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Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Chris Charles: Democratic Republic Banana Republic
Last time I checked we still live in a Republic,
a form of representative democracy, which means that politicians govern on behalf and with the consent of the governed. Or
at least that is what should be happening.
Americans are speaking loud and clear but our objections are ignored. Democrats are so eager to ‘fix’ the health
care system they are simply disregarding the opinion of the American public.First there were the tea parties on tax day; they were dismissed by liberal Democrats
as fringe right wing 'tea baggers'.
Next there were the hundreds (thousands in some cases) that showed up at congressional town hall meetings across the country
to express their disapproval of certain policies, mainly socialized medicine. Instead of heeding the demands of those they
represent, Congress instead chose to disregard the wishes of their constituents and cancel most remaining town hall meetings
to avoid any more ‘unpleasantness’.
For months millions of Americans have inundated Congress with telephone calls and emails voicing
their disapproval of a government take-over of the health care industry. At this point you might think that at least the Democratic
controlled congress would slow the process down a bit, take some time to garner support outside of the socialist/communist
community. Of course they did not do that either, instead the House approved a government takeover of health care late on
a Saturday night, with only a single GOP vote. So much for bi-partisanship and transparency!
Not to be out done, the Senate also voted to begin debate
on a health care bill late on a Saturday night (when they know nobody is paying attention). Except they were able to do so
without a single GOP vote! Well done Mr Reid, you have outdone Nancy Pelosi and set a new low for partisanship.
But wait there’s more! In the
Senate, Harry Reid and the Dems needed 60 votes to move the health care bill to the floor. Without Republicans, that meant
they needed every single Democrat vote. No easy task given the fact that not all Democrats are from the ultra liberal Maoist
wing of the Democratic Party, some are just regular leftists. Take Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu for example, Senator Landrieu
wasn’t sure if she should vote to bring socialized medicine one step closer to reality, given the strenuous objects
of millions of Americans. Reid and the Dems ‘helped’ to make up her mind by giving her home state up to $300 million
in federal aid. Why not just buy her a new car or something? That would have been much cheaper. It is a good thing most Democrats
are left wing socialists or else this ‘convincing’ could get VERY expensive for the tax payer.
When did it become okay to bribe Senators
with public funds? I understand that lobbyists have been bribing Senators with private funds for years but at least the tax
payer did not have to foot the bill for it! I
do not think America can still be considered a Republic anymore. As long as Reid, Pelosi, and The President continue to disregard
the wishes of the American public, I would have to say we are closer to a banana republic, than a democratic republic. And
I have no clue what you would call a government that allows politicians to pay off other politicians with public funds, but
it is most definitely not a representative government.
11:44 am pst
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Chris Charles: Rules to Live (and Die) By
Since the
start of the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US military has been hampered by rules of engagement. The US and coalition
forces follow the rules; they go out of their way to help civilians. They do their best to respect the Islamic culture, and
values held in that part of the world. Contrast
that with the enemy. The enemy, in both Iraq and Afghanistan, follows no rules. The enemy kills innocent people, and takes
advantage of our militaries sensitivity for Islamic culture.
More recently, those rules have grown even more burdensome in Afghanistan with
the addition of the Karzai 12. The Karzai 12 (named for the newly ‘reelected’ leader) is a new set of rules that
the military must follow in addition to the standard ROE.
The Karzai 12 includes the
following (with commentary):
No night or surprise searches.
It is really unfair of us to surprise the enemy, we should warn them ahead of time of any upcoming searches for bad
guys (see rule #2).
Villagers have to be warned prior to searches.
This way the friendly villagers can be armed and waiting for the oppressive occupying force.
ANA
or ANP must accompany U.S. units on searches.
Because, you never know when the US armed forces may start killing innocent women and children. Troops should
also have an ACLU official present on all searches so that the terrorists can be advised of their legal rights.
