Tag: featured

Transformation

Barack

“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”

Fundamental Transformation in Progress … 

Obamacare

Strike One: “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.”

Strike two: Obamacare will save “the average family $2,500 a year on their premiums.”

Strike three: “Obamacare will add “not one dime” to the deficit.”

US Economy

Debt: On Jan. 20, 2009, when Obama was inaugurated, the total debt of the federal government was $10,626,877,048,913.08. On Nov. 23, 2015, it was $18,722,746,583,118.03 Thus, so far in Obama’s presidency, the federal debt has increased $8,095,869,534,204.95. (Trillion)

GDP: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported that 2015 U.S. real GDP (RGDP) growth was 2.38%. No matter what revisions are subsequently made, 2015 will have been the tenth year in a row that RGDP growth came in at under 3.0%. The longest previous such run in U.S. economic history was only four years, and the last time that this happened was during the Great Depression (1930 – 1933).

Americans Not In Work Force: A record 94,031,000 Americans were not in the American labor force last month (August 2015)– 261,000 more than July — and the labor force participation rate stayed stuck at 62.6 percent, a 38-year low.

Makers vs. Takers. In 2013, according to the Census Bureau, there were 105,862,000 full-time year-round workers in the United States — including 16,685,000 full-time government workers. These full-time workers were outnumbered by the 109,631,000 whom the Census Bureau says were getting benefits from means-tested federal programs — e.g. welfare — as of the fourth quarter of 2012.

Iraq

Strike One: “I am very optimistic about — about Iraq. I mean, this could be one of the great achievements of this administration. You’re going to see 90,000 American troops come marching home by the end of the summer. You’re going to see a stable government in Iraq that is actually moving toward a representative government,” said Biden. (2011)

Strike Two: President Barack Obama has described al Qaeda as having been “decimated,” “on the path to defeat” or some other variation at least 32 times since the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, according to White House transcripts.

Strike Three: ISIS establishes a Caliphate carved out of  Iraq and Syria.

ISIS

Strike One: “The analogy we use around here sometimes, and I think is accurate, is if a jayvee team puts on Lakers uniforms that doesn’t make them Kobe Bryant,” Obama told Remnick. “I think there is a distinction between the capacity and reach of a bin Laden and a network that is actively planning major terrorist plots against the homeland versus jihadists who are engaged in various local power struggles and disputes, often sectarian.”

Strike Two: “I don’t think they’re gaining strength,” he said. “What is true is that from the start our goal has been first to contain, and we have contained them. They have not gained ground in Iraq and in Syria. They’ll come in, they’ll leave, but you don’t see this systematic march by ISIL across the terrain.” The Islamic State, also known as ISIS, claimed responsibility for the attacks in Paris, which killed 129 people on Friday night. Obama’s comments on the status of the battle against the Islamic State were made two days before on Thursday. (Nov 2015

Strike Three: In the interview, Wallace pointed to specific instances when the president was criticized for his reaction to terrorism. He recalled when Obama called the Paris attacks, which killed 131 people, a “setback” and said “we can’t lose sight that there has been progress being made” against ISIS. Wallace also played a clip of Obama focusing on gun control after the ISIS-inspired San Bernardino attack. Obama has come under intense scrutiny in recent months for what Democrats and Republicans call a weak and apathetic response to Islamic State (ISIS)-led terror attacks in Paris and Brussels. Obama attends a baseball game during his visit to Cuba last month immediately after the ISIS attack in Brussels, and for only dedicating 51 seconds of his prepared remarks during a speech earlier that day to the attack.

Syria

Deep but foul: “What kind of world will we live in if the United States of America sees a dictator brazenly violate international law with poison gas and we choose to look the other way?”

Strike two: “We have communicated in no uncertain terms with every player in the region that that’s a red line for us and that there would be enormous consequences if we start seeing movement on the chemical weapons front or the use of chemical weapons,” he said. “That would change my calculations significantly.”

Strike Three: After the Assad chemical attack against innocent civilians: “He was describing it as seeking strong political support for this decisive move. He had all the rhetoric of action,” David Ignatius of The Washington Post tells FRONTLINE. “But in truth, it was stepping back from the imminent attack that was ahead … it was all in motion, and at the last minute, the president blinked.”

The Classics

Strike One: “We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.” — Barack Obama, October 30, 2008

“We are going to have to change our conversation; we’re going to have to change our traditions, our history; we’re going to have to move into a different place as a nation.” — Michelle Obama, May 14, 2008

Strike Two: “If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.”

Strike 3: Obama refers to Republicans as enemies, Speaker of House response: “Ladies and gentlemen, we have a president in the White House who referred to Americans who disagree with him as ‘our enemies.’ Think about that. He actually used that word. When Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush used the word ‘enemy,’ they reserved it for global terrorists and foreign dictators — enemies of the United States. Enemies of freedom. Enemies of our country. Today, sadly, we have president who uses the word ‘enemy’ for fellow Americans — fellow citizens. He uses it for people who disagree with his agenda of bigger government — people speaking out for a smaller, more accountable government that respects freedom and allows small businesses to create jobs. Mr. President, there’s a word for people who have the audacity to speak up in defense of freedom, the Constitution, and the values of limited government that made our country great. We don’t call them ‘enemies.’ We call them ‘patriots.'”

“Yes, We Can”

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Lawn Mowing

Lawn mowing by Sherwood Lawnmower 

When we were kids, everyone cut their own grass, at least those fortunate to live in a house with a yard. Learning how to cut the grass was a right of passage in most families. Some families had push manual two wheel mowers for small yards, others had the traditional four wheel gas push mower and the real avant-garde had visions of the future and they were breaking out electric mowers in the early 1970’s with their fancy extension cords dragged behind the mower pusher. Truth be told, those electric mowers sucked for the poor sap stuck dragging an extension cord throughout their yard dodging trees and bushes hoping the damn cord didn’t pop out of the socket as you stretched the cord to get to that last corner. There was some real navigation art to using these first generation electric mowers.

lawnmower2

To bag the grass or not to bag the grass, that is the question. Let me tell you something, if you are pushing an electric lawnmower, there is no way in hell you are going to want to bag the grass. Its bad enough you’re strapped with an extension cord to your ass, and now you have to bag the grass too? Not happening Jerry …

In many communities, lawn mowing is becoming a lost art. The right of passage and cutting the grass assignment to kids has been replaced by video games or little George can’t be tasked with getting his hands dirty. In the greater Washington DC Beltway Bubble our lawmakers, lobbyists and lawyers don’t do yard work, except in very few cases. The few that do are laughed at, mocked or talked about, and they are conservative. You see, here in the land where you spend other people’s money and ring up debt like air breathing, lawn mowing is for the lower class or illegal immigrants, not for the privileged class. Bush trimming, edging or raking leaves are tasks for others, not for lawmakers and elite takers. These complimentary tasks to lawn mowing are concepts to the Beltway high-end crowd but there are some reports that a few lawmakers, lobbyists and lawyers are taking grass cutting classes learning how to put gas in mowers, how to walk in a straight line in the their yard and even helping them trim a bush. One lawmaker I know has started a Saturday grass-cutting club where fellow hobbyists come over to his house and take turns cutting the front yard, while others watch in the shade drinking glasses of white or red wine to better understand the concept. They share war stories about how hard it was cutting grass when they were kids and how blessed they feel to spare their kids from this indignity. It’s a different day in America, isn’t it?

