The Russian Bear Awakens!

Just what exactly has the Kremlin been up to lately? While we here in America have been enthralled with our latest Presidential Election, the Russians have slowly, quietly been traveling the world reaching out to our enemies and allies alike with the sole intent of strengthening their relationships with them. In the last 3+ months Dmitry Medvedev and our boy Vlad "The Mad" Putin have been to Cuba, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Venezuela and the list goes on.

At each one of these stops they have spoken of entering into new "strategic" relationships with these countries while at the same time pointing their finger in the direction of the US and calling for restraint. This is bizarre behavior unless you remember what the M.O. for the Russian's was BEFORE they became our friends. For those of us who remember the Cold War this is nothing new. This is Russia flexing it's muscle and doing it's best to spread it's brand of governement throughout the whole of the free world.

Times have changed and there is no longer Communism in the Russian State or so we have been told. If one takes a closer look at the modern-day Russia one will start to see that there is indeed a resurgence in that type of thinking and with Putin behind the scenes doing what he can to bring about a new Russian superpower, the times they are a changing!

The most recent provocation seems to be Russia inserting itself into the Afghanistan situation by promising millions in aid to Kyrgyzstan in exchange for their promise to NOT let us use their airbases to re-supply our troops in that region. I'm sure we will continue to use the airbase but is seems that Russia is going to make us pay a heavy price in order to keep this priveledge.

If you listen carefully you can almost hear the low, gutteral, growl of the bear as it slowly awakens from it's long winter's hibernation and ravenous, it begins it's search for it's long awaited meal.

The Day America Died

Well, it's official: Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States. I honestly thought that the American people were smarter than that but I was wrong. It obviously doesn't matter that he has misrepresented himself and his associations. So what if he pals around with terrorists. No big deal. So what if he wants to "spread your wealth" America, you don't need it do you? So what if he has been endorsed by every major dictator in the world; he'll keep us safe, right? So what if he has absolutely NO experience whatsoever, he has Joe Biden to lean on (insert joke here). The mistake I made was that I thought America was smart enough to see through the illusion that is Obama. You see, we don't really know Barack Obama yet, no one does. Or at least no one that is willing to come forward and vouch for him. Can you think of anyone besides his wife that has stood up for this man? No family members, no college buddies, no clients from the law firm, interesting. Well, America, now you WILL get to know him and all that he aspires to do with his new power. And the best part is in your infinite wisdom you just made the Congress with the worst approval rating in history more powerful as well. Brilliant! Now comes the reckoning.

In the shadows is a true American hero who was up against a powerful symbol and some very bad timing. The fact that Obama is the first African-American President became a story that after time started to write itself. McCain was not running against another man, he was running against an idea, a gesture, a paradigm shift in American politics. Add to that the timing of the financial crisis (which was orchestrated by the very Dems that were re-elected) and you have the making of a crushing defeat. John McCain, more than anyone in this race quite frankly deserved to be President. The fact that the American people decided to pass on a true hero and very experienced military man in the time of war speaks volumes about where we are in this country right now. I only hope the rest of the world gives Mr Obama the time he needs to learn his job as Commander in Chief before they test him. Somehow though I think that might be wishful thinking. Prepare yourselves America for the bloodshed, the fighting and the worry of terrorism here at home because they have only just begun. America, what hast thou wrought?

The wave is coming...

I am going to make a bold prediction: John McCain is going to win on Tuesday and he is going to win BIG! Are you delusional? No. This is based on facts and conditions that I have seen and experienced while working closely with the McCain Campaign in the last few weeks. I believe there is an impending wave of support from a silent majority out there that will soon have it's voice heard. Let me explain what I mean.

First: Oversampling and assumptions by the pollsters: More than any other campaign in history this election has been very challenging for the pollsters. The main reason for this is according to reports up to 80% of respondents are refusing to tell them who they are voting for! Pollsters are having a very tough time getting people to share with them. The reason is the whole "cult of personality" that has been created around Obama and also the "racist" tag that is being applied to anyone who is NOT voting for Obama. People don't want to be labeled a racist and they also don't want to be known as the people that didn't vote for "the Messiah". The fact that Obama would be the first black President is a major consideration with some voters.

