#48 replies to #51
#52 and #53 both reply to #61
#56 to #64

So much for free thought and discussion. You people are a joke.

In reference to #91 post, if that is about me, then I am quite flattered and I sincerely thank-you kindly!
I would not like any of the jobs / positions that you suggest, but if I were to find myself in any of them, I would perform and execute those duties as I did my job in the US Navy, with Honor, Courage and Commitment, the
core values of the US Navy.

I actually considered running for congress about 7 months ago because I was so fed-up with our current system of legislative processes.
After numerous emails to my congressman, other state Senators and including the governer, I actually wrote a couple of handwritten letters to boot. Lo and behold, not one reply to any of my concerns from any of them.
Not one email and not even an automated reply (brush-off) that either one of my duly elected representatives would even respond to.
I was incensed to say the least.

And the rest of the story…… hindsight in retrospect is wonderful if only we could imagine.

Just so happens that the particular congressional seat I was considering was recently vacated (resigned) too! My home state of Florida. Need I say more. Not to say anthing would come of it as I have only my Navy experience from which to draw from. But never in any wildest imagination could someone have seen this coming, well any outsiders anyway.
My life history could easily have stood-up to scrutiny. Yes, I smoked pot as a juvenile AND I DID INHALE. I had a DWI on my 16th birthday and had my FL divers license for less than 24 hours. It was taken away for a year. I went AWOL in the Navy as a junior enlisted man (had over three years in and was stupid) and got captain’s mast / non-judicial punishment for it. And rightfully so.

I’d say by todays’ standards I would almost be considered an angel!
Bottom line here is that I was held accountable for my actions. I then learned from my mistakes and have never repeated them again.
Too many people in general, feel inferior or less than socially accepted I guess, for lack of a better phrase, to admit to OTHERS that they made a mistake. I guess it makes them look bad in the eyes of others.
I say and believe it is a better person and human being that can first admit, then correct if able, their mistakes, learn from it and move-on. Of course I’m talking about real mistakes and not intentional, willfull, malicious with intent crimes and acts of deception.

Which leads me to my last point. In our two party political system that is just as bad on both sides, so I am not singling-out any one party, why should not the American people elect representatives that have little or no political experience but a good dose of common sense?
Can you honesly say that these little or zero experience people cannot do the job? I believe (generally) that people who initially run for office have sound principles and desire to truly do their jobs to the best of their ability. I think the senior politicians that seem to be embedded in office, make it difficult for the up and coming and this is where the majority of corruption and manipulation and trashing the process takes place. The mystique of being a politician is just that, made-up and fabricated to be hard.
Hell, how hard is it truly, for any group of rational people to sit down and discuss ONE PIECE OF LEGISLATION at a time. Currently they pile amendment, upon rider, upon additional piece of pork or whatever so noone can make since of it. Herein is the root cause of the problem.
For a base salary of $165,000 with a 2% pay raise every year, unless specifically voted against not to accept it, I think that for our tax dollars, congress should should the heck down for how ever long it takes, and hash-out one piece of legislation at a time. If they cannot solve their differences, why adjourn and go home? Isn’t this what they are paid to do?
I know of no representative that states I want this job for the pay!

Do you expect this of your representatives. I certainly do.
When I was active duty, AS A SERVANT FOR THE UNITED STATES by choice, do you think I or any of my fellow service men and women, left when the job was not done? “Heck, Frank or Susie, we accomplished nothing today, the enemy will be there tomorrow, let’s go home”!

I’m sure the average and uninformed American would be shocked to learn just how long and hard these elected representatives actually work during the year. To get an idea, just look it up under the offical roll calls during
a scheduled session. These are scheduled sessions when they are required to be there. This will give an idea of just how much they actually don’t do.

Accountability, Ladies and Gentlemen. Zero, zip, nada.
Where is any leader that tells them to sit back down and do not come out till you have done something?
Heck, you have congressman and senators telling the public BEFOREHAND, that we will not be able to reach a solution to YADA YADA and so and so before we break. Guess what? Start earlier!
I’m sorry, what is your job? Your supposed sole job is as a duly elected representative. Represent me!

Ok, I’ll come down from my soapbox now.
Time for a change.
Talking and communicating about it amongst ourselves does nothing.
Tell your representatives. I have. Nicely, politely, bluntly and then vehemently. It has done nothing tangible.

What will happen next is entirely up to the majority of Americans that actually care about this country.

I’m stumped and devoid of a meaninglful and appropriate quote.

