Full Of Ones Self

I find it hilarious that Iran demoniacs the country that built many of the structures that make it run. It has now taken over thirty years for them to figure out that religious symbols have been there all along.

There they are tossing insults and threats while they are being laughed at for there insanity. They have become a laughing stock when they want to be taken seriously. The Jewish story about the plank and the splinter come to mind here.

It wouldn't be so funny if the government would just admit that it was built by a Jewish company many years ago. Instead they panic and get there undies in a bundle over a symbolic marking.

Grow UP.

Too Bad Tom Didn't Survive as Our Candidate

I was a big Tom Tancredo supporter for president. He has a much clearer view of the problems in the US. Our current president doesn't appear to have a clue about most issues we face. Tom wrote a opinion piece about Iran. Give it a fair read.


Obama: AWOL in Iran crisis

It is now abundantly and painfully clear that President Obama is clueless about America's national security interests in this dangerous world.

Obama is playing golf in Hawaii as the Islamist regime in Tehran shoots protesters in the streets and admits it has beaten to death scores of other protesters taken to jail. Obama's silence in not voicing support for the protesters is deafening.

Anyone who has watched events unfold in Iran over the past three months can see that the street protests have evolved from a protest against a stolen election to a wider protest against the regime itself. The protests are not only taking place in the capital but in major cities all across the country. The most recent protests featured banners and shouts aimed at America: "Obama, which side are you on?" is a chant heard often. Unfortunately, that's a good question.

Since the revolution in 1979 that overthrew the pro-Western shah, Iran has pretended to be a democracy, but its "fundamentalist regime" slowly concentrated power in the hands of radical clerics. So, Iran now pretends to be a democracy, and the world pretends to believe it. Last October, the regime pretended to have a presidential election but overplayed its hand by stuffing the ballot boxes.

In the last 27 years, over 120,000 citizens in Iran have been killed by the regime, executed after sham trials or simply shot or beaten to death in prison without benefit of a trial. The street protests are escalating because millions of Iranian citizens have decided they have no other recourse. The question is not, what do Iranians want? The question is, is the civilized world listening? Is Obama listening?

Go Read the rest.

We the people are forced to take a more active roll in directing our government. We somehow managed to vote an entirely incompetent group into office who needs to be lead around before they do something stupid. I have got plenty of evidence to prove they will head to stupidity very quickly if we don't constantly give them guidance through letters and calls.

Play to Win - Talking About Iran

Perhaps not understanding what is really going on is part of the "problem". This isn't some low impact casual event that we can walk away and disagree, knowing that everything will be okay tomorrow. This is a world altering seismic proportion event that could change the lives of millions. It is a life or death action that needs to be dealt with before it goes that far.

Some serious action needs to come to bare on this issue and a "victory" is indeed in order. It would be nice if they would stop their actions and return to peaceful activity but the words that come out of Iran say that isn't a possibility. The actions both in and out of their country say this isn't a possibility. Perhaps having to sit through repeated conversations and lectures from BO may indeed help.

"Please, if you just stop talking to us we will stop making nuclear bombs. We can't take another speech from you. We'll give up anything."

I know that sounds pretty realistic given the number of speeches we have had to endure here in America, but I don't think it is going to turn out that way.

We need real results. And yes, we need a Victory.

