Limiting Free Speech – Trust Us – More About Who Can Be Natural Born Citizen – Mario Apuzzo – Lt. Col. Lakin – Good UCMJ Site – Military Coup? – TPM – The BOPAC Report

The BOPAC Report 

ChiBama Politics –

  

Obama Administration = Thugs, Thugs and More Thugs! The left had better be careful what they wish for!

Hopefully the left will take notice of this danger to us all. 

Congress about to limit political speech of bloggers? 

posted at 3:35 pm on May 19, 2010 by Ed Morrissey
 

The same sloppy legislative writing that created so many unintended consequences in ObamaCare also plagues the DISCLOSE Act, the effort in Congress to tighten spending rules in the wake of the Citizens United decision — and that’s the generous take on the situation.  Reason’s Bradley Smith and Jeff Patch warn that the perhaps-unintended consequences of legislative language will allow the FEC to regulate political speech online.  The fact that media entities like the New York Times have specific exemptions built into the bill makes the intent, or lack thereof, rather murky: 

Last week, a congressional hearing exposed an effort to give another agency—the Federal Election Commission—unprecedented power to regulate political speech online. At a House Administration Committee hearing last Tuesday, Patton Boggs attorney William McGinley explained that the sloppy statutory language in the “DISCLOSE Act” would extend the FEC’s control over broadcast communications to all “covered communications,” including the blogosphere. 

The DISCLOSE Act’s purpose, according to Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Chris Van Hollen and other “reformers,” is simply to require disclosure of corporate and union political speech after the Supreme Court’s January decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission held that the government could not ban political expenditures by companies, nonprofit groups, and labor unions. 

The bill, however, would radically redefine how the FEC regulates political commentary. A section of the DISCLOSE Act would exempt traditional media outlets from coordination regulations, but the exemption does not include bloggers, only “a communication appearing in a news story, commentary, or editorial distributed through the facilities of any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine or other periodical publication…” 

In Citizens United, the Supreme Court explicitly rejected disparate treatment of media corporations and other corporations (including nonprofit groups) in campaign finance law. “Differential treatment of media corporations and other corporations cannot be squared with the First Amendment,” Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority. 

No legitimate justification exists for excluding media corporations from regulations on political speech applicable to other corporations, unless the goal is to gain the support of editorial boards funded by the New York Times Co. 

The response to this criticism has been both predictable and instructive.  Instead of actually discussing how Reason got the argument wrong in its initial reporting on the subject, a Public Citizen lobbyist (which supports the legislation) called it a death-panel argument.  Another group attempted to defend Congress by assuring us that the FEC would “most likely … stand by the 2006 Internet rules” and not investigate political bloggers. 

Most likely? Color me comforted….Continue Reading 

Natural Born Citizen –

 

 

 

  

 

 

I'm Sure There Are Many Soldiers Living This Nightmare. It's Time For The Joint Chiefs of Staff to Step To The Plate and Support Lieutenant Colonel Terry Lakin! Don't Be Military Sheep.

From the desk of Mario Apuzzo: 

Wednesday, May 19, 2010 

An Article II “natural born Citizen” Is Not the Same As an English Common Law “natural born subject” 

I have already written an essay explaining that the Founders and Framers relied upon natural law, the law of nations, and Emer de Vattel for their Article II definition of a “natural born Citizen” and not upon the English common law. That essay is entitled, ‘The Law of Nations or Principles of Natural Law’ as U.S. Federal Common Law Not English Common Law Define What an Article II Natural Born Citizen Is . This essay will address the related specific question of whether the Framers gave to the “natural born Citizen” clause the same meaning that the English common law gave to a “natural born subject.”…Continue Reading  

Lt. Col. Lakin’s Journey –

 

 

 

  

 

 

Dalai Lama has advice for Obama! America Must Demand Proof or Face the Consequences!

Here’s a site for those interested in more in-depth knowledge about Court Martial process. 

LTC LAKIN 

(A work in progress  –  5/13/2010 18:01:44)  Where-ever possible I have linked to items that are publically available on the web without having to go to LEXIS or WestLaw for example. 

Note, there are some areas of Article 32, UCMJ, practice where I am rooting for LTC Lakin. 

The Article 32, UCMJ, hearing is currently scheduled for 0900, 11 June 2010, Rm.  134, Bldg. T-2, WRAMC.  The Article 32, UCMJ, appointing authority has granted a defense requested delay in the hearing from 6 May 2010 to 11 June 2010.  The delay counts as defense delay for the purpose of R.C.M. 707, which is the speedy trial provision applicable in non-custody case. 

…Continue Reading 

  

Military Matters –

 

 

 

  

 

 

Obama's New Commander-In-Chief Uniform to Battle Low Morale in Military!

Here’s an interesting tidbit online yesterday at Talking Points Memo. 

TPM News 

Full Text Of Newsmax Column Suggesting Military Coup Against Obama 

Here is the full text of John L. Perry’s column on Newsmax which suggests that a military coup to “resolve the Obama problem” is becoming more possible and is not “unrealistic.” Perry also writes that a coup, while not “ideal,” may be preferable to “Obama’s radical ideal” — and would “restore and defend the Constitution.” Newsmax has since removed the column from its website.
Obama Risks a Domestic Military Intervention 

By: John L. Perry 

There is a remote, although gaining, possibility America’s military will intervene as a last resort to resolve the “Obama problem.” Don’t dismiss it as unrealistic. 

America isn’t the Third World. If a military coup does occur here it will be civilized. That it has never happened doesn’t mean it wont. Describing what may be afoot is not to advocate it. So, view the following through military eyes: 

# Officers swear to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Unlike enlisted personnel, they do not swear to “obey the orders of the president of the United States.” 

# Top military officers can see the Constitution they are sworn to defend being trampled as American institutions and enterprises are nationalized….Continue Reading  

  

Brothers and Sisters in the Military – When are you going to demand Obama establish that he is a Natural Born Citizen, eligible to serve as Commander In Chief?   

If your Oath to protect the Constitution is not important today, why don’t we just change the military oath of allegiance to reflect our current level of commitment?  

I, _______, do solemnly swear to protect ME and I will try to defend the Constitution as long as it doesn’t adversely impact the aforementioned ‘ME’. 

Obama Dreams About Government Run Health Care, Larry Sinclair, Birth Certificates, Natural Born Citizens While America Lives in a Nightmare.

 Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.
Albert Einstein  

  

Other  News –

 

 

 

  

 

 

Hillary Urged to Wear Burka When Negotiating With Taliban. It is aimed at getting American women prepared for what's coming!

From Hot Air: 

Quotes of the day 

posted at 10:43 pm on May 19, 2010 by Allahpundit 

A Pakistani court has blocked Facebook amid a growing row over a competition on the social networking website to design cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. 

Plans for the “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” contest drew an angry reaction, provoking street demonstrations in the Muslim majority country. 

On Wednesday, Lahore High Court responded to a petition by the Muslim Lawyers Movement, ordering Pakistan’s internet regulator to block the entire site… 

Rai Bashir, a lawyer involved in the case, said the site was blasphemous…. 

