2012 Election

[Ryan Ruck]

Yes, that was an excellent shot!

[Ryan Ruck]

Oh jeez... Listening to the mushy brained middle of the roaders on Frank Luntz's focus group.

2 ding dongs on there talking about how Obama made a valid point saying technology can make up for having the smallest Navy since WW1 as Romney pointed out.

If only these dummies realized what ship refitting involves and how often that must be done and how many are having that done at any given time, the effect of a high OPTEMPO on equipment like we've had for the last decade, and so on...

[Ryan Ruck]

Ha! Hannity just made a great point to Juan Williams that I had completely forgotten about in regards to the technology negating numbers of our military. Our troops DO still use horses/mules!

ETA: Karl Rove just gave the exact statement by Obama, "Our troops don't use horses and bayonets anymore."

An additional point, the do still use (or at least train with) bayonets as well.

[vector7]

Chris Wallace Romney kept his cool, a Marine texted Chris Wallace at Fox and said marines still use bayonets in response to the Biggest gaffe of the night: Obama's sequestration blunder.



Charles Krauthammer on the Third Presidential Debate: “It’s Unequivocal Mitt Romney Won”



Rubio: The President looked small and Romney looked presidential.

Pat Buchanan : Mitt showed himself a diplomat, knowledgeable on foreign policy and avoided being made out as warmonger...



I think Romney was playing it safe as not to give Obama material to work with to make him look radical.



Who else came away with this feeling with Mitt agreeing with a lot of the Administration's foreign policy in the Middle East?

Romney's views on Russia and Poland were on target and he nailed O nicely on that.

On Drudge:


Rumors are spreading that O had a earpiece..

[vector7]

Chris Matthews: 'Racial hatred' drives support for Romney on right

By Alexandra Jaffe - 10/22/12 10:58 PM ET

Liberal pundit Chris Matthews explained Mitt Romney's support among conservatives, despite the candidate shifting toward the center on a number of issues, as a product of "racial hatred."

Speaking after Thursday night's debate on MSNBC, Matthews accused Romney of "pulling back" from many of the foreign policy positions he had taken during the primary. When host Rachel Maddow wondered why Romney might be "reversing himself" from his stated positions during the primary and whether that could dampen his support among his conservative base, Matthews dismissed such a possibility."I think they hate Obama. They want him out of the White House more than they want to destroy al Qaeda. Their No. 1 enemy in the world right now, on the right, is their hatred, hatred for Obama. And we can go into that about the white working class in the South and looking at these numbers we're getting the last couple days about racial hatred in many cases … this isn't about being a better president, they want to get rid of this president," he said.

Matthews also dismissed Romney's position on potentially taking military action against Iran if the nation acquires nuclear weapon capabilities.

"Any jackass can talk about bombing Iran, but they never talk about the consequences," he said.

[American Patriot]

I took the night off. I had this feeling that while it was supposed to be about "Foreign Policy" it would end up on the economy. Apparently from what I heard it did.

What I am seeing and hearing today was Obama sucked, Romney was tepid. Obama lied again. Romney hit a few high points and leveled the playing field with Obama on several things.

I've already (some time ago actually) decided I'd vote for Romney - not because I like the guy, but because ANYONE would do a better job than Obama.

I did catch the idiotic remarks about "You said we had less ships than we did in 1916 but we also have less horses and bayonets."

That is about the stupidest, idiotic statement that has ever issued forth from a President's mouth. It was a cop out, an OBVIOUS insult to everyone's intelligence and the biggest, most insincere obfuscation I've ever heard.

The President can NOT answer a question straight on because he obviously is a stupid man and knows nothing whatsoever about the military. When you look at the cuts the military has gone through, the numbers of ships we've lost due to aging and lack of upgrades, aircraft being grounded and military units being closed you can not but HELP to see how badly things are going for the military.

When the man AGREES to disarm the US (to no one in particular by the way) and remove all of our nukes for good, it's pretty fucking obvious the man has no clue what the phrase "Peace through Strength" MEANS. When he CUTS Missile Defense, CUTS our troop strength and CUTS our Naval forces to a bare minimum, it means his agenda is NOT to keep America strong.

Then I heard these words again; “there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive." I knew, KNEW without a doubt that this man can NOT remain as President any longer. He must GO. He must LEAVE. Maybe he should go back to whatever fucking country he was born in.

[American Patriot]

Just for a punctuation.....

