SOTU 2015

Just so there wouldn't be nothing here, I am putting not nothing here.

State of the Union or SOTU

Rand Paul. I like him on the surface and the idea of him as well has his ideas. I don't know how he would actually be if in the Office of the President, but I would guess and hope better than the last few and the present. I like what he has to say way more then the guy who has now done it 6 times. The one thing I know for sure, I would rather Rand Paul in 2016 over what ever Republican the Republican machine choices and would sure as hell take Rand Paul over any Democrat. I doubt America, or even half of America feels this way.

 

 

That is all. Like or don't. How many of you watched "the real SOTU?" I did. It was what was expected. It was a good chance to answer some questions real time for my 7 year old.

 

Oh, and this is awesome too.

 

 



 

P.S. Like one of my very smart fellow Americans and retired Naval Officer brought up the other day. I think the next President, or a wise future President, should go back to delivering the SOTU in letter form and "from time to time" not every January. This whole thing is too much show and no substance at all. I would look forward to reading Rand Paul's SOTU when ever he felt is necessary to share.

The Masting of Chief Cosby

What? He got busted? How, why? UA, DUI, cussed out a officer? What he get?

The Captain found him guilty? 30 and 30? Nope. (NJP for you not in the know)

A Court-Martial? Nope.

An Act of Congress? Nope.

By decree of Lord Poseidon himself? Nope.

Ray Maybus, Secretary of the Navy, said so. That’s it. No judge, not jury, other than that of the Liberal Media and the ignorance and random outrage of social media. That is all.

Side Note One: (I would have loved to been a fly on the wall when who ever brought this up the chain and how low or how high it started from. I would also love to see how many emails and memos and PowerPoint slides were generated because of this. We don't have a Navy to run or anything silly like that.)

navy-revokes-bill-cosbys-honorary-title

Side Note 2: (I will grant that the US Navy, and the US military as a whole has a sexual assault problem. This, sexual assault, is a problem of humans, not a problem of Sailors. This problem, in the military, in my opinion, has been highlighted by increased reporting, not by increased sexual assaults. Any sexual assault is bad, that is not in question. So this is a touchy subject for the Navy and our military, and our Colleges for that matter. But remember, Bill Cosby is not the US Navy or even in the US Navy.)

Back to my rant...

Accusations now equals guilt.

But he’s not a “real” Chief. No shit Sherlock. But he is a real human, and a real American, and in our country and our system, he has rights and protections and assumptions under the law. Specifically the right and legal protection/legal assumption to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Not presumed and found guilty by the internet and lame stream media until he dies. Which is what will and is happening. Bill Cosby will die, most likely soon. Reputation destroyed. The women who made accusations will fall back to obscurity and it will all be forgotten. Then at the Hollywood I love me shows, they might, but probably won’t, do a little montage of Bill Cosby along with the other Hollywood types we “lost” in the past year. No trail. No jury. No judge. Accused and found guilty all in the same breath.

Is Chief, I mean Bill Cosby guilty, I would go with a 99% yes, but that doesn’t matter. He is accused, not convicted, not found guilty, but accused of rape and sexual assault. Just as Bill Clinton was/is accused of rape and sexual assault. Is Bill Clinton guilty, I would go with a 98% yes. They both have had accusations and settlements in the past, not just one, but numerous each. But we seem to love and celebrate and admire the white Bill, the one whose wife thinks she should be the next POTUS, along with most of the lame stream liberal media. And the other Bill, well he is an old tired black man. He’s in the “pants up, don’t loot crowd” not the “hands up, don’t shoot” crowd. He’s an easy sacrifice and distraction. Let him die. Al Sharpton probably signed the death warrant personally.

But wait, what? Bill Clinton what? Yes, it is true, he is not the gentle statesman, grandfather, semi vegetarian and possible future first man the media shows us. He’s a ladies’ man, consent encouraged, but not required.

rape-allegations-bill-cosby-bill-clinton

Here’s the problem. The real problem. We are letting public opinion be the judge, jury and executioner over random people and acts. This is dangerous. Just as it is dangerous, literally in Ferguson (police in the right) and New York (police in the wrong) and UVA (don't know a damn thing about this one, just know there is new doubt) as some recent examples. Letting the people and media decide has lead to real death and real destruction. Continuing this will not fix our broken and or flawed system, but only make it deliver or not deliver justice more randomly and lead to the ruining of more lives either through false guilt or false innocence. And it will encourage more sentences to be handed down by popular opinion via the news media and internet. I wonder how long until regular people will get to carry out the sentences as well? Maybe the person who’s youtube video has the most hits will get to be a special guest hangman or headsman?

So to all the Facebook and media lawyers, or as well call them in the Navy, Sea Lawyers, stand fast, calm the eff down. Get some facts. Let the justice system work or not. You, on the internet, is/are not the justice system.

And in other ridiculous and lame news about ridiculous and lame people.

investigation-lena-dunhams-republican-rapist-story-falls-apart-under-scrutiny

Speaking of Adults

Crickets.