Second: Don't underestimate the angry Democrat vote out there. I have met more Democrats in the last months that are extremely angry with what happened to Hillary Clinton and the way that the Obama Campaign treated her than I can recall in recent memory. They are in very heavy numbers planning to vote for McCain. They know that if McCain gets in Hillary can run in 2012. However, if Obama gets in she would need to wait until 2016 and she would be much older by then. I also believe that the Clinton Machine is working behind the scenes to ensure that Obama does not control the Democratic Party in the future which he would if he wins.

Third: Momentum. Simply put, Presidential Campaigns live and die on momentum; the Big MO'! In the past 2 weeks John McCain has surged more than 10 points or more in some of the key Battleground States and the Mo' continues to this day. In contrast, Obama has been hemorrhaging votes and is now fighting to hold onto territory that he thought he had won: Virginia, Missouri, Florida, Ohio. Couple this with the fact that historically Obama is not a great closer and you have the makings of an historical comeback by John McCain. And remember, the polls are skewed due to the 80% non-responsive voters. The lead in these polls could be bigger, much bigger than is being reported now.

Fourth: The nervous media. There has never been a Presidential Campaign that has seen an utter lack of objectivity from the Main Stream Media (MSM) than this one has. Even the latest research shows that the MSM has overwhelmingly gone out of it's way to ensure that Obama has the more positive coverage and that McCain has the more negative coverage. (See the following study: http://www.cmpa.com/media_room_press_8.htm). But the interesting thing that I have seen (that now has been documented) is that virtually ALL MSM media outlets have begun to call the election for Obama in the last few weeks even though people are engaging in early voting as we speak! The main reason behind this strategy is to suppress the vote and make Republican voters depressed and dispirited. They will think that Obama is going to win in a landslide anyway so there is really no reason for them to take the time to vote. In other words: it's a forgone conclusion that Obama is going to win. This is not the first time this strategy has been used however. In the 2000 Presidential Election the MSM called Florida for Al Gore BEFORE the people in the Florida Panhandle, historically Republican-leaning territory, had a chance to get to the polls. By some studies this caused some 50-80,000 voters to stay home and not go to the polls. Florida was won by just 367 votes! The media did their best to help Al Gore and they got caught. Thankfully, the state eventually went to Bush after the Supreme Court intervened. The MSM this time around however is "all in" to use a poker term and they have bet the house that they can pull this off. However, if you start to read between the lines, they are starting to doubt that they have done all they can do and as the research shows the American People have see right through their scheme.

Fifth: The Independent vote: Historically when things are bad people choose the "sure thing" rather than roll the dice on the unknown. With the uncertainty and volatility that exists in the world these days people are looking for their "baby blanket" to make them feel safe. John McCain is that blanket. (Now that's a visual) They KNOW McCain, they trust McCain, they have witnessed his record over decades and they know that he will not take us off a cliff while the world is searching for answers. He might not be an exciting candidate but he is the "sure thing" this time around. They know that out of the two he will do LESS damage if things go awry.

Finally: Obama has failed to close the deal. If the American People really thought that things were so bad that they needed to drastically change things then why hasn't Obama put this thing away? He should be 20 points of more ahead in the polls and yet he is more like 2 or 3 or 5 points ahead. That does not bode well for him as it suggests that there is a large segment of people out there that still don't trust him and are reluctant to swing in his direction. As I said before he is a bad closer and it shows. The truth is people have second thoughts about this guy and they don't think he is the best choice at a time of such uncertainty in the world. They understand that he will have many more chances to run again and this will give them time to get to know him a bit. For now he is an unknown commodity and it makes people nervous. This, I believe will show, come November 4th.

Will we heed the warning?

