Richard Disney

A wholehearted thank you goes out to all the service members that make so many sacrifices to protect all Americans. I will raise glasses in salute to our Armed Forces for their health and wellness.

Article follows:

BAGHDAD – How are you spending your 4th of July holiday?

While most Americans probably slept, 1,215 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines raised their right hands and committed to a combined 5,500 years of additional service during the largest reenlistment ceremony in the history of the American military.

Beneath a large American flag which dwarfed even the enormous chandelier that Saddam Hussein had built for the Al Faw Palace, members of all services, representing all 50 states took the oath administered by Gen. David Petraeus, Commander of Multi-National Forces Iraq.

Petraeus, reiterating earlier remarks made by Command Sergeant Major Hill, said that the unprecedented ceremony sends a “message to friend and foe alike.” He told those assembled that it is “impossible to calculate the value of what you are giving to our country . . . For no bonus, no matter the size, can adequately compensate you for the contribution each of you makes as a custodian of our nation’s defenses.”

Last year Gen. Petraeus, along with Senator John McCain, presided over a similar Independence Day ceremony. Then only 588 servicemen reenlisted. This year’s event, more than twice as large, saw the equivalent of two battalions extend their service in America’s military. Nearly the entire rotunda was filled with reenlisting servicemen, their voices drowning out all other noise. For two days the military members, flown in for the occasion from all across Iraq, have toured the elaborate palace where Saddam’s sons were said to have entertained friends lavishly and tortured enemies mercilessly in the basement dungeon.

Following the ceremony, they were treated to Chicago deep dish pizza donated by Lou Malnati’s Restaurant and flown fresh by DHL for the occasion.

Among those in attendance were service members from the more than two dozen Allies serving with MNF-I. Along with their American counterparts, each appeared in awe of the sacrifice of these incredible men and women. Each of the reenlistees knows full well the costs of war, and yet, they chose to stand with their units, their mission, and each other. It was as humbling an experience as I have ever witnessed.

On this 4th of July, while you celebrate around grills and coolers all across America, keep in mind the 1,215 who allow us that privilege.

BobKrumm.com » How did you spend Independence Day?

Tags: armedforces, reenlistment, 1215, iraq, gen. david petraeus, palace, saddam hussein, sailors, soldiers, airmen, marines, 4th of July

If there is a shortage of a resource, doesn’t it make sense to find more in your own country?

Article follows:

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

It’s nice to see that John McCain is in favor of removing the ban on offshore drilling (note the popularity of the proposal). I know that this kind of policy proposal is going to run into a partisan buzzsaw but it is impossible to take seriously the Obama campaign’s argument that a removal of the ban on offshore drilling only serves to benefit oil companies.

 It appears that we have to delve into Economics 101; prices are high because demand outruns supply. To remedy that, we need to drill for more oil so that we can bring supply and demand into balance.

I suppose, of course, that if someone has connections with the Magic Oil Fairy, we could avoid all of this but I kind of doubt that this is the case and it should be noted that the Obama campaign has come up with no proposals whatsoever aimed at increasing the supply of oil in order to alleviate current price pressures.

“Drill, Drill, Drill” A Continuing Series | Redstate

Tags: oil, high gas prices, offshore drilling, drill, Obama, McCain

June 15, 2008NV Poll: McCain By a Nose
Posted by TOM BEVAN

New Mason-Dixon poll in the key battleground state of Nevada (June 9-11, 625 LV, MoE +/-4.0%) shows McCain leading Obama by just two points:McCain 44Obama 42Undecided 14In the only other recent survey in Nevada - a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted on May 20 - McCain led Obama by six points, 46-40.

NV Poll: McCain By a Nose - Real Clear Politics - Elections 2008 - TIME

Tags: mccain, obama, poll results, nevada, election 2008, two points, 2

President W Bush gave a speech in Israel a few days back where Bush said,

“There are good and decent people who cannot fathom the darkness in these men and try to explain away their words. It’s natural, but it is deadly wrong. As witnesses to evil in the past, we carry a solemn responsibility to take these words seriously. Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: ‘Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.’ We have an obligation to call this what it is – the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.”

In response to Bush’s comments, Presidential Candidate Barack Obama took offense at the comments even though Obama wasn’t mentioned by name. In fact Obama was so forceful in his denunciation of Bush’s words it seemed that Obama took ownership of the appeasement position and felt a great need to defend it. It is indicative when Obama and other Democrats are so touchy when a general reference to appeasement is made during a Presidential speech. As Shakespeare might have put it, “…[Obama] doth protest too much, methinks.”

The eligibility of John McCain to be President of the United States is getting some more buzz after an article asking that question was published in the New York Times. Ed Morrissey who is moving to Hot Air published a post analyzing the New York Times article.

I think that the New York Times will publish anything they can, whether it is true or not, to denigrate John McCain. I don’t like that The Times is questioning whether McCain is eligible to be President but unfortunately, I think they have a point. As I said in a previous post about the same issue, McCain’s birth in the Panama Canal Zone brings into question whether or not he is a natural born citizen of the United States or whether he is a naturalized citizen. Based on my experience in the military overseas and how law is currently interpreted I think McCain is naturalized. McCain’s eligibility to be President will only come into question if a candidate or a political party files a law suit. It is debatable whether a candidate or political party would risk such a move. I contend that if McCain is leading by a big margin or in fact wins the general election, then McCain’s political opponents will have nothing to lose by filing a law suit questioning his eligibility.

