An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Making America Inferior
America’s Antique Air Force
The Foundry
America’s flying fortress, the Cold War-era B-52 bomber, has been in service for the last 50 years, running missions in Vietnam, Operation Desert Storm, Afghanistan and the war in Iraq. It’s a striking example of how America’s military is being forced to do more with less, relying on decades-old technology to confront today’s challenges. Unfortunately, the B-52 is only one example of the United States’ geriatric fighting force, and with mounting cuts to the military, America’s ability to defend itself is increasingly called into question.
FUND OUR MILITARY!
Is the Pentagon going to stand up for our military? Will that so called Secretary of Defense, Panetta, speak out against making such irrational cuts? Or, will they do what they always do….not a DAMN thing! Isn’t it time for US to speak out in support of our fighting men and women? If there was war on our shores, would Washington be so quick to leave the military without the necessary equipment? When it comes to saving their sorry asses, I’m pretty sure our soldiers would have everything possible to keep them safe! How ’bout y’all pretend there is a battle, a HUGE fire fight going on in YOUR front yard, will you cut defense spending then? The war on terror is NOT over. It will never be over until the evil is eradicated! You people actually INVITE it in, and wonder why people are so pissed off? Get a grip! If you jack wagons have to do without your tax funded salaries, your perks, and those fancy cars, then… DO IT! None of you need the income! The military DOES! Now, pull your heads out of your asses, and fund our military with EVERYTHING they need! That IS, after all, your job! To make sure the citizens of this country are safe! Our military are citizens too! It is NOT your job to fund stupid pork projects. READ THE DAMN CONSTITUTION! It has your job description in there. Very simple. Anything beyond that, you are overstepping your bounds. I repeat, pull your heads out of your asses. Our survival depends on those in uniform….NOT YOU! YOU are irrelevant!
Would You Take an SUV into Combat?
The Foundry
Should our fighting men and women be forced to drive unarmed SUVs into war zones, with speed as their only defense against rocket and car bomb attacks? Tragically, that’s a true story of U.S. military readiness today, and America’s defenses will only get worse under the drastic cuts aimed at our armed forces.
In a new video by The Heritage Foundation, combat veteran Kerry Kachejian explains why U.S. military readiness is so crucial. He has first hand experience in the matter from his experience during the reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan. “Because this unit was organized, staffed, equipped and deployed so quickly, there was no spare military equipment for it,” Kachejian explained. Unable to acquire the necessary armored vehicles, his unit turned to ingenuity, courage and innovative ways to get the job done, all while coming under withering assaults from the enemy.
Kachejian’s story, which is continued in new book, “SUVs Suck In Combat,” illustrates the human impact of an ill-equipped military. He tells of being jolted by a one-thousand pound truck bomb, speeding at 110 mph through the streets of Iraq, ripping tailgates off SUVs and mounting machine guns in back, and men duct-taping their body armor to their vehicles to get even the smallest level of protection. On an individual level, the lesson is clear — our men and women soldiers are risking their lives in defense of freedom, and yet they’re ill-equipped to get the job done.
Americans Are ENTITLED To A Strong Defense!
The “war on poverty” was lost long before it even began during Johnson’s term in the White House. Feel good programs do little to alleviate the problems, and in many cases, do more harm. When a man, or woman, doesn’t have to rely on him/herself to provide for the family, then quite often, they will not even make the effort. Why should they? “The gubmint will take care of me!” This entitlement mindset has been the downfall of many communities, and especially the destruction of the family. Why worry about children you produce when there is someone else to take care of them? Why save for your retirement, when there’s that Social Security at the end of the road. Unfortunately, none of these programs work as well as was hoped, and have become the black hole from hell, creating a greater dependency on the government, and less self reliance. Our military, on the other hand, has been given the shaft, time after time. Perhaps no one person in Washington, whether elected, or government employee, should EVER earn more than the lowest paid in the military. Nor, should they have better health care than the families of our fighting men and women. When those who protect us has to apply for food stamps, rely on family for much needed equipment, yet those who decide their fate ride around in leased Lexus’ and Tahoes, at the taxpayers expense, there is something REALLY wrong!
Will Congress Defend Our Military?
