Mark Caserta: What path will the liberals take in 2017?

30 Dec

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Mark Caserta:  Free State Patriot editor

12.30.16

As we prepare to move into arguably one of the most important first years of any U.S. presidency, I have but one question for liberal Democrats.

Will you consider the resolution to unify with the Trump administration and the “principled” members of the GOP to make America great again?

Regrettably, rather than learn from the election, liberals have been busy lamenting over their November loss and exhausting every excuse possible for the landslide electoral college defeat of Hillary Clinton.

 It began with the charge that the Russian government hacked into the Democratic National Committee and provided WikiLeaks with thousands of emails designed to boost Trump’s chance of victory over Hillary.

Aside from the fact that no definitive evidence has ever been offered proving this allegation, I simply offer a common-sense rebuttal.

First, Hillary’s unethical standards created her own email nightmare. She alone is to blame.

Second, as reported by multiple news outlets, Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, firmly denies the assertion that Russia provided the emails.

Third, given the fact that Vladimir Putin has, for all intents and purposes, moved at will against Hillary and the Obama administration, with whom do you suppose he would rather confront, Trump or Clinton?

Subsequently, as the hacking allegation began to lose steam, Hillary supporters started blaming “angry white men” for the loss. Her hubby, Bill Clinton, offered his boisterous perspective on Trump’s win at a New York bookstore earlier this month per Politico.

“He doesn’t know much,” Clinton said when asked if Trump was smart. “One thing he does know is how to get angry white men to vote for him.”

Have you looked in the mirror lately, Willy?

Actually, based on Pew Research Center data, Trump won white voters by a margin “almost identical” to that of Mitt Romney, who lost the popular vote to Obama in 2012. Trump also fared better among blacks and Hispanics than Romney did four years ago.

This same report shows Trump carried 42 percent of the female demographic, despite liberals attempting to tarnish Trump’s history with women using dated audio-video clips.

But I believe the “coup de grace” ensuring Trump a victory over Hillary was the evangelical vote.

 Christians came out in droves to support the millionaire businessman, who often honored them and promised to stand with Israel during his campaign.

But progressives sought to play every card in their blame game.

Some were even willing to blame the defining element of our Republic, the Electoral College system, for stacking the odds against the “judicious” election of Hillary to the presidency. In their view, apparently, crippling the Constitution would be a small price to pay for a liberal victory.

But despite the tenacious efforts of the left, Donald J. Trump will be sworn into office as the 45th president of the United States on Jan. 20th, 2017.

So, what path will liberal Democrats take in 2017?

Will they continue to pursue a debilitating progressive agenda? Or will they join the new administration in putting Americans and our country first?

Future voters will be watching very closely.

Mark Caserta is a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

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Mark Caserta: Let’s celebrate Jesus’ birth, life this Christmas

23 Dec
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Mark Caserta: Free State Patriot editor

  • 12.23.16

jesus

Throughout history, no event has ever influenced mankind like the birth of our savior, Jesus.

And just as wise men sought Him long ago, may we all use this Christmas season to reflect upon His life and seek understanding of His purpose for leaving the “comfort and joy” of His Heavenly Father to live on earth as a man.

The most astounding revelation of His life for me, is that as the Son of God, Jesus had immediate access to all the powers of heaven. Yet He chose to live his life in humility, serving His fellow man. What an example for us all!

 Born in humble circumstances, of the virgin Mary, Jesus was raised a carpenter’s son. Now, carpentry, at the time was a rough job and demanded a great deal of strength, endurance and skill.

I’ve often wished I could have witnessed some of the work of Jesus’ hands! I believe everything he crafted was of the finest quality. In fact, I picture Him as probably being one of the finest finish carpenters of that time!

No doubt, He spent much of his time fabricating the necessities of the day, like plows, animal yokes, furniture and building materials, like doors, windows and flooring. The tools of His time were crude and certainly required much time and effort to use.

Now, I don’t claim to be a theologian, but I personally believe every experience in Jesus’ life was purposeful for His ministry.

As a carpenter and builder, Jesus would have a unique understanding of the importance of building a solid foundation. The stronger the foundation, the more stable the structure.

I believe Jesus had an affinity for water. He spent a great deal of time with fishermen and seemed to have a superb understanding of the trade. He may have even helped construct some of the fishermen’s boats.

