Trump’s “Profanity-Laced” Speech Was Nothing of the Sort: It Was a Good Speech With a Few Exclamation Points Here and There

The media talking heads were all aghast at Donald Trump’s speech in Las Vegas, in which he dropped some “f-bombs” and dared to raise more talking points.

99.5% of the speech was clean; it was over thirty minutes long. This was no profanity-laced speech. His speech is on YouTube, under "Trump speech Las Vegas".

Yes, Trump is a prima donna. He'll be the first to admit it. His taking credit for President Obama's releasing his birth certificate was hugely amusing. But he's also a lightning rod, which may make him a very difficult person to vote for, from my point of view.

In any case, this speech wasn't profanity-laced, and the media should stop trying to sell it as anything other than what it actually was: a speech with exclamation points here and there.

Trump isn't even a candidate yet. And I'm not sure he's serious about it yet, but people are definitely listening to what he has to say.

I'm enjoying the show.

Iraqi Prime Minister Says Iraqi Government and Military Will Be Ready on December 31st: All U.S. Troops Need to Be Out of There, Ahead of Time if Possible, so That They Can Be Home for the Holidays

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, that Iraqi troops would be ready to assume control of Iraqi security, paving the way for U.S. troops to return to their families for the holidays.

Hopefully U.S. troops will be withdrawn on time; it would be even better if all the troops were home for Thanksgiving.  Their families would really like that.

It’s time for Iraq to run its own affairs and fight its own battles.  It’s long overdue.

Trump’s Early Lead in GOP Polls Shouldn’t Be As Perplexing as Some Political Analysts are Finding It: Trump is Leading for Very Simple Reasons

Some political analysts are finding it difficult to believe that Donald Trump is leading in many GOP polls.  Called a “sideshow” and a “joke candidate” by leading Democratic and Republican leaders and advisors, Trump is being taken seriously because you will NEVER EVER catch him doing THIS:

Nor will he apologize for everything in sight as Obama has done.  Nor will he take a  back seat in something as important as getting the budget done and passed ON or AHEAD OF TIME.

The American people want strength in their President, not more weakness.  And while Obama may not be the worst President in history (something that’s been said about just about EVERY U.S. President in history by each President’s political enemies) he isn’t helping the perception that he’s the observer-in-chief.

People should remember that Obama wasn’t willing to state what his opinions were during the 2008 election, a tactic that many Democrats also followed in prior elections as well.  Now the results are on FULL display in the White House.  Even the Democrats in both houses have criticized President Obama for his lack of leadership on recent issues.

Now comes Trump who’s standoffish and will mix it up with anybody out there.  While he’s definitely off-the-wall, he’s seen as having a lot of strength and possessing the will to tell the world what to go do with itself, something that President Obama has yet to prove.  And the American public is sick and tired of being sick and tired.

That’s why Trump is doing so well early on.

NATO Is Learning a Valuable Lesson on Going to War Without U.S. Help: They Can’t Handle It

NATO is discovering that they don’t have the political or military will to fight an air campaign over Libya without American assistance.

The headline in a German newspaper said it all: “NATO Fears War Without End.”

NATO members should have thought about that before securing a U.N. Security Council resolution, and before they started dropping bombs and firing cruise missiles at or on Libyan targets.

Here is the NATO/Arab League order of battle over Libya, according to globalsecurity.com:

Belgium—(6) F-16 fighters
Canada—(2) P3 Orion spy aircraft, (2) tankers, (6) F-18 fighters
Denmark—(4) F-16 fighters
France—(1) EF3 command & control aircraft, (6) tankers, (8) F3 fighters, (4) Mirage fighters
Greece—(4) F-16 fighters, (1) command & control aircraft
Italy—(4) Tornado fighters, (4) Typhoon Eurofighters
Netherlands—(1) tanker, (6) F-16 fighters
Norway—(6) F-16 fighters
Qatar—(1) C17 Heavy Transport, (2) Mirage fighters
Spain—(1) SAR bird, (1) tanker, (4) F-18 fighters
Sweden—(8) JAS-39C fighters, (1) command and control aircraft, (4) tankers
United Arab Emirates—(6) F-16 fighters, (6) Mirage fighters
United Kingdom—2 Air Wings with support aircraft, 10 Eurofighters, 4 Tornado aircraft 

By my count, that’s 86 fighters, or seven full squadrons of fighters to clear the skies of Libyan aircraft, and bomb targets.  That’s without the additional 33 fighters that the U.S. pulled off the flight line, which was a minority of the total fighter aircraft currently in use. 

