New Blog Post 2 – The Media Problem – IT’S YOU

 

            As I stated in my previous post, it is practically impossible in this day to have a civil, constructive conversation with someone of a differing opinion. The reasons for this are many. There’s education, culture, and family to name a few. But the one driver that constantly seems to outpace everything else is media.

        Now when I say media, I’m not necessarily talking about the traditional media of the past; the network news programs, newspapers, and normal radio programming. What I am talking about is the assorted mishmash of news sources we come across from the highly-partisan and rarely honest variety found on most forms of new media like cable news, social media, podcasts, blogs, vlogs, etc. The full list of sources is long, varied, and all-too-often remarkably unchecked by anything resembling truth or, God-forbid, facts (regardless of what side of the aisle they are on).

           Yes, we have 24/7 access right in the palm of our hands and it’s easy for many of us to not only stay informed, but over-informed, misinformed, or completely uninformed as well. Far too many of us are so “well-informed” that we believe we can’t possibly be wrong, and we are all-too-ready to attack anyone who disagrees with us or hasn’t acknowledged the flaws in their own arguments.

 I’m not picking on anyone, it’s just the truth. Honestly, I have been that “informed” person before. So I know from where it is I describe.

 As I thought harder about this, I began to realize that much of the problem stems not from the variety of news services or opinion pieces, but from our desire to consume only the sources that reinforce our beliefs or speak to what we want to be true. Sadly, there is an over-abundance of sources, so if one wants to, they can easily stay in their own little multi-media universe, complete with groups of like-minded believers and never accept the fact that there are people who have differing opinions who can be caring, logical, intelligent, honest, and might have a good point.

 As I look back on my 52 years on this planet and I can see the direct correlation between the rise of incivility and the proliferation of the 24/7 media, multi-media, and social media. When I was in my 20’s and before, most Americans read the newspaper, those actually made of paper that left ink on your fingers. We listened to music or sports on the radio, and we might catch the nightly national news program in the evening for 30 minutes before we ate supper.

 In my youth we got our TV news from Chancellor, Reynolds, and Cronkite. By the time I was in high school, college, and the early years in the Navy those names had changed to Brokaw, Jennings, and Rather. Those were your television news sources. We read the paper, watched the evening news, and we were done – THAT WAS IT!

 We simply didn’t sit and watch hours upon hours of CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Newsmax, CNBC, HLN, etc. We didn’t sit in front of a screen and watch YouTube videos. We didn’t listen to countless hours of Podcasts. We got our daily dose from a news sources and then we got on with our lives.

 We lived life away from media. We went out and enjoyed evenings with our friends. We watched sports. We went to the movies, and we saw movies without a political tone, you know… for entertainment. It wasn’t about us not wanting to be educated about our times and what was going on (newspapers…. DUH), it was about us being informed productive members of society, not mindless drones enslaved by the hours of biased, partisan media of any nature.

 Maybe we should try to get our news like we did before. Subscribe to your local newspaper. Watch the nightly news on ABC, CBS, or NBC at 5:30 pm or 6:30 pm depending on your time zone. And then leave all the rest alone.

 Try it for a month; heck, try it for a week if you can’t do a month! Put down your phone and look around. Turn off cable news, quit spending all your time looking at Facebook, twitter, Instagram, snapchat, or whatever else you look at. Enjoy your family, your friends, your neighbors, your community. I guarantee you’ll get enough news and info from the paper and the nightly news to know what’s going. And you’ll have more time to decide for yourself what you believe rather that forming your beliefs from what you are exposed to on internet media, cable networks, and social media.

 Give it a go. Maybe, just maybe we can begin to reintroduce civility to our conversations.

 

Cheers,

Bill

New Blog Post #1 - Reset

 

It’s time to start writing a little bit more often. For those that don’t know, it has taken a while for me to get back to place in my life where I feel secure enough to express my thoughts; so, it’s time I start writing again.

             In the past, this blog has been a little more partisan than I would have liked. I thought about removing the old posts, but I decided to leave them as they are a part of my journey down the road of development as an American, a Texan, a veteran, a family man, and a Conservative. Often, my journey has been more of a moderate view of American Politics. So, I wanted to start this blog back up to make some points, spread some helpful information, and hopefully start some respectfully civil dialogue.

              Far too often today’s political discourse takes about five seconds to lose all semblance of civility and disintegrate into the ridiculousness found regularly on an elementary school playground.

 “No, I didn’t… Yes, you did… No, I didn’t… etc.”

             Far too many intelligent and respected people fear speaking out less they find themselves cancelled by some loud-mouth who makes their points through volume, interruptions, and absurdity rather than civil discussion and understanding (Side Note: I am a recovering “Loud Mouth”). They don’t listen to anyone who has a differing opinion, only a favorite news outlet, podcast, YouTube video, or alternative media source that puts out the information they want to hear – AND they’re on both sides of the political/social spectrum.

             So, I have decided to take this blog in a direction that promotes discussion of ideas. A place where you can agree or disagree and not be attacked or cancelled. I have my opinions on issues, and they are formed by my beliefs and my experiences. When I started this blog way back in 2009, I was like so many hyper-partisan people we see and hear from today. I never really listened to what someone was saying. I would often interrupt as I already knew what the other person was going to say and just wanted to get my point out as it was far more important than anything the other person had to say.

             After much soul searching, prayer, counselling, and repentance, I have learned so much better how to listen, how to empathize, and how to have an actual discussion of ideas rather and delivering a proclamation of why my opinion was right. With genuine interest, I can hear out the differing opinions and ideas of others. It may or may not change my mind, but I will listen and be open to the exchange of ideas to better understand what others think. I’m not perfect by any means, but this has helped me be a better husband, father, son, friend and Christian.

             Far too often people go through their day looking for the next argument or fight about the subjects of the day. What a harsh way to spend your time. We must realize the truth of life; we come into this world with nothing but the love of those around us and God-Willing we will be surrounded by the love of those around us when we depart this world. Remember that the next time you’re “looking for a fight.”

 In closing, I leave you with this:

We can disagree without being disagreeable,

We can have differences without division,

We can compromise without abandoning our principles,

And we can work together, and we should!

 

God Bless,

Bill

Want Economic Development – Buy Local

With the news that Bitmain is “Scaling Back Operations,” many in Milam County are asking what’s next? Everyone is looking for the Homerun that will put Milam County back in the positive as far as tax base goes and help lower the tax rate that threatens to still go higher in the near future.

As reality starts to set in, it’s important to realize that a tax base and county-wide gravy train like ALCOA only comes along once in a long while. To continue on with the baseball analogy, and truth be told, any good baseball coach will tell you that homeruns rarely win you the game. It’s when a team puts together the base hits and solid overall offense that the game is won.