It will be interesting to see if McCain’s eligibility even becomes an issue and if so, how it pans out.

Hat Tip: Bookwormroom

Does this video cartoon produced in 1932 remind you of any current candidates? Yes, only ALL OF THEM!

After Mitt Romney announced his pull out of the 2008 Presidential Race at CPAC 2008, the only viable candidate left standing is Senator John McCain. In what state does this leave the Republican Party? Unfortunately both the Democratic and Republican parties continue their march away from limited government and individual liberty and toward growing government reach and individual dependence on the Federal Government.

Unlike when Ronald Reagan communicated individualist conservative values to lead many Democratic voters to vote for him, John McCain embodies the movement of the Republican Party to embrace more Collectivist notions in hopes that they can outbid the Democrats in the purchase of votes from constituencies that think it desirable to become more dependent on Government largess. As the saying goes, “Any government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take everything away.” A growing number of Americans now falsely perceive their rights to stem from what Government chooses to let them have rather than being “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights” as recognized by the Declaration of Independence.

As the two dominant American political parties move toward competition as to which party can spend more taxpayer dollars for more pork dumped on more voters, what is a defender of Constitutionally limited government and individual liberties to do?

According to Human Events online, McCain is planning to open his address to CPAC 08 this year with a video featuring Ronald Reagan. After noticibly skipping CPAC last year and attaching his name to multiple causes that are decidedly un-Conservative; the Reagan video will most likely be met by a chorus of boo-birds in the audience.

One merely needs to remember two words…McCain-Feingold, to know that McCain is no Reagan.

Hat Tip: Tom Kovach at Military.com

I did not know until today that Senator John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone. I lived in the Republic of Panama for over 3 years while in the U.S. Army. Interestingly, I was just talking with a friend about the Panama Canal and how the Panama Canal Zone used to be a possession of the United States like American Samoa, Guam, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are today. An interesting question is raised by an article over at Military.com. Is a Puerto Rican or a Guamanian eligible to be President of the United States? If John McCain wins and is inaugurated as President the answer would be yes because the exact same circumstances apply.

Is someone born in a possession of the United States considered a “natural born citizen“ as defined by the U.S. Constitution? John McCain has not been known as a strict interpreter of the Constitution especially in lending his name and efforts to the McCain-Feingold legislation which restricts political speech prior to elections of all things. What part of “Congress shall make no law…” does McCain not understand? Senator McCain’s ability to bend or ignore the Constitution makes more sense relative to his citizenship status and his run for U.S. President.

According the Constitution, there are only three requirements for an individual to be President of the United States. The Constitution says:

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.

Although there is no doubt that John McCain is a citizen of the United States, the question is if he is a “natural born citizen” and eligible to be President of the United States. McCain is only the third person in the history of the United States where the citizenship question has applied. Prior to John McCain only Barry Goldwater who ran for President in 1964 (born in Arizona while it was still a U.S. Territory) and George Romney who ran in 1968 (born in Mexico to U.S. parents) have prompted the question of natural born citizen status and eligibility for the Presidency.

During the current Presidential primary (or the 2000 primary) I had heard no mention of the McCain eligibility issue until now. The litigious nature of past Democrat Presidential candidates (like Gore in 2000) should make one have no doubt that if McCain ends up winning the general election there will be a motion made to the Supreme Court as to McCain’s eligibility to hold the Presidential (or even Vice-Presidential) office. It would be very disturbing indeed to see a Democratic victory for the Presidency by the Democrats successfully proving the winner ineligible in court.

It is easy to see yet another reason for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to endorse John McCain because of Schwarzenegger’s own naturalized citizenship status and his reported desire to seek the Presidency in the future.

Nevada Assemblyman Ty Cobb Jr. was elected in the very conservative District 26 by claiming to be a staunch conservative. By endorsing Senator John McCain in his candidacy for President, Ty Cobb is not sustaining a conservative reputation. Senator McCain has been on the Democrat side of many debates including amnesty for illegal aliens, not sustaining the Bush tax cuts and the “Gang of 14″ in the U.S. Senate. The action that proves John McCain is not conservative was initiating and promoting for the McCain-Feingold legislation which is among the most blatantly unconstitutional legislation ever passed.

Ty Cobb was once my opponent during the District 26 primary election which he won handily. I have supported him on some occasions such as when he cast the only vote against the Democrat Nevada Assembly Speaker in 2007.

One must judge people, not by their words but by their actions. Unfortunately, Ty Cobb’s actions in endorsing Senator John McCain and hosting a wine-tasting event for him here in Reno, Nevada, indicate a willingness to disregard the First Amendment to the Constitution just as when Cobb took a position against ballot initiatives during his District 26 Assembly campaign.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is as follows (emphasis mine):

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

What part of “Congress shall make no law” does John McCain not understand? And does Ty Cobb Jr. understand that endorsing McCain does not make one appear to be conservative?