Raising Children, Some Things Never Change

by Ronnie Spangler

No matter what the experts say raising our children is strictly a matter for the parents and there are a few simple basic rules that have applied throughout history.

We can learn more from our parents and grandparents than we can ever learn from books on parenting and the so called parenting experts. Somehow young parents in our society have come to depend on books and the internet for advice instead of asking their parents for their advice. Some of it is the natural belief that everything changes from one generation to another. While there may be more technology and more avenues for information some things in human nature never change.

Children of all ages need love, discipline, security and know they will always have someone they can rely on. Younger children prior to teenage years need the security only a close knit family, including the grandparents, can give them. The memories and lessons they learn at this age will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Having good memories of our childhood leads to a more positive and optimistic outlook on the future throughout our lives. If children learn early in life to remember only the bad times then as teens and adults they will be pessimistic and only expect the least out of life. We have to remember that children from the time they take their first step and speak their first word are always looking for more knowledge. They want to be just like the big people that are hovering above them. They want to someday be able to do the same things these people are doing. What we do or say in front of children will be the things they do and say as teens and adults. Deep inside of us is the natural instinct to emulate our parents or an adult that we remember from our childhood. It may not be a conscious memory, one that we dwell on everyday, but it is there influencing us in everything we do.

Have you ever had someone say to you, “You sound (or act) just like ____.” We may not realize it but what they are saying is we are emulating someone from our past that had a profound effect on the way we think. The person may have disappeared from our life and we probably don’t even think of them very often but the memories are still there. For this reason this is the time parents must teach their children what’s right and what’s wrong. This is the time to teach their children to have respect for their elders because these are the people that have experienced life, both the good and the bad. This is the time to teach them that nothing is free, if they do good things then life will reward
them but if they do bad they will be punished. This is also the time to teach them to believe there is always something more to life than just living day to day. Now is the time for them to understand the meaning of life and death. If you believe in god then it is your responsibility to teach them that there is something better waiting for them in the afterlife. This is the time to let them know the world does not have to be a scary place and life can be a wonderful and rewarding thing.

As our children turn into teenagers we tend to think it is time to treat them more like friends than our kids. For too many kids this is a mistake. Teenagers like adults are individuals and we all have our own way of thinking and we all want to show our individualism. Teens are striving to show they are grown up and able to think for themselves and we have to respect them for it. Part of growing up is having your own friends and getting out from under the tight control of the parents. We as parents have to understand and accept their growing up even if they stumble and fall along the way. We have to understand that their friends belong to them and most teens resent sharing friends, especially with parents. We have to understand that teens do not want to be our friends. While they are going through a period of challenging our authority over them, they know and deep down in their heart they expect us to remain the authority figure in the family. Even teens understand we must all have certain rules to follow or the world would end up in total chaos.

Think back to the first time you as a young boy or girl challenged your dad or mom. Did you do it because deep down in you thought what you were about to do was a mistake or was it because you thought mom or dad was just an old foggy that wasn’t hip with today’s generation? More likely than not you were about to do something that you thought may be a mistake and you wanted someone to say stop.

As parents we must be vigilant during every phase of our children’s lives. We must always be the adult, the one they turn to when they need an answer or a helping hand. After they are adults and have made much of the same mistakes in life that we made, then and only then will they accept us as friends. Until this time what teens and young adults expect most from their parents is act like parents. Show the discipline when discipline is needed. Show the love, respect, encouragement and understanding when it is needed. Above all else do not be afraid to act like an adult and say no when it is appropriate.

The last basic rule in life is simple, as teenagers boys interact better with fathers and girls interact better with girls. It is a right of passage for boys to challenge their fathers and girls to challenge their mothers. It is how we as parents handle the challenge that will determine the rest of the relationship for years to come. If we understand the challenge for what it is and remind ourselves we went through the same thing, then we can act like adults and withstand the challenge. If we do not fall short in the eyes of our kids than I can guarantee that later on you will find that you are not only parents but you have gained new friends.

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Mr Obama Its Taliban Not Al Qaeda

by Ron Spangler

As a Senator and Presidential Candidate Mr Obama along with Senator John Kerry and other Democrats repeatedly accused President Bush of taking his eye off the ball in Afghanistan. They constantly reminded America how important it was to defeat the Taliban and deny Al Qaeda safe haven in Afghanistan. Now everything has changed for President Obama.