On the night of Sunday, 14 April 1912 the RMS Titanic was warned twice about the impending danger of the icebergs that lay ahead in it's path. Both the Amerika and the Mesaba relayed to the radiomen aboard the goliath vessel that there was danger ahead and they should tread lightly through the night. However, because of the fact that they were part of the crew of the largest ship that was ever created they decided that these messages were "non-essential" information that the Captain and the officers on the bridge need not be bothered with. We all know the outcome of these decisions and years later we look back in puzzlement and ask ourselves how they could be so stupid.
I wonder what people will say years from now when they think back to the night of 4 November 2008 and the election of the President of the United States of America. Will they say: "but they were warned over and over and over again"! Indeed, it's not like we have not been warned about the associations and agenda of Barack Hussein Obama. I have actually been amazed at the fact that he has been so forthright and honest with what he plans to do as President. That alone makes him different from most politicians. But the interesting thing is for some reason even though Obama is telling us what he will do, the American people are not getting it.
How many times will we need to hear about William Ayers, Rev Wright, Tony Rezko, ACORN, Rashid Khalidi, etc before we get the fact that this man has had some serious lapses when it comes to his judgement? How many times do we need to hear him say that he is going to "spread the wealth around" before we understand that he intends to pit one class against another in class warfare? How many foreign policy blunders does he have to make before we get the fact that he is dangerously unprepared for the role of Commander in Chief?
Folks, the alarm bells are going off and the way forward is very dangerous. We have been given numerous warnings that so far some of us have ignored. There is still time to right the ship and steer us away from the danger but that time is running out. I fear that if we do not heed these warnings America, like the RMS Titanic will be lost forever.

Time to go Nuclear!

For the last 2 weeks I have been, like most of you, absolutely astonished at the treatment that Governor Sarah Palin has been receiving in the media and on the blogs. It is apparent now that she was a VERY wise choice for VP. In the 2 weeks since she was chosen I have watched the mainstream media, the leftist blogs and most of Hollywood lose their minds and slander this woman in any way they can. Some of the statements that have been made have shown the true nature of the dark underbelly of the Left in this country. They are terrified that "their messiah" has faltered and will now lose this election and with good reason. John McCain went from a 6 point deficit in the polls to a 5 point lead! That's 11 points in 2 weeks. He is clearly surging at the right time. People are now paying more attention to the race and they are tuning in more carefully to what each of these candidates intends to do in The White House. With that attention comes scrutiny and so far the American people are not convinced that Obama is the guy to lead this nation. Sure he still has the lead in the traditional "blue states" but even those are starting to come into play and before its all over this could result in a landslide victory for McCain/Palin. Don't forget that most of this will be over on election night BEFORE the mid-west and the west coast gets to vote at all. They will already have an idea by the time they go into the polls as to who is winning this thing and everyone likes to back a winner.

Since these attacks on Governor Palin have backfired and continue to do so I believe that things will soon get even uglier and before it's all said and done there may be a lawsuit involved. Sure, you can say things about your opponent that are slightly untrue in politics because that is the way that the game is played. I wish it wasn't but it is what it is. However, when you start to accuse, slander and frankly make up stuff that you KNOW is not true like some of the media and the lefty bloggers have done, you have then crossed the line. I personally see this getting much nastier and I think the end result will be a huge backlash from women and values voters in this country who are now more energized than at any other time in this race. Remember, it's only September and as of today there are 53 more days before Election Day. October and the inevitable "surprise" that comes with it is yet to come.

There are many things that can still affect the outcome of this race and they need to be considered. Things like: an Israeli attack on Iran, a Russian stalemate in Georgia, the death of a prominent politician/world leader, a resurgence of violence in Afghanistan or a terrorist attack. All of these things could alter the mood of the country and cause people to sway from one candidate to the next. However, I believe that the momentum is building on John McCain's side and that wave is starting to sweep across the country. There is only one more crucial event/events that will have an outcome on this race and that is the Presidential Debates. I'm not worried about the VP Debates because quite frankly they don't matter. Sure, they will be watched VERY closely this time around but in the end it will be the main Presidential Debates that will cause voters to choose one candidate over the other. Because John McCain is a skillful and experienced debater (that's what Senators do all day) I look for him to shine in this forum. That is also why I think the Dem's will decide to "go nuclear" now so that they can damage him and his running mate BEFORE the debates and therefore slow down the momentum. They know that John McCain will do well here so they need to make him look old, unprepared, like a Bush clone or out of touch with America. Look for the heat to get turned up on both McCain and Palin within all segments of the left in this country: MSM, Hollywood, lefty bloggers, etc. This will be an all out attack on all things Republican. They realize that if they can't win with someone who is so polished and "anointed" for this office than they can't win. My prediction: John McCain will win and it will be by 10% points. Then the fun begins as the left completely unravels in the face of a huge defeat. This could mark the end of the Democratic Party in America as we now know it. What will be birthed in its place will be something much, much worse.

