The US is on the brink. Despite what the white house is telling the American people, there are serious issues facing the US. The US people, myself included, have a remarkable lack of faith in our government, especially the white house and the democrat-controlled senate. This administration is showing a serious lack of intelligence regarding foreign and domestic policies, a serious disregard for the constitution, and a desire, manifest desire, to cripple our defenses, remove our borders, and fill our welfare rolls with illegal immigrants and those who don’t desire to work. On top of all this, this administration ignores the continuing scandals that have erupted from many of the agencies that are supposed to be serving the people, not the other way around.

barack obama’s incompetence has come very well to the fore with the implosion in Iraq. The administration’s desire to remove the bulwarks underpinning the fragile democracy in Iraq, led to a slow deterioration of the government. The president decided to act like he was handling a local dispute among gang members and local people in a parish in Chicago. He gave an ultimatum to the president of a sovereign country: Sign or we leave. Apparently, obama flunked leadership principles and concepts. This enraged maliki, who proceeded to tear up any agreements we had. I believe that obama did this deliberately. As a matter of fact, we all know he did. obama was able to implement our military’s removal from Iraq, fulfilling a promise to the US people, while destroying, not just breaking, but destroying all our promises to the Iraqi people.

Now, we have the ISIS/ISIL rampaging through the middle of Iraq. Their aggression and their terror tactics are sweeping through a large swathe of Syria and Iraq. To combat this, Iranian, not US, not coalition, not UN troops, Iranian troops are pouring across the border, supposedly to protect Shiite holy sites. But the ultimate result will be Iran securing a foothold in Iraq, establishing themselves in Iraq, and resisting future efforts to be pushed out. Meanwhile, according to press, the ISIS/ISIL have robbed Mosul of upwards of $400 million from the banks. This will fund that group for quite a while. Not to mention acquiring quite a bit of the equipment the Iraqi security forces left when they ran away. Which may wind up in the hands of the Iranian forces.

And why did the security forces run away? Because they didn’t believe in their leaders. And why didn’t they believe in their leaders? Because our so-called president dumped Iraq before we were able to train their leaders to be self-sufficient, before we could work with the Iraqi government to insure that competent leaders weren’t dumped, before we could insure that the Iraqi security forces believed in their country and their people. This administration, for some reason, doesn’t believe, know, or care, that we have a responsibility to the people of the region. We took on that responsibility when we invaded both Afghanistan and Iraq, to try to stabilize this region so people can live their lives, pursue their religion, without fear or favor. By abandoning the people of Iraq, we are now dropping the entire region into chaos, confusion, and ultimately, we will cause the rise of something that may well be as venal, vicious, and corrupt, as anything Adolph Hitler and his minions could dream of. Already, sharia law is attempting to be implemented in Mosul and areas surrounding. Now, Saudi Arabia, formerly a staunch ally of ours, may have problems with insurgents, well paid and well financed insurgents. Lebanon is just one bullet away from falling into anarchy once again. Israel is tightening their fingers on their triggers, with everything swirling around them. Turkey, next door to both Syria and Iraq, has problems of their own with their own militant Islamists. With a free entry door from either, the situation in Turkey could deteriorate so fast, none may be prepared. Further south, in the Emirates, years of discontent with the profligate lifestyles of the royals could be blown wide open by militant mullahs, resulting in the devolution of another swathe of the Middle East. Across the straits, Yemen is festering, as well as Libya. At any time, this president could have used diplomacy and military to settle the region, insure those who want a voice, have a voice, and he could have ushered in a new Arab Spring, not as violent, very peaceful, and very US leaning. This would have led to a stability not seen in decades, if not centuries. Instead, this president has shirked his duties, declined the role of world power, and side stepped his responsibilities to the world at large, and to the US in particular. As a result, we will suffer.

The president and his lackluster security team cannot see what our strategic path is. As a matter of fact, I believe the entire current national security apparatus, excluding the NSA and CIA, have as much a grip on reality as a hippie in the sixties dropping acid. The reason I exclude the two intelligence agencies, is not because of their competence and capability. They have shown a few missteps, but none on the scale of the current administration. The reason I exclude them, is because whatever they present to the NCA, the information is completely ignored by the administration and the state department, two critical places that are supposed use the information to form national and international strategic policy. This administration acts as though it is only concerned with domestic, local policy. When the president says he is frustrated about gun violence ONLY when it occurs in safe neighborhoods, but never says a word about the constant muggings, violence, etc., in the inner cities, you can see the administration and their cohorts are extremely out of touch.