He announced in March 2009 that he had a new strategy for Afghanistan and this was a war that we could not afford to lose. He appointed General Stanley McChrystal as the new Commander on the ground in Afghanistan and assured him of his full support. After Gen McChrystal gave his report and assessment of the situation on the ground President Obama back peddled and is now seeking advice from others like Vice President Biden. Meanwhile we are losing more troops in combat than we have since we went into Iraq.

President Obama will not acknowledge that it is the Taliban we are fighting in Afghanistan, not Al Qaeda. He and Vice President Biden seem to think it is only Al Qaeda that is a direct threat to America. I would like to remind them and the rest of the Democrats that without the Taliban running Afghanistan, Al Qaeda will have very few places to hide. Most of the Muslim world is tired of Al Qaeda and will not let them hide and attack America from within their countries. They have seen how Al Qaeda lost in Iraq and what happened when a determined America refuses to give up.

In speech after speech President Obama and his spokesmen will not say anything about the Taliban in Afghanistan. When they are asked about Afghanistan and the fighting that is going on, they always refer back to beating Al Qaeda. Its the Taliban that have been attacking our troops. Its the Taliban that is trying to overthrow the Afghan government and force all of NATO out. It will be the Taliban that gives Al Qaeda a safe haven in Afghanistan if we capitulate and leave with our tail between our legs.

I have made comparisons between Afghanistan and Vietnam. There are also differences. The military today has better equipment and technology and it is a all volunteer military that believe in the mission. If they are allowed to fight and they receive the support from both the politicians and the public they can defeat the Taliban and destroy the remnants of Al Qaeda in Pakistan. It will not be a short casualty free war in Afghanistan, no war is ever casualty free. It will take time and determination the same as it took to defeat Germany and Japan in WWII. President Obama must come clean with the American people and get them behind the war.

He was right when he said this is a war we cannot afford to lose and most Americans understand this. If he thinks he can win public support by saying it is all about Al Qaeda and dismissing the Taliban he will lose the public, Americans are not stupid. Its time President Obama, Vice President Biden and the rest of the Democrats came to grips as to the real enemy in Afghanistan. Like happened in Vietnam it will be the politicians that will lose this war not our military.

As a veteran myself I hate sending our young men and women to fight and die in foreign countries. However unless we are prepared to accept another 9/11 we must finish what we started. It was the Taliban government that allowed Al Qaeda to train and plan the attacks on America. If they regain control they will feel emboldened to help Al Qaeda attack us again. The Taliban and Al Qaeda will seek revenge on our allies and Pakistan for actions they have taken against them during our time in Afghanistan. President Obama must stop the misguided thinking that we only have to defeat Al Qaeda to call Afghanistan a success.

There is a reason why Vice President Biden did not win in his run for President. Just like his idea of separating the different factions in Iraq by partitioning off the country was stupid, so is his idea that you can win in Afghanistan with a small special forces and airpower strategy. This is a police action attitude and similar to the attitude prior to 9/11. The world is watching what happens in Afghanistan the same as they were watching in Iraq. The situation in Iraq is winding down and unless President Obama does something stupid like an immediate withdrawal, Iraq will go down in history as a success. If he does not listen to his commander on the ground but decides to listen to civilians with no combat or military experience Afghanistan will go down as a failure. If this happens it will not only be President Obama that looks weak and timid it will be America. If we as a country look weak in the eyes of our enemies and our allies then our enemies will attack and our allies will be reluctant to help us in our next hour of need.

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Letterman and Other American Celebrities

by Ron Spangler

What has happened to entertainment in America when a audience does not understand when a comedian is being funny, serious, or just plain stupid? David Letterman's revelation of having sex with female CBS employees was serious, stupid and was not funny at all. Somehow his audience could not tell the difference and laughed as if it was just another monologue being delivered by the late night comedian. At the end, they even applauded when he announced he would never speak about it again.

On the set of The View Whoopi Goldberg tried to defend and justify convicted rapist Roman Polanski's action by saying it wasn't "rape-rape". What does that even mean?

At the same time 100 of the most famous Hollywood celebrities signed a petition in support of Roman Polanski. These are some of the same individuals that support Venezuela's Chavez. They also support Iran's right to nuclear power and justify their quest for a nuclear weapon by pointing out that America has nuclear weapons.

It seems in America celebrities live in their own world of what is right and what is wrong. In the case of Letterman one has to wonder how many of these women were married? Did this go on while Letterman was engaged to be married and continue after his March 2009 marriage? Were these women fellow employees of CBS or were they subordinates of David Letterman? If they were subordinates, did his then fiancee and later his wife know or approve of his affairs with his subordinates? What is the difference between Letterman and the politicians he lampoons for cheating on their spouses especially when they have children? Did all of these women willingly consent or was pressure applied relating to their positions at CBS? Is David Letterman really so charming that career employees at CBS are falling all over the place to jump in the sack with David Letterman? How many employees are involved and was any of their jobs in jeopardy if they did not consent to Letterman's request? And the biggest question, will the public continue to support Letterman by laughing and watching his shows?