Oil On The Brain

Seems everywhere I turn someone is talking about oil. Every time I drive down the street and see the fuel price signs, I shake my head. The TV, the radio, and the paper have an article or discussion every single day. Even the politicians are starting to make oil the central theme. My question is, if everyone is talking about it how come nothing is being done?
People are complaining about the Alaska oil being sent over to Japan because we can't refine it here. We don't have the capacity nor the facilities on the west coast. I suggested building a refinery in Coos Bay Oregon. It is the only deep water port that is almost un-used. It was once a thriving hub of the lumber industry and is now empty of major industry.
Building basic infrastructure that supports the oil industry would reduce the cost to the consumer, reduce our vulnerability to accident or terrorism and keep jobs at home where we need them. Putting a refinery on the west coast makes sense. Most of our capacity is in the Gulf of Mexico and that means we are exposed to hurricanes and other major storms. The never ending story of Katrina could play out again and again further damaging fuel production and our economy.
People are complaining about all the money being sent to the middle east for oil. Yet every time it comes up for us to drill and use our own oil it is stopped cold. Even if we uncapped the wells we simply stopped using it would make a dent. A small move in the market would do much to shift the tendencies.
Oil is at $120 a barrel and seems to still be rising. Much of the price is driven by speculation. Speculation is simply how investors see oil based on world events. As long as Iran, Iraq, Syria and all the other middle east nations keep saber rattling and stirring up chaos the price will keep rising. The terror organizations and countries like Iran hope to drain us of all financial and worldly support. So far it looks like they are winning. The Democrats have been helping with their surrender tactics and verbal praise of those who stand against us. Our PC politics have removed all aggression and have given us the portrait of the toothless paper tiger to the world. We can't seem to stand up for anything.
Our monetary policies and selfish ambitions have driven the value of the dollar lower and lower causing everything else to increase in price. The goal was to increase our ability to trade with other nations by reducing the dollar. This is a flawed concept that believes you can buy friends. These policies need to be turned back and the nation needs to once again base its currency on something. We once stood as the rock of Gibraltar with gold as our standard barer.
Once Again I Ask, What Is Being Done?
Here are our options:
Build more capacity and drill, recover and refine our own oil.
Build and/or complete the nuclear power plants proposed in the 70's and 80's. Take this vast resource of power and use it.
Build Coal fired power stations with clean burning technology to ease power demand.
Encourage the use of electric vehicles by those who travel less then 30miles a day. (The Nuclear and Coal plants will make this viable)
Offer incentives for companies to employ from home and reduce grid lock.
Build and Improve Freeways and Rails to freely move people and products around with limited to no wait time. (idling just uses up fuel)
Come up with a sustainable plan for the lumber industry and return us to a net exporter again and stop the million acre forest fires from lack of management.
Choose and encourage effective alternative energy sources that have a positive impact on society. (wind, Solar, geothermal,etc... These are natural occurring events that we can harness energy from.)

I could go on and on here. Let us stop the round robin of blame games and start working on solutions that will keep America moving.

Failure is my middle name Pelosi

Nancy went off and did an interview with Wolf. The key sound bite that everyone should be talking about is:

Anchor Wolf Blitzer asked: “Are you not worried, though, that all the gains that have been achieved over the past year might be lost?”
“There haven't been gains, Wolf,” the speaker replied. “The gains have not produced the desired effect, which is the reconciliation of Iraq. This is a failure. This is a failure. The troops have succeeded, God bless them. We owe them the greatest debt of gratitude for their sacrifice, their patriotism, and for their courage and to their families as well.

HEY Nancy, the surge was to quell violence and restore order so the government of Iraq would have the freedom to govern. It has done all those things. Yet, freedom is choice Nancy, it is not Force.
The surge gave the Iraqi people the incentive to believe the American troops would finish the job and not leave them to die at the hands of terrorists like Nancy and her friends constantly threatened to do. Why should they help us when almost everyday some powerful Washington Politician was telling them they were going to pull the troops out? Why should they take any risks? The surge demonstrated the opposite and suddenly information flowed and the battle turned to our favor.
Hundreds of American lives were lost because Nancy and Company couldn't help with winning hearts and minds. They created the appearance of an endless war through posturing and pandering. The psychological war was being won by the terrorists everyday with Nancy and Company aiding and abetting the enemy at every turn.

About the Afghanistan Comment:

“Afghanistan is not settled because the president took his eye off the ball and took the full attention that should have been in Afghanistan, and shifted some of that to Iraq, a war without end, without a plan, without a reason to go in, without a plan to win, without a strategy to leave. This is a disaster … we cannot perpetuate.”

You may want to notice that we did have a plan and exit strategy. Other nations were to take over and lead in organized transitions. Maybe you would gain more points if you instead insisted that we should have stayed and finished, to hell with the other nations who we agreed to transition with. That wouldn't look good with the rest of the world first point of view you constantly spout. We might offend another nation. It is much easier attacking America, you've practiced this so often already.

Nancy, perhaps you leap to the word failure so easily because of what you have done since becoming speaker of the house. NOTHING. The only resolutions you have managed to pass are non-binding. The business of running America hasn't gotten done under your command. Your leadership has been a complete failure. Look over your promises when taking office.
You have failed to bring home the troops - you hold the purse strings.
You have failed to secure the border - no funding.
You have failed to provide immigration reform.
You have failed to fix the health-care crisis.
You have failed to improve foreign relations - visiting they enemy was interesting.
Nancy "Failure" Pelosi does have a nice ring to it. You are leading a congress with one of the worst approval ratings. Bush is horrible but he is still beating you out by ten points.
Article

Iran Is Prepared

Iran is bragging about its new weapon capability.
Here is the Article - IRGC Ground Force Equipped with Smart Ammunition

Commander of the artillery and missile unit of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) ground force, Mahmoud Chaharbaghi, pointed out that his troops can now target moving objects, like cars, with high precision by using smart rounds, adding that the defense ministry has taken long strides in designing and manufacturing smart ammunitions.

