Author Archive

Here’s some more moral building in the Obama military…

FoxNews is reporting that three Navy SEALs are being charged with assault in the capture of one the FBI’s most wanted terrorists. Ahmed Hashim Abed is the supposed “mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004.”

The three SEALs will be arraigned separately on Dec. 7. Another three SEALs — two officers and an enlisted sailor — have been identified by investigators as witnesses but have not been charged.

FoxNews.com obtained the official handwritten statement from one of the three witnesses given on Sept. 3, hours after Abed was captured and still being held at the SEAL base at Camp Baharia. He was later taken to a cell in the U.S.-operated Green Zone in Baghdad.

The SEAL told investigators he had showered after the mission, gone to the kitchen and then decided to look in on the detainee.

“I gave the detainee a glance over and then left,” the SEAL wrote. “I did not notice anything wrong with the detainee and he appeared in good health.”

Lt. Col. Holly Silkman, spokeswoman for the special operations component of U.S. Central Command, confirmed Tuesday to FoxNews.com that three SEALs have been charged in connection with the capture of a detainee. She said their court martial is scheduled for January.

United States Central Command declined to discuss the detainee, but a legal source told FoxNews.com that the detainee was turned over to Iraqi authorities, to whom he made the abuse complaints. He was then returned to American custody. The SEAL leader reported the charge up the chain of command, and an investigation ensued.

Okay so let me get this strait. A Navy SEAL team monitors this guy for weeks; they plan, execute, and succeed in an insanely dangerous mission. After the target is captured, he’s turned over to the Iraqis, where he whines about a bloody lip. And now three of those SEALs have been charged with dereliction of duty?!

They should have left him laying in the sand.

Joseph “Newt” Williford, 1929-2009

My grandfather, the son of an eastern NC tobacco sharecropper, was a gruff old man with a big heart. He loved bluegrass music, especially when he was picking on his guitar or banjo; he loved NC State athletics, the Atlanta Braves, and NASCAR; he never turned down a pig pickin’ or a fish fry. Early on I remember his fondness for golf, but in his retirement he was more often found on the Triple S pier (Atlantic Beach, NC) with a rod and reel. He was a typical southern blue dog, patriotic, conservative about life, conservative about his wallet, too young to serve in WWII, a new father in Korea, an active Free Mason and a dedicated church member.

As the years passed, moving away, then moving back, visits were often sporadic and short. As a young adult, I was fortunate enough to spend a lot of time with him while I was at ECU, and as I moved on, started a family, started to get busy, again the visits got sporadic and short. Then last summer we became neighbors, a mere 20 minute drive. He played that guitar for my boys; he bounced his great-granddaughter on his knee; we shared some good food – mostly BBQ. The last 18 months were some of the best for him, I think. He and I grew quite close, talking often about politics, sports, family, food, cars, history and life in general.

Three months ago, the Lord started calling the old man home. Like all of us, he fought for a while, but soon realized it was time. I have no doubt he’s already loved on his mom and dad, thrown a hook in that great ocean in the sky, and probably even sank a long putt on some majestic par 4. He loved to talk, and now he’s got an eternity to share.

He was loved, he will be missed.

Yesterday, Watchdog.com broke the story about numerous bogus claims on the federal site Recovery.com, 30 new or saved jobs in Arizona’s 15th district; 25 jobs saved or created in Connecticut’s 42nd district, and the list can go on.

Today, Watchdog.com has more information.

According to data retrieved from Recovery.gov, nearly $6.4 billion was used to “create or save” just under 30,000 jobs in these [440] phantom congressional districts–almost $225,000 per job. The web site operates on an $84 million budget and is tasked with monitoring the distribution of the $787 billion stimulus package passed by Congress–which, for the record, counts 435 members–in early 2009.

To see a list of the 440 bogus districts, click here.