The Universal United Church of OBamboozle! State Run Media Always Welcome!

From World Net Daily: 

Soros-funded group urges media run by government 

Marxist-led study has close ties to Obama White House officials 

Posted: May 19, 2010
  

NEW YORK – A George Soros-funded, Marxist-founded organization calling itself Free Press has published a study advocating the development of a “world class” government-run media system in the U.S. … 

From Free Republic: 

Prime Minister Netanyahu, you have millions of American's behind you. Ignore Obama's theatrics and protect Israel!

Some US troops in Afghanistan patrol with unloaded weapons 

Wednesday, May 19, 2010 4:53:30 PM · by Crush The US Report ^ | 19 May 2010 | Chris Carter 

Commanders have reportedly ordered a U.S. military unit in Afghanistan to patrol with unloaded weapons. Some soldiers are being ordered to conduct patrols without a round chambered in their weapons, The US Report has learned from an anonymous source at a forward operating base in Afghanistan. Our source was unsure if the order came from his unit or if it affected other units. On war correspondent Michael Yon’s Facebook page, commenters stated that this is a common practice in Iraq, while others said that it is occurring in Afghanistan as well. According to military protocol, “Amber” status requires weapons to… 

From American Thinker: 

We are family and we get to choose who's we! Chibama Politics & Obama's attack of Inspector General Walpin!

DoJ trial attorney in Black Panthers case resigns in protest
May 19, 2010
Will the veil of secrecy finally be lifted on this case? More 

From Atlas Shrugs:

Coddling Terrorists, Persecuting Navy Seals and CIA, Persecuting Israel, Socialist Takeover of Industry, Political Correctness Allowing Ft. Hood Massacre – Will this be the next thing we see from Obama and Eric Holder?

 

May 20th is Muhammad Day — Everybody Grab Your Crayons! – Atlas …

 

From CitizenWells:

 

 Blagojevich trial, Supreme Court request, Defense asked asked the US Supreme Court to delay corruption trial, Rod Blagojevich, Robert Blagojevich

Nuclear Treaty Threatens American Sovereignty – Atlas Shrugs – Lt. Col. Terry Lakin Seeks Evidence of Obama’s Eligibility – WND – U.S. Congressional Representative (Democrat) Worries Guam May Tip Over – Hot Air – Filing Deadline for Larry Sinclair – CitizenWells – The BOPAC Report

The BOPAC Report

Natural Born Citizen Issue –

 

Where's the documentation that proves that Obama is a 'natural born citizen'

We need to keep this story going strong!  Real courage needs to be saluted and supported.

Army ‘showdown’ at eligibility corral

Top doctor refuses orders, tells Obama to show birth certificate – ‘if you have 1’

Posted: March 31, 2010

By Joe Kovacs
© 2010 WorldNetDaily

A top-ranking, highly decorated officer in the U.S. Army says he’s now refusing all orders until President Barack Obama finally releases his long-form, hospital-generated birth certificate to prove his eligibility to serve as commander in chief.

“I feel I have no choice but the distasteful one of inviting my own court martial,” said Lt. Col. Terry Lakin, an active-duty flight surgeon charged with caring for Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey’s pilots and air crew. “The Constitution matters. The truth matters.”

“For the first time in all my years of service to our great nation, and at great peril to my career and future, I am choosing to disobey what I believe are illegal orders, including an order to deploy to Afghanistan for my second tour of duty there. I will disobey my orders to deploy because I – and I believe all servicemen and women and the American people – deserve the truth about President Obama’s constitutional eligibility to the office of the presidency and the commander in chief.

“If he is ineligible, then my orders – and indeed all orders – are illegal because all orders have their origin with the commander in chief as handed down through the chain of command.”

In his video message now posted on YouTube, the 18-year veteran personally pleads with the president to stop withholding the key document which would put to rest many of the doubts that continue to linger more than a year into Obama’s term. …Continue Reading

 

Larry Sinclair’s Journey –

 

As Aretha Franklin says: You better think, think, think what you do to me! Can you hear this message? Talking to you Ben Nelson.

Larry Sinclair’s filing fee deadline is quickly approaching!  The date donations are needed by is April 19, 2010.

  From CitizenWells:

Florida district 24 congressional elections, Larry Sinclair, Filing deadline, Obama challenge, Obama impeachment, Larry Sinclair book, Larry Sinclair for Congress

March 31, 2010

Florida district 24 congressional elections, Larry Sinclair

For Want of a Nail
For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail…Ancient Proverb

I spoke to Larry Sinclair last night. He reminded me that the deadline for his receiving contributions for the Florida district 24 congressional election filing fee is April 19, 2010. He also wanted everyone to know that without the filing fee, there will be no running for Congress in November. Larry is receiving coverage from some of the big MSM players now. If you cannot contribute, help spread the word. There is strength in numbers.
Larry Sinclair has done as much as anyone to expose the truth about Barack Obama. He has been doing so for well over 2 years. His continued presence in the Florida congressional race will bring even more attention to Obama’s past. Imagine the possibilities. Imagine Larry Sinclair in Congress. All of you who want Obama impeached. Sinclair will do what he says. Larry will do everything in his power to get Obama removed from office. Contributing a few dollars seems like a small price to pay for this. Larry has paid the ultimate price.

To help Larry Sinclair and this country, donate here.

http://larrysinclairforcongress2010.victorydiy.com/

More info on Larry Sinclair and his run for Congress…Continue Reading

 

ChiBama Politics –

 

Obama's Health Care Deform to be Administered by 'Secular Healthcare In Transition' (SHIT)! When the taxes comes and companies start firing people, don't complain if you voted for Obama.

What?  Heaven help us! And these are the people who will be in charge of Health Care? Rep. Hank Johnson needs to find a porch and rocker!

 From Hot Air:

Dem congressman: If Guam gets too overpopulated, it might tip over

posted at 9:55 pm on March 31, 2010 by Allahpundit

Via Weasel Zippers, a clip that’s destined to be viral by tomorrow morning. Even so, go easy on him. Yes, he was an Iraq defeatist, and granted, he demagogued Joe Wilson’s outburst in the scummiest way imaginable, but he’s also a guy with a serious illness that affects his mind (“he regularly gets lost in thought in the middle of a discussion”). Although if that’s what’s going on here, a polite question for Madam Speaker arises: What’s he doing at these hearings instead of resting?…Continue Reading

 

Ji’Obama’had –

 

Prime Minister Netanyahu, you have millions of American's behind you. Ignore Obama's theatrics and protect Israel!

Americans need to be on guard every day, every minute, and every second with the Obama Administration. 

 From Atlas Shrugs:

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Bolton: Nuclear Treaty Threatens American SovereigntyThe crucial existential idea of national sovereignty is under assault around the globe in virtually every realm of Obama’s policy.

Bolton expands upon this in the foreword of my book The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration’s War on America — have you ordered it yet?

John Bolton, critical of the  New START, is correct in urging us to pressure politicians on sovereignty issues. “We have to insist on getting clear answers from candidates for Congress, from incumbent members of Congress, from the presidential candidates as we get into the presidential season in the not-too-distant future,” Bolton said, “to make it clear that we view sovereignty and the preservation of American sovereignty as a high priority.”

