The American TEA Party

Snatching Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory

2012-01-27T02:16:00.000-06:00

Snatching Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Recently I wrote:

“America is at a point in world history when we need a strong leader -- a leader not afraid to assert America’s leadership. Obama is NOT that person.

I am very afraid there is no one vying for America’s leadership today any stronger as a national or world leader.

In a recent column, Thomas Sowell said: “The 2012 Republican primaries may be a rerun of the 2008 primaries, where the various conservative candidates split the conservative vote so many ways that the candidate of the mushy middle got the nomination – and then lost the election.” I think he pegged it.” (SOURCE)

I have watched intently as the GOP goes all out to lose the 2012 election to Obama and the democrats. I continue to be puzzled, or as we used to say in the south – “bumfuzzled” – by what MUST be a concerted effort to lose the next election.

Pardon me, if I show my befuddlement … because I just don’t get it.

A sense of “doom” has already set in among the legions of conservative voters in the south. Their sense that the hierarchy of the Republican Party is so completely detached from the reality on the ground (at least here in states of the old south) has been, (they feel) proved absolutely true.

There is a growing sense of “why bother” to go to the polls and vote when the election is already lost to Obama.

Look. I am no more intelligent that the average guy. And I have seen the great wave of exhilaration and expectation of victory crash against a shoreline of mediocre candidates that have proved more an embarrassment than anything else. That great wave has been diminished to a mere ripple in an isolated tide pool.

If you want to know what’s going on in your community – go to the community barbershop. I did that yesterday. Turns out, my barber has been taking a very unscientific poll on who his patrons would vote for in the GOP Primary here in North Carolina (currently scheduled for May). He has been polling since the South Carolina Primary. The results are interesting and informative.

My barber told me that, to a man, every single patron stated they would vote for Gingrich in May.

My community is heavily Democratic and heavily conservative.

I pressed to learn who those would-be primary voters thought would win the election in November. The answer, to a man, was … Obama.

For months now we have warned that if the GOP is counting on conservative voters to vote for the nominee, whomever the nominee turns out to be, then – the GOP is very wrong. Sure, there will be SOME conservative voters who would cast a vote for, well, anybody, just to vote against Obama. But I am not hearing that sentiment expressed here.

Here’s what I THINK is happening:

Southern voters have concluded that Romney cannot win. Southern voters just don’t like the man. They are satisfied that Gingrich will not win the nomination, so they feel it is safe to support and vote for Gingrich if for no other reason than Gingrich brings a little fire, fervor, passion, and a little excitement to an otherwise hum-drum campaign that is already a lost cause.

The more debates, the more infighting, the more defecation is tossed into the fan blades, the more damage will be done the eventual republican nominee. It is already bad enough, but it is sure to get worse.

So, I wonder if it is time to turn our attention to the candidates for the US Senate and House of Representatives and redouble our efforts to claim more governorships for conservatives and stop wasting our time and effort on a predetermined race for the GOP nominee for President.

I am neither an optimist nor a pessimist. I am a realist. With me the glass is neither half full nor half empty. It is simply the wrong size glass.

J. D. Longstreet

Democrat Code Words for Socialism

2012-01-26T02:16:00.000-06:00

Democrat Code Words for Socialism

Fairness, Fair Share, income inequality, etc

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Wouldn’t it be nice if the Democrats would simply drop their façade and admit they have morphed into some sort of American breed of a socialist political party?

In the past few months, even years, my teeth have been set on edge when I have listened to their rhetoric about “fairness,” in this or that, and their use of the words “fair share” to drive a wedge between the American classes, and especially the words, or phrase, “income inequality” which seals the deal.

When a nation seeks income equality it is assuming socialism as its core philosophy. Income inequality is the clarion call for redistribution of a nation’s wealth. It is as simple and as basic as that.

In the past two decades I have slowly come to the realization that the dumbing down of Americans is near completion. It has taken approximately 50 years to realize, but the leftist movement in America successfully infiltrated and gained control of America’s public education system. Now we have a full generation and most of a second generation who have no clue what America is about. They don’t have a clue what their freedom cost. They don’t have a clue that the federal government was created by the states to serve the states as an agent. They have been taught -- and they believe -- that the people of the states are subservient to the federal government. They do not understand that the Bill of Rights is a protection for the American people from their federal government. Those ten amendments restrain the federal government in the interest of the people.

Most of our young Americans today don’t know the difference between the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Don’t believe me? Ask ‘em!

I have mentioned in previous articles that as a solider in the US military I was trained to meet and combat socialism on the battlefield. It was rightly recognized as an enemy of freedom. It was recognized as a form of government that was destined to fail, but before its demise, it would enslave the people of any nation that was so utterly stupid as to even try it. No nation has yet survived socialism.

Europe is teetering on the edge of complete disaster simply because they have run out of other people’s money with which to pacify their populace after decades of coddling and teaching them to depend on their government for their very existence.

The USSR is now a footnote in history.

Yet, despite the fact that America was nearly crushed under the weight of a mere sampling of socialism, the left persists in their socialist agenda for America.

In 2008, they managed to elect a socialist as President of the United States. In 2010 the people of the political right in America successfully blunted the socialist left’s endeavor to shove America deeper into socialism. Conservatives were successful in retaking a majority of the Congress.

Now we have a chance to solidify conservative control of the American government by refusing to reelect the socialist in the White House this November.

It was clear after the President’s State of the Union address that their next step is to incite a class war in America. The great-unwashed masses in America must be taught to hate the “patricians” and the “plutocrats” – the very people who financed -- and continue to finance -- America’s success as the greatest nation in the history of mankind.

The wealthy Americans must be brought low and their wealth confiscated and redistributed to the – ahem – less fortunate among us. That is what I like to refer to as: BOVINE SCATOLOGY!

Nevertheless, their efforts to incite class warfare has been more successful than most think. It ought to be. It has been an underground movement for at least nine decades now. With the left’s capture of the Oval Office the socialist were emboldened to rise to the surface and ram their agenda through the national legislature.

But the right stopped them in 2010. That, dear reader, is why we now see the President’s abuse of the power of the Executive Order. Obama is intent on diluting democratic freedom in America by infusing socialism into every agency and administration under the control of the executive branch of the government.

Americans must retake control of their government in November and free it from the clutches of the socialist elite who have dipped their fangs into America’s bloodstream and are sucking her dry.

America needs a champion who will lead from the front. A leader who take a stand on the deck of our sinking ship of state, much as the Father of the US Navy, Captain John Paul Jones, when his ship was blown to bits and sinking from enemy fire. When asked if he was prepared to surrender Jones famously replied: “I have not yet BEGUN to fight!” Against all odds, Jones won the battle and took the enemy ship.

THAT is the spirit we need, indeed, the spirit it will take to lead America out of the muck and mire of socialism, put her back on course, trim her sails, and stir for the safe harbor of capitalism and freedom.

It is a life or death decision we Americans will make in November -- the life or death of America.

J. D. Longstreet

Obama Regime Continues To Shred US Constitution

2012-01-24T02:23:00.000-06:00

Obama Regime Continues To Shred US Constitution

US Senator Unconstitutionally “Detained” by TSA

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

If the US Constitution was still in effect, was still an operational document, was still the law of the land, then the Transportation Security Administration would be in very deep trouble today. However, as we have all come to know all too well, the constitution is all but totally ignored today, especially under the administration of the Obama Regime.

When Obama was sworn in, the constitution was considered, found to be inconvenient for his socialist agenda, and ignored.

The latest blatant violation of the US Constitution was the much-publicized “detainment” of Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky -- while he was enroute to Washington, DC to exercise his duties in the US Senate. That “detainment” was totally unconstitutional … period.

You see, Senators and Representatives cannot be arrested for a crime, except for treason, felony, or breach of peace, while meeting in Congress or while traveling to or from a meeting of Congress.

If Senator Paul was detained, then he was arrested. Consider this: “(v) Arrest is the action by which a person is stopped from his normal activities by virtue of a legal authority or sanction, either by detaining him or by stopping his external accesses.” (SOURCE)

Don’t believe me?

Read it for yourself:

Article 1, Section 6 … US Constitution:

1: The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States.⁶ They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

Now, THAT’S the wording from the text of the US Constitution … the law of the land.

I do not particularly agree with that portion of the US law, but it DOESN’T MATTER. It is THE LAW! Until such time as there is an amendment to the constitution affecting Article one, Section six to change or remove those few words, it remains the law of the United States.

There has been much bloviating in the press and in the blogosphere since the incident happened. So I don’t expect my opinion to make much difference, at all.

However, on the outside chance that you might care, allow me, please, to point out, once again, that our government, as it is currently constituted, is NOT following the law of the land. We have, in my opinion, a rogue government in place in Washington, DC.

The Transportation Security Administration is just another government agency out of control. It is a power hungry bully; full of itself, and -- in the real world -- it does more to restrict freedom of movement in this country than it does to ensure it.

On the TSA’s website they say: “We are 50,000 security officers, inspectors, directors, air marshals and managers who protect the nation's transportation systems so you and your family can travel safely.” (SOURCE) I dare say the “volk” of the Gestapo, in 1930’s Germany, thought of themselves in much the same manner.

I have been offering commentaries for decades and there has been a common thread running through the millions of words of opinion I have shared. It is this: We Americans are voluntarily giving up our freedom.

Have you noticed how we whine and complain when the Congress is tied up in knots and unable to legislate? We seem to have forgotten that to legislate is to pass laws.

Every time a law is passed some of us lose a little bit more of our freedom. Eventually, ALL of us lose small portions of our freedom, until one day, we finally stop and take stock of our current liberties -- and we find we are in deficit. Our freedom is gone and we are in hock to the government.

It seems to me that pretty much sums up our current situation.

Freedom, once lost, is almost impossible to reclaim. Much like an ocean liner, it takes a very long time to stop a government with the momentum of the US government.

Back in 2010 we sent a new batch of conservatives Senators and Congresspersons to Congress with a clear mission to bring the Congress to a halt and keep it static until the Obama Regime could be ended in November -- and we could gain control of enough of the national legislature to begin the process of returning sanity to our government.

Both the left and right wings of the American political spectrum have reviled them. Even so, they have done a fair job at slowing the Congress down.

Somehow, Americans have lost their love of the freedom and liberty for which our forefathers gave their lives and fortunes.

Now, if you think I am being overly dramatic here, I ask you to look again at what a government agency did to a US Senator and ask yourself, if they can do that to one of the most powerful men in the country, WHAT can they do to me?

J. D. Longstreet

Was South Carolina A Fluke?

2012-01-23T02:12:00.000-06:00

Was South Carolina A Fluke?

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Within mere moments after South Carolina’s primary win by Newt Gingrich members of the mainstream media began referring to Newt’s win as a fluke. I beg to differ.

You’d think the “experts” would have had time to discern exactly what the conservative voters of SC would do. We told you -- weeks ago -- they would not vote for Romney.

If Newt is able to assemble an organization and pull in the necessary funds, SC is not the only state in the south he will win.

Look. Newt is not all that popular in the south. Referred to often as a “carpetbagger” having been born in Pennsylvania in 1943 and partially reared in Georgia. Newt’s stepfather was a career solider so Newt actually grew up in several states but finally took root in Georgia.

According to Wikipedia, he attended high school in Columbus, Georgia. Gingrich attended Emory University and received his Ph.D. from Tulane University. In the 1970s he taught history and geography at West Georgia College. (SOURCE)

Just as Romney is seen as a “northeastern elitist,” Newt is often spoken of as a “carpetbagger.” Southerners do not easily accept either.

So why did the quintessential southerners, in my native state of South Carolina, hand the primary election to Newt on a silver platter? For several reasons.

Primarily, Newt is not Romney. That was the number one reason Newt won in SC. Secondly, Newt demonstrated that “fire” in the belly we mentioned in an earlier commentary. THAT is what southerners like to see in a leader -- a leader who will actually, in fact, lead.

Southerners are desperately seeking a leader who is not afraid to confront his detractors, head-on, with a withering counter attack. Newt demonstrated he could do that with devastating efficiency. And thirdly, Newt was exactly the candidate conservatives needed to send a message to the GOP. That message, sent loud and clear, was -- we do not want Romney as our nominee.

One could also add that Romney’s conversion from moderate to conservative simply is not believed in the south, especially in South Carolina, as we have just seen.

Then there is the belief in the south that Gingrich could, and would, slice and dice Obama in a debate. A friend told me recently that he would pay good money just to see a Gingrich/Obama debate.

I stand by my earlier prognostications that the southern states will not support Romney in the primaries. Having said that, allow me to hastily add that I expect Romney to win the Florida primary. Is it a contradiction? No, it is not. Depending upon the region in Florida, Newt will deliver a very good account of himself in the votes cast.

Understand, we southerners do not really consider Florida a “southern” state, even though it is, next to Texas, the southernmost state in the Union – geographically. Culturally, it is about as southern as New York City. Northern Florida could just as easily be southern Georgia. The panhandle of Florida is a mix with a huge military presence. Central to southern Florida is a mix of “snowbirds,” refugees from the colder climes of the northern states, Hispanics, and a few native Floridians. It is a melting pot of all races and cultures. It is, some would say, cosmopolitan and sophisticated. Some would say that. I would not.

Romney has a huge, well-financed, well-oiled political machine in Florida, which has been hard at work for at least five months. More votes have already been cast in early voting in Florida than the total number of votes cast in the Iowa caucus. Romney has a huge jump on Newt as the battle for the GOP nominee steams into Florida.

But what about the primaries after Florida?

I expect Romney to continue to do well in the northern states. As in New Hampshire -- he is one of “theirs.” However, he will continue to have problems in the southern states – until – the republican establishment destroys Newt.

The attacks have already begun. The Mainstream Media, the Democrats, and the Republican Establishment will bring their collective firepower to bear on Newt in a combined effort to assure that he is removed as an impediment in the anointee’s parade to the presidency.

Problem is, many conservatives do not believe Romney can beat Obama. (I count myself among them.) And, what’s worse for the GOP, those conservatives are not going to vote for Romney, because they do not believe he is a conservative. Without the conservative vote in November, Romney hasn’t a prayer of a chance against Obama.

The GOP establishment made another significant error in South Carolina. Sandlappers were offended by the Romney camp’s assumption that they would win SC. There was, about the Romney camp, an air of a prince awaiting his crowning as king. That attitude is especially repugnant to South Carolinians and to the people of the so-called “Deep-South” states.

Conservatives have been seeking an anti-Romney candidate they could coalesce around and exercise their considerable power at the ballot box.

Conservatives realize a battle has been won – but the war still lies ahead.

The prevailing attitude among southern conservatives today seems to be: Newt ain’t perfect, but he ain’t Romney, either.

J. D. Longstreet

GOP Counting On The “ABO” Vote

2012-01-19T02:16:00.000-06:00

GOP Counting On The “ABO” Vote

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

To those of us in the Carolinas, it has become clear that the Republican Party is counting on the “ABO” Vote in November. The ABO vote is: “Anybody But Obama” meaning, of course, that the GOP expects republicans will vote for anyone they nominate in order to defeat Obama.

Frankly, it’s the only explanation that makes any sense. Even the candidates, themselves, tell us that any one of the GOP candidates would make a better president than Obama. (Like that was really difficult to discern!)

I spoke to a politically astute friend recently who told me he is very afraid that Romney will win the nomination and lose the election to Obama. (I share that opinion.) But, my friend went on to say, I will vote for whoever is on the ticket against Obama.

See, the problem with an Obama vs Romney ballot is – one of them will win!

Maybe it is just yours truly, but I am more than a little tired of the milquetoast candidates the GOP continues to put forward for President. I mean, look at Dole and McCain. And, frankly, I was not impressed with George W. Bush’s compassionate conservatism, which was nothing more that another way to say “moderate” or “RINO” (Republican In Name Only).

I’m past ready for a candidate with fire in his or her belly. In my less than humble opinion, the GOP needs a candidate who will get into the gutter where the democrats seem always to take their campaigns. We need a candidate who will trade blow for blow with the Democratic Party candidate -- a candidate who will go for the jugular, grasp the throat of the opposition and hang on ‘til the election is won.

Politics is a dirty game. If a candidate is not willing to get dirty to win, then how in the world am I to trust that when he is up against the world’s meanest, toughest, “low-downest” scoundrels, he will be able to trade blow for blow – and – do whatever it takes to destroy America’s enemies.

Nice guys are, well, NICE. I’m tired of nice! It is past time to get mean and throw our weight around.

Look. We have enemies who are in our face proclaiming loudly, and with vigor, that they intend to destroy us, to kill every American they can -- at the very first opportunity. Uh-uh. Nope. This is not the time for a nice guy in the White House.

Our current President seems to think that his flowery oratory will placate our enemies and we can have a global group hug, sing a few verses of Cum Ba Ya, and it will be all better. I’ve seen this movie -- and it does not end well for the nice guy.

No. We desperately need a leader tough enough that when he speaks, the world stops what it’s doing to listen. We’ve had enough of a President who runs off at the mouth like a broken facet. Nobody’s listening anymore – if they ever were.

We also need a leader who leads from the front. Leading from the rear doesn’t happen. Leading from the rear is NOT leading – period. It should be clear by now that when America does not lead -- the world goes to hell in a hand basket.

I am frustrated, and more than a little angry, that the GOP is holding to their practice of nominating the “next in line.” I am tired of limp wrists in the White House. I am tired of my President bowing and scraping to every tin horn tyrant he comes across, asking “permission” of the UN, and sucking up to our sworn enemies. It is embarrassing and deeply humiliating.

Sadly, when I see Romney – I see Al Gore with a GOP bumper sticker on his butt. I get the same uneasy feeling I got when Al Gore was running for President. It’s that feeling that something isn’t right, that something is out of place here. Plainly – it’s the feeing that I am looking at a hypocrite. I feel that I am being sold a bill of goods and that he is reading from a well-prepared script, which he has memorized down to the last dot and tittle.

I once interrupted a very young salesman at my door when he was about 30 seconds into his canned spiel. I asked him a question, which he could not answer. He apologized, and asked my forgiveness as he began his spiel all over again -- from the very beginning -- because that was the way he had memorized it. Back in the day we called that a “canned pitch.” THAT is the feeling I get when I listen to Romney in a debate or delivering a speech. There is no THERE there.

Barring an act of God, Romney will be the GOP nominee. I have to ask: If Romney wins the election and defeats Obama, short of being rid of Obama, what will America have gained? To me, it is comparable to the cancer patient placing his entire faith in a new miracle cure for cancer only to learn, after weeks of treatment, that it does not work, either.

I do not agree that beating Obama will be a walk in the park, as some of my fellow conservatives have postulated. I continue to have great respect for their opinions – BUT -- I am convinced the “ABO” vote will be absolutely necessary in November to evict America’s would-be King, Mr. Barack Hussein Obama.

J. D. Longstreet

The Hyphen that Destroyed a Nation

2012-01-17T02:18:00.000-06:00

The Hyphen that Destroyed a Nation

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

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“There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism. When I refer to hyphenated Americans, I do not refer to naturalized Americans. Some of the very best Americans I have ever known were naturalized Americans, Americans born abroad. But a hyphenated American is not an American at all.

The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities, an intricate knot of German-Americans, Irish-Americans, English-Americans, French-Americans, Scandinavian-Americans or Italian-Americans, each preserving its separate nationality, each at heart feeling more sympathy with Europeans of that nationality, than with the other citizens of the American Republic.

There is no such thing as a hyphenated American who is a good American. The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else.

For an American citizen to vote as a German-American, an Irish-American, or an English-American is to be a traitor to American Institutions; and those hyphenated Americans who terrorize American politicians by threats of foreign votes are engaged with treason to the American Republic.” … (Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States, in a speech before the Knight’s of Columbus, October 12^th, 1915.) (SOURCE)

As we see today, Teddy was absolutely right. We have become the very thing he warned we would become if we did not drop the hyphen – both mentally and physically. Indeed, we have “become a tangle of squabbling nationalities.”

Even President Woodrow Wilson regarded "hyphenated Americans" with suspicion, saying, "Any man who carries a hyphen about with him carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of this Republic whenever he gets ready.” (SOURCE)

At no time is it more obvious than during an election cycle when the politicians begin their pathetic pandering to every hyphenated group of so-called Americans in the country… both legal and illegal.