U.S. soldiers may not fire at the enemy unless the enemy is preparing to fire first.
Why not wait until the enemy kills at least 3 US soldiers before opening fire, this way we can be absolutely
sure they are actually the enemy.
U.S. forces cannot engage the enemy if civilians are present.
US soldiers should instead immediately surrender to the enemy if civilians
are within a 3 square mile radius.
Only women can search women.
Even if the woman in question is really a man dressed in a burka with ten pounds of high explosive also hidden
under the shroud.
Troops can fire at an insurgent if they catch him placing an IED but not if insurgents
are walking away from an area where explosives have been laid.
Soldiers should also have at least 2 eyewitnesses that
saw the insurgent make the bomb that will testify before a judge in order to get special permission to engage the insurgent
but if and only if he is actually placing the device not before, not after.
With all of the pussyfooting the military is forced to do over there, you
might expect that the everyday Iraqi and the everyday Afghan would be grateful to the US military. Instead, many still provide
aid and comfort to the enemy. The same enemy that murders innocent people, blows up Mosques, and would, if given the chance,
return civilians to the oppression they lived in under Saddam and the Taliban.
It should be clear now why, in recent months the war in Afghanistan
has become increasingly difficult to fight. Instead of looking for a quick way out the White House should allow our troops
to fight without both arms tied behind their backs.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Chris Charles: Uncommon Sense
Political
correctness has run amuck in society for many years, with the passing of time political correctness poses an ever growing
threat.
On September
11th, 2001 terrorists hijacked 4 American airliners, using three as guided missiles, only the heroic actions of
the passengers on the United 93 prevented the fourth from being used in a similar fashion. Each one of the nineteen hijackers
were Islamic radicals, each one was from a Muslim nation, and each one was between the ages of 15 and 40. Using common sense,
one could deduce that if men, of Islamic heritage or origin, between the ages of 15 and 40 were screened more closely by airport
security, the odds of another attack could be greatly reduced.
Was this done? Absolutely not. On the contrary, the TSA went out of their way not
to use common sense when screening airline passengers, for fear of offending the sensibilities of Muslims and the hyper-sensibilities
of liberals. Normal Americans understand that profiling is necessary to protect ourselves, at least as long a Radical Muslims
want to use airplanes to murder thousands of Americans. How is strip searching a blond hair, blue eyed grandmother advancing
the cause of airline security? How many old Irish grannies have committed jihad in recent memory? The fact that no airplanes
have been hijacked since 9/11 has little to do with airline security and more to do with a lack of available jihadists thanks
to the men and women of the US armed services finding and killing them where they live.
This kind of illogical thinking is not
contained within the walls of airports. Unfortunately, the US Army is finding out firsthand the damage that political correctness
can inflict. Army leaders, for years, have been preoccupied with creating a more ‘diverse’ and ‘multi-cultural’
Army. In their zeal for cosmetic harmony, they have forgotten that a soldier must first and foremost be a warrior devoted
to protecting the United States of America. Any and all Americans that are able and willing to take up that task should be
allowed to do so, regardless of their appearance.
In the case of Major Hasan, he was allowed to continue in the Army, despite warning signs that
his dedication to the Army and the United States was in question. It is clear to us now that Major Hasan was not loyal to
the Army or the US; he was loyal to radical Islam. Evidence that Hasan was at best sympathetic to the enemy and at worst the
enemy himself, was overlooked. Was the US army merely incompetent? Given the sterling record of the US Army, in terms of competence,
I find that highly unlikely. Is the Army desirous of ‘diverse’ troops, especially those from the Muslim faith?
Absolutely. The problem is when the desire for diversity and political correctness clouds the judgment of Army officers. Officers
whose job it is to maintain a superior army, not to maintain good diversity numbers. How long would a white soldier that sympathized
with the enemy and held anti-American beliefs last in the Army? Not very long, and neither should any servicemen regardless
of their level of ‘diverseness’.
