Renew, Rebuild, Restore

by Ed Evans

[A political sermon; no collection, but with lots of prayer.]

That great conservative American, troop-loving musician extraordinaire, Charlie Daniels, is also an outspoken patriot and essayist; a voice for this troubled age.  In his "Charlie Daniels Soapbox and Messageboard" at http://charliedanielssoapbox.com/view_topic.php?id=10302&forum_id=4, Charlie has zeroed in on a specific public malady the American news media cowardly refuses to address.

Reminding us that the conflicts of defined battlefields disappeared with World War II, Charlie goes on to write, "The war we find ourselves engaged in these days is not, for the most part, territorial but ideological religious fanaticism fueled by centuries of violent indoctrination and tribal loyalties that have existed since biblical times.

"There is so much about our enemy we don't understand, but one all-important fact we must understand.

"There will be no truce or armistice in this fight, there will be no cessation of hostilities no matter what kind of pie in the sky treaties and agreements desperate Western diplomats are able to get the enemy to sign.

"The Obama-Kerry initiatives, while noble in outward appearances, will not deter Iran's efforts to develop a nuclear device, but enable them to do so as sanctions are lifted and Iran gets it's fiscal house in order it will be business as usual, deadly business.

"Is there anybody gullible enough to believe otherwise?

"Our President and Secretary of State seem to think so."

And right there I believe Charlie Daniels has put his finger right on the very sorest part of the American wound, a painful, seeping, growing wound that will not heal quickly.

I also believe that Charlie Daniels is stopping short of the real conclusion accidentally, or perhaps because he makes his living entertaining people, he stops short because he doesn't want to alienate hi entire listening audience.

But for whatever reason, I say he has stopped short.  Charlie states that the President and Secretary of State apparently are gullible enough to believe that material, financial handouts to our enemies in Iran will stop their nuclear device development, which they believe will give them Muslim domination of the world.  In fact, material and financial handouts have not worked to better the status of poor Americans or America's economy, so why would they believe it would work on people foreign to the American ideals and ethics?

No, I say it is impossible to believe that Obama and Kerry, having organized their financial and political careers to such advantage, having reached the pinnacles of power they have, with deep and wide-ranging information sources available to them, could be so gullible.

That leaves only deliberate planning for the one-world government, the financial upheaval, and the curtailment and control of individual freedoms to come.  Logically, based not upon what is said but what is done, guided down a chute of careful preparation, what obviously lies ahead of America is deliberate and planned.

The moneyed, powerful leaders of the world's financial and political hierarchies believe that they "know best" for the rest of the great unwashed in the world.  The fences of containment set up by our American forefathers of Christian-based ethics and humane justice for all are slowly but most surely being eroded and set aside by a carefully packed judiciary.  Profane ethical and social mores that only a few years ago would have been summarily dismissed as a danger to the future citizens of society now seem to fit responsibly on a shelf of citizenship fashioned by liberal educators who have been teaching the current generation, and are still teaching the next, that truth is subjective, absolutes don't really exist, and anything goes.  It can be seen in our fashions, our communication,  in the business world, and rotting away the framework of society.

Such quotes as that by Conrad Hilton, CEO of Hilton Hotels, "If his wife can't trust him in the bedroom, how can I trust him in the boardroom," no longer have any impact in the business world or in society.  Anything goes.  Profit is everything.  Winning is all that is important.  But what if someone gets hurt?  If you can't afford to lose then you shouldn't be in the game.

And life has become a game.  There are now only winners and losers.  The human family that God began no longer matters, because God no longer matters.  Tomorrow?  Only today matters.  Right now.  Tomorrow will take care of itself.  After all, even God said, " Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."  And that's what you run into, the idea that God doesn't matter, unless you can use Him to make a point for yourself.

There are still those innocent souls who continue to believe that if they can just set the right environment for understanding, just bring together the right words, provide just the right platform for agreement, they can change the mind of the moneyed and politically powerful.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  For "the truth" is only their truth, and it is not up for discussion.  Their minds are made up, and you and I were never part of the decision.

I submit that those who have embarked on a "new" and "one-world" direction cannot be moved.  Their hopes, dream, indeed, their treasures are "just ahead" and can only be brought to fruition by the guidance of their hands.  Keep your hands off the steering wheel.  Once again, this is not a discussion.  The decision has been made, the direction chosen, and you and I are not "bought in."

I return to my original point.  What we are seeing, what we are experiencing, is deliberate.  