Jesus also had to have effective leadership skills. Remember, during a period when it sometimes took months for information to travel the globe, Jesus took 12 men and shook the world!

But Jesus’ most redeeming quality was His incomprehensible love for others.

It was this love and understanding of His purpose that prompted Him to leave His family (albeit earthly) for a “second time” and devote His final years on earth to His Heavenly Father’s business.

 Jesus was born into this world to serve and gain understanding of mankind’s frailties. And while He committed no sin, he surely understood it.

He loved us so much, he chose to freely give His life to become the atoning sacrifice for our sins and our advocate before His Father. Those who’ve accepted God’s simple plan of salvation are now “sons” and “daughters” and part of God’s family.

So, while Christmas is the time we celebrate Jesus’ birth, let’s not forget to celebrate His sacrifice and the eternal hope we have because of Him.

May 2017 see many more people joining God’s family and gaining a deeper understanding of why we celebrate this season.

Merry Christmas everyone! May God’s blessings overtake you!

Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

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Doug Smith: If the Russians were hacking the U.S.

20 Dec

doug-for-fsp

Doug Smith:  Author, historian, patriot and lead contributor to FSP

12.20.16

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If the Russians were or are hacking into our computers, we ought to take offense. If, mind you.  Of course, it is hard for the guy who said, Tell Vlad I ll have more flexibility after the election, and If Syria uses chemical weapons, that would be a red line in the sand, and Golly, Crimea? Really? Well, stuff happens, to be the one to take them on.

However, I note with interest that so far all I have seen is pundits and talking heads saying The CIA director said, or, more specifically, the Media reports that CIA employees said, that in a memo which we can’t see, read by employees who are not named, the CIA director said, that the FBI and NSA directors said, that we are all in agreement.

How’s that again?

However, we still refuse to brief the House Intelligence Committee.

Say what?

Not once have I seen and CIA spokesman or director make a statement to the public, or to Congress. Everything I have seen, and can look up online, cites reporters talking about what unnamed sources said Clapper said that Comey said.

Given that mainstream reporters tend to be among the biggest liars around, (Dan Rather, Brian Williams, to name a few), and have often put forth a story based on either a lie, or partial or misinformation to further their narrative, I ll reserve judgment on that aspect of things until we hear something definitive, like, oh, I don’t know, proof, or testimony from the Director of Central Intelligence.

However, in the broader sense, can we agree that we ought to have a sense that government officials ought not to interfere with the elections of foreign countries?

So we object in principle to the idea that Russia might try to influence or cast doubt on our elections. But if we follow that principle, we must equally object to Obama sending money and political operatives to Israel to actively work with an opponent of Netanyahu to try and defeat him, because he does not like him. That is materially worse, and principally the same as what is alleged now, to wit, a leader of one country did not like a candidate in another country and so worked actively to try and defeat them in an election.

Goose, meet Gander.  If you are going to say I object to Russian interference in our elections, regardless the degree of effectiveness, then, if you are consistent, you must equally condemn Obama s failed attempt to unseat the Israeli Prime Minister.

Let us go a step further. Both Ted Kennedy , as a Senator and Presidential hopeful, and Jimmy Carter, as a sitting President, directly contacted officials within the Soviet government to ask their help in creating events and military postures that would help them defeat Ronald Reagan, judging, correctly, that the Soviets would vastly prefer either of them to Reagan. And so they should have, for Reagan put the final nail in their coffin.

Now, these things did not come out as 2 Democrat politicians actively tried to solicit help from the Soviets for partisan political purposes during the Cold War, but some years later as documents were made public after the fall of the Soviet Union.

John Walker, who American sailors justly reviled, was convicted of espionage for selling secrets (which I was charged with protecting as well as he was, and still would not divulge to you) to the Soviets for money. He died in Federal Prison in 2014. What he did was very similar in tone and potential damage to what Kennedy and Carter tried to do. How much did the Soviets adjust their posture toward the US in the 80’s at the behest of those 2?  We will likely never know.

We can be utterly certain that the Soviet leadership was far, far more upset with Ronald Reagan than Shirtless Vlad is with Hillary (Easy Button Reset) Clinton.  After all, she didn’t stop them at anything. In fact, her claim that Vlad is Mad (angry, not nuts) is a little specious since she signed off on a deal for control of US Uranium that helped make him the wealthiest man in the world, and did not hurt her pocketbook either.

