Freedom of Religion?

I have been wanting to write about the Ground Zero mosque controversy for quite some time and I finally have decided to do it. This debate has captured the attention of the Nation and is even being used in political campaigns. For me, the decision is easy. I am of the opinion that although the developers have every RIGHT to build a mosque there, it is not appropriate for them to do so. Islamic history tells us that Muslims like to build mosques at the sites of their greatest victories; IE. Jerusalem and Constantinople. Ground Zero is the site of one of their greatest victories, as perceived by Muslims. For Americans, it is a site of great tragedy and the rebuilding of One World Trade Center represents great triumph. Although 2, 711 Americans lost their lives there, America has risen to the challenge of answering the terrorists and have been striking out against Al Qaeda. For many Americans building a mosque at this site represents a slap in the face to all those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 and the families and friends that lost a loved one.

President Obama is missing a great opportunity to demonstrate that he is not completely out of step with the American people, as so many have said lately. He should have spoken out against the building of the mosque, but instead he equivocated their project by saying that they have a right to build it there. Then he tried to clarify and messed it up even further. The right thing to say would have been that the right of the developers to build there is not in dispute, rather it is the wisdom and situational awareness that is being questioned. Several polls have been taken lately regarding the President and his job approval rating as well as questions about his religion. Over 24% of the Americans questioned believe that President Obama is a Muslim. His response to this issue has done nothing but solidify this possibility in the minds of the voters. Obama has governed from the far left and has enacted many things that most Americans do not agree with; healthcare, the wasteful stimulus, pushing cap and trade and other pieces of unpopular legislation. This was a clear opportunity to dispel the religion questions by demonstrating his disagreement with the Muslim developers of Ground Zero's choice of location. The mantra for selling real estate has always been "Location, locations, location!" This has never been more true than in the case of the Ground Zero mosque. Many Democrats have spoken out against the building of the mosque and have probably won a few votes from their constituents for their willingness to oppose the President's opinion. This was a smart move made by the Democrats.

Another concerning aspect of the development of the mosque is the funding of its building. It has been discovered that the developer, Sharif el Gamal, has not paid his property taxes for quite some time and only has a few thousand in the bank. This is a far cry from the 100 million dollars that is needed to build this mosque or as they call it, the Cordoba Center. The imam, Feisal Abdul Rauf continues to insist that the center will be a place for multi-cultural worship. This is simply not true. According to the Quran, a Muslim may lie to an infidel if it serves the greater purpose of Islam. Therefore, the imam can say anything to get the "Cordoba Center" built and then change his mind about the multiculturalism aspect of the center. Also, what red blooded American or New Yorker, for that matter, would want to go pray at the site of a great victory for Islamic terrorists. Have we forgotten the images on television and in the newspapers the day after September 11th? The images of Muslims rejoicing in the streets and burning the American flag as the towers fell. These images will forever be ingrained in my memory and although 9-11 was perpetrated by radical Islamists, I feel that the collective rejoicing of the Muslim world truly demonstrates how most Muslims feel about America and the awesome people who call her home. Building this mosque at Ground Zero is not only a very bad idea, but to allow it to be built represents a total lack of regard for the people who call it their resting place. Just think about this: would we ever build a Shinto temple at Pearl Harbor?

But, I don't want to be....

At the Nuclear Security Summit on Tuesday President Obama responded to a question about peace in the Middle East by saying that "whether we like it or not, we remain a dominant military superpower". Of course this statement went basically unnoticed by the mainstream media with the exception of Fox. How surprising that none of the other stations wanted to cover this? Is it because they feel that their audiences will be outraged and upset over Obama's comment or more likely, because they see nothing wrong with his statement and agree with him? I submit to you that it is the latter.

Once again, our President has shown, on foreign soil, just how un-American he is. If you were to ask the random man on the street what he thinks of this comment, he would probably tell you that he likes the fact that America is a superpower. I know I do. Our superpower status was earned, not given to us by the rest of the world. It took several wars and a couple hundred years for us to rise to this level. We had to defeat England with a ragtag army of true Patriots. Then we had to fight once again in 1812 to maintain our sovereignty, and again in 1861 when we fought with ourselves to establish the country we now call home. After the Civil War, America went through a great rebuilding and emerged as a great power for good in the world. As proven by World War I and World War II when thousands of brave American men fought a war overseas to rid Europe and Africa of Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito.

