Tag Archives: Military

The Hazards Of Using Ecology-Friendly Weapons

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On Friday, rt.com posted an article about the use of eco-friendly weapons in Ukraine.

The article reports:

Some of the military hardware supplied to Ukraine by the West has become inoperable after being damaged by rodents, Le Figaro has reported, citing a French fighter in the ranks of Kiev’s forces.

Eco-friendly weapons provided to the Ukrainian military by the country’s foreign backers are “sometimes unsuitable for the realities of the front” and “don’t come out well” in an actual conflict, the reported in an article on Thursday.

As proof of its claim, Le Figaro provided an account by an unnamed French fighter, who complained that “rodents ate the cables on some of the vehicles” used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

“Some of the protective sheaths of electrical wires [in the Western-supplied hardware] are made of corn fiber,” which attracts mice and rats, he said.

Le Figaro stressed that “the phenomenon is marginal, but it tells the story of the confrontation of the Western military equipment with reality.”

“Western vehicles were designed as a technological showcase. But, in the mud and cold, they don’t always work,” the French fighter is cited as saying.

“Luckily, the Ukrainians still had a few crusts” in their arsenal, he added, referring to the old Soviet-made hardware.

There have been many jokes about having to plug electric tanks in to recharge them before battle, but this is the first article I have read about mice and rats eating the sheaths that are supposed to protect wires. I have, however, seen examples of rodents eating gas lines in vehicles parked near cornfields. Making protective sheaths out of material that is edible to rodents in a place where food is probably scarce does not seem like a good idea.

Racial Harmony in the SOUTH in the 1970s?

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Author: Raynor James    raynor@cctaxpayers.com

I believe there was much racial harmony in most small cities in the American South in the 1970s. I also believe that personal stories can often illustrate and clarify more universal truths. Are you willing to make a trip with me to check out those premises?

Recently, Hal’s and my son, David Kelly, sent out a letter that started that train of thought. The subject was “SSG James Blackwell’s Passing.” It was addressed to “ALCON.” In part, the letter read, “I have the sad duty to report that SSG James Blackwell, a long-time member of the Fredericksburg [Virginia] Guard has passed away.

“I interviewed Staff Sergeant Blackwell a few years ago. He has always been an inspiration to me. He was able to shine a light where few dared to tread. You see he was one of the two first African Americans to serve our local National Guard since the 1880s. He was a civil rights trail blazer of sorts, joining the local Fredericksburg Guard in 1971. My father, B.G. Hal D. James (Va,R) and Reverend/Mayor Lawrence A. Davies set it up. Think about how hard it would have been with the Vietnam War, the antimilitary public sentiment and joining an all-white, male only military organization. They did a wonderful job in their role as mentors as you can tell from the attached photos! When I became the Battalion Commander (2009), I invited both trail breakers to attend a drill weekend one more time and gave them both honorary life membership into the Fredericksburg Guard Association.

“SSG BLACKWELL, thank you for your service!” The letter was signed, “LTC David K. James (Retired), Director, Fredericksburg Guard Association Foundation.”

That letter set off a ton of memories. Lawrence Davies was a black minister who became our good friend and strong ally. May I tell you about it? It started while Hal was president of the Fredericksburg Jaycees. The Committee to name the “Young Man of the Year” came up with a list of candidates, and Lawrence was one of them. No black man had ever been nominated before, and it set off an uproar. There were people who threatened to resign if Lawrence were chosen. Hal met with the committee and instructed them to please base their decision strictly on merit. He said they had to do the right thing. Then, if that caused a problem, they’d need to figure out how to deal with that in an honorable way.

Lawrence was chosen. No one resigned. Everything was fine.

Remember the summer Washington, D.C. was almost burned to the ground? The Fredericksburg Guard was called up for riot duty. I was very worried as were others. Lawrence called Hal with an idea, and that was the birth of Fredericksburg’s Bi-racial Volunteers. Our sons and I went to the first meeting which was held in Lawrence” church, but discussion soon made it clear that it would be a good idea to have only young men as active members. As it evolved, pairs of young men (one black and one white) wearing arm bands went to outdoor events at which lots of young people were expected to congregate. They just roamed around and started conversations and “poured oil on troubled water” where needed. There wasn’t one single troubling incident in Fredericksburg that summer.

Later, Lawrence came to Hal about integrating the Jaycees and Hal sponsored Johnny Johnson, a black art professor at Mary Washington College. Johnny was accepted without any resistance. By the way, his art was beautiful, and I coveted it, but every year at the Woman’s Club art show, his prices stayed just ahead of my ability to pay.

