Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Drone Technology No Longer A Secret

By Ron Spangler

Does the capture of the top secret RQ-170 Drone over Iran spell the beginning of the end for the United States' stealth technology superiority?

Has President Obama relied too much on the Drone weapons system in his overall foreign policy plans?

Was his decision to avoid any attempts to destroy the Drone a mistake?

Will the capture of our top secret stealth Drone have long range ramifications for our air superiority abilities over hostile nations?

The answer to all of these questions is probably yes. It is within reason to believe that within hours after the Drone was captured both China and Russia had their best people heading for Iran to inspect the Drone. It is also reasonable to suspect both countries are capable of reverse engineering the technology to build their own versions of the Drone. Considering it's not uncommon for countries like China and Russia to send their students to the USA to be trained and earn degrees in engineering, is it not logical that they could easily use their knowledge for reverse engineering of our weapons systems?.

After countries like Russia and China have conquered the challenge to reverse engineer our technology the question becomes how long before they are able to come up with a successful defense for that technology. It is clear that they already have some degree of knowledge on how to hack into the guidance and control systems of our drones. How else can the Pentagon explain losing control of the drone and someone directing it to land 100 miles inside Iran without damaging the drone beyond recognition.

If it is true that President Obama refused to destroy the drone out of fear Iran would declare it an act of war, then it will go down as one of the biggest blunders this President has made as Commander In Chief.

Only time will tell how costly this incident will be to the USA, unfortunately I believe it will be very costly. President Obama has made the drone his number one weapon in fighting terrorist and in ways of spying on our enemies. It is unknown how many countries we are spying on and how many continents we have drones flying over. After this I'm certain the number will be reduced and President Obama will have to rethink future drone missions.


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Monday, November 14, 2011

Penn State Paterno Media and Society

by Ron Spangler

As a person living in America that does not follow college sports I can honestly say I knew very little about Joe Paterno until the Penn State story broke in the news. I would also bet that I am not in the minority when it comes to Joe. If a survey of the entire country had been taken before this story came out I would bet that 2/3 of America would say, I don't know the name.

It is not only Paterno's actions during the 15 year Sandusky child rape and molestation period that ruined Paterno's legacy, but also the nonstop 24/7 sanctimonious coverage of what we call news. Listening to and reading reports about what happened at Penn State would make a person think Joe Paterno was as bad if not worse than Sandusky. To me there is more than enough blame to go around.

I find it hard to believe that this was going on for over 15 years at Penn State and no news agency in the country heard about it. Where were the parents, the local community, the students, the state and local officials, and everyday citizens of Pennsylvania? In short where was our society and has it come to a point that we sometimes feel it is better to look the other way then it is to get involved.

The media from all areas whether it is print, television, radio, or internet would like for us to believe that no reporter for the past 15 years ever heard of any rumors or allegations of child abuse or molestations surrounding Sandusky.

In 15 years no victim ever told his parents, a friend, a cousin, anyone?

In 15 years no one ever came forth with these allegations to police or local news outlets?

After witnessing the rape of an 11 year old boy and telling Joe Paterno he saw something in the shower that did not look right, did Mike McQueary ever tell anyone else?

It is so easy for everyone to say exactly what they would have done if they had been in the shoes of the parents, Joe Paterno, or Mike McQueary. However when I see people walking buy an injured pedestrian that has just been hit by an oncoming car or watch as a person is being severely beaten by a mob, I wonder how involved would we become in a situation like this.

After all of the self righteous indignation being raised by the media against individuals at Penn State has reached the maximum amount of ratings, it is certain the media will move on to something else to report. Sadly for America we too will move on.

Maybe it is time we as Americans take a long look at our culture and ask what happened to us. There was a time that if any American saw what Mike McQueary says he saw, that American would have taken the law into his own hands. Today I am afraid there are more people like Mike McQueary and Joe Paterno than we would like to admit.

I'm afraid our society has turned into more of a Occupy Wall Street society than we would like to admit. Their attitude is a selfish me first attitude that is willing to overlook crimes in their own encampments if those crimes, like rape or murder, could damage their image. Also politicians and political parties have taken this same attitude. Knowing the general population has a short memory, President Obama has refused to commit on things like Operation Fast and Furious, or Solyndra. For the same reason the Democrat party is refusing to commit and very few are coming to Obama's defense.