I think a reasonable case can be made that both Carter and Kennedy should have been charged with espionage , if they gave US state secrets to the Soviets in part of their request for internal political help, or perhaps treason, for dealing with our primary  enemy to further their own political ambitions.

Now, Kennedy is dead, and Carter is 90, although he still has a penchant for working actively against the interests of the US in his words and actions abroad.  He has the record at this point, for the worst, most meddlesome, most anti American ex-President ever. But he can take heart. He also once looked to be the worst President on record.

Then along came Obama.

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Mark Caserta: Obama leaving behind wounds that require healing

17 Dec

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Mark Caserta: FSP editor

  • Dec 16, 2016

 

policemen

 

God breathed the same breath of life into all human beings. And certainly we have the right to be outraged over the shedding of innocent blood.

All life matters.

But where is the outrage over the murders of innocent police officers sworn to uphold standards of integrity, bravery and honor to the community and the law?

Any law enforcement officer will attest to the fact that answering a domestic dispute call is arguably one of the most dangerous and unpredictable calls a police officer can face.

But it’s getting worse.

In what appears to be an increasing number of incidents, police officers are being premeditatively attacked.

One such incident happened last week when two police officers were fatally shot while answering a call about a domestic dispute in southwest Georgia.

Twenty-five-year-old Nicholas Smarr, an Americus, Georgia, police officer, along with Southwestern State University campus policeman Jody Smith were shot while responding to a domestic disturbance in a nearby apartment complex, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Upon arriving at the complex, Minguell Lembrick opened fire on the officers, killing Smarr and critically wounding Smith, who later died.

Lembrick was later found dead, from a self-inflicted gunshot, following a standoff outside his home, authorities said at a press conference.

 

Data from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund show these attacks are on the rise. Statistics show 63 law enforcement officers in the United States were fatally shot while on duty in 2016, 66 percent higher than the year before.

So why the increase in attacks?

A little over two years ago, Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson fatally shot unarmed teenager Michael Brown. Video and witness testimony clearly revealed Brown had unlawfully assaulted a store clerk while robbing a convenient store and attempted to wrest Wilson’s gun away while being taken into custody.

But, despite the facts, the Obama administration demonstrated an incredulous lack of support for law enforcement, even sending representatives to the Brown funeral.

Officer Wilson was eventually found innocent of any wrongdoing, but birthed from the ordeal was the “Black Lives Matter” (BLM) movement against police.

Chants from BLM activists like “What do we want? Dead cops! When do we want ’em? Now!” were heard at protests and riots, invigorating enmity throughout cities across the nation.

To this day, activists erroneously honor Brown’s memory by holding up two hands in a “don’t shoot” manner despite this portion of witnesses’ testimony being proven false.

Now, our nation has endured racial animosity before, but it’s never resulted in this type of radical, sustained retaliation against police.

I believe one of history’s greatest tragedy’s will be President Obama’s failure to seize the opportunity to be the most racially unifying president in our nation’s history.

Frankly, I believe the hope that our first black president would champion this cause helped get him elected.

But rather than becoming a unifying voice of reason, his administration’s actions amplified racial dissent. And people are dying.

And now our nation has all new wounds that require healing.

Let the healing begin with the new administration.

 

Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

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Doug Smith: Shared power and dealing with the Democrats

13 Dec

doug-for-fsp

Doug Smith:  Author, historian, patriot and lead contributor to FSP.

 

“When you’re in command, Command!”

Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz

 

This idea is trotted out from time to time by the Democrats when they are out of power.

Remember 2000?  We had a Republican President, and a 50-50 split in the Senate. Now our Constitution provides for such an arrangement: the (White) House wins all ties. (Just like in blackjack). The Vice President is President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and may, at need, vote to break all ties. This means, 50 plus the White House is a majority. But the Democrats in 2000 made the point that such a close house should mean a sharing of power, a sharing of committee assignments and heads. The Republicans, more fools they, agreed and began an odd and short lived experiment in such shared government. It lived until the Harry Reid was able to convince Jumpin’ Jim Jeffords to become an Independent, and vote with the Dems) which made it 51 49.

