Captain Obvious or Captain Oblivious

"I guess we can no longer use the term 'detached' - there must be a term which digs much deeper than that..."

I will admit to one thing on this beautiful Saturday morning - I am a sucker for good or cleaver advertising. One of my favorites as of late is Captain Obvious from Hotel.com fame. I usually tune out or fast forward through commercials. Not so much when Captain Obvious is on. The man who portrays the good Captain is good, obviously good!

Even though Captain Obvious plays a goofball in his commercials, I would take him in a New York minute over what we have now as President. You see, Captain Obvious would look at the world and come up with the following conclusions or actions:

• Scrap the $3.7B "emergency" funding request for the border. There is not one red cent in there for border security. What is it then? Roughly $67,000 per illegal kid for medical, schooling and lawyer expenses. No, this is not a joke. There is provisions in the request for these kids to get "lawyered up".
• Call up the National Guard this weekend. Even Woodrow Wilson called up the Guard in 1916 when Pancho Villa came across the New Mexico border. Governor Perry is only asking for 1,000 guard members to be called up. I think he will need more, but a thousand is a good start.
• Call Mahmoud Abbas and tell him he has one hour to cease and desist ALL rocket attacks coming into Israel from the West Bank or any other place related to Palestine. There have been over 700 rockets fired by Palestine in the last four days alone. Failure to do so will result in zero dollars in foreign aid coming to into the Palestinian National Authority for the next five years. That money would go to Israel for additional national defense items.
• Using third party sources, inform Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi he has until the end of the month to vacate the premises. In other words, any territory that he has illegally taken must be returned to it's sovereign owner. In addition, any person under his control who committed murder or any other war crime, must be immediately turned over to the Hague for trial. And that includes Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Failure to do so will put the United States back into the region. This time however, the United States will show power so absolute, it will have no restraints. In other words, we have the means and the will, to carpet bomb ISIS back into the stone age.

With the world being a tinderbox, Captain Obvious would look at these items as a good start. Our current Captain Oblivious however, is getting his bike lubricated for yet another very expensive two week vacation on the Cape. With no time to visit the border mess his Administration created, he is now in total vacation mode. Campaigning, playing pool, golfing, bike riding - hey, the world is his oyster! With all that campaigning under his belt, he must be exhausted!

Last August when our worn out Captain Oblivious went to Martha's Vineyard, the flight expenses alone were $1.1M. I know - these days, with this Administration, that is chump change. The cost for food and lodging (and golf) are enormous for the zillions of people he needs to take with him. Some going with are necessary to run the government, and others are, well, freeloaders.

So America, what is your choice? Captain Obvious or Captain Oblivious? I know what my choice is. I will take the goofball. The one in the red coat that is.

As the frog boils...

 

 

"It has started slow, as a trickle. It is now a flood and nobody in government knows how to stop it..."

Yesterday, I heard Governor Perry, leader of the great state of Texas, on the radio. He was having a discussion about the encounter he had with our President (which was only close to the border) as well as what is really happening down there. He gave a statistic that knocked my socks off. Over the past 6 years, there have been 600,000 crimes committed by illegals in Texas.

Other than the folks on the border, many of the rest of us have not paid too much attention. That is until now. Someone said not too long ago, what is happening on our southern border is nothing more than a slow motion invasion. It has been a perfect opportunity for many types of people, some good, some very bad, yet all illegal, to gain access to our country. Once inside the United States, a very common crime occurs - identity theft. For many, it is like being in the FBI witness protection program. The illegal alien now blends in to the landscape, new identity in hand.

How bad has it gotten? The governors know. They have been crying out for help for the past few years. Their budgets are breaking, their services overwhelmed. With no border fence, they need boots on the ground, as well as enhanced technology to secure their borders. As Governor Perry said, the Border Control, although he has no command or control over them, have been very good partners to his state resources. But they are vastly outmatched on the border. Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California all need the National Guard to back them up. And they need them by this weekend.

My conspiracy spider sense starts to tingle at things like this. Just a Fast and Furious went terribly wrong for the Administration, I think this issue has also come off the tracks. I believe that elements of or sympathetic to our Administration planted the seeds in Central America for kids to come North and be part of the Dreamer Program. Once they were here and given refugee status, the families could then come and join them. By the time the 2016 elections roll around, there would be millions of additional Democratic voters.

There is a saying that a nation without borders is not a nation at all. It is a mess. People who have been to the border in the past few weeks have said it is exactly that - a mess. This has been dumped in the laps of states who wanted nothing to do with it. Our President, who would not even go down to visit "the mess", is keenly focused on his next opportunity - a two week get away in Martha's Vineyard. And as the rest of us struggle in this sluggish economy, the President is joining us in that endeavor - by staying at a multi-million dollar estate.

