As everyone knows, SPC Bergdahl has been retrieved from the taliban. The white house made a huge presentation, with bowe’s parents speaking to a press conference like this was someone who was captured during a raid into a FOB, or during a mission by troops, and we worked hard to recover this soldier. The reality is very, very, different.

SPC Bergdahl deserted his position. According to his former compatriots, bowe was disillusioned, and his leaders knew this. bowe should have been removed from the military well before he endangered others, yet he wasn’t. Then he decided to wander off, on his own, with critical intelligence. To say he was captured makes a mockery of those who have been captured, throughout America’s history. The outcry from both the left and right is very loud. For once, both sides of the houses of congress appear enraged. And for the military personnel serving, who have served, and who knew bowe, the outcry is even larger. That the president and his mouthpieces could even attempt to make this appear as plausible shows a denying of the truth well beyond even the Benghazi disaster. barack obama, susan rice, john kerry, joe biden, all are trying to make this appear as a triumph of right over wrong. The reality is that this is debacle that will resonate far and wide. This has been a slap in the face of those who have paid the ultimate price, yet the white house is trying hard to make this about “bringing all of our troops home, leaving none behind”. In this case, the administration had no rights, no authority, not even as the commander-in-chief, to attempt to recover someone who walked out on his duties. This was something that should have been left to the young man’s family. The constant drone about bowe being a POW ignores the fact that he allowed himself to be captured. Its his own fault that the life he thought he would be living, didn’t match the reality of life under the taliban.

chuck hagel should not have ever agreed to such an exchange. The US had no authority, no rights, to release any prisoners for bergdahl. hillary clinton says she’s happy we have recovered the POW, but then she says off camera that she was skeptical of trading the prisoners like that. Talking about speaking with both sides of your mouth.

The bottom line is this: With this added to the list of other egregious acts performed by the president and his team, is there any wonder the country is seen as the weakest since prior to WWII? putin strutting around threatening other countries (and we told the Ukraine we backed them, prior to the collapse of the Crimea), assad doing what he likes, in Egypt the military taking over and not letting go, in Iraq, the insurgents blossoming like there had never been anything done, Iran continuing their nuclear ambitions, now with Russian support, the list goes on. barack obama and his team have no idea about foreign policy, about military operations, etc. chuck hagel should have raised his objections, yet he kept his mouth shut. And if hagel was never engaged on this, if hagel didn’t know anything about this, that means that the DOD is not under control of the Defense secretary, but the administration, in direct violation of the separation of their duties. Although the president is commander-in-chief, that doesn’t mean he can make any arbitrary decisions and move the military around like they are his private security group. And if the military agreed to it without informing the secretary, then the military leadership needs to be replaced with those who place the security of the US ahead of someone’s idea about a legacy.

“If We Do Not All Stand Together, Assuredly, We Shall All Swing Separately…”

It seems that everyday, something new comes along that the left wing has to bring to the fore as something great. If its not coddling criminals and expecting victims to take pity on the poor souls, it’s coming up with something new that’s Politcally Correct (PC) to celebrate. I am fine with gays openly serving in the military. Just because they are, and here’s the list I’ve heard: Pillow biters, muff-divers, carpet munchers, pole swallowers, beef-eaters, taco-lovers, etc., all pretty much disgusting terms for someone who’s different, doesn’t mean they don’t want to serve their country. I draw the line, same as with women and guys that just want a place to skate (military term: to laze around, take it easy, be Retired On Active Duty (ROAD) sergeants and officers) in that I expect them to do their best, not expect special treatment, and just get along. I do take exception to having a WHOLE MONTH set aside for LGBT PRIDE MONTH. And guess what: Buddy BO has signed a Presidential Proclamation, issued throughout the military, proclaiming June as LGBT Pride Month. This is past ridiculous. And this is why:

Lesbians, Gays, Bi-Sexuals, and Transsexuals come from every race, creed, and religion of American life. There is nothing to distinguish them from the average Joe, or Jolene, than their sexual orientation. Homosexuals have not been truly persecuted. Homosexuals have not, as a group, been rounded up and made to do humiliating things. Think Africans and Native Americans, the Jewish people and the Irish, the Chinese and the Japanese. True persecution means striving to erradicate a people, or genocide. Homosexuals have every opportunity to not draw attention to themselves, and their lifestyles. A Japanese man or woman, a Jewish individual, an African-American, by dint of their features alone, are, and have been, subjects of ridicule, revulsion, and terror. Even Arab-Americans deserve their own Pride month before LGBT Pride. But this is not about right or wrong. This is about forcing a recognition down people’s throats, making people gag on acceptance.

