The Obama Epic Fail Series, Part 3B - Foreign Policy

We are going to take a few days and discuss the track record of the Obama Presidency across several perspectives. The impetus for this discussion and review was the fact that when the world leaders and millions of French men and women rallied in France to protest and take a stand against global Islamic terrorism, this President embarrassed himself and the United States by NOT attending the gathering of world leaders in Paris. In our opinion, this was an epic fail and a missed historical opportunity.

Not only did he not attend, no high ranking member of his administration bothered to make the trip either. While world leaders of over 40 countries attended and high ranking officials of other countries made the trip, the highest ranking U.S. person was just the current French ambassador.

This snub of the French is a tremendous, and possibly historic, missed opportunity. This could have been a defining moment in the Obama Presidency where he rallied the rest of the world in its fight against global terrorism. The whole world was watching but apparently the President was back in the White House, rumored to be watching NFL football games instead of leading in Paris. 

If Obama was a true leader, he could have used the commonality of the fight against terrorism to also work on other global issues. The leaders of Israel and the PLO were at the rally with a common, shared goal of fighting terrorism. What a great time in might have been of using that common objective to move onto other problem resolution opportunities.

The Russian Foreign Minister was also at the Paris rally. Why not use the common goal of fighting terrorism to talk about the Ukraine and other troubling Russian and U.S. issues? But the President missed this historic window of leveraging this common objective across most of the world.

But missed opportunities seems to be the theme of this President. Whenever an opportunity to be bold, productive, epic, and a leader arose, this President, and the administration he has put in place, has usually failed and failed miserably. Bad economic policies, divisive race politics, a failing health care reform law, a clumsy foreign affairs management history, bad management processes as a Federal government bureaucracy teeters on the edge of total incompetence, etc., this administration has not been able to get out of its own way to attain any problem resolution at all.

Given that we are comfortable calling his absence in Paris an epic fail, we are going to take a few days and see if there are other epic fails that this administration has attained. We will discuss the policies track records of this Presidency over the next few days according to the following general topics and see if the failure as epic as his absence in Paris has been repeated in other areas of governance:

• Transparency and integrity
• Economic policy
• Foreign policy
• Healthcare policy
• Government management policy

Foreign Policy Part 2

1) This past week, the Yemeni government, a supposed ally of the U.S.in the fight against terrorism, collapsed under the weight of a Shiite rebel force supported and funded by Iran. However, this was not supposed to happen. As late as last September, Obama proclaimed that: "This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us,while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years."

However, most of us and the rest of the world might have a different definition of "success" than the President's, based on the overthrowing of the current government this week. Even with a supportive government in Yemen, Al Qaeda's most vicious and successful branch was in Yemen.With the collapse of the government and the support they gave to Obama in fighting terrorism in general and Al Qaeda in particular, his strategy is now in tatters and an epic fail.

2)This President, and his closest advisors such as John Kerry, blatantly refuse to admit the obvious: most of the current terrorism going on in the world is being done by Islamic extremists. This does not mean that the majority of Muslims are like this, it just means that much of the terrorism is being done in the name of Islam.

However, failure to recognize a problem means that you will never resolve that problem. Consider a recent article from the Heritage Foundation that listed out recent terror attacks, all of which had an Islamic slant to them:

• December 2010: Stockholm – An Iraqi-born Swedish citizen who had lived in the U.K. carries out a suicide car bombing, injuring two and blowing himself up. Although the planned attack failed, Swedish authorities believed the terrorist intended to detonate the vehicle remotely in an attempt to kill as many people as possible during the busy Christmas shopping season.

• March 2012: Toulouse and Montauban, France – A French national of Algerian origin kills three off-duty soldiers, three Jewish children and a rabbi in three separate terrorist attacks in southern France. Before being killed by police in a shootout, the terrorist, who carried out the terrorist attack in the name of Islam, told authorities he did so in part because he was mad over France’s military role in Afghanistan.