What the US needs, is to remove the current administration from the white house. This is not a racial issue. This is a competence issue. Were this a company, it would either be thoroughly bankrupt, or the entire upper level management removed by shareholders. But its our government, and we need to have them removed before they destroy the country. Nancy Pelosi must be impeached, which can be done. Her blindness to all but her own agendas helps enable this administration. We are, if this administration is not removed, destined to reap the disasters for years.

“We Must All Stand Together, Or Assuredly, We Shall All Swing Separate…”

Previously, I laid out why, on a strategic basis, we should return to Iraq. This time, I lay out the reasons on a humanitarian basis.

The Iraqi people were freed from dictatorship by our brave men and women in uniform. Directed by our previous Commander-in-Chief, and led by able generals and officers, our team rolled into Baghdad and liberated the people in 2003. In the next five years, hard fighting proved to the Iraqi people we believed in freedom and democracy for them, and fought side by side with our men and women.

2007 was a turning point. Insurgents, terrorists really, bought terror and chaos to the Iraqi people. GW decided to surge troops, and from 2007 to 2009, thousands of US troops, as well as coalition troops, surged into the country and worked to stifle the terrorists. This was a resounding success, as the insurgents were thoroughly pushed out of Iraq. Stability started taking hold, and Iraqi security forces started getting trained. The Iraqi people started rebuilding their country, believing our promises to help keep them secure and free. Many Iraqi people worked alongside people from the embassies, worked with US contractors, to learn the best way to rebuild their lives, and to rebuild their country. All this, believing we would always be there to help, notice I said help, protect them.

The Iraqi people were starting to lead normal lives. With US military forces training Iraqi security forces, the Iraqi security posture was starting to improve. In the Kurdish north, tourism started to begin to happen, industry was being rebuilt, and people were electing leaders who looked after the people’s interests. In the south, PM Maliki was trying to consolidate his control, but elsewhere, people were beginning to rebuild their lives, and their infrastructure, with US and coalition assistance. By direction of obama, however, forces started to withdraw, even though Iraqi Defense Chiefs were continually asking the administration to leave enough combat and training troops to insure the stability of Iraq. The overall plan was to have been, to leave combat and training troops to help Iraqi security forces learn to properly perform patrols, maintain the security forces equipment, and help rebuild the local and federal level governments. The state department’s role was supposed to be to work with the political and civil sides to build up a coherent, non-corrupt, all inclusive government. This was the plan that GW had, to be able to eventually have Iraq manage every vestige of its own country. But in the interim, the plan was to insure that Iraq could grow to meet the challenge.

barack obama abandoned that plan. Elected on a wave of false euphoria, called “hope and change”, barack implemented the complete withdrawal of troops from Iraq, without insuring there was adequate support in place for the vacuum. The result was thousands of people, people who believed our presidents’ pledges of support and the words from the secretaries of state, that we would always support and keep safe the country were abandoned. And the excuse we were given by the administration was: The Iraqis won’t give us immunity for our troops.  What??!! We kept people in Saudi Arabia, and, even though its a strict monarchy, the people are safer knowing we have bases there. We kept people in Kuwait, and and Kuwaitis sleep safe at night, knowing we have bases full of troops ready to defend them. So why could we not leave troops in Iraq? Why could we not have permanent installations, with forward deployed troops, ready to help defend the Iraqi people for such as this? Why? Because barack obama, hillary clinton, joe biden, were all more concerned about “polls” and their “legacies” than in the strategic needs of our allies. Because of this, thousands of Iraqis have died, millions are displaced, and we need to return immediately.

We have a legacy of helping those who have helped us. We need to return, before Iran gets a bigger foot hold into Iraq. We need to return now, not later.

“We Must All Stand Together, Or Assuredly, We Shall All Hang Separate….”

