Monthly Archives: August 2021

Time for a Do-Over?

Common Sense, Ethical Behavior

Back when I was a grade schooler, (and yes, I can remember back that far) when we felt that we had been treated unfairly in an athletic contest, it was permitted to request a “Do-Over”.  While it might not be granted by your opponent, it usually was, and hard feelings or worse were avoided.  Well now, seeing the direction this country is headed, I think it’s time for a massive do-over.  We have allowed things to happen which never should have, and we are now seeing the results of our inattention. 

First and foremost of these actions is when we allowed the United States Congress to exempt themselves from the measures they imposed on the rest of us.  From retirement plans to medical care, they are completely insulated from whatever happens to Social Security or Medicare, programs in which their constituents are forced to belong.  Then, the so-called “Civil Servants” (an oxymoron if there ever was one) were allowed to unionize and they too exempted themselves through their union contracts from having to belong to those “onerous” programs as well.

Then there is the matter of compensation and benefits.  The average civil servant is far better paid than his “civilian” counterpart for comparable tasks.  They can’t be arbitrarily disciplined or fired, either.  In fact it is almost impossible to get rid of a unionized civil servant.  Many teachers, for example, spend their entire work week reading, doing crossword puzzles, or watching television in lounges because they have been judged incompetent to do the job they were hired for, but can’t be fired. Continue reading Time for a Do-Over? →

Death to America!

Common Sense, Ethical Behavior, World Politics

There he is. The “Leader of the Free World”.  One cannot look at him, the present situation in Afghanistan, and the chaos at our southern border, and not realize that the passive acceptance of the fraudulent 2020 Presidential election results is a big mistake. Must we wait until we have another 9-11 in this country before we do something to correct this egregious error on our part? That will happen, it is virtually inevitable.

By opening our southern border to allow a quick and massive shift in the political demographics of the nation, we have opened up a Pandoras Box of possible unintended consequences. We know that it isn’t just Mexicans and Central Americans who are streaming across that border into our country. Rather, it includes people from over one hundred countries across the globe. While the vast majority of them are economic refugees, seeking to improve their lot in life at the expense of the American taxpayer, there are many others who have much more sinister motives to enter our country.

The drug cartels want to increase the sales of various drugs, including opioids such as Fentanyl, which have already caused the deaths of tens of thousands of American citizens. Vicious members of various gangs such as MS-13 are coming to set up additional networks to market these deadly drugs and more.

Also crossing the border are members of radical Islamist organizations, whose stated goal is to bring our country to its knees and under Sharia Law. Because of the incredible bungling on the part of the Biden administration in the withdrawal from Afghanistan, many of these extremely violent Islamic terrorist organizations, such as “ISIS-K” will come into this country armed with sophisticated weapons such as shoulder fired ground to air missiles, which can kill thousands, and quickly bring our domestic air transportation system to a screaming halt in a matter of days.

Using high powered explosives and rocket propelled grenades, they can also quickly cripple our extremely vulnerable power grid, with absolutely catastrophic results. These savages will also be aided by our enemies, such as China, Iran (whose leaders shout “Death to America!”), North Korea and Russia, who see a nation being lead by fools making itself extremely vulnerable to cyber attacks against critical infrastructure. They’ve already done so in limited areas, testing our ability to defend against them. Continue reading Death to America! →

Liar, Liar…..

Common Sense, Ethical Behavior

Children are frequently better at detecting falsehoods than adults.  The childhood rhyme “Liar, liar, pants on fire!” was a common schoolyard chant when I was in grade school all those many years ago.  Today, that would probably be grounds for removing the child who said it from school.  It’s “Hate Speech”, right?

Recent events should prove to us that indeed, we have been lied to, and for a very long time, by individuals who were formerly considered above reproach.  Who, you ask? Generals and Admirals at the Pentagon and in the field is the simple answer.  As these individuals allowed themselves to become political animals rather than apolitical defenders of our nation as has always been the ideal for that profession, they have allowed our sons and daughters to be sacrificed on the altars of their career ambitions.

As part of his farewell address when he left office in 1961 after serving eight years as our 34th President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, himself a former Five Star General, and Supreme Commander of all allied forces in Europe during World War Two, warned Americans of the dangers of what he referred to as “The Military Industrial Complex”. 