Army Family Programs Face Cutbacks

Oct 23, 2012
Military.com| by Richard Sisk




Army family programs face a sustained period of consolidation and possible cutbacks as troop strength is drawn down and defense budgets shrink, the Army’s uniformed and civilian leadership said Monday.


“Over time, we’re going to have to decide what programs we think are the most important” on a range of existing initiatives from financial planning to PTSD awareness and off-base housing arrangements, said Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond T. Odierno.


“These are the things that are going to be difficult,” Odierno said at a Military Family Forum of at Association of the U.S. Army’s annual convention. “We’re going to have to decide what we need and what we don’t need.”


At an earlier news conference, both Odierno and Army Secretary John McHugh said that family programs will get priority in their decisions on what to retain under budget cuts that are already underway and could be increased exponentially if Congress fails to reach a deal before the end of the year on sequestration.


“Whether it’s PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) issues or separation issues, we’ve got to make sure they’re adequately funded,” McHugh said.


The military faces a total of about $487 billion in cuts over 10 years under existing budgets. Without a deal on sequestration, an additional $500 billion in defense cuts would be added onto the $487 billion.


“It’s a salami-slice across the board” under sequestration, Odierno said. “We don’t know how deep the cuts are going to be,” which makes planning almost pointless.


With the threat of huge budget cuts coming, “we’ve got to look at everything we do and say is it cost effective,” said Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Talley, chief of the Army Reserve.


Talley said one area in which the reserves could give better assistance to military families without boosting costs was on legal assistance to avoid having families pay for private lawyers. “I’ve got lawyers falling out of the sky” in the reserves, Talley said at the Military Family Forum.


The Army will have to become more efficient at picking programs that work as funding from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars dries up, said Thomas Lamont, the Army assistant secretary for manpower and Reserve affairs.


Funding for Army family programs more than doubled to a total of $1.3 billion from fiscal 2008 to fiscal 2013, Lamont said. However, the added funding brought its own problem. Families often found it difficult to access or even find out about the expanding number of assistance programs, Lamont said.


“Many people were overwhelmed,” Lamont said. “We ended up overwhelming the people we were trying to help.”

[American Patriot]

Ryan bashes Obama on looming military cuts
Posted: 10/21/2012 10:12:33 PM MDT
Updated: 10/21/2012 10:12:34 PM MDT
The Associated Press

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan on Sunday criticized President Barack Obama for planned reductions in military spending scheduled to kick in at the end of the year, saying it was a sign to the country's enemies that it was weak.

Rep. Ryan himself voted for the cuts as part of last year's deal to raise the debt ceiling. But he now argues that he wants to replace them with other reductions in federal spending but that the president won't allow that.

The spending cuts were front and center during a brief speech by Ryan in this city, home to both the Ft. Carson military base and the U.S. Air Force Academy.

"We are not going to gut our military," Ryan vowed before a rally of about 1,000 people, specifically citing soldiers at Ft. Carson. "You honor us and we will honor you."

He said strong military spending was part of the GOP ticket's plan for "peace through strength."

"Our adversaries, when they see us projecting weakness, when they see us hollowing out our military...they think we are a superpower in decline," he said, in a likely preview of an attack Mitt Romney will launch in Monday's foreign policy debate.

Ryan's voice was noticeably hoarse and he spoke for only 12 minutes, less than usual. He has three campaign events in Colorado tomorrow and will meet Romney Tuesday night for a major rally at Red Rocks amphitheater, outside Denver.

President Obama will follow that with an appearance in Denver on Wednesday, a reminder of the swing state's political importance in this deadlocked election.

Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan is vowing to keep America's military strong.

The Republican congressman promised supporters in Colorado Springs Sunday night to avoid budget cuts to the armed forces that are scheduled to kick in at the end of the year. Ryan voted for those cuts last year but now complains that President Obama won't let Republicans substitute other spending cuts for the defense ones.

Ryan said he and Mitt Romney want what he called "peace through strength." He said that the cuts are emboldening the country's adversaries.

Ryan will make three more Colorado appearances Monday. He meets running mate Mitt Romney for a rally Tuesday. President Obama is scheduled to appear in Denver on Wednesday, a reminder of Colorado's big role in the deadlocked presidential race.

Read more: Ryan bashes Obama on looming military cuts - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/politics/c...#ixzz2A7sPNn6z
Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse

[Ryan Ruck]

Just for a punctuation.....

Army Family Programs Face Cutbacks

Word is Tricare Prime is already seeing cutbacks.

[Ryan Ruck]

[American Patriot]

Someone said they were having issues with tricare the other day, but I didn't get any details.

