Hypothermia:  bad. Naked cuddling in a sleeping bag to survive:  priceless. There’s no ‘good’ classification to a heart stopping freeze. Unless it’s a freeze of assets, which is something headed Mr. Rangel’s way.

The soon to be infamous Democratic Congressman from New York is at the center of his very own Ethics Violation. So far the only publicly aired grievance is in regard to a tax deviation for a property he owns in The Dominican Republic. Lame. Now that you have that uninspiring tidbit let’s address the legitimate grievances that concern you as an American citizen.

Creeped out by the Socialism epidemic (good boat to be in, all hands on deck)? The Obamacare bill belongs to Mr. Rangel. Not a huge fan of a draft? The newly introduced draft bill is another evil spawn of good ole Charlie.

41 states have filed lawsuits against The Federal Government in response to HR 3590 (Obamacare) without even getting into the private sector’s response. While the percentage of informed Americans either A) support a potential draft during wartime or B) disregard Rangel’s bill since he has reintroduced it regularly over the past 7 years while personally voting against it after it hit the floor; there are a few current complications you should be made aware of.

Recently The Pentagon issued a warning to Congress in respect to pending deliberations over a temporary military funding bill. While Democrats are getting hormonal over Big O’s threat to veto the bill unless it’s budget proposal expands dramatically from 36 to 86 billion, Republicans are growing more and more impatient as the August recess rapidly approaches. What happens if Congress fails to approve this short term band-aid?

Well, The Pentagon says we’re shit-out-of-luck! Both The Marine Corps and The Army are speeding towards literally stark empty accounts. By August neither of the two will have a penny left. Primary concerns focus  around loud boot-camp esque factoids spouted by decorated experts protesting keeping the service men and women in combat on a voluntary basis. As of yet a legality overview has yet to be agreed upon. If either branch fails to pay its employees will they have the opportunity to cease and desist? Is this how the war will end? Is it even fair to ask them to stay on for free?

However you should be more focused on the possibility that the coincidental serial submission of The Draft Bill is a response or rather a proposed solution to this. Since the bill is only 14 pages long we highly suggest you read it, it has been linked everywhere it was mentioned (that’s what the blue font is for). The language is ambiguous and disconcerting.

To require all persons in the United States between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform national service, either as a member of the uniformed services or in civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, to authorize the induction of persons in the uniformed services during wartime to meet end-strength requirements of the uniformed services, and for other purposes.

The bill is non-gender discriminatory and allows you the option of civilian service (although the specifications into the deliberation are unclear). However, civilian service is eerily similar in description to the militia hidden in the folds of Rangel’s other blatant offense against liberty (Obamacare). Firstly, why on earth was Obama granted a civilian militia, and secondly, what was it doing in The Healthcare Reform? And why all this from Mr. Out-of-Iraq-NOW?  I guess we’d have to ask Charlie.

This Administration and its shady attempts to turn the bravery of patriots into the incarceration of slaves is practically treason and you should be very concerned about the implications of forced service, specifically when stationed at home (against your brethren). Is it too idealistic to hope that Rangel’s inquiries will surface some truth to unravel the Socialistic plans of The Obamanation? Or is it firstly just offensive to ‘hope’ during this four year stint in hell?

Curiously missing from the discussion was the fact that the environmentalists themselves forced offshore drilling into 5,000 feet of water, where the oil is superheated and under tremendous pressure, thereby significantly increasing the risk of an accident as well as the degree of difficulty in plugging a well.

Instead, Americans were subjected to an Oval Office address from the President wherein he brazenly lied to them by claiming that the deep-water drilling was necessitated due to a lack of drilling locations in the United States. Additionally, he falsely claimed that the USA has only 2% of the world’s oil reserves – when in fact, we have more oil reserves than the Middle East if you include all offshore reserves, ANWAR and vast, untapped federal lands and oil shale.

President Barack Obama called on Interior Secretary Salazar to impose a six-month moratorium on deep water drilling, supposedly to investigate the cause of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and to ensure that the rest of the deep-water rigs in the Gulf of Mexico were safe.