(But wait, what about our shared Senate agreement, Harry? moaned the GOP.  And, laughing with maniacal glee, Harry Reid took over as Senate MAJORITY leader. )

Fast forward 16 years. Donald Trump is POTUS presumptive. (Actually President Elect after the 19th when the Electoral College meets.) The GOP is poised to take massive majorities of power: State Houses, Governors, The Senate, The House, POTUS, the Scalia SCOTUS seat, ( and, Kennedy, Ginsberg, and Breyer all being of advanced years, likely at least one more, maybe 2, so we may have a 7-3 Conservative Court in 4 years.) But the Dems are urging him, since he only won the Presidency, and not the nonexistent popularity contest of the most raw votes, which neither he, nor HRC, nor Obama, nor Bush, nor Billy, nor Algore, nor any other President has ever competed in, because, listen carefully: “Popular vote is not how we elect a President. “Not to govern like he has a mandate, but bashfully, like he just barely one. Perhaps he should share power with the world class losers of the Democrat party.

Have you seen Donald Trump? I think we can be sure of one thing: he is NOT going to be a bashful President. Whether due to the wisdom of others ( like BOTH President Bushes, who found, to their dismay, that making a deal with the Dems is like making a deal with the Devil, all except for the smoke and signing in blood), or due to his own nature, is not going to act like someone who just barely won.  He is not going to ask Hillary to be Secretary of State again, because she just barely lost.  He is going to say, I won, and the folks have spoken, and I’m going to do things the way I want to. He may make mistakes, and he may screw up. He will not do so out of wishy-washy, weak willed, spineless indecision (al la Jimmy Carter.) He is going to lead!

Now the Dems, who have given us riots and, the murders in failed cities, the failed economies, identity politics, the snowflake generation of Harvard and Wellesley grads with Degrees in Thinking Deep Thoughts, who can nevertheless not balance their checkbooks, pass the DC bar exam, or run a lunch counter, seem not to have the ability to convince folks that their way is the best way. Yes, we are all puzzled at that little quirk.  They are at their weakest point politically since Woodrow Wilson was POTUS, at the beginning of the Progressive era. What a repudiation of the ruins those make up the progressive movement. They have just been set back a century! And they are looking at an administration that unabashedly intends to unwind as much of their destructive nonsense as possible, as quickly as possible.   They have lost, in favor of falling on their swords for the Clintons, and Obama, and the march to the Left of admirers of the Soviet Union and Fidel Castro, thousands of political seats. West Virginia and Kentucky, of all places, have GOP legislatures. KY has a GOP governor, and WV has a Dem Governor elect, who happens to be a businessman. The last one we had like that was Joe Manchin, who governed more like a Republican. I suspect Justice will not be the traditional good ole boy Dem WV has been used to.

It is little wonder the progressives are in a hysterical tizzy. Death threats! We couldn’t win in an election, we couldn’t win with recounts, we couldn’t get the courts to throw out the election, so, in typical progressive fashion, and they are using the tried and true mob rule approach: threaten duly elected electors if they don’t break the law and disenfranchise the voters who chose Donald Trump. Curious, how often the progressives want mob rule, right up till a mob comes for them, at which point they become staunch law and order people.

No, Trump and the GOP won. The GOP has not been used to winning, and even when they won, quickly acted embarrassed at the fact, and backed off governing like winners. They compromised with the folks to the left, who would only compromise when they were out of power.  They caved in so their adversaries would call them nice guys, which they only did when they lost. They did not understand the use and exercise of power.

Now, enter Donald Trump. He has known failure, and had to endure businesses bankrupting. He has known success, and parlayed a successful business into a billion dollar Empire. When you have built Stark Tower, Iron Man is not likely to be a shrinking violet. No, I don t expect President Trump will emulate the (Progressive Democrat) Mayor of Baltimore and “give the rioters room to burn and destroy. “  I’m pretty sure the professional rioters know that as well.

So, our new and unlikely team of Avengers, ( Say, Stan, is it ok if I make a Marvel reference here, since you are getting the traditional Stan Lee cameo?) may just learn to fight like they won, flex their muscles like they have some, and take a real, no nonsense look around and conclude: Dang. These guys have really screwed things up. No, thanks but I don t think we will be asking for your help. We have been to Chicago, and Detroit, and San Francisco. We have seen what affordable means in your lexicon. We have seen how you approach National Security. We have seen what passes as the best economy we can hope for in your eyes. So, no, we will not be sharing power. We will not be asking for your input, since we have the ruins of 8 years of that to clean up. We will not need your ideas, since we know what those are. So, apparently, do a lot of other people, and since they just yelled a resounding ENOUGH! why so will we.