Where will all this lead? I don't know. All I do know is this - if this is part of the transformation of America, he is succeeding. It really is the only promise he has kept.
 

When war comes...

 

 

What a piece of work is man,
How noble in reason.
How dare they try to end this beauty?

Hair

What a piece of work is man

1968

This is an updated repost from last summer. It is more relevant today than it was just a few months ago.

There is an urban legend that aliens from another realm have visited this planet for centuries. They have studied our culture in great detail. The one thing they cannot understand however, is man's inhumanity to man. In other words, they don't understand war. They don't understand how we can hate each other enough to want to kill each other, sometimes in the most inhumane ways.

It has often been said the two greatest forces which have protected our nation are the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. Hard to get an army over here without being detected and neutralized. However, that all changed on September 11, 2001. We saw first hand how bold ideas and brazen actions brought the war on terror to our shores. How it cost almost 3,000 innocent American's their lives. How it changed the way we live, maybe forever.

War is coming. It is already in the Middle East and Northern Africa. And it is not pretty. It is a war as ancient as Isaac and Ishmael. It is as old as Richard the Lionhearted and the Crusades. It has been modernized and brutalized. There will be no Geneva Convention for the rules of engagement. We have seen people of the same religion, yet opposite viewpoints destroy each other.

As we continue to debate the pros and cons of non-lethal interrogation, the other side beheads all who get in the way. We put classy bumper stickers which say "coexist" on our cars , while the other side exterminates Coptic Christians. As we chose to be "PC" about all religions, the other side looks at the non-believers to their religion as infidels and vermin.

When war comes to our side of the water, things will never be the same. We will see heinous acts of barbarism never before thought possible. Children, women, the infirmed, it will not matter. We need to be ready. We need to secure our borders. We need to ratchet down our visa program. If we are not prepared for war when it comes to our shores, it will be hard to stop. We will all be in huge trouble.

No more PC, no more verbiage. We need action and we need it now. Some think this is the start of the next global war. They might be right. Or it might be the start of Armageddon. In any event, it will be the start of something bad. 

The next time some posts a video of heinous acts perpetrated by ISIL in Iraq or Syria, brace yourself, and then watch it. It won't be easy, it won't be pretty. This is war in all it's ugly Technicolor. There is no glamor. War is breaking things and killing people. For the uncivilized such as ISIL, it is killing others in the most cruel and inhumane way.

The clock is ticking. I hope and pray it is not too late. We need to pay attention. We need to be vigilant. We need to be involved, and hold our leaders responsible to protect the Republic. The bad guys are only hoping that we stay unattached, unmotivated. God help us if we are.



  

Rack em' up!

 

 

"This job is a piece of cake! Travel, basketball, golf and now pool. Sure wish I had a third term..."

If I was on the President's team, I would find whomever is in charge of "optics" and take that person out and administer a spanking. This President can't, simply can't, be this dense or unaware. And because of the way he is, the way he operates, many in his own party feel he has become detached and even toxic. One of the reasons he was playing pool in Colorado with the Governor is he was stood by Senator Udall at a campaign stop. Oh well - have another beer Sir, and "rack em' up"!

The fantasy life the President lives really keeps him immune from the rigors of the real world. It truly is living in the Matrix. If he spent more time watching Fox News to get up to speed on international issues, he would find out the world is on fire. No big thing however, as most of what is happening is usually someone's fault other than his. Take for example what is going on in Israel - it is Bebe's fault for sure! ISIS in Iraq is of course Bush's fault, and the North Koreans continuing to fire rockets? Oh well, that is on Reagan.

Here are the facts that Mr. Obama should be concerned about:

• If the rocket attacks continue in Israel, Netanyahu will take care of business. A land war could start this week. Unlike our President, Bebe knows how to lead, how to govern. By the way, Israel has not lost sight of what is going on in Iran. This whole area is a tender box, just waiting to explode.
• The leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi needs to be taken very serious - as serious as a heart attack. Many including myself, take him at his word when he said "I will see you in New York". Most military experts believe that ISIS are so entrenched in Syria and Iraq right now, it will take more than air strikes to dislodge them. Translation - boots on the ground. If a cancerous tumor is not removed early, it will only grow and become lethal.
• Boko Haram has not gone away in Northern Africa. The extermination of Christians continues in that region as well as some areas of the Middle East. What are we doing about this? Nothing - not a damn thing.
• North Korea continues to saber rattle, just itching for a fight. My fear is this - what has kept the peace over there has been the resolve of the United States to strongly back the South. Once the North senses that is no longer the case, the long standing truce might be a goner.
• The southern border which the President refuses to visit ("I don't need another photo opportunity") has developed into nothing more than a humanitarian crisis. He is as guilty as sin on this one by either omission or commission. All he has done is ask Congress for another $4B (with no offsets mind you), to band aid this crisis. Many parts of the border have turned into a Pandora's Box of disease, gangs, and possible terrorists.
• Let us not forget Russia and China. They are enjoying their new status as emerging world powers, anxious to fill the power vacuum we are leaving. As was found out in Crimea, without a strong and resolute United States, bad things can be in the offing.

