The Cowerding of America - Vietnam

 The first signs I saw of America no longer being the land of the free and the brave was with the onset of Vietnam.  We engaged in a “CONFLICT” not a war and it was never classified as a war.  I would like to add in this conflict (not war) the U.S. Marine Corps lost five times as many dead as in World War I, three times as many dead as in Korea, and more total killed and wounded than in all of World War II.  We sent young men to die and those men did not even know what they were fighting for.  We did know that we did not have the full support of the U.S. Government or the American people.  

We followed orders while celebrities like Jane Fonda called us murders.  Our President Johnson was caught between a rock and a hard place.  He did not want to be the first American President to lose a war (conflict) and yet he did not want the American citizens to turn against him and the Democrat Party.  Our troops were asked to fight in a war which our political leaders in Washington would not let us win. 

Draft evasion (dodging) became vogue.  It was more popular to be a coward than to be loyal to the United States Military or the United States Government.  Draft dodgers were usually college-educated sons of the middle class who could no longer defer induction into the Selective Service System - PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON.  Deserters, on the other hand, were predominantly sons of the lower-income and working classes who had been inducted into the armed services directly from high school or who had volunteered, hoping to obtain a skill and broaden their limited horizons.  Then you had the TRUMPS, BUSH, and other wealthy families with influence who kept their boys out of harm ways.  Let us not forget two other prominent draft dodgers Joe Biden and Dick Cheney.

Starting in 1965, Canada became a choice haven for American draft dodgers and deserters. They were not formally classified as refugees, but as immigrants, there is no official estimate of how many draft dodgers and deserters were admitted to Canada during the Vietnam War. One informed estimate puts their number between 30,000 and 40,000.  Whether or not this estimate is accurate, the fact remains that emigration from the United States was high as long as America was involved in the war and maintained compulsory military service; in 1971 and 1972 Canada received more immigrants from the United States than from any other country.

There were more than 300,000 deserters and draft evaders in total, in which 209,517 men illegally resisted the draft while some 100,000 deserted. 

We do know that it was the largest number of Americans to leave the country to avoid supporting the United States since the American Revolution.  Draft dodging was so popular that books were written on how to do it.  In 1977 on his first day in office President Jimmy Carter pardon the draft dodgers. It is estimated half of them living in Canada returned to the United States with smiles on their faces, while many families stood over graves of their young boys killed in Vietnam crying.

Distinct from draft resisters, there were also deserters of the American forces who also made their way to Canada.  The deserters have not been pardoned and may still face pro forma arrest, as the case of Allen Abney demonstrated in March 2006.  Another similar case was that of Richard Allen Shields: He had deserted the U.S. Army in Alaska in 1972 after serving a year in Vietnam. Twenty-eight years later, on March 22, 2000, while he attempted to drive a lumber truck across the US-Canada border (in Metaline Falls, Washington) he was arrested by U.S. Customs agents and jailed at Fort Sill.  He was discharged from the Army with an Other Than Honorable discharge in April 2000. Not harsh enough in my opinion.  

There were some legal ways to avoid the draft.  Men who had physical or mental problems, men who were married, with children (ended in 1965), attending college or needed at home to support their families might be granted deferments.  Homosexual were exempt and a large number of heterosexual boys claimed to be homosexual to be exempt, while many homosexual hid their sexuality and served proudly with distinction.  It should be said two thirds of the men who fought in Vietnam volunteered for service.  Seventy-three percent of the men that died in Vietnam were volunteers.  

In the ‘60s and ‘70s, young people were referred to as the “Love Generation,” partly because of their insistence on sexual freedom, drugs, hippie lifestyle which they proposed as an alternative (“make love, not war”) to the Vietnam conflict.  I cannot help but refer to them as the loser generation and I am a product of the 60’s.  I credit them with contributing to the downfall of America.  Their goal was to change society and they did.  We have not recovered from what they started.  America slowly became a nation of whimpering slaves to FEAR—fear of war, fear of poverty, fear of random terrorism, fear of getting down-sized or fired because of the economy, fear of getting evicted for bad debts and fear of North Korea, China, Russia, Middle East and Muslims in general.