Since Teddy made his remarks we have embraced the hyphen ad infinitum. Now we have: African American, Arab American, Asian American, European American, Latino American, Native American, Chinese American, English American, Filipino American, Greek American, German American, Irish American, Indian American, Italian American, Japanese American, Jewish American, Korean American, Mexican American, Norwegian American, Azerbaijani American, Polish American, Russian American, Spanish American, Swedish American, Ukrainian American, Vietnamese American, and the list just continues to grow.

America is more divided today that she was during The War Between the States. We each seem to have our own little tribe to which we belong. The once famed “American culture” no longer exists. We have submerged it in a sea of multiculturalism and it has become the victim of something called “diversity.” Both Multiculturalism and Diversity were begat by Political Correctness, which has its roots in Marxism. Yes, I am saying America is becoming a Marxist country. The evidence is overwhelming. For exhibit number one, look no farther than the current occupant of the Oval Office of the President of the United States.

We are drowning in a sea of hyphens!

Whatever happened to plain ole Americans? Only a cursory investigation will reveal that they have been relegated to the dusty corners of our society where they can speak of such things as loyalty to one’s nation, honor, patriotism, and worse, GOD! … and not offend the purveyors of political correctness -- the practitioners of Marxism.

The past few generations of Americans have been indoctrinated in our government schools so that they believe that multiculturalism and diversity are GOOD. These are the same government schools that replaced prayer with policeman, psychologists, chain link fences, and metal detectors.

What did we expect?

America is in such hopeless shape that we cannot manage to convince anyone capable of leadership to even stand for election. Instead, we republicans have this gaggle of second and third stringers who have done nothing but embarrass half of the GOP while the other half is praying to God that he provide a miracle and produce a leader (quickly) we can have, at least, SOME confidence in.

America has lost its identity. We no longer know who we are. This is the result of hyphens, multiculturalism, and diversity. Until we can reclaim our real identify -- and coalesce around that identity as one people -- we cannot hope to heal our nation.

J. D. Longstreet

A Short Primer On The South

2012-01-16T02:18:00.000-06:00

A Short Primer On The South

An Introduction to the South for the Media and Politicians

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

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With eyes of the world focused on South Carolina this last week before the primary election on Saturday, January 21^st, we felt now would be a good time to offer some insight into the people of my home state and the “Southern People” as a whole.

Every four years, I offer my little primer as an introduction and a navigation aid to those who suddenly find themselves about to be immersed in southern culture for the first time.

If you are representing the mainstream media, and this is your first visit to my country, prepare for a culture shock.

The southern people are distinctively different from the folks “up north.” The South was settled primarily by Scott-Irish with a smattering of Germans in the Mid-Atlantic area, as well as French Huguenots, and some Spanish along our coast. Our heritage IS very different.

You don’t hear it spoken of much anymore, but there still exists a “Code of the South.” No, it is NOT a myth.

You can sum it up in one word. “HONOR”. We cherish honor above everything else. Without honor, all that remains has no value.

Southerners believe each man and woman has a duty, a responsibility, to seek nobility in life and in purpose. No matter his, or her, station in life, or the social strata he, or she, was born into. There is nobility in fighting the good fight, on your job, on the field of battle, at anything you turn your hand to do.

Southerners believe we were, indeed, created in the image of God. We have a duty to uphold that image as best we can. It is a continuous battle against the trials of life, but to shirk one’s duty, in this respect, is unforgivable. It is dishonorable.

We are a culture apart. We like it that way. We have no intention of changing. To do so would be to dishonor all those who have gone before us as well as their creation of this sanctified, set apart, land. “The South” is to Southerners what the Holy Land is to the Jewish people.

Never question the honor of a Southerner. It is considered a challenge and your challenge WILL be answered.

A Southerner will go to the wall to defend honor. No matter the size of the opponent, no matter the place, or the time. Honor will be defended.

There is an inviolate line, which must never be crossed. Where does that line lie? Everywhere. For instance, you do not disparage our women. That is at the top of the list of inviolate things. Others include: our homes, our friends, our religion, our military abilities, and you surely do not speak disparagingly about our ancestors. To violate any of these will bring the wrath of the South down on your head in an instant.

You may have noticed Southerners do not back down. We refuse to accept defeat.

We are accused, often, of still fighting the War Between the States. That is true. We consider this era of forced quietude only half time between us and the North. We have never laid the war down. To quit, to surrender, is not acceptable in our code of honor. So, we fight on. Understand… we will win. It may take another hundred, or even two hundred, years, but we will prevail. We never forget, and we never quit.

It has been said that Southerners are America’s true “Warrior Class.” Consider the great warriors of America. For the most part, they were/are Southerners.

War comes naturally to Southerners. The Scot-Irish-German blood flowing in our veins and the Southern Code of Chivalry we learn from birth creates the most fearsome warrior on the face of the earth.

The true Southerner is a gentleman, or lady, always. Well, right up ‘til he takes your head off. He will knock you down then offer his hand to lift you back to your feet. If you make the same mistake again, you will find yourself in need of that helping hand to get you off your backside … again.

Southerners are deeply religious people. We unashamedly believe in God. We believe the Bible is His Holy Word. At the same time we know one cannot be perfect, but we believe every Southerner is born into this world with the obligation to strive for perfection. Anything less is totally unacceptable. It has been said this is the Southern interpretation of the European “Noblise Oblige.” Southerners know in the depths of their being they have an obligation to strive for nobility.

The Southern society is not a classless society. We acknowledge our society has an upper, middle, and a lower class. But we believe the obligation to nobility crosses those boundaries and emboldens even the least of us to carry the honor of his name, and his family’s heritage, without stain. Anything less is unacceptable.

Yes, you WILL see the Confederate Battle Flag snapping in the pine-scented southern breeze. Get used to it. It is flown in honor of our heritage – and—as a warning that the people of The South will not suffer tyranny from ANY quarter.

There exists a divide between the Northern People and the Southern People in this nation. The divide is vast and unnavigable. We are two different peoples held together by law. The bayonet enforced the bondage of the Southern peoples. We have not forgotten. Nor will we. We know these bonds are only temporary. We work tirelessly for the day we will once again be ruled only by God and voice of the Southern people.

Tis honor, above all else. It is our code. It is written on our hearts.

So -- I hope this little primer on “The South” is helpful to you media types and political apparatchiks. Remember, always: You are visitors in our home and we expect you respect our hospitality and generosity and do not besmirch what you most certainly do not understand.

And finally, if we like you, you will be sent on your way with the now world-famous: “Y’all come back – ya hear?”

J. D. Longstreet

The Smell Test

2012-01-13T02:17:00.000-06:00

The Smell Test

SC GOP Voters Must Hold Their Noses Again

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

As a native South Carolinian, who hasn’t lived in the state in over fifty years, it has become necessary to tap into the well of information presented by my friends and family who still reside there to get a feel for what SC will do come their GOP primary on January 21^st.

South Carolina politics (North Carolina’s, too) is a blood sport. It is rough and tumble all the way.

“The State” newspaper, SC’s leading Newspaper, suggest those seeking to knock Romney off his catbird seat should take a lesson from SC history and – “play dirty.” (SOURCE)

The article by Gina Smith goes on to say: “In South Carolina – with its tradition of whisper campaigns, automated phone calls that no one takes credit for and possibly illegal efforts to sway voters – politics is a blood sport, supported by a cottage-industry of political strategists.”

Ms. Smith is spot-on.

When South Carolina forsook the Democratic Party it embraced the GOP’s conservative wing -- and never looked back.

I’d like to recommend that you take the time to read Ms. Smith’s article. It presents a well-rounded explanation of how politics works in my home state. You may read Ms. Smith’s article here at (The State)

If you have been laboring under the impression that northern political machines have all the tactical wars in modern day politics down to a fine edge, then you really ought to learn how things are down south – especially in my home state of South Carolina. Even the famed Chicago political machine could learn a few tricks from the Sandlappers.

As the GOP candidates converge on South Carolina the anger is thick enough to cut with a knife. The gloves are off and the bare-knuckle beatings are about to begin. It’s going to get down and dirty in the next week before the primary.

No longer does Iowa or New Hampshire decide the GOP nomination – South Carolina does. For the past thirty-two years the candidate winning the SC Primary has gone on to become the Republican Party nominee for President. For that reason, money has been flowing into the state to support candidates -- and to destroy others. The state is awash in political cash.

It will not be fun and games for Romney over the next week. It will be a slog. Romney is not well liked in South Carolina. In “up-state” SC Romney is held responsible for closing a plant there and rendering a slew of people jobless. That wound is still very sensitive and Romney’s opponents continue to pick at the scab to remind folks that it was Romney who sent them packing without employment. We’ve already heard Romney compared to the fictional character from the movie “Wall Street” Gordon Gekko.

Gingrich comes to the Palmetto State loaded for bear. Well, maybe that should be “loaded for Romney.” Gingrich is seething with anger for the negative ads Romney’s supporters ran against Gingrich in Iowa knocking him out of first place and consigning him to the basement of the GOOP candidate field.

Ron Paul is plodding into the Iodine State safe in the knowledge that he will never be President of the United States. Paul is intent now on racking up enough support that he can demand concessions from whomever the GOP nominee turns out to be. For Paul, it’s not about winning the nomination – it’s about winning concessions… that’s all.

Perry has been ruining around the state for nearly a week not creating much more than a dust cloud. Mr. Perry’s stand on illegal immigration shut him out in South Carolina.

Huntsman? Well, anyone having worked for Obama is lucky to be allowed a drink of water in South Carolina. Any time huntsman spends in South Carolina is wasted time. The same goes for any money he might spend on his campaign there.

Santorum? Nah. A nice family man but hasn’t a prayer of a chance against the Obama machine.

Any way it goes in South Carolina next week will be fun for those of us who enjoy the sport of politics. The candidates themselves will not share in that fun, however. For them, it will be all work.

Expect no surprises from South Carolina, though. Unless something terribly unforeseen happens, Romany will win the primary and be out of the sandhills like a flash on his way to Florida, which is seen by many southerners as a “Yankee colony.” He should receive a warmer (no pun intended) welcome there.

J. D. Longstreet

War Clouds Continue to Gather

2012-01-12T02:21:00.000-06:00

War Clouds Continue to Gather

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

First, allow me to explain that, yes, I know it is not popular, today, to point out the obvious. Ok. Maybe I should have phrased that this way: “…to point out what SHOULD be obvious.”

Before I proceed, I’d like to encourage my readers to browse the websites of foreign news services. If I have learned anything at all (since Al Gore invented the Internet) it is this: The US mainstream media cannot be trusted. They have an agenda and that agenda does not necessarily include dissemination of the truth. As a card-carrying member of the press for many years, I have always been aware of the left-leaning bias of the US media. That is not to say the same leftist bias does not exist in overseas media because it most certainly does.

Having said that – were you aware that right at the moment the Obama Administration is announcing plans to cut the US defense budget the US is preparing for another war in the Middle East? Did you know that we have been quietly building an armada of naval assets in the Gulf of Oman just off the shores of Iran? Did you know this naval armada consists of warships from the US, the UK, France, Israel, and others?

Looking west a bit we see US, French, and British warships, standing off the Syrian coast, facing off with Russian warships including a Russian aircraft carrier task force.

My regional newspaper is printed in a military town, home to one of the largest military bases in the US, and yet, I see very little information in it’s pages concerning this build-up of military might in the waters of the Middle East. Why?

I’ll make the answer as straight forward and simple as I possibly can. There re two parts to the complete answer: 1) Obama is seeking reelection. 2) Obama is seeking to reduce the military budget to gain more money to spend on his leftist agenda for America.

At the risk of being called an “alarmist” allow be to make it plain: I AM alarmed.

So when will this war begin. Well, let me put it this way: The Iranians should carefully watch Obama’s poll numbers. If those numbers continue their slide downwards, the Iranians are going get the heck bombed out of them.

Americans are extremely reluctant to change Presidents in the middle of a war. Obama knows this and is expected to act accordingly.

Some conservative writers and commentators expect that war in the Middle East is currently scheduled for October 2012. That would be the famed “October Surprise.”

On the other hand, those in my camp believe the Iranians, in all their hyped-up passion, will do something stupid like firing on a tanker or a US warship or aircraft, or even worse, make an attempt to close the Straits of Hormuz by sewing it with mines and other hazards to maritime traffic. That would be the spark that would bring down the considerable wrath of that naval armada lying off their shores.

Then there are the Israelis. They have had enough of Iran’s threats and Iran’s war on Israel by proxy. Israel’s secret war of sabotage in Iran can only deliver limited success at delaying and derailing Iran’s race to build or acquire a nuclear bomb. Israel could decide, at any moment, that enough is enough and launch their fighter-bombers and cruise missiles at Iran’s nuclear facilities. Even if it only buys a few months or a couple of years of breathing space for Israel, it is becoming clear there is no other way to effectively deter Iran from building their coveted Islam Bomb.

The situation in the Middle East today is far, far, more dangerous than the US media is reporting. A single spark will ignite a devastating war that will affect practically every nation on earth to some degree or other.

Those of us who continue to sound the warning bell of a huge war in the Middle East are being compared to the boy Peter in the story of “Peter and the Wolf.” An article at Haaretz.com noted that those who make such public comparisons seem always to leave out the end of Aesop’s famous tale of the boy who called wolf too much. In the end, the wolf actually DID come -- and the sheep were slaughtered. (SOURCE)

So, with that ending in mind, I have no concern about continually pointing to those dark, foreboding, clouds gathering in the east. Since the mainstream media seems to be ignoring a certain war to protect Obama’s prospects in the coming election, someone must stand as a watchman on the ramparts and sound the alarm when clouds of dust from the approaching armies of the enemy is sighted and when the sound of distant war drums is heard.

Today those dust clouds are clearly seen over the horizon and the pounding of the drums can be heard in the distance -- and we are sounding the alarm.

J. D. Longstreet

A Hollow US Military

2012-01-10T02:15:00.000-06:00

A Hollow US Military

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

If the President and the Congress are able to realize their plans for the US military, it will leave American with, as the title to this piece suggests, a hollow force. It will also place America in a great deal of danger because our military will be a great deal smaller in numbers of troops.

Think about that for a moment. Not only will our military lose so much of its war fighting materiel, it will lose many thousands of troops. That’s bad enough but there is something else -- and no one seems concerned about it.

You see, when the military cutbacks come, we will lose the experience of troops who have actually been on the battlefield, who have actually looked the enemy in the eye, who have dealt with the pain of taking another human being’s life, and the deep abiding pain of losing a friend or companion in battle, who have fought the fight and lived to tell about it. BUT – they will not be available to train the raw recruits that will always be necessary to keep the much smaller fighting force flush with young, robust, well-trained fighting men.

Everything, these days, seems to have a price in dollars and cents. Not experience. The value of experienced combat soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines is inestimable. It also holds true, not just for enlistees, but for officers as well -- mustangs and academy graduates, alike. Experienced officers are a must for a military to even consider executing a victorious military campaign. Book knowledge is absolutely necessary but it can’t hold a candle to experience on the battlefield.

We are looking at the creation of a hollow force IF congress does not apply the brakes, one way, or the other, to stop what will amount to decimation of the US military.

You may recall that “decimation” is a word derived from the Latin word “decimatio.” It means, literally: “removal of a tenth.” You see, the Romans would punish troops for cowardice by placing them in formation and then executing every tenth man. Of course, the practice of decimation did not last long before some Roman commanders began to notice their troop strength was suffering badly from their own actions as well as that of the enemy.

In my opinion, the word “decimation” is applicable to what our government is about to do to our military.

Those who have been paying attention to the encroaching chaos in the world, especially in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, are extremely concerned that only a spark is needed to bring on a global conflict far worse than we experienced in the 1930’s and 1940’s. We are, of course, referencing multiple tactical and strategic use(s) of nuclear weapons. Everyone on the face of our planet will be involved, one-way, or the other.

If the US were blessed with forward-thinking leaders, we would be building up our armed forces in preparation for the coming conflagration, which, experts seem to agree, is expected in the very near future. Unfortunately, we are NOT blessed with leaders who understand that history did not begin on the day they were born.

Rather than cutting the US military, the US “standing Army” should be doubled. Our Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corp also need to be doubled in strength… and as quickly as possible. When the next war comes, it won’t be fought from 15,000 feet with smart bombs, as we did in the Balkans. It will be a slugfest in the air, on the sea, and on the land. It will not be contained in a particular geographical region. There is a strong likelihood that the continental US will be hit. It is fairly easy for missiles launched from ships, lying off shore in international waters, to burst through our radar defenses and strike targets before we can react to stop them. That is an uneasy reality.

Unfortunately for what we used to call “the free world,” Mr. Obama’s penchant for leading from behind, simply opened the door for any and all mischief makers, anywhere on the globe, to come out and play. Many have and many more will

It seems to this scribe, the US needs a crash program, right now; to build our military might to that state of readiness that we reached in the midst of the Second World War. It is unrealistic today (with nuclear armed rogue nations) to allow one of them to get in the first punch. No nation can absorb many nuclear first strikes.

It is more than a little worrisome that the Congress and the President do not seem to share the concern of our military that we will not be prepared when the next attack on the US comes.

If history has taught us anything it is that when the world becomes so stressed-out, especially over the imminent collapse of the global financial system, war is next to inevitable. Yet, the current leadership in Washington is seriously preparing to reduce our military, substantially.

This is no time for a hollow military. Reliance on super electronic weapons is no longer a guarantee of victory. A single electro-magnetic pulse weapons can make them all totally useless in the blink of an eye and pull the teeth of the tiger instantaneously. But those powerful EMP weapons cannot stop the ultimate weapon – a determined American military man. And THAT is the very weapon of which, we will be in dire need when the first shots are fired in a future war.

We have seen the US military gutted many times in the past only to find we have to pay for that mistake in the blood of our under-trained and under-equipped soldiers in the first stages of the very next war. Understand: there will always be a “next war.”

The US government has done some dumb things. But decimating our military, with the world in the mess it is today, ranks among the dumbest.

J. D. Longstreet

Is It Already Too Late For America?

2012-01-09T02:12:00.000-06:00

Is It Already Too Late For America?

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Back in August of 2008 I wrote the following:

“When is America going to wake up? WILL she wake up? Will she wake up in time? Or, will time run out? We have been sliding down that slippery slope at an every increasing velocity since the 1960’s. We’re not losing our freedom. We’re not losing our country. No. We’re giving it all away.

We have compromised and compromised until we have little left TO compromise. Yet, we have two presidential candidates, right now, who are BOTH believers in compromise. They make a big deal of their willingness to compromise. What is needed is the testosterone to stand up on our two feet, like men, and shake our fist in the face of our enemies and say, NO MORE! This is it! We are done giving you what you want just to be left alone in our comfortable little cocoons.

The wolves have been gathering in an ever-tightening circle. They are closing in one step at a time. And we Americans don’t see it. Instead we continue to feed them while telling ourselves if we give them what they want they will be our friends. We have chosen to forget one of the laws of Nature. Wolves are what wolves are. They do what wolves do. Even a wolf, thought to be domesticated, is liable to turn and leap for the throat of the person who supposes he is the wolf’s master. Yes, wolves do as wolves have always done… because they ARE wolves.

America’s enemies are gathered against us. They are tightening the circle. Even now they are among us. Sadly, a look in the mirror will reveal the identity of America’s worst enemies.” (SOURCE)

At the time I wrote that dire prospective, America was nearing a Presidential Election … an election that would fundamentally change our country for the worst. It was an election, as it turned out, that has nearly destroyed, especially, America’s Middle Class.

As we had warned, many times, neither of the men on the ballot would be good for America. One would continue the (then) agenda of the current administration and the other would, most certainly, take the country into socialism and set America up to become a communist dictatorship.

Many thought I could not be more wrong – and said so. Today, however, many of those people who derided my dark prognostications then, will not communicate with me today for their embarrassment. They need not be embarrassed. Being wrong is a part of the human condition. But one of the traits that sets us above the other animals inhabiting the earth is our ability to learn from our mistakes -- and not repeat them.