We are a nation of great men and women, a nation built on principles of faith and charity, self-reliance, independence and strong moral fiber. What other nation on the planet can hold a candle to the spirit of America? And yet, our President - the person who should be our greatest cheerleader- believes that we should not be a world military superpower. Is it not better to be the King, than the court jester? Would he rather we were afraid of another country's military might and under the boot of a lesser nation? Is it truly his plan to destroy everything that America stands for, including the generosity of Americans towards our fellow citizens and those around the world. John McCain said it very well when commenting on Obama's statement - he said "We're the dominant superpower and we are the greatest force for good in the history of the world." What other nation would secure freedom for a faraway people and then return their country to them with all of its treasure? No other nation, that;'s who!

I am personally affronted but sadly, not surprised, at Obama's comment. Since his inauguration he has done everything to apologize for the greatness of America in every nation he has visited. I still cannot believe that we actually elected this man President, since he constantly demonstrates his utter contempt for America's might and goodness. Of course, we are stuck with this man until January 20, 2013. I pray that the America I know and love dearly will still exist.

When the Smoke Clears....

While the country slept, the White House and the Democratic Congressional leadership brokered backroom deals with the unions. Does this sound like transparency to you? Does Obama seem like he is trying to hide from the people all of his deals and favors to implement what he calls "health care reform"? Is he even aware of the promises he made and the consequences of breaking those promises to the American people? I think not. I fired off two letters this morning - one to Senator Jim Webb and one to Senator Mark Warner, both of Virginia. I am appalled by the lengths to which these Democrats will go to pass reform that over 50% of the country does not want and does not agree with. This is insanity at its most basic form. How can they possibly sleep at night knowing they are ignoring their constituents and circumventing the Constitution they are sworn to uphold? What more will be demanded of them in order to pass this worthless bill? Will they now bow to the wishes of any group that contributes to their re-election coffers?

As the wife of a retired Navy Chief, I am astonished that the Democrats and the President are willing to fore go taxing union workers health care plans, but are more than willing to harm the veterans and families of active duty military by cutting Medicare and Tricare by half a trillion dollars. I never thought, for a second, that this country, which has always placed such a high value on military service would ever decide to give greater benefits to teachers, autoworkers and shipyard employees than they would to the men and women who have fought for and served this country in her time of need. But, this is exactly what they have chosen to do. The deal that the White House made last night with the unions is not only unconstitutional, but it is quite simply, unconscionable and must be defeated NOW! I have a Political Science degree and I know for a fact that it is against the Constitution to single out a population or individual and tax them more heavily than the rest of the citizens; likewise the tax cannot be waived for them either. Have we become a nation ruled by elitists so much so that only those who can afford to contribute to the coffers of the power-brokers have a right to be heard and are afforded special "arrangements"? If this is the case, the next time I am pulled over by a police officer for a traffic violation, I am going to offer him a bribe in the hope that my contribution to his personal "coffers" will deter him from writing me a ticket. If that fails, maybe I can convince the judge to let me pay my fine in 5 years or so, when it is convenient for me. That is exactly what this deal with the unions amounts to (a bribe) and I am ashamed of our President and Congress for agreeing to it. You should be as well. Of course, they will tell you that they will start paying those taxes on their "Cadillac" health plans in 2018, but there are two major flaws with that prediction. The first - 8 more years is plenty of time to negotiate another favorable deal with 4 more elections in the middle, and the second - if this bill passes, private insurers will go bankrupt and we will all be on socialized medicine anyway so no one will be paying extra taxes. We will already be taxed to death.

In my letters this morning, I told Webb and Warner to update their resume's because they were going to need them when they get voted out of office in 2012 and 2014, respectively. We all need to tell our Senators and Congressmen the same thing. Most members of the Congress, even Democratic ones, disagree with parts of or most of this bill. If they are to be true to their conscience, not to mention, their constituents, then we must urge them to vote against the entire bill. Let them know that you are prepared to work against them in the next election campaign and that many will join you. This is really all they care about, in the end anyway. If they truly cared about the people they are meant to serve, they would not even be considering voting for this sham of a reform bill. My hope is that calling into question their loyalties will sway them to the right side of this argument. This is probably false hope, but it's worth a try, right?

It is simply appalling that our nation's leaders are willing to broker a deal that takes revenue from the Federal government in order to maintain a positive relationship with a voting bloc. With the loss of $60+ billion from the un-imposed taxes on the unions, this bill no longer achieves the "budget-neutral" status that Obama has demanded. Hmmm.... will he still demand its passage in spite of this, or will he find another sub-population to tax to make up for the lost revenue? Time will tell, but my money's on him passing it anyway.

Coming Soon...

Please check back later tonight for a new posting. Thanks.

Merry Christmas America?