Maybe its time we take a look at the direction we as a nation and a society are heading in and say its time we returned to our roots. Maybe we should consider right from wrong and take action when we see something going on that is wrong. Maybe we should not have to worry whether our taking action will somehow effect us negatively in the future. Maybe we should question whether we care more for our individual lives or more for God, Country and Family.

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Sunday, October 2, 2011

Herman Cain Bill O'Reilly Wrong Side of National Sales Tax

by Ronnie Spangler

Herman Cain and Bill O'Reilly have both proposed adding a National Sales Tax onto the backs of American consumers. This is a bad idea that only the wealthiest Americans can afford. Both men have the idea that Congress can simply eliminate the Federal income tax and install the National Sales Tax with a simple bill written by Congress and signed into law by the President. Life, politics and our Constitution are not that simple. Both men say they could restrict future Congresses from raising the amount consumers paid by requiring future Congresses to pass any new increase with a two thirds majority vote. This cannot happen. No current President or Congress can completely tie the hands of future Presidents or Congresses. At the beginning of every new House and Senate term the rules are written and decided by the majority. If a new Congress decides a simple majority will be enough to pass any bill, including one that would raise the rates of a National Sales Tax, then the rates will be raised.

It was the 16th Amendment that gave us the Federal Income Tax and it will take another amendment to replace or repeal that amendment. It is true Congress can raise or lower the rates but even Congress is limited on how far they can actually go.

Herman Cain's idea of 999 will not eliminate the federal income tax, at best it would be lowered but add the consumption tax on top of it and all he has done is increased taxes onto consumers. Basically its political talk for fuzzy math. Some of the candidates are calling for lowering the income tax by rewriting the tax rules and charging everyone a fair tax of between 18% to 30%. By lowering the income tax to 9% and adding a 9% consumption tax Mr Cain has done nothing more than increased the taxes on lower income folks to 18% and lowered taxes on the wealthy to 18%.

Wealthy Americans like Bill O'Reilly, that have corporations or businesses, will not pay sales tax on most of the big ticket items they purchase. Unlike the average consumer they have the advantage of purchasing items through their business and avoid paying state sales tax, I would expect the national sales tax would be no different.

If supporters of a national sales tax or consumption tax are serious then the first step would be to write an amendment that would replace the income tax with a consumption. The consumption tax could only be imposed after the income tax was eliminated. With all of the other taxes, fees, surcharges and hidden taxes the average American consumer has to pay we cannot afford another new tax.

Take a look at your state. Look at all of the taxes, fees, penalties, surcharges you are paying. Now look at all of the hidden taxes in your electric, gas, water, transportation and property you are forced to pay. Some states and local governments call them fees for services, some counties have an additional school tax on top of sales and property. Some others have excise or wheel taxes. After adding every tax, fee, or surcharge in your state ask yourself if you can afford another tax on everything you consume.

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Sunday, August 21, 2011

State's Rights vs Interstate Commerce

by Ronnie Spangler

Due to a recent encounter with the County Clerk's Office in the state I live in (Tn), a couple of questions have come to mind. Where does State's Rights vs Interstate Commerce begin and end? And, does a State have the right to punish their residents for buying a product from out of state by forcing them to pay, in this case Tennessee, sales tax even if the person has already paid the sales tax in the state where the transaction occurred? Finally in the case of buying a vehicle outside of Tennessee, how can Tn refuse to license the vehicle simply because the individual did not pay cash for the vehicle and obtain the title to that vehicle? Generally if a person buys a vehicle from a nationwide dealer and finances the vehicle through a national financial institution the vehicle will have a lien placed on the vehicle and the title is held until the lien is satisfied. The dealer will fill out all the appropriate documents to allow the person to license and register the vehicle in the state they live in. At least this is the way most states in America handle the sales of vehicles, but not in Tn.

To be clear in today's economy most people cannot afford to pay $20 or $30 thousand for a used or new vehicle so financing is and always has been a common practice. Also this does not pertain to a private sale from one individual to another.

The above scenario happened to me and being naive and unaware of Tn. laws I had no idea I could not license or register the vehicle with the documentation given to me from the dealer. Unfortunately the dealer who also has dealerships in Tn was unaware of Tn laws governing title and registration of vehicles in Tn. After being told by the ladies at the local Cumberland County Clerk's Office under Mr. Jule Bryson that I could not license or register the vehicle without the title, I contacted the dealer and the lien holder for guidance. They were both as confused as I.