War, after all, is a very profitable business for those corporations who manufacture the implements of modern warfare.  Far too many senior officers retired and then became lobbyists for the very corporations who produced the machines and ammunition used in the conflicts in which they previously engaged.  Lloyd Austin, our current Secretary of Defense, is a classic example of that behavior.  After retiring from the United States Army, Austin served on the Board of Directors of several major corporations which supply arms and technology to our armed services. Continue reading Liar, Liar….. →

Deja Vu!

Common Sense, Ethical Behavior, World Politics

 

 

Dé·jà Vu

Noun:

A feeling of having already experienced the present situation.

Origin:

Early 20th century: French, literally ‘already seen’.

In July of 1975, the American military arguably suffered its worst defeat in its history.  The combined communist forces of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army captured Saigon, creating havoc and panic among the South Vietnamese population and the remaining United States civilian population which was still in the city.  It was an unmitigated disaster. 

In the following decade, over three million Southeast Asian people died under the repressive communist regimes of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.  None of this was the fault of the U.S. Military members at the tip of the spear, the Army foot-soldier, the Marine “Grunt” or the Navy and Coast Guard enlisted personnel.  There was a great deal of blame to go around at the top of the command structure however, by older men who sent younger men to fight and die or be maimed for life under impossible “Rules of Engagement”.

Because Washington politicians and the Pentagon leadership didn’t learn from that catastrophe, it has happened again, and over an even longer period of time.  This time, it was in Afghanistan, the graveyard of armies back to the time of Alexander the Great and before.  The Russians should have learned from our experience in Viet Nam in the 1960s and 70s, and we should have learned from theirs in Afghanistan from 1979 to 1992.  We didn’t.  What was that lesson?

Simply put, it’s that a guerrilla war, fought against insurgents fighting with religious fervor to defend what they believe to be their homeland, is virtually unwinnable.  But wait, you might say, Viet Nam wasn’t about religion!   Yes it was.  The belief in communist doctrine is almost religious in nature among the true believers, and the doctrines of Islam are even more so.  Which has been proven time after time since the seventh century.

The United States of America, was victorious in every conflict it engaged in until the Korean War, when President Truman decided that he knew more about how the conflict should be fought that Douglas MacArthur, the Commanding General.  The fact that he intervened, removing MacArthur from command, created a stalemate and an armistice which allowed the communist regimes of North Korean and China to survive and thrive to the point that they threaten us militarily, and in the case of China economically, to this day.

From that day to this, perhaps with the exception of the first and second Gulf Wars, we have never won another conflict we have become involved in, and have squandered Trillions of dollars and the lives of tens of thousands of our armed service members in the process.  Along the way, very few if any politicians or high level military officers have paid the price for their ineptitude.  In fact, the best and brightest of our military military leaders have been shuffled aside by politicians who instead promote those who tell them what they want to hear, rather than the truth. Continue reading Deja Vu! →

Tribalism.

Common Sense, Ethical Behavior, World Politics

What you see above is a “Cultural” map of Africa.  In effect it is a “tribal” map.  These tribes for thousands of years have fought against each other or made temporary alliances to defend themselves from stronger oppoenents.  Some, like the Zulu, rose from relative obscurity to dominate their neighbors when dynamic leaders like Shaka Zulu took control of the tribe.

One thing is consistent in all of African history.  All who rose to power did so through extreme violence, both against their own people as well as the other tribes they came in contact with.  The coming of European expansion beginning in the fourteen hundreds created artificial countries, cobbled together from various formerly autonomous tribal lands. 

As long as these “Colonial” countries were controlled by Europeans, an uneasy peace was enforced on the tribal members.  However, as the colonial powers were forced to divest themselves of their overseas empires,  and turn power over to the indigenous populations, the old enmities reemerged.  Perhaps the most violent of those was between the Hutus and the Tutsi.

These two tribes occupied the area which comprises modern day Rwanda.  The Hutus were mainly farmers and outnumbered the Tutsi, who bred and raised cattle.  The area which now comprises Rwanda was first colonized by Germany and later Belgium after WW-I.  The Belgians favored the Tutsi, who were taller, lighter skinned, and more European in appearance, over the Hutu, who were shorter and darker in coloring.  That favoritism led to several incidents where the Tutsi dominated ruling class was decimated after Rwandan independence was achieved in 1962, and a Hutu regime was installed. Continue reading Tribalism. →

Into your own hands?

