While it's wonderful to shoot fireworks on the Fourth of July, it is better to remember that it is Independence Day, and why we are celebrating our God given Natural Rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
Some consider the Nation’s Capital as “Fantasyland on the Potomac”. Other outsiders are “Fed Up” with the Federal City. It's better to consider D.C. as “the District of Calamity” (sic).
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
An Animated John Adams on Independence
"You will think me transported with enthusiasm; but I am not. I am well aware of the toil, and blood, and treasure, that it will cost us to maintain this declaration, and support and defend these states. Yet, through all the gloom, I can see the rays of light and glory; I can see that the end is more than worth all the means, and that posterity will triumph, although you and I may rue, which I hope we shall not."
~ John Adams' letter to his wife Abigail July 3, 1776
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
A PC DOD is FUBAR
Last Thursday, President Obama posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award, to Korean War Army Chaplain Emil Kapaun for his heroic bravery. It is sad to think so soon afterwards that we need to consider how the Department of Defense fervently seems to battle the military chaplaincy and traditional religiosity to evangelize for faith in politcal correctness.
Recently, the U.S. Army proffered Equal Opportunity training for Pennsylvania Reserve Troops that included this helpful poster on “extremist groups”.
The Army presentation stipulates that extremism is a complex phenomenon present in many religions when "some followers that believe that their beliefs, customs and traditions are the only 'right way' and that all others are practicing their faith the 'wrong way,' seeing and believing that their faith/religion superior to all others."
It is fascinating to see how Evangelical Christians, Orthodox Jews, Latter Day Saints (Mormons) and Catholics were lumped in with Al Quaeda (spelled incorrectly in official Army materials), the Ku Klux Klan and Hamas as dangerous extremist groups. And being leery of the spread of Sharia over secular democratic civil lawyer is also defined as a hate group "Islamophobia".
The American Family Association postulates that the Army relied upon propaganda from the Southern Poverty Law Center to label Catholics and Evangelicals as extremist because of this scriptural stances considering homosexual relations sinful and opposing same-sex so called marriage.
The danger of the state imposing laws for same sex marriage is that the force of government makes opposing views anathematic, even if it is a tradition that has ordered Western society for thousands of years and is deeply held spiritual beliefs. There is the fear that non-profits and churches which dissent from the state stampede of same sex marriage may lose their tax exempt status, especially based upon charters for many charity organizations which stipulate following the societal law.
Since current Commander in Chief President Barack Obama evolved his public position endorsing same sex marriage in May 2012, the Department of Defense has nudged military chaplains to accept and even perform same sex marriages. Even though the federal government does not recognize same sex marriages, the first gay military wedding was held at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey in May 2012, in a state that has yet to approve state blessing of such nuptials.
Pro homosexual rights types complain that the ceremony was done by clergy that recognize same sex unions and that it was never meant to be public, despite being done in public on government facilities. Yet somehow this private affair made it on ABC News among other media sources.
In 2010, then Joint Chief of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen was asked about those who hold bibilical views about homosexuality and Mullen responded “Chaplain, if you can’t get in line with this policy, resign your commission.” Chaplains were promised that the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would change things very little. But that promise has not been kept, with Chaplains being prohibited from quoting certain scriptural passages or using the name of God while presiding over traditional services.
According to Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), retired military chaplains report that is considered to be a career ending move for a military chaplain to abstain from officiating these same sex unions. That is why Senators Inhofe and James Wicker (R-MS) proposed the Military Religious Freedom Protection Act., which the Obama White House promised to veto while dismissed the conscience clause legislation as being “unnecessary and ill-advised.”
Lest anyone think that the PC DOD is all about hot button societal moral issues, consider the way the Obama Administration has used America’s military to advance his political agenda with little regard to national security.
The Navy under President Obama has steamed ahead with the “Great Green Fleet” initiative to have a blend of 50% alternative and 50% conventional fuel that costs $26 a gallon or seven times the cost of conventional fuel. Green energy proponents claim that the price will come down when the alternative energy becomes more popular. Doesn't the Green Fleet insignia look familiar? Change we can believe in ? Navy Secretary Ray Mabus plans to have half of the ships in the “Great Green Fleet” by 2020. Legislative efforts to roll back this green initiative failed during the 2012 Lame Duck Session of Congress by a 62-37 margin.