I guess this is supposed to give us reason to pause after Our top military leaders point out that we are fully prepared to strike Iran if asked.
Adm. Michael Mullen told reporters at the Pentagon on Thursday: “From a military standpoint, there is more than enough reserve to respond if that, in fact, is what the national leadership wanted to do, and so I don’t think we’re too stretched in that regard.”

Looks like the war of words is starting military leader to military leader. This should be interesting.

The End of the World is Coming

Since 1947 the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has kept a clock called the "Doomsday Clock". The clock is only symbolic but it has represented the tension around the planet. They are currently considering moving us closer to the end.
Article of Interest Here
With all the termoil in the world, how close do you think we are to the end? I can't count the number of commentators who have questioned how long the US can last given our divided stand on most major issues. Yet, the clock is aimed at the whole world and the many conflicts that are escalating. Most point to the fact that the clock points to nuclear weapons as the end all. The current climate places many who want or have nuclear capability as aggressors who may push the button.
We have North Korea, who has demonstrated a small detonation, wanting a method for getting what they want. Nuclear blackmail looks like the terror of the future. This would allow small groups to weild incredible power in the global market. No longer will just a few people be at risk but vast numbers of people, probably not knowing, could be on the edge at any moment. Nuclear weapons also offer secondary consequences that could have a very long term effect on a country. Governments have to develop plans on how they will deal with these threats. We are electing leaders who will be making this decision for us. Are you comfortable with those over you elected to office to make this decision?
Countries like Iran who speak out and act out when opertunity arrises, should never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. Anyone who thinks that Iran wouldn't use it hasn't been paying attention. Look at the number of times Iranian leaders have threatened others. Yes, the bulk of the threats are aimed at Isreal, but we and others have been on their list. With their known conection to terrorists they don't even need a high tech delivery system. We have invested millions into stopping balistic missles but our open borders make missles a thing of the past.

Once again the same issues that upset the average American are still the big issues today.

Here We Go Again

I was a front runner in complaining about how this war was handled. Let me make it clear that I have no problem with the war in Iraq. This needed doing in 1992 when Saddam started breaking all the UN resolutions. We have the mess we have for two reasons. The first is for waiting so long and letting thousands more die at the hands of Saddam. The second is due to a poor war plan at best.
I have posted various issues but let me sum up some of the key screw ups. Never give the enemy back their guns. Never leave a major weapons cache unprotected. Never leave your supply lines unprotected. Never allow militias to develop in your theatre of operation.
We set ourselves up for desastor from day one and we have enjoyed the full carnige of our mistakes. Pardon me for being a little less then impressed with the new path for Iraq.

If real progress is to be made we need to take steps to actually secure Iraq from those who seek to do harm. We could start by doing the one thing we fail at at home, secure the border. It has been demonstrated that Iran is supplying both expertise and weapons to the insurgent groups in Iraq. We have the technology and assets to patrol and secure Iraq. We have Un-manned and Manned assets, satillites and troops who can stop this. Why do we continue to allow this to go on.
Make Bagdad a Gun free zone for a set period of time. If you are seen with a gun you are shot on sight. The very presence of a gun is treated as a threat and dealt with. We need to stop waiting to be shot at before responding. Having are best take a hit before dishing out the punishment is unacceptable. These are our trained soldiers, they know a threat. Allow them to deal with it as the situation would allow. Untie their hands and let them do the job we sent them to do.
We need more MacAuthor and less PC nonsense. I don't know if sending more troops will help unless they are free to do the job. By freedom I would also suggest removing our troops from the burden of persection for doing this job. If the president wants to lend full support to our troops than stop the nonsense and let them deal with the problem.

Nuclear Test?

North Korea tried to show the world that they too are one of the big players and deserve respect in the eyes of the world. After a few days of intense laughter the world got the message and started working toward sanctions. They sanctioned things like Champaign, cigars and push up bras. Kim Jong-Ill has been hurt terribly by this and is secretly planning a second test to clear the record. He can't earn respect the old fashion way, so he throws tantrums and blows things up. He wants us to get the message, "I am a spoiled brat and I will get my way."