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Back-in-Iraq (Shush …)

“No boots on the ground,” President Obama

Between August 2013 and July 2015, President Obama publicly pledged “no boots on the ground” in Iraq at least 16 times. What is being under reported by the American media today is that there are over four thousand American troops back in Iraq after the Obama withdrawal, to enable the Iraqi Army and fight ISIS. Inevitably, the “train, advise, assist” label that President Obama has stated will morph into direct action and support roles as the Iraqi Army meets difficulty and falters. Furthermore, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) General Dunford, recently commented that there are fewer than five thousand troops in Iraq, as troops and units rotate in and out. So it is very merky just how many troops we currently have in Iraq, what their exact roles are and what the mission is. There are no daily press conferences covering this deployment, just small stories occasionally being reported, mostly online, due to congressional inquiry. The Commander-in-Chief has not explained the mission in an address to the nation. Five thousand troops is no small number either; last we heard there was going to be “no boots on the ground.” President Obama has ordered the equivalent of a US Army Brigade’s worth of troops and Special Forces back into Iraq? “Shush …”

With great fanfare the president withdrew troops from Iraq by the end of the calendar year 2011. After failing to secure a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the fledgling government of Iraq due to his opposition of the war and it being low on his priority list, he met his real goal of complete withdrawal. The CJCS recommended a residual US force presence of ten thousand troops as a stabilizing influence, which would have served as a deterrent to terrorist elements and created a stabilizing influence between Shia and Sunni sects as well having Americans around. But the President is a “date certain” leader and chose a date on the wall for political purposes to withdraw US forces. The president wasn’t about to let facts or mission stabilizing criteria get in the way of his predetermined decision to get out . It was about a date. It has always been about a date with this president whether it is Iraq, Afghanistan or Obamacare. It had to be done by December 31st, 2011 so he could take credit for “success” as he ramped up his re-election campaign.

“And under the Status of Forces Agreement with the Iraqi government, I intend to remove all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011,” said Obama. “We will complete this transition to Iraqi responsibility, and we will bring our troops home with the honor that they have earned.” Obama

The buzz words in theater during this time was “Responsible Drawdown.” Everything was masked in these words. Political speech for we are leaving regardless of the situation. The plan was to design a plan without criteria for withdrawal but checkpoints on force levels in Iraq, returning US facilities to the Government of Iraq (GoI) and releasing all detainees back to the GoI or local Imams whom “promised” to safeguard them from returning to terrorism. It was a race to get out regardless of circumstances on the ground. No exit criteria just a date certain to be out of Iraq.

So here we are, four years since the Obama withdrawal from Iraq and we have five thousand troops back in Iraq due to his failure to personally negotiate with the GoI for a SOFA and residual US Forces to help stabilize and secure the gains of war; his failure to take counsel from his CJCS and Secretary Defense Gates; and his self-serving goal of meeting a campaign promise to help his presidential re-election campaign.

Where are we today?

  • The Islamic State of Iraq & Syria (ISIS) was born of Obama’s withdrawal, hence the president’s reluctance to brief the American public on a new force commitment to Iraq
  • Iraq is a divided country with parts controlled by ISIS, parts controlled by Iran and parts under served by a government not equipped or resourced to provide basic services to the population
  • Syria is enduring a civil war with parts controlled by ISIS and the Russians now actively fighting to prop up the brutal Assad regime along with Iran.
  • Iran sponsoring terrorism targeting Israel, Lebanon and Jordan
  • Lybia destabilized with parts controlled by ISIS after the Clinton-Obama war to remove Gadhafi. This set the stage for Benghazi and the loss of the a US Ambassador and American lives in Lybia
  • Christians being persecuted throughout the Middle East for their faith and a modern day genocide taking place where the US government has failed to act, intervene and safeguard lives during Obama’s presidency
  • Massive refugee populations fleeing Iraq and Syria imbedded with ISIS terrorists fleeing to Europe, Jordan and eventually the US. Major terrorist attacks taking place throughout Europe

The Obama Administration has demonstrated complete foreign policy failure throughout the Middle East where our enemies do not fear us and our Allies do not trust us. President Obama has fundamentally transformed the Middle East into a continent of chaos through his arrogance of power, lack of leadership and lack of experience in appreciating and understanding history. The gains made in Iraq through blood and treasure have been pissed away by a US president that failed to appreciate the importance of America leading in this troubled world through a clear understanding of US strategic interests and responsibilities versus a self-serving prism of righting American wrongs throughout the world.

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Pimple

By Sherwood

Some have compared this presidential election cycle to a rash of pimples. An ugly display of candidate acne, that simply will not go away and seems to be unaffected by high doses of medicine.

Bernie Sanders has been clogging Hillary Clinton’s pores for months now. Hillary expected to be coroneted by this point with a well-orchestrated uncompetitive field put together by the Democratic National Committee and Mrs. Debbie Wasserman-Shultz. Who knew that the Democratic Party would love a socialist over the Clinton machine let alone Hillary? Bernie is one blackhead that won’t go away. Hillary has a big Bernie Blackhead on her left cheek that she feels every time she sits down and listens to him rail against her Wall Street ties and fossil fuel industry backers. As for Bernie, Clinton is like a big whitehead on the tip of his nose. He knows it is there, he feels it but because his eyesight is so bad he doesn’t see it until a Clinton aide says “hey Bernie, where did you get the big zit?” It’s all fun and games until Bernie responds with, “I got it in Harlem looking at the Clinton Foundation books. Yeah, when I saw that less than 10% of money raised went to charities and Haiti only got a Honda generator for the Presidential Palace, I realized Al Sharpton ran a legitimate charity too.”

