SUBTLE AS AN ATOM BOMB I sort of expected that.
by James Haste, Casual Mayhem, Freedom Fighters of America
February 3, 2015
I sort of expected that. That the Jordanian pilot was already dead I mean. It’s not that complicated to provide proof of life, yet ISIS kept not doing it. The burning to death did surprise me though. You’d think the rage caused by the beheadings would clue them in to the likely reaction of people to that sort of thing. (And yes, burning someone to death IS worse.)
They’ve also destroyed any good faith attempts at negotiating hostage exchanges – or ransoms, with anyone. The “experts” (whoever they are) seem to be indicating that the pilot, Muadh al-Kasasbeh, was actually burned alive on January 3rd. This is well before his name showed up in conjunction with any ransom or exchange proposals. Also let us not forget that the same seemed to be true with Kenji Goto, the Japanese journalist who was most recently beheaded. This was also well in advance of the ransom demands.
There is, I suppose, the remote possibility that all this was done to deliberately burn bridges, but that strikes me as unlikely. Any bridges are indeed now ash. I suspect that the leaders simply cannot or do not wish to control the army they built with enough authority to keep prisoners alive. Under those circumstances that would make the videos little more than spin control. Perhaps it’s a desperate attempt to say “yeah- I meant to do that.” to their own people as much as to the rest of the world. If nothing else, they’ve got to LOOK like they are in control.
This would, if true, indicate a lack of discipline within the ISIS ranks, which would be good, though I would hesitate to call it even a “silver lining.” But it might be usable militarily and/or politically. I hope.
Jordan is apparently now planning to execute several ISIS prisoners in retaliation. (Probably before you read this.) I’m not sure what good it does to execute a failed suicide bomber. On the other hand I’m not sure what good it does to keep her alive. I don’t know who the other prisoners are, so your guess is at least as good as mine. I will say that it strikes me that Jordan is within its rights to do so, no matter how many liberal heads explode. Not that they are going to ask permission.
The only thing I can conclude is that ISIS does not WANT to negotiate a peace. ISIS wants to conquer all the Muslim nations and destroy or enslave all the others. Obama CANNOT wrap his head around that. God help us all.
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If You Can’t…
by James Haste, Casual Mayhem, Freedom Fighters of America
January 21, 2015
“If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull.” – W.C. Fields
That’s pretty much what Obama tried to do in the State Of The Union. Sadly, he failed.
The night is not a total loss though. I remembered why I usually skip Obama speeches and read the cliffs notes. Lesson relearned.
The speech started with a rundown of how well we are doing. Obama managed to take credit for everything good but the sunrise, and apparently we are all doing really well. He even accepts our gratitude for it!
After that he proposed a laundry list of domestic programs that will be dead on arrival in Congress. (In my opinion the most insulting of these was the promotion of the very same space program that he gutted like a fish.) All of which would be not even close to paid for by closing some tax loopholes. Essentially he was wasting his breath and our time. He knew it too. That man likes the sound of his own voice way too much methinks.
On the international front – Did you know we are done in Afghanistan? The Afghan government can now apparently handle things all by themselves! Did anyone tell them that besides Obama? I don’t think they know. We are “Making a difference” in the war on terror. I suppose losing is making a difference, yes? Also we are “Stopping ISIL.” (ISIS) That must be why they now control more territory than ever. Damn we’re cool.
He did request a use of force vs. ISIL (ISIS) bill. He’s going to get it too, because we aren’t actually suicidal. I still believe that he has no idea what to do with force, authorized or not. I am hoping he accidently does something right.
He also threatened to veto any legislation that got close to his sacred cows. We knew this, but I suppose it was only polite to tell us AGAIN.
Finally we had the “Can’t we all just get along?” moment. He promised to “not only seek out Republican ideas” but to “Work with (Republicans).” I am somewhat skeptical. He’s going to need to PROVE that one.
I’m not baffled, but I DO need a shower.
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SKINJanuary 14, 2014
Oh, I don’t give a damn about the color of it. What gets me is how it seems to be getting thinner and thinner all over the damn world. And that somehow lots of people are OK with that.
The Charlie Hebdo attacks were a direct result of this thin skinnedness – which is viewed as appropriate in the Koran apparently. At least enough Muslims support this with their own thin skins, that terrorists feel comfortable acting in the open.
Then there’s the inability of the White House to say the words “Muslim” and “Terrorist” in succession. Screw the body count –somebody might get their feelings hurt!
And my personal last straw today – Lena Dunham of “Girls” fame, announcing that “Deranged Neo-Cons” make twitter an unsafe emotional space. Twitter is about free speech, not emotional safety. That’s something adults are expected to provide for themselves or if they can’t, to ask for and ACCEPT help.
Freedom you see, seldom has much to do with safety. It’s more important than that. And if anyone else wants the freedom to be an idiot, they have to let me be an idiot in turn. That’s it, my whole argument. But many, many people can’t handle that anymore. Including the President, apparently. It’s sad.
How it is that being so thin skinned that any idiot can goad you into fits is somehow safer than working up a little tolerance and self-control is beyond me. If you run around wearing a sign that says “PLEASE – DON’T KICK ME” sooner or later someone is going to kick the hell out of you for their own personal amusement. Might even be me. I’ve had a few less than noble moments in my life.
Seems European Muslims are finding themselves in this spot now. It’s probably overdue because the longer it goes on, the bigger the price for stopping it. No go zones and separate laws will not fly.
Anyway, we ALL could use some thicker skins.
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Can we be done now?
by James Haste, Contributor, Freedom Fighters of America
Seriously, I’ve about had it with Ferguson. Why does this thing still dominate the news cycle? I mean, police brutality happens – no doubt some of it is actually race based. But this particular one seems to be one of the most unfounded cases ever. It’s still a tragedy, mind you, but everything seems to point at Mike Brown being high and attacking the policeman, who killed him in self-defense.
Everything else seems to be assorted individuals and groups taking advantage to promote their own agendas or profit – much to the detriment of hard working people in Ferguson. How much of that poor city must be burnt to the ground before the residents can catch a break anyway? What is supposed to be acceptable here? These are minority businesses under attack. If someone is looking for revenge they sure as hell seem incapable of aiming in the right direction, and it builds no sympathy whatsoever. All it does is paint the protesters as vicious brutes instead of the concerned citizens I believe most of them to be.
This may be a horrible thing to say, but I truly believe that many of these national organizations ACTUALLY PROFIT if all of Ferguson is burnt to the ground. I believe they are inclined to provoke exactly that. These people are not friends of the community. They intend to use it, and maybe use it up. THEY will be just fine if that happens. They will suddenly be more influential, and they like that idea. But they need to create a crisis before they can champion a cause, and they have.
I’ve gotten to the point where I more or less expect all the race baiting that’s going on, but nobody should mistake it as my having any level of sympathy with it. It’s quite simply vile, and I am not inclined to allow anyone to delude themselves into thinking it’s acceptable.
It is, quite simply, time to cut off the hatemongers profits. This media circus needs to be over.
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November 19, 2014
by James Haste, Contributor, Freedom Fighters of America
Everything points to a riot
There’s been too much preparation, planning and hype to avoid it, I think. Everyone has decided. Everyone is arming themselves and getting ready for hell. THEY certainly believe IT’S coming. I don’t believe it would make a difference even if they charge that cop with first degree murder. Too much time, effort and money has been put into rioting. They are GOING to do it. They’ve already decided.
It’s really sad, but the truth of what happened no longer counts. I won’t pretend to know exactly what happened, though like everyone I have my theory. But from the media to the protest groups nobody cares. All that matters is that there is a supremely visible, widely televised riot so that assorted protest groups can justify their existence. Maybe they can raise a little money and do some recruiting too.
Never mind the townspeople caught in the middle. Living there is just their bad luck. Never mind the businesses destroyed. If you own a business you have too many dealings with “The Man” anyway! It’s not like there’s already an unemployment problem. (Oh, wait…) At any rate there will be contracting jobs – if the owners have enough money to rebuild, and actually want to stay in the neighborhood. They’re probably better off with an insurance payout anyway. Assuming they have insurance.
And never mind the example set for the young. They need to know that rioting, or a threat to do so can solve all problems! If you aren’t getting what you want, BURN DOWN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD! (You can even get in some looting! Why should professional criminals make all the profits?) That fixes everything.
Right?
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October 29, 2014
by: James Haste, Contributor, Freedom Fighters of America
First, allow me to apologize to the readers for the several missed columns over the past months. I have been having health issues and have spent a lot of time in the hospital. I am deeply indebted, and grateful to FFOA for their understanding in this difficult time.