• May 2013: London – British serviceman Lee Rigby is brutally murdered in broad daylight by two British citizens who were converts to Islam. Rigby is run over by the terrorists before being hacked to death as the murderers shouted “Allahu akbar.” Both terrorists are convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

• May 2014: Brussels – A terror attack carried out against a Jewish museum kills four. A French terrorist who had returned from fighting with Islamists in Syria and Iraq is charged with carrying out the attack. The terrorist is described by one former hostage as a “publicity-loving sadist,” whose depravity knew no bounds even prior to the attack on the Jewish museum.

• December 2014: Joue-les-Tours, France - A 20-year old French national, who is a Muslim convert with known sympathies to radical ideology, injures three after attacking police with a knife while shouting “Allahu Akbar.” He is shot and killed by police.

But this denial should not come as a surprise since this administration went years refusing to acknowledge that the Fort Hood attacks was a terrorist attack, classifying the attack as "workplace violence," an insult to those who died and were wounded. Failure to declare the obvious is an epic fail and an insult to the intelligence to the rest of us that see what is going on.

3) The relationship with China has not gotten better during the Obama administration. China has been bullying nations in its region for a number of years now, claiming territorial and island rights that other nations have long held were theirs. There have been military and diplomatic confrontations with Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, and others, with the Chinese ignoring any Obama administration pleas to play nice.

In fact, some experts are saying that relations between the U.S. and China have not been this bad in decades: "U.S.-China relations are worse than they have been since the normalization of relations, and East Asia today is less stable than at any time since the end of the Cold War," Robert Ross, a political science professor at Boston College and an associate of Harvard's John King Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies. 

So China ignores us and is not scared or respectful of us, Russia invades countries at will and is not scared or respectful of us, looks like the Obama administration has taken us back to the future with the advent of a Cold War atmosphere as a result of the bumbling foreign relations management of the Obama administration.

4) But it is not just Russia and China where the foreign affairs management of been an epic failure. By allowing the NSA to spy on foreign leaders, even those that were and are considered allies, the Obama administration ticked off a whole range of foreign leaders including such stalwart allies as Angela Merkel of Germany. You cannot spy on people and then expect them to embrace yourself or your foreign affairs policy.

The Prime Minister of Brazil was so ticked off by the spying that she cancelled herself out of a White House state dinner, a highest honor that the White House can bestow on anyone, that is how made the Obama administration made her. Time Magazine reported on how Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sirkorski truly felt about his country;s relationship with the U.S. during Obama's tenure: 

In tapes obtained by a Polish magazine, Radoslaw Sikorski sued an expletive to describe his country's alliance with the U.S. 

Polish magazine Wprost claims to have obtained recordings of a conversation in which Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski says that “the Polish-American alliance is worthless, even harmful, as it gives Poland a false sense of security. It’s bulls—t.

The quote is an excerpt of a longer conversation purportedly between Sikorski and former Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski that Wprost is expected to publish Monday or Tuesday, the Associated Press reports. The leaked recording comes just two weeks after President Barack Obama visited Poland.

Great, when an ally says the relationship is bulls--t, you really are an epic fail.

The following link to a CNBC news broadcast from earlier this year quite nicely summarized how erratic and non-effective the administration has been relative to all types of other countries, foes and friends alike:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2T304RS41k&app=desktop

From the collapse of Yemen to a new Cold War with Russia and China to ticking off many, many allies, this administration's voeign policy record can be viewed not other way than an epic fail. Today's and Yesterday's examples prove this conclusion, one could not do much worse if one was trying to encourage our enemies and piss off our friends.

This epic fail series will continue tomorrow when we switch gears to the unfolding disaster that is Obama Care.

Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at:

www.loathemygovernmobama,washington post,politifactent.com

It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.

Please visit the following sites for freedom:

Term Limits Now: http://www.howmuchworsecoulditget.com
http://www.reason.com
http://www.cato.org
http://www.bankruptingamerica.org
http://www.conventionofstates.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08j0sYUOb5w

Thoughts on D-Day And My Dad ...And Presidential Gum Chewing

Yesterday marked the 70th anniversary of the day my dad went ashore at Omaha Beach, along with tens of thousands of other American servicemen, during the second day of the D-Day invasion. Their efforts and sacrifices, and the efforts of millions of others before them and after them have successfully defended this country and its freedoms. They should be treated with honor and respect by all…unlike the current President of the United States who decided chewing gum during the solemn memorial ceremony commemorating this event this weekend was appropriate behavior. 