But almost immediately the people of the Louisiana—along with their governor Bobby Jindal—objected, noting quite correctly that a six-month moratorium would result in job loss for tens of thousands of Louisianans in the short-term, and hundreds of thousands within a year. And this number didn’t even take into account those who’d already lost their jobs due to the oil that had encroached the beaches and marshlands of Louisiana as a direct result of the anemic containment/clean-up efforts of BP and the federal government. It may also cost as much $2.1 billion in economic losses in it’s first six months.

Governor Jindal, Louisiana residents, and even the fisherman and shrimpers who count on the Gulf for their livelihoods, recognized that the oil rigs wouldn’t sit idle in the Gulf of Mexico for long. Instead, they would relocate to other nations like Brazil, South Africa and Libya, just to name a few. Those rigs, once gone, won’t be coming back anytime soon. This will have the effect not just of killing even more jobs that the United States can ill afford to lose, but will also lead to increasing dependency on foreign oil.

Further reliance on imported oil is bad for our national security, as it means we’re buying oil from terror-sympathizing nations that don’t much like us. It’s bad for the environment, since historically more accidents happen with tankers. And of course, it’s bad for our economy as we lose jobs and send American dollars overseas.

Politically, the moratorium inspired Florida Governor Charlie Crist to call for a special legislative session to put a constitutional amendment on the November 2nd ballot that would permanently ban drilling in Florida’s waters, something that is already banned by Florida statute. This political theater—designed for the self-serving purpose of making Governor Crist look competent in his response to the Gulf oil spill—will cost Florida taxpayers more than $100,000, and is unlikely to lead to a constitutional amendment coming from the Republican controlled legislature.

As 73% of Americans oppose a ban on offshore oil drilling because they realize the damage it would do to our nation, it would appear that both President Obama and Governor Crist are stuck on stupid when it comes to this issue. I said as much recently in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and I stand by my comments. Not only should we refrain from banning offshore oil drilling, we should be lifting the Florida ban and opening up more land-based domestic oil drilling. We may eventually find other economically feasible, renewable sources of energy. But until then, like it or not, our nation and our economy need oil to prosper – to ignore or dispute this basic fact flies in the face of common sense and intellectual honesty.

This assertion would seem to be disproved by the evidence that this columnist has observed. For instance, a few days ago I attended a meeting of the South Florida Water Management District, where approximately 50 activists from several Tea Party organizations and four candidates (two congressional & two state house), including myself, took time out of our busy schedules to attend, and to speak out on the proposed purchase of land currently owned by U.S. Sugar. This purchase, which has been dubbed “Charlie’s Bailout” by some, because the deal was proposed by Florida Governor Charlie Crist (I), is opposed by many citizens and supported by several environmental groups. Who would have thought 20 months ago that average citizens would take the time to make their voices heard at a water management meeting?

Additionally, both the Palm Beach County and Broward County Republican Executive Committees have seen an increase in their memberships of more than 20% in the last few months. Most of the new members of these two RECs are also members of local grassroots groups including Tea Parties, The 9/12 Project and the organization, DC Works For Us.

If anything, the intensity of these highly educated, very knowledgeable and incredibly motivated people is only increasing. Whether it’s due to the fact that they are spurred on by watching Glenn Beck (who acts more like a professor than a talk show host) and Fox News, or by simply observing the outrageous behavior of elected officials such as President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and the rest of the arrogant, progressive-Democrats, the conservative movement is prepared and motivated to achieve their goal of changing the Congress in 2010.

For many it is imperative that a veto-proof majority be attained in one or both chambers of Congress. People are constantly talking about the importance of a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate to allow for the repeal of many of the policies that have been foisted upon the electorate, and to replace them with common-sense, constitutionally based legislation.

If the liberal media would like to assume that the opponents of the Obama agenda are going to give up before the 2010 elections, which are less than 108 days away, they do so at their own peril. It would appear that not only will there be no let up before Election Day 2010; but that they will not stop until they make Barack Obama a one-term president in November of 2012 as well.