The site’s monitors, however, are not too savvy about America’s political or geographic landscape. More than $2 million was given to the 99th District of North Dakota, a state which has only one congressional district. In order to qualify for 99 districts, North Dakota would have to have a population of about 60 million people, almost 24 million more people than California…

South Carolina’s 7th took the cake, garnering more than $27 million in stimulus funds, despite being eliminated in 1930. And Virginia’s 12th District may have been written off at the start of the Civil War, but it must carry some sentimental value in Old Dominion–it received more than $2 million, according to recovery.gov…

The stimulus helped to create 35 congressional districts in Washington D.C. and the four American territories, all of which have no congressional districts. These areas received $5 of the $6.4 billion distributed to the non-existent districts…

Vice President Joe Biden admitted that the administration’s statistics were flawed after an Associated Press study revealed several instances of exaggerated and outright false job creation. The vice president acknowledged that “further updates and corrections are going to be needed.”

Either, the editors of Recovery.com think we’re all morons, or they are incredibly lazy. I’m thinking it’s probably both; there has apparently been no attempt to proof the site, at all.

Duane Lester, at All American Blogger, asks a good question. Given all this, do you want to depend on the government for a health recovery(.com)?

Okay, so I missed this over the weekend; Saturday was my wedding anniversary (Renae- I love you more than you could possibly imagine.), and yesterday was Sunday, which is always a busy day for me. Anyway, enough excuses.

RedState, and a few others has this. Apparently, our illustrious leader, in his reckless apathy for history and feelings at home, bowed to the Emperor of Japan. Now, before you say, “wait, Japan is a democracy,” I know Japan is a democracy; it still has an emperor, kind of like the UK still has a queen; Obama bowed to her too. But, the difference here though, is that the current Japanese Emperor is the son of Hirohito. Lest you’ve forgotten, here’s a quick history on Hirohito.

7 December 1941: Over 2,400 killed and over 2,000 others wounded in the attack on Pearl Harbor.

This would be like a president 60 years from now, bowing to the son of Osama Bin Laden.

Pathetic.

My apologies to the nearly 109,000 who died fighting in the Pacific theater, and to the other 16 million men and women who served during WWII.

Eric Holder’s decision to try Khalid Sheik Mohamed in civilian court in NYC is not about justice; it’s about interrogation and the CIA.

I am not a lawyer, but I’ve watched enough Law & Order to get an idea on how things work, things like discovery – and through the discovery process, the prosecution will be obligated to disclose the nature of KSM’s confession. The defense then will be allowed to call “expert” witnesses to clarify, verify, and vilify the CIA for the measures taken to secure that confession, and most of it, if not all of it, will become public record.

When Obama was asked about the trial this morning, he said “I am absolutely convinced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be subjected to the most exacting demands of justice.”

Justice?! Are you kidding me! Does anyone honestly think there are twelve objective people in that jury pool? This is so obviously political – the case is slam dunk in NYC, guarantee a conviction, and, at the same time, expose all the intelligence and military dirty laundry.

Nicholas Ballasy over at CNSNews has posted a great article quoting Daniel Akaka saying he’s not aware of the Constitution giving Congress the right to include the individual mandate. Go ahead pick up your jaw; now, before you assume the pride of the Aloha state has flipped his liberal lid, Akaka also says the lack of such authority doesn’t matter. But, then again what Constitutional authority or lack thereof has ever really mattered to these folks anyway?

Regardless, it’s a good piece revealing the state of mind of those supporting ObamaCare and the individual mandate.

When CNSNews.com asked whether the Constitution gives Congress the authority to make Americans buy health insurance, Sen. Akaka said: “I’m not aware of that; let me put it that way. But what we’re trying to do is to provide for people who have needs, and that’s where the accessibility comes in, and one of the goals that we’re trying to present here is to make it accessible.”

Oh, so it’s about accessibility. Using that defense, Congress should make everyone who is eligible by a car, so those who can’t (or won’t) drive, can ride the bus. I know, it doesn’t make sense to me either

When asked if there was a specific part of the Constitution that gives Congress the authority to make people buy health insurance, Akaka said: “Not in particular with health insurance. It’s not covered in that respect. But in ways to help citizens in our country to live a good life, let me say it that way, is what we’re trying to do, and in this case, we’re trying to help them with their health.”.

Wait, what, so it’s about health then. Okay, so everyone should be forced to buy a gym membership, so those who don’t want to work out, can go sit in the sauna at the Y. Again, doesn’t make sense to me either.

“It’s an idea of making it possible for people and this is what it’s all about,” he said. “I don’t look upon that as a penalty but as a way of getting help with health insurance.”

Um, uh, hmmm, what?