So you folks go find yourselves a nice safe place, free from microagressions, or harsh words, or real people.

Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz had another quote which I admire, and will, I think, characterize the Trump years.

Leadership consists of picking good men and helping them do their best.

That he is working on now.

Let us hope he combines that with the Shepherd’s Prayer. Alan Shepherd, while perched on top of his Mercury Space capsule , ready to become the 1st American in space, pleaded into a hot mike, Dear Lord, please don’t let me “expletive” this up.

Amen.

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Mark Caserta: The Trump factor is starting to take effect

10 Dec

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Mark Caserta: FSP editor

  • Dec 9, 2016

I’ve heard it said more than once that it took the devitalizing policies of Jimmy Carter to give us Ronald Reagan. Perhaps it took the socialistic policies of Barack Obama to give us Donald Trump.

Throughout history, “hopelessness” seems to have been an unfortunate catalyst for change.

But to the delight of millions, while Donald J. Trump hasn’t even taken the presidential oath of office, he’s already putting his empathy and understanding of business to work for the American people.

Despite naysayers attempting to depreciate the probability that President-elect Trump will indeed live up to his campaign promises, the successful businessman is already leveraging his candor and forthrightness that served him so well during his candidacy toward keeping businesses in the United States.

As expected, business leaders responsible for a healthy bottom-line are proactively assessing Trump’s plan to remove strangling taxation and debilitating regulation imposed by previous administrations and adjusting their business plans accordingly.

I find it amusing how quickly liberal Democrats attempted to downplay Trump’s influence in Carrier’s announcement last Tuesday it was reversing plans to close an Indiana factory and keep close to 1,000 jobs in Indianapolis after telling workers earlier this year it would be moving production to Mexico.

But a few hundred Carrier employees are quite thankful.

“I would like to tell (Trump), ‘Thank you for going out of your way and taking your holiday away from your family and working on Carrier employees and sticking to your word and going to bat for all of us and keeping our jobs here,” Robin Maynard, a tenured 24-year Carrier employee, told “Fox and Friends” last Wednesday.

I predict this trend in businesses re-thinking their strategies will heighten. Frankly business leaders have been “starving” for an administration that understood their challenges and placed American jobs over progressive ideology.

Shortly after Trump’s historic victory, Ford Motor Co. Chairman Bill Ford called Trump to announce the auto maker would not be moving production of Lincolns out of Kentucky, indicating he planned to work with the new administration on protecting American manufacturing jobs.

In a statement, Ford said the company “confirmed with the president-elect” that it would continue producing Lincoln MKCs at the Louisville plant and added it was “encouraged that President-elect Trump and the new Congress will pursue policies that will improve U.S. competitiveness and make it possible to keep production of this vehicle here in the United States.”

Now, you can call it “trickle-down” or “voo-doo” economics all you want. It’s Economics 101.

A sound business model, when executed properly, results in increased sales activity. This increase in activity results in an increase in demand for product and/or services. And even a liberal should be able to understand that an increase in demand for product or services results in more jobs!

The “Trump factor” is beginning to take effect. Business leaders now see light at the end of this eight-year-long tunnel. The entrepreneurial spirit is being rekindled and projected profitability is being revised to the black.

Folks, it’s going to be an exciting four years.

 

Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

 

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11/30/trump-effect-after-carrier-pledge-to-keep-jobs-in-us-more-companies-may-follow.html

http://www.foxnews.com/auto/2016/11/18/ford-chairman-tells-trump-lincoln-suv-production-to-remain-at-kentucky-plant.html

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Doug Smith: “A Day which will live in infamy”

7 Dec

doug-for-fsp

Doug Smith:  Author, historian, lead contributor to FSP and a Navy Chief Electronics Technician Submarine Qualified.

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75 years ago, right now, it was a Saturday evening, in early December. It is 14 years before my birth. An idyllic American outpost crammed with sailors is enjoying their liberty with little drinks full of fruit, pretty Hawaiian girls, and a pleasant tropical sunset. Aboard the USS Oklahoma, and USS West Virginia, and USS Arizona, the duty section was on watch, grumbling no doubt, about having the duty on such a promising night. But at least, they would get relieved in the morning and hit the beach Sunday, December 7, 1941.

