Further illustration why we need a "man of integrity and honor" as the Secretary of Defense, a man willing to stand up against an Administration that wants to gut defense spending in favor of entitlements and social engineering. Remember: the prime directive for the government is to provide for our common defense ...
UPDATE: 03-31-09 DEFENSE COMMITTEE: EXPECT PAINFUL CUTS
According to an Associated Press Report ...
A Senate defense committee chairman says Pentagon budget will include large, painful cuts. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin said Tuesday that major program cuts will not be pushed off until the 2011 budget, but will be included when Defense Secretary Robert Gates sends his spending plan to the president later this month.
Levin's comments confirmed what many contractors and military leaders have expected, but he offered no details on which programs may be axed. He said Pentagon officials have indicated they will not be able to submit the much-anticipated spending plan by April 21, as initially hoped.
UPDATE: 03-31-09 CHINESE CARRIER "KILL WEAPON"
From the USNI (United States Naval Institute) ...
"With tensions already rising due to the Chinese navy becoming more aggressive in asserting its territorial claims in the South China Sea, the U.S. Navy seems to have yet another reason to be deeply concerned. After years of conjecture, details have begun to emerge of a "kill weapon" developed by the Chinese to target and destroy U.S. aircraft carriers."
"First posted on a Chinese blog viewed as credible by military analysts and then translated by the naval affairs blog Information Dissemination, a recent report provides a description of an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) that can strike carriers and other U.S. vessels at a range of 2000km. The range of the modified Dong Feng 21 missile is significant in that it covers the areas that are likely hot zones for future confrontations between U.S. and Chinese surface forces. The size of the missile enables it to carry a warhead big enough to inflict significant damage on a large vessel, providing the Chinese the capability of destroying a U.S. supercarrier in one strike."
"Because the missile employs a complex guidance system, low radar signature and a maneuverability that makes its flight path unpredictable, the odds that it can evade tracking systems to reach its target are increased. It is estimated that the missile can travel at mach 10 and reach its maximum range of 2000km in less than 12 minutes."
Original Blog Post ...
There is no doubt in my mind that the United States Navy is the premier “offshore” player in the armed services for one exceptional reason: Only the United States Navy has an accountability standard where every Officer, from fleet admirals to seaman recruits, has well-defined duties and responsibilities, complete responsibility for themselves, their fellow seamen and those serving under them. You are responsible for what happens on your watch, regardless of whether or not you were personally present, awake or asleep. An incredible amount of personal honor and integrity in both officers and enlisted personnel.
And now, Obama has apparently nominated someone who seems as flawed as his Chicago political machine buddies to serve as the SecNav, the Secretary of the Navy.
As reported by the New York Times …
"Navy Secretary Nominee Drew Notice Over Divorce"
“President Obama’s nominee for secretary of the Navy was involved in a divorce that drew national attention for his secret taping of a conversation between his wife and his family priest that he used against her in court proceedings.”
“The nominee, Ray Mabus, is a former governor of Mississippi and a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and he served in the Navy during the Vietnam War. Mr. Mabus, a Democrat, was a strong supporter of Mr. Obama in the campaign last year.”
“In 1998, as Mr. Mabus and his wife, Julie (now Julie Hines), sought to work out their marital problems, he surreptitiously recorded a meeting the couple had with the Rev. Jerry McBride, a mutual friend.”
Entrapment?
“Mr. Mabus had told Mr. McBride in advance that he had been advised by a lawyer to tape the conversation, according to court records. Neither man mentioned the recording to Ms. Hines. During the session, she admitted having an affair and told her husband, ‘I will hate you till the day I die, and I will tell my children.’”
“An expert psychiatric witness for Mr. Mabus referred to Ms. Hines’s recorded comments as evidence that he should get legal custody of the couple’s two daughters. The judge in the case awarded legal custody to Mr. Mabus and split physical custody between him and Ms. Hines.”
“The suit drew attention in 2002 as a potential test case for privacy rights involving churches. Ms. Hines went on something of a media blitz, describing in nationally televised interviews what she called a betrayal by her priest in collusion with her ex-husband. A judge dismissed her suit in 2006; the Mississippi Supreme Court is expected to consider an appeal this year.”
“A White House official, who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations on a personnel matter, said that officials who reviewed Mr. Mabus’s background knew about the messy divorce and did not view it as material to his potential duties as Navy secretary.”
