Unleashing the Dogs of War . . . Or At Least A Limited Strike

The worst kept secret on the planet right now is that the United States, and perhaps other allies as well, will launch some sort of attack on Syria in the near future.

Last summer, Obama declared that one of his "red lines" was the use of weapons of mass destruction.  Last week, someone in the Assad "administration" apparently used them to kill, among others, many hundreds of civilians.

US intelligence sources cite a strange intercepted phone call within the Syrian government camp as proof.  A Syrian defense official demanded an explanation for why chemical weapons were launched.  If one was forthcoming, the rationale has not yet been released.

This raises questions about the Syrian government.  Was the attack the work of a rogue officer?  Was it a direct order from the highest levels of government?  Is the Syrian government even a cohesive unit anymore?
In any event, Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron seem to agree that a response must occur.

Cameron plans to consult with Parliament.  At this time, however, Obama seems to have no plans to request authorization from Congress.  Although some congressional Republicans have offered muted support, Senator Rand Paul (Ky.) claimed that Syrian events had "no clear national security connection" to the United States.  Paul did not rule out action, but asked that Obama consult with Congress meaningfully before acting.

In this case, rushing to action within a few days does not seem absolutely necessary.  The repulsiveness of the attack is not likely to wear out.  Indeed the United Nations investigators will undoubtedly either uncover more evidence and details that maintain world disgust, or Syrian officials will block them entirely.  The UN has requested four days, which does not seem unreasonable.  President George W. Bush gave them much longer before launching war against Iraq.

Syria presents US policy makers considerable trouble.  The rebel targets of government chemical weapons have shown themselves no less murderous than Assad's thugs.  Islamicist rebels have slaughtered Roman Catholic clergy among many other innocents during their own reign of terror.

President Bush had some "good guys" to work with when he overturned Saddam Hussein's thugocracy.  Syria seems to have few or no credible leaders who could make a peaceful republic work.

This limits Obama's options.  Any Iraq style invasion would require a much more powerful force prepared to stay in place for much longer.  Nation building would by necessity look more like colonization.

Any boots on the ground would likely end badly for the United States.  In the mid 1980s, President Reagan deployed Marines to serve as part of a peacekeeping unit to try and bring stability to Lebanon.  Terrorists killed over 200.  After a few good-bye blasts from the USS New Jersey, American forces skedaddled.

The various Lebanese factions had no desire to play nice just because American and European soldiers showed up.  They continued killing each other and blowing up heaps of rubble until they exhausted their will to fight.  Lebanon has remained relatively peaceable ever since.

So ground based combat forces will not work.

That leaves air strikes and/or covert operations.  The CIA does need to infiltrate Syria.  To make reasonable decisions, American leaders need to have knowledge of what is going on and who makes it happen.  It needs to monitor individuals and groups as they refine terror techniques.  Covert teams can also find locations of important sites in case stronger military action is required.

Air strikes would have to be very precise and specific.  Former Representative and anti-war crusader Dennis Kucinich noted that air strikes by American planes would make them Al Qaeda's air force.  Indiscriminate targeting of Syrian government military forces would help clear the road for an even worse regime.  Conversely, firing a couple of Tomahawk missiles in the general direction of Assad makes American power look downright petty and even silly.

Take the time to identify chemical weapons facilities.  Only target them.  Use weapons capable of doing the job, like daisy cutters.  Cruise missiles may not deliver enough punch.  This will achieve a limited goal and curb WMD attacks in the future without overly involving the US or using military action as a public relations stunt.

Obama must also prepare to stand by Israel.  Attacks on Syria may provoke a response against Israel.  Specific tactical actions may be necessary against any force deployed to strike Israel.  On the other hand, it is difficult to see how effectively Syria could strike Israel while struggling in its own civil war.

Obama must make wise decisions here, stick by them, and articulate explanations.  He must have the specific goal of curbing WMD usage while rebuilding respect for American power.  If he covers his bases with Congress and the United Nations, this could help reconstruct respect for US foreign policy that has fallen greatly since Bush left office.

Many unmarked cliffs and chasms loom in the road ahead.  Obama will have to tread carefully as he acts.

Because We Are Not Like Them

In 2003 American soldiers went into Iraq to remove that nation's tyrannical government. President Bush's stated reason was that Iraq posessed weapons of mass destruction. We also invaded because of the deep aversion that he and many other Americans felt towards that evil regime. Soldiers found evidence of weapons programs, but no weapons themselves.