ALCOA was a homerun and every since they folded up shop, Milam County has been looking for the next grand slam. It’s time to get serious about economic development in Milam County and that starts, like all things political, at the local level. So, in short, the local level is where we have to start if we truly want to build a stronger Milam County.

I’ve looked around and there really isn’t anything you need, or want, that can’t be found right here in Milam County. From groceries, to clothing, to household supplies, to building materials, to auto dealers, to furniture, to any list of items you could need; It’s all right here in Milam County. I hear the arguments all the time; from it’s too expensive to there’s not enough selection, you make the argument and I guarantee you I’ve already heard it. So what’s the truth?

It’s your money, do what you want with it, but when businesses fold in Milam County we all lose. You might spend a bit more to shop at home and you might not be able to get that exact designer brand you had your heart set on, but when you shop local you are supporting you neighbors, friends, and your own pocket book over the long run. And when you leave the county to do you shopping, the county loses out on the tax money generated by the sales, and in turn so do the Milam County Tax-payers.

When you buy in Temple, Bell county enjoys the windfall of your purchase, Milam County gets nothing. If you buy in Bryan, Brazos County wins; buy in Austin, Travis County gains; buy in Waco and McLennan County adds to their coffers. See the trend?

When you shop out of county for items and stores fold in Milam County, the tax base shrinks. When Milam County citizens leave the county to find work, the county loses a tax-payer and the tax base shrinks. When the tax base shrinks, the tax rate has to go up to pay for county services.

I hear all the time, ”if there was an HEB here in Milam County I’d shop there, but I have to go to Temple/Taylor/Bryan/Waco to use HEB?”

GUESS WHAT…. If we all “sacrificed” some and shopped locally for a while, HEB would notice and build in Milam County. BUT… HEB doesn’t build in Milam County because they know you’ll make the 25-45 minute trip to the nearest HEB. They don’t need to come to Milam County because Milam County will come to them.

We have three car dealerships in Milam County and several used car lots, yet how many people take the trip down the road and buy a car and give their tax money to other counties. That’s a lot of money every year that leaves Milam County.

Home improvements are an always an ongoing occurrence, yet every hardware store and lumber yard in Milam County struggles while you drive to the next county over to shop at the big chain store. I’m not sure, but I think most of the local stores employ local Milam County folks and help sponsor a great deal of the charitable works throughout the county. You don’t see too many of the big chain stores helping around Milam County.

Patronizing local businesses are the base hits that win a game. Sure it would be nice to hit the homerun, but the base hits and the full team press of a shopping local are what makes for a strong tax base, a lower tax rate, greater overall economic development, and a more prosperous Milam County. We might not be able to draw the Home Run, but each of us can make the base hits it takes to keep Milam County Strong.

Batter Up,
Bill

Civility in the Modern Political Era

With this week’s death and funeral services of President George H. W. Bush, we have seen a great deal of civility and national unity. It always does my heart well to see this sort of camaraderie in our country, especially considering the constant bickering, name-calling, and hateful talk that normally comes from Washington, and the rest of the nation on a daily basis.

Regardless of your feeling for the former president, one thing that is apparent is that during the time of Bush 41 and before, there was greater cooperation and thoughtfulness in every part of the political arena. Prior to and during Bush 41’s presidency, there were disagreements over issues and differing plans on what was best for the country, but those disagreements were generally handled in a professional and respectable manner even when members hated the other members.

In today’s government it’s quite the opposite. Today, the hatred is openly displayed and even if the members of the two parties actually get along, they can’t be seen as such in the public eye. It’s too hard for these members to admit that while they don’t agree with the other side, they actually can have a friendship with each other. It’s too hard because we as a society can’t believe that we can be friends with those who have different political views.

When Jack Kemp died a few years back, thee was talk about how to bring civility back into politics. When John McCain died recently, there was once again talk of bringing civility back into politics. And this week once again, we talk of how civility has been lost in the halls of government. Yet in reality, all this talk will fade in the next week.

This time next week we will once again be in a place where one state party is trying to boost membership by offering bumper stickers that don’t promote their party, but make fun on the other party’s losing nominee. Next week will see the leader of one party spewing venom at the other party’s leader and vice versa. We will see on PAC running ads not promoting their stance on an issue, but attacking the values of the alternative view. Not telling us why they’re right and the other view is wrong, but simply why those who believe opposite of them are a racist, or degenerate, or whatever attack they can make not to give their views substance, but to denigrate those who subscribe to the opposing view.

Can we get back to a place of civility in American politics and government?  I don’t know.

But regardless of the leadership we are to follow, civility starts like all things in politics – at the local level.

We must learn to be civil to each other, we must learn to be respectful of each other, and most importantly we must learn to make our arguments in support of what we believe and now to denigrate those who believe opposite of us. Until we learn to do that, we are doomed to the same partisan bickering that has our country in a death spiral. AND make no mistake, that is the direction America is heading.

God Speed 41 and God Bless America,
Bill

Spending Bill My Foot!

In the last 24 hours the Congress passed yet another bill so they can keep their doors open. When Congress does this it's called a Spending Bill, when a company does this it's called Fraud, and when we as individual Americans do this it's called Bankruptcy.

But not the government!

For them it's business as usual.

Why do they call it a spending bill?

Because it would be too long it they called it the "we can't live up to our obligations as responsible stewards of the public's money and are completely incapable of balancing a budget" Bill - which is entirely what it is.

Oh, make no mistake about it, both parties are complicit in this charade. When one party is in the power they say it's necessary to keep the country (Code for government) working and the other party says it financial irresponsibility. When the other party is in power they just change jerseys and play the others parts.

In reality, a spending bill means that once again the elected officials and bureaucrats have let us down and are kicking the Washington bar tab farther down the road. A road that is unsustainably deepening with each subsequent Spending Bill.

10 years age, 15 years ago, 20 years ago, it doesn't matter. Every few years we hear how this new budget will put us on a "path to a balanced budget" in the next decade. How's that working out for us?

Basically, the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over expecting a different result. Think about that the next time you rush to the polls to vote for your favorite incumbent. Until we hold them accountable for their inability to meet the demands of the fiscal responsibility that only a balanced budget can deliver, then nothing will change.

Oh, and before some politico or their staff asks you how you would fix the problem, remind them that they were elected to make the changes necessary to do just that. AND if they can't, then they need to get out of the way and let someone in there who can lead.

The answers to fiscally responsible governing aren't hard to find, but they can be, and usually are hard to follow through on.

Cha-Ching – There They Go Again!!

Later,
Bill

The Oval Office and Grandmother's Rules!