                                                            

 Attorney General Holder said, America ' has become a nation of cowards' on race.  This is one of the rare occasions I agreed with him, but we have become a nation of cowards not just on race, but on just about everything and his boss President Obama was the biggest coward of all.  John McCain’s economic adviser Phil Gramm said that this country is a “nation of whiners”.  But, please do not blame today’s ills on the 55,000 Baby Boomers who died in Vietnam! 

There was little to no stigma attached to draft dodgers in the 60’s and there is little to no stigma attached to millennials today.  It seems to be a generational thing where there's no stigma attached to being irresponsible.  Millennials delay getting jobs, their own place to live, in general delay growing up in order to delay responsibilities.  Just as the 60’s love children contributed to the decline of society so will the millennials living in mommy's and daddy's basement.   Some of these parents really don't want their kids to leave because they fear they cannot take care of themselves.  A friend told me a few months ago their 30 year old son cannot move out because he has to pay back his student loans and ask me, “Why are they making him pay it back?  It is so unfair”.  She was a love child!  Every failed generation wants someone to blame.

The media during the Vietnam era and the media today are destroying our nation.  The media defines those that want to serve our country as loser, not heroes.  Regardless of what the gutless media says my heroes are the young men and women who face the issues of war and possible death, and then weigh those concerns against obligations to their country, simple obedience to duty, as they understand it and are willing to suffer loneliness, disease, wounds and the ultimate price death.  Some in media are making cowards of our people! 

I love our America, but I will criticize us and not stand by QUIETLY and watch us become a ‘ONCE UPON A TIME GREAT NATION’.  Many students have told me that they are the most well-informed generation in history; really those same students could name all five Simpson family members, but could not name four of the five freedoms in the First Amendment!  Ignorance breeds cowards! 

I pray that the thousands of Americans in uniform around the word are not paying attention to the current cycle of news stories in Washington coming out of the Democrats and die heart liberals that are upset that President Trump ordered hitting a Syrian Airbase for using chemical weapons against their own people. It must be demoralizing to see the rest of us acting like such cowards—and making things more dangerous for them.  I know it was for us who served in Vietnam.  Have we forgotten the vows we made when the Twin Towers fell, and the Pentagon burned? That we would do what it takes to avenge our dead?

The government uses fear to make the citizens fall in line

Create fear in people of a common enemy and convince them you are the only source of protection from that enemy and you can gain ultimate control. That technique has been used by the military in basic training for decades. New recruits fear the Drill Instructors and the source of protection from them are your fellow recruits. I was the Barracks Chief at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. I was surprised that the Drill Instructors I knew in private were not the same men when in front of the recruits. They used fear to get the new recruits to depend on each other. Fear is a powerful thing and can be used for good and bad.

9/11 caused Americans to fear. Who could we turn to other than our elected officials for protection? We had no choice but believe the people running our government knew best and the politicians took full advantage of it. We unfortunately did not think for ourselves and began to rely on the government for all our security against terrorism.

My political party – Republican Party – was all for the Patriot Act. That same party espouses the virtues of our Founding Fathers, small government and individual freedoms. Our Founding Fathers would have never supported the Patriot Act, the Patriot Act increased the size of government and the Patriot Act took away some individual freedoms. The Patriot Act led to the NSA abuses which robbed us of some of our guaranteed freedoms.

President Bush shortly after 9/11 signed the Patriot Act. It was done in haste and could not have possibly been well thought out in such a short time. The Patriot Act allowed our government to legally intercept PRIVATE conversations and correspondence and even gave the government the right to enter our homes and businesses for what the Founding Father described as unreasonable search and seizure.  We were willing to accept this intrusion on our privacy for the politicians promise of security at home and abroad from terrorism. There is no such thing as a risk free society.

9/11 was a perfect opportunity for Bill Bratton to gain the fame he so desperately craved. Bill Bratton was a former Boston policeman who became second in command and then went on to become the head of the New York transit police system. Even as a military policeman in Vietnam he had already begun to seek fame.  His colleagues referred to him as an ‘attention seeker’.