The Left called it, predictably, a "lie." "Bush lied, thousands died" they chanted. The media took up the mantra, never considering that Hussein could have moved the weapons in the several month buildup to war. They never considered that the United States and other nations had the obligation to enforce previous United Nations decisions. It boiled down to "Bush lied."

Since the beginning of this century the Left has exchanged simple anti-capitalist rhetoric for the diversionary tactic of regulating capitalism out of any ability to compete or expand. They manufactured a crisis called "global warming" based upon computer models, incomplete observations, and correlation based studies. The facts have come in and they are simply wrong.

The liberal leaning BBC abruptly changed its editorial position, admitting that evidence points not towards global warming, but a gradual cooling. Global temperatures peaked in the late 1990s and followed a slow cooling trend that accelerated in the past two years. NASA noted earlier this year that Martian polar caps shrank at the same time as the northern ice cap on Earth. Solar energy expended more heat in that same period. Now solar energy has slightly declined at the same time as Earth has cooled.

It seems like common sense that the Earth might heat when the Sun gets warmer and cool when the Sun produces less energy. Scientists do not part with cherished beliefs easily. However, more are abandoning the man made global warming hypothesis than sticking to it these days. The media and politicians have not caught on yet. We must do our part to educate them and obstruct any attempt to regulate away capitalism in the name of bad science.

That all being said, we should not resort to their tactics. As someone put it, they are not evil, just wrong. They wanted something very badly to be true and a lot of jobs around the industrialized world were lost as a result. I would not call them liars, but if Congress and the president persist, they are certainly still very deluded.

Clark Barns to take on Alan Mollohan for Congress

Clark Barnes currently serves as a State Senator in West Virginia's 15th district. Which includes Grant, Hampshire, Hardy and Pendleton Counties in the Potomac Highlands. Barnes is also known as the winning underdog taking on well fund candidates and defeating them on the issues. Clark becomes the 4th Republican Candidate to join the field against Mollohan.

Left to Right: State Senator Clark Barnes, Tom Collins, State Senator Dave Sypolt

Mr. Obama, Tear Down Your Ivory Tower

The Founding Fathers never intended the President or the Congress to be locked away from the public. The facts are they wanted them to be regular members of the public, after all we a government of the people and by the people. Overtime mainly because of security our elected officials have become increasingly isolated from the people. As a result, our government is suffering.

It didn’t used to be that way, many Presidents of the past held specific hours at the Whitehouse to hear from citizens. We should return to that and the President should hold a few hours a week to hear the concerns of citizens in person and it should be available live to the public. He will hear good things and bad and I’m sure a few nutty things as well, but the point is he needs to hear from the average American on a regular basis. That would help him to understand those that he governs.

Wednesday night during his speech to Congress when he made the statement that, illegal aliens would not be covered under his government run health care plan a South Carolina Congressman stood up and yelled, “You Lie.” Democrats were appalled that anyone would dare do that to the President, yet it was OK for them to boo George W. Bush during the State of Union speech during his Presidency. The fact of the matter is the Democrats should not be chastised for booing Bush and the South Carolina Congressman has nothing to apologize for calling Obama a liar. Both the President and the Congress need to hear dissent.

Have you ever watched British Parliament on C-Span when the Prime Minister addresses them? You hear emotion, you see reactions of how people feel. More importantly the Prime Minister is questioned by the opposition in an open and public forum. The people get to see the real mood of their nation and how the leadership is being carried out. We need that here in the United States.

We need the leaders of this nation to be in touch with the people. They should not be isolated in an ivory tower. They should never feel they are better than you or me, because they are not. Perhaps is it time to add an Amendment to the US Constitution to require the President of the United States appear before the US House for 2 or 3 hours each month to publicly answer questions asked by the member of the House. Take the President out of his ivory tower and make Congress show its constituents where they stand on the issues without being able to hide. We must return our government to the people.

New York 20th Congressional Race Unofficial Results

Scott Murphy (D) 77,344, James Tedisco (R) 77,279

All precincts reporting

Ballots Impounded by Court Order

Change, Hope . . . Harding. Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Weeks Ago?

Apologies in advance for breaking the 11th Commandment (Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican) but honesty demands that we compare Barack Obama to Warren G. Harding. We warned before the election that we were electing a Harding, meaning a machine politician with zero ideas, zero experience, and tremendous potential for problems. We got something worse.