While watching the news this morning it occurred to me how often the health care debate was talked about. In fact, every 10 minutes or so something was said about the so-called health care "reform" bill making its way through the Senate right now. One issue that has really been in the news lately is the artificial deadline that Harry Reid (D- Nevada) has imposed upon his colleagues of passing the bill before Christmas. I find that to be very interesting since Christmas is supposed to be about giving gifts to others, not taking from them. This bill does nothing but take much needed health care from millions of people through rationing and Medicare cuts and, the devastating blow - from our pockets as taxpayers when we so desperately need tax relief. This bill is a travesty on our American system of legislation. In poll after poll, the health care bill ranks far below the economy and creation of jobs, yet our elected officials seems hellbent on passing health care reform that doesn't go into effect for four more years, rather than focusing on the immediate needs of the people - the shrinking economy. This baffles me, because I thought that the reason that we elect leaders is so they can express the will of the masses and are beholden to the constituency that elects them. This is obviously NOT the case in Washington today. The Senators on the left side of the aisle cannot seem to agree on this bill as a group, not to mention that the entire right side of the aisle and Joe Lieberman (D - Connecticut) have nothing but absolute distaste for it. Of course, they do not have a majority so their opinions and votes do not matter at all. The Democratic party leadership is determined to pass it in spite of the 40 Republican Senators disagreement, which represent half of the country's opinions as well.

Looking at the different issues with this bill, one that comes to the forefront for me is the inclusion of federally funded abortions. Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) is opposing his party because of this section of the bill. He is a Pro-Life Democrat from a conservative state and he does not believe that the Federal government should be paying for abortions, like many in America also believe. I am one of those unashamed, pro-lifers and I am in total agreement. It is NOT the choice of the politicians to take my tax dollars and pay for someone else to commit murder! I would not personally pay for an abortion, therefore my taxes should not do so either. I will not accept that blood on my hands. This is a sticking point for Nelson and well, it should be. Even Pelosi allowed the Stupak Amendment to pass in the House. And all this time I thought Reid was the more mentally balanced of the two. This provision should not be allowed in this bill and it is abhorrent that our elected officials are fighting to keep it there. For this reason alone, they should lose their seat in the Senate during the next election.

Another ridiculous section of this bill deals with the over $500 billion in cuts to Medicare. Will someone please explain to me how you can drastically cut Medicare and add millions more people to the plan and not have to ration care? Currently, physicians receive the lowest reimbursement rate for Medicare patients than they do from any private insurance company. A physician cannot build a practice on Medicare and expect to make ends meet. If Medicare is cut more, the reimbursement rate will plummet and physicians will be forced to deny Medicare patients access to their practice. This will, in turn, force Medicare patients to choose from fewer physicians which will amount to rationing of care. The math simply does not add up - more patients + fewer physicians = limited access (rationing). But, once again Congress is determined to pass these cuts even though this scenario is inevitable. This is how they intend to fund the reform bill, on the backs of our senior citizens. These cuts also apply to Tricare, which is the insurance provided to retired military and their families. In actuality, this bill will be paid for with the blood, sweat and tears of those who have served this Nation. What a wonderful Christmas present to give!?

The debate in the Senate has gotten ugly too. Reid is threatening to take away Lieberman's committee chairmanship if he does not vote for this bill and the Republicans are not even being allowed to speak their mind on the Senate floor. Just yesterday, John McCain (R-Arizona) scolded the newest member of the Senate, Al Franken (D - Minnesota) for refusing to allow his colleague Joe Lieberman an extra one to two minutes to complete his statement. This is dirty politics, plain and simple. I guarantee if that had been Mary Landrieu (D- Louisiana)asking for a few more minutes, he would not have been opposed. I realize that the Democrats control Congress with a majority, but there are many states and millions of people that elected the Republicans as their representation and those voices should be heard equally. To ignore them is to ignore millions of Americans and that is simply unacceptable.

I hope that this bill fails miserably in the Senate and that the American people receive a Christmas present they deserve - a legislature that LISTENS to their concerns and follows the wishes of the people. That would be a present worthy of the sacrifices made by so many to keep this nation free and maintain it as the Democratic Republic that our Founders gave us. This "health care reform" bill is the first step towards socialism and that step cannot and should not be taken. We are the last great bastion of capitalism and our system must be preserved. Perhaps, they should consider the words of a great statesman and President. Their duty is simple: to "preserve for our children, this, the last, best hope of man on earth".

Civil Rights?

