Uncommon Sense

According to the FBI, we now have ISIS terrorist cells in all 50 states.  Three men were arrested on charges they allegedly conspired to join ISIS in Syria, while also trying to carry out attacks on the terror group’s behalf in the United States.  One of the men even offered to kill President Obama.

I wonder if this means the Obama Administration will recommend a jobs program for disaffected youth in America that want to join a terror organization. I’m guessing President Obama will not be too quick to endorse that idea versus beefing up his security detail. To be clear, anyone who threatens the life of our president needs to be dealt with harshly and swiftly. No one in America should tolerate that behavior.

However, that same intolerance to violence should be for all Americans that are threatened. President Obama and his academically-minded administration need to understand the real world is different than their theoretical utopian society.

Utopia will only be found in the dictionary and, depending on your religious beliefs, the afterlife. This side of eternity has harsh realities that this and future presidents need to grasp. A president’s number one goal is to defend the nation and its people. President Obama gets an F and deserves no bonus points because he’s not even trying. All he is doing is weakening a once proud nation.

Does anyone believe if Akhror Saidakhmetov, 19, had a better paying job he would not have written: “I am in USA now. … But is it possible to commit ourselves as dedicated martyrs anyway while here? What I’m saying is, to shoot Obama and then get shot ourselves, will it do? That will strike fear in the hearts of infidels.”

Do you think Maria Harf sees how silly her theory is in the face of reality? The bottom line is Saidakhmetov is a zealot and zealots have no logic. Our current president is useless when it comes to understanding the real world. I’m hoping the next president will have a better handle on the proper way to defend a nation.

Theoretical rhetoric sounds sophomoric but, most important, endangers the nation. What will it take to get this administration to understand?

Having a bake sale to solve world hunger is theoretically a nice idea nut realistically an exercise in futility.  It seems expecting anyone in the Obama Administration to understand reality is a similar exercise.

In an interview with Chris Matthews, Maria Harf, deputy spokesperson for the US Department of State, suggested a better way of dealing with ISIS or Islamist militants is to focus on root causes.  Rather than focusing on a military solution, she thinks ensuring enough job opportunities exists for young Islamic people will dissuade them from joining radical groups.

Her exact quote was: “We cannot kill our way out of this war.” We need in the medium to longer term to go after the root causes that lead people to join these groups, whether it’s a lack of opportunity for jobs.”

Right.  And I’m sure she’d apply the same logic to preventing young people from joining gangs in America.  It’s funny, but I do not see many gang bangers giving up their way of life for a job at McDonalds.

Theory and reality are two different things but that small detail seems to escape her and all the academics that infiltrate the Democratic Party.  Extremists, by the very nature of the term, think radically different than “normal” people.  Islamist Extremists believe themselves to be on a mission from God.  If that is the case, I do not think most of them will take a hiatus from creating terror to earn minimum wage.

For the most part, they would have to take menial jobs because what kind of sellable skills can they offer an employer not in the demolition business?  Why would a self-proclaimed Jihadist decide to change careers to make more money and have a longer life expectancy?  I mean, most of their hatred towards the West is what they perceive to be our decadent lifestyle.

If that is the case, how did we get to be decadent?  We earned money.  So why would they become what they learned to hate.  It doesn’t make sense and neither does Harf’s argument.

In typical Liberal fashion, Harf positioned herself above the rest of great unwashed by defending her comments after coming under fire for her remarks.  She said her comments “may be to nuanced” for her critics.

Being a gang member is a way of life.  They will not change a way of life until they are forced to make changes because changing their lifestyle is better and healthier for them. An extremist is not going to give up his cause until he succeeds or dies.  When faced with that type of logic there is only one incentive that works.  Deter younger candidates from taking up the cause by showing them the consequences of poking the bear.

I like the approach General John. J. Pershing.  Legend has it that in 1911 in the Philippines Gen. Pershing was in command of the garrison. There had been numerous Islamic terrorist attacks, so the general had his men find the perpetrators and teach them a lesson.

He forced about 50 Islamists to dig their own graves and then tied the terrorists were to posts, execution style. The US soldiers then brought in pigs and slaughtered them, rubbing their bullets in the blood and fat.  In short, General Pershing terrorized the terrorists. They saw they would be contaminated with hogs’ blood meaning they cannot enter Heaven if they died as terrorist martyrs.