Bolton belongs in the White House.

If you missed the live broadcast of Ambassador John R. Bolton on Protecting National Sovereignty in the Age of Obama, click on the link.

In an address at the Heritage Foundation John Bolton claims that national sovereignty is undermined by the partnership between the United Nations and the Obama Administration. Bolton argues that policies made under the U.N. impose a foreign influence that weakens America’s ability to govern itself.

Bolton Suggests Nuclear Treaty Threatens American Sovereignty

Accuses Administration of ‘Stunning Naivete’

Bolton, an influential conservative foreign policy official for decades, accused the Obama administration of harboring “a very different view of American sovereignty than a long line of presidents, certainly since Franklin Roosevelt.” Relying on portions of quotes by senior officials and an undefined category of people he characterized as the “international left” and the “academic left,” Bolton said the administration attaches a “near theological significance” to the power of international institutions whose actions threaten the supremacy of the U.S. Constitution. …Continue Reading

 

Other Team FOCOA News –

(Full of Crap Obama Administration)

 From WeThePeopleUSA:

Decorated Military Officer Invites His Own Ct. Martial

Posted by JeanWTPUSA on March 30, 2010 at 11:30pm

From Family Security Matters:

Army Surgeon Refuses All Military Orders Until Obama Proves He Is a Natural Born Citizen

Margaret Hemenway

A decorated active duty Army medical officer, Lieutenant Colonel Terry Lakin (selected for promotion to Colonel), is calling upon his chain of command and his Congressional delegation to force President Obama

to release his original birth certificate.  He is the highest ranking officer to go public over this controversy and in late February, was notified that he is subject to near-term deployment to Afghanistan…. 

From JagHunter:

Army Lieutenant Colonel Terrence Lakin

Wednesday, 31 March 2010

Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.
Albert Einstein

The Permanant Handout Herd is Leading America to Slaughter! Everyone Needs a Hand Up from Time to Time, but Expecting it to be a Permanent Fixture is Distructive to America!

Larry Sinclair Gets Visit From Homeland Security – Outcome Unknown – Enemy Teleprompters Infiltrate State of Union – Afghanistan Women Terrified About Possible Deal With Taliban – Where’s NOW? – Where’s Hillary? – The BOPAC Report

The BOPAC Report

State of the Union Address 2010 –

 

Enemy teleprompters infiltrated the Obama State of the Union - Rep. Joe Wilson relieved he did not have to comment!

Even though I couldn’t bring myself to watch Obama continue with the deception of the American people this year in his State of the Union Address, I have heard that enemy teleprompters infiltrated the event. 

Obama Foreign Policy – Afghanistan –

Hillary Urged to Wear Burka When Negotiating With Taliban. It is aimed at getting American women prepared for what's coming!

A possible deal with the Taliban?  I’m sure Iran will not have a nuclear weapon because of Obama. Not. What is Hillary Clinton saying about all this?  The Taliban will only take the opportunity to regroup and enslave women.

Where is NOW on this issue?

January 27, 2010

Afghan Women Warn Against Possible Deal With Taliban

By REUTERS

Filed at 12:31 p.m. ET

LONDON (Reuters) – Groups representing Afghan women warned the international community on Wednesday against pursuing a peace deal with the Taliban, fearing a return to the austere Islamist rule that saw women banned from education and work.

Women from a United Nations agency, the Institute for Inclusive Security and other rights’ groups told reporters in London that the progress made since 2001 should not be jeopardised by courting conservative elements.

Some 60 countries are to attend a conference on Afghanistan in London on Thursday which has been preceded by a groundswell of support for an eventual political settlement with the Taliban movement which ruled from Kabul from 1996 till U.S.-led forces toppled the hardline Islamists after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The Afghan women’s groups urged the nations attending the conference to adhere to commitments to women’s rights in 2001.

“I have great fears, and I am greatly confused,” Homa Sabri, national officer-in-charge for UNIFEM Afghanistan, the U.N.’s women’s fund, told Reuters….Continue Reading

Larry Sinclair’s Journey –

Has Obama heard that Larry Sinclair is running for Congress?

It seems that Larry Sinclair has had a visit from Homeland Security tonight at approximately 6:20pm.  Larry is one courageous and determined man to keep putting pressure on the Obama regime.  Larry Sinclair is the man who alleges that he and Obama did cocaine and engaged in consensual sex in 1999.  Since making these and other allegations, Mr. Sinclair has endured all manner of threats to his personal safety and that of his family.  He was even subjected to an outrageous abuse of process last year, June 18^th, when Vice President Biden’s son had Larry arrested outside the National Press Club.  It also appears that the Social Security Administration may have been enlisted to punish Larry for his persistence. 

Good luck, Larry!  We will be watching for news that you are doing okay.

From CitizenWells blog:

Nancy Peacock // January 27, 2010 at 6:20 pm

CW: Larry received a call from Homeland Security. He thought it was a Jacksonville number because they said they were close by. He thought they were on their way over, but they walked through the door when we were on the phone. They are questioning him now.

 

ChiBama Politics –

Loyalty is Required in the Obama Cult!

From World Net Daily we have a bit more information about Ellie Light:

Uncovered! Meet the real ‘Ellie Light’

Letter writer is male health-care worker tied to Daily Kos, Obama-Ayers machine

Posted: January 27, 2010
1:47 pm Eastern

By Aaron Klein
© 2010 WorldNetDaily

A male health-care worker who appears to be Ellie Light – the letter writer whose name appeared in dozens of newspapers nationwide praising President Obama – also is a diarist for the far-left Daily Kos website and an online friend of an individual tied to a radical pro-Obama group associated with William Ayers’ Weathermen terrorist organization. …Continue Reading

American Soldiers – Tortured Duty & Tortured Mission – The Whys and Whats Becoming Harder to Answer? – The BOPAC Report

American Soldiers – Tortured Duty & Tortured Mission

The Whys and Whats Becoming Harder to Answer?

Families that honor military service are spread all across this nation.  I grew up in one. Even as a teenager in the sixties, I remember knowing that freedom wasn’t free.  My father had served in Patton’s 3rd Army, fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and served as a guard at the Nuremberg War Trials. How could I not know the price of freedom? WWII, now that was a just war.  Everyone knew it.  Everyone knew the war had to be won at all costs because failure clearly meant tyranny and death for an entire people, the Jewish people. Everyone knew, even the media knew the Whys and Whats.  Why they were fighting? What they were fighting for? They knew the cost of winning and losing! And,  victory wasn’t a dirty word.

However, my brother and I served in the United States Navy during a time in America’s history dominated by numbing callousness, selfishness, and indifference.  The loss of the Vietnam War brought about by the media and endless protests of duplicitous, naïve dreamers and schemers; the festering pain of Watergate continuously exploited by politicians in D.C., the good but lackluster caretaker President Ford portrayed as a bumbling stumbling fool on Saturday Night Live, the My Lai massacre and Lt. Calley’s conviction not quite distant enough to avoid its stench, and a war/corruption weary people’s vote for change promised by Jimmy Carter all marked this period.  Amazingly, like today, Carter’s change didn’t live up to expectations. Instead it brought gas lines, high inflation, 20+ percent interest rates and high unemployment – despair.