I will be the first to say: THE MILITARY DOES NOT NEED ANY MONTHS ABOUT PRIDE!!! The military is about providing for the defence of our country. Individuals are supposed to be bought into the service, molded into teams, and developed into a fighting force that is our last line of diplomacy, our strength against enemies, and our first and foremost line of defense. Instead, we have multiple groups demanding we respect their individuality, we have commanders and senior NCOs not enforcing discipline, because “No one’s rights should be ignored”, and soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines (okay, marines not as much) who would fail the requirements for entry and retention we had just 20 years ago.

Before we start talking about individual groups’ pride, maybe we should focus on the most important thing first: Military Pride. In basic training, we should focus on the military, not on what group you are from. We are one team, one color, one fight. Once someone leaves basic, the emphasis should still be: military first, anything else a distant second. Our advanced training should focus on our military abilities. Military customs and courtesies, military applications, military training. Once we have that down pat, we can move on to becoming the greatest military in the world. As long as we focus on individual rights, we will lag behind, and we will be hammered for it, by every other military in the world. We have leaders now that think the newest toy is going to make us better, our embracing multi-ethnicity will make us better. We in the military, whether black, white, brown, yellow, gay, straight, atheist, agnostic, deeply religious, are just one organism: The US Military. Anything else is diluting who we are and what we stand for.

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

Well, after a long hiatus, I’m back. I can see no one missed me, but that’s not reason I do this. I figure I can state what I want, and it looks like only the NSA will care.

I believe:

1. That federal government, and the president, have limited powers, and should be held accountable
What does this mean? I believe that our government has three roles, and only three:
a. Provide for the common defense of our country; this means not only in a military, but in a diplomatic capacity. Our government should insure that no one takes advantage of us, and protects us from all enemies, both foreign and domestic.
b. Work with the local and state governments to encourage and work to build interstate commerce. This means insuring that all playing fields are level for all players, large or small. That small businesses are not stifled under regulations and laws that prevent growth, not only of the businesses, but of the consumers that buy the goods or services that these businesses provide. Federal government should only, ever only, take what is needed to maintain the government, and not a penny more. Anything is grasping greed. Government is not business, big or small. Government is the entity that says we are a nation, with national pride. Government does not produce anything, and thus, should not be a yoke on the neck of the people it is supposed to represent.
c. Act as our intermediary with foreign governments, as our spokesman, and as our defense. Government, and the president, are our face to the world. Although many misconstrue the idea that American television and movies are the face of the American people, the reality is: When our representatives speak, most of the world believes these representatives, including the president, speaks with our voice. As such, our government, and our president, is supposed to speak loudly, strongly, and with conviction.

2. That the only entitlements by law are Social Security and Military Retiree benefits. Welfare is not an entitlement. Welfare was designed as a means to help someone regain their footing. Welfare was designed to help those who have fallen on hard times, and need assistance in getting their feet back under them. Welfare was never meant to be, nor should it be, a way of life. Welfare should provide enough for someone to survive, not live. There are plenty of private organizations that can help, but the government does not have a role in keeping people in a style that most middle class working families cannot afford. If a family, with parents working hard, cannot afford a luxury meal, neither should someone that will not work, but wants the government to provide.

3. That small business is the major part of the engine that drives the United States of America. Small businesses should not be a battleground for Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Trade Commission, or any of the many unelected buearacratic organizations to fight on. These agencies were developed originally to insure 1. Fair trade for US businesses; 2. A means to help businesses achieve a greater goal; 3. A way for the American people to be safe, but also a means for small businesses to be safer also.

4. That education of our young should include civic education, religious education, and real education. Our country should still follow the rules we incorporated when our country started: Education is to enable us to grow, not a means for a debating society for young children who don’t have life experience to talk about, or an indoctrination center for those who have ulterior motives not related to education, regardless of their views.

5. That crime and criminals should be punished. We in the US used to punish crime and criminals. Criminals used to be made to pay for their crimes. Criminals had to work, and work hard. Anyone caught doing the wrong thing was punished. The victim used to be helped, to overcome the adversity of the crime.

I believe all of the above. I believe in the US. I just don’t believe our government is willing to do what used to make us great. The left blames the right, the right the left. The president decides which laws he will enforce, which he will ignore. The “leaders” of the Republican party spend their time reacting to what the “leaders” of the Democrat party are saying. Wall Street spends the government’s money as if it were their own, and no one is held to blame. Schools need money for school equipment, education, etc., while at the same time, schools hire more and more administrators, who do nothing but waste the schools’ monies.

“IF we all do not stand together, surely, we shall all swing SEPARATELY”

More soon…