It gives many of us no solace to say "told you so". The klaxon has been blaring since this guy first announced. He was an "empty suit" - or as Clint Eastwood said, "an empty chair".
Some weaker Presidents are able to mask their shortcomings by surrounding themselves with very sharp tacks. Not this guy. His number one "go to" person remains to be Valerie Jarrett. She is yet another person who has an axe to grind with our country. Educators, professors, agitators, progressives and ideologues surround and infiltrate the West Wing. The White House team has gone from the "gang who can't shoot straight" to the "gang who can't shoot at all". 

It is all cool however. During the pool match, the President was playing solids and beat the pants off of Governor Hickenlooper (yes, that is his name). In fact, the Governor still had five balls on the table at the end! Rack em' up Mr. President! The fire in Rome can wait!

Stop and Frisk

 

 

 

"Would I like to be frisked? No. Would the cops find that I carry a gun? Yes - with legal, (heavy on legal) permit!"

Now I am not a constitutional scholar, so I am on some thin ice here. That being said, I have followed the news about the continuing court battle with New York's Stop and Frisk law. It is a classic example of our freedoms as guaranteed by the Constitution, running headlong into public safety. To me the arguments are somewhat similar to the freedoms we have had to give up under the Patriot Act to stay safe from terrorists.

The Stop and Frisk law is being challenged as it violates the Fourth Amendment (unreasonable search and seizure) and the Fourteenth Amendment (we are citizens and shall be treated as such). Sounds like a "no-brainer", right? The courts should throw this law out as soon as yesterday. However, the statistics speak for themselves. When New York had this law in practice, gun crimes went down. Not just a tick, but substantially.

Now we come to Chicago. As controversial as this law is, many are calling for the Chicago police to use the same tactics as the New York police did. Why? The good people in Chicago are at their wits end. Oh, there are plenty of gun laws that should prevent the bad guys from carrying guns. However, for a multitude of reasons (including PC), many of those laws are not being enforced. A blind eye and deaf ear are now in practice where parts of the city are turned into nothing more than shooting galleries. Hundreds of young people are being murdered or wounded. The Chicago police have become both hapless and helpless in stopping this mayhem.

Closer to home, we have none of the numbers that New York and Chicago have. But we do have some numbers. As with many summers, violence goes up when the temperature goes up. Last night we had a triple shooting. Over the Fourth of July weekend we had a double murder. Our police chief is up on the Northside begging people not to settle their disagreements with guns. I have a better one chief - how many of these guns are legal? I dare say not many. Minneapolis, like many other large cities have numerous gun laws on the books. It is just a matter of enforcing them.

My solution to gun violence has not changed over the years. It is a no tolerance policy. You get caught with a gun with no permit - one year in jail. You get caught doing a non-violent crime with a gun - five years in prison. You shoot or rape someone using a gun - 25 years in prison. You kill someone (other than self defense) with a gun - life with no parole. In other words, made the punishment so bad, many should think twice before offending. Those that choose to keep offending will go "bye-bye" for a long time, or forever.

Until we start to enforce our current gun laws (and we don't need any more), we are stuck with extra-constitutional activities like Stop and Frisk. I am not happy about it, but we need to do something. There are many cities where areas of town become more dangerous than a combat zone. Is this the America we want? I don't. Bad people doing bad things need bad outcomes. Plain and simple as that.

Our Zombie War on Terror...

 

 

"At one point in my life, I thought the Zombie Apocalypse was a bunch of phooey. No longer..."

What in the world happened to our War on Terror? Is it over? Our President has told us so. The War on Terror is dead - over. Then in the dark of night, when nobody was looking, the dead came back to life. Welcome to the Zombie edition of the War on Terror....

As usual, some of the bigger news stories are released during a busy period or a holiday weekend. This Fourth of July weekend we found out the resurgent Al Qaeda offspring (ISIS or ISIL) is doing things other than re-writing the maps of the Middle East. It is also coming up with bombs that are very hard to detect, yet powerful enough to take down an airliner. For that reason, a new terror alert was issued this weekend to cover inbound aircraft from certain parts of the world.

