Why Only One Raid?

I can't help but wonder why we haven't employed the skills of units like Delta Force more often.  If they can make a strike deep in Syria and take out a major ISIS leader and capture his wife and a servant I wonder why we couldn't have save those Americans who were beheaded.

We didn't have the intelligence.  So they say.  Who gave us the where abouts of the ISIS oil minister? And why is such intelligence so inconsistent. Could it be we don't have the necessary personnel in key places? And if not why not?

It's because we don't have a strategy, just piece meal operations.  It's no way to fight a war. But then we know that.

It just makes me wonder if we had done the things suggested by military and intelligence personnel at the outset of the escalation of unrest we could have stopped it and saved untold lives that were lost under horrible circumstances.  Like the young Jordanian pilot among many others who were burned alive or crucified or worse or beheaded. I get queasy just thinking about the suffering of those poor souls.

Now that ISIS is resurging and retaking territory lost it looks like the fighting, such as it is with the Iraqi forces in retreat, will continue and civilians will continue to bear the brunt of it.  If we had a President with an ounce of compassion he would do what is necessary to stop it as quickly as possible be it sending arms to those willing to fight or sending our troops if more force is necessary.

It will fall, however, to the next President.  The slaughter will continue and my queasiness will get worse.  I want it addressed in the campaign.  I want it laid out strategically as to how it will play out.
It's vital for not only the Middle East but for the world.

It's obvious no one else is ready for the leadership role. No one its to blame.  We happen to be the country with the most advanced military and capability. I think it's a crime against humanity we don't use it just as much as what ISIS is doing to those it captures.

Thank Heaven It's Early!

What, I've been home since Wednesday?  Where the heck is Hillary?  Her scandals are front and center but she sure isn't.  I'd like to assume too that the reason O'Malley and Webb have yet to annouce is because it's early.  If they even intend to.  What more, though, do they need to figure they just might have a reasonable chance?

As for the Republicans.  Wow.  They aren't doing anything for me either.  I know, it's all about how they can raise money and interact with their PACs.  What a way to run campaigns.  Never mind having a potential candidate just stand up and tell the truth about what he or she is for and let the rest of us make our choice.  It could be soooo easy except I don't think any of them know if the polls don't tell them.

That's a reason I have my doubts about 2016.  Instead of shoes dropping they're just being put on different feet.

The supposed shoo ins amaze me.  Hillary isn't talking and Jeb, when he does, seems to put his foot in his mouth then get cranky when he's called on it. Maybe they should just hang it up until, say, after the first of the year.  That makes for a plenty long campaign and we wouldn't have to be deciding how to interpret unending sound bites.

I guess if I'm going to continue to blog I'm going to have to look for something to yammer about other than politics for awhile.  Maybe the police/race issue but then again it's driven by politics. Deflate Gate?  It's not worth the typing time.

Oh well, maybe something worth commenting on will break over the week end.  In the meantime my yard is getting some well deserved attention.

Home Again And Nothing To Say

Ahhh, home sweet home.  The Killdeer chicks have hatched.  The grass has grown like topsy.  The house didn't burn down nor was it burglarized so all is well.

We spent our time away visiting the past.  Tromping through rocks looking for petroglyphs and ruins, visiting a couple of favorite trading posts in the middle of no where or Indian reservations, which ever way you choose to describe it.

Not once did we turn on the TV at night.  We just collapsed and slept like a log. It was a quiet pursuit except for the sounds of nature.  Restful, relaxing and thought provoking.  So many of the stories etched in rock are still awaiting translation into something we can understand.

It was a learning experience.  So many that we visited were based on either the solar year or lunar, to determine community activities.  When to plant, when to harvest determined on how the light strikes certain rocks at certain times of the year.   How they depicted it is amazing.  To have figured it out and etched it in stone for those who followed.

Other markings still remains a mystery.  Now, however, back to the present and what do I find?  Russia is still harassing other countries.  Jordon has turned to China for help since we never came through.  Only Bernie Sanders so far is challenging Hillary and people are teasing about running on the Republican side - or not. Bolton has bowed out.  Trump is to announce in June. Wow.

Tonight I will begin catching up on the news. Once you get past the train wreck I'm sure a lot is happening.  So - onward!

Good Time For A Vacation

Ah, yes.  Monday.  Another shooting of a black man by a cop, or so they say, in Baltimore.  There seems to be some confusion over the whole situation.  A black man was on gurney headed for a hospital never-the-less.