Funny thing about being in the hospital, you spend a lot of time watching TV. If you are me, it’s mostly news 24/7. Due to this I learned much more about Ebola than I ever wanted to know. I did however figure out some stuff while doing much more research than anyone ever should, and I thought I would share my conclusions.
First, if the goal is really to keep people from panicking, TAKE THE BASIC TIME HONORED PRECAUTIONS EVERYONE IS FAMILIAR WITH! Specifically I am thinking of travel restrictions and quarantines. Refusing to do so does not inspire a sense that the administration has everything under control – It makes us think they don’t know what the hell they are doing. Add that to their recent track record and reasonable people begin to panic, which is what they claim they are trying to avoid.
Understand that ALL restrictions are going to look like draconian overkill, especially if they work. The alternative is to do stuff that doesn’t work and then apologize or blame someone else. That’s not good enough. Also if everyone is given an exception to the rules you may as well not have the rules in the first place. Keep the quarantined for the full 21 days and let them whine about it in good health along with their healthy friends and family.
I think it is ridiculous and insulting to assume that some of the proven bravest people out there, the medical workers who volunteer to go work among the diseased at great personal risk, are going to be frightened off by a 21 day quarantine. They know the stakes much better than the rest of us and they go anyway. Please do not insult them by doubting their courage.
Now none of this is exactly rocket science. The new Ebola Czar should be able to handle it even if he is as qualified as the Romanovs. All of this simply requires some political will. (NOW you can panic!) This is not a situation for negotiation. It simply gets done and people complain or it doesn’t and maybe we get that crisis nobody wants. Most important, If you don’t want to think about this sort of thing, either stay out of the hospital or watch something besides news.
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GREENIES
September 24, 2014
by James Haste, Contributor, Freedom Fighters of America
Greenies are this awesome dog treat that is supposed to keep your dog’s teeth clean. My dogs love them! I understand that they are made from actual Global Warning zealots, which means I love feeding them to my dog too! As a bonus this means there is actually a use for these people, although I am a little concerned that my dogs might catch something. I wouldn’t touch those cretins.
In a brief summary, we know that Climate Scientists have faked data and lied, and been well paid for it. Unfortunately for them, now that they are carefully watched, they can’t seem to make an accurate forecast about anything relating to the climate. Also there are new green billionaires who lobby mercilessly to keep Climate Change in the media. They’d really like to keep their money and make more, so “contributions” abound. All of this, however, has been covered exhaustively - even by me.
As a cute capstone to the craziness take a look at VHEMT HERE. They are real…
The weirdest part of the Greenie movement though is where in the hell do they get all the zealots to go out and make trouble on their behalf? And why would anyone want to put themselves and everyone else back into the Stone Age - much less under a headstone?
There have always been people promoting the end of the world and the one true path to survival. There have always been snake oil salesmen and people willing to buy from them. There have always been those so desperate to serve some higher purpose, ANY HIGHER PURPOSE, that they don’t read the fine print. There have always been those people who are so desperate to be punished for sins real and imagined, from the loathsome to the banal. There’s always been some people who are so full of rage that they take the first opportunity to expend it, aim be damned.
Global warming, I believe is simply the latest bandwagon. This one is just painted bright green. There’s a saying that “there’s nothing new under the sun.”
I bet these teenagers hate it that that they’ve failed to be unique AGAIN.
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NOT NO, BUT HELL NO.
July 30, 2014
by James Haste, Staff Writer, Freedom Fighters of America
July 15, 2014
by James Haste, Staff Writer, Freedom Fighters of America
G overnor Cuomo is of course distraught and immediately goes screaming to Obama. Obama does nothing (because that’s what he’s good at). When Cuomo petitions Congress he is told “No! You can’t pick on New Jersey. They are just misunderstood!” All this happens while rockets continue to rain down on New York. Faced with this rejection, Cuomo decides to try to do something so he counterattacks and destroys a few of New Jersey’s launchers along with the people that were trying to fire the rockets.
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By James Haste, for Freedom Fighters of America CLIPPING CHINA Obama has decided that the best way to deal with 5 Chinese Military hackers is to indict them publicly for cybercrimes. The logic here escapes me completely, but this really happened. China is of course deeply insulted about all this demanding of our ambassador that the U.S. withdraw the indictments. All of this is perfectly predictable political theatre. It may not be true that the Chinese have the best hackers in the world, but it is definitely true that they have the best organized hackers. They are legendary. They have been doing this for a long time and they have earned their reputation. Still, this is a very strange strategy. These 5 men are probably not themselves the hackers, but most likely are their commanding officers. They never left China and likely never will. In essence, all we are doing by indicting them is saying China steals military and industrial secrets from us, which is already well known by anyone who pays the slightest attention. The Chinese may have lost some face over this, or pretend they did if it’s useful, but the only thing we are going to get out of this is their raised middle finger. But if that’s the way we are going to do this then let’s get some concrete gains. As China (and hopefully Obama) by now well knows, International law only exists where it is enforced. Not where you CAN enforce it, only where you DO enforce it. So international law be damned. Why don’t we fine them every time we find another Chinese hack into U.S. corporations or government/military computers? I’m thinking a billion a pop. We just let them know that some of the debt they own is considered paid because of this hacking. Now that will irritate them.
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"Some Are More Equal Than Others"
Vilification
September 9, 2014
by: James Haste, Contributor, Freedom Fighters of America
It’s in vogue on the left, accusations that as often as not are pure fiction (as in somebody made it up), followed by an immediate (pre-planned?) apology. This has the effect of convincing both the stupid and the overly conspiracy-minded that whatever manure was shoveled is the gods honest truth and “the evil Republicans are MAKING who-ever-it-is apologize through their evil influence. (Apparently the fact that their accusers LIED no longer matters at that point.) At any rate, the “apology” for this behavior is worthless. Treat it as such.
Now, my preferred way to deal with lies about how EVIL I am, is to own them completely. (I give small children nightmares? I AM SO COOL!!) But that probably doesn’t work out well for people who are trying to get elected to something.
Expecting the already biased Media to do something about this sort of vilification is a futile hope. The allegedly unbiased MSM chose sides long ago. On the upside that’s the choice that’s doomed them to a slow, lingering, and much deserved death, but until they give up the ghost they will give themselves as much company in oblivion as they can get – sadly, this means anyone on the right they get their hands on will be dragged down as well.
Now New Media (Internet) is buried with fact-checkers all over the place. The victims of these attacks should choose a politically aligned group to help them – others will most likely stand mute. Though there are surprises from time to time, In many cases they are not even needed – see Schultz/Walker. But the victims should absolutely establish their innocence regardless.
Preemption would be ideal, but I’m afraid retaliation is the only way to go after an attack of this sort. The victim HAS taken a hit from this kind of attack, and there’s little to do about it but hit back. SO HIT BACK! The most PC thing to do is to is to forge the lies into a weapon that you can use on the accuser. Remember apologies have no worth in these circumstances so the word “LIAR” needs to figure large in any counterattacks. Don’t soften it – IT’S NOT SOFT. “Con-man/woman” and “Deceiver” could figure large as well. Don’t forget to attack the avenues of dissemination as well – The people who SPREAD the lie should be in trouble as well. Don’t disappoint them, even if there’s no prayer of it working.
Hopefully the victims will be able to link these attacks to a pattern of deceptive behavior that can then be used against the liars. Track records of Liars are public too. They can and should be used, AND ADDED TO. If they are not dead, the liars are still producing a track record of false accusations. That sort of thing can and should be fought.
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No Plan
September 2, 2014
by James Haste, Contributor, Freedom Fighters of America
How is this acceptable?
No plan for dealing with ISIS.
It’s not like “Kill them before they kill us.” is a mental leap. Or if you want to sound diplomatic go with “Military and diplomatic preemption of hostilities” but “I don’t know.” is simply NEVER going to cut it. Not even for Obama.
Even for him, that’s just WEAK. I thought Obama was supposed to be this super intelligent constitutional law professor who was fully qualified to serve as commander-in-chief. This looks like a sophomore terrified of offending any of his professors.
Has he not learned anything from his repeated encounters with jihadi groups throughout his presidency? Apparently not. The only thing Obama’s constitutional training has brought us is a President who is constitutionally incapable of using force to protect our citizens. This is not a good thing in a commander in chief. Perhaps he thought he could just “Not Do” that part of the job. If so, he is mistaken.
Quite simply, this is not a good time for “Peace” in the world. ISIS, Putin, China’s shiny new navy ( did you know China is BUILDING islands so they can claim territory?) all seem to be intent on pushing hostilities with the US over the brink of war.
