Wednesday, November 5, 2008
A New Mission
All Veterans took an oath to the uphold and defend the constitution of the United States of America. Now that the election is over, that oath does not go away; we have a new mission to perform. We must speak out on the history lessons of Vietnam, and the dangers of repeating those mistakes again in the current war. We must hold our government accountable by being involved and educating the citizens of this country on the dangers posed by the enemy,and caution against appeasement and retreat. We are Americans, we will support our new Commander in Chief, but we will fight for our country using all our abilities and talents until the enemy is defeated. We now must press on!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Arizona Republic Has It Right
The country needs Senator McCain to win on Tuesday, this endorsement give the reasons why his is qualified to be our President.
by Doug MacEachern - Nov. 2, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
John McCain became a national political leader through an act of forgiveness - a demonstration that wars end, wounds heal and the bitterest of enemies can put all that behind them.
Handy characteristics for someone presuming to lead the nation after this brutal election season.
The event I have in mind proved McCain in possession of an almost superhuman capacity to move forward. To cooperate with people who, not so long before, literally wished him dead.
Again, not a bad attitude for the winner of this presidential race.
It was in February 1985. Walter Cronkite had asked the Arizona congressman if he would be willing to accompany him on a return visit to Vietnam, including the infamous Hanoi prison where the former Navy pilot had spent the six worst years of his life.
This was, remember, little more than a decade after McCain had been incarcerated there. And tortured there. And tormented to within an inch of his sanity. It was the "home" that allowed congressional candidate McCain to fend off an accusation that he was a carpetbagger when he ran for Congress in Arizona in 1982: As a Navy brat, the only place he had lived longer than in Arizona was . . . Hanoi.
McCain went back. To Truc Bach lake, where on Oct. 26, 1967, a furious mob had pulled him to the shore and beat him. To the wretched Hoa Lo prison, aka the "Hanoi Hilton." And, to meetings with the overseers who nearly killed him.
To say the least, it was compelling viewing. But it was more than that. It created his national identity.
In Goldwater's footsteps
Less than two years later, McCain would be elected to replace an Arizona political deity, Barry Goldwater, as senator of Arizona.
His election to the Senate in 1986 would be attributable to a number of factors.
There was McCain's frenetic campaign energy, which dumbfounded competitors ("John McCain is driven," wrote my colleague, Richard de Uriarte, in The Phoenix Gazette that year. "No rural hamlet too remote to visit. No fundraiser he can't attend."). And, of course, his emerging celebrity, a natural result of having produced travelogues with Cronkite, that most trusted of newsmen.
But above all else there was the sense of something special about the man's character. He did not simply travel to meet with the people who had treated him with beastly cruelty. He did it to help move his country forward.
Two years after McCain's visit, Vietnam would begin, finally, to cooperate with the United States. At some things vitally important to McCain - determining the fate of GIs missing in action and the repatriation of remains. He started the process of healing, of moving forward, with his hand extended to those who hated him the most.
This, then, is the character trait that makes McCain not merely the superior presidential candidate of this election cycle but of nearly any era in which a candidate's character matters. Which is to say, of any era. He learns from mistakes of the past - his own, certainly, and those of others - and moves on.
Barack Obama may claim the media mantle as the 2008 agent of national unity and compromise. The candidate to move the nation forward.
But McCain is the only one of the two with a record of actually having acted, often against type, in what he saw as the national interest . . . as opposed to Obama's mere contention that, at some unspecified time in the near or distant future, we can trust him to act as something other than a faithful ideologue.
In 1989, John McCain was - by dint of politics, as well as by fact of history - the heir to Barry's legacy. He was a conservative Republican and war hero. The future was golden. And then came the "Keating Five" scandal.
Beyond Keating
Oh, McCain's involvement in those meetings with developer Charles H Keating Jr. was minimal. And his discomfort with Keating's effort to buy influence was obvious. But he was tied to the Arizona developer. There were those family jaunts with Keating to Cat Cay. Ugh.
No one moaned "Ugh!" louder than McCain himself. Love it or hate it, the real legacy of McCain's involvement in the Keating scandal was the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, a wide-reaching attempt to limit special-interest influence in federal campaigns. It emanated directly from the Keating mess. McCain-Feingold, as it is known, is the result of a 10-year McCain mission to erase whatever stigma remained of those torturous Keating Five days. It is McCain's personal declaration that honor in politics still matters.
He has been the dutiful soldier who, in the course of his congressional career, crossed three different commanders in chief over their deployment of U.S. troops in harm's way overseas. And he was the rare senator willing to stand up in Congress during the worst years of Iraq, 2005 to 2007, and demand of Bush and Donald Rumsfeld that they give the troops a chance to win.
He is the conservative, tax-loathing Republican who nevertheless opposed a Republican president's tax cuts as inappropriate during war . . . then performed an abrupt about-face after recognizing how Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts had helped revive an economy jolted by a double whammy: the dot-com bubble burst of 2000 and the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
And he was the GOP senator who led the fight for the kind of comprehensive immigration reform that Democrats claim to want . . . but never proved willing to fight for. Not like McCain (and, for that matter, Sen. Jon Kyl) risked the fury of his own party fighting for.
He was the worthy soldier whose devotion to national defense set the bar for what constitutes legitimate prisoner interrogation . . . and what constitutes torture. It was McCain, not the administration presiding over Abu Ghraib, who clearly knew the difference.
It may prove true that no presidential candidate with an "R" after his name could survive the current economic turmoil. But there will be high irony if a Democrat defeats McCain as a result of the economic disaster following in the wake of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
On May 5, 2006 - more than two years before the subprime-mortgage debacle would spawn a worldwide financial holocaust - McCain and 19 other GOP senators wrote a warning letter about the lack of oversight of the mortgage industry:
"We are concerned that if effective regulatory reform legislation for the housing-finance government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) is not enacted this year, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system and the economy as a whole."
Those warnings were ill-received by most Senate Democrats, who effectively blocked reform. Among them was the senator who accepted the second-most in campaign contributions from Fannie Mae lobbyists, Barack Obama.
The longest campaign
It is late in the campaign and certainly most serious voters have made up their minds, if not already cast their votes. The longest campaign - and one of the most arduous - is coming to an end at last.
At such a time it seems that, at the very least, most voters should feel confident that regardless who wins, we got the right guy. By now, we should know the candidates.
But almost 21 months after Obama's Feb. 10, 2007, announcement in Springfield, Ill., that he would run for the presidency, we still find ourselves guessing about what Obama really believes.
An audio tape of a 2001 Obama radio interview surfaced last Monday in which the then-Illinois state legislator discussed the history of federal courts and their impact on "redistributive change."
Obama seems to suggest that the supposedly radical-left Warren Supreme Court was not all that radical because it "never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth" via the U.S. Constitution.
Evidence of Obama's socialist-Marxist-redistributive inclinations? Maybe. Or perhaps not. Obama defenders, like academic Cass Sunstein, argued that Obama merely was discussing history, not rendering judgments. But isn't it a little late to not have a real clue about a likely U.S. president's view on how (or whether) to redistribute wealth?
We know what McCain's view is regarding using the 14th Amendment to create a superwelfare state. He doesn't have any. We don't have to muse about McCain's "ideology" because no modern presidential candidate has had less of one.
McCain is a guy whose sole notion of ideology is a highly refined sense of honor. Such people have a way of leading others through hard times.
The man who made peace with his jailers in the little hotel of horrors in Hanoi is a good bet to work well with others now.
No presidential candidate knows tough times like McCain does. That's an "ideology" we could use right now.
Reach MacEachern at doug.maceachern@arizonarepublic.com.
by Doug MacEachern - Nov. 2, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
John McCain became a national political leader through an act of forgiveness - a demonstration that wars end, wounds heal and the bitterest of enemies can put all that behind them.
Handy characteristics for someone presuming to lead the nation after this brutal election season.
The event I have in mind proved McCain in possession of an almost superhuman capacity to move forward. To cooperate with people who, not so long before, literally wished him dead.
Again, not a bad attitude for the winner of this presidential race.
It was in February 1985. Walter Cronkite had asked the Arizona congressman if he would be willing to accompany him on a return visit to Vietnam, including the infamous Hanoi prison where the former Navy pilot had spent the six worst years of his life.