And the military was not spared in the mid 70’s. My awareness was that Carter was always attacking their budgets, minimizing the Soviet/communist threat, and interfering with matters that should have been left with the military, like his pardon of draft dodgers. Like closing GITMO, that action was certainly more of an appeasement to the far left than anything else. Democrats have been courting them for a long time.

Not unlike today’s media, the 70’s media reported much of their “news” in ways that portrayed the military, its leadership and contracting in the worst possible light. At the time, having credibility, it did appear as though reporters were merely following “the story” where it led. You know, paying homage to the type of Journalism that revealed the dirt in Watergate.  But, considering the corruption of today’s media, I’m probably being too kind. The price of every screw, hammer and ladder was held up as symbols of systemic corruption. And just like today, the broad-brush criticism and vilification drifted through the ranks to land on the individual soldier.

The cloud of post Vietnam warmonger shame continued staining the uniform in the minds of many Americans. The 70’s media and Jane Fonda had done a good job of mixing up the good and bad guys, buying time for the Vietcong. I suppose they weren’t comfortable with the concept of winning either. Thankfully though, Carter’s dreadful economy and gas lines were overwhelming and required most of the media’s attention.   The vast majority of those who did love the military were tired and let down by Nixon; and those who had been in the streets had their guy in Oval Office. So almost everyone seemed to be trying to turn the page. And with that turn of the page, the American soldier seemed to be all but forgotten.  The soldier’s duty to protect and defend remained but the camera’s glare was gone. That’s my memory anyway.

Carter’s negative effect on military morale and cohesion was palpable. The lack of any real resolve or credibility was clearly visible.  His handling of the Iranian Revolution and the rise of the Ayatollah Khomeini were abysmal.  It was weird, we were training Iranian pilots at Naval Air Memphis in 75 – a couple of wrong moves by a weak President and poof, 52 Americans were being held hostage for over a year.

The loss in Vietnam, Watergate, protests in the streets, President Ford, President Carter, hard ball politics and a deepening economic crisis were conspiring against the military. We were not immune to the tumult.  It was like a powerful magnet kept our compass spinning.  Drugs seemed to be everywhere in the military and military discipline a nearly foreign concept.  To be fair, after Vietnam, many military officers were not that gun ho. (I suppose some had begun to believe that Vietnam was an un-winnable shameful mistake – maybe some felt that everyone should be forgiven their part- including draft dodgers – some were just tired of it and decompression, down time was what the American soldier needed. Who knows?)

To illustrate how bad it was – in my squadron (I was an In-Flight Electronics Tech), when one of our P-3’s was scheduled to be washed, it was not unheard of for the wash crew leader to provide a few lines of cocaine to speed up both the process and the morale.   Officers seemed willing to see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil.  We were lucky no one ever got hurt. (Remind anyone of the PC military leadership today?)

Come to think of it, the “cold war” with the USSR (which was fairly hot then) was probably one of the main forces that held together our sense of “duty” and “responsibility” during the Carter years.  The soldier’s duty to protect and defend always remains.  But at any given time, the military is more – or less capable and the junior soldier accepts it as he or she finds it. What choice do they have? (I joined when I came of age and was expecting to find the military my older brothers served in.  But – it was very different.)

It was a perfect storm that had brought us Carter Presidency.  And with it’s battered and bruised image, the United States military seemed to have a hell of time riding out that storm until President Reagan could put his hands to the reigns. Reagan’s zero-tolerance drug testing came along after I got out and things started turning around rather quickly according to my brother.  I believe the foundation that President Reagan built (or rebuilt) continues to serve soldiers today and will not be easily surrendered by the military leadership.

Well, hopefully it won’t.

It’s one of my regrets concerning my military service that Ronald Reagan was not yet President.  If evil were there, Reagan would have seen, heard, spoke about & done something about it. He didn’t close his eyes and hope evil would go away.  I checked a dozen or so years ago with another In-Flight tech I served with about some of the guys (friends) in our electronic shop and learned that 3 had done some jail/prison time and 1 had gone through rehab.  Problems usually don’t just go away.

As a young enlisted man at that time, I went with the flow because…because I was a kid, had never been out of the country, military was not my career and I didn’t know shit from shinola.  The military and the flow of the military felt much bigger than I was. But, I loved the mission and flying was where I wanted to be. Who knows, if Reagan had been there, I might have retired from the Navy.

See no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil is not a command structure that serves the military or the individual soldier well.  Neither is going with the flow.

But it’s the military leadership, the career guys and gals, who have a shot at controlling or changing the flow. Yes, sometimes they fail, but it’s their job to address the issues. It’s especially egregious when they, like politicians, just won’t see or acknowledge that something is becoming a problem – when they don’t want to get ‘their’ hands dirty or risk jeopardizing ‘their’ career paths.  Two words – Ft. Hood.

And so I come to write this conflicted accolade to today’s American Soldier.

Tracking submarines, keeping tabs on ships, flying cover missions, no matter the whether, joint exercises, injuries and casualties, doing the mission, doing my duty were what kept me most grounded in the military.  It answered the Whys and Whats for me.  It was when politics, drugs, alcohol and all the BS disappeared and one knew Why they were serving, What they were protecting and how much it could cost.  I knew, understood and believed down deep that I was protecting freedom, the Constitution and my family.  As corny as that may sound, it made it worth doing – no matter how flawed.

Soldiers serving in the first few years after 9/11 must have had an incredible sense of the Whys and Whats that carried them through each and every day.

In the 70’s, war weariness, drugs, alcohol, lack of strong leadership, lack of discipline, being made to feel like polar opposites of the culture promoted by the media, and a general lack of encouragement from a tired American public were as great a threat to our concepts of duty, cohesion, sacrifice, morale and the mission as was the U.S.S.R and communism.  I’m sure these same factors give al qaeda, the taliban, and other Islamic terrorists cause for hope.

Of course, we had politicians undermining the military for their own advantage and a biased media.  But from my perspective, the corruption of politicians and the media in the 70’s – pale to what the military encounters today.  It has seemed that for the past half dozen years, the far left  and the media have been actively trying to bring about the defeat of the American military by taking political correctness to the extreme, urging untenable rules of engagement and intentionally mixing up the good & bad guys for political/ideological gain. And yet, our military continued doing an amazing job defending freedom around the world.

And of course, we had politicians who would have undermined the American economics system to replace it with a bigger nanny state. Democrats did control Congress during President Ford’s term and during President Carter’s disastrous four years. They did screw things up but they didn’t do it in a manner that couldn’t be undone. But they were nowhere near as bad as today’s leftist/Marxist Democrats. 

