One Soldier's Experience with Barack Hussein Obama

Today, I received this missive that echoes what the military endured through eight years of Clinton. Note the quote at end. Obama wants a "civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded" as the military. Why? To supress political opposition? I found this marine's experience frightening and troubling. Do we really want a commander-in-chief who disdains his troops or is so arrogant he doesn't feel the need to talk to them? I don't.

Hello everyone,

As you know I am not a very political person. I just wanted to pass along that Senator Obama came to Bagram Afghanistan for about an hour on his visit to 'The War Zone'. I wanted to share with you what happened. He got off the plane and got into a bullet proof vehicle, got to the area to meet with the Major General (2 Star) who is the commander here at Bagram.

As the Soldiers were lined up to shake his hand he blew them off and didn't say a word as he went into the conference room to meet the General. As he finished, the vehicles took him to the ClamShell (pretty much a big top tent that military personnel can play basketball or work out in with weights) so he could take his publicity pictures playing basketball. He again shunned the opportunity to talk to Soldiers to thank them for their service.

So really he was just here to make a showing for the Americans back home that he is their candidate for President. I think that if you are going to make an effort to come all the way over here you would thank those that are providing the freedom that they are providing for you.

I swear we got more thanks from the NBA Basketball Players or the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders than from one of the Senators, who wants to be the President of the United States. I just don't understand how anyone would want him to be our Commander-and-Chief [sic]. It was almost that he was scared to be around those that provide the freedom for him and our great country.

If this is blunt and to the point I am sorry but I wanted you all to know what kind of caliber of person he really is. What you see in the news is all fake.

In service,
CPT Jeffrey S. Porter
Battle Captain
TF Wasatch
American Soldier

"We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded." - Barack Obama, July 2, 2008

McCain’s Grand Slam Choosing Sarah Palin

With the selection of Governor Sarah Palin as his vice president, McCain slammed it out of the park. I could not be more pleased to be wrong. (I had predicted Governor Charlie Crist would be McCain’s V.P. pick.) I am also very relieved. McCain did not make the mistake of choosing a pro-choice candidate, a non-starter for many of us evangelical conservatives. Had he done that, I would have supported and voted for Bob Barr in protest. I have never and never will knowingly vote for a pro-choice politician.

Now, I can get on board the McCain Express as a conservative and a woman. Palin is a brilliant selection. She reassures on most all the points that make conservatives nervous: abortion, homosexual marriage, gun rights, taxes, and fiscal responsibility. With her, we can rest easy when she is a heart beat away from the Oval Office.

Palin will be a wondrous witness to women on that touchiest of issues, abortion. Unlike any man and most women politicians who are pro-life, Palin has faced the tough choices women confront when something goes wrong in a pregnancy. Palin made the toughest pro-life choice a woman can make. She knew she was going to bear a baby with Downs’ Syndrome, and she made the right and moral choice for life. No opponent will be able to accuse Palin that she does not know what it feels like to have a crisis pregnancy. She will be able to speak to these women with empathy and moral authority. On this, Palin is an answer to prayer.

Florida Has Fay-tigue

Florida has Fay fatigue, Fay-tigue. Jacksonville, once again, dodged a bullet in that Fay did not develop into a hurricane. She was predicted to strengthen into a category 1 hurricane Tuesday evening, August 19th. She was on a path similar to Dora, the last hurricane to make a direct hit on Northeast Florida’s First Coast. Anyone who lived here back in 1964 remembers Dora and talks about how bad it was.

Fay was bad enough, even if she was “only” a tropical storm. Here on the Southside of Jacksonville, the winds really picked up around 1 p.m. Wednesday, August 20th. Up to that time, we had passing squalls, sometimes with driving rain. For the rest of Wednesday and all day and night Thursday, the wind and rain were nearly continuous.

My cat Tuxedo signaled when Fay was upon us. She became very nervous, hiding under the bed or the dresser. On the few occasions when she came out to eat or use her litter box, she slinked instead of walked to her destination. Her eyes were as big as saucers as she nervously looked at the windows. I was glad to see that she instinctively knew to take cover.

Fortunately, I live in an area not prone to flooding. There are no tall trees close enough to fall on the apartment building where I reside. Half the people in our building loss all or most of their power. I was in the blessed half who had power throughout the storm, except for two or three very brief outages.

The old saying, “God helps those who help themselves,” may not be in the Bible, but it is a wise principle. I prayed over my freezer, which was full of meat and vegetables, before and throughout the storm. I was also prepared with two bags of ice on standby in case the power went out for a long period of time.

Still, Fay was not a fun experience, even for us with power. The building’s plumbing stopped working on Wednesday, so we were unable to flush toilets until late Friday afternoon. The air conditioning did not start working until late Friday night. We could not put trash out until Saturday. Because of the rain and wind, we could not open windows. By Friday, the trash and toilets were rank and our apartments uncomfortably hot, even with fans. I shudder to think what it would have been like if Fay had been a hurricane.

The one phrase I heard from so many residents before Fay came ashore was, “Oh, Jacksonville is safe” or “It can’t hit here.” I even heard one man say he was sick of the media hype about the storm. He said, “They’re just scaring old folks.”

Many Jacksonville residents refuse to prepare for storms because they refuse to believe Jacksonville has had and can have hurricanes. Yes, we are a little bit more protected by the fact that our shoreline curves in and does not stick out into the Atlantic like areas to our south and north. Fay, however, proved that relying on this is foolishness. It puts an unfair burden on those of us who do prepare. Because hurricanes give plenty of advance warning, there is no excuse not to have the minimal supplies and equipment needed to survive until after the storm passes.

