Today the U.S. Navy must prepare for two major wars–one against Iran in the Persian Gulf, the other against China in the Western Pacific–while also combating piracy off the coast of Africa, dealing with unexpected wars such as the one in Libya last year, supporting ground operations in Afghanistan and other theaters, combating drug runners in the Caribbean, and showing the flag in the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, and other seas. The operational tempo dictated by these requirements is terrific, as I have seen for myself in the last few years in visits to the 5th Fleet in the Persian Gulf and the 7th Fleet in Japan.
The ships we have are, when not retrofitting in port, almost constantly at sea and they are struggling to keep up with threats ranging from Chinese “aircraft-killer” ballistic missiles and submarines to Iranian mines and cruise missiles–not to mention the ever-present threat of cyberattack and terrorism (of the kind which crippled the USS Cole). Yes, the capabilities of each naval ship are greater today–but so are its range of potential missions and so are the capabilities of our potential foes. China is expanding its maritime capabilities at a rapid clip; the U.S. Navy is struggling to keep up and the balance of power in the Western Pacific is shifting against us.
That is in large part why the bipartisan Hadley-Perry Commission concluded in 2010 that the Navy should have 346 ships. Yet today it has only 282 ships–and falling. As former Navy Secretary (and Romney adviser) John Lehman noted in April: “The latest budget the administration has advanced proposes buying just 41 ships over five years. It is anything but certain that the administration’s budgets will sustain even that rate of only eight ships per year, but even if they do, the United States is headed for a Navy of 240-250 ships at best.”
That is a looming strategic disaster–and one that no amount of quips about horses and bayonets can wish away. If we don’t build more ships, our global maritime dominance–the basic underpinning of the world’s strategic and economic stability–is in real danger of slipping away.
The only thing that I have a quibble with, is that he actually forgot Russia. If Max thinks that Russia is not a threat to our National Security; he is nuts. As long as Putin has his hands in the Government in Russia, the United States should be very worried. Putin is a holdover from the communist era in Russia and he would just love to take Russia back to the old Communist era. So, they are a threat, as a matter of face they were just testing missiles yesterday.
Reagan always said, when it came to Russia; “Trust, But Verify” and Reagan always did try and independently verify anything that the Russians were saying or doing. All of the Presidents since then have not been so careful, as far as I know. As much as I know that it is going to make me sound like a conspiracy theory kook; I really do not believe that Russia is to be trusted at all. Communism never quite dies, it just takes on new shapes and names. Sort of like what we have here in America, as it is called —- imperfect Marxism.
However, over in Russia, I believe it to be a bit more sinister and complex; those who would want to bring back old soviet-style communism, have plenty of funding, as many in the Russian Business and underworld, would stand to make a good deal of money, if the old Communist Party came back to power. So, that is a threat and I believe our Military should always be on the ready, for when the Russians decided to show muscle.
I hate to be the one to say it; but, anyone who thinks that there are not threats to the security of this Country and others in the region, is at the very least highly uninformed. This is why I always had a quibble with Ron Paul’s foreign policy. As Paul’s foreign policy was just simply not rooted in the realities of the time. Ron Paul seems to be stuck in a utopian era, before World War 2. Truth is, times have changed, and we must be responsible as a Nation to protect this great Republic of ours, from those who wish to cause it harm. This is not a “Neo-Con” foreign policy, that is a reality based, Pro-American foreign policy.
Sadly, Ron Paul refuses to accept that argument and that is why I always had trouble taking him seriously, except maybe on matters of fiscal policy. Even then, some of his ideas are just not rooted in reality. Nice ideas, but a bit out of step for the realities of today.
I don’t give two flips what your politics is; this right here, is not cool at all.
The Victim – Sean Kidzie
Early Friday morning, thugs presumably supporting President Obama beat up the son of Wisconsin State Senator Neal Kedzie outside of his apartment in Whitewater. Kedzie caught the two men removing a Romney sign outside of his apartment around two o’clock in the morning. After telling them to put the signs back, one of the thugs attacked Kedzie and then put him in a choke hold and continued to beat his head.Mark Belling spoke to the Senator’s son Sean on the radio earlier today. Sean Kedzie told Belling he was rushed to the hospital by ambulance with possible skull and eye socket fractures.
**Update: I spoke to Sean Kedzie this evening; he told me is doing well under the circumstances. He said, unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much of an effort to notify people that this incident has occurred, and the two men that beat him up have still not been caught.
Kedzie also said, “the next night another sign was removed from his yard supporting Tommy Thompson for Senate and the night after that an ‘I stand with Walker’ sign was stolen.”
Kedzie told me he is concerned if the thugs that beat him are not caught, other people may be hurt for simply having signs in their yard supporting particular candidates. When I asked if there is anything that people can do to help, he replied, “just stand up for their rights and what they believe in.”
This stuff is not even funny at all. This is the stuff that used to happen to the unions back in the day, at the Battle of the overpass. It is too bad that Democrats have forgotten about all of that. I remember it, because my Dad is a retired GM worker and I know the history of the labor movement. Here is hoping that they catch these punks and put them away for a good long while.
Unlike this woman’s article, this is a very serious article.
Tucker Carlson’s “The Daily Caller” which is rapidly becoming the next “WorldNetDaily” of Conservative media; allows one of its writers, under the guise of so-called humor, to take a rather cheap swipe at Mitt Romney’s five sons.