All but one was shot, their bodies dumped into the grave, and the hog guts dumped atop the bodies. The lone survivor was allowed to escape back to the terrorist camp and tell his brethren what happened to the others. This brought a stop to terrorism in the Philippines for the next 50 years.

Pointing a gun into the face of Islamic terrorists won’t make them flinch. They welcome the chance to die for Allah. Like Gen. Pershing, we must terrorize them so the younger generation fears joining the movement.

In a perfect world we would not have to resort to these tactics.  We are not in a perfect world so we should tale an imperfect approach to solve the issue.  I’d rather that than some idyllic, theoretic hogwash.

Don’t do the crime, if you can’t do the time.

The American public can forgive anything but arrogance. The Brian Williams saga is another good example.

By all accounts Williams lied about his escapade aboard a Blackhawk helicopter over Northern Israel.  First he claimed he was in a helicopter that was shot down.  Later, after being challenged by a military engineer who was at the scene, he claimed he was actually flying in a helicopter behind the one that was shot down.  He even gave more detail by sharing that rocket fire flew beneath his helicopter as he traveled with ‘a high-ranking general in the Israeli Defense Forces’ at 1,500 feet.

That account also was not accurate or true.  In his apology he said “the fog of memory over 12 years” was responsible for his mistake.  It is obvious he exaggerated to make himself sound braver, better, and tougher than he is in reality.  Can anyone honestly say they never exaggerated a story?

However, the issue is not necessarily with the lie but his cavalier attitude about it.  It was the fog of memory? Really?  Come on.  If he would have faced the camera and said “I exaggerated the story in an attempt to bolster my credentials.  I’m sorry.  I’d like to chalk it up to youthful exuberance but that is no excuse.  I promise I will earn your trust again by doing my job to the best of my abilities.”

If he would have done that the story is over because everyone exaggerates.  Everyone knows politicians are lying every time their lips move. By now, most people realize the media is full of Liberal bias and mouthpieces for Liberal elite. What most people cannot stand is arrogance.  Look up Gary Hart for that lesson!

But Williams did not take responsibility for his actions.  He did not hold himself accountable.  He looked for an out and thought his stature was enough to gain forgiveness or, worse yet, have his transgression overlooked. In short, he blew it with the American public.

Of course, now his Liberal friends are blaming conservative blogs, writers, and social media hounds for blowing the story out of proportion. Their rallying cry is that Williams really didn’t do anything wrong or it’s not like he killed someone.  As usual, Liberals fail to grasp the concept of taking responsibility for actions.

Can you imagine the uproar if a conservative host was caught telling the same lie? Do you think the media would think differently about the issue if Mark Levin, Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity were caught in a lie?

The question that immediately comes to mind is what else has Williams fabricated?  What other stories has he skewed to sway public opinion?  There will always be that shadow of a doubt whenever he reports on a story but he earned and deserves his fate.

However, everyone deserves a second chance and he should have the opportunity to redeem himself.  I do not think he should lose his job but I do believe he should not get it back until he owns up to his lies and then starts rebuilding his credibility.

The lesson everyone needs to learn is how to take responsibility for actions and accept the consequences. This is a concept most Liberals struggle to accept. They are always looking for “a reason” to explain an indiscretion that absolves them of any wrongdoing. The Devil made me do it defense does not play well when you are an adult.

Everyone makes mistakes. How a person handles the mistake and subsequent fallout dictates his or her character. Those with integrity and honor know there is no one to blame but them for their decisions and actions. Those without integrity and blame look to blame others.

As the theme song in Baretta blared “Don’t do the crime, if you can’t do the time.”  The quickest way to let any scandal die is to admit your mistake, promise to change your ways and move on.  Of course, you need to mean it too!

The Law of Unintended Consequences strikes again.  Two California state lawmakers are going to introduce legislation to eliminate a “personal belief exemption” that allows California parents to refuse to vaccinate their children.

Not to be outdone, in Washington, D.C., California’s two Democratic senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, are urging state health officials to consider eliminating the “religious exemption.”

This is another knee-jerk reaction of “Liberals Know Best” when, in fact, they miss the boat yet again.  The outbreak of measles across the nation that created this “necessity” is not because children are not being vaccinated.  It is because our political leaders made a terrible decision in the summer of 2014. But for now, they will camouflage the reason with rhetoric they are doing it “for the children.”  Bull.  They are doing it to gain more control of our lives.

