Johnny Depp Part II

I have to commend President Obama on his actions that led to the rescue of Captain Phillips. I apologize for the lapse in time from the first post to this one. I have been doing a bit of traveling. During my travels I took a private poll. I asked people how they would rate the Presidents performance in regards to the successful rescue of Captain Phillips.

I was not surprised to hear almost everyone thought he acted appropriately and very Presidential. I was actually proud to say he was my President. He did not give into the demands and brought an American hero back home to his family. A clear sign was sent to the pirates and my article should end at that. However, I did come across one detractor. I was discussing the incident with a few friends and he interjected. He had some very interesting points.

I need to premise the rest of the story by saying my friend is very conservative. He is not blinded by his beliefs but is very steadfast in his resolve. He is fair and I have always known him to give credit where credit was due. I was actually surprised to hear his argument.

He started off by stating that he was happy Obama ordered the Navy Seals to take the shot, but he believed they should have shot sooner. He then justified his statement. President Obama did not make many statements concerning the kidnapping. He was cool and collective and wanted all the facts. Most good leaders do. The issue he had with this was Obama was actually attempting to negotiate with the pirates. While the line of communication was being opened Captain Phillips jumped out of the raft and attempted to swim to safety. What if the Seals have been given the order to take out the pirates when they had an opportunity to without risking the life of the captain. What better time to take the shots - he wasn't even in the boat.

We know that Seals were present when the attempted escape occurred. Why was the order to shot not given. Did the President want to show the world that he was the great negotiator. My friend believes Obama was shamed into ordering the snipers to fire.

The news coverage of the escape attempt was almost non-existent. No one mentioned an attempted rescue. No one. Was it safer to let the snipers shot from one moving boat to another with Phillips on board or was it safer to shot when he was in the water. The point here is the order was not given. The Seals had to wait.

I am very happy that Captain Phillips is home and well. I hope that President Obama has realized that negotiation with terrorists will never work. Thank God for the Navy Seals and their quick actions. I am sure Easter Sunday would have been less eventful if the President had only given the simple order to protect an American hero.

Johnny Depp Strikes Again

Last time I checked the year was 2009. I open the paper and read that pirates have taken a U.S. citizen hostage. What is going on? This makes absolutely no sense to me at all. We have a group of Somalian pirates in speed boats sailing around the African coast "looting" foreign ships. Have we forgotten that we are the United States of America? The pirates have demanded a 2 million dollar ransom for the release of Captain Phillips. This is ridiculous. I understand that the captain has a family and I am sure they want to get him back at all costs. However, if the ransom is paid we are telling pirates everywhere that the most powerful nation on the planet will negotiate and give in to terrorists demands. This is not the example that we need to send given the current state of affairs.

We are currently involved in two wars in two different countries. We have a weak president who is looking to cut and run and admit defeat in both of these conflicts. We have our enemies threatening us every chance they get. Right now we are not well liked in the world. Giving in to these thugs would be disastrous. The fact that the pirates would take an American hostage just shows how brave they have become. Other countries have already paid ransoms and are still at risk for future attacks. Giving in will not solve this problem or any future problems that may arise.

Captain Phillips is a hero. There is no doubt about that. He willingly gave himself up to secure the safety and release of his crew. He deserves to come home but I am sure he knew what he was getting himself into when he chose to become a hostage. We as a nation have an obligation to bring this hero back home and reunite him with his family. We already have ships in the area. We have highly trained Navy Seals ready to take the lifeboat. We need to let our brave men and women do what they were trained to do and bring the Captain home.

A clear message must be sent. If you take an American hostage you will pay the price. No questions asked. Somalia is not a stable country by any stretch of the imagination but that is no excuse for the pirates' actions. The Somalian leadership must be held accountable for the actions of the pirates. They know where they are. Either they take care of it or while we have the ships in the area maybe we should.

