Shortly before the 2008 presidential election, candidate Barack Obama proclaimed before a cheering crowd of supporters, “We are five days away from fundamentally transforming America.”  That statement raises several immediate questions. First, does America need to be “fundamentally transformed”? Next, why does America need to be “fundamentally transformed”? And thirdly, what does Obama want to transform America into? To answer those three questions one must first know the answer to the more basic question, “what is America?” America has a relatively short history when compared to the longevity of other nations. Many nations have indeed been “fundamentally transformed” over the years. Coups and revolutions occur with frequency across the globe. In fact, the nation of the United States of America was created following a revolution. In the late 18th century America was transformed from a colony of the British Empire into an independent democratic republic – an improbable, noble, and unique experiment in a government “under God”, a “government of the people, by the people, and for the people…” (see Gettysburg address). More than anything, America is an idea. America is an idea founded on the belief that man’s fundamental rights come from God – not from government. The rights bestowed upon man from God are many but the most fundamental of these rights, as clearly spelled out in the Declaration of Independence, are “…Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”  read more »

I served in Vietnam from 1968-1969 and I had an MOS of 0251 as a USMC Interrogator/Interpreter with the 11th ITT, MACV-I Corps. Most of the interrogations were performed right in the field where the PW's (Prisoners of War) were captured so that we could collect timely tactical intelligence. I am sure that this saved many lives of my fellow Marines since we were able to provide actionable information to field commanders. After we conducted field interrogations, high value PW's were sent to detention facilities for more in depth interrogations to determine higher level strategies, command structure, and future battle plans. Interrogations were removed from Marines in the 1970's and given over to the Army and the CIA. Most of the interrogations took place away from the battlefield and timely actionable intelligence was rare because of the time it took to transport PW's to facilities away from the action. The CIA was not so concerned with tactical intelligence as much as strategic, longer-range intelligence. I cannot speak to the quality of the Army interrogations except for the reports that I have read which indicate that they were more concerned with not crossing the line of approved techniques per the US Army Field Manual than they were with obtaining timely, on-the-scene information which could be immediately disseminated to battlefield commanders. Additionally, many of the interrogators were not trained in the language and customs of the enemy, as we were in Vietnam, so much of the intelligence was filtered through translators which meant that information could be misunderstood or manipulated. Now CIA interrogators are under scrutiny by the US Justice Department and are intimidated by possible prosecution for their interrogation techniques. It appears that the Obama administration wants to release terrorists and go after those who questioned the terrorists. The CIA is now so blackballed that all future interrogations will be conducted by the FBI - a law enforcement agency. This is madness! The terrorists who were captured on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan or planned attacks against America are not scofflaws - they are captured enemy combatants. They are not bank robbers or carjackers or muggers. They are Jihadists - soldiers for Islamic extremism with a mission to attack the "Great Satan" America. The Obama administration and his Justice Department want us to return to a pre- 9/11 mentality. I want us to return to a Vietnam battlefield mentality. We would all be a lot safer if we did.  read more »

What if I had told you in October 2008, before the last presidential election, that before Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office, the federal government would be in control of both the mortgage and the banking industries? That 19 of America’s largest banks would be forced to undergo “stress tests” by the federal government which would determine that they were “insufficiently capitalized” so they must be supervised by the government? Would you have said, “C’mon, that will never happen in America”?

What if I had told you that within Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office the federal government would be the largest shareholder in the US Big Three automakers – Ford, GM, and Chrysler? That the government would kick out the CEO’s of these companies and appoint hand-picked executives with zero experience in the auto industry and that executive compensation would be determined not by a Board of Directors but by the government? Would you have said, “C’mon, that will never happen in America”?

What if I had told you that Barack Obama would appoint 21 “Czars”, without congressional approval, accountable only to him – not to the voters – who would have control over a wide range of US policy decisions? That there would be a Stimulus Accountability Czar, an Urban Czar, a Compensation Czar, an Iran Czar, an Auto Industry Czar, a Cyber Security Czar, an Energy Czar, a Bank Bailout Czar, and more than a dozen other government bureaucrats with unchecked regulatory powers over US domestic and foreign policy? Would you have said, “C’mon, that will never happen in America”?  read more »

President Obama has recently been traveling throughout the world apologizing for America’s supposed arrogance, aggression, unilateralism, and other sins. In Europe Obama proclaimed “In America, there is a failure to appreciate Europe’s leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.” This shows an amazing sense of naiveté and a complete ignorance of American and world history.  read more »

Here's the problem with war today, as I see it. Many in America (and most of the civilized world) no longer understand the consequences of warfare. We have become so sensitive to civilian death and suffering that we (and our ally Israel) attempt to conduct an antiseptic war where no one is harmed except verified enemy combatants. Those who are most critical of America and Israel's prosecution of the war against the Islamo-fascists who wish to destroy our democratic way of life want to hold us to an impossible-to-achieve standard of humanitarian conduct.  read more »

There is an ancient proverb that says, "They who lie with dogs will rise with fleas". Perhaps Barack Obama is beginning to understand the truth in this proverb. The president-elect's most recent questionable association is with the Democratic Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, recently arrested for allegedly conspiring to use his power to appoint someone to Obama's vacant senate seat in exchange for financial payment or appointment to a cabinet position, ambassadorship, or a powerful union position.  read more »

Barack Obama has now been elected the forty-fourth President of the United States. He ran a very organized campaign and has made history as the first man of color to be elected to the nation's highest political office. Democrats have increased their margin of representation over Republicans in both houses of congress and hold a majority in the senate which should allow them to pass almost all legislation they desire. This election can be seen as either a repudiation or an opportunity for the Republicans Party. I see it as a little of both.  read more »

During the rule of the Roman Empire the fascia, a bundle of sticks surrounding a spear, bound together with twine, was the symbol of the power of the Caesars. Any time the Roman Empire went to war, the fascia accompanied the army. The spear represented the might of the Roman military which would be deployed to defeat all external enemies. The sticks represented the internal power that the Empire would use to beat her citizens into submission to Roman law.  read more »

Can someone please answer this question for me? How can Barack Hussein Obama be qualified to serve as Commander-in-Chief of the US Armed Forces when he probably cannot receive a security clearance? He has not been able or has been unwilling to produce a valid birth certificate proving that he is a US citizen. He has associated himself with a domestic terrorist (Bill Ayers) who was a member of the Weather Underground, a con man (Tony Rezko) convicted of fraud and bribery, anti-American preachers (Jeremiah Wright and Michael Pflager), and a group under investigation for voter fraud (ACORN).  read more »

The fact is most people don't understand basic economics. The Democrat Party, supported by the liberal media, has recently been advancing the canard that the current financial crisis is the fault of the Bush Administration and Republicans. And most polls indicate that the majority of Americans have accepted this story line. But what is real and what is simply political propaganda?  read more »