But this is probably not unexpected, given the disrespectful track record of this Presidency towards our military folks. From classifying the Fort Hood terror attack as an instance of “workplace violence” and hence, denying appropriate benefits to those that were killed and wounded, to the unnecessary and politically motivated closing of Washington DC war memorials during the sequester period to deny elderly veterans access to their country’s tributes to them, to reducing the retirement benefits of veterans to the despicable medical treatment of veterans at our VA facilities to the illegal act of releasing five high ranking terrorists in exchange for an Army deserter whose act of desertion resulted in the unnecessary deaths of at least six other loyal soldiers who were sent to rescue him. I guess in this overall context of disrespect, chewing gum like a fourteen year old at a memorial service is pretty petty…but certainly indicative of the disrespect he has for those that gave their all for this country.

However, speaking for most Americans, let me give thanks and respect today to the memory and service my dad and all of those that did serve and do serve.

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/06/145474-9-french-tweets-sum-obamas-lack-class-70th-anniversary-d-day-event/

June, 2013 Political Class Insanity, Part 1: Not Enough Toilet Paper, Too Much California Scamming, Fort Hood Travesty, and Training Sucker Fish

It’s a new month which means another round of reviewing the latest political class insanity. Unfortunately, as each month goes by, we find it harder and harder to restrict the number of days we write about the many ways our politicians waste our wealth, kill off our freedoms and liberty, and embarrass themselves with their actions and inactions.

We will delay looking at the insanity from the latest Obama scandals for a few days. The Benghazi, IRS, and news outlets snooping scandals by the administration is just to overwhelming to include in these insanity updates. Each of these scandals will get dedicated posts in the near future.

So, Let’s get started and see what piles of insanity the political class has left for us in just the past month or so:

1) The first piece of insanity should really get you ticked off. A local Texas NBC TV affiliate reported recently that accused Fort Hood shooter, Maj. Nidal Hasan, has been getting full pay while he awaits trail. You may remember Mr. Hasan. He went on a shooting spree in 2009 that resulted in the death of 13 Army personnel and the wounding of 32 while he shouted out Islamic slogans. Since he assassinated those 13, he has received an unbelievable $278,000 in salary from American taxpayers as he awaits trial.

One of the verified inspirations of Mr. Hasan was Anwar Al-Awlaki. Al-Awlaki was a leader of Al Qaeda until Obama put a kill order out on him and he was killed in Yemen by a drone strike. Thus, Mr. Obama found Al-Awlaki dangerous enough to be considered a terrrorist and meriting being killed.

But his administration did not consider Hasan’s terror attack to be an act of terror even though:

1. He killed 13 Americans.
2. He wounded 32 Americans.
3. He shouted anti-American and pro-Islamic statements as he went about his shootings.
4. He was mentored by one of the leading terrorist in the entire world.

Rather calling the shooting a terrorist act or an act of war, Obama somehow put together some convoluted logic that called the shooting of 45 Americans an act of “workplace violence.” Unfortunately, this disgraceful designation resulted in the shooting victims not getting pay, retirement, and medical benefits given to soldiers wounded in war, in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, or any other terrorists attacks.

Thus, a terrorist shoots 45 Americans in Texas and continues to get paid his salary over the past three plus years, accumulating over a quarter million dollars in salary. Many of those that get shot and their families struggle to pay their bills because the Army will not classify the attack as terrorism.

One of the victims of the attacks, Army Spc. Logan Burnett, who was wounded, summed up attack and the lack of logic the best: "You take three rounds and lose five good friends and watch seven other people get killed in front of you. Do you have another term that we can classify that as?" Yes, it is insanity and despicable.

2) Previously, we have discussed many, many stupid government expenses on stupid projects, including but not limited to:

• The building of a robotic squirrel to see how squirrels might interact with snakes.
• The development of a computer program that simulates “Prom Week.”
• The study of the sex lives of a certain species of snails in New Zealand.

