Dear Barbarian:

Note to readers:  Sorry I have been away so long.  I may share about that with you all at some point, but tonight I just have something to say.

 

I admit that I’ve been a little nervous about the rise of ISIS lately, specifically their threats against America.  But I’ve had a change of heart these past few days, mostly since hearing from the animal who decapitated James Foley.  I penned a letter to him.:

This is an open letter to Abdoola  Baboola al Babalouie, or whatever your name is.  I don’t have any interest in looking it up.  You’re not worth it.  It’s not your real name anyway. The one I made up has as much merit as the one you did.  Besides, I don’t want to make any contribution to your notoriety.

There’s a piece going around the internet, another open letter to you and your friends.  If you haven’t seen it yet, you can click right here to read it.  I suggest you do.  It’s attributed to a retired Marine, who has had enough of you and your threats to attack America.  He points out that there are over 21 million veterans in America, and every one of them will be waiting for you.

Well I would like to see that Marine’s 21 million vets and raise it a couple hundred more million citizens.  That includes all us chubby, middle-aged grandmas.   We’re armed.  And we’re pretty ticked off right now.  Are you game?

I don’t think so.  You hide your face.  You change your name.  You talk big but you butcher babies.  You’re nothing but a sick punk kid.  Heck, I have shoes older than you!  Someone should have spanked you and sent you to bed without supper ten years ago.  Maybe you wouldn’t be in this position now.

You’re just a coward.  You saw off the head of a man with his hands bound behind his back?  That makes you a subhuman barbarian, not a warrior, and not brave by any standard.  You fight like a girl.  No!  I take that back.  Even little girls have more backbone and certainly more humanity.

Were you too afraid to take on Foley mano a mano?  Couldn’t win a fair fight?

Probably not.

So, no, I’m not afraid of you anymore.  Because I see now who you are – a  coward, too afraid to use his real name, show his face or even fight like a man.  You’re only a tough guy when your opponent is too young, weak or restrained to fight back.  Without that advantage, you’ll most likely wet yourself and surrender in under ten minutes.

Americans won’t cower in fear of savages with some warped ideas about their god, and a sick lust for blood.  We simply won’t stand for it.  You can try it, but consider yourself warned.  We grandmas will be right here.  Come for our grandbabies and see how far you get.

Your choice.

-Kathy

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Barricades Back Up

Hundreds of veterans and their friends went to Washington this weekend.  Unlike the illegal aliens who were welcomed to the National Mall last week with open arms, the veterans were greeted by police in riot gear, armored vehicles and even helicopters to keep an eye on them.

Complaining that they didn’t want to be used by politicians as political chess pieces, the veterans removed the barriers around our memorials, specifically the WWII Memorial.

They carried the barricades up 17^th Street and deposited them in front of the White House.

FOX News is reporting that the barricades are back up again this morning, re-erected by Park Service personnel that we’re told we cannot afford.

These people still need to be kept out of our nation’s capital.

I want to know who gave this order to put the barricades back up.

I want to know why the President of the United States, our Commander-in-Chief, doesn’t order a stop to this.

Don’t you?

-Kathy

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Our Fundamental Transformation

We have all been quite disgusted by the disrespect for our veterans going on in Washington.  The Obama administration has gone out of its way and spent additional tax dollars to block access to our memorial sites.

Our complaints have been swatted away by President Obama.  It’s just all part of the government shutdown.

And now, continuing to up the ante, he rubs more salt in the gaping wounds of Americans.

Today the National Mall will be open for illegal aliens.

The Park Service has given the go ahead for an amnesty rally.  Camino Americano will have their event today with the blessing of our president and his administration.

There’s such a disconnect in all this.  American citizens and war veterans have been barricaded out of our monuments in our nation’s capitol and all across the country because of an argument over Obamacare.  President Obama and the Democrats in Washington say that they won’t negotiate with Republican lawmakers because Obamacare is “the law of the land.”

But we have millions of illegals aliens in America because the same politicians have ignored our immigration laws which are also “the law of the land.”