This was, remember, little more than a decade after McCain had been incarcerated there. And tortured there. And tormented to within an inch of his sanity. It was the "home" that allowed congressional candidate McCain to fend off an accusation that he was a carpetbagger when he ran for Congress in Arizona in 1982: As a Navy brat, the only place he had lived longer than in Arizona was . . . Hanoi.
McCain went back. To Truc Bach lake, where on Oct. 26, 1967, a furious mob had pulled him to the shore and beat him. To the wretched Hoa Lo prison, aka the "Hanoi Hilton." And, to meetings with the overseers who nearly killed him.
To say the least, it was compelling viewing. But it was more than that. It created his national identity.
In Goldwater's footsteps
Less than two years later, McCain would be elected to replace an Arizona political deity, Barry Goldwater, as senator of Arizona.
His election to the Senate in 1986 would be attributable to a number of factors.
There was McCain's frenetic campaign energy, which dumbfounded competitors ("John McCain is driven," wrote my colleague, Richard de Uriarte, in The Phoenix Gazette that year. "No rural hamlet too remote to visit. No fundraiser he can't attend."). And, of course, his emerging celebrity, a natural result of having produced travelogues with Cronkite, that most trusted of newsmen.
But above all else there was the sense of something special about the man's character. He did not simply travel to meet with the people who had treated him with beastly cruelty. He did it to help move his country forward.
Two years after McCain's visit, Vietnam would begin, finally, to cooperate with the United States. At some things vitally important to McCain - determining the fate of GIs missing in action and the repatriation of remains. He started the process of healing, of moving forward, with his hand extended to those who hated him the most.
This, then, is the character trait that makes McCain not merely the superior presidential candidate of this election cycle but of nearly any era in which a candidate's character matters. Which is to say, of any era. He learns from mistakes of the past - his own, certainly, and those of others - and moves on.
Barack Obama may claim the media mantle as the 2008 agent of national unity and compromise. The candidate to move the nation forward.
But McCain is the only one of the two with a record of actually having acted, often against type, in what he saw as the national interest . . . as opposed to Obama's mere contention that, at some unspecified time in the near or distant future, we can trust him to act as something other than a faithful ideologue.
In 1989, John McCain was - by dint of politics, as well as by fact of history - the heir to Barry's legacy. He was a conservative Republican and war hero. The future was golden. And then came the "Keating Five" scandal.
Beyond Keating
Oh, McCain's involvement in those meetings with developer Charles H Keating Jr. was minimal. And his discomfort with Keating's effort to buy influence was obvious. But he was tied to the Arizona developer. There were those family jaunts with Keating to Cat Cay. Ugh.
No one moaned "Ugh!" louder than McCain himself. Love it or hate it, the real legacy of McCain's involvement in the Keating scandal was the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, a wide-reaching attempt to limit special-interest influence in federal campaigns. It emanated directly from the Keating mess. McCain-Feingold, as it is known, is the result of a 10-year McCain mission to erase whatever stigma remained of those torturous Keating Five days. It is McCain's personal declaration that honor in politics still matters.
He has been the dutiful soldier who, in the course of his congressional career, crossed three different commanders in chief over their deployment of U.S. troops in harm's way overseas. And he was the rare senator willing to stand up in Congress during the worst years of Iraq, 2005 to 2007, and demand of Bush and Donald Rumsfeld that they give the troops a chance to win.
He is the conservative, tax-loathing Republican who nevertheless opposed a Republican president's tax cuts as inappropriate during war . . . then performed an abrupt about-face after recognizing how Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts had helped revive an economy jolted by a double whammy: the dot-com bubble burst of 2000 and the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
And he was the GOP senator who led the fight for the kind of comprehensive immigration reform that Democrats claim to want . . . but never proved willing to fight for. Not like McCain (and, for that matter, Sen. Jon Kyl) risked the fury of his own party fighting for.
He was the worthy soldier whose devotion to national defense set the bar for what constitutes legitimate prisoner interrogation . . . and what constitutes torture. It was McCain, not the administration presiding over Abu Ghraib, who clearly knew the difference.
It may prove true that no presidential candidate with an "R" after his name could survive the current economic turmoil. But there will be high irony if a Democrat defeats McCain as a result of the economic disaster following in the wake of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
On May 5, 2006 - more than two years before the subprime-mortgage debacle would spawn a worldwide financial holocaust - McCain and 19 other GOP senators wrote a warning letter about the lack of oversight of the mortgage industry:
"We are concerned that if effective regulatory reform legislation for the housing-finance government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) is not enacted this year, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system and the economy as a whole."
Those warnings were ill-received by most Senate Democrats, who effectively blocked reform. Among them was the senator who accepted the second-most in campaign contributions from Fannie Mae lobbyists, Barack Obama.
The longest campaign
It is late in the campaign and certainly most serious voters have made up their minds, if not already cast their votes. The longest campaign - and one of the most arduous - is coming to an end at last.
At such a time it seems that, at the very least, most voters should feel confident that regardless who wins, we got the right guy. By now, we should know the candidates.
But almost 21 months after Obama's Feb. 10, 2007, announcement in Springfield, Ill., that he would run for the presidency, we still find ourselves guessing about what Obama really believes.
An audio tape of a 2001 Obama radio interview surfaced last Monday in which the then-Illinois state legislator discussed the history of federal courts and their impact on "redistributive change."
Obama seems to suggest that the supposedly radical-left Warren Supreme Court was not all that radical because it "never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth" via the U.S. Constitution.
Evidence of Obama's socialist-Marxist-redistributive inclinations? Maybe. Or perhaps not. Obama defenders, like academic Cass Sunstein, argued that Obama merely was discussing history, not rendering judgments. But isn't it a little late to not have a real clue about a likely U.S. president's view on how (or whether) to redistribute wealth?
We know what McCain's view is regarding using the 14th Amendment to create a superwelfare state. He doesn't have any. We don't have to muse about McCain's "ideology" because no modern presidential candidate has had less of one.
McCain is a guy whose sole notion of ideology is a highly refined sense of honor. Such people have a way of leading others through hard times.
The man who made peace with his jailers in the little hotel of horrors in Hanoi is a good bet to work well with others now.
No presidential candidate knows tough times like McCain does. That's an "ideology" we could use right now.
Reach MacEachern at doug.maceachern@arizonarepublic.com.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
A Letter To Senator Obama
To Barack Hussein Obama,
The New York Times carried a story on Saturday, October 4, 2008 that proved you had a significantly closer relationship with Bill Ayers than what you previously admitted. While the issue of your relationship is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America about it.
The Chicago Sun reported on May 8, 2008 that FBI records showed that you had a significantly closer relationship with Tony Rezko than what you previously admitted. In the interview, you said that you only saw Mr. Rezko a couple of times a year. The FBI files showed that you saw him weekly While the issue of your relationship is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America about it.
Your speech in Philadelphia on March 18, 2008 about "race" contradicted your statement to Anderson Cooper on March 14 when you said that you never heard Reverend Wright make his negative statements about white America. While your attendance at Trinity Church for 20 years is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America on March 14.
In your 1st debate with John McCain, you said that you never said that you would meet with the leaders of Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, and North Korea without "preparations" at lower levels ... Joe Biden repeated your words in his debate with Sarah Palin ... while the video tape from your debate last February clearly shows that you answered "I would" to the question of meeting with those leaders within 12 months without "any" preconditions. While your judgment about meeting with enemies of the USA without pre-conditions is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America in the debate with McCain.
On July 14, 2008, you said that you always knew that the surge would work while the video tapes of you from more than a year ago show that you stated that the surge would not work. While your judgment about military strategy as a potential commander in chief is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America on July 14.
You now claim that your reason for voting against funding for the troops was because the bill did not include a time line for withdrawal while the video tapes of you from more than a year ago show that you voted against additional funding because you wanted our troops to be removed immediately .. not in 16 months after the 2008 election as you now claim. While your judgment about removing our troops unilaterally in 2007 is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America about your previous position.
You claim to have a record of working with Republicans while the record shows that the only bill that you sponsored with a Republican was with Chuck Lugar .. and it failed. The record shows that you vote 97% in concert with the Democrat party and that you have the most liberal voting record in the Senate. You joined Republicans only 13% of the time in your votes and those 13% were only after agreement from the Democrat party. While it is of concern that you fail to include conservatives in your actions and that you are such a liberal, the greater concern is that you distorted the truth.