There’s nothing wrong with the NATO and Arab League fighter numbers, except that the various governments don’t have the stomach for a prolonged campaign that the U.S. Air Force is already accustomed to.  And they’re unwilling to contribute more combat aircraft to the campaign, even though they’ve got PLENTY of late-model fighters.  France and Britain are encouraging NATO to contribute more aircraft.

Speaking of the Arab League, only two countries belonging to the AL (out of 22) are involved; the UAE has more combat aircraft involved (12) than all other countries, except France and Britain.

There was a HUGE lack of foresight in the planning of this U.N.-sanctioned debacle.  And the U.S. should not have been involved at all.  This is a NATO mess.

And now with France locking horns with the outgoing Ivory Coast government, the second such direct clash between the French military and Ivory Coast since 2004, the main driving force behind the NATO effort is engaged in three conflicts of its own: it has forces in Afghanistan, is engaged against Libya, and is now engaged in Ivory Coast.   France may not be able to withstand internal political pressure to stop their military campaigns.

It may fall to Britain to lead the alliance.

NATO really needs to rethink what it’s doing in Libya, what its goals are, and what it can accomplish with air power alone.

I think putting non-Arab troops on the ground in Libya would be a colossal mistake.  And putting American combat brigades in there isn’t an option, regardless of whether we close down shop in Iraq or Afghanistan first.

I think the U.S. should keep doing what it’s doing, and stay out of the NATO/Libyan fight.

Federal Government Spends 8 Times More Than They Made in March: This is Unsustainable, Reckless and Needs to Change TODAY, Not in 2012

I’ve been listening to the pundits analyzing the different (and ultimately meaningless) numbers that both parties are planning to cut out of the current budget.  The Democrats wanted $4 billion in cuts, the GOP wanted $61 billion in cuts.  They’re negotiating a $33 billion compromise cut.

It isn’t nearly enough.

The federal government took in $128 billion in tax revenues in March, and spent $1.0582 TRILLION in the same time.  That translates to the feds spending 8.2 times more than they brought in.

If you or I spent 8 times more than our monthly income month after month, how long could it possibly be before the monthly bill to repay the loan would exceed our total monthly income, or our ability to pay it back?

The Congressional Budget Office says that the U.S. debt will reach 800% of GDP by 2037 if spending levels remain unchanged.  We must stop this madness now, and reduce our debt load to much more manageable levels.   The debt level should not exceed 30% of GDP; we are currently at 97.3%.   GDP was $14.66 trillion, and the debt was $14.26 trillion, as of March 25th, 2011.  This is INSANE!

They Feds need to stop overspending immediately and start to live within their means like most American families and individuals have to.  They need a balanced budget Amendment to the Constitution by the end of 2012.  And the cuts to the 2011 budget should be massive, and not a paltry $33 billion that is barely a drop in the bucket.

The government needs to make the cuts now, while there’s still a choice as to what to cut, because once we hit the tipping point there will be NO choice, and what the politicians are trying to protect today will be impossible to keep tomorrow.

Congress and the President are failing us.  They need to get it in gear NOW, and get the job done!

Florida Pastor is At It Again: This Time He’s Gotten People KILLED in Afghanistan

Last September I wrote about all the hoopla about a Florida pastor who was threatening to burn the Koran on September 11th, and how other “hate pastors” like Jeremiah Wright and Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist church were grabbing undeserved media attention.

The Florida pastor finally carried through on his threat to burn a copy of the Koran, confirming that a “trial” was held for the Koran last month and that it was subsequently burned.

And once again, the illiterate Afghans (who probably can’t even read the Koran) went on a rampage in direct response, beheading two UN workers and killing five others.  Five demonstrators were also killed.    Afghan rioters then attacked a NATO base in a suicide attack, wounding three soldiers.

This man’s act has lead directly to the deaths of thirteen people.  How many more will die because of his unthinking actions?