the problem facing you. It's either that, or let the problem keep on biting at you for the rest of your life. So sure, I'll stoop down to your level - and by the time I'm done, you won't be a problem anymore, I guarantee you that.

I'm tired of Americans being killed by Muslim assholes just because they're Americans. I'm tired of these Muslim assholes living in our country, taking advantage of the freedoms granted to them by our Constitution and using those freedoms to spout their anti-American and anti-Christian views. And most of all, I'm tired of being told that I have to "accept" their views and "tolerate" them, that they have a "right" to them and it's not my place to say otherwise.

BULLSHIT!

I have rights, too, ya know. I have the right to live my life free from fear of being killed just because some Muslim asshole doesn't like my faith. I have the right to live free from fear of attack just because some Muslim asshole wants to earn his way into Heaven by killing "infidels." I have the right NOT to have to listen to this CRAP about being fair and understanding of the feelings of others. I don't give a CRAP about the rights of ANY Muslim, ANYWHERE. They sure as hell don't care about my rights, so why should I care about theirs?

The threat is real, America. It's time to wake up and take a good, hard look around you and do what needs to be done to ELIMINATE the Islamic threat. The goal of Islam and the followers of Islam is to "unite the world under Sharia law and Islam," and according to the Qu'aran, the ONLY way to do that is to KILL ANYONE WHO IS NOT MUSLIM OR WHO WILL NOT CONVERT. And if you think I'm kidding, then I suggest you read the Qu'aran for yourself because that's what it says.

My anger is increasing as I type and is muddling my thoughts, so maybe it's time for me to just close this post down. I think I've made my point.

Gonna go surf the web now and look for a patriotic group that feels the same way I do.

IHC

Can Muslims be good Americans?

This little ditty surfaced around the time of the 9/11 attacks, and considering what has taken place at Fort Hood in the past 24 hours I thought it was time for it to get some more press time.

"Can Muslims be good Americans?"

"Can a devout Muslim be an American patriot and a loyal citizen? Consider this:

Theologically: No, because his allegiance is to Allah, the moon god of Arabia.

Scripturally: No, because his allegiance is to the five pillars of Islam and the Quran (Koran).

Geographically: No, because his allegiance is to Mecca, to which he turns in prayer five times a day.

Socially: No, because his allegiance to Islam forbids him to make friends with Christians or Jews.

Politically: No, because he must submit to the mullah (spiritual leaders), who teach annihilation of Israel and destruction of America, the great Satan.

Domestically: No, because he is instructed to marry four women and beat and scourge his wife when she disobeys him (Quran 4:34).

Religiously: No, because no other religion is accepted by his Allah except Islam (Quran, 2:256)

Intellectually: No, because he cannot accept the American Constitution since it is based on Biblical principles and he believes the Bible to be corrupt.

Philosophically: No, because Islam, Muhammad, and the Quran do not allow freedom of religion and expression. Democracy and Islam cannot co-exist. Every Muslim government is either dictatorial or autocratic.

Spiritually: No, because when we declare "one nation under God," the Christian's God is loving and kind, while Allah is NEVER referred to as our heavenly father, nor is he ever called love in the Quran's 99 excellent names.

Therefore after much study and deliberation....perhaps we should be very suspicious of ALL MUSLIMS in this country. They obviously cannot be both good Muslims and good Americans. Call it what you wish...it's still the truth. If you find yourself intellectually in agreement with the above, perhaps you will share this with your friends. The more who understand this, the better it will be for our country."

I don't know who wrote this, but I'd sure like to know so I can send him a congratulatory e-mail.

Honestly, I have a VERY difficult time trusting the motives and intents of those of the Muslim faith. Considering all of the bloodshed, violence, and death that's been doled out by those of the Muslim faith in the past eight or nine years, how can I feel otherwise? And for those bleeding-heart liberals out there who are going to chide me that I shouldn't feel that way towards all Muslims because "not all Muslims are terrorists," my reply is, "Maybe not, but all terrorists are Muslims."