Let the testing begin

North Korea has announced that it intends to shoot down any and all U.S. "spy" planes monitoring its missile launch site. The north has accused both the U.S. and South Korea of conducting about 190 spy missions over its territory. I have no doubt that the U.S. has been conducting these missions. I believe they are justified and must be carried out. North Korea has been rattling its sword for a while now. Negotiations have been allowed to take place over its nuclear program and that has gotten us no where. We are allowing an angry child to act out on a global stage. It is apparent that U.N. "time outs" are not going to change the North Korean mindset.

Former President Bush was criticized for his unwillingness to deal with North Korea. We attempted to deal with North Korea and now they are threatening to launch a satellite. Most believe that this is an attempt to test their long range missile capability. The North Korean leadership has been effectively starving its people for decades. What do they really have to fear from U.N. sanctions?

If North Korea develops or already has the capability for long range missile launches several of our allies are in direct danger. Japan has stated they would shoot down any missile debris that may stray into their territory. North Korea responded that they would consider that an act of war. It looks like the North is trying to muscle its way onto the political stage once again. We have to remember, if a child is given an inch then they will try to take a mile. North Korea must realize if they launch this "satellite" other countries besides the U.S. may take measures. South Korea and Japan both have the right to defend their territory and interests. A nuclear North Korea with long range missiles is not what is in the best interest of our allies or the world.

When will we realize rogue nations can not be dealt with logically? Obama wants to be the great healer, but it looks like North Korea doesn't believe it needs to be healed. A confrontation is looming ahead of us and right now diplomacy is only buying the North Koreans time.

Licenses for Everyone

I remember when I finally received my Texas State drivers license. I was very excited. I took the time and money and signed up for drivers education and after school for 6 weeks I went to the class. I admit, I did fail the actual driving test once. I was speeding in a school zone and broke the law. I made sure that did not happen the second time.

I wish I knew about Maryland's license laws back then. It would have saved me time and money, as well as having to face the guys after failing the drivers test the first time. It seems that you are not required to have any documentation stating that you are in the United States legally or even a resident of Maryland to receive a license. I came across an article online that outlined Maryland's drivers license policy. Maryland is one of four states that do not require applicants to prove that they are legal U.S. residents in order to get state issued driver's licenses. Maryland lawmakers are considering changing the laws because they fear some people may try to deceive the state. Imagine that. Illegal immigrants attempting to obtain a driver's license by using deception. Say it isn't so. I apologize for the sarcasm but after reading the story I could not believe this is actually transpiring.

Maryland officials have reported that 68 people have applied for Maryland licenses and all used the same address. Must be a very big house. Those in favor of issuing driver's licenses to illegal aliens believe it gives law enforcement a larger database to use when crimes are investigated. They also believe auto insurance coverage will increase. This argument is ridiculous. We are rewarding illegal aliens with licenses so they will not operate a car illegally. How does this make any sense at all. Illegal aliens are getting licenses so they will have a valid, legal form of identification. I doubt the next stop after the DMV will be the local Farmers Insurance office.

Businesses are now running ads in Spanish-language publications in several East coast states encouraging illegal aliens to take advantage of Maryland's mind boggling laws and receive legitimate identification. Maryland lawmakers must close this loop hole. Can anyone really take a Maryland I.D. card seriously? Of course Democrats will say this is discrimination - we are picking on the poor immigrants. They are here illegally, they are breaking the law everyday they remain here. We are rewarding criminals. Maryland should arrest everyone who fails to provide documentation that they are here legally on the spot. This would take care of illegals driving without licenses.

Maryland is not alone, Hawaii, New Mexico and Washington all have similar laws.

Breaking Down Borders

It is official - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has lost her mind. Speaker Pelosi told a group of legal and illegal immigrants that the U.S. enforcement of the immigration laws are "un-American" and should be changed. Apparently the deportation raids on individuals who broke the law by entering this great country illegally should be stopped. Nancy seems to believe that breaking families up and tearing parents away from their children is ridiculous. I agree if that were the case. Our country has been built on the sweat and blood of immigrants. My family came from Ireland and Italy, but guess what they came here legally. They did not break any laws and filed all the needed paperwork. These statements made by Pelosi are an insult to all hard working legal immigrants all over the United States.