The Foundry
It’s one thing to talk a good game about cutting spending, but it’s quite another thing to actually do something about it. This week, the House of Representatives has an opportunity to finally set some limits on Washington’s spending spree while also ensuring that the U.S. military has the resources it needs to defend America. Here’s the lay of the land this week in the nation’s capital.
On Thursday, the House is set to take up a spending reduction plan known inside the beltway as “reconciliation.” Under the measure, Congress would tackle two looming problems hanging over Washington’s head: the soaring cost of entitlement spending and the arbitrary defense cuts mandated by the so-called Budget Control Act (BCA) that was enacted last year.
Those issues are nothing to gloss over, even though some in Washington would like to pretend they’re not a problem. Since 1965, spending on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security has more than tripled as a share of the economy, is continuing to grow at a rapid rate, hitting 9.7 percent of GDP this year, and will nearly double by 2050. Meanwhile, spending on defense has dropped over time, even when you add in the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As you can see in Heritage’s Federal Budget in Pictures, that means that spending on entitlement programs is crowding out spending on defense — a core constitutional function of government.
Underminding America
Bin Laden Dead, but the Mission Remains
The Foundry
One year ago today, Seal Team Six landed in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and succeeded in bringing Osama bin Laden to ultimate justice. Though some may wish to bask in the glow of that success, now is not the time to celebrate or lay down arms. Bin Laden may be dead, but serious threats against the United States live on, both here in the homeland and around the globe.
President Obama, though, is using the occasion to boost his re-election efforts with a self-congratulatory campaign ad. Heritage’s James Carafano writes, “If Lincoln had spent the entire Gettysburg Address talking about himself, it wouldn’t have been quite that crass.” And last night, the president made a campaign stop in Afghanistan where he delivered a speech remarking that the “dark cloud of war” is breaking way to “the light of a new day on the horizon” as U.S. troops continue to be withdrawn from the country. “This time of war began in Afghanistan, and this is where it will end,” he declared.
Consequences of “Social Engineering”
Social-diversity programs as applied to the U.S. military have been accompanied by a startling number of sex crimes: 515 rapes, 414 aggravated sexual assaults and 349 forcible sodomies documented by the Criminal Investigation Command in just 2011, according to an analysis of several military reports.
Where to even start on this one. *shakes head*
“Pentagon officials regularly praise their own work and proclaim undeserved ‘success,’ even though evidence of sexual misconduct, both consensual and non-consensual, continues to accelerate, year after year,” said Elaine Donnelly, chief of the Center for Military Readiness.
If the increased number of sexual assaults in the Army is what they consider ‘success’, we have got some major problems going on in the Pentagon.
The organization studied several new military reports to arrive at its assessment of what’s been going on in the ranks over the past few years, as Barack Obama and his compatriots in Congress eliminated the longstanding “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that banned open homosexuals from the military.
Repealing DODT was a really bad idea. For many years, gays served in the military, many with honor, but they weren’t allowed to ‘flaunt’ their sexuality. Many of those around them ‘knew’, but as long as it wasn’t blatant, then most had no problem. However….the increase in assaults can NOT be blamed on this repeal. The increase in assaults began when someone had the bright idea that men and women were the same, and should be trained together. Are they out of their flippin’ minds? Obviously, the answer is……………..YES!
“It is time to reconsider and change flawed policies that are weakening the culture of the only military we have,” Donnelly said.
“Caught By Surprise”?
Taliban lead attacks on U.S. bases and government sites across Afghanistan
Taliban-led insurgents opened a spring offensive Sunday with a wave of coordinated suicide missions, firing at embassies and government offices from seized buildings in Kabul and attacking U.S. bases and police stations in three eastern provinces.
The strikes, which seemed to catch U.S.-led forces and Afghan authorities by surprise, sparked fierce firefights in Kabul and two other cities that underscored the insurgency’s lethality as U.S. combat troops gird for the second phase of a withdrawal due to end in 2014.
“This is the start of the spring operations,” Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, declared in a cellphone interview with McClatchy. “This is just the beginning.”