The financial institution explained what I tried to explain to the County Clerk's office. That is, for practical reasons the lien holder will not release the title of a vehicle to the customer until the lien is satisfied. In normal situations like this every other state accepts the electronic transfer of the title showing the new owner and lien holder, while the lien holder retains possession of the original title. According to the County Clerk's office this is not acceptable under Tn. law.


When a confrontation over this law developed between me and the ladies in the Clerk's office I was told they didn't really care. The only thing they were interested in was collecting the taxes and seeing the title. When I informed them this was a stupid a law their response was: "If you don't like the law maybe you should move."

As I sit here today I have a vehicle that I must continue to make payments on and carry insurance on even though I cannot drive the vehicle in Tn or any other state. To me this throws the theory of interstate commerce right out the door. It sounds like Tn is punishing their residents for buying a product out of state instead of buying within Tn.

I have contacted the Tn Speaker of the House Beth Harwell and she seemed surprised. She has promised to check into the situation and contact me later. Whether this is just overzealous folks at the County Clerk's office or really the law in Tennessee makes a person wonder how many other State and Local officials are penalizing their residents for participating in Interstate Commerce.

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Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Emperor Obama's New Clothes Old Plan

By Ronnie Spangler

Revised from The Emperor's New Clothes

Once upon a time there lived a vain Presidential Candidate that thought once he became President of the United States he would become Emperor of the World. He believed all he would have to do is make a speech and the world would change for the better. Every time there was a real crisis or one manufactured by his staff he gave a speech that put the blame on anyone that opposed him and his media friends ran it off to his people.

Word of the Emperor's refined and articulate speeches spread over his kingdom and beyond. Two scoundrels who knew the Emperor was inexperienced and naive decided to take advantage of it. They introduced themselves at the gates of the White House with a scheme in mind. Their names were Larry Summers and Tim Geithner and they wanted to change the economic system from a Capitalist system to a Socialist system.

"We are two very good economist and after many years of research we have invented an extraordinary method to change America and redistribute the wealth. With your great ability to fool the public our plan will be invisible to anyone who is too stupid and incompetent to fully understand it."

Emperor Obama listened to the scoundrel's strange story and decided it would fit in perfectly with his plan to fundamentally change America.

"Besides being invisible, your Highness, this plan will be so simple yet complexed that people will not even know what has happened until it is too late. There will always be someone else to blame. We will send the country into economic distress, raise unemployment, and lose our credit rating. All the while we can blame it on the American people in the Tea Party, the Republican Party, George W Bush and the messenger Standard and Poors. When it is all over you can rebuild America and the World into the vision you and George Soros have always dreamed of." The emperor gave the two men a bag of gold coins in exchange for their promise to begin implementing the plan immediately.

A gleeful Obama cried, "Just tell me what you need to get started and I'll give it to you."

Shortly after the scoundrel's plans were implemented they returned to Emperor Obama and announced their plans were paying off. The people had become frantic and completely dependent upon the government and soon would be too afraid to challenge the Emperor's plan for One World Order.

The scoundrels said. "We have worked night and day but, at last, the world is ready for you to save it." The Emperor saw the opinion polls and watched as his approval ratings started to fall as fast as the DOW. He panicked and felt like fainting. But luckily Queen Michele was right behind him and propped him up. When he realized that no one would know that he was behind the plan, he felt better. Nobody would find out how stupid and incompetent he really was.

The farce continued as the two scoundrels had foreseen it. Once the economy had all but totally collapsed the scoundrels informed the Emperor it was time for him to make one of his great speeches and watch as the sheep run to their shepherd for guidance and safety.

"Your Highness, this will have to be one of the most articulate and masterful speeches of your short career. " The two scoundrels miscalculated just how naive the Emperor really was. The Emperor was embarrassed to be the only President in American history to oversee a downgrade in the United State's credit rating but he believed he could once again pull off the perfect con.

"All right," Obama said. "I will grant the people the privilege of hearing my wisdom once again." He summoned his media and gave his great speech. All the people had gathered around the televisions, pushing and shoving to get a better look. Hope and great expectations filled the air. The Liberals wanted no one to know how stupid or incompetent the Emperor was but as he spoke, a strange murmur rose from the crowd.