Now we have the chance to put what we have learned in the past years of Obama’s Administration into practice. We have a chance to right the wrong and to begin an American recovery. I say “begin” because I am still not convinced Mr. Romney has the heft to do what is going to be necessary to reverse Americans deep plunge into Obama’s sewer of socialism and communism. But he WOULD be a start. And let’s not kid ourselves: The scars of the Obama regime are deep and ugly and they will last forever.

Look. Let’s be clear about this: The mess we are in, as a nation, is going to take generations to neutralize. I use the word “neutralize,” because first -- we must stop the slide into that sewer I mentioned above. Then, and only then, can we begin to reverse ourselves and begin to claw our way upwards into the sunshine again.

I asked the question in the title: Is it already too late for America? I titled this piece that way because I think each of us, as Americans, must look in the mirror and ask the same question of ourselves. For it is WE who will decide the answer.

I cannot tell you have often I have had friends, in recent years, remark to me: “I don’t recognize this country, anymore. This is not the America I knew.” That is true. But the thing I find most interesting about their depressed musing -- is the lack of bitterness and anger. There was remorse in their words and tone, but none of that famed American determination aimed at correcting whatever had thrown America off course. It is as if they have simply thrown in the towel, given up, and admitted defeat to themselves -- if not quite to others yet. I am terribly afraid that the fire, for many, has gone out.

Understand: The primary tool of the political left, all over the world, against those who do not hew to the leftist line, is to denigrate, degrade, rebuff, mock, and hold up to public ridicule all those who do not think the way they do. And when rhetoric fails, as we learned from the 1930’s, they quickly resort to physical abuse by leftist thugs. We saw some of that in the 2010 political cycle right here in America. Look for physical abuse to be more wide spread this year as we draw nearer to the Presidential Election.

To answer my own question -- whether or not it is already too late for America – we will all know the answer to that in November. If Obama wins – yes, it IS all over for America. If his opponent wins, well, we have a chance, a small one at best -- but a chance, nevertheless, to save our country.

J. D. Longstreet

Obama And Romney Tied

2012-01-06T02:32:00.000-06:00

Obama And Romney Tied

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Rasmussen reported yesterday (January 5^th, 2011) that Obama and Romney are tied in their polls.

“The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters finds Obama and Romney each earning 42% of the vote. Eight percent (8%) prefer some other candidate, and another eight percent (8%) are undecided.” (SOURCE)

However, Rasmussen goes on to say, “Last week, Romney held a 45% to 39% advantage over the president, his biggest lead yet and the largest lead a named Republican candidate has held over Obama to date. However, the two candidates have been essentially tied in regular surveys since January 2011. The report continues: “A generic Republican candidate now holds a narrow lead over Obama as has been the case in all but three weekly surveys since late May.” (SOURCE)

The same report also says: “Voters identify all of the leading Republican presidential contenders as ideological conservatives but see Romney and Texas Congressman Ron Paul as the least conservative of the group.”

(SOURCE)

Ok. So what to make of all this? The truth? I haven’t a clue!

You have heard the old saw that polls are only a snapshot in time -- and that is true – but they certainly help to identify trends. Even so, those trends are, too, snapshots in time.

I remain deeply concerned that Obama will win a second term. I fear for my country.

Some months ago, I warned that the Mainstream Media would soon begin to make “upbeat” reports on the nations economic situation. It has already begun. Frankly, it is mostly Bovine Scatology. They would have us believe the unemployment rate is 8.6% when, in reality, it is closer to 12%.

The MsM would also have us believe that the economy has begun to improve when; in fact, if there is any improvement it is miniscule. Just yesterday we learned that Boeing is planning to lay off 2,100 workers from a Wichita Plant -- and Obama is reported to be preparing to cut tens of thousands of US military troops from our ground forces. All these people will some be looking for jobs that simply do not exist.

I mentioned the two instances of coming lay-offs above because they are linked. Boeing says they are closing the Wichita plant due to “defense budget reductions.” (SOURCE)

Look: My crystal ball is extremely cloudy these days – but even without it -- it is plain to see that the US is staring down the barrel of a regional war in the Middle East -- and soon. When the balloon goes up, we are going to need those ground troops. Is Obama planning on reinstating the draft? I would not be the least bit surprised.

According to the Jerusalem Post, thousands of US troops will be deployed to Israel this spring for Israel’s largest ever missile defense exercise. The J-Post says: “Last week, Lt.-Gen. Frank Gorenc, commander of the US’s Third Air Force based in Germany, visited Israel to finalize plans for the upcoming drill, expected to see the deployment of several thousand American soldiers in Israel.” (SOURCE)

Now here’s the really interesting part of this story: “The drill, which is unprecedented in its size, will include the establishment of US command posts in Israel and IDF command posts at EUCOM headquarters in Germany – with the ultimate goal of establishing joint task forces in the event of a large-scale conflict in the Middle East.” (SOURCE)

It appears to this scribe that the world is edging ever closer to a conflagration in the Middle East that will affect the entire world. It all seems eerily familiar to the conditions prior to the Second World War.

This is what happens, dear reader, when America withdraws from its role in world leadership. Obama’s “Leading from behind” simply does not work -- and it is dangerous.

America is at a point in world history when we need a strong leader -- a leader not afraid to assert America’s leadership. Obama is NOT that person.

I am very afraid there is no one vying for America’s leadership today any stronger as a national or world leader.

I will be genuinely surprised if America is not involved in what passes for a world war these days -- within the next four years. I plan to vote accordingly.

J. D. Longstreet

ABUSE OF POWER

2012-01-05T02:18:00.000-06:00

ABUSE OF POWER

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

We have said many times that Obama envisages Congress as an inconvenient impediment to his agenda to create a strong socialist central government in the United States of America. If there was ever a single iota of doubt in the minds of Americans that Obama is seeking to assume all US government power unto himself, then his recent actions in naming a head for the controversial Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and three new members to the National Labor Relations Board and totally by-passing Congress to make those appointments – while the Senate was still in session – should remove all doubt.

What we have here, dear reader, is a full-out raw power grab by the Executive Branch of the US government. This move by Obama is an abuse of power. It is arguably unconstitutional -- and should be grounds for impeachment.

If the US Congress does not take immediate steps to stop the power hungry mob in the White House then the US will, very soon, find itself the newest tin-pot dictatorship with a petty tyrant in total control of the government.

(A reminder: Only days ago the media was asking why Americans were buying so many guns. You have just seen the answer to that question.)

Look: We have a would-be emperor on our hands right here in America, the world’s last hope for democracy.

Obama’s disrespect for the US Constitution is breathtaking. Not only does he disrespect it – he defies it!

As we continue to see Obama’s tentacles spread through the government with his new agencies, Czars, and a myriad of additional rules and regulations handed down by his henchmen – is it too far a stretch to predict that by next fall the Obama Administration will declare a national emergency and suspend the election set for next November? No, I am not kidding -- and I fear it is NOT an exaggeration.

Americans are in serious trouble and I don’t mean with out national economy. We are in critical danger of losing our freedom and liberty as a country. I would not be surprised, any day, to see the news channels suddenly break in with a bulletin that Obama has dissolved the Congress and placed the country under martial law until a date uncertain, far in the future, when our economy has been, er, stabilized.

Farfetched? Really? I mean – REALLY? We have a branch of our government out of control, people.

This in-your-face move by Obama demands action by Congress to stop his abuse of power in its tracks.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said: “Although the Senate is not in recess, President Obama, in an unprecedented move, has arrogantly circumvented the American people,” (SOURCE)

Senator McConnell is absolutely right.

John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio and Speaker of the US House of Representatives, said Obama’s action was: “an extraordinary and entirely unprecedented power grab by President Obama that defies centuries of practice and the legal advice of his own Justice Department”

“The precedent that would be set by this cavalier action would have a devastating effect on the checks and balances that are enshrined in our Constitution,” (SOURCE)

The fact is – Obama has spat upon those constitutional checks and balances referenced by Speaker Boehner. The longer Obama stays in office the more America resembles a banana republic, with a tin pot dictator holding the reins of power. Move over Hugo Chavez!

Of course Obama’s defiance of Congress is an integral part of his political campaign for reelection. But this time he has gone to cussed far. There can be no question now that Obama is a threat to the freedom of the American people. His seeming thirst for power begs the question: Is Obama the American Putin??

Here we have a man in the Presidency who is, I believe, constitutionally unqualified to be President by reason of the circumstances surrounding his birth. His father was a citizen of Kenya and not an American citizen. The Constitution declares a candidate for US President must be a natural born citizen of the United States, which means -- BOTH mother and father must be American citizens.

We Americans know less about Obama than any other President in US history. Is his name Barack Hussein Obama or Barry Soetoro? Was he born in America – or Kenya? Whose Social Security number does he really have? A number of other people have, or have had, the same number. The record of his education is blurry at best. He is reported to have been a college instructor on the US Constitution, yet he seems to totally ignore it when it gets in the way of his insatiable thirst for power over the American people.

Let’s face it. Obama is a truly scary figure in American politics today. I am convinced he has a dark agenda for America and that agenda is a threat to the freedom of the people of America.

J. D. Longstreet

Americans Continue to Arm Themselves In Record Numbers

2012-01-03T02:25:00.000-06:00

Americans Continue to Arm Themselves In Record Numbers

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

The last two months of 2011 saw Americans buying guns in record numbers. December 23^rd saw more guns bought in one day that ever before. It set a record.

In an article at “The Telegraph,” a British News site, entitled: “Americans buy record numbers of guns for Christmas,” Nick Allen writes: “According to the FBI, over 1.5 million background checks on customers were requested by gun dealers to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System in December. Nearly 500,000 of those were in the six days before Christmas.

It was the highest number ever in a single month, surpassing the previous record set in November.

On Dec 23 alone there were 102,222 background checks, making it the second busiest single day for buying guns in history.

The actual number of guns bought may have been even higher if individual customers took home more than one each.” (SOURCE)

Mr. Allen goes on to say: “Explanations for America's surge in gun buying include that it is a response to the stalled economy with people fearing crime waves. Another theory is that buyers are rushing to gun shops because they believe tighter firearms laws will be introduced in the future.” (SOURCE)

To be sure BOTH the explanations mentioned above are valid -- but there’s more to it that that.

Back in January of 2009, in an article entitled: “Americans Are Arming Themselves. Why?” I wrote the following: “The popular explanation is that Americans are afraid of what this socialist Congress and president will do to deprive Americans of their constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

Well, that is CERTAINLY a PART of it, but I think there is more, much more, and a far more serious explanation… and, I am convinced the government believes as I do.

See, I think the American people are preparing themselves to go toe to toe with their government. I believe the American people are making a statement. That statement is: “This Far and No Farther!” In other words, “We are going to give you socialists a chance. But, if you step over the line, if you attempt to deprive us of our constitutional right to keep and bear arms, we will not tolerate that.”

Some of us older Americans remember what happened when the socialist took over in Russia in 1917. It is NOT going to be allowed to happen here.

I think it is meant to counter the act of the Bush, and soon, Obama Administrations of bringing combat troops back to The States and stationing them here, on US soil, reportedly for population control in the event of “social unrest” or massive acts of “civil disorder or disobedience” keyed by any number of things including the economy going through the floor, or, well, I’ll let your imagination fill in the blank, because, frankly, the subject is so delicate, I don’t even want to touch it!

I have concluded, rightly or wrongly, that Americans are sending a signal to their government. That signal is: “We won’t be bullied. There will be a price to pay if you dare step over the line.” Congress and the President had better pay attention. It is low profile stuff at the moment, but it can get very big, very fast. And… it is VERY dangerous!” (SOURCE)

Our overseas cousins have great difficulty understanding American’s love of the gun. But it really IS quite simple. You see -- America was born at the muzzle of a gun. We won our freedom at the muzzle of a gun. We expanded our country from the Atlantic to the Pacific at the muzzle of a gun. We fought our own war over state’s rights at the muzzle of a gun. We preserved our freedom by defeating the Japanese and the Germans at the muzzle of a gun and we have assisted a number of countries to maintain, or regain, their freedom at the muzzle of a gun. Even now, as I write, the US military is patrolling the waters of the Persian Gulf to protect the transport of approximately 40% of the world’s oil and ensure it’s passage through the Straits of Hormuz -- at the muzzle of our big naval guns, and we continue an attempt to salvage Afghanistan and drag it into the 21^st century by fighting off religious fanatics -- at the muzzle of a gun.

Americans understand the importance of the ability of every man to defend himself, his family, and his freedom. We also understand the importance of assisting our global neighbors in defending their freedom -- for the loss of their freedom brings the threat one step closer to our shores.

Americans have a scared duty to halt the encroachment of domestic tyranny. Freedom is our birthright and we WILL defend it.

Many Americans are deeply concerned over the state of the world today. We remember what happened in the 1930’s when the world found itself in similar circumstances to today. It led to a world war.

Then, too, there is this: We rather like the rogue nations, the terrorists, the tyrants, and tin-pot dictators to know that the American public is armed to the teeth, ready, and willing to defend our country should they, through some mental aberration, have designs on it. The LAST thing you want to confront is a PO’ed American with a gun!

Oh, … and we like to hunt, too.

J. D. Longstreet

What About Illegal Immigration?

2012-01-02T02:15:00.000-06:00

What About Illegal Immigration?

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

It is time to get serious, my fellow conservatives. We have eleven months, within which, to get this right. The very existence of our country, as a free constitutional representative republic, hangs in the balance.

One issue I have yet to hear discussed at length, and in clarity, is the stance of the GOP candidates on illegal immigration. Oh, it has been touched on from time to time, but not in depth.

The United States has been overrun with the greatest land invasion in history. It is long past time to draw the line and bring the era of open borders to a screeching halt!

As a conservative voter I want to know where, exactly, each candidate stands on fixing the massive problem of illegal immigration in America.

Now, don’t preach to me about America being a land of immigrants. I am well aware of that fact. My own family came into this country in 1789 through the port at Charles Town, South Carolina. The entered the country legally.

Over the past few years there has been an endeavor by the political left in America, with the complete cooperation of the Mainstream Media, to confuse the issue of Illegal Immigration.

If you pay attention to such things, you may recall the media and the left suddenly began referring to illegal immigrants as “undocumented workers” (or immigrants). After awhile they dropped that term in favor of just plain “immigrants.”

It was, and is, clearly a scheme borrowed from the Communist Party to “reeducate” the citizenry so as to cloud the issue and make it much easier to lead the people of the US in the way in which the Democratic Party wants them/us to go. Frankly, it is disgusting and insulting to me to have anyone assume my intelligence is such that they can manipulate me through cheesy tricks and slight of hand. But the plain truth is – many Americans fall for leftist propaganda every day. (Then they fall victim to leftist rule.)

We have reminded you that those entering the United States illegally are criminals. From the moment their feet touch US soil they are scofflaws, criminals.

Look. It is clear the Democratic Party has, at every opportunity; made it plain that they endorse illegal entry into the US. Once the illegal aliens are here, they are bathed in government largesse -- at the expense of US taxpayers -- and they are encouraged, in exchange, to show their appreciation for all the money and services slathered on them by supporting the Democratic Party. And it has worked. Heck, it always works!

We on the right warned America this was happening but there seemed to be very little concern. So, we began to refer to the illegal aliens as “undocumented democrats.” We think that more clearly defines whom, exactly, they are. Of course, that infuriated the left -- as the truth usually does.

The federal government, under Democratic Party control, brought their considerable weight down on states like Arizona, Alabama, South Carolina, and others when those states sought to exercise their power as sovereign states to get a handle on the illegal immigration within the borders of their states. It is, some believe, raw abuse of power by the Obama Administration.

If we had anyone in Washington today who knew the history of this country, they would recognize that the Obama Administration is creating the very same atmosphere between the federal government and the states that existed just before the country split apart and went to war with itself in 1861. Just as the federal government caused that war, they are again pushing the states into a corner and creating a powder keg with a lit fuse that will most certainly explode into another conflagration, which could easily dissolve the union.

It is a dangerous game the Obama Administration is playing. Their arrogance has apparently blinded them to the consequences of bringing the mailed fist of federal power down own their own people.

The Obama Administration must be held accountable this November at the ballot box. Barring that, I dare not predict the course individual states may take to right the wrongs done them by the current administration. However, only a fool would expect a placid reaction from the angry people of the various states undeniably wronged by the arrogant power wielders of Washington.

The Republican candidates need to make absolutely clear that closing and sealing the border between Mexico and the US is their number one priority. They should declare, right now, their intention to send federal troops to patrol the border with everything the US military has until such a time as a barrier can be erected from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. Those troops should have the approval of the Commander-in-Chief to use lethal force to assure the security of the border. If they desire the support of conservatives, such as myself, they will also declare no amnesty, in any form, for those inside the US illegally. A continuous round up of illegal aliens already in the US should be iniated immediately by placing a bounty on illegal aliens.

And while they are at it, all federal funding to sanctuary cities should be immediately, and completely, cut off. Then, and only then, will those inside this country illegally know that the US government has gotten serious about stopping illegal entry into the US.

If the republican candidates wish me to seriously consider them for President, then they would be well advised to make public their plans for dealing with this massive problem and I suggest they should adopt much, if not all, of my suggestions above.

J. D. Longstreet

ObaHill?

2011-12-30T02:13:00.000-06:00

ObaHill?

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

There is speculation all over the Internet that Biden is out and Hillary is in as Vice-President. All this is projected to happen in time for the full-out Presidential Campaign in 2012.

Oh, theorists say that Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton will actually swap jobs – Hillary to Vice-President and Biden to Secretary of State.

Yesterday, I went to my favorite barbershop for my too frequent haircut, and that was the topic of conversation. There was no shock. There was no concern. There was nothing but the collective conclusion that Obama would do anything to win… including putting his former arch-adversary on the ticket with him.

The whole thing springs from a piece by Robert Reich entitled: “Get Ready For An Obama-Clinton Presidential Ticket.” You will find it HERE.

Reich says: "My political prediction for 2012 (based on absolutely no inside information): Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden swap places. Biden becomes Secretary of State — a position he’s apparently coveted for years. And Hillary Clinton, Vice President.

So the Democratic ticket for 2012 is Obama-Clinton.

Why do I say this? Because Obama needs to stir the passions and enthusiasms of a Democratic base that’s been disillusioned with his cave-ins to regressive Republicans. Hillary Clinton on the ticket can do that."

As far-fetched as it may sound, at first, after thinking about it for a few minutes, I can see where Mr. Reich may, indeed, have a point. But, what I don’t get is why the seeming panic in the Obama camp?

I must be the only commentator on the right who thinks Obama stands an excellent chance of winning another term in November of 2012. As excruciating to my friends on the right to hear such prognostications coming from a fellow conservative – there it is.

My reasoning is this (and I have said it ad nausium): I am simply not convinced the GOP has a candidate currently running who stands a snowballs chance in Hades of beating Obama in 2012. It has been a very long time; in fact, in my lifetime (over 7 decades) I cannot remember a weaker GOP ticket going up against an incumbent President – especially one with weak poll numbers.

The number one complaint I hear from fellow republicans is -- we have no one running, I can vote for.” Granted, I’m in the southern part of the United States and maybe it is a “southern thing” – but, honestly, I don’t think so.

I just do not see Romney doing well in the south. Once the primaries move into the southern tier of states, I expect Gingrich to begin picking up a few states. Of course, his recent decline in the polls would indicate otherwise.

I mean, just stand back, and take an objective look at the GOP candidates. The GOP’s favorite son is, without doubt, Romney. But the record so far indicated by the polls is that the party and the voters do not share that admiration for Romney – especially in the South.

When you consider the way voters have gone through the GOP candidates, one by one, it is clear the electorate is in an “anybody but Romney” mood. Well, maybe “anybody” is too strong. Maybe it should be “SOMEBODY” other than Romney.

Conservative voter in my neck of the woods are STILL searching for a candidate they can get behind. And, frankly, they have come to resent the GOP’s obvious and persistent promotion of Romney. An angry electorate is not good for the party, especially when that anger is directed at the GOP and not at the democrat candidate.

The enthusiasm is simply not there, and that spells HUGE trouble for the GOP at the polls in November.