You know about how integration of the National Guard went. No problems. Several similar things happened, and at some point, Lawrence ran for mayor of Fredericksburg. Hal and I were among his campaign workers. Not surprisingly, Lawrence won. In fact, he was Fredericksburg’s mayor for about 20 years. Lawrence wasn’t Fredericksburg’s black mayor; he was Fredericksburg’s beloved mayor of all of its people.

That’s just one little (then) city, but we knew people in lots of other towns who were having similar experiences. Then we made the big mistake of electing the flagrantly racist Barack Obama who managed to sabotage years of improvement. Things improved again with Trump. Now look at the pickle we’re all dealing with. We need prosperity and harmony!

Who Wrote Her Script?

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The death of any American military is sad. It should be solemnly addressed by the administration in power. Condolences should be offered. Unfortunately, the Biden administration’s response to the recent deaths of three American soldiers was not exactly what was called for.

On Monday, The Conservative Review reported:

During an interview on MSNBC, Jean-Pierre spoke about the fallen soldiers — but appeared nearly unable to piece together a coherent statement.

What I will say, our deepest, uh, obviously, our deepest condolences go out and our heartfelt condolences go out to the families, uh, who lost, uh, three, three brave, uh, three brave, uh, three brave — three folks who are military folks who are brave, who are always fighting, who are fighting on behalf of this administration, of the American people, obviously, more so, more importantly.

Uh, we lost those souls as the president said yesterday when he was in South Carolina. Our hearts go out to their families and friends. And let’s not forget: there are wounded, also wounded soldier, military forces as well, and our hearts go out to them, and so I want to make sure that we offer up those deep, uh, deep thoughtful condolences to them.

The article includes a video of Karine Jean-Pierre’s remarks.

First of all, the oath these soldiers took was to the U.S. Constitution–not to the Biden administration. Second, I found it demeaning to call these brave soldiers ‘folks.’ They were trained military personnel who swore an oath to defend their Constitution. They were not just folks.

 

What An Open Border Means To America

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On Sunday,  American Greatness posted an article about the consequences of America’s open southern border.

The article reports:

The Biden administration has opened the United States’ border, and this has fundamentally threatened America’s national security in ways not felt since the early days of WWII.  The implications of this open border are numerous and multifaceted.  As should be expected, when a state does not enforce its sovereignty at its border, anyone can enter and do so anonymously.  In this population of the many, many millions of people who have illegally crossed the border, there are—with certainty—criminals, agents of foreign powers, which undoubtedly include intelligence agents, potential saboteurs, soldiers, special operators, terrorists, and terrorist sympathizers.  Also entering the U.S. are human traffickers and narcotics of every type, including fentanyl and other even more potent synthetic opioids and other drugs.  In an era of COVID-19, the mass migration of people inevitably includes diseases, parasites, and potentially the next pandemic that will further stress the hospitals and health systems of the country.

America’s enemies must be thanking their lucky stars that Biden has essentially invited and welcomed into the U.S. anyone who can make it.  The Biden administration has given America’s enemies the very tools they need to undermine the U.S. from within.  Throughout history, America has fought its major wars with a secure homefront.  Even with a population of immigrants, it was difficult for our enemies in Germany, Italy, Japan, and the Soviet Union to infiltrate American society for two reasons: first, because America policed its borders and protected its citizens; and second, because of the inherent patriotism that Americans, even from these very same nations, felt towards their new adopted home.  The same cannot be said for today, as we do not know who is in the U.S., nor do we have the same sense of patriotic responsibility as we did a half a century ago.  Now, it is reasonable to believe that some of these unvetted aliens may be here to serve as a fifth column.

I don’t like the conclusions drawn in this article, but I really can’t refute them.

The article concludes:

Biden’s open border policy is an existential national security threat because now tyranny knows that the door is open.  Tyranny, even if it has an American face, will follow a sadly familiar trajectory.  What will happen in the United States is what has occurred on the path to every tyranny: once the tyrant knows that there is no effective opposition, he will keep pushing until he has absolute control.  Today’s open border will segue soon into other issues, compelling the American people to yield.  Permanent one-party control will be the result, which will soon elide into tyrannical rule.  The American Republic will be lost.  What the Biden administration has done is appalling and in hostile opposition to America’s history and American political ideology, culture, values, principles, and traditions.  The new Republican leadership in the House of Representatives and state officials, as in Texas, have to employ every measure they can to stop this lawlessness—everything is at stake.

How many military-aged men have crossed our border in recent years? How many of those men had addresses in their pockets telling them where to report? Are militias being formed right under our noses? Thank God for the Second Amendment. It may be our only hope.

The Important Story

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The list of Epstein Island visitors is important. I suspect there is also video evidence to back up the claims made by the trafficking victims, but as long as Ghislaine Maxwell is safely ensconced in her Florida Country Club prison, those videos will never see the light of day. However, there is a more important story that is being overshadowed by the focus of Epstein’s list of frequent guests and visitors.