I don't even know where to begin with Whoopi Goldberg's comment on Roman Polanski not committing "rape-rape." It has to be one if not most stupid things she has ever said. If a 43 year old man supplies alcohol and drugs to a 13 year old girl then has sex with her while she is saying no/stop, it is rape. The act of sodomy against the young girl just shows how depraved the man really is. Whoopi and the other celebrities living in their own little idea of America just don't get it. They rant and rave about how all people are equal and everyone is entitled to the same social justice. Except when one of their own is found to have committed a crime that most Americans feel is extremely heinous. Then they somehow think justice means leniency and understanding should be shown toward the criminal. In their America they believe even the most atrocious sex offender or rapist should receive counseling and allowed to redeem themselves in the public eye. In their fantasy America sex offenders are suffering from a sickness that can be cured with adequate treatment and understanding. It is sad that some in America are supporting their fantasy by supporting them every time we tune in or pay to watch their movies.

What does it say about a society that supports celebrities like Letterman, Goldberg, Michael Moore, Sean Penn, Harry Belafonte, Danny Glover, Oliver Stone, Naomi Campbell, and the 100 artist/directors supporting Roman Polanski. All of these people living in their fantasy America have either shown support for our enemies or shown public support for rapists and pedophiles. Because they are celebrities we look the other way and continue to support their world by paying our hard earned dollars watching them on TV or at the movies.

Maybe it is time as a society we take a long hard look at our true America and family values.

Maybe its time we tell our children this is not the values we as Americans and decent people prescribe to.

Maybe its time we show our children there cannot a double standard in America, we must all suffer the consequences of our actions regardless of whether we are rich, poor, celebrities, or common folk.

Maybe its time we tell the world as a free society with American values we will not support people that do not share our common values.

Maybe its time we sent a message to the fantasy world in Hollywood that supporting America does not mean belittling our country while you are traveling abroad. Maybe we should show these people they cannot continue to meet with our enemies and show support for their tyranny and oppression of their own people without the celebrities paying a price at home.

Maybe it is time we look deep into our society and our culture to find that common ground that bound are founding fathers so tightly together. Maybe, just maybe it is time.

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Saving The Family Saving America

by Ron Spangler

With everything that is going wrong in the world today it is no wonder families are breaking apart. We have become a society more dependent on government than at any time in history. Starting in the 60's with welfare, people began raising entire generations on the backs of working taxpayers. It was better off for some families to draw government checks than it was to work for a living. It didn't take long for people to figure out that if there was no father or husband in the house a family could receive a check from the government. In fact, the way the system was set up it encouraged women to raise their children without the father being present in the home.

Children living under these conditions saw no incentive in working for a living if they could raise a family that was supported by the government. It was much easier to stay home receive a monthly check, food stamps, WIC, and live in subsidized housing than work eight to ten hours a day and maybe receive less in the end. The father didn't have to be completely out of the picture, he just couldn't work or if he did the parents should not be married or better still the father didn't live in the same house. Children growing up saw this as a way of life. The only drawback, there was s stigma placed on families living off welfare from the very same people that cried out the loudest for government to give a helping hand to the less fortunate.

It was and is a noble cause, helping the less fortunate in America. When the helping hand helps so much that it destroys families or encourages families to rely on a government system instead of the family, it has gone too far and is no longer a noble act. Churches, charities, and other private organizations in America have always been far better at providing assistance for people in need better than the government. It is easy for some to scam the welfare system and receive money, food stamps, housing and a education if this is how you want to live your life. All you have to do is be willing to live a life according to the rules of the welfare department. Never mind that these rules and the criteria that decided who should receive welfare was designed to discourage a normal family environment. It was better to stay single and raise four kids than it was to be married and both parents work to raise those kids.

Most of the time families that grew up under these conditions did not join in normal family or community activities. Kids grew up without a father in the home and had little discipline in their lives. The stigma of being on welfare meant you stayed within the community that fit into the life you were living. This helped to create more and more slum areas in every city in America. The hypocrisy of the rich and middle class that said the government must provide welfare to the poor but looked down on the poor as less important did more harm than good. They sent the message to some that if you stay in your own little part of the world the government will always take care of you. They also sent the message because you are poor the rest of the world owes you a better life. These messages resonated and the young started to look for better ways to fit in within their own communities and to make money without working for the man.