It ought to tell you something when a candidate, Mr. Romney, has been running for President for fully five years and he STILL has not been able to win over the electorate in numbers that would translate into a victory in November of 2012.

Southern conservatives see Mr. Romney as a northeastern liberal-to-moderate candidate acceptable to voters in the northern tier of states but distinctly unpalatable where the word “conservative” seems to mean something entirely different than it does in the North.

Those southern votes that support Obama’s leftist/socialist agenda are already aboard Obama’s campaign. It will make very little difference to them whether Joe Biden remains as Obama’s running mate or he is replaced with Hillary Clinton. They are going to vote for Obama – period. They are, as we say, a lock.

There is no candidate in the GOP stable with a lock on the electorate and that would seem to hold true in a huge portion of the United States.

Nothing I have seen and heard, so far, has changed my belief that Romney, if chosen, will lose, and lose convincingly, to Obama in November 2012.

J. D. Longstreet

Israel Shouldn’t Ask Obama for “Permission”

2011-12-29T02:28:00.000-06:00

Israel Shouldn’t Ask Obama for “Permission”

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Israel doesn’t trust the Obama Administration. That is plain. Israel is right not to do so.

There is no love lost between Israel’s government and the Obama administration.

Somehow, the Obama Administration seems to have the mistaken opinion that Israel is a satellite state of America. It isn’t.

When America’s government continues to fly representatives of the US State Department and the Pentagon into Israel with dictatorial attitudes and demanding Israel do things the Obama way and even demanding that Israel ask permission from the Obama Administration before they mount a raid on Iran’s nuclear facilities, you’d better believe the Israeli government is PO’ed. In fact there are reports that Israel has filed a “demarche” with the US. A demarche is a formal protest. It is rare between “friends.”

Israel should not ask permission or even alert Washington when they execute the raid on Iran. That is the nature of a secret operation. You tell no one – period. You certainly do not tell a government you don’t trust to keep the secret.

It has been a while since America has had such an amateurish foreign policy team. They bring to mind the “gang who couldn’t shoot straight.”

Israel is well advised to stir as clear of the US State Department as it possibly can. The Department of Defense, under the Obama Administration, is not much better.

Israel is the only friend America has in the Middle East and Obama is losing that friend. At times, it seems intentional. One would think Obama is seeking to make it clear to the Islamic nations in the region that Israel is on its own. In more ways than one, Obama has made it obvious that he favors the Islamic nations over Israel.

One look at the Islamic nations of the Middle East today and you quickly see the entire region is in flames – except for Israel. So much for Obama’s favor.

America’s extremely vocal President, early on in his term in office, made the decision to talk to Iran. Apparently he had convinced himself that his oratorical skills would just melt the Iranians and he, Obama, would be the “Great Peacemaker” in the Middle East. Well, that worked our just swell, didn’t it?

One of the first things you learn on the playground of grade school is that you cannot negotiate with bullies. You have to overpower them, one way, or the other. Oftimes that means meeting violence with violence. Reluctance to actually use violence against a bully will certainly guarantee one’s submission to the bully. Having said that, it is interesting to note that Islam means “submission.”

The on-going sabotage efforts by Israel’s Mossad and America’s various spy agencies, have had limited success. It should be understood that those efforts are not going to bring Iran’s march toward acquiring a nuclear bomb to a halt. At best those efforts will only slow the program. But the threat remains and is, in fact, growing.

It is extremely difficult for Americans to accept that the recent American bellicosity framed as “warnings” to Iran by the Obama Administration are sincere. If Americans don’t believe them, then how on earth can we expect the Iranians to believe them? Even US government experts have been reported as opining that when the balloon goes up, they simply do not know how Obama will react.

Obama is quickly running out of options. The threatened oil embargo now appears to be useless when sympathizing countries promise Iran they will make up the difference. The string is about to run out for Obama and his promises.

The final option is a military strike to cripple or destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities. That strike will be carried out by the US, Israel, or both.

It would be wrong for America to stand on the sidelines and allow the destruction of Israel and maybe a few eastern European nations to boot – especially when it can be avoided.

America cannot afford to alienate Israel. We need Israel just as they need us.

J. D. Longstreet

Iranians Seem Ignorant of US Military Power

2011-12-28T02:13:00.000-06:00

Iranians Seem Ignorant of US Military Power

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Over the holidays I took time to visit a few Middle Eastern websites and read the reports of Iran’s latest naval war games. I also read a number of comments on those sites. I must tell you I was shocked by the comments left by those purporting to be, well, Iranians, or supporters of Iran. Actually, the comments I read overwhelmingly demonstrated the hatred held in the region for America. THAT is NOT what shocked me.

We have read often of the “educated people” of Iran. Supposedly a Middle Eastern country with a populace better educated than many, if not most, of her neighbors After my visits to their websites, I have extreme doubt about their education in so far as it pertains to world affairs, especially anything having to do with America, American history, the American character, and/or the American military prowess.

I suppose when one lives in a closed society, like Iran, and when that society is ruled over by a group of extreme fundamentalist clerics, where life is cheap, and one is taught one’s life belongs to the mullahs and only your death has value, then wild, extreme, statements concerning the certain destruction of America (and Israel) is what passes for manliness.

It is really sad to see a people whose lives are so devoid of meaning and so filled with hate that they are willing to destroy themselves and their entire country in an attempt to prove, what, exactly? To prove they are really BAD men? To prove they are masculine in the extreme? To prove their love for some god called Allah? To prove they had rather be dead than alive?

All the bellicose threats coming out of Iran these days is only hurting Iran. Theirs is the sort of speech that ignites wars. Theirs are the kinds of actions that will bring the wrath of the entire world down on their heads.

Most everyone knows that if you poke a tiger with a stick long enough and often enough, eventually it will tire of your sport and simply devour you. Everyone knows that -- but Iran.

Look. If Iran is planning on going to war with the US -- and expecting China and Russia to back them to the hilt -- they are in for a very rude awakening. Russia simply does not have the wherewithal to do very much but provide a few munitions. China? Well, China is not about to actually take on it’s number one customer and risk all the money America owes them in loans to defend some Middle Eastern country which has little to offer China -- other than oil. There’s lots of oil available from a host of other countries around the globe that would be happy to have China as a customer. Sorry Iran. Munitions and moral support is the realistic expectation of Russian and Chinese involvement in an Iranian war against the US.

We have seen this sort of display of bravado before from chest-thumping wannabe regimes in rogue nations around the globe. They usually wind up with the destruction of their country and a lot of dead leaders, both political and religious, and generations of rebuilding.

Iran’s “bathtub navy” is embarrassingly impotent. Oh, sure, they have a few good weapons and, sure, they will get in a few “hits” … before they are sent to the bottom. One has to wonder if that is how they intend to block the Straits of Hormuz … with the sunken derelicts of their own second hand navy?

The bottom line is: Iran is going to be attacked by the US, or Israel, or both. And yes, Iran will attempt to close the Straits… and they may succeed… for a week, or so. Then the hammer comes down.

Iran’s hyperbole these days is cartoonishly funny. If, however, they are foolish enough to light the fuse on a war, America will stop laughing -- and Iran will find that it has “talked” itself onto a path to national destruction from which there is no turning back.

Just days ago, we were singing of peace on earth and goodwill toward men as the world teeters on the cusp of Armageddon. (It reminded a great deal of the kid whistling as he walks past a graveyard at night.) The entire globe, today, is one huge powder keg with a smoldering fuse. It behooves people of sanity to tread softly, and speak softly, less that smoldering fuse sparks to life and the entire planet blows up in war.

Many pundits and modern-day soothsayers have proclaimed that, indeed, Iran’s goal is to bring war and chaos to the earth to prepare the way for the return of the Twelfth Imam. (Read more about the 12^th Imam HERE.) Their ultimate goal is to conquer the entire world in the name of Islam and establish a one-world, Islamic, theocratic, government – just like the one in Iran.

There can be no doubt that unless Iran changes her belligerent attitude, there will be war, and the people of Iran will suffer greatly – and lose. It is no secret that forces are already in motion in preparation for a war with Iran.

Iran’s dependence on what they feel is an elite military is misplaced. That will quickly become obvious once hostilities begin.

Someone once said: “It is better to have an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep.” The people of Iran would do well to ponder this proverb -- deeply -- before allowing the first shot to be fired.

J. D. Longstreet

Iraq’s Five-Day Democracy

2011-12-23T02:13:00.000-06:00

Iraq’s Five-Day Democracy

Instant Civil War

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Surprise! Surprise! A free and democratic Iraq didn’t make it a week. Who would have thunk it? Actually, a LOT of people warned that the moment American troops left Iraqi soil, the so-called sectarian war would begin once again. The moment Obama announced the date for US troops to be out of Iraq, the Iraqi Civil War was assured. THAT was a DUMB move on the part of Obama. It was just another in his foreign policy blunders for which America will be paying for generations.

Ok. So we are clear: I endorsed America’s invasion of Iraq -- to topple Saddam Hussein. I thought it was necessary to preserve the free flow of oil out of the region. There was no doubt that had Saddam been left unchecked he would have rolled over, and through, Kuwait and taken Saudi Arabia -- and he would have had his hands around the world’s throat. That could not be allowed. What I did not endorse was the ensuing policy of “nation building” implemented by the Bush Administration and continued by the Obama Administration.

A couple of things: I am from the old school. I believe in defeating an enemy – totally -- and then, either taking the nation as a prize of war, or walking away -- leaving the former opposition sitting atop a pile of rubble for as far as the eye can see.

I do not like nation-building … period. The price of war with the US should be a landscape that closely resembles a moonscape. The cost of rebuilding should be paid in the blood, sweat, and tears of the defeated nation.

Another lesson the US has yet to learn, it seems, is that democracy is not for some people. Democracy does not, and will not, work in tribal nations. Sorry, but them’s the facts.

Look. Fighting a war in the Middle East, for any reason other than punitive, will suck a country, no matter its wealth, dry. That region of the globe is destined for turmoil until the earth, as we know it, is no more. But – the utter stupidity of our own government is such that we have no choice but to try and secure the source of our energy, oil, from those countries in the Middle East that hate our very shadow.

The US has enough oil for centuries into the future beneath our own soil and beneath our own territorial offshore waters. But the US government has bought into the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on mankind, “Global Warming,” and, as a result, the government will not allow us to use our own natural resources, the very resources that made this nation great in the first place.

So what, if we have to sacrifice the lives of a few thousand American servicemen and servicewomen every few years in “oil wars?” What’s the loss of life as opposed to the billions to be made in so-called green energy, in so-called renewable energy, etc? Not to mention the increase in power over the people that accrues to the government through the passage and enforcement of “green laws and regulations.” Need I remind you of the hulking EPA?

Iraq is a lost cause -- Afghanistan, too. Nation building is a total waste of American blood and money. Does anyone remember that we went into Afghanistan to smash Al Qaida and capture, or kill, Bin Laudin? Well, Bin Laudin is dead and Al Qaida ran across the border into a nation friendly to them, Pakistan.

If there was a way to wall off the Middle East from the rest of the world so they could continue to happily fight their tribal and religious wars amongst themselves, and the adult nations of the world could get on with civilization, then I’d endorse it in a second. The US could get along just fine without them, especially when you consider their major exports are dope, oil, and terrorism.

The plain truth is, however, we can’t even shun them because we are inextricably tied to them by our own government’s refusal to allow us to get at our own source of oil.

So. The question now is – how long until Iran steps in and asserts its authority over Iraq? My guess would be sooner rather than later. With the Iraqi government, such as it is, already on the verge of collapse, just days after America withdraws, and with Iraq’s President Nouri al-Maliki’s ties to Iran, one must wonder how soon he will turn to Iran and ask for military support. Iran, already seeking hegemony in the region, will happily roll tanks and troops across their shared border and – take over the country. And believe me, Iran is not interested in “nation-building.”

J. D. Longstreet

Christmas 2011

2011-12-22T02:17:00.000-06:00

Christmas 2011

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

This is the time each year we wish for peace on earth and good will to men. Yet, we seem, each Christmas, to find ourselves lacking that Peace and the Good Will.

This Christmas, again, we find that American troops are far from home, very near the birthplace of the baby who gave his name to the day we call Christmas. Families will open presents and gather for a family meal and rejoice over the birth of the Christ child, and yet, we cannot bring ourselves to follow the teachings of that baby and stop fighting with each other. Christ, himself recognized that, a couple of thousand years ago, and said: “Men will cry peace, peace, but there will be no peace!”

Americans have found themselves in the unenviable position of being the policemen of the world… by default. It was thrust upon us. We did not seek it, we did not want it, but we learned, much to our chagrin, that we had no choice. When the “evil-doers” attacked us on our soil, we were instantly committed. We have been at war now since September 11^th, 2001. No end is in sight, no matter what we may have been told.

Back in the mid 1800’s America found herself in another war, much worse that the one we fight currently. It was a war among brothers. A war, which was being waged here, on our shores, and the carnage, was biblical in proportion. Families were torn apart by the war and entire families displaced as the war raged up and down the Middle Atlantic States and even out west, across the Mississippi River. 700,000 Americans lives were loss as a result of that war. Many of the scars can still be seen today in our buildings and landscapes. Many scars are less obvious, but are there, nevertheless.

I am a Veteran, and I’m a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and as such, I am, acutely acquainted with the scars -- seen and unseen -- of war. The entire reason for the existence of the SCV is to prevent the memory of what those men did from fading, or being redacted, from the memory of this nation. We feel that by holding the historically correct (as opposed to politically correct) reasons for that war up to public scrutiny we can learn from it and never allow such a thing to happen on these shores again.

The South was the recipient of more suffering and carnage than were our brothers to the north. It was a sad, disheartening, time.

Here is a small part of the text of a letter, written to his family, by a Confederate soldier on Christmas Eve of 1863:

" This morning battalion guard mounting began for the three batteries. It is Christmas Eve. I am sitting in my little cabin and my thoughts carry me away to Helena where I see my good wife before the hearth with three children around her; the eldest a girl standing and looking earnestly into her mother’s face; the second a boy, five years old, sitting in a small chair looking into the fire; and the youngest a girl about four, leaning on her mother’s lap--all listening attentively to what their intelligent mother is relating in regard to the visits of Santa Claus having visited them on former Christmas Eves with presents of toys, their curiosity is at its height to know if he will come tonight and fill their stockings. Ah, will not these little innocents be disappointed? Their father has not seen them for twenty months, and is now far away battling for home and liberty, and has no means by which he can convey them toys or money to purchase them. Whether their mother has the means to spare in procuring Christmas presents for them is unknown to me, but I pray heaven to provide her with the necessaries of life, and to bless and cheer the young and innocent hearts of my children during the Christmas holidays. Happy Christmas to my wife and children!" [From The Campaign Diaries of Thomas J. Kay, CSA and Robert J. Campbell, edited by Wirt Armistead Cate, 1938; entry for December 24th (1863).]

Surely, there were similar letters written by soldiers on the federal side of the lines.

So, as we tear open the Christmas presents, feast at the table piled high with God’s bounty, lets us find time, somewhere during the hectic day, to remember what the child, whose birthday we celebrate, taught us. Even if we cannot find it within ourselves to put his teachings into practice, we are, I believe, obligated to try. In the effort, we might just find that peace so often mentioned at this time of year

Let us remember our troops, so far from home, in constant danger, because so much of the world cannot bring itself to fight tyranny… of any kind. Let us pray that those misled peoples will, somehow, find the courage to stand up, like men, and fight the enemies of freedom as our brave men and women are doing. Let us pray that they come to understand that the brave American soldier, who dies on a foreign battlefield, has given his life for them as well as for his own American family.

And, finally, let us pray that next Christmas will find America, and the world, in a less contentious state than this Christmas.

May God richly bless you and your family this Christmas and in the New Year to come.

Merry Christmas, everyone, and please accept my sincerest gratitude for your past (and continued) support of my feeble efforts at expressing and sharing opinions on those things that affect us all.

J. D. Longstreet

Ron Paul Next To Be “Creamed” By GOP

2011-12-20T02:17:00.000-06:00

Ron Paul Next To Be “Creamed” By GOP

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Sometimes I’m a little slow on the up-take but decades of following US politics as my favorite sport has given me enough insight into the way politics works, at the upper levels, to know that the GOP chose its nominee a very long time ago. Of course, it is Mitt Romney. All the hoopla, the debates, etc, really don’t matter. For when the smoke clears, the man who will be crowned as the GOP nominee for President of the United States will be Mitt Romney. You can, as my old Grand pappy would say: “Put that in your pipe and smoke it!”

In the spirit of full disclosure allow me to state clearly that I do not intend to vote for Romney either in the North Carolina Primary or the Presidential Election in November of 2012. It is a matter of honor for me… not to mention that I am royally PO’ed at the Republican Party for “foisting” Romney on conservative voters under what I consider false colors. Its as though Romney is wearing a tattoo saying: “GOP APPROVED: CONSERVATIVE.”

The state motto of North Carolina is: “To be, rather than to seem.” In Romney’s case I fear it is “to seem, rather than to be.” I am not the least bit convinced of the validity of Romney’s conservative credentials.

The GOP has managed to convince me that it is focused on beating Obama. I, on the other hand, am focused on “saving America.” And THAT, Dear Reader, is where the focus of all Americans SHOULD be … in my not so humble opinion.

We have come only a short way from the smoke-filled rooms in which candidates used to be chosen by the party. In fact, about the only thing that has really changed is that the rooms are now smoke free. I am convinced that Romney’s victory at the GOP convention was planned, and assured, in one of those legendary rooms.

The endless debates, this cycle, appear to have been dreamt-up by a group of leftists in Hollywood. I honestly think the debates have done the candidates more harm than good -- so far as their individual campaigns are concerned. On the other hand, the debates have been a storehouse of ammunition for the candidate’s Democratic Party opposition. This election cycle, with the democratic candidate for President having no opposition from within his own party, the debates have – I strongly believe -- only hurt the GOP candidates.

We have witnessed the effect the GOP leadership has had, so far, on the various campaigns and we are about to see even more.

We have seen that any candidate posing so much as a hint of a threat to Romney is crushed and destroyed by the party leaders and elite. Each time any one of the other candidates began to rise in the polls and seemed to present a threat, they have been ground down.

The candidates remaining in the GOP race are
”also rans.” They either present no threat, whatsoever, to Romney, or they are being hammered into insignificance by the GOP.

Gingrich is getting the squeeze even as I write. Ron Paul is next. These two men will be smeared and very nearly ruined if they do not back off.

Yes, the GOP does eat it’s own. I have said for many years that the GOP is its own worst enemy.

Look. The majority of the GOP voters do not want Romney (especially conservative voters). One look at his ossified poll numbers will reveal that to a blind man. BUT -- you can bet the farm we are going to have him as our candidate come the Republican Convention next year.

I have a problem with authority. Always have. I have even more trouble with those in authority who believe they know better than I do what is best for me. And at this moment, I am livid with the Republican Party for deciding that Mitt Romney is best for me.

Heck, I don’t care for the man. I didn’t like his father. I don’t care for his brand of politics, and as a southerner, I am not particularly enamored of the state from which he hails. And I do not like being pushed -- or herded -- toward a voting booth where I am expected to vote for him -- because the GOP insists that I must.

I vote for a candidate because I am convinced that candidate can do the job the way I want it done. No amount of pressure will get me to vote for the party’s favorite unless the party’s favorite happens to be my favorite. I’m wired that way. If my parents were still living they would quickly, and vehemently, verify that fact.

The thing is – I believe there is a host of conservative voters across America who feels the same way. And the GOP is doing itself no favor by acting as the puppet master pulling the strings on the GOP campaign show.

It has been awhile since I have felt that I really had a choice of candidates from the list of GOP candidates for President. So, I went to the polls and wrote in a candidate’s name rather than vote for the party’s choice. I will do that again next year.

For better or for worse, I will decide for whom I cast my ballot… not the GOP, or anyone else.

This whole GOP campaign has been, and continues to be, a charade. That is my opinion, of course. You may think otherwise. But I defy you to watch what happens to Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul in the next few days and weeks (on top of what has happened to Cain and Bachmann, already) and still hold any belief that the hierarchy of the GOP has not had a hand in their destruction.

