Saturday, April 11, 2009

Walk the Plank


Have you been following this Somali pirate action the last couple of days? Apparently these terrorists make quite a prosperous living hijacking ocean going cargo vessels and yachts and taking crew members hostage for healthy ransoms. Earlier in the week a French couple and their young child found themselves abducted by these mindless heathens and the man lost his life during a rescue orchestrated by the French government. True, the man and his wife ignored warnings about piracy in the area and chose to attempt a pleasure cruise through the area anyway. This French man and his wife apparently weren't the brightest bulbs in the knife drawer and they thought their home country's military could bail them out in a tight squeeze? That's a shock. The all powerful French military screwed up the negotiation and release of three countrymen, one of whom was an infant child. Sure glad they're NOT helping us fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. Why do we need their permission again to conduct operations against terrorists? I seriously doubt the French military could successfully orchestrate the covert removal of dog poop from the French president's lawn without screwing it up. So going up against pirates would certainly be out of reach for the French military or whatever they call it. It's funny the government of France didn't just pay up rather than bluff a fight. It's not like France not to pander and placate terrorism.
Second, an American captain of a Maersk cargo ship is being held captive by Somali pirates in the same body of water some distance away. According to my interpretation of international law, the United States Navy doesn't have the authority to engage the pirates in this particular body of water regardless of the crew's nationality. I imagine some ships fly under the flags of different countries for tax and trade purposes further complicating what I am sure is a legal nightmare in international or non-American waters. You have to give this American captain credit though. He jumped from the lifeboat the pirates held him on and was dog paddling towards a Navy destroyer sent to block reinforcements from reaching the pirates' lifeboat. The captain swam back to his captors after a hail of automatic weapons fire encircled him during his attempted break to freedom. What did he say when he got back to them after they fired at him? I was just kidding.
So a conundrum exists. The terrorist lifeboat is out of fuel. The Navy is or shortly will be blocking resupply of this boat by their terrorist buddies. The pirates are negotiating and demanding ransom even though they're afloat without gas. They said they'll kill Captain Phillips if the Navy engages them. No one at the State Department or Pentagon has called me as of this hour but if they read this blog I'll provide the solution to them free of charge as a service to my country and in hopes that Captain Phillips will be safely returned to his family in Vermont.
The U.S. Navy should surround the lifeboat and agree to facilitate whatever sum of sum of money the terrorists demand. Once confirmation of the transfer of funds to an account chosen by the terrorists is complete, safely stow Captain Phillips below deck in the American destroyer sent to surround the lifeboat he'd been on. Next it is time to turn the turrets on one or more of our destroyers towards this lifeboat and blow the ever loving shit out of it and its pirate crew. There shouldn't be a piece of boat or terrorist big enough to provide a gourmet meal for a minnow. Five or six of our destroyers then play bumper cars with any terrorist vessel in the area within a 10,000 square mile radius. We kill them all and keep killing them until they get the hint that terrorism on the high seas may be hazardous to your health. We could paint billboards on the side of our destroyers like the drinking and driving billboards you see along the highways in America. Then we summon one, only one, U.S. aircraft carrier to the region as well. The NSA and CIA have intelligence indicating where the terrorist strongholds are on the Somali coast and inland as well. Our fighter jets turn these safe houses into glass. Now regardless of the "international community's" concern about unilateral action we just get it done and it's over with. We seize the funds we handed over. If an international bank doesn't give our money back after we explain that this was a ransom paid to international terrorists we burn the bank down and take our money back anyway. When the United Nations wants to investigate our actions we withdraw from the U.N. This should have been done years ago anyway. The U.N. is an organization that promotes terrorism and even allows terror sponsoring nations to vote on how we deal with terrorists. Wow, that is logical and intelligent isn't it? Probably not. I wish they'd just call me more often. I wonder if Barack or Hillary could come up with a better plan. I doubt it. They're taking the U.N. path which blames America first and trumpets negotiating with those that wish us harm instead of ridding them for the scourge they are. I like my way better.

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Sad Day in Tracy, CA


What in the world is wrong with us? Sandra Cantu, this pretty 8 year old girl, was found stuffed in a suitcase in a dairy pond near her home in Tracy, CA. Her autopsy is scheduled for later today. The grief for her family must be unimaginable. How tragic to lose someone this young and crippling to let thoughts run rampant about her last hours and moments on Earth. As someone that interacted with sex offenders during my years of service in law enforcement I can tell you that this type of deviant is simply the worst among us. To be definitive, there is no cure for the type of animal that did this to an innocent child. Recidivism rates skyrocket and even the touchy-huggy rehabilitation types find no statistics to back their theory of returning "rehabilitated" offenders back into general society.
My view on the death penalty has softened over time. I used to be a member of the "kill them all" chorus. Well publicized mistakes and cases of innocent men and women being convicted and in some cases executed for crimes they didn't commit seems just as dastardly. However, why do we fight so hard to modify laws that would adjust to a sort of legal common sense? Why does it have to be a death penalty versus no death penalty argument exclusively? Can't we modify the death penalty debate to include specificity and absolute knowledge? In other words, if DNA links the suspect to this girl's savage murder, light him up Jack. If eyewitness testimony and circumstantial evidence convict the suspect beyond a reasonable doubt without DNA, then let it be life in prison. And for you child molesters entering the prison system, don't drop the soap if you get my drift.
It doesn't matter whether or not the death penalty reduces the number of vicious crimes in each respective category or not. The death penalty remains in my eyes as a specific punishment for a specific person for having committed a specific act. Case closed. I've interrogated sex offenders myself and winced with a knot in my stomach while eliciting a confession. They like it, they want to talk about it. You have to rationalize with them and it is as sickening as anything you'll ever sit through. One guy told me about a three year old girl he abused and that she "wanted it." I wanted to tear his throat out with my bare hands. Thankfully I didn't but as I get older I'm happy to say I might handle things with a pipe if given half a chance.
When examining your own thoughts regarding the death penalty's place in society, try not to make it an all or nothing argument. If DNA connects the suspect to a victim scientifically beyond any doubt, it's barbecue or killer cocktail time. If evidence convicts him without the positive link of DNA it's life in prison. The important thing is to keep innocent adults and children safe from roaming predators that serve no benefit to society now or in the future.