In 2011, barack obama declared that, since the Iraqis failed to sign a security agreement, all US troops would leave Iraq. All of the critics of his decision were derided as doomsayers. hillary clinton, as Secretary of State, announced that contractors would be able to provide the security apparatus that had been managed by the US military, and thus, the State Department would be able to provide the security and training the Iraqi security forces needed.

1 January, 2012, the State Department got a wake-up call, the 3AM call, but hillary ignored it. The Iraqi government clamped down on US contractor-secured convoys, jailing contractors who provided security, as well as the drivers of the convoys, because these contractors didn’t have the proper visas. And the State Department worked hard NOT to get involved. Contractors were told, because you are Office of Security Cooperation – Iraq (OSC-I) personnel, you didn’t come under the State Department’s Embassy cover. Security personnel were held in jails for up to two weeks, until their parent company could work through the maze to get the proper visas. The embassy couldn’t, not wouldn’t, but could not, per the same Secretary of State’s guidance (Hillary’s guidance) get involved with contractors’ issues. Travel became restricted, without the US military to ensure safety and security, so that movement between sites for equipment, food, personnel, was nearly impossible at times.

The State Department’s refusal to complete the security agreement, led to the debacles that have endangered Iraq’s fledgling democracy. Had the State Department, and the administration, stepped up to the plate, helped the Iraqi government, allowed the DOD to maintain a presence in Iraq, allowed the DOD to build permanent bases and interact properly with the Iraqi security forces, today, Iraq would not have anything like the mess that is currently going on. The administration, and the State Department, have fumbled an opportunity to develop a strong relationship in the Middle East, deter the aggression of Iran, support the security of Iraq’s border with Syria, provided a bulwark against Al Qaeda in the Middle East, and supported Israel’s security, by limiting the aggressive tendencies of Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Iran.

Instead, there is turmoil in Iraq. Two, count them, Two major Iraq cities have fallen under the militant terrorists in the group islamic state of iraq and syria (isis). We have taliban terrorists threatening to kidnap US citizens and military because they see us as weak. Iran is poised to swoop into Iraq, to claim territory and people for the greater good of Iran. The only bulwark now in Iraq is the Kurdish area, and the Kurdish people are starting to set up a separate security apparatus, because the Kurdish people are not even looking for support from the US. And we are ignoring pleas, and begging, by the Iraqi government to come help them out. In the Middle East, the governments in the area are looking at the way we are abandoning our supposed ally, and see us as weak, backstabbing, and useless. How long before these self-same governments start throwing our military out of their countries? Not long.

obama has ignored, turned a blind eye, to a strategic ally in the Middle East. By doing so, this administration has effectively said, the US will not take any part in being a world power. Into this vacuum, I predict, either China or Russia will step in. Neither will want their access to oil and gas to be impeded by something so trivial as religion. I believe that China will be the one that will provide the military support that Maliki and his government so desperately needs. And once China gets into a place, it never leaves. Just look at the places in Africa the Chinese government has slowly overtaken. China sees the strategic value of Iraq. The oil is something that China needs, and having access to the southern oil fields would be a god-send to them. Having a permanent position in the Middle East, where their ships can dock and their military can roam with free will, would be a blessing. The US would have to negotiate with the Iraqi government, who have Chinese advisors, for anything. The Russians have enough oil, and they have enough issues at the moment, not to move fast into this power vacuum. That is why I believe the Chinese will move into this. The Indian government would like the opportunity, however, with the issues the Indians are having with Pakistan, the Indians cannot take their eye off that ball at all. The Pakistan government is under siege from the Taliban on many sides, and may make a temporary, shakey truce with the Indians, but not enough of one for the Indians to help Iraq. No one in Europe will make a move without having a great debate, and the UN will only wring their hands.

We MUST, not we should, not maybe, We MUST assist Iraq. We MUST send our troops to help. Why would I say something like this? It’s because we allowed this to happen. We left the Iraqi security forces unprepared. We didn’t build the Iraqi government, help them clean up their act, work with the Kurdish people to insure their inclusion, work with Sunni to make sure they are part of the government. These are things that the DOS and the DOD were supposed to do. Had we had this attitude after World War II, Europe would have been smothered under the Soviet boot, Korea, Japan, the Phillipine Islands, and Vietnam would have all been part of China. The Middle East would have overwhelmed and buried Israel, or, at the least, the whole Middle East would have been a smoking whole and a night light for Europe. We started this in Iraq. We must return, and we MUST finish this properly. We must go back in, build bases and consulates throughout. We must have our military help put down this insurgency, and then train with them to insure this doesn’t happen again. We must make sure that those who have done so much harm to the Iraqi people are bought to justice. If necessary, we must put in someone to directly advise the Iraqi government, regardless of what the appearances are, to insure all the Iraqi people have a say in their government, that all can worship as they wish, and that trade and commerce can be done without worry about terrorists.