On top of that, if this latest atrocity were committed by a white guy who was Roman Catholic, would anyone defend his religion? I doubt it.

I have read the Qu'aran; actually, it's sitting on the small shelf of my computer desk to my left as we speak, so I know what it says and what it doesn't say. I've spent time in the Middle East and have worked side by side with Muslims, and I can honestly say that I've never met a more incompetent, lazy, unreliable, hypocritical and dishonest people in my entire life. I don't trust them at all, and I doubt that I ever will.

And maybe, just maybe, one of these days the rest of America will open their eyes and see things for the way they really are.

But I ain't holding my breath on that one.

IHC

The Revolution Has Begun!

The first shots in the newest American Revolution have been fired, and they were fired in Virginia and New Jersey. These are the two states who just had gubernatorial elections, and in both states the sitting Demoncratic (no, I didn't misspell it) governor was defeated by his Republican rival.

In Virginia the positions of Governor, Lt Governor, and Attorney General were all won by Republicans, the first time this has happened since 1997 and the end of the administration by Virginia's first - and so far, only - black governor. (Don't get me started on Doug Wilder.)

In New Jersey, incumbent millionaire John Corzine was defeated in what's being called an upset by his Republican challenger, and to be honest, I'm not at all surprised. I was living in New Jersey when Corzine was first elected, and he got elected for one reason and one reason alone: he was a multi-millionaire and was able to spend more money - his PERSONAL money - on his campaign than his challenger. Simply stated, Corzine bought the election. His Republican challenger at the time warned the people of New Jersey that Corzine was going to be a typical "tax and spend" Demoncrat, and time has proven this prediction to be true. The people of New Jersey have gotten tired of Corzine, so now he's looking for another job.

Both of these elections are being called indicators of Obama's popularity and presidency so far, and with good reason. Both these states were carried by Obama during the last presidential election, with Virginia being a surprise win. Now, just a year later, the people of those formerly Demoncratic states have abandoned the Demoncratic party and voted in Republicans.

Sure sounds to me like the people are speaking with their votes, and I, for one, am getting the message loud and clear.

And if you've been paying attention, you've noticed that the Obama administration is playing the same old political "hide and seek" games of every administration before it. The Great Pretender traveled to New Jersey last week to campaign for John Corzine, throwing his full support - and, of course, the intended support of all of the people who voted for Obama - behind the Demoncratic candidate. But after both Demoncratic candidates lost the election and the Obama administration was asked how the President felt about it, the reply was that the President "wasn't following the election results" and had no comment.

Guess that's what happens when you back a losing horse, huh?

I agree with the opinion that this is a clear indicator of America's feelings about the current Demoncratic-controlled White House and Congress. Lots of promises were made by Obama, Biden, and Pelosi, and so far the record of promises kept is dismal at best. America was promised "change," and so far nothing much has changed. Seems to me that America is now telling Obama that they're going to give him and his bunch of Demoncratic cornies some change of their own.

And I, for one, can't wait.

True, these were only two states out of fifty, but every revolution starts with a single shot - or two. In the next few years a lot more states are going to have gubernatorial elections, and next year is the Congressional elections. THAT should be tons of fun all the way around!

I see "change" coming, that's for sure. I see a change in the Congress from Demoncratic-controlled to Republican-controlled, and two years after that I see a change in who's sitting in the White House. And I intend to do MY part in this next American Revolution.

To Obama, Biden, Pelosi, and all the other Demoncrats in Washington, I say this: hang on to your asses, ya'll, because "change" is a-comin'...and you ain't gonna like it!

IHC

Nancy Pelosi Thinks You're an Idiot!

So did you catch the "Nancy Pelosi Dog and Pony Show" on the news yesterday? You know, the one that took place on the West Wing of the US Capitol Building where she and her band of merry idiots announced the introduction - keep that word in mind - of a new Health Care bill?

What, you thought that all of the hoopla was about the passing of the bill? You did? Really?

You were supposed to. See, that's why I told you to keep the word "introduction" in mind.