As sequestration was being implemented, the Navy warned that it would scuttle repairs on a dozen ships due to the 2.3% cut in the rate of growth of the Federal domestic budget. In addition, sequestration cuts were attributed for delaying dry dock work on the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in Norfolk. The Navy is cancelling Blue Angel flyovers for the year. But more significantly, the Air Force was grounding 1/3rd of its ordinary flights, leaving some pilots wondering if they would have sufficient training time with their aircraft.
It is frightening to think that as we live in an increasingly dangerous world that a PC DOD is more concerned about making political points that it is about defending our nations interests. If that is the case then it is not SNAFU but FUBAR.
Recently, the U.S. Army proffered Equal Opportunity training for Pennsylvania Reserve Troops that included this helpful poster on “extremist groups”.
The Army presentation stipulates that extremism is a complex phenomenon present in many religions when "some followers that believe that their beliefs, customs and traditions are the only 'right way' and that all others are practicing their faith the 'wrong way,' seeing and believing that their faith/religion superior to all others."
It is fascinating to see how Evangelical Christians, Orthodox Jews, Latter Day Saints (Mormons) and Catholics were lumped in with Al Quaeda (spelled incorrectly in official Army materials), the Ku Klux Klan and Hamas as dangerous extremist groups. And being leery of the spread of Sharia over secular democratic civil lawyer is also defined as a hate group "Islamophobia".
The American Family Association postulates that the Army relied upon propaganda from the Southern Poverty Law Center to label Catholics and Evangelicals as extremist because of this scriptural stances considering homosexual relations sinful and opposing same-sex so called marriage.
The danger of the state imposing laws for same sex marriage is that the force of government makes opposing views anathematic, even if it is a tradition that has ordered Western society for thousands of years and is deeply held spiritual beliefs. There is the fear that non-profits and churches which dissent from the state stampede of same sex marriage may lose their tax exempt status, especially based upon charters for many charity organizations which stipulate following the societal law.
Since current Commander in Chief President Barack Obama evolved his public position endorsing same sex marriage in May 2012, the Department of Defense has nudged military chaplains to accept and even perform same sex marriages. Even though the federal government does not recognize same sex marriages, the first gay military wedding was held at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey in May 2012, in a state that has yet to approve state blessing of such nuptials.
Pro homosexual rights types complain that the ceremony was done by clergy that recognize same sex unions and that it was never meant to be public, despite being done in public on government facilities. Yet somehow this private affair made it on ABC News among other media sources.
In 2010, then Joint Chief of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen was asked about those who hold bibilical views about homosexuality and Mullen responded “Chaplain, if you can’t get in line with this policy, resign your commission.” Chaplains were promised that the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would change things very little. But that promise has not been kept, with Chaplains being prohibited from quoting certain scriptural passages or using the name of God while presiding over traditional services.
According to Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), retired military chaplains report that is considered to be a career ending move for a military chaplain to abstain from officiating these same sex unions. That is why Senators Inhofe and James Wicker (R-MS) proposed the Military Religious Freedom Protection Act., which the Obama White House promised to veto while dismissed the conscience clause legislation as being “unnecessary and ill-advised.”
Lest anyone think that the PC DOD is all about hot button societal moral issues, consider the way the Obama Administration has used America’s military to advance his political agenda with little regard to national security.
The Navy under President Obama has steamed ahead with the “Great Green Fleet” initiative to have a blend of 50% alternative and 50% conventional fuel that costs $26 a gallon or seven times the cost of conventional fuel. Green energy proponents claim that the price will come down when the alternative energy becomes more popular. Doesn't the Green Fleet insignia look familiar? Change we can believe in ? Navy Secretary Ray Mabus plans to have half of the ships in the “Great Green Fleet” by 2020. Legislative efforts to roll back this green initiative failed during the 2012 Lame Duck Session of Congress by a 62-37 margin.  |
| Obama Administration Navy Secretary Ray Mabus |
As sequestration was being implemented, the Navy warned that it would scuttle repairs on a dozen ships due to the 2.3% cut in the rate of growth of the Federal domestic budget. In addition, sequestration cuts were attributed for delaying dry dock work on the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in Norfolk. The Navy is cancelling Blue Angel flyovers for the year. But more significantly, the Air Force was grounding 1/3rd of its ordinary flights, leaving some pilots wondering if they would have sufficient training time with their aircraft.
It is frightening to think that as we live in an increasingly dangerous world that a PC DOD is more concerned about making political points that it is about defending our nations interests. If that is the case then it is not SNAFU but FUBAR.
[This piece originally ran at DCBarroco.US]
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
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