Except, of course, they never would be relieved. Many of them would go ashore, later, burned, disfigured, torn to pieces, and gently carried by their shipmates to rest covered by American Flags in a temporary morgue. Many more would begin the painful journey of recovering from battle wounds. Yet for many, their final journey had begun when they took the duty Saturday morning, December 6, 1941. The last day of peace. And for sailors aboard Arizona and Oklahoma, their last day of life.

While most of America slept, a tiger crept toward their beds. Thousands of sailors kept watch; unwarned, unprotected, unready for what few knew, but most disbelieved, was about to happen. American sailors stood watch to keep their homes and loved ones safe, not knowing the hammer blow was about to fall on them. Halsey’s carriers patrolled and watched, but in the wrong direction.

Hundreds of miles to the Northeast, the Japanese carriers Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu, Zuikaku, and Shokaku positioned themselves for a predawn attack against our sleeping Navy.

24 hours from now, over 2000 would be dead. Arizona would take her place on the bottom of the harbor, blown 20 feet in the air and sinking in just 9 minutes. There she remains to this day. Oklahoma would capsize, trapping sailors who would die off one by one over the next days and weeks. America would be drawn into a war that would leave half a million Americans dead before it ended, and 10s of millions worldwide.

The world would suffer, bleed, and burn for 4 more years.

But it began with a sneak attack. And it began with American sailors shot, burned, blown up, drowned.

33 years later, on Dec 7, 1974, I would be an American sailor. Those images, and these words: Never forget, were drummed into me.

I never will. I took it personally, what was done to my brothers. I still do. I take any attack on Americans, but in particular on American sailors, very personally.

They were and are my brothers. They will never forget. Nor will I.

Watch. Be alert. Be prepared. Be strong. Those are the lessons of that awful, awful morning 75 years ago.

Get over it? I don’t think so.

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Mark Caserta: Isn’t it time to unite against domestic terrorism?

2 Dec

me

Mark Caserta: FSP editor

12.2.16

 

It could be a tragic mistake to allow political clutter and post-election discourse to lower our guard to a very real and growing threat within the United States – domestic terrorism. And all the “walls” and “extreme vetting” we can muster won’t protect us from attackers already in the U.S.

Based on a recent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “Terror Threat Snapshot,” we could be facing one of the “worst years on record for homegrown Islamist extremism.” So far in 2016, 26 individuals in 13 states have been arrested for domestic terrorist-related activity, per the DHS.

In the snapshot, FBI Director James Comey estimates around 80 percent of his Bureau’s 1,000-plus active homegrown terrorist investigations can be traced to ISIS. Comey called the acts that account for that statistic “the greatest threat to the physical safety of Americans today.”

You may recall, just under a year ago, Comey revealed his agency had ongoing ISIS related investigations in every state of the union.

“We have investigations of people in various stages of radicalizing in all 50 states,” Comey told a winter meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General. “This isn’t a New York phenomenon or a Washington phenomenon. This is all 50 states and in ways that are very hard to see,” he added.

Some of the major arrests listed in the snapshot are simply too close for comfort.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, a 35-year old U.S. citizen was arrested after attempting to hire a cell of terror operatives with a goal to ultimately launch attacks within the United States.

In Fairfax, Virginia, a 36-year old U.S. citizen and a police officer for the Washington Metro Transit Police was arrested for undisclosed, ISIS-related charges.

In Detroit, Michigan, a citizen who recently converted to Islam was arrested for “possessing a destructive device and acquiring explosive materials without a license.”

And, of course, just this week in Columbus, Ohio, a student who had complained about how Muslims were portrayed in the media injured 11 people with a car and knife attack in what police believe may have been an act of terror.The “takeaways” from the DHS report are no less alarming.

ISIS’ message continues to resonate with American citizens as more extremists plot attacks on American soil and attempt to travel overseas to join the terror group.

ISIS has targeted the West at an alarming rate, marked by a recent surge in ISIS-linked plots to attack U.S. and allied interests abroad.

ISIS and al Qaeda continue to take advantage of safe havens to consolidate their power and territory, as well as plan attacks.

Guantanamo Bay detainees are continuing to return to the fight to replenish the ranks of jihadist organizations.