That is what you have heard from TOA, and especially on a night like last night. Why? I have been busy. That is a standing excuse. The other one, well, the reporting for a while, months and weeks, had pointed to the GOP doing well, how well, well that was another story. It's kind of like talking about the sun coming up. Knowing it is going to happen, and it not being a bad thing, is hard to bitch about. I can not lie, I am happy with the outcome. I am mostly hopeful about the next 2 years, maybe 6, maybe 10. But that is just way too optimistic, and the world changes so fast now, there is just no telling. That is why I am also a little fearful. Here is why.

The Republican House has gotten so much undeserved shit from the President and the Democrats and Liberals at large about being the "do nothing congress." That is not just unfair, it is plain wrong. The House as passed over 350 bills in the past few years and sent them to the Senate. If any body can be called the "do nothing congress" it is the Democratic Majority Senate lead, or mislead, by Harry Reid. He, alone, or maybe under orders from Obama, has sat on all those bills. In a way, insulating President Obama from having to veto or pass what ever is fed up to him. Over 100 of these bills were passed with 100%! That means all the D and all the R from the House voted yes, and still the Senate, the Democratic controlled, do nothing Senate, sat on them, and still does. Now that the GOP holds both the House and the Senate, President Obama will have to pass or veto. Meaning, he will actually have to make decisions and be held accountable for them. 

Now to the part of why I am fearful. What is more dangerous, a lame duck or a wounded and angry duck? Now give that wounded and agree duck a pen and a phone and nothing to loose, and you have our President. I am afraid of what he might do just because he wants to. He has shown that law, courts and prescience really don't matter when he wants to do something. How big, crazy and controversial can or will he go? I don't know, and I don't know if the House and Senate know either. They might want to let him go hog wild, on the chance that the next president will be a Republican and would love him or her to have the same untethered power. Just a thought, a scary thought. Scary both present and future.

Here at the few bright points.

The racist south elected a black male. The racist Mormon white Utah elected a black female. I think the only people who have race and sex problems/issues are the Democrats. Get over it. Or like your people say MoveOn. It's about politics and policy, not gender and or color. Moving on.

Massachusetts elected a Republican Governor. Bravo. My future state both scares and excites me. Mostly scares. Just as they surprise me both negatively and positively.

New Hampshire stuck with a Democrat. NH has kind of an identity crisis. They are surrounded by blue. They are independent and rual but have been infiltrated from the south by liberals. Anyways, she was an incumbent, not to hard to hold a seat. I liked Scott Brown. I like Scott Brown. I don't think he is a carpetbagger at all. For one, a carpetbagger was one who moved south, and Brown moved north. And two, there wasn't really a vacuum. At worst he is an opportunist, but no more so than Hillary Clinton. In fact, far less than Hillary was when she "moved" to New York and ran for Senate. He at least he is from NH. Hillary, born in IL, school in MA and CT, then moved to AR. How does NY fit in to that? It was a open senate seat in a reliably Democratic state. But the media still questioned Scott Brown. Eff them.

The country writ large did well with conservative governors. I watched MSNBC a little during the elections and the day after as well. Its fun. They are much more entertaining than watching FoxNews, even thought Fox is better and less biased. Anyway, that idiot Ed what ever his last name is form the Ed show is such a joke. His sole purpose in life is to talk to as many other liberals and progressives about how bad/evil/bad and evil Scott Walker is. This dude (Gov Walker) has won. Been recalled and won. And then won again. The full force of the unions and the progressive PACs have gone against him each time, as well as MSNBC and The Idiot Ed and he has won. I guess the people of Wisconsin are smarter than we give them credit for. Don't cha know! He will for sure be some sort of player on the national scene in the next few years.

So, on the day when the adults seem to be in charge again, or at least more in charge, this link below, which is a great link on its own, is appropriate. Did I say adults? I meant the lesser of two evils.

Why Growing Up Is Hard to Do (But Why the World Still Needs Adults)

Peace fellow humans.

P.S. I am negotiating terms with a possible guest blogger, would TOA readers be interesting in that?

Wrong Direction

We need Peace Officers, emphasis on the Peace part, not Domestic Direct Action Warriors funded by fear and public indifference who are supplying these departments with their blank checks. We need a public that is paying attention at town meetings. Who ask the hard questions on why there police need these items and tactics and training. We need good officers to stand up and say this isn't right, when it's not right. I know in some of their guts and hearts they know this. Imagine how much of this would have to go away if we stopped the silly war on drugs? Or would they just find another reason. There's always another reason if you want there to be.

This is only half the story from the view point of looking in. I'm sure things look different for those who are looking out. Still, very troubling. But just one of many troubling things in 2014 America.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/10/swat-warrior-cops-police-militarization-urban-shield

Course Correction

This is what is looks like when someone who actually deserves a Nobel Peace Prize receives one. Congratulations to both of these humans and BZ to the The Norwegian Nobel Committee for not making jokes of themselves this time around.

http://nobelpeaceprize.org/en_GB/laureates/laureates-2014/announce-2014/

Kailash Satyarthi

Malala Yousafzai

Upside-Down Value Systems

Here is a little something out the ordinary for TOA. But not really. This is about food and values. Two things that are essential for human life. Two things that are what The Orthodox American is all about. Lets talk about it:

The home-cooked family dinner.