About the only positive thing I can say for that little media circus yesterday is that the person who planned it is a genius at the art of manipulating the people, the media, and putting on the best sleight of hand show I've ever seen. Other than that, it was nothing but pure bullshit, a turd that was nicely polished up and presented to the public for consumption as something else. And Pelosi is banking on the public at large being so stupid that we won't notice.

Surprise, bitch. We noticed.

In the first place, that kind of ceremony for the mere introduction of a bill by the House, a bill that hasn't even made it to the Senate yet much less to the President for signature, is unheard of. If ever I saw a premature celebration, this was it...of course, there was a reason for the celebration, that reason being to mislead the public. And I'm sure that there's a large portion of the public out there that bought it, unforutunately.

The location of the celebration was also carefully chosen. The celebration was held on the same spot where The Great Pretender took his oath of office last January - a spot, by the way, that is not the usual location for the adminisration of the oath for a president. Obama chose this spot to break with tradition, to show that his administration was going to be different. This spot was chosen by Pelosi to send a clear message, the message being that this bill was Obama's baby, and that Pelosi was delivering it for him.

Noticeably absent from the drooling band of merry idiots standing behind Pelosi was a representative from the Republican party. That's because there's no place for Republicans in Pelosi's grand scheme of things; also because there are very few Republicans who support the Democratic version of the bill. One of the Democrats behind her, however, was Chuck Rangle of New York, who is currently under investigation for tax fraud, I believe. Yeah, buddy, now there's a man you can trust!

For Pelosi to be the one who has most loudly and publicly berated the Republicans for their partisan feelings and non-support of the Democrats in Congress, this sure seems to be a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Just another reason to despise the bitch.

Then there's the bill itself. One of the selling points, the one that Pelosi really harped on, was that this bill came in under NObama's limit of one trillion dollars, weighing in at a mere 890 billion. This is, of course, before the bill goes into debate and is modified by both sides; this modification will of course include more expenses, more taxes, and more "add-ons" by both sides that will inevitably push the bill WAY over the President's limit.

But Pelosi doesn't want you to know that just yet.

Instead, Pelosi tells us all that the bill is being posted on the Web "as we speak" and will remain posted for 72 hours. This is so the general public can review the bill in its entirety for themselves.

All TWO THOUSAND PAGES of it!

The average novel is 400-600 pages. This monster of a publication that Pelosi is only giving you 72 hours to review is more than three times the size of an average novel! So tell me, can YOU read 2,000 pages of LEGAL MANUSCRIPT in 72 hours?

I sure as hell can't! And Pelosi knows you can't, too...she's using an old legal trick to overwhelm you and keep you from seeing things she doesn't want you to see. It works like this: when a lawyer requests documents from another lawyer or from a company lawyer, that lawyer or company lawyer will send over every single piece of paper ever associated with the case; this will result in boxes of documents being delivered, and somewhere in those documents will be the one single document needed. It's up to you to find it.

It's called the "Needle in the Haystack" trick.

Here's one of the needles Pelosi hopes you won't find: in the bill itself, the word "shall" is used more than three thousand times. That's more than once per page, in case you missed it. In my life's experience, anytime the word "shall" is used in a document, that means the document is issuing a directive which you MUST obey.

Which brings us to another needle Pelosi hopes you won't find.

This bill is nothing short of a government takeover of the health care system, period. It's not designed to "supplement" anything; that's pure bullshit that Pelosi and the Demoncrats (no, I didn't misspell it) are hoping you'll buy. The bill is designed to replace the current health care system with one controlled by the federal government.

Sure, that's just what we need - MORE federal control and intervention into our lives. One step closer to socialism, when you get right down to it.

And that's just what Pelosi and Obama want, in case you're not paying attention. And I, for one, ain't havin' none of it.

I'm hoping that this bill will die in committee once it gets to the other half of Congress, and that the Republicans kill it quickly. It damned sure won't be the savior of the health care system that Pelosi says it will be. Of course, when it dies you can count on Pelosi holding another news conference in which she will be surrounded by the same band of drooling idiots as yesterday, and all of them will be lamenting the "partisan politics" of the Republican party. She'll be counting on YOU to have forgotten - if you noticed at all - the partisan Demoncratic celebration she staged yesterday.