On the republican side, John Kasich inherited his Dad’s bad acne from carrying a mailbag. John’s acne is mostly centered on the right shoulder, neck and face. Clearasil helped in the early years but the scars remain. Ted’s acne started in 5th grade. It began to develop as a reaction to worrying so much about getting pelted repeatedly in Dodge ball during gym classes. By the time he was in 7th grade, we had a five alarm fire in regards to acne nodules on his chest, back and face. Ted’s parents bought the best medicines available in Canada but nothing seemed to work. Ted finally out grew the acne when high school started and gym class became an elective and Ted chose non-athletic classes like Calculus and Constitutional Law  as his electives. Donald was fortunate in that he had only minor bouts with acne and in his case; his acne was always hidden behind his clothing. You see, Rubio had inside information about Donald and apparently, “he has a problem down there.” Acne where you least want it, least can afford to have it as a vibrant young man and if it word ever got out, lots of jokes, many, many, many jokes. Fortunately for Donald, money and age helped him grow out it and as he has publicly stated recently, “trust me, there is no problem down there.”

Well, we have about seven more months of pimple politics. We’ll see a lot more zits in the coming months. Have your Clearasil, Nitrogena and cleansing soap at the ready. Lots of whiteheads and blackheads to come your way, stay tuned and enjoy!

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Ramblings (March 2016)

Spitball. Does Chris Matthews even have an audience? How can Trump be so stupid to be set up by Matthews baiting questions on abortions? The bully got bullied by a media bully. Matthews, aka, Spewing Spitball, verbally bullied Trump into getting the set up answer he sought, that woman who have abortions should be punished, criminally. Spewing Spitball kept asking baiting questions at a rapid clip and Trump surprisingly tolerated it without pushing back, slowing him down or telling him in vintage Trump, “excuse me, excuse me.” Now Spewing Spitball can hit the wine circuit tonight and be celebrated as the Left’s darling as he helped produce one of Hillary’s campaign ads attacking Republicans and Trump over criminalizing abortion. Spewing Spitball wins the day.

War on Woman. Here it comes. Abortion hasn’t even been a topic of any significant discussion let alone a matter discussed during debates but Matthews, I mean Spewing Spitball, has set it up for the Clinton campaign and Hillary to run with in the general election attacking Republicans and Trump. It’s all predictable for the Dems and their media accomplices to bait, set-up and enable the attacks. Yup all women are going to be sent to dark allies now for their abortions and birth control because republicans are going to take them all away, along with their reproductive rights. There will be no reproductive rights for women once the republicans are elected. Here comes the tired, ruthless democratic campaign that is dragged out every few years. Clinton and Sanders need their limitless abortions right up until the birth of a baby. Yup, nothing outrageous there. Just have those reproductive rights available to terminate another baby right up until the moment of birth.

Guantanamo Bay (GTMO). Home of Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay, where we continue to hold some of the most hardened terrorists this planet has ever known at so called “Camp Justice.” [ Where is the Justice?] However, as Obama races to release and empty out all the terrorists from this camp before he leaves office, is justice being served? Hell no! He’s got this all back-ass-wards! The world is on fire from terrorism, four more Americans killed in Brussels two weeks ago (along with 50 other innocents in Europe), while Christians are being persecuted and killed throughout the Middle East, Iran, and Pakistan by ISIS, Al Qaeda and other Islamic Radicals. Meanwhile, Obama remains divorced from reality emptying GTMO while terrorism rages. The western world is at war against Radical Islam and while our enemies continue to plot and plunder the civil society, the west is unfocused, unserious and with Obama as the free world’s leader, America and the west remains aimless, detached and fails to name Islamic extremism as the enemy. If you can’t name your enemy, you can’t fight your enemy let alone destroy your enemy.

GTMO is causing terror according to BO who has demonstrated his complete misunderstanding of our enemy. He is coordinating release after release of major terrorists that will regroup, reorganize, re-arm and kill innocents and Americans again. Recidivism does not concern BO. He’ll never fight in a foreign land; he’ll have life-time secret service protection; and he knows better than all of us. When GTMO is no more, all terrorism will cease and the Jihadi ’s will become peaceful according to our president. BO knows better than us. He lost Iraq; he lost Syria; he lost Libya; he lost parts of Ukraine; and he created ISIS. Obama’s foreign policy of destruction is on the march at a record clip. Hell has been unleashed on America by our President and one begins to wonder if this is by design? The 53rd Regiment is bewildered at this level of incompetence and it is only natural to be left with this question — is the Obama Administration this inept or is something more sinister at work here?

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Hoople

By Sherwood

Every family enjoys some unique traditions or words that characterize life experiences along the journey of life. This 53rd Regiment member’s life experiences were no different. In my family’s case, Dad had lots of stories, lots of different unique words to describe “happenings” and lots of colloquialisms to define family events or circumstances along the way.

One of these unique words was “Hoople.” What is a Hoople?

To my surprise, in the Urban Dictionary (UD), there is a definition — comes from the book, Mott The Hoople in which the character is lazy, preferring to work as little as possible … furthermore, the UD goes on to define hoople as a member of the ignorant masses, an uneducated commoner; an idiot. After this research, now the use of this term makes sense to me after 30 or 40 years. A couple little stories to explain:

  • Dad would be bringing Mom to the grocery store and get cut off in the parking lot. While applying the brakes everyone in the car would hear, “what a hoople.”
  • Some schlock would hold up traffic in the parking lot by waiting for a spot, as Grandma would slowly move toward her car. Everyone was locked in his or her position five or six cars deep. No movement left or right. Had to wait. While jumping on the horn, the kids in the backseat would hear, “what a hoople” along with a few other choice words.
  • Going through a drive thru to order a fish sandwich was a big mistake. That fish sandwich had to be plain, nothing on it or there would be hell to pay. Things were guaranteed to go wrong. Undoubtedly, hooples worked in there. Sure enough, a half mile down the road, those same kids in the backseat would hear, “dammit, what a hoople!” … and the car would turn around to remedy the situation with the hoople that screwed up the order to begin with.

Here is another surprise. There is a town in South Dakota, you guessed it, Hoople, population 300, established in 1876. And another surprise from an HBO series I never watched, they used the term Hopple-head to describe a buffoon or hobo.

Bernie 2016. Hoople. Now that makes sense. Vermont must have large concentrations of Hooples.

So there you have it, the complete history and proper usage of the term “hoople” should you choose to use it in your vocabulary? One must admit, its not a bad cuss word in front of the kids and its a fairly clean way to describe the Bernie Sanders campaign.

 

 

 

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Jihad!

