Terrorism Since 9/11 and what US President's did about it

 Looking back today at our war on terrorism since the 20^th anniversary of 9/11 is at hand.  I thought about the timing of the growth of three terrorist organizations. The Taliban, Al Qaeda, and Isis.  

Al Qaeda started in 1988 under Bush 41 but really didn’t start to grow very much until the early 90’s.  At that time another group was forming, the Taliban.  Both groups grew and were under the radar of our then President Williams J. Clinton.  One could argue that because they were under the radar they were allowed to grow and flourish under his administration culminating in Al Qaeda’s attack on the US less than 9 months after President George W. Bush was inaugurated in January of 2001.  We know the outcome of allowing or ignoring Al Qaeda’s rise to power when the Twin Towers came down, the Pentagon was hit and a fourth plane that was headed for the Capital building in Washington D.C. was thwarted by the heroic actions of the plane’s passengers which prevented that group of terrorists from reaching their target.

President Bush’s administration waged what could be considered a successful war against Al Qaeda and to some extent the Taliban for the next seven years as well as the war in Iraq. 

President Barak H. Obama continued to fight the war on terrorism that was started under President Bush, but one could argue that it was more half-hearted in its execution because of changes in the rules of engagement the military was forced to fight under.  While his administration made some strides and had some success including the killing of Bin Laden.  They also had a series of blunders and failures in places like Iraq, Benghazi, and others.  The Obama administration severely underestimate ISIS, calling them the JV team and were not successful in stopping the spread of ISIS throughout the middle east, not to mention the growing strength of the Taliban again under the radar of a democratic administration following the vacuum of leadership that remained after the Americans withdrew from Iraq.

President Trump and his administration took over the fight and took on ISIS and our military was unshackled and quickly drove ISIS back, Freeing Iraq from ISIS rule as well as other areas of the middle east.  He pushed for the end to fighting in Afghanistan and developed a plan for a conditional withdrawal. While the date was earlier than the August 31^st that President Biden set, one could argue if President Trumps withdrawal plan of civilians and allies first, equipment next and military last, he may have well been able to complete it on his timetable. 

But elections have consequences, and we will never know If he and his administration could have completed this withdrawal in the timeframe he originally set.  President Biden decides to withdraw the military without coordination with our allies in the middle of the might leaving civilians to the mercy of the Taliban.  Now he said nobody could have predicted this would happen. Apparently, he did not learn from the history of Vietnam in the 70’s or even the abandoning of Iraq during the Obama administration of which he was a part.  ISIS took over in record time just as the Taliban did in Afghanistan. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”, (George Santayana) who was later misquoted by Winston Churchill saying that “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it”. Regardless of who said it or how they said it, President Biden who lived through both tragic withdrawals Vietnam and Iraq, should have learned from his own history as a participant in those historic events and should have known this would happen again. 

Islamist terrorists had been allowed to thrive and grow under three presidents.  Al Qaeda under President Clinton, ISIS under President Obama and now the Taliban has taken over an entire country and is gaining strength beyond what they enjoyed under the Clinton years under this president, Joe Biden. 

Apparently, the democratic party and its leaders either don’t care that these groups are brutalizing women and minorities, destroying all of the progress made over the last 20 years just as long as it doesn’t have an effect on the democratic party power base and their vision of a one-party system of government for American under their own iron fist.   Maybe they are allowing this to happen to give them a road map for their own takeover of our nation and how to take care of those who oppose them in the name of freedom.  

I'm back, I"m retired and I have more time

 Damn, it's been a long time between posts.  I bet y'all thought I died or something.  No, I was busy teaching and developing curriculum for several colleges as the Dean of Allied Health.  Now I'm retired and I can do things I want to and can speak freely without having it reflect on my employers.  Which is kind of what I wanted to do when I started but again corporate constraints just wouldn't allow it.  

Yes, I missed a lot of opportunities last year with the George Floyd riots and subsequent BLM riots, the election of the village idiot, and the opportunistic social climber as our new President and VP.  Not to mention AOC and the Squad.  That being said I may just make up for the lost time.  I do want folks to know these are my own thoughts and comments and do not reflect those of my former employers, church, or any other organization I may belong to or join.  I'm responsible, nobody else.  If you don't like frank commentary then leave now and don't bother to read.  If you like my comments that's great, if you don't, I really don't care.   