Will you forget? I sure as hell won't.

One last parting thought about "socialized" anything, a quote for you to dwell on this All Hallow's Eve:

"The government that is powerful enough to give you everything you need is powerful enough to take away everything you have."

Happy Hallowe'en.

IHC

10 Things I Hate About the Internet

I love the Internet, absolutely…it allows me to occupy myself when I’m bored, lets me increase my knowledge of things that I want to know more about, lets me keep in touch with my friends around the world, allows me to talk to my family via web cam FREE whenever I want, and a dozen other things I could name. Yeppers, the Internet has been one of the most important and significant inventions in the history of mankind.

But man, there are some things about the Internet that just annoy the piss outta me! And I’m willing to bet that as you sit there reading this, you’re gonna find yourself nodding your head and saying, “Yeah, me, too!” right along with me.

Let’s see, shall we?

1. Viruses - Yeah, I know, all of you Mac users out there can thumb your noses at this, but I ain’t a Mac user, so I’m always on the alert for this. For the most part, the anti-virus and anti-spyware programs out there do a really good job of preventing your computer from picking up a virus, but the fact that there are people out there who have nothing better to do than sit around and think up new and devious ways to get around your anti-virus program and screw up your computer just galls the living crap out of me! I mean, what’s the purpose of this, really? What are you accomplishing by creating a virus that does nothing but cause your hard drive to self-destruct? Did your mother not show you enough attention as a child, or what?

2. Pop-ups – One of the very first things I learned to hate about having a DSL connection was the popup ad. I remember very clearly sitting in the living room of our house in New Jersey, listening to the “boink!” “boink!” “boink!” “boink!” coming from the den two rooms away as the always-connected DSL program just installed on our computer was deluged by pop-up ads, even as we weren’t online! But the computer was always connected, one of the marvelous things about DSL, so the popup ads flourished. When I went into shut the damned thing off, there were no less than 65 popup ads on the screen! Thank God the ISP I was using at the time – Earthlink – quickly developed an anti-popup program and included it in their basic service at no charge.

3. Pop-up banner ads – This is the next generation of popup ads, and I find them even more irritating than their predecessor. This little annoyance comes up when you go to a web page and your cursor is at the top of the screen; the bar with the ad in it appears as a fairly narrow ad at the top of the page, but when you scroll your mouse across it the damned thing pops up to cover half of the page! You hit the “CLOSE” button in the corner, thinking that you’ve taken care of it, but the thing is the ad is designed to automatically return your cursor to the place it was before you caused the ad to pop up – so when you move your mouse down the page again, the ad pops up again. You have to be REALLY quick to move your cursor away from the top of the page once you close the popup to avoid this. I usually just say “screw it” and close out the whole page.

4. Redirects – When I click on a link that is supposed to show me a picture of the newest model Harley to hit the streets, I don’t want to be redirected to a page offering me free porn or a free Internet singles website. ‘Nuff said.

5. Fake “Your Computer is Infected With A Virus!” alerts – These programs, called “aware,” are especially difficult to get rid of for several reasons. First, they appear to be genuine since they are patterned exactly after Windows alerts. Second they embed themselves in your computer programming sequence so that they’re next to impossible to find and get rid of, unless you either use your computer’s “restore” function or you have a really, really good anti-spyware/aware program. Even then, sometimes a “restore” operation won’t work. The program I use, McAfee, is excellent at preventing infections such as these. They even have programs out there that show a jpeg so big that it appears to be your desktop picture alerting you to a virus infection, but in reality it’s a jpeg shown really, really big – and when you click on the box that conveniently shows up, you’re taken to a website where you can purchase a program to eliminate the virus. The program, of course, is designed and marketed by the same company that designed and spread the virus in the first place. A nice strategy – market the virus so you can market the cure. Nice. Very nice. Assholes.