Many years ago, folks had respect at all times in the Oval Office. In his book "A Different Drummer," former Reagan White House Aide Michael Deaver tells a story that epitomizes that respect.

As the story goes, he was accompanying President Reagan back to the Oval Office from the front lawn following the White Easter Egg Roll. Deaver describes the day as unseasonably warm and of how everyone was hot and sweaty upon their return. As everyone begins removing their suit coats and loosening their ties, he noticed that the President was not. Deaver suggested to the President that it would be fine if he did the same. With that, the President looked up towards his staff and remarked that his respect for the office and the hallowed they were occupying prevented him from doing so. With that Deaver said the entire staff tightened their ties, put there coats back on, and never again thought of entering the Oval in anything less than a suit and tie during the workday.

This last week, President Trump  invited presidents and administrators from Historically Black Colleges to the Oval Office for a meeting. During the meeting a photographer took a picture of the event. Everyone was standing around the President in a normal staged setting for photographers, except for White House advisor Kellyanne Conway who was sitting with on her feet on the Oval Office couch.

As for me, I’ll just say that she should have been standing and standing out of the way, not sitting in front of everyone on the couch, on her feet on the couch. BUT that should be a minor Protocol issue that can be corrected and not happen again; however, the press and liberals blew it up and then the ensuing retorts from the Right have followed keeping this in the news and making it a much bigger issue than it should be. Meanwhile, the realists of society sit here and give it the much-adieu-about-nothing head shrug.

But here’s the truth, the Oval Office is not just a work place, it’s not a lounging area, and it’s not a hangout spot. The Oval Office is a special place. This is the office of the Commander and Chief of the United States of America. This is where the people of America expect the work of the President to occur. It’s the one office where Americans demand the utmost of respect and decorum.

So whether it’s Kellyanne Conway’s feet on the couch, Obama’s feet on the Resolute Desk, or other frolicking in the Oval Office; it really doesn’t matter, disrespect is disrespect.

But like everything else in the last twenty-five years or so, both sides of the political aisle are trying to one-up each other on who has had the most, or the least respect for the Oval Office. As usual, it’s political gamesmanship, and another episode of the venomous back-and-forth that weakens us as One Country.

So how about rather than making it a Democrat/Republican issue, we simply use Grandmother’s age old test of, “Would you do that in your own home and with your own furniture?”

For the Record, that was a trick question. If you answered no, she would respond with, “Then don’t do it here.” If you answered yes she would respond with, “Well this isn’t your house!”

So just like Grandmother’s house, it’s never alright to disrespect the Oval Office, even unintentionally.

Keep your feet on the floor,
Bill

School Choice or Public-Education Abandonment?

Everyone has the right to a free public education – THAT’S IT! No more or no less.

Just as when the United States was created, the Constitution of Texas also allows for the right of a free public education through high school. It also allows parents the right to put their children in a private school and/or to home school if they so choose (at their own expense).

These days we are seeing an even bigger push away from the public education system in favor of other alternatives. Alternatives such as Private Schools (religious or secular), Charter Schools, Alternative Schools, and Home Schooling. All of these options have their positive attributes and all have shown to have positives as well as negatives.

Which is right for you or your children? It’s hard to say because each child, and each family is different. Are public Schools broke? That depends on which schools you look at, but it has as much to do with the community around that school system as it does the school itself.

Not a single school system can be successful without community/parental involvement in the education process. Schooling our children is an active process. It must involve the parents as much as it does the children and the teachers. Unfortunately, far too many parents only become involved in the education process when there is a problem. Far too many parents are absent from their child’s daily school life.

Regardless of the many issues facing Public Education, removing resources from the public education system is not the way to handle the issue. Our problems with public education have come from the state and federal government confusing oversight with micromanagement.

Unfunded mandates, mandatory testing, and financial manipulation by the state and federal government are the root causes of the educational failure in this country and this state; furthermore, robbing the public education system of more resources will not change that. Stripping away at these resources will only serve to deteriorate the already frail inner-city schools, weaken strong schools, and steal from the small-town local education that is a key part of the very fabric of rural Texas.

I hear many folks say that they want to use the tax money they pay for public schools to pay for a private school for their children. OKAY, but there are so many flaws with that system. First, take me for instance; let’s say I pay roughly $500.00 a year in school taxes on my home. That hardly seems enough were I to elect to send my child to a private school, or to home school them. But I have/had 4 kids in school at one time – YEAP – No Where Near Enough!!!

But what if the state or federal government gave me something like the $4,500.00 a year voucher or credit such as Indiana gives out? That sounds great too; however, what about all the hidden fees associated with private schools or home schools. There’s uniforms, books, lunches (no free lunches in private schools or home schools), equipment fees, extracurricular fees, and facility fees to name a few. I doubt that voucher would cover all that.

Then there’s testing! Yeap, testing is an inevitable part of accepting public money. What about the fact that once private schools accept public money they will most likely no longer have the ability to select the enrollment of certain students over others as they do now. Oh the strings that come with accepting “government” money!!!

In all honesty, vouchers tend to favor people who can already afford private schools. Vouchers help to offset their costs. But vouchers really won’t make much of an impact on those who are most affected by the failing public education system.

Instead of stealing resources from public education might I suggest a few items that will make things better:

1.       More emphasis on local control and less (Or No) emphasis on Mandatory testing!

2.       More emphasis on vocational and agricultural education.

3.       Appropriate emphasis on college prep.

4.       Less emphasis on athletics. Do we really need $60 million-dollar football stadiums?

The problems that plague out public-school system can be summed up with the following: Testing over Learning, Athletics over Academics, College Preparedness over Vocational/Agricultural Education, and Parental/Community Management over Government Controls.

Vouchers, Credits, etc. won’t fix that.

Want to know more? When was the last time you asked public school teachers about this?

I bet it’s been too long!

Later,

Bill 

You’re Not Boycotting Trump…You’re Boycotting America!

                There are few men in America that garner the respect than Rep. John Lewis, but this boycott is not a reason for reverence. Lewis and some 60 or so of his peers in the House of Representatives are boycotting the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45^th President of the United States.

                I can understand being opposed to a candidate for office and not being happy for their election; however, they were elected and they serve as our President. Just as Barack Obama was elected, Just as George W. Bush, Clinton, Bush-41, Reagan, Carter, and on and on. They may not be our choice, but once they take that oath of office they do indeed become “OUR” President – AND the inauguration is a celebration of “OUR” Country.

                When Obama was elected, I heard a lot of folks who wanted him to fail or called him “Their” or “The Democrat’s” President. That was wrong. Regardless of how you voted, the man elected to sit in the oval office is indeed “OUR” President and to wish him to fail is in turn wishing for our country to fail.