While Obama stands mute.
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Examples
August 26, 2014
by James Haste, Contributor, Freedom Fighters of America
A new angle of attack on my least favorite president popped in to my head the other day and it’s interesting enough to merit writing about. There’s truth to it, but is it true? Judge for yourself.
Obama has been conceited, petulant, and hostile to advice from EVERYBODY even those that would be his friends. In fact he’s so predictable about taking his ball and going home that nobody plans on him being around anymore. He won’t even debate or defend his positions; all he does is act insulted. He’s the one person who can never be wrong, at least in his own mind. He refuses to take care of anyone he is responsible for, especially those he does not like such as our military and vets, and regards obedience from all people as merely his due. Nobody has to like him – they’ve only got to OBEY his every whim, and his cheerleaders had damn well better drown out any and all opposition. That’s what they’re paid for after all.
I’m neither the first nor the last to make these assertions – They are everywhere. But it occurred to me the other night looking at the latest complaints about Congress that all these things are all true about the Congress as well. Obama you see is setting the example, and Reps and Senators on both sides are following it. Seriously, go back through the last paragraph and see if you think it all applies. I was stunned, and I thought of it. (There’s probably 0% chance that nobody else thought of it first, but I got here on my own.)
Whether he means to or not Obama sets an example by his conduct. There is no way to avoid that and it is consistently, consciously or not, mirrored by the rest of the government, on both sides of the isle. Even doing nothing sets an example – and we see it followed in the Congress daily by members of both parties.
Hiding from work sets the Example of hiding from work, inappropriately long vacations set the example of inappropriately long vacations, etcetera. And of course not getting anything done…
It’s food for thought anyway.
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Ferguson
August 18, 2014
by James Haste, Staff Writer, Freedom Fighters of America
Honestly, this entire situation is hell of a mess. The first thing EVERYBODY should remember at all times, so we don’t kill each other, is that regardless of whom (if anyone) you support this is a TRAGEDY. There is no upside for anyone in this. There was never going to be.
We’ll see what happens tonight with the National Guard out, but I think they will be tested at a bare minimum. (By now YOU know what happened, but I have to predict the future.)
I believe that the most urgent issue for the actual residents of Ferguson RIGHT NOW, is making sure all the riot and looter tourists don’t burn down the whole damn town. I heard they tried to burn down a grocery store last night. Ferguson might just need one or two of those, assuming the residents eat. Those professional criminals are not friends to the people of Ferguson.
I strongly suspect, if they would just analyze the home addresses of the arrested they could stop the outsiders at least. To do that, yes, they’ll have to start arresting people. Then they sort out who lives in town, and who is a professional looter or professional rioter. Both Police and Press should look at home addresses, specifically for Out of Towner’s. I truly believe it will be telling, and could at least give the police a chance to charge the organized rioters and looters as such.
This REALLY needs to work. The ONLY place left that the cops can go if it does not is Martial Law. This is a HORRENDOUS idea, but there you go. Failure to stop the nightly rioting is simply UNACCEPTABLE to all levels of government and the police. The pressure is just going to get worse and worse until it’s stopped.
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August 5, 2014
by James Haste, Staff Writer, Freedom Fighters of America
I read a story just now about how Mitt Romney is going to be the darling of the Republican Party 2016. I’ve been reading things like this from time to time for months. Lest this horrible idea get out of hand, I’m going to crush this stupidity now. HOPEFULLY in the process I’ll restore a few diehards to something resembling sanity.
My simple complaint? Romney didn’t fight. I don’t know if he doesn’t know how, or if he was unwilling, or if he hired people who he allowed to “hold him back.” There is simply no excuse good enough for his performance. Perhaps the meek will inherit the earth. They aren’t going to win the Presidency. Not in 2016.
People have seen President Obama petulant, smarmy, smug and unwilling to commit any act that looks like leadership for far too long now. He’s obviously decided to take his ball and go home, ALONE, for the rest of his term while ignoring any responsibility that he’s not fond of. That’s not leadership. It’s the antithesis of leadership. There is a real opening here IF WE ARE WILLING TO FIGHT FOR IT.
Do you remember? It was as if Mitt assumed that the Presidency was his birthright! As if he thought he was so damn well connected that he didn’t have to convince anybody! All the way through the campaign I was screaming in my head “FIGHT GOD DAMN YOU! FIGHT!” But no – soft spoken wimpyness was the order of the day.
That is NOT how you win an election in America. Candidates must show that they can fight for what is right, and get people fired up to fight with them. They must convince the people that THEY are the best choice even if the people don’t want to be convinced. Most important, they must continue to inspire – every day, from the time they decide to run until the time they leave office. Mitt Romney allegedly had to be talked into running by his family. That’s sweet, but hardly inspiring.
When Candy Crowley jumped into the debate and said he was wrong, did he invite her up on stage since it was 2-on-1 anyway? No. Did he even say “No, I’m right?” No. He gave up. HE WOULDN’T EVEN DEMONSTRATE THE CONFIDENCE TO STAND BEHIND HIS OWN WORDS. I’d have accepted it if he’d done it badly- but he didn’t even TRY.
And that’s more or less the story of Romney’s whole campaign.
Do you want to have him mess up ANOTHER election? No. He had his shot and frankly, didn’t take it. We need someone else.
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Obamatross
Now, I love Sarah Palin, I really do. She terrifies the left by existing and willingly draws fire away when lefties attack the right. I admire her – but she got this one wrong.
The democrats, you see are actually praying that Republicans do impeach the President and remove him from office. As things stand Obama is their albatross. He hangs around the neck of the DNC and holds them responsible, in part or in whole, for each and every Obama scandal. His “sins” are theirs.
The only thing that can free them from the albatross is us. I don’t want to and you shouldn’t want to either. Impeaching him would absolve the Democrats of all responsibility for all of his scandals. ALL of his disastrous decisions will no longer matter. Then the Republican Party will once again be the party of racists. This is the only thing that could possibly save the Democrats in 2016.
A few nuts and bolts. It only takes a simple majority of the House of Representatives to impeach. We could do this tomorrow. BUT it requires two thirds of the Senate to remove him from office. That is in fact the only sentence they can hand down. It has never been done. (I swear to God, Clinton enjoyed the process because in the end it was not even a slap on the wrist. He still brags about it.) I think we will get more than half of the Senate seats in 2014, but not two thirds. It doesn’t matter if we succeed or fail to remove him from office, not only do we give up every advantage we have, we will turn Obama into a living martyr. And he is going to live a long time.
You see, no matter how we squirm, it comes back to the fact he is the first black President. The only way to make sure no future President is ever excused for his incompetence by his skin color alone is to have someone to point at and say “Never Again!” Obama will be the guy.
I understand impeachment is an attractive idea. We all want to get that narcissist the hell out of there. But, if we impeach him, the people that put him there will walk away from all responsibility and they will quickly put another idiot in charge. Then we have to do this all over again.
So, Mrs. Palin, I respectfully must disagree with you. We need to leave the Obamatross around the neck of the Democrat Party. Impeaching him is quite simply the dumbest thing we could do.
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by James Haste, Freedom Fighters of America
How many
exactly?
Just how
many rockets should Hamas be allowed to shoot at Israeli population centers
every month? Come on guy-on-the-left-who’s-last-name-rhymes-with-Scary&Hairy?
What’s acceptable, Secretary Kerry? As
long as you are running your mouth off-mic anyway, put it out there for us! We
are but the poor unthinking mob, John! What would you like us to think? I want
to know! I really, really do! No doubt I
will be accused of taking advantage of an off mic comment, to which I respond
“SO?” Talk to me, Mr. Secretary…
Still
waiting…
Oh darn! I
guess he loves me not. And it was such a
nice day too. Why is it that no one EVER
thinks to ask that of him? I’m doomed to
the loneliness of the wordsmith…
I’m not
kidding about that. Why should I, or
anybody else, accept an answer greater than zero? Why should Israel accept an answer that I
wouldn’t? Why does our Secretary of State
not have an answer to that question?
Carnac the Great would say his answer is
“I’ve already answered that question!” Link please? This translates as
“Prove it, and pray you said what you thought you said” I am old enough to
actually REMEMBER Johnny Carson.” Of
course, he’s a politician and I’m sure
he’s tried to say everything at least once on the record just for folks like
me…(I wield so much power…) and the people who hired him- because it’s what
he’s paid for. Or in the words of his predecessor “What difference does it
make?” Out of context you say? I’m not so sure…
The great
Greg Gutfeld has summarized the liberal argument to date on THE FIVE as
something to the effect that “the Anti- Israel argument seems to be that Hamas
bombs aren’t very good. “ SO CLOSE, Greg! The bombs are fine – the AIM stinks. What Hamas should do is dig a bunch of
tunnels well into Israel so that they could just literally walk the bombs or
whatever over to the targets…
You know,
the same way I ask you to think with…
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Perspective
Lots of people spend lots of time trying to explain Israel’s position as it relates to the Gaza Strip. Mostly they fail, so I thought I’d join the group because I am such a big joiner.