The Left said, loud enough for the others to hear: "Look at our Emperor's new plan. Isn't it wonderful!"

"What a marvelous man!"

A child, however, who had no important job and could only see things as his eyes showed them to him, listened and watched as the Emperor spoke.

"The Emperor has no plan," he said.

"Fool!" his father reprimanded, running after him. "Don't talk nonsense!" He grabbed his child and took him away. But the boy's remark, which had been heard by the bystanders, was repeated over and over again until everyone cried:

"The boy is right! The Emperor has no plan! It's true!"

The Emperor realized that the people were right but could not admit to that. He thought it better to continue the con under the illusion that the American people, not the scoundrels, were either stupid or incompetent. And he stood stiffly at his podium, reading from his teleprompters as the world continued to crumble at his feet.

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Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Casey Anthony Boycott Pledge

Ronnie Spangler

Send a message to Hollywood, Publishing Companies, television executes and magazine editors. Tell them in America we care about little children. We will not be a party to the unjust verdict in the Casey Anthony trial. Little Caylee Anthony did not deserve to be murdered and dumped in a swamp like some stray dog. We pledge that as caring parents and citizens of America we will not buy, read, watch, or in any way participate in the financial gain of any person connected to the Casey Anthony trial.

Please sign the pledge in the comment section.

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Friday, April 1, 2011

NATO United Nations End Game for Libya, Oil

by Ron Spangler

As we move farther into what is becoming President Obama's not war quagmire in Libya, more questions are being raised than President Obama can answer.

Why the delay in acting strong and decisive:

In the beginning when Qaddafi opposition forces were knocking at the doorstep of Tripoli and Americans were sitting on a ferry trying to get out, why did President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton show weakness by stating they did not want to speak out due to fear of Americans being taken hostage.

What if President Obama had placed American Carriers off the coast of Tripoli and warned Qaddafi if any harm came to any American or if any Americans were taken hostage, his regime would be destroyed. Would this have emboldened the opposition and devastated Qaddafi supporters?

Why did President Obama lie to America:

Why did President Obama find it necessary to wait for the United Nations to pass a resolution instead of going to Congress and stating his case for a No Fly Zone? He signed the secret Executive order of 'Findings' before he had United Nation's authorization to attack Libyan forces.

Why did he find it necessary to allow the 'leak' of his signing the executive order allowing CIA to help the opposition in Libya? There are millions of American veterans that have served in the U. S. and are keenly aware of how military missions are conducted. To them having CIA or Special Operations people on the ground in Libya to call in airstrikes and direct laser guided bombs onto targets came as no big surprise. It was only after news started coming out that British Special Forces were on the ground that the leaks about the CIA being on the ground came out. By allowing theses so-called leaks to come out was President Obama trying to calm Congress and America, after all he did flatly say No Boots On The Ground in Libya. Evidently President Obama believes it's not a lie if it comes from the White House instead of from the newsroom.

Why was President Obama in such a hurry to turn the mission over to NATO:

Before the ink had dried on the UN resolution we were bombing Libya and President Obama announced this would only take days not weeks. In the mean time his waiting allowed Qaddafi to regroup his military and force the oppostion back to Benghazi. The strikes on Qaddafi military units around Benghazi were successful and President Obama immediately pushed for NATO to take over. Now that NATO, still under an American Commander, has taken over the Qaddafi oppostion is once again in full retreat. Stalemate?

What's the end game and was it always about oil:

Word is starting to come out that the opposition forces are seeking a ceasefire in Libya. Are they setting up the conditions for a possible resolution of the fighting in Libya? If so are they looking at a plan similar to plans of the past like Korea and Vietnam. Will it be a Truce dividing Libya into East and West with governments on each side and United Nations 'Peacekeepers' in the middle?

Under this scenario the East would have control of all of Libya's oil fields and Britain, Italy and France would benefit. Eventually the Qaddafi regime would be toppled since the western Libyan economy would be crippled. Sounds very similar to then Senator Biden's idea in Iraq.

If this happens then nothing that President Obama has said in the past can be believed. The truth will be that it was never about a humanitarian crisis but always about oil for France and Britain.