That’s why the members of the House who are boycotting the inaugural aren’t just boycotting Donald Trump, they’re boycotting America.

Yes, that’s a strong statement, but it’s the truth. Whether you voted for or against Donald Trump, this is the transfer of power that makes our country such an amazing place to live. Since 1797 there has been a peaceful, respectful, and amazing transfer of power that is unique for all Americans. Boycotting this event shows contempt for the process, and in turn for our country.

By starting this page of history with a boycott, these boycotters have only shown that they are already starting out on a foot of negative wishes, thoughts, and purpose. Yes, it is their right, But that doesn’t make it right.

John Lewis has a tremendous history in the Civil Rights Movement and was a friend of Martin Luther King. I think Dr. King would have looked to start this chapter of our history with good will in hopes of working together for the betterment of America. I believe Dr. King would attend the inauguration with respect, Christian reverence, and in prayer not only for our President, but for our country.

God Bless Us All,

Bill

Private Manning's Communtation!!

In the final 72 hours of the Obama Administration we are witnessing the pardon and commuting of prison sentences taking place at a disturbing pace, and in a disturbing manner. Yesterday’s commutation of Private Manning’s 35 year prison sentence is one of the icings on the cake.

Private Chelsea Manning, formerly Bradley Manning (I refuse to get into the whole transger issue), was convicted of violations of the espionage act and sentenced to 35 years in Federal Prison for his actions. Specifically, Private Manning illegally shared over 750,000 classified documents with WikiLeaks and, in turn, other outlets. These documents were of many different types including items as sensitive as troop movements, incident reports,  and after-action reports.

Documents that explained what our forces were doing, when they were doing them, and how they were doing them. Documents that gave out valuable data that allowed our enemies to know how, when, and where our forces would be conducting operations. Information that exposed the places our forces worked from, when they would be working there, and from what sources our intel was coming from thereby putting those sources in danger.

And even though the press or elected officials won’t say it, most military folks will tell you that the information that Private Manning exposed did put many people’s lives in danger, and most likely cost people their lives. This information was found on multiple terrorists computers including the one taken from Usama bin Laden’s computer. Safe to say they weren’t holding it for posterity, they were using it to attack our sources, our troops, and our security.

Private Manning deserves his term in prison. Actually, he probably deserves worse. The good American Veteran in me says he needs to serve his prison term, as a man. The spiteful, revenge-seeking Veteran in me says he should be released after he is given his sex-change operation, and then he should be flown over and dropped off with ISIS. Let's see how those who benefited most from his treason treat him as a woman (or whatever). Doubt he’d be happy with that.

Instead, he will be released sometime this summer, long after the Obama Administration is forgotten and most of the “Obama Legacy” is corrected. The concern for Private Manning should be his shelf life on the streets of a country he betrayed. He won’t be “just a citizen.” He will be a marked man….or whatever.

48 Hours To Go!!

Later,
Bill

Be Careful with Your News!!

There’s been a lot made of the 24-hour news cycle, false social media news, opinionated journalism, shock-value journalism, and major cable news services in the pocket of one party or the other. To an extent, it’s all true.

But it doesn’t have to be.

I have a close friend who is a newspaper man. He and I have been friends for years even with our differences on many political issues. I consider myself right-of-center to his left-of-center. At one time, we were on rival sides of the political fence as far as holding office as Party Chairs for our small Central Texas rural county. It was the most harmonious of times two party chairs could enjoy as far as working together to ensure smooth elections. Then he moved and…. well that’s another story.

One common issue we both have is where people get their news and how what they perceive a talking heads position as actual news. Twenty years ago, and before, most people got their daily news from three main sources: a local or regional newspaper, the nightly news, and the radio.

Today people are bombarded with news from a variety of sources beyond the aforementioned traditional sources. Twitter, E-Mails, Facebook, Instagram, Talk Radio, text-messaging, Snapchat, and cable news organizations are a wealth of information….AND Disinformation.

I was talking to a gentleman the other night and his line of reasoning came right from the ultra-conservative, conspiracy-theorist, talk-radio game plan. I’ll not mention what programs or sources he had gotten his “news” from, but obviously they came from “news” programs hosted by today’s brand of typical opinionated talk-show hosts – NOT real newsmen.

Listening to him talk I realized how much people rely on all these forms of news and how much they are impacted by this over-saturation of “news.” It made me want to share where I get my news and information and what I feel are good news sources.

First (and foremost), I have subscription to both of our weekly county papers, and I generally read one of larger daily papers as well (Houston, Austin, or Dallas). This gives you the local and regional news.

Lastly, radio and TV news. I know everyone has their preferences but here are mine. Along with our local radio news programs, I watch or listen to three radio/TV programs fairly consistently as I feel they offer the most honest coverage and present viewpoints from both sides of the political spectrum. In the morning, I prefer “Morning Joe” on MSNBC. In the afternoon, I listen to Jake Tapper’s program on CNN and Bret Baier’s program on Fox News. If those programs aren’t on I listen to a mix of the BBC news and Public Radio news with a smattering of C-Span. Yeah, I’m a news junkie/nerd.

And while I am a news junkie/nerd, thanks to my friend the Newspaper Man, I also closely watch what is reported to make sure I know what the truth really is. I do browse the internet for stories, but it’s not hard to get tripped up on a false story from the web, an e-mail, Facebook, or the other web-based sources.

In closing, I often keep this in mind. My Grandfather always told me to be careful and don’t believe anything you hear and only half of what you see. Basically, in regards to the news, what he was saying is if you want to know the truth go out and get it. Don’t be lazy and wait for someone to bring it to you.

As a concerned citizen, gathering honest news is an active process. If you want the truth you will go get it. If you want to be ignorant…. well that’s pretty easy these days.

Extra, Extra…..

Bill

Does your service equal your wants?

It's always amazing to me how those who have done the least for their communities, their states, and their country tend to be the ones crying for more benefits they are "entitled" to, raging against those who don't agree with them, and/or are whining about how unfair things are.

If you haven't done anything to be a part of the solution, help your fellow man, and/or serve your community or country, then you are part of the problem.

No one can do it all, but everyone can do something to make things better. So ask yourself what you have, or are doing to make things better. If the answer is nothing or you have to think too long about it, well you're probably part of the problem.

Rant for the Week

I had suspended this blog site and thought about deleting it in order to concentrate on sports, but I can’t let it die. Especially since there are so many ridiculously clueless folks out there who need some education on common sense and personal responsibility.

Normally when I do a rant I like to go through five or six items currently running in the news. Today I really want to touch on one general subject and let it rip….RESPONSIBILITY!