Without the family discipline and the normal community activities to help guide the younger generation, kids started looking for the things the rich kids were flaunting on TV, movies, and colleges. Growing up with the idea that society owes them some kids developed the attitude they could take what they wanted or if they replaced their family with a gang, then they could have everything they wanted.

Gangs have been around forever in some form or another. Some are a joke while others are dangerous and must be dealt with by authorities. If kids do not have the family, community, or some form of religion to teach them right from wrong and to be self reliant, then the kid will be easy pray for the more dangerous gang in their community. Families that have some form of faith in god country and family and believes they can succeed in life if they work hard will be the families that saves America from destruction.

During the 90's there was a call for welfare reform. A lot of people were taken off welfare and put to work. Families started to stay together and even church attendance around the country increased. The economy picked up and more and more people were buying homes. Unfortunately the gangs had taken a firm hold in most of the major cities around the country. Making money from drugs, extortion, prostitution and weapons was easier than working for a living and for some it felt like they had power or had more control of their lives. Living in the gang they saw nothing wrong with taking what they wanted or if need be killing to get what they wanted. When it comes to gang attitude nothing has changed.

Today the economy is faltering and people are out of work. Families are falling apart and kids are turning to the gangs for support. America is facing one of the most dangerous periods to face her since WWII. We are not only under the threat of another Great Depression, we are at war and also worried about terrorist attacking our cities. Americans are divided on the direction the government is headed and feel we are not being listened to. As a society we have only one option if we want to save America.

We as a people must unite as a family and as Americans. We must work on keeping our families together. We must teach our children the basics of life and right from wrong. We must teach them to be self reliant and explain that nothing in life comes free. We must teach them to have faith in god, faith in family and the how important it is to support their country. We must unite with other families and authorities to stop the gang violence in our cities.And we must unite as Americans to let the government know the direction we want them to take America.

If we believe the government is getting too big, if we don't want government health care, if we believe Iran must be stopped at all cost from getting a nuclear bomb, if we believe stopping the Taliban and Al Qaeda from returning to Afghanistan, if we believe it is time for the government to stop the spending frenzy, then together we must write, call and email our Senators and Congress. We must tell them we are American families united to save America.

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Bashing President Obama and Hollywood

by Ron Spangler

I really wish President Obama and Hollywood celebrities would give me a reason to stop bashing or disagreeing with the things they have done. Sadly they have not and it doesn't look like they will give a reason to praise them in the near future.

With all of the celebrities standing up for the convicted rapist Roman Polanski I can find no raise to cut them any slack. Whoopi Goldberg on the view seems to have her own definition of rape, much different from most Americans. 100 of the most famous celebrities signed a petition supporting Polanski. I can't help but wonder if they would be standing up for a ordinary 43 year old man having sex with a drunk drug induced 13 year old girl. I am sure Whoopi would call it rape.

AS for President Obama the list of disappointments is very long for a President that has been in office for less than a year.

He is showing weakness to a world full of tyrants and dictators by: Running around the world apologizing for things he thinks the United States was wrong in doing and caused problems for other nations. He seems to forget all the good America has done for the world. Pretending he can bring the world together to completely eliminate nuclear weapons while Iran and North Korea build as fast as they can. Agreeing to give up missile defense expecting Russia will agree to sanctions against Iran, Russia said no. Agreeing to negotiate with Iran, Iran said we can talk but not about nuclear weapons. Publicly admonishing Israel settlements at the United Nations.


He is showing weakness as Commander In Chief by: Placing the war in Afghanistan on a back burner to Health Care Reform and spending his time giving speeches on every selected tv network he can find. Not meeting with the Commander On The Ground for timely information on how the war is really going. Delaying a request for more troops from his Commander when he is told point blank time is critical to accomplish the mission. Changing the strategy the first time his Commander request more troops. Showing a distrust for his Commander's evaluation of the war by saying he wants to consult other experienced people.

He is showing arrogance and a disdain for Americans by: He is showing a total disregard for what Americans are saying about his Health Care Plan. He has decided to trick the American public by acting like this is in their best interest. He has deliberately lied to America by saying illegal immigrants will not be allowed into a public option. He knows the ACLU will be the first to file discrimination against banning illegals and the Supreme Court will side with the ACLU. He knows if you offer a government backed option you cannot block a group of people due to race or national origin, immigration status is only a technicality. He lied about having a totally transparent administration. Laws have been passed without anyone reading the bills and not being posted on the internet like he promised. Lied to America when he said if they didn't pass the Stimulus bill the economy would fail but if we passed it the unemployment rate would not exceed 8.5%.