And now those illegals demand their “rights.”  We’re told they are relegated to “living in the shadows” yet they boldly march in our capitol, demanding we give them citizenship.  And walking right beside them will be Nancy Pelosi and dozens of other Democrat lawmakers.

But our veterans?

-Kathy

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Bombing Syria

Well, it looks like we’re going to war in Syria now.  According to official leaks, tomorrow is the big day.

Has anyone heard yet what side we’re going to be on – Hezbollah or Al Qaeda?

-Kathy

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Accountability Washington Style

I haven’t been posting regularly here for over a week.  Part of this is just personal things that have been taking up my time.  But mostly it’s because of the nature of the news.  And it’s not because we’re having a slow news cycle, but because the news is so overwhelming.

You know when you face some daunting task, like cleaning out the garage, you may open the door, survey the mess and simply close the door and walk away.  You just don’t even know where to begin.  The news has been like that lately.  I just don’t know where to begin.  So I close the door and walk away.  But that doesn’t get us anywhere.  We need to be vigilant.  So it’s time to catch up.

There was a story about two weeks ago, that didn’t get a lot of notice.  It was about how the Veteran’s Administration is over budget and behind schedule on multiple construction projects.

The Government Accountability Office released a report showing that many of the VA’s construction projects were years behind schedule and their cost overruns were at $1.5 billion.  One example given was a medical center in Aurora, CO.  The medical center was originally scheduled to be completed and opened in 2008 at a cost of $200 million.  It’s still not done.  The GAO report says it will be complete in 2015 at a cost of $800 million.

The contractor however, projects it will open in 2016 at a cost of $1 billion.  The contractor blames the delays and costs on multiple changes the VA has requested to the original plan.  I find no information about anyone being held accountable for any of this.

And that lack of accountability is what is so emblematic of Washington in general.  For me, this story is like a microcosm of all that’s wrong with our federal government.  The GAO, the Government Accountability Office, really isn’t holding anyone accountable.  They simply do the math and supply the information.

The contractor is most likely correct, and the changes made by the VA are to blame.

The VA released a statement that says, “The Department has taken measures to implement recommendations from the Government Accountability Office through several initiatives to improve the scope, cost and schedule information of major construction projects.”

Hmmm, yeah, that ought to fix it.

Congress approves the money for all this and has real oversight authority.  But it is clear that oversight was not exercised here.  And to be fair, how can they know about something like this in time to put a stop to it?  There are thousands of projects just like this going on at any given time.  How would they ever keep an eye on all of them?

And that’s the point.  Our tax dollars are being spent by federal bureaucrats who have no incentive to spend them wisely.  There is no penalty for waste and corruption and no one is held responsible.

No one is watching them.

Only when a project goes bad enough to get some attention from the media, does anyone in Washington even raise an eyebrow.  They are always reacting to bad news, never watching to prevent that bad news.

They can’t.  It’s all just too big.   Our federal government has grown into something it was never intended to be, something that no one can control, not even our elected leaders in Congress.  It rolls along, devouring our tax dollars in a way that would never be tolerated in the private sector where people are made to answer for their mistakes and their employment is on the line.

As I said, this story didn’t get a lot of attention.  It was around for a day or so, and then everyone moved on.  I’m not sure why.  Maybe it’s because we’ve become accustomed to being outraged by dollar amounts counted in trillions.  Millions, even billions no longer get our attention.

Maybe it’s because we’ve grown so accustomed to corruption and out of control spending from the federal government that we’re just not surprised by a story like this one.

Maybe we’re just tired – tired of our demands for quality leadership and accountability falling on deaf ears.

-Kathy

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Memorial Day 2013

Thank you.

Rest in peace.

-Kathy

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There’s a There There

No there there?

Then why did you lie about it?

Why did Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lie about it?

You say you called the Benghazi attack terrorism right out of the gate.  But for weeks following the attack you went around blaming the video, even at the United Nations.

So did Hillary Clinton.

You bought airtime in Pakistan to blame that video.

No there there?

How about there?

And there?

And there?

And there?

No Mr. President, this is no “circus sideshow” and there is a there there.  Chastising the families of these men and the rest of us who demand to know who is trying to wash the blood from their hands won’t work this time.  Intimidation and ridicule of those who dare to question you won’t stand.  Contrary to your claim, there are far too many still unanswered questions.