Please understand, I’m not advocating we live our lives in constant fear. The ultimate purpose of terrorism, beyond obvious destruction and mayhem, is to rattle our lifestyle, widening the path for an insurgence of the Islamic Caliphate and Sharia law within our Western culture.

But, I believe it’s a reasonable assumption domestic terrorist attacks will escalate as the new administration and our allies begin to heighten the attacks on ISIS abroad. We must remain vigilant and in a perpetual state of preparedness. See something, say something.

It’s paramount that we unite against the threat of domestic terrorism.

ISIS isn’t concerned with our political affiliation.

 

Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger and a Cabell County resident.

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Doug Smith: Obama, “Elections have consequences.” Now, it’s up to the GOP to provide one for Obamacare!

27 Nov

doug-for-fsp

Doug Smith:  Author, historian, patriot and lead contributor to FSP.

 

What a chuckle!

Have you listened to the pundits, press, Democrats, and most especially Obama offering sage advice to Trump and the (GOP majority) Congress on how tough it might be to repeal Obamacare?  And what a political price they might pay for doing so? And how they cannot just repeal it, they MUST have a viable replacement.

Well, just for fun, while I am busy laughing at the pundits, press, Democrats, and Obama, all of whom were so wrong about all of 2016 s politics, let’s examine those claims.

 

  1. In 2008, the Democrat Majority Congress pushed bills through without any input from the GOP at all. When it came down to it, and even with their majorities, the death of Ted Kennedy left the final vote to overcome a filibuster, Massachusetts, (Massachusetts!) elected Scott Brown, a Republican to succeed a Kennedy in Mass., solely on his promise to be the vote that killed Obamacare.
  2. When it became obvious the majority of Americans did not want the bill passed after that loss, the Democrats resorted to a fast one: approving a Senate version not yet reconciled with the House, and therefore not constitutionally sound, as all bills involving spending must originate in the House. No matter, in order to get something the Senate had voted for, Harry Reid took a non-related bill, and cut and pasted the entire text of the bill into it, even though that had never been approved by both houses, and sent it to Obama.  Obama, desperate to pass anything, signed it.
  3. Think the loss of the “Kennedy” seat was bad? Since the passage of Obamacare, the Democrats have lost 13 Senate seats (and control of the Senate), 69 House seats (and control of the House) 12 Governors, 900 state legislative seats (leaving them with only 5 states under Democrat control.) Indeed, in my own state of WV, we have a GOP controlled legislature for the 1st time in 80 years, and in my neighboring state of KY, the GOP controls all three for the first time since Harding (R) was President.
  4. Obamacare, despite some who are fans because they benefitted from it, has remained overwhelmingly the most unpopular law in US history; never enjoying majority support. Most Democrats refuse to run for office on its merits, and Republicans do well running on a promise to repeal it. (More on that below.)
  5. Obamacare mandates by law that everyone sign up, but cannot even yet, after 6 years, meet its enrollment goals.
  6. Has broken promise after promise, keep your Doctor, keep your plan, lower your premiums,
  7. Obamacare has cost jobs and hurt business competitiveness in the most anemic “recovery” in US history. Medical device manufacturers were hit with an extra tax just to help pay for it, which cost jobs. Employers who saw the trip points which would make them participate avoided expansion and did not hire people they otherwise would have.  Many saw their jobs become part time because the alternative to 39 hour employees was to go broke and have no employees.
  8. Now, as to the Grand Old Party, after 6 years of promise after promise to “repeal it, root and branch, “followed time after time by caving when they had the leverage, the passing “sure to be vetoed” bills which were rendered meaningless, and without risk, they saw the result in 2015 in the person of Donald Trump. (Ted Cruz could be included in that revolt against the status quo and the lies and broken promises of the GOP leadership with respect to Obama, but Trump won, so he makes the point)

 

So, let me see. The political cost of supporting Obama and Obamacare has been a decimated Democrat party, reduced to a powerlessness not seen since the Roaring Twenties.

The political cost of waffling on fighting Obamacare has been the Tea Party, anti-establishment insurrection within the GOP.  Ask John Boehner and Eric Cantor if that mattered.

The cost to Donald Trump of opposing Obama s agenda, including Obamacare, which he promised to repeal, was being elected President.

All things considered, if I am President Trump and the GOP, I must say, along with Brer Rabbit, “Throw me in that briar patch!”

