Category Archives: Culture Wars

June 5, 2014 · 10:57 am

The Choices We Make

Many things, on many levels, disturb me about the latest President Obama disaster of releasing 5 terrorists for a US soldier held in captivity. This situation contains so many threads we’ll probably be trying to untangle this massive web of lies, truth and partisan spin for years and future historians will certainly have plenty of information to sift through to put a stamp of judgment on President Obama’s decision to make this trade. One thread I’m going to attempt to untangle (and feel free to toss in your opinions in the comments) is the choices open to Bowe Bergdahl. None of us will ever be able to ascertain for certain what he thought or what he believed and the investigation, the accumulation of facts that come forward about his actions before, during and after his leaving his base in Afghanistan, and how we line these up will lead each of us to form an opinion in the matter.

Most of us are people of beliefs, opinions, feelings, desires and no man can ever be totally objective and free from some degree of bias, because we can’t separate our thinking into tidy little separate compartments. Sadly, from watching these sorts of national crises of “conscience” play out over the years, the political strategists have trained Americans to rely on poll numbers and influencing feelings to sway “public opinion” and thus allow the politicians to pursue their agendas without much oversight from “we the people”.

Bowe Bergdahl was a young man who voluntarily decided to enlist in the US Army. Of course, I can relate to that, because as a young woman I did the same thing, in perhaps a very similar naive way. No matter how carefully you research the military before raising your right hand and swearing an oath to “defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic”, the reality turns out very different from your preconceived notions.

The single most important lesson military service teaches you is that there are other things more important than yourself (selfless service). You are part of a team tasked with a mission and in combat the very lives of your fellow soldiers depend on TRUST – lives depend on this and accomplishing the mission depends on it (loyalty and trust).

When soldiers swear that oath, they agree to follow lawful orders and to work toward that big picture mission “defending the Constitution”. How that big mission trickles down to the individual soldier in our Republic is a combination of civilian political decision-making with the President having a great deal of latitude in execution of military missions and Congress with the prescribed role of declaring war, oversight of military actions and fiduciary responsibilities (they control the purse strings). Now, how the little missions get passed on down through the ranks has evolved in our military since General George Washington first took command of the Continental Army on June 15, 1775. From that day forward the military rules and traditions evolved and today Army soldiers operate under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and we agree to uphold Army Values, to live by the Soldier’s Creed and Warrior Ethos.

Often times what you “feel” differs from what the people above you in rank order you to do and believe me, being a private in the US Army is a lesson in forbearance and self-restraint, because you’re at the bottom of the power structure and everything rolls downhill. That means you often feel like you’re being run around in circles, because you don’t know what the big picture parts of the mission are and as the little parts get tasked on down the chain of command, both good and bad decisions are made. It’s a complex organization and lots of hands are required to achieve the big picture mission. You follow your orders, unless the order is unlawful.

Based on the emails that Bowe Bergdahl’s parents reportedly shared with the frequently referenced 2012 Rolling Stone magazine article (hardly a hardcore right-wing source). Bowe Bergdahl had many negative feelings about his chain of command, his teammates and the overall mission in Afghanistan. At a later date, that will likely be a blog post to tackle – American foreign policy failures.

I can sympathize having been a private in the US Army and having grave misgivings about our military mission in Afghanistan and Iraq, especially since President Obama took office, but truthfully even for most of the Bush presidency too. From the very biggest picture level on down to the execution on the ground, I have disagreed with everything from nation-building on down to rules of engagement. I have nothing but contempt for military strategy reliant on lame slogans, rather than a clear strategic vision for America, both short-term and long-term. It looks to me like Bowe Bergdahl drank the “hearts and minds” three cups of tea mission. I disagreed with it then and I disagree with it now. COIN is not a strategy – it’s a tactic, in my opinion and I’ve felt all along it should be just a part of our military toolkit, not the complete doctrine in the Army. Yes, we’ve all listened “shock and awe” and “it will be a cake walk” on to the “winning the hearts and minds”, which the media regurgitate like trained parrots. Right now, the press and the politicians hit us with “we never leave one of our own on the battlefield” type slogans.

Most in the media have no clue about anything having to do with military matters. No one in the President’s inner-circle of trusted advisers knows anything about military matters (and they suck at managing their PR big time too). From watching this unfolding circus, sadly way too many of the retired military pundits and commentators on which the media and public rely to translate military matters into civilian language are partisan political hacks. Sadly, I’ve thought most of our top brass are political hacks for a long, long time. When the “war on terror” began and the Bush administration began briefing these retired officers and sending them out to be “military analysts” for the media, it’s pretty easy to determine where these officers’ political loyalties lie and it’s not with telling the truth.