Harding, who incidentally figured out very soon that he was unfit mentally for the presidency, actually worked with a Republican Congress to craft economic policies that ended a post World War I recession. How did this happen? The GOP had stepped in to force him to select competent men for his Cabinet. He got statesmen and individuals who had found success in the private sector in the most important positions instead of political hacks. They did well despite him. In the end he was undone by some of his old machine buddies, but he died before the scandal could break.

Obama has blundered through his first month of the presidency. The stock market gains of the Bush era are gone. While Mexico dissolves, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton goes to our former enemies to beg for hard currency to finance the Democratic Porkulus package. The United States has lost the respect that Bush worked so carefully to build for eight years. We send $900 million to the Palestinians to rebuild Gaza while Keyser STILL waits for $9 million to rebuild its water treatment facility. The kindest commentators call Obama's transition "amateur hour" while the most critical describe a "deer in the headlights look." Meanwhile the president tells us we have everything in the world to fear and hopes to goodness something happens before he loses his friendly Congress in 2010.

The only positive of the last four weeks is that Americans have lost their faith that the federal government can solve all problems. Democratic leadership has undone the myth they have tried to cultivate since the 1930s. Every day, people are understanding what conservatives have taught all along. The federal government is not the answer, but it generally is the problem. Every move Obama and his administration makes solidifies that conviction. It is time for the states and the people to step forward and take the initiative. The federal government has failed. Let us get back to state sovereignty and individual initiative.

Let's rephrase that olf campaign question from 1984. Are you better off than you were four weeks ago?

Shelley Moore Capito Delivers on National Security Again

The nightmare scenario that few of us want to think about and that the liberals want to pretend won't happen is all too possible. Imagine a WMD strike on Washington DC, turning the metropolitan area too "hot" for habitation. Hundreds of thousands flee the stricken area. Our region turns into the front line of the war on terror.


In such a situation, those guarding the ramparts ensuring our safety become our National Guard, state troopers, and fire fighters. That is why Representative Shelley Moore Capito's work to secure a $66,500 grant for the Capon Springs Volunteer fire department is so vital. As Capito explains, “The Capon Springs Volunteer Fire Department is vital to the local community, but faces challenges with limited financial resources." The equipment such grants help these departments obtain will prove vital whether these men and women respond to a local emergency or regional disaster. According to Capito, “This grant will help purchase a much needed mobile compressor trailer that will service all fire departments in the area. These are volunteers that willingly serve their neighbors in need and it’s important that they have the resources to do their job.”


Once again our Republican Representative in Congress has shown that her office can bring home needed help for some of our most necessary organizations, even when hers is the minority party. We should be thankful for Representative Capito. While liberals in the House of Representatives raise the bar on foolishness, for example debating articles of impeachment against Dick Cheney of all people, at least Representative Capito and other Republicans get some real and important work accomplished.

If Puerto Rico becomes a state WV loses a Congressman

The US House of Representatives is limited to 435 members by US Public Law 62-5 of 1911. A US population of 300,000,000 means one member of the house represents about 680,000 persons. West Virginia's population is 1.8 million, which means we should have 2.64 representatives. You round off and that equals 3 representatives for WV. If that number drops to 2.49, then we round off to 2.

Current 2010 census estimates show West Virginia keeping 3 house seats at least until 2020, but that could all change of Congressman Nick Rahall (D) has his way. Nick Rahall is supporting US House Bill HR 900, which could lead the way for Puerto Rico to become the 51st State. According to an article in CQ Politics Puerto Rico will have 6 House Members, and 2 Senators.

In 1957 when Hawaii and Alaska were made states the US House was increased to 437 members temporarily until the 1960 census. Each had a population that gave them 1 House member each. After the 1960 census, Alaska and Hawaii kept there one representative in the house and two were taken away from the other 48 states when the house returned to 435 members.

If Puerto Rico is made a state, then the house would temporarily go to 441 members until the next census. The US population in 2010 is estimated to be around 310 million. Puerto Rico will add an additional 4 million persons for a total of 314 million. After the 2010 census, with Puerto Rico a state, each house member will represent 721,000 persons when the house drops back to 435 members. That would mean West Virginia would require 2.496 Congressmen, and that rounds down to 2.

A West Virginia Congressman is leading a charge that could cost West Virginia its 3rd Congressional seat, reducing our power in Washington.