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Monday, May 25, 2009

Comrade Karla Responds to Obama's WoT Speech

It's been a while since we've heard from the good comrade. Here's what he had to say regarding Obama's latest speech regarding our Overseas Contingency Operations, formerly known as the War on Terror. The article is from the Politico while Comrade Karla's comments are in red italics:

President Barack Obama plans to say in his speech Thursday that the U.S. lost its way in fighting terrorism over the past eight years by failing to trust its institutions and values, according to an administration official.

Actually, I'd say we realized (at first) we had the wrong (or no institutions at all) to handle what we were facing and thus we decided to get back to some reality-based counter-terrorism/warfare methods…but that was all BAD and NAUGHTY we now find out, despite copious legal justification to the countrary.
Obama will also renew his pledge to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying he will honor the commitment he made in the first week of his presidency.

Good luck with that…between the rejection of California's spending plans and the attempt to close Gitmo and Princess Nancy's antics, you'd figure he might be getting a clue that all is not well in Democratic ideology-land, certainly not as far as the great unwashed voter goes.

In a remarkable split-screen presentation of opposing worldviews, former Vice President Dick Cheney will speak on the exact same topic moments after Obama finishes. Cheney is appearing at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, where the audience will watch the president on large TV screens.

Figured there was a reason they'd want to preempt Cheney. Interesting how he's emerging as the representative of reality-based foreign policy and security.


Cheney will say: “When President Obama makes wise decisions, he deserves our support. And when he mischaracterizes the national security decisions we made in the Bush years, he deserves an answer.”

Sort of obvious.

Cheney will argue that his intent is not to look backward but will say that a truthful telling of history is necessary to inform our choices going forward. “Though I'm not here to speak for George W. Bush, I am certain that no one wishes the current administration more success in defending the country than we do,” Cheney will say. “What I want to do today is set forth the strategic thinking that drove our policies.”
Both the president and Cheney will rest a good part of their case on effectiveness, with the president saying the last administration’s approach to fighting terror was not effective, and Cheney arguing that those programs are the reason there has been no second Sept. 11.
During his remarks at the National Archives: Obama will say that the Bush administration established an ad hoc legal approach for fighting terrorism that was neither effective nor sustainable and alienated the nation from its allies.

Nonsense. It was more like we tried to go back to handling this stuff the WAY we did in the past--I'll admit they didn't do a good job of it, but it wasn't a departure--rather the attempt to shoehorn everything from terrorism to conventional combat into the lawfare template--that my friends, is the "departure." As for alienating allies, hasn't he figure out that a lot of them still don't like us no matter what we do?

Obama will argue that so-called enhanced interrogation techniques such as waterboarding are not the most effective, undermine the rule of law, alienate the U.S. in the world, serve as a recruitment tool for terrorists and increase the will of our enemies to fight us, while decreasing the will of others to work with America.

Oh, do tell. So what is the "more effective" approach? I'm still waiting…and here I was thinking that the jew-hate that is integral to islamofascism had something to do with their extreme worldviews. Silly me, it's only because the US put them in rooms with bugs that they turned to violence.

The president will say that while the nation must ensure that its security measures and our justice system are ready to address the threats of the 21st century, the Obama administration will uphold America’s laws and its values that are the reason we have become the strongest nation in the world and persisted through crises that have threatened our core.

Translation: If we can't shoehorn it into the civilian court system, we'll ignore it.

Obama will say that the paramount responsibility of any president is to keep the American people safe. That is what he thinks about every morning when he wakes up and every night when he goes to sleep. The president believes with every fiber of his being that we cannot keep this country safe unless we enlist the power of our most fundamental values.

In the meantime, I'll just undermine that very process if it conflicts with a preestablished ideology.

The president will refer to the setting, saying that the documents in the National Archives — including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights — are not simply words written into aging parchment. They are the foundation of liberty and justice in this country, and a light that shines for all who seek freedom, fairness, equality and dignity in the world.

What they are not is a license for our enemies to destroy us--I think the founders got that. I think in the past a lot of Ds and Rs got that. I'm not sure the 1970s wing of the Democratic Party really understands that.

Obama will point out that he is providing the resources to take the fight to the extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan who attacked us on Sept. 11; investing in the 21st-century military and intelligence capabilities; re-energizing a global nonproliferation regime and locking down loose nuclear material to deny the world’s most dangerous people access to the world’s deadliest weapons; protecting our borders and increasing our preparedness for any future attack or natural disaster; building new partnerships around the world to disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda and its affiliates; and renewing American diplomacy.

Some stuff is good and was already in the works…the counterproliferation thing strikes me as attacking the wrong part of the crocodile at this particular point in time.
Referring back to the opening week of his presidency, Obama will point out that he ordered the closing of the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay. For over seven years, the U.S. has detained hundreds of people at Guantanamo. During that time, the system of Military Commissions at Guantanamo succeeded in convicting only three suspected terrorists.

Not through any failure on the part of the methodology--it was a political decision to fiddle-f*ck around and not get this done, oh and lawsuits that were settled by the USSC and Congressional legislating had SOMETHING to do with this, did it not? I guess we won't mention the nature of the inmates--could be embarrasing.