A man cycles past a wall graffiti of caricatures of U.S. President Barack Obama (L) and Cuban leader Fidel Castro outside a restaurant in Mexico City, August 21, 2012. REUTERS/ Edgard Garrido (MEXICO - Tags: TRANSPORT SOCIETY) - RTR370OW
A man cycles past a wall graffiti of caricatures of U.S. President Barack Obama (L) and Cuban leader Fidel Castro outside a restaurant in Mexico City

Rumination’s on This Crazy World

By Ernest

Dateline: Havana (53d)- Barack Hussein Obama, President of the United States (acting), basking in the warm afterglow of European-style man kisses with new BFFs the Castro Brothers, was clearly moved this morning when one of the few sober Secret Service Agents on his personal security detail informed him of the carnage which occurred earlier this morning in Brussels, Belgium.

“All Americans stand in solidarity with our Belgian allies on this sad and tragic day. I am directing the full investigative and prosecutorial might of my administration to immediately focus on the identification and ruthless termination of these terrorists. American investigative and judicial might shall relentlessly focus on two very likely perpetrators of these heinous crimes: Free Will Baptists and Climate Deniers. Free Will Baptists who are ALSO Climate Deniers will be prosecuted first. Today we declare Jihad on these merchants of terror.   Some on the right continue to castigate me for failing to falsely accuse “Radical Islam” for these attacks. My administration and I refuse to give in to these misguided calls. Our Islamic friends don’t handle snakes or speak in tongues, for heaven’s sake, nor do they deny settled science!

Sure, cutting off heads, tossing homosexuals off of buildings, and crucifying infidels on live television is a little icky, especially in Hi-Def, but my goodness, these folks are simply misunderstood.   I’ve ordered Director Comey and Attorney General Lynch to immediately halt the misguided investigation into Secretary Clinton’s Top Secret home office E-Mail server…I mean, yo, who would be arrogant and stupid enough to mishandle classified information that way? We will redirect these critical resources to finding the real killers, and I am delighted to report that O.J. Simpson has agreed to lend his considerable experience in this area to assist us.

Today I declare that we will find and finish radicalized Baptists and carbon spewing, Pickup Truck-driving rednecks who are destroying our beloved Gaia. Our Belgian friends deserve no less…..and you Jehovah’s Witnesses and SUV drivers? I’m watching you.” Pointing two fingers towards his eyes and then towards the crowd, BO strode off the stage, a president (little p) on a mission.

Red Pill

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Roofman

It’s a bird; it’s a plane, its Roofman!! With imaginary superpowers rivaling Batman, Superman and Spiderman, Roofman has no superpowers other than sporting green and white leotards that no self respecting man in his right mind would ever consider wearing, let alone under the guise of a mascot. What we have here is a dude that gets his jollies running on rooftops. Marked as a mascot, getting paid minimum wage and loitering around Fifth Third Field, Dayton Dragon baseball fans find themselves amused, disgusted and sometimes disturbed by Roofman’s presence. While the Dayton Dragons enjoy record attendance each season selling out for all their games, a record in the Midwest League, Roofman gets no credit for this.

As the legend goes, Roofman lives on the roof at Fifth Third Field, home of the Dayton Dragons, a Cincinnati Reds affiliate. He collects foul balls that land on the roof and uses his “special magic powers” to turn them into “softee balls,” which he autographs and tosses down to the crowd. Intended for the kids at the games, the softee balls have sometimes generated a scramble among adults fighting for the balls and Roofman’s autograph. Roofman is normally introduced with a musical introduction that let’s you know he is present and ready for battle.

After an exhausting evening of fetching balls, what does Roofman do to calm his nerves and relax after maybe getting 5 or 6 foul balls? Word is he orders up a Cassano’s pizza, picks up another bag of Mike Sells potato chips, and hits a local drive-thru for an eight pack of Little Kings seven ounce bottles of ale, a local favorite. Once a promising Ohio State University (OSU) graduate and punter for the Buckeyes, he has maximized his financial potential as a Roofman.

What do Roofman and Governor Kasich of Ohio have in common? They are both sons of US Postal Service employees; both have political science degrees from OSU and both like running, one for President and one for foul balls. Unlike Kasich who is known for being straight, optimistic and energetic, Roofman is known for questionable behavior, living in his Grandma’s basement in East Dayton and enjoying an occasional night at Katie’s Place, an entertainment establishment. He used to hang out at Clancy’s Tavern, but he got the permanent boot from this fine establishment for fighting with some Derelicts.

Sometimes late at night after several beverages at Katie’s Place, Roofman would tell stories about being an heir to the Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilbur, famous for inventing the airplane. A rival of Roofman’s known as the Dayton Flyer took great offense at this claim and sued him over fraudulent proclamations. Roofman submitted to DNA testing in 2013 and surprisingly it was proven to be true. Roofman, properly known as Rudolf, is in fact a Wright Brother descendant on his Great Grandmother’s side of the family. However, it appears the intellectual gene pool of intelligence and accomplishment ended with Wilbur and Orville. After all Roofman chases foul balls on rooftops and looks for applause to satisfy his quest for some sense of accomplishment. Roofman might not be flying at Kittyhawk but he can be found on the rooftop of Fifth Third Field on many summer nights!

roofman 2

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Tri-Fecta

By EZ21

March 17th 2016 is what my household refers to as the tri-fecta this year. The annual NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament kicks off at noon when two schools from Tobacco Road, on two totally different spectrums of talent, go head to head. The storied programs and history doesn’t necessarily matter in these games, because 90% of America is pulling for the little guy. This is arguably the best sports week of the year, as we watch buzzer beaters drilled from 30 feet, legends born, and heartache for the losers settles in. Nine months of hard work is gone in moments and the dreaded “Surrender Cobra” rears its ugly head for those shocked fans. Don’t know what a “Surrender Cobra” is? Google that phrase and include Michigan vs Michigan State.

How does it get better you ask? Throw in the fact that the Big Dance kicks off on St. Patrick’s Day. For those of us Irish sports fans, it gets better because you can enjoy these games with a refreshing green beer or Guinness that you only drink one day out of the year. It’s a legitimate excuse to ease towards your degenerate side for a few hours on a Thursday afternoon, while working perhaps from home through the myriad of excuses you made to work from home and watch basketball, albeit making a living from the man while being unproductive. One excuse I received today from a team member was that he needed to work remotely, because there was a FedEx package that requires a signature with no exact time of when it would arrive. Well played, Sir. Enjoy your day of unproductivity. I salute your passion for sports and lack of integrity.