Now many people start with Mexico firing rockets into the US (actually they are firing children, but that’s a different rant) and how we would be at war with Mexico in about 15 minutes. But that’s not a good example because it is much more complicated than that.
To put it in terms that are understandable, let’s say that Chris Christie and the rest of New Jersey start launching rockets into New York City. Because they want to. I mean face it, New Yorkers are annoying and damn proud of that fact. So, can you really blame New Jersey? (It’s almost TEXAS like…)
The Congress immediately condemns New York for war crimes. Humanitarian aid is sent to New Jersey. Unfortunately it is quickly discovered that more rockets and launchers count as humanitarian aid in the eyes of Congress and surrounding states. Meanwhile rockets continue to rain down on New York.
Congress convinces New York to give Manhattan Island to New Jersey so they will stop launching rockets at New Yorkers. Not only does this not work, but it is very hard on Queens and Brooklyn. Any attempt to stop the rocket attacks is condemned by Congress and all surrounding states. Continue to play this unwinnable game for 60 years.
Now you understand Israel and the Gaza Strip.
My apologies to Chris Christie, but since you are already doomed to wear the black hat, wear it proudly.
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The Leper
colony Obama Built
July 8, 2014
James Haste, Staff Writer, Freedom Fighters of America
No, he really DID build that.
Political considerations aside, the United States is at risk of an epidemic breaking out in the immigration camps and spreading across the U.S. What they have found so far: They are swimming in Lice, Scabies (at least one border patrol agent has been infected already) Drug Resistant Tuberculosis, Chicken Pox, Measles, MRSA ( drug resistant Staph Infections) and Strep (the real stuff that can kill you.) The only thing we are missing, so far, is leprosy. But, there is always tomorrow.
Now some people would say I’m delusional, but you see we really can’t find out what’s going on in the “camps”. They won’t even let Congressmen in to the facilities in their own districts. The BCFS, a Health and Human Services subcontractor, who call themselves "Brown Shirts” are attempting to control access and ruling through “Brown Shirt Law,” which seems to have nothing to do with any legal system. (“Brown Shirts” + “Camps!!?!”)
Indeed BCFS has gone so far as to issue “gag orders” to medical personnel with the threat of arrest for speaking of conditions in the camps. Presumably they do this with HHS authority. Happily, many of these medical personnel have replied with their middle fingers in response. This is why we know what we know, which is that this is a disaster in the making.
Under these circumstances, I would actually endorse the governors of these states calling out the National Guard in numbers great enough (I’m thinking battalion minimum, per camp) to overwhelm the so-called “Brown Shirts” and do a full inspection of the camps. This is clear and present health threat to their communities. Bring the Press. They will love you. For fifteen minutes.
And where the HELL is the Center for Disease Control? They say they have sent people to “monitor” the situation. Are you kidding me? This is EXACTLY the kind of situation they were created for! They are the ones who can stop this from getting out of the camps! I want and we need a full deployment with maximum effort so that we don’t have a full on pandemic. Maybe we can stop it in the camps instead of in the school rooms.
I gather that this is not what Obama had in mind. Honestly, I doubt he thought about disease at all but we have it now. Everything that happens next is on him.
Is Obama’s ego more important than a pandemic? We are about to find out.
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In Simple Terms
July 2, 2014
by James Haste, Staff Writer, Freedom Fighters of America
As expected, hand in hand with the latest Supreme Court’s decision, the Democrats are accusing Republicans of denying access to all birth control. I know you are shocked but as usual THEY LIE. I am going to tell you how to fight this. Let me be clear, they lie and they know they lie. This is no longer an argument. This is a fight. If you try to treat it like an argument you are going to get stomped. DON’T DO THAT.
Democrats operate under the assumption that a woman’s body is her own business. That is true if I am not paying for it. My dog’s body is his own business, right up until I have to pay for his food or medical care, then it becomes my business. See how that works? Once I pay for it, it is very much my business. And, my dog need not approve of my choices. He eats the brand of dog food I buy. So, if I am paying for your medical care, for your contraception, that MAKES IT my business. If I don’t want to pay abortifacient, (drugs that can or do cause an abortion), I get to make that call. It does not mean you cannot get those drugs; it just means I’m not going to buy them for you.
Now with a corporation or business, there are one or many owners. What the company spends money on is the business of those owners. It is their money. If the owner or a simple majority of shareholders don’t want to pay for abortifacient, they don’t have to for the same reason that I personally don’t have to. I don’t want to pay is reason enough. My reason could be religion or hubris or I could just be a cheapskate. It’s all legal according to the Constitution.
Interestingly enough, all of this also means that if the government pays for these services your body is now the government’s business, and it can make you fill out lots of paperwork for something it may or may not decide to give you for any reason or no reason at all. (SEE: Veterans Administration)
I believe I said this, but in simple terms Democrats lie about this. They say, “Republicans want to take away your reproductive rights!” It is short, sweet and to the point. That’s the kind of lie that wins arguments or at least drowns out the opposition. The correct response, in a fight, is the shorter, sweeter and much pointier “YOU LIE!”
It is NOT “Liar” because that’s more of a definition or defense; whereas, “YOU LIE!” is an accusation and, more importantly, a counter attack. Remember this is not an argument. This is a FIGHT! And, if you don’t want to pay for an abortifacient you better learn to fight.
Go forth and conquer!
Thus endeth the lesson.
Dirge for the race Card
June 25, 2014
by James Haste, Staff Writer, Freedom Fighters of America
A twitter friend of mine requested a rant about how the Mainstream Media utterly ignore absolutely anything that makes Obama look bad, and asked if I thought it was race related.
Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I almost break my neck because some idiot won’t let us use coal to power the damn lights… But I suppose that’s a different issue.
To the best of my knowledge and memory, the feud between the liberal media and conservatives started getting cutthroat around the time of the fall of Dan Rather. He had been head anchorman of CBS for over 20 years at that point, and was generally respected throughout the journalistic community.
In essence Rather failed to vet documents that allegedly proved G.W. Bush failed to complete his term of service with the Air National Guard and ran it as straight news. Ultimately he resigned, undoubtedly under duress. For the first time, the internet had landed and gutted a VERY big, VERY liberal MSM fish for lying. The MSM would NEVER go unchallenged again. This was the shot heard round the media, if you will.
Nothing about that really involved race. It did however morph into a Left/MSM vs. Right/internet media war that continues to this day. And the MSM is losing.
Before Obama came along, there were MANY black politicians using the race card to preempt anyone who wanted to say anything bad about a black legislator. Its use was Standard Operating Procedure for a long time. Any and all criticism was called racist in spite of any evidence to the contrary.
Obama did not invent that. He learned it at the feet of the masters and unsurprisingly became one himself.
I believe that the majority of the MSM was delighted that Obama was black. They thought it would give THEM the ability to use the race card by proxy. Obama himself would be absolutely untouchable. When challenged the response would be the race card and that was supposed to preempt any and all disagreement. Nobody was supposed to be able to politically survive an accusation of racism regardless of the truth.
I don’t believe most MSM reporters ever thought race card could be worn out. But by the time they realized calling everybody racist was no longer working, they were too invested in Obama and had nowhere to go if they could get loose. They are stuck because too much evidence of bias and partisanship is now in the hands of right wing bloggers. New Media knows exactly how to use it against the MSM and, frankly, is foaming at the mouth like rabid dogs.
So is their protection of Obama due to race? Kind of. They thought they had a great weapon in the first black president, a weapon the left simply could not use with a white president because they couldn’t call all opposition racist. They were correct about that actually – and it took quite some time for everyone to become indifferent to the constant accusations of racism. The race care did eventually wear out.
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Tainted
June 24, 2014
by James Haste, Staff Writer, Freedom Fighters of America
Short and to the point, the IRS has been politically exploited; it has been TAINTED and can no longer serve its function as an apolitical entity. It must be destroyed.