That being the case, the only solution can be one of deliberation, as well.  The leadership now in place, leading America astray, must be replaced.  America being the nation it is, with a military dedicated to not participating in governmental coups, thus far resting on the surviving U.S. Constitution, that change must come about by election.  The time is approaching.  Perhaps for the last time.

In one sense, the time is ripe, conservative state Governors have a leading edge in the coming election, many liberal Democrats are giving up their seats this year, and this will be a fruitful opportunity to elect conservative Representatives and Senators.  But the infighting, the litmus tests that have shattered the conservative movement must cease.  There must be a widespread commitment to putting conservatives in office, across the board, and deal with individual sacred cows once those forces are in office.
It must be a two-pronged attack, in traditional military language, with equal commitment to the forces to remove current leadership -- flawed, misguided, and wrong -- and commitment to the conservative cause. 

It will not be easy.  Liberal incumbents will attempt to move heaven and earth, to cause dissension among conservatives, to destroy commitment, for they know that if they can just get past this coming election, they will rule.  That cannot be allowed to happen.  This is most very likely the conservatives' last chance on a level playing field.

This is it.  Last chance to renew, rebuild, restore.

Mistakes in the Middle East are Only the Beginning

by Ed Evan, MGySgt., USMC (Ret.)

     Pres. Obama is about to step on a land-mine of his own making in our dealings with Egypt.       Worse than his international faux pas, he is utterly destroying the ethics, morality and dignity of the USA.  His second term in office is marked by his obvious and extremist support of the Muslim Brotherhood, pettiness driven by the refusal of freedom-loving people to knuckle under to what his agenda demands, appointment of people to high positions with even less commitment to American ethics and morals than himself, and a total lack of servanthood leadership that has achieved the high water mark in previous American Presidents.
     It appears there is a gulf of great disparity between the American people and this President. They want good, solid, forward-looking leadership.  Barack Hussein Obama wants a kingdom, or perhaps as some see in his Muslim educational background, a Caliphate.
     It should by now be obvious to everyone that these opposing forces are leading to a whimpering collision.  It will not be the violent collision the White House seems to seek which would justify martial law and an opportunity to "remold" and "remake" America.  Instead, through the wisdom of America's forefathers there are safeguards in place to prevent military and political coups.  Nevertheless, a collision comes, and it will be an Pyrrhic victory for America, taking us many years to climb out of the financial and moral abyss.
     So far, statesmanship, personal discipline and an adherence to the United States Constitutional government have kept this wavering ship of state upright.  I must believe that will continue, so long as love of country and love of Almighty God prevails.
     There are those on both side of the issues, aside from political partisanship, who would be quick to "pull a trigger".  No doubt.  But calmer heads and the built-in give-and-take of American justice will, I believe, continue to hold sway among men of conscience, if not men of power.
     Someone has said that all politics is local.  But it goes even deeper than that, for all commitment, both patriotic and religious, is more than local, it is individual.
     The continuation, the salvation, of America for tomorrow's generations lies in that individual commitment to God and to Country.  And its genus lies in the hearts of men.  So long as we, as individual persons, are faithful to our God and to our nation, we cannot be overturned.  The secret lies in our personal, individual relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; in our prayer life, in our sense of faith, and in our obedience.
     Those who will not talk to God don't have a prayer.  Pray hard.  Time is short.

I Am Legion

by Ed Evans, MGySgt., USMC (Ret.)

     I will admit at the outset of this rant that I am incensed, highly offended and honestly angry with the elected politicians who are supposed to represent us in our Nation's Capitol.  With the President?  No, I knew what he was going in.  He's only disappointed me that I was right.

     That "career politicians", however, would allow the office of the President of the United States to be sullied and misused, as Barack Hussein Obama has done -- causing the abuse of innocent citizens and foreign tourists in Yellowstone as they were held hostage at a hotel by armed NPS Rangers; the abuse of elderly veterans from among the Greatest Generation whose blood and courage bought our very freedom; with armed NPS Rangers and guard dogs reminiscent of 1950s Birmingham, Ala., driving veterans away from the Vietnam Wall; denying death benefits to the grieving families of dead soldiers; stopping WIC payments to needy mothers and infants; shutting down a national Amber Alert children's rescue website ... and more -- is the very picture of greedy self-interest and cowardice among the people's legislators.  And we are not even talking yet about the Benghazi debacle and the Fast and Furious abortion where people died, about money sent to Syrian rebels who were on our own terrorist watch list and martyred entire villages of Christians, or a politically motivated IRS attacking conservative interests.