In 1994, when Congress was considering a universal health care plan proposed by then-President Clinton that included a mandate that all individuals purchase health insurance, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) studied the issue and discovered that the federal government had never in the history of the United States mandated that individuals purchase any good or service.

“A mandate requiring all individuals to purchase health insurance would be an unprecedented form of federal action,” said the CBO. “The government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States.”

In an analysis published this July, the CBO said that an attempt to justify a mandate that people buy health insurance by using the Commerce Clause—which gives Congress the power to regulate commerce “among the several states”—raises a “novel issue.”

Not a “novel issue,” a Constitutional issue.

See the whole interview here.

Townhall.com is reporting that Obama has ordered a full review of all the intelligence related to the Nidal Hasan, and is specifically asking the question if that information was properly disseminated and thoroughly checked out.

Obama also ordered the preservation of the intelligence. Members of Congress, particularly Michigan Rep. Peter Hoekstra, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, have called for a full examination of what agencies knew about Hasan’s contacts with a radical imam and others of concern to the U.S., and what they did with the information.

Hmmm, I can’t help think this a “CYA” response to questions Hoekstra raised about Hasan’s finances. This guy was making close to $90k/year, and he was living in a $300/mo apartment on Ramen Noodles and Beenie Weenies (beef of course). Where was the money going?

The FBI confirmed this week that the U.S. government knew about 10 to 20 e-mails between Hasan and a radical imam beginning in December 2008.

It think it pretty obvious if it was properly disseminated, the answer to the last question above is, No!

In June the SC state legislature authorized the “I Believe” specialized license plate. And of course, within days a so-called separation of church and state group filed suit in Federal Court, citing the plates were discriminatory and unlawful. Yesterday, a federal court agreed.

A federal district court ruled Tuesday that the “I Believe” license plate approved by the South Carolina Legislature violates the constitutional separation of church and state and cannot be issued.

In a summary judgment ruling, U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie said the plate was based on a discriminatory law. “Such a law amounts to state endorsement not only of religion in general, but of a specific sect in particular,” Currie said.

Here’s the thing, this plate is one of four dozen other plates drivers can chose from. This is a matter of choice not endorsement of one religion. Private groups in SC have a right to create plates if they paid $4000 or have 400 prepaid applications, Lt. Gov. AndrDe Bauer put up the $4000 from private funds, and again the Circus Court of Appeals dumps on Christianity.  What about this plate, Judge; would there be any issues with this one; or would political correctness win again?

From the Wounded Warrior Project.

On February 22, 2006, Specialist Dan Perry was severely injured in a bunker west of Ramadi, referred to as Position 3-South. Position 3-South was a wooden bunker fortified by sandbags, strategically placed directly on top of two parallel railroad lines. Along with two other soldiers, Sergeant Schladweiler and Specialist Fisher, all three were going about their regular duties and had completed about four hours of a five-hour shift.

At about 3:15 pm, they began receiving small-arms fire from the north, northeast, and northwest. Spc. Fisher called to position 3-East (approximately 300 meters to the northwest of position 3-South) and reported that the small-arms fire was coming from a car that was driving down a road. At the same time, Sgt. Schladweiler called in a fire mission for artillery. Then, four or five rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) hit the bunker position at 3-South. Spc. Fisher was injured during the RPG attack, and it is believed that Sgt. Schladweiler and Dan were pulling him out of the bunker while still returning fire, as all seven of their 30-round magazines were later found used. While their attention was diverted to the north, a motorized railroad cart with three 170mm improvised explosive devices (IEDs) slammed into the east side of the bunker, causing it to explode and collapse on the three soldiers.

At position 3-East, Sergeant Garza, Sergeant Tyree, and Specialist Flynt had responded to Spc. Fisher’s call and were returning fire at the oncoming car. Spc. Flynt was knocked out of the turret by an explosion (the RPGs at 3-South) and then felt a second larger explosion (the IEDs at 3-South). Sgt. Tyree attempted to call Spc. Fisher, and when no answer was received, he looked out the window to see that 3-South was leveled.