In the primary debates of last February, 2008, you claimed to have talked with a "Captain" of a platoon in Afghanistan "the other day" when in fact you had a discussion in 2003 with a Lieutenant who had just been deployed to Afghanistan. You lied in that debate.
In your debates last spring, you claimed to have been a "professor of Constitutional law" when in fact you have never been a professor of Constitutional law. In this last debate, you were careful to say that you "taught a law class" and never mentioned being a "professor of Constitutional law." You lied last spring.
You and Joe Biden both claimed that John McCain voted against additional funding for our troops when the actual records show the opposite. You distorted the truth.
You and Joe Biden claim that John McCain voted against funding for alternate energy sources 20 times when the record shows that John McCain specifically voted against funding for bio fuels, especially corn ... and he was right .... corn is too expensive at producing ethanol, and using corn to make ethanol increased the price of corn from $2 a bushel to $6 a bushel for food. You distorted the truth.
You and Joe Biden claim that John McCain voted like both of you for a tax increase on those making as little as $42,000 per year while the voting record clearly shows that John McCain did not vote as you and Joe Biden. You lied to America.
You and Joe Biden claim that John McCain voted with George W. Bush 90% of the time when you know that Democrats also vote 90% of the time with the President (including Joe Biden) because the vast majority of the votes are procedural. You are one of the few who has not voted 90% of the time with the president because you have been missing from the Senate since the day you got elected. While your absence from your job in the Senate is of concern, the greater concern is that you spin the facts.
You did not take an active roll in the rescue plan. You claimed that the Senate did not need you while the real reason that you abstained was because of your close relationships with the executives of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Countrywide, and Acorn ... who all helped cause the financial problems of today ... and they all made major contributions to your campaign. While your relationship with these executives and your protection of them for your brief 3 years in the Senate (along with Barney Frank, Chuch Schumer, Maxine Waters, and Chris Dodd) is of concern, the greater concern is that you are being deceitful.
You forgot to mention that you personally represented Tony Rezko and Acorn. Tony Rezko, an Arab and close friend to you, was convicted of fraud in Chicago real estate transactions that bilked millions of tax dollars from the Illinois government for renovation projects that you sponsored as a state senator ... and Acorn has been convicted of voter fraud, real estate sub prime loan intimidation, and illegal campaign contributions. Tony Rezko has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to your political campaigns. You personally used your political positions to steer money to both Tony Rezko and Acorn and you used Acorn to register thousands of phony voters for Democrats and you. While your relationships with Rezko and Acorn are of concern, the greater concern is that you omitted important facts about your relationships with them to America.
During your campaign, you said: "typical white person." "they cling to their guns and religion." "they will say that I am black." You played the race card. You tried to label any criticism about you as racist. You divide America.
You claim that you will reduce taxes for 95% of America, but you forgot to tell America that those reductions are after you remove the Bush tax reductions. You have requested close to $1 Billion in earmarks and several million for Acorn. Your social programs will cost America $1 Trillion per year and you claim that a reduction in military spending ($100 billion for Iraq) can pay for it. While your economic plan of adding 30% to the size of our federal government is of concern, the greater concern is that you are deceiving America.
The drain to America's economy by foreign supplied oil is $700 Billion per year (5% of GDP) while the war in Iraq is $100 Billion (less than 1% of GDP). You voted against any increases to oil exploration for the last 3 years and any expansion of nuclear facilities. Yet today, you say that you have always been for more oil and more nuclear. You are lying to America.
Mr. Obama, you claimed that you "changed" your mind about public financing for your campaign because of the money spent by Republican PACs in 2004. The truth is that the Democrat PACs in 2004, 2006, and 2008 spent twice as much as the Republican PACs (especially George Soros and MoveOn.org). You are lying to America.
Mr. Obama, you have done nothing to stop the actions of the teachers union and college professors in the USA. They eliminated religion from our history. They teach pro gay agendas and discuss sex with students as young as first grade. They bring their personal politics into the classrooms. They disparage conservatives. They brainwash our children. They are in it for themselves ..... not America. Are you reluctant to condemn their actions because teachers/professors and the NEA contribute 25% of all money donated to Democrats and none to Republicans? You are deceiving America.
Oh Mr. Obama, Teddy Roosevelt said about a hundred years ago that we Americans should first look at the character of our leaders before anything else. Your character looks horrible. While you make good speeches, motivating speeches, your character does not match your rhetoric. You talk the talk but do not walk the walk.
1. You lied to America. You lied many times. You distorted facts. You parsed your answers like a lawyer.
2. You distorted the record of John McCain in your words and in your advertisements.
3. You had associations with some very bad people for your personal political gains and then lied about those associations.
4. You divide America about race and about class.
Now let me compare your record of lies, distortions, race bating, and associations to John McCain:
War hero. Annapolis graduate with "Country first."
Operational leadership experience like all 43 previously elected presidents of the USA as a Navy Officer for 22 years. 26 years in the Senate. Straight talk. Maverick. 54% of the time participated on bills with Democrats. Never asked for an earmark. The only blemish on his record is his part in the Keating 5 debacle about 25 years ago.
Mr. Obama, at Harvard Law School, you learned that the end does not justify the means. You learned that perjury, false witness, dishonesty, distortion of truth are never tolerated. Yet, your dishonesty is overwhelming. Your dishonesty is tremendously greater than the dishonesty that caused the impeachment and disbarment of Bill Clinton. Your dishonesty is tremendously greater than the dishonesty of Scooter Libby. You should be ashamed.
Mr. Obama, it is time for us Americans to put aside our differences on political issues and vote against you because of your dishonest character. It is time for all of us Americans to put aside our political issues and vote for America first. It is time for America to vote for honesty.
Any people who vote for you after understanding that you are dishonest should be ashamed of themselves for making their personal political issues more important than character. Would these same people vote for the anti-Christ if the anti-Christ promised them riches? Would they make a golden calf while Moses was up the mountain? Would they hire someone for a job if that someone lied in an interview? .... of course not. So why do some of these people justify their votes for you even though they know you are dishonest? Why do they excuse your dishonesty? because some of these people are frightened about the future, the economy, and their financial security .... and you are praying on their fears with empty promises ... and because some (especially our young people) are consumed by your wonderful style and promises for "change" like the Germans who voted for Adolf Hitler in 1932. The greed/envy by Germans in 1932 kept them from recognizing Hitler for who he was. They loved his style. Greed and envy are keeping many Americans from recognizing you ... your style has camouflaged your dishonesty .... but many of us see you for who you really are ... and we will not stop exposing who you are every day, forever if it is necessary.
Mr. Obama, you are dishonest. Anyone who votes for you is enabling dishonesty.
Mr. Obama, America cannot trust that you will put America first in your decisions about the future
Mr. Obama, you are not the "change" that America deserves. We cannot trust you.
Mr. Obama, You are not ready and not fit to be commander in chief.
Mr. Obama, John McCain does not have as much money as your campaign to refute all of your false statements. And for whatever reasons, the mainstream media will not give adequate coverage or research about your lies, distortions, word parsing, bad associations, race bating, lack of operational leadership experience, and general dishonest character. The media is diverting our attention to your relationships and ignoring the fact that you lied about those relationships. The fact that you lied is much more important than the relationships themselves .... just like with Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon ... Monica Lewinski and Watergate were not nearly as bad as the fact that those gentlemen lied about the events ... false witness ... perjury ... your relationships and bad judgments are bad on their own .... but your lies are even worse.
Therefore, by copy of this memo, all who read this memo are asked to send it to everyone else in America before it is too late. We need to do the job that the media will not do. We need to expose your dishonesty so that every person in America understands who you really are before election day.
Mr. Obama, in a democracy, we get what we deserve. And God help America if we deserve you.
Michael Master
McLean, Virginia
The New York Times carried a story on Saturday, October 4, 2008 that proved you had a significantly closer relationship with Bill Ayers than what you previously admitted. While the issue of your relationship is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America about it.
The Chicago Sun reported on May 8, 2008 that FBI records showed that you had a significantly closer relationship with Tony Rezko than what you previously admitted. In the interview, you said that you only saw Mr. Rezko a couple of times a year. The FBI files showed that you saw him weekly While the issue of your relationship is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America about it.