     It is in a peaceful rage that I publicly send to our agenda-driven President and these pantywaists who ally themselves with him against the best interests of We the People, these collected words of "Doc Lee".  Admittedly we Marines love and respect our U.S. Navy Corpsmen.  Anyone who has ever campaigned with us and experienced a shot fired in anger knows well the basis for that honored relationship.

     Gentlemen, if I may speak in the most general terms, study, understand and take to heart a few of the truths and aphorisms by which this hero lives:

     "Nothing enhances authority more than silence."  -- Charles de Gaulle

     "Men trained in arms from their infancy, and animated by the love of liberty, will afford neither a cheap or easy conquest." ~ Declaration of the Continental Congress, July 1775

     "Deo et patriae" (God and Country)

     "Molon Labe" (The Spartan's retort to King Leonidas and his superior force.)

     "Let us study things that are no more. It is necessary to understand them, if only to avoid them." -- Victor Hugo

     Integrity Counts - Candor Counts - Honor Counts

     Now, readers of this rant may wonder by what right I deign to say anything at all.  Here are my bona fides, and I am legion:

     30 years in the United States Marine Corps

     17 years as a federal civilian with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

     4 battlefields: two tours in the Republic of Vietnam; wounded second tour; with the 32nd Marine Amphibious Unit in Beirut, Lebanon, 1983

     13 months in Iraq, 2003-2004.

     Father of five children, husband to one woman for 48 years

     Ordained minister of the gospel, April 29, 1995.

     A man of God, a U.S. Marine who knows by name men who bled and died to keep this nation free, extremely, extremely disappointed in those who inherited the job of defending it in Congress from enemies foreign and domestic.

     Rise up and be the leaders of this nation you are expected to be, on behalf of the citizens who put you there, because your self-serving rumps are beginning to show.  And believe me, it is true, I am legion.

BETRAYAL: Federal Nail in a Military Coffin

By Ed Evans, USMC (Ret.)

   Back a month ago when federal planners first raised the ugly head of their plan for penalizing military retirees by refusing them a civilian retirement at the end of a second career, it just didn't seem to go anywhere.  But you know how it is, once you put something on the Internet, it takes on a life all its own and becomes eternal. 

   In other words, I keep seeing traces of this venomous idea here and there. 

   It's not dead, yet.                 

   You can read all about it here:  http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20130804/DEPARTMENTS01/308040009/An-end-civilian-pensions-military-retirees

   The lead paragraph and bridge read: "To address long-term sequester cuts, the Defense Department is mulling numerous reductions that will affect civilian employees, including doing away with civilian employee pensions for military retirees who go back to work for the government as civilian employees.

The savings could be almost $100 billion over 10 years when combined with a halt to commissary subsidies and restrictions on the availability of unemployment benefits, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters last week in summarizing the recommendations of the newly completed “Strategic Choices and Management Review.”

   However, if I were their PR adviser my advice would be that they not just walk away from it, but RUN!  This should be dialogue written for the Saturday Night Live comedy TV show, not a serious approach to building an effective government workforce and viable national budget.  Not to mention that, truthfully, you cannot pay men enough to risk their very lives in combat, but to then prevent them from earning a living and taking care of their families afterward, if they live through it, is surely the worst kind of national cowardice.  And never mind that the entire U.S. military, the most blooded and battle-tested military in the world right now, goes about its business on the individual level like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockers for reasons of upended ethical and moral guidelines of behavior, unsound battlefield rules of engagement, and social Generals who are administrators, not leaders.

   On the one hand this policy change in retirement rules will sow such divisiveness among the federal workforce, not to mention the career military, as to seriously affect efficiency, production and create infectious trust issues.

   On the other hand, I cannot imagine the hit the nation's federal workforce will take without the hand-in-glove synchronization of the disciplined experience that military members bring to the table, which work so effectively with civilian education and expertise.

   In fact, it is such a bad idea that if I believed even half of the conspiracy theories floating around the Internet, I would have to believe there would be no more certain way to pull the plug on American effectiveness in government, no better way to help America's enemies achieve this nation's downfall and freedom's dissolution.