Like most responsible people, I am sick and tired of hearing about how unfair life is in the United States and how little the government does for us. Actually, if the government only did what it is constitutionally responsible for it would be more than enough.

Nowhere, and I mean NOWHERE in the constitution nor in the Declaration of Independence did our fore-fathers ever agree to provide you with anything more than the opportunity to allow you to make a future for yourself in this country. They guaranteed Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness (not the guarantee of happiness).

There was no promise of a free college education, a minimum wage, paid-family leave, welfare, unemployment, food stamps, Medicaid, or any of the other idealistically socialist endeavors taken up by past or present elected officials. Sure there can be valid reasoning or purpose for some if not all of these; however, these were never guarantees we have ever been given, nor should they be seen that way.

Currently the United States is not hovering on the brink of bankruptcy – WE ARE THERE.

As a country, our path is corrupt, ineffective, and completely unsustainable. To think anything else is pure insanity. For the most part, our elected officials want to believe that they have long-term solutions and ideas that will ease the pain associated with correcting the path to destruction this country is currently on.

Unfortunately, I am not sure there are enough responsible folks out there in elected office to correct this problem. Too many politicians claim to have a handle on the issues. They “know” what we need to fix what ails us as a country. Of course this is complete bunk because if they actually did then they WOULD HAVE DONE IT.

Truth is, far too many people in the United States don’t have that sense of responsibility and look to focus the blame for their shortcomings or societal woes squarely on……on…..on….well, anyone else but themselves.

From the plight of the oppressed to the welfare of the poor; politicians and activists groups prey on those willing to blame anyone and everyone for their place in the world. In the next few weeks I hope to hit on individual topics that touch on all these issues; however, first we must all be in agreement that we are responsible for ourselves and our own actions. Until responsibility is taken, we cannot begin to focus on those issues we need to address and repair.

So the next time you begin to say to yourself, “I could/would do that, but I can’t because……”, stop yourself and find out what it is you’re a limiting yourself with. Nine times out of ten it is you who is doing the limiting.

Are you an advocate and active member of a constructive change like in Charleston, or are you a member of the self-perpetuating problem like in Ferguson. Ask yourself, will I be an asset to my cause like Martin Luther King, Jr. or Mother Teresa, or a leader of violence-inducing, hate-spewing reactionary activism groups like the Black Panthers or the Klan.

Each of us must make a decision to be a responsible and respectful person of character willing to make the tough choices to make things better. We must approach these issues from a standpoint of personal responsibility and quit looking for easy outs that allow for that responsibility to be shifted to another person, group of people, or the government.

My Grandfather’s were greatly responsible for my beliefs and values; and they both were similar in this piece of advice. If everyone took care of their own back yard and if everyone would help at least one other person to a better place in life, this world would be fine.

I know I’m still working on mine, but how is your back yard and how many people have you helped out?

Later,

Bill

Never let a tragedy go to waste!!

I try not to go political so soon after a tragic event; however, since POTUS already has, I feel a need to point out that contrary to what President Obama believes, the fact is that making guns illegal WILL NOT affect the ease with which someone can get a gun to commit a horrible act.

AND to use this tragedy to go after a political agenda less than 24 hours after the tragedy occurred once again shows POTUS to be nothing but an ethically challenged political hack.

God Bless the folks of Mother Emmanuel AMC....you are all in our prayers.

God Speed to the departed, God Bless the survivors...
Bill

Rant For The Week!!

Here is a little rant on a Tuesday evening for everyone to enjoy.

1. With all the commotion about the Duggar family scandal, I find it ironic that the press is giving Republican Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee a hard time for his friendship with this family when Democrat Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton has been married to an accused sexual predator for 40 years…….HMMMMM!!

2. Sad anniversary as today marks one year since the JV….err…..ISIS took control of Iraqi city of Mosul.

     

3. In case you were counting, this year the Senate has already voted on 31 bills. That’s impressive since last year, under the supreme rule of Harry Reid; the Senate was only able to complete votes on 12 pieces of legislation.

        

4. Before Hillary is crowned the Democrat’s successor to Obama, take a look at a recent Wisconsin straw pool which Hillary barely won 49% to 41% over Bernie Sanders.

        

5. Remember last month when everyone in DC was going crazy about Amtrak funding? Wonder what happened to that?      OH YEAH…that Caitlyn chick…….

       

6. This week a Pakistani Court acquitted 8 of the 10 men who took part in the attack on 14 year old Malala Yousafzai. You remember her; she wrote a women’s rights blog and was shot in the face by this group of adult men while sitting on her school bus. Yeah….Pakistan….They’re our friends!

     

7. By the way, when President Obama starts to give President Putin advice about how to make his people happy he might want to check on that. Putin’s approval ratings by Russian voters are in the 80% range as polled by third party sources and not by the Russian media. Just to get an idea of how big that is, it’s twice as high as Obama’s own approval rating by American voters.

       

8. Lastly, today I was in a conversation discussing the rough handling of the disrespectful young lady who caused much of the problem in McKinney, Texas. I was asked how I would have reacted had that been my child? I simply smiled and let them know that my child would have had enough respect for the authorities and themselves to NOT be there.

Phew…..eight items and they’re short enough to read quickly….Just some things to think about.

Later

Bill

Obama – The Private School Hypocrite

I don’t mean to keep picking on President Obama but when he makes it so easy I just can’t help myself. Don’t get me wrong; I do find him to be an Arrogantly Ignorant Blowhard. So I don’t mind pointing out his complete ineptness as he makes it far too easy for a smart-aleck like myself to find the humor and irony in a situation to pass on the opportunity to point out his hypocrisy.

AND he does make it easy.

Yesterday, at Georgetown University, the President was part of a discussion panel and decided to attack the rich and privileged for living in elitist neighborhoods and sending their children to private schools. He said that by doing so they live away from poverty and as a result never have to deal with the same issues that those of us in the masses have to.

Well that all sounds like a guy who came from the masses, who is living with them and fighting for them!

Only one problem – HE’S NOT!

Obama came from an upper middle-class background and attended mostly private schools growing up including high school at the elite Hawaiian Punahou School; a school that currently costs over $22,000 a year to attend.

Then he followed that up by attending college at Occidental, Columbia, and Harvard – All Private Schools. I won’t go into the whole “how all the tuition was paid for” and “what all happened to get him into these schools”; that’s covered enough by others.

But of course private schools in how he was educated. Surely after being forced to attend those dreaded private schools and with his current philosophy on social correctness he wouldn’t expose his own children to this continued hypocrisy…..RIGHT?

WRONG!!!!

First of all, the Obama’s live in a house in the elite Kenwood area of Chicago. A house they purchased for a measly $1.6 million, but there’s nothing elitist about that!