There’s a big, whopping there there.

And we want the answers.

-Kathy

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Live The Life You Have Today

Some random thoughts about the attack yesterday:

Live the life you have today.  Stop waiting for the one you wish you had.

The bombing in Boston yesterday afternoon is the second successful terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11/01.  The first was at Fort Hood in 2009.  Our government can call it whatever they want but we know what it was.

This morning we know for sure that an 8-year-old boy is one of the three killed.  This is the only evidence we need to be certain that the person(s) who set the bombs is a cowardly animal.  There is no humanity present in such people.  The bombs were designed to indiscriminately cause pain and to maim and disfigure anyone in range.  What kind of hatred does that take?

The reported “facts” changed minute to minute yesterday afternoon.  Some reporters I heard tried to be responsible, but it was nearly impossible.  Some members of the old media just couldn’t control themselves.  CNN’s National Security Analyst, Peter Bergen, suggested we may be dealing with a “right wing extremist.”  On MSNBC, Chris Matthews’ remarks were similar and predictable.

“Normally, domestic terrorists, people tend to be on the far right…do they just hate America so much or its politics or its government that they just want to do the damage, they don’t care if they get public credit, if you will?”

What’s wrong with these people and why do their employers tolerate them?  What benefit do they provide to society?

There were reports from areas in the Middle East that people there were celebrating the event.  Our government continues to send our money to these people and makes every effort not to offend them with words.

The reports about cell phone service being turned off changed back and forth, over and over.  But the providers say they did not interrupt service.  So is our government capable of turning off our phone service?  That subject will most likely be dropped.

It didn’t take much searching to find the pictures that the TV news censored.  The injuries are horrific.  As many noted, these are the injuries common to our soldiers who have witnessed them or been victims.  Is it any wonder they come home with emotional scars?  How hard is it to witness the cruelty some humans are capable of on a regular basis?  What is it like to live each day where this is routine and not a major news story?  What is it like to wonder if you will be the next to lose a leg?  What’s it like to live this day after day, week after week?

When I heard there was a “person of interest” in the hospital and that he was being treated for burns, my first thought was, “I hope they are slow and stingy with the morphine.”

Does that make me evil?

On live TV we watched the selflessness of Americans rushing to help.  The scene was not secure and there had already been two explosions.  Yet hundreds of people, professional or not, did anything they could to save lives.

That’s what we’re about.  That’s who we are.  Those are the people who make America great.

The bad guys, involved in the bombing yesterday or not, are watching all this closely.  They are looking to see how we react and what plans we have in place.  They will use all this against us in the future.

We are all Bostonians today.  We are all Americans today.  We are the good guys.  We wear the white hats.  Don’t let anyone tell you any differently.

God bless those in pain today.

Live the life you have today.

Stop waiting for the one you wish you had.

-Kathy

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Sandy Hook And Other Atrocities

The Newtown families are in Washington this week and have been in the news and on TV.  It’s hard to look at them.  The murders of their babies were senseless and horrific.  We all feel deep compassion for them.  As a society we agree we should strive to prevent such a thing from happening again.

I doubt you can find anyone who disagrees up to this point.  But it is at this point that we diverge.  There are differing opinions about what we can and should do.  And sadly, this is where the politics come into play.  These people are being used and their grief exploited.

President Obama brought them to Washington aboard Air Force One.  They have spent the week visiting members of Congress in private and public meetings, and of course, talking with reporters.  The family members are supporting gun control measures that Congress is considering and they are in town to encourage them to vote in favor of these measures.  President Obama will hand over his weekly address to one of the parents to make her case to the nation.

Politico describes the families as lobbyists.  I’m not sure I would go that far, but they certainly have had amazing access to lawmakers that most people never get.  And they have hired actual lobbyists who have accompanied them to Washington and “opened doors” for them.  They have organized a non-profit group called Sandy Hook Promise and applied for 501(c)(3) status.  Their website includes an open letter to Congress listing their demands.