Repeal it! On day one, and pay the cost. The record of the last 6 years suggests that “price” will be veto proof majorities in both houses of Congress in 2019.

As for the ridiculous claim that because the Democrats unilaterally, and against the will of the electorate, forced through Obamacare, it is incumbent on the GOP to come up with an alternative plan before they can repeal it, nonsense!

As Dr. Ben Carson noted “”Everything that these programs were supposed to fix has gotten worse,”.  If a vandal breaks your window, you don’t have to get a replacement window before you patch the hole with plastic or plywood or whatever you have at hand.

The Dems and Obama were in such a hurry to achieve their decades long dream of controlling healthcare that they rammed the most flawed bill in history through to law. There may have been gaps in the greatest healthcare system in the world in 2008, and improvements that could be made. But the Premier of Newfoundland, Canada, (with socialized medicine) did not fly to Cuba (with socialized medicine that Obama touts as an example) to get heart surgery.

As Premier Danny Williams said ““I did not sign away my right to get the best possible health care for myself when I entered politics.”  So, he flew to Mt. Sinai in Miami, to be treated on his own dime, by an American cardiac surgeon.

Well, he said a mouthful, didn’t he?

Obama and crew broke it, big time. We don’t have to go back and fix what was wrong then before we clean up the mess that they made.

Repeal the turkey.

Then take an unrushed, and less secretive and coerced look at what improvements can be made. Then watch things get better as markets take over; employment improves, and work on fixing what is broken, not scrapping everything in a system 90% excellent in a vain quest for that final 10%.

But, just as it was rammed down our throats, forget the filibuster, unless you have Joe Manchin and a bevy of Dems who are not anxious to be the next to fall on the Obama/Clinton sword.

They rammed it through on budget reconciliation, with a simple majority, and told us to like it, it was law. They told us we would like it once we knew what was in it.

They were wrong. We know it. And we don’t like it. It has been a huge budget buster.

So, reconcile it out of existence, and tell them to learn to like it.

Or tell them elections have consequences, we won, deal with it.

 

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Mark Caserta: Trump prepares his team to make America great again

25 Nov

And conservatives are pleased with the choices!

 

me

Mark Caserta: FSP editor

  • 11.25.16

For the first time in a very long time, Americans are going to witness how conservative ideology “trumps” liberal progressivism in our country.

There is little doubt the 2016 election was a referendum on Barack Obama’s failed liberal policies. In fact, Democrat losses over the past few election cycles have been very telling per the Pew Research Center. Liberal Democrats understand this trend could be detrimental to their party for years to come, not to mention Obama’s legacy.

Hence President Obama’s recent international “exit interview” tour designed to sanction his reign as the most liberal president in U.S. history and hopefully create some headwinds for the incoming Trump administration.

Senator Jeff Sessions is the perfect pick for the 48th attorney general of the United States. Sessions has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to the U.S. Constitution and served as the former U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of Alabama under President Reagan. He certainly has the experience to enforce the rule of law in our country.

Lt. General Mike Flynn is a top choice for national security advisor. Flynn ran the Defense Intelligence Agency from 2012 to 2014 and served as top intelligence advisor to General Stanley McChrystal in Iraq. Flynn is reported to be “less than politically correct” and was, in fact, fired by the Obama administration for reportedly “pushing back” against “censors” displeased with his public declaration the U.S. was losing ground in the war on terror.

Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo is a sound choice to become the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Pompeo graduated number one in his class at West Point and has been very outspoken against Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. Those who know him say he will be an “unrelenting leader for our intelligence community to ensure the safety of Americans.”

Retired Marine General James “Mad dog” Mattis is emerging as a leading candidate for the position of Secretary of Defense. A seasoned, “no nonsense” combat commander, Mattis is heralded for his leadership as head of U.S. Central Command having responsibility for all U.S. forces in the Middle East.

President-elect Trump also has placed concern for the nation above his pride by reaching across party lines and even to those who have openly criticized him during his campaign. Despite the national left-wing media’s attempt to portray Donald Trump as erratic and unqualified to be commander-in-chief, he’s brilliantly putting together a high-performing team.

I expect this team will hit the ground running in 2017 and work diligently at repairing eight years of damage by the Obama administration.

And millions of Americans will see conservatism make America great again.

 

Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

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