Oh, yes, I mustn't forget the police officer shot in Queens has died of his injuries by a black who has spent 5 years in prison. Where is the outrage?  Where are the defenders of the police? The protesters?  Well, I'm here shouting to myself that police lives matter too!

Muslims killed in Texas while trying to protest a contest of drawings of Mohammad.  Why anyone in their right mind would hold such a competition is beyond me.  Supposedly to show off our right to free speech.  How 'bout purposely igniting the ire of Muslims. Who the heck is the most guilty here?

Three more Republicans who have no chance have entered the Presidential sweepstakes and one socialist independent is going to make noises on the Democratic side. What fun. Meanwhile Bill is explaining why $500,000 per speech. He has expenses, don't you know. I wonder if Hillary will find trust while I'm away.

Kerry tried to take a selfie with an elephant.  Did you see that?  He failed miserably. I love the imagery though. Getting close to an elephant.  So close in fact you can't even tell what it is! Just like the nuclear deal with Iran is so close yet we can't tell what it is!  Only assure Israel we'll have inspectors all over the place even though Iran has said in no uncertain terms no inspectors will be allowed on military bases. Guess where all the nuclear activity is.  On their military bases.

So it's off to the remote canyons of the southwest again in search of ancient petroglyphs.  They speak to the journeys taken and the lives of the ancients.

They lived in great communities you know.  All built by hand, any timber used hauled unbelievable distances.  Bricks and stones stacked into remarkable structures many of which still stand as silent, majestic tribute to their lives.

I wonder what will stand as tribute to our great ingenuity.  Certainly not the ancient carvings ISIS is destroying in territory it has won because they were false gods. That isn't our history though.  What will be?

When living in Houston I remember visiting a replication of how a historical village might have looked.  A couple of English women were saying they couldn't understand Americans because we  destroy so much of what is our history. Certainly unlike the Brits.

Funny, we do.  Not always physically either.  At the moment we seem inclined to destroy everything our forefathers built from the Presidency on down. Will the buildings and monuments come next at the hands of "protesters"?

My, oh my. I wonder what the ancients would think. I wonder if they were like we are today or more like our founders. I can only speculate but from what is still visible of their civilization, I would guess the latter.

Later - in a week or so...

Appease The Rabble Rousers

So now we have Al Sharpton calling for a nationalized police force,  Michael Moore suggesting police be disarmed, six officers criminally charged for doing their job and one for murder though the reports I've heard say Mr. Grey injured himself inside the paddy wagon with no officers around.

Granted I don't know what the investigation revealed. but there are a lot of things that do trouble me.  First,  Mayor Rawlings-Blake didn't do herself any favors by turning to Al Sharpton for advice.

As a side point, why isn't this man in jail for tax evasion, why is he still employed by MSNBC and why is he the President's go to man on race relations?  That in itself tells a lot about the thinking of Madam Mayor. She chose the most prominent agitator out there.

How has it come down to appeasing the protesters, most of whom are professionals at that.  Another side point.  Who funds these people?  How do they merge in troubled spots so quickly.  Even with social media, it takes time to arrange lodging and travel or do they just pitch a tent on the street?

Back to the main point. Obama said early on he'd like to nationalize the police.  The Brown Shirts live!  At least the desire for them. The Brown Shirts were the paramilitary wing of the Nazis. Just what we need is a group of federal enforcers. Will vigilantes resurface too?

Are we really moving in that direction?  I hope not but can't help but wonder.  The police are under attack more and more while the criminals are being comforted and allowed to loot or babied because they aren't technically adults.  All for a man with a rap sheet a mile long and facts yet to be known.

For the majority of us who do not live in ghettos this is nonsense but we are not the squeaky wheel.  We are not out there en masse protecting businesses from the hooligans or helping the police in any way we can even if only verbally defending them.  Soon, if we're not careful, they'll be too paralyzed to act.  Not from fear as much as those who command them forbidding them from doing their jobs.  Then what will we have?  Mob rule and city after city will fall.

This is what Al Sharpton wants.  And Michael Moore for what ever reason other than publicity.  I worry that it is also what the President wants. If not, why doesn't he speak out?  He's quick enough when it's about a black victim.  It's absent when it comes to law enforcement.

No wonder those men and women who face the likes of these men who will mock them day in and day out have such a strong brotherhood.  I just hope it's strong enough to stand against those who would like not to have them at all.