The third part of the tri-fecta is likely a bit of a wrinkle and any father’s nightmare. You see today is my little girls 1st Birthday. Now, while it will be great to celebrate and its wonderful being Irish and having a child born on St. Patrick’s Day, I am terrified of what this means down the road. A girl, St. Patrick’s Day birthday, typically falls around Spring Break time…what could go wrong? Given that they don’t party too hard in the convent and she has already decided to give herself to the Church, this eases the pain a little bit. I will lean on those who have been there before and take the outlook of Bob Marley with his lyrics “Don’t worry, about a thing, ‘cause every little thing, gonna be alright”. I also pray she doesn’t really get into that type of music!

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Landau

Elegant, stylish or a car top hairpiece, the Landau Top was a sign of the times. In the 1970’s, the vinyl top added panache to many Fords, Chryslers and GM cars. You could pick largely from two styles, the Landau which covered about a third of the roofline or the canopy that covered the whole roof. Two door coupes usually had the Landau top and four doors usually sported the canopy version. Chrysler even had a version called “the Up and Over” which put fish gills over the back windows on their coupes. Can you picture those 1970 era Ricardo Montalban Chrysler Cordoba commercials? When I think of the Landau top, the Cordoba is one of the first cars I think of followed by a Cadillac Deville or a Lincoln Continental.

The Landau fit the decade of the 70’s and into the first few years of the 1980’s. Disco, silk shirts, bell-bottom jeans and the Landau top all seem to fit together. Even Toyota and Nissan started importing their cars sporting the hairpiece. Many Toyota Celica’s could be found sporting a version of the canopy top.

The 1970’s were a great decade of invention. This decade includes the Sony Walkman, the Apple Computer, the digital camera, the digital watch and the Atari game system. Many great bands got their start; the Eagles, Electric Light Orchestra, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Ban, Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band and Kiss. But, can you picture the 70’s without the Landau top sporting around on America’s highways? The Landau Top made the cars of the 70’s!

Ask a teenager today about the Landau Top and they would likely be lost, puzzled or give you a quizzical look about what it is. They may even think it is an App. Understandable. The Landau is a lost part of America’s automotive landscape  unless you happen to see a classic automobile sporting one. It could be time for the Landau Top to make a comeback. Can you picture a Chrysler 200, Ford Fusion or Buick Regal sporting the Landau Top? It may be time to bring back America’s automotive hairpiece, the Landau Top. I know some dudes in Leisure Suits that would pay top dollar for a Landau.

 

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Rule of Law in Jeopardy?

 

One of the greatest qualities of our constitutional republic is that no one is above the law. Rich or poor, privileged or ordinary, famous or infamous, if you break the laws of the land you will be held accountable and punished if found guilty. The US citizenry really has arguably had confidence in the system up until this current administration. Even a US President was found guilty of lying over Watergate in the 1970’s and if it weren’t for being pardoned by President Ford, President Nixon would have gone to jail. So where are we today?

Between 2009 and 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was targeting Conservative Tea Party Groups for their political activities supporting conservative political candidates. There is much evidence toward this end through the Freedom of Information Act, Congressional testimony of witnesses and even whistle blowers. The IRS targeted companies owned by conservatives whom were politically active and these companies have been financially harmed. Have there been any indictments or grand jury proceedings? No, there have not been. Has Louis Lerner, the Head of the IRS, been indicted for her political targeting activities by the Department of Justice (DoJ)? Has the DoJ even adequately investigated the IRS targeting of Americans or conservative political groups? It has not. When President Obama declared “not even a smidgeon of corruption” he in essence gave marching orders to the IRS and his Administration to close ranks around the issue.

So where are the republicans and the media? While the republicans have held hearings they have marginalized themselves by failing to take stronger action and demanding accountability. The media continues to protect the president and his administration by letting this issue die in the press. Historically, if the left-wing media wants an issue resolved, they keep it alive. When they want to play ball with the party they favor and vote for (99.4% democrat), they stop reporting on the subject. Case and point, has Louis Lerner been in the news lately? I hear crickets!

This brings us to present day and the FBI’s investigation of Hillary Clinton’s decision to establish a private server and email account for State Department business instead of using the required government computer systems for the nation’s business, both classified and unclassified networks. Not only is this unlawful but it is unprecedented. One must also ask, why would you do this? Clinton has used the argument about this being more convenient for her. As a career soldier, this is insulting. When you’re the Secretary of State, you have a whole apparatus serving you. You have maximum convenience from day one. You have security, transportation, staff, special communications and a whole host of privileges that make your life convenient. Plus it is a privilege to serve your nation and to some degree, hardship is expected when you accept the role of Secretary of State. This private server is really about control and because Clinton knew she’d run for President, she wanted to keep her communications from the public record or future scrutiny.

So, will justice be served in the case of Hillary Clinton establishing a private server to conduct government business, and passing over two thousand classified messages over an unsecure personal network? She put at risk secrets of the nation that could result in serious or grave damage to the nation, or security of the lives of agents and troops in harms way. This is the price of Clinton’s convenience excuse.

There are millions of military veterans and government service (GS) employees watching how the DoJ and Loretta Lynch handle Hillary Clinton. If Clinton were a private in the US Army she would already be in jail. If Clinton were a GS-13 she’d be in pre-trial confinement. If Hillary Clinton were a republican the press would already have indicted her.

America is watching Ms. Lynch. We are going to find out if this nation still stands for the rule of law or something significantly less. We are going to find out if the rich, privileged and famous Hillary Clinton is held accountable to the Rule of Law like the rest of us would be!

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HHR

Style, practical, and elegant? The Chevrolet HHR, an American 21st Century classic powered by a mighty four-cylinder engine. Was the HHR a beauty of an American automobile or an embarrassment to the driver? She got the job done, no argument there. Some basic transportation with decent fuel economy styled after the Chevrolet 1949 Suburban, but in the form of a small car, the Chevy HHR,  stood for Heritage High Roof (HHR). One either loved it or hated it. You either felt cool driving the silver bullet or the little “hearse” embarrassed you, as my son’s friends called it at college. The HHR got three kids through high school and college off and on. It had a seven-year run before we decided to sell her. At about 107K miles, the engine needed some serious work, and we chose to move in a different direction.