So, now back to Bowe Bergdahl, the Private First Class, arriving in Afghanistan in March of 2009 and on June 30, 2009 he walked away from his base. I love my Sun Tzu, while our military is more attuned to Clausewitz and Jomini. I love reading about military strategy and military history, so naturally I have lots of opinions. Bowe Bergdahl seems to have formed lots of opinions too. And that is what the point of this post is. No matter how the media and politicians or his supporters or the folks for the war or against the war try to spin it – at the heart of the matter is Bowe Bergdahl, whom I can sympathize with in many ways, as a naive young man, “wanting to help the Afghan people” according to his father. I am always trying to “help people” too. I can even sympathize with his parents and even his father trying to talk to the Taliban, trying to get his son released. The crux of the matter and what this will boil down to – unlike Bowe’s father, mine lived by a simple code of honor that he drilled into our heads, “If you give your word, you keep it!” Bowe’s father, a religious man, told his son, according to that Rolling Stone interview, “OBEY YOUR CONSCIENCE!” Bowe gave his word and didn’t keep it, nor did he discuss his change of conscience with his chain of command. He walked away in a war zone for an as yet to be determined personal mission.

Here’re the simple facts. Bowe Bergdahl had other choices. It was not a matter of he had no other course of action to pursue if he felt, as a matter of conscience he couldn’t do this. Like everything in the military, conscientious objector status is covered in UCMJ too. Did Bowe Bergdahl ever talk to anyone in his chain of command about his misgivings about the war? Did he attempt to seek conscientious objector status or even try to get out of the Army? The reporting indicated he tried to join the French Foreign Legion, wanting to be a mercenary, so fighting didn’t seem to be morally reprehensible to him then. He joined the Army and was reported to have earned the nickname SF, short for Special Forces, because of his fascination with COIN. How he was planning to help the Afghan people matters and we may never get that answer from him. I would love to hear his father explain in what ways he believes Bowe intended to help the Afghan people. How was he going to help them, this young man fascinated with being a mercenary and survivalist skills? To me, I’m trying to wrap my mind around his father’s views in this video, where he at length talks about how he feels the mission in Afghanistan was wrong, but I can’t make heads or tails out of how he believes his son intended to help the Afghan people.

So, away from the politics, there are honorable and dishonorable ways to “obey your conscience” and sorry, walking away from your base is not one of them. Not being a JAG lawyer, I don’t know if Bowe Bergdahl’s convictions would have met the threshold for conscientious objector status. This website About.com on this issue it states: “You can’t pick and choose which war you object to. By law, a conscientious objector is one who is opposed to participation in all wars. The person’s opposition must be based on religious belief and training, and it must be deeply held.” My husband had a soldier who found God on the way to the Gulf War and he was still in the company when they returned, albeit on his way out. I haven’t consulted Gladius on this matter yet, but like everything else in the Army, there are various types of actions commanders have at their disposal to deal with a soldier and his/her conscience in a war zone – Bowe Bergdahl decided to skip all that.

This isn’t about the merits of the US mission in Afghanistan or the partisan politics, this is about one soldier who swore an oath and the choices he voluntarily made. And when the political left tries to turn this into an indictment of the policy in Afghanistan – what matters here is that the UCMJ applies to every soldier and that’s why so many soldiers are demanding he be held accountable for his actions. We might sympathize with his feelings, but we can’t lose sight that we are a nation of laws, not men. That law is the Constitution of the United States of America and if keeping your word no longer matters, our Republic will crumble. Don’t once again buy into the crap about the polls of how the American people feel or the partisan spin – that doesn’t matter!!! We are a nation of laws, not of what people feel this week based on the latest poll numbers!

5 Comments

Filed under American History, Culture Wars, Foreign Policy, General Interest, Military, Politics, The Constitution, The Media

June 4, 2014 · 1:08 am

They embraced it

Watching civilian reporters talk about military matters is about like me trying to talk about quantum physics, where I might be able to recite the terminology, but remain completely clueless about the concepts. It’s like I wandered over to Malcolm Pollack’s blog when he gets really engrossed in one of his many scientific topics – I read the words (having to look up most), but remain lost.

All afternoon I’ve been thinking about writing about “moral courage” and trying to put into words my disgust with this CINC and it’s in that context that President Obama completely disgusts me. I have felt for a very long time that he is not fit to command the US Armed Forces – that is my heartfelt belief. Every action he undertakes rests on his political agenda, replete with his arrogant, elitist inner-circle concocting “narratives” to spin it (lie) to the public. The endless lying may be his undoing in this Bergdahl situation, where he released some of the most dangerous Gitmo detainees in exchange for the return of what was not a “military hero”, possibly a deserter/collaborator. Still, these self-important dilettantes turned military experts, continue this sad parade of brazen mendacity. They are now military experts and military historians, cockily tossing out military phrases with abandon, of which they know nothing.

The military operates under a different code of laws called the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and after spending my entire adult life around the Army, (serving a short time on active duty, the bulk as an Army spouse), in addition to reading for years about military matters, I am not a JAG lawyer, nor will I ever pretend to be one. Bowe Bergdahl deserves to have the circumstances of his case investigated and if charged with crimes under the UCMJ, then he is entitled to legal representation and a fair trial – that much I do know.

The Army leadership owes it to every man and woman who swears an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States to investigate this situation and follow the UCMJ. Sending out Susan Rice or those twits at the State Department to lie/deflect/denigrate other soldiers who have come forward to speak of their first-hand knowledge, will not make this matter disappear – our military can not defend America if the bonds of trust between the rank and file soldiers and the top brass collapse due to moral cowardice from the top.

Gladius offered some thoughts on moral courage, which sum up this situation:

“I absolutely agree that the Army leadership should have collectively stood up and said no to the exchange — but before it happened. Now, I believe they have their hands tied in saying anything other that what Dempsey said about “may pursue an investigation.” Undue command influence has happened too often of late, when high-ranking officers order a specific investigation or a specific outcome of an investigation. I do believe Dempsey could strengthen his statement from “may pursue” to “will pursue through proper authorities”, but I doubt he can now go further. The time of courage has passed.

Physical courage is spontaneous and happens usually without meditation and pre-planning. To be sure, we soldiers can be trained to react in certain ways, but instincts of survival can be hard to overcome.

On the other hand, moral courage is deliberative, purposeful and done with full awareness of the consequences.

The reverse of both is equally true. Physical cowardice is spontaneous and done without pre-planning in most cases. Again, to be sure, we can be trained to react better to overcome our natural tendencies. On the other hand, once again, moral cowardice is deliberate, purposeful and done with full awareness. Those in leadership, in my opinion, are guilty of moral cowardice. They knew it; they embraced it; and, they were aware of the consequences. It was a gamble they took to protect their immediate position with no regard to the long time effect.”

Ralph Peters, a retired Army intelligence officer, author of numerous books on national security/intelligence/strategic matters and fictional novels, knows far more than me, your humble, mumbling amateur blogger, so I highly recommend you click over to National Review Online and read his entire piece, “Why Team Obama Was Blindsided by Bergdahl Backlash”. Peters states:

“Our military leaders need to rediscover their moral courage and honor our traditions, our regulations, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. We need a fresh, unprejudiced 15-6 investigation (the military equivalent of a grand jury). We already know, as the military has known since the first 24 hours after Bergdahl abandoned his post, that sufficient evidence exists for a court-martial, but it’s important to do this by the numbers.”

I agree with Gladius that “moral courage is deliberative, purposeful and done with full awareness of the consequences”, but I believe there is still time for moral courage and let’s hope that someone in our top military leadership speaks out. Russ Vaughn, in an excellent piece, “A Five-Sided Kennel of Cowardice”, astutely harkened to the power of one courageous voice:

“A single, public resignation by a single honorable four-star could have stopped this executive branch arrogance in its tracks, like a kitchen light breaking up a roach-fest.”

When in doubt, go back and start from the beginning, so let’s listen to the echoes of George Washington’s wisdom (additional links here in old LB blog post):

“I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain (what I consider the most enviable of all titles) the character of an “Honest Man.”

And from there, perhaps, there’s still hope we can find our way to declare a truce in the relentless partisan political battles tearing America apart and :

“Let us erect a standard to which the wise and honest may repair.”

6 Comments

Filed under Culture Wars, General Interest, Military, Politics

May 25, 2014 · 8:06 pm

We here must speak of heroes

Memorial Day serves as a holiday for backyard grilling, first taste of summertime activities and having fun. The actual “memorial” part of it is remembered by a few canned patriotic speeches delivered by political leaders and a flurry of social media graphics thanking those who served. Today, President Obama, in a shallow, face-saving measure to deflect from the VA scandal fall-out, made a surprise trip to Afghanistan to visit US troops, the political motives glaringly obvious. In the scheme of American holidays, Memorial Day fades from our memories quickly, unremembered and afar, most don’t even spare a thought for the sacrifices made to secure their liberty. Do people even think about “liberty”?

Kinnison, in part, commented yesterday:

“Someone once said, “America is better-served by its armed forces than it deserves.” Early in the War on Terror a wounded Marine in the very first “Wounded Warrior” barracks at Camp Lejeune, NC, wrote on the white board in the passageway, “America is not at war. The Marine Corps is at war. America is at the mall…””

Sadly, this seems to be an accurate assessment, with fewer and fewer of our leaders having any military service or interest in learning about those who sacrificed so much. In our culture of self-entitlement and fatuous idolization of shameless, self-promoting celebrities, it’s easy to lose hope for America’s future. Let’s commit to remember our true American heroes as Minta beautifully states:

“A greater gratitude than we can here express.
Here fallen heroes lie.
The ones we’ve come to honor,
And celebrate their lives.
They were the ones who paid –
In Lincoln’s words –
“The last full measure of devotion.””

JK offered a comment yesterday with just a link, no explanation. This link transports you to Arlington National Cemetery, the final resting place for more than 400,000 of our country’s military heroes. One such hero at Arlington, General John Joseph “Black Jack” Pershing, was the most famous American military leader of his generation and yet it’s doubtful more than a very few Americans would even recognize his name.

General Pershing was the most famous American general in World War I. He took a decidedly haphazardly organized US Armed Forces and turned it into a 2 million strong integrated modern fighting force in World War I (further reading, “US Army in the World War 1917-1919, Organization of the American Expeditionary Force”). His accomplishments fill many books written about his remarkable military achievements and he alone received the title “General of the Armies”, the highest rank in the US Army while still alive. General George Washington received that title posthumously. Words like cold, reserved, stubborn appear frequently in descriptions of General Pershing, but beneath that stern mask was a man who sacrificed a great deal to serve his country; a man who cared deeply for his family, his soldiers, his country.

In 1915 while serving in the Army at Fort Bliss, Pershing’s wife and three daughters perished in a house fire at their home at the Presidio of San Francisco. The 1948 NY Times obituary account recounts:

“On Aug. 27, 1915, there came the great tragedy of Pershing’s life. The general was called to the telephone at headquarters.

“Telegram for you, sir,” said the telephone orderly.

“Yes?” responded the General.

“Shall I–shall I–read it to you, sir?” the orderly asked, haltingly.

“Yes,” said General Pershing.

Again the orderly hesitated.

“Go ahead,” said Pershing.

And then the orderly read him the message telling of the death of his wife and three daughters–all his family except his son Warren–in a fire at their quarters in the Presidio. Warren alone had been saved by a maid and was reported to be in serious condition in the Army hospital.

“Is that all–is that everything?” Pershing asked when the orderly had completed the message.

“Yes, sir,” said the orderly.

Pershing left his duties only long enough to see to the burial of his family, left his son Warren with his sister in Lincoln, Neb., and returned, his hair whitened and his face lined, to his post.”

General Pershing could have called it quits on the Army life at this point, because he had acquired a law degree in 1893 and had many other options. He chose to continue serving our country in uniform.

While browsing through a book I purchased recently (“War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars”, Andrew Carroll), a letter written by General Pershing during WWI to his 9-year-old son, living with an aunt in Nebraska, offers a glimpse of the man behind that cold mask. Luckily, the letter was located quickly online here. This excerpt speaks to that higher purpose that so easily gets drowned out by our pop culture:

“I want you to come so that you yourself can see something of the army and see something of France. I want you to know while you are still a boy something of the fine patriotism that inspires the American soldiers who are fighting over here for the cause of liberty. They are fighting as you know against Germany and her Allies to prevent the rulers of Germany from seizing territory that does not belong to them and from extending their rule over the people of other governments who do not wish to be ruled by Germany. I might add that in order to do this the German army, under orders from the Ruler of Germany, has committed most serious crimes, and for that also we are fighting in order to punish them.

I want you to see some of the battlefields of France with me, over which the American soldiers have fought in carrying out the great purpose of our people. It will enable you to realize later in life just what sacrifice means and just what degree of sacrifice our army is called upon to make and which they have made and are making bravely and courageously.”

He promised his young son a trip to France to see the battlefields and in words meant for his son only, General Pershing sums up the larger purpose, simple, poignant and meant to be private, a father trying to teach his son what we hold dear. He kept his promise to his son and here are photos of young Warren Pershing with his father in France.

We should remember all those, who sacrificed so much for our liberty, not only on Memorial Day, but every day:

“We here must speak of things
That give us pause –
Our hesitation comes because some words
When spoken here
Tremble in the air
And voice immortal thoughts.
We here must speak of heroes,
Of loyalty, and love,
Of valor, fear controlled –
And, yes, of death –
That fearful price that those who’re named here paid.”

– Minta Marie Morze

9 Comments

Filed under American Character, American History, Culture Wars, General Interest, Military, Politics

May 17, 2014 · 5:54 pm

A new American revolution

Planned to write a blog post this morning, but making some braided ribbon bookmarks with one piece of ribbon and watching kumihimo braiding tutorials sidetracked me a bit. Politics vs. crafting, hummm, well, no real competition there. Talented people fill the blogosphere with great tutorials, so it’s like a virtual crafting and sewing circle of creative ideas. I often sew simply hemmed receiving blankets as part of my baby shower gifts and I found this pretty cool self-binding receiving blanket, that I’ll have to try.

Yawn, yawn guys, I know. I shared this, partly because it’s truly how I spent my morning, but moreover to begin this political post about how we’ve lost sight of respecting individuals in our polarized, diversity-crazed, hyper-politicized culture. This cuts across just about every aspect of American culture, where even the most innocuous things like an Easter egg hunt, can turn into a full-throated battle about religious sensitivity/intolerance. No aspect of American life is immune from being targeted as somehow offensive, insensitive or subject to being banned by some politically-motivated idiots. Our daily lives seem confined, coerced, constrained by ever-louder nutty rules, edicts, criticism from fellow citizens caught up in the throes of particular political agendas and we’ve reached the point where commonness curtails any hope of finding common ground.

Watching TV political punditry follows an in the gutter, street-fighting ethos behind perfectly coiffed hair and syrupy smiles, lies partisans liable to hit below the belt and even stab with stiletto-tipped talking points prepared ahead of time. Two incidents this past week made me pause. CNN and FOX offer the “balanced” fights, like the Mother’s Day face-off with Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and Michele Bachman hosted by Candy Crowley. Even more disgusting was Dana Loesch and Jessica Erhlich going at it on the Kelly File on FOX last night while discussing the Benham Brothers controversy centering on their personal religious beliefs regarding homosexuality impacting their HGTV show deal. No one discusses much of anything. Folks choose a side, memorize the partisan rhetoric and off they go, indoctrinated to the point where objective truth, objective weighing of facts or objectively seeking solutions no longer matter. It’s all about scoring political points and forcing your agenda on the other side.

Admittedly, my political leanings fall far to the right, that’s upfront and obvious on my blog, but I try to keep politics out of my everyday life as much as possible. I prefer to talk to people and learn as much as I can about their lives. You won’t find me holding up a hashtag sign, attending a political rally, protesting, or forcing my political views on anyone. John Schindler, at the XX Committee blog wrote a piece on America today that’s definitely worth a read. I rarely agree with his expert foreign policy and strategy writing, but in this concertedly “even-handed” critique, he hits on the sad shape of American society:

“If you cannot get out of the country, read more. Talk to foreigners, see the world through their eyes for a bit. Get out of your comfort zone. If you think either FoxNews or MSNBC has a monopoly on truth, you need to diversify your mind. If you believe the flaws in our foreign policy can be explained by just one word, and that word is either “Bush” or “Obama,” you’re part of the problem.”

Last year I wrote a piece, “Getting To Know You”, which sums up my view on the problem of living your life “knowing about people” compared to getting “to know” people and our leaders could start by talking to each other rather than sending out political hit squads to annihilate their opponents. I’ll stick to my advice in that piece, for a new American revolution…… getting to know your fellow Americans:

“Americans need to wake up and realize that before they side up against other Americans they had better take the time to walk up to those who hold different views and sit down and talk first. Perhaps by actually getting “to know” other people, we might be able to bridge the gaps and build a stronger nation, where all views from all people get heard at our political kitchen table. And just maybe communities might get back to holding potluck dinners where everyone comes and shares a meal and gets to know his/her neighbors. What an amazing concept that is – getting to know other people, up close and personal. It just might revolutionize America;-)”

Time to get supper finished – stuffed pasta shells tonight and tossed salad….. I like to cook too:-)

7 Comments

Filed under American Character, Culture Wars, Food for Thought, General Interest, Politics

May 14, 2014 · 12:39 pm

#AmericanPaperTiger

“You’re not so tough without your car” – Kindergarten Cop (1990 movie) or

“… without your teleprompter speeches!” – President Obama (2014 fantasy foreign policy)

If only a metastasized ideology could be killed in a surgical strike eliminating one man. President Obama, now into a second term of floundering foreign policy, faces the cancer of radical Islam, spreading malignant cells, far and wide. Since the Al Qaeda attack on 9/11/2001, American leaders prefer to hide behind euphemisms rather than grapple with the ugly side of Islamic-inspired terrorism. We’ve moved from short-sighted and overly optimistic democratization planning to a new, alarmingly vacuous, Obama foreign policy, with the intellectual underpinning of a text message: #AmericanSurrender.

The Bush administration chose to hide behind a “War on Terror” and absolve Islamic leaders of responsibility for the very acts of terror they facilitated. Hiding behind hollow rhetoric like “Islam means Peace”, while charging forward with an ill-conceived democratization of the Muslim world plan, Islamic-extremism blossomed. The Obama approach, even more dangerously naive, now resorts to laughable hashtag foreign policy and an Al Qaeda leadership decapitation strategy via drone strikes. Computer gaming and social media come of age, where Islamic-terrorists utilize Western technology to network and expand their real world operations and American leadership resorts to hiding behind hand-written hashtag placards, borrowed from the most shallow social-networking format.

The barbarians use western technology to achieve their real strategic aims, while our foreign policy leaders send impotent hand-written pleas to barbarians, whose name translates to something along the lines of “western education is sinful”. Yes, I am sure these Islamist zealots really care what Michelle Obama says and will heed her hashtag plea… If the rest of world is laughing at us, who can blame them. It’s embarrassing, not to mention dangerous, to allow fools such as President Obama and the girls, to diminish American prestige to the point where American power really is the “paper tiger” Osama bin Laden ranted about in his many video diatribes.

Other pundits have written excellent commentary on this topic, so I’ll end my venting and provide their links:

#BringBackOurBalls – Mark Steyn’s deadly accurate hit.

George Will on “hashtag activism”

“Hillary and Boko Haram” – Rich Lowry at National Review

“5 Things the Media and Government Won’t Tell You About Boko Haram” – Robert Spencer at PJ Media

Ann Coulter, got the left tweeting-mad, adding her own hashtag plea to the mix.

8 Comments

Filed under Culture Wars, Foreign Policy, General Interest, Islam, Politics, The Media, Uncategorized

April 27, 2014 · 12:57 pm

A worm saves the BLM from further scrutiny

A busy week in the real world kept me from this virtual one. A year ago I posted a piece, “Janet’s Ammo Stockpile”, questioning the executive branch massive weapons and ammo acquisitions for numerous federal agencies. I linked to a Forbes piece from 3/11/13, “1.6 billion Rounds Of Ammo For Homeland Security? It’s Time For A National Conversation” Yes, whenever you raise the question of federal government run amok, the political Left chimes in with the “tinfoil hat” accusation, relegating your concerns to those of a kooky, conspiracy-nut, best laughed at and shooed away. Of course, the Left would prefer all this shooing away to include confiscation of legal, privately owned firearms from said conspiracy-nuts.

I’m just an ordinary working American taxpayer. I spent most of my adult life as a homemaker, while my husband served in the US Army and then I found an ordinary job when he retired from the military. We moved a lot with the Army and I enjoy observing people. Likewise, I watch the news, in print, on TV and now online videos, in addition to listening to and reading the news reporting. Often the pictures don’t fit the audio and print reporting. Here’s a link to a piece on the Blaze about the Bureau of Land Management in this ranch stand-off story. Look at the photo with the caption, “Armed agents for the Bureau of Land Management outside the Cliven Bundy Ranch in Nevada.” On another site, you can find pictured a photo of a BLM agent, identified as a special forces soldier. A blog, SOFREP, (which I have followed for quite a while and enjoy), wrote a lengthy rebuttal of sorts on the photo and recording of said special forces solider, albeit, the SOFREP author is still trying to reach ground truth on the matter.

Here are a few common sense things I know (take that with a pillar of salt, lol) about the military and soldiers whose careers were in actual combat arms. When combat arms types leave the Army, they face a harsh reality, unless they spent a lot of time preparing for this eventuality. Most don’t fit in well with the corporate America mentality and their skill sets aren’t compatible with most civilian job offerings. Police forces often would rather train some fresh recruits without ingrained military habits. Private contractors for security adventures overseas hire many of these types of former soldiers and it wouldn’t surprise me that federal agencies building the “Obama Civilian National Security Force” would hire former soldiers.

The Annenberg Public Policy Center, presents FactCheck.org on the matter and this link pops up as the first Google link for a Obama Civilian National Security Force” search. Don’t dig deeper, they’ve got it answered:

Q: Is Obama planning a Gestapo-like “civilian national security force”?

A: This false claim is a badly distorted version of Obama’s call for doubling the Peace Corps, creating volunteer networks and increasing the size of the Foreign Service.

FactCheck goes on to expand that President Obama was being grossly misquoted and taken out of context on the matter. Okay, but then how to explain regulatory agencies, not the military or law-enforcement, building paramilitary forces, stockpiling weapons and ammo, and even acquiring military-type vehicles?

Luckily for the mainstream media, the old rancher, Mr. Bundy, provided the perfect opportunity to avoid questioning what this BLM armed force is, how many comprise their force, what it’s purpose is, how much firepower does it stockpile, and exactly what in the hell it’s mission, legislative parameters are and who trains, commands and funds it. We won’t find that out, because now, alas, Mr. Bundy, aside from being on the wrong side regarding his legal knowledge, also possesses some unsavory racial opinions too. Thus the media focus can happily pivot from that unhappy line of inquiry and place the full force of its attention on rabid, right-wing racists, assuredly, a much more comfortable area for their investigative vigor.

So, with Mr. Bundy, turning out to be a worm in one bad apple, whom even Glenn Beck wants to avoid being associated with, the press happily can avoid the BLM armed force questions. Yes, it’s back to being happy Obama propagandists again for them. Much easier to focus on the worm in one apple than get too close to the cesspit that is the Obama administration’s “change you can believe in”. Once again, who are those armed BLM agents in the pictures from the ranch in NV? How many armed agents does the BLM have, who funds, trains, commands them? And if you’re really daring, how about disclosing information about the armed forces in other “regulatory” federal agencies and for the most intrepid, tell us about the Department of Homeland Security’s massive arsenal and just who it is they’re arming and training to fight. Yes, FactCheck, bravo for your pat answer:

“Here is the relevant portion of what Obama actually said, with the sentences quoted selectively by Broun and others in bold.