Today begins the trial of 3 Navy Seals charged with mistreating a prisoner of war, aka terrorist. The arraignment will take place in Norfolk, Virginia on the largest naval base in the world. A protest has been planned by supporters of the Navy SEALs and will take place today outside the courthouse during the arraignment. These three men, Matthew McCabe, Julio Huertas and Jonathan Keefe, are all accused of punching a terrorist in the mouth while he was detained. The terrorist, Ahmed Hashim Abed, is suspected of participating in the murder of four Blackwater employees in Iraq in 2004. Just to refresh your memory - these four men were civilian contractors helping with security operations in Fallujah when their convoy was attacked by Iraqi gunmen with small arms and grenades. The four men were killed or injured and the Iraqis dragged their bodies through the streets, burned them and hung their burned bodies from a bridge in Fallujah. This was an absolutely disgusting and appalling act committed by Islamic extremists and constituted (in my mind) an act of terror. As a result, Abed was added to the "Most Wanted" list of terrorists. After trying to capture him for five years, three brave Navy SEALs approached his camp under cover of darkness, captured him and successfully detained him: all without firing a shot. Apparently, Abed received a bloody lip in the process and filed charges against these men. There is no corroborating evidence from any other servicemen who came in contact with Abed, but the Navy is bringing them up on charges anyway. Fast forward to the present - these men are being court-martialed and face possible dishonorable discharge and incarceration time. They will be pleading "not guilty".



This is ludicrous! Our Navy is charging three of their own elite special operations men with punching a terrorist with NO evidence to support the terrorist's claim. The bravest amongst us are being forced to defend THEIR actions while arresting a TERRORIST! This is nothing but a knee-jerk reaction spurred on by the "mistreatment" of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and should not be allowed to happen. Many people lament the length and cost of our War on Terror and complain that we need to get our soldiers out of Iraq and Afghanistan, but never consider the cost of early withdrawal from these areas. Our leaders have tied the hands of our soldiers behind their backs with ridiculous and unnecessary rules of engagement and procedures for detention and interrogation all designed to protect the rights of the terrorists. Let me say that again: our nation's leaders are more concerned with protecting the civil rights of the TERRORISTS that we are fighting. What is wrong with this picture?



Yesterday marks the 68th Anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor where 2,402 people were killed, 1,282 were wounded, 15 Navy ships were badly damaged or sunk and 188 aircraft were destroyed in an attack that lasted just a few hours. Following this attack, President Roosevelt spoke to the nation and declared that December 7, 1941 was "a day that will live in infamy". We officially entered World War II by declaring war on Japan and began launching our own attacks on their ships and aircraft and eventually organized and executed the "Doolittle Raid" which struck at the heart of Japan. After four years of brutal war against the Japanese, the United States dropped the atomic bomb on the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima effectively ending the war with Japan. This history lesson is meant to refresh your memory and remind you that we did not expect our soldiers to fight the Japanese and the Nazis with one hand tied behind their backs like they are expected to do now. Imagine if we had used "kid gloves" throughout World War II; would we be saluting a Nazi flag today? Perhaps. If the war had not been fought in such an effective and determined manner the outcome might have been very different. This was a war fought against an extremist ideology, Nazism; not unlike the war we are currently engaged in against Islamic extremism. Thank God our President and Congress were not afraid of trampling on the non-existent civil rights of the men we were fighting against.



The Global War on Terror is being fought with a lack of concern for our fighting forces and a unwarranted emphasis on the manner in which it is fought, i.e. protecting the "feelings" of the terrorists we are fighting against. This latest trial is just another example of this misguided method of fighting a war. McCabe, Huertas and Keefe should be hailed as heroes, not brought to trial for allegedly punching a Most Wanted murderer while attempting to capture him so that he may be brought to Justice for the heinous atrocities he committed against American citizens. I believe that this war would be much closer to completion if we were not so preoccupied with the civil rights of our enemies. Another example of this can be seen in the decision by the Obama administration to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others in a civilian court in New York City. Once again, a lack of emphasis on the rights of the victims and the assignation of American citizen's rights to terrorists.



What about the rights of the American men and women killed by terrorists? The 3,000 dead in the attacks of September 11th, the 17 dead in the attack on the USS Cole in 2000, the many dead in the embassy attacks of the last decade, the soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines killed while fighting in the War on Terror, Daniel Pearl, the four Blackwater employees, Scott Helvenston, Jerry Zovko, Wesley Bartelona and Michael Teague, and the countless others murdered by Islamic terrorists? Their rights were certainly not even considered by their murderers. The families of these men and women are entitled to justice for their loved ones and their rights should be paramount to the rights of the terrorists guilty of murder. Here's hoping that justice will be meted out with a firm hand and the guilty will be properly punished.

Be Back Soon....

Sorry it has been a while since I wrote on this blog. Time has not been my friend lately. I hope to post later this evening or tomorrow. Please check back then. Thanks for understanding and thank you for reading my blog.