6. “OBAMA SAYS” ads – Is the craze over the first black president ever gonna stop? I’ve lost count of the ads on the side of your screen that says, “OBAMA SAYS FOR ALL MOMS TO GO BACK TO COLLEGE,” or “OBAMA SAYS FOR ALL DADS TO GO BACK TO COLLEGE” or some crap like that. Obviously, the people who design these ads are trying to cash in on the public’s frothing at the mouth for anything and everything Obama, and are doing their best to make money off of it. And the sad thing is that there are droves of people out there who buy this load of crap, every single day! I got a news flash for you, people – Obama didn’t say shit about anybody going back to college, or refinancing your house, or trading in your car, or any damned thing like that, so stop being a freakin’ lemming and think for yourself for a change! Jeez!

7. Ads in general – If I want to see an ad for anything, I’ll go buy the newspaper. Which I don’t, by the way. Thank God for Mozilla Firefox which blocks ALL ads from its browser, no matter what web site you’re looking at. This is especially handy when running Facebook. (Yeah, I’m on Facebook. Deal with it.)

8. Racist websites – and I mean both ways. What, you don’t think there are racist, anti-white websites out there? What world are YOU living in? Just check out a web site called “Blackvoices.com” if you need a jolt of reality. This is the same web site, by the way, which railed and complained loudly whenever Obama was compared to a chimp, but which also ran a picture of a pig’s face next to that of Sara Palin during the election, riding on the coattails of Obama’s comment that if you put lipstick on a pig, it was still a pig. But it’s only racist if a white person does that, right? Don’t get me started…..but as I said, racist web sites of any and all kinds are an aberration to the web and humanity in general, but tracking down and eliminating them is next to impossible. It’s like trying to catch the wind in a bag – you just can’t do it. Besides, there’s this pesky thing called “free speech” and the First Amendment to deal with. Yeah, I know, the First Amendment doesn’t say that, but you know damned good and well that’s what the lawyers are gonna say in court, and the lemmings on the jury will believe it. Go figure.

9. Unwanted downloads included with stuff you really want – the best example of this I can think of is the Incredimail e-mail program I run. Every time the program updates or offers you a new service that you want or need, it will also include a program to change your default home page and search engine to their own page and search engine – and you can’t download the stuff you really want without downloading this crap along with it. I’m seriously considering dumping Incredimail for just that reason.

10. Pictures you can’t save by right-clicking on them – this little feature forces you to go back to a specific web site if you want to look at a picture you like instead of being able to save it to “My Pictures” and look at it without all the crap on the site along with it. Yeah, a minor irritation compared to the rest of the stuff here, but it still bugs me.

And that’s it. So tell me, did you find yourself nodding your head and saying, “Yeah, me, too!” at least once while reading this? If so, great! If not, well, I can’t help ya. You were born without a sense of humor, and there ain’t no cure for it that I know of.

Until next time, then…

IHC

The Anti-Obama Speech You Never Heard

What follows is the text of a speech given by former Vice President Dick Cheney on October 21, 2009. This speech was not covered by ANY of the news media in any way, although portions of it have now begun to show up on Fox. This is proof positive that the recent brag by members of the Obama administration that they "control the media" is true, and gives us all more reasons to doubt the current administrations' claim to be running the most "open and transparent" administration ever. Instead, what we have is the most secretive, clandestine administration since - as one friend on another forum said - "Tricky Dicky."

Read and decide for yourself.

Center for Security Policy As prepared for delivery October 21, 2009

"Thank you all very much. It’s a pleasure to be here, and especially to receive the Keeper of the Flame Award in the company of so many good friends.

I’m told that among those you’ve recognized before me was my friend Don Rumsfeld. I don’t mind that a bit. It fits something of a pattern. In a career that includes being chief of staff, congressman, and secretary of defense, I haven’t had much that Don didn’t get first. But truth be told, any award once conferred on Donald Rumsfeld carries extra luster, and I am very proud to see my name added to such a distinguished list.

To Frank Gaffney and all the supporters of Center for Security Policy, I thank you for this honor. And I thank you for the great energy and high intelligence you bring to as vital a cause as there is – the advance of freedom and the uncompromising defense of the United States.