I disagree. It goes to a question of character – of course, what can you expect from a politician – and the question of right and wrong, as opposed to the simple question of legality. I wonder whether or not Mabus would be willing to take certain shortcuts in favor of the Administration’s political agenda and which might harm the effectiveness, efficiency and operational readiness of the Navy.
It is not so much that I am concerned about Mabus as a person, but his responses to the environmentalists which have been infiltrated by those who do not wish America well. Or his capability of putting forth opinions which might slight Israel in favor of the Saudis – whom I consider as evil and dangerous as Iran as they promote world-wide Wahabism and allegedly fund terrorists in exchange for not attempting to overthrow the “Kingdom” and its ruling family.
A recent example saw the environmentalists trying to “blind” our Navy assets patrolling the coast of California by preventing the use of SONAR on their patrols on the theory that it interferes with marine mammals. The proof presented included beached whales although scientists cannot pinpoint a reason for this naturally-occurring phenomena. In some instances, beached mammals were found to have been infected with a “flu-like” virus.
“In response to questions, the White House released a statement Sunday that said, “The president nominated Governor Mabus to be secretary of the Navy because he has the proven leadership and experience our nation needs to serve in this important position.”
Does he have the strength to stand-up and be counted when the Administration moves to impose wacky environmental or other conditions which would impair the Navy’s mission or will he “go political” and roll-over to save his career?
The democrats: the party of parsing lawyers …
“Mr. Mabus declined to comment Sunday. But his lawyer, Richard C. Roberts III, said Mr. Mabus recorded the session with his wife based on advice from his lawyer at the time and after having learned that she was having an affair.”
“It would just be a travesty,” Mr. Roberts said, “if this became a controversy when Ray Mabus was nothing more than a private individual confronting his wife about an adulterous affair in a manner prescribed by his lawyer.
First, lawyers do what is in the best interest of their client, with apparently little or no consideration of what is moral, just, proper and decent. And second, we can all remember another democrat’s sexual scandal by recalling those famous words of the Horndog-in-Chief: “It all depends on what the meaning of ‘is’ is.”
“Mr. Mabus was governor of Mississippi from 1988 to 1992 and served as the United States ambassador to Saudi Arabia for two years under President Bill Clinton. In the early 1970s, Mr. Mabus served in the Navy, aboard the cruiser Little Rock. As a civilian, he won distinguished public service awards from the Defense Department and the Army.
Funny they don’t mention any military accomplishments or awards and cite only awards traditionally given out for favors or funding received? Funny, they don’t mention that he has a Harvard Law degree and is considered an expert on the Middle East?
What can YOU do?
Decide for yourself if the far-left components of our current Administration are continuing to pursue their ideological agenda of weakening the military, disarming both the troops and civilians and moving forward with an agenda that might do as much damage to our intelligence and military communities as that done under fellow democrats, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.
One needs only to remember that 9/11 may have been prevented if not for a Clinton lawyer named Jamie Gorelick who had decided that the intelligence agencies (CIA, FBI) should be separated by an artificial legal wall and not share information. Gorelick was also rewarded with a multi-million dollar position with the democrat’s favorite piggy-bank Fannie Mae.
I personally do not want another person like National Security Advisor Sandy “the Burglar” Berger and those of similar ilk who timidly seek political approval before protecting us from our enemies, both foreign and domestic. Admittedly, the position of SecNav is a political one – but there exists an opportunity to inflict severe damage on our premier “offshore” fighting force. I want a man to stand up to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other advisors when it comes to de-funding existing and necessary combat systems and operations. I want a man to continue the traditions of the Navy without trying social experiments that promote disharmony in the corps. And, most of all, I want a man willing to resign in protest over egregious actions and then go public. No leaks or backchannels to make your point.
Do not vote for any candidate or current politician who is willing to subvert the safety, security, sovereignty and economic strength of the United States or limit an individual's right of self-defense for their personal philosophy, power, prestige or profits.
-- steve
Quote of the day: “I would much rather have the SecNav chosen by the consensus of Navy Chiefs, then appointed by the Commander-in-Chief.” – steve
A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…
The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius
Reference Links:
Navy Secretary Nominee Drew Notice Over Divorce - NYTimes.com
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