The HHR had a seven-year production run manufacturing 489,780 cars. We had a 2008 version, an HHR LT, the second highest production year. Three sets of tires, two sets of brakes and a new battery were about all it took to keep the Silver Bullet running. The girls blew the speakers out after four or five years blasting some really, really, really bad noise that was classified as music. Other than that, the HHR delivered as a people mover that could haul a little extra cargo configured as a little station wagon. With a moonroof to boot, all she needed was a little rock-n-roll, a country road and sunshine. Cruising American style …

So, a couple questions:

  1. HHR or AMC Pacer, which car would you choose?
  2. Two classic HHR colors, silver or orange. Remember orange is the new black. Which color would you chose?
  3. Is the HHR an American classic & a collector’s item or a Ford Edsel?
  4. Are you ready to drive an HHR down the Woodward Dream Cruise north of Detroit this August in 2016? The price is right!

 

 

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Mercenary

by Stalwart 2 (Always Straight and Stalwart, by God!)

Mercenary (definition 1) – a person primarily concerned with making money at the expense of ethics

Mercenary (definition 2) – a soldier who will fight for any group or country that hires him

Mercenary (a Soldier’s personal definition) – a soldier who blindly follows orders without care for or thought of universal ethics

During last night’s Republican Primary Debate (held 3/3/16), GOP front runner Donald Trump was repeatedly asked various forms of the same question – In response to Michael Hayden’s statement that the military would not follow your orders to kill terrorists’ families [read: commit a war crime], how would you respond?

Rather than backing off of his previous advocacy in favor of violating the Geneva Convention, Trump was defiant in his answer. “They’ll do what I tell them to.” When pressed harder, he stated again: “They’ll do what I tell them to.” Later, he repeated it a third time. His words were the true definition of unbelievable, and we need to stop and think about exactly what Donald Trump said. His answer was not that of a man running for democratic office; his answer was that of a tyrant. And this exposition of Trump is only a surface revelation; the undertones of his statement are equally disturbing. A closer reading reveals that, effectively, Trump debased our military to a mercenary force. He damned our generals and admirals to blind followers, guns for hire whose sole purpose is to fulfill his fleeting wishes as a tyrannical government leader. Trump showed he does not believe, as those who serve our country do, that the American military is a force for good, designed with the ultimate goal of bringing peace through strength. He does not believe in just war, or in nation building, or in eradicating terrorist ideologies. He believes the American military is a tool, and intends to use it as such.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the entire exchange, though, was the fact that he was allowed to get away with it. The Fox News moderators, who up until that point had displayed a surprising commitment to upstanding journalism, remained quiet rather than challenging Trump for his demeaning and ethically empty statement. The three remaining candidates, meanwhile, debased themselves to personal attacks, ignoring the low hanging fruit that could’ve exposed Trump’s true nature. I was left wondering how a group of men, with 152 years between them, self-proclaimed students of the law, upholders of the Constitution, and former members of the national defense committee, men supposedly intelligent and courageous enough to become the leader of the free world, could not recognize the implications of the words the dictator-to-be spoke before them, nor make a point to call him out on them?

Their inaction speaks loudly of the preposterous nature the political process has taken, where every sound bite must be vetted and market tested before being approved as campaign rhetoric, and no candidate has the plums to go off script when necessary (In Trump’s case to have the foresight to think about what he is communicating). It is no wonder this calamity of a primary has trudged on for so long – between the media’s craving for ratings and candidates’ constant efforts to simply not misstep, we’ve created a monster. Our political process has reached the brink of folding on itself.

I began this article with three definitions of the word “mercenary” for a reason. In the first definition, we see Trump for who he has been for his entire life – a man who builds on the backs of illegal and underpaid labor, a man who creates fraudulent “opportunities” to scam the naïve, and a man who will do or say anything to hold an office he would defile. The second definition is how he views the rest of the world – as pawns he can control through the power of greed. Those of us who have actually put on a uniform, who value service and work for the betterment of our nation and others, should be appalled. And the third definition, my own, expands upon the second. The third definition is what we are not, but is what Mr. Trump intends for us to be.

The Donald Trump charade has gone on far too long. It is time America sees him for who he actually is – a mercenary.

 

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Thank You!

An “Appreciation” By LTC (R) Ernest

Mr. President, in the hustle and bustle of trying to start and run a new small business in your rather tepid economic recovery (shovel ready projects!!!); I forgot to say thank you! For years I have shied away from owning weapons. I did not grow up around firearms, none of my relatives were hunters, and if we felt the need to kill something, our weapon of choice was a Fenwick casting rod, Mitchell Garcia reel, some 6 Lb. test line, and an Eagle Claw brand hook….and an unwilling, sacrificial night crawler…but I digress. I hope that the very nice people at PETA will forgive me for the trout I have eaten. I am a catch and release failure, no doubt.

I served in the Army for 20 years, so carrying first an M-16, and then a pistol, became second nature to me. However, unlike many of my fellow Soldiers, I never became a “gun guy”…weapons were a part of the job. I never felt the need to own weapons. The Army always had a very useful one for me. My wife was quite happy with this arrangement.

My gun ownership perspective has changed dramatically as I have watched radicalized Islamic Terrorists (can we say that without fear of arrest?) wreak havoc in this land that I love. Ft. Hood, Boston, San Bernardino, the list goes on. Coupled with the accelerating collapse of our society (pick a shooting incident carried out by home grown lunatics), and your administration’s astonishing inability to enforce the gun laws already on the books, or even control our borders, I no longer feel safe in my own home or “out and about” with my wife and children. The animals now run the zoos (Baltimore!). One wonders how many ISIS fighters will infiltrate America along with the Syrian refugees you seem so intent on importing. I’m sure they are perfectly nice folks, however, who just need free college, an IPhone, a nice American Girlfriend/Boyfriend, and welfare to turn from their misguided “kill the infidel” ways and return to the religion of peace.

So what is a dad to do? I do not enjoy Secret Service protection for life, so the logical step for me was to purchase weapons. I am now the somewhat unwilling owner of a Mossberg 12 Gauge Shotgun and a Springfield .45 pistol. In steps unthinkable to me before your administration, I am now an NRA Life Member and have a concealed carry permit. My wife is not quite as happy with this arrangement.

Thank you, sir. You have opened my eyes to the reality of near post-Obama America, and Mr. LaPierre and the wonderful folks at Mossberg and Springfield Firearms are the ultimate benefactors of your policies. I should add that the folks at Federal Ammunition are doing pretty well, too. While I understand that your supporters (Feel the Bern!) are zealous in their belief that guns are the problem, I think this is analogous to blaming fast food for obesity, or cars and alcohol for DUI. The logic fails. Sad, I think, that in your America personal responsibility in parenting, and the personal responsibility and accountability necessary for living in a civil democracy have become so passé!

P.S.—Dave Petraeus wants to talk about personal e-mail servers for Senior Government Officials. Go Figure!