Most anyone who is given responsibility in matters of national security quickly comes to appreciate the commitments and structures put in place by others who came before. You deploy a military force that was planned and funded by your predecessors. You inherit relationships with partners and obligations to allies that were first undertaken years and even generations earlier. With the authority you hold for a little while, you have great freedom of action. And whatever course you follow, the essential thing is always to keep commitments, and to leave no doubts about the credibility of your country’s word.

So among my other concerns about the drift of events under the present administration, I consider the abandonment of missile defense in Eastern Europe to be a strategic blunder and a breach of good faith.

It is certainly not a model of diplomacy when the leaders of Poland and the Czech Republic are informed of such a decision at the last minute in midnight phone calls. It took a long time and lot of political courage in those countries to arrange for our interceptor system in Poland and the radar system in the Czech Republic. Our Polish and Czech friends are entitled to wonder how strategic plans and promises years in the making could be dissolved, just like that – with apparently little, if any, consultation. Seventy years to the day after the Soviets invaded Poland, it was an odd way to mark the occasion.

You hardly have to go back to 1939 to understand why these countries desire – and thought they had – a close and trusting relationship with the United States. Only last year, the Russian Army moved into Georgia, under the orders of a man who regards the collapse of the Soviet Union as the greatest geopolitical disaster of the 20th century. Anybody who has spent much time in that part of the world knows what Vladimir Putin is up to. And those who try placating him, by conceding ground and accommodating his wishes, will get nothing in return but more trouble.

What did the Obama Administration get from Russia for its abandonment of Poland and the Czech Republic, and for its famous “Reset” button? Another deeply flawed election and continued Russian opposition to sanctioning Iran for its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

In the short of it, President Obama’s cancellation of America’s agreements with the Polish and Czech governments was a serious blow to the hopes and aspirations of millions of Europeans. For twenty years, these peoples have done nothing but strive to move closer to us, and to gain the opportunities and security that America offered. These are faithful friends and NATO allies, and they deserve better. The impact of making two NATO allies walk the plank won’t be felt only in Europe. Our friends throughout the world are watching and wondering whether America will abandon them as well.

Big events turn on the credibility of the United States – doing what we said we would do, and always defending our fundamental security interests. In that category belong the ongoing missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the need to counter the nuclear ambitions of the current regime in Iran.

Candidate Obama declared last year that he would be willing to sit down with Iran’s leader without preconditions. As President, he has committed America to an Iran strategy that seems to treat engagement as an objective rather than a tactic. Time and time again, he has outstretched his hand to the Islamic Republic’s authoritarian leaders, and all the while Iran has continued to provide lethal support to extremists and terrorists who are killing American soldiers inIraq and Afghanistan. The Islamic Republic continues to provide support to extremists in Syria, Lebanon, and the Palestinian territories. Meanwhile, the regime continues to spin centrifuges and test missiles. And these are just the activities we know about.

I have long been skeptical of engagement with the current regime in Tehran, but even Iran experts who previously advocated for engagement have changed their tune since the rigged elections this past June and the brutal suppression of Iran’s democratic protestors. The administration clearly missed an opportunity to stand with Iran’s democrats, whose popular protests represent the greatest challenge to the Islamic Republic since its founding in 1979. Instead, the President has been largely silent about the violent crackdown on Iran’s protestors, and has moved blindly forward to engage Iran’s authoritarian regime. Unless the Islamic Republic fears real consequences from the United States and the international community, it is hard to see how diplomacy will work.

Next door in Iraq, it is vitally important that President Obama, in his rush to withdraw troops, not undermine the progress we’ve made in recent years. Prime Minister Maliki met yesterday with President Obama, who began his press availability with an extended comment about Afghanistan. When he finally got around to talking about Iraq, he told the media that he reiterated to Maliki his intention to remove all U.S. troops from Iraq. Former President Bush’s bold decision to change strategy in Iraq and surge U.S. forces there set the stage for success in that country. Iraq has the potential to be a strong, democratic ally in the war on terrorism, and an example of economic and democratic reform in the heart of the Middle East.