Caught them by surprise? Seriously? It’s spring, right? And isn’t spring when the crazy people come out? And if there is anyone more crazy than the Taliban muzzies, I’m can’t think of ‘em right now. (It is fairly early, and I’m still working on my first cup of coffee.) I would expect the morons in the Obama administration to be surprised, but not the troops that are on the ground in that God forsaken future field of glass! I would think from experience, they would know that attacks were coming and be prepared, no matter what those fools in Washington say.
Perhaps if our troops had been allowed to do their job, wipe the sons of beaches out, like most logical people would do with an enemy that wants to destroy you, we wouldn’t be spending billions of dollars and the greatest of treasure in that hell hole, propping up a corrupt government, feeding the demon.
The violence, which lasted past nightfall in Kabul and Puli Alam, the capital of neighboring Logar province, claimed the lives of at least 26 insurgents and four civilians, Afghan and NATO officials said. At least 36 others, mostly civilians, were wounded. All of the casualties were Afghans. Some of the attackers were captured.
The attacks, Mujahid said, were “a message” in response to recent assertions by U.S. officials and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen “that there would be no spring offensive because we are not able to fight.”
The U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, issued a statement calling the strikes “largely ineffective.”
“Largely ineffective”? Honestly, I’m flabbergasted. I bet ya dollars to donuts, the families of those civilians who were murdered think the scum were pretty effective. I’d think the wounded would feel the same way, as well. And this is the bunch that that fool who claims to be the ‘CiC’ wants to negotiate with? We could have ended this whole damn thing a long time ago if the politicians had let our military do its job! Screw that ‘winning hearts and minds’ butt explosion! You fight a war to win! Not make friends! You demand fear and respect from your enemy, not give them money. You completely and utterly destroy them! And yes, I blame Bush and his bunch just as much as I blame that jackass who currently resides in the White House, with all his pussy radical leftards! This ‘nation building’ crap has got to stop! Think Japan, 1945! Get rid of Karzai, all of his cronies, put in a provisional U.S. Military government, wipe out the bad guys, and see if those left would prefer to live in peace. If not, then send them to Allah, too! Once they’re all gone, there will be a whole lot of empty land. Give it to the highest bidder! Better yet, send over the cowards in the administration and their supporters. Let them create their socialist ‘paradise’, as far away from liberty loving people as possible!
I SHOULD Feel Bad
US soldier kills Afghan civilians in Kandahar
A US soldier in Afghanistan has killed at least 16 civilians and wounded five after entering their homes in Kandahar province, senior local officials say.
He left his military base in the early hours of the morning and opened fire in at least two homes; women and children were among the dead.
Nato said it was investigating the “deeply regrettable incident”.
Anti-US sentiment is already high in Afghanistan after US soldiers burnt copies of the Koran last month.
US officials have apologised repeatedly for the incident at a Nato base in Kabul, but they failed to quell a series of protests and attacks that killed at least 30 people and six US troops.
Yep…I really should feel bad about this incident, but right now, I just don’t. I’m sorry kids were killed, but then, there were children murdered on 9/11, and many more since then. What is truly regrettable is the fact we still have troops in that 7th century, backwood country. What is even more regrettable is the numerous apologies for doing something those people do all the time….trash their so called ‘holy book’.
Local people have reportedly gathered near the base in Panjwai district to protest about Sunday’s killings, and the US embassy is advising against travel to the area.
Lt Gen Adrian Bradshaw, deputy commander of Nato-led forces, said he was unable to “explain the motivation behind such callous acts”, adding that “our thoughts and prayers are with those caught in this tragedy”.
I’m still waiting for the apologies to the families of the U.S. and NATO personnel that were murdered by the Afghans over the burning incident. Haven’t heard that yet, have we? Did I miss it? Has that so called CiC made any effort to reach out to their families? Or, is it just the ‘sluts’ of the Dem party that get support from that fake?
I don’t know why the soldier went off on the ‘civilians’. It’s regrettable that any of our men and women in uniform have to suffer from so much internal pain caused, in large part, by the lack of back up from their own government. Remove our troops, and bomb the SOBs back into their caves. Not a one of them deserve the treasure we have spent to free them from the oppressive Islamic regime. They evidently don’t want liberty, and our government has the audacity to actually ‘negotiate’ with the animals? NO MORE! We have had enough of this BS! When you go to war, you go to win! You do NOT go to make friends, win hearts and minds. You totally destroy your enemy! Let them be destroyed!