Then there’s the option of where to put his two daughters into school; surely the Obama’s do as they preach and have their children in public school?                  

NOPE!!

Now this is not a slight or a picking on of their children, but POTUS can’t tell the public how screwed up things are and then not walk the walk. Nope, the Obama’s have always had their children in private schools.  AHHHH….the hypocrisy continues.

Now I’m not picking on the Obama’s for living the life they can or for where they were educated or where they live. I believe it’s everyone’s right to live where they wish and educate their children as they have the means to and how they see fit.

I have lived all over and attended both public and private schools; and would never think of passing judgment because of where someone chooses to live or where they send their kids to school.

Neither Should the President.

As POTUS you can’t use the “do as I say, not as I do” argument; or at least you’re not supposed. Unfortunately this President does it all too often and no one ever seems to call him on it.

Just sad!

Bill

Failed Foreign Policy

This week Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting with his Russian counterpart and today even made a trip to Russian President Putin’s home in Sochi. The Russians have been laughing at us for the last few years once President Obama made his famous open-microphone remark to Putin-Puppet and former Russian President Medvedev. You remember that remark…the one where Obama said once the 2012 election was over he would be able to do whatever he needed to ease the Missile defense woes of the Putin Regime.

You know; the missile defense network that is in place to help protect the west from Russian aggression.

Of course the Obama chuckleheads have been under the impression that Russian aggression is a thing of the past – Tell that to Crimea and Ukraine. It’s just hard to believe that there might be someone on earth who honestly believes this current administration has even the slightest clue as to how to handle anything when it comes to foreign affairs. Just look at their track record.

Shortly after Obama comes into office there is a student uprising in Iran that could have tilted the balance of power there and overthrown the Iranian government putting the U.S. in a position to influence the future of Iran. What does the White House do – Wait for it – NOTHING. Nothing done by a new president who could have immediately set a high mark but instead dropped the ball and left thousands of students and revolutionaries out-to-dry (i.e., executed and imprisoned).

Then there’s Obama’s first Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s “Reset” button with the Russians in 2009. We should have known this would be a failure when the button actually had the Russian word for “Overcharged” on it rather than the planned “Reset.”

You would think the State Department might have one fluent Russian Speaker – I mean at least ONE!!

Then President Obama exercises his delusions of grandeur and gives the OK for a SEAL Team strike on Osama bin Laden’s family rather than just bomb the tar out of the terrorist leader’s home. So, for this stroke of the President’s Ego, several of our finest were risked and we lost a Top Secret Helicopter. THEN the Pakistani Doctor who helped our Intell folks find OBL’s actual location gets left behind and is jailed by the Pakistanis……You Know, our allies.

Then there’s the Chinese takeover of several atolls in the Spratly Islands. The Spratly Islands are a set of reefs, atolls, and small islands in the South China Sea that is both strategic and oil-rich. They have been disputed property between China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia for years. Until the Obama Regime took command the balance of power in this strategic region had been kept mainly by the U.S. Navy to maintain the peace and allow for free use of international shipping lanes. Since 2009 the Spratly Islands have been highly militarized by the Chinese as they have been dredging and building up the islands with airstrips, piers, and other permanent structures. Ahh…..who cares about freedom of navigation?

Next is the Arab Spring. Remember how that was supposed to create peace, stagnate Islamic extremism, and allow for greater freedoms while cooling extremist terrorism………How’s that working out?

Of course then there’s:

-          -ISIS

-          -Benghazi

-          -Crimea

-          -Ukraine

-          -Fighting alongside the Iranians in Iraq and against them in Yemen

-          -Fighting again in Iraq

-          -Trading five terrorists for a traitor

-          -Failed Iranian Nuke Deal (be honest, there is no deal)

-          -Allied Arab leaders not coming to DC this week even at Obama’s request

There isn’t one significantly positive foreign policy item the President can hang his hat on – AT ALL.

Al Qaeda is still alive, ISIS is not the junior varsity, Russia is stronger than at any time since the cold war, our European Allies are extremely leery since the NSA leaks, and the prestige and clout of the United States and the office of the President has gone to absolute zero with all the failed “redlines” and all the ambiguously diluted “Let me be clear on this” statements made in the last six years.

Just Sad, and that’s just his Foreign Policy; unfortunately it’s also our foreign policy.

19 more months to go…….

Bill

Is the Presidential Spine Ever Arriving?

Maybe it was because I was raised at a time when an ultimatum by the President of the United States meant something and carried considerable weight. Or perhaps it is because as the United States of America we should strive to be as strong as possible and be leaders in the world. Apparently President Obama is not in that same path of belief.

Regardless of which President you talk about, none of the preceding Presidents in history have provided the shallow, confused, and just overall weak leadership President Obama has consistently and steadfastly exhibited. Today, when faced with two tremendous situations in Israel and Ukraine the President makes a five minute statement that was embarrassing to say the least. Of course it would be surprising if any world leader even paid much attention to his comments on much of anything at this point in his presidency.

Pertaining to Israel the President stated the same talking points as Secretary of State John Kerry did yesterday on the Sunday Morning Talk Shows. Of course that was after Kerry’s open-mike gaff where he stated the case that many already fear the administration has. President Obama said that the Israelis have every right to protect themselves and to destroy the tunnels Hamas has used to attack them. THEN he went on to say that now is a time for cessation of hostilities and for Israel to retract to the 2012 borders and allow for diplomacy.

Of course just a few days ago when both sides agreed to a cease-fire Israel did so while Hamas Terrorists continue to fire rockets into Israel. Now Obama wants Israel to stop their operations which will only result in allowing Hamas to regroup as it always has in the past. Let me spell it out this failure of an administration. Hamas is a terrorist organization. They are sworn to Israel’s destruction making them the equivalent of what Al Qaeda is to the United States.

Many people do not understand, but for us in the United States, and more to the point those of us in Texas, this would be the equivalent of Al Qaeda Having possession of Galveston Island, firing rockets into Texas, hiding in schools and hospitals, and using women and children as human shields all while being forced by the world community to suck it up and deal with it.

Of course with the current White House Administration, that sort of appeasement would not be too hard to believe; however, for those of us in Texas I think we would prefer to handle this a little differently; just as we are already having to on the Texas Mexico border.

So the President makes one of his grandiose statements basically saying the Israelis have the right to protect themselves; HOWEVER, now it’s time for them to stop. As ridiculous as that was, then he turns to the utter tragedy that is the downed Malaysian Airliner.

First he rightfully identifies the Russians as being directly and indirectly responsible for this incident. That was honestly well done and should be acknowledged as such. Then he states that Putin must do the following: stop the tampering of the wreckage site, grant access to international investigators, and provide for the dignified return of the bodies of these victims. All in all that was excellent…..then he blew it.