If you haven't figured it out?  I am a conservative. I believe in God, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the founding principles of this nation.  My greatest loyalty is to God, my family, and my country. If that bothers you, that's just too bad.  I speak plainly and from the heart. I spent 30 years enlisted in the military and at times use shall we say colorful metaphors when I speak. Again if this offends you, that's your problem, not mine.  I don't pussyfoot. If I like something you'll know, if I don't, you'll know that as well.  Again, if you don't like it, that's too damn bad.  Get over it and grow up.  

Y'all have a great day

Together We Served

For those of us who have served our country in the military you know it becomes like family. Some of the friends you make while stationed in various places are for the time you are together even closer than some actual family members. Like in families sometimes we loose track of each other. People move, you don't hear from them for a while and eventually you can't find them any more. Here is a place where you may be able to find those friends you haven't seen for a while. Through those friends you do have and others they have been stationed with sometimes you can find an old lost friend. The service is called Together We Served. You can search by first name, last name, organization etc. You can also post your own history there, places you've been stationed, grades you held there. you can post your awards and decorations and lots of other things. Check it out and see if you can find some of your old friens and maybe make some new ones.

http://www.togetherweserved.com/

This will get you to the information page from there your on your own.

Disposable Email Address.

Webware just alerted me to a new feature on the web. We have disposable cell phones that can't be traced well now you can get disposable email addresses that work as long as you keep the browser window open when you close the window the email address is no longer valid. It's great if you have to register at a site like the NY Times or Washington Post.

The Site is called 2Prong. I tired it and it worked great. as long as I had the tab open in my browser it worked like a charm when I closed the tab the email address was gone forever and so is the possibility that the NYTimes or any other site that requires registration can give out my personal email address to third parties who will in turn fill my mailbox with all of their advertisements and spam.

So check out Webware at the link above then go to 2Prong.com and give it a try.

Reprinted from NewsMax.com

Friday, Sept. 1, 2006 3:45 p.m. EDT

The Real Glenn Ford Story

This article was written by NewsMax.com columnist and contributor Phil Brennan, a proud Marine.

When Glenn Ford died Thursday morning at the age of 90, major media recalled his long Hollywood career, recalling the 106 films in which he appeared, his many marriages and romances. Wrote the Associated Press, "He was a star to the end of his career."

Glenn Ford was far more than that, yet none of the obituaries bothered to mention his extraordinary patriotism or his distinguished military career. Ford rose to the rank of Captain in the United States Navy after years of dedicated service that began with World War II and continued through the Vietnam War.

He was undoubtedly a star, one of Hollywood's enduring major stars, but as his biography on a Web site devoted to his long life states, his accomplishments were even larger than life off-screen. As his son Peter once told NewsMax.com, Ford was "one of those Ronald Reagan, true-blue American types."

At the beginning of World War II Glenn served in the Coast Guard Auxiliary. In 1942 he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. As a Marine he helped build safe houses in occupied France for those hiding from the Nazis and was among the first Americans to enter the infamous Dachau concentration camp at war’s end. He went on to serve in the Navy and at war's end he was commissioned a Commander in the Naval Reserves.

Committed to service in the armed forces, Ford also served two tours of duty in Vietnam with the Third Marine Amphibious Force in 1966-1968. He once went on a jungle mission with a Special Forces Team during the Vietnam War. Ford was the only actor to have served with both the Green Berets and the French Foreign Legion and his military record is well recognized in both the United States and France as a highly decorated veteran.

Among his numerous medals and commendations are the Medal of Honor presented by the Veterans of Foreign Wars; the Medaille de la France Libre for the liberation of France; two commendation medals from the U.S. Navy; and the Vietnamese Legion of Merit. He received the rank of Captain with the U.S. Naval Reserves in 1968; retiring in 1977.

Ford bravely served his country in two wars (not on the sidelines, but in the front lines) facing enemy fire on many occasions and never expecting to be treated like a Hollywood star but as a fellow fighting man. He was indeed a hero both on and off the screen.

That's the way Glenn Ford would want to be remembered.

Two years ago he told NewsMax.com, "Let's never forget that to remain free we must always be strong. That's an important lesson I learned in my Navy career in World War II. National defense must be the top priority for our country. If you are strong, you are safe. Now is the time for every American to be proud. This is the land of the free and the home of the brave. If we are not brave, we will not be free."