Your speech in Philadelphia on March 18, 2008 about "race" contradicted your statement to Anderson Cooper on March 14 when you said that you never heard Reverend Wright make his negative statements about white America. While your attendance at Trinity Church for 20 years is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America on March 14.
In your 1st debate with John McCain, you said that you never said that you would meet with the leaders of Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, and North Korea without "preparations" at lower levels ... Joe Biden repeated your words in his debate with Sarah Palin ... while the video tape from your debate last February clearly shows that you answered "I would" to the question of meeting with those leaders within 12 months without "any" preconditions. While your judgment about meeting with enemies of the USA without pre-conditions is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America in the debate with McCain.
On July 14, 2008, you said that you always knew that the surge would work while the video tapes of you from more than a year ago show that you stated that the surge would not work. While your judgment about military strategy as a potential commander in chief is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America on July 14.
You now claim that your reason for voting against funding for the troops was because the bill did not include a time line for withdrawal while the video tapes of you from more than a year ago show that you voted against additional funding because you wanted our troops to be removed immediately .. not in 16 months after the 2008 election as you now claim. While your judgment about removing our troops unilaterally in 2007 is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to America about your previous position.
You claim to have a record of working with Republicans while the record shows that the only bill that you sponsored with a Republican was with Chuck Lugar .. and it failed. The record shows that you vote 97% in concert with the Democrat party and that you have the most liberal voting record in the Senate. You joined Republicans only 13% of the time in your votes and those 13% were only after agreement from the Democrat party. While it is of concern that you fail to include conservatives in your actions and that you are such a liberal, the greater concern is that you distorted the truth.
In the primary debates of last February, 2008, you claimed to have talked with a "Captain" of a platoon in Afghanistan "the other day" when in fact you had a discussion in 2003 with a Lieutenant who had just been deployed to Afghanistan. You lied in that debate.
In your debates last spring, you claimed to have been a "professor of Constitutional law" when in fact you have never been a professor of Constitutional law. In this last debate, you were careful to say that you "taught a law class" and never mentioned being a "professor of Constitutional law." You lied last spring.
You and Joe Biden both claimed that John McCain voted against additional funding for our troops when the actual records show the opposite. You distorted the truth.
You and Joe Biden claim that John McCain voted against funding for alternate energy sources 20 times when the record shows that John McCain specifically voted against funding for bio fuels, especially corn ... and he was right .... corn is too expensive at producing ethanol, and using corn to make ethanol increased the price of corn from $2 a bushel to $6 a bushel for food. You distorted the truth.
You and Joe Biden claim that John McCain voted like both of you for a tax increase on those making as little as $42,000 per year while the voting record clearly shows that John McCain did not vote as you and Joe Biden. You lied to America.
You and Joe Biden claim that John McCain voted with George W. Bush 90% of the time when you know that Democrats also vote 90% of the time with the President (including Joe Biden) because the vast majority of the votes are procedural. You are one of the few who has not voted 90% of the time with the president because you have been missing from the Senate since the day you got elected. While your absence from your job in the Senate is of concern, the greater concern is that you spin the facts.
You did not take an active roll in the rescue plan. You claimed that the Senate did not need you while the real reason that you abstained was because of your close relationships with the executives of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Countrywide, and Acorn ... who all helped cause the financial problems of today ... and they all made major contributions to your campaign. While your relationship with these executives and your protection of them for your brief 3 years in the Senate (along with Barney Frank, Chuch Schumer, Maxine Waters, and Chris Dodd) is of concern, the greater concern is that you are being deceitful.
You forgot to mention that you personally represented Tony Rezko and Acorn. Tony Rezko, an Arab and close friend to you, was convicted of fraud in Chicago real estate transactions that bilked millions of tax dollars from the Illinois government for renovation projects that you sponsored as a state senator ... and Acorn has been convicted of voter fraud, real estate sub prime loan intimidation, and illegal campaign contributions. Tony Rezko has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to your political campaigns. You personally used your political positions to steer money to both Tony Rezko and Acorn and you used Acorn to register thousands of phony voters for Democrats and you. While your relationships with Rezko and Acorn are of concern, the greater concern is that you omitted important facts about your relationships with them to America.
During your campaign, you said: "typical white person." "they cling to their guns and religion." "they will say that I am black." You played the race card. You tried to label any criticism about you as racist. You divide America.
You claim that you will reduce taxes for 95% of America, but you forgot to tell America that those reductions are after you remove the Bush tax reductions. You have requested close to $1 Billion in earmarks and several million for Acorn. Your social programs will cost America $1 Trillion per year and you claim that a reduction in military spending ($100 billion for Iraq) can pay for it. While your economic plan of adding 30% to the size of our federal government is of concern, the greater concern is that you are deceiving America.
The drain to America's economy by foreign supplied oil is $700 Billion per year (5% of GDP) while the war in Iraq is $100 Billion (less than 1% of GDP). You voted against any increases to oil exploration for the last 3 years and any expansion of nuclear facilities. Yet today, you say that you have always been for more oil and more nuclear. You are lying to America.
Mr. Obama, you claimed that you "changed" your mind about public financing for your campaign because of the money spent by Republican PACs in 2004. The truth is that the Democrat PACs in 2004, 2006, and 2008 spent twice as much as the Republican PACs (especially George Soros and MoveOn.org). You are lying to America.
Mr. Obama, you have done nothing to stop the actions of the teachers union and college professors in the USA. They eliminated religion from our history. They teach pro gay agendas and discuss sex with students as young as first grade. They bring their personal politics into the classrooms. They disparage conservatives. They brainwash our children. They are in it for themselves ..... not America. Are you reluctant to condemn their actions because teachers/professors and the NEA contribute 25% of all money donated to Democrats and none to Republicans? You are deceiving America.
Oh Mr. Obama, Teddy Roosevelt said about a hundred years ago that we Americans should first look at the character of our leaders before anything else. Your character looks horrible. While you make good speeches, motivating speeches, your character does not match your rhetoric. You talk the talk but do not walk the walk.
1. You lied to America. You lied many times. You distorted facts. You parsed your answers like a lawyer.
2. You distorted the record of John McCain in your words and in your advertisements.
3. You had associations with some very bad people for your personal political gains and then lied about those associations.
4. You divide America about race and about class.
Now let me compare your record of lies, distortions, race bating, and associations to John McCain:
War hero. Annapolis graduate with "Country first."
Operational leadership experience like all 43 previously elected presidents of the USA as a Navy Officer for 22 years. 26 years in the Senate. Straight talk. Maverick. 54% of the time participated on bills with Democrats. Never asked for an earmark. The only blemish on his record is his part in the Keating 5 debacle about 25 years ago.
Mr. Obama, at Harvard Law School, you learned that the end does not justify the means. You learned that perjury, false witness, dishonesty, distortion of truth are never tolerated. Yet, your dishonesty is overwhelming. Your dishonesty is tremendously greater than the dishonesty that caused the impeachment and disbarment of Bill Clinton. Your dishonesty is tremendously greater than the dishonesty of Scooter Libby. You should be ashamed.
Mr. Obama, it is time for us Americans to put aside our differences on political issues and vote against you because of your dishonest character. It is time for all of us Americans to put aside our political issues and vote for America first. It is time for America to vote for honesty.
Any people who vote for you after understanding that you are dishonest should be ashamed of themselves for making their personal political issues more important than character. Would these same people vote for the anti-Christ if the anti-Christ promised them riches? Would they make a golden calf while Moses was up the mountain? Would they hire someone for a job if that someone lied in an interview? .... of course not. So why do some of these people justify their votes for you even though they know you are dishonest? Why do they excuse your dishonesty? because some of these people are frightened about the future, the economy, and their financial security .... and you are praying on their fears with empty promises ... and because some (especially our young people) are consumed by your wonderful style and promises for "change" like the Germans who voted for Adolf Hitler in 1932. The greed/envy by Germans in 1932 kept them from recognizing Hitler for who he was. They loved his style. Greed and envy are keeping many Americans from recognizing you ... your style has camouflaged your dishonesty .... but many of us see you for who you really are ... and we will not stop exposing who you are every day, forever if it is necessary.