I am not so much bothered that these folks are getting so much access and attention.  I wish more average people could get this level of attention from our president and our lawmakers.  But what about other victims who don’t get the same treatment?

The people who lived through Hurricane Sandy got a visit from President Obama.  He hugged some of them, made a lot of promises and went home.  He didn’t take any of them to Washington with him on Air Force One.  They didn’t get to meet senators and congressmen.

Have you seen pictures lately from those damaged areas?  A lot of it still looks like a war zone.  The president’s promise of cutting through the red tape and getting the job done hasn’t happened.  The thing is, after the photo-ops there isn’t anything these people can give him.  And they have pretty much been forgotten.

What about the victims and family members of the Fort Hood shooting?  No rides on Air Force One for them either.  Heck, they can’t even get our government to admit the killer was an Islamic terrorist.  That, sadly, is precisely the problem.  Having a jihadist on a US military base where all soldiers have been disarmed doesn’t play well for a president who claims Al Qaeda is on the run.

And what of the families whose loved ones were killed in Benghazi?  The administration continues to do all it can to prevent the truth of what happened there to reach the public.  There were no rides on Air Force One, no visits to congress, no radio addresses.  Our Secretary of State chastised us for asking questions.

“What difference does it make now?”

Can you imagine Hillary Clinton or a member of Congress, or anyone for that matter, standing up in front of the Sandy Hook families and asking, “What difference does it make now?”  Of course you can’t.

So what’s different about the Sandy Hook families?

President Obama’s trusted advisor explains:

Carpe diem.

More gun control laws and eventual confiscation is on the wish list of the progressives.  And what better way to make your case than with the mutilated, dead bodies of little children?  But every politician involved and every member of the media who feeds this is despicable.  Because it’s not about those dead bodies.  It’s about the politics.

If it were about mutilated, dead bodies of children, you would all know the name Kermit Gosnell.  But how many of you do? 

Gosnell is on trial in Philadelphia for murder in his abortion clinic which is being described as a house of horrors.  It is the most horrific story I’ve seen in a long time.  You can read about it here if you want to.  I won’t type it out.  I’ve seen enough.

But the politicians have ignored it.  The media has ignored it.  This is the section of the courtroom reserved for the press during the trial.:

Ho hum.

Why no interest in those little dead bodies?  Why no advocate groups on TV?  Why no politicians writing legislation?  Why no trip on Air Force One?

Because the animal on trial is an abortionist.  And abortion is an all-important issue for progressives.  A story like this one could give it a bad name.  Can’t have that.

But little dead bodies are fair game to push gun control.  They are the “right” little dead bodies.  It’s a nauseating game where the value of a human life is graded by political ideology.  And with the proper guidance, connections, access and exposure, the grieving parents of Sandy Hook can make a progressive politician’s dreams come true.

Think I’m wrong?

Attend one of their events and try asking one of them, “What difference does it make now?”

See what hell rains down on you.

-Kathy

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Kim Jong Uh Oh

When I first saw this picture a week or so ago, I laughed out loud.

It looks like a scene from a 1960’s 007 movie.  A young Sean Connery should show up in the next frame.

Kim Jong Un looks up from his diabolical planning:  “Good evening Mr. Bond.  We’ve been expecting you.”

Nothing gets out of N Korea that this guy doesn’t want out, so you know these are not candid shots.  This is what he wants to show to the world.  And it’s all very comical.

But as ridiculous as these pictures may seem, this young man cannot be taken lightly.  He has nuclear weapons to back up his cheesy photos and his threats.  And he’s certainly making a lot of those.

Now, I won’t pretend for a moment that I have the answers and know what we ought to do about him.  But I do know that he’s just one of a long list of leaders around the world, many of whom seem to be emotionally unstable, who don’t like America very much.  And right now, they are seeing an America different from what they’ve seen in the past, an America that appears weak, war-weary and non-committal, and that is defunding its military.

At a time when our enemies, the nuclear ones and the almost nuclear ones, are ramping up their forces and rattling their sabres, reducing our ability to defend ourselves just seems like a really bad idea.

Maybe it’s just me.

-Kathy

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