Cheers,

Ernest.

 

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Voter’s Guide to the 2016 Presidential Primaries

       by: James Reacher

As a loyal 53rd Regiment reader, I suspect you probably live or have official residency in one of many Southern states that will be voting on March 1. Now, as a practicing member of the political class, I urge you to review the websites of the candidates, watch debates and candidate forums, and make an informed decision on whom to support. However, I also know that the hectic lifestyle of the average 53rd Regiment reader does not support this type of political junkie level obsession. With that in mind, please find a proponent and opponent case for each of the remaining candidates. Please note at the outset that my work has led me to develop very strong opinions about all of these candidates, so do not take it personally when I light up your current favorite. I can assure you that I am lighting up my current favorite as well.

THE DEMOCRATS

Should you be in the incredibly narrow demographic of Democratic primary voter and 53rd Regiment reader, your choices are pretty simple — Secretary Hillary Clinton or Senator Bernie Sanders.

Hillary Clinton

The pro-Clinton case is based on experience. She has been in public service in one form or another since 1983. She has been the First Lady of Arkansas and of the United States as well as a U.S. Senator and Secretary of State. If you want the Democratic Party to nominate the candidate with the most experience and greatest likelihood of winning, you should vote for her.

The anti-Clinton case for primary voters has two main components. The first component is stylistic. Even in a primary, she seem unwilling to fully embrace the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. She is like the wary parent who will dole out a little freedom, but only in moderation and with close supervision.

The second anti-Clinton case is management. She has proven herself to be an utter failure at management. During President Bill Clinton’s first term, Hillary Clinton led the group that attempt to craft a health care reform measure. What she came up was so unpalatable that it never even got a vote in either the House or the Senate, despite the Democrats controlling both chambers. Republicans had their best mid-term elections in generations running against her efforts.

And, I cannot close out this section without mentioning Benghazi. Others in the 53rd Regiment roster can write with greater knowledge and experience on this issue, but it is my strong belief that she failed to provide adequate oversight or concern for U.S. diplomats in harm’s way and this failure directly led to the deaths of Americans. Her continued unwillingness to acknowledge her role in this tragedy is an enormous black mark on her record as a public official.

Bernie Sanders

There is a saying in politics that there are few joys greater than running a campaign in which you have no chance of winning. This seems counterintuitive until you realize how much fun it would be to be able to promise anything you want, say anything you want, and attack your opponent in any way you wish. Make no mistake, this is the type of campaign that Bernie Sanders is running.

The pro-Sanders case is that he is promising everything a liberal has ever dreamed of — universal healthcare, free college tuition, increased minimum wage, punitive taxes on wealthy people and corporations. He is like an Aaron Sorkin character brought to life.

The anti-Sanders case is also twofold. The first side is strategic. He openly admits that he plans to raise taxes on everyone, even middle class voters, to provide universal healthcare. The Democrats already ran a candidate who promised to raise everyone’s taxes. His name was Walter Mondale and he lost 49 states in 1984.

Beyond this strategic concern, were I a Democratic primary voter, I would be wary of voting for someone who has spent so much of his Congressional and Senate career loudly complaining while getting little to nothing done. The Senate has show horses and work horses. Sanders is unequivocally a show horse. Show horses do not know how to close deals and do not know how to marshal their allies for legislative battles. It feels good to vote for the “ice cream for dinner” candidate, but there is a reason no responsible parent allows a diet like that one.

THE REPUBLICANS

This is the deepest Republican Presidential candidate field in my lifetime. With two exceptions, I think all of these men are qualified and would do a fine job as President. GOP primary voters are deciding among the very good and not merely affirming the anointed acceptable choice. I think my writing will reveal the two I find unqualified. The pros and cons of the remaining Republican Presidential candidates proceed below in alphabetical order.

Ben Carson

Were some sort of traumatic brain injury to befall me, I want Ben Carson to be my surgeon. He is a brilliant and accomplished man who success in the medical field has literally inspired books and movies. He is a man of impressive faith and his love for his wife is inspiring.

However, the campaign, debates, and candidate forums have made clear that he is completely unprepared for the Presidency. He appears to have little to no knowledge about foreign affairs and has used his time in debates to give non-seneschal answers including reciting the preamble to the Constitution as his closing statement at a recent debate.

On a personal level, I know a few of his former campaign staffers a little bit and the manner in which they were treated was appalling to me. If this is how he runs a campaign, I shudder to think how he would run the Executive Branch and how he would serve as Commander in Chief.

Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz has the most impressive resume of any of the remaining candidates. He attended Ivy League schools for his undergraduate degree and for law school. He was the editor of the law review journal at Harvard and served as a clerk for the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He also argued multiple cases before the Supreme Court while serving as the Texas Solicitor General. Cruz was also senior staffer for the 2000 Bush Presidential Campaign.

In politics, the campaign Cruz mounted for the U.S. Senate in 2012 is one of the greatest political upsets ever. Cruz ran against the sitting Lieutenant Governor and was outspent almost 3-to-1. He did line up the impressive support of a myriad of political “outsiders” to help nationalize this campaign.

He immediately parlayed this win into a role as a national conservative leader. First term U.S. Senators often keep their heads down and focus on making gains on minutiae. Cruz instead turned himself into a national leader and conservative talk darling. This is quite the feat for someone who had been working as a lawyer in esoteric corporate law prior to the campaign.

The opponent case for Cruz is simple — by all accounts, he is thoroughly unlikable. This is seen in small ways like his college roommate who routinely tweets out derogatory information about him and the DC lobbyist/staffer/consultant world is filled with “you didn’t hear this from me, but…” stories about how unlikable he is. This is also seen in big ways like the fact that zero of U.S. Senate colleagues have endorsed him and the fact that Nikki Haley met with him in private last week and then decided to endorse Marco Rubio.

Someone who cannot get along with what should be his allies and in fact wears his lack of professional respect as a badge of honor is going to have an awful hard time getting anything done as President. I learned long ago that my political opponents and those who disagree with me believe just as strongly as I do in the merits of their case. To get things done, sometimes you need to acknowledge the merits of your opponent’s view and try to find some middle ground. Cruz seems unwilling or unable to do this.

John Kasich

John Kasich is a proven success as a leader in both Congress and as Governor of Ohio. During his time as a member of the House of Representatives, he rose to Chairman of the House Budget Committee. In that role, he got President Clinton to agree to a balanced federal budget, an achievement not seen since men had been walking on the moon and not duplicated by Congressional leaders of either party since.