The media keeps telling us that Iran is watching and will stop its activity if we handle NK right. What kind of fool would think that one nut job even cares what another nut job is doing? There is more likely to be a case of attention needed. "Look NK is getting all the attention. We need to do something bigger so we can be on the front page too."

Even the Iraqi insurgants have figured out the press cycle and make sure they kill a dozen or so people in a timely manner to keep up the media blitz. It all comes down to working the world press. You need a good press advisor in order to keep your name on the front page.

Well, I think the US could use a couple of front page stories. What do you say we do a couple of nuclear tests of our own? I can get the coordinates.

Offending Article

New Port Bill

I just sat down and started reading the news and found this:
Bush Signs Ports Security, Internet Gambling Bill

You may not want to read this article. It only made me mad. Look at the stupid stuff put in print.

"We'll do everything we can to prevent an attack, but if the terrorists succeed
in launching an attack, we'll be ready to respond," Bush said.

Or this,

Bush also noted that the bill provides additional authority for the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, which was established to guard against the threat of terrorists smuggling a nuclear device into the country. And the act requires the Department of Homeland Security to establish a plan to speed the resumption of trade in the event of a terrorist attack on a U.S. port or waterway.

And this,

"This bill makes clear that the federal government has the authority to clear waterways, identify cleanup equipment and re-establish the flow of commerce following a terrorist attack," the president said.

What kind of limp wristed response is this. Are we to believe that it will be business as usual? I am sure the statement, "We will be ready to respond" has the terrorists shaking in their boots. I know I can feel the trembling from here. I guess the resumption of trade is all that is important.
Where are statements like:

"If the terrorist do decide to strike we will reduce Mecca to a green glowing waste land."

"Tehran we want you to know that we will think of you first and we will be sharing our nuclear technology with your whole country."

When are we going to stand up and say enough is enough. You want trouble, then you have come to the right place. Let's stop trying to be nice and start behaving like someone who is in charge.

This political year will only make it worse. We need to find some Pattons and MacAuthors who are willing to boldly stand and face the challenges that lay before us.

How Long Should We Wait?

This is a tough world with hard decisions that need to be faced and made. We are caught in a balancing act between “innocent till proven guilty” and “acting before many suffer”. This contrast plays out quite simply when a cop faces a man with a gun. If the man fails to follow instructions to put down the weapon the cop is faced with this question. Is the man simply confused and wishing to protect himself, or is he determined to do harm to others? Should the cop wait for the results or act on the threat? Would a liberal court blame the death of the man on the cop? After all just because you arrive in a police car wearing a police uniform and shout, “It’s the police! Put down your weapon!” doesn’t mean that you have firmly established your credibility to the now dead man.
We have police and military operating today with a direct fear of facing substantial penalty for simply doing their job the best they can in the situation played out for them. This confusing upside down world has made a mockery of self protection and the use of force. We have troops in the field who are told they can only fire if fired upon. That means every morning they have to look their brethren in the eye and know that one of them has to die or become severely wounded before they can take action. This is the reality of the politics controlling the war.
We at home are still functioning under the country club mentality of it being someone else’s problem. We do very little to get behind the troops and throw our full selves into beating the enemy. Our leaders are still treating the War On Terror like a Sunday football game. Would someone point out to these idiots that some of our boys won’t rise off the field and play another day?
The scary part is our enemy has figured this out. All they have to do is snap a few well staged pictures and we start falling back. We become so busy stabbing ourselves in the back, they can plan a big one or simply sit back and watch the show. America is starting to resemble the puppet. Our strings are showing big time and the enemy is figuring out how to manipulate them.
Before the Israel/Hezbollah war the world’s attention was on Iran. Iran reached out pulled a couple of strings, and fell off the scope. We lost complete site of the 600 pound gorilla in the room. The cease fire is bad for Israel and bad for Iran. They lost their distraction from their nuclear ambitions. I hope someone at the Pentagon kept their eye on the ball. I have no love of war and a great love for this country, but failing to stop what Iran will soon do will cost us all dearly.

So the question is: Do we wait for proof or act? If we wait, how many deaths will it take to bring action? A backpack of a biologic dumped out on a roof park in NYC could kill tens of thousands. A nuclear bomb would kill millions. How long do we wait? What if the sacrificial lamb was Your Town USA?