Obama will contend that the record is clear: Rather than keep Americans safer, the prison at Guantanamo has weakened American national security. Turning to detainees who remain, the president will announce this framework:

And his proof for this is? He has none. It is ideological belief masquerading as fact. I guess letting these guys into the civil courts were they would be acquitted/let out is much, much safer somehow. I also don't get where this endlessly silly belief that if we're just nice to violent jihadists they'll somehow realize the error of their ways and take up pottery or join Mr. Van Driessen's music circle.
--When feasible, try those who have violated American criminal laws in federal courts.

Already do that.
--When necessary, try those who violate the rules of war through Military Commissions.

Were about to do that when this admin c*ck blocked it and then changed its mind.
--When possible, transfer to third countries those detainees who can be safely transferred.

Yeah, that works. I wonder if they've figured out yet why none of those "third countries" want these bozos?

Remembering Those Who Served...


He's at it Again...

Kim Jong Ill, one of the leaders in the Axis of Evil is at it again. North Korea supposedly conducted another nuclear test this weekend in defiance of international agreements.

The story so far according to AP/Yahoo!News:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090525/ap_on_re_as/as_koreas_nuclear

And with our current administration's policies, one of my friend's commented that within 20 years the US will be the only nation without nukes.

My like minded-friends don't have any confidence that our Apoligizer-in-Chief and his administration can effectively confront the threats our nation faces. Especially when they're hellbent on allowing our nuclear capability to whither.

Four days ago, Obama made a speech on the Overseas Contingency Operations, formerly known as the War on Terror. Basically he stated our nation "went off course" in fighting our enemies.

We believe the primary error former President Bush committed was allowing terrorists to be treated like criminals instead of enemy combatants. Our enemies firmly believe they are at war with us. This trend of treating terrorists as criminals will continue to exacerbate our war efforts.

Full context of Obama's speech:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/us/politics/21obama.text.html?_r=2

In response, former VP Dick Cheney came out swinging (again) and defended the Bush Administration's action that kept us safe for 8 years:

http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2009/05/text_of_cheneys_aei_speech.asp

Meanwhile the issue of GITMO is heating up. Apparently several Democratic senators don't like the idea of bringing terrorist detainees to on to the US mainland--a definite case of NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard)!

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g4mOZQZCTQoyqqgbms6XH7ud4c_wD989JHTG0

Friday, May 15, 2009

Dodging the Economic Downturn

I managed to avoid one particular impact of the recession/economic downturn/whatever. The story of GM closing 1,000 dealerships made front page news in this morning's print edition of the Tacoma News Tribune.

Why? Because at least 3 big dealerships here in Tacoma received "The Letter" on Thursday--including Robert Larson Chrysler-Jeep-Hyundai, where I bought my Jeep Liberty.

http://www.looklarson.com/

And no that's not me driving in the picture. Although I've driven in places like this in military Hummers.

Not only did I buy the Jeep, but the GM Maintenance Package too. When I read the first paragraph, my reaction was "Aw s**t! Now what the **** am I going to do!" Fortunately, according to the paper, the dealership's service department will remain open. (Whew!).

A good thing too. I just had the timing chain replaced last week. This was a 6-day job and I had to get a rental car. Lucky for me the timing chain was still under warranty, so I didn't have to pay for it--or the rental.

Here's the GM draw-down/restructuring story that nearly gave me a heart attack this morning:
http://www.thenewstribune.com/topstories/story/742279.html

Superheroes Need Not Apply...



...to the War on Terror.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I love comic books and have enjoyed this latest generation of superhero movies. (The above picture is from The Amazing Spiderman Variant Issue #583, or The Inauguration Issue).

However, there is one problem a couple of commentators pointed out: Superhero movies ignore our current jihadist enemies. It's as if they don't exist. Debbie Schlussel commented on this when the last Superman movie was released. Now Mark Steyn adds his comments in the wake of X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/05/14/superheroes-are-starting-to-bug-me/

Ironman at least touched on our current operations in Afghanistan. Which maybe why I enjoyed it so much, even over my longtime favorite superhero Spiderman.

And while I still like these movies in general, Ms. Schlussel and Mr. Steyn have a point. Both Superman and Captain America came into being in the late 1930s. Captain America, a "supersoldier," was created to help fight our Axis enemies.

But times have changed and it's not politically correct to make inspirational movies about superheroes taking on real-world villains. That's the job of our real heroes--the men and women in our armed forces. However, "Hollyweird" has been hell-bent on vilifying our servicemen and women. It's been almost eight years since the 9/11 attacks and yet the only movies Hollywood cranked out are anti-war movies portraying American soldiers as torturers and rapists. Despite the unpopularity of our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan every one of these anti-war films flopped.

So not only have the superhero movies "let Hollywood off the hook," by avoiding our on-going war with the jihadist, but have recouped the losses from the anti-war films.

Bad Accident with Strange Twist

A couple days ago I was getting off night shift and driving home when I heard Washington State Patrol closed down part of Highway-167 or "River Road." My wife told me the full account last night.