If burglaries went up in a particular area he got warrants to bring in every one in the area that had ever been questioned or convicted of burglary. If car robberies went up he set up registrations check points in the area and stop every vehicle. If you did not have the registration papers in the vehicle you went to jail. Crime did decrease, but civil rights were violated. The homeless became a target. New York city citizens complaints against the police department jumped 50%.  The question we all have to ask our selves is what price are we willing to pay for a little more security. Are we willing to tolerate aggressive police tactics (Bill Bratton tactics) and loss of freedoms.

The officials of New York were at first impressed until the law suits were filed and settlements were having to be made out of court in order to reduce losses and two years later Bill Bratton was fired. Bill Bratton moved on to the notorious Los Angeles Police Department as Police Chief.

Following 9/11 people were willing to accept Bill Bratton’s crime-fighting techniques.  People were looking for a PROACTIVE F.B.I., private security force and police force. Most were willing to sacrifice their rights to privacy because of fear. Bill Bratton returned to fame and his police tactics went in to effect in the Federal Government.

I went to a Galveston Bookstore and ask for a book on terrorism and a few days later was visited by two government agents and ask why was I searching for the book. I simply wanted to know as much as I could about what I had to fear. I learned that curious people needed to fear their own government. I had been a supporter of the Patriot Act until then because like many Americans I said over and over if you are doing nothing wrong you have nothing to fear. Maybe I over reactive, but the visit by government agents instill some fear in me. It seems that since Galveston is a port town extra precautions were being taken in the area.

President Obama and President Bush defended the extensive secret collection of information as critical to fighting terrorist. I believe security had to be stepped up, but I question did they go too far. What I found interesting was Obama saying you can’t have 100% security and 100% freedom. I realized then for sure that just like guerrilla warfare in Vietnam our leaders did not understand terrorism at all. Any American who thinks they are 100% secure are foolish.

In a single vote in 2011 our members of Congress  wiped away what thousands of patriotic Americans died for -- our right to privacy and our freedom of speech. As events in Washington have proven, freedoms lost are hard to regain. The Patriot Act was based on ignorance and fear. We were told the Patriot Act did not curtail any of our rights. We have now found that was not true just as we have found so many things Washington politicians say are not true (Iran Deal). Ben Franklin agreed with the statement: "Those who give up their liberty for more security neither deserve liberty nor security." Politicians are often ill informed (weapons of mass destruction). Human history has proven there will never be an honest excuse for giving away our freedoms.

I will not vote for a politician that voted for the Patriot Act which took away Americans freedoms and then turns around and ask us to support ‘Open Borders’ or ‘Path to Citizenship’ or ‘Amnesty for Illegals’  or welcoming Syrian refugees into America.  This alone is enough for me to vote for Donald Trump.

Should we give up our culture/tradition to appease Muslims?

Some politically correct politicians in Italy made a decision to cover up nude statues from Roman antiquity during a visit by President Hassan Rouhani of Iran. Some of Italy’s political leaders were willing to ignore their national identity in order not to offend Rouhani, Iran and the Muslim world.  Many of the citizens of Italy are rightly upset. They also hid the wine! Once again a non-Islamic government gave in to Islam. This is not the first time Italy has done this. During an official Saudi Arabia visit to Italy they covered up all the nude modern art.

The statues, in a corridor leading to a grand hall in Rome’s renowned Capitoline Museums, were covered in tall white boxes ahead of a news conference that Mr. Rouhani held on Monday with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi of Italy. Rouhani and Renzi say they did not ask for it to be done. The director of the museum says Prime Minister Renzi did request they be covered so as not to offend Rouhani. Some media reports suggested the Iranian delegation had asked Italian officials to hide the statues to avoid Mr. Rouhani any potential embarrassment in Iran.  Maybe they should have held the news conference at McDonalds or Kentucky Fried Chicken – no pork and no nude statues.