It does not matter who is at fault for this. Everyone knows it can be done and exactly how to do it. The IRS is now a broken tool and can never be fully trusted again. They had a great run, but it’s over now. Ultimately it will have to be replaced by something that MUST answer to ALL branches of government, not simply to one man (or person.) I would make it, BY LAW, forced to keep 100% of ALL documents produced, EVER. With a group separate from the IRS chain of command– Lets call them Archivists – who can store and safeguard this information, and reproduce ANY of it upon request from ANY BRANCH. The Executive could appoint the head of the new (and unnamed) tax group while the Congress appoints the Head Archivist.
That’s the easy part. The hard point would be the sudden influx of unemployed IRS people into the job market. By which I mean EVERY CURRENT IRS EMPLOYEE WOULD BE UNEMPLOYED. This would not necessarily preclude them from future employment at the new agencies but would require that they apply for these jobs just like everybody else who’s ever been laid off or worked for a company that went bankrupt.
And they will SCREAM! There will be a cacophony of wailing that puts any previous hissy fit in history to shame. It will come from the ex-employees, and unions. Shrieking politicians from both sides will no doubt pander to the newly unemployed for votes (and some campaign contributions.) There will be perfectly decent people that insist it would be a greater crime to put so many people out of work because of the actions of a few (very) guilty people. But we must do what must be done (I feel very Sith-like today) so that the IRS can be replaced with an organization WITHOUT TAINT. It will be Uncorrupted and much harder for ANYBODY to exploit politically, though ultimately somebody will figure out something. People are smart like that – and in the end, ANY government will ALWAYS require the vigilance of the governed.
After all, it’s only “a Republic, if you can keep it.”
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LOW HANGING FRUIT (AND OTHER STUFF)
June 20, 2014
by James Haste, Staff Writer, Freedom Fighters of America
Like many people, I found the capture of Ahmed Abu Khattala suddenly made the interview of Hillary Clinton on FOX a hell of a lot more interesting. I had a few thoughts on that interview and have expanded my thinking on the capture.
Face it, this guy was low-hanging fruit by his own (and perhaps others) design. Could that have been part of the plan? I gather he showed up in the opening stages of the attack doing things that made great video. For Al-Qaeda, no less, who shot the video. His starring role could have been scripted either to provide a buffer for the true leaders or to spread misinformation when he was captured. Or both. Jihadists aren’t big on technology, but history leads me to believe that they are good and getting better at sneaky. I find myself hoping that the Obama’s administration has taken that into account. At the end of the day we didn’t pick that fruit, we tripped over it. Multiple times.
The right encouragement from Clerics/Politicians (remember they can be the same thing in the Muslim world) could have easily persuaded Khattala to be a willing star of the movement. A threat, a bribe or both, if it could be managed, could have overcome any reluctance on his part. Or it could have even been on the spot improvisation that paid off, though that seems less likely.
During the Hillary’s interview one thing that stood out in my mind when Hillary was asked about the night of Benghazi was how she explained that she was not in the loop but was watching the loop. With respect, if you can watch that loop you are in it.
While I have come to believe that Obama is actually incapable of making a snap decision, that is not a problem that Hillary Clinton has ever had. Her snap decision was to cover her butt by producing excuses all around in textbook Clinton fashion. Instead of attacking the problem and taking any action to relieve those on the ground she watched the loop. That is not good enough. The state department is expected to act, “fog of war” or no. Hillary chose to blame or help blame somebody else. If she was overruled so-be it, but she will never escape the lack of action produced that night while she was, in-fact, in the loop.
I know she knows how to throw a lamp. I always thought it was her highest qualification for Secretary of State. It would have been an improvement.
In general, her responses all seemed aimed at making herself the lone voice of sanity who was constantly overruled by the weak man that she worked for. But She never quite put it that way. That probably appeals to somebody else…
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Force Works
June 11, 2014
by James Haste, Staff Writer, Freedom Fighters of America
Literally, as I was walking across the room to sit down and write this, I heard about the school shooting in Oregon. Prayers to all concerned.
My timing just became atrocious, but I mastered bad timing long ago. Besides, this is as true today as it was yesterday and probably will be tomorrow.
I want inner city minorities to buy guns.
I really do!
Armed and trained legal gun owners are the best chance of making crime too dangerous for criminals. When people can protect themselves, crime becomes very risky. Who wants to get shot by a little old lady protecting her Social Security check? Who wants to rob a convenience store when the customers might just be better armed than the robber is? Force Works. It has for centuries.
The simple truth is that any individual is the first and the last person who can protect himself and his home. An armed person does it better. The police will try, and nobody’s better at it then they are. But when is the last time you saw a real world fight last longer than one minute. The police aren’t THAT fast, so it’s usually up to the person who didn’t want to be in that violent situation.
It baffles me why the inner cities tend to be Democrat Party strongholds. In Chicago for instance, it has become so violent that there is no way for the police to protect everybody. If a Chicagoan tries to protect himself in a way that works however, HE goes to jail. In what world does this make sense? The only legal option left is to be a willing victim. Now THAT is a racist policy and it’s all from the Left.
A gun is not a magic wand, and isn’t a cure all for the entire world’s evil. I frequently hear that “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” Notice how they say nothing about skin color? It’s not an accident. Good people come in all colors. But in spite of all the Gun Control fanatics will say and do (or not do) having some chance STILL beats the hell out of having no chance at all. The Right would like all people to protect themselves as best they can, regardless of color. The left would have permanent victims.
So, who’s the racist?
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How Many?
June 10, 2014
by James Haste, Staff Writer, Freedom Fighters of America
Like most, I have been following the Bergdahl trade. I have been outraged by the stupidity, and the question of whether or not Bergdahl will be court martialed. Also I’ve been somewhat entertained that this brilliant diplomacy blew up in Obama’s face and he’s now catching criticism from former Yes Men and Women about it. Does bipartisan fury make him at long last a uniter? Still, even though Obama’s dance through the minefield was not without incident, he got what he wanted just not the way he wanted it. We’ve been distracted from the VA scandal. If you are reading this on Tuesday the 10th tomorrow it will have been a week since Bergdhal pushed the VA scandal out of the headlines.
Even though the Bergdahl trade infuriates everyone (as it should,) the truth is that story is going to move very slowly. We should not be distracted from the Veterans that need help RIGHT NOW. So in an effort to refocus the outrage in a direction that will do some good, I ask this one simple question in hopes it will be shouted from the rooftops! I want to inspire people who know better than I how to get answers to do so NOW.
How many Veterans died on the waiting lists this week?
I want to know. I want a number that I can use to hit this issue, hard, until changes are actually made. A number that reminds people that this is not over. The fact is that nothing has actually changed. I want to stop this shameful situation and to hold people responsible. We need to stay on it. Politicians tend to think that talking about an issue is the same as actually making a change. They are wrong. Whatever sideshow Obama manages to produce, our Veterans continue to die while we are looking elsewhere. That is still not good enough, and I will remain furious until it is changed. It is my hope that enough people ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ISLE also remember that they are angry, and why, and DO SOMETHING about this instead of just talking. The treatment of our Veterans has never been a Right/Left issue. It’s a basic responsibility. A promise made. How many die before we can fix it? How many we will LET die to protect the President’s prestige? We cannot ignore the fact that time = more dead Veterans.
To continue to allow this is shameful.
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The Democratic Party is in a Quandary
June 5, 2014
by James Haste, Staff Writer, Freedom Fighters of America
They’ve been in one for six years now – but they’ve finally noticed. What’s it going to be? The party of Obama the first? He won’t be president past 2016 without a civil war, and the Democrat Party will be needing some of the power they gave him back before it falls to a Republican.
But in an apparent Imperial Presidency, how do Democrats hold their own power when it’s all been given unreservedly, by them, to the Imperial President?
Whoever is next, and there’s a good chance it will be a Republican, will have whatever power Obama has. There’s a very urgent need to reduce the power of the president before that happens. But what do you do when the Republicans will probably control both houses of Congress before that happens? What happens if Republicans can rubber stamp an imperial president?
One of the problems of the Dem Party reclaiming power is that any exercise of free will is going to definitely irritate The One. It always has after all. That would be the guy that Democrats told he was the Democrat Messiah. It’s Inconvenient when somebody believes it like that. They tend to act like they are God, and that lessens the party’s power. Sweet reason no longer applies, unless it benefits him. It’s OK with him if a servant (read anybody else) gets hurt though. In fact, it is what is owed to The One. It’s awfully hard for even Democrats in Congress to profit if that’s the only deal in town.
Still, he’s not going to be there past 2016; They have got to protect themselves now. To do that, they’ve got to reclaim some of the power they gave willy-nilly to the President and he won’t like that.
That’s what we are seeing with the Democrat Party scattered all over the map on the Bowe Bergdahl trade. Politics hasn’t been this exciting since Rome. Of course Exciting politics are always very bad for somebody, and that’s just not going to be a Republican.