Mr. Obama, you are dishonest. Anyone who votes for you is enabling dishonesty.
Mr. Obama, America cannot trust that you will put America first in your decisions about the future
Mr. Obama, you are not the "change" that America deserves. We cannot trust you.
Mr. Obama, You are not ready and not fit to be commander in chief.
Mr. Obama, John McCain does not have as much money as your campaign to refute all of your false statements. And for whatever reasons, the mainstream media will not give adequate coverage or research about your lies, distortions, word parsing, bad associations, race bating, lack of operational leadership experience, and general dishonest character. The media is diverting our attention to your relationships and ignoring the fact that you lied about those relationships. The fact that you lied is much more important than the relationships themselves .... just like with Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon ... Monica Lewinski and Watergate were not nearly as bad as the fact that those gentlemen lied about the events ... false witness ... perjury ... your relationships and bad judgments are bad on their own .... but your lies are even worse.
Therefore, by copy of this memo, all who read this memo are asked to send it to everyone else in America before it is too late. We need to do the job that the media will not do. We need to expose your dishonesty so that every person in America understands who you really are before election day.
Mr. Obama, in a democracy, we get what we deserve. And God help America if we deserve you.
Michael Master
McLean, Virginia
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
It's time to vote!
This blog has presented information to help wake up America to the threat of an Obama presidency. We have six days to make the right choice. Here are six hard facts about what you know about Senator Obama,. (1) Little experience on national issues; he has never sponsored any significant legislation.
(2) The people he has associated with over many years are radicals, anti-country, and very liberal. (3) He has been rated on non partisan lists as one of the two most liberal senators. (4) He has a record of being wrong on foreign policy issues; Iraq surge, Iran, and the Russian invasion of Georgia. (5) He has a record of supporting higher taxes, he favors expanding government programs in health care, he is on the record as favoring income re-distribution from 2001 to date. (6) He has been endorsed and openly favored by America's enemies. These are not opinions, they are facts to consider before the vote; Senator Obama has an extreme liberal philosophy of how he will govern that is supported by the individuals he associates with, the statements he has made, and his voting record. He is risky, not ready, and a danger for America.
(2) The people he has associated with over many years are radicals, anti-country, and very liberal. (3) He has been rated on non partisan lists as one of the two most liberal senators. (4) He has a record of being wrong on foreign policy issues; Iraq surge, Iran, and the Russian invasion of Georgia. (5) He has a record of supporting higher taxes, he favors expanding government programs in health care, he is on the record as favoring income re-distribution from 2001 to date. (6) He has been endorsed and openly favored by America's enemies. These are not opinions, they are facts to consider before the vote; Senator Obama has an extreme liberal philosophy of how he will govern that is supported by the individuals he associates with, the statements he has made, and his voting record. He is risky, not ready, and a danger for America.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Endorsements
We have eleven days to go until our country makes one of the most historical and important decisions for our future. This election has foreign and domestic issues that will impact generations of Americans. Consider the following endorsements of the candidates: Barack Obama is supported by William Ayers (former terrorist), Reverend Rice (extremist), Hamas and Hezbollah (Muslim terrorist organizations), Western Europe polls, and the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament to name a few. Senator McCain is supported by US Armed forces at over 3 to 1, a overwhelming number of retired generals and admirals (who understand the war we are in and the enemy we are fighting), and 3 out of 4 of the last Secretary's of State, along with the recent UN Ambassador. These endorsements alone tell the story of why people with discernment and common sense must work to elect John McCain to lead our nation in a dangerous time.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Just the Facts
Remember Sgt Joe Friday on Dragnet? Just the facts Ma'am, well here are JUST THE FACTS ON SENATOR OBAMA vs SENATOR MCCAIN.
1. Character - McCain wins, no question he has "walked his talk" in serving, integrity, honesty, and record.
2. Patriotism - McCain wins, a record of serving his country, being willing to defend America, understanding our enemies, and a love and passion for America's people.
3. Associations - McCain wins, the facts are that Senator Obama has associated himself with enough questionable people that Americans question his judgement.
4. Record - McCain wins, he has a record that is in line with most Americans, he is conservative on fiscal matters, he believes in individual rights as the American way, he understands foreign policy must be based on strength, and he believes in smaller government, states rights, and the dignity of our citizens.
5. Social Issues - McCain wins, he comes down on the side of "life" for the unborn, prosecution for the criminal, minority rights, but in a democracy the majority rules.
Examine the facts and we see that Senator McCain wins 5 to 0 on traits needed to lead our nation in a challenging and dangerous time.
1. Character - McCain wins, no question he has "walked his talk" in serving, integrity, honesty, and record.
2. Patriotism - McCain wins, a record of serving his country, being willing to defend America, understanding our enemies, and a love and passion for America's people.
3. Associations - McCain wins, the facts are that Senator Obama has associated himself with enough questionable people that Americans question his judgement.
4. Record - McCain wins, he has a record that is in line with most Americans, he is conservative on fiscal matters, he believes in individual rights as the American way, he understands foreign policy must be based on strength, and he believes in smaller government, states rights, and the dignity of our citizens.
5. Social Issues - McCain wins, he comes down on the side of "life" for the unborn, prosecution for the criminal, minority rights, but in a democracy the majority rules.
Examine the facts and we see that Senator McCain wins 5 to 0 on traits needed to lead our nation in a challenging and dangerous time.
Friday, October 3, 2008
VETS REMEMBER 1973
Another memory that Vietnam Vets can recall; 1973-74, America was leaving Vietnam to defend themselves, then the North Vietnamese Army invaded, without our help,it was all over. Ten years of fighting, over 56,000 lives lost, and our politicians were so anxious to pull out, they pulled the plug on our Vietnamesse friends, and sent us home to forever be part of a shameful experience in our history. Iraq in 2009 can follow the same course if we elect a man who does not understand the enemy, and only wants to get us out of Iraq and save all those dollars. There are millions of us who can remember 1973, and make sure that we cast our votes for Senator McCain, he is one of us, and he will not sell out again. Get involved, only thirty days left to the election, make your vote count. This war we are in is different than our war, the enemy must be defeated.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Governor Palin
Attention Veterans -
Here is a ringing endorsement from a retired military guy who lives in Alaska, and attended a public gathering when Sarah Palin was running for governor, she not only greeted him, but visited for 15 minutes or so. Here is what he says to America, and especially to veterans.
She (Governor Palin) reminds me personally of our Alaska wolverine which will
fight anything in it's path if it see's fit to do so. No respect at for size or
position.
In closing I must tell you that she is the best, most moral
and most focused leader I've seen since President Reagan. I feel,
really strongly, that like Alaska the rest of our country will love
her within a few weeks. Put simply, she represents middle America like
NO leader we've ever had. I think McCain made a totally brilliant move
in choosing her. She's a maverick who is probably tougher and more
focused than McCain himself....and she won't be a total 'Yes Man' or more appropriately, woman. McCain will love her.
Remember we have millions of Vietnam Vets who have a big stake in this election in keeping America awake and vigilant. This is our mission.
Here is a ringing endorsement from a retired military guy who lives in Alaska, and attended a public gathering when Sarah Palin was running for governor, she not only greeted him, but visited for 15 minutes or so. Here is what he says to America, and especially to veterans.
She (Governor Palin) reminds me personally of our Alaska wolverine which will
fight anything in it's path if it see's fit to do so. No respect at for size or
position.
In closing I must tell you that she is the best, most moral
and most focused leader I've seen since President Reagan. I feel,
really strongly, that like Alaska the rest of our country will love
her within a few weeks. Put simply, she represents middle America like
NO leader we've ever had. I think McCain made a totally brilliant move
in choosing her. She's a maverick who is probably tougher and more
focused than McCain himself....and she won't be a total 'Yes Man' or more appropriately, woman. McCain will love her.