Here's the story in this morning's Tacoma News Tribune:

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/742664.html

So far I haven't heard any updates on the mystery woman police found in the Puyallup River. (For you non-Washingtonians it's pronounced "Pew-ah-lup.").

Thursday, May 7, 2009




Well the superheroes in the Obama Administration and Congress continue their quest to bankrupt the American economy along with reducing our ability to secure our borders and defend our interests. The cuts in the Department of Defense (DoD) and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will trim Obama's proposed deficit by a whopping 0.5%.

I noticed in the article below that a lot of proposed cuts, minus DoD and ICE, were proposed by former president Bush.

It's amazing now that Dr McSocialism's in office, all that was bad with the evil W's Administration is now good.

Budget Proposes Cuts in 121 Programs


By JONATHAN WEISMAN


WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's detailed 2010 budget plan, due out Thursday, will propose to eliminate or consolidate 121 domestic and defense programs to save $17 billion, administration officials said Wednesday.

The trims, though modest, are likely to spark opposition from lawmakers and interest groups seeking to shift to someone else cuts aimed at narrowing next year's projected $1.2 trillion deficit.

"There are very few programs that don't have a constituency and someone who is willing to stand up for them in Congress. We understand that," a senior administration official said. But he added, "A lot of programs are implemented with the best of intentions. Not all of them are effective."


Compared with the total $3.6 trillion spending plan for 2010, the proposed trims amount to one-half of 1%. Half the cuts would come from defense, especially Pentagon weapons programs already spelled out by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, such as trimming back the fleet of advanced F-22 fighter planes. The other half would come from programs that have strong support among progressive activists who cheered Mr. Obama's election.

An administration official said that over 10 years, the total saved by the proposed program cuts would exceed $200 billion.

One of the biggest targets, the early childhood education program Even Start, had been on George W. Bush's target list since 2004.

Other programs slated for elimination are the Education Department's Jacob K. Javitz fellowship program and Christopher Columbus grants, the latter of which has a $1 million-a-year budget, 80% of which is overhead. Also gone would be an option to have the Earned Income Credit included in weekly or monthly paychecks, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency's Criminal Alien Program, which identified jailed criminal foreigners to ensure they are not released into the community. A White House aide also cited the Long Range Radio Navigation System, a $35 million Coast Guard system made obsolete by global positioning systems.

"Some of these have been on the books north of 40 years," said White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. "Inertia set in."


The defense of many targeted programs has already begun. AIDS activists are fuming that an expansion of developing-world health programs will favor other health needs over HIV/AIDS.
Liberal think tanks are worried about a proposed partnership with state governments to root out fraud in joint state-federal programs such as Medicaid and children's health insurance.

"There is a kind of 'Nixon going to China' aspect to this," said Isabel Sawhill, co-director of the Center of Children and the Family at the liberal-leaning Brookings Institution. Just as only Republican President Richard Nixon could go to communist China in 1972 without being destroyed politically, only a popular Democrat could challenge liberal groups on sacrosanct programs that may have outlived their usefulness, she said.

"There's a different perspective that exists and a different sense of commitment," Mr. Emanuel said. "We bring a certain credibility."


White House officials acknowledged the similarity between Mr. Obama's 121 program cuts and consolidations and $17 billion savings and Mr. Bush's 151 programs and $18 billion savings proposed for 2009. About 40% of the programs Mr. Obama has targeted for elimination or consolidation come directly off a similar list proposed by Mr. Bush over the past two budget seasons on Capitol Hill. Congress largely ignored those proposed cuts.

—Greg Hitt contributed to this article.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Humor: "Barocky Road" Ice Cream


I friend of mine sent me this a few days ago:

What an Ice Cream Day (it would ruin ice cream in the future)

In honor of the 44th President of the United States, Baskin-Robbins IceCream has issued a new flavor, "Barocky Road".Barocky Road is a blend of half Vanilla, half Chocolate, and surrounded byNuts and Flakes. The Vanilla portion of the mix is not openly advertisedand usually denied as an ingredient. The Nuts and Flakes are all verybitter and hard to swallow.

The cost is $100.00 per scoop plus taxes, lots of taxes.

When purchased it will be presented to you in a large beautiful cone, butthen the ice cream is taken away and given to the person in line behindyou. Thus you are left with an empty Wallet, no change, holding an emptycone, with no hope of getting any ice cream.

Aren't you feeling stimulated?

Humor: Always Twirl Once in Front of the Mirror


My wife sent me this photo with the caption:
ALWAYS twirl once in front of the mirror before leaving the house.
I think this woman DID twirl in front of the mirror and left the house anyway.

It's Not "Swine Flu," but H1N1 Flu



The US Department of Political Correctness has determined that the virus everyone's concerned about is not the "Swine Flu," but the H1N1 Flu. Apparently in Israel it's called the "Mexican Flu," while the US Government doesn't want to upset Mexico, or our own pork producers. So they're trying to convince everyone to us the virus's technical name.

Whatever it's called, 6 schools here in Washington State are closed because of several probable cases:


Meanwhile VP Joe Biden and Paris Hilton have something in common--they're both clueless: