Category: Politics

N.B.: I wrote this before I watched the news report on the evening of 1/1/2018 about the riots and protests in Iran.  I noticed this morning that Instinct had posted a link to an article by John Ringo, which I read, and you should, too: https://www.azuse.cloud/?p=76872#comment-3071111

Since we now know that the State of the Blog is secure and the Union has not yet been split asunder,  can we relax?

No. I don’t think so.  We must as a people be ever vigilant. No matter how annoying the Clankers are (and we know who they are), they will only win if we let them.

You know, when you have something nice, other people don’t like you because of that, and they want to take it away from you. So don’t let them. Just keep a weather eye on the little buggers and make sure that they don’t win. Some day, they’ll be my age and have nothing to show for their wasted lives – IF they live that long.

We live in the best country on this planet. People come here all the time because of it. Sometimes, yes, some of them want to knock it down and stomp on it, because they’re afraid of real freedom. And yes, it is scary to determine your own destiny, but that’s what this country is all about: no kings, no dictators, no dynasties – none of that crap. That’s why people like my ancestors and the Irish came here, for the chance to do more than just exist.

There’s a movie opening now: “The Post”, based on the decision by Kathryn Grahame and Ben Bradlee to publish what became the Pentagon Papers. Bradlee, played by Tom Hanks, was aghast that Jack Kennedy, who befriended him, would lie to him the way he did, but Johnson and Cronkite also lied, as did other people. Lyndon Johnson was the worst liar of them all. And Democrats, they were, all of them. Who knew?

What do we see now? Much worse: plain old bald-faced lying by the media, mostly in a scramble to get attention. It isn’t working very well for them. Reasoning and more thoughtful people know what is real much better than those involved in the childish scramble for attention by “kids” who seem to be barely out of school. The most recent sample was that rambling, babbling article about conservatism and Stolen Valor by Alex Whatshisname. He had no point to make, he was almost intentionally uninformed, and it was drivel.

You’d think that as a population group, they would not want to go down in history as a pack of inept fools, wouldn’t you?

This is why I said we must be vigilant at all times. Dig up the truth, verify it with backup, and throw it at them, as hard as you can, but without rancor. Be persistent, thoughtful, accurate and above all else, calm. A calm stance is like wearing full battle rattle and the truth is a bigger, more effective weapon than theirs.

If they don’t like it, tough bananas. When they get to be my age or yours, they’ll have nothing to show for a lifetime of being worse than the National Enquirer.

I don’t think I’d want that on my tombstone. I’d rather have pepperoni, extra pepperoni, and extra cheese.

We must always be on watch.  We owe it to ourselves and to future generations.

According to Reuters, 13 Iranians are dead as a result of the current protests raging through Iran.

In the western city of Kermanshah, protesters set fire to a traffic police post, but no one was hurt in the incident, Mehr news agency said.

Demonstrations continued for a fifth day. Some 13 people were reported killed on Sunday in the worst wave of unrest since crowds took to the streets in 2009 to condemn the re-election of then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The protests have put pressure on the clerical leaders in power since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. President Hassan Rouhani made a televised call for calm on Sunday, saying Iranians had the right to criticize but must not cause unrest.

Of course, as we read yesterday, it was Trump who caused the disorder. But, according to Commentary Magazine, a year ago, the New York Times reported that it was Trump’s rhetoric that unified the Persians against the US;

In November, the [New York Time’s] Tehran bureau chief, Thomas Erdbrink, devoted an extended feature to making this case, and it proved wildly popular with the pro-nuclear deal crowd in Washington.

“After years of cynicism, sneering or simply tuning out all things political,” wrote Erdbrink, “Iran’s urban middle classes have been swept up in a wave of nationalist fervor.” He went on: “Mr. Trump and the Saudis have helped the government achieve what years of repression could never accomplish: widespread public support for the hard-line view that the United States and Riyadh cannot be trusted.”

Iran’s hard-liners are savoring the reversal in their fortunes, after losing influence in the Obama years. “Thanks to Trump’s dishonest, cheating and crazy remarks, he has proved what we have said for a long time: America cannot be trusted,” said Hamidreza Taraghi, a hard-line political analyst. “Many didn’t believe us, but now they do.”

I wonder who is protesting and dying in the streets of Tehran and around the country today? Are they Trump-haters or Trump-supporters?

It is my honor and privilege to wish all my fellow TAH’ers, friends and families a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2018. Happy New Year!
AW1Ed sends.

PBS is airing a new documentary, “American Masters: This is Bob Hope” that follows his 40 years as an actor, comedian and patriot. Famous for his movies, radio shows and his annual tours at military bases, he also would visit the local VA hospital when on tour. The documentary includes over 35 minutes of clips of his shows.

Fox News interviewed Hope’s daughter about growing up him. It’s worth a read.

Fox Interview

Opinions about PBS aside, I’ll be watching. The director’s cut premiers Friday, December 29.

Joseph Trevithick over at The Drive- War Zone wrote the article “We Broke Down Trump’s Security Strategy Into Bullets So You Don’t Have To Read All 60 Pages,” a good read but still a bit lengthy. He describes how then candidate Trump spent a significant amount of podium time describing the various threats facing the United States here and overseas, and now, after his first year in office, how he intends to implement a new national strategy putting “America First.”

This new strategy was broken down into an introduction, and four national security pillars:

Protecting the American way of life.
Promoting American prosperity.
Preserving peace through strength.
Advancing American influence.

•The full introduction appeals to the ideals of America’s founding principles and traditions, including freedoms enshrined in the Constitution and a respect for the rule of law, noting that “we are proud of our roots and honor the wisdom of the past.”

•“We will strengthen control of our borders and reform our immigration system. We will protect our critical infrastructure and go after malicious cyber actors. A layered missile defense system will defend our homeland against missile attacks. And we will pursue threats to their source, so that jihadist terrorists are stopped before they ever reach our borders.”

•“We will rejuvenate the American economy for the benefit of American workers and companies. We will insist upon fair and reciprocal economic relationships to address trade imbalances. The United States must preserve our lead in research and technology and protect our economy from competitors who unfairly acquire our intellectual property. And we will embrace America’s energy dominance because unleashing abundant energy resources stimulates our economy.”

•“We will preserve peace through strength by rebuilding our military so that it remains preeminent, deters our adversaries, and if necessary, is able to fight and win. We will compete with all tools of national power to ensure that regions of the world are not dominated by one power. We will strengthen America’s capabilities – including in space and cyberspace – and revitalize others that have been neglected. Allies and partners magnify our power. We expect them to shoulder a fair share of the burden of responsibility to protect against common threats.”

•“We will advance American influence because a world that supports American interests and reflects our values makes America more secure and prosperous. We will compete and lead in multilateral organizations so that American interests and principles are protected. America’s commitment to liberty, democracy, and the rule of law serves as an inspiration for those living under tyranny. We can play a catalytic role in promoting private-sector-led economic growth, helping aspiring partners become future trading and security partners. And we will remain a generous nation, even as we expect others to share responsibility.”

This is an outline of Trevithick’s article, amended for the sake of brevity here. I highly recommend reading the whole piece at The Drive, or one can view the speech here:

America First

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn’t loud, and it wasn’t too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn’t quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
“What are you doing?” I asked without fear,
“Come in this moment, it’s freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!”

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire’s light
Then he sighed and he said “Its really all right,
I’m out here by choice. I’m here every night.” “It’s my duty to
stand at the front of the line,

That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I’m proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ‘Pearl on a day in December,”
Then he sighed, “That’s a Christmas ‘Gram always remembers.”
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ‘Nam’,
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I’ve not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he’s sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue… an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.”

“So go back inside,” he said, “harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I’ll be all right.”
“But isn’t there something I can do, at the least,
“Give you money,” I asked, “or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you’ve done,
For being away from your wife and your son.”
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
“Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we’re gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.”

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq

Game was yesterday; Army squared off against San Diego State.

Final score: 42-35, with the winner being . . . Army.

Well done, lads. Damn well done.