[vector7]

Obama draws praise from Chavez, Putin -- and Castro family

Published October 22, 2012FoxNews.com


October 9, 2012: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez speaks during a news conference after winning elections in Caracas. (REUTERS)

President Obama appears to getting reelection support from three world leaders notorious for their anti-American views.

Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, after winning a fourth term earlier this month, reportedly said he would vote for Obama and that the president would likely vote for him.

The socialist-leaning ruler also reportedly called Obama a “good guy.”

His support follows that of the Castro family, which has ruled Cuba under a communist dictatorship for more than 50 years.

In June, Mariela Castro, the daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro, said in a CNN interview, translated into English: “As a citizen of the world, I would like (Obama) to win.”

And Russian President Vladimir Putin -- who is back in Moscow's driver's seat after a stint as prime minister -- has said the reelection of Obama could improve political relations between the two countries.

He also reportedly called Obama a “genuine person" who "really wants to change much for the better."

However, Putin also told The Wall Street Journal he is prepared to work with Mitt Romney, who once called Russia the United States’ “No. 1 geopolitical foe.”

Putin characterized the Republican presidential nominee’s stance as "pre-election rhetoric."

While Obama certainly didn't ask for the support of any of those three leaders, the president has come to Russia's defense on the campaign trail. In his Democratic nomination speech last month, Obama mocked Romney's comment saying "you don't call Russia our number one enemy -- not Al Qaeda, Russia -- unless you're still stuck in a Cold War mind warp."

While some foreign leaders are watching the U.S. election and observing from afar, other foreign officials are planning to make a visit, supposedly to make sure things go smoothly. United Nations affiliates from Europe and central Asia are reportedly coming to the U.S. to monitor the Nov. 6 elections.

The monitors will go to polling stations to watch for voter suppression activities by conservative groups, according to The Hill newspaper.

The paper reports the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe -- a United Nations partner -- will deploy 44 monitors, part of a larger mission that will send an additional 80 to 90 members of parliament from nearly 30 countries.

Catherine Engelbrecht, founder and president of True the Vote, a conservative-leaning group seeking to crack down on election fraud, told The Hill: “These activist groups sought assistance not from American sources, but from the United Nations. The United Nations has no jurisdiction over American elections.”

[vector7]

United Nations Election Observer Details Revealed

by Christian Adams
October 23, 2012 - 5:25 am



PJ Tatler has obtained the document detailing the places across the United States where United Nations election observers will be deployed. The document identifies the stateside targets, particular officials as well as their country of origin. To see it, click here.

For example, Aida Alzhanova of Kazakhstan will be monitoring in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Phoenix, Arizona. Elchin Musayvev from Azerbaijan will be monitoring in Concord, New Hampshire.

Kazakhstan has been criticized for a weak human rights record and a government that tightly controls speech, assembly and the free exercise of religion. Azerbaijan is worse. The government there has violently cracked down on peaceful protests and the “atmosphere for journalists is hostile. . . . The government tightened restrictions on religious groups. . . . Torture and ill-treatment in police custody continue with impunity.”

Other U.N. targets include Richmond (VA), Harrisburg (PA), Raleigh (NC), Austin (TX), Des Moines (Iowa), St. Paul, (Minn.), Topeka (KS), and Tallahassee (FL).

Yesterday, Catherine Engelbrecht of True the Vote was on Fox News criticizing the U.N. deployment.

[American Patriot]

I'm disappointed... no one in Colorado.

[American Patriot]

take that back, only in Denver....

[Ryan Ruck]

Might be worth the trip to issue a thorough beatdown welcoming handshake and gift basket.

[vector7]

October 22, 2012
Young Romney Supporter Beaten, Hospitalized

THUGS ATTACK: Young Romney Supporter Beaten, Hospitalized

By: Brian Sikma



The son of a Republican state senator in Wisconsin was brutally attacked and beaten on Friday morning by two thugs attempting to steal his Romney-Ryan yard sign in Whitewater, Wisconsin. In a statement released on Monday, Sen. Neal Kedzie described his son’s ordeal in horrific terms. Sean Kedzie, the senator’s son, spent Friday night in the hospital suffering from serious injuries to his head.

Here is Sen. Kedzie’s statement:

Early on Friday morning, October 19th, my son Sean was awakened by noises outside his residence in Whitewater. As he went to see what the commotion was about, he noticed an individual removing a Romney/Ryan yard sign from his property. He yelled to the person that they were taking something not theirs and to return it immediately. The individual returned the sign, however, a second person confronted and attacked Sean without warning.