Free...but for how long?

I just returned from a wonderful boat ride where we anchored in a harbor to watch the Independence Day fireworks display. Just before the show began, for us and for the hundreds of others in boats and on land, the local radio station played one of my favorite songs in order to get everyone in the mood: "Proud to be an American" by Lee Greenwood. Not only is it a great song but it also holds a special meaning to me as it was THE song when I returned from the Gulf War in 1991. It's a great song and the lyrics truly speak to the pride that I feel as an American who has had the great privilege to fight for this nation and that freedom. As we used to say in the Marines: Freedom isn't free. As long as we are willing in this country to fight for and defend that freedom we will live under it's protection if we choose to lower our guard we will lose that freedom and never get it back. At least not without another bloody conflict that gave it to us in the first place in 1776.

I believe, however, that we are in trouble in this country because we no longer hold that freedom as dear as we used to. Instead we use it as an excuse or a catch-all that allows us to abuse each other and claim that we have the freedom to do so. How many times have we seen absolutely disgusting art or movies that we KNOW are just plain wrong but instead of doing the right thing and refusing to show these examples of filth we say "It's protected by the First Amendment." Somehow, after reading many of the writings of our Forefathers, I doubt very seriously that they would approve of how badly we've abused this "right." Their intent was solely to allow other people to be heard rather than just those in power. In their day if you spoke out against the king he had you beheaded. This obviously was meant as a deterrent so that the king could rule with an iron fist and nobody would question him. The great men who started this country knew that the only way you could truly be free is if you allowed other opinions to be heard even if you didn't agree with them. Somewhere down the line some lawyer took that to mean that anyone could say anything and it was all protected speech. I'm quite sure that our Forefathers knew that there was a limit as to how far one could take this and they never could have imagined what is going on today.

The other timely issue that I see as a dangerous sign of our impending doom is the takeover of the Supreme Court. There are supposed to be three "separate but equal" branches of government. The Executive Branch (The President and Vice President), The Legislative (The House of Representatives and The Senate) and The Supreme Court. This model was designed so that there would be "checks and balances" so that one branch would not rule the others and be corrupted by absolute power. However, we are at a dangerous point in America these days where The Supreme Court and other "activist judges" have begun to legislate from the bench. Basically they have decided to usurp the power of the "people's representatives" in Congress and make their own laws. When we have judges making AND interpreting The Law they they have tipped the balance of power in their direction and there are no more "checks and balances." Thankfully with the seating of Justice Alito and Chief Justice Roberts we have started to see some semblance of sanity coming back to the Court. However, the next President will have as much as 3 or 4 nominations for the Court and that could have wide reaching repercussions for generations to come. McCain will seat somewhat conservative judges and Obama will seat ultra-liberal ones. The Court will swing either way to the right or way to the left and the country will follow suit. This, for me, is the MOST important issue of the upcoming election and I will cast my vote for McCain for that very reason.

America is a wonderful experiment in freedom and we have fought hard to get to where we are now. However, there are many enemies of America that are now planning our destruction and we better be ready for the fight. Whether the threat comes from abroad through something like Islamic terrorism or a conventional war with another country of from within by extremists on the left and their socialist views. We MUST be ready, as Lee Greenwood's song says: I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today. America is free today but without her People to defend her and keep her free she will fall. For those of us who are blessed enough to live in America we need to be ever vigilant for those that would take this freedom from us. We must remember that "We the People" are America and we carry the responsibility to keep her that way. A charge given to us by thousands that have laid down their lives and spilt their own blood so that future generations may enjoy the freedom they did. Are we going to ignore their sacrifice and just let this country be taken away from us while we sit idly by and do nothing? As a Marine, an American and as a Citizen of these great United States I state here and now: Not on my watch...NOT on my watch. E Pluribus Unum and In God We Trust!!!