Unfortunately the President reduces the toughness of his initial indictment of Russian responsibility by then issuing yet another of his fruitless “Red Line” statements just as he has in the past and declaring that that if the Russians persist in this current direction they will continue to isolate themselves and risk a penalty that will cost them greatly……….HUH?

What does that mean? Probably nothing which is about the same thing as when he stated that there would be a dire consequences for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should he use Chemical and Biological weapons. By the way, NOTHING happened when the Syrian President allowed the use of Chemical weapons….TWICE!

Clearly Vladimir Putin is not afraid of the stupendously ignorant drivel that disguises itself for foreign policy emanating from this President and his administration. Of course what did we expect from a community organizer and self-promoter who is more concerned with campaigning, fundraising, and which club to use from 100 yards out than he is that actual running of the country?

It is pathetic that at a time when the world needs strong leadership the United States is led by such incompetence.

God Bless those in harm’s way and the families of Flight 17,

Bill

Congress vs. The People

With the loss of some incumbents in this year’s primary and the squeakers by some of the other incumbents, it is important to understand how the influence over these races is handled by the incumbents in office. It is said in politics that the hardest thing to do is beat an incumbent so I thought I might shine some light on this. There are three basic advantages the incumbents have; the ability to keep their campaign accounts open, send out free mailers while in office, and the biggest advantage is to have congressional campaign committees to work for them.

Firstly, each congressman can go ahead and keep campaign fundraising and create the traditional “War Chest.” That means that during their term of service a congressman can continue to fundraise for the upcoming election while their opponents will be limited to only fundraising after the date they can file their appropriate state paperwork for office. Not really fair, but hey, it’s the incumbents making those rules.

Secondly, each congressman can continue to send out mailers to their constituency via their congressional “updates” which are essentially propaganda packets similar to the mailers you will be getting from them during the election with one exception…..they don’t make harsh mention of their opponents. By the way, these aren’t free; they’re usually paid for with tax money (Your Money) and/or possibly with that aforementioned War Chest we talked about.

Lastly, the one that really cries of the cronyism we all confess to despise, congressional campaign committees. Both the senate and the House have them as do both parties as well. These committees are supposed to help each party build majorities in their respective chamber; however, in recent times they have become an incumbent protection syndicate. Money is raised by these entities and rather than sit out of the primaries, as they should, these committees use their money and influence to protect their incumbent brethren.

A few weeks ago in the race for the 7^th Congressional District of Virginia, incumbent Eric Cantor, who also serves as the House Majority Leader, was beaten by a political novice in the form of College Professor named Dave Brat. Following his defeat by a Republican in the Republican Primary, the House GOP Congressional Committee’s leaders said that had they known Cantor was in jeopardy they would have offered more support in the primary – WHAT!!!!!

Sounds crazy……But that’s the norm.

Let’s look at two other recent cases for examples of this self-protectionism.

In 2011, with redistricting up for debate and legal action in Texas, there was much confusion over who would run in which district. In the newly drawn Texas 35^th District, Democrat Joaquin Castro was preparing to run for office; however, Rep. Steve Israel, leader of the DCCC, or the House Democratic Campaign Committee, said they would support sitting Representative Lloyd Doggett who had also been drawn into that new District. Israel said, “We have a theocracy at the DCCC that we support sitting incumbents, across the board, in every case, we support sitting incumbents.” It’s okay, Joaquin just ran for office in another District where the Democrat incumbent was retiring – Problem Solved.

Before you think I am going off against the Democrats, let me provide another example in order to show you that this is not a “Democrat vs. Republican” issue, but it’s an “us against the entrenched incumbents” sort of issue. Just this last week we saw the same sort of protectionist agenda in the case of Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran. Following a pretty healthy, or unhealthy, loss to State Senator Chris McDaniel in the Mississippi GOP Primary and the aforementioned loss of Eric Cantor in Virginia, the National Republican Senatorial Committee injected the Cochran Campaign with fundraisers and influence in order to secure a victory for a career politician who first went to Washington in 1973 – think about that! That’s a lot of protection!!

In the last few years most people, Democrat and Republican, have been clamoring for the replacement of congressmen all over the United States, BUT HOW? There has been a small amount of incumbents beat in the last few years, but not enough to force the change America needs. Now I’m not saying they all need to be removed (maybe 90%), but there does need to be some serious change in order for America to progress forward. Unfortunately, with incumbents holding the aces with War Chests, Free Mailers, and Campaign Committees in their pockets, there doesn’t seem like much for the rest of us to do.

BUT THERE IS!

We must let these cats out of the bag. Question our Congressman, both at the state and national level. Be active in the political scene. Years ago it was said politics was one of those subjects a person didn’t bring up in civilized conversation – NOT ANYMORE! If you’re comfortable with the direction of where your state and country are headed then do nothing. But if you believe things must change then all of us, each and every one of us, Republican or Democrat, must step forward and make our voices heard. Sometimes it’s hard. Sometimes it requires you to step out of your comfort box. But unless you are comfortable with mediocrity, and possibly losing the very country we hold dear, then we must all stand and make a difference.

Remember, Congress is counting on you not getting involved!!

Batter Up!

Bill

Iraq….An Attempt at a Scorecard!

Okay, I am going to try to explain some of the complexities of the war(s) in Iraq. There are so many an intricacy in this situation that it barely makes sense much less even seems possible - So I’ll try anyway!! I am going to try to make a little sense of it, or at least expose the unsettling complexity and nearly impossible positive outcome of any involvement there.

Before I start I think it is important for me to confess that I was one of those who thought our involvement in Iraq was a bad idea when we invaded in 2003. Not because I thought the situation with Saddam Hussein didn’t warrant some sort of action, but because I knew that there would be no easy answer to the question of what’s next once Hussein was removed as leader of Iraq, and I was concerned for the number of veterans who would be returning from that conflict with lifelong disabilities – Mental and Physical.

When you look at the Middle East you must understand that while these countries have ancient names, they are not of ancient geographical origin. The countries that are found in the Middle East were drawn up following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the First World War. Unfortunately, these borders were based on geographical boundaries and not along the true ethnic homelands of the peoples involved. They were based on borders that would benefit the victorious nations of Europe as they began to rule these nations as colonies or as puppet regimes.

Since we are discussing Iraq we can start there. Iraq includes three specific cultural groups; the Kurds to the north, the Sunnis in the middle, and the Shiites in the south. What is the difference between Sunni Islam and Shia Islam? Well about 1300 years ago or so these two factions disagreed over who should be Muhammad’s successor and they still haven’t worked it out. That may be a little simplistic, but it’s all we have time to talk about here as this blog is already going to be way too long.