Sunday, April 05, 2009

Socialism, Facism, or a Nice Combination of Both

The drooling lap dogs got their wish. That's right. The American electorate got exactly what they thought they wanted. Everything ever mentioned about the American love affair with Obama comes to pass. And believe me, "something wicked this way comes." Our apathy and complete lack of focus and conviction now lives vicariously through President Barack Obama. Prepare to start paying the price and a steep one it will be indeed.

Help us and help me was the cry as the economy teetered, stocks wobbled, and unemployment numbers soared. While we sat back on dead asses and waited on promises from an inefficient government that cannot control itself within the walls of Congress, an entire way of life changes and the building blocks of our Constitution are being jackhammered by the Marxist liberals now controlling even more of what once had been a society based on personal freedoms and free markets. Blame Bush if you must for beginning the landslide. He abandoned the conservative creed of fiscal responsibility. The first automotive bailout and use of TARP funds clearly planted the first seeds of doom. Republicans crowded into bed with him did as well and now they're on the outside looking in. Just remember that the pinch-faced shrew Pelosi and cadaver Harry Reid have controlled both houses of Congress for more than two years. I guess the buck doesn't stop here. Please remember that the lisping and show tunes loving Barney Frank supported the very institutions that precipitated the mortgage meltdown that ushered in the current recession. He and other Socialists of his ilk like Maxine Waters and Al Franken are on the record supporting, indeed legislating the path for sub-prime mortgages. Why doesn't anyone ever mention the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 that the dunderhead Carter Administration enacted, Bill Clinton enhanced, and Barney Frank pushed until the sky fell last year? I'm just getting warmed up.

So do you want to start with the staggering deficits created by Obama's unprecedented budget of 3.1 trillion dollars? Do you know that these debts probably cannot be covered or paid back for generations? What about printing money to "monetize" the debt? Deflation of the dollar then pushes us towards an international currency as suggested by trustworthy nations like China. By the way, we've borrowed more money from the Communists than Pelosi has plaster for her puppet-like face. Did I mention Russia and China are buddies with ever increasing military might and increasing troop and weapons numbers? Does it matter to you that Harold Koh, a top attorney in Obama's state department, encourages us to shift to international law rather than our Constitution? Instead of relying on our own laws and judicial process we'll now base decisions in our country on what France or Spain thinks. That's comforting. You had better just grab a couple of drinks now.

The billions of dollars spent bailing out the auto industry and AIG was a smokescreen that allowed Obama the puppet and his radical handlers to begin pushing the government into a fascist state. Yeah, he used the news of AIG and the auto bailouts to pull the wool over the eyes of the voters. While we're cussing greedy corporate executives Barack is pushing stem cells, forcing doctors to perform abortions regardless of conscience, and pushing cap and trade carbon taxes that further cripple American industry. That's just the small stuff. Do you know that the construction jobs created in his stimulus bill only benefit those workers that are members of the unions? So much for special interests being driven out of Washington. Do you know why the automotive industry wasn't forced to pursue bankruptcy before now? Obama couldn't face the ire of the UAW. Truth is as action dictates. Am I the only one that remembers white tooth Obama promising no more earmarks during his campaign? Remember, earmarks are different than traditional pork barrel spending. Pork projects can be debated on the floor. Earmarks cannot be debated. They're slipped in there. Obama simply represents a more charming and eloquent version of the same toxic waste and slime. Shucks, trust me because I'm the government and I know what's best for you.

Are you nervous that the nationalization (Socialization) of banks and U.S. corporations came off without a hitch? The inept Congress cannot balance a budget, understand a profitable economic system, or agree on which color the new carpet in the congressional bathrooms should be. However, they are perfectly capable of running private industry and making decisions for the banks that have your money in them. Comforting isn't it. Now Obama can decide which employee makes too much money and who should be fired, hired, or hardwired. I don't think this was the founders' vision of a free America.

At least the liberal media types can focus on Michelle Obama (Mr. Ed look-alike) and how she touched the Queen of England's back or what shoes she wore when she met the French president's wife. You know, the important stuff. You and I fellow Americans had better pull our heads out and start attending some tea parties. Never under any circumstances though take to the streets with your guns. Oh wait, the ban on all weapons held by law-abiding citizens is on its way as well. Our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is well on its way to repeal and is under attack as well. The very protection the founders gave us to prevent the implementation of a tyrannical government is under attack by our tyrannical government. That's not an oxymoron but a now sweeping truth.

Stay tuned.