This Democrat Party fratricide is going to get much worse before it gets better. And of course, we should all do our part to assist. A big part of how bad it gets is entirely up to us so be as helpful as you can to our Democrat friends by pointing out these obstacles whenever they appear.
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Bitter Pills with Cold Comfort and Political Commentary
June 3, 2014
June 3, 2014
by James Haste, Staff Writer, Freedom Fighters of America
I speak, of course, about the Bowe Bergdahl situation. Face it, this stinks on so many levels I’d consider getting myself tear gassed just to clear my sinuses if only that would work. (Yes, actually – they do that to everyone in basic)
When I first heard about this freakish disaster, I started to break it in to three levels and that still works, so I will continue.
WASHINGTON D.C. (Or Obama and friends if you like.)
This will be brief. It was wrong and illegal and stupid. If Obama, or the people that serve as his brain, thought he would get any political credit or good will from this, they were wrong. All he did was put a bounty on Americans Citizens, and then pay it. We are now going to see more of that and, pay or no pay; good people will suffer for this stupidity for years.
These were not foot soldiers they traded – They were top leaders with confirmed records of slaughter, who wanted and probably still want to slaughter Americans. They are not going home to raise goats in peace. We are going to see them again.
THE ARMY.
Based on what I’ve heard in the Media there is no way this guy should have been allowed in a Combat Unit. While no one is a mind reader, the risk seems to have been widely apparent. It’s not the sole or largest cause of this mess, but it is another thing that did not work when it could and should have. It seems very close to what happened at Fort Hood, in that this guy should never have had the chance.
As for searching for him after he was gone, that was done correctly and with great courage. If he was a traitor or even a deserter, getting him back was even more urgent. The knowledge in his head had military value to the enemy, who was going to get it out of him period. Eventual torture was inevitable and most likely planned on as soon as they had him. Our U.S. Forces had to try and get him back no matter what he did. They did their duty, and God bless them for it.
THE IDIOT (at a bare minimum)
I don’t know for sure, yet, if this guy was a deserter or a spy/traitor, or a lost puppy chasing a butterfly through a mine field. What happened next was predictable and was not going to turn out well for him personally, whatever the truth. Even if he was the lost puppy, bad things happen to puppies in Muslim nations. He should have known this. To them, he was never going to NOT be a servant of The Great Satan. (That’s us, if you didn’t know.)
The only good thing is that we have him. We don’t know what kind of shape he’s in now. We don’t know if we will be able or willing to reassemble a human being, who can assist in his own defense, out of whatever we got back. Or if they should even try, frankly. Whatever happens will happen in public at least. We won’t have to guess. Even Obama can’t change that now.
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Action Required
May 26, 2014
by Jim Haste, Staff Writer, Freedom Fighters of America
I really doubt the President will read this, or ever know I exist, but I do hope he sees something similar from somebody. All the time, in his face, until he acts. Like him or no, and for me it’s no, he IS the President and the “buck” has landed squarely on his desk, because at this point he’s the only one who CAN act. Congress can’t change anything. And the Judicial branch can’t help unless someone is charged with a crime. It’s all on Obama’s shoulders.
by Jim Haste, Staff Writer, Freedom Fighters of America
I really doubt the President will read this, or ever know I exist, but I do hope he sees something similar from somebody. All the time, in his face, until he acts. Like him or no, and for me it’s no, he IS the President and the “buck” has landed squarely on his desk, because at this point he’s the only one who CAN act. Congress can’t change anything. And the Judicial branch can’t help unless someone is charged with a crime. It’s all on Obama’s shoulders.
We have heard lots of speeches from the President. Slowly and painfully we have learned speeches are NOT action. Another investigation is NOT action. This will be investigated for a decade regardless. On both sides of the isle we need to SEE action on this. There is more than enough information to act on at this point, but we aren’t seeing any action.
General Shinseki and at least 19 others should be fired immediately. That would show both seriousness and decisiveness, and it’s something we can see. Even if there is no stomach to fire them, yet, at the least they should be placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of investigation. Either way, they’re done and won’t be able to meddle. Those are actions we can SEE.
I’ve heard some people say “But then who’s going to fix the problems?” or “They know the VA better than anybody so they should fix it.” Well, apparently “They” don’t know, assuming they weren’t complicit. The accused does not get to be in charge of the crime scene, and that may well turn out to be literal truth here.
I don’t know if Shinseki knew about this, but it does not matter. It may not have been his fault, but it was definitely his responsibility. No former military man is going to be confused about that. Including Shinseki himself.
The other thing is vouchers. They will save lives RIGHT NOW. Whatever it costs congress will back fill eventually, because they have no choice. The President has thrown money at MANY dumber things. He is perfectly capable of throwing money someplace where it’s needed. People will SEE this. It will be good for the President and his party almost immediately. And I will celebrate too, because of the Veterans.
Constitutionally, he is the ONLY person who has the authority to do all that needs to be done RIGHT NOW. It is, in fact the PURPOSE of the Executive branch. The American people want action on this. We are furious. What I WANT is to see the president attack this situation like Godzilla with a chainsaw on crack, IN SPITE of the good it will do him politically. He’s the only one who can. Our heroes are that important. As they should be.
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Debts
May 21, 2014
By James Haste, for Freedom Fighters of America
This might just be the only thing that Republicans and Democrats agree on this year, but it’s a big one. Absolutely nobody on either side of the isle understands why our President and Commander in Chief is messing this up so badly. It’s quite simple really, but perhaps the President requires something to put on his teleprompter before he really gets it. I shall therefore attempt to do so.
The problem is quite simple really. Our wounded veterans are supposed to be getting care from the VA in a timely manner, yet they are not. This is a promise that we made to these men and women and one we have a moral obligation to fulfill. WE ARE SUPPOSED TO DO WHAT WE TOLD THEM WE WOULD DO: TAKE CARE OF THEM, PERIOD.
The problem arose when too many bureaucrats decided that if they couldn’t fix the problem, maybe fixing the paperwork would be good enough. This is the nature of bureaucracy, and is fairly common. Their Management or Commanders are expected to step on some necks well before at minimum 60 vets die while waiting for lifesaving medical care. This was all to earn bonuses and good reviews for pretty paperwork.
Whatever political party you belong to this is quite simply not good enough. If you are human, this is not good enough. No one is debating any of this.
What our fearless leader fails to understand, or does not want to understand, is how we expect this to be dealt with, BY HIM.
First, relieve all the commanders/bureaucrats-in-charge of these institutions. They are supposed to know better. Just tell them that they are no longer in charge and that we’ll figure out what to do with them after the vets are taken care of. Punishing them is not fixing the problem so do whatever you do AFTER THE VETS ARE CARED FOR. Also, NO BONUSES THIS YEAR. Nobody gets to profit off the deaths of our heroes.
Care for as many as the VA can, and send the rest out with vouchers so they get that lifesaving care we promised. I would expect Democrats to be absolutely wonderful at this. They love red ink. I expect Republicans to keep their word and spend what is required to get this done, RIGHT NOW! And they don’t have to like it.
The President is expected to go forth and kick ass until this is done. I don’t give a damn about his, or anyone else’s feelings on this one.
Make it happen.
May 21, 2014
At one time it was probably true that most of the hackers learned their trade right here in the U.S. Since this hacking has been going on since at least the late 80’s they are well into their third generation of these hackers and probably can train them in China alone now. That’s a capability that I would want, and I assume they want it as well. It makes sense to not depend on your enemy to train your spies, (which is pretty much what hackers are.)
Spies don’t hold awards ceremonies because the best stolen secrets are the ones that your enemy does not know you have. This can make it nearly impossible for a poor civilian (me) to keep track of what’s really going on in the world of hackers. Still, I long ago concluded that as far as hackers go, the Chinese have been eating our lunch for a very long time. I’d be delighted to be wrong, but I don’t think so.
They will probably threaten (or even try) to dump all our debt, but if we state that specific bond numbers are now invalid and won’t be paid, nobody will buy them or any other bond numbers, lest we decide to declare those worthless too. That would put a dent in, or potentially eliminate a threat China enjoys holding over our heads.
He’d probably be condemned by the UN for it, but I figure we can just add it to the list.
Even the RUMOR of such a thing might set them back on their heels, which would be a good thing.