Now comes the tricky part.

The Kurds actually inhabit a loosely defined area known as Kurdistan that falls into portions of Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Armenia, and Syria. They have their own language and culture but unlike many elsewhere in the Middle East, there is not one specific religion considered Kurdish. While most are a Muslim base, many are Christian as well as other religions including Judaism. These folks live in the northern portion of Iraq and make up about 20-25% of the Iraqi Population.

The Shia Muslims are the minority portion of the Islamic world, but they make up approximately 60% of the Iraqi populace and reside mostly in the southern portions of the country. The Sunni Muslims make up the majority of the world’s Muslim population, second only to Christianity in numbers; however, in Iraq they only constitute 15-20% of the population and live in the mid-regions of the country. Even though the Sunnis are the minority in Iraq, until the 2003 invasion they had been the ruling sect of since Iraq has been independent. To do this they used brutal coercion and intimidation to reign over the Kurds and Shiites.

Many folks have questioned the reasons that we did not go after Saddam Hussein following the Gulf War in 1991. Simply put, the allies needed the use of staging points and bases in Saudi Arabia and the Saudis would not go along with Desert Storm had Hussein been removed. The Saudis were concerned that the removal of Hussein might come with the installation of a Shiite regime which in turn might invite the Shiite-led Iranians into Iraq and the Saudis wanted a Sunni buffer between them and Iran.

A decade later, following the 2003 invasion and the subsequent overthrow of the Hussein regime, the power vacuum in Iraq became apparent and the cultural rifts and ancient divisions between the long ruling Sunnis and the Shiites came painfully to the surface.

With the 2011 pullout of US and allied troops in Iraq, a huge leadership void emerged and was all too quickly filled with the influence of the Iranian government. Then, following the subsequent Arab Spring and the Civil War in Syria, the real complexities of the Middle East have now come in to play and the current administration has absolutely no clue how to deal with it. Then again, neither have any of the previous administrations since the colonial influences began to fail in the Middle East.

In the last few weeks, news of a Sunni faction called ISIS or ISIL has come to light in the press with news of their control over cities like Mosul and Tikrit; cities where many US troops gave their lives to secure. These ISIS extremists also have ties to Al Qaeda which is bad; however, they are also part of the rebels that are fighting the Shia government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad – our enemy. But how can the enemies of our allies, the Iraqi government be the same people fighting a Syrian government seen as our “Enemy,” AND be a part of the Al Qaeda the President swore was decimated while he ran for office in 2012 – DOWN RIGHT PUZZLING?

But now it gets even more complex. The ISIS uprising in Iraq has been around since last year and briefed as far back as August of 2013 by US Intelligence Sources. So now the President has ordered 300 Special Forces troops into Iraq to train up the Iraqi army; however, he has refused them air support. But that’s fine as that bit of assistance is being picked up by Syrian Air Force and Iranian drones - BRILLIANT. 

Then this week the President announces that he wants to give $500 million to the Syrian rebels (mostly Sunni) to help fight Assad’s forces. Rebels that include the same ISIS troops who are working to fight the Iraqi army he is sending 300 troops to train. Seems rather counterproductive doesn’t it?

Don’t worry, the President says they will vet these rebels - but how? Are they going to be carrying an ID card to show what part of the rebel army they are in? Nah….we’ll just take their word for it. After all, that’s how their buddies in Iraq got the US equipment that we left for the Iraqi Army!

Let us not forget the Kurds in the north, they wished for autonomy in 1991 but were refused as the only way to get Turkish assistance in enforcing the no-fly zone over Iraq during the 1990s was to ensure that there would be no Kurdish independence. Now the Kurds have a chance to be free and possibly have a country of their own. They have been relatively silent and have gone into self-preservation mode as far as this current round of fighting has gone.

In summary, what is completely lost on the last few administrations is that fighting in the Middle East is not just about the geographical entities involved, but also about cultural, religious, and regional entities that might or might not be diametrically opposed in any given country, AND how these entities of all shapes and sizes might or might not be colluding with each other regardless of whether they are a nation, a culture, or a military sect.  Confusing isn’t it?

In short, we are trying to help the rebels that are opposed to the Syrian government; the same rebels who are part of Al Qaeda and fighting the Iraqi government we are also supporting; the same Iraqi government who is allied with the Syrian and Iranian governments we oppose and have sanctions against. AND we’ll train the Syrian rebels in Jordan so that Jordan can get involved and become unstable like the rest of the area.

I hope this has removed your confusion on being baffled by the mysterious entanglements of the complex intricacies of this region of the world. The one thing I take from it all is that since there is no way to know who is helping who and who is actually opposing who, then there is no reason to try and make any long term plans in this region. The Middle-East is a region of conflicting political, religious, and ideological beliefs inhabited by a majority of folks who are divided based on overlapping geographical methods who will take up arms to settle almost any disagreement. There are some sophisticated peoples in the region, but overall they do not have enough authority, nor do they have adequate support, to exert Westernlike-Civilized control.

There!! That was pretty simple…right?

Bill

A Rant for the Fourth Week of June!!

I felt like I needed to shoot out a new rant and get this blog up and running again……It’s been a while.

-          Hillary Clinton first claimed that her and Slick Willie were poor upon leaving the White House…of course they made $12 million the first year out of the white house and she was already a Senator getting paid as such……But honestly…...It was hell for them.

-          Now Hillary claims that her and SW are not as rich as other multi-millionaires (she made $5 million last year). If you just go by those two numbers then they have cleared over $1 million a year since leaving the White House and that does even include the other 11 years in between. Go ahead Hillary….keep using that line of logic….that should connect with common folk….or at least the DEM Lemmings!

-          The IRS requires seven years of records for their auditing purposes, yet they can’t even keep up with emails from two years ago that congress wants for their auditing purposes. I’m not sure why someone doesn’t subpoena the NSA for the IRS’s emails……they gotta be there somewhere.

-          This week the President spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and according to Josh Earnest, the new White House Propaganda Minister…errrrr….Spokesman, the President told Putin that if he didn’t back down from his current aggressive position that there would be “additional costs” to pay for their aggression. I’m sure old Vlad is shaking in his boots over that threat. Let’s see….the community organizer vs. the former KGB Colonel…….WHATEVER!!!!

-          Lastly, I am glad that the leaders of Texas have taken the next step to help secure the southern border of the state from the influx of illegal immigrants and criminals. Now if we could better control the influx of immigrants across the rest of our borders from the liberal havens like California before we are outnumbered.

Well there you go. I didn’t mention a few things, but I intend to write about them in the coming days.

Thank You For Your Support,

Bill