The alternative does not bear thinking.

“We Must All Stand Together, Or Assuredly, We Shall All Hang Separate..”

I promise not to get on my soapbox..too much. However, this is something I do feel a little vehement about.
Our elected officials put restrictions on the use of deadly force by the ordinary citizenry. These officials feel that the only ones that should carry firearms should be those that protect these self-same elected officials, and that everyone else should be satisfied with the protection of the local law-enforcement community. This is, of course, the same justification the British had for limiting firearms in the colonies, the same justification that Hitler had for rearming his country’s military, the same reason the former Soviet Union kept a lockdown on all local firearms, and what every dictator and anyone who wants to keep people down wants.

Today, we had another shooting at a school. This made news because it happened in a suburban neighborhood, a “safe” area. What about the shootings and murders that happen in inner-city neighborhoods? What about muggings and stabbings that happen on street corners country-wide? What’s this monumental silence about? Because guns make a bigger bang, no pun intended, for newspapers when these things happen in “safe” neighborhoods.
There is no such thing as a safe neighborhood, when local politicians and associations want to limit the protections afforded by the constitution. When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. And the outlaws have many, many guns. Hell, because of Fast and Furious, promulgated by the attorney general and the president, the outlaws have better weaponry than the police, in many cases. And the attacks in many places are being helped by what can on only be described as criminally insane laws that prevent the average homeowner from protecting themselves. Home invasions are happening in many states, however, the only ones you hear about are in the states with “gun-free” zones. The other states, who allow homeowners and anyone who wants to, to carry openly or concealed, generally speak of the “deceased home invader” and thus are not considered worthy of news. In the so-called gun-free zones, the amount of victims in home invasions subjected to abuse, rape, murder, is substantially as much as in inner-cities. Before anyone tries trolling, please use your intelligence, the one you, I believe, was born with and is still available, and check the statistics from the FBI, the local and state law enforcement groups, etc. Let me know, using facts, not opinions, I am mistaken. You will find that, sadly, I am not.

The problem with school shootings is not the weapons. If people want to commit a crime, they will. It is the lack of opportunity for those who are supposed to protect our most natural resources, our young, to do anything about protecting them. If this school had a policy of armed intervention by the school officials, someone could have prevented this. But, because so many people feel that guns lead people to commit violent acts, and using the same level of intelligence, decide to ban guns to prevent violence, when a violent offender appears with a weapon and disregard of any laws, those who should be able to protect our children, instead, find themselves victims of a law that doesn’t protect anyone, save the person committing the crime. How is this justice? Its a good thing that these silly laws were not in place during the formation of our country. We’d still be drinking tea instead of coffee, playing soccer instead of football, cricket instead of baseball, and celebrating the Queen’s speech on Christmas day.

We have a large group of people in positions that they should not have, making decisions they should not make, on our everyday lives. And we have an even greater group of people who feel that this is right and proper. When our grandfathers came back from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, they didn’t want to hear anything about weapons. These people had seen the elephant. They were, and still are, prepared to accept violence to preserve the liberty and the safety of their loved ones. An abhorrence of weapons and violence was not why they kept quiet. It was a desire, a hope, that violence was no longer needed, but they all, everyone, understood, that someone must stand at the gates to prevent the barbarians. These defenders never felt that giving up the right to violence is a necessary thing. However, having seen violence, they all knew those who they protected, would not quite understand their feelings, but they never said peace was now at hand. However, those who never faced the sounds of weapons, mistakenly believed that meant that we are supposed to do away with weapons because the world was becoming a kinder, gentler place. The hippies singing about “Imagine®” had been smoking too much cannabis, partaking of way too much mind-altering substances such as LSD, to form a coherent thought, yet were perceived to be the harbinger of the future: A world at peace. Man’s only condition is chaos, peace is achievable only at the expense of maintaining a vigilance, yet we have an entire generation that believes such nonsense as weapons are not needed.

