Joseph Gilbert's Posts (25)
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The short life of Kelby, Iraq War veteran, friend and best dog in the world
I buried my best friend yesterday.
She was an Iraqi War veteran, explorer, protector and my best buddy.
I'm guessing Kelebi (her name means "my dog" in Arabic) was born in Baghdad, Iraq in May 2003. I found her during a reconnaissance mission in June (full story: http://exm.nr/OcEPTM). Our company motto was "Scavengers" because it was our mission to collect enemy equipment and technical data for U.S. intelligence analysts to study. Kelby was definately a Scavenger.
Considered to be filthy animals, there are no breeds of dogs in Iraq, so Kelby isn't a mix of anything. Her ancestors being feral for thousands of years, she's pure dog. She was the first dog "rescued" from Iraq. But, it is more accurate to say, I didn't rescue her. She rescued me.
read more:
http://www.examiner.com/article/the-passing-of-my-best-friend
The image below isn't mine, but it perfectly sums up the effects of the Obama economy. It comes from the webpage of Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ) (http://1.usa.gov/zdHUAN). Not to be a conspiracy theorist, but I don't think what has happened to our country in the last three years was an accident.
There are those who assume from the negative results that Obama and his advisors don't know what they're doing. This assumption is based on the thought that they want the same things we do: prosperity, freedom, and to retain America's status in the world. I am one that does not make such an assumption.
I believe they know exactly what they are doing. When Obama said he was going to "fundementally transform the United States of America" he meant to drag us into his vision of a socialistic nation. What we are seeing now,, the languishing economy, rise in poverty rates, increase in energy costs, expansion of the recipient class, are the results.
His foremost foreign polcy initiative when he took office was "Muslim Outreach". That was his reason for the Cairo apology speech. Before his venture into politics, Obama was a leftist community organizer. I don't believe it is a coincidence that after two years of "Muslim Outreach" by a leftist community organizer, that the community got organized in the Muslim world. What has since become known as the "Arab Spring" But, what have been the results? The Muslim Brotherhood now controls Egypt, the Al Quaeda flag flew over Libya, there is civil war in Syria, there is unrest in Tunisia and Yemen still, and Iran is closer to acquiring nuclear weapons.
We patriots have to be the Paul Revere's of our generation. In this election year, we have to carefully screen our candidates and support those that will return us to our country's founding principles.
Ronald Reagan once said "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free" (http://bit/ly/11a87R).
This site won't allow me to upload the image. Please go to this site: http://1.usa.gov/zdHUAN
On Sunday’s NBC Meet the Press, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that he sympathized with the American people’s frustration with Congress. He went on to say that it was due to the “obstructionism on steroids” caused by the Republicans and the extremist Tea Party.
“I hope the Republicans have learned their lesson” Reid continued. The debate on the extension of the payroll tax deduction was “a disaster” for the Republicans (http://bit.ly/yzZa5x). In that debate, the president and the Democrats proposed, and finally received, a two month extension. The Republicans proposed, and folded on, a one year extension. The problem here was that the liberals, supported by the main stream media, control the dialogue. Somehow, wanting to extend a tax deduction for a full year was turned into a bad thing for the American people and only wanting to extend a tax cut for two months was the more reasonable position.
Harry went on to say that the art of legislation was negotiation and compromise. So, it is the Democratic position that if they propose further spending or a new program, and the Republicans don’t want it at all, it is our responsibility to compromise. That assumes that the creation of the program is a given, it is really just a matter of working out the details. It is further assumed that if the Republicans don’t fall in line, we’re being obstructionists. It is more “extreme” that one party, and the president, will continuously increase spending and grow government at the expense of liberty than it is to attempt to prevent it.
Reid continued by stating that the Tea Party’s influence has been “really bad for this country” (http://bit.ly/yzZa5x). With the national debt currently at $15,241,210,000,000, and over $5 trillion of that added since Obama took office, it is inconceivable how he can consider that good for the country. And, as if that wasn't enough, Obama has asked Congress to authorize another $1.2 trillion raise in the debt ceilling. But, he, and his liberal compatriots do. Because they control the debate, it is the Tea Party and our desire to return this country to our founding principles, small, sound and accountable government that is labeled “extreme”.
By contrast, it is these same liberals that sympathize with the Occupy Wall Street movement. That wave of protestors are supported by the American Communist Party, SEIU, big labor, and socialists. The OWS has a basic Marxist message empower the government to redistribute wealth from the producers in this country to the recipient class.
Even Congressman Bill Owens (D-NY23) said that the Occupy Wall Street movement was “just like the Tea Party” in their protests at a town hall meeting at SUNY Canton in October. This is despite the fact that there have been numerous violent confrontations with police, rapes, assaults, drug use, thousands of arrests and a near universal disregard for private property rights at the OWS protests and not one arrest at any Tea Party event. Yet, we are the extremists?
Harry Reid thinks the Tea Party is dying out because the economy is getting better. First, the economy is not getting better. When Obama was sworn in, the unemployment rate was 7.6% (http://bit.ly/z9CwEg). It is now 8.5% (http://bit.ly/eT9opV) and has been over 9% for the majority of Obama’s presidency. The Democrats controlled the presidency, the House of Representatives and the Senate for the first two years of his administration. They were able to force through every progressive policy they wanted with a total disregard for the Republicans or the American people. So, despite all of the rhetoric, despite the $785 billion stimulus, cash for clunkers, Obamacare, green job initiatives, the take over of GM, etc, the unemployment rate is still higher now than at Obama’s inauguration. Yet, because the progressives and liberals control the message, we’re told “the economy is getting better”, the Republicans are “obstructionists” and the Tea Party are the “extremists”.
Harry now says his agenda for next year is creating jobs. So far, no less than three times, the president has stated that creating jobs was his top priority. If the liberal progressive agenda was ever going to work to create jobs, the unemployment rate would be lower now than when he took office. It isn’t. Their agenda doesn’t work and won’t work this time.
On being “obstructionists”. Between the House, the Senate and the president, there are 536 people that can pass laws coercing 300 million Americans at the threat of punishment to comply with their mandates. This process should be hard. It should be slow and deliberate with much debate and thought and consultation with us, We the People. If that means we need to be obstructionists, all the better.