On Wednesday, The U.K. Daily Mail reported the following:

  • Investigators believe a network of high-end brothels operating in the Boston and D.C. areas was a honey trap to ensnare politicians and government officials 
  • But whether the plot was intended to aid Russia, China, South Korea – or even Israel – remains to be determined 
  • Clients, believed to include members of Congress, military officers, and national security contractors, have not yet been unmasked and charged 

How many of our high-level ‘public servants’ were being controlled by people who intend to do us harm?

The article reports:

The brothels were raided in November and prosecutors said they were looking to charge 28 people in Massachusetts alone.

…Han Lee, the alleged mastermind, Junmyung Lee, 30, and James Lee, 68 – all South Korean-born U.S. nationals – were charged in November with running the sex ring. The three Lees are not related.

Han and Junmyung both live in the Boston area so the locations of four of the brothels there made sense. James lives in Torrance, a suburb of Los Angeles.

Members of Congress, military officers, and national security contractors who ‘possessed security clearances’ were among the steady customers at the ‘high-end brothels’ run by the ring, prosecutors say. 

The ring’s clients, who paid rates of up to $600 an hour, included corporate executives, professors, lawyers, and scientists.

…The probe into ‘their involvement in prostitution is active and ongoing,’ Department of Homeland Security Special Agent Zachary Mitlitsky said in a court affidavit.

A spokeswoman for the US Attorney’s Office in Boston, which is prosecuting the case, cited the same reason in declining to comment on questions about the prostitution ring, including whether the suspects had ties to foreign intelligence.

Experts interviewed by DailyMail.com suspect the brothel scheme was a honeypot. 

The twin locations where ring operators selected to set up shop is the first clue, a number of them said.

As the country’s political headquarters, Washington presents a target-rich environment for spies.

In the affidavit, investigators identified six ‘target locations’ where the brothels were based, four in the Boston area (‘Target Locations 4-7’) and two in Virginia (‘Target locations 8 and 9). 

The names on this list of clients are the ones we want to see because of the national security implications.

 

We Are At War

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On Tuesday, Red State reported that  the Arleigh Burke-class Aegis destroyer USS Laboon (DDG-58) in the southern Red Sea  shot down a total of 17 Houthi drones and missiles during a tense 10-hour engagement. The Houthis are a terrorist group in Yemen funded by Iran. The Biden administration keeps giving Iran money. We are funding attacks on our own military.

The article reports:

Details of the engagement are sparse, but the Arleigh Burke-class Aegis destroyer USS Laboon (DDG-58), a member of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group (CSG), as well as several F/A-18 launched from the Eisenhower shot down 12 attack drones, three-antiship missiles and two land attack missiles. The engagement began at 6:30 a.m. local time Tuesday and continued for 10 hours. None of the attacking weapons hit a target.

At least Iran is not giving them accurate weapons.

The article concludes:

The general location of the Eisenhower CSG indicates they are pushing up into the Bab el-Maneb Strait to provide coverage for maritime traffic at this chokepoint. The presence of the F/A-18 indicates a combat air patrol covering the Bab el-Maneb strait as well as destroyers of the CSG. All of this indicates that Biden’s “Operation Prosperity Guardian” may be taking shape as a US-only affair.

While we must acknowledge this engagement’s success, it is not sustainable. The Eisenhower CSG is not playing the game to win; they are playing to not lose. They are like the team sitting on a one-point lead at halftime and trying to run out the clock. The Eisenhower must be successful 100 percent of the time; the Houthis only need to occasionally have a missile or drone leak through to achieve their mission.

If you watch football, you know that prevent defense is never a good idea.

Unfortunately, The Government Spying On Americans Isn’t New

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On Wednesday, Just the News posted an article about our government spying on Americans. According to a whistleblower, this is not anything new.

The article reports:

The public-private efforts to restrict and suppress purported “mis-, dis- and malinformation” across tech platforms started almost immediately after the surprise election of Donald Trump in 2016, ramped up a year before the COVID-19 pandemic, and included U.S. and U.K. military contractors and plans to cut off financial services to dissenters and sue them.

That’s according to a “highly credible whistleblower” who says they were recruited to participate in the Cyber Threat Intelligence League (CTIL) “through monthly cybersecurity meetings hosted by” the Department of Homeland Security, independent journalists who reviewed the Twitter Files at new owner Elon Musk’s invitation said Tuesday.

We are at a point that if an American says that two plus two equals four and the government wants it to equal five, the American is charged with spreading misinformation or disinformation. That is not a good place to be–particularly for a representative republic.