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Thursday, March 17, 2011

Earthquakes Tsunami Nuclear Plants and Technology

by Ron Spangler

For centuries mankind has challenged nature and for centuries mankind has lost the battles. The recent tragedies in Japan should make it clear that even with the best of technology mere mortals will never conquer the fury of mother nature.

As the disasters inflicted on Japan continue to unfold before our eyes this should be a time we as humans finally admit we are not as brilliant as we claim to be. The experts are tripping over each other trying to explain what is going on and at the same time calm the world as to what may happen in the coming days. So far the experts have been wrong. The truth is, they don’t know with absolute certainty what happened at the nuclear plants to cause the over heating of the cores. Was it the earthquake, the Tsunami, or ill conceived design of the plants? Or, could it have been something as simple as mankind’s arrogance in believing we can ever build a structure designed to withstand anything and everything mother nature decides to throw our way?

It amazes me how here in the west we simply woke up one day and decided that since we are living in the 21st century, we have somehow entered a new world of technology. A world the likes of which we never knew in the 20th century. In reality we have better electronic toys and better communications but most of it began in the 20th century. The auto industry hasn’t really changed that much since most of our trucks, trains, plains and ships still rely on fossil fuels such as oil. We are experimenting with electric motors and battery powered alternatives but all of this came from 20th century technology. In come cases we are simply trying to advance on the failed attempts of our past.

Nuclear power plants are perfect examples of man’s arrogance and belief that we have become so advanced that we can build something that can never be destroyed. The truth, no matter what the experts say about Fukushima, is these power plants have been lost forever and nobody knows how much danger Japan will face in the future from these failed plants. Other countries like Germany have began to take a hard look at the future of nuclear power for electricity in their countries. Is this an over reaction or a prudent step to take in light of what has happened in Japan? That decision is up to each country to decide for themselves.

Every country and individual on earth must now face the most important decision of our lives. Will we remain humble and admit our limitations when it comes to the forces of nature or will we remain arrogant and believe we can defeat the fury of nature itself. For too long each generation has come to believe they are smarter and more advanced than the previous generation. In the west we call it progress and base everything on it. We look back at history and revise it because we are smarter than our parents or grandparents. After all they didn’t have all the facts back then like we do today. Here in America we build our nuclear plants designed to withstand earthquakes relative to the areas they are being built in. We look back at historical data and determine that if the largest recorded earthquake in that particular part of the country was a 5.5 on the rector scale, then the plant should be constructed to withstand a 5.5. Since we do not have Tsunamis in America, except for the west coast, designers and engineers are not required to considered these acts of nature during the design or construction phase. This is where the arrogance of mankind shows how much disdain man really has for nature and the unforeseen fury that nature can release at any given time or any given place on the the planet earth.

In America we have determined that since nature has not delivered a devastating blow to any one area of the country in over a hundred years, she will not do it again for another 100 years. This is a fallacy of mankind in the understanding of how nature really works. One thing our fathers and grandfathers knew that we forgot was, always expect the unexpected when it comes to mother nature. We cannot foresee the future and we will never be able to control natural events like earthquakes, cyclones, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, volcanoes or the dreaded climate change. Some scientist would have you believe we are so technologically advanced that we could even stop a meteor from striking the earth. All we have to do to avoid this disaster is spend a little more money on technology. This is arrogance to the extreme.

In the aftermath of Japan’s nuclear disaster will mankind become a little more humble and a little less arrogant? I sincerely doubt it. In America the proponents of alternative energy have already began to push harder and harder for wind and solar as alternatives to nuclear and fossil fuels for producing electricity. They do not consider that these are also 20th century ideas that face some of the same dangers as nuclear power plants. Windmill and solar farms are more susceptible to total destruction from tornadoes, earthquakes, sandstorms, flash floods and other natural events than any coal or nuclear plant.

In the end we will probably learn very little from the events taking place in Japan. We will pray for the victims and try to do everything we can to help. We will also listen to our politicians and the experts as they calm our fears. We will continue to believe we are somehow superior to nature and the natural chain of events that will undoubtedly take place in the future. We will listen to our scientist and continue to believe that we are so technologically advanced that we can control nature and the natural order of things to come. In other words we will continue to be arrogant and remove the definition of humbleness from our dictionaries.