Remember we have millions of Vietnam Vets who have a big stake in this election in keeping America awake and vigilant. This is our mission.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
IT IS TIME TO ENDORSE SENATOR MCCAIN
Fellow Veterans and Americans,
Who do we want to deal with the President of Iran? This 2008 election may well be the most important in our History. We are dealing with an enemy who only wants to kill and destroy us, and a culture that is focused on pleasure and unable to recognize danger. Our moral compass is slipping and spinning out of control, we are losing our national Judao/Christian foundation and heritage. That is the setting for 2008; Barak Obama and John McCain want to lead our nation in different directions, one could lead to disaster and the demise of America, the other to a call to battle the enemy at home and abroad; to move America towards greater victories and restore the American culture that has been the envy of the world for over 200 years. As veterans, we have a unique understanding of history, and the dangers of appeasement and retreat. We have a veteran running to be our next Commander in Chief, he needs our complete support and help. Lets rise to one last call to duty, honor, country.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Time to Become Active in 2008
Vietnam Vets need to sit up and take note of what is going on, we need to become "active" in this critical 2008 election, our nation may well depend on it. We have two candidates, one who has great charisma and communcative skills, and one who has paid the price of being a patriot, soldier and statesman. Here is a recent quote from a Captain in Basra Iraq about the candidate with charisma. Read and heed and then wake as many people up as you can to vote for John McCain.
Email from Iraq -
As you know I am not a very political person. I just > > wanted to pass along that Senator Obama came to Bagram Afghanistan for > > about an hour on his visit to 'The War Zone'. I wanted to share with you > > what happened. > > He got off the plane and got into a bullet proof > > vehicle, got to the area to meet with the Major General (2 Star) who is > > the commander here at Bagram. > > > > As the Soldiers were lined up to shake his hand he > > blew them off and didn't say a word as he went into the conference room > > to meet the General. As he finished, the vehicles took him to the > > ClamShell (pretty much a big top tent that military personnel can play > > basketball or work out in with weights) so he could take his publicity > > pictures playing basketball. He again shunned the opportunity to talk to > > Soldiers to thank them for their service. > > > > So really he was just here to make a showing for the > > American's back home that he is their candidate for President. I think > > that if you are going to make an effort to come all the way over here > > you would thank those that are providing the freedom that they are > > providing for you. > > > > I swear we got more thanks from the NBA Basketball > > Players or the Dallas Cowboy Cheer leaders than from Senator, who wants > > to be the President of the United States . I just don't understand how > > anyone would want him to be our Commander-and-Chief.
Email from Iraq -
As you know I am not a very political person. I just > > wanted to pass along that Senator Obama came to Bagram Afghanistan for > > about an hour on his visit to 'The War Zone'. I wanted to share with you > > what happened. > > He got off the plane and got into a bullet proof > > vehicle, got to the area to meet with the Major General (2 Star) who is > > the commander here at Bagram. > > > > As the Soldiers were lined up to shake his hand he > > blew them off and didn't say a word as he went into the conference room > > to meet the General. As he finished, the vehicles took him to the > > ClamShell (pretty much a big top tent that military personnel can play > > basketball or work out in with weights) so he could take his publicity > > pictures playing basketball. He again shunned the opportunity to talk to > > Soldiers to thank them for their service. > > > > So really he was just here to make a showing for the > > American's back home that he is their candidate for President. I think > > that if you are going to make an effort to come all the way over here > > you would thank those that are providing the freedom that they are > > providing for you. > > > > I swear we got more thanks from the NBA Basketball > > Players or the Dallas Cowboy Cheer leaders than from Senator, who wants > > to be the President of the United States . I just don't understand how > > anyone would want him to be our Commander-and-Chief.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Will History Repeat?
Will History Repeat?
Millions of Vietnam Veterans are watching history begin to repeat itself as the debate continues on winning or leaving Iraq. It is a fact that those Vets who served in Vietnam have the first hand experience to address America on the dangers of appeasement and retreat. The fact that after we left Vietnam, it fell very quickly; is that not the danger of leaving Iraq before victory? The reason we left Vietnam was we did not exercise the plans that were in place for a complete victory, and yes we again underestimated the enemy, then came the debate over the war and the American people quit supporting the war effort. That led to a loss of political will and the decision to begin the pull out. It was carefully framed in the context of the Paris Peace Talks, but our enemy had no intent of honoring any agreement, they only wanted US troops out so they could take the country; and they did in a matter of weeks. This history lesson has a familiar theme, Americans need to step back and look at what is happening today, our national debate is being influenced by a press who only reports one side, and by politicians who only want to defeat a sitting President’s party. Public support is declining, it may be followed by a loss of political will, and then retreat. The enemy waits as in 1973, for America to come home, and then we will see history repeat itself in Iraq. We must learn from history before it is too late.
This Veteran wants to say a word of support for our current President. He led when we were attacked, and he continues to lead in spite of the vicious unwarranted and undeserved personal attacks. He has stayed the course, and Americans should look at the facts and give him their support. We have people in our nation that should be ashamed of their words during a time of war. Vietnam Vets will remember the words we heard that were divisive and broke down the unity of our citizen’s support of the national effort in Vietnam. Veterans need to speak out in 2008!
Millions of Vietnam Veterans are watching history begin to repeat itself as the debate continues on winning or leaving Iraq. It is a fact that those Vets who served in Vietnam have the first hand experience to address America on the dangers of appeasement and retreat. The fact that after we left Vietnam, it fell very quickly; is that not the danger of leaving Iraq before victory? The reason we left Vietnam was we did not exercise the plans that were in place for a complete victory, and yes we again underestimated the enemy, then came the debate over the war and the American people quit supporting the war effort. That led to a loss of political will and the decision to begin the pull out. It was carefully framed in the context of the Paris Peace Talks, but our enemy had no intent of honoring any agreement, they only wanted US troops out so they could take the country; and they did in a matter of weeks. This history lesson has a familiar theme, Americans need to step back and look at what is happening today, our national debate is being influenced by a press who only reports one side, and by politicians who only want to defeat a sitting President’s party. Public support is declining, it may be followed by a loss of political will, and then retreat. The enemy waits as in 1973, for America to come home, and then we will see history repeat itself in Iraq. We must learn from history before it is too late.
This Veteran wants to say a word of support for our current President. He led when we were attacked, and he continues to lead in spite of the vicious unwarranted and undeserved personal attacks. He has stayed the course, and Americans should look at the facts and give him their support. We have people in our nation that should be ashamed of their words during a time of war. Vietnam Vets will remember the words we heard that were divisive and broke down the unity of our citizen’s support of the national effort in Vietnam. Veterans need to speak out in 2008!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
The Swift Boats of 2008
The Facts were that the Swift Boat guys in 2004 were Vietnam Veterans who cared enough to get active in the election of that year and share their first hand experiences and "facts" on John Kerry. We will never know if their mission might have helped prevent Kerry's election, which would have been a step back in the war on terror. Now in 2008, we need Vietnam Veterans to step forward again and remind the American people that this election needs to focus on facts not rhetoric. We have an extremely well qualified patriot running against someone without experience but with great charisma and communication skills; we dare not go down that road. Here are some facts we can focus on:
1. In recent elections we have had "minority presidents" (less than 50% of the vote), President Clinton had around 43%, and Bush less than 50% the first term. Now realize that 35-40% of the American people support President Bush, that is close to what elected him. He has protected our nation for over 7 years, we have carried the battle to the home of the enemy, the economy is not "in recession", unemployment is good, and only the press tells us how bad it is.
2. With that in mind, Vietnam Veterans need to go on the offensive in 2008, reminding our citizens of the positives, and the dangers of giving up the gains we have fought for over the past seven years. We must continue to achieve victory in Iraq, and take the next steps to defeat radical Islam, the sooner the better.
3. Senator Obama has no plan, very little understanding of the threat, no experience in international diplomacy, and seems to be under the false assumption that he can talk to our enemies who have the stated purpose of killing him along with the rest of us.
4. Vietnam Veterans can join with the 35-40% of Americans who support our President, and counter the media and Senator Obama's worldview which is wrong for America. Americans must be awakened to the threat and become motivated to consider the facts, and make the right choice for our country.
It is not a question of Senator McCain being the perfect candidate, many young people give that label to Senator Obama because of his attraction. The question for Americans is to consider the facts, the qualifications of the candidates, and the serious threat to our nation over the next four years. Vietnam Veterans can make a difference again in 2008, just as the Swift Boaters did in 2004. We must accept the mission and help wake up America before it is too late!