Take Out The Trash!
Trashing Tricare
Obama to cut healthcare benefits for active duty and retired US military
The Obama administration’s proposed defense budget calls for military families and retirees to pay sharply more for their healthcare, while leaving unionized civilian defense workers’ benefits untouched. The proposal is causing a major rift within the Pentagon, according to U.S. officials. Several congressional aides suggested the move is designed to increase the enrollment in Obamacare’s state-run insurance exchanges.
Excuse me? Not just no…but HELL NO! These men and women put their lives on the line every day and that….that…. POS has the audacity to take what little they get now away from them? Oh, I don’t EVEN think so! This is the same clown that has wasted billions of our dollars to fund his little pet projects, aka ‘green energy’, for his buddies, and yet, those who protect his and Moochelle Antoinette’s sorry asses, get the shaft from their so called ‘commander in chief’? The only thing that sorry excuse of a male deserves is our contempt! He’s not worthy to wipe the sweat off of a single one of our brave military men and women! Honestly, I can’t even find the words to express my total revulsion towards that bottom dweller! He can take that ObamaCare BS and shove it WAY up where the sun don’t shine!
H/T: Chris via FB
“I’m Sorry”
PRICELESS! Watch the WHOLE thing! Seriously! 
Heroes Getting the Shaft….
….by the U.S. Government!
Gutting Our Military In Time Of War
And make no mistake about it…we ARE at war! We will be at war for many years to come. It’s just not the type of war we have become accustomed to in years past. We have a boy pretending to do a man’s job, and the nation will suffer for it!
A Slashed and Burned Military
The Foundry
The future is not bright for the U.S. military. Yesterday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta gave America a glimpse of the half-trillion dollars in defense spending cuts requested by the Obama Administration and detailed how the U.S. military’s capabilities would be affected in practical terms. The result is a slashed and burned military that woefully lacks the forces it needs to meet America’s security challenges on a global scale.
On the ground, in the sea, and in the air, American forces will shrink drastically — the Army will shrink by 72,000 people, the active Marine Corps will be reduced by 20,000, the Air Force will see six tactical fighter squadrons de-established while an additional training fighter squadron will be eliminated, the next-generation F-35 Join Strike Fighter procurement will be slowed, and the Navy will retire seven cruisers and two amphibious ships at an early juncture while delaying the procurements of new ships. To put these cuts in context, we are returning to ground forces levels we had under President Bill Clinton when the Army strained and scrambled to execute smaller missions like Kosovo and Bosnia–let alone significant ground force operations.
Interesting Comparison
You will NEVER again ask the stupid question: “Why does anyone need a 50 caliber gun?” Pictures are worth a thousand words… If you can’t grasp this – you are “Stuck on Stupid!”
Shared by Jack.
The Gutting Of Our Defense
A Hollow US Military
by J. D. Longstreet
If the President and the Congress are able to realize their plans for the US military, it will leave American with, as the title to this piece suggests, a hollow force. It will also place America in a great deal of danger because our military will be a great deal smaller in numbers of troops.
Think about that for a moment. Not only will our military lose so much of its war fighting materiel, it will lose many thousands of troops. That’s bad enough but there is something else — and no one seems concerned about it.
You see, when the military cutbacks come, we will lose the experience of troops who have actually been on the battlefield, who have actually looked the enemy in the eye, who have dealt with the pain of taking another human being’s life, and the deep abiding pain of losing a friend or companion in battle, who have fought the fight and lived to tell about it. BUT – they will not be available to train the raw recruits that will always be necessary to keep the much smaller fighting force flush with young, robust, well-trained fighting men.
Everything, these days, seems to have a price in dollars and cents. Not experience. The value of experienced combat soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines is inestimable. It also holds true, not just for enlistees, but for officers as well — mustangs and academy graduates, alike. Experienced officers are a must for a military to even consider executing a victorious military campaign. Book knowledge is absolutely necessary but it can’t hold a candle to experience on the battlefield.