It’s enough to make a thoughtful man retch!

Finally, if the Republican Party loses this election, (As I am convinced it will) it has only to look in the mirror to see the culprit. To learn why – they must look much deeper.

J. D. Longstreet

Newt Is Right About the Federal Courts

2011-12-19T03:34:00.000-06:00

Newt Is Right About the Federal Courts

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

In typical “Newt fashion,” Gingrich has gone and tossed a bomb! A big bomb! He told the truth! How utterly horrible!

Frankly, I was beginning to worry. The Newt I know, from way back, did not hesitate to blurt out stunning statements of fact in mixed company… I mean, of course, a company made up of democrats and the Mainstream Media, but I repeat myself.

At least NOW I can relax. The old Newt is still here.

The instant I heard that Gingrich had advocated the abolishment of some federal courts, I belly-laughed. The game was ON! Our liberal/socialist media, I reasoned, would go absolutely nuts. There would be a rabid frenzy within their ranks as they rushed to their computers and studios to get this FLASH traffic onto the air. The world must be warned! There is a conservative madman, who openly speaks the truth, on the loose and America must be warned. Nay, America must be SAVED from this shocking, shocking, attack on the very engine of the liberal, progressive, socialist Movement in America. We’ve taken to referring to it as: the “Federal Judicial Legislature.” It is an unelected legislature handing down laws from the bench and forcing Americans to obey those laws on pain of punishment.

Newt has just shaken the Liberal/Progressive/Socialist movement in America to its very core.

Back in October of 2009, I wrote a commentary concerning the very same subject. It was entitled: “Abolition of the Ninth Circuit Court? In the event you may wish to read it, you will find it (HERE).

In the piece from 2010, I noted the following: “the Constitution grants Congress power to create and abolish federal courts, although the United States Supreme Court is the only court that cannot be abolished. Congress also has the authority to determine the number of judges in the federal judiciary system.” (SOURCE)

I also noted that earlier 2010, Newt Gingrich had called for the complete abolition of the Ninth Circuit Court. Gingrich was speaking to the annual gathering of the Conservative Political Action Conference at the time.

Referring to an action by President Thomas Jefferson, Gingrich said: the “judicial reform act of 1802 abolished 18 out of 35 federal judges, over half…I am more cautious than Jefferson. I would only abolish the Ninth Circuit Court.” (SOURCE)

I went on to point out that back in November of 2009, Gingrich is reported to have said: “It is constitutionally permissible, for the legislature and the president to say to a court, you are intolerable, and you no longer exist. And we need that debate because I am tired of secular fanatics trying to redesign America in their image.” (SOURCE)

Allow me to use the same example I used in that commentary back in 2010 to demonstrate why conservatives hold the “Federal Judicial Legislature” in such disdain.

I noted that: On Tuesday, October 27^th, 2010, the Ninth Circuit Court ruled that Arizona couldn’t require proof of citizenship in the United States when registering to vote.

“A three-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday struck down a portion of an Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration. The court held that the law, Proposition 200, was inconsistent with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), which was passed with the intent of increasing voter registration and removing barriers to registration imposed by the states. The NVRA requires voters to attest to the validity of the information on their registration form, including their citizenship, but does not require them to provide additional proof of citizenship. Proposition 200 went beyond the federal statute, requiring applicants to show proof of citizenship before registering to vote.” (SOURCE)

In plain language that ruling means that non-citizens will be allowed to register to vote, oh, say, in the 2012 Presidential Election – not just in Arizona -- but in all fifty states! One does not have to ruminate for very long to understand which political party will benefit from such a ruling, right?

Look. Newt may be wrong about some things, even a LOT of things ... but he’s right about this.

J. D. Longstreet

They Don’t Believe In God, Yet Fear Christ?

2011-12-16T02:05:00.000-06:00

They Don’t Believe In God, Yet Fear Christ?

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

It makes no sense to me. Atheists declare they do not believe in the existence of God, yet they demonstrate an attitude of something akin to fear towards God’s Son, Christ, especially during the annual celebration of Christ’s birth.

Every year, Christians around the world celebrate “Christ Mass” or Christmas. And, every year at that time, those who declare there is no God demonstrate the depth of their “insecurity in their disbelief” by attacking those who celebrate the love and grace of a God who, Christians believe, sent his son into the world to provide a path to eternal life in what they believe is paradise or heaven.

Somehow, this poses a threat to the “God deniers.” I have yet to figure out how.

In my view, the annual attack on Christmas is nothing more than tyranny by a minority. The US is one of the only countries on earth where such a minority could affect the faith and traditions of the majority.

Look. If you choose not to believe in God, that’s fine by me. It’s your soul and you can do with it what you wish. But attempting to destroy the hope and joy your fellowman finds in Christmas -- out of your own bitterness -- is just wrong!

Oh, don’t throw the old “separation of church and state” argument at me. If it were in the constitution, then I could, and would, support it. But nothing is said in the US Constitution about separation of church and state. The constitution simply forbids the government from establishing a “state church” as some of the old European governments STILL have today. (Even some early American states had their own state religion.)

And NO, I do not support a theocratic form of government. If you really want to see what a theocracy will do to a country, take a look at the Middle East today.

Frankly, I am not sure I even believe in freedom of religion in America, anymore. That is a stark statement, I know. But I fear that it will come back to bite us in the rear -- and soon.

The American Muslim community is growing by leaps and bounds. Their belief in Sharia Law is, in my opinion, a direct threat to the national security of the United States of America. I further believe that political correctness is masking this threat, as I perceive it, and in the near future, America will pay a heavy price for choosing not to see what is before our very eyes.

Over the centuries many, many, wars have been fought over religion. Even today, in some parts of the world, “religion wars” continue to rage. I do not want to see that happen in America, but, honestly, I believe that it will. In fact, I believe that it has become inevitable.

If the Christian church in America had not lost its passion for the faith, the annual attacks on the celebration of Christmas would not exist. If the Judeo-Christian community had not retreated in the face of adversity, then the attacks on the Menorah at Hanukah and/or a manger scene at Christmas -- on public property -- would have been a non-starter. It would have been nipped in the bud.

As a Christian I have read the Bible through several times and I must tell you, the actions of Jews and Christians, as depicted in the scriptures, do not mirror those of modern day Christians and Jews. Today’s Judeo-Christian community faces many, if not most, of the same types of adversity as did their forefathers in the faith. Yet, where our founders of the faith stood their ground and refused to be intimidated by the forces arrayed against them, we, today, too often fold our tents and steal away unwilling to stand and fight for what we SAY we believe in.

In his letter to the early Christian church at Ephesus, Saint Paul, the Roman Jew and Apostle of Christ (The early Christian Church was a Jewish Church. Paul found himself in a world of hurt with the early church fathers in Jerusalem for taking the Gospel to the Gentiles.), credited with taking the Christian faith to the Gentiles of the world, instructed the devotees of the Christian faith thusly: “Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.” Ephesians 6:13 (This quote is from the American Standard version of the New Testament)

The 2010 version of the Aramaic Bible in Plain English interprets the same scripture this way: “Because of this, put on all the armor of God that you shall be able to confront The Evil One, and when you are ready in all things, you shall stand.”

The Great Reformer, Martin Luther, lived out his life under a death sentence from the Church in Rome because he would not recant his belief. The Protestant Church was born because Martin Luther literally put Saint Paul’s instruction to the church at Ephesus into action. When commanded to recant, he replied – I’m paraphrasing here) “I cannot. Here I STAND. May God help me.”

I disagree with Bro. Martin on a number of things, especially his hatred of the Jews, but I have to give him credit for his courage to stand up for what he believed. In doing so, he changed the world.

If today’s practitioners of the Judeo-Christian faith continue to retreat in the face of adversity, such as the annual attack on Christmas, the continuing attack on the truth of the scriptures as they pertain to sexual abominations, prayer in public places, and so much more, we can be assured our adversary will have no mercy and will give no quarter.

It is time to “stand.”

J. D. Longstreet

Iran Threatens The Straits Of Hormuz Again

2011-12-15T02:13:00.000-06:00

Iran Threatens The Straits Of Hormuz Again

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

I sometimes wonder if Iran actually enjoys being a boil on the world’s backside. They have been a pain in the posterior, most especially of the US, since the decade of the 1970’s.

America spends millions upon millions of taxpayer’s dollars to patrol the shoreline of Iran in an on-going attempt to keep the oil flowing through the Persian Gulf. Only a portion of that oil is bound for the US, which means the US is acting, again, as the global police.

What is it with nations like Iran and North Korea? They seem to feel they must continuously stir up trouble so the rest of the world won’t forget they are there. Like a spoiled child “acting out” to get the attention of his parents, these rogue nations will scream and stamp their feet and wail like banshees until somebody notices them.

Recently, Iran has outpaced North Korea with their spoiled brat theatrics.

Once again, Iran is threatening to close the Straits of Hormuz. Although the Straits are approximately 20 miles wide at the narrowest point, the sea-lanes are only 4-miles wide with a two-mile wide partition between the incoming sea-lane and the outgoing sea-lane.

Yes, Iran has the capability of closing the Straits. She can attack oil tankers while they are in the straits, sink them, and create a blockage of the waterway. But there is little doubt, if any, that the US would strike Iran, with all barrels blazing, if Iran was dumb enough to execute a military strike on unarmed merchant vessels within the straits in a bid to close the Gulf and stop the flow of oil out of those waters through the Straits of Hormuz.

Some 40 percent of the world’s oil, transported by sea, passes through the Straits of Hormuz. Thus, effectively closing the Straits would create a worldwide shortage of petrol and petroleum based products… and that is nearly everything. I don’t think it is really possible, at this point in world history, to estimate the damage to the global economy such an act would cause.

To say there would be an increase in gas prices would be an understatement of enormous proportions. It would, no doubt, push many of the world’s nations over the brink, upon which they are tottering today, and into the abyss of economic collapse. There would be chaos on a global scale.

And there would be war.

There seems little doubt that most of Iran’s naval assets would be destroyed before they ever cast off their lines or hauled in their anchors. Her submarines, (old Kilo class subs) are of special interest to the US Navy (as are all submarines) and, we suspect, they would be destroyed almost immediately. Besides, operating a submarine in the shallow waters of the Gulf presents special problems for even the best submariners and, frankly, we have doubts about the proficiency of Iranian sub crews.

So, what about Iran’s ship killer missiles? Well, they have them -- and they reportedly are mounted on those so-called “fast attack” boats we became so familiar with during the Iran-Iraq war. The missile is reportedly a hybrid. They are said to be a cross between the old US Harpoon missile and the old French Exocet missile. They are made -- you guessed it – in China.

Iran should understand that any unprovoked attack on shipping in the Straits will bring an instantaneous counter attack by the US Navy and, certainly, the navies of other countries whose oil supplies would be severely curtailed or cut-off completely. The advantage to Iran of any such attack is difficult, if not impossible, to discern.

But if, as the theology experts warn us, Iran is determined to pave the way for the return of the 12th Imam, the Madi, which is said to depend upon worldwide chaos, then such an unprovoked attack is certainly within the realm of possibility and, frankly, probability. In any event, the US -- and the world -- should be prepared.

The other troubling aspect of our current state of relations between the US and Iran is what many Americans define as weak leadership coming from the Office of the President of the United States. This concern was underlined when our Commander-in-Chief did not order US troops to recover the lost reconnaissance UAV aircraft that, apparently, landed itself in Iran recently. Even a missile attack on the drone to insure it’s destruction and prevent our top secret intelligence gathering electronics from falling into the hands of Iran, Russia, China, and North Korea, would have been preferable to Obama’s reaction, which was, shamefully, NO action.

The point of all this is simple. Even though we are celebrating the return from Iraq of US forces this month, and family reunions at Christmastime, we must keep our forces well trained, well equipped, and leaning forward … because we WILL be forced to return to war in the Gulf region soon … very soon.

J. D. Longstreet

Southern Democrats Worried That Obama Will Be Reelected

2011-12-13T02:19:00.000-06:00

Southern Democrats Worried That Obama Will Be Reelected

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

In the Southern States of the US, there are still a vast number of conservative democrats. I know. I was raised with them, went to school and church with them, dated with them (as a teenager) – in other words—I lived with them. And I still do.

My US Congressman is a conservative democrat … a “blue dog” democrat.

I make this point because -- knowing I am a conservative republican – they know I am greatly interested in seeing that Obama does get a second term, and they are so embarrassed by the man, and so angry with him, that they, too, want him out of the Oval Office -- and they want me to know they are going to do all they can to see that he does not get his coveted second term as President of the United States.

See, in the South many voters inherited their membership in the Democratic Party. No. I am NOT kidding. They are democrats because their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents were democrats. Until the Nixon Administration, it was southern tradition to be a democrat.

As far back as pre-Civil War, the democrats controlled everything in the southern states. Yeah, these were the folks in charge when slavery was in full force in the south. Of course, they’d rather you did not know that, just as they would rather you not know that the Ku Klux Klan was a sort of enforcement arm of the southern Democratic Party.

The South was a fiefdom of the Democratic Party until Nixon changed all that with his southern strategy. It was only then that southerners realized that being a Republican did not mean you were consigned to Hell upon your death.

See, Republicans were placed into southern governments by the occupying forces of the United States of America during Reconstruction immediately following the Civil War. Many republican officials were former slaves who, in many instances could not read and write. It happened in my home state of South Carolina. In Wilmington, NC it finally boiled over and riots (known as the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898, also known as the Wilmington Massacre ... or the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898) ensued in which a number of republicans were killed and others run out of town. This event is the only instance of a municipal government being overthrown in US history. In the Wilmington Insurrection, Democratic white supremacists illegally seized power from an elected government, running officials out of the city, and killing many blacks in widespread attacks. (SOURCE)

The whole Reconstruction mess left an enduring bad taste in the mouths of southerners for well over a hundred years. We have very long memories.

As a result, even though many southern voters actually believed in the platform of the Republican Party, they felt they must honor their families by registering and voting as democrats. A rather large portion of the southern population still believes that. But they are no longer in the majority.

However, a huge portion of southerners, beginning in the 1960’s, began to realize they had much more in common with conservative republicans than with the democrats. LBJ was a huge boost to the Republican Party in the South. Jimmy Carter came along and embarrassed all of us -- both southern democrats and republicans alike. Mr. Carter made the GOP much more appealing to southern democrats than before.

Then, of course, came Bill Clinton and southerners were aghast at his sexual hijinks. Once again Southern conservative democrats were embarrassed and infuriated at the same time. Again, the Republican Party in the south was the recipient of a host of democrats who changed their party affiliation saying enough was enough.

Now, southern conservative democrats have been hit with a socialist President sailing under the colors of the Democratic Party.

Southern conservative democrats are, many for the first time, noticing that the party of their parents and grandparents has, itself, been slowly adopting much of the socialist philosophy and even a bit from the communists, as well. Obama has been a rude awakening for them.

Now, southern conservative democrats are just as worried as southern conservative republicans that Obama will be reelected. The very thought is abhorrent to them.

Many of them have expressed to me their disappointment at the stable of Republican candidates for President. When they do, which is often, I commiserate with them and tell them I am just as disappointed as they are. In truth, I am far more disappointed in my own party than they.

At a time in US history, when the table is set for a Republican take-over of the US government, we have to choose between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich?

I get the feeling that the GOP believes Americans are so fed-up with Obama that they are willing to vote for anybody but Obama. I, on the other hand, am not so sure. In fact, I think the GOP is making a terrible mistake and, as a result, will make possible a second term for Mr. Obama.

I think Americans will look at Romney and say why vote for an imitation when they can vote for the real thing … Obama. I think the same American voters will look at Newt, and Newt’s baggage, and decide Newt represents too large a risk to chance placing him in the White House. Either scenario will hand the Democrats and Obama a second term and, I am afraid, hand over control of the US House of Representatives to the democrats – and -- solidify the democrat’s control of the US Senate.

Many southern conservative democrats would vote for a conservative republican candidate they respected. Problem is, there’s not one running! And to be truthful, many southern conservative republicans feel the very same way.

I am very concerned that, come November of 2012, once again, the GOP will have managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

J. D. Longstreet

What About Gingrich?

2011-12-12T02:24:00.000-06:00

What About Gingrich?

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

The upper echelons of the Republican Party are in a state of high angst. Their phone lines and e-mails are flashing back and forth with amazing speed and in astounding volumes. Many are showing signs of what we southern folks used to call “the vapors” as they place the back of their open hand to their foreheads and slouch softly to the floor in a state of quiet apoplexy.

So, what’s causing all this? The former Congressman from Georgia, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, one Newton Gingrich… or just plain … Newt.

Cries of “woe is me” echo from the walls of the GOP’s ivory towers. Why, this is unbelievable. Worse, this is unacceptable. It simply cannot be happening … and yet … it IS happening.

The anointed one, Mitt Romney, has, at least for the moment, fallen to the outcast Gingrich. It is as if Sir Lancelot had been bested in a joust with a kitchen knave. It is unheard of. It cannot be. But … it is.

Newt has more baggage than the carousel at the airport. Romney is, well, perfect. And that, dear reader, is a part of the problem conservatives have with Romney. He is a little TOO perfect.

If you never DO anything, you never make mistakes. The more you do, the more mistakes you make. Newt has made a heck of a lot of mistakes.

I have survived 14 US Presidential administrations. I have seen the best of them and I have seen the worst US Presidents in modern history. The best was Ronald Reagan and the worst was Jimmy carter … until Obama. Now Obama holds the title as the worst President in US history.

I am, shall we say, an “older” American. I learned long ago the old saw: “all that glitters is not gold” is absolutely true. I have seen politicians come and go. I have seen some rise to heights never expected of them and I have watched just as many promising young lawmakers crash and burn.

With the country in the mess that it is in, there is something comforting in a candidate with all the warts, hairs, scars, and yes, battle wounds, as well, making himself available to help guide the country out of this mess.

We “old timers” already know Newt’s foibles. We know he is mercurial, egotistical, haughty, and brilliant. We already know of his matrimonial problems. We know he is brainy, zany, and at times -- just plain dumb. He can be courageous or reckless depending upon your viewpoint. Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of Great Britain, once said of Newt: “ … he has tons of guts.”

Newt is a contradiction. He can at once be a genius and a dunce. Every kid who has ever been to college knows a person like Newt. Heck, he was our classmate. He’s in our civic club. He goes to our church. He’s the guy in the front office where we work. His name is: Tom, Dick, Harry, John, Jack, Don, and … Newt.

How many Mitt Romneys go to your church, your civic club, or work in your office? See what I mean? Am I making my point here?

My generation knows Newt Gingrich about as well as it is possible to actually know a national politician. We know what he is capable of… the good and the bad. And we are nothing if not practical.

We need a man who can do the dirty work that is needed to get America back on track. And believe me, it will be dirty work.

To get our nation set aright, a lot of Americans are going to have to be “P.O.ed.” It is going to take a President willing to put his head down and plow ahead, against the current, until the job is done. He will, most likely, be a one term President. So many Americans will be so angered that it will probably be at least a generation before his greatness will be officially recognized.

Allow me this analogy: A General needs a soldier for a nearly impossible mission. His troops are standing before him in full brace -- at attention. He can’t help but notice the soldier with the perfectly pressed uniform, the perfectly polished buttons, the regulation haircut, and those sparkling spit shined boots.

Then his attention is drawn to the middle-aged soldier with the broken nose, the scars on his face, the calloused hands, the boots that are polished just enough and a uniform that is slightly rumpled but with a string of hash marks denoting years of devotion and experience in the service of his country.

Care to guess which soldier the General will choose?

There’s no big secret as to why Americans, especially older Americans, are taking a hard look at Newt. They don’t know, I mean REALLY know, Romney. They feel they know Newt, well, enough, anyway, to give him a shot at the Oval Office and one of the most difficult problems every given to a human being.

Nah. There’s no secret here.

J. D. Longstreet

The Empire Prepares To Strike Back

2011-12-09T02:19:00.000-06:00

The Empire Prepares To Strike Back

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

The UK’s “The Guardian” has an excellent article by Simon Tisdall entitled: “Putin prepares the Russian empire to strike back.” (HERE)

Mr. Tisdall, right at the outset of his article, states what to Americans, on the right side of the political spectrum, is obvious. He says: “The reincarnation of the current PM as president poses a challenge to western powers for which they seem ill-prepared.” Mr. Tisdall is absolutely “spot-on.”