1. In recent elections we have had "minority presidents" (less than 50% of the vote), President Clinton had around 43%, and Bush less than 50% the first term. Now realize that 35-40% of the American people support President Bush, that is close to what elected him. He has protected our nation for over 7 years, we have carried the battle to the home of the enemy, the economy is not "in recession", unemployment is good, and only the press tells us how bad it is.
2. With that in mind, Vietnam Veterans need to go on the offensive in 2008, reminding our citizens of the positives, and the dangers of giving up the gains we have fought for over the past seven years. We must continue to achieve victory in Iraq, and take the next steps to defeat radical Islam, the sooner the better.
3. Senator Obama has no plan, very little understanding of the threat, no experience in international diplomacy, and seems to be under the false assumption that he can talk to our enemies who have the stated purpose of killing him along with the rest of us.
4. Vietnam Veterans can join with the 35-40% of Americans who support our President, and counter the media and Senator Obama's worldview which is wrong for America. Americans must be awakened to the threat and become motivated to consider the facts, and make the right choice for our country.
It is not a question of Senator McCain being the perfect candidate, many young people give that label to Senator Obama because of his attraction. The question for Americans is to consider the facts, the qualifications of the candidates, and the serious threat to our nation over the next four years. Vietnam Veterans can make a difference again in 2008, just as the Swift Boaters did in 2004. We must accept the mission and help wake up America before it is too late!
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Obama is a Threat
We need civility and manners in America, so here are some facts ,without any name calling or personal attacks, that we need to consider as we choose a new President.
1. The War on Terror is the key issue, it is battle for the survival of this nation against radical Islam. John McCain is tested and understands the enemy, Barack Obama displays little knowledge and understanding of the threat or how to fight it. He advocates talking to people who want only to kill us, and are the enemies of America.
2. The economy is a legitimate issue; if we look at 20 of the past 28 years, low taxes in those years generated economic growth and prosperity, John McCain understands that. Barack Obama has said he will raise taxes to pay for bigger government programs.
3. Barack Obama is the product of a political machine in Chicago, the people he associates with are proven radicals, criminals, or currently under indictment. John McCain has a long record of integrity and honesty, and his character was tested and proven in a prison camp in North Vietnam.
On the facts, this should not be a contest, however, the main line press has picked their candidate (Barack Obama). His charisma and charm have drawn many young voters who are not well informed on the issues. Our best hope is to elect John McCain as our Commander in Chief. Vietnam Veterans understand appeasement and lack of political will during a war; it can spell defeat for our great nation if we are not vigilant. We must wake up America.
1. The War on Terror is the key issue, it is battle for the survival of this nation against radical Islam. John McCain is tested and understands the enemy, Barack Obama displays little knowledge and understanding of the threat or how to fight it. He advocates talking to people who want only to kill us, and are the enemies of America.
2. The economy is a legitimate issue; if we look at 20 of the past 28 years, low taxes in those years generated economic growth and prosperity, John McCain understands that. Barack Obama has said he will raise taxes to pay for bigger government programs.
3. Barack Obama is the product of a political machine in Chicago, the people he associates with are proven radicals, criminals, or currently under indictment. John McCain has a long record of integrity and honesty, and his character was tested and proven in a prison camp in North Vietnam.
On the facts, this should not be a contest, however, the main line press has picked their candidate (Barack Obama). His charisma and charm have drawn many young voters who are not well informed on the issues. Our best hope is to elect John McCain as our Commander in Chief. Vietnam Veterans understand appeasement and lack of political will during a war; it can spell defeat for our great nation if we are not vigilant. We must wake up America.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
The War on Terror - Have we forgotten?
It's too bad that the President did not put America on a more serious "war footing" in 2001 when this began; perhaps building up our forces, a war tax, and going on offense in places like Somalia. We can only guess that the intelligence given the President under-estimated the enemy (again). So now we are in a political campaign, and a recent interview asked candidates Clinton and Obama what they would do if Israel was attacked by Iran? Obama's answer, "take appropriate action"; McCain is on record of taking on Iran if they attack Israel. So why have we forgotten that we are at war? Is seven years too long for the American people to remember? Do we not understand radical Islam? The next President will not have a chance to back away from this war, Iran will not go away, we must defeat that regime one way or another. The American people need to wake up and realize the magnitude of the struggle we are in, and make sure we do not elect candidates who believe we can "talk to our enemies", history is full of those examples, none of them worked out. Wake up America!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Remembering 1968
Vietnam Vets might remember the 1968 Tet offensive by the NVN and the VC as the turning point in the war. It brought street riots to the Democrat convention in Chicago, and America's political will continued to slide towards withdrawal. The fact is no battle was lost by US forces, only the headlines. Does Tet remind us of the enemy's attempts in Iraq to grab headlines and influence Americans to encourage our government to back away again. We must not let our citizens be influenced by a few headline events in Iraq; the enemy is smart and learns from history, we must not make the same mistake again. Vietnam Vets can see what is happening, it is up to us to sound the alarm.
Friday, March 28, 2008
A Sad Commentary (Author Unknown)
Everyone has a different opinion on the war and our current President. But this article probably makes sense to those of us who remember. Read it and give it some thought. What a difference 60 years makes..!!!
'You Ain't Gonna Like Losing.' Author unknownPresident Bush did make a bad mistake in the war on terrorism. But the mistake was not his decision to go to war in Iraq .
Bush's mistake came in his belief that this country is the same one his father fought for in WWII. It is not.
Back then, they had just come out of a vicious depression. The country was steeled by the hardship of that depression, but they still believed fervently in this country. They knew that the people had elected their leaders, so it was the people's duty to back those leaders.Therefore, when the war broke out the people came together, rallied behind, and stuck with their leaders, whether they had voted for them or not or whether the war was going badly or not.
And war was just as distasteful and the anguish just as great then as it is today. Often there were more casualties in one day in WWII than we have had in the entire Iraq war. But that did not matter the people stuck with the President because it was their patriotic duty Americans put aside their differences in WWII and worked together to win that war.Everyone from every strata of society, from young to old pitched in. Small children pulled little wagons around to gather scrap metal for the war effort. Grade school students saved their pennies to buy stamps for war bonds to help the effort.Men who were too old or medically 4F lied about their age or condition trying their best to join the military. Women doubled their work to keep things going at home. Harsh rationin g of everything from gasoline to soap, to butter was imposed, yet there was very little complaining.You never heard prominent people on the radio belittling the President. Interestingly enough in those days there were no fat cat actors and entertainers who ran off to visit and fawn over dictators of hostile countries and complain to them about our President. Instead, they made upbeat films and entertained our troops to help the troops' morale. And a bunch even enlisted.And imagine this: Teachers in schools actually started the day off with a Pledge of Allegiance and with prayers for our country and our troops!Back then, no newspaper would have dared point out certain weak spots in our cities where bombs could be set off to cause the maximum damage. No newspaper would have dared complain about what we were doing to catch spies.A newspaper would have been laughed out of existence if it had complained that German or Japanese soldiers were being 'tortur e d' by being forced to wear women's underwear, or subjected to interrogation by a woman, or being scared by a dog or did not have air conditioning.There were a lot of things different back then. We were not subjected to a constant bombardment of pornography, perversion and promiscuity in movies or on radio. We did not have legions of crack heads, dope pushers and armed gangs roaming our streets.No, President Bush did not make a mistake in his handling of terrorism. He made the mistake of believing that we still had the courage and fortitude of our fathers. He believed that this was still the country that our fathers fought so dearly to preserve.It is not the same country. It is now a cross between Sodom and Gomorrah and the Land of Oz. We did unite for a short while after 9/11, but our attitude changed when we found out that defending our country would require some sacrifices.We are in great danger. The terrorists are fanatic Muslims. They believe t ha t it is okay, even their duty to kill anyone who will not convert to Islam. It has been estimated that about one third or over three hundred million Muslims are sympathetic to the terrorists cause...Hitler and Tojo combined did not have nearly that many potential recruits.So...we either win it - or lose it - and you ain't gonna like losing.America is not at war. The military is at war. America is at the Mall.
'You Ain't Gonna Like Losing.' Author unknownPresident Bush did make a bad mistake in the war on terrorism. But the mistake was not his decision to go to war in Iraq .
Bush's mistake came in his belief that this country is the same one his father fought for in WWII. It is not.