These are only a few things that give me doubt about President Obama. I hope for America's sake I can find things in the future that have me singing praise for our President, like the little children in schools across America.

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Health Care Reform Jobs Afghanistan Olympics

by Ron Spangler

What do these four things have in common, three are important to the American people one is not.

President Obama is pulling the same stunt that he did when thousands marched on Washington D.C. expecting the President and Congress to listen. Instead the President ran off to Minnesota for a photo opt hoping the media wouldn't notice what was going on in D.C. He is doing it again with his trip to Denmark to sell Chicago as the next great city to hold the 2016 Olympics.

Americans are wondering why this is more important than working on Health Care, Jobs, or Afghanistan. Maybe France is right when their leader "thinks that President Obama is incredibly naive and grossly egotistical – so egotistical that no one can dent his naivete. And that he’s very worried about what that means for the West because the president of the United States is the leader of the free world. And if the president of the United States isn’t going to lead the free world, it isn’t going to be led.” According to JACK KELLY, PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE.

Americans and the rest of the world knows and understands America cannot afford to do everything President Obama thinks we can do. We cannot afford a trillion dollar Public Health Care Program while trying to bring down the fast approaching 10% unemployment anymore than we can afford fighting a war in Afghanistan and passing a Cap and Trade Bill that will increase the cost of everything at home.

We used to be the most powerful nation but the world is beginning to see us as a country being led by another Jimmy Carter. Iran, Russia, North Korea and Venezuela are looking at Obama as weak and a push over. They like some in America are beginning to think Obama sees the world through his own very narrow prism. It is a ideological prism that has Obama changing the world of dictators simply by talking to them. He thinks by educating them together he can make this planet a far better and peaceful place to live. Obama is so naive he doesn't understand the only thing these countries want is to destroy the west and control the world.

Bait and switch has been around for decades and although it is outlawed in the retail market in America, con artist and politicians find it very useful. The Health Care Plan that Congress and President Obama are going to force down the people's throat is a good example. They have voted down the Public Option Amendment in one plan but it lives on in four other House plans. It will be thrown in during Conference Committee last minute hearings, no one will read it and it will become law.

The President is practicing a form of bait and switch with his trip to Denmark. Using the Olympics he hopes to take America's eyes off Health Care. If Americans and the media is talking about the Summer Olympics maybe they won't notice the Bill being forced through the Senate Finance Committee. It could also benefit him if people talk a little more about the Olympics and worry a little less about jobs and Afghanistan.

President Obama has also been accused of being arrogant. The accusation is true. It is through this state of arrogance and elitism that he views people like Putin, Chavez, Ahmadinejad, Kim Jong il and other tyrants and dictators as insignificant. He also views the American people as illiterate, complacent and mostly too stupid to understand what he is trying to accomplish.

He refuses to accept that the majority of Americans will not accept his Health Care Reform plans. He refuses to believe people are more concerned about jobs than they are about Health Care Reform.

When he talks about Afghanistan he never mentions the Taliban, its always about Al Qaeda. Somehow his sole focus has been and looks like it always will be Al Qaeda when it comes to Afghanistan. He doesn't understand that it is the Taliban that is leading the fight in Afghanistan and without them Al Qaeda will not have a place to hide in Afghanistan.

He does not see his popularity amongst Americans falling, he still believes he is as popular and trusted today as he was before he was elected. The worst delusion he is following is the belief that everything he has done has been a great accomplishment and the world is better for the decisions he has made.

Maybe the elections in 2010 will open his eyes but maybe by then we will be in such a position that it will be too late. It is time this Congress stands up to the President and performs an intervention. They have to let him know we cannot afford the changes he has proposed. They have to get him to understand the people do not want what they are selling and they must let him know that he cannot trust the people he wants to negotiate with. If they don't stop the craziness come the elections in 2010, then most in Congress will be looking for a new line of work.

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Facts of Life

by Ron Spangler

As we come closer to life's end we reflect on what little knowledge we have gained during our journey. Here are a few of the things I've learned to be facts of life.

Every unborn and aborted child is against abortion.

From birth to death life is full of change.

Older men love young women, older women love young men. They just can't keep them.

Wise men are men that have lived a long and experienced life.

Family members that cannot forgive and forget will never be members of a family.

You can lose all your worldly possessions, you will never lose your fondest memory.

Sometimes the best way to teach is to keep silent.