Obama, July 2, Colorado Springs, CO: [As] president I will expand AmeriCorps to 250,000 slots [from 75,000] and make that increased service a vehicle to meet national goals, like providing health care and education, saving our planet and restoring our standing in the world, so that citizens see their effort connected to a common purpose.

People of all ages, stations and skills will be asked to serve. Because when it comes to the challenges we face, the American people are not the problem – they are the answer. So we are going to send more college graduates to teach and mentor our young people. We’ll call on Americans to join an energy corps, to conduct renewable energy and environmental clean-up projects in their neighborhoods all across the country.

We will enlist our veterans to find jobs and support for other vets, and to be there for our military families. And we’re going to grow our Foreign Service, open consulates that have been shuttered and double the size of the Peace Corps by 2011 to renew our diplomacy. We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set.

We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded. We need to use technology to connect people to service. We’ll expand USA Freedom Corps to create online networks where American can browse opportunities to volunteer. You’ll be able to search by category, time commitment and skill sets. You’ll be able to rate service opportunities, build service networks, and create your own service pages to track your hours and activities.

This will empower more Americans to craft their own service agenda and make their own change from the bottom up.

Does that sound like a force that could kick down your door in the middle of the night and haul you off to a Gulag or concentration camp? You decide.”

– Brooks Jackson

You’re exactly right FactCheck, it doesn’t sound like a force that could kick down your door in the middle of the night, but from my observation, it sure looks like it could… Yes, absolutely, you decide.

PS: If you get really curious about the BLM, Victor Keith posted a piece at the American Thinker, “One of the Biggest Fat Cats in America is the BLM”:

“The BLM controls some 40 percent of the national coal supply and collects more than 1 billion dollars a year in bonus and royalty revenues. In 2012 alone, they collected a record 2.4 billion dollars. There is great incentive for the federal government to put as many private coal producers as possible out of business. It also shows why cattle ranchers are being inexorably driven off their lands by governmental policies. The federal government has a much more lucrative plan for those lands that does not involve private property owners.”

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Filed under Culture Wars, General Interest, Gun Control, Military, The Constitution, The Media

April 3, 2014 · 11:23 pm

What the hell does that really mean?

The punditry experts shrilled on today about the latest Fort Hood shooting. Having decades of experience with soldiers, naturally, I too shrilled on, but luckily for y’all, I confined mine to an email to a friend. Okay, so the PTSD diagnosis seems to loom large in many of the conversations and yes, I believe PTSD exists, in that many people face difficulties coping with traumatic events and sometimes these difficulties become long-term, incapacitating and professional help might help. Being highly skeptical of much that passes for medical certainty amongst the mental health community, lets just say, perhaps building a strong personal support network of family, friends, clergy to turn to in times of trouble might be just as good….. maybe even better.

Alas, we live in a world where we to turn to professionals and experts for everything. I’ll refer back to a G. Murphy Donovan article, The Psychobabble Bubble :

“Psychiatry and psychology are omniscient when it comes to diagnosis, but incapable of professional restraint or anticipating the unintended consequences of indulgence and quackery. Psych practitioners often plead for equality with other medical specialties and then do their damnedest to court ridicule. Credibility is earned, not assumed, in any discipline. Good intentions are a weak tea.”

From there, it’s time to follow GMD’s link to one of his favorite writers, Theodore Dalrymple and his article, Everyone on the Couch. Mr Dalrymple states:

“The word “unhappy” is an implicit call to self-examination; the word “depressed” is, at least nowadays, a call to the doctor. It is no coincidence that the age of the DSM should coincide with a tenth of the population’s taking antidepressants—drugs that, for the most part, are placebos when not outright harmful. None of this excludes the possibility, of course, that some diagnoses will run afoul of pressure-group politics by the time the DSM-6 comes out.”

Here’s a review from last year in The Economist on the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition), By the book worth reading, which states:

“Grief. Indulgence. Unhealthy habits. All, it seems, may be classified as mental derangement, and treated as such. And the sets of symptoms described by the DSM are often common. More than one American child in ten has been diagnosed, using the DSM’s definition, with ADHD—and about two-thirds of those so diagnosed are now prescribed drugs.”

I’m not going to dismiss PTSD, because I do believe traumatic events can incapacitate people or cause obstacles to leading a happy, productive life. Most assuredly some traumas for some people are harder to cope with. I’ve had a few that were challenging in my life, so I am not suggesting people avoid seeking professional help, if they feel that is in their best interests. Unlike the experts, I believe in thinking for myself and I follow my own battle plan for dealing with trauma – back up and regroup, then fight on. It’s really the only way to take that hill or move mountains. In the words of a dear friend of mine, a devout Roman Catholic, “God does not give us more crosses than we can bear!” That is how I choose to live my life, free of antidepressants, alcohol – fighting on. I don’t believe in insurmountable obstacles. I cry, I whine, then I drive on. Life is measured and I want to treasure as much of mine as possible. Take that as my inexpert opinion.