Back then, they had just come out of a vicious depression. The country was steeled by the hardship of that depression, but they still believed fervently in this country. They knew that the people had elected their leaders, so it was the people's duty to back those leaders.Therefore, when the war broke out the people came together, rallied behind, and stuck with their leaders, whether they had voted for them or not or whether the war was going badly or not.
And war was just as distasteful and the anguish just as great then as it is today. Often there were more casualties in one day in WWII than we have had in the entire Iraq war. But that did not matter the people stuck with the President because it was their patriotic duty Americans put aside their differences in WWII and worked together to win that war.Everyone from every strata of society, from young to old pitched in. Small children pulled little wagons around to gather scrap metal for the war effort. Grade school students saved their pennies to buy stamps for war bonds to help the effort.Men who were too old or medically 4F lied about their age or condition trying their best to join the military. Women doubled their work to keep things going at home. Harsh rationin g of everything from gasoline to soap, to butter was imposed, yet there was very little complaining.You never heard prominent people on the radio belittling the President. Interestingly enough in those days there were no fat cat actors and entertainers who ran off to visit and fawn over dictators of hostile countries and complain to them about our President. Instead, they made upbeat films and entertained our troops to help the troops' morale. And a bunch even enlisted.And imagine this: Teachers in schools actually started the day off with a Pledge of Allegiance and with prayers for our country and our troops!Back then, no newspaper would have dared point out certain weak spots in our cities where bombs could be set off to cause the maximum damage. No newspaper would have dared complain about what we were doing to catch spies.A newspaper would have been laughed out of existence if it had complained that German or Japanese soldiers were being 'tortur e d' by being forced to wear women's underwear, or subjected to interrogation by a woman, or being scared by a dog or did not have air conditioning.There were a lot of things different back then. We were not subjected to a constant bombardment of pornography, perversion and promiscuity in movies or on radio. We did not have legions of crack heads, dope pushers and armed gangs roaming our streets.No, President Bush did not make a mistake in his handling of terrorism. He made the mistake of believing that we still had the courage and fortitude of our fathers. He believed that this was still the country that our fathers fought so dearly to preserve.It is not the same country. It is now a cross between Sodom and Gomorrah and the Land of Oz. We did unite for a short while after 9/11, but our attitude changed when we found out that defending our country would require some sacrifices.We are in great danger. The terrorists are fanatic Muslims. They believe t ha t it is okay, even their duty to kill anyone who will not convert to Islam. It has been estimated that about one third or over three hundred million Muslims are sympathetic to the terrorists cause...Hitler and Tojo combined did not have nearly that many potential recruits.So...we either win it - or lose it - and you ain't gonna like losing.America is not at war. The military is at war. America is at the Mall.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
McCain Understands
John McCain understands what happened in Vietnam when America lost its political will because of a press that misrepresented the facts, and lied to the people. John McCain was there, he spent five years in Hanoi, and came home and watched it all go down. Vietnam vets can see the signs of a repeat of history in Iraq; we must sound the alarm and jump into this election by supporting Senator McCain in all ways possible. Get involved, write letters, hit the internet circuit; as a veteran you know the truth of what happened almost forty years ago, and because we love our nation, we need to do all we can to prevent those forces from doing it again in Iraq. The enemy today is different and focused on our homeland, we must win this war. Vets step up for one more mission.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Listen to the Troops
It's time for all of us to pay attention to what is being sold to us from our media and anti-war crowd. Here is a note from Iraq, read it and write a few letters. The election is coming, and two candidates have said we will retreat with in their first 60 days. That means quit, surrender, desert our friends, whatever term you like. Wake up and get involved before it's too late.
**************************************
Last Sunday while most of America was enjoying the Superbowl severalmembers of our Task Force were commencing an assault on a terroriststronghold in Iraq. During the assault two of our brothers from the Navywere shot and killed while clearing a building that was occupied byterrorist insurgents. Ultimately, the building was reduced and all ofthe terrorists in it were destroyed by the assault force. Remember thesenames, Mike and Nate. They were good men doing honorable work in thename of freedom. The terrorists they sought to destroy were responsiblefor unspeakable acts of evil including the construction of improvisedexplosive devices and explosives to equip homicide bombers. For those ofyou who may not understand the enemy we face out here let me remind youthat the previous week this group of terrorists took two innocent andunwitting women who had Downs Syndrome, rigged them with explosive vestsand detonated them 20 minutes apart in a crowded market causing severaldeaths and hundreds of injuries. These terrorists used innocent peopleas unwitting vehicles to destroy more innocent lives. There is good andthere is evil in this world. The enemy we face is evil. Mike and Natewere fighting on the side of good to prevent further acts of evil thatwould result in the loss of more innocent lives. The next time you prayI ask you to thank God for giving Mike and Nate the talent and skillthat made them great warriors and thank God that he gave them the heartto apply those God given talents to destroy evil and further the causeof freedom in a land far from their home. Thank God for men like Mikeand Nate. Their work is done here now, but there are many of us who willhonor their sacrifice by continuing the fight against evil terrorists.They will be remembered through our actions.For any of you out there who are doubting the validity of this war andthe evil that resides in our enemy I ask you to study your historyagain. Over the last 20+ years dating back to the bombing of the MarineCorps Barracks in Lebanon, various factions of radical IslamicTerrorists have been committing heinous acts of terrorism against thefree world. We are fighting the same enemy here. The brethren of an evilideology that spawned the terrorists attacks of September 11, 2001claiming almost 3,000 innocent lives. Take time to reflect on the typeof evil that would put explosive vests on innocent women with DownsSyndrome and use them to kill and maim other innocent people. While theAmerican media strives everyday to rewrite the history of the mostgenerous nation in the free world and cast disparity over all that we doas a Nation men like Mike and Nate are giving their lives to make surethe real history doesn't repeat itself. While the American media strivesdaily to erase the memory of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001and paint this war as an unjust occupation of a sovereign nation menlike Mike and Nate are out here hunting down and destroying the enemiesof the very freedom that allows our media to try and discredit us.Terrorism is real, evil is real, this war is real and real men and womenare in this fight because righteousness and freedom are worth fightingfor.If you don't support this war I'm calling you out. I've had enough ofpeople sitting in their living rooms watching the lying media andjumping on the bandwagon against this war. Don't ever say to me, "Isupport the troops, but not the war." You might as well be telling methat I'm committing a crime. You are in effect saying that my cause isunjust and everything I believe in is a lie. I have held my tongue inthe past, but I will never allow you to have it both ways again. Youcannot support me if you do not support this war. I am this war. Itembodies everything that I believe in. If you believe that what we aredoing here is wrong then you are in effect supporting the evil we seekdestroy. If you believe I'm wrong for trying to stop evil people fromtaking more innocent lives then I fear there is no hope for you. If youchoose to dishonor my service and the sacrifice of my fallen brothers bytaking a position against this war you are free to make that choicethanks to guys like Mike and Nate, but don't expect me to sit idly byand bite my tongue while you do it. Do it in my presence and be preparedto try and support your feeble position while I enlighten everyone elseon the reality of this war and the nature of the enemy we face. I willensure that you look like the fool that you are.The stuff I'm seeing out here you won't see on Oprah Winfrey. I'm seeingreally evil people doing really evil things and I'm doing everything inmy power to stop them. There's nothing wrong or unjust about that.Send this to everyone, and I ask that everyone adopt this principle. The lies being told say that what we believe, we who are fighting thiswar, is a lie. When someone lies, they need to be told. We owe it toour dead, and we owe it to the future.Rick HoppeCW2, USA (retired)Special Advisor, MNF-I C2X
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Election Wakeup Call
Each day the election heats up, it is time for veterans to sit up and take part in the process. Veterans need to speak truth, we have experience from the Vietnam days of what political will is and is not. We are living in a time when few of the candidates can relate to serving, few are veterans, few have been to war. Our nation is at war, a different type, but war never the less. Veterans understand that, we must be active in this election and speak out for a strong America, and for victory in our war against terror. Pick a candidate who understands the threat, there are only a few, and who can lead in time of war. Our current President has stayed the course, and made the decisions which are now leading to victory in Iraq; veterans understand what has happened and we are thankful for his courage and leadership. We must elect someone again who has courage and leadership to continue to press the enemy until victory comes. Be active, be involved, our nation needs you for one more mission.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)