Common Sense, Ethical Behavior

 

It has always been the case in this country, at least during my lifetime, that it was considered abhorrent to “Take the law into your own hands”.  That wasn’t necessary.  We had a system of government which protected the citizenry, at least most of the time.  Of course there was criminal activity, but it was relatively rare, and most people went a lifetime without ever being the victim of a criminal act.  We had laws and law enforcement personnel to protect us.  We had legal, CONSTITUTIONAL rights.

In a shockingly short period of time, that system and the protections it provided, are disappearing.   From the moment Barrack Obama was elected president under the vague promise to “Fundamentally Transform America” we have witnessed a gradual decline in our basic rights as American citizens.  Indeed, the passing of the “Patriot Act” during the Bush ’43 administration after the attacks of 9/11 was a precursor to what was to come.

That poorly thought out piece of legislation allowed the formation of yet another federal bureaucracy, the TSA, which would have the power to deny American citizens the right to air travel based on unknown secret criteria, which didn’t have to be explained to the persons involved.  Americans found that their telephone calls and emails were being monitored by the NSA.  Abuses of the system which started under Bush were greatly expanded under the Obama administration.

When Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016, the Democratic Party began a concerted effort to delegitimize the Trump Administration and thwart any attempts to begin to restore our Constitutional rights, under Trumps concept of “America First” and “Make America Great Again”.  That didn’t fit into the plans of the “Globalists” who wished to bring this country to heel, if not to its knees.  A strong and vibrant America was good for the American citizens, but bad for those who sought global domination and a “New World Order”.  So, people like George Soros began to fund the campaigns, not of Senators and Congressmen, but rather state Attorney Generals and local Mayors, District Attorneys and Prosecutors.  These were the people who had direct control over our daily lives in a positive or negative fashion.

The arrival of the Wuhan Virus from China as early as the fall of 2019 was a Godsend to the left.  It was used as a mechanism to control the population and implement critical changes in our election procedures which permitted election fraud in critical areas of the country which could throw the election to Biden-Harris and allow a takeover of the Senate as well as the House.  All this because of a “National Emergency”. Continue reading Into your own hands? →

Rules of the Road

Common Sense, Ethical Behavior

Over the last few years there has been a gradual breakdown in our society, and it’s accelerating at an alarming rate.  I’ll give you an example.  When was the last time, particularly in or near a large metropolitan area, that you saw most drivers obeying the speed limit?  Never, I’ll bet.

Should you choose to observe the thirty-five mph limit in a residential area, or even fudge a few miles over that, there will inevitably soon be a car riding your bumper, maybe  gesticulating wildly, or even flashing their lights or blowing their horn.  Get out of my way, they’re saying!  What’s the matter with you?

But wait, you’re just obeying the law, you think to yourself.  No matter.  The other driver thinks it’s a stupid law, and is in a hurry.  So, if he can’t intimidate you into speeding up, he’ll recklessly pass you, cut you off, and maybe make an obscene gesture in the process. Thats if you’re lucky.  He could also end up rear ending your car, causing thousands of dollars in damage, and maybe even get involved in a violent “Road Rage” incident.  Why is this happening?

I think it’s because we have gradually morphed from a lawful, civilized country, where we generally respected each other and the rule of law, into a hedonistic society where there are no fixed rules, only suggestions.  This concept, taken to its extreme, allows all but the most egregious behavior to be excused, if not condoned.  Where does all this lead?  The simple answer is chaos, and we’re headed there as I write this.

In the name of “fairness”, many large cities around the country have adopted no cash bail laws, which allow criminals to be released on their own recognizance, within hours of their arrest.  Many of these people then go out and reoffend, often in a more serious crime.  The courthouses have indeed become revolving doors in many cases.  This does not bode well for the residents of the inner cities, and that is exactly where leftists are demanding that the police be defunded or eliminated altogether.

Now, District Attorneys and prosecutors. whose election campaigns have been funded by the likes of George Soros, are refusing to prosecute all but the most serious offenders. Career criminals are being put back on the streets in droves, and the results of those decisions are beginning to show up in rising crime rates.  The murder rates in many of the large Democrat controlled cities are out of control.  This lawless behavior will inevitably spill into our suburbs and semi-rural areas.  That concept has already been suggested by the likes of BLM and Antifa.  Continue reading Rules of the Road →