One Italian newspaper reported that in the grand hall at the Capitoline where the two leaders spoke, the lectern was moved to the side — not the front — of an equestrian statue of the emperor Marcus Aurelius to avoid having images of the horse’s genitals appear in news photographs.

One of the statues was the “Capitoline Venus,” a Roman copy of a legendary fourth century B.C. work by Praxiteles; some of the other sculptures were of ancient Greek and Roman gods, dressed minimally, if at all. I understand an austere Islamic government that promotes chastity and piety was visiting a country with a largely secular culture that has a reputation for embracing life’s pleasures, but I believe St. Ambrose said in 387 A.D., “When in Rome do as the Romans do.”

On May 13, 2015 a group of Islamic youth bullied, threaten and insulted a Catholic group in Northern Italy. The young Muslim’s were immigrants, not citizens of Italy, and they certainly did not care if Catholics were offended when they interrupted a Catholic procession in honor of the Virgin Mary. No charges were ever filed against the young men. It seems Obama and Prime Minister Renzi is more concerned about not offending Muslims than they are the citizens of their own countries.

Mr. Rouhani, 67, comes from a religious family, but he has a Ph.D. in law from Glasgow Caledonian University, in Scotland, and is not known as a religious hard-liner. Iran’s politics are extremely complex and religious matters are carefully policed by the theocratic regime that exercises ultimate power in Tehran. The supreme leader is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Public depictions of nudity are forbidden in Iran, but Mr. Rouhani was not in Iran he was in Rome, Italy. I do not know about you, but it frightens me that some world leaders expect their citizens to adopt Islamic customs, traditions and beliefs while ignoring our own in order not to upset Muslims.

It seems obvious to me some Italian political leaders put economic interests (18 billion dollars in new contracts) ahead of cultural legacy, just as Obama put his presidential legacy ahead of the safety of the American people when he negotiated his secret deal with Iran.

The covered statues were icons of classicism and models of humanism and are the foundation of European and Mediterranean culture and civilization. To cover them in order to satisfy Iran and not offend the Iranian citizens they offended their own Italian citizens. I think they offended most of the world tourist that went to Rome to see the statues and just happen to have made the mistake of traveling to Rome when Mr. Rouhani was there.  

Thank God Pope Francis did not cover the crucifixes when he greeted Rouhani at the Vatican.  I am not ashamed of Western culture. I do not want to bow to Iran’s demand or any other countries demands. If I went to Iran I would follow theirs laws, culture and traditions as long as I did not have to deny my Christian faith. I expect the Iranians not to demand or request I ignore the laws, culture and traditions of my own country when they are guest in my country. Respect for others cultures should not mean denying our own.

The French experienced some awkwardness in hosting Mr. Rouhani. In November, during a visit by the Iranian president and Iranian government officials when they refused to attend an official luncheon at the Élysée Palace, reportedly after the Iranians learned wine was to be served to the guest that requested it. Wine with meals is expected in France. The French officials refused to give in to Iran’s demand and served wine.

Italy’s Prime Ministers accommodation to the Iranians should be as embarrassing to the Italians as it was to Americans when Obama bowed to the Saudi King when he first took office. It seems Obama and other world leaders are more concerned over offending Muslims than they are in protecting their own citizens from a repeat of 9/11 or any other attack that these murderous thugs are planning. And yes they are still planning attacks against our country and other countries.

I do not believe what the Prime Minister of Italy did was for accommodation purposes I believe it was an act of submission! It makes no difference if you face reality and utter the politically incorrect words “radical Islamic Muslims” or not the fact is on 9/11 those who killed and destroyed were Muslims and killed in the name of Islam. Yet, the fact that the killers were Muslim and killed in the name of Islam is not only at the center of why we were attacked, but it is the ONLY explanation for the reason we were attacked.

It has become so ingrained in world leaders psyche to not offend Muslims that we cannot mention anything bad about radical Islamic Muslims even if it is true. They are now using it as a weapon against us so called infidels. The fear of offending radical Islamic Muslims has given the terrorists who killed so many in terrorist attacks a victory over our people, our country and the non-Islamic nations of the world. The fear of offending Muslims has in some respects almost crippled our country and as a result has given terrorism a victory over us and our nation.