Sgt. Garza, Sgt. Tyree, and Spc. Flynt ran up the hill towards 3-South while still receiving enemy fire. When they got to the exploded bunker, only Sgt. Schladweiler could be seen with his head just above the sandbags. Spc. Fisher could be heard from under what used to be the roof. After Sgt. Schladweiler was pulled out, they saw Dan’s arm under a pile of sandbags. Dan was found unconscious, with his breathing passages severely injured by the weight of sandbags on top of him. Nothing could be done for Dan with the first aid supplies on hand, so Spc. Flynt sat on top of the hill holding Dan’s head in his lap to help him breath, waiting for the medics to arrive.

First they were transported by Humvee to their camp, and in the process, Dan was given an emergency tracheotomy.  Then, Sgt. Schladweiler, Spc. Fisher, and Dan were taken by medevac to Balad. In Balad, Dan received a shunt to relieve the pressure on his injured and swelling brain. When Dan arrived in Germany the day following his injury, he was stabilized to fly to Walter Reed Army Medical Center along with Sgt. Schladweiler. Dan stayed at Walter Reed for seven weeks, where he had numerous surgeries and a skin graft.

Dan’s injuries include a traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, shrapnel and powder tattooing to the left side of his face, neck, upper arms, shoulders, and other parts of his body. He has physical damage to his left ear, and inner-, middle- and outer-ear damage with permanent hearing loss. He broke his right thumb, wrist and arm, and sustained other open wounds and lacerations which have since healed. He has permanent vision loss and damage to his left eye, and nerve damage on several areas of his body.

In early April, Dan was transferred to the Palo Alto VA Medical Center, where he underwent testing and treatment for his traumatic brain injury, as well as his other physical injuries. In August, Dan returned home to Connecticut. Dan has since been receiving medical treatment and therapy at Mt. Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital. Dan has also made several trips to Walter Reed Hospital for appointments, symposiums, and surgery. In April of 2007, he was medically retired from the military.

There are 30,000 other stories similar to this one. This Veterans Day, along with saying “thanks” to a soldier, please consider donating to the Wounded Warrior Project. The WWP provides services to the most seriously injured soldiers as they readjust to civilian life.

FoxNews.com is reporting that a Senate panel investing the increasing threat of domestic terrorism, not from “ring-wing extremists,” but from homegrown jihadists, warned of a Fort Hood type scenario years ago.

More than a year before the massacre at Fort Hood, a Senate panel conducting an extensive investigation into the threat of homegrown terrorism warned that “radicalization” had spread beyond Afghanistan training camps to the United States and that lone wolves fueled by Internet propaganda would present a growing threat.The Senate committee report warned that the Internet was serving as a “virtual terrorist training camp,” and cited that as a contributing factor in the United States becoming more and more susceptible to homegrown extremists.

Though the report said that the lack of a “sympathetic audience” and presence of an integrated Muslim community historically has made homegrown terrorism less likely in the United States, it cited recent homegrown plots — like a foiled plot against Fort Dix, N.J. — as an “early warning” that the trend is reversing.

The “sympathetic audience” is now the political establishment and the mainstream media. More and more information is being released about the events leading up to the Fort Hood shootings, and the some of the media is suggesting the Major Hasan just snapped, still asking if this was preplanned, still trading carefully on the “terror” word.

“Radicalization is no longer confined to training camps in Afghanistan or other locations far from our shores; it is also occurring right here in the United States,” the report stated.

Mike Baker, a former CIA covert operations officer, said Hasan — particularly as a member of the U.S. military — would have made an “attractive candidate” for radicals overseas. If he was influenced by such elements, Baker said, Hasan would be more than just an “unhinged fellow” accused of going on a shooting rampage.

If so, the attack certainly did not follow the Sept. 11 model, where hijackers were recruited from overseas in the Middle East. As the 2008 report detailed, “the violent Islamist threat to the homeland has evolved and expanded.”

Imagine that, the enemy is changing tactics, and somehow we can’t. Jihadists can apparently only be Middle Easterners who hijack planes or blow up things in the war zone; they can’t be American, they can’t act alone, they have to fit the mold, otherwise we’re just stereotyping. Here’s a thought, read the evidence!

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, told Fox News that it appears the “red flags” surrounding Hasan should have prompted an investigation.

“Certainly it’s worrisome if red flags were ignored, if behavior issues were not targeted for further review,” Collins said Tuesday. “This is something we have to have a no-holds-barred investigation of.”