Today, we have Obama in the Oval Office and a Democratic controlled Congress (dominated by the radical left since 2006) and they are galloping as fast as they can towards creating a socialist system that would make Vladimir Ilyich Lenin proud. If you look past the rhetoric you easily see that they are attempting to create larger and larger voting blocks that are wholly dependent on the federal government, hands out, afraid to question anything, afraid to vote for anyone calling for personal responsibility. Having a nation of sheeple, like birds at a bird feeder, is not good for the country or our future. Look at the recent action Obama took diminishing our American sovereignty on Dec. 17. Constitution be damned.  Does anyone really think the Second Amendment is safe?

And yet, today’s military continues to do an amazing job defending freedom overseas.

I use the phrase “defending freedom overseas” instead of “around the world” because, as much as I love them, I’m not sure they are defending our freedoms at home.  I can’t really blame the enlisted soldier because when I was in the military, I didn’t have time to keep up with what politicians at home were attempting to do to us. I basically thought politicians were all self-serving pieces of crap and the voting process would weed them out.  Unfortunately, that’s not the case today. (The statement that politicians “were all self-serving pieces of crap” is still accurate, but the vote might not be able to undo the damage they are doing to our freedoms and the Constitution.)

And the military leadership continues to see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil and ignore “the flow” that’s becoming more and more turbulent.

(And the American soldier is expected to accept “the flow” as he or she finds it?)

It seems to me that today’s American Soldier now finds him or herself in the untenable position of having their oath, duty and mission tortured by Obama and the Congress. (It must be especially untenable for the soldier who joined because they thought they were protecting freedom and the Constitution.)

The mission – I think of this as each bomb dropped, bullet fired, enemy captured or killed, each military plan executed, each foot of ground captured and held, each training and standing up of local police and military to make it possible for our exit, taking reasonable measures to safeguard the innocent in the battle theatre and continually maintaining readiness in order to protect those of us at home.

The mission becomes tortured when political correctness runs amuck allowing terror attacks like in Ft. Hood, when rules of engagement make it more dangerous for our guys, when war plans and decisions are made by politicians for their own political reasons (closing GITMO, the trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in NY), failing to realize that sometimes terrorists deserve and receive fat lips from a Navy Seals during capture (PC amuck), persecuting the CIA for being a little rough on terrorists when the information they are seeking could save lives, when winning and neutralizing the enemy is not the objective, etc., etc., etc.

This is when it becomes hard to answer Whats and Whys.  What the hell are we doing fighting like this? What is this doing to keep my family and their freedoms safe?  What will happen when some politician pulls us out? What will keep us from having to come back?  What can I do to make it right? Why won’t they let us win?

It must be hard to go with the flow under such circumstances, hard to keep morale high and harder to think about signing up for more.

The duty – I think of this as the soldier doing his or her best to live up to the oath they took when they enlisted.  Basically the duty is to support, protect and defend the Constitution and the freedoms/protections flowing from it to each and every citizen.

The Oath of Enlistment:

…I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God….

Even though Obama, Pelosi and Reid would prefer that our American soldiers protect and defend some socialist version of the Constitution drafted in conference without consulting the People or States (like healthcare), thankfully that is not the case.  Not yet anyway. 

Hopefully every soldier read and understood the Constitution before they put on the uniform because it is an awesome responsibility.

A soldier’s duty and the Oath become tortured when the rights of terrorists are elevated (created out of thin air) and are put above the safety of the American soldier, when Obama diminishes our American sovereignty, when Obama’s Attorney General’s  personal vendetta against President Bush and the CIA appears to influence his decisions to try the 9/11 mastermind in NYC and to bring other enemy combatants to the US for show trials, and when Obama and Eric Holder appear more interested in prosecuting a war against the CIA to appease the far left instead of against Islamic terrorists, when military officers put political correctness above their duty to protect soldiers under their command (Ft. Hood), when military officers and politicians choose to ignore critical parts of Constitution because it would bring trouble to them (they may be called names).

All of these illustrate situations where officers up the chain of command, including the “Commander In Chief”, appear ready to shirk their duty to the Constitution and America Soldiers under their command so they can protect their relatively trivial career ambitions and/or pursue their personal political agendas.

This is when it becomes hard to answer the Whats and Whys.  What does support and defend the Constitution mean?  Who are the enemies of the United States?  Why am I defending something that seems optional for my superior officers?   What is really important to the chain of command – advancement, career or the Oath? Who are the Oathkeepers? Why should I obey my superior officers when they choose to ignore parts of the Constitution? What’s the point? What am I doing that protects the Constitution and the Freedoms of my family and friends?

For me and millions of other Americans, the one provision of the Constitution that has been most blatantly ignored by Command – and has followed/plagued Obama throughout his time in the Oval Office, cost him “at least $1.7 million” keeping his records hidden, and seriously calls into question whether he can legally act as Commander In Chief and issue any “lawful orders” is Article II, Section 1.

Article II, Section 1 – …“No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President”…

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil is not a command structure that serves the military or the individual soldier well.  

The “natural born citizen” issue will not go away and I’m sure it’s on the minds of many in the military; it affects morale, re-enlistment decisions, and how many traditional military supporters view the institution.  It’s similar to how the epidemic of drug use in the 70’s military effected civilians & soldiers who knew about the problem and cared about what it said about the institution. 

When I served, the military had a disease that needed to be cleaned up before the uniform could shine in all its glory.

Our military has a disease that can only be healed by thoroughly investigating the allegations against Obama and taking the appropriate actions.  Shine the light on all his records. If the answer turns out that Obama is in fact a natural born citizen, then that’s great – the disease will be cured.

But having the Joint Chiefs, General Petraeus, General Stanley McChrystal and the Judge Advocate General’s Corp continue seeing no evil, hearing no evil, and speaking no evil is not acceptable.  It disrespects everyone who ever wore the uniform.  America and its citizens can handle the truth!

To the American Soldier – Thank you for your service and sacrifices for this country.

I am truly sorry to be in the position of having to speak so bluntly about an institution that I love.

Afghanistan – “Unlawful Orders” – “Natural Born Citizen” – Kerchner – Mario Apuzzo – CitizenWells – The BOPAC Report

The BOPAC Report:

 “Natural Born Citizen”≠ “Citizen” –

Just like Obama is not Malcolm X - Obama is not a "Natural Born Citizen"! Obama may look like Malcolm X and Obama may be a "Citizen"; but being a "Citizen" does not necessarily mean that Obama is a "Natural Born Citizen"!

It seems that some in the public have fallen prey to the media’s assertion/implication that if Obama was born in Hawaii then of course he is a “natural born citizen”.  No so.

Mario Apuzzo gives a complete analysis of the misconceptions.