I will never condone the burning of the Koran, damaging mosque, discriminating against all Muslims or denying them their Constitutional rights.  But, I do not believe our Founders ever intended for the Constitution to be used as a weapon of the politically correct. Those Constitutional rights were never intended to be used as a weapon to condone wrong.

We are so concerned about offending Muslims that we will not call the Islamic radicals who killed on 9/11 “radical Islamic Muslims”, we will cover valuable and beautiful art work that is nude or partially nude, we will not serve wine at meals and we will forgo our own culture and traditions all for the sake of not offending Muslims, but they do not care how much they offend Christianity, Judaism or other religions.  We will either defend our people and our nation against radical Islamic terrorist or we will bend over and let them do whatever they want to us and one day we will live in constant FEAR!  We cannot allow fear of being attack to allow wrong to take over the world.

Fear and intimidation is the tool of terrorism and whether it is done with planes, guns or words or demanding accommodation it has the same affect. It forces those who kowtow to that fear and intimidation into submission and allows the perpetrators of terror to have their way no matter what the consequences are.

Americans know the difference between the Muslim radicals and the moderates. We know the difference between those who follow Islam as a religion and those who use it as a weapon to kill. We do not need to be reminded on a daily basis on how to be tolerant of Muslims. We do not need to be reminded daily that there are Muslims who live in the United States as good citizens and do not follow the ideas of the radicals. We as a nation do not need to bend over and ,”tolerate,” Muslims to the point that we are afraid to even mention the word Muslim or the religion of Islam without fear of offending someone or being accused of being racist.

We are told by Obama that we need to be sensitive to the feelings of Muslim. WHAT ABOUT THE FEELINGS OF THE FAMILIES AND AMERICANS WHO STILL REMEMBER 9/11 and that in 2014 there were 2999 radical Muslim Islamic attacks in 55 countries, in which 32262 people were killed and 27522 injured?

Jihad social media is a problem, but don't fret Obama has a Plan - Another FAILED plan!

U.S. Intelligence officials know where the Islamic State media centers are located. They know where the jihadists' toxic propaganda is churned out that is threatening U.S. citizens and the people of the free world, but Obama will not destroy them because most of them operate in civilian neighborhoods, Obama has declared them off-limits to U.S.-led airstrikes.

If we know where the jihadists are producing the anti-Christian and anti-Democratic propaganda, we should be doing everything we can to destroy those facilities. I do not think the jihadists or any Islamic Muslim Terrorist was concerned that the World Trade Center was located where thousands of innocent American civilians were working when they knocked the twin towers to the ground.

One asinine reason the Obama Administration gave for not destroying the sites is they believe leaving them online allows the Obama officials to continue studying them. They claim there is a delicate balance between needing to take action and needing to study how they operate.  They think there are better ways than bombing to take the jihadists communications media offline. Really! Then why hasn’t the Obama Administration employed their tactics to end the jihadist’s use of media for recruitment, to instill fear and to encourage their supporters.  ISIS social media has allowed ISIS to expand their influence far beyond the battlefields.

Does Obama not understand that ISIS’s online efforts are paying off?  It is a factor in their recruiting young Americans and other young Westerners to join them. Current reports estimate that between 12,000 and 15,000 young foreign fighters, including as many as 100 Americans, are currently engaged in the conflict in Syria and Iraq.  ISIS’s sophisticated use of social media will likely be copied and expanded upon by other terrorist groups as well while Obama refuses to allow the military to take the sites out.

Obama’s problem is he cannot bring himself to destroy the media centers if any civilian lives would be lost. The jihadists are intelligent enough to recognize that and they purposely put ISIS media centers in the middle of civilian neighborhoods.

 We should take pride in the fact that we try to minimize civilian deaths, but we should not threaten the lives and welfare of American citizens by doing so. Obama took an oath to protect American lives even if that means innocent civilians in war zones must be sacrificed. Do not kid yourself we are at war and that is a war zone.