But one of the latest wastes of nearly a half million dollars of taxpayer wealth is as inane as anything we have previously discussed. The Department of Interior will be spending $472,150 to teach survival skills to bonytails and sucker fish. Survivial skills of fish, are you kidding me? Consider some of the quotes that the government has put out relative to fish survival skills and this program:

• “The objective of the proposed project is to determine if training increases Bonytail and Razorback Sucker survival when exposed to predators.”
• “This proposal builds upon the 2012 Bureau of Reclamation assistance agreement with the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) tasked with investigating the potential for training Bonytail and Razorback Suckers to recognize and avoid predators."
• “One of the early conclusions of the prior work is that the schooling behavior of Bonytail may allow untrained fish to show improved survival because they recognize predator avoidance behaviors exhibited by trained individuals.”

Why do these fish need to develop survival skills and more importantly, why do we have to pay for it? $472,150 would have been able to keep White House tours running for around six months, a much better use of this money as opposed to fish survival skills. Unbelievable.

3) Many current members of the American political class have tended towards socialist policies recently where the state is more important than individual freedom. One of the heroes of these politicians has been Hugo Chavez, the recently deceased dictator of Venezuela.

Unfortunately, his socialism policies disrupted the national economy so much that there is now a severe toilet paper shortage in the country. Yes, government economic policies have caused a crisis that reaches into the bathrooms of Venezuela.

Trade Minister Alexander Fleming, in a recent public statement, tried to calm the country: “The revolution will bring in to the country the equivalent of 50 million rolls of toilet paper. Our people need to calm down and realize that they should not be manipulated by the media campaign of a shortage.” Any “revolution” and the government/political class that operates it that has to focus on importing millions of toilet paper really cannot be trusted to handle much of anything else in any citizen’s life.

4) The Bankrupting America website identified a unique, wasteful spending episode on May 17, 2013. An Inspector General report found that top managers in the General Services Administration had a real sweetheart deal when it came to their annual job performance evaluations and monetary awards.

It seems that GSA executives had given cash bonuses to themselves based on broad coworkers’ reviews under the GSA‘s “Peer-2-Peer” review process. He latest annual awards were given to 71 executives and cost taxpayers $160,700, over $20,000 per executive.

Between fiscal years 2009 to 2011, the GSA executives had awarded themselves a total of 702 awards. GSA officials agreed with the inspector general’s findings and pledged to correct the agency’s actions going forward.

What a sweetheart deal, awarding yourself, your friends and peers taxpayer money based on self reporting successes.

5) Scamming government employees are not restricted to the Federal government. A recent news report from KTVU in San Francisco reported that a three year investigation has resulted in the arrest of several San Francisco public school employees who allegedly embezzled millions of dollars in grant money.

Details of the investigation allege the foolwing components of the conspiracy:

• Investigators allege six current and former school district employees committed felonies by diverting state and Federal grant money to several nonprofit organizations.
• These people allegedly got at least $750,000 for their personal expenses, unauthorized salaries and bonuses.
• The charges allege former Associate Superintendent Trish Bascom was in charge of the embezzlement and had control over money distributed to nonprofits.
• The nonprofits were hired to provide school district services, for which Ms. Bascom would write checks directly to individuals.
• She allegedly carried out the plan with the help of her senior executive.
• The embezzlement charge involves about $15 million in grant money funneled through three nonprofits over a 10-year period
• One of the nonprofits, the San Francisco School Alliance, received between $5.5 and $6.3 million, charged a half-million dollars in administrative fees and actually invested some of their illegal gain, $250,000, in the stock market, which it lost, rather than on educational programs.

Given the dire financial situation of the state of California, what a shame that public employees were able to scam millions of dollars over such a long period of time and the political class in California was unable to uncover the wasteful spending for so long.

That should do it for now, the beginning of another long journey into political class insanity, idiocy, and waste. More tomorrow … and the next day and the next day….

Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at:

www.loathemygovernment.com

It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.

Please visit the following sites for freedom:

http://www.reason.com
http://www.cato.org/
http://www.robertringer.com/
http://realpolichick.blogspot.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08j0sYUOb5w