Monday, November 30, 2009

United States v. Low Hong, 261 F.73 (5th Cir. 1919) Is No Precedent on the Question of What is an Article II “Natural Born Citizen”

There are some blogs that are citing the case of United States v. Low Hong, 261 F.73 (5th Cir. 1919), http://books.google.com/books?id=lnU4AAAAIAAJ&dq=%22Low%20Hong&as_brr=1&client=firefox-a&pg=PA73#v=onepage&q=&f=false, as the latest word on what a “natural born Citizen” is. Their position is that this case proves that a child born in the United States even to alien parents is a “natural born Citizen.” The issue that was before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals was whether a petitioner was entitled to be discharged from immigration custody on his habeas corpus petition when he showed that the government was holding him in custody pending a deportation hearing before the Secretary of Labor (who handled immigration matters then) under the Immigration Act, § 17 (Comp. St. 1918, § 4289 1/4ii), and other sections relating to excluding and deporting persons from the country, which is expressly applicable only to aliens. Affirming the judgment of the district court which granted the petition and his release, the Court held that since the government had admitted that the petitioner was a citizen (which the government did not), it could not hold him in immigration custody and had to release him.

Low Hong alleged in his amended habeas petition that he was born in the United States and that he was a citizen thereof. The government did not deny his allegation that he was born in the United States. But it also did not admit that he was a citizen. The government’s position was that there was no factual dispute and that the case dealt with only a legal question as to petitioner’s citizenship which was not properly before the Court on a habeas corpus petition which it said petitioner filed prematurely. The Court ruled that the government did not dispute that petitioner was born in the United States. It therefore also ruled that the government admitted petitioner was a citizen. The Court also ruled that the statute allowing excluding and deporting aliens applied only to aliens. The Court found that the government’s admission that Low Hong was a citizen was also an admission by the government that he could not be held in immigration custody pending a deportation hearing before the Secretary of Labor. The Court said that since the government admitted Low Hong was a citizen, the Secretary of Labor had no jurisdiction or authority to detain him in immigration custody pending his deportation hearing. Low Hong therefore had to be released.

There are two errors with the Low Hong decision. First, the government never admitted that petitioner was a citizen. Rather, it only admitted that he was born in the United States and took the position that the status of his citizenship was “nothing but a question of law” yet to be decided. While the decision does not make any mention of petitioner’s parents, they were probably Chinese aliens who could not naturalize in the United States because of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 (among other things, made Chinese immigrants who were in the United States permanent aliens by prohibiting them from becoming citizens through naturalization) which were not repealed until the 1943 Magnuson Act which permitted Chinese who were already in the United States to naturalize and thereby become United States citizens under the Fourteenth Amendment. We also do not know if petitioner’s parents met the same factual scenario as did the parents of Wong Kim Ark in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898) (the Court decided the case based only “upon the facts agreed by the parties” and that the “necessary effect” of its decision was to declare “a child born in the United States, of parents of Chinese descent, who, at the time of his birth, are subjects of the emperor of China, but have a permanent domicile and residence in the United States, and are there carrying on business, and are not employed in any diplomatic or official capacity under the emperor of China, becomes at the time of his birth a citizen of the United States”). Id. 169 U.S. at 705. Hence, the Court on its own took the conceded fact that the petitioner was born in the United States and added that the government also conceded that he was a citizen.

The second error that the Court made is in declaring the petitioner a “natural-born citizen” on the record that it had before it. In Low Hong, the issue was not whether the petitioner was an Article II “natural born Citizen.” Rather, the issue was whether he could be held in immigration detention pending deportation if he was an admitted citizen as the Court perceived the government to have conceded. The Court in dicta then said that “[t]he averments of the amended petition show that the appellee is a natural-born citizen of the United States,” citing United States v. Wong Kim, 169 U.S. 649 (1898). The reference to “natural-born citizen” was dicta because the question of whether Low Hong was a “natural born Citizen” was not before the Court. Without any opportunity for the government to even address the issue, the Court concluded that Low Hong was a citizen because the government did not contest the petitioner’s allegation that he was born in the United States. Low Hong only needed to be a born United States citizen under the Fourteenth Amendment or some Congressional Act to avoid detention and deportation. There was no need for Low Hong to also be declared an Article II “natural born Citizen.”

The Low Hong Court’s citing Wong Kim Ark also does not make the decision a precedent for the meaning of Article II “natural born Citizen.” Wong Kim Ark, also presented with a person born in the United States to alien Chinese parents, did not declare Wong a “natural born citizen” but rather only a “citizen” of the United States under the Fourteenth Amendment. The Wong Kim Ark Court never connected Wong’s citizen status to an Article II “natural born Citizen.” The Court also did not say that there was no difference between a Fourteenth Amendment born citizen and an Article II “natural born Citizen.”

The Low Hong Court did not explain what made Low Hong a “natural born citizen” as opposed to just a plain “citizen” which is what he alleged in his amended habeas petition. Hence, the Court’s gratuitous statement that Low Hong was a “natural-born citizen” was not only not addressed by the parties or analyzed in any way by the Court but also has no basis in law or fact. In Low Hong, the Court did not even perceive citizenship to be in issue. We surely cannot use the decision for any precedent on the meaning of an Article II “natural born Citizen.” Its conclusory statement regarding Low Hong being a “natural- born citizen” is therefore not binding on any court.

The Constitution, Congressional Acts, United States Supreme Court decisions, and the Fourteenth Amendment itself also show that the Low Hong court was wrong in declaring the petitioner a “natural born Citizen.” We cannot reasonably deny that the Constitution makes a distinction between a “citizen” and a “natural born Citizen.” Article II itself, in specifying the eligibility requirements, clearly spells out that there is a difference between a “citizen” and a “natural born Citizen,” for the former was grandfathered eligible to be President up to the time of the adoption of the Constitution and the latter represented the new standard for Presidential eligibility for births after the adoption of the Constitution. The “Citizen” grandfather clause is now obsolete. The Constitution at Article I, III, IV and at Amendment XI, XIV, XV, XIX, XXIV, and XXVI also mentions “Citizen” and not “natural born Citizen.” Hence, the only place that the Constitution refers to a “natural born Citizen” is in Article II, Section 1, clause 5.

Even Congress, throughout our history has distinguished between a “Citizen” and a “natural born Citizen.” ….Continue Reading

I urge everyone to read Mario Apuzzo’s explanation in its entirety.

CitizenWells gives a concise summary of the issues that need be addressed by America’s Court system if Americans can continue to have faith that no one is above the law and Constitution.

INTERNET BILLBOARD

Article II, Sec. 1, cl. 5 of the US Constitution

“No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President. . .”

From the 20th Amendment to the US Constitution.

“or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until
a President shall have qualified;”

December 1, 2009

Attention: Congress, Courts, Media

It is not a conspiracy theory. Using the term “birther” in a condescending, Orwellian manner to discredit decent, hard working Americans who believe that the US Constitution is the law of the land, will not be tolerated.

1. Barack Obama has employed a legion of private and government attorneys to prevent revealing his country of birth. Innocent and eligible persons seeking the office of president do not do that.

2. Barack Obama’s father was a citizen of Kenya and a British citizen.  “natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution” was explicitly written to deal with the issue of foreign allegiances at the time of the writing of the US Constitution.

3. Barack Obama’s citizenship and allegiance was further tainted when he was adopted by his stepfather Lolo Soetoro and Obama became an Indonesian citizen.

4. Some combination of the above allowed Obama to travel to Pakistan in 1981 when travel there was restricted to US citizens.