I started this blog referring to the law of unintended consequences but I am not referring to the proposed legislation. The unintended consequence stems from President’s Obama’s decision to allow 50,000 illegal immigrant children into the country back in the summer in 2014.

The majority of the children came from countries that do not inoculate their children.  President Obama made the conscious decision to allow them in and they scattered throughout the country.  He did not care about or consider the health ramifications to the country.

According to the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), the United States experienced a record number of measles cases during 2014, with 644 cases from 27 states. This is the greatest number of cases since measles elimination was documented in 2000.

So thanks to the Liberals insatiable lust to aid and abet illegal aliens compounded by the “do nothing, please like us” Republican crowd, we have an outbreak. I wonder how many of the people with measles are illegal aliens taking advantage and slowing of our healthcare system?

Faced with this issue Liberals do what they do best: cloud the issue by creating a fake crisis of parents who do not want to “do the right thing” for their children. They pretend to care but are really continuing their social engineering desires.

A strong, thoughtful leader would not have put the country at risk the way President Obama did and would have seen past the immediacy of gaining voters.   A true leader does what is best for law abiding citizens and not illegal ones.

I think I figured out a way to get President Obama and the Liberals to diminish their love for illegal aliens. Have them join the military!

Liberal thinking may have good intentions but it always ends where that paved road ends. I believe it is better for a person to earn something than get something for nothing.   The Liberal knee jerk reaction to that last line is to immediately attack me for not being enlightened but I challenge anyone to prove their case.

There is a ton of anecdotal evidence that proves people who earn their keep have better self-esteem and appreciate the things they have more than those who get handouts.  Likewise, there is a wealth of anecdotal evidence that showcases how welfare helped the down-and-out to improve their lives.

I look at the long-term effect that wealth redistribution has on society and from what I see we are headed to that place in a hand basket. I think Screwtape best sums it up when he writes, “Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one–the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”

Redistribution of wealth is a slow fade to a most unfortunate end.  It starts with the ideal of helping those in need by asking “the rich” to pay for it.  It’s a noble concept but one that is doomed to fail because human nature doesn’t change and politicians do not care about governing.

When most people think of “the rich” they immediately think of people like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, or any major sports star. However, the definition of rich by IRS standards is quite different. According to the World Top Incomes Database, a household income of about $113,000 is considered in the top 10 percent of income earners. Depending on what part of the country you live in, $113,000 per year is not rich.

Politicians love to divide and conquer and stoke the rhetorical fire of class warfare by continually harping about the top one percent. Well, if you make more than $394,000 you are in the top one percent.  Politicians use our perception of “the rich” to help pass tax increases but, in reality, they are attacking the middle class which is disappearing faster than air in Tom Brady’s footballs.

Eventually, the people receiving money they have not earned get a sense of entitlement and want more.  The people being taxed mercilessly to support “the entitled” begin to resent the unfairness. That’s right; I wrote the word unfair as it pertains to the phrase “the rich.”  What is unfair is a second, third or even fourth generation welfare recipient taking money from “the rich”. What is unfair is an illegal immigrant gaming the system and stealing money from “the rich.” What is unfair is the way the media and academic institutions indoctrinate children into believing the “rich” are greedy and the “poor” are needy.

Thomas Sowell said it best: “I have never understood why it is ‘greed’ to want to keep the money you’ve earned, but not greed to want to take somebody else’s money.”

Everyone needs help at some point in life.  The welfare system was designed to be a temporary respite for those in need and not be a way of life.  And therein lay the danger as noted by Alexander Tytler in 1787:

“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury.  From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship”

President Obama is doing his nest to make Tytler prophetic.  The American people must do its best to stop the decline on gradual gentle slope.  I do not think either party has the fortitude to what it takes to save the nation.  We need to find the right way of thinking to lead us out of this mess.  Let’s forget the social issues that permeate every presidential election and focus on the issues.

I want the candidates to offer solutions, not sound bites.  I want them to explain why their philosophy will lead this nation back to greatness.  I do not want to see them parade carefully selected “real people” with stories of how their lives were changed by silly policies that take from one sector of society and gives to another.  I want solutions.