The Viet Cong in Vietnam was likewise as smart. We were instructed not to hit targets with a red cross painted on them. It did not take long for a lot more buildings to be painted with red crosses. The Viet Cong took shelter and store supplies in schools, temples, hospitals and storage sheds with red crosses.

The Obama Administration and the American people have to accept that war is not a video game. You do not turn it on and off with a flick of a button. You do not eliminate your enemy without bloodshed. If we are not going to change our way of thinking and if we are to remain as passive as we are now we are going to allow the Islamic Muslim Terrorist to win. There should only be one goal for any military engagement – VICTORY!

There is an estimated 35 ISIS media organizational outfits that produce propaganda material from "all corners of the Islamic State caliphate.”  U.S. private social media companies are not going to be able to block extremist content and links from all those sites. An attempt at censorship is not going to work.  It is foolish for Obama to think it will or can. It is not the social media companies’ responsibility to fight our war with ISIS it is the responsibility of the government.  Obama will pass the buck every opportunity he has in order to avoid making tough decisions.

Obama’s administration's strategy for countering ISIS propaganda is a little-reported inter-agency messaging operation called the Center for Strategic Counter-terrorism Communications. It is located inside the State Department and it was created in 2011.  Four plus years later I see little to no results produced by this organization.  When will Obama admit it is not working? I guess at the same time he admits Obamacare is not working. The operation has only 69 employees of which a portion engage in daily dissemination of anti-Islamic State messaging in multiple languages via such social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook. They are not focused on shutting down ISIS propaganda sites. There focus is crafting messaging that exposes "weakness" and "lies" in ISIS propaganda that can be disseminated to allies around the world.  What U.S. news journalist should be doing and only a few are every day.  

They receive an annual budget of $5.5 million and complain they are being "grossly underfunded".  I believe $5.5 million annually for a failed mission is too much. The rhetoric they release to the public is the typical Federal employee propaganda - give us more money and we will do a better job. How much did the flawed Online Obamacare server cost?

Not long ago ISIS went to great lengths to produce a video mocking the U.S. military's failure to contain the Islamic State. They even went so far as to taunt America over the suicide rates among U.S. soldiers and veterans. Obama has made us the laughing stock of ISIS supporters and all Islamic Muslim Terrorist groups. If our Commander in Chief cannot lead us in a successful campaign against ISIS how could he possibly lead us in a successful campaign against China or Russia if it became necessary?

The video ISIS released stated, "You claim to have the greatest army history has known. You may have the numbers and weapons, but your soldiers lack good will and resolve." Our soldiers do not lack good will and resolve, but Obama, their Commander in Chief does.

ISIS is using the same type of media propaganda that the Viet Cong used in an attempt to demoralize our soldiers and our citizens. I remember listening to the radio while in Vietnam early one morning and heard, “Airman Thomas Martin from Houston, Texas while you kill our women and children we are watching your family back home.” Yes, it scared hell out of me! I immediately contacted my mother and told her not to talk to strangers, do not let strangers in the house, do not admit that I was her son, do not talk about me being in Vietnam, etc.

In September 2014 Obama said, "Our objective is clear: we will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL - ISIS through a comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy. I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL - ISIS in Syria, as well as Iraq. This is a core principle of my presidency: if you threaten America, you will find no safe haven."  Does Mr. Obama really believe he has contained ISIS? Does Mr. Obama think he is winning the war against ISIS? Does Mr. Obama really believe ISIS is not a threat to the U.S.?  Does Mr. Obama really believe ISIS has not found a safe haven behind women and children in neighborhoods?

Mr. Obama is trying to wait out taking action so he can pass the problems with ISIS to the next president.  Mr. Obama is a coward. Mr. Obama does not have the courage or the guts to declare an all-out effort to destroy an enemy that has declared a holy war against America and the principles for which we stand. Mr. Obama has made the United States look foolish to the rest of the world.

The U.S. has two land borders - what about our northern border?

We constantly are bombarded with news about the southern border with Mexico. When are our political geniuses in Washington D.C. going to start doing something about our northern border with Canada?

