Bob's Political Digest July 2, 2009

Marines launch major offensive in Afghanistan
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/01/AR2009070103202.html?hpid=topnews
Excerpt: “Once Marine units arrive in their designated towns and villages, they have been instructed to build and live in small outposts among the local population. The brigade's commander, Brig. Gen. Lawrence D. Nicholson, said his Marines will focus their efforts on protecting civilians from the Taliban, and on restoring Afghan government services, instead of a series of hunt-and-kill missions against the insurgents.”
Return of the very successful CAP strategy from Vietnam. Having served briefly with a CAP unit, I think this is encouraging.

After Call from Senator's Office, Small Hawaii Bank Got U.S. Aid
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/30/AR2009063004229.html?wpisrc=newsletter
I repeat: When politicians run the economy, decisions are made on the basis of politics, not economics.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warns of revenge on pro-democracy states
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/5698913/Mahmoud-Ahmadinejad-warns-of-revenge-on-pro-democracy-states.html
Lucky for us, under BO the US no longer qualifies as pro-democracy.

Australia: Egyptian stabs stepdaughter 20 times with a butcher knife: "I stabbed the slut. I wanted to kill her, but unfortunately she's still breathing."
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/026781.php
More of the “shared values” BO says we have with Islam.

Equality on Trial by Thomas Sowell
http://townhall.com/columnists/ThomasSowell/2009/07/01/equality_on_trial
Excerpt: For the fourth time in six cases, the Supreme Court of the United States has reversed a decision for which Judge Sonia Sotomayor voted on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. If this nominee were a white male, would this not raise questions about whether he should be elevated to a court that has found his previous decisions wrong two-thirds of the times when those decisions have been reviewed? Is no one supposed to ask questions about qualifications, simply because this nominee is Hispanic and a woman? Have we become that mindless?

Who Railroaded the Amtrak Inspector General? by Michelle Malkin
http://townhall.com/columnists/MichelleMalkin/2009/07/01/who_railroaded_the_amtrak_inspector_general
More “change you can believe in.”

The below is from a Marine vet who sends interesting items. I added the headline. ~Bob

Should we just pull the plug?
Recently, while enjoying a couple of days in the Pacific Northwest, I thought how nice it was NOT to be hooked up to the internet. Day in and day out I find my blood pressure rising as I read and listen to the pending doom and gloom covering this place we call planet earth. Lots of garbage going on both at home and away. Wouldn't it be easy, I think to myself (every so often), to just pull the plug and let the world pass me by so I don't have to deal with it! Just sit back and smell the roses so-to-speak. It really wouldn't be that hard to do. Just tune out! Having served my country, there is a temptation to believe that I've done my share and it is now time for me to pass the torch on to others. But it doesn't work that way. I think we all owe it to ourselves (and especially this country) to stay engaged. Like it or not, the barbarians are at the gate. We all have a role to play. We don't all have the same answers, but we do indeed recognize the fact that there are issues out there that need to be addressed. Sitting back and letting others take care of things just isn't an option. It won't work. We need to collectively raise our voices to ensure a sense of balance is taken on behalf of this great experiment called the United States of America. The ball is in our court. Don't sit back and think someone else is going to take care of things. It doesn't work that way. The only thing I would suggest is that we be a little more civil towards one another because we are all in the same boat. Personally, I think the immediate answer to kick-start change is to throw all the incumbents out and start over. Send a strong message that "we" (the people) control the government. Professional politicians need to be served notice. Sure, some of the good politicians will find themselves on the street, but the neat thing is they can always come back. But they can come back on OUR terms! When/if they return, they will hopefully return with an attitude adjustment in place. And that will be good for all. So stay engaged! Open up your mind and listen to those who have various solutions. As I've said time and again, no one party has a monopoly on good ideas or patriotism. Debate the issues and then take action. Stop this negative momentum that is attempting to change the basic character of this nation. The United States has a good character. You can see it in that simple lovely document called the Constitution of the United States of America. Read it some time. There is no other way around the challenges facing us now! We must meet the issues head on. This country has the greatest doctors, engineers and farmers in the world. We can do anything we put our minds together to do. But we must have collective good will going that embraces diverse (but constructive) opinions. I think we have steered ourselves off course by forgetting the fundamentals. Ships can be effectively sailed by a diverse crew. While crew members may do things in different ways, as long as whatever needs to be done is correctly accomplished, the ship will arrive at the desire destination, at a reasonable time. We need to come together in order to brace ourselves for the storm that is brewing. --Greg