Take care, be safe and God Bless America,
H Deal
Cheif Petty Officer
United States Navy (ret)

i hope everyone enjoys torture because this Mil. Comm. Act of 2006 authorizes it in our [America's] name. even the chidren are included for torture, if it produces “good intel.” [pentagon's "copper green program"]
if this signifies that the torture of children is necessary to prevent a nuclear event, then please God, let our enemies launch!

“its all for the children”

but then again, the abuse of children is what the “Franklin cover-up” and the present “Abramhoff” congressional scandal is all about.

make me wistfully think of Lee Greenwood’s song “i’m proud to be an american where atleast i know i’m free…etc…” ahh the halcyon days….

“in a time of universal deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary idea”

Robert Carr
Upper Darby, Pennsylvania

Thank-you kindly for this one of many articles on the Texas man and WMD. I found some artilces, but none to match a face to the crime.
Just amazing that this happened and was not reported in any mainstream media. Heck, I was still active duty with a Secret clearance and quite active in Force Protection issues, veiwing at least twice weekly intelligence reports and never saw anything. May have been because I was stationed overseas at the time but that ’s a big maybe. That’s all I can say or will say about that.

This just begs the question, the US Govt from the top down, obviously knew of this, yet chose to say nothing to the general public, even in Texas. So politics, party standing or presidential standing takes precedence over safety of US citizens.
I understand the politics of it. I mean while the USA is searching for WMD in Iraq, a form of a WMD turns-up in the transplanted and professed home state of the current acting President. Quite schocking indeed. Potentially hurtful to the preception of doing a good job. How does that trump/override of informing the very citizens our representatives swore to protect?
Sure the guy is pretty much an extremist as the evidence suggests. So what? An internal threat from inside our own nation is a greater threat than from outside it!
Ask any warfighter or law enforcement officer which threat they would rather fight. I bet a nickel to a dollar, each semi-intelligent and average competent warfighter or law enforcement officer will tell the one from outside! The ones inside are the MOST DANGEROUS.
Remember the sentence above.

I’m not claiming or professing any accusations. I just would like answers and again, that word, accountability keeps popping-up.

Are decisions at the top of our ELECTED and FREE government being steered by politics or genuine concern for citizens?

I have already formed my answer to that very question on the days after 9/11. I have cemented that answer in the now, years after 9/11 and prior to 9/11, due to the overwhelming evidence and lack of answers.

Each American citizen must decide for themself what they choose to believe and whom they intend to support. They SHOULD also decide how they choose to live their time here on earth, under what type of government and what type of living conditions. I view, my opinion, the majority of my countrymen and women as having a “not wanting to rock the boat attitude”, or “I’m one person so I cannot do anything”.
That is their right as an Amercian citizen.
I do profess as I have above, that the Majority will always prevail.

What does the Majority of hard-working Americans really want?
Good question.

As you may or may not have noticed, I like to close with SOMEONE elses’ immortal or famous words / quotes.
The reason being we learn alot from history.
To that end, I will use one of the most read, studied, and practiced pieces of literature, maybe even moreso than any religous books or the bible, from arond 450 – 500 B.C. I’ll also add a famous quote from a well-known world leader and then finally (yes, I’ll stop) close with two questions?

Sun Tzu, “The Art of War”.
“All warfare is based on deception”.

Winston Churchill:
“In war-time, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.”

My question:
What formal declared war are we in?
Will terrorists REALLY ever be eradicated from our earth, and if so, what terroristic leader or group of leaders will sign some piece of legislation that ends this conflict? (sorry, that’s three questions!)

As always, take good care, be safe and God Bless America,
H Deal
Chief Petty Officer
United States Navy (ret;2003)

http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=378

In this you are absolutely 100% correct and it was my mistake for not pointing this out. Also, I agree with you.
I failed to mention this as I assumed we were, or I least I was, talking US politics and policies. Forgive my error in this as no predjudice or malice was intended.
I would also implore all who read this to do as you have done and re-read these living and great documents by our founding fathers of the United States. These men, and I’m sure supported by great women too behind them, were so forward thinking and wrote an utterly amazing foundation to our (once) Great Nation.
Remembering back for those of us who are old enough, remeber when the USA was such a great nation that almost every other nation wanted to be like us, come and stay with us, wanted to emulate us. They revered us and praised us for our democracy and leader of and as a free nation.
Look at us now. We have few, if any true allies. And the ones that profess themselves as allies are really there to see just what they can get from us. They certainly do not trust us. Heck, I wouldn’t either given the disgrace and dishonesty that has wracked our government overall.
Again, it goes back to accountability. There is none other than what our current collective government claims. We do not hold them accountable for their actions, in-actions, outright lies and scandals.
We the people are just as culpable in our nations demise and fall from greatness. We have more enemies today than we have ever had.
And you know what, rightfully so. Look what we as a nation have allowed to happen. Put yourself in almost any other country’s shoes. Would you trust us? Not me. We need to litterally fix our own country befroe we even attempt to help (and thats’ a nice word) other countries. I mean first, fix our govt, then our own people before we pretend to help others under the hypocracy of democracy and freedom.
We have allowed ourselves to become a bully by military power and financial power. And by the way, the US financial power is not all its cracked-up to be. Fragile beyond imagination. We’re actually way past broke and in-debt in an understatement. That’s another subject entirely.