The article concludes:

Breuer (U.S. military contractor Pablo Breuer) told a podcast the duo’s work involved getting “nontraditional partners into one room,” such as social media companies, “special forces operators” and DHS employees, “to talk in a non-attribution, open environment in an unclassified way.”

He explained how the “in-group and out-group messaging have to be often different” when trying to sell Americans on a domestic version of the “Great Firewall of China.”

While Chinese citizens believe this censorship is to “protect the citizenry,” Americans “would absolutely lose our minds” if the feds “tried to sell that narrative,” Breuer reportedly said.

The reporting trio said they would present the underlying documents from the whistleblower to congressional investigators in the coming weeks and “make public all of the documents we can while also protecting the identity of the whistleblower and other individuals who are not senior leaders or public figures.”

The FBI declined to comment on the report to Just the News, and DHS and CISA did not respond to queries. Neither did Terp (U.K. defense researcher Sara-Jayne Terp) and Breuer.

The Washington swamp is a danger to all free Americans.

The New York Post Analysis

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On Wednesday, The New York Post posted a list of the top 10 ways President Biden deluded himself during his State of the Union address.

Here is the list:

1. FEIGNING to stand up for Ukraine when he publicly told Vladimir Putin last month that a “minor incursion” was tolerable, and when his son Hunter treated Ukraine like a private piggybank during Biden’s vice-presidency.

2. CALLING for unity to a room full of Republicans while falsely claiming that the Trump administration’s 2017 tax cut only helped “the top 1%.”

3. POSING amusingly as an America First nationalist — complete with Trumpian “USA! USA!” chants from his colleagues on the floor. All power to Biden if he follows through on his promised “revitalization of American manufacturing,” but he will be going against his own record.

4. Securing our border: This takes some chutzpah when Biden deliberately dismantled Trump’s hard-won border protections and is still in court fighting the remain-in-Mexico policy.

5. BEATING the opioid epidemic: The “opioid crisis” he anointed as a bipartisan cause was turbocharged when he flung open the southern border to record quantities of fentanyl, a drug which is now the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45.

6. GASLIGHTING us on the pandemic: “Let’s stop looking at COVID as a partisan dividing line,” said the president who has done nothing but manipulate COVID fear for political purposes, and changed tune only after opinion polls on his handling of the pandemic headed south.

7. BLUNTING gas prices: He’s pulling our leg. Biden boasted about tapping into 30 million barrels of our emergency oil reserves — less than two days’ supply — while not mentioning a word about unleashing our plentiful untapped oil and gas supplies.

8. CHAMPIONING police “The answer is not to defund the police. The answer is to FUND the police,” Biden thundered.

9. VALORIZING the military Biden paid tribute to soldiers said to have contracted cancer from “burn pits” — an as-yet unproven claim on which he dwells in hope of a combat-related cause of his own son’s death from brain cancer.

10. MYSTIFYING the world Biden went off script after saying “God bless our troops” at the end of his speech. “Go get him!” he ad-libbed.

It would be wonderful if President Biden actually closed the southern border and acted to lower fuel prices for Americans by using our own resources. However, I think the chances of that are slim to none.

 

It Begins Again

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Hot Air posted an article yesterday about what is currently happening in Hong Kong.

The article reports:

When we were discussing China’s new “national security” law for Hong Kong yesterday, it was noted that pro-democracy advocates were already railing against the betrayal of the promises China made when taking over control of the city from Great Britain. Protests were planned, but pro-Beijing lawmakers were warning that any sort of public demonstrations could be dealt with harshly. Well, that took all of one day to come to pass. Despite concerns about a new wave of coronavirus infections, demonstrators took to the streets and were quickly met by police forces firing tear gas canisters indiscriminately into the crowds at a large shopping center. And then the arrests began.

…Tam Tak-chi, one of the city’s most well-known democracy advocates, was arrested shortly after the protests began. He had previously predicted that he would be detained if China moved forward with its new legislation and it turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophesy. He was charged with holding “an unauthorized assembly.”

The article concludes:

In that sense, much of the “freedom” enjoyed by Hong Kong since 1997 has largely been illusory anyway. China regularly intervenes in local elections if the residents begin electing too many people with crazy ideas about freedom and democracy. The top leadership positions, currently exemplified by Carrie Lam, are always held by pro-Beijing politicians who take their marching orders from the CCP. People have regularly been arrested in Hong Kong for demonstrating, giving speeches or contacting foreign media outlets, things that people in free nations simply take for granted.

Up until now, a certain amount of demonstrating and chatter about democracy has been allowed, apparently just to humor the locals. But now it appears that China isn’t going to even bother providing a fig leaf to the 1997 agreement they entered into. They’re probably sure that they can get away with it because nobody is going to risk going to war with them or attempt any sort of direct military intervention right on China’s doorstep to free Hong Kong’s citizens. And while it’s sad to say, they’re probably right.