From Mashable:

The Israeli soldiers who were admonished this week forperforming a dance routine to Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok” in the streets on Hebron have finally received their punishment: They are to create an educational video instructing their compatriots not to dance.

The video, which became a viral sensation this week — even after if was taken down by the original uploader and then uploaded again — received mixed reactions from bloggers and press. Some found the image of the six soldiers decked out in IDF uniforms and military gear hilarious, others, disrespectful. The IDF, however, was less nebulous about its feelings.

ynet reports that Colonel Amir Abulafia, commander of the Benjamin Brigade, called forth the two squad commanders yesterday for their participation in the video. According to the colonel, the fact that they were wearing IDF uniforms at the time tied their actions to the IDF, which made the dancing unacceptable.

However, since they didn’t actually do anything wrong, the soldiers’ penalty is merely to create an educational video “in order to prevent similar incidents in the future,” according to a statement from the IDF. (The rest of the soldiers are currently on vacation, and are scheduled to be released from the military in a week — so they got off the hook.)

Communications Director Lucy McVicker of the involved organization Students for the Life of America said at a recent Anti-Kagan Rally, “Elena Kagan shows the extent to which our society’s disregard for human life reaches. Her radical pro-abortion views and support for partial birth abortion prove that she is unwilling to be a bi-partisan judge -something all judges, especially Supreme Court Judges, are called to be.”

With sponsoring organizations including Americans for Tax Reform and the Young Conservatives Coalition, the rally’s speaker list will include not only members of the organizations but also of students discussing what they believe is the dangerous agenda Kagan will bring to the Supreme Court and hence the future of Law.  Former ROTC members will also be involved to highlight one of the most controversial aspects of her career: Attempting to restrict military recruiters from Harvard Law School during her tenure as Dean.

Jordan Marks Executive Director of Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) said, “Our generation cannot afford to be silenced by Elana Kagan’s bad judgment to feel a duty to silence student opinions she did not agree with nor to be denied job opportunity and the ability to patriotically serve our country because Kagan (has) poorly judged the value of military service.”

While this is not the first rally seen against the issue of Kagan’s prospective Supreme Court confirmation, the combination of students and youth driven organizations give this event independence.  Among other aspects such as her lack of experiential documentation and absence of bench experience, her record of positive views toward socialism, consistent history of restricting student speech and free speech as a whole and support of Affirmative Action will also be discussed on the steps during the hour long rally.

Sponsoring organization Americans for Tax Reform recently announced one of the reasons they are against Kagan is a debate she carried out as Solicitor General which, according to ATR President Grover Norquist means, “The millions of Americans who are employed by corporations or are part of grassroots advocacy groups and who will be silenced by the DISCLOSE Act have reason to be fearful….a nominee who believes the government can ban a book simply because it mentions the name of a federal candidate is almost certain to show the same blatant disregard for speech on television, radio or the blogosphere.”

In addition to the speeches, the event includes a reprise of The Conservative Coalition’s Keep out Kagen Day where they call  for members and social networking fans and followers to contact their legislators demanding Kagen be rejected from the Supreme Court opening.

Marks added, “Kagan is a self-identified socialist, nominated by Obama to carry out his socialist policies.”

His career was distinguished and decorated, including the Legion of Merit (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters) and the Bronze Star. He deserved better than to be relieved of duty because of some off-color remarks made in a bar, that were reported in a dying left-wing publication like Rolling Stone Magazine.

With all that said and with all due respect to his service to our nation, he and his staff showed an incredible lack of judgment by allowing that reporter (and I use the term loosely) to be embedded with them in the first place. This lapse in judgment left President Obama no choice but to ask General McChrystal to submit his resignation.

Unlike generals like Douglas MacArthur and George Patton who had won unprecedented battles and were storied heroes of World War II, Stanley McChrystal was fighting an increasingly unpopular war. Many now question the wisdom of invading Afghanistan in the first place, while still others criticize the strategy and tactics employed in the effort. McChrystal was in fact on the losing end of a war where American soldiers and marines were dying as a direct result of his own Rules of Engagement.