The loss of American lives to violence is always sad. The loss of American soldiers to violence is sadder yet, but the loss
of American soldiers on American soil to terrorism is intolerable. Hopefully the deaths of brave Americans at Fort Hood will
cause the America and the Government to reconsider the folly that is extreme political correctness. I fear though, that the
culture of multiculturalism above all else, is too well entrenched into the system. As evidenced by Army General George Casey
stating that, a loss of diversity in the Army would be worse than the tragedy at Fort Hood. Can he be serious? I wouldn’t
care is our Army were all Martians, if it saved lives and protected Americans. Isn’t that the point? A diverse army
is an admirable trait to a certain point. That said, when an army is diverse to the point that it is inclusive and tolerant
of the enemy, that army cannot survive and neither can that army’s state.
10:23 am pst
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Chris Charles: You Won’t
Really Die If You Don’t Vote
Every
year around this time, we are all told to get out and vote. Everyone from politicians to celebrities encourages
everybody over 18 to ‘do their civic duty’. I am not one of those people; I don’t want everybody to vote.
I’m sorry, I just don’t think that people that have exactly zero knowledge of what or who they are voting for,
should vote at all.
The government is always trying to make it easier to vote; polls open early in the morning and stay open until late at night.
Polling places are widespread and easy to find. There is no ID necessary to vote. Voting books are published in just about
every language known to man, and if all of this was not convenient enough you can always just mail in your ballot from home.
It is much harder to smog check your car than it is to vote in the United States.
Why is voting made so easy?
I think it should be harder to vote, if voting was not so easy most of the disengaged would simply stay home and watch ‘American
Idol’. Do we as a nation really want people voting that cannot remember who the Vice President is but could list for
you, in order, the names of the kids from ‘Jon and Kate Plus 8’?
I am not proposing taking voting rights away from anyone, but people should
at least have some knowledge of what they are doing. If you are uninterested in political issues 364 days a year, you are
not in great position to judge what is best for the country.
The following is list of questions all potential voters should have to answer
prior to getting a ballot.
Are you a US Citizen?
If
so, please show your identification. If voting is the most important civic duty Americans do; shouldn’t we make sure
the people voting are really Americans?
How many times have you voted today?
Because MTV says ‘vote or die’ some might what to be extra sure they won’t die and
vote more than once.
Are you here because P Diddy told you to come?
Anybody voting because a celebrity told them to should have their voting rights revoked, and held
on a 48 hour psychiatric hold.
Who is the Vice President currently?
Voters must possess at least basic knowledge current events, it not as if I am asking who is the Representative
from the 7th district in Mississippi.
Do you speak English?
Sin voto, a menos que usted habla Inglés, how can you make decisions on candidates and issues
if you do not understand the language?
Most Americans simply
do not pay attention, that’s fine, just please do not vote! Stop cancelling out the rest of us informed voters. In the
New York 23rd Congressional race, the GOP candidate dropped out of the race but because her name was still on the
ballot she received 5 percent of the vote. That means over 7,000 New York voters in the 23rd district are completely
clueless. There have even been instances where candidates have died before an election and have still won! I would hate to
be the guy that lost, “sure they guy is dead but he would still be a better representative than that other guy”.
I have more respect for die-hard communist
liberals voting, over uninformed, uninterested, and unqualified voters, because at least they know for what and who they are
voting.
There is a reason how a candidate speaks and what a candidate looks like
is so important. That is all many voters will ever know about that candidate.
“Hey
Jessica, what do you think of the Smith campaign and their support of legalizing all drugs?”
“I don’t know, but he’s kinda cute and has nice hair so I’m voting for him!”
I am not exaggerating here; many ‘undecided’ voters make up their minds based on superficial reasons because
they do not have any substantive reasons. Let this be a lesson to all politicians, if you are in a close race make sure you
wear nice suits and have a good tan.
4:33 pm pst
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