I heard about the Slate article before I read it. I read the title of the Mother Earth News article before I read it. But before I read either, I had taken sides. Knowing the source, and knowing, or not knowing the author, it was pretty easy and self evident. I like to give things a chance, but sometimes it's not worth your time to, just to find out what you already assumed.

Here they both are. You can read them first or just skip down to my ramblings.

Slate

Mother Earth News

Lets start with Slate. The author is an unknown, but that is typical. They take anyone who is semi good at grammar, votes the left way, and gives them a column. They are a left of center site. Sometimes they have a good point. Most of the time the back up the populist progressive/liberal talking points. If you had to put them in a box, which is not a hard thing, you could say they are or represent the Democratic Party, the Obama voter, the Hope N Change crowd. Not just simply, but complexly. They speak "for" the urban/suburban person. They are pretty ok with government, as long as it is being run by Ds. They weren't ok with government from 2000 to 2008. They are the high density places, the places that vote for Pelosi types. They are on the coasts. They are NPR and MSNBC. They thrive on excuses and blaming. Back to the article. It is a whinny bunch of excuses that jab at something the other half of the country holds dear. The family diner. They try to make a point of the unnecessary-ness of the family. Just as our ever growing, cradle to grave, welfare state government does. The disintegration/dis-assembly of the family unit (not my place to define but you know it when it's present and you know it when it's absent) is part of what is wrong with America, but that's a whole other post.

Now lets take a look at the Mother Earth News. A mag that has some very hippie tendency's, but they always comes back to self reliance and personal responsibility. Always. And it's why I love them. I actually only get pissed when they get all AlGore on us and fall for global warming climate change, but that is not too often. They have been around for years, like 30+ years. My parents, in their 60s now, grew up with dreams of "back to the land" fueled by Mother Earth News. Now on to the author of the rebuttal article. Joel Salatin. The Man. Now I am a man who does not have many, if any, heroes or idles. Joel Salatin is on a very short list of living people that I highly regard and admire. He is The Orthodox American. He is rural America. He speaks for the farmers and workers the middle of the country, the regular folks (Folks as in good-regular people, not the "folks" that Obama uses.). Fly over America. Here is the part where I should say he represents the Republican Party, the Rs, but I can't. Why, because I know (not personally) Joel Salatin, and he is a lover of liberty. He is, what all republicans should evolve to. A libertarian. A lover of liberty. Not just the part of the party that opposes the Democratic Party. That is just the lesser of two evils, and is half the reason where are in the mess we are in. He is a believer in ideals. In values. The same ideals and values Mother Earth News delivers to readers.

This post has gotten a bit jumbled and I am somewhere between rambling and mumbling, but I am ok with that. My commentary is just a bonus or a detraction to the source links I share with you. The only point I wanted to make, is what was written in Slate is a great example of what is wrong with our country. And what Joel wrote is all that is right with our country.

Eating a home cooked dinner with my family is a very important thing to me. I did it a lot as a kid. I enjoy it now as an adult. I have eaten hundreds if not thousands of dinners (some good, many not good) in really crappy places, chow halls, mess halls, on ships, in my rack, in tents, on the plane. Can you say MRE? Now that I am home more, I savor the time and the food. I appreciate my wife immensely each and every time we sit down and eat what ever wonderful dish she has made. She does most of the cooking. She does a great job at it. It saves money, it tastes great, it is better for us. I truly believe it is a positive thing for our family, any family, and I think my seven year old daughter agrees. I love it, and I know my wife loves it when the little girl says things like "this is the best dinner ever, I want to have the same thing for breakfast!" I think it sets a great example for her. For Slate to crap on that is just sad. It is typical, expected, and it's what is wrong with America.

P.S. Maybe someday I will do a post on my "heroes" living or no longer living. Maybe even throw in some fictional ones in there. Maybe try to spot light one each Friday or something. I'm just thinking out loud here. Don't hold your breath.

P.S.S. I know above I crapped on the dinners I ate while deployed, but I want to amend that slightly. Many of those crappy meals in crappy places are some of the best memory's I have of being in the Navy. Why? Because I ate them with some great people. Shipmates. I forged great friendships over a piece of beef that had been killed twice, once by the butcher and once by the cook. Had some great conversations sitting around the chow hall after dinner drinking my fourth Fanta. Talking about family's and dreams. Commiserating as sailors sometimes do. Sometimes eating in science because we were all just so hungry and tired from a long ass day. Sometimes eating alone when I needed time to myself. I just wanted to add that as bad as the food was or wasn't, the company was always top notch.

Perspective

It only takes an occasional glance at the rest of the world to remind you/us that we really don't have many troubles in America.

The bus driver who has raped 12 little boys (and doesn't think he's done anything wrong): Why thousands of Pakistani children are falling prey to paedophiles

The Modus Operandi of ISIS: A War Waged on the Battleground of Women's Bodies

Boko Haram and the history of child rape in jihad

The Psychology of Sex Slave Rings

And this is just one issue.