As Governor of Ohio, he has led the state through an economic renaissance while also balancing budgets and implementing conservative policies. He won two tough statewide elections in a state that a Republican Presidential candidate has not won since 2004.

As a Presidential candidate, he has campaigned with dignity and compassion — two qualities that have been sorely lacking on both sides of this contest to date.

There are two sides to the opposition argument against Kasich. First, despite his recent conversion to campaigning with kindness, Kasich has a lifetime of having a somewhat volatile temperament. He has belittled his political opponents, including questioning their commitment to Christian values and joking to Ohio lobbyists that they are advised to metaphorically get on the Kasich policy bus lest they be run over by said bus.

The second main argument against Kasich is that he is less conservative than the other candidates left. He stretched Ohio law to the limit to get the state to accept Obamacare provided funds to expand those covered by Medicaid, a federal/state program that provides subsidized health insurance to children and to poor people. Opponents of this maneuver were met with the aforementioned question about their commitment to Christian values when they protested to Kasich about it. Kasich has also taken a much more benign view about how to handle illegal immigrants currently in the country who are working and being otherwise law abiding.

Marco Rubio

I had the good fortune to see Marco Rubio speak to a large, receptive audience in Florida in 2010 and can attest that he is one of the most electrifying, engaging, and impressive speakers that I have ever seen. I am positive that he won a lot of supporters, donors, and volunteers that day.

His 2010 campaign for the U.S. Senator also ranks as one of the most remarkable success stories in American political history. Despite having served in elected office since he was 26 years old and serving as Speaker of the Florida House when he was only 34 years old, Rubio was out of elected office and working as a lawyer and adjunct college professor in 2010.

This story gets lost in our “every day a new battle” political culture, but what Rubio pulled off in that 2010 U.S. Senate Election is awe inspiring. He defeated Charlie Crist, the sitting Governor of Florida in the GOP primary and drove Crist out of the Republican Party, a worthy achievement on its own. In the general election, Rubio then won a tough three-way race with Crist now running as an Independent. It takes a lot of courage to look at a seemingly insurmountable electoral challenge and still try. Rubio had the courage to try in 2010.

In addition to his skills as a campaigner and orator, Rubio made friends and influenced people in the Senate. On immigration reform, he spearheaded an effort on immigration reform that got Congress closer to a solution than they had been since 2005. His Senate record is filled with efforts where he brought together disparate voices and worked with his colleagues to propose solutions. Washington is broken and as President he could fix it.

Like the other candidates, there are two main fronts on why a GOP primary voter should oppose Rubio. First, Jeb Bush tried to brand Rubio as the “GOP Obama” and in many ways the label fits. Like Obama, Rubio is relatively inexperienced at federal politics and despite his impressive rhetoric and bridge building skills, he has very little in actual accomplishments as U.S. Senator. For example, his vaunted bipartisan immigration reform effort fell apart in large part because Rubio walked away when the debate over the bill became heated.

The other half of the “GOP Obama” dig is stylistic. On matter big and small, Rubio always seems to be on the verge of being too cute by half. His town hall answers are often two parts — “here is what I would like to do (what the voter clearly wants to hear)” and “here is what I think could actual be done (a more disappointing compromise solution)”. His reputation is that he is on your side until things get tough and then he starts looking out for himself. On a more personal level, Rubio has been a Catholic, a Mormon, and an evangelical Protestant. He now attends both Catholic and Protestant services while identifying as Catholic. Religion is a deeply personal matter, but I do wring my hands a bit about someone who seems unwilling to choose an option.

Donald Trump

If you have made it this far, thank you. I will confess that I have an objection to Donald Trump as a candidate that is based both on disdain for his policy pronouncements and on disgust for his boorish personal behavior. However, like any political science graduate, I can argue it round or square. Just know that the round argument is not sincere on my part.

The proponent case for Donald Trump also comes from Jeb Bush. Jeb is a lot more successful in this essay than he ever was in the campaign! The Bush folk’s people spent weeks trying to derisively label Trump as a “chaos agent”. This supposed insult is one of the fundamental tenets of Trump’s campaign — he will bring tumultuous change to Washington and the world at large with the singular goal of improving America. To voters drawn to Perot in 1992 and to Buchanan in 1996 and to the Tea Party in 2014, this disdain for Washington and promise of massive change and upheaval to the establishment in Washington is a siren song calling them home. If you think the country is failing and your station is life is declining because of that failure, this promise to restore the American greatness of the past holds enormous appeal. You’re incorruptible and bold leader will single handedly run roughshod over all the vexing obstacles in the way to make America great again.

The two fold opponent case against Trump is both personal and policy based. By any objective standard, Donald Trump is a loathsome human being. His ex-wife, Ivana, listed “cruel and inhuman treatment” as the grounds for their divorce. More recently, he has mocked a disabled reporter, responded to his critics with childish name calling and threats of violence, and implied that Megyn Kelly’s menstrual cycle was the primary cause of her tough questioning of him. Presidents have to spend vast amounts of time and energy convincing would be opponents to support Presidential policies. Someone who cannot handle the crucible of a Presidential campaign is going to have a difficult time being strong enough and wily enough to outmaneuver his opponents.

On policies, Trump is proposing things that are not possible. Mexico is not going to send payments for the construction of a border fence. Presidents cannot unilaterally impose trade tariffs on imported foreign goods. He needs laws, treaties, and trade agreements to advance these goals. You need two sides willing to negotiate to make deals. I have serious doubts that Mexican leaders will want to meet with someone who characterized their immigrants as violent criminals and that Congressional leaders who have spent the past year being called do nothing losers will be eager to join Trump at the negotiating table.

In addition, during the debates and the candidate forums, Trump has both demonstrated a frightening lack of understanding of even basic federal policies as well as a willingness to change his positions on the fly to better appeal to his audience. For example, until 2012 he was a forceful pro-abortion advocate. Then, when he thought about running for President in 2012, he declared himself pro-life. This year he has urged Congress to fund Planned Parenthood and said recently that Planned Parenthood does “wonderful things having to do with women’s health.”   Someone this thin on policy who also seems to lack a moral core for policy decisions gives me a lot of pause about what they would do as President.

So now we have mercifully come to the end and I hope this has been helpful. Armed with this knowledge, I want to urge you to vote. Your vote does make a difference both cumulatively and individually. All of the states voting between March 1 and March 14 will be awarding delegates on a proportional basis, so even if you candidate does not win your state, they could still win delegates. Also, some of these races have been very close. The Iowa Democratic caucuses actually went to coin flip tiebreakers in several locations.

Your vote matters. Use it!

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