Deportation raids are a necessary part of life in the United States. It is estimated that we have a minimum of 12 million illegal immigrants already residing in the country. These illegal immigrants are a drain on the tax paying Americans who are now put in direct competition for lower paying jobs. California is almost bankrupt. Illegal immigrants cost the tax payers millions of dollars a year in medical expenses alone. When an illegal immigrant visits a hospital with no insurance who do you think pays for all the services. The American tax payers do. Mrs. Pelosi may not have a problem with that but most Americans do. We should not be rewarding people who are breaking the law. I understand that people want a better life for themselves and their family, but what kind of example are they setting for the same children they want to better by breaking the law. In my opinion a very poor one.

Nancy Pelosi is pandering to a minority group of voters - I think it is time she starts to listen to the majority in the United States. This is amazing. The leader of Congress is advocating law enforcement to disregard the laws of the nation. What is next? It is okay to murder or rape as long as you say you are sorry. The sad part is with Obama in the White House and the Democrats in control of the Congress it is only a matter of time before we throw out all immigration laws and open the flood gates. I guess national security is no longer a concern for Mrs. Pelosi. It must be nice to live in Pelosi's world. Just wait until something happens to one of her family members.

Spend Spend and Spend Some More

President Obama is about to sign the $410 billion dollar spending package Congress just passed. This should get the economy jump started right? All of our economic woes are about to come to an end. We are not that lucky. This spending bill is full of earmarks totalling 7.7 billion dollars!!! I seem to remember President Obama vowing to end unnecessary spending and controlling government spending. I guess since he is already elected he is not bound by pre-election rhetoric.

President Obama admitted that this bill is "imperfect", but is still choosing to sign it. This bill is laden with funds for domestic programs that President Bush would not allow in previous bills. Republicans called for Obama to veto the bill and go back to the drawing board and create a responsible bill that would allow Washington to keep the lights. The Democrats, instead decided to include programs that provide more free handouts for Americans who have shown they are not willing to better themselves. The bill's sole purpose was to ensure Washington had the funds to continue to conduct business. Now it seems it is just an attention of the stimulus package passed earlier this year.

The spending is already out of hand and at this rate the Democrats have free reign over Congress and the White House. There is no end in sight. We are increasing the size of government and it is at our expense. We are spending money that we do not have. Unemployment is at its highest since 1983 and we are taking away tax cuts from the companies that create jobs. This does not make sense at all. In capitalism companies provide jobs and financial security for people, not the government. Socialism is knocking at the door and President Obama and the Democratic Congress seem very eager to answer the knocks.

Hopefully the American people will see what is really happening and make Obama a one term president. If we don't we are going to spend countless years making the transition back to capitalism. Socialism is an idea that looks good on paper but when introduced into the practical world does not work. We can not spend our way out of this situation. We need to let the economy work itself out. I am not saying let all companies go under but we need to be fiscally responsible and right now we are not.

Give all the Arabs Nukes?

I was sitting down talking to my buddy Marty today and he had a very interesting idea. He wants to give nukes to Iran, Jordan, Syria and Egypt. At first I was shocked, he is a very conservative guy and is very intelligent. I thought he was just making a joke but then he made a very good point.

If all these countries have nukes what would be the incentive to actually use them. He cited the cold war as his example. Russia and the U.S. both had enough nukes to destroy the world several times over. Why did this not occur? A nuclear strike would ensure the destruction of both nations. He is correct. Neither the U.S. or the Russians were willing to take that step.

My counter argument was what would stop these countries from providing the material or the actual bomb to an independent terrorist organization to use on foreign soil? His response was repercussions would be too great for them to take that chance. This is where we disagreed. I think it would be a big jump to think once a rogue nation such as Iran or even North Korea to all of sudden have a sense of responsibility. Marty countered with all exploded nukes can be traced back to the mining of the materials and then the responsible party would be exposed. Marty also believes that the loss of revenue and trade would deter these nations as well.

Marty made some great points and it does make sense if you remove the fact that some of these nations are run by lunatics. When you believe God is on your side and you are doing his will reason goes out the window.

I enjoy my conversations with Marty and will continue to write about them. I hope you do to.