“If you are willing to sacrifice a little liberty, for a little security, you deserve, and will receive, neither…”

“We Must All Stand Together, Or, Assuredly, We Shall Swing Separate…”

Fast and Furious. IRS. VA. GM Bailout. AIG Bailout. TARP. Shovel Ready Jobs. Vacations. Michelle’s Vacations. Iraq. Afghanistan. Guantanamo Bay. Libya. Syria. Ukraine. Illegal Immigrants. Borders. Homeowners losing their homes. Obamacare. Social Security. Free Cell Phones. Welfare mothers. Bergdahl.
These are a few of his favorite things…

The current incumbent sitting in the Oval Office has managed to turn the position into a laughing stock of the world. His only concern is his “legacy”. Once someone becomes concerned with their legacy, that person becomes a liability. A president does not need to worry about his legacy. Everything he does or doesn’t do, is his legacy. What a president should be concerned with is protecting the country, improving the opportunities for his people, and maintaining strong relationships with our allies.

This president has done more to damage our standing than any president ever, including Jimmy Carter. Since he has come into office, we have: turned our backs on the Iraqi people; are turning our backs on the Syrians and the Libyans; in the process of turning our backs on the Afghanis; and have slapped the faces of the British, Israelis, French, Germans, Ukraines. We have allowed a terrorist group to willfully murder those we are supposed to protect, putting restrictions on use of force by our military; ignored the safety of our embassies; allowed illegal immigrants more rights than naturally born citizens; torn down the barriers keeping illegal immigrants out of the country; allowed anyone to collect welfare dollars; increased the tax burden on the middle class; increased the deficit to three times the previous president, and much more than any, repeat, any president in history.

President Richard Nixon was scheduled for impeachment because of what his re-election committee got up to. President William Clinton was impeached for having sex with an intern, and lying about it. Yet, this president has damaged the credibility of this country, has lied about what he’s doing, has unilaterally launched air strikes against another country, without approval of congress, a violation of the War Powers Act, has allowed his administration to ship guns to outlaws and criminals in another country, a federal crime for trafficing in illegal weapons shipments, which led directly to a federal agent being shot dead with the same weapons, again, another federal crime, has allowed war criminals to go free, has allowed an agency of unelected buearaocrats to impose sanctions on legal organizations and to turn down their applications and audit their organizations without directions from congress…in short, this president has trampled on and attempted to rip up the constitution.

I call for our elected representatives in congress to vote out the Articles of Impeachment. Any member of congress, either in the House or the Senate, who cannot see the reasons, should be voted out of congress, and we should vote in those who will do the people’s work. This president should be, most definitely should be, impeached. The continuation of his farcical presidency will continue to drive down the world’s estimate of the US.

Countries that used to look to the US for leadership, now look elsewhere. China, Russia, Iran, all look strong in comparison to what we look like. The last several years has been a nightmare for anyone who believes in democracy. And yet, we have a group in congress who will not vote for impeachment. These people are scared of their own shadows. We have a group in congress that seems to be afraid to shake up the status quo. Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Paul Ryan, even governor Chris Christie, all “steadfast” Republicans, but not a one, I repeat, not a one, has done anything more than wring their hands, and cry about overreach. If Chris Christie wants to be president, he needs to open his mouth about the current president. He had no problems with bad-mouthing Mitt Romney. Let us see someone with real intestinal fortitude speak up. But Chris won’t. Marco won’t. Ted won’t. Paul won’t.

Yes, I did say that obama should be impeached, as well as biden and holder. hillary should be held accountable and arrested for negligence in the deaths of those in Benghazi, since she, as Secretary of State, was the responsible individual for everything that happened under her watch. It is not only the military where the leader has to fall on his sword for the misdeeds of those under his or her command. john kerry should also be held accountable and impeached for his role in the bergdahl prisoner swap.