Some of the best experiences in life come when we fail.

Only a arrogant fool has all the answers in life.

We are happiest if we trust in God, family and always keep a watchful eye on government.

We are at our best if we listen, watch and learn before we speak.

We should never expect people to hear what we say, they will hear only what they want to hear anyway.

When we die the only thing of value that most of us will leave behind is family.

Honest people that believe in the right to protect themselves, family and home believe in the right to bear arms, most Democrats don't.

In real life police can only serve, they cannot always be there to protect.

In a free society elections have consequences, always guard your vote and treat it with respect.

Never let a politician get away with I misspoke, if it wasn't true then he lied.

Never depend on the government to solve our problems, they will always let us down.

We must always be ready to fight for our freedoms or our freedom will be lost.

These are just a few of the things I have learned in life. Hopefully I will not stop learning.

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Afghan Strategy Pospone Delay Abandon

by Ron Spangler

President Obama has made his decision on troop reinforcement or a surge in Afghanistan. And that is, postpone or delay his decision for another 5-6 weeks. I suppose by then his next decision will be to abandon Afghanistan. He may decide Al Qaeda has been sufficiently defeated and is no longer a direct threat. Maybe he will say we will no longer participate in nation building and Afghans must decide who will govern Afghanistan for themselves.

It is evident that Afghanistan and our troops that are there are not high on the Obama list of priorities. With the Health Care Reform plan taking so much of his time he seems to have lost interest in Afghanistan. Now we find out he is off to Denmark to sell Chicago for the 2016 Olympics. It seems the Olympic games scheduled for 2016 have taken priority over the war.

The President said during his campaign Afghanistan was number one on his priority list. He said never mind Iraq, Afghanistan is where we should be and he would concentrate his every effort to destroy Al Qaeda and win in Afghanistan. After being elected he said he had a new strategy for Afghanistan. Now we find out 6 months later that his previously announced strategy was 'study the situation and come up with a new strategy'. Meanwhile the war is escalating and more of our troops are being killed because they don't have sufficient numbers to counter the growing Taliban attacks.

President Obama is showing his inability to lead by his failure to understand the nature and complexity of war. In our system of government military decisions fall to the Commander In Chief elected by the people. We the people have not elected Commander In Chiefs based on their military experience but we expect our Commander In Chief to listen to his experienced military leaders when we are fighting a war. We expect the Command In Chief to make timely decisions that will limit the number of casualties that our military forces will receive during a war. While the very nature of war means casualties cannot be avoided it does not mean the rate has to be increased because the Commander In Chief decides to question his hand picked generals on the ground. When a commander on the ground bluntly states that the next 12 months will decide victory or failure and any delays in supplying more troops will add to the likelihood of failure, the Commander In Chief cannot put off a decision because of Health Care Reform, Olympics, or any other decisions he thinks is more demanding. Nothing should be more demanding than a war and supporting the troops on the ground.

Through his actions, it looks like President Obama thinks it is more important to fundamentally transform America into something very similar to a Socialist state than it is to winning a war. He has dedicated most of his time to bailing out one industry after another with taxpayer money, taking over the auto industry, doing away with private health care, increasing the school year for public schools, and now the 2016 Olympics for Chicago. In all this time it has been reported that he has met with Gen. McChrystal one time since appointing the general 6 months ago. It is clear President Obama is simply not interested in Afghanistan.

In the 1956 movie The Ten Commandments Yul Brynner as the Pharaoh Ramses said "So let it be written, so let it be done." This seems to be the attitude of President Obama. All he has to say is "do this" and it will be done. The world is too complicated and people are too complicated to think that just because you want something done it will get done. As the Pharaoh found out this is arrogant, naive and dangerous. When fighting a war you cannot say "here you are in charge, here is an additional 20K troops go win it" and expect it to be over. You cannot say to Wall Street "here is all the taxpayer money you want, if its not enough we will print more" and expect the economy to miraculously heal itself. You cannot expect to give the same old tired speech 24/7 around the country and not expect push back on Health Care Reform if the majority of people refuse your ideas of reform. And you cannot win wars or lead a nation by saying, "So let it be written, so let it be done."

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Vietnam Afghanistan Democrats and Obama

by Ron Spangler

Most Americans try to forget the Vietnam War as if it never happened and refuse to think the situation in Afghanistan can be compared to the situation that existed in Vietnam. They are wrong. As a Vietnam Vet I can see some of the parallels that face our troops and President Obama.