This was predictable. I don’t know if the outcome would have been any different had the British not signed the treaty with China. However, we need to learn from what we are watching–China is not a reliable partner in any treaty. On May 5th, I posted an article citing a provision in the recent trade agreement (signed before the coronavirus outbreak in America) that says if there is a natural occurring disaster, the two parties will renegotiate. This is another example of the fact that China, under communism, is not willing to play fair on the international stage. Best wishes to the people of Hong Kong. I am not optimistic about your future.

Whoops

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MSN is reporting today that 19 sailors were killed and 15 others wounded when an Iranian warship accidentally fired upon another warship during a training exercise.

The article reports:

The incident took place during training in the Gulf of Oman, a sensitive waterway that connects to the Strait of Hormuz through which about a fifth of the world’s oil passes. Iran regularly conducts exercises in the area.

The frigate Jamaran fired at a training target released by a support ship, the Konarak. However, the support ship stayed too close to the target and was hit, state broadcaster IRIB said.

“The incident took place in the perimeter of Iran’s southern Bandar-e Jask port on the Gulf of Oman during Iranian Navy drills on Sunday afternoon, in which 19 sailors were killed and 15 others were injured,” state TV said, quoting the navy.

Fars news agency quoted an unidentified military official as denying some Iranian media reports that the Konarak had sunk. The navy statement said investigations were undergoing regarding the cause of the incident, student news agency ISNA said.

IRIB said the Dutch-made Konarak vessel, which was purchased before Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution, had been overhauled in 2018, and is equipped with four cruise missiles.

My sympathies to the families impacted, but not to the government that made this possible.

The American Government Needs To Realize That China Is Not Our Friend

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On Tuesday, Stars and Stripes reported the following:

Two more Chinese nationals have been arrested for illegally taking photographs at a Florida Navy base, court records show.

The arrests over the weekend of Yuhao Wang and Jielun Zhang bring to four the number of Chinese people charged recently with snapping pictures at the Naval Air Station in Key West, Florida.

An FBI affidavit says Wang and Zhang drove up to an air station annex entrance and were told by a security officer they could not enter the property without military identification. The FBI says the pair drove onto the base anyway and were apprehended by authorities about 30 minutes later after taking photos of structures on the base.

…The arrests follow two similar cases involving Chinese nationals taking photos at the Key West base. On Dec. 26, Lyuyou Liao was charged with illegally taking pictures at another annex of the Naval Air Station.

Liao, 27, is being held without bail. His lawyer argued at a recent hearing that Liao was on vacation taking pictures and that evidence of any crime is thin.

A fourth Chinese man, Zhao Qianli, pleaded guilty last year to illegally taking photographs at the same Florida Keys installation. Qianli, 20, was sentenced to a year in federal prison.

China has a history of freely helping itself to the military technology of America. Trade deals make during the Clinton administration advanced the missile program of China between ten and fifteen years. China also has little respect for intellectual property rights. Hopefully any trade agreement signed with China will take its past behavior into consideration.

Give Peace A Chance

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The news media is melting down at hearing that President Trump has withdrawn troops out of northern Syria ahead of a Turkish military advance to expel Kurdish forces from the area. There are a few things that they might consider before jumping off of a cliff. First of all, Turkey is a member of NATO (I realize that their allegiance has shifted away from NATO under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but they are still a member.). Second of all, the struggle between the Turks and the Kurds has been going on for a long time. Frankly, it is something they need to work out themselves. Our presence is not really helpful in this situation.

Breitbart posted an article about the troop withdrawal today.

The article reports:

President Donald Trump on Monday defended his administration’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops out of northern Syria and warned Turkey that he will “totally destroy and obliterate” if it engages in activities deemed “off limits” in the war-torn country.

“As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!),” Trump tweeted.

The article concludes:

Nonetheless, President Trump dismissed critics of his decision, stating it is time for the U.S. to halt fighting “ridiculous Endless Wars, many of them tribal, and bring our soldiers home.”

I agree. Hopefully, we can use economic pressure against Turkey to prevent a humanitarian crisis. We have been at war in the Middle East for more than eighteen years. We can’t fight a real war there because some in Congress will use the war for political purposes, so we need to come home.

I pray that we can begin to use economic pressure rather than troops to fight wars in the future.

The First Amendment Allows The Free Exercise Of Religion–It Doesn’t Restrict It

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The First Amendment was designed to prevent the establishment of one religion sanctioned by the government. It was not designed to put obstacles in the way of people choosing to practice their religion.