One of the news stations had an analyst trying to explain the gravity of the situation. In his words, the new bombs could be infused within electronic equipment and remain undetectable unless the device was turned on. Factor that into how long it will take to get through a TSA line. In addition, due the number of people fighting for ISIS that have US or Euro passports, has raised concerns that these measures might have to be initiated in the United States as well. Can strip searching by the TSA be far behind?

Last night on one of the talk shows I listen to, a couple of pundits who I really respect were talking about how our President is reacting to this new surge in the War on Terror. They both agreed he was paralyzed in his actions. Be it fear, be it playing to parts of his PC base, be it still the "anti-Bush", he is doing nothing. Meanwhile, in Syria and Iraq, all hell is breaking loose. Now their leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is sizing up Jordon. Hey - once a caliphate is declared, you cannot have countries nearby that are secular and modern. Hear that Saudi? You might be next after Jordon!

Obama's world view on the War in Iraq was to exit "stage left" as soon as possible. In a chess game where a good player thinks many moves ahead, this guy barely was able to pull off the first move. The fact that when we left (absent) a Status of Forces Agreement, was of no consequence to him. He was warned by many on the Right and even some of the Left that evil was lurking, and waiting for the fragile peace to unravel. We left, the peace unraveled, and now we have a mess of historic proportions.

Just an editorial word about Iraq. I have said before this war was justified as it was a continuation of the Gulf War once the United Nations truce was broken by Iraq (many times). Some say Iraq would not be in this mess if Saddam was still alive and in control. I disagree. He was the head of a secular state that was antithetical to the way many Islamic purists (like ISIS) think. I believe Iraq would have been a target for the caliphate with or without Hussein.

Barack Obama is now making Woodrow Wilson look like a warmonger. We are spectators, or bystanders if you will, to events happening in Northern Africa and the Middle East that will shape our world for many years to come. Some believe the War on Terror is really the start of World War III. They might be correct. No, this is not the Zombie Apocalypse. This is much scarier, much worse, and ladies and gentlemen, this is for real.

Connecting the dots in Chicago

 

 

 

"By not controlling our southern border, we are turning cities like Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles into nothing more than shooting zones..."

It was yet another gruesome weekend in Chicago. Sixty shootings leaving six dead and countless wounded. Is it the lack of gun control? Nope - Chicago has some of the strongest gun laws in the country. What is it then, that could turn such a beautiful city like Chicago into a shooting zone, into the murder capital of our country. Drugs. Plain and simple, drugs.

Now I am not naïve enough to believe the violence in Chicago is totally related to drugs. It is not. Absentee fathers, poverty, and other lucrative crime ventures are also factors. However, most crime experts in large metropolitan cities agree on one thing - drugs are the principal reason for crime. Why? The money is just too good, and the availability of drugs is just too easy to come by.

So where in the world does this endless supply of drugs come from? We have the DEA, don't we? Can't we stop it? The fact is, most drugs enter this country from the southern border. Not a guess - a fact. And it has been that way for quite a while. Why do the drug cartels use the southern border? Even though our Border Patrol does as good a job as they can, they catch only 10 to 15 percent of the drug traffic. This attrition is factored into the pricing and risk for the cartels. Drug running becomes a cat and mouse game with tremendous risk coupled with tremendous financial rewards.

I found this interesting tidbit in a DRCnet publication from November of 2001 entitled "Drug trafficking resumes after 9/11 lull"

In the days immediately following the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, law enforcement and industry sources reported a standstill on the borders with seizures down dramatically. The presumption was that smugglers were afraid to cross the border in the teeth of the massive security crackdown. By noon on September 11, the entire U.S.-Mexican and U.S.-Canadian border had gone from their normal status to the highest alert -- "level one" -- which calls for searches of every vehicle crossing the border.

 

I guess that connecting the dots on this issue leads to a rather obvious conclusion. Rather than have open borders with Mexico, initiating a Level One security posture would seriously crimp the drug traffic coming into our homeland. In other words, since drugs constitute a clear and present danger to our cities, the Department of Homeland Security should make this a top priority. Open borders = high volumes of drugs = more gangs = shootings and death.

Going to Level One would not only stem the drug traffic, it would also make us more secure. Specifically from endless undocumented (illegal) incursions as well as potential terrorist crossings. It will take some time to build the fence. However, we must do it, and now. 

What we can do immediately are two things: 1) Initiate Level One security (if it causes a bottle jam, tough) and 2) Call up the National Guard to back up the Border Patrol. If the President won't do this, Congress needs to find a way to make it happen. Our urban young people, all of our people, deserve much better.