The recreation of the Russian Empire is another reason the United States MUST relieve Mr. Obama of his seat in the Oval Office and replace him with a realist – a conservative realist.

Remember when Obama was so proud of his “reset” of Russian/American relations? It seems as if it was only yesterday. It was so ridiculous, that when I read it, I actually laughed aloud. (I assure you, it WAS an incredulous guffaw.) The naiveté of the Obama Administration is just incredible.

Russia is an enigma to the left. They STILL believe that socialist Russia had it RIGHT – and they believe that THEY, the American left especially, can actually make socialism work if only they get the chance. They remain befuddled by the collapse of the old socialist Soviet Union, anchored (and enforced) by Russia.

Russia has an inferiority complex the size of, well, Russia. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has felt naked and vulnerable. There was, for a very short time, a vacuum of leadership. And we all know that nature abhors a vacuum.

Always, prowling around the edges of a leadership vacuum are the political predators ready to pounce and claim the leadership role for themselves. Often these “alpha” types are more than ready to enforce their claim with force of will and/or force of arms -- and some gain the leadership role by guile and ruthlessness.

Vladimir Putin is ready and willing to do whatever it takes to solidify his hold on the Russian government and the Russian people. Evidence? The recent contested elections in Russia. Understand: There was no way Putin’s party was going to lose that election. And they didn’t. Come March, Putin will be returned to the office of President and he will begin his plans to rebuild the old Russian (Soviet Union) Empire.

In his article, Mr. Tisdall says, “As president, potentially until 2024, Putin has one overriding objective: the creation of a third, post-tsarist, post-Soviet Russian empire.” Mr. Tisdall continues, “Reinstalled as president, and with his political potboy, Dimtry Medvedev, pushed aside, Putin will again exercise unchallengeable control over Russia's external affairs.” (SOURCE)

Putin has publicly stated that the collapse of the Old Soviet Union was “"the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century". Remember now, this is coming from a former officer in the USSR’s KGB.

Mr. Tisdall warns: “Elements of Putin's strategy to make Russia great again are slowly coming into focus. Much of the plan is defined by Russia's opposition to the US, the traditional foe. Thus, the Kremlin announced last week that it would renounce the strategic arms reduction treaty (known as New Start) agreed with Washington two years ago if the US did not abandon its European missile defense plans.” (SOURCE)

Oops! Obama’s “reset” with Russia was just blown out of the water. According to Mr. Tisdall, “The reset is viewed by the White House as a major foreign achievement (and 2012 re-election asset) for a president who has but few to his name.” (SOURCE)

Lauren Goodrich, in a Stratfor paper, recently said this: “"Russia will begin this new iteration of a Russian empire by creating a union with former Soviet states based on Moscow's current associations, such as the customs union and the collective security treaty organization. This will allow the 'EuU' [a Eurasia union] to strategically encompass both the economic and security spheres … Putin is creating a union in which Moscow would influence foreign policy and security but would not be responsible for most of the inner workings of each country." (SOURCE)

It would seem that the world is about to return to a bi-polar power struggle many thought was over when the so-called “Cold War” ended. Mr. Tisdall is right. The US is nowhere near ready to face a ruthless Russia on the rise … again.

Putin has Obama’s number. He understands, as does the American right, that Obama can be “rolled.” Unlike Obama, Putin will not hesitate to exert Russian power in Asia and anywhere the Russians feel is their “Near Abroad.”

The time will come, and very soon, when Putin will have to be contained. And let’s face it my fellow Americans, Obama can’t do it. Our President is simply not up to the job.

J. D. Longstreet

A Day of Infamy – 70 Years Later

2011-12-07T02:15:00.000-06:00

A Day of Infamy – 70 Years Later

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

My personal journey to becoming a conservative began at Pearl Harbor. My philosophy on politics had its birth on the morning of December 7th, 1941.

It was a beautiful Sunday morning in Paradise when ......... ......... .........

Around 8 AM, (70) years ago today, the Japanese swooped in, out of a brilliant blue sky over Hawaii, and bombed the port of Pearl Harbor to smithereens. Much of the muscle of our Navy was destroyed. Two thousand and four hundred US servicemen were killed.

I was seven months old.

In the next four years, as my consciousness grew, I became aware of all the activity around me. I saw soldiers in uniform. I saw my grandmother crying when the telegram came that her baby boy had been "Killed in Action" somewhere in Europe.

And finally, I remember guns being fired into the air, people running through the streets of our little South Carolina town, hugging and kissing each other. I remember folks saying: “It’s over!” And it was. But it left an indelible mark on my family and an even deeper mark on me.

Those first 4 years of my life, the formative years, were experienced under intense stress. I learned the cost of war right from the beginning stages of my life. I lost one uncle, in Belgium (the Ancestral homeland) another was machine gunned through both thighs and lay in a freezing stream in France, all night, until American troops found him the next morning. The icy water of that frozen stream saved his life. He suffered ”shell-shock” (referred to as "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" today) the remainder of his life. A summertime thunderstorm became an instant German artillery barrage. He would race for cover. The flashbacks were ever with him.

Others of my family were in the Pacific fighting the Japanese. They, too, came home with stories of Japanese Kamikaze planes hitting their ships and, in one case, finding the pilot alive. For whatever reason, the plane with the bomb attached, did not explode.

When we could get those veterans to talk, which was not often, I was spellbound by the stories of their experience. I soaked it up like a sponge.

You see, I learned, both from personal experience, and the second hand experience of my family members, who were in the hell of the Second World War, what war really is. And, I learned that you have no choice when the enemy brings the war to your doorstep, you must fight back, and you must prevail, no matter the cost.

Today, we find ourselves in another war, which was brought to our doorstep. In doing so, the enemy killed many more people with their sneak attack than the Japanese did with their sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.

I don’t suffer fools lightly. My generation shares that quality. Today we have people in our government who are advocating a policy of retreat for the United States in our war against terrorist in the Middle East. It does not seem to matter to those folks that an enemy, which has brought war to our shores, will not quit, and go home, just because we do. They will follow us back to our own country and continue to wage war against us here... in our land.

It makes no difference how many medals hang from a man’s uniform or suit jacket. For all the times he was right, represented by those medals, there are times when he is wrong.

Had the United States listened to the “doves” after Pearl Harbor, I would most likely be writing this missive in German rather than English. It was that serious then, and it is that serious now.

So, as we think, today, of the men and women who gave everything they had, including their lives, to insure that you and I would have a free country, let us think of the men and women serving today for the same reason.

On December 7th, 1941 the Japanese, and the Germans, wanted nothing less than the conquest of the world. Today the Islamofacists want the same thing.

You have to ask yourself… as an American… are you going to stand down, ground your weapon, and allow this evil from the deepest, darkest, depths of hell, to take your country? That is the question all Americans must ask themselves. For, understand, they will not stop with America. Once America is out of the way, the remainder of the world will fall to them as easily as dominoes.

The Men and Women (Caps Intentional) of 1941 had to ask themselves the same question. We had better thank Almighty God they answered in the affirmative.

Today, we honor them for it. But they will tell you, those who survive to this day, that there was no real question about what the people of America would do. It was simply understood that freedom was far too precious to allow the forces of evil to take it from us. And so they marched forth to stop it and preserve this country for you and me. And they did!

We can never thank them enough. Not only did they save America, they saved the world!

Are we, as Americans, prepared to give up our freedom today after that generation gave so much of their blood to preserve it for us?

I pray to God that America will finally awaken to the danger that threatens us and take the painful steps, whatever they might be, to preserve this country, and again, the world.

J. D. Longstreet

Christian Churches To Go Underground in America?

2011-12-06T02:21:00.000-06:00

Christian Churches To Go Underground in America?

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Back in 2009, I wrote a piece in which I asked if the Christian church in America was being forced to go underground. As I recently read the news that pastors were being sued for preaching that homosexuality is a sin, I saw clearly that yes, the “real” Christian church in America, in order to continue to stay true to their belief and to God, will be forced to do as the early Christians did – go underground.

At the risk of being accused of being a wild-eyed, bible-thumping, Holy Roller, I need to explain what I mean when I say “the REAL Christian Church” in America.

In the past three decades, or so, many of the mainline Christian churches have slipped away from their foundation on the Holy Scriptures and adopted more and more secular tenents and leftist, politically correct, philosophy until they have become only a shadow of the true followers of Christ. In my opinion, those denominations can no longer claim to be “Christian” churches simply because -- they are not.

A few years ago, I left my own denomination, one of the mainline denominations in America, because it had chosen to forsake the tenents of the Bible and the “Good News,” the Gospel, as enunciated by the very person from whom the church had received its mission.

Allow me, please to state, flat out, that I do not hold myself to be a better Christian than any other follower of Christ. Nosiree! I am nothing more than a sinner saved by the grace of God – no more, and no less. It was a gift from a loving God. There was nothing I could have done and nothing I can ever do, which would have either bought that grace – or -- made me worthy of receiving it. In the eyes of God, I believe, I am just as bad as the worst murderer on death row and just as good as the Pope. Our shared commonality is that we are all sinners.

Unfortunately, many of our mainline denominations have become nothing more than social clubs with many franchises nationwide. Their pastors “preach” feel good “sermonettes” about the environment, and things like “social justice.” In my opinion, that is not the mission of a church that purports to follow Christ. In fact, Christ, Himself, spelled out the mission of the church in what we refer to as The Great Commission.

After His resurrection and shortly before he ascended to heaven, he gave his followers this mission: ¹⁸And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

¹⁹Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

²⁰Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:18-20

That commission from Christ is the reason the church exists … period. To fulfill that mission the church MUST stand firmly upon the foundation of the Holy Scripture and the teachings of Christ. That means insisting that the standard(s) set by Christ are, and remain, the guiding force behind everything the church does. Of course, that means pastors are compelled to preach that those things the Scripture marks as sin are duly, and publicly, noted from their pulpits as SIN. If a church is reluctant to do this, or refuses to do this, then, in my opinion, that church is not a Christian church.

Today, in America, pastors are fearful of preaching the scriptures. They are fearful of pointing out man’s failings, man’s falling short of the mark. They are concerned that they will be dragged into court, and accused of slander or some form of libel because some sinner, as defined by the scriptures, has been offended or even embarrassed. It is a very real threat, especially to the evangelical church in America.

As a result those churches, which hold true to the gospel, now feel that they must consider meeting in secret for Bible classes, for worship services, or other bible centric gatherings.

The fact is, dear reader, America has deteriorated into such an ugly mess, that she has become the kind of country to which early America used to dispatch missionaries of The Gospel.

There is a clear attempt by the government (local, state, and federal) to criminalize biblical preaching and prevent thousands of churches and clergymen from practicing their faith without threat of penalty from our government.

So, yes, the Christian Church, I believe, WILL be driven underground in America, as it has been in other nations around the globe. Otherwise, it will cease to exist in this land many firmly believe was founded by Christians.

As much as it pains me to say this -- America is no longer a Christian nation. At least, America’s government no longer governs by men and women who base their convictions on the Judeo-Christian code of laws and beliefs.

And very soon now, I believe, the Supreme Court of the land will be in the hands of socialists, as well, and THAT will be the end of the experiment called “America” -- a nation which was to have been governed only by the voice of it’s people and their God.

The wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah could not hold a candle to the wickedness in America today.

If the true Christian church is to survive in America, it MUST go underground.

J. D. Longstreet

Another Vacation For Obama?

2011-12-05T02:16:00.000-06:00

Another Vacation For Obama?

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

It seems our over-worked President is off on another vacation … this time for over two weeks – seventeen days, to be exact. It seems only yesterday he was on vacation in Massachusetts. Wait! That WAS earlier this year, but it was only eleven days at Martha’s Vineyard.

One would have to surmise that ruining a country is stressful for Obama. It must be all his leading from behind that does it.

Why do we not hear the cries “Imperial Presidency” from the Mainstream Media these days? Two reasons: Obama is not a republican – and -- Obama is a socialist democrat -- as is the bulk of the Mainstream Media.

Does Obama not realize there is a recession on? The man must be completely tone-deaf to the cries of the average American today. I mean, you would think a person running for President, especially a candidate who swears he is “fighting” for the middle class would be a tad more circumspect when it comes to grandiose vacations and such, but not Obama. You would think that candidate would also be circumspect about spending the taxpayer’s dollars when the country is broke, but again, not Obama.

Its as if the rules don’t apply to Obama. In his arrogance he comes across as being above all that. I mean, act with some class, for heaven’s sake!

People are hurting out here in fly-over country but our President is living it up at great expense to US taxpayers, the very same ones worried over how they are going to pay the rent, put groceries on the table, make the payments on their house or car, and yes – how they are going to afford gifts for their children this Christmas. NOT our illustrious President, however. He just flies over it all in that gorgeous 747 on his way to a tropical island state for a Hawaiian Christmas with his family… you know, the kind of Christmas vacation we all dream of … knowing full-well we will never realize that dream.

What is it with this guy? Is it that he knows he is a one term President with only a year left to enjoy all the perks of the office of President of the United States -- and his intention is to take advantage of all of them he possibly can? Frankly, I believe that is partly the answer. But I think there is more to it. I think he just doesn’t give a damn what you or I think about his extravagance in office.

“The President's family covers the cost of a private beach front residence in Kailua, Oahu, for their vacation - a ‘Winter White House’ that costs up to $3,500 a day, or $75,000 a month.

But the local and federal taxpayers help pay the bill for travel and security.

Last year the trip cost more than $1 million, according to the Hawaii Reporter.

It follows an 11-day stay in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, earlier this year, which is also believed to have cost the U.S. taxpayer millions.” (SOURCE)

Over the past few months there has been a plethora of commentaries about which is the worst President the United States has ever had – Jimmy Carter or Barack Obama. Having survived BOTH (so far) I have to tell you Obama leaves Jimmy Carter in the dust when it comes to a contest over which of them is America’s worst President. I mean, COME ON! At the very least, Jimmy Carter was humble. No one can call Obama “humble” with an iota of veracity.

Obama has spent America into the poorhouse while he wallows in the lap of luxury.

You have to wonder if Obama’s campaign has a public relations firm on the payroll. Somehow, I cannot see Obama accepting advice from any one, let alone acting upon that advice. The man’s lifestyle, as a public official, would be a nightmare for any public relations firm.

These days Mr. Obama comes across as a caricature of a cartoon politician (if that is possible). With his soaring oratory, his lifestyle, his total ineffectiveness as a national leader, and his rejection of a global leadership role, well, he appears to be a pretty fair public speaker – and not much else.

It has become as clear as crystal to the American voter that if America is to make it out of this mess, in which we currently find ourselves, then we desperately need someone, other than Obama, to take charge and lead.

Great nations make great mistakes. America made one in November of 2008. Now it is time to set the matter aright.

J. D. Longstreet

Elections Have Consequences

2011-12-02T02:14:00.000-06:00

Elections Have Consequences
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

It is less than a year to Election Day 2012. By now, we should all know that elections have consequences. We are all suffering as a result of the consequences wrought by turning the entire US government over to the democrats beginning as far back as 2007.   We very nearly lost our country … and the danger isn’t over yet.

Over the next few months, we are going to see the Mainstream Media in America pull out all the stops as they run interference for President Obama and the Democrats. It will become increasingly difficult to dig through the layers of bovine scatology the MsM will pile up to camouflage the damage the Obama administration has done to America. They will make every effort to destroy the republican candidates – and -- when the GOP nominee is decided, expect the MsM to tear him to shreds.

Already, Obama is declaring how he needs another term to finish the job. I agree. One more term of Obama and America WILL BE FINISHED.

It appears that Obama is planning on a “Blame it on Bush” themed campaign. Don’t expect “The One” to take responsibility for anything! Our fearless “Bystander-in-Chief” will happily take the credit -- but never the responsibility or the blame. He’s just that kind of guy.

Over the next few months the Republicans will be blamed for everything that has happened to America under the Obama administration. But before you buy into all the leftist propaganda we suggest you consider the article below, which has been floating around the web.

I have no idea who authored the article below but it IS interesting. Please read on:

Remember January 3, 2007

The day the Democrats took over was not January 22, 2009 when Obama took office with Democratic control of both house of Congress. It was actually January 3, 2007 the day Democrats gained control over the House of Representatives and the Senate. The infamous start of the 110th Congress. The Democratic Party controlled a majority in both chambers for the first time since the end of the 103rd Congress in 1995.
For those who are listening to the liberals propagating the fallacy that everything is the Conservatives or Bush’s fault, think about this:

January 3, 2007 was the day the Democrats took over the Senate and the Congress.
At the time:

The DOW Jones closed at 12,621.77

The GDP for the previous quarter was 3.5%

The Unemployment rate was 4.6%

George Bush’s Economic policies had just set a record of 52 STRAIGHT MONTHS of JOB CREATION after orchestrating a recovery of a mild recession he inherited from the aftermath of the Clinton era!

Remember the day… January 3, 2007

It was the day that Barney Frank took over the House Financial Services Committee and Chris Dodd took over the Senate Banking Committee. The economic meltdown that happened 15 months later was in what part of the economy?

Remember, the Community Reinvestment Act they sponsored? You can thank Congress for taking us from 13,000 DOW, 3.5 GDP and 4.6% Unemployment to this CRISIS by dumping 5-6 TRILLION Dollars of toxic loans on the economy from YOUR Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fiasco’s!

(BTW: Bush asked Congress 17 TIMES to stop Fannie & Freddie – starting in 2001, because it was financially risky for the U.S. economy, but no one was listening).

And who took the THIRD highest pay-off from Fannie Mae AND Freddie Mac? Then Senator Obama.

And who fought against reform of Fannie and Freddie? Obama and the Democratic Congress.

REMEMBER JANUARY 3rd, 2007…. “THE DAY THE DEMOCRATS TOOK OVER!”

Bush may have been in the car, but the Democrats were in charge of the gas pedal, the steering wheel and they were driving. Set the record straight on Bush!

So, as you listen to all the commercials and media from the Democrats who are now distancing themselves from their voting record and their party, remember how they didn’t listen to you when you said you didn’t want all the bailouts, you didn’t want the health care bill, you didn’t want cap and trade, you didn’t want them to continue spending money we don’t have.

I’m not forgetting their complicity in getting us into this mess, and I’ll be marking my vote accordingly!

“It’s not that liberals aren’t smart, it’s just that so much of what they know isn’t so” -Ronald Reagan

Every election is important. But I cannot think of a single election in my lifetime of over seven decades that was as important to America as the election in November of 2012.

As we stand on the cusp of a global financial collapse America will need a leader, indeed, the WORLD will need a leader not afraid to lead from the front. What America does not need is another four years of Obama.

J. D. Longstreet

The Sino-America War

2011-12-01T02:09:00.000-06:00

The Sino-America War

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

It is coming as sure as the sun rises in the east. China and America are headed for a military showdown.

China’s recent announcement that it will now consider roughly 90% of the South China Sea it’s territorial waters will certainly cause our two navies to brush up against each other and create sparks… sparks that could easily ignite a global conflict between the US and China.

“China’s aggressive behavior and threatening rhetoric are complemented by massive militarization. Beijing is projecting military power far from its shores with a rapidly growing, modern blue-water navy, long-range aircraft with refueling capabilities, a global satellite network, anti-access ballistic missiles (read aircraft carrier killers) and its first aircraft carrier. These instruments of war provide Beijing an expeditionary capability that could lead to a shooting war.” (SOURCE)

Things have gotten so touchy between the US and China militaries that “… the U.S. established a cold war-like hotline between China’s People's Liberation Army and the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff …”) (SOURCE)

With tensions so high it is prudent to expect the US 7^th Fleet to find itself in perilous situations with China’s navy as the 7^th fleet patrols the South China Sea.

All this pugnacious behavior by China has scared the dickens out of many of the neighborhood’s Asian countries. They have begun banding together and they are asking the US to join with them to aid them in countering China’s expansionist moves in the region.