5. The only document presented by the Obama camp is a Hawaii COLB. There has been no substantiation that it is authentic and it does not establish country of birth. As Lou Dobbs stated, “It is a piece of paper that refers to another piece of paper.”

6. All other documentation, all school records, that would establish country of birth have been kept hidden and restricted.

7. No authentic documentation has been presented to establish that Barack Obama was born in the US.

8. The records of all hospitals in Hawaii have been searched. There is no record of Stanley Ann Obama ever having given birth to a child.

9. Barack Obama’s paternal grandmother in Kenya has stated on multiple occasions that she was present at Obama’s birth in Mombasa.

10. Others have stated, including multiple family members, officials and press, that Obama was born in Kenya.

This has been presented in a manner that a fifth grader can understand. However, if you have any questions, please contact me on this blog.

Failure to learn more about and understand this critical issue and take appropriate measures can only be construed as apathy,  ignorance or having an un American agenda. This includes the Mainstream Media and the Fox network.

This is not a fringe movement. It’s the Constitution, stupid.

Many of those alarmed by the constitutional crisis created by Barack Obama’s avoidance of proof of eligibilty are in the US Military….

It is this last sentence should cause any judge worth his/her salt to step up to the political heat and allow the facts to be established in an open court.  Our military is fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan while Obama has spent the last several months dithering.  What kind of Judge could allow reasonable doubts to remain in the minds of our soldiers concerning the possibility of following “unlawful orders”?

The entire Obama Administration is proving on a daily basis that it is full of poop to its core.

Obama & Media vs. “Thinking America”

Cult Obama & The Media

vs.

Center Left, Center,

Center Right, Right

“Thinking” America

America came together for a brief time after 9/11. What a good feeling that was during such a tragic time. I think most of America remains regretful that that feeling did not last. So what happened? Why didn’t it last? Well – it seems to me that the far left, with their hallowed mission to impose their view on America, realized that they needed to cool it until a situation arose that they could exploit. What was it? It wasn’t Afghanistan. The mood of America supported that action. Was it the invasion of Iraq? I don’t really remember it that way. I seem to recall the House and Senate speaking strongly in unison for President Bush’s action. I remember hearing over and over, from almost everyone that WMDs existed and action was required; further, most were very worried that if too much time elapsed before invading, Saddam Hussein would move the weapons to Syria. (Surprisingly, just a week or so ago, I read a news article that quoted the former head of Iraq’s post invasion prison system as saying numerous prisoners had told him that that was what had happened.) So what was it?

Looking back now, it seems that the far left’s opening was provided by four very unfortunate decisions which were made and/or carried out after the Iraq invasion; and the emerging reality that no WMDs were being found. The decisions of the Bush Administration and Pentagon regarding how many boots to keep on the ground post invasion and the decision to cull the Ba’ath from the Iraqi military created fertile soil from which to grow an insurgency. The military’s ineffective post invasion planning regarding the need to establish a functioning government created conditions of lawlessness that quickly discouraged the Iraqi people. Lastly, President Bush landing on the aircraft carrier to a waiting “Mission Accomplished” banner created the visual that could keep on giving, and giving, and giving.

So the opening appeared and the far left undertook to exploit the situation to the best of their ability. The media, appearing to have harbored a firm disapproval of President Bush even before his first days in office, found itself in the position that if they played their cards right the vilification process could begin in earnest. First they needed to sell the public on the idea that everything about the Iraq war was a failure. Somehow, the media decided that they would present as little positive news from Iraq as they could get away with. The far left and the media were a match born of resentment of someone who they both considered beneath themselves. The media eagerly embraced their new found role of leadership. The rule was the art of leadership consists in consolidating the attention of the people against a single adversary and taking care that nothing will split up that attention. President Bush and his administration is that adversary. The rhetoric of no WMD, cowboy diplomacy, Rumsfeld, we were misled, the plan was flawed, humvees, IEDs, unjust war, our losses, started as whispers and slowly became a chorus shaping the public imagination. The broad masses of a population are more amenable to the appeal of rhetoric than to any other force. Then Katrina occurred and gasoline was thrown on the fire.

I believe the media, the far left, and the Democratic leadership saw the path to their return to power was by the defeat of President Bush in Iraq. The fact that a defeat of President Bush would also mean a devastating defeat for our military and possible genocide in Iraq was of little consequence. As soon as by one’s own propaganda even a glimpse of right on the other side is admitted, the cause for doubting one’s own right is laid. That is why there was such opposition to “the surge”, no doubt could be entertained that victory was a possibility. Sen. Reid even said the war in Iraq is lost and the media shook their heads in unison.

The American people were being worn down by the media and the Democratic leadership’s constant barrage of negative news and analysis about Iraq. The portrayal of Katrina as solely a function of the Bush administration’s incompetence worked almost flawlessly. They were fully aware of the adage that if you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed. By the skillful and sustained use of propaganda, one can make a people see even heaven as hell or an extremely wretched life as paradise. The public was never forcefully reminded by the media that we had not been attacked since 9/11, that numerous terrorist attempts had been thwarted, that the economy was recovering from the recession that President Bush inherited and which was further pounded by Afghanistan and Iraq. The somewhat blue sky of reality was being painted with a brush of doom and gloom on a daily basis. It still is.

Fast forward to 2005-2006 and we see what the media did to put a spotlight on all of the shortcomings of some members of the Republicans in Congress. While at the same time, they downplayed the same or worse offenses committed by Democrats. The media is fully aware that the general public is too busy to investigate the truth for themselves and must rely on them for information. The leader of genius must have the ability to make different opponents appear as if they belonged to one category. With today’s 24 hour news cycle they had more than enough ability to shape the news to fit their own narrative. The media made every attempt to turn every Republican into President Bush. Entertainers such as John Stewart, the news source for many younger Americans, joined in with humor and slick productions. Most of Hollywood also joined in to support the message. I must admit, they have been very successful.

Evidence today, Obama and the Democratic leadership are not really running against Sen. McCain, they are running against the mosaic painted about President Bush. Do you really think it is fair, or is it calculated, to use rhetoric such as McSame and McBush? (I suppose it is also reasonable to point out the second front with this tactic: the vilification and identification of opponents with “big oil.”)

Consider for a moment how the press coverage differed for the Republicans, Mark Foley and Larry Craig, when compared to the coverage of Democrats. A major Presidential candidate, John Edwards, is alleged to have a love child with a former staffer and was caught by the Enquirer visiting late her late at night – the media has done all that it can to quash or ignore this story. Sen. Obama is alleged to have used cocaine and engaged in gay sex with Larry Sinclair – the media has refused to report or investigate this story. Rep. W. Jefferson caught with $80,000 dollars in his freezer – the media has downplayed and tried to move on.

Shortly after the Democrats took control of the House and Senate, the Presidential race began in earnest. The efforts of the Democrats and the media to facilitate our defeat in Iraq continued, with the polls still reflecting a loss of public support for the war, that (loss of support) the media had created. There are those who argue that the public’s support was so easily swayed because the public had not been asked to sacrifice for this endeavor. There was no real public ownership of the war. The military and their families were basically the only ones really impacted by the violence of war; and they have always been in favor of staying until the job was done. It seems that the public view was swayed partly because many just wanted to get the negative images out of their living rooms. (It is interesting to note that the public now believes that we are winning in Iraq and the numbers are increasing for those who say we should stay until the job is done.)