Yesterday CNS News posted an article about a policy of the Trump administration designed to protect the rights of Americans to practice their religion.

The article reports:

Evangelical leader Franklin Graham praised Vice President Mike Pence for defending religious freedom at Veterans Affairs hospitals in a recent speech, where Pence said, “Under this administration, VA hospitals will not be religion-free zones.” 

In an Aug. 29 post on Facebook, Rev. Graham wrote, “‘VA hospitals will not be religion-free zones.’ Vice President Mike Pence spoke at the American Legion’s 101st National Convention yesterday about all that this administration is doing to help our nation’s military veterans.”

“He also addressed the issue of a current lawsuit in New Hampshire to remove the Bible of a World War II POW from a VA hospital’s ‘missing man’ table,” remarked Graham. “Vice President Pence said, ‘…under the last administration, VA hospitals were removing Bibles and even banning Christmas carols in an effort to be politically correct.

The article concludes:

“In 2014, the Navy Exchange Service Command issued a memo for the removal of Bibles in Navy Lodge guest rooms following a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation,” reads the letter. “The Navy reversed course and announced that the Bibles would be replaced.  Similarly, the Establishment Clause does not require that you remove Bibles from the Missing Man Table displays.  The mere presence of a Bible coerces no one.”

At the Manchester Veterans Affairs hospital in New Hampshire there is a “missing man” memorial table that includes a Bible. In May, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, headed by Michael Weinstein, filed a federal lawsuit to have the Bible removed. The litigation is ongoing.

“That sectarian Christian Bible bolted down to that POW/MIA table at the Manchester NH VAMC is a grotesque gang sign of fundamentalist Christian triumphalism, exceptionalism and supremacy, indeed a middle finger of unconstitutional repugnance to the plurality and separation of church and state guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution,” Weinstein told the Military Times.

Weinstein is well known in the military as someone who frequently uses lawsuits to end religious speech. Barack Obama appointed Mikey Wienstein to be a consultant to the Pentagon to develop new policies on religious tolerance, including a policy for court-martialing military chaplains who share the Christian Gospel during spiritual counseling of American troops. These are some of the policies that President Trump is quietly undoing.

God Bless Her Husband–He Will Need It

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The Marine Times posted an article yesterday that indicates how warped some parts of our society have become. There was a time in this country when military veterans and people serving in the military were honored. Although that is still the case in many places, it is far from universal.

The article deals with a bride who asked a wedding guest to leave because he is a Marine and wore his dress blues to her wedding.

This is her comment:

“Now, I have nothing against anyone in the military but this was a black tie optional wedding and frankly it felt very out of place and it seemed like he was just trying to show off. My wedding had over 300 guests and nobody else felt the need to wear something to make them stand out.”

I believe Marine dress blues are appropriate in a black tie situation.

Further comments indicate that she was simply jealous of the attention he was getting:

Emanating a “thank you for your service” radius of nearly 50 meters, the Marine — and what the bride perceived to be a “Semper I” aura — finally proved to be too much “mota, mota, gotta lotta” motivation to handle.

“Frankly it just felt like the only reason he wore that was to be in the spotlight and make it about him, which I don’t think you are supposed to do at someone else’s wedding,” she wrote.

“If he wants to wear that to his own wedding then fine, but the whole point of having a dress code at a wedding is so that no one guest will stand out too much.”

My sympathies to the bride’s husband. It seems as if this lady has some growing to do. She comes across as a spoiled brat.

 

Good News

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Yesterday Fox News reported the following:

The caliphate has crumbled, and the final offensive is over. While the official announcement hasn’t yet been made – Fox News has been told that this village, the last ISIS stronghold, is liberated.

It’s the first time since we’ve been here in Syria for five days that the bombs have stopped dropping and the gunfire has disappeared. We have witnessed the end of the caliphate – the brutal empire that once ruled over 8 million people – is gone.

Troops here are now bringing down the black flags of ISIS. The flags no longer fly over the town, instilling fear.

…None of the main surviving ISIS leaders have been caught inside Baghouz. Instead, they left their men to fight alone. It’s thought they prepared ahead for the insurgency.

The scale of the devastation here is incredible. And everyone acknowledges that without U.S. support, it would have taken far longer.

For four-and-a-half years, ISIS held this territory, ruling over it with an iron fist. It was the terrorist group’s heartland – and they were so dug in that the only way to push them back was to flatten whole villages. The devastation here goes on for miles – and craters like this are a reminder of the critical role played by U.S. airpower. Military jets still fly overhead.

SDF fighters are all so grateful to the U.S., not just for their help in the battle, but now for its decision to leave troops here when it’s done. Reports now suggest the figure may be around 1,000 staying.