In Vietnam we were fighting a well established government and a terrorist organization. The North Vietnamese Military was a well trained and well supplied military force. The Vietcong were not just a guerrilla organization they used terrorist tactics on South Vietnamese citizens and were in reality terrorists. We just didn't use the term terrorist during the war.

North Vietnam was being supplied and reinforced by Russia and China. After we defeated the North Vietnam Military and they were forced back across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) the Vietcong stepped up their guerrilla war. North Vietnam continued their fight but used the Ho Chi Min Trail through Laos and Cambodia to continue the war. We were not allowed to cross into these countries and cut off the supply of arms, food and men coming out of the North. We used special forces, secret bombings and secret crossings to combat the resupplies but it continued until we finally left South Vietnam.

Until the 1968 Tet Offensive Americans for the most part backed the war in Vietnam. Using the Ho Chi Min Trail the North flooded the South with men and weapons preparing for one great assault that would break the will of the American people and our military. It worked on the civilian population in America but it did not succeed with our military. The civilians back home saw the widespread offensive as a overall defeat while our military saw it as a victory. The Vietcong were all but eliminated and the North was resoundingly defeated and pushed back across the DMZ. Even the North said they would never try another all out attack on the South again, at least not until the Americans left.

Today in Afghanistan we are fighting not only Al Qaeda but the remnants of the Afghanistan government, Taliban. The Taliban are being supplied by not only Al Qaeda and their Muslim supporters around the Muslim world, they are also being trained and supplied by Iran. Who is supplying Iran, Russia and China. Why would Russia or China supply Iran knowing they are supplying the Taliban, neither one wants to see America win in Afghanistan. They see America as being too powerful and cannot afford to see us gain more influence, especially in a Muslim area of the world. To some extent we have succeeded in Iraq and have a large US Military force stationed on the Western border of Iran. It is simply unbearable for Russia, Iran and China to allow the US to succeed in Afghanistan and have a large US Military force stationed on the Eastern border of Iran. In the eyes of Russia and China boxing Iran in with US Military on both sides would give the US too much political leverage over Iran.

Today Iran, Russia, China, the Taliban and Al Qaeda are looking for another Vietnam Tet Offensive. If successful it will have the same effect in public opinion and Obama will lose his war in Afghanistan. History repeats itself because we never seem to learn from our mistakes. Our enemies look carefully at how Americans react to high casualty numbers in our military. Because these are American young men and women dieing in foreign lands we will not stand for the loss to grow to the numbers we encountered in Vietnam. Our enemies do not see high numbers of casualties as a problem as long as they can continue to recruit more fighters and beat down America.

Like in Vietnam the Taliban and Al Qaeda are hiding in Pakistan and the Taliban are now in Iran being trained and supplied. They are crossing into Afghanistan attacking and killing our forces then retreating back to safe havens in these countries. Pakistan is trying to fight back the Taliban and Al Qaeda for their own self preservation but are not being all that successful. Terrorist attacks within Pakistan are having a detrimental effect in public opinion of the Pakistan government. The Taliban needs safe haven in Pakistan and Iran the same as the North and the Vietcong needed Laos and Cambodia during the Vietnam War.

With military pressure President Johnson added more troops in Vietnam and the war escalated but due to heavy US casualties during the Tet Offensive public opinion was lost. Now General McChrystal is calling for more troops (around 40,000) and predicting if the troops are not forth coming in a timely manner the mission will fail. Afraid of his Democrat base President Obama is waffling. If he continues to delay and refuses to listen to his commanders on the ground we could see a Taliban offense very similar to the Vietnam Tet Offense and the results may well be high casualty reports and a public outcry for a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan. If a major Taliban offense takes place before President Obama reinforces our military it will more than likely target the towns and tribal areas in the South and NATO Forces that are at present refusing to join in combat missions. These NATO forces will immediately withdraw if they receive heavy casualties during such an assault.

Vietnam had its isolated villages, jungles and mountains. Afghanistan has its isolated tribal area (villages), caves, and mountains. Both have the civilians to worry about. Insurgents, terrorist or guerrillas (call them what you like) hide within the civilian population and attack at will. Separating the two can be difficult or sometimes impossible.

These are the parallels that Vietnam and Afghanistan have in common. President Obama has now seen the intelligence findings that he never saw when he was a Senator calling for removing our troops from Iraq and sending them to Afghanistan. He said and always believed the Central War on Terror was and should be Afghanistan. President Bush believed it would be better to fight Al Qaeda in Iraq and turn Afghanistan over to NATO. He believed Pakistan could take care of the remnants of the Taliban. Al Qaeda took the bait and did fight in Iraq taking their eyes off Afghanistan. Unfortunately Pakistan tried to negotiate and appease the Taliban, it didn't work. Countries like Germany and France supply forces to NATO in Afghanistan but they will not allow their forces to fight. This allowed the Taliban grow in strength.