Glenn Ford lived the motto of the Marine Corps, Semper Fidelis -He was always faithful to the nation he served so long and so well.

Semper Fi, Glenn

SPACE.com -- Mars Ski Report: Snow is Hard, Dense and Disappearing

SPACE.com -- Mars Ski Report: Snow is Hard, Dense and Disappearing

More on the Global Warming Crisis on MARS! ! ! !. Can't blame man for this one. Well unless those little solar powered rovers we sent there are causing that. Wait a minute, solar powered vehicles don't put out greenhouse gasses so how can this global warming be possible on Mars? No evil oil or car companies to blame maybe it's mother nature. Maybe that's whats going on here on earth as well. Something to think about isn't it?

TimesDispatch.com | Judge lifts orders in teen's case

TimesDispatch.com | Judge lifts orders in teen's case

Chalk up one for the right of the individual and the rights of the family to decide their medical therapy (for now) This goes back to court on 16 August.

Project Vote Smart - Family Research Council Ratings

Ever wonder how your congressman or woman was rated by the Family Research Council? Check out the explanation below then the website.


""The Family Research Council (FRC) champions marriage and family as the foundation of civilization, the seedbed of virtue, and the wellspring of society. FRC shapes public debate and formulate public policy that values human life and upholds the institutions of marriage and the family. Believing that God is the author of life, liberty, and the family, FRC promotes the Judeo-Christian worldview as the basis for a just, free, and stable society."

The following ratings indicate the degree that each elected official supported the interests of the organization in that year."



Project Vote Smart - Family Research Council Ratings

Kent school Bible club dispute becomes a federal case

Kent school Bible club dispute becomes a federal case

Court cases like this drive me crazy. I can't be a member of the Lettermen's club in school if I don't have a letter in some type of sport. I can't be part of the band if I don't play an instrument. So why in the world is it a problem if a group of Christians want to form a club to study and hang out together and they only want other Christians in the group? If you want to study together do you want Muslims, Jews, Wicca and others to join and bring their particular faith into the group? No offense meant to those faiths but they are not going to want to study the Bible. There is no reaso they couldn't start their own club in the school. If you had a Rod and Gun club would you want PETA members to join you? Probably not. Why because you'd spend all your time arguing instead of enjoying your favorite passtime. In the case of these girls they want to associate with other Christians and Study with them they don't want to spend their entire meeting arguing whether the Bible or the Koran or the Tora or whatever is the true word of God and trust me that's what their meetings would end up being. So my hat is off to the ADF for taking on the case.

SPACE.com -- New Storm on Jupiter Hints at Climate Change

SPACE.com -- New Storm on Jupiter Hints at Climate Change

Goes with the previous article.

SPACE.com -- Mars Emerging from Ice Age, Data Suggest

SPACE.com -- Mars Emerging from Ice Age, Data Suggest

Global warming without man and his horrible automobiles, How can this be? The same thing is happening on Jupiter as well the storms are getting stronger, the temperature is going up. Is it just me or do you thing that maybe it's something OTHER than man that is causing the "global warming" here on Earth? I'm sure somehow the green group and tree huggers will find someway to blame man for the global warming on the other planets. They just haven't figured out how to blame man or George Bush for global warming on the other planets.

I was going through my old photo's and found these from Good Friday 1974 in the Philippines. The paddle is used to break the skin so the penetents can use a flail to whip themselves to demonstrate their repentence for their sins. The man in the white pants was taken a short time after the picture was taken to the hospital. The cuts apparently went too deep into his back or he has a clotting disorder. That last picture is of a man who promised God if his mother got better from a serious illness that he would allow himself to be crucified every good firday for 13 years. I met his mother, she got better and he is honoring his promise. The nails actually go through his hands and the ropes on his arms prevent them from tearing out of his hands. At this time he had done this for 7 years. There was an article in National Geographic with some very good pictures of this event that were taken the same day. This event and these proceedings are not recognized by the Catholic church but that doesn't seem to matter to literally thousands in the Philippines that participate in these type activities all over the country. Most however do not go as far as having themselves nailed to the cross. 

School Picnic

We sure had a lot of fun yesterday at our picnic even though the temperatures we well into the 90's Too bad more folks didn't come out they missed a good time and some good music if I do say so myself.