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"Our National Anthem"
February 25, 2014
Poem by Janine Stange, THE NATIONAL ANTHEM GIRL
"Our National Anthem"
It is an undeniably patriotic moment
That spans ninety seconds of time
When differences dissolve and agendas align
When we honor the bravery, the sacrifice and the hope
May we never forget the spirit, the struggles ...or a soul
When we remember our heritage, our strength and our love
May we never forget - we are the United States of America
As we stand - covering our hearts with our hands
All our voices unite as one - and sing
Our National Anthem
written by: Janine Stange
copyright 2012
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15 Things Politicians Must Stop Saying In 2014
December 26, 2013
by our friend
Media Matters…When Patients Don’t and Truth Doesn’t Either
October 4, 2013
by Kris Held MD, Staff Writer, Freedom Fighters of America
Article originally published at Kris Held MD, WordPress
As a guest on Fox and Friends last week, I discussed harmful effects of Obamacare on cancer patients with Elizabeth Hasselbeck. We opened by discussing a recent article (September,9,2013) taken directly from the government’s very own Medline Plus-Trusted Information for You, from the U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health (NIH), entitled “Most Breast Cancer Deaths Occur in Younger, Unscreened Women: Study- Mammograms should begin at 40, researcher says”. This article specifically cites the controversial 2009 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations regarding mammograms and reports conflicting findings from new breast cancer research published in September’s Cancer by Dr. Blake Cady, professor emeritus of surgery at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. Cady’s study supports annual mammogram screening starting at age 40. The mammogram debacle is a perfect example of how Obamacare will adversely affect cancer patients. As I stated, Obamacare has panels and task forces that change the very recommendations that have given American women the earliest diagnosis and highest survival rates in the world and defy the American Cancer Society recommendations and our established standard of care. This is all 100% true, and the USPSTF recommendations remain at this very moment posted on HHS’s own website. “The USPSTF recommendation is important because coverage and reimbursement for preventive services under Medicare and Medicaid depends on A or B level USPSTF recommendation”-a quote from HHS website itself. A and B level are covered, C is not. Mammograms were given a C for women 40-49. Women over 74 were graded I- for insufficient evidence-also not covered.
In the short segment, I was unable to fully express my concern for not only cancer patients, but all patients under Obamacare, who will be subject to recommendations and grades from USPSTF in determining what is covered and what is not going forward. What is worse, Dr. Cady has reported that the data used by USPSTF actually demonstrated that annual screening improved outcomes, “Their models showed that annual screening improved outcomes by 70%. But their paper did not discuss that. They were concerned with how resources would be allocated, and emphasized the “harms” of screening mammography.” Resource allocation by government panels in determining standards of medical care is injurious to the American patient. USPSTF is willing to watch women die to “allocate resources”. USPSTF made a financial calculation to save the government money when it recommended women in their forties skip mammograms altogether: in order to save a life, 1900 women in their forties would need to be screened, while only 1300 women in their fifties would need to be screened. My point remains, the existence of such government panels and task forces in Obamacare is detrimental to the preservation of lives.
A few hours later, the paradoxically-named Media Matters, posted “research” refuting their off-base spins of my comments, as well as the government’s very own NIH article. Media Matters is clearly concerned about politics not patients and distorted my comments, because they do not want the American patient to know the evil truth about USPSTF and its definitive role in Obamacare. I call this media malpractice. Besides the false, run-on title, my favorite part of this Media Matters page of lies is -“Reporting on a speech by task force vice chairwoman Dr. Diane Petitti, the NIH Record, a newsletter published for employees of the National Institutes of Health, points out that the ACA covers mammograms …” A newsletter reporting on a speech? Really? My point was not that when USPSTF recommendations raise “a firestorm of debate- and confusion” (AKA public outcry), the Secretary of HHS can change them at her whim-unscientifically, if it is expedient for her, or she likes a group, or she doesn’t like a group. My point remains, government panels and task forces that make up Obamacare have no business practicing medicine, pose a threat to life and liberty and have no place in American healthcare law.
In the ensuing two minutes, I touched on other harmful effects of Obamacare on cancer patients including doctor shortages, stifled innovation and technology, perverse incentives of ACO’s and hospital employed physicians, and the likes of the 340B program which siphons money from drug-developers to hospitals at the expense of the patient. Interestingly, Media Matters had no compunction to lie about these; nonetheless, I will elucidate them in future writing.
Sadly, Obamacare disproportionately hurts those who need actual medical care most desperately. As a physician, cancer patient and mother of four daughters, I will not incur such misrepresentation and denigration by the political arm of the proponents of Obamacare cloaked as “media”, without responding with truth. You see, that’s what doctors, patients, and mothers do; we seek and operate in truth. I have read the law; I live it. Media Matters is despicable in their lame attempt to mislead the American people by contorting my comments and covering up the ominous impact of USPSTF and other Obamacare panels, councils, and boards of government bureaucrats, such as The Independent payment Advisory Board (IPAB) and Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PQRI), making our life and death decisions.
Thank you to Fox and Friends, particularly Elizabeth, for having me on to shine light on the plight of cancer patients under Obamacare. The Media Matters’ piece should more aptly be titled, “Obamacare Propagandists Conspire and Slander Physician, Cancer Patient Who Has Actually Read Obamacare to Perpetuate Cover-Up of Unethical Misogynistic USPSTF Mammogram Recommendations That All-Powerful HHS Secretary Sebilius Claims Are Non-Binding And Subject To Change At Whim (Sec.4105) in Response to Public Outcry To Appease Her Base and Keep Obamacare Law of The Land”.
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Why’s Everybody Always Pickin’ on Ted?
October 12, 2013
by Jimmy Bennett, Staff Writer, Freedom Fighters of America
Ted Cruz is on the fast track to becoming persona non grata – on both sides of the partisan spectrum.
Liberals in politics and media hate him, and that’s no surprise. But the reason that they hate him harder and deeper than they hate other Republicans is two-fold: First, Cruz-loathing is the current national pastime of Lefties because he should be one of them, but isn’t. He has all the makings of what should be the same type of genuflecting, ring-kissing sycophant for President Soetoro that they are – Daddy Cruz fought for Fidel, Ted went to uppity Ivy League colleges, and because he is Hispanic, it is assumed by liberals that he should be, like all of them, another Obamabot 3000 fresh off the assembly line.
But the other reason they hate him surprises even the Bleeding Hearts themselves; He bedevils their favorite and most effective tactic: They can’t convincingly portray him as stupid. Even when effete liberal snarkmeisters like John Stewart and Bill Maher are doing their worst, they can’t paint Senator Cruz as a moron.
President George W. Bush is not stupid by a dang sight but, love him or not, he was all-too-correct when he said of himself, “My mouth is where words go to die.” I admire the man, but let’s be honest - W did have a tendency, at times, to be a bit gaffe-prone. No more so than, say, Joe “Clean as a Whistle” Biden (in fact, considerably less so than ol’ Joe) but nonetheless, that was the low-hanging fruit that entertainers and pundits repeatedly chose to harvest when going after W.
But what will they do with Ted? No less a liberal standard-bearer than Alan Dershowitz himself once characterized Ted Cruz as “off-the-chart brilliant.” To invite Ted Cruz to debate in the hopes of embarrassing him is to go for a swing on Haman’s gallows. One would be hard-pressed to find a more eloquent and persuasive rhetorician anywhere on the Left or the Right.
Obviously, they only have one other weapon in their character-assassination arsenal, and they have already started drawing down on him with it: “Cruz may not be a mush-mouthed Philistine, but he is, of course, certifiably insane.”
Good luck with that, Libbies.
But of greater concern is the fact that this passionate, inspiring Conservative visionary is rapidly becoming a man without a country. Establishment Republicans hate him. GOP US Representative Peter King recently told CNN, “I've never seen anyone as unpopular in Republican circles as Ted Cruz.”
Why is that?
It’s simple, really. It’s because he’s everything they know they should be but, because they are edentulous invertebrates, because they are afraid, because they are lazy, and because they are appeasers, it’s much more comfortable for them to despise his example than to emulate it.
While Cruz fiercely upholds the finest qualities of Constitutional Conservatism, they have become cynical, pragmatic compromisers. He doesn’t give a rip about how he is portrayed in media, yet they are constantly wringing their hands over polling data and popularity.
I’m convinced that establishment Republicans no longer want to win. What they want is to be loved, and they feel the way to achieve that is to become as much like Democrats as possible. Senator Cruz is now their scapegoat because he has this absurd idea that small government, big freedom, and personal responsibility will actually make the United States a better place, that law-abiding Americans have a right to own firearms and babies have a right to be born. He actually believes in Conservatism enough to stubbornly uphold its most fundamental principles. And he even has the audacity to call out these broken down, lukewarm sad sacks, recently telling Rush Limbaugh, “The single biggest surprise on arriving to the Senate is the defeatist attitude here.”