The counter-insurgency tactics he successfully championed and sold to President Obama are controversial to be sure. The ROE imposed upon our military in Afghanistan were unpopular with the soldiers on the ground and many military analysts here at home.

I have had the privilege of interviewing retired Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney, Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely and Brig. Gen. James Cash, as well as former CIA operative Michael Baker about the war in Afghanistan. Although all of these men expressed great respect for General McChrystal, they expressed staunch disagreement with the wisdom of the tactics he was employing.

No one wants the American military to kill innocent Afghans. We all want to limit collateral casualties if possible. But it’s important that when we put our brave men and women in harm’s way that we give them the resources they need to accomplish their mission and protect their lives as well.

When the rules of engagement include such things as not being allowed to fire until fired upon, not being able to call in air strikes in populated areas, or pursue Taliban fighters into populated areas, we are tying the hands of our military and putting them in unnecessary and unacceptable peril.

As we witnessed in Somalia, in what became known as the “Black Hawk Down” incident in Mogadishu, when political concerns trump military considerations our soldiers die. In the Battle of Mogadishu, political concerns about having too big a footprint caused Washington, D.C. to withhold AC-130 gunship support and prevent armored vehicles from being used. The results were dead Army Rangers and Delta Operators. The images of our dead soldiers being dragged through the streets by Somali militiamen led to our withdrawal from that troubled country and was a demoralizing blow to the morale of our troops.

With all due respect to General McChrystal, who obviously believes in the COIN strategy, in my opinion (for what it’s worth) he was the wrong general, fighting the wrong war, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. He should not have been given this assignment, in the first place. But that of course is not his fault.

The fact that President Obama dithered for four months before giving the general only 30,000 of the 40,000 troops he requested for his “surge” in Afghanistan must have frustrated McChrystal tremendously, and the fact that Vice-President Biden strongly opposed the COIN strategy and favored a counter-terrorist strategy instead, also was a point of contention for the general.

McChrystal and his staff were obviously blowing off steam when they made the comments that Rolling Stone printed. But they let their guard down with the enemy in their midst and he cut them down just as surely as a Taliban infiltrator would have.

Now we have to hope that McChyrstal’s replacement, General David Petraeus, tapped by President Obama, will change the Rules of Engagement to effectively grant Obama the necessary time to defeat the Taliban and get the Afghan Army and police to defend their own people and nation.

In order to win the “hearts and minds” of the Afghan peasant-farmers, Petraeus might consider allowing them to grow poppy to be purchased by western pharmaceutical companies, rather than trying to destroy the crops or forcing the Afghans to grow some other much less lucrative crop.

We need to manage our expectations and realize the futility of trying to turn Afghanistan into a Jeffersonian democracy—or even into an Iraqi-style democracy. We can only hope to make it a functioning country that is not a haven for the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

Taking a cue from Big Daddy, onlookers channeled their best rendition of audacity as they attempted to legitimately be ’surprised’ by the inclusion of one of the greatest villains in History (a pawn though he was). Audacity turned to disgust, disgust to contempt, and finally, contempt evolved into proactive discontent. Not only have local lawmakers been bogged down with phone calls and emails demanding the removal of the Stalin shout-out, but multiple embassies have been distressed by an overflow of complaints from their respective communities. Europeans are particularly appalled as they have spent decades attempting to erase any trace of communist paraphernalia from their public areas.

Officials hope that the inscription below the bust will fend off activists for as long as it can, it reads:

“In memory of the tens of millions who died under Stalin’s rule and in tribute to all whose valor, fidelity, and sacrifice denied him and his successors victory in the cold war.”

*Image from DotPenn.com

The Pentagon says it opposes a bill to re-designate the Department of the Navy as the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps and deems the name change as “unnecessary,” costly and a move that would do nothing to elevate the standing of the Marine Corps, which was the intention of the bill.

Read more from Defense Tech here.

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