We did kill and destroy a large portion of Al Qaeda terrorists in Iraq and that part of the war has turned out to be a success. Now Al Qaeda and the Taliban with help from Iran are reemerging in Afghanistan. President Obama cannot afford to show weakness because Iran is supporting the Taliban. He cannot show weakness in the eyes of Russia, China, or the Islamic countries. We have too many enemies waiting to see if Afghanistan will be another Vietnam. With Iran going full speed ahead to get their hands on a nuclear bomb in order to destroy Israel, we cannot afford to lose in Afghanistan. Delaying or second guessing his commander on the ground is showing weakness and the result may be the Democrats will win and we will all lose.

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Buyer's Remorse in America

by Ron Spangler

Buyer's remorse is steadily growing across America as we watch the total destruction of the American way of life. President Obama is determined to rebuild America according to his own personal way of thinking. The way he has chosen to rebuild the country is not absolutely clear, all though most believe it will be very close to a Socialist state. I believe it will be more like Venezuela.

With consumer confidence at a record low, it is no wonder depression in America has reached an all time high. The average American cannot believe anything coming out of Washington D. C.

I have often referred to President Obama as the greatest con artist of the 20th century. He will probably retain this title through the 21st century, along with the honor of being the President that destroyed America.

The con artist or confidence artist has gone by many names throughout history. Flim Flam man, hustler, shyster, grifter and sham artist are only a few of the more common names of people that work off of the naivety, honesty, trust, and sometimes greed or dishonesty of the victims they encounter along their paths.

A huge misconception about the perfect con is that the con man is in it only for the money. After a few cons the money doesn't mean as much as the power and confidence he gains from pulling off the perfect con. There are many forms of con artist and con games going on around the world. The biggest con of all is in American politics.


Americans for the most part believe "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" means limited government intrusion into are personal lives. It means individual Americans have the right to decide how they will live their lives, where they will live, and the path they will take in the pursuit of their particular idea of happiness. It means Americans will tell the government how they should act, not the government dictating to Americans how we should live. The perfect con we are witnessing today is being performed by a President and his shadow government. While he is publicly professing the same beliefs that most Americans have, his shadow government is busy creating crisis after crisis that will allow the President to take actions that no President in the past could have ever gotten away with.


To perfect his con there must first be some truth in some of what the con artist has said. During President Obama's campaign he told America he would "transform America." Like everything else in his public and political career he never went into details how he would transform the country and the definition of change was purposely left to interpretation. By doing this he has been able to stave off critics by his supporters pointing out the President is only doing what he said he would do and what the majority of voters expected him to do.


However, while a large majority of his supporters are still in a state of denial some are beginning to doubt President Obama's true intentions. His ardent supporters have forgotten all of the people that have been thrown under the bus throughout the life of this President. They cannot believe President Obama would betray or use them for his own political use or expediency.

One of the tricks used by a successful con artist is never allow anything to be traced back to your door. President Obama has perfected this principle throughout his days in the Illinois and U S Senate. While he has cosponsored some legislation there are no laws that have been passed that can be solely attributed to him. Since he has been President he has written nothing but instead he has allowed Congress to write the bills he wants passed. In this way Congress will rightfully be blamed if it is a failure and he can take credit if it works. The Health Care Reform Bill is a perfect example. Will the Democrats in Congress, including Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, be some of the victims to fall under the Obama bus of doom?

Obama is starting to experience something he has experienced only a few times in his life. He is starting to feel the pressure of being in a leadership role, of which he is floundering, and he is feeling distrust,anger and resistance for the way he wants to "fundamentally change America."

Most Americans liked America, we just wanted the government to work for us and not against us. We wanted America to remain free and the government to follow the Constitution, not interpret it to fit their needs. We liked the idea of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" the way we define it not the way a government dictates it for us.

People are seeing the Emperor with no clothes and the con that he is selling. President Obama is learning that we don't like what we see and we will not stand for it to be shoved down our throats. He believes he can force us to accept his will simply because he is President. He thinks he knows the Constitution better than any man or woman alive today. He believes he is like the Emperor and we will cower down to whatever he dictates. He is very wrong.

Americans are fighters and if the President and Democrat Congress wishes a fight, they like others in history will find the American people are the best fighters in the world. We will not lose, we will not give up.

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