All posts by Jim

Left HS before report cards came out. Enlisted in the Marines for four years. By the time those years were over, I was hooked - they had me for life. Spent nearly ten years as enlisted. Received a Silver Star, Bronze Star w/V, Purple Heart as a Sgt during first RVN tour. Upon returning to the State's received a combat commission to 2Lt. Retired after 36 total years as a Colonel. Book follows my career, but is more about the heroes with whom I served, the great mentors I had, and the leadership principles they instilled in me.
Recent Posts

The Kelly – Trump Rematch

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KellyI may get into trouble with this post, but then perhaps it will generate some lively discussion. We shall see. I just read a story sent to me by a friend entitled Megyn Kelly tells Colbert how she’ll start next debate – Trump’s not going to like it! I’ve included the link below in case you have not seen it.

I’ll try not get political and discuss my views or my leanings, but since I am a retired Marine, it’s easy to guess on which side of the I sit. I once was a FOX news fan, and I liked Kelly, but over the last year or so I found FOX losing it’s so-called “fair and balanced” status. TV News anchors tend to read too many of their own press clippings e.g., O’Reilly, Rather, and Cronkite to name a few.

Then came the first FOX GOP debate. It garnered the highest viewer rating for any debate, but for me it was the “straw.” I stopped watching FOX and changed to CNN for I now believe they have become the most “fair and balanced” of the talking heads, but then that is a personal opinion. I am sure you have yours.

I found the question posed by Kelly to Trump both unfair and an attempt to embarrass and belittle him. I seriously doubt neither Mr. Carson nor Ms. Fiorna would have known the answer. Perhaps some of the politicians on stage might have been able to name some, but not all of them. In fact, I doubt if the current white house resident knows all their names.

So, why would she ask Mr. Trump that particular question? I really don’t know the answer, but I suspect it may be that Kelly does not like Trump. Perhaps it’s be due to some of the things he’s said that disturbs her as a woman. For example, his reference to that O’Donnell woman as a “fat pig.” I won’t comment on that except to say that woman has called conservatives all sorts of foul, unrepeatable names in her unremarkable career, but then I guess that’s okay since she is a woman and a member of the Hollywood elite.

FOX hyped the last GOP debate as “The Rematch,” undoubtedly an attempt to surpass their record ratings of the first debate. However, wisely — in my opinion — Trump opted out, leaving  Murdoch’s FOX with no “Rematch.” To save face FOX called Trump a “coward,” which of course all his opponents immediately followed in the name calling. Bit did it negatively affect his ratings? Nope. In fact, they went up.

I take no sides in this debacle. Everyone wants specific answers. They demand to know exactly what each candidate is going to do when/if he/she wins. What’s your plan to fix this and fix that. Spell it out so we can choose who has the best plan for our malady’s.

Get serious. Three of the folks standing on the stage are not politicians; they have never sat in on a subcommittee hearing, they have never been briefed on key issues by department secretaries, nor have they ever lied to get elected. They are a mixture of self-made Americans, some held high positions, some made money, some created jobs, some saved lives, but they all love America and want it to be great again.

Who does this Kelly person think she is? She doesn’t speak for me. She doesn’t ask the kind of questions I want answered. This is not a presidential debate, it’s to elect someone to participate in a presidential debate. I want to know about the real person, what the person truly believes in. What are his/her true beliefs, the principles by which they live. I don’t expect them to know the proper names of all the terrorists on the top ten watch list.

If I were able to ask Kelly one question, it would be, “Who the hell do you think you are? If I were Trump, I would opt out of this debate as well. He doesn’t need to be there, but Ms. Kelly, who has now become one of the Hollywood elites, certainly needs him there.

Read more: http://www.bizpacreview.com/2016/02/08/megyn-kelly-tells-colbert-how-shell-start-next-debate-trumps-not-going-to-like-it-303582#ixzz3zhqqw36d

Originally posted 2016-02-29 11:40:52.

Recent Posts

BUD, IT’S A MATTER OF TASTE

Col Andy

Once again, the Colonel of Truth posts a great one — well worth the read. A good analysis of the gaggle of GOP candidates running for the highest office in our once great country. To whom will it be entrusted to save  us from ourselves. The Silent Majority? No, I doubt it. Alas, they are far too comfortable in their upper middle income world. Personally, I believe the working man/woman will decide for they have suffered the most under the Chicago Street Hustler’s rein. Great post my fellow Colonel of Marines. Semper Fi, JB

http://acoloneloftruth.blogspot.com/2016/02/bud-its-matter-of-taste.html

 

Originally posted 2016-02-27 15:37:16.