Just as things are reaching critical mass in the Middle East and China is showing signs that it is about to begin throwing it’s military weight around, the US government is seriously discussing massive cuts in the US military. If the huge cuts in the military budget, made possible by the failure of the Congressional “Super Committee’s” inability to reach some sort of agreement, are actually allowed to come to pass, the US will have a military slightly larger than it had at the beginning of World War One. The feared “hollow military” will become a fact -- and the world will be defenseless against such opportunist countries as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, not to mention the Islamofacists and their terror machine.

Look. Cutting the US military at such a critical time in world history would be stupid and idiotic -- not to mention suicidal.

A US-China war has been brewing since shortly after the Second World War. With Chinese interests and assets all over the world now, when it comes, it will be a global conflict.

The ‘dogs of war” are inevitably set loose when America elects a weak President. Mr. Obama has proven to be an astonishingly weak President. His administration has been a “by-stander” administration. He enjoys leading from the rear much as “parade ground generals” do. It looks good, but it does absolutely nothing to either maintain the peace or instill confidence in the military -- let alone our friends and allies.

If history has taught us anything -- it is that a weak US President invites trouble from America’s enemies.

Leftist and liberal presidents usually ARE weak in defending America. It appears they are embarrassed for being an American citizen, and they jump at every chance to apologize to the world for what THEY consider America’s mistakes. Such weakness only emboldens America’s enemies and makes a laughing stock of America’s President. More importantly, it places the people of the United States in danger.

Some in the Obama Administration are suggesting to the President that the US should reduce its military commitment in the Middle East and re-focus on Asia. They are claiming the US has allowed Asia to “slide,” if you will, in the past few decades. I agree with only a part of that suggestion. It seems to me that America should focus on China and prepare for the inevitable – military conflict with the Chinese. At the same time, the US cannot afford to turn its back on the Middle East. The plain truth is -- we MUST have Middle Eastern oil. AND we have Islamic enemies based in the Middle East who are intent on the destruction of the US (and Israel). In fact, the US will not BE ALLOWED to turn away from the Middle East, even if we wanted to.

China’s neighbors in Asia are seriously seeking to create a sort of NATO of Asian states with the US as the anchor, just as in NATO. That may, in fact, turn out to be a good idea. Even the former enemy of the US, Viet Nam, is angling for an American security blanket in Asia. THAT should tell you just how frightened China’s neighbors really are.

Even Europe is unstable these days. European history teaches us that European states tend to go at each other’s throats when desperation sets in -- as it seems bound to do in the very near future.

The US simply cannot afford to reduce its military when the world is on the brink of utter chaos.

The wisest course, it seems to me, is for the US to BUILD-UP its military, and prepare for the coming contest between itself and China. On the other hand, the US needs to accept that America is in the Middle East for many decades to come. To make huge cuts in the US military budget now, or in the immediate future, is a pipe dream and should be trashed and forgotten.

J. D. Longstreet

There Really Were Good Old Days

2011-11-29T02:15:00.001-06:00

There Really Were Good Old Days

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

An old friend and I were conversing recently and reminiscing about the world we grew up in as opposed to the world we actually live in today. It is something “old-timers” like us have been doing since the dawn of time.

We were comparing the price of gasoline where he lives as opposed to the price for the same gasoline here, where I live, on the edge of a coastal resort area.

We live in neighboring states, but here in NC we have one of the highest state gasoline taxes in the United States. Add to that the proximity of that resort area and I, unfortunately, fall into one of those pricing zones set up for the tourist trade. As a result, the price for gasoline is consistently higher where I live than where he lives… substantially higher.

Of course, we began comparing the price of gasoline today to what we paid for it as teen-agers. There is no comparison. Regular gasoline was 13 cents a gallon and high test was 15 cents per gallon. Really expensive gas was 17 cents a gallon for regular and 19 cents a gallon for high test – and that was before gas wars. Then it was not unheard of to pay 11 and 12 cents for a gallon of regular gasoline.

When you went out to purchase a car, you didn’t buy a car that got the best gas mileage – you bought a car you actually wanted! They had lots of steel and lots of chrome. Cars of that age had character unlike these generic models that are so similar you can’t tell who made the cussed thing without getting a good look at the trademark on the hood or trunk lid.

We both remembered the early gas pumps. They had five-gallon glass containers on top. There were manually operated. They had no electric pumps inside them. YOU pumped five gallons of gas from the underground tanks up into that glass container atop the pump with a pump handle. Then you placed the nozzle of the hose into your gas tank and gravity transported the gas from the glass container to the tank of your car. You could only pump five gallons at a time. If you wanted more, that meant you had to repeat the process.

It was quite an experience when it was raining or sleeting – or worse. A dollar’s worth of gasoline would last you all week!

A teenager on a date could have a ball on five dollars -- and still have money in his pocket when he got home.

A hamburger was 15 cents and a coke was a five to seven cents, depending upon whether we were in North Carolina or South Carolina. Since we lived right on the border we were then, and remain today, as much at home in one state as the other.

NOBODY, in their wildest dreams, ever thought gasoline would sell for three to four dollars, and more, per gallon. NOBODY. It was inconceivable … period. This was America and such things just did not happen.

But it did happen -- all because we were not paying attention. We trusted our government to do what was right for America… not what was politically correct. Suddenly there was something called the Environmental Protection Agency, and something else called the Department of Energy -- and by that time -- we were well and truly had! We were then, and we are now, sitting on a sea of oil. Yet, our government will not allow us to knock holes in the dirt and suck it out.

We have oil containing rock and oil containing sand and we have vast deposits of oil just off our coasts -- in our own territorial waters. It’s just sitting there while we pay through the nose for oil we have to purchase from countries that hate us even after we debase ourselves just for the privilege of buying their oil.

What kind of government does that to its people? Answer: The kind of government we have in Washington, DC.

See, back in the good ole days, we made a terrible mistake. We trusted our government. Now that we KNOW better -- it is too late.

Or is it?

If, as some are suggesting, we are about to have a global financial collapse, we’ll get a “do over.” It won’t be pretty and it is going to hurt like the dickens, but if there is a bright side to an economic apocalypse, it may be that we will get a chance to clean our government of the socialists, Marxists, progressives, and left-wing liberals that spent us into this mess.

Some say the Good Ole Days were not all that good. Having lived in both I can tell you the Good Ole Days beat the heck out of the mess we live in today!

J. D. Longstreet

Handling Bullies A Lost Art

2011-11-28T02:16:00.000-06:00

Handling Bullies A Lost Art

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

It is utterly baffling to a man of my generation to read, see, and hear stories about modern youngsters unable to handle bullies.

Have we, as a nation, become so politically correct that we will not stand up for ourselves against a bully? Apparently we have -- and it is deeply distressing. It denotes a nation of wimps.

Look. I was a skinny, scrawny, little kid when I was a lad. That made me the target of a number of bullies. However, the confrontations between the aforementioned bullies and myself were learning experiences that have served me well over my lifetime -- right up to today.

My father read me the riot act the very first time I came home with traces of tears on my face. When I replied to his questions that some other kid had been “picking on me,” my father sat me down and laid it out for me. It was a “learning lesson” sometimes referred to as a “life lesson.” The bottom line was this: Never, ever, allow a bully to get the upper hand. Do what you have to do to protect yourself and then take the fight to him. He told me bluntly: “Never start a fight, but when you’re in one -- make damn sure you win.”

From that day onward, I never backed down from a bully, whether in the educational system, in the US Army, on the job, or anywhere else.

I am no braver than the average guy. I simply have a set of values I live by and I have a set of clearly delineated behavioral lines over which I do not cross -- and no one else is allowed to cross.

The world has always had bullies and it always will. That is a given. If a man is ever to have self-respect he absolutely must, I repeat, MUST stand up for himself, no matter the circumstances and no matter how badly he is outnumbered.

I don’t understand the reluctance of people today to confront bullies. I just don’t. It makes no sense. Without that confrontation the bully is emboldened to continue his reign of terror – and -- his supplicants will never be free to live without the bully’s threat looming over them like a black cloud.

For the most part, bullies are scared, insecure, people. Their “self-worth” is derived from the fear of their victims. Without victims they are nothing, they are totally worthless – and they know it.

Without victims, who are willing to be victims, bullies could not exist.

Bullying is defined by the American Psychological Association as an aggressive behavior that is intended to cause distress or harm, and that involves an imbalance of power or strength between the aggressor and the victim. (SOURCE)

Anyone can be a target for a bully. Becoming a victim and remaining a victim are two different things. Don’t allow yourself to be a victim.

Bullies come in all sizes, shapes, and genders. There are even bully nations. History has taught us than when the world has a bully nation on the rampage, that nation must be taken down either by another nation or a group of nations.

Conflict resolution through negotiation rarely works – if ever. Sooner or later, the bully must feel the consequences of his actions before he will ever understand, or even care, about the pain his actions have caused those he victimizes.

Bullies cannot forever be ignored. Bullies, by their very nature, will not allow themselves to be ignored. We all know a bully or bullies. They are ever present. It is essential that we know how to handle bullies early in life.

For many, their first confrontation with a bully is a defining moment in their lives. They need to be equipped to handle the grief that is poured out on them and respond in a manner that will preserve their self-respect, self esteem, and forbid any hold on them the bully will have sought.

I’m certainly no expert on this topic. I have my share of scars from personal confrontations with bullies throughout my life. But I never allowed myself to become a victim.

Look. Nobody ever said life would be easy. It isn’t. Man is born into trouble. It is how he responds to and handles trouble that marks him as a victim -- or “a man.”

The parents of my generation taught us to stand up to bullies anywhere and everywhere. They gave us the moral support we needed to take care of business when a showdown came. They did not step in and take care of the problem for us. WE were expected to resolve the issue by any means necessary. And we learned. Sure, we came home, on occasion, with cuts and bruises, black eyes, and bloody noses, but we fought back. We were never victims.

We’ve lost that guidance from parents, I am afraid. It is a lesson we need to relearn if we are to remain a free people, unafraid to live our lives with respect for ourselves -- and one another.

J. D. Longstreet

Russian Paranoia

2011-11-25T02:16:00.000-06:00

Russian Paranoia

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Ever since America booted Russia out of the northwest territory of America, Russia has had a chip on its shoulder… at least, as far as America is concerned. We go through cycles with Russia in which Russia loves America for a while, and then Russia hates America for a while. The cycle seems to continue ad infinitum.

The one thing Russian governments seem to respect is American strength. Every time America elects a weak President, Russia arches her back, raises her hackles, and begins to growl threateningly. And that is exactly what Russia’s Putin is doing right now.

For those of you not as old as I am, take my word for it when I say – we have seen it all before. Russia is a “paper tiger.”

The Russian people are insecure at best. They crave a strong central government. They have never really known what it is like to be free of an all-powerful government and they fear that left to their own devices -- to be free, in other words, they will falter and fail. They don’t seem to grasp the idea that THAT risk is a part of freedom – the right to fail.

As a result, they are an easy lot to manipulate – and Mr. Putin is a past master at doing just that.

With Russian elections looming, Putin is warning that the Russian government needs more power. (Read Russian government as: “Putin.”)

Putin is planning a return to the Kremlin in the March elections and HE wants more power.

Recently Putin told the Duma: "We are still facing very many uncertainty factors and risks. And in case of a storm, a gale, a crisis, it is very important for the entire team to work in a cohesive manner, for the boat not to capsize." (SOURCE)

Uh-huh.

Oh, Putin will get the powers he wants. Who is going to stop the ex-KGB official?

If reference to the opposition party in Russia, Putin has said they should go along with the party in power and “not rock the boat.” He said with Russia experiencing much the same kind of economic downturn as the rest of the world, the opposition party should support the party in power so the “boat” doesn’t capsize. Just this week he said: "in these circumstances, the ruling party always expects the opposition to behave in a calm manner and not to rock the boat. But these are vain hopes.” (SOURCE)

Putin went on to say: "The opposition exists to make sure that the ruling party, the ruling authorities could hold on to the levers of power more strongly and prove to society the correctness of the country's development course." (SOURCE)

Say WHAT?

Putin sounds like a Chicago gangster exclaiming: “Hey! Sit down and shut up! Me and my boys got this covered!” And believe me – Al Capone’s gang couldn’t hold a candle to Putin’s alma mater … the KGB.

Putin has gone to great pains to demonstrate the differences between himself and our less than esteemed President Barack Obama. He is playing on the average Russian’s paranoia concerning the “American threat.” Putin struts across the Russian stage, shirtless, (At every opportunity. What’s that about, anyway?) taking great pains to display his masculinity – as if there was some question about that. Apparently, there is – or was. On a trip to Italy last year Putin is quoted as having said: “Mr. Medvedev and I are people of a traditional orientation.” (Source) Ooooo - Kkkkk.

Then, too, there is Mr. Medvedev threatening to target American missile shield sites installed in Eastern Europe -- or in adjacent waters. Oh, puh-lease! Those are d e f e n s i v e missiles emplacements. There are a couple of rogue nations in Russia’s backyard (North Korea and Iran). By this time next year, EITHER of them could lob a nuclear missile into Eastern Europe causing much death and destruction and touch off a worldwide nuclear conflagration.

The Russian government NEEDS America. Putin and Medvedev need a foil, off which to play, in order to increase their grasp on power over the Russian people. So, they threaten to fire on our defensive missile sites and, too, they dispatch Russian warships into Syrian waters as another threat to America -- should America, or America-led NATO, decide to intervene in the slaughter in Syria.

Peter the Great had to drag Russia, kicking and screaming, into modernity. But, honestly, I don’t think “ole Pete” would be happy to learn how his Russia has chosen to allow it’s fear, it’s insecurity, and it’s paranoia, to, again, segregate itself from the civilized world and slip back into the familiarity of it’s much loved primal darkness.

Russia is a disappointment to the world.

J. D. Longstreet

Super Committee Redux

2011-11-22T02:19:00.000-06:00

Super Committee Redux

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Back in August of this year (2011) I wrote an article declaring that the so-called Super Committee was a farce. Time has proven the little ole “Swamp Pundit” (Yours Truly) has the ability to predict the oh, so obvious! Had I been truly adventurous, I would have also said it was a “hoax.” It has become clear the Super Committee was intended to fail so our less than esteemed President could campaign against what he will, no doubt, refer to as a “do nothing Congress.”

November 23^rd is upon us -- and the “ship is about to hit the sand.” There will be much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth -- and it will all be for SHOW!

So, what’s going to happen? Not much. Look for the Congress to legislate around those 1.2 trillion dollar “automatic” cuts. So the Super Committee and Congress will have labored mightily and brought forth – NOTHING. But, hey, this was the intended goal from the beginning.

Below is the article from last August. If you missed it, somehow, you might want to read it for a clearer understanding of the Kabuki Theatre we have been witnessing in Washington for the past few months.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

J. D. Longstreet

*********************************

The so-called Super Committee is a FARCE. It is doomed to failure.

Can anyone reasonably believe there is even the smallest chance that a 12-member committee made up of party loyalist from each side can, somehow, be miraculously overcome by celestial waves of bipartanship? Come on now. Really? Seriously? Naah. Ain’t gonna happen.

This committee has to develop a plan that features both spending cuts and tax increases. Seven members of the 12-member committee must approve any debt-reduction plan before it comes up for a Congressional vote.

Now here’s the “kicker”: If the committee fails to recommend up to $1.5 trillion in savings by Thanksgiving, as much as $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts will be enacted, including up to 2 percent cuts in Medicare payments to healthcare providers.

OK. Lets look at who, exactly, is on that committee. On the GOP side, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have chosen Reps. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), Dave Camp (R-Mich.), Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Sens. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio)..

On the Democratic side, Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has appointed Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.). House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi chose Reps. James Clyburn (D-SC), Xavier Becerra (D-Ca), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md).

This Super Committee (The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.) it seems to me, has been set up to fail. I simply do not see any way a deadlock can be avoided. In my opinion, the committee should be dissolved immediately and the Congress should suck it up -- and do their darn jobs!

The “poor excuse for a committee” committee is somehow expected to do what the Congress, as a whole, could not do -- and even the President and the Speaker of the House could not do it.

OK. So what IS this so-called “Trigger Mechanism, anyway?” Well, it works like this: The trigger mechanism is the product of months of unsuccessful negotiations among congressional Republicans, Democrats and the White House to strike a broader deal to rein in entitlement programs like Medicare and to overhaul the tax code. It would split spending reductions equally between U.S. defense and domestic programs.

Understand: This would be a HUGE cut back in funding for the Military. At a time when America is fighting three wars, if the trigger mechanism kicks in defense spending would be cut by 9.1 percent over a decade and non-defense programs would be cut 7.9 percent. If this is allowed to happen, we are looking at a hollowed-out military right when America is sitting square in the middle of our enemies collective bulls eye.

Medicare would be cut by 2 percent. But that cut would be aimed at the healthcare providers – doctors who care for Medicare patients.

Already, a huge number of doctors are refusing to see Medicare patients. If their reimbursement is further cut, expect even more doctors to refuse taking Medicare patients. This will impact America’s seniors tremendously.

The legislation that created this super committee calls for the committee to find savings through spending reductions and tax increases. REALLY?

Look. The Democrats will not agree to spending cuts and the Republicans will not agree to raise taxes. Can you say: “Deadlock?”

The more I investigate this super committee, the more I am convinced it was set up from the outset for failure.

And consider this: If the panel does just happen to agree on a plan, Congress has until Dec. 23 to hold an up-or- down vote on the plan or the trigger will be pulled, setting off $1.2 trillion in automatic, across-the-board spending cuts over nine years. Of course, this avalanche of spending cuts will not begin until after the presidential election in 2012. No, the cuts aren’t even scheduled to begin until sometime in 2013. Heaven forbid the politicians should rile the electorate just before the election!

Now, here’s the thing: Even if the trigger mechanism goes into effect, the Congress can get around it. They can delay the cuts or even override the cuts if they choose. (Who said the cuts were “automatic,” anyway?)

Even if the spending cuts were to actually go into effect, the Congress has the power to turn around and INCREASE the spending by way of so-called “emergency funding,” which, by the way, falls outside the super committee’s caps. Some have suggested it would not be outside the realm of possibility for Congress to do exactly that. I mean, they DO have a history of getting, shall we say – “creative,” when it comes to finding ways to spend our money.

There is no way to prevent a congress in, say, 2014, from simply reducing the amounts of the spending cut(s) or just overturning the super committee’s so-called automatic spending cuts. It would be as if the super committee never existed in the first place.

Yep. I’m convinced the super committee is a farce. It is just more “slight of hand” by our national leaders to placate irate voters who would like to see America saved from pending destruction.

Prepare for a humongous fight between now and Christmas over spending and raising taxes.

How do we get past this and get America back on a financially firm footing? We will do it by replacing Obama in the White House with a fiscally conservative President and with conservative control of both houses of the Congress. It is only going to get progressively worse until we do.

J. D. Longstreet

Enough, Already, With The Debates

2011-11-21T02:15:00.000-06:00

Enough, Already, With The Debates

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

I am not a debater… never have been. Although I have been speaking publicly since the age of nine, I hate debates.

You may have noticed that I DO tend to favor commentaries. In a commentary I am allowed to express my views completely, without interruption, and then sit back and wait for the fur to fly.

I have no interest in arguing my positions or opinions. Once stated -- that’s it! I don’t argue. Its not worth the time and effort necessary to sway someone else’s opinion my way. I simply don’t care if you disagree with me. Once my personal deliberations are complete and I make my opinions known, I am finished. (I know the shrinks would have a field day with this!)

All this leads me to the so-called debates between the GOP candidates seeking the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States. Only a child would confuse the debates with a press conference … for that is all they are … press conferences. They are “gotcha” sessions. Little is learned from them though they make for grand spectacle.

We Americans have a strange way of choosing whom we send to Washington to represent us on The Hill and in the Oval Office. It is more than “passing strange.”

One quality we Americans demand from a candidate that I see nowhere else in the free world is… “purity.” We conservatives absolutely demand purity in our conservative belief. We never really get it – but we continue to demand it anyway.

Election cycle after election cycle we swear we will never “settle” – never choose the lesser of two evils – then we go right ahead and do it anyway.