But I am speaking to the wind. There is no one in congress who will speak out. Everyone is afraid of their own shadow, everyone is afraid to step wrong, lest they ignite the furor of their “constituents” (read: fundraisers). Once, being an elected official meant something. It meant you are there to implement, to develop, policies that would improve the lot of those who voted for you. Now, its all in how much you can get for yourself. Sometimes, I despair for my country. Is there anyone out there willing to take a true stand? Or does everyone just want to be on television and radio, mouthing the words, but not doing anything? Its easy to say things. Its harder to actually take a stand. Just because you speak, doesn’t mean you’re doing anything, despite what your fans think. Actors and actresses speak all the time. But, they’re only playing a role on television. If you just want to be on television, give up politics and move to Hollywood. But please, get out of the job that can jeapordize millions of people, just not your own.

“We Must All Stand Together, Or Assuredly, We Shall All Swing Separate…”

Watching the various news programs, it seems to me that most of those bodies, on most of the programs, just talk to hear themselves. Whether left-wing liberals trying to lambaste anyone who cares about the country as just this short of slime, or the right-wing conservatives attempting to put down the liberals bombastic dialogue, both sound as strident and as shrill as each other. And when either have guests on their programs, the guests are loud and strident, as much as the hosts.

I understand the liberal-progressives ranting and raving, being loud and obnoxious. If the left were truly honest and transparent, they would admit that their policies are failures. But this is not about right or wrong for the left. For the left, this is about shutting down voices of dissent, of barreling over truth, honesty, and fairness. You cannot have everyone equal, and expect anyone to listen to you. But I am sorely disappointed in the right-wing, Republican hosts. Yes, there are times when you have to override some guests, because those guests have their minds made up, and nothing will change their diatribe. It’s when you have guests who share your view, and you attempt to put more of your words in their mouths, that there’s a problem.

As you can see from the title, I am beginning to believe most of these talking heads are working on their own profiles, not on getting information to the people. Or have the general television-watching audience ignore them as irrelevant. I see shows like Hannity, which I generally admire, have a plethora of guests, or “an audience”, available to participate in “discussions”. The problem I see in this is that the audience is made up of just more of the talking heads that like to be seen on television. The same can be said of CNN’s Anderson Cooper or Christiane Amanpour. If you really want people to believe you have the pulse of the nation, that you are talking about issues that real people want to talk about, here’s what you do:

You go out to a real studio audience. You collect the average joe, jane, john, or mary, regardless of their views, and politely ask them to join your on-stage audience. You can include some talking heads from both sides of the debate, but you give the normal people, the people who live, and in some cases die, by the policies that are being debated in the hallowed (right) halls of congress an opportunity to discuss their views. And you give them a chance to debate, or to question, or to speak, on the merits of the conversation. Mr. and Miss, Mrs., Ms. average american can be more eloquent than you give them credit for. There is one thing I give bill clinton credit for. When his cabinet members would debate things that affected normal Americans, especially if it was something that involved race or sex, he would vent well. “I do not ever want to come into a debate on race or sex”, he once famously said, “if there is not one woman or person of color involved and speaking their mind.” GW Bush never had to make that statement, as, if we recall, his cabinet had women and people of color in very senior positions, a claim no other president can make.

So, if GW can make room for the ordinary people in extraordinary positions, I do believe that television news hosts should be able to do the same in their so-called audience participation programs. Otherwise, this is just another case of primping and preening by talking heads. And, like I said, talking heads…not talking sense….

“We Must All Stand Together, Or We Shall All Assuredly Hang Separate…..”

This week, Seattle decided to do something economists should have told them was irresponsible and reckless. Seattle decided to raise the minimum wage to $15. Fifteen dollars an hour! And people are celebrating? Hasn’t anyone, anywhere, took a look at what happened when the wages increase in an area beyond what is a reasonable amount? Can you say Detroit? In that case, unions fought to raise minimum wages for guys doing little more than turning a wrench. Of course, to recover the costs, expenses for everything else went up.

I make a pretty good amount. Yes, I do. The reason I do is not because of minimum wages, but because of my training, my skills, my experience. When I first got out of the service (yes, I was a knuckle-dragging service member, slope-brow, etc.), with my experience, skill set, and training, my basic salary was $19 an hour. I worked hard, 60 to 70 hours a week minimum, to provide a decent life for my family. With increasing experience, skills, training, my corresponding pay and salary has increased. Yet, now, you are saying that someone flipping burgers for a living has equivalent life experience and deserves to be paid minimum $15 an hour.