Senator Barrack Obama threw his hat into the ring. The media had identified a foe for blame and painted a world of gloom and despair that had infected most of America. Obama came with his bumper sticker chants of Hope, Change, Change We Can Believe In, let’s move away from the Old Politics. The population was ripe and a movement started. The movement grew and the words resonated. Finally, the media started believing that history could be made, the Clintons defeated, and they could be a part of making it happen. They too got on board. All great movements are popular movements. They are the volcanic eruptions of human passions and emotions, stirred into activity by the ruthless Goddess of Distress or by the torch of the spoken word cast into the midst of the people.

Even though the world is very dangerous today and our economic reality is fraught with vulnerabilities and complications, many appear willing to suspend their reason to be engulfed by the emotion of Obama’s message. I believe. When Obama used emotion for the many and reserved reason for the few an interesting phenomenon started to develop – a sense of faith began to grow within Obama’s supporters. Words built bridges into unexplored regions, regions where hope in a seemingly hopeless world arises. And remember this: he alone, who owns the youth, gains the future. Many of Obama’s supporters are the young; and they have not experienced many real hardships through their short lives and many have not been taught the sacrifices that are necessary to keep our freedoms. The youth have mainly the images from the television; and messages of distress and vilification coming from all corners that shape their view of the world. The world sucks because of America, Bush and Republicans. Unfortunately, the great mass of people will more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one.

History has shown over and over that faith in one person can portend the establishment of the cult mentality – just as Jim Jones had the faith of his followers so does Obama. As a result, main stream America is learning that it is always more difficult to fight against faith than against knowledge. My charge is that Senator Obama has been irresponsibly held up as the one, the messiah. The media, which have supported this illusion by not reporting early on about the many legitimate issues which surround Obama, are responsible. They, the media, allowed the blind faith to set in. When support turns into faith, reason goes out the window; and now, I’m not sure if Obama’s hard core supporters would bat an eye at anything that could be revealed. However, there are those Obama supporters who have backed him for various other reasons such as party identity or that it just feels good to be part of history, etc.; but who have not put their thinking to bed.

Senator Obama and the media know that propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach. Who’s not for Hope, Change We Can Believe In, or Peace? The use of only one or two simple words is to convey meaning is why the bumper stickers work so well. Everyone can have their own personal understanding of the words without actually knowing the details of Senator Obama’s policies and beliefs, or his planned change in direction of this country towards socialism. He’s for Hope, Change and No Old Politics. Once the faith is firmly established in his followers, facts don’t matter and Obama is able to brush aside most criticism as either old politics or racism.

However, we are now beginning to see a shift occur which is being reflected in the polls. It seems as though the ones who have not become fully infected by “faith” in a flawed politician are starting to reassess their decisions and priorities. This may be occurring because the media has overplayed its hand so much that everyone can see the bias. The media’s bias is being shown brightly by their lack of coverage of the John Edwards scandal and their treatment of Senator McCain. The three news anchors going with Obama to Europe and at the same time barely covering Sen. McCain’s trips overseas violates all sense of fairness. The tingling running up the leg of the host of a prominent media person when Obama speaks boggles the mind.

As Edward R. Murrow wisely stated:

“To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful.”

Today’s media is neither truthful nor credible.

Thankfully the Center Left, the Center Right, the Right, and the Center of “Thinking” Americans are waking up and beginning to consider this election as it should be – on the basis of who is the best candidate for America (Not for Europe).

For point of reference, the dark red text in the body of this article are quotes of Germany’s Adolf Hitler. It just illustrates that the art of propaganda is well known around the world and throughout history. However, I do agree with following quote of Hitler – if the U.S. media is going to be allowed to dictate the outcome of this election:

Sooner will a camel pass through a needle’s eye than a great man be “discovered” by an election.
Adolf Hitler

Senator Obama’s Patriotism – a Veteran’s Perspective

Patriotism is the cloak we wear to announce our love of country and our bond to our neighbors. It reflects our commitment to each other and to the ideas upon which this country was founded. It is that which trumpets the chorus “We Stand Together.” The threads are our highest and noblest principles and they remind us to be vigilant in regard to their protection, lest they become bare, frayed, distorted and lose their luster. It is not blind obedience, but is thoughtful and reflective. It is that of a caretaker. Mindfully practiced, it can shape the essence of the individual and thus be reflected in our society. It is a simple thing and is profound in its potential.

It is also a simple and profound thing that occurs when it is neglected, distorted, or diminished. We lose the We. The We becomes strangers who have forgotten what price has been paid in blood for our individual Freedoms and Obligations. The We becomes we who are less committed and connected to our neighbors and common values. When the cloak is removed, it is harder to recognize from a distance what principles are within the heart, what they are striving for.

Patriotism is not a dangerous word when it is grounded in precious truths that we have to aspire to and frequently fall short of. It is not a dangerous word when it is practiced sincerely, inclusively and humbly. It is the journey of a group that wants the Nation to radiate warmth and love. It is why individuals have the courage to stand up to the government when the nation’s principles seem to be lost or off tract. Because the principles mean something, many hearts weep when the next generation appears to have forgotten or never were taught about the journey, the price. Freedom is not free and there are those that would take it away.

Just as Senator Obama said in February during this election cycle, “Don’t tell me words don’t matter. ‘I have a dream.’ Just words? ‘We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal.’ Just words? ‘We have nothing to fear but fear itself.’ Just words? Just speeches?” I agree with the Senator that words do matter.

I would also add, “Don’t tell me that symbols don’t matter. Putting your hand over your heart when saying the Pledge. Just a symbol. Treating the Flag with reverence. Just a symbol. Wearing a Flag lapel pin. Just a symbol. And guess what, – symbols matter. It should matter even more for the representatives of our government. It is a part of being mindful about our freedom. It is part of showing the next generation that these ideals are the principles of this Nation. These principles are why our fathers, mothers, sons, daughters are called upon sometimes to risk losing their lives. Symbols matter. They slow the decay of ideas by causing us to remember.

That is why this photo creates in me such distress. Sen. Obama might become President and he doesn’t have a clue about what being Patriotic means. There is a level of arrogance in his actions that slaps everyone who has had to answer the call to arms. I believe he refers to us as the clingers. The clingers to guns and religion whose forefathers founded this great country and in January of 2009 might become his subjects. The Senator seems to only see the negative in America and not its strengths. He must have learned that from his pastor.

“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured with what is right in America.”
William J. Clinton

NOTE

To Follow the Larry Sinclair story that the media is trying to suppress and for up to date information regarding Mr. Larry Sinclair’s allegations, “Senator Obama and Larry Sinclair engaged in the illegal use of cocaine and engaged in gay sex in 1999”, see links below:

Larry Sinclair’s Blog

CitizenWell’s Blog

Obambi.com Blog