We need to leave enough of a force to prevent ISIS from reassembling. As the article stated, the leaders fled and left the lower ranking members to fight. That means the leaders are still somewhere, possibly plotting how to take power again. I don’t want to fight the battles for all of the people in the Middle East, but if our assistance means that the bad guys will lose power,  I think we need to be ready to assist.

From The Heart

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This is a post from a site called militaryspouse.com. Sometimes we forget the price the families of our military pay.

Weary Military Spouse Confessions

I am tired. I am over this thing we call “military life”.

Right off the bat I can hear the comments. “You knew what you were getting into”, “What do you have to complain about… you are not the service member”, “Suck it up, Buttercup”.

And all those comments make me want to punch a hole through the wall. This white wall that I am staring at, in a place that is supposed to feel like home because “home is where the heart is” or some other well-meaning cliché. But this doesn’t feel like home. At all.

I have been a military spouse since many reading this were in diapers. I was a spouse before 9/11… a young spouse then, new to military life and full of positivity and an eagerness to embrace this strange new world I married into. Even years after the towers fell, I was still optimistic. That first war-time deployment was hard, but my fellow military spouses saved me. We saved each other. Re-connecting with my husband was a bit challenging, but nothing we couldn’t handle. He was home alive… and that was all that mattered, right?

The first couple of PCS moves brought tears to my eyes… but the kids adjusted well and we all made new friends and it was an adventure. I was getting the hang of re-arranging our stuff to fit a new place. I knew all the tips and tricks about how to make a move go smoothly. I tried not to be too upset if something was damaged. It happens… and they are just things after all. Our immediate family was together, and that was the most important thing in the world.

I don’t know exactly when the shift happened. It kind of feels like a gradual thing… each deployment, each TDY, each PCS move, each homecoming… all chipping away at me. Wearing my skin thin. Making me more tired by the minute. And now, I just feel weary… all of the time.

I am weary of turning on the news and not seeing the numbers of dead reported… because it has just become too commonplace to be newsworthy.

I am weary of watching my children fight back tears as they say goodbye, again… and of watching them struggle to find their place in a new school.

I am weary of sending my husband away again… not knowing if this will be the time he doesn’t get so lucky.

I am weary of spending a large portion of my married life alone… even when he is “home”.

I am weary of lying in bed awake with worry at night over all of the unknowns of military life… and that doesn’t even count deployment.

I am weary of being told how lucky we are to have free health insurance and a steady paycheck… as if it were a gift.

I am weary of being away from extended family… I miss them terribly.

I am weary of making great friends and then saying goodbye… never seeing them again except on Facebook.

I am weary of witnessing the heartbreaking changes in my husband, that he won’t get help for… because he didn’t see combat after all. It wouldn’t be right.

I am weary of wondering what changes I will continue to see in my kids… who have known nothing but a life as a military child, with an active duty parent, during a time of war.

I am weary of the changes I KNOW are happening within in me… but I am too busy worrying about everyone else and just trying to get by, to ever seek help for myself.

I am weary of trying to be positive about the whole thing.

I am weary of people telling me how wonderful this life can be.

I am weary of putting on a brave face.

I am weary of not being honest about it all.

My husband only has a short time left in the military, and I am hopeful that my feelings are just indicative of how long we have been a part of this life… and that we are ready to move on to the next chapter. Am I grateful for the things that we have gained from my husband’s military service? Of course. But I am also well aware of the things we have given up. And I know that our weariness is a clear sign that it is time for his service to this great nation to come to an end.

I don’t write this for sympathy… I write it in hopes that if there are others out there feeling the same, they will feel a little less alone. I write it so that I can be honest about my feelings, an important first step in trying to get past them. Please don’t misunderstand. I am extremely proud of my husband, his service, and how our family has supported him for all of these years.

But I am weary. So weary.

And I don’t believe I am alone…

Remember our military and their families in your prayers.

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Further Information On The COLA Cuts To Military Pensions

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As someone with a family member in the military, the cuts to the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) on military pensions hit close to home. Not only are they the ONLY cuts made in the budget agreement, they also represent a broken promise to our military troops. One of the best articles I have seen on the subject is posted at Allen West’s website.

The article reminds us that the four retired senior officers — three generals and one admiral–who supported the cut would not be impacted by the change in the rules. However, there are some retired senior enlisted men who are impacted who are speaking out.

One of those senior enlisted men shares the story of a friend who landed a high-paying job with a defense contractor in the same field he worked in on active duty:

But several years later, the company went bankrupt, and Hoynes, a former chief operations specialist, found himself jobless. Now Hoynes and his wife must rely on his $1,600-a-month military retirement pay (after taxes, health care and insurance payments) and her small retail salary to pay the bills.