McCain's VP Choice: Charlie Crist

Here's my prediction: John McCain will pick Charlie Crist, Florida's governor, as his Vice President. I've been predicting that since Crist endorsed McCain days before Florida's presidential primary. The timing told me they had negotiated a quid pro quo. McCain needs Florida in his column, and he needs a younger VP. Given Crist's popularity in the state, he can deliver Florida in November's general election as he did in the primary.

My feeling that Crist was the chosen one for VP was strengthened when he announced his engagement. Crist has been single for many years. Swirling around his candidacy for governor were rumors that Crist was a closet homosexual. I never believed it since he had been married as a young man. The rumors cropped up because some people make the erroneous assumption that if you are single, you must be a homosexual. Also, Crist had signed the petition to put the Florida4Marriage amendment on the ballot. I do not believe a practising homosexual would have signed up for marriage to be defined constituitonally as only between a man and a woman.

My best guess is that when Crist went to McCain's Sedona Ranch with other likely VP nominees, McCain or a campaign honcho took him aside and said something to the effect, "Hey, you need to put these silly rumors to rest. Pop the question to your significant other and be done with it." Soon after, Crist announced his engagement. That sealed the deal. At least, that's my take. Soon, we will know if I was right.

Tropical Storm Fay May Be a Windwalker

In 6 hours from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. while over "land," Tropical Storm Fay's winds increased by 5 mph from 60 to 65 mph. Her minimum central pressure dropped precipitously by 16 mb from 1002 to 986 mb. Her forward speed has slowed from 12 mph to 8 mph. All of these are signs that Fay is strengthening. At first, I was baffled. You can hear the amazement in the voices of the reporters. How can this be? Hurricanes are suppose to weaken over land.

After looking more closely at the maps, I realized Fay is not really over land. It is over the Everglades, the river or sea of grass, and Lake Okeechobee. Fay may be what the Seminoles of old called a "windwalker." According to a native Floridian, a windwalker is a treacherous, seemingly gentle storm that "walks" across the Everglades, gathering strength, goes back into the ocean, and then slams back into land as a destructive hurricane. That is exactly what the National Hurricane Center's (NHC) models are beginning to project.

Unfortunately, Jacksonville and Northeast Florida may be the area that gets slammed. I'm praying I'm wrong. I urge all residents in the Northeast Florida and Coastal Georgia counties to stay very aware of what is happening with this storm. This is the time to make your emergency plans and get your supplies, if you have not done so already. For recommendations, go to my posting on June 1, 2007. Given the pattern of this storm, there may be very little time to act once Fay selects the stage for her final act. For direct access to NHC advisories, maps and discussions, go to http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/nhc_storms.shtml .

Correction to Previous Posting RE: Virginia Norton

Mea culpa (my fault). I made a mistake on the previous blog and had Mark Hulsey running against Virginia Norton. That is incorrect. Her opponent is Rick Buttner. I strongly urge a vote for Rick Buttner over Virginia Norton. Mark Hulsey is in the race for Circuit Court Judge in Group 11 with Adrian Soud. Although I believe either man would be a good judge, my vote went to Adrian Soud. I apologize for any confusion this error may have caused. I have edited the previous posting.

For your information, my votes in other Jacksonville races went to:

• Angela Corey for State Attorney
• John R. Crescimbeni for City Council At-Large Group 2
• W. C. Gentry for School Board District 3
• Rick Hartley for Republican Party State Committeeman
• Kay Ragan Durden for Republican Party State Committeewoman

Whether you agree or disagree with my choices, I urge you to vote. Early voting is available through Sunday, August 24th at many public libraries. Polls will be open on Tuesday, August 26th from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Virginia Norton v. Rick Buttner

If you are a Jacksonville resident, are you happy that the city kowtowed to the federal government and agreed to build all new H.U.D. housing in our best neighborhoods, such as Mandarin? Do you appreciate the higher crime rates and tumbling real estate values that have come with these newer H.U.D. complexes in previously stable and safe neighborhoods? If you are, then vote for Virginia Norton for Circuit Judge, Group 28. She is the city attorney you can thank for negotiating the appeasement deal with the feds.

If, on the other hand, you joined the fight to stop H.U.D. from taking over the apartment complex at Loretto Rd. and Aladddin in Mandarin, you can send your thanks to Virginia by voting for Rick Buttner for Circuit Court Judge, Group 28. If you are fed up with the increased robberies and assaults in areas along Sunbeam Rd., Baymeadows Rd., and Old St. Augustine Rd. on the Southside and 103rd on the Westside, I recommend you vote for Rick Buttner on Tuesday, August 26th.

Obama The Patriot Removes American Flag From His Plane

Barack Obama recently finished a $500,000 total overhaul of his 757. And as part of the new design, he decided to remove the American flag from the tail and another on the fuselage. To view photos, go to http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/airplane.asp . He replaced the stylized flag on the plane's tail with his campaign's symbol, a giant "O" with a rising sun over red and white fields. The flag that was above the passenger windows on the fuselage has been replaced by the word "Change."

What change in flags does Obama want? The U.N. flag? The Black National flag?

The Chicago Sun-Times reports: “A newly refurbished chartered jet flew aides and reporters from Chicago to meet the candidate in the Middle East. The gleaming white 757 is emblazoned with the campaign motto ‘‘Change We Can Believe In,’’ and equipped with an aft cabin that will permit Obama and a few top aides to recline in comfort. The candidate may sit where he pleases, of course, but one chair seems designed with him in mind. It’s the one with ‘‘Obama ’08/ President’’ on the headrest.”

Sources:

• Email received 8/1/08 and verified at Snopes.com http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/airplane.asp
• The Chicago Sun-Times http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/1068218,obplane072208.article