The SEATAC corporation, a group of businesses surrounding the Seattle-Tacoma area, agreed to raise minimum wages to $15 an hour. The result of this magnaminous move? Several businesses found that they had to reduce the number of workers they could hire, several raised prices on goods to cover the increased costs, and still had to reduce the numbers of people hired and/or their hours. Now, lets take this forward:

Fast-food restaurants have a choice: Reduce the number of people they hire or increase the costs of the meals. Happy meals are no longer so happy. Hotels have to decide: Can they afford the numbers of people they need to maintain the rooms, or do they increase the costs of the rooms, and the meals, and other things. Grocery stores: Can they get by, now, on fewer people stocking shelves, working cash registers, working in the produce, meat, and seafood departments. StarBucks: Will anyone be able to afford the skyrocketing price of specialty coffees? Especially since StarBucks already uses choice imported coffees and teas, now those prices escalate. Let’s look at those who have to produce the goods. Local producers will now have to increase their prices, because the price of, for farmers, feed, fertilizer, transport to market, fuel for farm machinery, all increase, because those who produce those items have to increase their costs to cover the new wage increases. And this isn’t the end.

All of those who claim that big businesses rape the little people, have no, I mean, NO, basis in reality. People should be paid on experience, not plain need-greed. If you desire a better lifestyle, its called getting an education, getting the training, getting the skills. This used to be taught in schools, but common-core is more interested in indoctrination, than in education. If people cannot survive on a minimum wage of $7 an hour, see above. A minimum wage is supposed to help people develop skills, give them an opportunity to improve and move on. Nowadays, just as with welfare, people see minimum wage as a means of living like the Joneses. I’m sorry, but this is not what making a minimum wage is all about. And for those who say companies have shown no responsibility to the employees, I say look at what’s the reason for this attitude: Unions. I don’t bash anything for the heck of it, but unions, which started out as a good thing, have become a big, slavering, greedy monster.

Quick history and civics lesson: At the end of the 19th, beginning of the 20th century, workers were worked hard, with small recompense. Making three to five dollars a week, up to twenty dollars a week, for working in backbreaking conditions, and living in multi-family homes, was the norm. Companies were only concerned about how much they could get paid for what they made, and how much they had to pay for wages. Unionizing was a means to increase safety, help people receive a decent wage, and insure that employees were taken care of. As the century passed, working conditions improved, but unions, instead of worrying about the employees, started worrying about political and economic gains. Unions started working on getting politicians elected, forcing higher wages on companies, because they could. Unions tried to force workers into unions, not because people needed help, but because of the economic power the unions were and are trying to maintain.

The average worker in the late eighties and ninties didn’t need unions, as companies were working to provide good living wages and benefits to most workers. But unions didn’t even try to change, and thus, the new financial wizards invading the companies in the nineties suddenly found a new religion: Outsourcing and Off-shore contracting. The cost of living in other countries was lower, not because wages was lower, but because the cost of items for living was lower. Unions didn’t learn. And those who were fed from the unions trough couldn’t change, for fear of the spigot of funding being cut off. And the ones who have paid for it, are the workers of today.

If companies are allowed to come back to the US and build factories, without the crippling taxes imposed by the federal and local government, people would get hired in decent paying jobs, developing the skills and experience needed for better paying jobs. If the unions went back to taking care of the people who support them, and not by trying to get legislation crippling to US businesses, and federal and local governments reduce the crippling taxes that do nothing for the community, but allows politicians to pay for pet projects, people would be getting paid well. The minimum wage can stay at its current levels, as we bring more jobs back to the US, and companies hire people, people get promoted, and get paid for it.

$15 an hour as a minimum wage is destructive to businesses, is destructive to cities and counties that rely on tax revenue, and is destructive to the ones who are supposed to be helped the most, the worker.

“We Must All Stand Together, For Assuredly, We Shall All Swing Separate….”