The debates are really just theatre. Most conservatives already know whom they want as the nominee long before the first debate. But we watch and we listen and we wince when the candidates stumble and fumble and make ridiculous mistakes while under the tremendous pressure of millions of viewers – not to mention well-versed questioners (with notes from weeks of research) making every effort possible to trip them up or, in a myriad of ways, make them look foolish.

Then there is this: Why are there so many candidates on the stage, anyway? It is ridiculous. We all know there are maybe two or three candidates who have even a prayer of a chance at the nomination. Why not have only those two or three candidates and allow for a more relaxed atmosphere and more time for the candidates to formulate answers in their minds before responding to a question. It would certainly give the viewers and listeners a bit more insight into the way a candidate thinks.

As a former broadcaster, I have to tell you, in my view; the debates are more for the broadcasters and press than for the electorate. Its sort of like the Oscars -- Hollywood stars salivating and honoring themselves while preening before the cameras assuring us all of their deep concern for their fellowman. Malarkey! Hogwash!

Never, ever, believe the Mainstream Media doesn’t do the very same thing. They are “stars” in their own right. If you don’t believe it – ask them!

I’ve done pressers and news conferences. I have been the guy with the pad and pencil furiously taking notes as the center of attention babbles on. I’ve been the guy trying desperately to shove his microphone into the face of some politician, or other, in hopes of catching some rare pearls of wisdom dripping from those esteemed lips. I have been there. I know a little about how news folks work. I also know what a bit of public adulation can do to the egos of a few very insecure news personalities.

The whole debate thing really ought to be dumped. Rather, a roundtable discussion between the candidates and a few members of the electorate would be far more informative to the public.

The debates, as they are staged today, are more about entertainment and the star quality of the press corp than they are about genuinely informing the American electorate.

It is a shame, really. Much COULD be learned -- important stuff, too. But so long as we stick with the current format of the “debates” the electorate will have to glean their information elsewhere.

And then – there is this: The GOP debates are the best weapon Obama and the Democratic Party have … at the moment. There are no Democratic Party debates because Obama has no democratic challenger. So all the screw-ups, all the mistakes, all the brain freezes, all the “space-outs” are happening to the republican candidates. It makes them look weak, confused, even a little, well, dumb. The Mainstream Media, which is in the tank for Obama and the Democratic Party, will play all the screw-ups and glitches of the Republicans to the hilt in order to make their extraordinarily weak President look better. Obama is SOOO bad, it doesn’t take much to make him look better.

In light of all this -- even more debates are in the offing. Wouldn’t it make more sense to STOP DEBATING? But, hey, this is politics. Who said it is supposed to make sense?

J. D. Longstreet

Is Israel Bluffing?

2011-11-18T02:46:00.000-06:00

Is Israel Bluffing?

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

The world press is assuring us that Israel will strike Iran by Christmas. Hedging their bets, a bit, some proclaim: early in the New Year.

Now, while I am all for an Israeli strike on Iran to take out Iran’s nuclear facilities, I am troubled by all the extremely public saber rattling. It isn’t like the Israeli military to make a public show of military preparations for a raid.

Having read and consulted Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” on numerous occasions, I can see the importance of keeping the enemy guessing and off balance by playing the world’s media like a Stradivarius. First class militaries, the world over, know one of the greatest weapons they have at their disposal is the near total ignorance of military maneuvering by the press. Call it misinformation or propaganda; the world’s premier armed forces spoon-feed it to the world press. That’s what I think is happening now.

Yes, Israel is going to strike Iran. I haven’t a clue when. And that is the way Israel wants it. In the meantime they have Iran’s nerves on edge and that gives Israel the advantage.

Look. I can relate to Israel. I remember a scrawny kid in my high school class. He was the bookworm of our class. Plus, he wore glasses. You just KNOW he caught the dickens, right? You’d be wrong. See, he earned the reputation of being that “crazy kid who would hurt you badly if you messed with him.” And that was true. He would attack, with the least provocation, his classmates, even his adult teachers, if he felt threatened. Only the unenlightened messed with him … and then only once. That kid spent a lot of time in the Principal’s office, and in the Superintendent’s office. Yet, somehow, he managed to graduate at, or near, the top of his class and win election as the student body president … and he dated some of the prettiest girls in his class.

Yes, I knew him very well. He was small – but he was determined not to be bullied – and -- he would HURT you! He didn’t give a darn whether you liked him, or not. But you would be very wrong not to respect him.

See, he learned to harness and channel that fears and his concerns and make them work to HIS advantage.

Normal human beings understand that a frightened human being is earth’s most dangerous animal. A cornered, frightened, animal (including human beings) will lash out and commit totally unexpected actions risking everything, including their lives, because they believe they have absolutely nothing to lose. Often they are successful in extricating themselves from harm simply because their behavior was unexpected.

Now. Refocus on Israel. Israel is small, arguably frightened, and -- Israel will most certainly hurt anyone suffering from the lack of common sense that would cause the wary to avoid a military confrontation with (some would argue) the second best military on earth.

But, then there are fanatics, all over the globe, blinded by religious zeal that are more than ready to sacrifice their lives to appease some god or other. They are the people who pose the greatest danger to all normal human beings on the earth. I have long accepted that when confronted with a man intent on giving his life in an effort to take mine, the kind thing to do is expedite his journey and send him on to his afterlife and allow him to sort it all out with his personal deity.

One must consider that Israel is confronted with this sort of paradise mania every day. For the most part, we here in the west have come late to this fray. Only in the past decade, or so, have we really come to understand the toll of living under conditions of constant threat. And we Americans STILL do not comprehend that Israel can lose its entire country, its very existence, in a single “lucky” blow from its enemies.

Iran intends to wipe Israel from the map. They have told us so in plain English. That was no threat. It was a statement of intent. Israel would be foolish to believe otherwise. And Israel is NOT foolish.

Iran with nuclear capabilities is a threat that cannot be tolerated by Israel. It ought not be tolerated by the European nations and the United States. But, unfortunately, we have a President who feels more at home with the weak-kneed European governments than with real warriors like the Israelis.

I am satisfied that Israel is going to attack Iran -- and soon. If things were, as they ought to be in Washington, DC, the United States would be flying alongside those Israeli aircraft dropping bunker-busting bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear facilities. One must remember that Iran has boasted that their first nuclear bomb is for Israel and their second nuclear bomb is intended for the United States. We Americans are under a nuclear threat from Iran just as the Israelis.

When we step back and look objectively at current events on this planet, it is easy to ascertain that Israel has a much better leader in Benjamin Netanyahu than the United States has in B. Hussein Obama. That is VERY clear.

I honestly think there is a streak of envy in Mr. Obama, envy over Mr. Netanyahu’s leadership capabilities. That would explain Obama’s public snubbing of Mr. Netanyahu. The differences are so clear. Mr. Netanyahu, as a former Israeli Special Forces officer, understands that a leader leads from the front. Mr. Obama has PUBLICLY proclaimed his preference for leading from behind. The two men could not be MORE different.

While the leaders of these two nations are so different the peoples are more alike than different. Many Americans consider Israel something of an extension of the United States. We feel drawn to offer protection to Israel and we hate it when the US government fails to back Israel to the hilt.

If Israel is forced to go it alone against Iran, President Obama will most certainly feel it at the ballot box next year. That is a promise.

(For more on the Israel/Iran situation, please read the article HERE.)

J. D. Longstreet

Conservative Candidates Weak Against Obama

2011-11-17T02:14:00.000-06:00

Conservative Candidates Weak Against Obama

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

A friend, whose opinion I value in the extreme, continues to assure me that Obama will lose in November of 2012. I, on the other hand, continue to be dubious… also in the extreme.

Recently, I received an email from a conservative democrat friend who told me, flat out, that the republican field does not look well, at all, and he is beginning to believe that Obama will be returned to the Oval Office for four more years as a result. He wants Obama gone, too.

In our electronic discussion, I told him that many, many, conservative republicans cannot bring themselves to vote for Romney, under any circumstances, even to prevent Obama a return performance. I explained that I count myself among them. It is a matter of honor. I will, as I have done in the past, write-in the name of a solid conservative candidate for President, and move on.

And this is the problem the GOP has -- and will have -- in November of next year. There are innumerable conservative voters who cannot go against their conscious and do what they are convinced is the dishonorable thing… vote for Romney. This is especially true in the South. Add to that the Evangelical Christians who are never going to vote for a Mormon, conservative or not, and Mr. Romney’s chances of winning against Obama are greatly reduced. In fact, I simply do not believe Romney can overcome this disadvantage, at all.

I know this is an uncomfortable problem and one the RNC and the GOP are skating around, as best they can, for the moment. Nevertheless, it IS a problem and a huge one. Southern conservatives and evangelical conservatives are STILL looking for a conservative candidate they can support. Currently, we can see the polls telling us they have turned their attention to Newt Gingrich. They’re searching.

Thomas Sowell has written a must read article entitled: ”Will Republicans Blow It?” You’ll find the article HERE. Professor Sowell and I share similar concerns. I urge you to read this thoughtful and insightful article.

Look. Conservatives ARE NOT ALL ALIKE. Even the so-called experts on politics tend to lump all conservatives into one group. That is a terrible mistake.

We don’t talk much about it these days, but “honor” is still a really big deal in the South. Too, in the South, we have a strong distaste for the federal government, which we still feel, to one degree or another, is an occupying force in our land. That feeling is reinforced every time we consider all the US military bases on southern soil. It is a tactic borrowed from the Roman Army of ancient times. Keep the occupied pacified by a continuous show of force on their home soil.

So, we have honor, we have a vague feeling of oppression, and then there is -- RELIGION.

Politics is seen in the South as a dirty, low down, occupation ranking right up there with prostitution. Southern Christian conservatives want nothing to do with it. Those who serve in federal public office are frowned upon and cast as rogues shilling for the Federal Government.

Now, you may not like what you are reading here, but this is my opinion based on over seven decades of life in my beloved South. I know my people.

Anytime a southern conservative stands for office you can bet he or she is not the best candidate conservatives can offer because the best qualified persons for the job will not run for fear of sullying themselves with the filth of the second oldest profession.

Add to the above the deep distrust of northern (especially northeastern) candidates by southern folk and you can see the grave disadvantage Mr. Romney has in the South. Without the South, Mr. Romney hasn’t a chance of beating Obama.

Why are northeastern candidates frowned upon in the South? “The War of Northern Aggression” -- erroneously called the American Civil War and sometimes referred to as “The War for Southern Independence.” So many US troops, from the northeastern states, committed what today would be labeled as war crimes in the South during that war (and even worse during the so-called Reconstruction Era) that the contempt for them has been handed down through the generations and is still extremely strong today.

Voting is a privilege I do not take lightly. Last week, I was discharged from the hospital. That day there was a municipal election in our town. My wife drove me directly from the hospital to the polling place where I cast my ballot from the front seat of my wife’s Buick. (Curbside Voting) THEN, I went home.

I vote. I would be a very small man, indeed, if I did not vote – yet -- continued to grind out commentary after commentary criticizing office holders. For me, it is a matter of honor.

In November of 2012, I will do the honorable thing at the ballot box.

J. D. Longstreet

It’s Halftime In The Iraq War

2011-11-15T02:14:00.001-06:00

It’s Halftime In The Iraq War

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

I continue to read piece after piece about the war in Iraq winding down for US troops. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The US is in the Middle East for the foreseeable future whether we want to be – or not!

It is only halftime in the Iraq War. We have just finished the first two quarters and we’re off to the locker room to rest up and prepare for the second half. There will be a second half. Count on it. The US has “forward positioned” war fighting material in the area in preparation for the day we next take the field in Iraq.

US troops are leaving Iraq not as winners, and not as losers -- for the war is not over. Everyone with a lick of sense knows it.

Iran is waiting for the dust to settle and they will begin to apply their strangle hold on Iraq. Through out the war American troops have been fighting Iranian troops and defending against Iranian “insurgents” -- all of this on the soil of Iraq.

In my opinion -- the war in Iraq was not only a good idea -- it was necessary. Had the US not intervened, Saddam Hussein would most certainly have gained control of a huge share of the world’s oil supply. Iraqi troops would have smothered Kuwait and Saudi Arabia very quickly and Hussein was headed that way.

As to the claims that Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction, we KNOW that he did. He used them on his own people. WMD are NOT necessarily nuclear in nature. There are radiological, biological, and chemical weapons of mass destruction.

There is also a school of thought that Hussein also had some nuke capability, possibly old Russian nuclear artillery shells, and the ability to create the so-called nuclear “dirty bombs.” Some feel the Russians and the Iranians spirited those weapons out of Iraq into Syria and Iran days before hostilities began.

Saddam Hussein had to go just as Ahmadinejad in Iran has to go. Currently Ahmadinejad is at, or very near, the top of the list of world troublemakers who find themselves in the sights of oil consuming nations around the globe. Face it. No one is going to be allowed total control over the flow of oil from the Middle East -- no matter the cost.

The US made a bad decision when it decided to “nation build” in Iraq. Rather, it seems to me, we should have set up an occupational government and run the government with American military officials for as long as was necessary… even decades into the future. As it is, we are leaving an Iraqi government that will be lucky to stand long enough for US troops to exit Kuwait.

Even with American training the plain truth is the Iraqi military and police are pathetic. At the first sign of real trouble it will become extremely difficult to find an Iraqi soldier or policeman. Uniforms will be shed and they will melt away in the crowds and may even take up arms against the current government.

Nobody wants to say it publicly but the fact is the Iraqi House the Americans built was built on quicksand and will soon sink beneath the shifting sands.

Iraq was chosen as a “killing ground” for the Islamic terrorists of the world. And they came. And they died. And that was good for America. We fought them over there to avoid having to fight them over here. It worked very well, indeed. Islamofacists from all over the world poured into Iraq to fight the Infidel. And the infidel kicked their collective butts into Paradise where Allah could sort them out at his leisure. It was America’s way of “thinning the herd.”

I am not one of those pie in the sky ideologues who believe the so-called “Arab Spring” a good thing. In fact, I think it will turn out to be a very bad thing for America and the West. Islamofacism, I suspect, will manage to take over the majority of the countries involved in the revolutions that swept the Arab tier of states this past summer. If I am right, and I believe I am, it will mean that America will not be allowed to disengage from the Middle East in any meaningful way. We are there, and we will be there, for generations into the future.

No. The Iraq war is not over. It’s only halftime.

J. D. Longstreet

The Deconstruction Of America

2011-11-14T02:20:00.000-06:00

The Deconstruction Of America

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Politics is rotten … period.

The form of government the American people chose at their founding was unique. It still is. Many have sprung up around the globe in imitation of the American constitutional “representative” republic. None have yet hit the mark -- though they have come close.

Ours is an imperfect form of government. It is a government “of,” “by,” and “for” the people. The key word, of course, is “people.” And therein lies the problem.

The American government was flawed from its beginning. It is a result of the human touch. It could not and cannot be helped. But it has worked miraculously well, for over two centuries.

From time to time, America has touched on destruction, even self-destruction. But, so far, we have managed to pull back, at the last moment, and survive to become a colossus astride the world.

There have been costs. There will be more.

Some say America is hard on the world. Maybe. But America is hardest on itself. The internal war between Americans to determine what we will become still rages. For, you see, America is never static. America is always “becoming.”

The continuous swirling vortex that is America wounds and wounds deeply. Our leaders come and go. They ascend to the pinnacle of power with grandiose ideas only to be swept to the kneeling benches below by the American people, fickle, as they are, who choose not to accept those ideas or that leader’s choice for the direction of travel he intends to take America. We have seen it time and time again.

America’s current leader, Barack Obama, is experiencing the backhand of the people of America. His policies, his directions, his political philosophies have been rejected by “the people.” He is in a desperate fight to salvage something for posterity.

Obama’s mistake was to drag America, kicking and screaming, in a direction it did not want to go. As a result he will earn an asterisk by his name in the history books as America’s first black President -- and very little else.

America finds itself at another crossroads. We have one chance to take the right direction. The cost of choosing wrongly is the destruction of our great nation.

The process of choosing a leader for the future of America is well underway. It is a spectacle seen nowhere on earth save for America. We push forward a number of men and women we think we would like to see lead America -- then we begin the process of striping the flesh off their bones. There is no mercy.

Candidates who survive the process are not necessarily good leaders just very good at perseverance and dodging those proverbial slings and arrows.

America is rich in citizens who would be leaders about whom future generations would sing songs. But they will not step from the safety of the sidelines and join the fray. But then, who can blame them. Of course, that means America tends to be led by the second best, or the least best, or the lesser of two evils, all soaked in mediocrity. It is a rare occurrence, indeed, when America actually gets a better President than it voted for.

The fact is – there is no outstanding leader among the candidates for President from either side of America’s political spectrum in this election cycle. At the very moment America is in desperate need of a lion at the helm -- we have only mice from which to choose.

America can do better than this. The nation deserves better than this. But THIS is where we are.

From today’s perspective, the American future is bleak with decay as far as the eye can see. Why? -- Because we are no longer a single people. We have become far too diverse a population. Until we decide, again, who we are and coalesce around that certain, singular, American character, we will remain, for all intents and purposes, ungovernable.

Diversity and inclusion have murdered the singular American character and culture. We are adrift, unclaimed, and unclaimable. Electing another mouse to lead us will do nothing more than seal our destiny as just another consignment to the dustbin of history.

J. D. Longstreet

The American TEA Party

Snatching Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory

Democrat Code Words for Socialism

Democrat Code Words for Socialism

Fairness, Fair Share, income inequality, etc

Obama Regime Continues To Shred US Constitution

Was South Carolina A Fluke?

GOP Counting On The “ABO” Vote

GOP Counting On The “ABO” Vote

The Hyphen that Destroyed a Nation

A Short Primer On The South

A Short Primer On The South

An Introduction to the South for the Media and Politicians

The Smell Test

The Smell Test

SC GOP Voters Must Hold Their Noses Again

War Clouds Continue to Gather

War Clouds Continue to Gather

A Hollow US Military

A Hollow US Military

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Is It Already Too Late For America?

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Obama And Romney Tied

Obama And Romney Tied

ABUSE OF POWER

ABUSE OF POWER

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Americans Continue to Arm Themselves In Record Numbers

What About Illegal Immigration?

What About Illegal Immigration?

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

ObaHill?

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

There is speculation all over the Internet that Biden is out and Hillary is in as Vice-President. All this is projected to happen in time for the full-out Presidential Campaign in 2012.

Israel Shouldn’t Ask Obama for “Permission”

Israel Shouldn’t Ask Obama for “Permission”

Iranians Seem Ignorant of US Military Power

Iranians Seem Ignorant of US Military Power

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Iran’s dependence on what they feel is an elite military is misplaced. That will quickly become obvious once hostilities begin.

Someone once said: “It is better to have an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep.” The people of Iran would do well to ponder this proverb -- deeply -- before allowing the first shot to be fired.

J. D. Longstreet

Iraq’s Five-Day Democracy

Iraq’s Five-Day Democracy

Instant Civil War

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Christmas 2011

Christmas 2011

Ron Paul Next To Be “Creamed” By GOP

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Newt Is Right About the Federal Courts

Newt Is Right About the Federal Courts

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Back in October of 2009, I wrote a commentary concerning the very same subject. It was entitled: “Abolition of the Ninth Circuit Court? In the event you may wish to read it, you will find it (HERE).

They Don’t Believe In God, Yet Fear Christ?

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Iran Threatens The Straits Of Hormuz Again

Iran Threatens The Straits Of Hormuz Again

Southern Democrats Worried That Obama Will Be Reelected

What About Gingrich?

The Empire Prepares To Strike Back

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

A Day of Infamy – 70 Years Later

A Day of Infamy – 70 Years Later

Christian Churches To Go Underground in America?

After His resurrection and shortly before he ascended to heaven, he gave his followers this mission: 18And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Another Vacation For Obama?

Another Vacation For Obama?

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Elections Have Consequences

The Sino-America War

The Sino-America War

There Really Were Good Old Days

Handling Bullies A Lost Art

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Russian Paranoia

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Super Committee Redux

Super Committee Redux

After His resurrection and shortly before he ascended to heaven, he gave his followers this mission: ¹⁸And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.