Current Events

A Messiah Awaits

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Are his comments not a breath of fresh air, and trust me they are not hot.  I am a Floridan, and if there is one thing you can count on from Ron, he means what he says and does what he says. Broward County and Disney learned that the hard way. 

 

From the Wall Street Journal                                          Thursday, 20 July 2023

Next Target for Ron DeSantis: the Military

Ron DeSantis is gradually laying out his presidential agenda, and on Tuesday he unveiled a plan to build a “Mission First” U.S. military. The Florida Governor has several worthy ideas to restore American confidence in the armed forces, though fighting the culture wars isn’t a substitute for preventing an actual war.

“We need a military that is focused on being lethal, being ready and being capable,” Gov. De-Santis said in South Carolina. The U.S. military is suffering from institutional drift, as senior officers rush to associate themselves with progressive causes. One example: Space Force Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt in a June speech unleashed a political broadside against elected state legislatures for considering what she styled as “anti-LGBTQ+” measures.

One good priority is reviving American military education. Gov. DeSantis is right that the service academies ought to be “narrowly focused” on disciplines such as engineering or military history and leadership. Civilian academics have taken over most military educational institutions such as war colleges, and the instruction is often, as Gov. DeSantis says, “substandard.”

The Governor, a Navy veteran, also says he would review the performance of every four-star flag officer and remove those who aren’t focused on lethality. There is reason to wonder if the services are producing the war fighting talent the country needs by picking leaders on the merits. More aggressive civilian oversight would help.

Case in point: In 2021 a Navy admiral suggested the service should bring back photos as part of promotion boards to achieve more diversity. Gov. DeSantis said he’d ban “race and gender quotas in military recruiting and promotions.”

The perception that the military is a political institution may be hurting enlistment, and the Army looks likely to come up at least 10,000 soldiers short this year. Gov. DeSantis says he will “restore national pride” in the armed forces, to include a school program explaining that the U.S. military “ has been a force for justice and good in the world,” which is at least a start. But an under-appreciated reason the services are struggling to recruit is that the force is too small and ill-equipped to fulfill its current missions. This wears out troops. President Trump boasts that he rebuilt the U.S. military, but he offered a one-time increase that only started to rebuild the readiness burned in President Obama’s two terms.

The defense industrial base also continued to erode on Mr. Trump’s watch. Contractors are now recalling retired engineers in their 70s to teach new workers how to build Stinger antiaircraft missiles that haven’t been in production for decades.

Gov. DeSantis’s special operation against wokeness will thrill his base, and he has correctly identified China as the top threat to U.S. security. His harder task will be building public support for a larger and more capable U.S. military that can deter the Communist Party from a terrible mistake such as invading Taiwan.

That will require convincing skeptical Republicans to increase defense spending—for example, building two attack submarines a year for the U.S. Navy, up from 1.2 now. Or speeding up the new Air Force strategic bomber. Or building a long-range missile inventory that can last more than three nights of fighting in the Taiwan Strait.

An aide to the campaign says Gov. DeSantis still plans to offer a broader defense agenda. But on U.S. support for Ukraine he’s too often catered to the isolationist right that would, in Ronald Reagan’s words, play innocents abroad in a world that’s not innocent.

Still, the Pentagon’s growing preoccupation with identity politics is corrosive to an institution built on cohesion and self-sacrifice. The country would be better prepared for a fight if a new President started to right the ship.

Has he nailed the problems or what? “. . . review the performance of every four-star flag officer and remove those who aren’t focused on lethality.” Wow, that would sure open up the promotions for three stars, albeit he should look at all flag officers, not just the four-stars.

Increase defense budget bother you? He’ll find other areas to reduce the funding e.g., all the woke shit, welfare, immigrant benefits, and many more. Ron is not a big spender, just ask a Floridan. Trump hasn’t talked about any of thee issues, because he is too busy calling people names.

My dream team would be Ron and  SC Senator Tim Scott. What a team that would make. Sorry guys but if you didn’t already know it, I am no longer a Trumper. He simply will not shut the hell up!

Originally posted 2023-07-20 09:26:59.