The Obama Administration has an obligation to protect this young democracy and build on the strategic success we have achieved in Iraq.

We should all be concerned as well with the direction of policy on Afghanistan. For quite a while, the cause of our military in that country went pretty much unquestioned, even on the left. The effort was routinely praised by way of contrast to Iraq, which many wrote off as a failure until the surge proved them wrong. Now suddenly – and despite our success in Iraq – we’re hearing a drumbeat of defeatism over Afghanistan. These criticisms carry the same air of hopelessness, they offer the same short-sighted arguments for walking away, and they should be summarily rejected for the same reasons of national security.

Having announced his Afghanistan strategy last March, President Obama now seems afraid to make a decision, and unable to provide his commander on the ground with the troops he needs to complete his mission.

President Obama has said he understands the stakes for America. When he announced his new strategy he couched the need to succeed in the starkest possible terms, saying, quote, “If the Afghan government falls to the Taliban – or allows al-Qaeda to go unchallenged – that country will again be a base for terrorists who want to kill as many of our people as they possibly can.” End quote.

Five months later, in August of this year, speaking at the VFW, the President made a promise to America’s armed forces. “I will give you a clear mission,” he said, “defined goals, and the equipment and support you need to get the job done. That’s my commitment to you.”

It’s time for President Obama to make good on his promise. The White House must stop dithering while America’s armed forces are in danger.

Make no mistake, signals of indecision out of Washington hurt our allies and embolden our adversaries. Waffling, while our troops on the ground face an emboldened enemy, endangers them and hurts our cause.

Recently, President Obama’s advisors have decided that it’s easier to blame the Bush Administration than support our troops. This weekend they leveled a charge that cannot go unanswered. The President’s chief of staff claimed that the Bush Administration hadn’t asked any tough questions about Afghanistan, and he complained that the Obama Administration had to start from scratch to put together a strategy.

In the fall of 2008, fully aware of the need to meet new challenges being posed by the Taliban, we dug into every aspect of Afghanistan policy, assembling a team that traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan, reviewing options and recommendations, and briefing President-elect Obama’s team. They asked us not to announce our findings publicly, and we agreed, giving them the benefit of our work and the benefit of the doubt. The new strategy they embraced in March, with a focus on counterinsurgency and an increase in the numbers of troops, bears a striking resemblance to the strategy we passed to them. They made a decision – a good one, I think – and sent a commander into the field to implement it. Now they seem to be pulling back and blaming others for their failure to implement the strategy they embraced. It’s time for President Obama to do what it takes to win a war he has repeatedly and rightly called a war of necessity.

It’s worth recalling that we were engaged in Afghanistan in the 1980’s, supporting the Mujahadeen against the Soviets. That was a successful policy, but then we pretty much put Afghanistan out of our minds. While no one was watching, what followed was a civil war, the takeover by the Taliban, and the rise of bin Laden and al-Qaeda. All of that set in motion the events of 9/11. When we deployed forces eight years ago this month, it was to make sure Afghanistan would never again be a training ground for the killing of Americans. Saving untold thousands of lives is still the business at hand in this fight. And the success of our mission in Afghanistan is not only essential, it is entirely achievable with enough troops and enough political courage.

Then there’s the matter of how to handle the terrorists we capture in this ongoing war. Some of them know things that, if shared, can save a good many innocent lives. When we faced that problem in the days and years after 9/11, we made some basic decisions. We understood that organized terrorism is not just a law-enforcement issue, but a strategic threat to the United States.

At every turn, we understood as well that the safety of the country required collecting information known only to the worst of the terrorists. We had a lot of blind spots – and that’s an awful thing, especially in wartime. With many thousands of lives potentially in the balance, we didn’t think it made sense to let the terrorists answer questions in their own good time, if they answered them at all.