   Bottom line, if for any reason those in the upper head shed want to start a revolution, want to create a cause to declare martial law as a pathway to ultimate control, this would be a good one.  However, anyone who would support such a cockamamie idea has no sense of the kind of fire they are playing with in a munitions bunker filled with volatile, sparking poverty, pain and class betrayal.  And those they are considering betraying are the ones with the guns.

Short Shots

NRA BACKS ACLU SPYING LAWSUIT OVER GUN REGISTRY FEARS

This should be a slam dunk for the judiciary, but it won't because of politics.  This is, however, a flashing red light to warn Mr. and Mrs. America that our government, which is created to serve us, is turning on us.  

We now have militarized police departments in some of our cities whom, instead of "Protect and Serve" concentrate on "Demand Subservience, Suspect, and Attack."  

Our Federal government is doing the same thing in spying on us.  This is NOT the America our forefathers created and many of us shed blood and lost friends to protect.  Get your elected officials attention and DEMAND this rogue political regime be stopped!

NRA backs ACLU spying lawsuit over gun registry fears

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/09/05/nra-joins-aclu-spying-lawsuit-over-gun-registry-fears/

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A friend sent me an email message say this makes a good point!

These two short sentences sums up the current government’s views and ideology: 
1) The gov't tells us NOT TO JUDGE ALL MUSLIMS because of a FEW lunatics. 
2) The gov't ENCOURAGES US TO JUDGE ALL GUN OWNERS because of a FEW lunatics 

Thanking him for his insight, I responded with the following:

I suggest the whole of God's Word in the inspired Bible tells us to forget judging, don't worry about the lunatics because He will take care of both, but that we should brush up on our discerning skills.  That would be so we can tell the difference between judging and being discerning, and between lunatics and old-fahioned sonabitches that just need terminating.

All of which reminds me of Mark Twain's advice to never argue with a fool.  Bystanders might not be able to tell the difference.

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Some will discount this as just another conspiracy caper, but if you listen to the facts, where, how much economic impact, lives and homes lost, it begins to be serious.

Economic Warfare Super Panel - William Scott

Some hard facts recited in this video; no emotional rhetoric

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SFHM0rd9cX8

The facts indicate jihad terrorists are burning our forests and homes......346 homes in Colorado destroyed by Jihad arsonists.....how do we fight back?

Lives lost, homes, jobs, economic income, all lost.  

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Syria: Outrage Is Not A Strategy

Michael Yon is a highly respected on-the-scene journalist, even by our military.  He is right, when you cannot trust a person's facts, you must wonder about his intention.  Why does the President keep throwing around a figure of Syrian dead that numbers in the thousands when the Doctors Without Borders, supporting medical treatment on the scene, place that number at 355 dead?  The President has no purpose beneficial to the problem, and no plan.  

Stop rattling that saber, Mr. President, you don't know how to use it.

Syria: Outrage Is Not A Strategy

http://www.michaelyon-online.com/syria-outrage-is-not-a-strategy.htm

Movie: The Battle of Gettysburg

In a time when women were women and men were men, and women were glad of it.
Gettysburg.

Women in Combat?

Former U.S. Marine Sergeant James Robert Webb  has written of five points that nail down the argument against having women in combat roles.  His full article may be found at http://www.jamesrwebb.com/2013/02/women-in-infantry.html  What follows is a brief excerpt:

I see this as an attempt to create social progress or make a social statement at the expense of those who put their lives on the line.
Pure and simple, it's nothing short of self promotion... which is ironic given that Infantry units abhor the concept of the individual.
It is preached to the point of mantra that tightly knit teams win wars, while individuals get people killed.

Let's break this down.

1. This is unfair to women.

2. The Infantry as a sub-culture.

3.  There is a marked difference between 'Combat' and 'Sustained Ground Combat Operations'

4.  It can physically break off even the strongest men

5.  Standards will be dropped to allow 'social progress.  

I support Webb's points.  Each one.  Having been in combat engagements in Vietnam 1967-68 & 1970, having observed them in Beirut and Iraq, I say James Webb has nailed the argument.  Any military leader who has heard a shot fired in anger knows the arguments and our military is now led by politically correct cowards.  While in Iraq 2003-2004, an Army convoy was hit by enemy forces and forces to stop by an ambush.  The senior sergeant was female.  She took charge, directed the soldiers to drive off the enemy, break the ambush and get her convoy back on the road.  It isn't that women can't perform in a given situation.  It is that men and women are not designed, physically and emotionally for sustained combat.  Women are women, men are men, and women are glad of it.  Any man who doesn't understand that needs to check his manhood.