[Ryan Ruck]

For the election, Citizens Against Government Waste has re-launched their excellent and extremely well done commercial "Chinese Professor" that I'm sure we all remember.

[Ryan Ruck]

Romney Plans Navy Buildup

October 9, 2012

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney wants to buy three more submarines over the next three years as part of his plan to boost shipbuilding to 15 ships per year, he said Monday in a speech at the Virginia Military Institute.

Romney also plans to add an 11th aircraft carrier wing, build more Marine Corps amphibious ships, F/A-18 Super Hornets, a missile defense ship and a frigate.

The Republican spoke in detail about his plans to grow the Navy while adding few details about the other services in his speech to VMI Keydets billed as a national security address. Chris Cavas, Defense News’ naval ace, broke the story of Romney’s naval plans following an interview with John Lehman, a top Romney national security adviser and former Navy secretary.

On the campaign trail, Romney has promised to build up the Navy fleet to 350 ships by increasing annual shipbuilding from nine to 15 vessels. Until Monday, he had not provided details to what he wanted to build.

The Pentagon is preparing for a potential $500 billion cut to planned defense spending over the next decade should Congress not reach a compromise by Jan. 2 to avoid sequestration. Romney has placed blame on Obama for not showing more leadership toward ending the cuts.

Romney explained how he’d more actively use the American military to influence events in the Middle East during his speech Monday. He said increasing the Pentagon’s budget is part of that as a strong military prevents war.

Romney criticized Obama for his handling of the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya. He said it was wrong for the president to blame the attack at first on an anti-Islamic You tube video that unleashed large scale protests across the Middle East.

“This latest assault cannot be blamed on a reprehensible video insulting Islam, despite the administration’s attempts to convince us of that for so long,” Romney said.

[Ryan Ruck]

Coming to a Small Town Near You! - More Democrat Tolerance

October 11, 2012

This morning on the way to work, I was listening to The War Room with Quinn and Rose. During the show, they had a spot where they talked about a small business in Indiana, PA.

Hildebrand's Mowers and Saws is owned by Chip Hildebrand, and has been in business for over 30 years. Their home page states that "Every day, we strive to provide you with friendly service and the best shopping experience in the Indiana area." They sell lawn equipment, chainsaws, snow blowers, and apparently do small engine repair as well.

All in all, it sounds like a fine little business, the type that any community would love to have around. Absent one minor detail, you'd probably have gone through your life without ever hearing about them.

Chip Hildebrand decided to exercise his 1st amendment rights. He put a "Support Coal - Fire Obama" sign outside of his business.

This did not sit well with some people.

Specifically, it did not sit well with the chairman of the local Democratic committee.

As Quinn reported it, Hildebrand got a call from this individual. During the course of the conversation, Hildebrand says that he was told that if he did not take down his sign, the chairman would send out 1,100 emails to local unions and party members, calling for a boycott of his business.

Now, understand - Indiana is a not exactly a major metropolis. It had a population of under 15,000 as of the 2000 census. It's a classic small town, and when I say classic, I mean classic. Jimmy Stewart grew up there, and the if you visited in the winter, you'd definitely notice a "Bedford Falls" vibe.

An effective boycott of the Hildebrand's business would mean the end of his livelihood.

Mull that over, now.

Because a local businessman publicly supported a particular political candidate, the local representative of that candidate's party threatened to take steps to destroy his business.

"Nice place you have here. It would be a shame if something were to happen to it."

I would have posted this earlier, but especially in this political season, I wanted to make sure that this was a real story, and not just a "friend of a friend" sort of tale. So I contacted Hildebrand's myself, asking for clarification and a confirmation or denial.

Here is what I just received in response to my inquiry:

Mr. Robb,

Thank you for your support, and yes it is true that we were threatened by the local chairman of a democratic group to take our ‘fire Obama’ sign down or they would send out 1100 emails to local unions and members of his party to boycott our business. There have been an unbelievable amount of emails, phone calls and visits from numerous supporters and we are humbled by such a response. We have strove to serve this community for many years, it’s nice to see that many stand behind us both locally and across the country.

Thanks for contacting us, and for the wonderful support,

Steve Hildebrand

Management, Hildebrand’s Mowers & Saws

So, there you have it. The new New Civility apparently involves threatening family businesses with economic ruin in order to cow them into silence. Because, apparently, winning is the only thing, and "by any means neccesary" isn't just a catchy phrase - it's the law, at least for the Democratic leadership in Indiana, PA.

Stay classy, Dems.