Ted Cruz believes Republicans could win. But his colleagues know that to win would require work. It would require sacrifice. It would require taking a beating in talk show monologues and on Saturday Night Live. The gals on The View might hurt their little feelings. They don’t have the intestinal fortitude to bear up under such Old Testament torments.
GOP hate for Ted Cruz says so much more about the sad state of the Republican Party than it could ever say about the Junior Senator from Texas. It is essentially their declaration that everything that made the old party so grand is now far too gauche and far too passé for them to stomach.
To them I paraphrase the Apostle Paul’s question to the Galatians: Is Ted Cruz now your enemy because he tells you the truth?
In their minds, he most certainly is. More's the pity.
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"Some Are More Equal Than Others"
October 5, 2013
by Jimmy Bennett, Staff Writer, Freedom Fighters of America
I pity the poor liberals. Their heroes just can't bear up under the antiseptic of sunlight. It seems like every week another one of their patron saints is being exposed as someone all too fallible.
The latest casualty is that martyr for the homosexual cause, Matthew Shepard. Was his brutal 1998 murder near Laramie, Wyoming tragic? Most certainly. Do his killers, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, merit severe punishment? Without a doubt. (Given the chance, I reckon I'd fire up ol' Sparky myself just so those boys could ride the lightnin'!) However, the very lifeblood of the First and Fourteenth Amendments is being sprinkled on Shepard’s altar by the progressive priests in government, academia, entertainment and the Fourth Estate. For fifteen years they have been thundering at us from their pulpits, preaching that he was sacrificed by rednecks who killed him just because he liked boys. This made his demise über-heinous, they have told us.
The Amen Corner shouted, “Hallelujah!” With the 2009 passage of the Matthew Shepard & James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a criminal’s motive itself can now be criminalized and his or her worldview can now be put on trial.
Certainly no evangelist ever proselytized more fervently than the late Reverend Teddy Kennedy, whose fiery sermons from the Senate floor extolled the virtues of "enhanced punishment" for the likes of McKinney and Henderson. In Teddy's theology, criminals motivated by the sexuality or gender or ethnicity or religion of their victims should face a Judgment Day considerably hotter than those perpetrators whose prey had been chosen for other reasons.
Before you go decrying Teddy’s hypocrisy (given his crash-splash-and-dash routine on Chappaquiddick) remember this: Mary Jo Kopechne was neither a lesbian nor a person of color, and her death couldn’t have been motivated by misogyny; I mean, this is one Senator who clearly LOVED women. Lots of them. Sometimes by force. Mary Jo was simply in the wrong Oldsmobile at the wrong time. Kindly disregard the fact that the sexually incontinent legislator left his footprints up Mary Jo’s back as he drunkenly abandoned his improvised submarine, fled the scene, and then waited nearly ten hours before reporting the matter.
But I digress.
So, what exactly has tainted the Shepard legacy? Author Stephen Jimenez’s work of breathtaking apostasy, The Book of Matt: Hidden Truths About the Murder of Matthew Shepard, dares defy the most fundamental doctrines of liberal orthodoxy concerning the crime, driving nails through the widely-accepted media narrative. Jimenez, who happens to be a homosexual himself, had originally gone to Wyoming to do research for a screenplay he wanted to write about the Shepard case, presumably a kind of Passion of the Christ meets Will and Grace. What he discovered in Laramie, however, was more like Breaking Bad meets Brokeback Mountain. According to Jimenez, the actual motive was a meth-fueled robbery-gone-wrong rather than anti-homosexual bigotry: It turns out that Shepard and McKinney had had a sexual relationship and both were notorious for using and dealing methamphetamine.
Have these iconoclastic revelations diminished the faith of the flock? Don’t be silly. Liberalism’s true believers never let something as trivial as objective truth get in the way of their opinions. Pundits and reporters are falling all over themselves to spin and skew and revise. For example, the very pinnacle of journalistic excellence, Slate.com, recently posted an article entitled “Matthew Shepard’s Enduring Legacy” advancing the premise that “Even if Matthew Shepard’s murder wasn’t a hate crime, the legislation that bears his name is still good law.”
Such utter denial is reminiscent of the Killian Documents Controversy of 2004, in which Dan Rather and 60 Minutes cited a set of memos that ostensibly cast a negative light on George W. Bush’s service in the Air National Guard. When the papers in question were exposed as whole cloth fabrications, a chagrined Rather and his ideological fellow travelers at the New York Times trotted out their now infamous “fake but accurate” defense of the yarn they had spun.
I do hope Mr. Jimenez is prepared for the inevitable Edict of Worms that awaits him. Challenging the dogma of the cultural Left will get one burned at the stake.
But Matthew Shepard is only the latest god in the Left Wing Pantheon to be pulled down from Mount Olympus due to truths spiked by the mainstream media. Trayvon Martin’s purchase of Skittles and AriZona Watermelon Fruit Juice Cocktail was anything but innocuous, it would seem. He was apparently a pilgrim on a Hajj to 7-11, seeking the ingredients which, when combined with cough syrup, would create a homebrewed Hip-Hop ambrosia known in urban circles as “Lean” or “Purple Drank.” This drug concoction is so potent that its effects are compared to those of PCP.
Frankly, the list of fallen liberal deities is too long to enumerate here. Norma McCorvey, the “Roe” in the Left’s sacred Roe v. Wade crusade against unborn babies was never raped and, in fact, never even had an abortion at all. Today, by God's grace, she is a Pro-Life activist. Bill Clinton looked good on paper as a Moses for feminists, but don’t ask Juanita Broderick or Paula Jones or Kathleen Willey or “that woman, Miss Lewinsky” to follow him through the wilderness. Barack Obama was exalted as The One who would finally usher in a Millennial Kingdom of transparency in government, only to establish a domestic surveillance program so perniciously intrusive that it would have the NSA hearing the whispered prayers of Americans everywhere. And the list goes on and on...
I suppose I shouldn’t be so cocky. My own hero, Ronald Reagan, was also the object of embroidery and hyperbole. For example, I was left disillusioned when I recently learned that he didn’t literally knock down the Berlin Wall with a series of bare-knuckled, Popeye-esque bolo punches as I had always believed. It turns out it was all just some ingenious diplomatic, economic and military strategem that overwhelmed the Russkies and eventually triggered the cataclysmic implosion of the Soviet Union.
What a letdown.
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Obama Negotiates with Iran but won't talk to Republicans
October 2, 2013
by Kristin Tate, The Libertarian Chick
In the midst of the government shutdown, there has been plenty of blame to go around.
The House blames the Senate for being unwilling to compromise, while the Senate accuses the House of "holding the American people hostage" by refusing to fully fund and implement Obamacare.
Whatever the case may be, President Obama has made it clear that he is unwilling to negotiate with House Republicans, who are pushing for a one-year delay in Obamacare's individual mandate.
Obama reportedly told House Speaker John Boehner "I'm not going to negotiate. I'm not going to negotiate, I'm not going to do this."
Obama seems to feel that he has no reason or obligation to compromise with House Republicans.
During an interview with NPR on Monday, Obama was asked by Steve Inskeep what he might offer to House Republicans as a compromise to avoid a government shutdown. The president shot back, "I shouldn't have to offer [Republicans] anything. They're not doing me a favor by paying for things that they have already approved for the government to do. That's part of their basic function of government; that's not doing me a favor. That's doing what the American people sent them here to do, carrying out their responsibilities."
Press Secretary Jay Carney has been doing his utmost to dance around tough questions from the press regarding Obama's silence.
On Monday during a press conference, reporter Ed Henry asked Carney why Obama has been unwilling to communicate with House Republicans. "Why don’t you at least talk to them, even if they’re wrong?" Henry asked.
After thanking Henry for his "reassertion of GOP talking points," a snarky Carney responded, "Ed, maybe you didn’t catch up to what the president just said, but he said he would be talking to leaders of Congress. I have nothing new to report on the president’s schedule."
That press conference was on Monday, and the president has yet to sit down and talk with House Republicans despite the federal government having shut down on Tuesday morning.
Even if President Obama thinks the Republicans in the House are wrong, doesn't he owe it to the American people to at least try to come to some sort of agreement? When the federal government shut down in 1995, President Clinton and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich communicated almost constantly until the government was back up and running, despite being fierce political enemies. Clinton and Gingrich likely exchanged more words in one day than Obama has with the House Republicans since these current issues began.
President Obama showed a willingness to negotiate with Iran when he called the country's new president earlier this week and revived diplomatic relations.
Meanwhile, John Boehner from Ohio isn't getting a call back.
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