We the people have a right and an obligation to fix our own government from within. Ask yourself this, will the government fix itself? Do you really think so?
Only each individual American out there can answer that for themselves.
It always has been about what the MAJORITY of Americans want. If the majority is strong enough and willing enough, then the majority will prevail. The majority will always prevail. If we do exercise our rights as a majority, then we get whatever the powers that be inflict upon us.
I believe in God, but would probably not be considered religious. I will however use a religious and well known quote’
“You shall reap what you sew”
Take care, be safe and God Bless America
Chief Petty Officer
US Navy (ret)

…I remember seeing a tiny blurb about the madman racist in Texas…

…these are the REAL terrorist threats in this country…

…the Aryan Nations, and Church of the Creator white supremacist hate groups…

…but you can’t tell EVANGELICRITES and other so-called social CONservatives that…

Nix the request about #79. Found it easily enough. In plain sight when you know where to look for it. The whole point being, a citizen should have known about this. When politics overides the safety or information to its citizens, its time for that government to be abolished.

Does any of the below ring a bell with any other Americans out there?
Second paragraph is germane.

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Take care, be very safe and God Bless America,
Chief Petty Officer
United States Navy (ret)

Congress specifically removed the Supreme Court jurisdiction from this matter as allowed under the Constitution, Article III, Section II, Clause II. “…the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.”

The dippy-five totally ignored the Congress and the Constitution.

Try being consistent at least.

Parenthetically, Padilla’s case is particularly interesting when you consider the reports by the Southern Poverty Law Center to the effect that following 9-11, at least one serious potential terrorist plot involving a weapon of mass destruction but without ties to Islam has been uncovered within the United States — a Texas man with ties to white supremacist movements was discovered to have in his possession a cache of sodium cyanide large to kill everyone within a 30,000 square foot building in addition to more than 100,000 rounds of ammunition. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison. This seems to beg a couple of important questions — why did this story go virtually unreported in the mass media? And more importantly…why was this man charged and tried in accordance with his rights whereas Padilla was not? Terrorism is terrorism, surely…or is it? Why is a white supremacist in clear possession of what would otherwise be considered a weapon of mass destruction entitled to a trial whereas a Latino convert to Islam in possession of nothing more than an alleged plan is not? It suggests to the critical eye that the Bush administration has a double standard when it comes to terrorism — which implies that perhaps in their minds, whether they acknowledge it or not, the real source of the crime is not plotting a terrorist act but being a Muslim.

In any case, since 2004, O’Connor has stepped down from the bench and Rehnquist has died — to be replaced by Samuel Alito and John Roberts. Unless Roberts and Alito both decide to pull a Souter on Dubya (which hardly seems likely, especially in Alito’s case), I don’t think we can count on them voting to overturn — and it’s a pretty safe bet that Thomas and Scalia won’t either. That gives you your minority four right there — which means that if even one more justice decides not to declare it unconstitutional, the Military Commissions Act remains on the books.

Still confident that the Supreme Court will overturn? I’m not — not by a long chalk…

#30 hellinabucket – So your saying every singe Lt. Cmdr is correct and we should listen to what every one of them says? Your not dumb are you? Take a pole of them and I will bet you find this is a minority situation. So then you must think like most military.

To everyone else who keeps mentioning constitutional rights – These are not American citizens. If you want to talk about human rights then fine. But the point you idiots keep missing is the American citizens have the constitutional rights. You idiots keep trying to give constitutional rights to enemies that we are at war with. But then your type like to enjoy American freedoms and constitutional rights without any knowledge of how to defend them. Pathetic America hating comunist. Don’t put my life at risk.

Just my thoughts in this most important time of American history.
My allegience, loyalty and dedication to this country and the constitution will never waiver.
Note the statement, to my country and to the constitution, not to the government when the government becomes destructive.
I defy anyone to question my patriotism to the United States of America.
Any better ideas than please post. I ‘ll read and consider almost all. Nov 7th is right around the corner.
Take care, Be Safe and God Bless America
H Deal
Chief Petty Officer
United States Navy (ret)

This is the first thread that even comes close to addressing the Military Commissons bill.

Thank you.