Today, I heard a commentator on one of the..they used to be called news shows, but when the journalists make up news, is it still called that? Anyway, the commentator and guest opined on the “rescue” of bowe bergdahl. While I look at the strategic aftermath of such a swap: Five known leaders and war criminals released to create more death and devastation, terrorists organizations, especially islamist extremists, given carte’ blanche’ to grab US citizens, as well as citizens of other countries, and US soldiers, and believe the administration will cheerfully negotiate with them, the usual thing, I suddenly heard one of the commentators compare the recovery of bergdahl with the rescue of the SEAL of ‘Lone Survivor’ fame.

Okay, excuse me if I have a hard time comparing the two. Let me see: One, a dedicated Special Forces Operative, alone trying to escape with the aid of villagers who know they face death also, and someone who VOLUNTARILY left his outpost, went looking for the taliban, and admitted he was a mujahid, or warrior of islam. How can the two be considered equal? The only thing equal was their transfer, from where they were to relative safety.

It is reprehensible that FIVE, count them, FIVE, of the worst terrorists known are exchanged for an individual that knowingly put his own countrymen in harm’s way. It is reprehensible that the commander-in-chief made such a decision and said it was based on a long history of leaving no soldier behind. This president has not served a day, and never wanted to, in uniform, yet he ignores his military advisors on the viability of doing something that will cause irreparable damage to US integrity, US sovereignty, and US security for years to come.

This should be investigated immediately. But members of congress on both sides of the fence refuse to seriously do anything about any transgressions performed by this president. obama knows that no one will hold him to task. If this were the case, congress would have pummeled him long before, would have strung him out, for the despicable acts his administration have done or condoned: Fast and Furious; the IRS targeting individual groups and hamstringing fundraising efforts; Benghazi; the VA scandal; the obamacare scandal. All these are directly linked to the president, but the parties in congress, from the democrats to the tea party, refuse to do more than make speeches and appear on television to deplore the actions of the administration. This, the group that impeached clinton for having an affair and lying about it.

I thought the tea party was going to make a difference. I thought those “New Republicans” would take up the banner for America. I have been sadly mistaken. It doesn’t take but one representative, one strong person, to put forth an Article of Impeachment, and there are several that should be done. This president deserves impeachment as no other president in history ever has. He has presided over the downfall of our country and is working hard to have this country slide down even further and much harder. Do we have anyone in congress brave enough to really stand up to this administration? Do we?

The silence is deafening…

“We Must All Stand Together, Or Assuredly, We Shall All Swing Separate…”

Seventy years ago, a convoy set forth from an island nation, to start the biggest battle for freedom the world had seen in centuries. With the latest in modern warfare technology, and the oldest of fighting pride, men from many nations plowed across the English Channel, to start the freeing of Europe, beginning with the liberation of France.

Seventy years later, leaders from every country that took part in that liberation, and some from countries that weren’t even born, as well as leaders who took part in that momentous war, stood on those beaches, and listened to the speeches, and remembered the sacrifices.

But it is not enough to remember the sacrifices, if you choose to ignore what happened. Good men and women turned a deaf ear to the pleas and cries of those who were suffering from abuse, torture, and death. A whole people were on the verge of annihilation, until the nations stood together to say “No, not another step, back you go!”. It is not enough to just read about the history. If you are a leader, you MUST, not you should, not you could, you MUST LEAD!!

Doing anything because the “polls” say you should, is not being a leader. Doing anything because your advisors all say it is the best thing, is not being a leader. A leader listens to the people, listens to their advisors, listens to other leaders, but the leader’s role is to make the strategic plans, make the decisions, and make his advisors adhere to what his vision is, not the other way around. To accept someone else’s interpretation of events, and make your decisions based on others’ decisions, makes you a manager, not a leader. A leader looks at all the options, weighs them, and decides for their self what the actions are to be done.

This week, we have had two contrasting events. We have witnessed the effects if what happens when leaders make the decisions based on their strategic plans, not on polls and advisors. And we have witnessed what happens when an individual makes decisions based on political gain, and puffery.

Will we resurrect the leadership we had even with GW, his father, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, or John F Kennedy? Or will our country become a footnote in history, destined to dwindle to nothing, given over to the barbarians, not at the gates, but sitting inside the gates, looking to tear us down from the inside out?

“We Must All Stand Together, Or Assuredly, We Shall All Swing Separate…”