If the cost-of-living adjustment reduction to military retired pay included in the Bipartisan Budget Act goes into effect in December 2015, the retired chief, now 50, stands to lose as much as $55,000 in retirement pay over his lifetime.

This is obscene simply on the facts, but it is even more obscene that it represents a broken promise to our military.

Allen West also points out:

There are close to 350,000,000 Americans and 840,000 have to be sacrificed to support the legislative budgetary process? That’s two-tenths of a percent. All over $6 billion? You mean to tell me that lawmakers in Washington DC — Rep. Paul Ryan and Sen. Patty Murray specifically — could not find $6 billion dollars elsewhere? Hmm, will one of them explain to retired Chief Chip Hoynes and his wife that a Member of Congress only needs to serve 5 years to earn 70 percent retirement, for life (since it goes to the spouse upon death of the Member)?

This needs to be corrected as soon as Congress resumes. Otherwise the Republicans who signed on to this deal should be quickly voted out of office.

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Breaking Faith With The Brave Men And Women Who Defend Us

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The Washington Free Beacon is reporting today that the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill negotiated by House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R., Ky.) and Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee Barbara Mikulski (D., Md.), would only restore retirement benefits for 17.5 percent of military retirees.

The article reports:

Title X of the bill exempts veterans who receive Chapter 61 retirement. Chapter 61 applies to combat veterans who are disabled as a result of their service. The spouses of deceased veterans will also be exempt, according to section 10001 of the legislation.

However, the bill keeps in place the one percent decrease in the cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for all other military retirees. The change, effective December 2015, affects retirees under the age of 62 and will result in thousands of dollars in lost retirement pay.

Enlisted servicemembers could lose a minimum of $72,000 over a 20 year period of their retirement, while commissioned officers could face up to $124,000 in lost compensation.

I don’t care if it saves a million billion dollars, there is no excuse for doing this. It is breaking a contract made with military currently serving–this is not what they were told when they signed up. Our current military has done multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, they have missed the birth of their children, children’s birthdays, graduations, dance recitals, etc.,. because they were overseas serving their country. Now their country is giving them the short end of the stick.

Americans were left with the impression that this would be changed in the final bill. It has NOT been changed. The bill is being passed under the radar in the hopes that no one will notice. Please raise a ruckus about this. Call you Congressman and register your disgust.

This is outrageous!

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The Personal Impact Of The Budget Deal–One Person’s Story

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Somehow because of the size of our government and the amount of money taken from taxpayers to run it, we sometimes forget what some of the spending represents. Every now and then it’s a good idea to look at a story that illustrates where the money goes and why. Here is a story that explains one aspect of government spending.

Stacy Huisman posted an article at Militaryspouse.com recently. The article explains how the recent budget deal will impact her husband’s retirement pay and her family. The money cut from his retirement pay was the money they had planned to use to pay for their children’s’ college education. Please follow the link above to read the entire article. It illustrates beautifully the price our military families pay when one of their family members serves in the military.

There are a few aspects to the cut to retirement pay. First of all, that retirement pay was promised to our military when they signed up–they earned it. It was assumed that the cost of living increases in that pay were included in that promise. There is also the aspect of the price military families pay for having a family member in the military for twenty or more years. One on my own granddaughters is in fifth grade. She started attending her third elementary school in six years in September. Another granddaughter is in third grade. She is attending her second elementary school in three years. That is a high price to pay. She is living near her grandparents (my husband and I) because we chose to move to be close to her family–not because her family had a choice as to where they would live.

The thing that really bothers me about the budget deal is that military retirement was cut, but civil service retirement was not cut. Public sector workers make more than private sector workers to begin with. The public sector workers are now required to contribute a small amount to their pensions–something private sector workers have been doing for years, but they are still better compensated than the private sector.

The chart below is taken from a 2010 post by the Congressional Budget Office. As you can see, unless you have an advanced degree, it pays to work for the government.

 

The budget did not need to be cut at the expense of our military–there was enough pork in the public sector to avoid breaking a promise to those military families who serve our country.

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There Is No Real News Value To This Story–It Is Simply Nostalgic !

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On Monday Business Insider posted a series of pictures taken inside the Intrepid–the parts where tourists are not allowed. Since my husband was in a Naval Air Squadron that was stationed on the Intrepid in the late 1960’s, I stopped to look at the pictures. Please follow the link above for the tour!

There are some lights on back here so it's easy to spot the odd items that make this feel like a time-warp — this type of soda was popular in the 1970s

This is one example of the time warp they discovered. When was the last time you saw a patio soda can?

The Navy brought us to New England and we stayed because we fell in love with the people and the scenery. I still have not gotten used to the climate!

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