The new Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s is welcoming refugees to Canada. How long do you think it will take for some of them to try and escape the cold weather and move on into the United States?   We have two border problem and we had better start focusing on both and not ignore our northern border’s security.

Trudeau is another ultra-liberal - Obama.  He was a community organizer, fund raiser, advocate for liberal causes, climate control freak, who thinks he can solve all of Canada’s problems by taking money from the rich and giving it to welfare recipients. He opposes any type of bombing in the Middle East.  President Obama and Prime Minister Trudeau have not directly addressed anti-Semitic incitement in Palestinian society and the stabbing and car-ramming terror attacks. They are more concerned with Syrian refugees than the security of Israel. Neither seems interested in protecting their borders from illegal aliens or stopping an influx of terrorist that have infiltrate the refugee movement. I know now why the two, Obama and Trudeau, were inseparable recently while in the Philippines and appeared to be best 'buds' at all casual functions.

Communities in Minnesota and New York, which are adjacent to Ontario and Quebec have recently, experienced apprehensions of individuals on terrorist charges. Trudeau, opening up his border to refugees is only going to increases our risk.

Our nation’s southern border continues to serve as an entry point for terrorists. refugees have already begun to come across our southern border into the United States from Mexico. Everyday Border Control Agents encounter the problem and with them facing a shortage of agents and being limited by the Obama Administration as to what they can and cannot do with illegals the problem grows worse by the hour.

Earlier this month, it was reported that immigration officials apprehended five young Middle Eastern men carrying stainless steel cylinders in backpacks in an Arizona town about 30 miles away from the southern border. Just days earlier, Border Patrol apprehended five Pakistani nationals and one Afghan national who had entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico.
 
How many are entering through our northern border where one only has to walk across at non-manned border crossings? Government figures (Homeland Security) reveals the following: in the year 2014 there were 3328 illegals apprehended trying to cross from Canada to the United States. I do not think people know that more trucks and trains cross our northern border from Canada to the United States than trucks and trains cross our southern border.

Another little known fact is many who are apprehended crossing from Canada into the United States have previously been caught and turned back at our Southern border with Mexico.

According to the Justice Department the northern U.S. border still has just one Border Patrol agent for every 16 miles. The border with Mexico, by comparison, has enough agents to assign one about every 1,100 feet and they are still understaffed. There is only 400 agent’s station on the U.S. northern border. They cover nine states bordering Canada: Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, New York, Vermont and Washington. Alaska has nearly 1,600 miles of border with Canada and does not have one border agent assigned directly to the area.

There are significant security concerns on the northern border, but little has changed in the distribution of Border Patrol agents since Sept. 11. This in spite of the fact President Bush stated before leaving office that, “The northern border has become an attractive gateway for potential terrorists.”

Perhaps one of the reasons more action is not taken on our Northern border is because the Canadians complain about any aggressive or increase attention by U.S. Border Patrol along our northern border. It seems that it interferes with their business and economy. It also seems to be inconvenient for Canadian citizens living along the border that want to shop and seek medical treatment in the United States to cross.

The 4,000 mile long U.S. / Canadian border has been described as the longest undefended border in the world. Anyone familiar with Canadian immigration policy will tell you that Canada is an immigrant haven and one especially desirable for those seeking some form of asylum. Permanent resident status in Canada is easy to obtain even for individuals from countries strongly suspected of supporting organized terrorism.

The Detroit Sector for instance, is responsible for 804 miles of total wilderness between Michigan and Canada. The Detroit Sector is home not just to wilderness, but to the city of Detroit which has the largest Muslim population anywhere outside of the Middle East. With a Muslim population exceeding 150,000, Detroit’s City Fathers are amending the city noise ordinance to allow mosques to use loudspeakers for the call to prayer and Obama last Sunday accused Americans of discriminating against Muslims. There are 76 suspected terrorist cells in that area.