For a country to gut it’s military during a time of war, and yes, we are in a war on several fronts, is not only insane, but extremely dangerous! You can call what is going on around the world isolated incidents by radical Islamists, but the truth is…they aren’t all that isolated, and they aren’t just ‘radicals’. They are Muslims, plain and simple! Just a few examples of those isolated incidents for the 9th and 10th of January, courtesy of “The Religion of Peace“:
2012.01.10 (Yathreb, Iraq) – Three schoolboys between the ages of 9 and 11 are dismantled by ‘insurgents’ while walking to school.
2012.01.10 (Jamrud, Pakistan) – Three dozen people waiting in line at a gas station are torn to pieces by Islamist bombers.
2012.01.10 (Sharan, Afghanistan) – Civilians and guards are killed during an assault on a telecommunications building by suicidal Fedayeen..
2012.01.09 (Baghdad, Iraq) – Sunni bombers detonate a car bomb at a Shiite mosque, killing five.
2012.01.09 (Baghdad, Iraq) – At least seven people at a market are blown to bits by Jihadi car bombers.
2012.01.09 (Dabori, Pakistan) – The bodies of ten local troops, abducted during a Taliban raid, are found brutally beheaded.
The day isn’t over yet! And how many so called ‘honor killings‘ have we had right here in the U.S. of A.? Not to mention the OBVIOUS terror attack on a U.S. military base, the shooting of recruiters, the attempted bombing by the ‘crotch bomber‘, the attempt at Ft Dix, the incident in Florida within the last few days, and the list goes on and on.
Are you aware that the difference in the numbers of males and females in Muslim countries is extremely dramatic?
Yet, the Obama administration thinks it’s a good idea to ‘save money’ by gutting our military. Calling him the Commander in Chief is beyond laughable, but it reality, he is one very dangerous man/child, and we are ALL put in danger by his actions. If he truly wanted to ‘save money’, he’d stop creating more bureaucratic BS! And perhaps, he could pay back the taxpayers for all those luxury trips he and the ‘queen’ have taken. There are MANY ways for the government to cut spending, but the military isn’t one of them!
Do we really want to become a third world nation, allow our borders to continue to be breached, and allow a total takeover of the rest of the world by a theocratic dictatorship, and see even more blood of the innocents in the streets? If Congress would grow a pair, on BOTH sides of the aisle, and stop this stupidity, we just MIGHT have a chance to survive, and save our nation for our children!
Has Obama Signed Our Death Warrant?
Can America Defend Itself?
The Foundry
The Iranian threat yet again finds itself on the front page of America’s newspapers this morning, this time with news that the rogue regime has sentenced a U.S. citizen to death for working for the CIA and that it has started refining uranium deep inside a mountain bunker. Meanwhile, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is launching a week-long trip through South America in order to bolster ties with his allies in the region in hopes of strengthening the country’s challenge to the United States.
This news comes just after a series of Iranian threats to close the Strait of Hormuz–a provocative move that would cut off a quarter of the world’s energy supply and wreak havoc on the global economy. Of course, on top of this verbal threat, Iran is continuing its pursuit of nuclear weapons despite an uproar from the international community.
Despite this emerging threat, President Barack Obama traveled to the Pentagon last Thursday to announce that the “tide of war is receding” for the United States, thereby justifying massive cuts to the U.S. military. “In short, we’ve succeeded in defending our nation, taking the fight to our enemies, reducing the number of Americans in harm’s way, and we’ve restored America’s global leadership. That makes us safer and it makes us stronger.”
Drinking Right With The Right Folks!
Well, it’s no secret that I don’t actually drink, but it was definitely great to see some folks, and meet some new ones. Don’t ask me who, I can’t remember names. And seriously, I wasn’t drinking….unless you consider Coke drinking. 
And thanks to the lady who bought the first one. LOL
So, Chris and I set out for Papa’s Social Club in Milwaukee. There have been a LOT of changes to the freeways, and I’m rather impressed. No doubt, the next time I come up here, they will be redoing the whole shebang….again. Cuz, y’know….that’s what gubmints do….they fix things that ain’t broke, and tinker to the point that….well…y’all know.