Writing in her piece about the Romney sons, who are all very happily married; she writes the following:
Choosing between these five handsome men was tough but the results are in. Although all the Romney boys are married, don’t lose hope: With the exception of one, all of the sons are Mormon so you could potentially be wife number two, three or four depending on whether or not you are into that sort of thing.
Now folks, I have a sense of humor and I have been known to be funny on this blog from time to time. However, this is not funny, it is not even close. It is nothing more than an underhanded slam of the Romney’s and their family. You see, I know the Tucker Carlson is a Mormon himself; but you see, Tucker Carlson is also a libertarian conservative, of the Barry Goldwater stripe, and Carlson also happens to not to be too fond of Romney. Carlson’s gripe is that he believes that Romney is a statist and not nearly conservative enough for his taste. Therefore, because of this and because of the fact that Carlson himself is Mormon, he allows this stuff to be published on that internet rag that he owns.
Well, I happen to be a strong supporter of Mitt Romney for President of the United States of America. Because unlike the likes of Tucker Carlson; I realize that this Country needs a true leader, someone who knows how to run a business. Unlike that community organizer that we have in the White House now; Mitt Romney knows what it takes to be a leader, and will make the tough decisions to get this Country back on track. Furthermore, unlike Tucker Carlson; I happen to know that the Libertarian Party will never have a chance in hell of ever picking a President that will ever be elected. This is because Americans simply reject ideological extremism. The Libertarian Party’s platform is extremist and on foreign policy is totally disconnected from reality. Not to mention that the Libertarian Party’s policy on immigration is totally abhorrent and quite frankly, Anti-American in nature. This is why I dropped my support of Gary Johnson.
I believe that Tucker Carlson owes the Romney family, and his supporters a huge apology or risk his online publication becoming the “Infowars” of the internet in short order. Tucker Carlson’s Mormonism does not justify this sort of behavior by his writers. Furthermore, I find it very humorous, that Tucker Carlson would have a woman doing his bidding and insulting the Romney sons, instead of doing it himself. I guess it is true what Don Imus famously said about Tucker Carlson and his bow ties.
Update: Blogs4Mitt links in, Thanks Rusty! I believe this is an important issue. Like Patti said in the comments; if the left had made such a comment, we would be all over it. But because Tucker is supposedly on the right; nothing gets said, it is not fair to Romney. I know not everyone likes him, but this was just a cheap shot, period. This is why I am raising the flag on this one and calling “FOUL!” I mean, having concerns about Romney’s Statism is one thing; but making a comment like that, it is just uncalled for. It would be like calling President the N-Word, to me. It is the same thing. It is bigotry and it needs to stop — on all sides.
This video is quite damning to the President. In last night’s debate, President Obama basically said that he was not going to fight for so-called “Low Skill” jobs. Here is a newsflash for the President; a good part of Michigan is filled with people who would work these “low-skill” so-called “low-income” jobs. Not everyone in America has the skills or the ability to get the skills to work those high-tech jobs. There are people, like me; who have disabilities, like A.D.H.D. which affect their ability to do math very well and because of this, we are unable to get a high school diploma.
This video is damning for a number of reasons; first, when he said, “Some jobs are not coming back.” It makes the President sound as if he really does not give care about those who cannot get, because of lack of education; one of these sort of jobs. Those who are on the far-right would say that basically the President wants these people to be on the Government dole. Furthermore, it also makes the President sound like he is basically saying that he is not going to fight to bring general labor jobs back to the United States; and with as many people as we have that are out of work, some of which do take those “low-wage” and “low-skill” jobs — that just sounds very bad.
You can try and spin this and try to wrap it up into a contextual argument or even try to say that the President is being realistic. But, as far as this voter is concerned, Obama just threw in the towel for the average, everyday, unemployed, general laborer. Something that I have been for a good part of my life. Which is why I plan to vote for Mitt Romney in November. Romney might not be perfect, but, he knows what makes this economy work and that there people who do not have degrees, like me; who simply need a 40 hour a week or more job. The only workers that President Obama cares about, are the Unionized workers at the big three, something my Father was, he also wants to tax their pensions as well, something my Father is not happy about too.
But for the non-unionized workers, like me. President Obama simply does not care; Obama would rather focus on the high tech jobs, because those people would be more inclined to vote for him. This is the difference between President Obama, and Governor Mitt Romney — Governor Romney knows that it takes ALL kinds of workers and getting those workers back to work is what he wants to carry out.
Here is Mitt Romney’s message to the middle class: (Via HotAir.com)
Most of the people that come here and read, know that I have been unemployed now for 8 years. Some of that, is my fault; a career change that did not work out like I planned it. But the majority of it is due to the piss poor economy in Michigan. The President has helped take care of my Father and seen to it, that his pension is preserved and that he will get everything that he needs — for this I am very grateful. My question to the President and to the Democrats, as an American, is this: What has President Obama done for people, like me? What has President Obama done for people, who do not have the unions standing in their corner? What has the President done for those who are “low-skill” workers, who are not minorities?
The truth is, The President has done nothing and will do absolutely nothing for us. Which is why, if you are a general laborer and you are voting for President Obama again; you are a fool. Trust me, as the above video shows, President Obama does not give a remote damn about we, who use our backs and our bodies to work. This is because he never had to do it, ever.
I close on this note here: I realize that many working class folk might not like Romney. He is far from perfect, I know what Bush did; and I cannot change that — But, I believe that with Romney it will be much different. So, I ask you, as Americans:
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Guess not! 
But, I figure they’d at least wait until the votes are counted. 