Sometimes official statements stick with me and I’ll think about them for days, weeks, sometimes even years later, I’ll remember them and ponder, “what the hell does that even really mean?” or I’ll have a witch moment and channel that expert on all things, HRC, and think, “what difference, at this point, does it make”. In the end, the shooter in this mass murder (not tragedy) is dead, that’s a fact. Here’s another fact, military officials rushed to assure us that the shooter had psychiatric problems and had been seeing an Army psychiatrist. Anyone who took solace from that answer needs his/her head examined is what I was thinking today. Let me ponder that, a Fort Hood psychiatrist, of the same pond from whence MAJ Nidal Hasan swam, the self-same pond that ignored his radicalized views, yes that assurance from officialdom was uttered yesterday. And, what was MAJ Hasan’s job, this radical nut who waged jihad against American soldiers on American soil? Oh, yes, he was a psychiatrist who treated soldiers for PTSD and other mental health issues…. Yes, don’t’ think, just accept that this latest shooter had been seen by “mental health professionals”, all the appropriate career-saving dots have been checked in this chain of command. Rest easy, don’t question, The shooter’s dead, we will never know what he was thinking, no career-ending negligence in sight, the news cycle will move on faster than the grieving families can bury their dead and after all, “what difference, at this point, does it make?” The shooter had mental health issues and was being seen by an Army psychiatrist at Fort Hood….

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Filed under Culture Wars, General Interest, Military, Politics, The Media

March 12, 2014 · 6:00 am

An angry American fat cat

Oh my, another strange 911 call, this time the emergency was a couple and their baby in Portland, OR, who had to barricade themselves in the bedroom out of fear of their rampaging 22-pound cat. The man kicked the cat in the butt after the cat scratched their 7 month-old baby and then, Lux the pampered cat, went bonkers. This 911 call epitomizes what’s wrong with too many men today. Just listen to this man telling the 911 operator how the cat is charging the door trying to attack them, after he kicked the cat. A grown man who can’t deal with a pet and he and his wife sit cowering in fear in the bedroom, yes that’s the sad truth, and he wasn’t even ashamed that he couldn’t protect his family from the family cat. Where have all the real men gone??? In a misguided attempt to work out the problem, this shining example of American masculinity, happily reported that the family wants to keep the cat and the cat awaits the arrival of a pet psychologist…. An obese cat in need of therapy, why not, as the humans seem to be beyond help in this family. Only in America could an overindulged pet warrant this much understanding and would the man of the family hide in fear from Lux, the cat with anger issues.

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Filed under Culture Wars, General Interest

March 7, 2014 · 8:26 pm

This one’s for the girls – short and sassy links

First, GMD wrote two pieces in The American Thinker this week :

“Vulgar Amateurs at the State Department” deals with the oh, so lovely, Victoria Nuland (sister-in-law of Kimberly Kagan from the Institute for the Study of War, which foisted Elizabeth O’Bagy on the American public). GMD offers some links worth checking out. He sheds light on all of Victoria’s secrets… Oh, wait she doesn’t know about loose lips or Putin’s ships, but she went to Kiev to coach protestors…..

“Uk-Raine Terrain” goes beyond the signature braid and lets down this Rapunzel’s hair. Thanks to JK for providing this link to Anna Raccoon’s excellent blog post. Anna dishes on Julia Tymoshenko’s big makeover:

The billions she had amassed came in handy though. She hired Oleh Pokalchuk, a social psychologist, to give her a make over from hard nosed brunette business woman to – pagan mother goddess of the Ukrainian peasants. Somewhere between ‘Eva Perón’ and the ‘Princess Leia’ character from the Star Wars and Evita DVDs that she had imported into a chain of Ukrainian cinemas. Said Oleh in 2007:

“It was necessary to work out and implement an image that would block out the image […] of wealth, of envy, hatred. I created an image of a modest village teacher. A visual type, clothes and haircut, a retro image evoking memories of childhood and schooldays… simple clothes, simple haircut, a Ukrainian archetype, […] She didn’t speak Ukrainian so well then and it was necessary for parts of the country, where nationalism is a powerful force, that she should appear one of us.”

Okay, GMD wrote another piece, “Bimbo Politics”, but alas here at libertybellediairies, I beg to quibble, because “bimbo” evokes the image of an attractive dimwit, like one of those harmless, bubbly pieces older men like clinging to their arm. These women seek power and learned it’s easier to attach themselves to men with more political savvy, because it’s easier to use men than to compete fairly with them. Yes, yes, my catty streak is fighting against my demure, good-mannered self and winning……… pssst, these women are a bunch of harping witches. Phew, that felt better blurting that out 🙂