The intelligence professionals who got the answers we needed from terrorists had limited time, limited options, and careful legal guidance. They got the baddest actors we picked up to reveal things they really didn’t want to share. In the case of Khalid Sheik Muhammed, by the time it was over he was not was not only talking, he was practically conducting a seminar, complete with chalkboards and charts. It turned out he had a professorial side, and our guys didn’t mind at all if classes ran long. At some point, the mastermind of 9/11 became an expansive briefer on the operations and plans of al-Qaeda. It happened in the course of enhanced interrogations. All the evidence, and common sense as well, tells us why he started to talk.

The debate over intelligence gathering in the seven years after 9/11 involves much more than historical accuracy. What we’re really debating are the means and resolve to protect this country over the next few years, and long after that. Terrorists and their state sponsors must be held accountable, and America must remain on the offensive against them. We got it right after 9/11. And our government needs to keep getting it right, year after year, president after president, until the danger is finally overcome.

Our administration always faced its share of criticism, and from some quarters it was always intense. That was especially so in the later years of our term, when the dangers were as serious as ever, but the sense of general alarm after 9/11 was a fading memory. Part of our responsibility, as we saw it, was not to forget the terrible harm that had been done to America … and not to let 9/11 become the prelude to something much bigger and far worse.

Eight years into the effort, one thing we know is that the enemy has spent most of this time on the defensive – and every attempt to strike inside the United States has failed. So you would think that our successors would be going to the intelligence community saying, “How did you did you do it? What were the keys to preventing another attack over that period of time?”

Instead, they’ve chosen a different path entirely – giving in to the angry left, slandering people who did a hard job well, and demagoguing an issue more serious than any other they’ll face in these four years. No one knows just where that path will lead, but I can promise you this: There will always be plenty of us willing to stand up for the policies and the people that have kept this country safe.

On the political left, it will still be asserted that tough interrogations did no good, because this is an article of faith for them, and actual evidence is unwelcome and disregarded. President Obama himself has ruled these methods out, and when he last addressed the subject he filled the air with vague and useless platitudes. His preferred device is to suggest that we could have gotten the same information by other means. We’re invited to think so. But this ignores the hard, inconvenient truth that we did try other means and techniques to elicit information from Khalid Sheikh Muhammed and other al-Qaeda operatives, only turning to enhanced techniques when we failed to produce the actionable intelligence we knew they were withholding. In fact, our intelligence professionals, in urgent circumstances with the highest of stakes, obtained specific information, prevented specific attacks, and saved American lives.

In short, to call enhanced interrogation a program of torture is not only to disregard the program’s legal underpinnings and safeguards. Such accusations are a libel against dedicated professionals who acted honorably and well, in our country’s name and in our country’s cause. What’s more, to completely rule out enhanced interrogation in the future, in favor of half-measures, is unwise in the extreme. In the fight against terrorism, there is no middle ground, and half-measures keep you half exposed.

For all that we’ve lost in this conflict, the United States has never lost its moral bearings – and least of all can that be said of our armed forces and intelligence personnel. They have done right, they have made our country safer, and a lot of Americans are alive today because of them.

Last January 20th, our successors in office were given the highest honors that the voters of this country can give any two citizens. Along with that, George W. Bush and I handed the new president and vice president both a record of success in the war on terror, and the policies to continue that record and ultimately prevail. We had been the decision makers, but those seven years, four months, and nine days without another 9/11 or worse, were a combined achievement: a credit to all who serve in the defense of America, including some of the finest people I’ve ever met.

What the present administration does with those policies is their call to make, and will become a measure of their own record. But I will tell you straight that I am not encouraged when intelligence officers who acted in the service of this country find themselves hounded with a zeal that should be reserved for America’s enemies. And it certainly is not a good sign when the Justice Department is set on a political mission to discredit, disbar, or otherwise persecute the very people who helped protect our nation in the years after 9/11.

There are policy differences, and then there are affronts that have to be answered every time without equivocation, and this is one of them. We cannot protect this country by putting politics over security, and turning the guns on our own guys.

We cannot hope to win a war by talking down our country and those who do its hardest work – the men and women of our military and intelligence services. They are, after all, the true keepers of the flame.

Thank you very much."

I don't know about you, but I'm concerned....VERY concerned.

IHC