If Montreal resident Ahmed Ressam, the Algerian-born Al-Qaida operative who was caught in 1999 by vigilant U.S. border inspectors, had simply walked across the Canadian border through the woods near Detroit, his bombs would have brought untold death and destruction to his planned target, LAX, and possibly killed more people than were killed on 9/11. His stupidity by trying to cross at a Port of Entry was his downfall.

The U.S. and Canada do not share information about people placed on their respective “no-fly” lists. As a result, individuals deemed a threat that flies into one country may then cross the land border into the other.

Congress and the President have both been advised repeatedly that in terms of a terrorist threat, the northern border is significantly more of a threat than the southern border. I guess our elected officials in Washington D.C. are waiting for another big terrorist attack to happen before they address the issue, but 9/11 was not a wakeup call, so I do not know what it would take to wake them up.

My prayers are with the citizens of France.

My prayers are with the people of France today. As 9/11 is a day Americans will not forget I am sure what happen last night will not be forgotten by the people of France. It should not be forgotten by civilized people of the world.

I know that I am going to offend some people, but I feel the need to express my opinion on the Muslim terrorist situation that has changed the ‘norm’ of civilized society.

I have heard a well-known Fox News commentator and host say often on various programs that the people of the world cannot allow the terrorist to win. We must go on with our daily lives as if nothing has happen. The goal of the terrorist is to disrupt life as the world knows it. They want to instill fear. That all sound good and is probably valid, but his daughter was in Paris in the stadium where one of the terrorist attacks took place. Fox News got his daughter on a live broadcast and this same reporter that tells us to go on with our lives as if nothing happened is now telling his daughter, “Baby you stay where you are. Do not go outside. Do not answer the door. Do not talk to any strangers. Daddy has chartered a private plane and will come and get you the first thing in the morning. Baby do you want to come home to which the daughter replies, “yes, daddy I want to come home as soon as possible come get me.” It is amazing how our attitudes change when circumstances are affecting us or our family personally.

I have thought and shared with close friends, one being Muslim, that Non-Muslims cannot solve this terrorist problem. Muslims must solve the problem. All we can do is assist them in doing so. Far too long now moderate Muslims have remain quiet and allowed a group of Muslim thugs to highjack their religion. I believe as long as these moderates refuse to speak out and attack the terrorist the problem will persist and only grow worse.

How do we get the moderate Muslims to take action is the big questions? Muslims are no different than the rest of society. People in today’s society do not get involved in problems until it begins to affect them directly. How do we make sure that all Muslims around the world are affected by the problem, especially the wealthy and middle-class Muslims?

Perhaps First World countries should stop all immigration of Muslims. Perhaps First World Country should stop issuing study visa’s to Muslims. Perhaps First World countries should stop issuing travel visa’s to all Muslims for twelve to twenty-four months. Perhaps First World countries should stop issuing medical visas. Perhaps First World countries should stop allowing trade with Muslim countries that are known to be supporting terrorist causes. I know these are all harsh recommendations and will create problems for Muslims that are not terrorist but perhaps harsh actions is what it will take to make them take action against the Muslim terrorist.  

My caregiver is Muslim. I know the actions of the terrorist are not the true religion of Islam. I respect his religion as he respects mine. I would never try to convert him. If he is to be converted that is the work of the Holy Spirit. I can live my life in such a way that he may be inclined someday to convert. I would not be honest if I denied the fact that two of his brothers being members of the M.I.L.F. did not offend me. What offends me the most is the rest of his family do not speak out against them even though they disapprove of their membership? He tells me they do not speak out against their brothers because it would cause the brothers to “lose face” and they want to maintain peace in the family. What about maintaining peace in the world? If this is the practice and attitude of all Muslim families the terrorist will not be stopped.

War is not the answer. The terrorist want war. They want to die. They want to be martyrs. You eliminate one there are fifteen waiting to replace the one. We are engaged in a situation our government does not understand, especially President Obama.  Our government nor did the French government understand the Vietcong and both major powers left Vietnam defeated. Are we going to be defeated in the battle against Muslim terrorist? Are we all going to be forced to convert to Islam one day – that is what the terrorist want!